The Board of Inquiry wound down, and turned in a preliminary report - subject to further analysis, the chair explained to her. She was commended for saving the children from the colony, and mildly scolded for not having saved the colony itself - although a dissenting comment argued that any such attempt would have been an unnecessary and reckless risk to her ship. She was commended for the outcome of the battle, but not for the methods she’d chosen. Entirely too risky, and not a good example for other commanders - but effective, and perhaps justified by circumstances. The structural damage to theZaid-Dayan certainly resulted from her decision to allow the enemy too close, but the environmental system damage might well have been sabotage, or
simply bad engineering in the first place. They approved of her handling of the suspected poisoner: “a deft manipulation of a politically explosive situation.” Sassinak thought of the girl, now in the hands of the psychiatric ward of the Sector military hospital - could she ever be rehabilitated? Could she ever find a way to respect herself? Fleet wouldn’t take another chance on her, that was certain. On the whole, the Board chair said, recapturing her full attention, they found that she had acted in the best interests of the service, although they could not give an unqualified approval.
Under the circumstances, that was the best she could hope for. Admiral Vannoy, Sector Commandant, would make his own decision about how this Board report would affect her future. She had worked with him several years before, and expected better from him than from the Board. He liked officers with initiative and boldness. Sure enough, when he called her in, he waved the report at her, then slapped it on his desk.
“The vultures gathered, eh?”
Sassinak cocked her head a little. “I think they were fair,” she said.
“Within their limits, I hear under your words. So they were - some Boards would have landed on you a lot harder for coming in with damage like that. And for having a Fleet distress beacon telling the universe that a Fleet cruiser had bumped its nose on something painful. Bad for our reputation. But I’m satisfied: you got back a load of kids - frightened out of their wits, some of them hurt, but still alive and free. And you defeated one of their little surprise packages - which, by the way, have caused more than one cruiser to come to grief. You’re the first survivor to come out with a good profile of them and the specifics of their faked IFF signals: that’s worth all the rest, to my mind. And then you managed to stick tight, undiscovered, and pick up quite a bit of useful information. Now we know how well the stealth technologies work in real life. All in all, I’m pleased, Commander, as you probably expected. After all - you know my prejudices. We’re going to put you back out on the same kind of patrol, in another part of the sector, and hope you catch another odd fish.”
“Sir, there is one thing - “
“Yes?”
“I’d like to have more options free in case of another encounter.”
“Such as?”
“Last time my orders specified that surveillance was my primary mission - and on that basis, I did nothing when the colony was attacked. My crew and I both had problems with that… and I’d like to be free to act if we should face another such situation.”
The admiral’s eyes fell. “Commander, you have an excellent record, but isn’t it possible that in this case your own experience is affecting your judgment? We’ve tried direct, immediate confrontation before, and repeatedly the perpetrators, or some of them, have been able to escape, and strike again. Tracking them to their source must be more important - “
“In the long term, yes, sir. But for the people who die, who are orphaned or enslaved - have you been to the hospital, sir, and talked to any of the kids Huron brought in?”
“Well, no… no, I haven’t.”
“All they want to know is why Fleet couldn’t prevent the attack - why their parents died - and what’s going to happen to them now. And it’s not just my own feeling, sir. Lieutenant Commander Huron, my exec, was very upset about my decision not to intervene - and, as you know, he insisted on joining the attack force, and then the landing party, and he died. Other officers and crew have expressed the same feelings - “
“Openly? To you?” Sassinak could tell he did not entirely approve of such openness.
She nodded. “Some of them. Others in conversations I overheard. They don’t like to think of themselves - of Fleet - as standing by idly, in safety, while helpless civilians get killed and captured.”
“I see. Hmm. I still feel. Commander, that surveillance must be your primary mission, but under the circumstances… and considering your crew’s most recent experience… yes, if you find it absolutely necessary to engage a hostile force, to save innocent lives… yes. And I’ll amend your orders to make that discretion explicit.” He looked closely at her. “But I’m not going to take kindly to any shoot-’em-up action you get into that’s not absolutely necessary, is that clear? You’ve damn near bankrupted our sector repair budget for the next eighteen standard months, with that bucket of bent bolts you brought into the yard, so take better care of it. And call for help if you need it - don’t wait until you’re shot to pieces.”
“Yes, sir!” She left his office with a lighter heart. No, she would not get into an unnecessary fight - but she wouldn’t have to go through the misery of standing by while others suffered, either.
In the meantime, she would be busy checking in additional crew. Some were those who had been assigned to the prize vessel, but had not gone back out with the battle group. Others were newly assigned to replace casualties or transfers out.
BOOK FOUR
Chapter Fourteen
“Commander Sassinak…” The voice was vaguely familiar; Sassinak pulled her attention out of an engineering report and glanced up. Incredulous joy engulfed her.
“Ford!” She could hardly believe it, and then wondered why she hadn’t already known. Surely the name would have been on the roster of incoming officers -
“Lieutenant Commander Hakrar broke a leg and two ribs in a waterboat race… and they offered it to me, so - “ His broad grin was the same as ever, but now he subdued it. “Lieutenant Commander Fordeliton reporting for duty, captain.” He held out his order chip, and she took it, feeding it into the reader. Her side screen came up with a list.
“There’re just a few chores waiting for you, as you can see - “
“Mmm. Maybe I should have stopped for a drink before I reported aboard.” He leaned over to take a look at the screen, and feigned shock. “Good grief, Commander, hasn’t anyone done any work on this ship since you docked?”
Sassinak found herself grinning. “Did you see the holos of the damage we came in with?”
“No - but I heard rumors of a Board of Inquiry. Bad fight?”
“Fairly stiff. I’ll tell you later. For now - “ She looked him up and down. The same dark bronze face, the same lean body that could slouch carelessly in a dockside bar or dance elegantly at a diplomatic reception, the same tone of voice, wordlessly offering support without challenge. If she had had her pick of all the possible executive officers, he would have been the one. And yet - she wasn’t ready for anything more, not yet. Would he understand? “Just get yourself settled, and we’ll have a briefing at 1500. Need any help?”
“No, Commander, thank you. I met your Weapons Officer on the way to the dock, and she’s helped me find my way around.”