The Commander Read Online Free PDF

lights and sliding door gave her a bit of reassurance. Everyone feels safe around a minivan , he thought. “Go on in and take a seat. I’ll open the hangar.”
    “Where are we going?” she asked, looking at the shuttle suspiciously. It was obvious she was not familiar with the aviation industry. Anyone with a pilot’s license could have told her the shuttle wasn’t from this planet.
    “I want to show you where the gold came from.”
    “Is it a hidden mine or something? Is that what you found?”
    “Sort of.”
    He coaxed her into the shuttle and got her situated in the co-pilot’s seat.
    “You sure it’s okay if I sit here?” she wanted to know. “I’m not a pilot or anything.”
    “It’s not a problem, I promise. Sadie , could you take us to Moonbase One, please?”
    “Course set,” Sadie answered, sounding smug as Annie’s eyes grew wide.

Same Day—Population 2
    Luke gave Annie a moment to adjust while they stood in the center of the Moonbase hangar. He wondered if he’d had the same look yesterday.
    During the thirty-minute flight to the moon he briefly explained what he’d learned from Sam. She didn’t argue with him, just looked at everything with an awed expression. Luke knew how she felt.
    After they touched down inside the hangar Sadie opened a panel on the side console and instructed Luke to take the enclosed earpiece. It was identical to the one Sam had given him. “Take her to the training room before you give her that,” Sadie recommended.
    A quick tour through the Moonbase ended at the training room. Luke felt uncomfortable for what was about to follow.
    “Annie, I’m going to introduce you to George. He’s a computer that runs the place for us. George, this is Annie Daniels. She’s our…uh…new finance director.”
    “Have you given her the translation device?” George asked.
    “Not yet,” Luke replied.
    “Not yet, what?” Annie asked. “What was that voice?”
    Luke handed her the earpiece. “That was George. This might hurt a little, but after you put this in your ear you’ll be able to understand what George is saying.”
    “Like a universal translator? Like on Star Trek ?” She looked eager.
    “Yeah. Kind of like that.”
    “Okay.” Without hesitation Annie took the device and stuck it into her ear.
    Luke winced, feeling guilty. The pain he’d been hit with yesterday was no joke.
    After a few seconds she smiled. “Whoa! That was weird. I can’t even feel it now.”
    “Really?” Luke was glad but astonished. “That’s it? It didn’t hurt even a little?” It didn’t seem quite fair that his transition was so painful.
    “Nope, not at all.”
    “George, why was that?” Luke asked the ceiling.
    “Miss Daniels experienced a normal transition, Commander. Sadie had the opportunity to examine her more closely during the flight here. Accordingly, she was able to adapt the device more specifically to her needs.”
    “Is that George?” Annie asked excitedly. “He’s the one you were talking about?”
    Luke nodded. “That’s right.”
    “Hi, George. I’m Annie Daniels. Nice to meet you.”
    “My pleasure Miss Daniels. Welcome to Moonbase One.”
    “Thank you, George. Please call me Annie. So you gave Mr. Blackburn all that gold?”
    “Indirectly, that’s true. Sam was the one that provided it, locally. But it was my determination that bullion is a suitable currency in your culture.”
    Annie threw Luke a tentative glance. “Yeah, bit of a problem the way you did it, but I think I can sort it out; now that I know what’s going on.”
    “Seriously?” Luke asked. “So, I take it you’re in?”
    Annie smiled, brimming with excitement. “Are you kidding? This is a whole lot cooler than working with those guys at Royal Deutsche. Why does George call you Commander?”
    “I’m kind of afraid to ask. He started that once Sam left.”
    “George?” Annie asked. “What’s up?”
    “Annie, Commander Blackburn is the senior military officer for