Chosen (HMCS Borealis Book 2) by S.J. Madill Read Free Book Online Page B

date."
    "Outstanding."
    "Thank you, sir.   Also, I reviewed the logs from the last mission.   I've identified places where I, or someone on the team, didn't follow standard procedures.   We're especially lax with communications discipline, sir."   He gestured at the datapad in Dillon's hand.   "It's in the second file there, marked…" He trailed off.   Dillon waited to see why Tremblay had interrupted himself.   With a slight grind of his teeth, the pen twitched.
    "Sir," continued Tremblay, "it's not meant to be incriminating.   I'm just cataloguing deviations from process. Is that overstepping, sir?"
    Dillon pulled the pen from his mouth and leaned back in his chair, which squeaked again.   The kid was hesitating, conscious about how his work might affect others.   "Tremblay," said Dillon, "how are you getting along with the Chief?"
    Tremblay glanced down at his hands in his lap.   "Fine, sir," he said, looking back up.   "Though she does sometimes send me on… unusual errands, sir."
    Dillon could already imagine the sorts of things Chief Black would dream up; she considered rookie officers to be one of her favourite food groups.   He nodded sagely, tenting his fingers in front of him.   "Go on, Sub.   Tell me about her errands."
    Tremblay reached up to straighten the collar of his shirt.   "Well, sir.   There was the time she had me, uh, verify something in the ship's stores.   I spent a morning searching for a 'binnacle calibration tool' before I realised there was no such thing."
    "A classic."
    "There was the other time, sir, where the hot water was disabled to my cabin.   I had nothing but cold water for two days, before I went and asked Engineering.   Apparently they were in on it, sir." Tremblay's eyes went back down to his hands.   "There were others, sir."
    Dillon thought of how the Chief had once fought a battle of pranks against the Borealis 's former engineer, a Dosh.   Finding out that ordinary gin made the alien hallucinate had led to the high point of the Chief's repertoire.   But then, those had been different times.   They hadn't known if they were going to get home again, and maintaining morale had been a constant struggle.  
    "Sounds like you're getting off light, Tremblay."
    "Sir?"
    "If I were to guess, the Chief is trying to illustrate how you're sometimes reluctant to bother us with problems.   If something's not right on the ship, it's not 'bothering'."
    "Aye, sir.   I'll do better."
    Dillon made a face, shaking his head.   "You're not doing poorly, Tremblay.   Don't look at it that way.   You're doing great.   You're well on your way to earning your watch-keeping certificate.   It's just a matter of putting in the hours.   Everything else is excellent."
    Tremblay grinned, and sat a little straighter in the chair.   "Thank you, sir.   I very much appreciate hearing that."
    Dillon swivelled in his chair, reaching out to pick up the mug on his desk.   He peered down into it, then took a sip.   Cold again.   He started to drink it anyway.   "So, Tremblay.   Any questions or concerns?"
    The Sub-Lieutenant bit his lip a moment, glancing past Dillon out the window.   "Sir," he began, "I saw that the Palani fleet have destroyed another colony.   I'm a bit worried about what it means; I don't understand what's motivating them."
    Finishing his cold coffee, Dillon set the empty mug down on the desk.   "Yeah.   That could become a problem if it continues."   His fingertips held the empty mug by the rim, rotating it on the desktop.   "The Palani used to have three thousand inhabited systems.   For millennia, they ran this part of the galaxy.   Then, seven hundred years ago, while our ancestors were trying to colonise the Americas, an alien race invaded.   The Palani called them the Horlan, a monster from their mythology."
    "I read about that, sir.   The Palani nearly lost."
    "Yeah.   The fight went on for decades.   The Palani lost everything but five little