Victorious

TWO

The tension inside the room suddenly intensified. Geary chose his words carefully, knowing he had to get meaning and intent across and knowing he couldn’t afford any misinterpretations. “My recommendations are presented in detail in my report, but in brief I request that I be permitted to remain in command of the fleet, sir, and I request that the government and my military superiors favorably consider the plan of action I have submitted.”

“Request. You surely know that you could demand such things.”

“No, sir, I could not,” Geary objected.

“Don’t play games with us, Captain,” Senator Suva declared with a glower. “We both know what you could do with a snap of your fingers.”

“Madam Senator, I acknowledge that I might have the power to make demands, but I cannot do so. I have taken an oath to the Alliance, and I will not break that oath. I am subject to your orders and authority.”

The heavyset woman narrowed her eyes at Geary, her face grim. “You’re giving us your fate, Captain, and leaving the fate of the Alliance up to a group of people whom you have surely seen are less capable than they should be given our responsibilities.”

He hadn’t expected any senators to argue in favor of a coup. Geary managed to hide his reaction, then spoke calmly. “I gave my fate up a long time ago, Madam Senator. I swore to follow lawful orders, and I will do so. Or I will resign my commission if I cannot in good conscience follow those orders.”

Rione finally spoke again, her voice quiet but firm. “He means it. He’s not posing. I had the same suspicions you all do, that Black Jack would turn out to be an eager dictator-to-be, using his military role to supplant political authority.” Her gaze rested briefly on the stout woman and another senator, almost but not quite implying that those two might have had not suspicions but hopes. “However, I got close enough to Captain Geary to ensure that he’s genuine. Put him in an interrogation room, and you’d see no deception at all. Captain Geary is untainted by a century of war, my fellow senators. He still believes in the things our ancestors held dear. He still believes in all of you.”

Some of the senators looked away, as if embarrassed, but Navarro fixed his gaze on her. “We have reports that you got very close indeed to Captain Geary, Madam Co-President. Is your assessment in any way biased by that?”

“A physical relationship,” Rione acknowledged casually. “For a brief time.” The ease dropped, and Rione sat straight, her voice becoming formal again. “Some of the information the fleet acquired in Syndic space indicates my husband was captured alive by the Syndics. He may still live. My loyalties are to the Alliance and to him.”

Another senator was shaking his head. “You slept with another man when your husband might still be alive? There are no words for the dishonor—”

Rione’s face flushed red in a very unusual display of anger, but Geary spoke first. “She didn’t know he might still be alive,” he said. “Not then. Co-President Rione is a woman of honor.”

“Whereas you, Senator Gizelle”—Rione’s low voice cut into the silence following Geary’s words—“wouldn’t know honor if it wrapped both hands around your neck and squeezed until your head popped.”

Navarro stood and slammed his hand down again, cutting off any more argument. “That’s enough. Just answer the question, Senator Rione. Is your judgment impartial?”

“Yes.” Rione shook her head, looking around, apparently already in control of herself again. “Everyone here knows what Captain Geary could be doing right now. What he could have already done. He could be in Unity Star System right now with warships at his back, the entire senate under arrest, and the population of the Alliance would be cheering him. And do you have any idea how long it took him to realize that could happen? The thought didn’t even belong in his universe. It still doesn’t. But there are people who would act allegedly in his name, and we need to keep them from starting something no one might be able to stop. So please avoid any more nonsense like trying to arrest Captain Geary. He’s not going to use his power against the Alliance.”

“I want to believe that,” Navarro replied. “I don’t know if I dare believe it, though.”

“Let me show you something, then.” Rione downloaded a file, activated it, and Geary saw an image of himself on the bridge of Dauntless. He wondered how Rione had managed to access Dauntless’s log and where this recording had been made, then heard what was being said and knew. This showed his words and actions at the point where he finally grasped that personnel of the Alliance fleet were planning to murder prisoners of war as if it were a routine operation.

When the clip ended, Rione gestured to Geary. “That happened at Corvus, soon after he assumed command. Do you think he was acting? He wasn’t. That was our ancestors speaking, fellow senators, through this man.”

“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 act. 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 know 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.”

Timbale checked his comm unit as it beeped urgently. “The grand council is ready for us.”

Rione straightened up, rolled her shoulders lightly, and flexed her hands as if preparing for hand-to-hand combat, then led the way back into the room, where the senators of the grand council sat silently awaiting them.

Senator Navarro spoke first as Geary came to a halt before the table. “Captain Geary, are you promising victory in this war?”

He hesitated, then shook his head. “No, sir. I am reasonably confident that forces under my command can overcome any Syndic defenses.”

“You don’t call that victory?” Costa asked.

“I can achieve a military victory,” Geary stated. “You’re asking me about victory in the war. I don’t know how you define that.”

“But Senator Rione has suggested a peace that denies the Alliance any gains from this war!”

“Yes, Madam Senator. It also denies the Syndics any gains.”

Rione came up to the table and leaned forward, tapping her finger on the surface for emphasis. “Survival is victory. Neither we nor the Syndics can prevail if we keep trying to destroy the other. But both the Syndicate Worlds and the Alliance can be torn apart from within. I’ve seen reports of the demonstrations and riots on worlds of the Alliance when it was believed that the fleet was truly lost. If Captain Geary had not brought it home, which outcome would you all be praying for? You might have been forced to accept whatever terms the Syndics dictated.”

“He did bring the fleet home,” a male senator insisted.

“Yes. The living stars gave us a gift. Do we accept it with humility, or do we demand they give us more? Who here will go to their ancestors and ask that they pass on a message of ingratitude and greed?”

Geary could tell that Rione’s latest shot had gone home, but once again Senator Navarro halted the threatened outbursts from more than one member of the council. “The bottom line is this,” Navarro said. “The apparent strength of the Alliance is deceptive despite Captain Geary’s successes against the Syndics. We can’t take an indefinite continuation of the bloodshed, destruction, and costs associated with a war we didn’t begin.”

Navarro raised a finger toward the star display once again floating above the table. “The reports the fleet brought back from within Syndic space show how badly stressed they are as well. Senator Rione is right. We’ve been given a chance to offer the Syndic leadership a deal they cannot claim will weaken them but which will also offer them no advantage to show for the war they began. We will have successfully defended the Alliance, punished aggression with terrible losses inflicted on the Syndics over the last century, and will finally be able to halt the human and economic costs of the war to the Alliance. That is how I define victory at this point, and that is how a majority of the council feels as well. Now, we have already voted, and I see no reason for debate further even though we all wanted to hear Captain Geary’s answer to the question about victory. Captain Geary, this council was desperate enough earlier to approve Admiral Bloch’s plan, and as I’m sure you’re aware, that admiral was not your equal. Conditions have changed, we have a commander we can trust, and the council therefore gives its approval for your proposed plan to attack the Syndics. Needless to say, you’ll remain in command of the fleet to carry out that plan.”

Geary felt a weight come off of him. “Thank you, sir.”

“What about the aliens?” Rione asked.

“That is difficult,” Navarro murmured. “We need to know so much more.” He met Geary’s eyes. “Without Syndic consent, getting to that area may be too risky, but we’ll leave it up to you based on whatever conditions prevail. If you can end the war and get Syndic agreement to send Alliance warships to that border region, then you have the council’s agreement in advance. We’ll be counting on you to avoid fighting unless it’s unavoidable, to discover all you can about these beings without provoking negative responses, and if you must fight them, to keep hostilities to the bare minimum necessary to counter future aggression against humanity.”

Senator Costa rolled her eyes derisively.

Geary understood the gesture, since those orders required him to do a great many contradictory things. But perhaps he could use that to gain some flexibility where it was needed. “Yes, sir. Then you approve of my plans?”

“Our guidance to this man is vague and meaningless,” Senator Gizelle mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear. Costa rolled her eyes again.

“It’s been debated and voted on,” Navarro said. “I will not tie the hands of a trusted emissary with detailed instructions when we know so little of what will be faced, and Captain Geary has earned our trust. Nonetheless, Captain, because of the significance of negotiations with both the Syndic leadership and this alien race, we will insist that more political representatives of the Alliance accompany your fleet this time.” He looked at Rione. “Apparently the presence of Co-President Rione wasn’t too disruptive.”

The fleet would undoubtedly have expressed different opinions on the matter, but Geary nodded. “We were able to accommodate her presence, sir.”

Rione spoke up with unusual diffidence. “In view of the working relationships I have established within the fleet, and the continued presence of warships from the Callas Republic and the Rift Federation within the fleet, I request that I be allowed to be one of those accompanying the fleet this time as well.”

Gizelle opened his mouth but shut it when Navarro gave him a warning look. “Thank you, Madam Co-President,” Navarro said. “That request can probably be accommodated. I’m certain your working relationships are of great value. We’ll decide who the other political representatives will be and communicate that to you, Captain Geary. When will the fleet leave Varandal?”

“I want to strike the Syndics again as soon as possible, but there’s been a tremendous amount of battle damage to deal with, and supplies of every kind on every ship were nearly exhausted. I need one more week, sir, minimum, to get the worst damage to my warships repaired and every ship fully loaded out with supplies.”

“How do your crews feel about that?” another senator demanded. “They’ve only been home a few weeks. Will we have morale problems? Mutiny?”

Rione’s laughter rang through the room. “I’m sorry, my fellow senator. It’s just … I suggest you talk to members of the ships’ crews.”

“You don’t think morale will be a problem?” Costa asked.

“As long as Black Jack is in command? They’d dive into a black hole if he told them to do it, and they’d be cheering him all the way to the event horizon.”

Navarro nodded. “Our own reports show the same. Captain Geary, there’s one more matter we must address now. Please wait outside this room while the council speaks with Senator Rione and Admiral Timbale.”

Now what? Geary waited in the passageway, alone this time and acutely aware that without Rione’s jammers nearby he was probably being monitored by the best full-spectrum surveillance gear the Alliance possessed. Even though he had nothing relating to his duty to the Alliance on his conscience, it was still surprisingly hard to look innocent when there were so many surveillance devices trained on him.

Senator Navarro, Co-President Rione, and Admiral Timbale came out of the conference room, and Geary stiffened to attention. “Please relax,” Navarro said. “The council had to decide on something else, and we’ve done so though it took some arguing.” He glanced at Rione. “You inspire some impressive loyalty, Captain Geary, but more importantly, your actions confirm what we needed to know.” Navarro looked down at something in his right hand. “As should be obvious, we can’t have a captain negotiating and acting on behalf of the Alliance government. Not for something this big. And the fleet requires a senior officer in command. We also know that you may need to reach critically important decisions without the time to consult with higher authority. You need the authority yourself to, if necessary, negotiate and bind the Alliance to agreements.”

Geary watched Navarro with a growing sense of unease. “Sir, I thought that Co-President Rione and other senators would accompany the fleet as representatives of the government.”

“Yes, they will,” Navarro agreed. “But your rank should reflect your position and responsibilities. That’s how Admiral Timbale expressed it. Therefore, please accept these on behalf of the grand council of the Alliance.” He held out his right hand.

Geary looked down at Navarro’s palm, at the golden, stylized supernovas there. It took him a moment to realize what he was seeing. “Sir, there must be some mistake.”

The senator frowned down at his palm. “Aren’t these the insignia for the Admiral of the Alliance Fleet?”

Fleet admiral. Not just admiral. Fleet admiral. The highest rank possible. The uneasiness had grown into disbelief and denial. “Yes, sir, but—”

“Then there’s no mistake. The grand council knows you need this authority, and it is the judgment of the majority of the council that you can be trusted with this rank. You and I both know that you already have more power than is embodied in this rank.”

“Sir,” Geary protested, “no one has ever held the rank of Admiral of the Alliance Fleet.”

“Not until now,” Rione agreed with a half smile.

“But, sir, I …”

Navarro laughed with evident relief and looked at Rione. “You were right! You really don’t want this rank, do you?” he asked Geary. “Do you know how many admirals have pleaded for this rank for themselves since the war began? But you want to turn it down.”

Geary tried again. “Sir, I am not qualified for such a rank.”

“Not qualified? Read your own record, man. Independent command under the most difficult circumstances, and you succeeded where no one else could have.” Navarro glanced at Admiral Timbale this time, who nodded back at the senator. “You didn’t do what you could have done, Captain Geary, but we assume there will be attempts to force that issue. Giving you this rank should satisfy those who want to see you with more formal power and help defuse the threat to the government.”

Timbale nodded again, firmly. “I believe you are correct, sir. The fleet’s personnel will see this as a recognition of their concerns and needs.”

“Thank you, Admiral. So, Fleet Admiral Geary, are you going to take these from me?”

Given the significance of the issues Navarro had brought up, Geary felt guilty that the primary thing filling his mind was not that he felt deeply inadequate for the position. His main worry was, in fact, a purely personal thing.

Rione was watching him and spoke evenly. “What do we need to do to get you to accept this rank, Captain Geary?” He looked at her, knowing that she knew about his greatest concern and wondering if even Rione could cruelly taunt him because she knew that. But her next words showed a different reason for her question. “Perhaps if it wasn’t permanent?”

He latched onto that like a drifting sailor thrown a lifeline. “Yes. A temporary appointment to that rank.”

“ ‘Temporary’?” Navarro asked in astonishment. “How long do you envision that being?”

“Until … the end of the war. When the war ends, when I bring the fleet back with its missions accomplished, I will relinquish the temporary rank, relinquish command of the fleet, and revert to my permanent rank of captain.”

Admiral Timbale stared at him. “You do realize that to the rest of us anything based on the end of the war is permanent.”

“Not to me, Admiral.” Geary gave Navarro a pleading look. “Can I put that condition on accepting the rank? Formal conditions? A promise from the government?”

Navarro thought, then made a why-not gesture. “Certainly. I’ll have it entered in the official record. When the war ends, and when you return the fleet to Alliance space, you will immediately revert to the permanent rank of captain and will also relinquish command of the fleet at that time.”

Geary had a moment’s hesitation, wondering why Navarro had given in so easily. In his experience, people had not been willing to let Black Jack Geary walk away from the things for which they needed him. But he couldn’t refuse the government’s orders when it had already agreed to conditions he hadn’t had any right to demand. “Very well, sir.”

Navarro held out his hand again. “Then take the insignia, Captain. Excuse me, take the insignia, Fleet Admiral.”

Geary let the gold supernovas drop into his hand, then just stared at them.

Rione stepped closer and folded his hand around them. “Let your captain help you put them on,” she murmured.

“It’ll make her happy. This wasn’t my idea, but once it was raised, I argued strongly in its favor.”

Navarro smiled at Geary. “Good luck, Fleet Admiral. It’s a very odd thing. I’ve gotten used to being regarded as a low form of life who cannot be trusted to act in the best interests of the Alliance. Now I find myself hoping I won’t let you down because you really do believe that I’m more than that.”ANOTHER mental weight fell from Geary as his shuttle accelerated away from Ambaru station, the Marines relaxing in the back. If not for the insignia in his fist, he would have felt light-headed, but the gold supernovas anchored him as firmly as if they had the gravitational pull of real stars.

“Sir?” the pilot called back. “Dauntless is requesting routine passenger ID and status. Are you still … uh …”

Geary realized that he and Rione hadn’t told anything to anyone yet. “My apologies. Yes, I’m still the fleet commander.”

“Thank the—! I mean, thank you, sir!”

“She’s going to tell the entire star system,” Rione murmured.

“I’m sure an official announcement will be made soon anyway,” Geary replied with a shrug.

“That’s not all they’ll be announcing, Captain Geary.” She leaned back, eyes closed, apparently relaxing.

The comforting hull of Dauntless eventually loomed close, then all around as the shuttle docked with an extra twist and spin as if the craft itself were exuberant. Geary led the way off again, smiling as he saw Desjani waiting at the bottom of the ramp. She nodded to him, smiling back briefly, then Rione came into sight, and Desjani’s mouth twisted slightly as Geary saluted the sideboys drawn up to render honors to the returning commander of the fleet.

“Here you are,” Rione announced, when they reached the end of the ramp. “John Geary, returned safe and sound, not a scratch on him.”

Desjani kept her eyes on Geary. “You’re to remain in command of the fleet? For how long?”

“Until my mission is done,” he replied.

She knew what that meant, and Desjani’s eyes lit up. “Welcome back aboard, sir. When do we leave?”

Geary saw Rione heading off in another direction as he and Desjani walked toward his stateroom. “At least another week for repair work, resupply, and reinforcements.”

“Those will all be welcome.” Desjani flicked a glance in the direction Rione had gone. “Did she have to come back here? Isn’t there some planet or asteroid or penal colony that urgently needs her presence?”

“She’s probably going with us again, Tanya.” Geary tried not to smile as Desjani winced. “There’ll be some other senators, too. I don’t know who yet.”

“I think I’d rather have Syndics aboard. Don’t they trust you?”

“Yes, they do.” He hesitated, finding himself unable to tell Desjani about the promotion yet. “The grand council approved both proposals. We’re going after the Syndics, then, if circumstances permit, we’re going to have a talk with some aliens.”

“Excellent.” She turned a triumphant look on him. “I never doubted you. I knew you’d succeed.”

“We haven’t succeeded in either assignment so far.”

“I won’t let you down. Neither will the fleet, and you’ve never let us down.” She smiled again as they reached his stateroom. “I expect you’ll want to rest a bit. When you’re ready, I’d be grateful for a fuller briefing.”

“Sure.” He held out his free hand as Desjani started to go. “There’s one more thing. Something I have to show you.”

Desjani frowned but followed him inside the stateroom.

Once the hatch sealed, he finally opened his hand and held it out to her.

She looked down, then a smile slowly grew, and Desjani looked up. “Congratulations, Fleet Admiral Geary.”

An instant later her smile vanished. “Is it effective already?”

“The new rank? Yes.”

Desjani glowered at him in sudden anger. “You didn’t inform us before you arrived! My ship didn’t render proper honors to a fleet admiral! How could you make my ship look bad?”

“I guess I wasn’t—”

“No, you weren’t.” Desjani pulled out her comm pad. “Bridge, formally notify the rest of the fleet that Captain Geary has returned to Dauntless and has been promoted to Admiral of the Fleet.”

Geary could hear the bridge watch-stander’s startled response. “Admiral of the Fleet?”

“Did I stutter, Lieutenant?”

“No, Captain! I’ll notify the fleet immediately!”

Desjani transferred her frown back to Geary. “Why haven’t you put on your insignia?”

“I—”

“A fleet admiral can’t be out of uniform.” She reached to remove Geary’s captain insignia, then plucked the gold supernovas from his palm and began attaching them to his uniform. “You cannot be so casual, Fleet Admiral Geary.”

“Tanya—”

“Wait.” She finished putting on the insignia, stepped back and studied his appearance carefully, then nodded with satisfaction. Straightening to attention, Desjani saluted with strict formality. “May I be the first to render my congratulations, Fleet Admiral.”

Geary returned the salute. “Tanya—”

“You deserve it. If anyone has ever deserved this promotion, it’s you.”

“I didn’t ask for it.”

“Do you think I didn’t know that? I’m incredibly happy for you.”

“Tanya, after the war ends—”

Her professional veneer cracked for a moment. “I understand what this means.”

“It’s not—”

“You had to accept the rank for the good of the Alliance. Any personal concerns that might exist can’t—”

“Tanya!” He gave her an angry look, determined to finally finish a sentence. “It’s temporary! I told them I’d only accept the rank if it was temporary! When the war ends, I revert to the rank of captain!” She stared at him, wordless for several moments. “Tanya?”

“Why?” Desjani finally asked.

“You know why.”

“No, I don’t.” She seemed dazed. “Fleet Admiral, to cast that aside—”

“I had the best possible reason,” Geary insisted. “Someday I hope to honorably relinquish command of this fleet, but as an admiral I could never have a personal relationship with a captain, regardless of whether or not she was under my command.”

“I would never—”

“I made a promise.”

“A promise drawn from you under duress?” Desjani almost shouted. “And you think I’d hold you to that?”

He felt his own temper rising again. “What makes you think I need to be held to it?”

“I didn’t mean to offend your honor—”

“This has nothing to do with my honor!”

“Then you’re an idiot!”

He stared at Desjani, who seemed shocked that those words had come from her own mouth. “What are you saying?”

“I don’t know.” She swallowed, shaking her head. “I do know that for you to give up something so important—”

“I know what’s important, Tanya.”

She stepped back. “Maybe it’s a sign. Maybe we’re being told this is wrong. We know it’s wrong. Against regulations, against honor—”

“We’ve done and said nothing against either regulations or honor.”

Desjani’s eyes bored into his. “We have in our hearts.” Her jaw tightened. “No one is that important. No one could demand such a sacrifice from another and be comfortable with it.” She straightened to attention once more. “By your leave, sir. The crew will want to stage a formal ceremony for your promotion. I hope that will be acceptable.”

He nodded, feeling immensely tired. “Yes, Captain Desjani. Thank you.”

She left, and he sank into the nearest seat, his dress uniform rumpling.

Compared to trying to deal with Alliance politicians, crushing the Syndics should be a piece of cake, and compared to trying to understand Captain Tanya Desjani, figuring out what the aliens wanted should be easy.