Earth Star. Janet Edwards

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СКАЧАТЬ only question is whether we evacuate people as soon as Ark is ready, or whether we wait. We’ve gone up to 49.3 per cent threat level, but evacuating the entire planetary population on the basis of one small sphere that’s doing nothing seems excessive and has political implications. Announcing the arrival of aliens is likely to cause significant public concern.’

      Colonel Torrek smiled. ‘That’s putting it mildly. High Congress won’t like an announcement, but they may have to accept it. The General Marshal says he’ll back me all the way rather than risk the civilian population of an entire planet.’

      He sighed. ‘Commanding the Earth solar arrays was supposed to be a quiet retirement job, but first I get a solar super storm and now aliens. I’ll need an extra week in a rejuvenation tank after this. If you can find any evidence the aliens have been to Earth before, Jarra, it might give us some clue whether they’re friendly or hostile. I’d be grateful for anything, because I’m making decisions blind.’

      ‘They may have been here before, but no records were made or they’ve been lost. We can only check through what records still exist.’ I frowned. ‘Leading pre-history experts won’t like a Foundation course student telling them what to do.’

      ‘Then get rid of them and replace them with people who realize the survival of humanity is more important than their egos,’ said Colonel Torrek.

      ‘You’ll need to make Jarra a Major if she’s taking over as History team leader,’ said Nia Stone. ‘Her team wouldn’t take a Captain seriously after having a Major in charge of them. Promoting her would also make the Artemis situation slightly less embarrassing. I’m told that when she walked into Orientation Hall 1 earlier today, every officer there, including Commander Shirinkin, reacted as if the General Marshal had arrived.’

      I gave a shocked gasp of understanding, and everyone looked at me.

      ‘Sorry, sirs. It’s just I’d been wondering why everyone kept madly saluting me. It makes sense now.’ I grinned. ‘They weren’t saluting me, they were saluting the Artemis!’

      Colonel Torrek laughed. ‘Only eleven living people are entitled to wear the Artemis, so most of my officers haven’t seen it before. Hopefully, they’ll calm down in a few days time, but Nia’s right.’

      He swapped to a formal Military manner for a moment. ‘Captain Jarra Tell Morrath, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Major. Congratulations.’

      I gave him a dazed salute. Nia Stone went across to a shelf, picked something up, and handed it to me. It was a set of insignia for my new rank.

      ‘How many field promotions have I given out today?’ asked Colonel Torrek.

      ‘I’ve lost count,’ said Nia Stone.

      ‘Either twenty-four or twenty-five,’ said Leveque, ‘depending whether you count Jarra’s promotions as two separate ones or combine them. I’m sure Command Support will save effort by sending it through channels as a single promotion.’

      ‘This must be the highest number of field promotions handed out in one day since the Thetis chaos year,’ said Colonel Torrek, ‘and my chain of command still breaks every possible rule of seniority.’

      Nia Stone smiled. ‘It certainly does. I’m currently giving orders to a General out in Kappa sector. Very polite orders of course.’

      Colonel Torrek glanced at her. ‘If General Hiraga gives you any trouble, Nia, tell her I’ve had to create one of the largest command structures in history within hours. If she thinks she could do better, I’d be delighted to hand over command of the Alien Contact programme to her.’

      Nia Stone shook her head. ‘You aren’t going to escape from this, Riak. If the General Marshal wanted a member of his General Staff to take over from you, he would have sent one within the first day.’

      Colonel Torrek groaned. ‘Why did he leave me in command?’

      It was more a complaint than a question, but Leveque answered it anyway. ‘Because you handled things too well during the first few hours. It’s always a mistake to replace a good commanding officer in the middle of a crisis situation. The General Marshal knows you’ve a reputation for keeping your head under pressure, which is precisely what’s needed here. Acting quickly and decisively is much easier than patiently waiting and doing nothing.’

      ‘It certainly is.’ Colonel Torrek returned his attention to me. ‘Jarra, you weren’t just called in because of the History team. I …’ He broke off, seemed to hesitate, and then glanced across at Nia Stone. ‘It’s probably best if you handle this, Nia.’

      She nodded. ‘Jarra, Fian, we’d like you both kept fully informed about the tactical situation, so we’ve put you in the same accommodation area as the Attack team. If there’s anything you think I should know, or you have any problems, please contact me at once.’

      Colonel Torrek put down his plate at this point and stood up. ‘I’m going to bed. Nia, you have command. Fian, Jarra, you were staring longingly at the desserts earlier. Please take some with you.’

      We all scrambled to our feet as Colonel Torrek left the room, and then Fian and I made a confused and undignified exit carrying two plates of cake. I was puzzled by that last exchange between Colonel Torrek and Nia Stone. There’d been something odd about it that …

      Fian interrupted my train of thought. ‘You’re a Major now. I’m a Captain.’

      ‘Yes. Does that bother you?’

      He was frowning. ‘I was just wondering. Are different ranks allowed to …?’

      I worked out what he meant and giggled. ‘Fian, over 90 per cent of Military are born into Military families. Where do you think all the little Military come from? You heard the Colonel say that Commander Leveque and Commander Stone are married. Do you really think Twoing contracts and marriages end every time someone gets promoted?’

      ‘Oh, that’s all right then.’

      Despite his words, he still seemed worried about something. We went back to our quarters, put the cakes on the table, and he gave them a depressed look.

      ‘Fian, what’s bothering you?’ I asked.

      He sighed. ‘It just keeps getting worse. First, you turn out to be a Military Honour Child, with a Colonel for a grandmother. Next, you get the Artemis. Now you’re a Major in the Military, with Commanders and Colonels eagerly wanting your expert advice, while I’m just a clueless civilian interrupting to tell them things they don’t want to hear.’

      ‘You’re a Military Captain yourself, Fian. Why haven’t you mentioned this famous great-grandfather of yours before?’

      He sighed. ‘My great-grandfather got in a lot of trouble with the Military. They exiled him to Hercules, where he helped found the University with a group of …’

      He broke off for a second. ‘They’re obviously pulling in people so fast for the Alien Contact programme, that Military Security hasn’t had time to do background checks and find out I’m Jorgen Eklund’s great-grandson. Now they know, I’ll probably get thrown off the base, or put in prison.’

      I shook my head. ‘I don’t believe Colonel Torrek would blame you for something your great-grandfather did, and he certainly wouldn’t СКАЧАТЬ