The Price of Liberty (Empire Rising Book 4)

by D. J. Holmes

  “I’m so sorry,” was all he could say as he drew her into a hug.

  *

  11th October 2467 AD, HMS Vulcan.

  “Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Admiral of the Red, Jonathan Somerville asked his Prime Minister. “If you give me another month or two, I can rearrange our fleet dispositions and further reinforce the Fast Reaction Fleet.”

  “Is that really what you are advising?” Fairfax asked. “Have you got scared now that your Rear Admiral has let the fleet down?”

  “No,” Somerville replied firmly. “You know me well enough by now, I recommend that we press on. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t let you know that there are still other options. When we put our plan in motion, we didn’t count on losing so many ships in Indian space.”

  “Indeed we didn’t,” Fairfax said. “But each of us knew the risks. Rear Admiral Rooke may have handed us a defeat, but the war is not over. I still think your original plan is our best bet. But if it’s going to work, it needs to be put into motion immediately. What do you say?” Fairfax asked as he turned to look at the third man in the meeting.

  “I say you are both putting your careers and reputations on the line,” King Edward answered. “I know you intended Rooke’s actions in the Indian colonies to look like a defeat, however, with the losses he took it didn’t just look like a defeat, it was a defeat. Worse, the news reports are right, it was a rout. We’re lucky any of our ships made it back. If it wasn’t for your nephew and the rest of our Captains’ sacrifice, none of the ships would be here. And, as you are both well aware, the public has been fully informed of our failure.”

  For a moment Somerville thought Fairfax was about to swear. Rooke’s fleet had made it back to the Sol system less than a week ago. Yet, within a day of the fleet’s arrival, Rooke’s entire mission report had been leaked to the press. Somerville suspected the leak had come from within the RSN, probably from one of Rooke’s subordinates who felt the Rear Admiral had let the fleet down and wanted everyone to know it. The thought that one of the Captains had betrayed Rooke made Somerville angry. Not that he didn't feel Rooke deserved it, but that their willingness to sell out Rooke was too little too late. Where were they when Rooke was running away from every opportunity to attack the Indians, Somerville thought. What made it worse was that he knew Fairfax blamed the RSN for the leak and, as public opinion turned against Fairfax, their relationship was becoming strained.

  The plan had been to lull the Indians into a false sense of security. Yet neither Somerville nor Fairfax had counted on having to watch their backs as they pursued the war with the Indian Star Republic. There were elements within the RSN and the British Parliament that wanted to see Somerville and Fairfax gone. For the last week, their opponents had been doing everything they could to see their desires turn into reality, using the naval disaster in the Indian colonies as ammunition.

  “My career can be damned for all I care,” Fairfax answered the British King. “This war with India will impact the future of our Kingdom for decades to come, that’s far more important than my legacy. If I have to, I’ll fight dirtier than any of my rivals to hold onto power. We all know that if someone manages to oust me, they will give in to the Indians. We cannot allow that to happen.

  “We must pursue the war, and we need to act fast, this is a risk we need to take. If we can’t retake Haven soon, then the Indians will be so well dug in we will never take the colony. If this is our best bet at defeating the Indians, then I’m willing to bet my career on it.” He turned to Somerville.

  “This is our best bet,” Somerville said. “And you both know as well as I do that I may not be able to hold onto my position as the First Space Lord for much longer. There may be other options open to us, and I want you to be aware of them, but my recommendation is we move forward immediately.”

  “Then it is settled,” King Edward said. “If you are both prepared to continue with your plan, then I will back you. Though, if we can’t win at Haven, you’ll be on your own. I’ll have a far bigger mess on my hands than your careers. The Indians will be baying for blood if they can defeat our fleet a second time, and the Argentinians and others will not be far behind them.”

  “Cunningham knows what’s at stake,” Somerville said. “He’s our best commander and with Home Fleet combined with what’s left of the Fast Reaction Fleet, he should be able to deal with whatever ships the Indians still have at Haven. As long as the Indians haven’t found out about the Gift, he should be able to easily beat Admiral Kumar. With most of the Indian ships at New Delhi with Admirals Khan and Kapoor, Haven should be practically undefended.”

  “We are agreed then,” Fairfax said. He let out a long breath and allowed his shoulders to relax. “Send your orders to Cunningham. The sooner he moves, the sooner we will be able to present a victory to the people.”

  Reaching over to his desk, Somerville opened a COM channel to his secretary. “The dispatch I have waiting to be sent to Admiral Cunningham, transmit it immediately.” After his secretary acknowledged his command, he shut off the COM unit.

  “Would either of you like a drink?” Somerville asked as he reached down to the lower desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. “It’s from 1984 and I dare say, it has aged well.”

  “I think that would do us all some good,” Edward said. After Somerville poured three half glasses, he reached over and took two, handing one to Fairfax.

  “To victory,” he said as he raised the glass to his lips.

  “And fallen comrades,” Somerville added as he drank.

  For more than a minute they sat in silence as they contemplated the events they had set in motion. Already many thousands of British lives had been lost and, no doubt, many more were to follow. All for a system more than a hundred light years away from Earth. It was no surprise public opinion was turning against the war.

  Somerville’s thoughts were elsewhere. Rooke and his fleet had jumped out of the New Delhi system just after Captain Foley and his heavy cruisers had closed to plasma cannon range with the New Delhi fleet. The sensor data from the engagement had been far from complete, however, it had been clear that every single British warship that had engaged the Indians had been destroyed. A small part of him still held out hope for his nephew, after all, hasn’t he pulled himself out of more than one scrape in the past? Yet, the rational part of him knew the truth. There was no way any British ship could escape going gun to gun at point blank range with such a large Indian fleet.

  “I’m sorry about your nephew,” King Edward said. “He was a promising young officer. It’s not hard to understand why so many Captains chose to follow him. If I had my way, I would award him the Victoria Cross. His sacrifice deserves it.”

  “No,” Somerville replied. “Even if Rear Admiral Rooke’s actions were foolish, and cowardly, they were not contrary to his orders nor treasonous. As the letter of the naval code goes, James had no right to take command of his ship, nor to contact the other ships in the British fleet. Even if the board of inquiry finds Rooke’s actions unbecoming of a naval officer, it would not be right to reward my nephew, even if his actions did save the fleet.”

  “Then at least we can recognize the sacrifice of those ships that followed your nephew,” Fairfax said. “If you will draw up the recommendations that the Captains of each ship lost be awarded the Victoria Cross, and their crews a medal worthy of their sacrifice, my office will be quick to approve it.”

  “I already have the necessary paperwork in order,” Somerville replied. “I had been holding off in the hope that some more ships might make it back to Earth. I had thought Acting Commodore Lightfoot may have evaded the Indian ships. Alas, I think his squadron has been lost as well.”

  “We are all prone to holding onto hope even in the face of overwhelming odds when it comes to people we love or are responsible for,” Edward said. “Don’t think it so foolish Admiral.”

  Another moment of silence ensued as neither Fairfax nor Edward knew wh
at to say to the grieving Admiral. Finally, Fairfax changed the topic. “How do you think the board of enquiry will find for Rear Admiral Rooke?”

  Somerville set the glass he was holding down and took a second to consider his answer. Before he could speak, Edward jumped in. “I know you wanted our board of enquiry to keep our operational concerns a secret Admiral, but if I had my way, it would be a full-blown court martial. Rooke damn near lost us our fleet, and he ran away from multiple opportunities to take on the Indian fleet. Hell, if I had been in command, even I could have done more damage to the Indians than him.”

  “You may be right,” Somerville said carefully. “But a court martial would be far too public, especially given the last one we had. It would have turned into another spectacle, except this time, our political opponents would be using it against us.” Taking another pause to think before he went on, Somerville answered Fairfax’s question, “I think the board of enquiry will find Rooke guilty of actions unbecoming of a naval officer. As to the other charges, he will have my orders to cover his ass with.

  “Technically, my orders made it clear that Rooke’s main objective was to keep his fleet intact,” Somerville explained, “and to get home from the Indian colonies in a way that would make the Indians think they had beaten us. It’s true, he refused to engage a number of Indian targets my secondary orders should have led him to engage. However, he will always be able to point to my primary orders in his defense. Even when he ordered the fleet to exceed its maximum safe velocity, he was doing so to preserve it. I don’t think he’ll be seeing any prison time, nor will the enquiry give him a dishonorable discharge. However, with a verdict of ‘Actions Unbecoming of a Naval Officer’ in his record, he will never command a desk position in the Admiralty again, never mind a fleet command. Even if the board of enquiry doesn’t find against him, I would make sure of that.”

  Rear Admiral Russell burst into the room. “Jonathan,” he shouted in excitement. As soon as Russell realized that Admiral Somerville wasn’t alone, he pulled himself up short. “Ah, excuse m…” He began to say. Then Russell realized who was with his old friend.

  He bowed, “Your Majesty, Mr. Prime Minister, please accept my sincerest apologies. It completely slipped my mind you were meeting with the First Space Lord. I’m terribly sorry.”

  Despite his sour mood, Somerville couldn’t help but chuckle at his friend’s misfortune. Russell was the head of the Royal Space Navy Intelligence division. They went way back, having served together as ensigns in the same ship after graduating from naval college. “Never mind the interruption,” Somerville said. “You obviously have something on your mind, care to share it with all three of us, or should you go back out to my secretary and schedule yourself an appropriate time to speak with me alone?”

  “You will all want to hear this,” Russell said. “It’s Acting Commodore Lightfoot; his squadron has returned. They made it out of New Delhi after all.”

  “They have?” Somerville asked, almost too scared to hope for the answer he wanted to his next question.

  Having already guessed Somerville’s next question Russel went straight to it, “Yes, and both Endeavour and Discovery are with Lightfoot. The ships entered the Sol system several hours ago and their mission report reached Vulcan. Endeavour’s mission report identifies James as the Captain.”

  Somerville didn’t say anything, instead he sat back in his chair as a wave of relief washed over him. Reaching into his desk drawer again, he pulled out the whiskey and another glass. He quickly poured everyone in the room a drink. “You better get a seat Russell, you may as well fill us in on the mission report.” A smile crept onto his lips as he picked up his whiskey. “That sneaky son of a gun, how does he always manage to get himself home?” Somerville chuckled as everyone in the room raised a glass.

  “To Captain Somerville,” Fairfax said before taking a sip, “I think we owe him another debt of gratitude.” As everyone else savored the whiskey, Fairfax’s mind was already working on how he could turn Captain Somerville’s survival to their benefit.

  Ten minutes later Admiral Somerville stood to shake each man’s hand as they left his office. Once he was on his own, he broke into a wide grin as he thought about his nephew’s survival. It will be good to have you home, he thought. But I’m afraid that’s not going to happen just yet. All too aware his nephew’s new wife wouldn’t be at all pleased at the COM message he was about to transmit, Admiral Somerville opened up his COM unit and began new orders for Acting Commodore Lightfoot.

  *

  HMS Endeavour, Sol system.

  James had never felt more eager to return to Earth. Lightfoot’s plan to escape from the New Delhi system had been cautious but it had ensured they got home without encountering any more Indian ships. The downside had been they had spent a lot of time cruising at sub light velocities deep in the outer extremities of the New Delhi and Aror systems.

  Having faced certain death, all James could think about, once he was sure his ship and his crew were safe, was Suzanna. Every night he had dreamed of being reunited with her. Now Endeavour was less than five hours away from entering Earth orbit. James didn’t know what story Rear Admiral Rooke had told, nor if anyone on Earth expected Endeavour, Discovery or Acting Commodore Lightfoot’s ships to return. For all he knew, Suzanna thought him dead. He was eager to get home and assure her he was safe and sound.

  “Captain,” Sub Lieutenant Malik called. “I’m detecting a large number of ships lighting off their drives around Vulcan. The numbers are rising rapidly.”

  “What are the battlecruisers doing?” Mallory asked.

  “Two of them are among the ships breaking orbit,” Malik answered.

  “The Home Fleet has been combined with the Fast Reaction Fleet,” James surmised. “They are about to make their move on Haven. The Indians will suspect our fleet is going to make another attempt at breaking through their colonies to Haven. Admiral Cunningham will use the Gift to get there faster than the Indians expect and drive off whatever defenses the Indians have left in orbit around Haven. That has been my uncle’s plan all along, I imagine the fleet is only leaving now as some of the ships from Rear Admiral Rooke’s fleet needed critical repairs.”

  “Do you think we will be ordered to join the fleet?” Mallory asked.

  The question hit James like an electric shock. The possibility hadn’t entered his mind. Yet, it was the only logical order his uncle could give. Assuming Discovery and Endeavour were battle ready, both ships would prove indispensable to Admiral Cunningham and whatever plan he had put together to attack Haven.

  “I expect so,” James said. The disappointment in his voice was clear for everyone on the bridge to hear. “I guess we are not going home to see our loved ones just yet.”

  “I guess not,” Mallory replied. “But we have unfinished business with the Indians. I don’t think it would feel right for us to return to Earth just as Admiral Cunningham heads off to Haven.”

  “You’re right,” James said, forcing the disappointment from his voice. “Endeavour started this war, it’s only right we be there when our fleet ends it. Pass the word to the crew, we will be joining the fleet and heading to Haven within the next few hours. All those who want to send messages to Earth may take some time off their duties to prepare them. Sub Lieutenant Scott, I’m putting you in charge of organizing a rota, make sure every crew member on watch is given at least twenty minutes to return to their quarters and compose a message if they so wish.”

  “Aye Captain,” Scott replied.

  “You have the watch,” James said to Mallory as he stood. “I’m going to retire to my quarters and compose a letter to Suzanna, I’ll return within the hour to relieve you.”

  “Okay Captain,” Mallory said. “Make sure you tell Suzanna we all hope she’s doing well.”

  “I will,” James said with a smile before he turned and walked out of the bridge.

  When he got to his quarters he wrote a COM message to be sent to Suzanna. When h
e was halfway through what he wanted to say, his COM unit beeped to alert him that Sub Lieutenant King wanted his attention. “What is it Sub Lieutenant?” James asked.

  “I have a message from Acting Commodore Lightfoot for you,” King responded.

  “Send it to my datapad in my quarters,” James responded.

  A moment of panic came over James as he thought about why Lightfoot would be sending a message to him personally. His mission report made it crystal clear he had disobeyed Rooke’s order that had relieved him of command. If Lightfoot had received new orders from the Admiralty, there was a chance they would include a command to remove him from Endeavour. The Sol system was a beehive of activity and it wouldn’t be hard for Mallory to find a freighter or some other ship heading towards Earth he could shuttle James across to.

  For a second he actually hoped he might be ordered back to Earth. He would return covered in shame, but he would get to see Suzanna. Angrily, he pushed the thought aside. As much as he wanted to get back to Earth, if Endeavour was going into battle once again, he was going to be the one in command.