So Aikens fought against my people, Vorgens said to himself.
The Star Watchman read the details of the record. Aikens was a junior officer then. and he did not see action on the planet where Vorgens’ family lived.
Stiff, he doesn’t think very highly of my people.
Vorgens read on. There were two other major battles in Aikens’ record. His first action as a senior commander was a daring attack on the capital planet of the Saurian Federation. Vorgens recalled from his history courses that the Saurians had attempted to withdraw from the Terran Empire. Aikens’ raid on their capital was the blow that collapsed them.
Vorgens scanned past scores of minor skirmishes, and then found the third major battle on the brigadier’s record. It was against a Komani clan that was raiding a Terran planet. Aikens was in charge of the garrison. He had been awarded the Legion of Courage medal for his successful defense of the planet.
The citation that accompanied the medal read, in part, “For heroically standing his ground in the face of overwhelming enemy superiority in numbers …”
So that’s what he’s up to, Vorgens thought. He wants to repeat the tactics that won the medal.
Vorgens flicked off the computer and leaned back in the chair before the control console. The record had made many things clear—Aikens’ immediate dislike of Vorgens, and the brigadier’s stubborn insistence on standing his ground and facing his enemies, no matter what their number and advantage.
Only one thing was not clear: what could Star Watch Junior Officer Vorgens do to correct the situation?