Fearless

THREE

The hatch alert on Geary’s stateroom chimed, startling Geary back into awareness of the here and now. He was surprised to see how long he’d spent thinking about the fleet’s next steps. Bringing up the fleet display as well, Geary checked the position within Sutrah System. As planned, the fleet had left Sutrah Five and was now following a course that would allow it to head for either of the other two jump points in the system. Only an hour remained before the fleet would launch the kinetic retaliatory bombardment of the two inhabited worlds. There wasn’t any rush. Neither the two planets nor the targets on their surfaces could go anywhere except along the predictable and fixed orbits that made them sitting ducks for bombardments. “Please enter,” Geary called.

Captain Falco had managed to very quickly acquire a uniform adorned with all of the ribbons and awards to which he was apparently entitled. He’d also gotten his hair trimmed, but Geary couldn’t help noticing how the dashing young officer whose pictures he’d seen in old reports had been aged considerably by not just twenty years of time but also the hardships of a Syndic labor camp. Falco gave Geary a friendly, confident smile as he entered the stateroom. Geary recognized that exact smile from some of the records he had reviewed. “I’m sure you’d like to discuss our options for future operations,” Falco stated graciously. “My expertise and leaderships skills are at your disposal, of course.”

Actually, the thought of discussing options with Falco hadn’t even crossed his mind. Especially since I don’t think much of your expertise and don’t trust your leadership skills. But Geary nodded with outward politeness. “There’ll be a fleet conference held soon.”

“I meant with me,” Falco noted. “In private. It’s always best to map out a plan of action before the battle, eh? A good leader like you knows that, and I’ve heard plenty about your achievements in command of this fleet. But even the best commander needs input from those with the skills to support him, so I’ve taken the time to evaluate the fleet’s position and work up a course of action.”

The praise left Geary wary, wondering what Falco intended. “That was rather quick.”

The understated sarcasm didn’t seem to register on Captain Falco, who sat down and pointed at the regional display still visible. “Here’s what we should do. The most direct course back to Alliance space is by proceeding to Vidha. From there—”

“Vidha has a Syndic hypernet gate,” Geary interrupted. “Since it’s an obvious objective for us and easily and quickly reinforced by the Syndics, it’ll be heavily defended, and the jump points certainly will be mined.”

Falco had one of his frowns visible again. Interrupting him seemed to trigger a frown almost automatically. But he recovered quickly, assuming the expression of a respectful coworker again. “This fleet can overcome any Syndic resistance. Aggressive action is always the best move,” he lectured. “I don’t need to tell a commander like you that. This fleet has the initiative right now, and we must retain it, as you know. You understand how important it is to keep the enemy reacting to us. Now, from Vidha—”

“We’re not going to Vidha.” Since Falco seemed unable to take hints, Geary laid it out bluntly, even as he felt some admiration for Falco’s ability to make it sound like agreement with Falco’s plan was just what a good commander like Geary would, of course, do.

That seemed to take a while to sink in. Unexpected developments appeared to throw off Falco in a way that surprised Geary. Was that an act, designed to cause opponents to underestimate him? But Geary hadn’t noted any examples of that debating tactic in the old records he had reviewed.

Eventually Captain Falco shook his head. “I understand there will be Syndic forces awaiting us at Vidha. Like us, the Syndics know that Vidha is the only reasonable objective.”

The repeated use of “us” was a nice touch, Geary had to admit.

“Not only because it takes us back toward Alliance space, but because it offers an opportunity to engage and destroy the Syndics surely awaiting us at Vidha.”

“I consider that an opportunity to stick our heads into a nest of scorpions,” Geary observed. “Accepting battle at the time and place we choose is our best option. Going to Vidha would mean fighting a battle at the time and place of the Syndics’ choosing. The best we could possibly hope for at Vidha is to take horrific losses, leaving any survivors easy prey in the next Syndic system we fled to.”

Falco frowned, taking a noticeable pause to absorb Geary’s statement. “I see. You’re looking at it in terms of material factors.” Falco made it sound like that was misguided, if not completely unreasonable.

“Material factors?” Geary questioned. “You mean like numbers and types of combatants? Minefields emplaced? Fixed defenses operational and ready to assist mobile forces?”

“Exactly,” Falco beamed, projecting admiration for Geary’s insight. “Those are purely secondary issues. You know that! You’re Black Jack Geary! The moral is to the material as three is to one! With us in command—” Falco hesitated and smiled good-naturedly. “With you in command and myself along, this fleet has overwhelming moral superiority. The Syndics will flee in confusion, and we’ll have no trouble crushing them.”

Geary wondered if he was avoiding showing how appalled he was. Discounting firepower in favor of “moral” factors? Such things counted, surely, but nothing Geary had seen since assuming command had led him to conclude that the Syndics were so poorly trained, motivated, and led that such nonmaterial factors could carry the day even if the odds were close to equal. “Captain Falco, this fleet fought a substantial Syndic force at Kaliban. They didn’t fight well, but they fought.”

“I’ve seen the records of that battle,” Falco noted. “You’re to be congratulated for your efforts. But look at how few of our ships were lost! The Syndics didn’t fight well, because they were overwhelmed by our moral force!”

“They were overwhelmed by our superiority in numbers and our effective use of ancient tactics, which they weren’t prepared to deal with,” Geary corrected. “What I’ve seen so far is that the Syndics will fight even when faced with overwhelming odds, even when common sense would dictate avoiding provoking a fleet able to wipe out entire planets.”

“Nobody ever said the Syndics were smart,” Falco advised with another smile. “Our goal is to engage and destroy the Syndic fleet, so if they rush to their doom, so much the better.”

“My goal is to get as much of this fleet as possible home to Alliance space,” Geary stated. He wondered very briefly if he should tell Falco about the Syndic hypernet key on-board Dauntless and immediately dismissed the idea. Based on what he’d heard and seen so far, he simply didn’t trust Falco enough to share that critical information. “Hopefully, we’ll do considerable damage to the Syndic war effort on the way, but the overriding objective is getting the fleet home.”

Falco stared at Geary, seeming genuinely shocked this time. “You can’t refuse the opportunity for battle!”

Geary stood up and walked slowly around the stateroom, not looking at the other captain. “Why not?”

“It’s … this is the Alliance fleet!”

“Exactly.” Geary gave Falco a flat look. “And I have no intention of letting it be destroyed to no purpose. That would serve the goals of the Syndics. As I stated before, to the maximum extent possible, I’ll fight when and where I want to fight.”

“You’re supposed to be Black Jack Geary!”

“I am John Geary, and I will not waste the ships of this fleet or the lives of its crews.”

Falco’s face lost its shock and settled into stubborn lines. “Unbelievable. When the fleet ship commanders vote on—”

“There are no votes for courses of action in my fleet, Captain Falco.”

That seemed to startle Falco more than anything else Geary had yet said. Geary was increasingly convinced that, like the late Admiral Bloch, Falco’s skills had been centered on political gamesmanship to control the outcomes of such votes rather than on military tactics or strategy. Falco’s greatest victories had probably been won in such conferences and not on the battlefield. Now Falco spoke slowly, as if trying to ensure Geary understood something. “Tradition calls for the assembled wisdom and experience of the fleet ship commanders to have a role in deciding the fleet’s course of action.

““Tradition!” Geary paced again, shaking his head. “I think I know a bit more about how this fleet used to operate than you do. Try regulations. Try good order and discipline, or unity of command. I’m the commanding officer of this fleet, Captain Falco. I will listen to advice, and I will consider all suggestions offered, but I will decide what this fleet does and does not do.”

“You have to show proper respect for the commanding officers of the ships in this fleet!”

Geary nodded. “We’re in agreement on that, but showing respect isn’t the same as avoiding my responsibility, my duty, to make critical decisions.”

“I must insist on following the command procedures that this fleet has developed in the face of constant warfare.” Falco looked stubborn and proud, not willing to yield the point. It was the same way he had fought battles, Geary realized, refusing to admit or recognize when head-on assaults simply wouldn’t succeed. Oddly enough, he was clearly being sincere about this. Falco really believed this was the right way to do things.

For that reason, Geary controlled his voice, speaking with care. “I have deep respect for the officers I serve with, and deep respect for the traditions of the fleet. I am also obligated to carry out my duties as I best understand them given the rules and regulations of the fleet. I’ve checked, and those rules and regulations say nothing about votes to confirm command decisions.”

“This is not about blind adherence to rules that may be outdated in the face of the threat we face,” Falco declared.

Geary recognized the words. Falco had said similar things a number of times before being captured, usually when talking about the government of the Alliance. “For better or worse, Captain Falco, I carry respect for those outdated rules within me, and I insist upon the fleet following them as well.”

“I repeat, I insist—”

“You don’t have the authority to insist upon anything. I’m the senior officer present. I’m in command. I believe that command procedures based on votes and committees are not a good idea, and I will not follow that kind of procedure. That will not change.” Falco made to speak again, but Geary pinned him with a demanding stare. “You’ve offered one suggestion. Do you have anything else?”

Falco finally stood as well, his face reddening. “I’ve reviewed the planetary strike plans. The first volley of kinetic bombardment of the two inhabited planets in this system will leave many targets unstruck. We need to eliminate all sources of Syndic power in this system.”

“I’m destroying industrial, military, and governmental targets, Captain Falco.”

“You are leaving many Syndic workers alive to continue their labors on behalf of the Syndicate Worlds. Their ability to work on Syndic war efforts must be permanently forestalled.”

“Permanently forestalled?” Geary asked. “Is that another way of saying they have to be killed?”

Falco gave Geary an uncomprehending look. “We are in a war for everything we believe in, Captain Geary. We cannot let legal niceties prevent us from doing what must be done to protect our homes and families.”

“Legal niceties? That’s what you call them? You think that’s all that stands between us and slaughtering the civilian inhabitants of those two planets, Captain Falco?” Geary asked with deceptive quietness.

For his part, Falco seemed baffled by the question and answered as if speaking to a child. “They are part of the Syndic war machine. Only by eliminating all aspects of Syndic power can we win.”

“And you believe such an action represents everything we believe in? That our ancestors will look with favor upon mass murder?” Geary replied.

“The Syndics have done far worse!”

“That’s why we’re fighting them, isn’t it?” Geary waved one flattened hand in a chopping motion. “I will not commit atrocities or permit atrocities to be committed by anyone under my command. There will be one volley of kinetic projectiles fired at those worlds to retaliate for Syndic actions against this fleet. The targets will be military, industrial, and governmental. Period.”

Falco seemed torn between amazement and outrage. “I’d heard you’d spared Syndic prisoners, but I didn’t believe you were this soft.”

“Soft?” Instead of angering him, Geary discovered the word amused him. “I have no trouble fighting enemy combatants. If you’ve really heard what happened to the Syndic flotilla at Kaliban, you should realize that. As for treatment of prisoners, I would’ve thought your last two decades of imprisonment would’ve caused you to recognize the virtues of handling prisoners of war in accordance with the laws of war.” He paused, realizing that further antagonizing Falco wouldn’t do any good. But he also guessed that Falco would leap on any sign of perceived weakness. “I was trained to do things that have since been lost through no one’s fault, Captain Falco. I’ve brought that training with me from the past so I can help this fleet fight better. I’ve also brought with me attitudes that may be regarded as archaic but that I believe in. I believe they’ll make this fleet stronger.”

Falco stared back, his face rigid. “So you say.” He made an obvious effort to control himself. “Perhaps we should start over.”

Geary nodded. “That might be a good idea.”

“We both want the same thing,” Falco noted, the companionable smile back. Geary wondered just what Falco considered that same thing to be. “Together, we can accomplish a great deal.”

“For the Alliance?” Geary prodded.

“Of course! But the Alliance needs strong leaders! We can provide that leadership.” Falco shook his head, sighing theatrically. “You can see what things are like now. The state of the fleet. The sort of people giving orders to the fleet. That Rione woman. An Alliance senator accompanying the fleet as if we needed politicians breathing down our necks to do our jobs right! I understand she’s been a thorn in your side, which is exactly what I would have suspected.”

Geary tried to look noncommittal. “You’ve heard that?”

“From many people. But of course we can work together and neutralize her influence.”

“That’s an idea,” Geary stated in as neutral a tone as he could manage. It occurred to him that Falco might have already had this exact same conversation with Co-President Rione, commiserating over Geary’s presence and offering to work together with Rione against Geary. He wondered if Rione would tell him about such a thing if he asked.

Falco leaned closer, smiling like a comrade in arms and brandishing an emphatic forefinger. “When this fleet returns to Alliance space, its leaders will be able to write their own tickets for the future. You know that. We’ll have a historic opportunity to shape the way the Alliance pursues this war, and the way the Alliance makes decisions. With that opportunity, we could establish the conditions to finally win this war. You’ll need someone with you who understands the current lay of the land. Someone who will help you against the politicians who have done all they can to ruin the Alliance and leave it helpless against the Syndics.”

Geary just gazed back, keeping his expression unrevealing. With me? Why do I think that the instant we hit Alliance space, Captain Falco will be sending out press releases hailing his success in getting the fleet back safely and making me out to be a figurehead at best? “Captain Falco, you’ve been in a Syndic labor camp for some time. Your own knowledge is considerably out of date.”

Falco’s smile was now confident as well as conspiratorial. “I have friends who can bring me up to date. After all, I have a lot fewer decades to learn about than you, eh?”

“Captain Falco, I’m always grateful for useful suggestions. However, my role is to get this fleet home safe. Once there, my job is to defer to the elected leadership of the Alliance, regardless of what I think of the wisdom of their decisions. If I can’t in good conscience support legal decisions by the Alliance leadership, my duty is to resign my position in this fleet.”

“Preserving the Alliance is more important than the prerogatives of politicians,” Falco noted dismissively.

“Captain Falco, in the time I came from, it was understood that preserving the Alliance meant preserving what it stood for. Preserving individual rights and the rights of the electorate.” Falco was clearly working hard at trying not to frown again. “I wish to continue working in a constructive manner with Co-President Rione. I would hope for your support in all of my decisions.”

Falco eyed him, a trace of wariness in his eyes, even though the smile was still present. “Support doesn’t come without a price.”

Isn’t that a surprise? “I’m afraid I have nothing to offer in exchange for support but the welfare of this fleet and of the Alliance.”

“That’s all I care about!” It sounded completely sincere, and Geary realized it probably was. Falco believed he could save the Alliance and believed that he could make better decisions than the elected leaders of the Alliance. “The Alliance needs a strong leader! I have to know your actions will work to the short-and long-term benefit of the Alliance, and frankly, right now I’m concerned that you don’t realize how serious things have gotten in the many years you were in survival sleep!”

It had been easier to think of Falco as an opportunist. Instead, he was apparently motivated by a genuine and heartfelt belief that he and he alone could save the Alliance. In some ways, that probably made him more dangerous, Geary reflected. No one else could ever meet Falco’s ideal of the best leader, a position reserved in Falco’s mind for Falco himself, and no action that Falco disapproved of could possibly be right.

Geary tried to speak in as professional and dispassionate a way as he could. “I grant that you are concerned for the welfare of the Alliance. Our opinions on the right courses of action may diverge at times. But fate and my rank have placed me in command of this fleet. I can’t in good conscience deny my duty to this fleet and to the Alliance, which requires me to lead this fleet to the best of my ability. I believe we are in agreement that getting this fleet back to Alliance space is critical to the Alliance war effort, and I welcome your support in ensuring that happens.”

Falco’s smile had vanished again. “You expect me to stand by while you squander opportunities to strike important blows against the Syndicate Worlds? While this fleet wanders around backwaters of the Syndicate Worlds instead of seeking out the enemy? While civilian politicians with no experience presume to tell us how to fight this war?”

“None of those things are happening,” Geary stated. “We are engaging the enemy, we are heading for home, and Co-President Rione does not interfere in the decision making of this fleet.”

“Extended survival sleep does things to people,” Falco observed with enough acid to match Captain Faresa’s best. “It warps their judgment.”

“And your judgment isn’t warped?” Geary asked. “Have you ever made a mistake, Captain Falco? Ever?”

Falco glared back, openly hostile now. “There have been times when I have placed too much trust in some subordinates, but I personally have been able to avoid serious errors. Which is why I should be commanding this fleet, and which is why I will try to convince my fellow officers of that fact.”

“I see.” Geary took a moment to wonder what would happen if people willing to believe in perfect heroes, as some thought of him, were combined with a man who thought he was perfect. The idea was frightening. “Captain Falco, I have a job to do to the best of my ability. I take that responsibility very seriously. Your duty to the Alliance is to support my efforts. I will not tolerate any attempts to hinder me. If you attempt to undermine or obstruct my command of this fleet, I will make you regret it. Do not doubt my honor, Captain Falco. Perhaps it’s a very old-fashioned thing, but I do take it seriously.”

Falco stared back at Geary for several seconds, then spun on one heel, turning to go. “Captain Falco.” Falco stopped in midmotion, hesitating at the tone of Geary’s voice. “You have permission to leave.” Though Geary couldn’t see Falco’s face, he could see the other captain’s neck redden alarmingly.

Falco whirled back to face Geary as the hatch opened and revealed Rione standing there about to touch the alert button. She paused, watching, as Falco spoke with cold precision, apparently not having yet noticed Rione standing nearby. “This fleet deserves a commander whose personal bravery and boldness matches that of its sailors. If you don’t provide that sort of command, I assure you that the fleet will find a new leader.” He pivoted back to leave, freezing for a moment at the sight of Rione, then walked brusquely past her without a word.

Rione gave Geary an inquisitive look. “Did your meeting go well?”

“Very funny. What brings you back here?”

“I wanted to inform you that Captain Falco had expressed concern to me about whether you were acting in the best interests of the Alliance,” Rione stated matter-of-factly.

“He expressed the same sentiment to me about you,” Geary replied.

“Among other sentiments?” Rione asked. “You know what you’re dealing with now.” She nodded and left as well.

Geary closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead in a vain attempt to relax as the hatch closed. He sat down again, drumming the fingers of one hand on the armrest next to him, then paged Captain Desjani. “Do you have time to stop by my stateroom? I’d like to discuss a few things.”

It took Captain Desjani only a few minutes to arrive. She gave him a quizzical look. “You needed to speak privately, sir?”

“Yes.” Geary waved her to a seat, sitting forward and waiting until Desjani had sat down, stiff enough in her posture that she seemed to be sitting at attention. I need to know how other officers feel. “Captain, I’d like your candid assessment of Captain Falco.”

Desjani hesitated. “Technically, Captain Falco is senior to me.”

“Yes, but you’re the same rank, and he won’t be commanding this fleet.”

She seemed to relax a bit. “I’ve only known Captain Falco before this from his reputation and from stories told by older officers, sir.”

“I’ve been given to understand he’s well regarded.”

“Yes, in the sense of a dead hero. Captain Falco was seen as an inspiring example.” Desjani grimaced. “You wish me to speak frankly, sir?” Geary nodded. “If Black Jack Geary was regarded as the fleet’s god, then Fighting Falco was a sort of demigod. Officers I’ve spoken to told tales approving of Captain Falco’s fighting spirit and his general attitude.”

Geary nodded again, pondering the irony of the fact that the two things Captain Falco had been admired for were the exact two things Geary disliked most in Falco. “He’s still thought of as a good commander?”

Desjani thought for a few seconds. “If any captain but you had been in command of this fleet, then Captain Falco would’ve very likely ended up in command instead.”

“How would you feel about that?”

Desjani grimaced again. “At one time … I’ve gotten used to dealing with a commander who wasn’t seeking my vote in a fleet conference, sir. You gave me some praise while we were on the shuttle dock if you recall, and that meant a great deal, because you had grounds for making an assessment of me and my ship. When Captain Falco offered praise … I knew it couldn’t have been earned. The contrast was very clear: one commander who respected what I did and another who saw me as someone he could flatter and use.”

Geary thanked whatever had prompted him to say what he had when he had. Perhaps his ancestors were lending him a hand sometimes. “Did you have any other impressions?”

She hesitated, thinking. “He’s very personable, sir. I thought Admiral Bloch was good, but he wasn’t in Captain Falco’s class at all. And I’ve had time for a couple of more brief talks with Lieutenant Riva. He and the other liberated prisoners believe Captain Falco is deeply devoted to the welfare of the Alliance. Captain Falco dedicated great efforts in the labor camp to keeping up morale and assuring everyone that Alliance victory would come. Lieutenant Riva thinks many prisoners would have given up hope and let themselves die without Captain Falco’s example.”

This would be easier if Falco was simply a glory hound, Geary reflected. But he is an inspiring leader, and he does care about the Alliance. Unfortunately, his vision of saving the Alliance would mean turning it into a reflection of the Syndicate Worlds. May our ancestors preserve us from those who would destroy the things that make the Alliance worth fighting for in the name of defending it. “Thank you, Captain Desjani. I have reason to believe that Captain Falco intends promoting himself as the rightful commander of the fleet.”

That got another grimace from Desjani. “Sir, as I said, if it were any captain but you, if you had not already successfully brought us this far and won a great victory at Kaliban, then Captain Falco would be in command within a few days at the most. He’s … um…”

“A little more charming than me?” Geary asked dryly.

“Yes, sir.” She paused. “In truth, sir, if I’d met him before you, I might feel differently. The changes you’ve brought about were often hard to accept. But you truly have changed how I see senior officers.”

Geary looked away, embarrassed by the praise. “How about the other ship commanders? Do you think they’ll feel the same way?”

“It’s hard to say. There remains a hard core of ship captains who would rather lose fighting in what they see as the ‘honorable’ way than win by fighting in the more disciplined fashion you’ve brought. They believe that fighting spirit is the most important element in battle, and that you lack that spirit, sir.”

It wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before. “So I understand. ‘The moral is to the material as three is to one.’ Surely there’s been enough disasters as a result of that attitude to impress even the firmest believers in fighting spirit as the silver bullet of warfare.”

Desjani smiled humorlessly. “A belief doesn’t rest on evidence but on faith, sir.”

Like the belief in him, or rather in Black Jack Geary, which he had been able to put to good use. Geary nodded. “True enough. Are there enough of these true believers in fighting spirit to give Captain Falco command?”

“No, sir. There’s many fence-sitters, still, but that wouldn’t incline them to support Captain Falco. Many have been impressed by your performance, sir.” She must have seen Geary’s self-consciousness this time. “You showed everyone at Kaliban, sir, even though the lessons from that battle are taking time to filter through the fleet. And I have to add, because you asked me to speak frankly, sir, that your moral stands have deeply moved a lot of officers and sailors because they’re based on what our ancestors truly believed and would expect from us. We’ve forgotten so much, or allowed ourselves to forget so much, and you’ve allowed us to regain those things.”

Geary kept his eyes on the deck, too embarrassed to meet her eyes. “Thank you. I hope I can live up to that sort of assessment. Captain Desjani, there may be trouble at the fleet conference I’m about to call.”

“There usually is trouble at fleet conferences,” Captain Desjani observed.

Geary smiled briefly. “Yeah. But I expect this to be worse than usual. Partly because I expect Captain Falco to be there, trying to throw his weight around, and partly because of what I’m going to propose to do.”

“What are you planning, sir?”

“I’m planning on taking this fleet to Sancere.”

“Sancere?” Desjani seemed puzzled, trying to recall where that was; then her eyes widened. “Yes, sir. There’ll be trouble.”

Geary walked to the bridge, checking the time and barely arriving before the scheduled launch of the kinetic bombardment. He settled into his command seat as Captain Desjani nodded in welcome as if she’d been on the bridge for hours instead of getting there just minutes before Geary himself.

The planetary display obligingly popped up, the target sites glowing. Geary scanned them again, thinking about the power he had to ruin worlds. Falco had seemed ready and willing to exercise such power, but then after twenty years on a cold rock like Sutrah Five, maybe Geary would’ve also been eager to bomb the living hell out of the place. “You may proceed with launch of bombardment as scheduled.”

Desjani nodded again, then gestured to the combat system watch-stander, who tapped a single control, then entered the authorization.

It all seemed so simple, so clean and neat. Geary called up the fleet display, waiting, then saw his battleships and battle cruisers begin pumping out the bombardment rounds. Just solid chunks of metal, aerodynamic and with special ceramic coatings to keep them from vaporizing from the heat of atmospheric friction before impact. Inheriting a lot of speed from the ships that had dropped them, the kinetic rounds would fall toward their planetary targets, accelerating to even higher velocities under the pull of gravity and gaining more energy every meter of the way. When those simple metal chunks struck the surface of the planets, all of that kinetic energy would be released in explosions that would leave nothing but large craters and twisted wreckage in their wake.

Geary sat, watching the bombardment aimed at Sutrah Five arcing down into the atmosphere, wondering how it looked to those on the planet’s surface. “It must be a very helpless feeling.”

“Sir?” Desjani’s question made Geary realized he’d spoken out loud.

“I was just thinking how it’d feel to be on a planet and see that bombardment coming in,” Geary admitted. “No way to stop it, impossible to run fast enough to avoid one of the rounds if you were at a target site, no shelter capable of withstanding the impact.”

Desjani’s eyes shaded as she considered the idea. “I hadn’t really thought about it in those terms. Alliance worlds have felt it, too, and I know I’ve felt helpless when I’ve heard about it, not able to have stopped it. But, yes, I’d much rather be in something that can maneuver and fight.”

By now the kinetic rounds aimed at Sutrah Five were all glowing brightly with the heat of their passage, dozens of deadly fireflies curving toward the planet’s surface. From Dauntless’s position, Geary could see part of Sutrah Five covered by night and watch the brilliant display of fiery destruction lighting the darkness of the skies there. “There’s no honor in killing helpless people,” he murmured, thinking of what Falco had urged.

To his surprise, Captain Desjani nodded in agreement. “No.”

He remembered her once expressing regret that the null-field weapons were short-range and couldn’t work near gravity wells, and therefore couldn’t be used against planets. Geary wondered if Desjani still felt that way.

He zoomed in the scale on his display, getting a good picture of one of the targets, a still-functioning industrial site that, on multispectral imagery, displayed heat from warm equipment and radiation of electronic signals leaking from wiring. There were no signs of people at the location, though, all of them apparently having taken the warning seriously and evacuated. Geary didn’t really see the kinetic round come in, as it was moving far too fast for his eye to register, but his mind imagined seeing a blur rocket in followed by an intense flash of light automatically blocked by Dauntless’s sensors. Pulling back the scale again, Geary saw shock waves radiating out from a cloud of vaporized material, shattering buildings and making the planet’s surface ripple like the hide of a living beast stung by an insect. He pulled back the scale again, much farther, seeing the mushroom-shaped clouds that mankind had grown to know all too well rising high into the skies of Sutrah Five as impacts occurred at multiple sites, smashing in moments all of the industrial and transportation hubs that humans had spent centuries creating on Sutrah Five.

Torn between fascination at the destruction and sorrow over its necessity, Geary selected one special site and homed in on it. The target in the mountain range didn’t show as much obvious destruction as other locations, because the kinetic round fired at it had been shaped to penetrate deeply into the rock on impact. The crater was deeper but smaller than at other locations, as if a spear had lanced into the planet seeking a special target. As it had, because this was where the hidden command post had once existed. Geary wondered if the high-ranking leaders who’d been willing to subject others to the risk of bombardment had themselves had time to realize they wouldn’t be safe after all.

“I know the Syndic military base is an obsolete burden to them,” Desjani remarked, “but it wouldn’t have cost us much to eliminate it as well, as long as we were trying to teach the Syndics a lesson.”

Geary shook his head, his eyes still on the impact site where the planetary high command had been sheltered. “That depends on what lesson we’re trying to teach, doesn’t it? Vengeance? Or justice?”

Desjani spent a long time quiet. “Vengeance is easier to inflict, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t require much thought.”

She nodded slowly. Whatever lesson he’d taught the Syndics, Desjani seemed to be thinking a great deal.

On his display, Geary could see the swarm of projectiles headed for Sutrah Four. The people there would be seeing the impacts on their sister world and would know a similar fate awaited many locations on the planet they called home. They would also get to watch the bombardment heading their way for another hour or so, prolonging the suffering of their experience. He wondered if they’d blame the Alliance or the Syndic leaders who had been willing to sacrifice them.

Another conference, the atmosphere tense because every ship commander present knew that Geary intended laying out his next course of action. Granted, besides Geary himself, only Captain Desjani was actually physically present. Once again, Co-President Rione wasn’t in the room. Geary wondered this time if her absence had anything to do with the rumors that she and Geary were personally involved.

The absence of Captain Fighting Falco was a pleasant surprise but left Geary worrying what Falco was up to. Falco didn’t seem like the sort to give up easily, and Geary would’ve much preferred to see any political games being played right before him to having them occur in shadows outside of his knowledge. He hoped that Rione’s spies would tell her of anything Geary had to worry about and that she would pass those reports on to him.

Geary looked around the table, knowing he was about to set off a firestorm and seeing no alternative. “Ladies and gentlemen, the Syndics are drawing a net about us. The traps we encountered in this system are clear evidence that the Syndics are predicting our next objectives well enough to prepare for us. As you all know,” or should know, Geary added to himself, “the Syndics had light ships posted at all of the jump points in this system. As the light from our arrival reached them, three of those ships jumped out. There are three possible destinations through those gates, and all will be warned of our possible impending arrival.”

He waited for any comments, but there were none. Everyone seemed to be waiting to hear his proposal. “I’ve taken a look at our possible objectives from this point, and the reachable stars beyond those, and it’s all too clear that the Syndics will be able to channel our options down to the point of being able to trap us with greatly superior forces no matter what we do.” He paused, letting that sink in. “I have no doubt that we’d inflict terrible losses on those Syndic forces, but this fleet would be destroyed in the process.” That was a valuable offering to their pride, Geary thought, as well as a reminder that this was still about trying to get home.

“The Marine exploitation groups were able to get an outdated but useful Syndicate Worlds star system guide from files left behind at the labor camp.” Geary nodded toward Colonel Carabali. “After reviewing that, I believe there’s another option, which I think gives us a chance to not only avoid that trap but also to inflict a powerful blow to the Syndics, totally disrupt their plans, and leave us many options for heading back toward Alliance space again.” He used his finger to draw a line through the display. “We take the fleet back to the jump point we used to arrive. Not to go back to Kaliban but to jump to Strabo.”

“Strabo?” someone blurted after several seconds of silence. “What’s at Strabo?”

“Nothing. Not even enough rocks to have developed much of a human presence and now completely abandoned.”

The captain of the Polaris was staring at the display. “Strabo is almost directly away from Alliance space.”

“Yes,” Geary agreed. “The Syndics have to believe the chance we’d jump back toward the way we came is very remote. They haven’t sent anyone through that jump point since we’ve arrived. Once they get word that we did, they’ll consider a jump to Strabo even more remote. But we’re going to throw them off worse than that.” He swung his finger again, knowing his next words would trigger a much stronger reaction. “From Strabo we jump to Cydoni.”

“Cydoni?” Captain Numos had finally been prodded into challenging Geary again. “That’s even deeper into Syndic space!”

“It is. The Syndics will figure out eventually that we’ve jumped to Strabo, and from there they’ll assume we’re headed for the other three stars within range of Strabo, all of which bend back to Alliance space. It’ll take them a long time to figure out we jumped to Cydoni.”

“What possible purpose could that serve?” Numos demanded. “Shall we run to the far side of Syndic space? They won’t expect that, will they? Do you have any idea how badly we’ll need resupply by the time we reach Cydoni? What’s there?”

“Nothing,” Geary stated. Everyone was staring at him. “It’s another abandoned system. The star’s photosphere is expanding, so the one once-habitable planet was evacuated decades ago. No, what counts is what lies beyond Cydoni.” He gestured again, trying to make it dramatic. “At extreme jump range from Cydoni is Sancere. Again at an angle away from Alliance space, but the odds seem exceptionally good that our arrival at Sancere would be a total surprise to the Syndics.”

“Sancere’s the site of some of the Syndicate Worlds’ biggest shipyards,” Captain Duellos observed in the shocked silence that followed. “But can we really reach it from Cydoni? Jump drive specifications don’t say they have that range.”

“We can. I’ve made longer jumps,” Geary advised. “Since the invention of the hypernet, you all haven’t been dependent on jump drives for long hauls between stars. We had no alternative to using the jump drives in my time, and we learned some ways of extending the range past the official maximum.”

“This is insane!” Captain Faresa commented in a baffled voice. “Running deeper into Syndic space, repeatedly, to reach an objective sure to be heavily guarded with our own supplies near exhaustion!”

“It won’t be heavily guarded enough to deal with us,” Geary stated with a confidence greater than he really felt. There was always that awful chance that he was wrong. But he couldn’t admit to that and have a hope of convincing these people. “The Syndics will have had to send strong detachments every which way to try to find us and intercept us. They’ll never suspect we’ve been bold enough to strike at Sancere, even if they have someone who remembers that the jump drives will let us reach there from Cydoni. And resupply won’t be a problem. This is a heavily populated major shipbuilding center. It’ll have everything we could possibly want.”

“Including a hypernet gate,” Captain Tulev observed.

“Right.” Geary nodded, looking around and seeing uncertainty on most faces. “If they destroy it, it’ll prevent reinforcements from arriving relatively quickly. If they don’t destroy it…” He let the thought hang, deliberately holding it out as bait.

“We can get home. Fast,” someone breathed.

Numos gave Geary a narrow-eyed look. “The Syndic hypernet key we acquired from the traitor still exists then?”

“It does.”

“We could’ve gone to Cadiz and used it there!”

Geary felt anger rising at the stubborn stupidity of Numos. “As we decided at the time, Cadiz was too obvious an objective. The Syndics surely had overwhelming forces there awaiting us.”

“But they won’t at Sancere? How can you take such an insane risk?” Numos demanded.

Geary stared coldly at him. “I thought I was supposed to be too cautious. Are you now accusing me of being too bold?” He shifted his gaze, sweeping it across the other officers. “You know the truth as well as I do. The Syndics laid not one but three traps for us in this system. They’ve sent word ahead to all of our possible objectives if we continue on our current paths toward Alliance space. The only way to disrupt their plans, to preserve this fleet, is to do something so unexpected, not once but three times, that they’ll be scrambling to catch up.” He pointed again. “Sancere was a big shipbuilding center even before the hypernet, not just because it’s a wealthy star system, but because there’s six stars within jump range, not counting Cydoni. Six options, five of which bear back toward the Alliance. No, I’m not thrilled by the amount of distance we have to make up, but we’ll inflict a major blow on the Syndics, we’ll ruin their plans to keep wearing us down and trap us, and we’ll be able to pick up everything we need to keep going.”

“And if all works,” Captain Duellos added, “perhaps the hypernet gate we need to get home.”

Too many pairs of eyes were still locked on the path Geary had traced. He knew from the expressions that those officers were gauging just how far Geary’s plan would take them from Alliance space. “If our objective is to get home,” Geary emphasized, “and to hurt the Syndics in the process, then Sancere is the way back to Alliance space.”

“This is nonsense,” Numos declared. “I call for a vote!”

Geary eyed him coldly. “There are no votes in my fleet.”

“If I’m to be asked to charge deep into Syndic territory on a suicidal mission, I should be allowed a say in it! We all should!”

Captain Tulev made a disgusted sound. “You already voted to do that. When Admiral Bloch was in command of the fleet. Or have you forgotten that a vote put us in this situation?”

Numos flushed with anger. “That was an entirely different situation. Where is Captain Falco? What is his advice?”

“You’ll have to ask him,” Geary advised. “I’ve already received his input.” And discounted it. But they didn’t have to know that.

“Where is Captain Falco?” Captain Faresa demanded, seconding Numos as usual.

Captain Desjani answered, her voice as calm and un-emotional as if she were providing a routine report. “Captain Falco is undergoing medical tests recommended by the fleet medical personnel aboard the Dauntless.”

Geary tried not to look surprised and not to smile. He hadn’t suspected Desjani could be so devious.

Faresa, however, looked outraged. “Medical tests?”

“Yes,” Desjani confirmed blandly. “For Captain Falco’s safety. He was under considerable physical stress in the Syndic labor camp, and of course also suffered from the pressures of being the senior Alliance officer present there. Fleet medical personnel expressed concern following their initial checkup of Captain Falco, asking for a follow-up examination as soon as possible.”

“What did Captain Falco recommend?” someone asked.

“His advice to me is between Captain Falco and myself,” Geary replied. That didn’t go over well, so Geary decided to elaborate. “I will say that Captain Falco hadn’t had time to fully acquaint himself with the situation this fleet finds itself in. He also recommended that we launch a much larger bombardment of the inhabited worlds in this system. I don’t believe that to be wise, humane, or justified, so I rejected that advice.”

“Captain Falco is a fighting commander,” the captain of the Brigandine finally remarked after another long pause.

“My father died serving under him,” the captain of the Steadfast agreed.

It was too much for Geary. “A lot of sailors died serving under Captain Falco.” A hush followed the blunt comment. “Anyone who wishes to compare my fighting spirit to that of Captain Falco is welcome to contrast what happened at Kaliban with any battle commanded by Captain Falco. Since I believe we serve the Alliance best, and protect our homes best, by both winning and surviving, I don’t fear any comparison of ship losses on both sides or of casualty ratios.”

“I served under Captain Falco at Batana,” Captain Duellos remarked in an almost idle tone. “My first battle and nearly my last. My commanding officer commented afterward that as our losses equaled those of the Syndics, it would’ve been simpler if Captain Falco had only ordered each of his ships to ram one of the enemy ships, thereby achieving the same result with much less difficulty.”

“Captain Falco is a hero of the Alliance!” someone else argued.

“Captain Falco is an officer of this fleet,” Commander Cresida replied sharply. “Are we choosing commanders by vote again? Given how well that’s worked in the past? Has Captain Geary given any reason at all to doubt his judgment? How many of you would’ve chosen to die at Kaliban in the name of adding glory to the battle?”

Her words seem to give pause to most of those present, but Captain Faresa sent a particular acidic look Cresida’s way. “We don’t need to hear lectures from an officer junior to us in rank and experience.”

Commander Cresida flushed, but thanks to time delay in the signal from Cresida’s ship, Geary got his answer in first. “I’m running this meeting and this fleet,” he stated in a hard voice, “and I decide what we need to hear. I welcome input from a capable officer such as Commander Cresida.”

More objections were raised. Geary argued them down. More wishes were floated for Captain Falco’s opinion. Geary’s strongest allies belittled those, using the undeniable fact that Falco was still unfamiliar with the fleet’s circumstances. Geary finally held up a restraining hand. “A decision needs to be made. I have the responsibility of making it. The bottom line is this: I will take this fleet to Sancere because that offers our best hope for continued survival. And when we get there, we will inflict a serious defeat on the Syndics in the bargain and avenge Anelace, Baselard, Mace, and Cuirass.”

More than one commander looked unhappy, more than one looked to Numos for further argument, but a warning glance from Geary kept Numos silent this time. More importantly, the majority of the officers seemed not only willing to go along but convinced by Geary’s arguments. “That is all,” Geary concluded. “Orders to maneuver the fleet back toward the jump point we used to enter this system will go out within a few minutes.”

The crowd shrank within moments, leaving only Captain Desjani and the virtual presence of Captain Duellos. Desjani stood and smiled in a grim way. “Another victory, sir.”

“I think I’d rather fight the Syndics,” Geary admitted. “Please have Dauntless broadcast the change-of-course order. To be executed at,” he checked the readouts, “time two zero.”

“Yes, sir.” Desjani saluted before she departed.

Geary nodded to Duellos. “Thanks for the backup.”

Duellos gave Geary a skeptical look in return. “You don’t really expect the Syndics to let us access that hypernet gate at Sancere, do you?”

Geary looked down and grimaced. “No. I think the Syndics know they can’t afford to let this fleet get home with a working key to their hypernet. It’d give the Alliance a decisive edge in the war.”

“So they will take the extreme measure of destroying the gate rather than allow us access.”

“Probably.” Geary shrugged. “There’s always a chance they won’t. A very slim chance, but it’s there.”

“True.” Duellos sighed. “If not for that gate, the fleet wouldn’t have followed you to Sancere, you know.”

“I know.”

“But if we make it there, and win, the doubters will have trouble finding an audience.” Duellos carefully saluted. “It’s a tremendous risk, but you’ve earned the right to our trust.”

Geary returned the salute. “Thanks.”

“You’re sure the jump drives can get us from Cydoni to Sancere?”

“Absolutely.”

After Duellos “left,” Geary went wearily back to his stateroom. He didn’t need to be on the bridge when the fleet turned since he could watch the maneuver from the displays in his own stateroom. Normally he’d try to be on the bridge anyway, satisfying the need of the crew to believe that their commander cared about their work and how they did it, but after the drawn out and too-often-hostile arguments he’d dealt with, Geary badly needed a break.

He saw Co-President Rione waiting outside his stateroom, knew there’d been time enough for her to be briefed on the meeting by some of the commanders of ships belonging to the Callas Republic, saw the fire barely restrained behind her eyes, and knew he wasn’t going to get that break yet.

Rione stood silently until Geary entered, following him inside and waiting until the hatch closed before rounding on him and letting her feelings show clearly.

Looking at her, Geary realized he’d never really seen Co-President Victoria Rione angry before. It wasn’t something he wanted to see again. “How could you have done such a thing?” Rione demanded, seeming to bite off each word as it came out.

Geary spoke carefully. “I believe this is the best course of action—”

“You’ve betrayed this fleet! You’ve betrayed the Alliance! And you’ve betrayed me!”

Flinching from the harsh words and anger, Geary nonetheless found his attention fixing on the last sentence. “I betrayed you? How?”

Rione flushed, drawing herself back. “That’s … never mind. I misspoke. I meant that you’d betrayed everyone in this fleet, all of the officers and sailors who have come to trust that you would use your command wisely! I have not worked against you. I have tried to support your efforts, thinking that you had demonstrated a lack of personal ambition and some minor degree of common sense. I was wrong, Captain Geary. By fooling me as to your true intentions, you succeeded in manipulating this fleet to a place where you can play the hero you’ve obviously always sought to be! And you’ve made me an unwitting accomplice in your schemes!”

“I am not a hero,” Geary snapped back at her. “This isn’t about that at all. If you’ll just take a moment to consider my reasons—”

“Your reasons? I already know what your reasons are,” Rione insisted. “You fear that Captain Falco will wrest command of this fleet from you. I heard what he said to you, warning you that the fleet would choose another commander if you weren’t bold enough! So to prevent that from happening, you’re willing to risk this fleet’s destruction! As if the fleet and every person in it is just a toy that you and Captain Falco are fighting over like a pair of jealous toddlers! If you can’t have it, no one can!”

Geary kept a rein on his temper with great effort. “Madam Co-President,” he ground out, “I extrapolated every possible course of action—”

“Did you? And where are the records of these extrapolations, Captain Geary?” she demanded.

That statement knocked Geary off balance for a moment. “You can access my personal strategic models and simulations? Those are supposed to be under a tight eyes-only security seal.”

Rione, looking like she regretted having admitted that, nonetheless nodded imperiously. “Did you have something to hide, Captain Geary? Such as a total lack of records of the simulations you claim justify this decision of yours?”

“I didn’t run simulations,” Geary roared back. “I could do all of that in my head. Not to the same degree of accuracy as simulations, but well enough to identify the dangers we were facing!”

“You actually expect me to believe that? Do you think I’m stupid as well as gullible, Captain Geary? What were you planning to manipulate me into doing for you next? Do you think I have no pride? Do you think I have no sense of honor?”

He tried to get his temper back under control. “I have not fooled you, I have not manipulated you, I have been honest every step of the way.”

Rione leaned closer, her eyes blazing. “I have endured many things for the sake of the Alliance, Captain Geary. But to find that I have been treated in this fashion by a man I had come to assume was above such things is the most humiliating thing I have ever experienced. Worse, the fact that you succeeded in using me to further your aims means these ships and perhaps the Alliance itself are doomed. The people of the Callas Republic, who I swore to serve faithfully, are doomed. I have failed, Captain Geary. You can take satisfaction in that much. You don’t need to continue pretending to be unjustly accused.”

Geary glared back at her. “Believe it or not, this isn’t about you.”

“No, Captain Geary. It’s not. It’s about the thousands of men and women you are leading to their deaths.”

Geary looked away, trying to regain his composure. “If you would do me the courtesy of letting me explain my intentions—”

“I’ve already heard them.” Rione pivoted, walked one step away, then swung back to face him again. “The simulations you claimed to have run don’t exist. You haven’t even tried to claim otherwise.”

“I never claimed to have run simulations!”

Rione paused, then a bitter smile curved one corner of her mouth. “So the simple warrior chose his words with such great care? Implying something existed when it didn’t?”

“I didn’t intend that anyone misinterpret my reasons for this course of action! You just have to take my word for it that I worked this out.”

“How convenient,” Rione stated in a voice suddenly gone icy. “I only need to take your word again. I hadn’t realized you held me in such contempt. Am I really so easy to manipulate?”

“I did not manipulate you! That was never my intention!”

“So you say.” Rione shook her head slowly, never taking her eyes off of Geary. “Your real intentions are already clear to me.”

“Fine,” Geary almost snarled. “Then why don’t you tell me what you think they are?”

“I already told you. When confronted with a serious challenge to your command of this fleet, you have chosen to do the sort of insanely risky and ill-considered action that you have spent the last few months claiming to abhor. Your intention, Captain Geary, is to prove that you can be as brainlessly aggressive as Captain Falco, thereby ensuring these ships continue to follow you, regardless of what happens to them as a result.”

“This isn’t brainless,” Geary snapped back at her. “I considered all options.”

“And clearly disregarded all of the intelligent ones!”

“I don’t want this fleet destroyed! If we’d continued ahead as planned, we would’ve been trapped by superior Syndic forces after having been worn down by more minor losses in every system along the way!” He was yelling at her again, Geary realized, more angry than he could remember feeling since being rescued.

She kept yelling back. “Where is the proof that you considered these options? Where are the simulations you ran?”

“In my head!”

“Do you seriously expect me to believe such a self-serving argument? One that I cannot verify? I’m just supposed to continue trusting you?”

“Yes! I think I’ve earned the right to some benefit of the doubt!”

“Benefit of the doubt? I’ve granted you that in the past, Captain Geary, to my eventual sorrow. But you can’t offer one solid piece of evidence to excuse this course of action, not one! This decision of yours is totally unjustified by any proof except your assertions. You’re supposed to hold on to your command by proving that you’re a better man than Captain Falco! Not by proving that you’re an even bigger idiot than he is!”

Geary shook his head like an angry bull. “I never claimed to be a better man.”

“Yes, you did,” Rione accused him. “You spoke of caring for the lives of the sailors in this fleet, you spoke of leading them wisely. You—” She broke off, her face twisted with fury. “How could you do this to me?”

“To you?” There it was again. Geary managed to rein in his temper again with a supreme effort, wondering why Rione’s anger was affecting him so strongly. “I did not misuse your trust. I didn’t manipulate you. I swear this is my best judgment. To keep this fleet alive and get it home.”

“You actually believe that?” Rione demanded. “You can’t be such a fool, so you must be lying.”

“It’s true.” He flung an arm out toward the star display. “If you don’t believe me, run simulations yourself! See what happens if we kept going to any of the destinations we’d been considering.”

“I will! I will run simulations and produce a verifiable record of my deliberations. And when I prove the conclusions you claim to have reached were totally wrong, I’ll show you the results, assuming that this ship is still intact at that point and not a broken derelict awaiting the arrival of a Syndic salvage crew!”

She swept out, leaving Geary alone with the echoes of her anger and disappointment. He turned to the projection of a starscape on one bulkhead and punched it several times viciously, but though the stars rippled each time, his efforts had no other result.

The Alliance fleet turned again, hundreds of ships large and small rolling and pitching as their bows swung around. Main drives lit off, pushing the ships onto a new course, arching over the top of the Sutrah Star System’s plane and back down toward the jump point where the fleet had entered not long before.

Geary, pleased at the smooth execution of the maneuver even though he knew it had been handled by automated controls, kept his eyes on the Syndic light warships still hanging around the fringes of the star system. The closest enemy warships were almost two light-hours away, so they wouldn’t realize the Alliance fleet had made a big change of course until that time. They’d have to wait after that, determining what the Alliance fleet’s new objective was, making sure the Alliance fleet was actually heading back to the first jump point, and confirming that it had actually made use of that jump point.

They’ve got one ship left there, one more there, and three there. They can’t send updates to the three possible stars that could be reached through the other jump points without sending a ship each time. They can send a warning to all of them that we seem to be backtracking, or they can send an alert to all when we actually use our arrival jump point to leave the system. But not both, so they’ll have to wait until they know we’ve left. It buys us more time and leaves the Syndics with more uncertainties. It’ll also teach them to assume they can use the most “efficient” number of ships to shadow my fleet instead of having enough to deal with the unexpected.

Not that he wanted the Syndics to actually learn from experience with him. They’d learned enough already to seed Sutrah system with unpleasant surprises, and he prayed Strabo wouldn’t be the same.