Courageous

SEVEN

“How’s Captain Falco doing?” Geary asked in a professionally brisk tone with an undercurrent of concern for a fellow officer in the fleet. He didn’t want anyone saying that they’d heard him mocking Falco.

The fleet doctor on the screen frowned slightly. “He’s happy.”

Which could only mean that Falco remained completely delusional. If he had any idea that he was under arrest instead of being in command of the fleet, Falco would be furious. “Is he being treated?”

“He’s being kept stable,” the doctor replied. “Those are our orders and the usual procedure when a next of kin can’t be contacted for a decision on further treatment. We’re keeping the condition from worsening, and we’re ensuring he doesn’t turn violent or self-harming. He spends most of his time developing campaign plans and seeing to the administrative needs of a virtual fleet he can access.”

“The last time I checked, the fleet doctors were still running tests and evaluating Captain Falco. Can you tell me now whether or not he can be cured?” Geary asked, not sure whether he really wanted to know the answer.

“Hold on while I review his record.” The doctor’s image vanished, replaced by a screen holder portraying fleet doctors at work. Geary tried not to get upset with the doctor’s attitude, recognizing the same kinds of behavior toward laypeople that doctors had used in Geary’s time a century earlier and had probably been using for quite a few millennia before that.

Finally the doctor’s image reappeared. “A cure is possible. Probable, I’d say. Of part of the condition,” the doctor amended. “We could reduce the delusions substantially, but from my review of Captain Falco’s records and history, he was already suffering from a long-term ailment before being committed to my care. That condition probably has become habitual for him and merely correcting physical problems and near-term stress-related reality avoidance wouldn’t change Captain Falco’s well-established thought patterns.”

“A long-term ailment? You mean something that Captain Falco developed while he was a prisoner of the Syndics?”

“No, no,” the doctor corrected in the slightly annoyed way his profession had of dealing with the non-doctor parts of humanity who attempted to grasp the secrets of medicine. “Long-term. Even prior to his capture by the Syndicate Worlds, Captain Falco obviously suffered from a condition in which he believed himself uniquely capable and qualified to command the Alliance fleet and win the war for the Alliance. It’s more common than you might realize,” the doctor lectured, apparently having forgotten that he was speaking to the fleet commander.

“Really?” Geary asked.

“Oh, yes. The condition was common enough to be given a name several decades ago.”

“A name?”

“Certainly! It’s called a Geary Complex.” The doctor paused, frowned, then gave Geary a close look. “That’s you, isn’t it?”

“The last time I checked,” Geary replied, wondering just how many officers in the fleet had suffered from a Geary Complex over the last century of war.

The doctor nodded thoughtfully, eyeing Geary as if expecting him to start raving at any moment. “Well, then, you should know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Geary started to laugh, then hesitated. He could imagine what Victoria Rione would be saying right now, and she’d be partly right. He did believe that he was best suited to command this fleet. But that was because his legend could be used to keep the fleet together and the training he’d brought with him from the past could win victories. It wasn’t based on any exaggerated ideas of his abilities, on any belief that he alone could command the fleet to victory. And it wasn’t about trying to match the legend of Black Jack.

I’m nothing like Falco, and don’t want to be like Falco. The differences between us are why I want to talk to Falco.

He ended up shrugging. “Maybe, Doctor. But I don’t really want to command this fleet. I don’t have any choice. I’m the senior officer and have a duty to perform.”

The doctor nodded in the manner of someone humoring a patient. “Naturally. They all say variations on that. Their duty. They have a responsibility to save the Alliance. And so forth.”

Geary sighed, not enjoying the too-close-for-comfort conversation. “I have a responsibility to save lives, Doctor, and if you look up seniority information in the fleet database, you’ll see that I’m the most senior captain in the fleet by a very wide margin.” He’d been promoted to captain a hundred years ago. Posthumously promoted since he was believed dead at Grendel, but the fleet regulations didn’t worry about that. Once he showed up alive, the seniority counted. “Can I order treatment for Captain Falco? To get him back to reality?”

“If you’re the fleet commander you can order that. Your decision would be reviewed by Alliance authorities, of course.”

It should have been easy to decide. Why let a man remain insane? But Falco was under arrest, facing a number of offenses against fleet regulations and Alliance law that carried the death penalty. Cure him, and he’d face a reality far less happy than the delusions he was enjoying. But what right did anyone have to decide not to make someone else well if they had the power? “It’s not an easy decision,” Geary finally stated heavily.

“I would recommend against it,” the doctor replied. “Taking into account all of Captain Falco’s circumstances, he could well turn both despondent and suicidal if forced to confront reality. He’d be much better off in a fully staffed and dedicated health facility when he faces those issues.”

There was the out that Geary had been hoping for. He wouldn’t have to decide on his own. “I see no reason to go against your recommendation, Doctor. Please make sure I’m informed if your recommendation changes, or if Captain Falco’s condition changes or deteriorates significantly.”

“I suppose I could do that. Yes, you are the fleet commander, so you’re authorized to see that information.”

“Thank you. I’d like to visit Captain Falco, in virtual mode.”

“Visit him?” The doctor seemed startled.

“Doesn’t Captain Falco have many visitors?”

“He’s under arrest. Did you know that?”

“Yes,” Geary explained patiently. “I’m the one who ordered his arrest.”

“Oh. Yes. But you want to see him now?”

“See him and talk to him.”

The doctor frowned in thought, then nodded. “It’s not contraindicated for someone in Captain Falco’s condition, and of course since you won’t be physically present, there’s no bodily risk to either of you. I would advise you not to forcefully confront him with his true status.”

“I’ve no intention of doing that. I assume the software in the fleet conference room can handle a virtual visit by me to Falco’s stateroom. Give me the link and any necessary access codes.”

That generated more frowns and warnings about medical procedures and privacy, but the doctor eventually coughed up the information that Geary needed. He broke the connection with a sense of relief and headed for the conference room, trying to fight off a sense of gloom.

He didn’t like contemplating what had happened to Falco. Part of him wanted to hate Falco for causing the needless deaths of ships and their crews. Part of him just felt pity for the man. Part of him was afraid of how much more damage Falco might cause if he were brought back to reality, or at least the version of reality to which Falco had long subscribed.

Geary made sure he sealed the hatch to the conference room under his own access code, activated the meeting software and its highest level of security, then entered the data to access Falco.

A moment later the image of Captain Falco stood before him, impeccably attired in his uniform, looking as if he’d just been engaged in something important. Falco gazed around, then focused on Geary. “Yes?” After a moment, Falco’s expression shifted from annoyed to the practiced, automatic smile of camaraderie that Geary remembered.

“Captain Falco, I was wondering if you had time to discuss a few things,” Geary began carefully.

“Time? A fleet commander like myself has many responsibilities, you know,” Falco lectured, then flashed the smile again. “But I can always spare time for a fellow officer. I’ve instructed the Marine honor guard sentries outside my stateroom to ensure any officer who wants to see me has access.”

As the doctor had said, Falco still believed he was in command of the fleet, even rationalizing the presence of the Marine guards outside his door as sentries in keeping with his status. Did he even recognize Geary? “It’s an operational question, about movements of the fleet.”

“Yes. Of course. I’ve been reviewing the situation. I haven’t yet reached a decision on where we’ll go from here.”

That was close enough to what Geary had told Rione to make him want to flinch, but he managed to avoid showing it. “May I?” he asked Falco, then activated the star display showing the surrounding region. Falco gave the display a confident look as if he were already intimately familiar with it. “The fleet’s at Ixion.”

“Of course. The latest offensive is going well,” Falco declared.

“Uh … yes. But we’re heading back to Alliance space now.”

“Hmmm.” Falco studied the display, then appeared briefly confused for a moment. “Hypernet. The Syndic hypernet.”

“We can use it,” Geary stated. “But the Syndics will try to destroy any gate before we can reach it.”

“Yes. Naturally.” Falco pointed. “The most direct route to Alliance space is T’negu. But we’re not going there.”

Geary had expected Falco to say T’negu was the only reasonable choice. “We’re not?”

“Of course not.” Falco upped the brightness on his companionable smile. “It’s a trap! Obvious, you see?” Geary nodded, not seeing at all. “Mines. The system will be carpeted with them.” Falco’s expression faltered again. “Mines.” Geary wondered if Falco was remembering the damage a Syndic minefield had wreaked at Vidha.

Geary hadn’t considered the possibility of the Syndics planting a huge number of mines at T’negu, yet it made perfect sense. The approach to Alliance space necked down here. To keep going in that direction, T’negu was the only option. The system had no habitable worlds and only a small Syndic presence left inside underground cities on one planet with too little heat from the sun and too little atmosphere. Every jump point in the star system could be provided not with just a single minefield but turned into a maze of minefields subject only to the limits of the Syndic mine inventory.

Falco was still staring toward the star display but not saying anything. “Where should we go instead?” Geary prompted.

“Where?” Falco blinked, his eyes returning to Geary, and then going back to the display. “Lakota.”

“Lakota? There’s a hypernet gate at Lakota. The Syndics will be easily able to reinforce the star system.”

“Exactly! They know that we know that! Which means they don’t need to reinforce it, because they think we’ll be afraid to go there!” Falco grinned triumphantly. “We’ll surprise them.”

Geary tried to get his mind around Falco’s rationale. It made sense, in a way. And it certainly wasn’t what Geary would have thought of doing. Was Falco right? The Syndics were clearly feeling the effects of the losses the Alliance fleet had inflicted on them in the last few months. They’d lost a lot of ships. Would they risk leaving Lakota lightly defended believing that the Alliance fleet wouldn’t dare go there?

Falco didn’t know about the destruction of the hypernet gate at Sancere, didn’t know that the Syndics had demonstrated the will to destroy a hypernet gate rather than let the Alliance fleet use it. But the Syndics knew that the Alliance fleet was aware of that.

“There will be a Syndic force guarding the hypernet gate,” Geary pointed out. “They can’t afford not to have a decent-sized flotilla in the system.”

“Of course,” Falco said again with a dismissive wave. “Nothing we can’t handle. We’ll be able to wipe out those defenders, bombard the inhabited world into rubble, then leave as we choose.”

That could be so, though Geary had no intention of bombarding civilian targets. The materials from Baldur that Lieutenant Iger had shown him had merely confirmed his own beliefs that an Alliance strategy of unconditional warfare had seriously backfired. Average Syndicate Worlds citizens feared the Alliance, feared to have their home worlds devastated, and so fought all the harder to defeat the Alliance. But did the rest of Falco’s argument make sense? Was Falco crazy like a fox in this case?

Geary studied the display. Using jump drives, Lakota did have access to three stars besides Ixion.

It might work.

“Thank you, Captain Falco. I’m sorry I disturbed you.” Falco smiled again, and Geary felt a stab of guilt at deceiving a man who was mentally ill. “Are you doing all right?”

Falco frowned slightly. “All right? Yes, of course. Aside from the stresses of command. You know how that is. But I’m honored to be able to serve the Alliance in any way I can. It’s my duty.” The smile returned.

“Do you need anything?”

“We should have a fleet conference soon. Set it up, will you, Captain…?”

“Geary.”

“Really? Some relation of the great hero?”

Geary nodded. “Some relation. Yes.”

“Marvelous. Now if you’ll excuse me, duty calls.” Falco stood and looked around uncertainly.

Geary broke the connection, and Falco’s image vanished. Damn. Damn, damn, damn.

“Lakota!?” Victoria Rione wasn’t quite screaming. “Where did you get that idea?” Her face lit with horrified realization. “You spoke with Captain Falco this afternoon. Did he suggest that? And you listened to him?”

“I—” Geary stared at her. “You know I talked to Falco? I put that conference under my tightest security seal.”

“I don’t know what you said, if that makes you feel better.” Rione turned away, shaking her head. “Please tell me you didn’t ask his advice.”

“Not in so many words.” Geary felt defensive and knew that Rione had every reason to be incredulous with him. “I wanted to know what he would do.”

“Something stupid! I could have told you that!”

“He didn’t want to go to T’negu.”

Rione spun back to face Geary and watched him with narrowed eyes.

“Falco thought T’negu would be a trap.”

Rione threw her hands up. “And now I find that I agree with Captain Falco about something. I never thought that would happen.”

Geary checked to make sure the hatch into his stateroom was sealed. He didn’t want anyone overhearing any part of this debate. “Look, I wouldn’t go to Lakota.”

“Then don’t.”

“The Syndics probably know I wouldn’t go there,” Geary explained with all the patience he could muster. “They know where I’m likely to go, one of the other stars within reach of Ixion. They know where this fleet will go if it keeps on the straightest possible course toward home. Lakota doesn’t match either of those.”

“Because going there is stupid!”

“The Syndics know it’d be stupid for us to go there, and we know it’d be stupid for us to go there, so maybe that’s the last thing they’d expect us to do!”

Rione stared at him. “You’re serious.”

“Yes!” Geary paced, then paused to turn on the star display in his stateroom and center it on Ixion. “T’negu is too clearly a possible objective for us. We can’t go there without assuming every jump point is laced with far more mines than we found waiting for us here. Going back to Daiquon wouldn’t achieve anything except hurting morale in this fleet and might land us in the lap of a Syndic force pursuing us through systems we’ve visited. Vosta takes us up and back into Syndic territory, and there are only two stars reachable using jump drives from Vosta. Kopara takes us off to one side, neither gaining nor losing much ground toward the Alliance, and has only one star accessible using jump drives. Dansik, according to our intelligence and the records we’ve captured, is a regional military headquarters and certain to be heavily defended. That leaves Lakota.”

Rione looked from the display to Geary, her expression guarded, then back to the display. “Where would Captain Geary go?”

“Vosta.” Geary scowled at the display. “To throw off pursuit.”

“But the Syndics have already seen you backtrack that way more than once.”

“Yeah.”

“Would they think you’d go to Kopara?”

“Doubtful. They’d only have to place strong forces in two star systems to trap us. It’d be nice if they thought I was that dumb, but I can’t count on it.”

Her expression hardened. “You managed to get us to Ixion, where you don’t like any of the options.”

He almost snarled in reply but realized the truth of her statement. “I didn’t think we’d make it to Ixion. I thought the Syndics would react faster, and we’d divert at Daiquon from the dash toward the Alliance.”

“And you’re basing your plan now on the hope that the Syndics won’t think you’re stupid? Listen to yourself, taking advice from Falco! Falco has always been an idiot, and now he’s an insane idiot.” Rione walked around the star display, burying her face in both hands. “John, don’t do it. Don’t take the fleet to Lakota.”

She’d never called him by just his first name before. “The other options aren’t that good. If Lakota works—”

The hands came down, and Rione glared at him. “If! What if it doesn’t? What will your options be then?”

“We can avoid combat, proceed across the system, and jump to another objective.”

Rione’s head sagged. “Do you honestly believe that this fleet will allow you to refuse battle? Yes, it did so after the losses suffered in the Syndic home system, when everyone was so shocked their instinctive urge to suicidal charges was temporarily thrown off. But if you try to avoid battle at Lakota, some of your ships will turn to engage, and then what will you do?”

That was something he hadn’t considered. Geary stared past her, thinking. “You really believe some of them would do that? The ones who work against me, people like Casia, don’t seem the sort to risk themselves in heroic charges against huge odds.”

“They’re not the ones you have to worry about! What did the living stars give you for brains, John Geary?” Rione stepped closer and grabbed his arms. “The ones most dangerous to you are the ones who believe in you enough to offer you a dictatorship but not enough to accept changing their own ways of thinking! Ask the officers you trust most. Roberto Duellos. He’ll tell you. Even Tanya Desjani will tell you. If you don’t believe me, then ask them!”

It made a great deal of sense. “I guess there are advantages at times to thinking like a politician.”

“Thank you. I think,” Rione flung at him as she stomped off and pointed at the display again. “If they’d never believe you’d go to Kopara—”

“No! If we get trapped at Kopara, there’s no way out! Lakota leaves us options.” He glared at the display, then shifted his gaze to Rione. “Why haven’t you said it?”

She glared back. “What?”

“Threaten to tell the ships from the Callas Republic and the Rift Federation not to follow my orders anymore. Why haven’t you warned me that you’d do that?”

“Because I don’t make threats I can no longer back up,” Rione replied angrily. “Please don’t pretend that you don’t know the loyalties of my own commanders are now split. No matter what I said, many would still follow you.”

“Really?” His surprise must have showed. “I haven’t tried to subvert their loyalty to—”

“Aiyee!” Rione yelled in rage, stepped close again, and thumped a fist onto Geary’s chest. “Stop pretending that you’re that big a fool! They believe in you, John Geary! Because you’ve brought the fleet this far and won some notable victories along the way! They believe that you are Black Jack and that you’ll save them and the Alliance! They believe that you’re not a politician, and in that they are certainly correct. But you’ve earned their trust.” She thrust an angry forefinger at the display. “Don’t repay that trust by taking them to Lakota!”

“Hell.” Geary let himself drop into a nearby seat, feeling suddenly weary. “Do you think I don’t spend every minute of every day trying to do the best I can by the people who’ve placed their trust in me?”

Her rage visibly faded, leaving Rione eyeing Geary with apparent helplessness. “What are you going to do?”

“Call a fleet conference. See how they react to Lakota.”

“They’ll love it. Just the sort of bold stroke that Black Jack Geary would do.” Rione sagged into a seat as well.

After a minute of silence, Geary looked over at her. “Madam Co-President, have you ever heard of something called a Geary Complex?”

Rione raised her head and bent one eyebrow upward. “Yes. It was first mentioned to me years ago when a fellow senator was telling me about Captain Falco. You finally heard about it?”

“I’m curious as to why you never accused me of having one.”

“You could scarcely be accused of imagining you were Captain John Geary.”

“I think there’s at least one fleet doctor who suspects that,” Geary replied dryly. “I don’t get it. You’re different this time.”

“Why, thank you,” Rione ground out. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Among other things, that you haven’t given me any warnings about the dangers posed by Black Jack, about what might happen if I start believing I really am him.”

Rione shrugged. “I’ve stated those warnings many times, and you seem well aware of them. Saying them again would probably be overkill.”

“That’s never stopped you before.”

“Perhaps it’s time I warned you about that misplaced sense of humor you have,” Rione stated in a dangerous voice. “Is there some point you’re trying to make?”

“Yes.” Geary studied her before answering. “You’re strongly opposed to the idea of this fleet going to Lakota. You think I’m mistaken; you think I may be trying to live up to the reputation of Black Jack. But you haven’t exploded at me. You haven’t stormed out of this stateroom or uttered barely veiled warnings about what might happen to me personally if I really start acting like Black Jack would act. Why haven’t you done any of that?”

She shrugged, looking away. “Maybe I’m trying to be unpredictable. You think I’ll do that, and I know you think I’ll do that, so I’m doing something else. Though in my case what I’m doing isn’t stupid.”

“You’ve got quite a sense of humor yourself.” Geary dropped any pretense or mockery from his voice. “Seriously. What’s changed?”

It took Rione a little while to reply; then she finally looked back at him. “To put it bluntly, I have issued dire warnings before about the actions you planned to take. Every single time I was certain that I was right, and every single time it turned out that I was wrong and you were right. Sancere is only the largest of those misjudgments I’ve made. There’s no way of knowing where this fleet would be if you’d listened to me, but I find it hard to believe that it would be in a better state or that our enemies would have suffered anything like the losses they have endured.”

“You trust me?” His surprise must have been obvious.

Rione smiled wryly. “I’m afraid so. I think going to Lakota is a mistake. I’ve told you that, and I’ve told you my reasons. You’ve listened. Yes, I noticed that you did. Now, given our respective track records, I don’t feel I have the right to work against your instincts. They’ve been right too many times.” She paused, searching his eyes. “Yes, I know you’re wondering if your instincts are right about me. You aren’t sure why I returned to you, why I chose to share your bed in the first place, or why I came back to it.”

He nodded. “That’s true.”

“And you won’t ask me, because you don’t know if you’d believe whatever I’d tell you. Don’t deny it. I see the hesitation within you. I deserve it.”

“I didn’t say—”

“You don’t have to.” Rione spread her hands. “Do you want me to say I love you? I won’t. You know where my heart is.”

“Then why?” Geary demanded. “Why are you sleeping with me?”

“You’re irresistible to women. Didn’t you know that?” Rione laughed. “You should have seen the look on your face.”

He smiled back at her, realizing that Rione would never actually answer the question but just provide more words, the sincerity of which he could never prove. “I’ll think some more about it.”

“About Lakota? Will you?” Rione’s laughter faded, and she nodded. “Maybe that’s why I came to you, John Geary. Maybe that’s why I’ll be with you tonight.”

“What about when we return to Alliance space? Assuming we make it. Will you walk off this ship on my arm? Will you still spend the nights with me?”

She regarded him silently for a long moment. “You ask a politician what she’ll do in the future? Yes. Do you believe me?”

“I don’t know.”

“Good job. I’ll teach you a bit about politicians yet. You’ll need that when you get home.” She stood up and extended one hand. “Come on. Let’s get something to eat. Publicly. Together. We need to let the fleet see that their hero is happy.”

Geary stood up as well, still feeling tired. “I suppose I can try to pretend to be happy for a few hours.”

“You’ll do fine.” She smiled again, differently this time. “And then we’ll come back here, and you and I will make each other truly happy for a while.”

Even through the excitement that promise generated, Geary wished he could see what she was really thinking at that moment.

“It hasn’t been easy deciding on our next course of action,” Geary announced to the images of the fleet captains gathered in the conference room. The tension was like that before a battle. Obvious opponents like Captains Casia and Midea and Commander Yin were poised to pounce if Geary suggested anything that could be construed as insufficiently aggressive.

His allies, like Captains Duellos, Tulev, and Cresida, were just as clearly worried that Geary would propose something designed to placate the fleet, which would also put it in serious danger. He’d talked to all of them, one-on-one, before this meeting, trying to assure them that he’d thought this out. He hoped he’d convinced them.

Near him, the real presence of Captain Desjani waited, her attention focused on Geary’s opponents as if she were a bodyguard. Farther down the table, where the commanders of the ships from the Callas Republic were gathered, the virtual presence of Co-President Rione sat among them. She’d chosen that over physical attendance to ensure that the ships from her republic felt that Rione was still committed to them. But it left Geary wondering how much Rione might have held back in their discussion, whether she would really back him or stay silent or offer a telling word against Geary’s plan when debate started.

The star display flared to life. “You’re all familiar with our options, I’m sure. T’negu, attractive as it looks, is certainly a trap.”

“We made it easily this far along a straight track for Alliance space,” Captain Casia interrupted.

“And have thereby established a pattern the Syndics can see with both eyes closed,” Duellos responded. “T’negu is tailor-made for extensive minefields.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Geary agreed, then pinned Casia with a glare before he could speak again. “The other stars we can reach all offer various shortcomings, various degrees of threats. After long thought and consultation with others, I’ve concluded our best objective is Lakota.”

Captain Midea made to speak, then choked off the words as what Geary had said got through to her. “Lakota?” she finally asked.

“Yes.” Whether or not he ended up surprising the Syndics, he’d certainly surprised Midea. That was reassuring, since it meant his opponents’ spies in the fleet hadn’t been able to discover his plans earlier. “There will be a Syndic flotilla there to guard the hypernet gate in that system. But the Syndics may regard our arrival there as so unlikely that the flotilla will be too weak to stop us.”

“Can we use the gate ourselves?” someone demanded breathlessly.

“If possible,” Geary replied in an even voice. He couldn’t afford for any illusions to exist about that. “But we know the Syndics are willing to destroy their own hypernet gates to avoid us using them, and the flotilla at Lakota will certainly have orders to do just that. If we’re very lucky, we may catch that flotilla out of position and be able to reach the gate before the Syndics can. That’s a very long shot, though. If the Syndics do start to destroy that gate…” He let the sentence hang, allowing each officer to bring up their own memories of what the collapse of the hypernet gate at Sancere had been like.

“We can still charge the gate, try to stop them,” argued Commander Yin.

“Speaking personally,” the captain of Daring said, “I’d really prefer not to be near a collapsing hypernet gate again.”

“Me, either,” the captain of Diamond added. “If Orion wants to take on the job, I’ll gladly let her do so.”

Commander Yin glowered at both of the other commanding officers but apparently had enough sense to realize that picking a fight with them would only expose her to further ridicule.

“How many Syndics might be at Lakota?” asked the captain of the Warspite. “We’ve hurt them a lot in the last several battles and torn up the ships under construction at Sancere along with the shipyards there. If the bunch we found waiting for us here at Ixion is any measure, the Syndics are desperate for ships right now.”

Captain Tulev answered, his voice somber, “Recall our own serious losses in the Syndic home system. Every loss we have inflicted on the Syndic fleet since then has only gone to balance out the ships we lost in the ambush there.”

Grim silence fell around the conference table. No one denied the truth of Tulev’s statement.

“But the Syndic warships we destroyed here had totally green crews,” Commander Neeson of the Implacable noted. “They shouldn’t have been sent on an actual combat mission.”

“True,” Captain Duellos agreed. “Captain Geary and I have discussed this, and we believe the Syndics regarded our arrival at Ixion as unlikely and sent their most qualified ships to other star systems.”

“But that means they are short of ships,” Neeson argued.

“Short in the sense that they need to try to establish local superiority over us at more than one location, since they can’t know exactly where we’re going,” Duellos pointed out. “They certainly have increasing difficulty doing that.”

“And with any luck,” Geary added, “that will affect the type of force we encounter at Lakota.”

“Did you discuss this matter with Senator Rione?” Captain Midea asked.

Geary eyed her dispassionately, thinking that Midea looked more like a Syndic CEO every time he noticed her. “The proper title is Co-President Rione of the Callas Republic, Captain Midea, though she is also a member of the Alliance Senate. Yes, I did discuss it with her.”

“Then going to Lakota is her decision?”

Backs stiffened all along the table. Geary had no difficulty measuring the reaction to that suggestion. He also knew that if Rione was going to object to the plan at this conference, she’d just been handed the perfect vehicle for doing that. “As I have stated before, Co-President Rione does not make decisions regarding the movements of this fleet,” he stated firmly.

Rione spoke up, her voice flat. “As a member of the Alliance Senate, I have no command authority in this fleet, Captain Midea. Were you unaware of that?”

Midea’s face reddened. “If Co-President Rione has a great deal of influence over the decisions of the commander of this fleet, it amounts to the same thing.”

Rione smiled thinly. “I’m perfectly willing to swear on the honor of my ancestors that Captain Geary has rarely followed my advice regarding the movements of this fleet.”

“The honor of a politician,” someone muttered.

Some but not all of the commanding officers from the Callas Republic ships scowled. A number of other officers around the table reacted to the insult with small smiles. Most kept their expressions unrevealing.

Geary knew his own feelings were easy enough to read. “Does my honor satisfy anyone who doubts what Co-President Rione said?” he challenged. Rione hadn’t used the opportunity to openly express her doubts in Geary’s decision, leaving him both relieved and grateful.

Only silence answered him, until Captain Mosko spoke awkwardly. “You’d be expected to defend her, Captain Geary. Under the circumstances of your relationship. That’s also the act of an honorable officer.”

“Co-President Rione does not give orders to Captain Geary, and if she tried to do so, he wouldn’t listen,” Captain Desjani stated in a clear, emotionless voice. “That is my judgment from direct observation of Captain Geary on the bridge of Dauntless. I say this on my honor, and I trust no one believes that Co-President Rione and I have any relationship that would obligate me to defend her.”

“You obviously feel obligated to defend Captain Geary,” Captain Midea replied in a tone that implied that Desjani’s obligation wasn’t based on purely professional grounds.

Desjani turned a hard gaze on her fellow officer. “Captain Midea, I will defend any officer who can defeat our enemies, especially one who can do so as Captain Geary does. He is my fleet commander, and he has honor. My enemies are the Syndics and anyone who assists them.”

The silence this time held an even sharper edge of tension. Captain Casia broke it, though with seeming reluctance to back Midea’s intemperate words. “Discussion and debate among commanding officers are accepted within the fleet. They are not cause for accusations of treason.”

“Did I accuse someone of treason?” Desjani asked.

Geary spoke in the awkward quiet that followed. “Open discussion and debate are accepted, though not once a course of action has been decided upon. I know there are some officers in this fleet who say things in private that they decline to repeat openly. I’ve said before and will repeat that I encourage suggestions and constructive comments, but I also repeat that as the commander of this fleet, I have the duty and responsibility to make the decisions and issue the orders.”

Captain Badaya nodded. “That’s what we’ve learned to expect of you,” he stated with a scornful glance toward Casia. “If we can’t use the hypernet gate at Lakota, what will be the next objective?”

Grateful for a chance to get back to discussing operational matters rather than real or imagined relationships, Geary gestured toward the display. “We’d have a couple of good options. Which way we go will depend partly on whatever we find in Lakota and how much combat results from that.” He looked down the virtual length of the table toward Captain Tyrosian and the other auxiliaries’ commanders. “Thanks to the outstanding efforts of our auxiliaries, we’ve been able to get fuel cell and expendable munitions stocks back up to decent levels, even though we’re short of one hundred percent across the board. But doing that has used up a majority of the raw materials we’ve acquired to date. We’ll need to find more to restock the bunkers in the auxiliaries. The urgency of that restocking will depend on how many fuel cells we have to burn at Lakota and how many weapons we have to expend.”

“We seem to spend a great deal of time either guarding the auxiliaries or getting them restocked,” Intrepid’s commanding officer grumbled.

“If we didn’t,” Captain Duellos pointed out in a cheerful voice, “you’d be in a Syndic labor camp by now, since it’s hard to fight without fuel or weapons.”

The commander of Bracer nodded. “My ship took a lot of damage at Daiquon. The engineers have been working themselves to exhaustion helping us on the repairs. My crew and I are happy to continue escorting them while we’re being brought back to fully operational status.”

A number of officers looked toward Commander Yin and the acting commanding officers of Majestic and Warrior. All three battleships were having extensive damage repaired, and none of their commanding officers had spoken up for the auxiliaries. “We’re grateful, too,” Commander Suram of Warrior stated quickly. “We may be operational in time for Lakota.”

Revenge’s captain smiled. “The Fourth Division hasn’t been the same without you.” The smile faded. “We still owe the Syndics for Triumph. We’ll be glad to have Warrior helping us pay them back some more.”

Damage. Geary frowned down at the table, trying to recall the details of his most badly damaged ships. Titan had repaired the mine damage it had suffered, and Warrior was coming along well, but both Orion and Majestic were still barely capable, and a number of lighter units were working hard to get back in shape. If he only had two months free of Syndic pursuit in a resource-rich star system … with a dockyard available … a big dockyard…I might as well wish for an unguarded Syndic hypernet gate. That’s about as likely to happen. “We will continue paying back the Syndics,” he added out loud. “The fleet will be adjusting its course for the jump point to Lakota. We’ll enter the jump point a little slower than we did here and this time execute an immediate preplanned turn to port right out of the jump exit at Lakota to avoid any Syndic minefields. We’ll be prepared again to fight coming out of jump, but I don’t expect to encounter a very close blocking force at Lakota like we did here.”

“Once the Syndics authorities here in Ixion report on how easily we wiped out the defenders of the jump point from Daiquon, I don’t think the Syndic high command will be repeating that tactic,” Tulev observed.

“They’ll only repeat it if we’re lucky,” Geary replied, drawing some more smiles. “Are there any questions? Good. I’ll see you all again in Lakota.”

This time as the figures of the ship captains vanished rapidly, they left four figures in the conference room beside Geary. Captain Desjani, of course, but also Captains Badaya, Duellos, and Tyrosian.

Tyrosian gave surprised glances to Badaya and Duellos, then spoke rapidly. “I just wanted to thank you, Captain Geary, for appreciating the role we play. I’ve worked for a number of commanders who just see the difficulties auxiliaries create. It’s good to work for someone who knows we’re necessary.”

“I’m very grateful to have Witch, Titan, Jinn, and Goblin in the fleet,” Geary assured her. “They’re invaluable, and the efforts of their crews have been extraordinary. Please pass that on to those ships.”

Tyrosian nodded, saluted hastily, then vanished.

Captain Badaya frowned toward Captain Desjani. “You shouldn’t have to put up with nonsense like that from someone like Midea. Three years ago she almost got court-martialed for inappropriate behavior with her executive officer, and now she’s publicly implying misconduct on your part.”

Desjani made a face. “The words of someone like her don’t bother me.”

“The fleet would be better off if Midea were relieved of command,” Badaya continued. “Unless she has a firm hand on her, Midea has always tended to impulsive actions without thinking them through. There wouldn’t be much objection to be her being relieved, Captain Geary. She doesn’t have a good reputation. But then neither does Captain Casia.”

“Nor did Captain Numos,” Duellos pointed out. “Yet many listened to him.”

“That’s so,” Badaya admitted. “But the numbers of such officers are not increasing. I’m not the fleet commander, I don’t presume to tell him what to do, but I just want him to know that he need not tolerate Midea’s nonsense. And I did wish to express my regret to Captain Desjani, though I suppose there’s worse fates than to be thought of as Captain Geary’s choice.”

Desjani flushed, clearly not pleased at the last comment, though Badaya didn’t seem to notice. “Thank you, Captain Badaya,” she stated without warmth.

Badaya smiled, saluted crisply, and then his image left as well.

Captain Desjani shook her head, then exhaled heavily. “I suppose I shouldn’t be left alone with you, sir,” she told Geary in an exasperated and angry voice, “so I’ll depart before Captain Duellos does.”

Duellos stepped forward. “Tanya, those who know you pay no attention to the rumors.”

She nodded. “My thanks. But I still care what those who don’t know me think.” Saluting as well, Desjani walked quickly out of the room.

Geary gazed after her, his jaw tight. “She doesn’t deserve that.”

“No,” Duellos agreed, “though, contrary to the opinion of Captain Badaya, getting rid of Captain Midea wouldn’t improve things. I think it more likely that such an action would merely spread rumors that you’d tried to silence her for speaking up.”

“You’re probably right. That thing that Badaya said about her needing to be kept on a tight rein, does that match your impression?”

Duellos nodded. “Ironic, isn’t it? Captain Numos, who impresses few people as a capable officer, managed to control Midea so well that her recklessness wasn’t even apparent when he was in command of that battleship division.”

“That is ironic. I never thought I’d have grounds for thinking Numos had any leadership skills.” Geary exhaled heavily, looking back toward where Captain Desjani had sat. “How can I put a lid on those rumors? All I can think is that the best thing I can do for Desjani is to keep treating her like a fellow officer and nothing more.”

“I think so, though I don’t believe it helped things when Badaya somewhat clumsily blessed the idea of her as your companion. Even though he didn’t say it, having a politician at your side isn’t nearly as desirable in the eyes of many.”

“Who I have at my side is nobody’s business but mine! As long as I’m behaving honorably and not violating regulations, that is,” Geary added.

“I don’t deny that. But you’re not just any fleet commander, and politicians, even ones as upright as Co-President Rione is said to be, are not trusted. Those who think like Badaya doubtless see your leaving her in favor of Desjani as the best possible outcome, two fleet officers ruling the Alliance.” Duellos paused before speaking again. “Would you do it?”

“What?” Geary stared at Duellos. “How can you even ask if I’d do that? I already said I wouldn’t treat Desjani that way.”

Duellos bent one corner of his mouth in a derisive smile. “Sorry. I accepted your statement about Captain Desjani. I was referring to the offer that Captain Badaya made to you recently.”

“Oh.” Geary’s outrage subsided, and he shook his head. “No. I didn’t and won’t accept that offer, and I told him that. How many people know about it?”

“Probably every commanding officer in the fleet.” Duellos gazed straight into Geary’s eyes. “I’m glad you’re so firm on the matter. I have my faults and my share of frustration with our political leaders, but I take my oath to the Alliance seriously. I couldn’t support you in that. I’d have to oppose you.”

Geary just nodded, thinking that of course Duellos would remain loyal to the government. “Is Badaya right? Would most of the fleet back such a move by me? I’m hoping you’ll say no.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t say that. Most likely two-thirds of the fleet would accept you as dictator, though the exact reasons might vary from captain to captain.” Duellos looked away for a moment. “And of those captains who wouldn’t back the move, at least some would be deposed by their crews in favor of anyone you appointed.”

Geary rubbed his forehead with both hands, trying to think. “I don’t even want to ask Colonel Carabali for fear she’ll believe I’m sounding her out.”

“The Marines?” Duellos frowned in concentration. “Now, there’s a wild card. Great personal loyalty to you, no doubt, but their loyalty to the Alliance is legendary.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter. If the crews go for you, there aren’t enough Marines to overwhelm them.”

“I can’t believe I’m talking about this.” Geary shook his head, walking slowly to one side of the room and then back. He had to make a firm stand on this, both on the outside and in his own mind. “I won’t accept Badaya’s offer.”

Duellos smiled. “Good. Not that I believed you would, but the stakes are so high, it feels comforting to be told so directly. I wouldn’t want to be on the opposite side from you.”

“That makes two of us,” Geary replied with his own smile. “I think we’ll always be on the same side.”

“Tanya Desjani would follow you. She’d be torn, but she’d be loyal to you.”

“Why are you telling me that?”

“Because I don’t think you’d ever ask her to break her oath, and she surely wouldn’t under any other conditions, but I wanted you to know that she would do what you asked.”

“Thanks.” Though Geary wasn’t sure why Duellos had wanted him to know that. “How do you feel about going to Lakota now? Still worried?”

Duellos smiled slightly again. “Aren’t you? It’s a risk. Anyplace we go from here is a risk. I think it’s a risk worth taking. Sooner or later, no matter how well we guess and plan, our luck will run out, and this fleet will find itself in serious trouble. We might as well die like warriors reaching for the stars rather than like mice hiding in shadows.”

“Even if there’s a lot of Syndics at Lakota, that doesn’t mean this fleet will die.”

“Hopefully not. But if it does, you’ve helped us even the odds after the disaster in the Syndic home system. If we take enough Syndics with us when we go, the Alliance will still have a chance.” Duellos saluted. “I’ll see you in Lakota.”

“We’ve got company, sir.”

Geary jerked awake in his darkened stateroom at the sound of Desjani’s voice, slapping the comm panel to acknowledge the message. “How many?”

“Eight Syndic capital ships have arrived in Ixion via the jump point from Dansik. Four battleships and four battle cruisers, accompanied by six heavy cruisers and a standard mix of light cruisers and HuKs. They’re about two light-hours distant, relative bearing off of our starboard beam, moving at about point one light as of two hours ago.”

“They’ve probably turned toward us since then.”

“Yes, sir. Here it is. We’re seeing the turn start now, but I don’t think they’ll try an intercept. We’re four hours and ten minutes from arrival at the jump point to Lakota.”

“No,” Geary agreed. At point one light just covering two light-hours’ distance would take twenty hours. Since the Syndics were coming toward the Alliance fleet at an angle as the Alliance ships kept moving, the distance to be covered would be even greater. “They’ll trail us through whatever jump exit we use and come in behind us there.” The enemy had been sighted, but there was absolutely nothing to do about it. Turning his own fleet to intercept the Syndics would be worse than useless, since the new flotilla would simply avoid action while awaiting more reinforcements. “Thanks for the information. Continue on course for the jump point to Lakota.”

“Yes, sir,” Desjani replied.

He lay back down, feeling guilty. Desjani was on the bridge, monitoring the situation and watching the enemy, while he was in his stateroom in bed. Of course there was nothing he could do on the bridge, but it still felt wrong.

One of Rione’s hands snaked slowly over his chest. “They’ll be coming after us to Lakota?” she murmured in his ear.

“Yeah. Sorry that woke you.”

“That’s all right. You’ll probably have trouble getting back to sleep.” Her hand slid lower. “There’s no sense in wasting us both being awake, is there?”

News of Syndic warships arriving in this star system didn’t seem to have upset Rione. Or maybe she was trying to distract him from his worries. Or maybe she was still very worried about what would happen at Lakota and really didn’t want to waste any opportunities together.

After a few moments, he stopped caring about her motivation.

Geary sat on the bridge of Dauntless, eyeing the display showing his fleet. He’d arranged it in an old formation known as Echo Five, consisting of five subformations resembling coins, each a disk facing forward with a little depth to it. Leading the fleet was Echo Five One, built around the remnants of Captain Cresida’s Fifth Battle Cruiser Division plus the understrength Seventh Battle Cruiser Division. Two battle cruiser divisions totaling only five ships combined. That was depressing if he dared think about it. With the heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers attached, the vanguard had decent fighting capability.

On either side of the main body sat Echo Five Two and Five Three, Five Two containing the eight battle cruisers of the First and Second Divisions plus plenty of lighter units, while Five Three was built around the eight battleships of the Second and Fifth Divisions plus lighter support. In the rear of the fleet, Echo Five Five contained the four auxiliaries, the damaged warships with them including Warrior, Orion, and Majestic, plus Indefatigable, Defiant, and Audacious from the Seventh Battleship Division.

The remaining five battle cruisers, including Dauntless, the thirteen other battleships, and the two scout battleships, formed the core of the main body in Fox Five Four, the rest of the heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers escorting them. Taken all in all, the Alliance fleet should be able to handle anything it encountered coming out of the jump exit at Lakota.

“All units have slowed to point zero four light speed,” Captain Desjani reported. “All units report prepared to jump.”

Geary nodded slowly, hoping he wasn’t finally making the mistake he’d dreaded since assuming command of this fleet. “All units, be prepared for combat upon exiting jump at Lakota. All units, jump now.”