Her Commanders - M.K. Eidem Page 0,51

the guard, Taarig leaned forward and whispered in the male's ear. "Do that again, and I'll float you out an airlock." He then stepped away and took his place next to Jamis on the other side of the large, round table.

Jamis wanted to ream Taarig for what he'd just done, even though he'd wanted to do it himself, but they couldn't show any favoritism here. So instead of commenting further, he gestured to the chairs across from them. "General, if you'd sit, we'll get to the bottom of this."

"I'll remind you, Commander, I outrank you," General Masala said even as he pulled out a chair for his datter.

Jamis nodded his head slightly in acknowledgment. "And I'll remind you, General, that you broke protocol by not contacting me before arriving on my Star Base. You even went as far as to order the flight controller not to inform me or record your arrival." The general said nothing, just sat down.

Cali wanted to roll her eyes at all the male posturing. Instead, she pulled out a chair and sat down on the other side of the general, resting her still-restrained hands on the table.

Jamis glanced at the restraints for a moment before looking back to Masala. "Now explain to me why I shouldn't file a formal complaint against you with the High Navarch, General Masala."

"How dare you! My datter linked me and said she was attacked by her!!" The general's arm flung out and would have smacked Cali in the face if she hadn't quickly jerked out of the way. "And you did nothing about it!"

"General," Jamis growled warningly, but before Masala could respond, a pulse sounded in the room. Looking down at the interactive table, Jamis touched a lit icon, wondering why his communication specialist hadn't just used the link. "What is it, Talla?"

"Commander, I have an incoming transmission from Wik Corp," Talla told him stiffly.

"Tell them I'll comm them back."

"I already did, Commander," the specialist quickly replied, knowing Jamis was about to disconnect him. "It's the Supreme Chairman himself, Commander."

A shocked silence filled the room. Besides the Paramount, there was no one more powerful in the universe than the Supreme Chairman, not even a general in the Coalition.

"Commander?"

"Send the transmission through." In the time it took for Jamis to touch the table again, the Supreme Chairman, sitting behind a massive desk, appeared on the angled wall to the right of him and Taarig.

Cali leaned back in her chair and took in how aged her dad looked. Apparently, this version of the Supreme Chairman was nearing the end of his existence. Every four or five hundred years, the Supreme Chairman of Wik Corp 'retired' and his 'son' took his place. It was always her dad's favorite time to be Supreme Chairman. People openly challenged him, and he didn't have to alter his appearance. His brown gaze quickly scanned the room, taking in everything and everyone at once, including the visible restraints on Cali's wrists. Cali knew she was the only one who caught the anger that flashed through his gaze before settling on Jamis.

"I was notified The Brink’s owner was removed from it by the Coalition under armed guard, Commander Dexxirs. Why?"

"I was just beginning to investigate that, Supreme Chairman," Jamis replied.

"Beginning to…" the Supreme Chairman cut himself off, his brows drawing together. "You weren't the one who arrested my owner?"

"No, Supreme Chairman."

"Then who the ruk did?!"

"I did, Supreme Chairman," Masala spoke up smugly, pulling the Supreme Chairman's gaze.

"Who the ruk are you?" the Supreme Chairman demanded.

Everyone saw the general bristle that the Supreme Chairman didn't know who he was.

"I'm General Lalan Masala," Masala told him, puffing his chest out.

"Really? I contact the generals in the Coalition regularly but never you. What are you claiming to be the general of?"

"I'm not claiming anything," Masala spat out. "I'm the General of the Coalition's Supply and Distribution System."

"Supply and Distribution…" the Supreme Chairman trailed off, his disbelief and derision easily heard for the position Masala thought so necessary. "And you think that gives you the power to enter one of my establishments and arrest one of my ch…Corporation Owners?"

Cali’s eyes widened at her dad's near slip, and she quickly glanced around the room, grateful to see no one else had caught it. No one threatened one of Paul Baker-Wik'ax's children. Especially not Cali, who was not only his youngest but his only female.

"When it affects a member of my family? Yes," Masala fired back.

"Explain," the Supreme Chairman demanded.

"This…," one corner of Masala's upper