“No.” She turned and walked the three steps that took her to the far bulkhead, apparently absorbed in studying the picture there. It was a legacy of Admiral Bloch, of course, a stunning starscape that was just the sort of thing you’d expect to find in a naval officer’s stateroom. Rione spent perhaps a minute looking at the picture, then turned toward Geary again. “Do you like starscapes, Captain Geary?”
Small talk. He hadn’t expected that, and it made him warier than ever. “Not particularly.”
“You can change it. You can put any picture from the ship’s graphic library on here.”
“I know.” He refused to add that he hadn’t been able to bring himself to wipe out the picture because it represented a legacy of Admiral Bloch’s former presence here.
Rione eyed him for several seconds longer before speaking again. “What are your intentions, Captain Geary?”
My intentions are purely honorable, ma’am. The incongruous thought arose totally unbidden, causing Geary to pretend to cough so he wouldn’t laugh instead. “Excuse me. Madam Co-President, as we discussed earlier, I intend to try to get this fleet back to Alliance space.”
“Don’t evade the question, Captain. We’re en route to the Corvus System. I want to know what you intend doing next.”
If I knew for sure, I’d tell you. But perhaps Rione’s visit wasn’t such a bad thing after all. She was apparently one of the few people on this ship who didn’t worship the space he sailed through, she’d already made it clear she wouldn’t hesitate to express her opinions, and as far as he could tell from their earlier conversation she had a good head on her shoulders. Granted, she also didn’t try to hide her dislike of him, but unlike the hostility he’d seen from people like Captains Numos and Faresa, at least the Republic Co-President ’s disdain seemed tempered by some degree of common sense. “I’d like to discuss that with you.”
“Really?” Rione’s skepticism was clear from both her tone and her expression.
“Yes. Though I ask that our discussions remain confidential. I hope you understand.”
“Of course.”
Geary took one step to the table and painstakingly worked the still unfamiliar controls to call up its display. Stars glowed in the air above the table’s surface, then winked out. Cursing under his breath, Geary tried again, and this time the display remained steady. “We’re got some options.”
“Options.”
“Yes.” If she can talk in one-word sentences, so can I. Geary carefully manipulated the controls, and the stars were replaced with a miniature picture of how the Alliance fleet would currently appear to a godlike observer. “We’re likely to have a head start through Corvus before any Syndics come through the jump exit behind us. A few hours, at least.”
Rione frowned and came to stand near him, one arm almost touching his, but apparently as unreactive to his personal presence as if he were another wall. “The Syndic fleet was in very close pursuit when we entered jump. Surely they’ll still be right behind us when we enter the Corvus System.”
“I don’t think so.” Geary pointed toward the display. “We’ll be disposed like this when we leave jump. It’s a decent formation. More important, we’ve got plenty of heavy firepower toward the rear of the formation.”
“Heavier than the Syndics?”
Sarcasm definitely didn’t become Co-President Rione, Geary decided. “Locally, yes. When we entered jump, the Syndics were focused on trying to stop or slow some of our big units long enough for their big ships to catch up and destroy them. But the situation will be different on the other side of the jump if the Syndics come through right behind us. They’re all strung out. Their light stuff would run head-on into our main strength. We could send our own slow units on ahead while our best ships stayed at the jump exit and trashed the light Syndic ships as they came through.” He paused, then shook his head. “No, they won’t have followed us through immediately. They’ll have to take time to reform their forces. They can’t make a jump in that wall formation of theirs because it’s spread so wide the outer portions wouldn’t be within the jump point. They’ll call back the HuKs and other light units, get the heavies rearranged, and then…”
She raised one eyebrow. “Then?”
“That’s a big question.” Geary looked at her, trying to figure out if he could trust Rione or her judgments. Trust them or not, she may think of something I haven’t. “I’d like your thoughts on something.”
Rione gave him a guarded look, her skepticism still obvious. “My thoughts.”
“Yes. On what we do next.”
“Then before you say anything else, let me say this. Don’t misjudge your strength, Captain Geary.”
He frowned, feeling the weakness in his body, resenting that weakness and Rione’s apparent allusion to it. “What exactly does that mean? I’m physically capable of—”
“No. Not your personal strength. The strength of this fleet.” Rione waved one hand dismissively toward the depiction of the Alliance fleet. “Those give you a surface picture. They don’t tell you what’s inside.”
“Are you saying I can’t trust my information?”
“The information on the fleet is accurate as far as it goes.” She gestured again in apparent frustration. “I don’t know the right word to describe the problem. This fleet is like a piece of metal that seems very strong. But when struck, it breaks fairly easily. Do you understand?”
He did. “Brittle. You’re saying the fleet’s brittle. Strong-looking but too easily shattered by a blow. Is that right?”
Rione appeared surprised. “That’s exactly what I meant.”
“But not physical weakness. Not flaws in ship construction or weaponry.”
“I begin to feel certain you know that is not what I’m referring to.”
And I begin to feel certain there’s more to you than meets the eye, Co-President Rione. “I appreciate your assessment.”
“You don’t seem to be startled by it. Frankly, I thought you’d react angrily.”
Geary gave her an obviously false smile. “I like surprising people.” Which is one reason why I won’t tell you that I’ve no intention of letting this fleet stay brittle if I can help it. Metal can be reforged, tempered. So can this fleet. I hope. Though whether I or anybody else could succeed in doing that under these conditions is another question. “I’ve been trying to get to know—” He almost said “these people” before checking himself. “This fleet. They’re good, but as I was told some time back”—a little more than a week ago—“they’re tired.”
“This isn’t the type of tiredness that can be cured by a good night’s sleep, Captain Geary.”
“I know that, Madam Co-President.”
“If you commit these ships to a major battle, even under the conditions you describe, they may fail you.”
Geary looked down and bit his lip. That’s exactly what I’m afraid of, but I don’t know what she might repeat to others. “I don’t intend seeking a major fleet engagement at this time.”
“That is not a reassuring statement. It is critically important to the Alliance, as well as to the Callas Republic and the Rift Federation, that these ships return to Alliance space!”
“I know that, Madam Co-President.”
“We must avoid losing more ships.”
Geary glowered at her. “Madam Co-President, contrary to whatever you appear to believe, I am not in the habit of spending ships and the lives of sailors as if they were loose change rattling around in my pocket.” Her eyes narrowed, but Rione stayed silent for the moment. “I don’t intend to seek out a fleet engagement. I have no idea whether or not the Syndics will be able to force such an action. But I will do all I can to maximize the odds in our favor, no matter what.”
Rione stayed silent a little longer before answering. “That’s hardly a promise, Captain Geary.”
“I don’t make promises I can’t keep. I can’t control what the Syndics do, and I can’t be certain what kind of situations we’ll face.
Surely you understand military realities enough to know that sometimes units must be risked?”
“Units like Repulse?”
Geary glared at her. “Yes,” he rasped.
Instead of speaking again, Rione just seemed to study Geary for several seconds. “Very well, Captain Geary. I must add that in the case of the Repulse, I have been remiss.” She inclined her head slightly toward him. “May I offer my personal condolences on your family’s loss, as well as my official condolences, and thanks for your family’s sacrifice, on behalf of the Callas Republic.”
He looked down at the deck, composing himself, then nodded back. “Thank you, Madam Co-President. I didn’t know you were aware I was related to the commander of the Repulse.” He knew his voice sounded rough and knew he couldn’t do anything about it.
“Yes. I should’ve expressed my sympathies much earlier, and beg your forgiveness.”
“That’s all right.” He straightened himself and took a deep breath. “There’ve been many, many sacrifices.” Rione still didn’t look friendly, but she seemed perhaps a few degrees warmer. The last thing he wanted to do now, though, was talk about the dead, so he changed the subject without worrying about being obvious. “As I said earlier, I’d appreciate your assessment on something.” Looking away from her, Geary concentrated on the controls for the table and once again called up a display of stars. “We’re jumping in here, inside Corvus System. We’ll swing through, picking up whatever supplies we can grab in the time available.”
He indicated the jump exit, then swung his finger to point out another area. “This is the jump point out of Corvus. We’ve got three possible destinations.” He highlighted a star. “Yuon’s one of them, and it’s pretty near along a straight shot back to Alliance space.” Another star. “Voss, which goes a bit back the other way, deeper into Syndic territory.” And the third. “Kaliban. Which just sort of carries us along inside Syndic space, but sets us up to potentially jump to four other stars.” He paused. “Suppose you were the Syndic commanders, Co-President Rione. Where would you expect us to go?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Yuon.”
“Because?”
“We’re running, Captain Geary. The fleet is running for its life. And Yuon offers the fastest route home. Not fast, by any means, compared to hypernet. But significantly faster than the alternatives.”
He looked down at the display, rubbing his jaw. “Doesn’t that make it too obvious a choice? Too obvious a place for the Syndic fleet to jump into and wait for us?”
“I repeat, our fleet fled the Syndic home system. We’re in hostile territory. Running is the only reasonable option.”
“Alright, I agree we need to run. We also need to avoid getting caught, which means we need to steer clear of an obvious route.”
“In theory, yes. But we’re constrained by the realities of our condition. The Syndics will know you want to go to Yuon, Captain Geary.”
Geary gave her a twisted smile. “But I don’t want to go to Yuon, Madam Co-President.”
She stiffened, and Geary could swear he saw ice forming inside her eyes. “Voss! You’re planning on jumping back toward the Syndic home system, then jumping in again, hoping the defenses will be surprised and the fleet off chasing us—”
Geary held up both hands, palms out. “No.”
“No?” Rione took a step to the side, as if circling him warily, and watched his face.
“No. In a perfect world, maybe.” In a perfect world, we wouldn’t be fighting a war that’s a century old. “But I can read those damage reports on our ships, and I can total up the weapons we’ve expended and the state of our supplies. Just as well as I can guess at the current ability of this fleet to handle another major battle.” Geary shook his head. “It’d be an insane risk.”
“I agree.” Rione said that cautiously, as if still waiting for Geary to spring a trap.
“But the Syndics will have to defend against that chance, won’t they? That means putting a blocking force in Voss and keeping some reinforcements for their home system close at hand. Just in case I’m insane,” he added dryly. “That’ll deplete the forces they have to chase us.”
“So you are going to Yuon?”
“No. I want to go to Kaliban.”
“Kaliban?” Rione’s eyes shifted rapidly from Geary to the star display. “What does Kaliban grant us?”
“Time and the greatest degree of relative safety.” He raised another palm, forestalling more objections. “I know time is our enemy, too. But it gives the fleet more time to recover. Our auxiliaries are building more expendable weaponry now, grapeshot and specters, and we’ll pick up materials to build more while we’re in Corvus, I hope. We’ll get more damage fixed. Yes, once we reach Kaliban, we’ll need to jog toward home. And we’ll be in desperate need of resupply, so we have to find enough of what we need there. But we’ll have a couple of good star options for our next jump, one okay option, and one risky option. That’ll leave the Syndics with four places to guard even if they’ve been able to localize our fleet by then.”
Rione looked thoughtful as she nodded. “And what of this degree of relative safety?”
Geary indicated the stars again. “We’ve been beat up, and the Syndics have us badly outnumbered. But the Syndic fleet doesn’t have an infinite number of ships. The more they divide what they’ve got to try to catch us, the better the odds we’ll face if they do catch us. Here,” he pointed to Yuon. “They need to put enough ships there to at least hurt us a lot more if we go through that system. But they also need to put ships into Voss to protect against that possibility. And they’ve got to keep the pressure on us, which means a strong force pursuing us through Corvus.”
“I see. That leaves little for Kaliban. If you’re right. But how sure can you be that the Syndics will disregard the chance you’ll go to Kaliban?”
“I don’t think they’ll disregard it,” Geary corrected. “I think they’ll consider it by far the least likely objective for us, and they’ll regard it as much less critical a matter than if we went to Yuon or Voss. Going to either of those stars would create an immediate problem for the Syndics. If we go to Kaliban, we’re still a problem, but one they’ll think leaves them time to deal with us.” He stared down at the representation of Kaliban. I just wish I knew what the Syndics had at Kaliban. The little intelligence we have is more than a half-century old. Hell, I wish I knew what they had at Corvus.
“Why are you explaining this to me?”
He glanced at her. “As I said, I want your opinion.”
“You sound like you’ve already made up your mind.”
He tried not to sound irritated. “No. I’m trying to formulate a plan, and I’m thinking through options. You have a different way of looking at things, so I value your impressions.”
For a moment, Geary could swear Rione looked slightly amused. “Then I tell you that I’d go through Yuon.”
“I see—”
“I’m not finished. I’d go through Yuon. But what you’ve said is true, and I myself warned you that we must avoid a major battle. I now believe as you do that Kaliban will be the best option.”
Geary gave her a wry smile. “Then may I assume the ships of the Republic and the Rift will follow my orders and go to Kaliban?”
“Yes, Captain Geary.” Her expression shifted. “Getting the rest of the Alliance fleet to go there will be your task alone, I’m afraid.”
She thinks that’ll be a problem. I hadn’t thought that far. The fleet’s ship commanders followed me out of the Syndic home system. But they were facing imminent death, and even then some of them wanted to debate things.
And they’re all tired and want to get home.
Rione was once more apparently studying the starscape. “I regret to say I know little of your personal life, Captain Geary. Did you leave anyone behind?”
He pondered the question. “It depends how you mean that. My father and mother were still alive. My brother was married. He didn’t have any ki
ds, yet, though.” Funny how he could say that and somehow emotionally divorce it from the image of the older man who’d been his brother’s grandson, and who’d died on the Repulse.
“No life partner?”
“No.” He realized she was looking at him and wondered how a one-word answer could reveal so much to her. “Nothing that worked out.”
“A blessing, perhaps?”
“In light of what happened to me, yeah.” Geary shook his head. “I always thought they’d have finally figured out how to extend the lifespan by now.”
“Alas, no.” Rione was, to all appearances, studying the starscape again as she spoke. “You know what’s happened every time they’ve tried. Nature will let us keep humans healthy and strong nearly up to the end, but come the end still does, even though scientists have taken the human body apart down to the quantum level and rebuilt it in an effort to change that.”
Geary, feeling tired again, sat down and leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment. “It’s enough to give someone religion.”
“It’s certainly enough to make someone think about it.” She glanced at Geary. “Is there an ancestral home?”
“Not unless they’ve built one since the last time I was back.”
“Where will you go when we return to Alliance space?”
“I don’t know.” He stared at nothing, his mind wandering. “There’s somebody I need to look up on the Dreadnought, wherever that ship is.”
Rione didn’t mask her surprise. “You know someone on a ship back in Alliance space?”
“Not really. I have a message for her, though, that somebody asked me to deliver.” Geary brooded on that for a moment while Rione waited, then shrugged. “After that, maybe I’ll go to Kosatka.”
“Kosatka?”
“It was a nice place, once. I hear it’s still nice.”
“Kosatka,” Rione repeated. “I do not think your fate lies on Kosatka, Captain Geary.”
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