The Sho-sa's upper lip twitched infinitesimally. Hadeishi almost smiled.
"You have no idea, Susan. No idea. I should have been comm-threaded."
"What do you mean?" Kosho seemed taken aback. "What else did he say?"
"Very little. The Fleet captain had no time to speak with me. The dessert course was of far greater interest to him."
"Dessert?"
Hadeishi nodded, smoothing down his beard. "Thai-so Villeneuve was hosting the weekly Admiral's Dinner for his ship commanders – but you have never, ever seen something like this. Nearly a hundred officers, I would guess. A banquet! Everyone seemed to be very cheerful. The music was quite good…"
"A party?" Kosho was fighting to hide open incredulity.
"Yes. A very odd party. That is the most troubling thing." Hadeishi rubbed his eyes, then gave her a considering look. Susan Kosho had served as his executive officer for three years. During all that time she had been reliable, professional and sometimes impossibly calm. The Chu-sa had known from the first day she'd come aboard – back when they'd been on the old Ceatl – she was an eagle learning to fly down among the accipiters and falcons. He did not mind being a hawk, and took considerable quiet pride in lending this fledgling the benefit of his hard-won experience.
Hadeishi knew he had some talent for command, a skill for finding the right course through the chaos of battle. He came alive when the alert klaxon sounded, when the ship shuddered into high-grav drive, when the shockframe crushed him into his command station. Out of the crucible, he was average, no more or less than any other captain serving in the Fleet. He would never earn the notice of his superiors, never gain a battlecruiser command. He had laid aside dreams of captaining a dreadnaught or a strike carrier years ago. There was more contentment to be found in his books, in his father's old musical recordings, in the quiet efficiency of the crew he'd built with such care.
But Susan…she never discussed her family, clan, or lineage. But you cannothide the eagle forever among the hawks. Blood shows. Plumage becomes unmistakable in time. Then she would ascend into more rarified air, into the realms where she – Hadeishi was sure – had been born and raised. Where she belongs right now. Where…where she should have been months ago.
Hadeishi struggled to keep his face politely composed.
"Susan, we've been on frontier patrol for two years. This is the closest we've been to the core systems in all that time. While Plamondon might be…hasty, one of his adjutants was more forthcoming. There is a courier boat heading back to Toroson tomorrow. I think…you should be on that boat, using some of your leave time. See AnГЎhuac again, taste clean air. See your parents."
Leave this poor old ship before my…foolishness…taints your record.
The shadow on Kosho's forehead cut into a knife blade edge. She took the still-filled cup cradled in her hands and placed it very carefully on the table. Her lips thinned down to pale rose streaks. "Chu-sa, what troubled you about the Admiral's Dinner on the Tehuia? Is our ship in danger?"
"I do not know." Hadeishi looked away, unable to meet her eyes. They were filled with concern. Sometimes the eagle forgets the mountain peaks, comes to believe it too is a hawk. What follows then? Calamity.
"What did you see?" Kosho turned her wrist, activating her comm-band and preparing to call the bridge.
"There is no danger at this moment, Sho-sa. Nothing overt." He motioned for her to turn off the band. "You won't take leave?"
Kosho shook her head, straight, raven-black hair rustling across her shoulders.
Very well. Hadeishi was sad to feel relief. Mitsuharu, you've become a selfish old man.
"I sat to dinner with close to sixty captains. Many of them had brought their executive officers, aides, adjutants. Battle group 88 general staff were well represented, including the Admiral and his flag captains. In all those number, I do not believe I saw a single officer of rank who was not of European extraction. No Nisei, no Mйxica, no Mixtecs. A sea of pink faces and light hair. I cannot think such a thing happened by accident."
Kosho sat back, openly troubled. "None of us? An entire squadron of gaijin dispatched to the Rim?"
"And something else" – Hadeishi turned his cup around in his hand – "which worries me more, given our bitter experience of the last two years. None of the officers I spoke to – and truthfully, I did not have time to canvass them all – had served on the Rim before."
"But…" Susan put her hands on her knees. "They've some combat experience? Somewhere? Against the Kroomakh? Or the Ma'hesht?"
Hadeishi shook his head. "I don't know. It seemed not."
"An entire squadron of inexperienced commanders? Without so much as a single Nisei or Mйxica commander among them?" Kosho stared at him in horror. "Who let that happen? Fleet would never do such a thing…" Her voice trailed off.
"Something is going on," Hadeishi said, relieved to voice the fear plain in her face. "Fleet has to have arranged this. For a purpose."
"Kyo…we're not making the jump to Keshewan with them, are we?" Susan's lips were turning white. "I'll tell Isoroku to disable to main drive – some kind of flux bottle failure – that should gain us a week at least. I can send a t-relay message…"
Hadeishi raised a hand. He did not want to know who she planned to contact. Some radiant faces should remain hidden in the clouds.
"No need." The Chu-sa squared his shoulders, hands on his knees. "We have new orders – to maintain station here at Jagan, in support of the 416th Arrow Knight motorized infantry regiment, which is being deployed groundside to 'protect Imperial interests.' I'm not sure Captain Plamondon realized he was doing us a favor. I gained the distinct impression he was pleased to get rid of us."
Ha! He was horrified to be associated with me, even in such a distant capacity.
Kosho started to breathe again. "Can he be so blind?"
"Perhaps." Hadeishi shrugged. "The gaijin are happiest surrounded by their own people. Indeed…well, who am I to say what the Grand Duke Villeneuve thinks of all this? I am simply relieved our faithful old ship will not have to make another hyperspace transit before Isoroku can effect repairs."
Kosho regained her usual imperturbable calm. She stiffened as if on report. "The engineering staff will review the repair schedules, Chu-sa. We have already found some sources of spare parts and repair materials. At least – at least – we will be able to replenish stores and non-recyclable goods."
"Good." Hadeishi's eyes crinkled up in a tired smile. "And I can get some rest."
"Hai, Chu-sa. We can all rest a little." Kosho stood, guessing her captain was near the end of his tether.
Hadeishi felt as if the last microliter of strength had drained from him, but there was a little taste of relief to come. Perhaps, he thought, I will get a chance to walk under the open sky, see a place I have not seen before. His eyes strayed to the door of his study. Perhaps they have music here I have never heard…
"Oh, one matter has come up, Sho-sa." Hadeishi unfolded himself from the cushion and stepped to a working desk folded down from the wall. He picked up a cream-colored envelope and passed it to the Sho-sa, who took the letter, a little taken aback. "The ship has been tendered an invitation. To a party."