“We go back a long way together, Wayne. You know me better than that, so don’t insult me.”
Banbridge turned to look back at Tolwyn.
“What those kids on Tarawa did wasn’t just the icing on the cake,” Tolwyn said, “it was another whole damned cake. You just saw the holo playbacks. They killed six carriers under construction. Killing them in the hangers is a hell of a lot cheaper than killing them in space and losing a lot of good pilots in the process. They smashed up their construction facilities, took down one cruiser, two orbital bases, four corvettes, and at least ninety fighter craft. But it’s not just that. The moral impact is incredible. People are going nuts all over the Confederation, first Vukar and then word of this. Morale hasn’t been this high since we took back Enigma. And think about it from the Kilrathi side. I wouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t on the edge of a palace coup, or at least a damned good purge.”
“And I’ll be damned if we were going to leave them out there, Wayne. They made Vukar possible; we owed them a chance to get out alive. I just wish the hell I had gotten in there twenty minutes earlier to save Grierson.”
“Grierson saved your butt, too. If he hadn’t gone in and slowed them down, they would have ripped you apart as well.”
Banbridge stalked over to his desk and grabbed a comm sheet and waved it at Tolwyn.
“Damn you, I agree with all that about saving them. It’s this that has my blood boiling!”
Tolwyn grinned slyly.
“To send out a false communication, under my signature, stating that Concordia was detailed for the rescue effort under my orders is fraudulent and a court-martial offense.”
“It makes you the hero of it all,” Tolwyn said quietly. “Risking all to save the brave crew of Tarawa.”
“You’ve got me in a corner and you know it, Geof. I’ve just been recommended for a medal of valor with diamonds for this whole thing. You’re slated for one as well. How the hell am I supposed to turn around now and say the whole thing was a massive act of disobedience?”
“You can’t, Wayne, and you know it. It’s turned out all right. Everyone’s a hero and history will record it that way. Hell, it’ll be a holo drama playing in every theater within the year. I wonder who they’ll get to play you? I can just imagine the scene when you look up from your desk and say, ‘Geof, we’ve got to save those kids no matter what; the Confederation owes it to them. Go in there and get them out.’ ”
Banbridge exhaled noisily and sat down on the edge of his desk.
“All right, damn you, you’ve got me over a barrel. You were doing it to me twenty-five years ago in the Academy when I was your instructor, and you’re still doing it now.”
“And I’ll continue to do it, Wayne; it keeps both of us on our toes.”
Banbridge nodded.
“If you had failed though.”
“I’d be dead, but I still think it would have been worth it. Damn you, Wayne,” and his voice went cold, “you’ve forgotten what this war is being fought with. It’s not ships, it’s men and women, most of them not much more than kids, hanging their hides out on the line and getting precious little thanks. I was not going to leave those lads out there to die alone. They deserved better than that. We’ve got a hell of a long war yet to be fought; we can still lose it. When those lads sign on the dotted line to join the fleet, they’ve got to know we’ll stand behind them no matter what. I tell you this, I’m never going to allow our people to become throwaway cannon fodder. I’d rather lose and go down fighting than to allow that. A country, a civilization worth fighting for, will risk everything to bring its warriors back.”
“All right then. Is he still out there?”
“Waiting to see you.”
“Show them in.”
Tolwyn went to the door and pulled it open.
“Come on in, you two.”
Jason, with Merritt by his side, came into the room.
They started to come to attention but Banbridge motioned for them to stand at ease and then to their surprise it was Banbridge who came to attention and saluted them before coming forward to shake their hands, a friendly grin lighting his features.
“Damn it all, it’s good to see you alive.”
“Thank you, sir,” Jason said quietly, “it’s good to be back alive.”
“Both of you are bloody heroes. I’m personally signing your medal of honor reports. The entire confederation’s talking about you two. The holo news stations are killing each other to try to get the first interviews. Your faces are on every screen in the Confederation.”
Jason could not respond and stood silent.
“Brigadier General Merritt, I just got word from your boss that you’re being promoted to command First Marine Regiment.”
“What about Gonzales, sir? That was her job.”
“I’m sorry, you didn’t know?”
Merritt lowered his head.
“She bought it on Vukar during the Kilrathi bombardment.”
“She was a damned good officer,” Merritt said softly.
“We lost a lot of good people, but at least we got you back.”
“How’s Big Duke?” Merritt asked.
“Lost an arm, but they’ll regen him another, and he’ll be back in the fight in no time.”
“Good news on that,” Merritt replied with a smile. “They can’t keep him down.”
Banbridge looked over at Jason.
“And you, son. Interested in a new command? I was talking with commfleet and there’s a new light carrier coming on line next month. Either that or I need some damned good people on my staff.”
“I’d rather stay with Tarawa, sir.”
“She’s heading to the bone yard son. She’s finished.”
“Like hell,” Tolwyn snapped. “When word of that decision gets out, the public will go mad. Tarawa’s going to be refitted and rejoin the fleet.”
“All right, all right,” Banbridge replied. “That will cost more than rebuilding from scratch but you can keep your ship, Captain Bondarevsky.”
Jason nodded his thanks.
“We’ve got a lot of debriefing to go through. My intelligence people are looking over your computer records and holo data right now. You’re the first damned warship to get into Kilrah and back out alive. I’ll see you again after some of those debriefings to go over details. By the way, commfleet intelligence just informed me that you were facing Prince Thrakhath out there.”
“So he wasn’t at Vukar then?” Jason asked.
“Don’t rub it in,” Banbridge said quietly.
“If I’d have known that, I might have pressed the attack and killed that carrier. I’m surprised he held back and retreated when we came in. It’s not like him,” Tolwyn said.
“Element of surprise, his own fighters were depleted, and I guess he wanted to cap his losses,” Banbridge replied.
“You pulled Thrakhath’s beard son; be proud of that,” Banbridge said and he went back to his desk, signaling that the interview was over.
Jason and Merritt saluted. Jason hesitated, then couldn’t resist.
“Thanks for giving that order to pull us out, sir.”
Banbridge looked up at Jason, smiled coldly, and said nothing.
Smiling, Jason walked out of the office, Tolwyn by his side.
“You must be exhausted, Jason,” Tolwyn said.
Jason nodded woodenly. After Concordia had opened the line of retreat they had flown straight out, and throughout the flight back into Confederation space, it had been a struggle to keep the ship alive. Fires were still flaring up, hull ruptures leaking air to the point that by the last jump the crew was wearing pressure suits, a most unpleasant experience when you were in one for thirty-six hours straight. As they cleared into Confederation territory a team of damage control experts rendezvoused with the crippled ship, a supply tanker anchoring alongside, pumping in air, fuel, and supplies, and offloading the wounded. One of Banbridge’s staff officers had loaned Jason a uniform for the interview, along with a quick shower which had helped a bit, but the shock of it all was still burned deep within him.