Blood In the Water Read Online Free PDF

“lady”—bestowed on her by their Imperial allies—at her because it never failed to fluster her. She turned to him with a scolding smile. He was dressed, as always, in what some referred to as his “Sky Priest suit,” a purple hooded cape with embroidered stars flecked across the shoulders. Beneath that was only a simple red kilt, like those worn by Lemurian wing runners. His large silver eyes regarded her from a gray, furry face, and his tail swished slowly behind him, causing the cape to shift. His face was as outwardly expressionless as many humans considered any Lemurian’s to be. They used body language, ear and tail motions, and complex blinking to reveal things that humans relied on eyebrows and very different facial muscles to achieve. A grin was a grin, and ’Cats could even manage a kind of frown, but to most humans, that was it. Sandra knew ’Cats well enough by now to recognize other, subtle expressions, however, and she got the impression that, in spite of his playfulness, Adar was troubled. “I hope I am not intruding,” he added.
    Sandra straightened, feeling somewhat guilty. There was nothing pressing at the moment. All the wounded who’d come aboard
Amerika
had either passed beyond her aid and been buried or burned when the ship touched at Laa-laanti, or were as well on their way to recovery as she and her staff could help them along under the circumstances. Still, she
had
come out here for a brief respite from the moans of the suffering. Even worse than the sounds of pain, though, were those who remained cheerful and appreciative despite their disfiguring or crippling wounds.
    â€œNot at all, Mr. Chairman,” she lied.
    â€œExcellent,” Adar said. “Would you care to walk with me? I do feel inexplicably restless.”
    â€œOf course.”
    They strode aft, beginning to pass the more ambulatory wounded, who took their ease on actual deck chairs that the ship’s original German, and now very mixed, crew had never discarded.
    â€œHaving left the ‘tip of the spear,’ as Cap-i-taan Reddy has been known to refer to the point of contact with the enemy, I do find myself anxious to resume my duties at Baalkpan,” Adar confessed quietly, nodding at those who watched them pass. “But I also find myself unsure how to proceed.”
    â€œJust be yourself,” Sandra answered a little shortly. “You’re a good leader, Mr. Chairman.”
    â€œAdar, please. As always. But as to how good a leader I might be . . . I know that many doubt. Myself, not least among them.”
    â€œI see,” Sandra answered, and she did. Adar
was
a good leader, but he’d also proven both impetuous and indecisive. She’d once ranted at him for a moment of indecisiveness herself when
Walker
’s fate was in the balance—on the heels of his impetuosity. “Very well, Adar,” Sandra agreed and considered. “But why are you talking to me about this? You’ve got a whole staff to advise you.”
    â€œTrue, but none of them speak with Cap-i-taan Reddy’s voice. I have come to rely on his counsel more heavily than any other.”
    â€œI can’t do that either,” Sandra objected.
    â€œBut you know the man and his thoughts well enough to stand in his stead in this instance, I think. I would like to know your opinion of the ‘Union’ Alan Letts has arranged. You’ve read the particulars?”
    Sandra shifted uncomfortably. Matt had very specifically
not
advised Adar too strongly on this subject. Just as he’d practically insisted—finally—that Adar leave the war to him, he’d bent over backward to stay out of the politics of the Alliance.
    â€œOf course I have. Everybody has,” Sandra hedged. She knew most of them by heart. The Articles of Union were very similar to the Constitution of the United States, after all, with a few notable exceptions. Provisions