“Unknown,” Celesta said. “I wouldn’t expect more than a token amount, and then I wouldn’t expect them to actually do much. From what I understand about the treaty agreement we’ve signed onto, neither CENTCOM nor the Ushin expect their fleet to do any real fighting.”

“You’d think they’d be willing to put a bit more effort into liberating their own star system,” Barrett grumbled while rubbing his bloodshot eyes.

“You’d think,” Celesta nodded slowly.

Chapter 17

“Good morning, Director Wolfe.” Jackson looked up in irritation, saw who it was, and just nodded as he continued eating his breakfast. Some people were simply incapable of using his given name apparently.

“What can I do for you?” he asked politely after swallowing.

“I was told you’d want this.” The orderly handed him a sealed hardcopy envelope. “It was from that special analysis you had the Cube running that Danilo brought down.”

“Ah! Thank you.” Jackson placed the envelope beside his tray and continued eating, making no move to open it. The orderly took an awkward step back before turning and walking out, almost looking like he was retreating. Jackson shrugged and kept eating. Although the Pontiac had all her galleys in operation, and Jackson had taken to using the same quarters he’d occupied aboard her sister ship, the Blue Jacket, he’d been taking his morning and afternoon meals in the aft enlisted mess hall. Dinner he still took in the officers’ mess up in the superstructure.

“He served aboard your old ship, that’s why he’s so nervous around you,” Danilo Jovanović said as he sat his tray across from him. “If I’d known you were eating breakfast so late I would have hand-delivered those results.”

“Do you remember which ship?” Jackson asked, thoroughly chagrinned that he didn’t recognize one of his own spacers even if modern starships did house anywhere from five hundred to a few thousand people.

“Apparently he was aboard the Blue Jacket for a short time,” Danilo said. “I think he might have actually been a Marine … he talked about someone named Major Ortiz.”

“That would now be Brigadier General Ortiz of the United Terran Federation Marine Corps,” Jackson said. “Same person, though. I’ll have to talk to him later as there were some interesting events on the old ship that I’d probably like to know if he was involved in. Was there anything interesting in the analysis?”

“Nothing I understood.” Danilo began eating. “I only just glanced at it though.”

Jackson opened the envelope and began reading through the cover sheet summary while his assistant and only real source of companionship aboard the ship ate in silence.