Read John Maddox Roberts - Spacer: Window of Mind for Free Online

cruiser size. There were no cruisers there now. The Angel's crew could see that much on the main screen. There were only two ships visible, and both were much too large for the station's docks.
    "What are those two ships?" asked Kiril. She was disturbed at her shipmates' alarmed expressions. The entire crew were crammed into the ship's bridge, trying to second-guess their fate.
    "One is a Navy Task Force Command Ship," said Michelle, who stood next to her. "They've been demobilized since the War ended—too expensive to run. They must've taken this one out of mothballs. The other I don't recognize. It has Satsuma markings, but it's bigger than any line ship I've ever seen. You recognize it, Skipper?"
    "I've just seen pictures," said the skipper. "It's got to be Satsuma's new Supernova, the ship that's going to replace the old Class Ones. The Supernova wasn't supposed to be spacing for another couple of years, though—still in the testing stage."
    " 'Curiouser and curiouser,' " Bert said.
    "If it's Satsuma's only working Supernova, there's only one man they'd put in command of it," said the skipper, her face set in a vicious scowl.
    "Izquierda," said Ham. Kiril glanced at him. His big moon face was as bland as ever, but she knew rage when she heard it.
    "Hey, now, the War's over," Torwald said. Obviously he didn't like the tone of his commanders.
    "Well, lookee here," said Finn. He had zeroed a screen on the nose of the naval vessel. The closeup displayed a plaque of bright gold, bearing a triangle of three silver comets.
    "An Admiral of the Gold," Torwald said. He was im-pressed. "They've never had one of those in peacetime. Think there's a war on?"
    "It's got to be Nagamitsu," said the skipper. "They must have called him out of retirement." Even Kiril knew that name. Nagamitsu had been the most illustrious commander of the War. Toward the end he had been appointed Grand Admiral of Allied Fleets, the only man ever so honored.
    "What is this?" asked Michelle, of nobody in particular.
    "We're about to find out," the skipper said.
    "Maybe there will be fighting!" K'Stin said eagerly. Bert had told Kiril that the Viver race was so obsessed with survival, both personal and racial, that they usually avoided other peoples' fights. These two, however, were in their testing period, an unspecified number of years when young Vivers wandered, seeking adventures and wars to take part in, to prove themselves fit to propagate their species.
    A face appeared on the ship-to-ship screen, accompanied by a voice. Face and voice belonged to a middle-aged woman wearing a navy uniform. At her collar was the insignia of the Security Corps.
    "Freighter Space Angel: You will dock in the main bay of the Task Force Command Ship Sic Semper Tyrannis. You will attempt no communication with any personnel except those wearing Special Security tabs." She touched her own; a disk attached to the collar of her uniform.
    "By authority of Grand Admiral Nagamitsu, acting in direct subordination to the Security Council under the State Emergency Military Bypass Act."
    Torwald gave a low whistle. "The government's cut out the whole military superstructure." He added with satisfaction: "We were right about Nagamitsu."
    "Please place your ship's controls on remote," said the navy woman. "Docking Authority will guide your ship to its berth." Despite her dry, official tone, the woman managed to give a slightly ironic twist to the word "ship."
    "Sic Semper Tyrannis," mused the skipper, lighting one of her noxious cigars. "I served in that old bucket when I was a cadet. We called her the Sick Tyrant in those days."
    "Are we actually going inside that thing?" asked Kiril. "It can't be that big!"
    "One of those bays will hold six ships the size of the Angel," said the skipper. "A TFCS is really a free-roving space station." The bay entrance loomed ever larger in the screen. "Look at that bay." she continued. "Completely empty. I can't believe they're staging all this for us.