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experiment. I was tired of Earth, anyway.
    “Admiral,” I began, “I’ve got a proposition for you.”
    We’d sat down together to a sumptuous meal of barbecued air-swimmers. They’d been frozen and specially imported from the Eden system. Rank did have its privileges.
    Newcome looked up with an alarmed expression on his face. He was a former RAF officer of the British air force. He was sixty-one years old, and his pink skull and jowls were frosted with white hair.
    When Crow had taken over and declared himself emperor, he hadn’t pulled off the coup alone. He’d had the tacit approval of Earth’s major militaries. Newcome had been in that collaborative group. He’d advanced rapidly in the Imperial forces, eventually moving up to flying ships in space.
    Many of our Star Force officers had come from various national naval or aviation backgrounds, as Newcome had. There was plenty of argument to go around as to which group did better in space. I was of the opinion that naval personnel were more suitable to flying large ships or formations, while air personnel fit in better with our fighter squadrons. Whatever the case, Newcome was a rare bird in that he’d survived both physically and politically during the two recent upheavals in government.
    Some people on my staff, notably Miklos, thought I was a bit crazy to accept him into Star Force. After all, we’d fought a battle at the Tyche ring less than a year ago. But we were both human, and in the end I believed that put us on the same side. More importantly, he’d come to terms with me and been instrumental in causing Imperial Earth to fall with very little in the way of civilian death and destruction. In a way, I felt I owed him for that huge favor—we all did.
    “A proposition, you say?” asked Newcome cautiously.
    Like so many of my underlings, he’d learned to play his cards one at a time, never showing me what he had until he knew how things were going to go. He didn’t state his opinions until he knew mine. That wasn’t to say that he’d never disagreed with me, but he was a clever man who had always chosen his battles carefully.
    “That’s right Admiral, are you interested?”
    Newcome craned his long neck around and looked down the table at his junior officers, who sat in a row on his side of the table. Regular Star Force staffers like Jasmine were on my side.
    I could tell right off he wasn’t going to get any support from his underlings. Every captain and commander feigned great interest in their food, which was believable enough, since the air-swimmers were excellent tonight. The flavor reminded me of a lighter version of duck, with a hint of escargot thrown into the mix. I loved it.
    “Admiral, do I have your attention?” I asked.
    “Oh yes, of course, Colonel. Please excuse me. I was just wondering if any of my staff members had any idea what you were proposing.”
    “Details first, eh? No commitment without information? I understand that strategy, and I approve. What I’m asking is if you wish to command a flotilla under me—no, that’s too grand of a name. Let’s call it a task force- probably consisting of no more than a single carrier and a dozen support ships, along with several transports.”
    If anything, the admiral seemed more flummoxed than before. I grinned at him.
    “I—I don’t know what to say, sir,” he said.
    “Stop worrying, man!” I said, laughing. “I’m not Crow. This isn’t some kind of setup that ends with your head on a pike. I’m just asking if you’re up for an adventure in space as my exec.”
    Newcome laughed nervously. It wasn’t that he was a cowardly man, I knew that. But Crow had traumatized all his people. They’d never known when the wrong answer could mean the end of their careers- and possibly their lives.
    “In that case, I’d love to join you,” he said. “Count me and my staff at your service, Colonel Riggs.”
    Finally, his people appeared alarmed. I smiled at that. I could tell