Deadly Shores by Taylor Anderson Read Free Book Online Page B

amounted to her very first independent command. “As for the battle group that will accompany
Salissa
 . . .” He paused, noting how the tension ratcheted up among the frigate, or “DD” skippers. “
Walker
goes, obviously, but so does . . . Destroyer Squadron Six,” he announced. The statement was received by whoops and groans. It was interesting that the disappointed ones were those not going. Everyone wanted in on this show. “That’s about it. We sail in ten days. With any luck, we’ll get our licks in before the Grik anywhere else get a clue what’s happened here.” He looked at Keje. “You’ll organize whatever auxiliaries we need, oilers and tenders and such?”
    â€œOf course.” Keje beamed. “I have grown good at that!” He glanced at Atlaan-Fas,
Salissa
’s Lemurian CO, and Lieutenant Newman, her exec. “Or at least those persons have!” Matt smiled back at him. In the growing noise that followed, Lieutenant Commander Irvin Laumer approached the table and stood by his arm.
    â€œYes, Commander?” Matt asked, a little surprised. The Skipper of destroyed S-19, who’d put so much of himself into the old sub, looked terrible. He was taking the loss of his ship and much of his crew very hard.
    â€œWhat about me, sir?” he asked quietly. “I’d . . . I’d like to go.”
    Matt studied him. “Honestly, Mr. Laumer, I thought you’d like to have one of the new destroyers building in Baalkpan.” At that moment, two nearly exact copies of
Walker
and
Mahan
were within a month or two of launching. The builders had had a lot of practice working on the ships that inspired them, and they’d even come up with improvements. It would take time to fit them out, but the ships should be ready for sea in four months at most. Matt considered the offer a reward for Laumer’s conduct.
    â€œI appreciate it, sir, but”—he leaned down to whisper—“I learned a lot using my boat as a torpedo gun boat, and I’d like one of the PTs waiting at Diego.” Matt pursed his lips. The PTs were probably the worst-kept secret in the Alliance. He leaned back in his chair and arched his eyebrows. “Okay.”
    As soon as Laumer stepped away, Adar rose. “Just as Cap-i-taan Reddy has said, that is about it. Thank you for coming. You will receive your orders.” He seemed to be trying to divert further requests, but as soon as Matt stood, Ben Mallory braced him. “So what about
me
?”
    â€œWhat about you, Ben?”
    Mallory eased Matt away from the table. “You’re jumping right down the shark’s throat on this one, sir. You’re going to
need
me—and at least a few of my modern birds.”
    Matt nodded. “And I wish we could take them, though I think
you’d
still need to stay here. But the question is, what would we do with them?”
    â€œWell, you can fly ’em off
Big Sal
if you have to!”
    â€œ
Once
, Ben,” Matt stated flatly. “Just one time. And what then? Where will they land? They can’t set back down on
Big Sal
!”
    â€œWell . . . there’s got to be someplace on the whole damn island of Madagascar—” He looked around and lowered his voice, as if one or two people in the compartment might not know where they were going. “There’s got to be someplace we can set down!”
    â€œBut what if it’s someplace we can’t get to, where we can’t fuel them, where we have to
leave
them!”
    â€œWe wouldn’t leave them in one piece, Captain!”
    â€œI don’t want to leave them at all, damn it!”
    â€œThen take that silly damn thing we put those Jap floats on!” Ben insisted. “It looks weird as hell, but it’ll still be faster than anything else you have, and can carry more ordnance!” One of the P-40s had been damaged,