He sighed and wondered what he would do if Senator Long refused his request to go to Pocal III. Would he obey his new orders? He wasn’t so sure. There was nothing left for him on Gamma Crucis. The world was a burnt-out cinder. Senator Long may talk about one day throwing off the bonds of the Miram Union, but Nelson wasn’t convinced. He wasn’t good at playing this game of pretending to like the Unionists. He couldn’t lick their boots the way the Senator did; he just couldn’t. He might not even have called in his report, but he wanted Colonel Walker and the rest of them dead, and he still held out hope that the Senator might be able to help him with that. That was the only reason he even considered continuing to follow orders.
He hated Colonel Walker; despised the man. The colonel had killed all of the other volunteers on that research moon, destroying any chance the Commonwealth had of ever being free again.
He was still plotting all the various ways he might kill Colonel Walker when he dropped off into an exhausted sleep.
Nelson woke to the beeping of his comm gear. He sat up quickly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he did so. He had slept the night away in the chair and his back and neck were all twisted and sore.
He moved over and keyed in his security code, and the screen lit up. It was the face of the senator. Nelson hadn’t expected that at all. The senator rarely sent his own messages.
Senator Long was tall and slim, his graying hair in stark contrast to his darkly tanned skin. The senator’s thin face and pointed nose filled the screen.
“Lieutenant Nelson, I was sorry to hear about the deaths of your comrades. They died as heroes to the people of the Commonwealth. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten.”
There was a pause and the senator appeared to be shuffling some papers. “I agree that the deserters might return to Pocal III, but I must refuse your request to go there.”
Nelson cursed and nearly knocked the comm gear off of the table. He took a deep breath and began rubbing his temples. It appeared his service in the Commonwealth army had come to an end.
“There are still several possibilities of investigation that must be followed on Redamor. It’s possible that with a liberal amount of money, we might still be able to discover a clue as to where the deserters went.”
Nelson’s hands dropped and he stared at the screen.
“Farther instructions and the appropriate funds will be forthcoming.”
The recording cut off and Nelson sat there, not even noticing. Perhaps I’ll see what the senator has in mind, he thought.
Kill Shot: A Remnant of the Commonwealth, Book Two Page 26