The Oncoming Storm by Christopher Nuttall Read Free Book Online Page B

services for the fleet.”
    She looked down at the desk. “Who’s providing onboard security?”
    “Shore Patrol, I suspect,” Davidson said. “If there’s anyone providing it at all.”
    Kat fought down the urge to start screaming. The Shore Patrol was universally loathed among spacers, being neither spacers themselves nor civilian law enforcement. Their normal role was nothing more than patrolling spaceports, pulling drunken spacers out of bars, and providing first responders for certain emergencies. It was far from uncommon for isolated Shore Patrolmen to be beaten by drunken spacers, who would then slip away to their starships and swear innocence when the senior chiefs demanded answers. If Shore Patrolmen were providing boarding parties . . .
    She shook her head in disbelief. Boarding a starship, even if the crew had surrendered, was a tricky job at the best of times. The Shore Patrol weren’t even trained as junior crewmen, let along experienced spacers. There was a reason such tasks were normally left to the Marines.
    “I think that’s something that should be relayed to my father,” she said, although she wasn’t sure what—if anything—could be done with it. Any half-decent PR flack could come up with a dozen excuses that would sound plausible, at least to a civilian. “But . . .”
    She looked up, meeting his gray eyes. “I don’t think my XO trusts me.”
    “So you said,” Davidson replied. “You must be rattled. It’s not like you to jump around.”
    Kat nodded wordlessly. He knew her well.
    Davidson placed his hands on her table, then leaned forward. “You are too young and too inexperienced to be formally assigned command of this ship,” he said. “Your XO—and your other officers—will be aware of it. As your family name is rather well known . . .”
    Kat snorted, rudely. There wasn’t a person in the Commonwealth who hadn’t heard of the Falcone family.
    “. . . they will suspect that strings were pulled to get you command,” Davidson continued. He paused, significantly. “No. They will know that strings were pulled to get you command—a command you didn’t earn. They will be very worried about your competence and well they should be. For all they know, your previous successes came about because of your family name too.”
    “They should have seen me at Piker’s Peak,” Kat said ruefully. “I didn’t flunk out, but . . . I didn’t exactly win any awards.”
    “I don’t think that would reassure them,” Davidson said. “Whenever someone new takes command, even in the Marines, there is a period when everything is out of shape and nothing feels quite right. No one quite trusts the newcomer, particularly if they haven’t served with her or him before. Hell, things change even when the new CO is promoted from the ranks of those already serving within the unit. In your case, it’s worse because you have far less experience than anyone else.”
    Kat nodded. “Even a marine who was promoted as soon as it was legally possible would have the experience of being an infantryman,” she mused. “I didn’t come up from the ranks.”
    “No, you didn’t,” Davidson said. “And your XO did. I don’t blame him for having a chip on his shoulder.”
    “I know,” Kat said. She’d reviewed personnel files until she’d felt her eyes glazing over, starting with William McElney. “He wasn’t even born as a Commonwealth citizen.”
    “That’s a problem that will probably come back to bite us,” Davidson said. “We treat people like him as second-class citizens, no matter their competence.”
    Kat sighed, remembering lessons from a series of tutors. The idea of creating the Commonwealth had caused an almighty struggle in the houses of Parliament, with some families contemplating a whole new series of markets for their goods while others feared the dilution of their power base in the wake of an influx of newcomers. In the end, a compromise had been hammered out,