Boundless

by Jack Campbell

  “They can’t have planted much in the way of mines,” Geary said to Desjani, worried that he’d placed Pele in the lead. If they did come out facing a minefield, it would’ve been far better to have the battleships leading the formation. “They haven’t had the time or the resources here.”

  “Admiral, the Syndicate didn’t expect Midway to be able to respond to this attack,” Kommodor Marphissa said. “They thought our mobile forces would have been wiped out or at the least suffered serious losses in the trap laid at Iwa.”

  “Do you think Kane is still holding out?” Geary asked.

  “The ones left alive on Kane are tough,” Marphissa said. “I think there’s a good chance they’re still fighting.”

  “We’ll know in a couple of minutes,” Desjani said.

  The drop out of jump space delivered the usual jolt to their brains, creating a few seconds in which they strove to recover and be able to think and act again. As Geary fought through that, he was relieved to realize that no alarms were sounding on the ship as they would have been if Syndic warships were nearby.

  His head finally clear, Geary watched his display update. The information from the primary world was hours old, of course, but it offered a reassuring picture.

  “One battle cruiser, two heavy cruisers, seven Hunter-Killers in orbit about the primary world,” Lieutenant Castries reported. “Also two troop transports and ten modified freighters. Judging from what we can see there was still fighting underway on the surface of the primary world as of when these images originated.”

  “Can you tell how heavy the fighting is?” Geary asked.

  “That’ll require more message analysis, sir. There’s another battle cruiser coming in toward the primary world. It must’ve arrived at the jump point from Kukai and is more than a day out from joining up with the rest of the Syndic warships.”

  “It’s still great odds for us,” Captain Desjani remarked.

  “We’re only allowed to fight if we have to,” Geary said. “Do I look okay?”

  “Yes, sir.” But she leaned over far enough to straighten one side of his uniform. “Circuit six will broadcast to the star system.”

  “Thanks.” He took a deep breath, then activated circuit six. “This is Admiral Geary. I am in command of a task force sent to Kane to protect its independence as part of an agreement to defend star systems associated with the free and independent star system of Midway.” He’d chosen those words carefully, wanting to be sure they’d pass muster with the people from Midway as well as with the people from Kane. “All foreign forces attacking Kane, ground forces as well as warships and transports, must depart immediately. If they do not, we will take all necessary actions to defend Kane. To the honor of our ancestors, Geary, out.”

  “Do we have to let them run?” Desjani grumbled. “We could catch them before they reach that other jump point.”

  “We have to give them the chance.”

  “The CEO in command of the mobile forces won’t run,” Kommodor Marphissa said. “They know if they run without a fight, if they don’t even fire a shot, then their life will be worth nothing. The Syndicate will not forgive them. Their only chance is to try to engage this force, do some damage, and then retire having proven their eagerness to carry out the Syndicate’s commands.”

  “They have two battle cruisers to our four,” Desjani said. “And we outnumber them in cruisers a lot more than that. I hope they do come at us.”

  “As do I,” Marphissa said. “But we have five battle cruisers, do we not?”

  Desjani paused, then smiled. “Yes, we do. How good is the commander of your ship?”

  “Kapitan Kontos is young but gifted. His skills are astounding, as if his battle cruiser was an extension of his own body and can be directed with the same finesse and accuracy.”

  “Damn,” Desjani said. “I wish I was going up against him.”

  “Four to one?”

  “No. One on one.” Desjani looked back at Marphissa and actually smiled. “But he’s on our side. I’m looking forward to seeing him in action.”

  Geary looked to the back of the bridge as well. “Kommodor, do you think you should send a separate message to Kane? They’ll see my broadcast, but maybe seeing you would reassure them that we really are here to assist Midway and not to lay claim to Kane ourselves.”

  “That is a good idea, Admiral.”

  “Give her a circuit,” Desjani ordered. “Directional toward the primary world.”

  “Yes, Captain. Circuit four, Kommodor.”

  Marphissa looked down at her controls, brow furrowing as she chose the right one. Tapping it, she looked forward as she transmitted. “People of Kane, this is Kommodor Marphissa of the free and independent star system Midway. I accompany this relief force, as does the Midway battle cruiser Pele. We are here to protect your freedom. The Syndicate’s forces will withdraw, surrender, or be destroyed. Hold on a little longer. Help will be there soon. For the people, Marphissa, out.”

  Geary altered the vector of the task force, bending it onto a course aimed at intercepting the primary world in its orbit. After thinking a bit more and viewing the situation, he decided to do one more thing, calling Reprisal. “Captain Hiyen, I’m going to detach the battle cruisers to swing wide where they can intercept those Syndic warships before they can get near our transports. They will be Formation Zebra One, along with the Fourth Heavy Cruiser Division and the Seventh and Twelfth Destroyer Squadrons. The battleships and all other remaining warships will remain in close escort of the transports as Formation Zebra Two. You have local command of the forces remaining with the transports.”

  Hiyen looked back at Geary in surprise. “Admiral, I am Callas Republic, not an officer of the Alliance.”

  “The Callas Republic is still working with the Alliance,” Geary said. “Which makes you an Alliance officer.”

  Captain Hiyen rendered a sharp salute. “Thank you, Admiral. No harm will come to the transports.”

  “Captain Desjani,” Geary said, “maneuver your battle cruisers independently to cover the transports from a distance of at least ten light minutes.”

  She grinned. “Thank you, Admiral. All units in Formation Zebra One, accelerate to point two light speed, come port zero three zero degrees.”

  The formations separated, the battle cruisers, heavy cruisers, and destroyers under Captain Desjani’s control swinging out from the others and accelerating away at an angle that would place the force between any move by the Syndic warships and the transports.

  After that, they could only wait. The messages sent would take hours to be received, and the reactions and any replies the same number of hours to be seen or received.

  “One of the transports and all of the freighters broke orbit around the planet soon after they saw us,” Lieutenant Castries reported when the light from that event finally reached them.

  “That’s normal for the Syndics,” Desjani said. “Their transports never risk themselves to extricate ground forces.”

  Geary looked back to see Kommodor Marphissa’s reaction to the event and to Desjani’s words, and saw her nodding.

  “Equipment is expensive, people are cheap. Ships are hard to replace, but you can always get more people to replace the ones ‘expended,’” Marphissa said. “That’s the way the Syndicate thinks.”

  Desjani uttered a short laugh. “I’ve met some people in the Alliance who think the same way.”

  “Then the problem is not the Syndicate? The problem is people?”

  “The problem is always people,” Desjani said. “But the solutions are always people.”

  “I see.” Marphissa nodded slowly, her eyes on Desjani.

  “Are you really giving her pointers?” Geary asked Desjani in a low voice.

  “I thought you wanted me to do that,” Desjani said.

  “Yeah, but I didn’t think yo
u would.”

  “I didn’t think I would, either,” she admitted.

  “Captain, a shuttle came up from the surface . . . no, three shuttles and several aerospace craft. They rendezvoused with the remaining transport in orbit. It also broke orbit after that. All of the transports and freighters are on vectors to the jump point for Kukai.”

  “We could stop them,” Desjani said, giving Geary a look from the corners of her eyes.

  He shook his head. “Not if they’re leaving.”

  “What about Pele? Can’t she do whatever the Kommodor wants?”

  Marphissa smiled. “Once we see what the Syndicate battle cruisers are doing, and deal with them, I will let Kontos see if he can catch some freighters. The Syndicate military transports will probably have too big a lead toward the jump point by then, though.”

  “Captain, the Syndic flotilla also broke orbit about the primary world,” Lieutenant Castries said. “They seem to be coming around for an intercept aimed at our transports.”

  “It looks like you called it right, Kommodor,” Geary said. “Captain Desjani, as soon as that Syndic flotilla steadies out, I want you to go meet it, ready for a fight.”

  She smiled again, even wider. “You know, I have simple needs,” Desjani said. “Give me a battle cruiser and an enemy to fight, and I’m good.”

  “I’m glad that I could make you happy,” Geary said. “But they still have to shoot first.”

  “Incoming transmission from the Syndic flotilla, Captain.”

  The CEO who appeared was a younger man with a lifetime’s worth of arrogance on his face. “This is CEO Grandon of the Syndicate Worlds to the Alliance forces operating illegally in Syndicate Worlds space. This star system is part of the Syndicate Worlds. We are dealing with internal matters, engaging in pacification efforts against small bands of terrorists who have preyed on the peaceful workers of this star system. Our actions to enforce law and order are legal. You are threatening aggression against us in clear violation of the treaty that the Syndicate generously agreed to in order to end the late war. Do not mistake our generosity for a lack of resolve. Outside interference in our internal affairs will not be tolerated. We will defend Syndicate Worlds space! If you do not turn about and depart this star system, we will inflict grievous damage on your pathetic forces and the fault will lie with you. Forthepeople, Grandon, out,” he finished, blurring together the phrase “for the people” as if it were meaningless words he had to recite.

  “I think they’re going to fight,” Desjani said. “This guy actually seems to think he can beat us.”

  “He does,” Kommodor Marphissa said. “I know this type. From a powerful family, no one has ever told him no and not suffered for it. He’s done nothing on his own but thinks he achieved everything by his own superiority. This is his first real effort against a real problem where his name can’t get him whatever he wants. His command training was on simulations configured to ensure his easy victory no matter the odds.”

  “The Syndics actually set up simulations that way?” Desjani asked in disbelief.

  “I remember seeing simulations like that in the Alliance fleet before the war,” Geary said. “The admirals always wanted to win.”

  “People,” Marphissa said with a nod to Desjani.

  “People,” Desjani agreed. “What’s the matter, Admiral?”

  She’d noticed his disquiet, of course. “I’m thinking this all looks too easy,” he said, touching his comm controls. “All units, this is Admiral Geary. Maintain a sharp watch for any unusual activity. We were surprised at Indras. We won’t be surprised here. Geary, out.”

  It took a few more hours to see, but the second Syndic battle cruiser coming in from the jump point from Kukai had altered its vector as well to intercept the Alliance battle cruisers.

  From Dauntless, the battleships and transports were behind and to the left, their relative position slowly drifting farther left as both formations grew farther apart on vectors for different objectives. The Syndicate flotilla was off the starboard bow and a little beneath it, remaining fixed in that relative position as it swept closer, aiming for a direct intercept. The second Syndic battle cruiser, above and farther to starboard, also seemed to hang unmoving despite having accelerated to point one three light speed as it aimed to reach the Alliance formation at the same moment as the Syndic flotilla.

  “If I split our fire between both battle cruisers, we’ll cause some damage but aren’t guaranteed to knock out both of them,” Desjani said. “But concentrating all of our fire on one battle cruiser would leave the second to do whatever it wanted.”

  “The question is,” Geary said, “if you knock out one, will the other stay to try to protect it, or will it run for safety?”

  “It depends on who the commander is on the other ship,” Kommodor Marphissa said. “Is the commander indebted to the CEO or a rival? Personal relationships drive a lot of such actions in the Syndicate.”

  “I’m understanding some aspects of prior engagements better now,” Desjani said.

  “Captain,” the communications watch said with surprise, “we’re getting a tight beam transmission from the second Syndic battle cruiser.”

  “Just the second one?” Desjani asked. “Is it clean?”

  “Yes, Captain. No embedded malware. It’s addressed to the admiral.”

  “Tight beam? So the Syndic flotilla won’t be aware of it?”

  “No, Captain. They won’t see any trace of it.”

  “The commander of that ship might not like the odds and might want to make a deal,” Marphissa said. “But that would mean they’d already disposed of the snakes on board that ship.”

  “Let’s have a look at it, then,” Desjani said.

  Geary saw the tab for the message appear on his display, too. Wondering what the message would say, he tapped receive.

  And stared in disbelief at the image that appeared.

  He heard a strangled sound from Tanya Desjani as she saw the same thing on her display.

  SEVENTEEN

  THE man looking at him in the message had a face that had haunted his dreams since first assuming command of the fleet when it was on the verge of destruction. A face that was leaner now, hollowed out a bit by what must have been a long time on a barely adequate diet. His Alliance fleet uniform was battered, bearing old scorch marks and roughly mended rips. Damage the uniform must have suffered when Repulse was destroyed.

  How could he be alive? And how could he be here at Kane?

  “This message is for Admiral Geary,” the man said. “From Captain Michael Geary, formerly commanding officer of Repulse. I, along with a lot of other Alliance prisoners, have been held in a Syndic prison. We just recently learned the war had ended. We escaped and seized control of this Syndic battle cruiser. We haven’t mastered the controls, don’t have a full crew, and don’t have a full weapons load-out or full fuel cell reserves. Basically, we’re depending on our hell lances. But we can help engage that Syndic flotilla. We’ve received orders from their CEO to hit you in conjunction with him, and have pretended to accept those orders, but instead we can target him.

  “I . . . imagine you’re a bit surprised to see me, Admiral. I admit I never expected to see you again. But here we are, and this time we have the upper hand. Let’s get these guys. To the honor of our ancestors, Geary, out.”

  Admiral Geary stared at his display, momentarily speechless. Not far off, he heard Tanya Desjani reciting a prayer of thanks in a barely audible voice.

  “Okay,” Geary finally managed to say. “We’ve got six battle cruisers.”

  “That’s your reaction?” Desjani asked.

  “I’m a little stunned.” He inhaled slowly and deeply. “Is this for real? Was that really him or a fake?”

  “Analysis of the message says it’s not a deep fake,” the communications watch stander said. “Ninety-four pe
rcent confidence that’s really Captain Michael Geary.”

  “How could a group of prisoners not only free themselves but also gain control of a Syndic battle cruiser?” Geary said.

  Desjani hesitated. “That I can’t answer. It seems impossible.”

  “External help?” Lieutenant Yuon suggested. “Maybe Alliance Marines or special forces? It makes sense that if there were prisoners being held in undisclosed locations that we’d try to free them.”

  “That’s a plausible explanation,” Geary said, “except that you’d think Captain Geary would’ve mentioned that. Kommodor?”

  Marphissa shook her head. “It could be a trick. The Syndicate CEO would require acknowledgment of his orders. I’m not sure anyone from the Alliance could successfully pose as a Syndicate executive. You should check.”

  “Ask him something only Michael would know,” Desjani said. “Something the Syndics wouldn’t have thought to ask about during interrogations.”

  “Yeah. Good idea.” He paused, still mentally off balance, his mind refusing to cooperate. “Any suggestions?”

  She stopped to think. “The ghost in the home network?”

  “That’s a good one.”

  “And if it is a trap, we want them to think you’re falling for it. Don’t sound too skeptical.”

  “Right. Comms, can we keep this return message on a tight enough beam to keep the Syndic flotilla from knowing it was sent?”

  “Yes, Admiral,” the communications watch said. “There’s enough separation that even as the message spreads its edges won’t clip the flotilla.”

  “Good.” Geary composed himself before touching the reply command. “This is Admiral Geary for . . . Captain Geary. It’s . . . very good to hear from you. I’m afraid we need some confirmation to be sure you’re you. Please reply with the name of the ghost in the home network. How were you able to gain control of a Syndic battle cruiser? And how did you fool the Syndic CEO into believing that you’re a friendly ship? Please advise. Geary, out.”

  “That was kind of clumsy,” Captain Desjani said.