“I need to have a talk with mine,” Navarro muttered, his eyes lowered for a moment, then looked at Geary once more. “Summarize your recommended actions, Captain Geary. Since you won’t be bringing the fleet to Unity to shove our sorry butts into jail, where do you want to take it?”
He had never imagined personally briefing the grand council, but that would have seemed more likely than getting a question from the chair of the grand council formed in those words. Geary brought up the star display again. “I have two proposed courses of action. First, I believe it’s critical that we follow up on the damage done to the Syndic fleet in recent engagements. Given time, the Syndics can rebuild their forces, but if we strike quickly, we may force them to agree to a halt to the conflict.” The display shifted, centering on one star, and Geary didn’t imagine the sighs that came from the other side of the table.
“The Syndic home star system?” the heavyset woman asked in disbelief. “Isn’t that where you came in, Captain Geary? A trap from which you barely extracted the fleet?”
“Yes, ma’am, but the situation has changed. The Syndic fleet has been decimated. Some warships escaped from here when we beat off their attack, but even with those and whatever new-construction warships the Syndics have fielded, we should still have good odds.” Geary indicated the star. “We managed to bring the Syndic hypernet key home safely, and now we can use that same key to take our fleet quickly back to the Syndic home star system, clear out the defenders, and demand meaningful negotiations from the Syndic leadership. It offers us the advantage we need to strike quickly and deeply into the heart of Syndic space.”
“And if the Syndic leaders don’t agree to meaningful negotiations?” Navarro asked, resting his chin on a fist formed from both hands.
“Then, sir, we use deep-penetrating munitions to bring about a change of Syndic leadership.” He’d seen plenty of evidence that the Syndic leaders were willing to sacrifice large numbers of their people while themselves remaining safe, but he wouldn’t give those leaders that opportunity this time.
“What terms would we demand?” Senator Suva asked.
Rione answered. “That’s for the council to decide, but my advice is this, to consider how little we would gain from demands made on the Syndics versus the costs of this war continuing. I suggest that we offer the Syndics a halt to hostilities with a return to conditions prior to the war, including a full exchange of living prisoners and information regarding all prisoners over the course of the war.”
“All of our sacrifices would be in vain?” the heavyset woman shouted.
“As would all of the Syndics’ sacrifices,” Navarro observed. “You make an excellent point, Senator Rione, and you know as well as we the state of the Alliance right now.” Some of the other senators started to speak, but Navarro waved them to silence. “We’ll privately debate and discuss your proposal, Captain Geary, as well as Co-President Rione’s suggestion. What’s the second item?”
Geary swung his arm to indicate the far side of Syndic space. “That if possible we deal with whatever is out there. We have no idea how powerful they are, how much territory they span, what their capabilities are. We do have strong evidence that their technology is superior to ours in some areas, including faster-than-light communications systems. They’ve also held the Syndics in place and pushed them out of a few star systems, and from what we know of the Syndics, that wouldn’t have come easily. But they’ve been meddling with humanity, they tricked us into setting up nova-scale bombs in all of our most important star systems, they deliberately destroyed at least one human-occupied star system at Kalixa, and according to what you told me, they tried to do it again at Petit. They need to understand that intervening in human affairs and attacks on humanity must cease.”
A long silence followed, then one male senator closed his eyes and spoke hollowly. “We need to start another war?”
“No, sir. That’s the last thing I want. But there’s a good chance that a war may already be under way without our knowledge. We need to stop that war, too, or at least manage a cease-fire.”
Rione pointed to the star display. “The Syndics kept that reserve flotilla on their far border from us to deter the aliens. Now that reserve flotilla is gone, much of it destroyed, the rest probably being gathered for a final defense of the Syndic home star system. What will the aliens do when presented with easy pickings?”
“Who cares?” the heavyset woman grumbled. “They’re Syndics.”
“They’re humans, Senator Costa,” Rione replied. “And every star system taken from them lessens the strength of humanity and increases the strength of these aliens.”
Senator Suva laughed. “You want us to go from enemies of the Syndics to allies? Defending them?”
“It’s about defending us,” Rione corrected. “We can’t assume another intelligent species will treat us differently than they do the Syndics just because among humans we regard ourselves as different.”
Senator Navarro’s eyes had remained fixed on the region of space where the alien territory adjoined that of the Syndics. “If there truly is another intelligent species out there . . .”
“There may be many,” Rione finished. “And right now the Syndics lie between us and the regions where those species may be.”
Admiral Timbale drew a sudden, excited breath. “If we’re involved with defending that border, then we’ll have access to what’s beyond!”
“Exactly,” Geary agreed. “And with the Syndics on the ropes, they may be forced to agree to just that. At the very least, if we can bring about an end to the current war with the Syndics, we might then be able to take some ships to that area and see what else we can learn, perhaps even establish independent contact with these beings.”
Navarro nodded. “An intriguing possibility. All right, Captain Geary. You saved the Alliance fleet and the Alliance itself, you practically wiped out the Syndic fleet and established conditions favorable for forcing an end to the war, you’ve both discovered and neutralized a threat to all humanity, and you’ve established the real likelihood that a nonhuman intelligent species exists. Is there anything else?”
“Not at the moment, sir.”
“Thank you, Captain Geary. If you, Senator Rione, and Admiral Timbale would please leave us, we’ll discuss your report and recommendations.”
“Some of the rest of us still have questions,” a senator broke in.
“We’ll discuss those in private as well,” Navarro stated, staring down the other man.
Geary waited a moment to be certain he should go, then saluted again, pivoted, waited while Rione and Timbale left, then walked out behind them. As the door sealed in his wake, Admiral Timbale stepped close. “Thanks, Captain Geary. Being in there meant a great deal to me. I hated the idea of being lumped in with the Anvil.”
Geary nodded back. “We’re fleet, sir.”
“Damn right.”
“Speaking of which . . .” Timbale turned to Rione. “Madam Co-President, with your permission I’m going to go check on what Otropa and Firgani are doing.”
“Thank you, Admiral.”
As Timbale walked quickly down the passageway, Geary took a long breath, blowing it out slowly, then glanced at Rione. “I assume we’re being monitored here.”
She took a look at her bracelet, tapping a couple of the jewels. “They’re trying to, but they’re not getting through my jamming. I’ve had a chance to upgrade my systems since we got back, so they’re state-of-the-art again.”
One more little trick in Rione’s arsenal of which Geary hadn’t been aware. “But now they know that you’re wearing that capability.”
“Every politician carries around some security gear. The minor ones have enough to keep someone from overhearing the odd conversation about bribes or vote-trading or whatever. The more important politicians have more extensive setups.” She shook her head. “They would have been shocked if I wasn’t jamming them, and certain that whatever I was letting them hear and see was an a
ct. Don’t worry.”
“I’ll try not to. I thought things went okay in there.”
“Possibly.”
“That one senator, Costa, seemed supportive.”
Rione breathed a short laugh. “Yes and no. Costa thinks she is supportive of the military, but she would have voted to order suicide missions to collapse Syndic hypernet gates. You could see that as well as I. And I have no doubt that she would have welcomed a military coup. Not for personal gain, but out of misplaced patriotism. You can’t trust her to do what’s really best.” She glanced toward the ceiling. “My equipment says there are some cameras up there, but my jamming gear is fogging their views so they can’t read our lips. Anyway, you can’t count on Costa, but she can be useful if properly guided.”
“Not many of the council appeared openly hostile,” Geary said.
“ ‘Openly’ is the key word. Gizelle doesn’t like you, but that’s a badge of honor in my book. He’s the sort who would welcome a coup as a chance to make loads of money and gain more power.” Rione smiled wryly at Geary. “He’s doubtless a bit upset that you’re standing at the gate preventing that. I never did find out what deals Gizelle made with Admiral Bloch, but Gizelle did work hard behind the scenes to get Bloch’s plan approved, and we both know what Bloch’s ambitions were.”
Geary rubbed his eyes. “What about Senator Navarro? What did those digs at him mean?”
“They mean he’s suspected of making covert deals with the Syndics. He’s from Abassas Star System, near the border, and surrounding Alliance star systems have been hit multiple times by the Syndics. Abassas hasn’t been hit since Navarro was elected to the grand council.”
At the least, that didn’t look good. “Do you think he’s dealing with the enemy?”
Rione looked away for a moment, thinking. “I’ve never heard any proven charges of corruption against Navarro. That is, of course his enemies spread charges of corruption, but he’s never been caught at it. I’d know even if it had been covered up. Aside from the curious lack of Syndic attacks on his home star system, there’s no evidence of treason or any lesser crimes.” She paused. “I think he’s as honest as any of us these days, and I think he’s trying to do his best for the Alliance. But he’s had to compromise in many ways to hold things together. That’s the difference between good military commanders and good politicians, John Geary. You’ve shown me that a good military commander spends the lives of their people reluctantly and with regret, but does spend them when necessary. The good politician does the same thing with principles. There aren’t any fine burials for sacrificed principles, though.”
“Are you saying he’s like you?”
“In many ways.”
“Then, despite the lack of attacks on Abassas, we can trust him.”
Rione gave him an exasperated look. “I wouldn’t advise you to trust me in everything. But, yes, I believe he’s going to endorse whatever course of action seems to him to be truly best for the Alliance. You saw that his ability to keep the council under control is hampered by the suspicions against him, though.”
Something else had been bothering him, and now Geary asked it. “Is that why Navarro let the council approve Admiral Bloch’s plan given the odds against it and the chances that Bloch would try to ride success into a dictatorship?”
“The chair of the grand council rotates.” Rione shrugged. “When Bloch’s plan was approved, Costa was chair. Navarro argued against approving Bloch’s plan, but because of the doubts about him, those arguments didn’t prevail. A traitor wouldn’t want a war-winning plan approved, would he?”
“I see. Of course, neither would a prudent and loyal individual given the risks posed by Bloch’s plan.” He looked toward the sealed door. “Why wouldn’t you tell me anything about those politicians before I gave my report?”
“Because I wanted you at your apolitical military best, Captain Geary.” Rione sighed. “If you’d been briefed on their personalities, you might have reacted to them on a personal level. You might have come across as political yourself. This way, you were totally professional, completely detached, a paragon of a military officer who wasn’t even thinking about politics but just how to do his job.” She laughed derisively. “You probably couldn’t tell how much that rattled them. They were expecting another politician, though one wearing a uniform, and when you betrayed nothing of that, they had no idea how to get a handle on you. At one point I could tell Navarro realized that you weren’t acting, that you were exactly what he was seeing and hearing, and at that point I really started to hope we could succeed here.” Her mood suddenly shifting again, Rione turned a sardonic look on him. “It’s a good thing I’m in your pocket, isn’t it?”
He paused in the act of replying, then settled for a mild statement. “I didn’t realize you were monitoring all of my communications.”
“I’m not,” she assured him. “I’m trying to monitor all of Badaya’s. Getting through your security screens is very difficult thanks to the diligent efforts of Dauntless’s commanding officer, but in that particular case I came in through Badaya’s transmission. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt the man unless he becomes a loose cannon. Right now all of his illusions are useful to us.”
That sounded wrong in any number of ways. “I’m not deceiving him for personal gain. Neither are you.”
“Don’t think you know everything about me, Captain Geary.” Rione smiled coldly. “Trust no one any more than you have to.”
Instead of arguing, he just nodded. Rione remained a riddle, but as far as he could tell, she also remained an ally. He also had no doubt that Desjani, Duellos, and Tulev were keeping a close eye on her for any signs of betrayal.
The wait dragged. Geary could only stand stiffly while Rione leaned against the opposite wall, her eyes distant. Not the first time, Geary wished he could tell what she was thinking.
Timbale eventually returned, shaking his head. “General Firgani was planning an operation to take out your Marine ‘honor guard.’ I finally convinced him of the stupidity of that by contrasting his available assets with the massed weaponry of the fleet, and demonstrating that it would be impossible to overcome a platoon of armored Marines in an outer-shell compartment like that without the entire star system spotting the fireworks. Even Firgani isn’t dumb enough to start a battle that one-sided.”
“And Admiral Otropa?” Rione asked.
“He had a lot of questions about what had gone on after he was asked to leave.” Timbale made no effort to hide his glee. “He wanted me to give him a full report. I told him I was needed back here.” The admiral’s demeanor had changed dramatically, with Timbale now acting as if he were firmly on Geary’s team instead of being terrified of what Geary might do next. “There’s no hidden game here, is there? I can’t see the point of one, but my ancestors know I wouldn’t have seen half of what you did in Syndic space.”
Geary shook his head. “No hidden game, sir.”
“That’s a relief. I don’t mind telling you that.” Timbale looked older for a moment. “A lot of us knew what Bloch intended. Plenty of other officers were jockeying for similar moves.”
“What would you have done had Bloch returned victorious?” Rione asked.
The admiral took a deep breath. “I shouldn’t even answer that, but Captain Geary obviously trusts you. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know what I would have done. Truly. A lot of us didn’t. We were as despairing as the rest, didn’t trust the government, knew how frayed the entire Alliance was becoming, didn’t know what else to do. But a coup . . . Have you heard of the quantum cat, Madam Co-President? The one where you have to look in the box to tell whether it’s alive or dead, and the universe doesn’t actually decide one way or the other until you look? It was like that. If Bloch had come back, a lot of us would have been opening that box to see what our hearts told us. Only then could we have seen the answer. I’ll never know that answer now, to my relief and to my shame. As that one senator said, it used to be a lot easier to kno
w what loyalty to the Alliance meant. But maybe it wasn’t easier, and maybe now it’s not really all that complicated. Maybe the answer never changed, just the questions we were asking.”
Rione seemed impressed by Timbale’s candor. “What about when Captain Geary brought the fleet back? You had no similar internal uncertainty?”
“At that point? The fleet believed lost, the Syndics running amuck in this star system, our few defenders barely hanging on, then the fleet appears and swoops down like angels of vengeance on the Syndics, and transmissions tell us that Black Jack is back, that he’s saved the fleet, and now he’s saving us.” Timbale laughed softly. “At that moment, Black Jack was a god.”
“That’s not—” Geary began.
“It’s how you were seen,” Rione said. “I told you it would be that way.”
“Exactly,” Timbale agreed. “Black Jack didn’t need me. It didn’t matter what I did. If I got in the way, I’d be run over, that’s all. I admit I was worried, for myself and for the Alliance, so I kept my distance and watched Captain Geary’s actions, but I’m not fool enough to think he needed my support or would be stopped by my opposition.” He turned a still-puzzled look on Geary. “When you told me at the shuttle dock that you were here to follow orders, I doubted my sanity for a moment. How could you have said that? But you were leaving all of the Marines behind, so you were either sincere or crazy. I decided to hope for sincerity, since if you were crazy, we were all doomed anyway.”
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