Bigglesworth entered and recalled the room for the Queen's entrance. She came in, and returned to where she'd been before.
The whole team were called as a group, in order of rank beginning with Brigadier General Smith. They were all surprised to be called, and as a group, formed a line according to rank across the room, in front of the Queen.
She thanked them for their service, and stepped back to allow General Price to continue the proceedings.
"Smith's Alpha-team," he began, "were in the wrong place, at the wrong time, when they literally dropped into the beginning of the Midgard war. They were merely going home, after helping to end the Pompeii civil war. At first, they had no choice being there, and simply fought to survive. But as I understand it, when choice was offered, the response was, 'We go in at the shit end'!"
There was general light laughter across the room. The Queen even smiled. I wondered how he'd found that out.
"And so they did. It’s a rarity to find a Mercenary Unit more professional than sector Marines, but Smith's Alpha-team is just that. They formed the core of a fighting force which successfully defended a station from boarding, and retook key stations from the enemy during the advance back to Midgard. Each member of the team is awarded the Meritorious Service Cross. Brigadier General Smith, you are further awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Congratulations."
He passed out the medals in rank order from lowest to highest. They saluted him as a group, bowed to the Queen, and forming up facing me, saluted me as well. I saluted them in return, and shared the pride they all showed. They filed back to their seats.
Annette Bronson was the next to be called. The Queen also thanked her for her service, as did General Price, before she was passed to General Harriman, who awarded her the DFC.
George was next. He was thanked by the Queen, and awarded the DFC by General Price.
I sighed in relief. That was everyone. I could get some sleep now.
Jane was called, by the rank of Colonel, which her insignia showed her to be if you didn’t know her actual rank.
The Queen thanked her for her service, and passed her on to General Price.
"Colonel Jane is a special case. Without her, the defense of Avon would have failed. Without her, our offensive would have fallen at the first hurdle. Without her, Sci-Fi, American, and Australian sectors, would have fallen to the Midgard forces."
The room was silent, and looking puzzled.
"Colonel Jane was the key to solving a technical issue, which I'm informed, literally pushed the balance of the war in our favour. Admiral Hunter made the intuitive leap which enabled us to perfect a true anti-missile missile system. But it's Colonel Jane who makes it work."
He smiled around the room, enjoying the confused looks he was seeing. I grinned at him.
"Your Majesty, Ladies and Gentlemen, Colonel Jane is an Artificial Intelligence, perhaps uniquely the first to, we believe, achieve sentience, and the lynchpin in the defense of all our sectors."
The bombshell dropped into a shocked audience.
"Hunter Security has recognized her with rank. The Americans rewarded her with a Unit Citation, but the Sci-Fi sector awards her the Distinguished Service Order in her own right."
I clapped this announcement loudly with a huge grin on my face, and a few seconds later, my team followed my lead enthusiastically. After a brief hesitation, the Americans joined in, and soon the whole room was clapping her.
General Price handed her the medal, they shook and saluted, and she returned to stand behind my chair.
Now I can get some sleep, I thought.
The Queen's aide called my name.
Jane pushed a shaken me before her, and left me there. The Queen smiled at me again, obviously seeing confusion on my face.
"Admiral Hunter. We're aware that the American Space Force promoted you to full Admiral before retiring you. Were you a British citizen, and in the British Fleet, we would also be promoting you. Alas, you aren't. However, we respect this rank and regardless of any other rank you hold, any future role you hold where British Forces are within your command, will have those forces acknowledge you as a full Admiral."
She paused and looked first at me, then the room as a whole.
"While the British sector no longer has close ties with the Australian sector, the ties once forged when Australia, back on old Earth, was part of the British Commonwealth, have never been abrogated. Consequently, I am able to award a member of the Australian sector military forces with British gallantry awards. Admiral Hunter, you are awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for combat achievements unheard of before. You are further awarded the Distinguished Service Order for outstanding leadership and bravery under fire."
She paused again, and her grin widened, obviously reacting to my look of complete non-comprehension. Her aide handed her another citation. I looked at it stupidly, wondering what else was even possible.
"Admiral Hunter, for your actions at the second battle for Avon, where you evacuated all personnel from your station, and flew it into battle solo; ensuring that British Forces also present were kept away from the primary danger; and for your total disregard of your own safety in what has been described as an insane act of courage in preventing the enemy from reaching Avon; you are awarded the first Victoria Cross in over one hundred years. Congratulations Admiral."
The room went crazy as she held out her hand for me to shake it. I was having trouble breathing she could see, such was my complete and total shock.
As she passed me the three medals, she leaned over towards me, and said quietly, "Hold it together for just a little longer, and then you can sleep until dinner time."
I bowed my head as low as I could, seated as I was. She returned to standing where she'd been, while Marshal Bigglesworth regained control of the room.
General Price stepped forward, and Jane appeared behind me and eased my chair around to face him. She remained standing behind me now, as an aide normally would.
"Vice Admiral Hunter, you are promoted to the rank of Admiral and placed on the inactive list, effective immediately. You are awarded the Sci-Fi sector Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Meritorious Service Cross. Congratulations."
He held out his hand and I shook it.
"Admiral, Sci-Fi sector consider the single decisive factor in winning the Midgard war, was your leadership of the campaign, where you put your own safety below the safety of those under your command. The Avon system is in your debt. We believe the promotions and medals you have received are insufficient recognition for your actions and achievements. To this end, with the agreement of the Australian sector, ownership of the Midnight system is transferred to you, without sector obligations. Congratulations."
My jaw fell open in total shock. The room went crazy behind me again. It took Bigglesworth several minutes to regain control.
General Price stepped back, after handing me the medals and the ownership plaque, and once again shaking hands.
General Harriman stepped forward, and Jane moved my chair slightly.
"Vice Admiral Hunter, you are promoted to the rank of Admiral, and retired from the Australian Militia, effective immediately."
He grinned at me, knowing I’d never been comfortable with him drafting me in the first place.
"Since you weren't present at the Midgard blockade, and were not formally active with the Australian Militia during the war, the Australian sector is unable to duplicate the medals you have just received. However, since the forces which were at the core of the defense of the Australian sector in the Midnight system were yours, freely offered without being asked, and being your personal assets put at risk for the safety of the sector, the Australian sector has been looking for a suitable reward for your selfless acts. With the agreement of the Sci-Fi sector, ownership of the Bad Wolf system is transferred to you, without sector obligations. Ownership of the Nexus 618 system is also transferred to you without sector obligations, with three conditions, whic
h require your agreement before the transfer can be finalized. Congratulations."
The room was dead silent now, everyone as stunned as I was. Harriman handed me two ownership plaques and shook my hand. The room burst into applause.
When the room settled down again, the Queen had the last word.
"All hail the hero of the Midgard war."
There were three loud cheers, the last of which threatened to tear the ceiling loose. Or so it seemed to me. The walls did seem to bulge outward as well. But maybe I wasn’t seeing very well.
Bigglesworth dismissed the gathering, and I was mobbed by my team and Miriam.
Walter accompanied Jane and I back to my suite, where the rest of the team were politely turned away.
"Well Jon," he said when we were settled in lounge chairs, "it wasn’t easy, but I got you what you wanted."
I shook my head, not believing what I'd just been through.
"What are the conditions for Nexus?" I asked.
"Australian sector retains ownership of the third asteroid ring, which is currently being mined for the sector. We rely on a lot of the specific minerals found there, which aren't available in such quantity elsewhere. You agree to unrestricted access to the third ring by Australian sector ships, both government and private." I nodded. "You also agree to unrestricted and untaxed access to all Australian sector jump points for ships of all kinds, subject to the third condition."
"Untaxed?"
"Yes Jon. With the exception of activity in the third ring, you can impose what taxes you wish in your space. Without sector obligations means you owe no tax to the Australian or Sci-Fi sectors of any kind. Nor are you bound by either sector's laws within your own space. Effectively, you now own your own mini sector. It doesn’t contain a habitable planet, but you'll have two large stations in it, and the beginning of your own industry with your shipyard. You'll need to organize a sector like structure for your space, including its own laws. Do you want to be King?" He laughed as I sat there stunned. "You agree you won't tax access to the jump points, nor impose any restrictions on access to the Australian systems. You also need to agree to provide adequate security for your space, given Australian sector security is at stake if you fail to."
"I can agree to all of that."
"Good. When we return to Sydney, there'll be an official ceremony where the agreement for Nexus is signed. I'll inform them of your agreement to the conditions, so everything will be ready when we get there. You should also think about things like non-aggression pacts and sector alliances. You'll be returning with a fleet which is capable of destroying the whole sector, and a lot of people will want you bound with treaties to ensure you remain a good friend of the Australian sector."
"I can't see any problem there. Beyond having a place for a base, I had no other ambitions."
"One other thing, and I'll let you have a nap before dinner. I still want to move my HQ to your new station, once it's ready for habitation. Will that still be possible?"
"No problems at all. Talk to Jane after she moves me to my bed. We've done preliminary plans for the new station, and allocated the Australian Militia part of the main docking ring, and a whole space scraper. Jane will give you the plans. You can buy the space or rent it, and fit it out however you wish. It will adjoin Hunter military space which will also have its own space scraper. If you send the plans off to your people now, work can commence as soon as the station gets there, and the base upgrade is complete. It's an old station, and is going to need a major upgrade to bring it up to modern standards. I have the credits to do the work, it'll just take several months to do."
"Great. I'll leave you to your nap then. See you at dinner. And don’t worry about being on time, we'll wait for you."
He turned and left. Jane plucked me out of the chair and deposited me lightly on the bed. I was asleep before she was out of the room.
Twenty Seven
I dreamed I was King Arthur, seated at the round table, surrounded by my knights, most of whom were female's in armour instead of silk gowns. We ate meat off the bone, drank wine from ornate goblets, and caroused all night. As dawn lit up the sky, everything vanished in purple smoke.
I jerked awake. Jane was standing over me.
"Dinner time Jon," she said. "Do you want the chair or the scooter?"
"Scooter," I said.
She brought it in, I pulled myself off the bed, and went into the bathroom. I felt the need for a shower, and wished there was a spa and the time to soak. The shower had to suffice. I came out in Hunter Dress.
A pulse came in from Jane. It was a new Dress uniform definition, with my new medals on it. I went back into the bathroom to look in a mirror.
"How did you know the order to place the medals?" I asked her.
"I asked Patton and Bigglesworth. Patton was loathe to admit it, but the Victoria Cross is the older established award, so takes precedence. The Victoria Cross was created in 1856, while the Medal of Honour was created in 1861. The others are also ordered in order of creation date, and merit."
I had fourteen medals now, although twenty if you included the multiple awards. They were arrayed in four lines of four ribbons each, with the Victoria Cross and Medal of Honour on a line above them.
I felt seriously overdressed.
Jane led me to a room I hadn't seen before, Jeeves following behind. It appeared to be some sort of sitting room, where I found the other flag officers enjoying pre-dinner drinks with the Queen. The only one missing was Susan Bentley.
"How do you feel?" the Queen asked me, as I seated myself.
"Better, thank you Majesty."
"We're all here now ma'am," said Bigglesworth.
I noticed the difference in pronunciation. The last word sounded like 'mam', where I’d have said 'marm'. I made a mental note in case I needed to use the word myself.
"Admiral Bentley sends her apologies, but we had a report of pirate activity in the Birmingham system a few hours ago, and she's taken her fleet to investigate."
The Queen nodded to him.
"The reason I asked you all here," she said, "is to tell me how the military sees the future of this end of the galactic arm. My governments tell me one thing, I'd like to hear both the military side of things, and what the other sectors are thinking. This is purely off the record. My father taught me never to blindly accept what I'm told, especially when it sounds like what I want to hear."
She held up a hand as several mouths opened to speak.
"No, not now, after dinner. I mention it now so you may think about what it is I should be hearing."
She turned to me.
"I see you chose to put our highest medal first on your uniform." Her smile invited anyone to challenge her statement.
"Actually," said Patton, "the order is correct. While of equal value, the Victoria Cross is the older award, and therefore should be placed first."
"Are you all aware it's never happened before?" asked Harriman.
There was an expression of surprise around the room, indicating most of them didn’t.
"I did some research for my own interest," he went on. "The Victoria Cross has been awarded to an American before, as has the Medal of Honour been awarded to a Britain. But Jon here is the first person to be awarded both."
"Yes," agreed Bigglesworth. "In fact the press have only just realized this themselves, and have asked me to arrange a press conference so they can take pictures of Jon with both medals. I told them he wouldn’t be agreeing to that. I agreed to ask him if he will allow an interview with a single reporter, who will agree to share the interview with all media channels. Jon?"
I sighed.
"I told Amy Allen when she came on board my ship, there would be no interviews with me, ever. But I guess I'll have to make an exception in this case. You can tell them I'll do a very short interview with her in the morning, and she can take a single image for use by all."
"Is your reluctance because you still have the head bruise?" asked Hallington.
"No. I simply don’t feel comfortable being news fodder."
They all laughed.
"Like it or not," said Harriman, "You've been feeding the newscasts for two months now. The newsies aren't going to leave you alone until you stop doing newsworthy things."
I looked upwards.
"Make it so!" I said to those watching from above.
The laughter intensified. I shook my head, and laughed with them.
A functionary came in at that point and announced dinner. At the same time, Jeeves came in and quietly gave me my next pain shot.
We followed the Queen through to a private Dining Room, where she sat immediately. I was last to stand at my place, and we all sat together. A functionary pushed me under the table while another placed the necessary pouffe. I sent the scooter to an unused corner of the room.
Dinner was the finest I'd ever had, and amongst good company. While it was oddly formal because of the presence of the Queen, I was glad to be there. While not back to eating a full meal yet, I ate more than I had been.
We moved back into the sitting room. Talk turned to the future of the sectors as the Queen had requested, while coffee was being served. She asked probing questions and received direct answers. We outlined our concerns about prophesy, and the inadequate state of all the militaries at this end of the arm.
"Are you talking alien invasion?" she asked at one point. "Or another nut job uprising?"
All eyes turned to me.
"We don’t know," I replied. "I seriously doubt the latter would be worthy of prophesy, and as we all know, so far, we've never encountered any evidence of aliens existing."
"Doesn’t mean there isn’t though," said Jedburgh. "In spite of the lack of evidence, we know only about a portion of the Galaxy. Despite all of our technological achievements, we haven't been able to discern enough about the other galactic arms, or the central core of the galaxy, to determine anything conclusive. But to assume there's no other intelligent life in the galaxy, would seem to be like sticking your head in the sand and wishing away the man about to kick your butt." He paused as he noticed we were all looking at him intently, as funny as the joke was. "My daughter is almost rabid about this stuff," he finished apologetically. Everyone smiled or chuckled.
Hail the Hero (The Hunter Legacy Book 5) Page 16