“You didn’t say ‘for the people,’” Mercia chided her, smiling crookedly to show it was meant humorously.
“I almost said ‘to the honor of our ancestors’ out of force of habit,” Bradamont admitted. “But I know you don’t believe in the same things that we do.”
“Do you mean me personally?” Mercia asked. “Or everyone out here?”
“Everyone, I guess.”
“Some of us do share that belief. Others believe in other things. And yet others accepted the belief in nothing that the Syndicate worked so hard to convince us all of.” Mercia shrugged. “Not… what do you call it? Atheism. But denying even a belief in that. Only the Syndicate was supposed to serve as a guide and a purpose, because there was supposed to be no other possible guide and purpose.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying I should say,” Bradamont said. “Does it look bad that I’m not saying ‘for the people’?”
Mercia smiled very briefly. “I am saying that for all our lives we were told what we had to say. Now we can choose what to say. I don’t think anyone will deny you the right to say what you wish. But you are probably wise not to flaunt your differences from us. Thank you, by the way.”
“For?”
“Taking my concerns seriously. I worry about Kontos. When someone is as naturally good as he is, it is far too easy for them not to realize how much they have to learn.”
“Agreed.” Bradamont shook her head as she looked at her display. “And all you and I can do is watch and see what he does.”
For the next three hours, she had to watch as events unfolded too far away for her to have any control over them. The heavy cruisers chased after the light cruisers, which were racing to meet Pele and Gryphon, which were in turn charging to intercept the light cruisers. The tracks of the various warships all converged toward one point in space.
Bradamont’s unease kept growing as she watched. The Syndicate heavy cruisers in pursuit of the light cruisers were accelerating at a rate that would catch the smaller warships just after they joined up with Pele and Gryphon. There were plausible explanations for that, but it was odd that the heavy cruisers were continuing their pursuit when their own projections must have shown them that they would reach their prey too late to destroy them. And every meter the heavy cruisers drove toward Pele was another meter into a fight with a battle cruiser that the heavy cruisers could not hope to win.
It felt increasingly wrong. Kontos should see that, too. But she knew how easily a ship’s captain could be caught by such a lure, not seeing the problems or potential dangers and focusing on the chance to not only save two newly friendly warships but also to destroy two enemy warships. What an opportunity! Exactly what someone would wish for. Admiral Geary had often made a point of warning against situations that seemed too good to be true.
Half an hour remained until they would see Pele and Gryphon meet up with the fleeing light cruisers. Bradamont stood up abruptly and left her stateroom, trying to ignore the bodyguards, who fell into place behind her. The walk to the bridge wasn’t too long since the command spaces and the highest-ranking officers’ staterooms were all located near the center of the battleship in the most well-protected part of the ship.
Mercia looked over at Bradamont as she walked onto the bridge and sat in the flotilla commander’s seat next to Mercia’s own ship commander’s seat. “It stinks worse with every minute,” Mercia said.
“It does.” Bradamont brought up her display and pointed an angry finger at the two heavy cruisers. “Look at them. Coming on straight toward Pele. Kontos has to see that it’s a trap of some sort!”
“But what kind of trap?” Mercia asked herself as much as Bradamont. “I’ve heard that the Syndicate has employed some suicide attacks, but those used small ships, courier ships with small crews.”
“They have,” Bradamont said angrily.
“Ah. Apologies. You were with Black Jack when they did that? It’s an ugly way to fight, but the snakes always fight ugly.”
Fifteen minutes remained until they saw what had happened when Kontos had met up with the light cruisers. “How much longer until he receives my message?” Bradamont asked, gazing at the unfamiliar Syndicate Worlds controls.
“Here.” Mercia leaned over and tapped a control. “There’s the count. About five more minutes. If Kontos hasn’t already started wondering about this whole setup, that message should wake him up.”
Midway’s bridge usually had only a low level of noise. Kapitan Mercia ran a tight ship. But it was quieter than usual now as everyone watched the events on their displays, knowing that no matter what happened, they were far too distant to influence events that had taken place three hours before.
If no other maneuvers had occurred, Kontos’s force would have passed through the two light cruisers at close range, continuing on to hit the pursuing Syndicate heavy cruisers.
“He’s detaching Gryphon,” Mercia noted at the same moment that Bradamont spotted the movement. Battle cruiser Pele had turned and was braking, while Gryphon had accelerated toward the oncoming light cruisers. “It’s not a direct intercept. Gryphon is going to pass to one side of the light cruisers.”
Bradamont felt herself smiling. “He’s going to have Gryphon take a good look at the main propulsion on those light cruisers before Pele gets to them. And Pele is swinging out and down to pass clear of the light cruisers as well.”
The results of those moves had come quickly. Three hours ago, as Gryphon and Pele split, the two fleeing light cruisers had also begun diverging, one aiming for Gryphon and one for Pele.
“Smart!” Bradamont said. “Kontos did exactly the right thing to force the hands of those light cruisers!”
A tactical feed from Pele appeared alongside the other data, relaying the communications that had passed back and forth three light hours away. Kontos had warned the light cruisers to continue onward, saying he would deal with the heavy cruisers. The same executive on the same light cruiser had called back, pleading for protection. “Our units will be very valuable to Iceni!”
As one light cruiser continued to close on Gryphon and the other on Pele, Kontos’s messages grew sharp. “You will remain clear of my ships!”
The executive had kept pleading. “The Syndicate heavy cruisers are right behind us! We need protection! Our main propulsion has been damaged!”
Mercia indicated another set of data on the displays. “Pele and Gryphon have two sets of firing solutions ready, one set aimed at the heavy cruisers and the second at the light cruisers. Kontos is ready for anything.”
At that point, three things had occurred almost at the same moment.
Kapitan Third Rank Stein on the Gryphon had suddenly altered vector, getting a clear look at the main propulsion on one of the light cruisers. “Kapitan Kontos! Only minor cosmetic damage is visible!”