Noble Conflict Read Online Free PDF Page B

famous guardians RJ Wilding and Kristin Jaeger,’ preened Vivian.
    Shit! Kaspar stared at the TV screen, stricken. His heart plummeted. He might have used his parents’ names in his Guardian application interview, but he’d made damned sure not to mention them to anyone else since – not evenDillon. No way did he want special, or even different, treatment because of his parents. But now that cat had well and truly clawed its way out of the bag.
    Brother Simon’s acutely surprised response went unheard as the Guardians in the mess hall burst into ironic cheering. Some dropped to their knees and started ‘worshipping’ Kaspar with cries of, ‘We’re not worthy, we’re not worthy.’ Ford and Ian began flailing their arms around and shouting, ‘Save me, Kaspar. Save me!’ Pauling fluttered his scraggy eyelashes at Kaspar and asked, ‘Can I have your babies?’ and Bryan and Dillon dropped their trousers and asked him to autograph their backsides.
    ‘And thus it begins,’ Kaspar muttered sourly. How he wished that Vivian Sykes could’ve kept her colossal mouth shut.
    And that was just the start.
    A request for a photoshoot with Brother Simon and a one-to-one interview with Vivian Sykes came through within the hour.
    ‘Aw, c’mon, sir. Do I have to do this PR crap?’ Kaspar protested.
    ‘Hell, yes! You better believe it,’ replied Voss. ‘TV laps this stuff up. The good citizens of the Alliance get to see what vicious bastards the terrorists are and what selfless paragons of virtue we are. It reminds them to support us and to give us information. It boosts recruitment too. So if Vivian Sykes asks you to do naked juggling while riding a unicycle, you’ll bloody well do it. Are we clear?’
    After that, the rest of the day’s events left the sight ofDillon’s hairy buttocks as the highlight. The joint interview with Brother Simon was painful, to say the least. Kaspar only spoke when directly addressed, but even so Brother Simon was overly deferential. Brother Simon gushed, Kaspar squirmed. Vivian Sykes flattered and oozed. Kaspar tried to be self-deprecating, but that just made her ooze more. By 1500 hours, he was praying for some fresh terrorist outrage just so he would have an excuse to leave.
    By the time Kaspar hit the sack later that night, his image was plastered all over the place and, as Voss had predicted, they had rushed out a new recruitment advert featuring the reluctant superstar. Kaspar lay in bed, exhausted, and dreamed of Vivian Sykes – but not in a good way.

7
    After one week of being a Guardian, Kaspar was feeling rather nostalgic for melon farming. While the rest of his squad were deployed on regular duties, he was doing his eighth school visit.
    ‘Oh, come on, sir. Please? ’ he pleaded with Voss over the CommLink. ‘I’ve already missed two intelligence briefings and a civil defence exercise. Everyone else is getting up-to-speed tactically and I’m attending coffee mornings and talking to school kids about my combat experience. All three minutes of it.’
    ‘Suck it up, Wilding,’ replied Voss, sympathy entirely absent. ‘We all have our assignments and yours is currently Public Relations. You should be pleased. Media Affairs say that you are really wowing the crowds, particularly the old and ugly demographic.’ The commander laughed heartily at that.
    Kaspar wasn’t going to give up, not without a fight, or a severe whinge at any rate. ‘Sir, they’ve even taken away my gun,’ he complained. ‘They said carrying a real stun rifle into schools was too dangerous, so they issued me with a realistic replica that I can let the kids handle.’
    Voss laughed even harder. ‘You are reaching new heights in the pursuit of non-lethal law enforcement,’ he cackled. ‘They may well offer you a seat on the High Council.’
    Kaspar closed his eyes and visualized giving Voss a stun-rifle suppository.
    ‘Listen, Wilding,’ said Voss, finally getting his laughter under control.