Birthright: Battle for the Confederation- Consequence by Ryan Krauter Read Free Book Online

you can't have one."
                  Garrett chuckled.  "Everything has a price, my friend."
                  Garrett matched velocity with Avenger, then rolled his ship to port as he brought his ship even with Avenger's dorsal port side crew hatch, located about a third of the way down her upper hull from the bow at the edge of the armor plate just before the midships viewports.  He expertly slid his ship into position, extended the short docking collar, then verified the seals before enabling the door release.
                  Garrett tapped the button that requested entry, and a second later the crew hatch hissed, clunked, and slid open to reveal the access trunk inside Avenger.  It had a sloped floor that matched the angle of the crew hatch, transitioning to the same angle as Avenger's decking after a few feet.  The gravity plates allowed for such designs, and while walking from one angle to the next was easy enough, many people took short, cautious steps.
                  Exterior hatch closed, the inner hatch to the ship's interior opened to show a vacant corridor.  The only person there was Lieutenant Commander Sarria Mastruk, Loren's trusted second in command in the Combat Control Center.
                  She greeted Loren with a crisp salute, Garrett and Velk with a handshake.
                  "Sorry we aren't being more formal, no side party or that sort of thing," she said by way of greeting, "but the captain figured it was still best to keep news of your arrival quiet as long as possible."
                  "I understand," Velk said.
                  "So that's all for now?" Garrett asked.
                  "Afraid so," replied Loren.  "I appreciate all your help.  We'll talk again real soon, I'm sure."
                  "Always an adventure, Commander."
     
     
                  Loren and Velk walked quickly down corridors that were temporarily devoid of crew, a task made easier by Mastruk's inventive scheduling and assigned drills.  With visiting officer's quarters located near Loren's XO stateroom, Velk would be just a few hatches away.
                  The hatch now closed, Velk walked his quarters and gave the place a quick once-over.
                  "Your officers are all assigned such quarters?"
                  "Close enough," Loren admitted.  "This ship isn't meant to be a flagship, so there's no Admiral's quarters to offer you. Sorry."
                  "I meant to marvel at how much space you have."  Velk looked at the small viewport which showed the stars outside.  Already they could both feel the ship accelerating, adjusting pitch and roll slightly as she was aligned for her hyperspace route.  "You can imagine my people are used to living in far smaller accommodations."
                  "Well, if they join Confed they'll get an upgrade," Loren said with a straight face, curious to see if the Priman got the humor.
                  "My people..." Velk paused.  "I see.  You don't actually mean it as such.  I admit to not having much of a sense of humor.  My people can be mischievous in that way; not me, however."
                  Loren waited for Velk to continue, content to stare out the viewport in the meantime.
                  "You truly intend to risk your life getting me back to my people?"
                  "It's like we agreed earlier; I'm doing this for my people, you're doing it for yours.  If that makes us allies, then I can live with that.  I'll let somebody else work out the details afterwards; I'll be content to get both sides talking instead of shooting."
                  Velk just nodded and stared off, lost in thought.  
                  "There is a tradition among my people, made harder by confinement in our motherships of course,