“There aren’t many Syndic warships left,” Geary said to himself.
Desjani frowned, then nodded as she grasped his meaning. “Not much left to wield the whip. We’ve gradually turned the Syndic whip hand into fragments of broken warships stretching all the way back to the Syndic home star system.”
“Yeah. And we apparently aren’t the only ones to realize that.” Geary slapped his controls again.
“Lieutenant Iger! Don’t you have anything yet?”
A window popped up with the intelligence officer’s face within it. Iger’s expression revealed perplexity.
“Sir, the situation is chaotic.”
Geary waited for a moment. “Thank you, Lieutenant. I never could have figured that out without intelligence support.”
Iger’s face flushed in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, sir. We can’t give you a clear picture yet because there isn’t one. Everything seems to have fallen apart here, like a garment in which every seam fails at once. There are indications that the fourth planet may have gained population in recent decades because dissidents unhappy with the government were moving there. We have no idea who’s got real power or how much. No one may know that, including the various parties fighting for control of parts of this star system.”
“There is fighting going on?”
“Yes, sir. We’ve identified explosions, vehicle movements, signal traffic, and other indications of ongoing fighting on the third and fourth planets. We can’t tell yet if the fighting is intensifying. Since everything elsewhere is under cover, it’s much harder to tell if there’s any fighting going on inside buried cities or orbital installations.” Iger paused and looked to one side, nodded to someone, then faced Geary again.
“We’ve just detected a substantial blowout affecting one of the Syndic orbiting facilities near the third world, which indicates that they’re fighting up there, too.”
Desjani had been listening and now shrugged. “Not our problem, sir. We aren’t an occupation task force with several hundred thousand ground troops along for the ride.”
“I guess not,” Geary agreed, then saw Iger shaking his head nervously. “Yes, Lieutenant?”
“The prisoner of war camp, sir, the one on the third world.”
He’d actually forgotten that for a moment as the collapse of Syndic central authority grabbed attention.
“It is our problem.”
Iger was clearly reading updates even as he reported them to Geary. “There are indications of fighting outside the POW camp, but no signs of violence within the camp. Our best estimate is that the guards have forted up to protect themselves.”
“Is anyone attacking the camp, Lieutenant?”
“Not that we can tell, sir. But, well, it’s early.”
“What about orbital nuclear bombardment capability?” Rione asked. “We know the Syndics had that in other systems to help keep their people in line.”
“We can’t tell if they’ve got those here, Madam Co-President,” Iger replied. “None have been employed.”
“They may not have them, then.”
“Yes, ma’am, or they may lack a decent target, or they may have temporarily lost control of the nukes due to the command and control net falling apart, or they may be waiting for the various rebel factions to inflict as much harm on each other as possible before the Syndic authorities step in with their big hammer.”
Geary drummed his fingers on the armrest of his seat, thinking. “I assume this is all going to take a while to shake out, and we don’t have time to waste. Lieutenant Iger, I need special emphasis on finding out who controls the area of the third planet near the POW camp, and I need the best assessments you can come up with on the ground threat around there as well as any orbital and ground-based defenses this fleet would need to worry about or take out.”
“Yes, sir.” Iger saluted quickly, and his image vanished.
Geary tapped another control, and the image of Colonel Carabali appeared. “Colonel, are you familiar with the developing situation in this star system and in particular on the third planet?”
Carabali nodded. “Going to hell in a handbasket at hypervelocity, from what I’ve heard, sir.”
“Right. But we need to get the Alliance prisoners of war out of the camp on that planet. We’re going to try to find somebody to negotiate their release to us, but it’s very likely that your Marines will have a tough job to do.”
“That’s why the fleet has Marines, sir, to handle the tough jobs.” Carabali saluted. “I’ll work up a plan, assuming hostiles outside the camp and resistance from the guards inside the camp.”
“Thank you. The fleet will clear the way even if we have to crater the entire part of the planet around that camp.”
Desjani sighed. “Ground actions. Ugh. I really prefer fleet battles.”
“So do I, but we’re stuck with this ground action.” He frowned at the display. “Let’s get the fleet broken up. Leave enough around here to defend the ships under repair and get the rest headed toward the third planet. Madam Co-President, as soon as intelligence identifies someone to talk to you around that POW camp, I’d appreciate it if you began negotiations. Make sure they know that trying to blackmail us by threatening the welfare of the prisoners would be a very bad idea.”
“I’ll do my best,” Rione replied. “Assuming we find somebody who is actually in charge around there. What if I can’t?”
“Then Colonel Carabali’s Marines are going to come knocking on the door of that camp, and I wouldn’t want to be somebody standing in their way when they do.”
ABOUT twenty-four hours later, as Geary was reviewing the latest status reports from the fleet, Rione came to his stateroom. “We managed to get into direct contact with the POW camp on the third planet. The guards are scared of us and scared of the rebels outside their camp,” Rione reported. “They see the Alliance POWs as their only power-up, and they want to ensure they get all they can from that. They’re also scared of the Syndic authorities.”
“Even with things falling apart and the Syndic fleet almost wiped out?” Geary asked.
“Since people at their level don’t know the Syndic fleet has suffered so many losses, that’s not a factor for them. Captain Geary, for them the equation is simple. If they resist us, they may die. If they don’t resist us and the Syndics reestablish control of this star system, they and their families may die.”
“So they’re going to fight.”
“That’s what they say.”
He glared at the display over his table. “Do you think there’s anything we can do to change their minds?
Threats? Promises?”
“I’ve tried both.” Rione shook her head, looking weary. “Usually I spend a lot of time trying to see beneath whatever Syndics are saying to guess what they really mean or what traps might be hidden in their words. The only good thing about this situation is that I feel confident the guards aren’t playing us. They mean what they say.”
“But how hard will they actually fight?” Geary wondered. “A token resistance or a scorched-earth battle to the death or something in between?”
Rione furrowed her brow in thought. “My own instincts say that any resistance will be more than token. The guards are very worried about how their actions will be viewed by Syndic authorities. But even though they’re putting up a good front, I don’t think they’re eager to die.”
“Something in the middle, then. Thanks. Colonel Carabali is going to brief me on the Marine assault plan in about an hour. I’d appreciate it if you let her know your assessment before then so she can factor it into her plan.”