Many of the officers and crew of those new ships were freshly ex-Fleet, released as “excess to requirements” in recent draw-downs. The same mission that had added so many names to the plinth had ended up adding four new ships to his roster, payment from a Fleet still reeling from the corruption he’d uncovered. The Vikings had been an informal organization for most of their existence, though necessity meant much of that was changing now. There were a lot of friends on that list. One of his oldest friends and employees was among those new names. Three months earlier, he’d taken his company into combat in the service of the Commonwealth, the government of the Solar System, and they’d added a lot of names to that plinth.

It was appropriate for its current location, since the plinth had been laser-carved with the names of every trooper and spacer who’d died in the service of the Vikings. It represented Vidar, the old Norse silent god of vengeance. His eyes were blind to his warships, however, and all he truly saw was the stone plinth behind him, reflected in the glass.Ī statue of a burly Viking warrior, the symbol of his company, stood on top of that plinth. Right now, however, he stood in a small gallery in the Vikings’ home office in the Io Shipyards and looked out over his fleet. The tall and gaunt mercenary had the money to afford those ships and those crews, and that gave him a power few in the solar system could rival. He owned and commanded a fleet of six destroyers, staffed by over five hundred crew and ground troops. He was the sole owner of the Vikings Mercenary Company, a Platinum-rated Guild company sought after for their reputation and firepower. He was young, barely into his mid-thirties, wealthy and powerful.

At a glance, there was no reason for him to be so tired. There was a feeling of exhaustion, of bone-deep weariness no amount of rest could shake, that hung over Commodore Brad Madrid.

Bound by honor book series