Read Eagle (Jacob Hull) for Free Online Page B

seventy percent of the Defender -class destroyers, which means most of them are now Hunter -class ships. The second refit program for Crown -class cruisers has only gone through about twenty percent of the ships assigned to it.” Al-shira set the reader down on the table. “The refit for this ship alone cost us well more than we had projected too, so we’ve cut into the budget for operational expenses to finish the job. If the Council and the House don’t manage to put some support behind us, then we are going to be dead in the water long before the Odurans come around to put us there.”
    Jacob’s headache was getting worse. He turned to Leon. “How are the supplies holding up? Lieutenant Burns said something about Tiredel.”
    Leon shook his head. “We’re running short of time on that front as well, Sir. A lot of our suppliers are running short of stock or being forced to increase their prices. Even in the best situation, we’d be facing shortages soon—and we aren’t at our best by a long shot.”
    Al-shira raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying we’re facing war profiteers? Can’t the High Seat look into that sort of thing?”
    A dissatisfied expression fixed itself on Leon’s face. “He can, but it doesn’t seem to be the source of the problem.” He gestured toward the general direction of the conference room. “It actually looks like it is the result of stockpiling by a few prominent local militias. They’ve taken the losses at Tiredel as a sign they need to start stockpiling weapons, and the contractors who normally supply us are being pressured into selling to those groups as well. They aren’t able to keep up with demand, and as a result a lot of our most isolated patrols are running short of material.”
    “Patrols like Tiredel you mean.” Jacob grimaced when Leon nodded, and put a hand over his eyes. “How bad is it there?”
    “Captain Kimonov reported that unless he was resupplied soon, he would be forced to withdraw to the supply base at Richland in the next week.” Leon delivered the information in a flat, neutral tone. “I took the liberty of ordering a freighter out his way as soon as possible, but he’ll most likely meet it on his way back to the base. Hopefully he won’t be absent from his post for long.”
    Ashford snorted again, and Jacob found himself in complete agreement. He closed his eyes for a moment. “Okay. Get orders out to nearby units to cover the area Kimonov has left open as much as they can. Is there any other situation I need to know about immediately?”
    Leon shrugged. “None I am aware of, but as long as the Independents continue to stockpile for their militias, we are probably going to keep running into these kinds of issues.”
    Al-shira caught Jacob’s eye and grinned. Leon had a few ideological blind spots—the man was a staunch Federalist, despite his good points—but he had a valid concern nonetheless.
    Frustrated, Jacob rubbed at his temples with both hands. “So we’re running out of resources for the refits, our patrols are running low on supplies, and the rest of the Navy wants to wait until the Odurans come to burn us from the stars before they will do anything to stop them. Is that an accurate summary?”
    Al-shira and Leon both nodded, and Jacob sighed again.
    “Why does it seem like it would have been easier if I just let the pirates shoot me back in Reefhome?”
    The other two chuckled, and even Ashford cracked a hint of a smile. Jacob leaned forward and smiled when an idea came to him. “All right, here’s what we could do. My operational authority includes the yards here at New Vermont, the Eagle , and a few other areas like Tiredel and Reefhome along the border, right?” The others nodded again, uncertain, and Jacob grinned at them. “Then we are going to have to work with what we have instead of wishing for more.” Al-shira shifted in her seat, and Jacob looked over at her. “Yes, Captain?”
    She smiled. “If you don’t