Relentless by Jack Campbell Read Free Book Online

to go to Kalixa then.”
    Kila shot him an ugly look as Captain Caligo chimed in once more. “We’re one fleet. We all believe in the same things. Arguments like this only serve the goals of the enemy by driving us apart.”
    That brought many more nods of approval. Geary couldn’t find fault with Caligo’s words, either, and for some reason they even shut up Kila, who finally subsided.
    “Are there any other questions?” Geary asked dryly.
    There weren’t, and the meeting ended in a flurry of images vanishing and the room apparently shrinking back to normal dimensions again.
    Captain Duellos lingered for a moment. “I have to confess I was starting to wonder why we hadn’t headed out of Dilawa before now.”
    “I needed to have my head pounded with a brick,” Geary admitted.
    “Ah, I see. How fortunate that you had Captain Desjani handy for that task.”
    Desjani gave Duellos an annoyed look. “Don’t you have better things to be doing right now, Roberto?”
    Duellos nodded, then smiled. “Call me if you ever need another brick, Tanya.”
    “I’ll do that. He’s got a hard head. I bet you’ve saved up quite a supply of bricks so they’ll be handy for arguments with Kila.”
    “She’s not worth our time,” Duellos said dismissively. “I only speak with her when duty requires it.”
    Geary grimaced in response. “I’m just glad she shut up before I had to outright order her to do that.”
    “Even Kila couldn’t object to what Caligo said.”
    “Yes, she could’ve,” Desjani insisted. “Even the blandest statement can be twisted. I was surprised she accepted it so quietly.”
    Duellos pursed his lips in thought. “That’s a point, but you’re implying that Kila and Caligo have some sort of agreement. They don’t socialize, I don’t know of anyone who’s even seen them together except in meetings like this one, and they’re not exactly soul mates.”
    “I won’t argue that,” Desjani conceded.
    “How well do you know Captain Kila?” Geary asked.
    Desjani shrugged. “I’ve had little contact with her, but that’s been by choice based on what I’ve heard from friends. And I’ve heard plenty.”
    “What did your friends say?”
    Another shrug. “They say that Kila’s bitch-switch is locked into the ‘on’ position and comes with a power-boost setting that activates at the slightest provocation.”
    Geary managed to convert his laugh into a cough. “That sounds like good justification for avoiding her.”
    “As well as an accurate description,” Duellos observed.
    “How did she make rank with a personality like that?”
    Desjani gave Geary a skeptical look. “Are you serious? Her personality only comes into play with people junior in rank to her, or with peers who are rivals for promotion. As far as her superiors are concerned, she’s always as fine as a micron filter.”
    “Oh.” It had been a dumb question. He’d encountered a few people like that in his career a century ago, and somehow wars usually managed to avoid causing the loss of such individuals.
    “So you can see,” Duellos continued, “that Kila isn’t the sort to buddy up to a bland sort of officer who can do nothing for her ambitions. Caligo is the sort of officer that Kila snacks on for fun.”
    “That doesn’t mean they couldn’t end up in bed together,” Desjani pointed out.
    “Ouch.” Duellos made a pained face. “I know you meant it metaphorically, but now I have that image in my head. Oh, please, make it go away. By your leave, Captain Geary, I have to go take a shower.”
    After watching Duellos’s image vanish, Geary shook his head at Desjani. “I’m glad you two are on my side.” He held up a hand as Rione started to leave. “Can you wait a moment, Madam Co-President?”
    Rione stopped, her eyes going from Desjani to Geary. “I thought you two might want to be alone.”
    Desjani’s eyes narrowed, and the corners of her upper lip curled to bare her teeth. “Perhaps Co-President