Arnold the Conqueror

Начало книги

Trying to govern an interstellar empire is a bit like governing a transoceanic empire in the days of sail—with at least one important difference!

Arnold Amlingmeyer wanted a bridge to stride across, a control room to dominate with his sinister presence. But he didn’t have one. The Rectifier was far too cramped a ship for such a luxury, and everything was automated anyway. So he had to content himself with striding down the narrow hallways and dominating the sleepchambers. It worked well enough. He just needed the practice.

Eventually, after almost an hour of striding and dominating, he felt powerful enough to begin waking up his men. Sgt. Winslow “Bull” Schott came first. Schott was the professional, the one who would handle the military side of the operation. But he would be taking his orders from Arnold.

Arnold and Schott hadn’t met yet—the Marines had boarded and gone into hibernation almost a week before Arnold was picked to command the mission—so Arnold thought it was important to impress Schott the second he woke up. He hovered over the soldier’s sleeptube while the central computer brought him out of hibernation.

Читать дальше →