Pledge Allegiance Read Online Free PDF

Vess said, going to the window. “She doesn’t look like much. But she’s been updated with the latest engine technology and we’ve improved her life support systems and weaponry.”
    I was used to commanding much larger vessels but I’d been out of action for a year, so maybe taking command of a smaller craft was the best way to resurrect my captainship. And it was either this or go back to the surface of Iton-3 and spend my life huddled in doorways while the rain poured down. Beggars can’t be choosers.
    “She’ll be fine,” I told Vess. “At least we should be able to get to the survivors without attracting too much attention to ourselves.” Who was going to be interested in an old Avis ship? Even pirates would probably ignore her.
    “Exactly. And that’s another reason why I don’t want the Imperium blundering in with its cruisers and destroyers. This operation should be carried out with the minimum of fuss. Shall we go on board and have a closer look?”
    I nodded. “Sure, why not? I might as well get acquainted with the old bird.”
    “Of course, of course.” He pressed a button on his desk and said, “Velma, could you have my shuttle readied for take-off, please?”
    He led us to a door that opened onto a long corridor. The walls were made of glass, so walking along the corridor made me feel as if I were walking on a bridge amongst the stars.
    We reached a door that opened to reveal a small shuttle bay. The shuttle was almost identical to the one that had brought Baltimore and me here from Iton-3 except it was blue instead of white. A number of technical crew were fussing around the craft, obviously ordered by Velma to get it ready for their boss’s arrival.
    A woman in dark blue technician’s coveralls ran over to Vess. “She’s ready to fly when you are, Mr. Vess.”
    He smiled and nodded. “Excellent. Thank you, Sarah.” He looked at us and gestured to the steps leading up to the hatch.
    Baltimore went first, me close behind. Vess took a seat near a window with all the excitement of a child about to embark on his first space journey. I supposed he was excited; if this mission succeeded, the daughter he had assumed dead was going to be returned to the civilized world after living on an alien planet for a year.
    The old guy had every right to feel excited about that, but I hoped he knew that extracting the survivors from Savarea wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. We had to travel through Horde space to get to the planet in the first place, and once we were there we had no idea if there were any alien forces on Savarea itself. Being a Horde planet, it could be crawling with them.
    Maybe that was why Morrow and Baltimore were so stoic. They knew what lay ahead. And maybe they didn’t relish having a captain who, until an hour ago, had been a drunken gambler living in a slum on Iton-3.
    The shuttle lifted off and exited the docking bay in a manner that was smooth but not as silky smooth as Morrow had managed earlier. I wondered how well Morrow would pilot the Avis class ship. Probably damned well.
    Vess seemed to employ the top personnel in their fields. Morrow was a first class pilot, no doubt about that, and Baltimore would be one hell of a fighter due to her legion training. Vess had said that there were two other crew members on the Avis, and I had no doubt that they would also be experts in their own right.
    But what about me as captain? Vess said I came with glowing references but was he blinded by his daughter’s words? Just as he was over-enthusiastic now, seemingly blind to the hardships a search and rescue operation was going to entail, was he also blind to the fact that even though I’d been a good captain once, I was now out of practice and a possible liability to the mission?
    I just had to hope that I was going to perform at the level expected of me, or at least well enough that I didn’t get anyone killed.
    I watched through the window as we approached the Avis class ship.