We hope you all have had a great week and escaped the Ides of March unscathed. With the weekend upon us, we are releasing Chapter 2 of “Bonds of Orion” to our mailing-list subscribers. If you are interested in reading these free pre-release chapters, you may subscribe using the handy form in the sidebar. You will also get “The Taking of Romeo Nine” as a free gift!
Chapter 3 will be released next weekend.
Please feel free to discuss Chapter 2 with your fellow readers in the comments!
I’ve been thinking about this chapter and I think a little more depth on why why Kris has such a reputation to the CEF. It seems that enough time has passed for the CEF grapevine to have reconstructed that the mysterious colonial client of the grand speaker with no past was taken off a slaver, by the Arizona, with her talent explaining the why of the patronage and the precise how it was discovered being left to the imagination. This then explains some of the shadows in her record and why she has not been used for PR, beyond being a colonial. It seems to me that the primary problem that the CEF in general, outside the aggressive successful risk taker with an overly long casualty list flack, would have with her would therefore stem from the fact that Narses did not push through, or even make a noticeable effort for, what should haves been, on the surface at least, a near rubber stamp senatorial cross after Outbound Station. This failure would into turn suggest a lack of confidence on Narses’ part, perhaps for more reason than anti colonial bias and a refusal to expend political capital. This would, in turn, underscore the meaning of Pren-talien’s gesture of confidence.
Thanks, Edward. That is very insightful and you are pretty much spot on. Some elaboration may well be in order, especially in regards to Narses’ attitude here. So yes, PrenTalien’s gesture of confidence in Kris is also a veiled way to give CNO the the finger.
It seems to me that the key point in this is that Narses did not even muster enough effort to make it clear that it was a matter of political resistance not lack of confidence. Though considering the circumstances the question would quickly be asked how an ensign with no past could have managed to make political enemies at that level, which would have in turn have meant that Kris would likely had gotten the cross, and Narses would have had to expend political capital.
This is by far the best description of Rafe Huron that I’ve ever read. “Huron’s views on what was out of school and what wasn’t were a trifle elastic” Lol!
I’m enjoying these chapters. Thanks guys!