Galactic Alliance 3: Honor Thy Enemy Read Online Free Page A

again.”
    Stricklen’s mind was a hazy blur of disconnected thoughts. He felt doubt as he wondered if he had retained his skills as a military Captain; joy as he reminisced over his time aboard the Komodo Dragon ; sorrow when memories of Tasha surfaced; anticipation of once again seeing his furry Kyrra friends; and finally anger as he remembered who and what the Chroniech were.
    Doug carefully watched as the various emotions Ken felt were expressed on his face. Hoping to persuade him, he added, “This is a one time only offer Ken. To my knowledge, the Alliance has never reinstated a retired officer, especially someone retired as long as you’ve been, to the rank they had prior to retirement. They’re offering you a unique opportunity Ken, one I would be hard pressed to turn down if the tables had been turned. To be honest, I thought fleet command had lost their mind. If I were in your shoes I would jump at the offer.”
    “I stand in my own shoes,” Ken said. Still undecided, he bowed his head and stared into his empty glass. In a barely audible voice he said, “I don’t know… I don’t want to leave… we met on the Dragon .” He stopped talking as his empty glass started to shake.
    Doug reached across the desk and put a comforting hand on the shoulder of his old friend. In a soothing voice he said, “I know how much she meant to you Ken. But you can’t live out the rest of your life in mourning for her. Tasha wouldn’t approve of it and I sure the hell know she wouldn’t want you to be sitting here drinking your rum while the Chroniech overran the Alliance.”
    Ken stood up and faced Doug. Anger contorted his face but as he looked into Doug’s calm and genuinely caring eyes he came to the realization that his friend was right. Ken took a deep breath and set the glass down on the desk as he came to a decision. “I won’t ride the Komodo Dragon as a civilian. I will accept the offer and reinstatement to the rank of Captain under one condition: I want to be out there,” he gesticulated toward the ceiling, “fighting those bastards. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines.”
    Doug was relieved. “Agreed. We have very little time. We need to be off-planet by tomorrow morning if we are to meet the Kyrra schedule.”
    “Tomorrow! I’ve got to get The Good Life out of the water and into storage, close up the cabin, and a million other things. I’ll need at least a week.”
    “The space force will take care of putting things in order here. Just put any special instructions you might have on a crystal. A shuttle will land on your beach tomorrow morning at zero eight hundred sharp. I should head back so you can start packing.”
    Outside, the wind had picked up slightly creating an audible hissing noise as it wound its way through the dense forest canopy. Doug stopped, turned around, snapped to attention, and executed a salute. “Welcome back Captain!”
    Stricklen returned the salute, then cast his eyes around. After a moment he asked, “By the way – how the hell did you get here?”
    “I knew you were pretty isolated. The shuttle dropped me off at a private field about thirty kilometers South of here and I used an ATS to drive the rest of the way.”
    Ken stopped and looked around. “They let you use an all terrain scout? You’re a high ranking officer in the space force not a ground pounder.”
    “Rank has its privileges,” Doug replied. Noticing that Ken was still trying to locate the vehicle he continued, “It’s parked a few meters from your garage in your turn around. You know, it’s not much different from the four-wheeler I drove around back home as a teen. I had almost forgotten how much fun it is to go off-roading.”
    Ken extended his hand and as they shook said, “Have a safe trip back Doug. I guess I will see you tomorrow morning.”
    “It’s good to see you again Ken. I just wish it had been under different circumstances.”
    Ken watched Doug’s retreating back as he followed the