The Fleet by John Davis Read Free Book Online Page A

on the line for me and I plan on waiting on them to get back.
Personally. I don't leave people behind.”
    “But you
wouldn't be leaving anyone behind, dear, you would...” Cambria
began to reply.
    “The answer is
no.” Dalton reaffirmed with sternness.
    His harsh
words led to several moments of deafening silence. Both Dalton and
Cambria looking out across the stars.
    “What about
Adam?” she asked.
    “Yep, I've
heard from him and we have a plan in place.” Dalton replied.
    “Look, I
wasn't trying to leave anyone behind alright? I'm sorry.” she
admitted.
    “Don't have to
be sorry. I know you weren't. I just need you to understand that
things have to run differently now. We've had too many years of
leaders who cast off soldiers instead of leading by example. I plan
to be different.” Dalton admitted.
    “I know you
do.” Cambria said with softness.
    “It may seem
like a small thing, waiting on these two to get back. But to them,
it isn't. To the crewmen in and out of this bridge, it isn't.
They'll all speak of it to others and that carries on down the
line. It lets the grunt with a rifle in his hand know that I care
about him or her as a soldier. Which I do.” Dalton said.
    “I know you
do. You're a good man, Dalton James.” Cambria said.
    “Yea,” he
replied. “Too damn good.”
    “Oh really?”
she asked with a grin.
    “You need to
know that when we get established on Second Glimmeria, I plan to
hand the reigns over to someone else.”
    “You plan to
do what?” Cambria asked in a very questioning tone.
    “This good guy
deal, it ain't me. I'd rather be knee-deep in zombies with a bottle
of hootch in one hand and a shotgun in the other.”
    “Dalton, you
need to think about this. You have a chance to restart a
civilization of people the right way.”
    “I'm going to
start us off the right way,” Dalton said, finishing off what little
whiskey remained in his glass. “Then I'm going to hand the keys to
people I trust and help clean this system of infected. One damn
planet at a time.”
    “Oh.”
    “What's the
matter?” Dalton asked.
    “I just,”
Cambria said with a slight pause. “I just saw us getting settled
in. Maybe starting a family.”
    Her words
seemed to sting his buzz away. Something he'd thought of himself,
though no man is truly ready to have that important talk about
it.
    “Truthfully,”
Dalton admitted. “I could see myself settling down with you and
starting a family,” he added. “But this is something I have to do
first. I have to make sure the world our kids grow up in is
safe.”
    “I
understand.” Cambria replied.
    “It's what I
do,” he said. “If I send a group of soldiers out there, I can't
guarantee they'll get it done. If I go out there myself, I'll find
a way to get it done.”
    Cambria
understood.
    His way of
life – his smuggling and putting together plans on the fly, they
are one of the things she fell in love with. Dalton was like a lion
who felt caged. One that smelled of liquor and lust. He was truly a
good man with sincerity in his heart. He'd go a long way in ridding
the system of infected, if it came to that. She trusted him. She
loved him. And Cambria would follow him to the end, no matter
what.
    “I love you.”
she replied with a grin.
    “I love you
too, babe,” Dalton said. “I'm gonna give you that life you deserve,
I promise you that. I just want you to be safe when you're standing
up, day after day, fixing this old hound dog meals and cleaning
house.”
    “Oh God,
really?” Cambria asked with a bit of giggling.
    “Hey, if you
are offering who am I to turn it down?”
    “I meant
children, you lug!” she replied.
    “Having
children means bedding you down. I'm alright with that.”
    “WOW.”
    “Hey, I'm
known for my skills when it comes to shagging.” Dalton boasted.
    “Dear, the
term shagging died out with the first Glimmerian War.” Cambria
replied.
    “I coined it
and I'll decide when it dies out.” Dalton said with a grin.