The next morning after breakfast, Volkov returned to his stateroom and read a book at his desk. Then the trainer stuck his head through the open door.
“I have a present for you, Dmitry.”
“Really? What’s the occasion?”
“Charisma.”
He extended a folded piece of paper.
“What is it?”
“It’s insight from Terry. I had the translator approach him for some ideas, and this is what he came up with.”
Volkov wondered how much the trainer had shared that he’d considered private, but he excused his actions as those of a well-intended friend.
“That was sneaky of you.”
“I thought Terry would be willing to help. He’s more outgoing than Jake, but Terry assured me that Jake’s fond of you and glad to have you on the team.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Remember to practice. The delivery is as important as the words.”
Later that morning, Volkov returned to the screens showing his boss and the other commanders. A good night’s sleep had given him a renewed perspective.
Jake seemed calmer than he’d remembered him, despite his recent dances with mortal terror. Cahill was invigorated, giving credence to the rumors of his new romantic life with the Israeli officer. Even Renard showed a renewed spirit, suggesting he could endure as the fleet’s leader for years to come.
But among the commanding officers, Volkov grasped for his role.
Three ships, three commanders.
There must be three roles.
With tenure, Jake served as the leader. He had grown the fleet from nothing with Renard and had stolen the submarine that Volkov commanded. The American’s lead position was secure.
With the most dynamic ship, Cahill changed roles as needed, serving the others with transport or rescue or taking the lead in railgun attacks. The Australian’s self-assured ease let him shift between his roles like a chameleon changing colors.
But Volkov’s role eluded him.
Since a third ship needed staffing, Renard had hired him for his abilities, despite suffering defeat against his future employer in the Black Sea.
He questioned if he served as a trophy. He wondered if he should see himself as a defeated citizen absorbed into the conquering forces.
Pursing his lips, he forced destructive thoughts from his mind, and he decided to let his success in the mission against Israel define him.
As he did, he enjoyed an epiphany.
“I’m the best commander in this fleet,” he said. “I may be the best in the world.”
“Excuse me?” the translator asked. “You don’t want me to translate that, do you?”
“No, please don’t. But I just realized it. Jake may think he’s the best. Terry may think he’s the best, but shame on me if I don’t think I’m the best. After this week, who could argue?”
The translator shrugged and then translated a conversation as it started.
“So how’s the romance?” Jake asked.
“We’re going to give it a go,” Cahill said. “There’s going to be a lot of travel, but Pierre pays me well enough that we can afford first-class flights. Ariella’s got some leave coming up, and we’re going to try a vacation together.”
“Where?”
“Far away. We’re deciding tonight at dinner. You can help.”
“Good,” Jake said. “I can’t wait to meet her in person.”
“You will.”
The conversation stalled, and then Cahill restarted it.
“You doing alright, mate?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Jake said. “That was a rough mission for me, but I’m over it now. I’ve reviewed my tactics enough times to know that I made smart calls.”
“I’m glad you see it that way,” Cahill said. “You can’t beat yourself up, even if you did make mistakes. But I didn’t see any. You fought a great battle and just had bad luck.”
“Thanks, Terry.”
“Don’t you think so, Dmitry?” Cahill asked.
A shyness crept over him, but he waited for it to disappear. When it did, Volkov surprised himself with the ease he found in expressing himself to his colleagues — his new extended family of heroes in whose ranks he’d etched a permanent belonging.
“You did indeed do an excellent job fighting in this mission. I couldn’t have done better myself.”
“I appreciate it, Dmitry,” Jake said. “First, you came to my rescue. Now you’re reminding me that I fought well.
“You did. You look like you’re secure in knowing this.”
“I am. I’ve put the negatives behind me.”
Volkov considered Jake’s confidence genuine and risked following the dolphin trainer’s advice.
He switched to English and recalled the phrase the trainer had requested from Cahill.
Before Volkov got halfway through his recitation, the Australian turned red and made feeble gestures to suppress his laughter.
“But like Terry said, I scored five submarines to your negative one. That’s a six-point difference, and that’s just too huge to ignore. Therefore, when you see me next, you’ll have to kiss my bare hairy ass and bite me.”
About the Author
After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1991, John Monteith served on a nuclear ballistic missile submarine and as a top-rated instructor of combat tactics at the U.S. Naval Submarine School. He now works as an engineer when not writing.
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ROGUE AVENGER (2005)
ROGUE BETRAYER (2007)
ROGUE CRUSADER (2010)
ROGUE DEFENDER (2013)
ROGUE ENFORCER (2014)
ROGUE FORTRESS (2015)
ROGUE GOLIATH (2015)
ROGUE HUNTER (2016)
ROGUE INVADER (2017)
ROGUE JUSTICE (2017)
ROGUE KINGDOM (2018)
PROPHECY OF ASHES (2018)
PROPHECY OF BLOOD (2018)
John Monteith recommends his talented colleagues:
Graham Brown, author of The Gods of War.
Jeff Edwards, author of Sword of Shiva.
Thomas Mays, author of A Sword into Darkness.
Kevin Miller, author of Raven One.
Ted Nulty, author of Gone Feral.