“Skipper!”

It wasn’t often Lucas Moody found himself rushing to keep up with his somewhat shorter commanding officer, but this was one of those times.

“Sir, I need a moment–”

“We’ve got a crew briefing, Major. I’m short on time here.”

“Hold on a second, old man,” Lucas said assertively. He pulled on Hunter’s arm to slow him down and get his attention. The Captain looked both impatient and terribly nervous.

“What exactly is going on here, sir? We’re not even five years out of flight school. You’re five pounds of officer wearing a hundred pounds of brass, and you’re about to bring a room of nearly seven hundred people to attention! Now I realize we scored a few touchdowns flying the Jacks, but all this?” Moody gestured at the spotless metal walls of the corridor around them. “This ship should be under the command of a guy old enough to be our grandfather!”

“I’m technically not at liberty to discuss it, Moo.”

“You’ve been ordered to keep quiet?”

“Negative. Just encouraged.”

“What is all this anyway? Captains normally do this kind of briefing on the intraship.”

Hunter looked even more impatient. “I have some co-stars in the flight bay I can’t put on video, Moo. This isn’t just about a briefing. This is about making a statement to everyone watching.”

“Including–”

“Our enemies, wherever they might be.”

Moody took a deep breath and exhaled. His urgency had abated somewhat. “With all due respect sir, if I’m going to lead Second Paladins into harm’s way, I need to know we’re all on the same page here. I’m betting the rest of the Jacks are going to agree.”

Hunter hesitated. He knew well the difference between Moo’s expression during a party in a bar and the look he wore now. This was their business, and if he couldn’t have his senior staff’s trust...

“This stays with us. Understand?” Hunter locked gazes with the Marine officer. Moo nodded attentively.

“There’s been a schism in the upper Skywatch ranks over the past three years. Half the flag officers are convinced Fleet isn’t doing enough to prepare for hostilities along Gitairn. The other half have been spending time and budgets painting the first group as alarmists and trying to sabotage their plans. It all came to a head right after the last council election and the appointments to replace two key members of Joint Supreme Command.”

“I remember reading quite a bit about that,” Lucas said quietly.

“Open war broke out on the council floor, and the split vote forced the highest-ranking ally of the so-called “alarmists’ into early retirement. All the officers that had publicly supported him were singled out by the opposing flag officers. Most were stripped of their commands. Skywatch lost almost 40 Captains in a matter of a few months. It got so bad some of their ships were decommissioned, all to prove a point. The cooler heads at Fleet need to gain ground and also need to avoid anyone likely to be a target for the more numerous “anti-alarmist’ faction. Unfortunately, that means pretty much everyone above the rank of lieutenant.”

“And you’re the new poster boy.” Moo’s expression lit up as he assembled the puzzle pieces. “No wonder they promoted you so fast!”

“It’s why they promoted all of us so fast.” Hunter replied. “This plan’s been underway for two years. What we did with the squadron earned us just as many enemies as friends, and now we’re right smack in the middle of the spotlight. Everything this ship does, good or bad, is going to be used against us. I’ve been advised to get as far away from the Core Systems as possible to avoid saboteurs and spies until I can hammer this crew into a team.”

“Skywatch flag officers plotting sabotage against one of their own ships?”

Hunter nodded. “It’s gotten that bad. There are two people at Fleet I can trust, and one of them might be aboard the missing ship we’ve been ordered to locate.”

“I’m sorry I asked, sir.”

“Now you know why I requested you and the others, Major. There may be people aboard this ship with orders to kill us. I need officers I can trust.”

Moo’s expression hardened. “You need to tell the others.”

Hunter nodded and put his hand on the taller marine’s shoulder. A wordless exchange said everything the two brothers-in-arms needed to say. They both headed for the flight bay.