“You saw what’s happening to Kosatka,” Lochan said to Leigh Camagan. “But I guess your ship is helping? That destroyer?”
“Yes,” Leigh said, smiling for a brief moment. “You got lucky because that ship is commanded by someone who might be able to save the day if anyone can. But we have to assume the worst, that Kosatka might fall.”
“Leaving both Catalan and Glenlyon isolated deep inside space controlled by three star systems that want to start their own empires,” Freya commented. “I take it you’re arguing that we have the same mission and the same priorities?”
“Yes. We all need the same thing. Sufficient force to repel aggression against any of our homes. And allies who will stand with us to deter any further aggression. The three of us can either compete for forces and allies, or we can cooperate.”
“Kosatka trusts Glenlyon,” Lochan said. “You know that. Both because of the old debt, and now because Glenlyon’s destroyer came to help again.”
“But can Glenlyon and Kosatka trust Catalan?” Leigh asked.
“Yes,” Lochan said immediately, drawing a surprised look from Camagan, who had apparently expected debate. “If Freya Morgan represents who they are, then we can count on them.”
“How much do you know about her?” Leigh Camagan asked.
“I know that she risked her life to save mine, that her priorities are the same as mine, and that she can be trusted to stand by her friends.”
Freya smiled. “I’d say the same of you, Lochan. Thank you. But I don’t know you, Council Member Camagan.”
“I’ve heard of her,” Lochan said. “From my friend. Mele Darcy told me that Leigh Camagan was someone she knew she could count on. If Mele says Leigh Camagan is to be trusted, then I won’t question that.”
“So you’re the go-between in this relationship?” Freya asked, smiling again. “We don’t all know each other, but we each know enough it seems.”
“All politics is personal,” Leigh Camagan said. “For my part, Lochan Nakamura, anyone like you with Mele Darcy’s approval, which is not easily won, has my trust. And clearly Darcy approves of your judgment, so I will accept it in the case of Catalan’s representative. So, here we are. The representatives of three star systems. Can we work together?”
Freya eyed her closely again before replying. “This is about more than the current emergency, isn’t it?”
“Yes. We need something there when the next emergency happens, something that lets free peoples live without the fear of constant attack or predation. If we work together, we might be able to lay the foundation for treaties that will bind star systems to help each other without binding their peoples otherwise.”
“You’re talking about some kind of alliance,” Lochan said. “A long-term set of mutual security agreements.”
“Yes. I suppose so,” Leigh Camagan said. “Do you think we can sell that to Eire and other star systems? And do it in time to make a difference in the fate of our homes?”
“We can try,” Lochan said. “Nothing about agreeing to work together binds us to accept the final product if we think it’s bad for the interests of our homes.”
Freya Morgan nodded. “All right. As long as it’s understood that we’ll work together on a final product, but I’m not bound to it if it comes out wrong for Catalan, I’m in. But there’s something else we need to think about.”
“What’s that?” Leigh Camagan asked.
“Scatha and its friends not only had a privateer waiting in this star system for us, they had an agent on the Oarai Miho who nearly forestalled our mission,” Freya said. She leaned forward, eyeing Lochan and Leigh. “How certain are you that there isn’t an agent of our enemies aboard this ship? Perhaps waiting to act until other attempts to stop us fail?”
Lochan looked at Leigh Camagan, who shook her head, her expression bleak. “I can’t be certain that there’s no one aboard this ship working for our enemies,” she said. “That’s why my real identity has been kept secret and why our plans involving Saber weren’t divulged to even me or the captain of the Bruce Monroe.”
“So we’re still on guard,” Lochan said. “And still in danger, until we reach Eire.”
“I’m not relaxing at Eire,” Freya commented. “I have old friends there, but I might have some new enemies as well.”
“I understand,” Leigh said. “I’m not relaxing either.”
“In that case,” Lochan said, “I suggest we practice being allies starting now. We can watch out for each other, and watch for trouble. I’m not going to fail Kosatka or my friends.”
“You’re on,” Freya said.
“Agreed,” Leigh Camagan said. “Now let’s figure out your sleeping arrangements since you two say you’re not that close. It’d be easier to protect each other if you were.”
“I couldn’t do that to Brigit,” Freya said.
“Brigit?”
“It’s a long story,” Lochan said. “I guess we’ll have plenty of time to tell it while we’re watching each other to make sure none of us gets poisoned, drugged, kidnapped, or knifed in the back.”
* * *
• • •
Saber accelerated back toward the jump point for Jatayu at point zero eight light speed. Even though she’d taken on more fuel cells from Kosatka’s badly battered orbital facility, Rob was still concerned about having enough reserves to get through Jatayu and to Glenlyon if Saber ran into any more trouble on the way. But he couldn’t afford to waste any time getting home.
He’d also taken aboard “Lieutenant Commander Ivanova” from Shark, as well as two wounded Marines and Mele along with the other Marine who could still walk, and the remains of the two Marines who had given their all for Glenlyon and their fellow Marines.
First Minister Hofer, in a transmission sent from his world an hour and a half earlier, looked weary and not particularly jubilant. Given how badly Kosatka’s cities and other infrastructure had been damaged during the fighting, Rob had no trouble understanding why Kosatka’s people weren’t celebrating in the streets. Plus, there were still enemy forces operating around the third city of Ani, promising more fighting on the planet.
“I’m attaching to this transmission,” Hofer said, “a message for your government, Commander Geary. It’s long past time we made a formal commitment to each other, though Glenlyon might be forgiven at this point for wondering when Kosatka will start coming to your aid. Nonetheless, we mean to do it when we can.
“You need not worry about the three badly injured crew members from Saber who were sent down to intensive care facilities on the planet’s surface. They will be given the best care we can, taken care of afterward, and returned to Glenlyon along with the two captured freighters Kosatka is yielding to Glenlyon as thanks for its assistance. It may take a while to put together trustworthy crews for those ships, but Kosatka will get them to you.”
Hofer paused, managing a smile. “We’re still fighting. We hope you’ll have the chance to visit Kosatka someday when we’re not facing imminent attack. May your ancestors watch over you as you journey back to Glenlyon. Hofer, out.”
Vicki Shen snorted as the transmission ended. “Two freighters? There were five ships captured, including the passenger ship that surrendered specifically to Saber, and they’re giving us only two.”
“Do they know the role you played in getting Shark operational in time to make a difference?” Rob asked her.
“Commander Derian said he’d keep telling people until someone acknowledged it,” she replied.
“According to what Mele heard, Derian is catching a little heat from his government for placing Kosatka’s militia on the orbital facility under her command.”
“Some people are idiots,” Vicki Shen said with a sigh. “I owe Mele Darcy, too. None of us on Shark thought that the militia could hold off the invaders long enough. But she did it.”
“
She’ll never bring it up,” Rob said. “Mele doesn’t work that way.”
“I’m going to keep thanking her anyway.”
“I’m going back to visit the wounded. Want to come along?” They found Mele in the small compartment holding the bunks for the Marines. Two of those bunks were empty. Two others held Corporal Giddings and Private Lamar.
“Is Doc Austin taking good care of you?” Lieutenant Commander Shen asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Giddings replied. “Three hots and a cot, and nothing to do all day but lie in my rack.”
“Living the dream,” Lamar agreed.
“As soon as you’re well enough, you’ll both be out of those racks,” Mele warned them.
“Is there going to be a space burial for Griff Buckland?” Private Lamar asked. “I’d like to be there.”
“Buckland would want a space burial?” Rob said.
“Yes, sir. He’s one of those star believers, that new thing spreading out from the Old Colonies.”
Vicki Shen nodded. “They prefer burial in space. Not drifting, but launched on a trajectory toward the nearest star.”
Rob gave her a surprised look. “That’s taking cremation to an extreme.”
“They say everything came from stars, including everything that made up them, so it should all go back to the stars when they die,” Shen explained. “It makes sense, actually.”
“No grave marker?”
Shen laughed. “Captain, it’s a star! Can you imagine a greater grave marker?”
“When you put it that way, no,” Rob said. “Do we have the right materials aboard for a burial service in accordance with Buckland’s beliefs?”
“Yes, sir. One of the sailors we lost, Petty Officer Ibori, was also part of that belief system. We can do their burials together before we jump.”
“Good,” Rob said. “Are you okay, Captain Darcy?”
Mele nodded. “Been worse. Oh, I need you to confirm some battlefield promotions. Giddings to sergeant, and Lamar and Yoshida to corporal. Gamba posthumous to sergeant, and Buckland posthumous to corporal.”
Rob saw the looks of surprise on the faces of Giddings and Lamar. “I won’t have any trouble approving those promotions.”
“And I’ll have my after-action report to you this afternoon so you can see it and approve transmitting a copy to Kosatka’s government,” Mele continued. “I want Kosatka to know what those militia sacrificed and accomplished on that facility.”
Commander Shen nodded to her. “Back on Earth a lot of places have old battles whose memory still serves as foundations for their sense of identity. Thermopylae, Hastings, the Alamo, Puebla, Sekigahara, Sinharat . . . that’s just a few. Maybe you helped forge Kosatka’s sense of self.”
Mele Darcy shrugged, looking to Rob as if she was uncomfortable with the idea. “I just want what they did to be known and remembered. It’s more important that Glenlyon remember what Gamba and Buckland and my other Marines accomplished.”
“Weren’t you there, too, Captain Darcy?” Shen asked dryly.
Mele shrugged again. “I demanded a lot of my people. So did the situation. What matters is that they rose to those demands. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get to work on that report.”
Vicki Shen shook her head at Rob as they walked onward to visit the wounded members of Saber’s crew. “How does Darcy think she’s going to make general with that sort of attitude?”
Rob smiled at the sarcasm. “She really doesn’t care about that.”
“She got downsized by Franklin, right? Any idea why?”
“Ask her and she’ll tell you. She made a lousy private.” Rob smiled crookedly. “There’re few things worse than a private who really ought to be a general or a general who really ought to be a private.”
“What about you?” Shen asked. “Before you left Alfar?”
It was Rob’s turn to shrug. “I got tired of beating my head against walls trying to accomplish things.” They reached the bunks with the wounded sailors in them, and Rob smiled at them, genuinely happy that they’d survived their injuries. “How are you guys doing?”
They smiled back, and for a moment he could find satisfaction in knowing their losses could have been a lot worse. He hadn’t done a perfect job, but Kosatka had been able to repel the invasion, Claymore had been partly avenged, and Saber would make it home.
* * *
• • •
The return trip proved to be devoid of excitement, which was fine with Rob. Jatayu didn’t betray any sign that any other ships had visited since Saber and the Bruce Monroe. The destroyer raced across the star system without any side trips, “straight” along the curved vector from the jump point from Kosatka to that for Glenlyon.
The urge to get home, to learn what might have happened in Saber’s absence and the fear that he might have misjudged the danger to his home, made jump space even more difficult to handle than usual for Rob. He sweated out the days, trying not to take out his nerves on his crew.
The last minutes before arrival seemed the longest.
“There’s another light,” Ensign Reichert commented. “Way off to the right.”
“Is it way off?” Lieutenant Cameron asked.
“Hell if I know. I’ve tried tweaking our sensors, but they still don’t show anything except the image of the light. It’s like it’s there, but nothing is generating it.”
“Preparing to leave jump space,” Cameron said.
Vicki Shen called from engineering. “The ship is at full combat readiness.”
The infinite gray of jump space went away and the infinite dark filled with infinite stars of real space appeared around Saber.
No alerts sounded. As Rob’s head cleared, he saw no indication of trouble at Glenlyon Star System.
“The communications we’re picking up are routine,” the comms watch reported.
Rob let out a sigh of relief. “Stand down from full combat readiness. Go to standard ship’s routine.”
His hand reached to send his action report to the government, pausing just above it before finally touching the control. They’d see the light showing Saber’s return and immediately after get his report.
He’d labored over the wording, trying to keep it dispassionate and professional, trying not to make it sound like his own actions had been particularly laudable, emphasizing the importance of what others such as Mele Darcy and Vicki Shen had done. Knowing that the higher the rank someone had, the more likely that they’d only read the short summary paragraphs at the beginning, Rob had done his best to put everything important in those.
. . . after destroying the enemy warship at Jatayu, I made the decision based on intelligence discovered at Jatayu to continue onward to Kosatka instead of immediately returning to Glenlyon. Full responsibility for that decision rests with me. Once at Kosatka, we discovered an invasion under way. I made the decision to support Kosatka’s sorely pressed defenders, judging that our mutual enemies could not have enough forces to simultaneously assault Kosatka and Glenlyon. After sustained combat, the enemy invasion force was crippled, with two more warships destroyed. In addition, four ships of the enemy invasion force were destroyed and five captured. Fighting was continuing on the ground near one city on Kosatka when we left, but the invasion force had sustained severe losses and no longer posed a threat to Kosatka’s control of its primary world. The combined forces of Scatha, Apulu, and Turan have taken a major blow and lost many military assets. Balanced against that, Saber sustained damage and we lost a total of ten personnel from ship’s crew and the embarked Marines. Responsibility for these losses is mine. I made the command decisions involved.
The freighter Bruce Monroe was seen to jump safely for Tantalus en route to Eire.
I must single out for praise the actions of Captain Mele Darcy, Glenlyon Marines, who led the defense of Kosatka’s orbital facility against grave od
ds and ensured that Kosatka’s warship Shark was not captured or destroyed by the enemy. Sergeant Cassie Gamba and Corporal Griff Buckland died in the engagement, while Sergeant Victor T. Giddings and Corporal Penny Lamar sustained serious injuries. Corporal Gary Yoshida received a less serious injury. All behaved in exemplary fashion and deserve the highest praise.
Lieutenant Commander Vicki Shen risked herself to join Shark and use her expertise to accelerate their propulsion repairs, thus saving Shark. The importance of her actions in contributing to victory over the invasion cannot be overstated. She has demonstrated exceptional command skills and personal courage.
The crew of Saber carried out their duties with perfect skill and professionalism, never flinching and rising to every challenge. Glenlyon can be justifiably proud of her fleet and the men and women who crew it.
“What do you think they’ll do?” Vicki Shen asked him.
Rob spread his hands in the age-old gesture of uncertainty. “Maybe they’ll give me a medal, then shoot me.”
Mele Darcy nodded. “Or if they’re really unhappy, they’ll shoot you before they give you the medal.”
“I don’t want command of Saber,” Shen said.
“Thanks,” Rob said. “You might get it anyway.”
“All the personal messages from the officers and crew to their families have been sent right after the official messages were done being transmitted.”
“Good. Let me know if there’s any trouble receiving the replies. I’m sure there are going to be a lot of happy people in Glenlyon today.”
The reply to his official report came nearly half a day after the minimum time required for a message to go from Saber to Glenlyon’s inhabited world and back again. Whatever it contained, Rob thought, at least they’d taken time to look at his report and discuss things instead of shooting off an immediate response.
He was a bit surprised to see the image of Council President Chisholm appear. Did that imply good or bad news? Chisholm gazed out of Rob’s display as if she weren’t a recording but someone watching him in real time. In the seconds before she began speaking, Rob unsuccessfully sought clues in Chisholm’s eyes and expression for what this message would say.
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