Operation Chimera Read Online Free PDF Page A

comes to leading a mission into deadly territory…”
    Driscoll exited the lift and left Commander Teague stood there with her mouth agape, watching him go, unable to say anything at all in return.

    Captain Driscoll found his quarters sparse, uninspired, and utilitarian.
    Exactly as he liked them.
    He set his carryall on the bed, then went about emptying it. He hadn’t brought much with him―a few keepsakes that he dotted about, two bottles of single malt he placed in the bottom of a drawer and other assorted belongings he didn’t waste much time on. The two bottles of scotch were his real cargo. His one vice.
    Driscoll kept it semi-dark in his quarters, as was his preference. There was a private head with toilet and shower. He also had a sofa, bed and desk. Compared to some of the ships he’d served on, it was a palace. Compared to others, the Captain’s quarters would never have passed muster.
    However they were the ones he’d picked. He didn’t need fuss. Just everything he wanted at hand, in one place. So here it was.

    “Ma’am?” Ensign Blair asked as she stepped foot on the bridge for the first time since the Academy. Then it had only been a set, a simulation of a standard bridge for training purposes. This… this was the real deal, and it felt different too.
    The alien woman turned around. “Yesss?”
    The Ensign broke into a salute. “Ensign Blair, reporting for duty.”
    “Indeed,” Lieutenant-Commander S’lestra said, managing to keep herself from smiling, though not without some difficulty. “Take the Communicationsss ssstation pleassse. I believe that was your ssspeciality?”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Blair said as she took her seat. The other bridge crew watched for a moment then returned to what they were doing.
    “You’re familiar with this syssstem?”
    Blair nodded. “Yes. It’s a sister model to the one I was trained on.”
    “Exsssellent. Liaissse with Ssstation control, sssee where they’re at. Tell them we ssstill intend on disssembarking azzz hoped.”
    “Yes Ma’am,” Ensign Blair replied, already feeling as though she were made for the job.

    A voice from behind stopped Driscoll in his tracks.
    “Well, Nick, it seems your hair is living up to my name,” Commander Grey said. The Captain turned around to face him. “But still a handsome son-of-a-gun if there ever was!”
    “Well, well, well,” Driscoll said, grinning. He’d been on his way to the bridge and had not noticed Grey emerge from a door to his side just as he was passing. The Captain shook his hand vigorously. “I knew you were aboard, but…”
    Grey raised an eyebrow. “You’re not trying to avoid me, are you?”
    “No, nothing like that.”
    “It’s okay. You can be honest. I’d wanna avoid me, too.”
    Driscoll laughed. “Okay, maybe I avoided you. Must’ve been your appearance. You’re getting more and more feminine. Could be I mistook you for a woman.”
    “I’m still more woman than you can handle,” Grey said.
    Driscoll had known Grey for over ten years. They’d served together aboard the
Divergent
, starting out at the same rank. Driscoll’s ability and skill at the controls of a starfighter had equaled even the great ‘Hawk’ Nowlan. Whilst Grey remained a great pilot in his own right, Driscoll had shot up through the ranks, eventually transferring to the bridge where he soon found himself a Lieutenant-Commander.
    “Why don’t you shoot for the same thing?” Driscoll had asked Grey at the time. “They need more people like us. There are too many silver spoons in command of these ships, not enough warriors. And that’s what we need right now.”
    “I like doing what I do,” Grey had told him.
    Eventually they’d found themselves posted to different ships, though they stayed in contact over the years and even met from time to time. When Driscoll got the call to lead the
Manhattan
, there’d been only one man he wanted to lead the way down in the hangar. To his relief, Commander