• Complain

Elizabeth Moon - Change of Command

Here you can read online Elizabeth Moon - Change of Command full text of the book (entire story) in english for free. Download pdf and epub, get meaning, cover and reviews about this ebook. genre: Science fiction. Description of the work, (preface) as well as reviews are available. Best literature library LitArk.com created for fans of good reading and offers a wide selection of genres:

Romance novel Science fiction Adventure Detective Science History Home and family Prose Art Politics Computer Non-fiction Religion Business Children Humor

Choose a favorite category and find really read worthwhile books. Enjoy immersion in the world of imagination, feel the emotions of the characters or learn something new for yourself, make an fascinating discovery.

Elizabeth Moon Change of Command

Change of Command: summary, description and annotation

We offer to read an annotation, description, summary or preface (depends on what the author of the book "Change of Command" wrote himself). If you haven't found the necessary information about the book — write in the comments, we will try to find it.

Rejuvenants fear the backlash caused by bad drugs; they want to ensure that nothing interferes with their pursuit of long lifeor the profit that comes from promising it to others. Neighbor states fear the aggressive expansion of the Familias Regnant, fuelled by population growth and extended lifespan. Within the Regular Space Service, those who have received experimental rejuvenations fear they may have been given bad drugs on purpose. Esmay Suizas family fears that her marriage to an offworlder will damage their position. Barin Serranos family fears that his marriage to a Landbride of Altiplano will damage his career and their reputation. Fear begets violent reactionsfrom foreign governments, from great Families determined to maintain or increase their power, from internal rivalries in the Fleetand nothing escapes the resultant bloodbath unscathed. As Esmay and Barin struggle to reconcile their families, others have more cosmic struggles to win.

Elizabeth Moon: author's other books


Who wrote Change of Command? Find out the surname, the name of the author of the book and a list of all author's works by series.

Change of Command — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Change of Command" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

Reset

Interval:

Bookmark:

Make

Elizabeth Moon

Change of Command

For Susie and John Neary,

for all the years of friendship.

Acknowledgements

As always, quite a few people helped with technical bits. Certain parts of this book could not have been written without the help of the fencing group . . . I leave it to them to figure out who contributed which bit of necessary information or advice. David Watson helped choreograph some of the fights and advised on metallurgy, and Kathleen Jones did yeoman work in the structural engineering of a very complicated plot. Susan and Andrew both provided useful information on points of high finance I would never have thought of (stock parking?); Allen helped with naval procedure. Other assistance came from a panel at the Baltimore WorldCon, but unfortunately a computer crash six weeks later robbed me of all the names, email addresses, and even snail-mail addresses (I had put them in the computer, of course . . . and since it was the mail function that crashed . . . ) But they have my gratitude, though I cant thank them properly unless we run into each other at another convention. Their input changed one section greatly; remaining mistakes are all mine, including having put their addresses in a computer about to lose its memory so that I couldnt thank them properly.

Chapter One

Castle Rock

Newscast: Today the Speaker of the Table of Ministers and the Grand Council of the Familias Regnant was assassinated while en route from the shuttleport to the Palace. His close friend and legal advisor, Kevil Mahoney, was seriously injured and is now undergoing emergency treatment in a secure medical facility. Three security personnel also died. Speaker Thornbuckles youngest daughter, travelling in a separate conveyance, was not injured, but is now in protective custody. . . .

Breitis Medical Pavilion

Kevil was aware of disturbing dreams, and tried to fight his way to consciousness. He felt stiff, as if hed been in the same position too long, and somewhere in the distance someone hurt quite badly. Red and pink swirls slid past his vision; when he blinked, nothing happened but the addition of ugly green smears to the swirls. He thought he heard something, butlike the vague shapes that teased his eyesthe sounds were curiously unhelpful, blunt and unformed.

He struggled harder, and finally made out a voice, speaking some arcane language he didnt know. What was a sub-cue somethingor-other? What was an ivy line? His fogged mind tried to show him a picture of ivy leaves lined up in a row.

need complete rejuv, if he lives that long came suddenly, with silvery clarity.

Ice, then fire, washed through him; he never knew if it was something they did, or his bodys response to what he heard. His eyes opened to see a pale blur; he struggled to get his mouth open, then realized it was open, wedged with some instrument.

Lie still, someone said. Close your eyes.

He was in no mood to take orders. He gagged on the thing in his mouth, and someone slid it out.

What happened? he croaked, in a voice he didnt recognize but felt in his painful throat.

Memory returned in that moment, even as he asked. Even as the people he could not yet see hesitated, he knew what had happened.

He and Bunny in the ground car. Bunnys face, taut and lined for so many months, finally relaxing. They had been chatting about the continuing problems resulting from the Morellines pharmaceutical plant on Patchcock, the rising price of rejuvenations and the political implications

And then the white flare of some weapon, and Bunnys face disappearing into a mess of red and pink and gray

He must be dead. No one could survive that. And he, Kevil Mahoney, was aliveat least for nowbecause his friends head had taken the brunt of whatever attack.

The New Texas Godfearing Militia had sworn vengeance on them. Evidently it had been no idle threat.

He needed to know what had happened. Who was in charge now? What was Fleet doing? But he felt a dark chilly fog rising over him, and slipped into that darkness unsure if it was death or a drug.

Hobart Conselline permitted none of the emotions churning inside him to show in his face or demeanor. His secretarys expression of cautious solemnity proved hed been successful; the silly man couldnt tell how his employer was taking the news. Good.

Its been confirmed by three separate agencies, milord, his secretary said.

Terrible! Hobart said, and shook his head. I suppose it was those terrorists, in retaliation for the executions

Thats the speculation at this time, milord.

How many were killed or injured?

Lord Thornbuckle and three security personnel killed; Ser Mahoney is alive but in critical condition. He is not expected to live.

A terrible, terrible situation. Hobart shook his head again. Terrible for some, certainly. Bunny Thornbuckles relatives and friends were no doubt reeling in shock and confusion. So would the whole Council be, if someone didnt take hold and give the guidance that had been so sorely needed for the past several years. If Kevil Mahoney had been uninjured, they might have turned to him, but without either Bunny or Kevil, the Familias would mill about like panicky sheep, baaing uselessly at the wolfpack around them. He knew exactly what far-sighted, strong, decisive leader should take charge.

Send our condolences to Miranda, he told his secretary. Inform my wifes secretary that Im sure my wife will want to call on her. Poor, beautiful, clever Miranda, so unlucky in her choice of men and her children.

Poor Brun, for that matter. Like everyone who had met the child, he had enjoyed her scatterbrained, madcap beauty. She had needed a good husband to settle her down, but Bunny had insisted on letting her run wild, with disastrous results. Another instance of Bunnys lamentable lack of decisive, firm leadership. Nothing like that had happened to the Conselline daughters, nor ever would. Bunnys older children had turned out well enough, though young Buttons was no second Bunny. He had all his fathers stuffiness and none of his fathers brilliance. All the better; the last thing the Consellines needed was another Bunny Thornbuckle in that Chair.

You have messages from several of the Families, the secretary said.

No doubt, Hobart said. Those he had been talking to, in preparation for the Grand Council meeting this year, would want to know his plans now. For an instant, the internal vision of those plans blinded him to the room around him. With Bunny and Kevil Mahoney out of the picturewith Bunnys supporters in disarray, shocked and grievinga man who knew what he wanted and moved quickly and decisively might go farther than he had believed possible.

He glanced over the messages as his secretary left the room. As hed expected: shock, concern, fear, shock . . . with every passing moment, he felt more certain that he, and he alone, would have to act in this crisis. How fortunate that he had not left Castle Rock with the others. Make a list of all the Chairholders who are still onplanet, he said. His secretary nodded. And set up a conference call for the Conselline Sept, all chairholding members.

Sir, I have the listI keep a current file on all the Chairholders

Excellent. He looked over it carefully while his secretary was arranging the complicated linkage of ansible and ordinary communications lines for the conference call, and realized that the opportunity would never be greater.

The Barraclough Sept, which included the lesser Aranlake and Padualenare septs, had not rallied to Bunnys side when Brun returned. The Aranlakes, with the exception of Lady Cecelia de Marktos, had supported an Aranlake candidate, Hubert Roscoe Millander, for Family head, and theyd lost. They were home sulking. The Padualenares favored Bunnys brother Harlis, who supported their claim to seniority over the Aranlakes, and their ambitions in the colonial worlds. This left only a few of the Barracloughs themselves onplanet, those closest to Bunny and therefore more likely devastated by his death.

Next page
Light

Font size:

Reset

Interval:

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «Change of Command»

Look at similar books to Change of Command. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.


Reviews about «Change of Command»

Discussion, reviews of the book Change of Command and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.