Dreadnaught

Geary waited for a couple of minutes to see if more comments came in, finally seeing the commanding officer of the heavy cruiser Tetsusen stand up. “Admiral, it sounds as if we’ll be spending a long time away from home in the future. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know what to expect from peace, and that it’s nice to have a firm idea of what the future holds after all of the uncertainties about whether we’d be demobilized quickly or left to orbit here indefinitely or whatever. But, sir, we have homes and families. Will we see them as rarely in peacetime as we did in time of war?”

He answered quickly, wanting to allay those real concerns as best he could. “Commander, it is my intention to have this fleet inside Alliance space as much as possible given the exterior threats we may face. This fleet will remain here for another month before leaving on its first assignment because you all deserve that time. To my mind, this fleet needs to be in a position to respond to external threats, not be tied down fighting those threats, and that means this fleet needs to be home as much as possible.”

It felt like the right thing to say, and it must have been the right thing because all of the other officers nodded back, though Badaya had another questioning expression.

Geary looked slowly along the vast virtual length of the table, trying to personally make eye contact with every officer. “I am honored to be given the opportunity to command you again. Welcome to the First Fleet. For now, continue with previously assigned actions. I’ll be reviewing the status of ships and making any changes necessary to ensure we’re all ready in a month’s time.”

They all stood, the motion staggered a great deal by the time lags created by the distance of some ships. Some of the commanding officers would still be standing up ten minutes from now. But as each rose, he or she saluted, then disappeared.

Most of the images disappeared as quickly as they had arrived, but one cluster of officers remained in place. Studying them, Geary saw that all were commanding officers of warships from the Callas Republic and the Rift Federation.

Captain Hiyen of the battleship Reprisal saluted in an almost ceremonial fashion. “Admiral, though we currently remain assigned to the Alliance forces, and therefore accept our placement within the First Fleet without reservation, we anticipate being ordered to return home in the near future. As the most senior officer among the contingents from the Callas Republic and the Rift Federation, I wish to extend our formal appreciation for the honor and the opportunity to have served under your command. We know that victory, and our own survival through many battles, is owed in great part to your leadership.”

The other officers saluted with the same flourish that Hiyen had used, and Geary, with a small smile he couldn’t suppress, returned the gesture. “The honor has been mine to be offered the chance to fight alongside ships and crews such as yours. I’ll always be grateful for the contributions that your republic and federation provided for the victory we all fought to achieve.” It saddened him to think of losing those ships, but given the politics roiling their homes, he could scarcely have expected the bulk of the warships making up the fleets of the republic and federation to remain under Alliance control.

The allied officers vanished as well, leaving Geary alone with the images of Badaya and Duellos, and the real presence of Desjani.

Badaya sat back, frowning. “While you spoke during this meeting, over the back channels I heard quite a few concerns being raised. Now that you’ve given the official story for public consumption, Admiral, many of this fleet’s officers have some serious questions that must be answered.”

FIVE

HAVING prepared himself for just this line of questioning, Geary simply nodded in reply. “What’s bothering them?”

Badaya gave Geary a curious look. “I trust you, of course, but I admit to also being confused about this. Why are you leaving Alliance territory? It’s obvious that the politicians are barely under control. This mess with the attempts to court-martial half the fleet on ridiculous charges is a clear sign of that. Who knows what else they might do in your absence?”

“The problem with the court-martial charges originated at fleet headquarters,” Geary said. “I dealt with it. Everyone should have trusted that I would do so.”

Seemingly unfazed by the once-again barely veiled rebuke, Badaya spread his hands. “You’re right that confidence means we have to assume you’re on top of things. But you’ve been gone for a little while, and although everyone knows you were actually putting the government in its place under cover of a honeymoon, we also understand that straightening out the Alliance is a difficult job for anyone.”

“Yes,” Desjani commented in innocent tones. “We have been doing a lot of political maneuvering for the last few weeks.”