by Selby, Caleb
Mick shook his head angrily. “All I’m saying is that we should let Larep sort this thing out. Giving full control of our ships to one man goes against the systems of due process. The Defense Council should be involved in leading us. Having Fedrin make his own calls with no accountability is a dangerous precedent to set...although this might have been his plan all along.”
“Watch it, Mick!” Kendrick admonished sharply. “You’re putting us all in an awkward position just by listening to you. Now knock it off!”
“What’s he going to do? Court-martial me? Throw me in the brig? He can’t afford to! There aren’t enough experienced commanders to go around. He needs me more then I need him. That’s for sure!”
“You shouldn’t do this,” Searle warned. “It’s not good for the fleet!”
“Not good for the fleet?” Mick exclaimed. “I’ll tell you what’s not good for the fleet. Having that man as our leader without the Council having their leash on him! Drezden, you remember, don’t you? The way he always sucked up to Nebod and the other politicians back in Larep? He was setting everyone up so he could get what he got.”
“Which is?” Sanders asked.
“The Fleet!” answered Mick. “And with it, the ability to take control of the Federation himself. Before he’s done, he might be calling himself Emperor. Who knows?”
“You really are delusional Mick,” said Fedrin as he suddenly walked up, seemingly out of nowhere.
Mick looked momentarily shocked but quickly tightened his jaw and looked straight ahead with defiant arrogance.
Fedrin ignored Mick as he assumed his place at the head of the table. He then stood behind his chair in awkward silence as if considering what to say. His mannerisms showed nothing but anxiety and uncertainty. He was no Nebod.
“Approximately three hours ago we received an automated emergency transmission from the Tribulation’s beacon drone,” began Fedrin, the poignant words slicing through the already tense air of the room. Fedrin paused, the words he needed to say next seeming too horrific to utter. He shook his head and forged ahead. “The beacon has reported the utter destruction of the Second Fleet. This has been confirmed through the Navcom grid by my communications officer.” Fedrin finished the distasteful deed and looked up. Commander Searle dabbed her eyes, morning the presumed death of her husband, a gunnery officer that had served in the Second. Commander Drezden stroked her back doing his best to comfort her, restraining his own grief, which was very great.
Commander Sanders shook his head slowly back and forth as his hands began to tremble. Images of his enlisted daughter flooded his mind. He refused to believe she was gone. He must be dreaming. With all his will power he tried to wake himself from the fast building nightmare. Nothing happened.
Commander Kendrick sat there in disbelief. “The Sixth Fleet disaster from yesterday and now this?” he said to himself.
Commander Mick shook his head from side to side with his eyes closed. He had lost one niece and countless friends. Commander Colby patted him on the shoulder, aware of his loss.
After the initial shock had been absorbed, Fedrin opened his data-pad and pressed play. The large light fixtures around the room dimmed allowing the ceiling to become a viewing screen.
The commanders looked up and gaped in disbelief at the raw carnage before them.
“How?” Drezden quietly asked, still comforting Searle. “How did this happen?”
Fedrin shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Kendrick and Colby looked up in awe at the former mightiest fleet in the Navy, both unable to speak. What was there to say?
“Is this it then?” Sanders blurted out. “Are we finished? Did we lose?”
The other commanders looked at Fedrin for his reply. Fedrin didn’t know the answer. If entire fleets, the greatest fleets in naval history, could blink out of existence without a shot being fired, the war would indeed be over quickly.
“You know as well as I do that this is a major defeat made all the worse by the events of yesterday,” Fedrin started bluntly. “Exactly how this happened, I couldn’t begin to say. But I think it happened because I got a pledge of loyalty from Caton who reaffirmed his commitment to my leadership despite the baseless allegations coming from Larep.”
Fedrin was suddenly interrupted by a squadron of Comet star fighters flying past the window, doing their customary welcome flight past all the ships in the fleet. Their roaring engines made it momentarily impossible to speak. The commanders, anxious to take their minds off the news even for a few brief seconds turned away from Fedrin and watched as the fighters made their impressive flyby. The first squadron was immediately followed by several others in rapid succession, each group flying a little closer and a little faster than the previous in a bid for the most impressive performance.
After the last formation had past, Fedrin shoved his data pad away and leaned onto the table. “Even with the catastrophic losses that we have sustained, we are still strong,” he said motioning to where the fighters had just past. “The Krohn Fleet is still stuck in Brok and the Third Fleet is holding firm against them. Now that we’ve formed up with the Hornell Carrier group, we can secure our rear areas and protect the remaining shipyards scattered over our systems as they build new vessels. We can still do this!”
Fedrin cleared his throat and looked intently at his commanders. He could tell they weren’t buying what he was selling but he proceeded full force. He had to buy their confidence in order to stem unrest on a broader scale. “We have good reconnaissance in all the forward areas right now and we are positive no Krohn fleets, other than the one in Brok, pose any imminent threat. So, although this is a major setback as far as trying to get back on the offense, we are by no means beaten. Far from it!”
Sanders timidly raised his hand. “I hate to be the eternal pessimist Admiral, but if our strongest fleet can be destroyed before even having a chance to launch their fighters, what’s the point?” Several heads nodded with similar sentiment. “Maybe we can hold on for a few more months but to what end?”
Fedrin stepped back from the table and casually glanced out the window. “There is more at work right now than mere ships and fleets. Things have been happening that just don’t add up. I don’t know what they are, but they are big.” He paused. “And maybe you’re right Sanders. Maybe this is all just a waste of time. Maybe it is impossible.” Fedrin smiled and turned back toward the table. “Then again, you remember what Admiral Nebod said when he took the First Fleet into Zelin to draw the line against the Krohn advance?”
Several heads slowly nodded.
“Conquering impossible tasks is what the Namuh do best,” Colby quietly said.
Fedrin’s eyes grew wide and he pointed to Colby. “Conquering impossible tasks is what the Namuh do best! Did you hear that Sanders?”
Sanders nodded.
“Who beat the Refrac when everyone said it was impossible?”
“We did,” answered Drezden.
Fedrin looked to Kendrick. “Who stopped the mighty Krohn Fleet dead in its tracks when everyone said it couldn’t be done?”
“We did,” Kendrick answered.
“You better believe we did!” Fedrin said as he slammed the table with his fist, startling several. “And by Nebod, we can do it again! Yes, the odds are against us, but when haven’t they been? And regardless of how everything turns out, I’m telling you all right now that I’ll continue to fight on until the enemy is vanquished or I’ve died trying!”
“That goes for me too!” announced Drezden, rising to his feet in a much needed outward show of support for the Admiral.
“And me!” followed Kendrick, he too rising.
“They will regret what they did to my daughter,” Sanders said as he stood, gesturing to the screen with vindication, tears now flowing down his cheeks as the realization of the moment became more and more apparent.
“Behind you all the way!” said Colby, joining the others.
Searle wiped more tears from he
r eyes as she too quietly stood. Drezden put an arm around her.
All the commanders had risen, save one. Mick sat in his chair stubbornly, looking cross as ever. An awkward feeling crept back over the room as the tension between Mick and Fedrin grew. After one last sip of his lor Mick finally, albeit slowly, stood up. “Guess there aren’t any other choices. I’m in.”
Fedrin glared at Mick. “I have not addressed your insubordination due to the horrors of the last two days. Please bear in mind, however, that after today there will be no such excuse for your behavior. And you had better dismiss this notion that you are irreplaceable because I know plenty of young and very capable officers looking for a ship commission, including an up and coming Branci. I won’t think twice about giving any of them your ship if you make me. Am I clear?”
Mick stubbornly nodded his head.
Kendrick and Sanders exchanged uneasy glances. Mick had deserved worse but it was still awkward to watch him get reprimanded in front of everyone.
“Now as you are all aware, some dark things are going on back home,” stated Fedrin, regaining everyone’s attention. “It may require that we take some serious action to correct before everything is said and done. That said, I’m going to have to ask you all to trust me more than I’ve required of you in the past. We might have to face some challenges that you were not trained to confront and I will need you to be strong and face them head-on. Will you all be able to do that?”
The commanders all nodded their heads in agreement; except Mick, who stared out the window, seemingly ignoring every word.
Fedrin ignored his behavior once more and continued. “You have likely already heard that a squadron of Refrac Pirates evaded Admiral Nidrid’s Northern Fleet and are now roaming freely in our home system. We will need to hunt these ships down and destroy them before we can undertake any other actions.”
“Stinking Northern,” Sanders mumbled.
“We’ll split what’s left of our fleet into three battle groups and sweep the system,” added Fedrin. “My ship, the Defiant and the Bolter will comprise one group, the Revenge and Corinthia another, and the Hornell and Arbitrator III, the last. My flight officer has already sent these breakdowns to your command crews. By the time you get back to your respective vessels, you should be ready to head out. Clear?”
The Commanders nodded.
“I know it’s asking a lot, but I would really like this operation to take no more than two days to complete. Satellite recon has already narrowed their whereabouts to a small section near the Asar shipping lanes. It should be a fairly basic mission but time is precious now, more than ever before. Once we secure our rear area for good, I will inform you of our next steps in the plan. Until then, please be patient with me.”
“Let’s get moving then!” Colby said. “The more time we waste here, the more time we’re not killing Krohns,” he finished as he started to make his way for the door.
“I guess that settles it,” Kendrick said as the elderly commander chuckled at the impetuousness of Colby and followed after him.
Searle stepped away from Drezden and slowly walked over to Fedrin. She spoke quietly as to avoid the others from overhearing. “Is your wife ok?” she asked, speaking to him as a friend and not as a subordinate Fedrin had been trying desperately not to think of his wife or of her fate. He now had no choice but to think of it and it caused his heart to ache. “She wasn’t with the Second Fleet but I don’t know anything more than that,” he answered.
“I hope she is ok,” Searle said quietly. “I know her ship was on deep patrol not far from there.”
“Thank you very much for your concern Commander. I’m touched, really. And please allow me to offer my deepest condolences on the loss of your husband. I never met him but by all accounts he was a great officer.”
Searle began to tear up again and quickly turned away. Fedrin shook his head, wishing he could help her but knowing she needed nothing but time.
The remaining commanders trickled out of the room somberly, but with more determination than when they had entered. On his way out, Mick stopped and locked eyes with Fedrin just for a moment. The look was less than pleasant. Fedrin ignored it, for everyone’s sake. Drezden was the last one in the room when Fedrin turned to him and exhaled deeply.
“Well?” he asked.
“Well what?” asked Drezden as he gathered his things from the table.
“What did you think?”
“About what?” Drezden asked.
Fedrin rolled his eyes. “About what I said!”
“Oh that,” Drezden said followed by a smile. “To be frank, I think you are a complete liar.”
“I didn’t lie, Drezden.”
“You embellished the truth,” Drezden corrected. “The Third Fleet is holding firm? Would you really call a bunch of ships that have no fuel, water and running dangerously low on morale a firm fleet?”
“I couldn’t tell them all that,” replied Fedrin defensively.
“Oh don’t get me wrong my young friend. I totally agree with your methods. If your commanders feel like they’ve lost, then their crews will feel like they’ve lost. And if the crews feel like they’ve lost, they will. You have no choice but to paint the picture of imminent death with pastels,” added Drezden as he looked up at Fedrin. “And let’s be honest. We commanders aren’t as stupid as we look. We know what’s going on, but what we want is for you to tell us that the situation is under control, and that’s what you did. We want to know that someone has done all the hard work of making the right decision and will execute that decision to the best of his ability. When it comes right down to it, a commander wants nothing more to do than sit on his fat butt in a comfortable chair and give orders to his crew that he got from the admiral. It’s really the easiest job in the fleet when you think about it.”
“I wish Mick would realize that,” Fedrin said. “He wants my job badly.”
Drezden shook his head. “Mick and Nebod were close. I suspect that when Nebod died, Mick assumed he was getting the job.”
Fedrin nodded. “And when he didn’t...”
“For all his shortcomings, and he has many, Mick is a fine commander,” said Drezden. “But commander and admiral, let alone Chief Admiral, are much different things. I’d resign my commission and run a colony sewage freighter before I’d serve under him.”
Fedrin sighed. “Sometimes I wish he did get the job.”
“And why is that?”
“It’s just that this, all this is way more than just a job,” answered Fedrin, nodding toward the empty conference table. “The only way to do it right is to let it become your life. I don’t exist as an individual anymore Drezden. I’ve gained the title and a lot of headaches but lost everything else.”
“And that’s why you will become great!” said Drezden sincerely. “And not that it matters much to you right now, but I’d rather be serving under you then any of the other officers in the Navy. You have something special when it comes to leading, even though you don’t know it yet.”
Fedrin nodded, not believing his friend at all. “I wish other people thought like you do.”
“Give them time,” Drezden said. “Seven months is hardly long enough to prove yourself to everyone.”
Fedrin nodded.
A beep sounded out over Fedrin’s tele-link. “I need to go,” he said after glancing at his link. “I’m needed on the bridge.”
“Duty calls,” Drezden said with a smile.
“Could you stay aboard a few more minutes?” Fedrin asked. “There is something else I want to talk to you about.”
“Oh?” asked Drezden with an eyebrow raised. “About anything in particular?”
“Yeah,” Fedrin answered.
Drezden waited for an explanation that didn’t come. “Do you want to tell me what it’s about?” he finally asked.
“Not here,” said Fedrin. “But let me take care of this and I’ll meet you in my quarters in say, twenty minutes?”
Drezden s
hrugged. “Sure. That’ll give me time to check in with my ship and make sure their flight orders are set.”
Fedrin nodded. “Feel free to use my room’s tele-link to contact your ship.”
“Will do,” answered Drezden as he walked out of the room.
Fedrin walked to the table and began to gather his things. As he did, he thought about the meeting. Although he had stretched his optimism for the sake of the commanders, he truly believed in his heart of hearts that that war could eventually be won. It had to be won, too much was at stake not to.
Another transmission beeped on his wrist. “Go ahead,” he said with a sigh.
“Sorry to bother you Admiral,” said Kesler. “I just wanted to let you know that you are no longer needed on the bridge.”
“Everything ok up there?”
“Everything is fine,” answered Kesler. “I had requested your presence for a transmission that I managed to establish with your wife’s ship but the link just broke and it will take some time to establish another one. I think there is to much EM interference from the Second Fleet wreckage and the com-relay switch there.”
Fedrin swallowed hard. “Before the link broke were you able to make contact?”
“I spoke with Commander Etana personally,” answered Kesler with a smile. “She said that the Idok is fairing well and there has been no sign of hostile aggression in her immediate area.”
Kesler’s voice ran on and on but Fedrin heard nothing. His wife was ok, and that was all that mattered. She was still much too close to danger for Fedrin’s comfort, but at least for now, she was safe.
“Thank you Lieutenant,” said Fedrin sincerely. “Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure, Sir. I’m glad she’s ok.”
“As am I,” Fedrin replied with a relieved sigh.
“Any new orders as long as I have you here?” asked Kesler.
“Yes,” answered Fedrin. “Prepare to break formation with the fleet. The Bolter and the Defiant will escort us out. Our heading will be for Sector three-eighty-one.”
“Aye, Sir,” replied Kesler and left the transmission.