The Farming Saint in the Starry Wasteland (Elizabeth Schofield) novel Chapter 419

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Chapter 419 Handle Your Affairs

Maverick sat frozen in his chair device clutched in his hand, not moving a muscle.

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The logistics directors and supply chiefs from the Second, Third, and Fourth Military were all roughly his level. He could dance around them all day.

Jacob was a completely different matter.

First Military’s Chief of Staff.

The second most powerful figure in the entire First Military Command.

And he had personally called to inquire about a farm’s navigational lane application.

Every rumor floating around out there, all that talk about “the Hewitts not claiming her as a daughter–in–law” and “the farm having no connection to the Hewitts,” all of it was complete nonsense.

That was not the behavior of a family that didn’t claim someone.

That was the behavior of a family cradling something precious in both hands, terrified of dropping it.

Maverick’s arms and legs had gone soft. The strength had drained out of him entirely, and he slumped against the back of his chair like a puppet with cut strings.

Outside, the sky had gone completely black.

His office blazed with light, and still it felt as cold as a sealed vault/

After a long, hollow silence, his trembling hand found the secretary’s line.

“Connect me to the Fifth Military,” he said. His voice had gone rough and grating, scraped raw. “Right now.”

His secretary hesitated. “Sir, it’s almost midnight…”

“I don’t care what time it is!” Maverick’s voice cracked on the last word. “Connect me. Now.”

The secretary scrambled to dial.

Maverick leaned back, closed his eyes, and let a single thought occupy the entire landscape of his mind.

His career as director was finished.

Not “probably finished.”

Finished.

He heard the line connect through the secretary’s end. One ring. Two. Three. Then the flat, merciless sound of a busy signal.

He tried again.

Busy signal.

1/3

12:33 pm A

Chapter 419 Handle Your Affairs.

Third attempt. The line wouldn’t even connect.

Maverick stared at the contact entry for the Fifth Military guy on his device screen and, after a long moment, laughed.

it was a dry, scraping sound, like sandpaper dragged slowly across stone.

He understood now.

He’d been sold out.

The person who had thumped his chest and promised to absorb any fallout wasn’t even picking up the phone.

Of course they weren’t.

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When the First Military’s Chief of Staff called personally, when the logistics departments of the Second, Third, and Fourth Military came calling one after another, when a senator weighed in, no single Fifth Military officer, not even their commander, was going to step forward and take the blame for this. Maverick had been useful, and now he was a liability.

And he was just Interstellar Route Authority’s director.

In the eyes of every person who had called him tonight, he wasn’t even a chess piece. He was a rag, used and discarded.

“Wonderful,” he said, biting each word out from between clenched teeth.

His secretary’s voice drifted through the door. “Sir, they’re still not answering…”

“Forget it.” Maverick cut him off, his voice dropping low and flat. “You’re dismissed.”

The secretary paused, then eased the door shut with quiet care.

The office went silent again.

Maverick sat there staring at the ceiling, his chest rising and falling in heavy, uneven pulls.

How many years had it taken him to reach this position?

Twenty–three.

He’d started as a junior clerk in a remote outer sector. He’d burned through nights, worn out smiles, absorbed blame that wasn’t his, and ground himself down year after year, rung by rung, until he’d finally arrived here.

Director of the Interstellar Route Authority. Not the most glamorous title in the Kingdom, but one that thousands of people would’ve fought each other bloody to hold.

He couldn’t let it end like this.

He refused to let it end like this.

Maverick sat up sharply, drew a long breath, and forced his thoughts into order.

This wasn’t the time for fear. This was the time for solutions.

He ran through the situation at speed.

2/3

12:33 pm

A

Chapter 419 Handle Your Affairs

First, public opinion had detonated.

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Those millions of people on Starnet weren’t making noise for nothing. He’d skimmed the comments, and people were already digging into the Interstellar Route Authority’s recent approval record looking for anomalies.

If this dragged on, there was no telling what they’d surface.

Second, every person with real power who’d contacted him tonight had made their position unmistakably clear.

Aldrich, Luke, Golemio, Squalo. Each call had been a warning.

And Jacob of the First Military hadn’t even bothered with a warning. That had been a final notice.

Third, the Fifth Military had cut him loose.

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