Breakaway (Expeditionary Force, #12)

by Craig Alanson

“I do not think there is much room to misinterpret a statement of,” Scorandum looked at the ceiling as he quoted from memory. “There will be no tolerance of the usual sneaky and underhanded nonsense from the Ethics and Compliance Office.” “Maybe the word ‘no’ was a typo?” Kinsta guessed. “Let’s go with that.” Scorandum took the tablet from the junior officer, and read the request from Home Fleet. He immediately noted that the latest request came not in an official communication from the government, but as a top-secret back channel message from the Home Fleet’s Office of Standards and Practices. The office was usually concerned with mundane subjects like determining exactly what color was best for the interior of Jeraptha warships, or how thick and soft mattresses aboard the ships should be. Including exactly how to test the thickness and softness of a mattress, where the material should be sourced, and a million other things that were so soul-crushingly boring, that no one could possibly pay attention to Standards and Practices for more than a few seconds without losing their will to live. Which made that office perfect for exchanging clandestine messages.