He paused. “And you have my thanks as well,” he added. “Many people showed uncommon valor in the Battle of Jefferson, but you stood out among the crowd. Your assumption of command was precisely the right thing to do, as were your actions when the enemy started to land troops on your ship. Allowing them to land on your ship will probably annoy the traditionalists—you didn’t have any way of knowing if they were carrying an antimatter mine to destroy Enterprise if they couldn’t take her intact—but it paid off. As a very old commander once said, it’s better to be lucky than good.”
“Yes, sir,” Roman said carefully.
Admiral Drake leaned back in his chair. “You do realize that you won’t be allowed to keep Enterprise?”
Roman nodded. It wasn’t a surprise, even though part of him had dared to hope as the weeks went by without his being relieved of command. Traditionally, anyone who assumed the position of acting captain was automatically confirmed as captain, but he’d looked it up: The most junior officer to assume the position permanently had been a lieutenant-commander. And he’d only commanded a destroyer, not the Federation’s flagship.
“You’re too young and too inexperienced,” Admiral Drake said seriously. “I did think hard about letting you take her back to Earth and transferring command there—she will have to go into a shipyard anyway, unless they decide to scrap her…”
“No,” Roman said before he could stop himself.
“Your first command is always something special,” Admiral Drake said, showing no sign of annoyance at the interruption. “I read your report—very professional, by the way—and she will need at least six months in a shipyard, perhaps longer. It depends on how many other ships need to be repaired—they may just dry-dock her for a few years until there’s a slip free for an expensive and time-consuming repair job.” He shrugged. “I’m going to be stripping out most of her crew to fill holes elsewhere—I think they’ll probably give her a whole new crew and commander.”
“Yes, sir,” Roman said again.
“I understand how you feel,” Admiral Drake said. He looked up, meeting and holding Roman’s eyes. “The Navy doesn’t usually bother to take account of its junior officers’ preferences when it comes to assigning berths, but I’m going to give you a choice. The Navy Cross will ensure that you’re promoted one full grade in any case. So. Captain Singh on the Vengeance needs a new tactical officer. You’d be promoted to lieutenant-commander and assigned to his command. You’d be on the fast track to a command of your own—you’ve certainly proved that you can handle it.
“The second possibility is the Donna Noble,” he added. “She’s a destroyer with seventy crew, under Captain Homchoudhury and she needs an XO. I’ve stolen both her XO and his second for filling in other holes. You’d be in the spotlight, but her captain has a good reputation for getting young officers ready for higher command. He’ll even teach you what fork to use first at a banquet.”
Roman blinked, and then realized that he was being teased again. Luna Academy hadn’t taught many social graces beyond basic formality in the mess and how to act at the captain’s table. Blake Raistlin, on the other hand, had introduced him to the concept of a whole upper-class social strata that excluded everyone who couldn’t or wouldn’t fit in. It hadn’t occurred to him that a captain would have to fit in, but it made sense.
He smiled. A useful life lesson from Blake Raistlin. Who would have thought it?
“You get to choose,” Admiral Drake said. “Whatever your choice, I will endorse it.”
“Thank you, sir,” Roman said. He was tempted to ask for advice, but suspected that it might be a test, not unlike some of the tests the cadets had undergone at the Luna Academy. “When do you need my decision?”
“As soon as possible,” Admiral Drake said. “The fleet really doesn’t have time to waste. Enterprise and a small escort will have to take our casualties back to the Core Worlds, along with my report on this battle. It might stop unreasoning panic and start more grounded panic.”
He smiled at his weak joke. “But I can give you an hour or two. After that, I will have to assign you myself.”
Roman considered it. He had to admit that he’d enjoyed command, once he’d gotten over the blind panic and crushing sense of responsibility. And he liked to think he’d done well for the Enterprise, besides saving her from total destruction. Losing command of her hurt, even though he’d expected it. Being a tactical officer would be exciting, but it was still a small fish in a big pond. An XO, even of a destroyer, had far more responsibility.
“I’ll take the Donna Noble,” he said finally.
“I thought you would,” Admiral Drake said. He picked a chip off the desk and passed it to Roman. “Your promotion and official orders. Return to the Enterprise, enjoy command for the last time by ordering the stewards to pack your supplies, and then take a few days of leave on Maskirovka. I’m going to be rotating as many crew as I can through the shore leave facilities so they all get a chance for a rest.”
He shrugged. “You can report to the Donna Noble after that. Be sure to enjoy your leave, as it will be the last chance for quite a long time.”
“Yes, sir,” Roman said.
“And please accept my congratulations as well,” Admiral Drake said. “I expect to hear a great deal more about you in the future.”
Roman stood to attention, saluted, and turned to leave through the hatch. If he had to lose Enterprise, serving as an XO on a destroyer would more than make up for it. And his name would be entered in Enterprise’s Captain’s List. He shook his head and headed towards the shuttlebay. Once he was back on Enterprise, he would ensure that his successor received a ship in as near to perfect condition as humanly possible before he went on leave.
“Was I ever that young?”
Vaughn did him the honor of considering the question seriously. “I don’t think you were born wearing an admiral’s uniform and a silly hat,” he said after a long pause. “You were a young officer when we first met, a young man who’d earned a First and thought he knew everything.”
Marius snorted. He’d arranged for Vaughn to watch the brief interview, trusting the Marine’s sense of character to compensate for his own willingness to believe the best of someone with an excellent combat record. And Roman Garibaldi had accepted his semi-demotion calmly, without becoming upset or angry. Marius had demoted officers before for incompetence and some of them had lost their tempers completely.
“I was a young fool,” he agreed. “I take it you like him, then?”
“From what I know of him,” Vaughn said. “Major Shaklee spoke highly of him, as did a handful of his subordinates. He definitely shows promise.”
“More than shows it,” Marius pointed out. “He killed four battlecruisers and took the only prisoners that we got out of the whole war, at least until they came through the Asimov Point and tried to take us out.”
The thought made him grimace. The attacking starships had all been destroyed, but a handful of starfighter pilots had surrendered once they realized they’d been abandoned. Their interrogations had been brief; the pilots knew little beyond their own roles in the battle, certainly nothing about Admiral Justinian’s overall strategy. He’d hoped to learn about why they’d thrown themselves in with the rogue admiral, but they hadn’t been forthcoming. ONI would have to use drugs or direct brain implantation to learn their secrets, and that didn’t seem too likely under the circumstances.