Blood Impulse

Part 10.4 - NEGOTIATING SURRENDER

Homebound Sector, Haven System, Base Oceana

After the alarms silenced, talk spread quickly on Base Oceana. Only minutes after the Singularity's reappearance, there were a dozen rumors explaining her angry presence. Most blamed it on a new coat of paint finally refreshing the old ship's looks. The other few muttered something about a demon and then refused to comment on the topic at all.

Alise Cortana was not sure what to think. Regardless of the why or how the ship had returned, it had, and now she was going to have to serve out that damned assignment. She was walking off the observation deck to get her duffel when the maintenance worker in front of her abruptly stopped.

"Bloody hell. I don't believe this," he said, throwing out an arm to halt his compatriots. He lowered his tone, seeing someone approach. "The fuckin' Prince is already aboard."

One of the other maintenance workers winced noticeably. "We'll be damned lucky if he doesn't decapitate anyone while he's here."

The mutters didn't stop there. They continued as curious crowds lined the halls of Base Oceana, snapping to attention as the Fleet Admiral and his cohort passed.

Alise Cortana barely caught a glimpse of them from where she stood in the crowds. There were four: an engineer and three officers, led by the Admiral himself if the rank stripe on his uniform jacket was any indication. They moved purposefully by, paying the onlookers no heed as they headed for the secure part of the station.

Admiral Gives was not in the mood to be delicately maneuvered. He headed straight General Clarke's office with no interest in obliging the bureaucracy. The guards stationed at the entrance to the secure part of the station made absolutely no move to challenge him or any of the people accompanying him. In fact, they made quite sure to be out of his way, recognizing the silver pins on the collar of his uniform.

At the General's office, Admiral Gives knocked twice on the door and then walked in, not waiting for a response. Three other men were already in the room, politicians by the looks of their expensive suits. They stared at him in surprise. "We are in the middle of a meeting!"

They said that like he was supposed to care. Admiral Gives lowered his tone a fractional degree, "Get out."

That was more than enough to turn their surprise into outright horror. They nearly tripped over themselves in their rush to leave.

Clarke just sighed, watching the door slam shut behind the Council members. "I see you've returned, Admiral." Predictable. "You always did have a knack for bad timing." It was a special sort of gift that made him a nightmare to his superiors, but especially talented at his job. "I just spent the last two hours trying to convince those Councilmen to put you up for the promotion over Reeter. You are not helping by barging in here and threatening them."

Again, he said that like Admiral Gives was supposed to care. "I was unaware I had threatened anyone." He had given those conniving politicians a simple command.

"Admiral, you ought to know that these days your presence is considered a threat. When you walk into a room, people get scared..." Clarke huffed, his breath rattling in his aging lungs. "Never mind." It was clear that the Fleet Admiral simply didn't care. Besides, it was because the worlds feared Admiral Gives that he became so useful. "Why are you here?" Clarke asked him, electing to ignore the three crewmen behind him.

Admiral Gives took the folder of evidence from Lieutenant Gaffigan and tossed a picture of the missile casing down onto the General's desk. "We found that wedged into the Singularity's bulkheads. It belongs to the Flagship Olympia."