by L. A. Graf
This time, it was Aaron Stiles who appeared there. Without looking at Admiral Walker or anyone else, he came forward and joined his colleagues.
Walker’s eyes narrowed warily beneath his thick gray brows. “What’s the meaning of this?” he demanded of his former officers.
They didn’t respond. But the director noticed that there was yet another gleam of light in front of the center seat, and someone else taking shape around it.
To his surprise, that someone turned out to be Bryce Shumar. And to his further surprise, Shumar took his place beside the others.
Now Abute really didn’t get it. What did Shumar have to do with the military contingent? Hadn’t he been at odds with Matsura and the others right from the start?
But Shumar wasn’t the last surprise. Thirty seconds later, Cobaryn appeared as well. And after him came Dane, completing the set.
Starfleet’s captains stood shoulder to shoulder, enduring the stares of everyone present. And for the first time, the director mused, the six of them looked as if they might be able to stand one another’s company.
The admiral glowered at them. “Blast it,” he said, “exactly what are you men trying to pull?”
“I’d like to know myself,” Dumont chimed in.
Matsura turned to her. “It’s simple, really. You tried to make us your pawns. You tried to pit us against one another.”
“But we had a little talk after Oreias,” Shumar continued, “and we realized this isn’t about individual agendas. It’s too important.”
“Damned right,” said Stiles. “My fellow captains and I have come too far to let bureaucrats of any stripe tell us what to do.”
Dane glanced at Walker. “Or whom we should respect. After all, we’re not just a bunch of space jockeys anymore.”
“We’re a fleet,” Hagedorn noted. “A Starfleet.”
“And in spirit, at least,” Cobaryn told them, “we are here to assume command of the Daedalus together.”
The admiral went red in the face. “The hell you are! I’ll see the lot of you stripped of your ranks!”
“Perhaps you would,” Abute told him, “if you were in charge of this fleet. But at the risk of being rude, I must remind you that I am the one in charge.” He glanced at the six captains. “And frankly, I am quite impressed by what I see in front of me.”
Walker’s eyes looked as if they were going to pop out of their sockets. “Are you out of your mind?” he growled. “This is rank insubordination!”
The director shrugged. “One might call it that, I suppose. But I prefer to think of it as courage, Admiral—and even you must admit that courage is a trait greatly to be admired.”
Dumont sighed. “This is unexpected. But if that’s the way these men feel, I certainly won’t stand in their way.”
Abute chuckled. “Spoken like someone who has nothing to lose and everything to gain, Ms. Dumont. I wonder . . . had it been Captain Shumar or Captain Cobaryn who was granted command of the Daedalus, would your reaction have been quite so forgiving?”
Dumont stiffened, but didn’t seem to have an answer.
The director nodded. “I thought not.”
He glanced at his fleet captains, who remained unmoved by the onlookers’ reaction to their decision. He had hoped the six of them might work together efficiently someday, maybe even learn to tolerate one another as people. But this . . .
This was something Abute had never imagined in his wildest dreams.
Turning to the officials who had been invited to this occasion, he assumed a more military posture—for the sake of those who cared about such things. “I hereby turn over command of this proud new vessel, the U.S.S. Daedalus . . . to the brave and capable captains of Starfleet. May they always bring glory to their ships and to their crews.”
Everyone present nodded to show their approval. That is, with the notable exception of Big Ed Walker. But that, Abute reflected, was a battle they would fight another day.
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Pathways • Jeri Taylor
Captain Proton! • Dean Wesley Smith
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Flashback • Diane Carey
Day of Honor • Michael Jan Friedman
Equinox • Diane Carey
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