Annihilation (Star Force Series) by B. V. Larson Read Free Book Online

time.
    “I want to ask you about Miklos,” she said. “I think you’ve been working him too hard.”
    I blinked. This was an unexpected but welcome turn of conversation. I began to smile. “He’s been driving himself too hard lately, I agree with that. I just told Jasmine—ah, Captain Sarin—to take over the construction effort from him.”
    “He’s been driving himself because you ordered him to do it, Kyle,” Sandra admonished me. “You can’t tell people to work harder and at the same time tell them to take breaks.”
    “I just want people to do their best,” I said. “They often don’t take into account the need for balance in order to achieve that.”
    “What it sounds like to them is a set of contradictory orders.”
    I shrugged. “How about those air-swimmers? They’re great when broiled. I’ll have the cook dip them in butter and garlic.”
    “Okay,” she said, weakening.
    I stood up and took her arm. We headed toward the exit when I got an idea. I bent and kissed her. She kissed me back. We stopped and didn’t take another step toward the door for a while. Somehow, we’d begun making out.
    “What happened to dinner?” she asked.
    “I’m not that hungry.”
    She laughed, then pulled away a fraction. Her eyebrows knit together. “You gave a new ship to Jasmine, I heard.”
    Damn , I thought. Talk about a mood-deflator.
    I tried to smile. “Yeah. She’s senior, and her talents were wasted on a destroyer.”
    “What ship did you give her?”
    I hesitated. I could tell she already knew the answer. How could she have heard the rumor without knowing what it was about? She just wanted to see a full confession.
    “The new carrier,” I admitted.
    “You know what she’s going to call it?”
    “No, not yet.”
    One of Star Force’s oldest traditions dictated that new ships were named by the Captain. It dated back to the early days, when Nano ships plucked their captains out of their beds. After passing the deadly tests and taking command, the new people had been given the honor of naming the ship that had tormented them.
    “She’s going to call it Gatre ,” Sandra said.
    “You seem to know more about current events than I do.”
    “That’s part of my job.”
    I moved in for another kiss, but she dodged me.
    “Don’t you want to know what Gatre means?”
    “Um…no, not really.”
    “It means something like ‘calloused’ or ‘stubborn’ in Hindi.”
    I frowned. “Did she tell you that?”
    “No. I looked it up.”
    I nodded, but had no idea why we were having this conversation. I reached out a hand toward her shapely hip, but she pushed it away automatically. I could see the look on her face was one of concentration. She really was interested in this carrier.
    Her eyes studied mine with sudden intensity. “Why did you give that ship to her, Kyle?” she asked.
    My face went blank in surprise. When it comes to women, I’m a bumbling idiot, but I’ve learned to sense traps when they’re laid at my feet. I was on guard immediately. I knew I had to step very carefully.
    “Uh…” I began, my mind churning, “because she deserved a serious command?”
    “Yes, I know that,” she said, her eyes searching my face. “But I don’t think you made the right decision. People have feelings you know.”
    I heaved a sigh. I didn’t like where this might be going. Was she going to have another jealous fit?
     “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
    “Me? I’m not talking about me .”
    “Then what are you talking about?”
    “Miklos, of course. He wanted that command. He built the ship, he has dreamt of it for months. He hardly talks about anything else, you know.”
    “No, I didn’t realize that. But don’t worry. I’ll give him the second ship.”
    “The second one?”
    I filled her in on Miklos’ new orders. By the end, she was satisfied, and a few minutes later we were back to kissing. Soon I was as satisfied as she was.
    By the time we made it