Read Eagle (Jacob Hull) for Free Online Page A

often wondered what kind of impression his modified destroyer design had made, after they’d destroyed dozens of craft—including the enemy flagship—in exchange for one of their own. Now he knew. “You’re probably right.” His amusement began to fade as he turned his attention back to the projection. He tapped a control, and the images scrolled back to when the frigates had first entered the system. “Still, spooked or no, the Odurans are starting to probe our defenses again. These frigates might report back that they found a Navy patrol in the system, but it won’t keep them from trying again.”
    Al-shira tilted her head to the side, her own expression becoming serious. “It does look like they were on a scouting mission, then decided to engage the freighter as a target of opportunity. Could they be planning another strike already?”
    Leon shook his head. “No. Not without something to encourage their people to fight. They got hit hard enough the last time they grabbed for us that even their most die-hard militarists are going to think twice before coming in a second time.”
    Jacob frowned. “Of course, they already have something they could use, Captain Nivrosky.” He tapped a control, and the projection shifted along the border to another system. This one was full of ships racing to and fro. Unlike Al-Nasser, several of those ships were military vessels, with at least one cruiser and a squadron of corvettes huddled together near the single cold, habitable world.
    He saw the others’ shift uneasily in their seats when they recognized the space around Tiredel. The reaction was understandable; even Jacob had to shake off an echo of grief and pain at seeing the former battleground. Those feelings lingered as he gestured to the projection. “We still have the former President Banks and all his friends at Tiredel. If President Sessor decides to make an issue of the asylum the Union has granted them, then she’ll have all the political capital she needs to bring the military against us.”
    Al-shira studied the image intently. “Jacob, I’m not sure that’s true.” When Jacob looked at her, she shrugged. “The Oathbound might have been a sore spot, and I won’t doubt the Odurans would love to kill every last one of them, but I haven’t read anything that suggests President Sessor has the kind of influence Representative Gates had among the Oduran cultural elite. Several of Gates’ primary advisors were actually some of her first targets, and she has made a point of criticizing the decision to rush after Banks and his followers without adequate preparation.”
    Jacob turned his attention back to the swarm of activity around Tiredel. “So you’re saying she won’t make an issue out of the situation for a while then.”
    “If ever. By the time she could revive it, the entire insult might have faded from the minds of her people. She’d need something fresh to stir it all up again.”
    Leon nodded. “True enough, but I doubt she’ll have to look far. The Odurans have already become experts at generating ‘provocative incidents’ whenever they need to get at us. They’ll come for us right when they want to.”
    “Which brings us back to the question of how to be ready for them.” Jacob drummed a knuckle on the tabletop, his mind working away at the problem. “A full offensive campaign is probably out of the question as long as we don’t have the support of the Board. How has the funding problem been going?”
    Al-shira winced. “Not well. The Council of Lower Seats has once again decided to put a hold on any votes meant to increase the defensive budget, while the House has more or less united in opposition to any bill allowing us to spend more than we already have.”
    Jacob felt a spark of anger dance within him. “So the refits are going to stall. How much have we already gotten done?”
    She looked down at her personal reader. “We’ve managed to push through the refit program for over