“Don’t be crass, Mr. Phule,” Maxine said, signing the paper in front of her with a flourish and setting the pen aside. “What I have here is a document assigning Mr. Rafael’s loan agreement with me over to you, or more specifically, your Space Legion company. That will negate my interest, not to mention my primary weapon, in taking over this facility. Allow me to walk away from this, and you can renegotiate more favorable payment terms for Mr. Rafael, accept the scheduled payment, or eliminate the debt completely.”
She picked up the paper and extended it toward the commander.
“Well, Captain?” She smiled. “What do you say? Do we have a deal?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Journal #250
Maxine Pruet’s capitulation effectively ended the challenging portion of this assignment. All that remained was the cleaning up of a few details, and, of course, normal guard duty.
Anyone who believes that a cease-fire, surrender, or treaty automatically means the end of hostilities, however, lacks even the shallowest awareness of military history … or even a general history of mankind …
The meeting in Phule’s suite was originally intended as an informal debriefing with his officers. Colonel Battleax came calling, however, with a large bottle of excellent brandy, and the gathering soon took on a more relaxed, social atmosphere.
“One thing I’ll grant you, Captain Jester,” the colonel said as she raised her glass, the most recent of several, in a mock toast. “Things are certainly never dull around you.”
“Hear, hear!” Lieutenant Rembrandt agreed, raising her own glass. She was finally starting to relax from her brief stint as acting company commander, and the combination of the brandy and relief was making her a little owlish.