Guardians (Caretaker Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

that without some field experience he wouldn’t
make a very good president. But field experience was not something Dimitri
valued. Marcos had wanted to go to college, to have the experiences it seemed
everyone had there: late nights, final exams, learning about fields other than
mining. However, his father had put him on a P5 RST ship anyway, seeing no use
in a boy who already had a job spending valuable time exploring useless fields
of information.
    People go to college so they can get
a job, he’d said. You have a job. And he’d sent
Marcos to do it. Now Marcos had been here three years.
    “Do you hear me?” Dimitri’s voice was edgy.
    “I’m sorry. What?”
    “I said, you should be at the office. Something
big is happening on your planet, and I’ve got you a seat in the defense meeting
this afternoon. But it’s not going to come into the backseat of your hovercar.
It’s top secret. You need to be there.” Dimitri had a way of making every
sentence final.
    “I’ll be there. I’m heading back now.” He closed
the hovercar door and gestured to his driver. They set off for Saras
headquarters.
    “This shaft is important, though,” he tried to
explain.
    “Marcos, every shaft is important.”
    “But—”
    “Don’t interrupt me. You need to learn
delegation. You need to learn division of duties. You need to learn that being
president isn’t about getting in on all the fun. It’s about making sure that
all the parts of your organization are fitting together into a functioning
machine.”
    “There’s another bonus up,” he tried to say.
    “I’m aware of the bonus. And I expect you to
secure it as you’ve secured the others.” Again, that final tone.
    “I will,” Marcos said, hearing the cold edge that
had crept into his own voice. While he had his father on the line, he jumped at
the chance to ask, “Is there a landing date for Serena’s ship yet?” The girl he
wanted to marry was on her way back to Earth from an Interstellar Study trip,
and she should be landing very soon.
    Dimitri grunted, closing his eyes in irritation. “Keep
your mind on your work, Marcos. I told you I would let you know of any
developments. If you haven’t heard anything, then there is nothing new.”
    “I’m just hoping—” Marcos began, but his father
broke in, changing the subject.
    “Where are your VPs?” Dimitri said. “Theo?
Veronika?”
    Marcos hated the way he said her name. Even now,
eight years since she’d been put on the P5 with Marcos and they’d both been
sent out of the way, Dmitri’s voice held a salacity that turned Marcos’
stomach. “They’re out on daily checks.”
    “Ah. Well.” He could see that Dimitri was
disappointed, and he was glad his mother was not on the call. “You’ll be at
that meeting, Marcos.”
    “I will,” Marcos said again.
    “Message me when it’s over. I want to know what’s
discussed.” The screen went blank. His father gave no goodbye.
    The hovercar stopped at Saras headquarters and
Marcos knew he should go right up to his office, but instead he slipped out to
the south shop to see what progress Cayle was making on the P5.
    The sleek little ship looked out of place in the
big shop, surrounded by earthmovers and drill rigs. Cayle tossed him a wave
from atop a twenty-foot rockhammer and Marcos felt a ripple of annoyance.
    Cayle must have seen it on his face, because he
hurried down and rushed into an apology.
    “Sorry, boss, but Theo says they need that hammer
for the new shaft and if it’s not ready by the end of the day, I’ll be drivin’
it instead of fixin’ it.”
    Marcos never acknowledged apologies. He’d learned
that from his mother. Acknowledgment of bad behavior meant its acceptance.
    “How long on the ship, Cayle?”
    Cayle shook his head slowly. “Well, there’s no
tellin’. I’ve got the grunge cleaned out of the engine, mostly, but I still can’t
get that YEN drive to fire up, and I haven’t had time to machine new rods yet.
With my