“That I can try to help with. There’s nothing dishonorable about seeking to discuss personal matters with a close relative. I’ll speak with her,” Duellos promised.
“Thanks.” Geary stood, looking closely at Duellos. “I’m glad to finally meet you in person. Just in case.” They’d be going into battle again, and in the tiny fractions of a second in which warships clashed on their firing runs, chance played a big part in who lived and who died.
“Yes. Just in case. I’ll go pay my respects to Captain Desjani and report the failure of my mission.”
Despite it all, Geary found himself smiling after Duellos had left.
There were smiles all around the conference table. Every commanding officer was happy about the one-sided slaughter of the Syndic fast attack craft and had already heard that Atalia had surrendered to Geary. The only unhappy face would have belonged to the captain of Dungeon, and that cruiser had jumped for Varandal twenty hours ago.
For the first time since he had assumed command of the fleet, Geary felt a need to tamp down the high spirits. “We’ve won minor victories here, but the big fight is yet to come. Some of the Syndic forces that attacked Varandal escaped, and they’ll have picked up reinforcements. We need to finish off that force.”
He called up the star display, knowing that this was the moment they had all been anticipating. “We’ll jump from here to Kalixa. The hypernet gate there was destroyed, but from Kalixa we can make a jump to Indras.” His hand traced the planned path of the fleet deeper into Syndic space. “Assuming the Syndic hypernet gate at Indras has been fitted with a Cresida safe-fail system, we’ll approach that gate and use the Syndic hypernet key aboard Dauntless to allow the fleet to enter the Syndic hypernet and head for Parnosa.” The path on the display shot across space, ending at a distant star.
A moment’s silence was broken by Commander Neeson of Implacable asking the question Geary could see on every face. “Parnosa? Why Parnosa?”
“Because none of us trust the Syndics, and recent history warns us against entering the Syndic home star system through the front door represented by the hypernet gate there.” The reference to the Syndic ambush that had inflicted horrible losses on this same fleet didn’t need any elaboration. “So we’re going to come at them from an unexpected direction. From Parnosa, we’ll jump to Zevos, and from Zevos to the Syndic home star system.”
A moment’s silence followed while everyone absorbed that, then Captain Jane Geary spoke for the first time at one of these conferences. “Zevos is not within jump range of the Syndic home star system.”
“Yes, it is,” Captain Duellos responded in a thoughtful voice. “Not within official range, but when this fleet jumped to Sancere, Captain Geary showed us how to get extra range from the jump drives. The distance from Zevos to the Syndic home star system is less than we jumped then.”
“Exactly,” Geary agreed. “Whatever surprise the Syndics may have prepared for us won’t be targeted at anything jumping from Zevos. We’ll arrive at a jump point the Syndics regard as useless because they think there are no stars close enough for it to be used.”
Neeson’s smile was back. “So the Syndics won’t have anything there waiting for us. We’ll take their ambush at the hypernet gate in the rear this time.”
Captain Armus was frowning, though. “What if the Syndic defenders just bolt through that hypernet gate instead of fighting us? We’ll be giving them an easy escape.”
Rione normally remained silent in these meetings, but now she spoke up. “They can’t afford to run because the Syndic leadership can’t afford to run. The defenders have to stand and try to win because if the Syndic Executive Council flees their home star system, their remaining veneer of authority will vanish, and most of the Syndicate Worlds’ other star systems will follow the lead of places like Atalia and Heradao. We know this, and they know this. They must fight.”
Armus and some of the other captains had frowned more deeply at Rione interjecting herself into the meeting, but as she finished, the frowns eased. “That’s good, then,”
Armus conceded. “Fleet intelligence supports that assessment?” he asked Geary.
“It does.” Naturally, the fleet’s officers wouldn’t take a politician’s word for anything. “This plan isn’t set in stone, because if the gate at Indras is also gone or hasn’t yet been fitted with a safe-fail device, we won’t be able to use it. If that happens, we’ll keep jumping deeper into Syndic territory until we find a gate we can use.”Dependable’s captain gestured for attention. “Admiral, the Syndics may not have installed those systems on any of their gates. I know this fleet rode out shock waves from gate collapses at Sancere and Lakota. Why can’t we attempt to use a gate even if it lacks a safe-fail system?”
Geary could tell the suggestion didn’t have support from any of the officers who’d been present at Lakota, but the question was an understandable one from someone who hadn’t been there. “We’re going to Kalixa next. I think once you see what’s left of that star system, you’ll have your answer to that. Are there any other questions?”
Captain Kattnig of the Adroit stood. “I wish to volunteer the battle cruisers of the Fifth Battle Cruiser Division for the vanguard of any future action against the Syndics.”
The other commanding officers exchanged glances, some approving, some disapproving, many simply of understanding at the request. Geary took a moment to answer. “Captain, the fleet’s formation in action will be dependent on the situation we encounter. I assure you that every ship in the fleet will play an important role in any engagement.”
Kattnig nodded respectfully. “This is understood, Admiral, but my battle cruisers have not had the opportunity to prove themselves under your command and are eager to do just that.”
“I will keep that in mind, Captain.” The request was in keeping with the offensive mind-set of the fleet, so there wasn’t any sense in outright denying it. Kattnig sat down again, and Geary studied the other officers. “I have just one thing more, then.” He had been thinking about how to say this and hoped he had the talk down right. Desjani waited with a confident expression. He’d tried the speech out on her, and she had suggested only small changes.
“When I first gained command of this fleet,” he began speaking, “our situation was desperate. We fought desperately, as those who had nothing to lose. As we fought our way closer and closer to home, our emotions became the desperation of hope, the willingness to risk everything so we could return to our homes and loved ones. Now things have changed. We’re no longer desperate. But we must fight now to avoid complacency, to avoid the belief that the hard fighting is over, and painless victory is certain. We won easily at the jump exit into Atalia. But had we been unworried then, had we not shown the wariness of combat veterans, then this fleet would have plowed straight into that mass of merchant ships, and many of our own ships wouldn’t have come out again after those Syndic ships sprung their trap.”
He paused, letting the point sink in. “I don’t know what the next trap might be, but we need to be alert for it. We have to fight as hard and as desperately as we did on the way home because everyone in the Alliance believes we can end this war. We can’t let them down, so we must be brave, wary, wise, and strong. Just as we were before.”
Another pause, everyone listening, most nodding. Rione mimed clapping her hands in approval. “Thank you,” Geary ended. “We’re going to the Syndic home star system, and we’re going to finish this. That is all.”
They cheered then, rising to salute. The images of most of the virtual participants vanished rapidly, leaving only the virtual presences of Senators Costa and Sakai, Rione, and the real presence of Tanya Desjani with Geary. Costa was watching Geary with a surprised and wary look she was trying to conceal. Senator Sakai nodded politely to Geary. “A fine speech,” he said softly. “This is your true plan you presented?”