The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Guardian

Timbale shrugged in reply, doing his best to look innocent. “The upshot is that people all around the Alliance are confused. Did Black Jack do the right thing? Or did his heavy-handed missteps cause another war? Many of the academic experts you had along are hinting broadly that if you had just listened to them in particular, then all would have been well.”

“What are they saying about the enigmas?”

“Hurrah! Black Jack rescued humans from the enigmas! Also highly classified by the government, also mysteriously leaked to the press.” Timbale scratched his nose thoughtfully. “I’m pretty certain that leak came out at Unity. Someone in the government is either your friend or playing their own games that happened to benefit you that time. Otherwise, the enigmas remain, well, enigmas, but the second attack on human space and the attempt by an alien race to bombard a human-occupied planet from space have aroused vast indignation.”

Geary shook his head in wonderment. “It’s okay if we bomb human planets but aliens can’t do it?”

“You have to keep things like that in the family,” Timbale advised mockingly. “Oh, the ugly aliens. Public opinion was very much against them, but—”

“Mysteriously,” Desjani guessed, “the information was leaked that they had prevented a bombardment of a human planet?”

“Very mysteriously,” Timbale agreed. “The Syndics. Everything you ran into in Syndic space has been classified above and beyond top secret, but . . .

“You’ve got a lot of leaks on this space station.”

“No one can prove any of them came from here.” Timbale eyed Geary. “You do realize how much of a role good press relations have played for the last few decades in promotions to the highest rank? No? I won’t burden you with that information, then. There have also been leaks with no basis in your reporting. A big story claims that you received direct communications from the lights while in jump space. There are all kinds of variations of that story circulating. The lights led you to the Kicks and the Dancers. The lights told you what to do. The lights told you to save the Alliance again—”

“Save the Alliance again?” Geary demanded. “From what?”

“If you had been reading the news, you could guess some of the possible answers to that question.” Timbale grinned crookedly. “The rather large number of VIP former prisoners you brought back have helped keep things confused. And the six thousand other liberated prisoners were a real shot in the arm for the government, an accomplishment it can claim credit for.”

His smile slipped. “The bottom line is there’s a vast amount of uncertainty. Three alien races, and one wants to talk with us. No one wants to start fighting the Syndics again, but the Syndics are taking advantage of that. Your intentions are still critically important and just as subject to interpretation as ever. Your fleet got shot to hell, but you won some important fights. That reminds me. How are you paying for all of this repair work? I haven’t heard a single squawk from the budget bean counters.”

“We’re effectively utilizing all available resources,” Geary said.

“Ha! The less I know about that the better. Oh, one bit of good news. Nothing has leaked so far about those freighters from Midway and the role of Captain Bradamont except the official and acceptable-to-almost-everyone reports that Syndic ships came to take some Syndic prisoners off our hands. I don’t think anyone who knows more has figured out how to use the information.” They had reached a high-security hatch. Admiral Timbale pointed inside. “Good luck.”

“Tanya, will you keep an eye on things out here while I’m in there?” Geary asked.

“Why did you think you needed to ask?” Desjani saluted. “Tell them you want a day off.”

“I’ll do that.”

The delegation of the grand council once again awaited him and Rione from seats behind a long table. Geary recognized some of the faces but not others. He was glad to see Senator Navarro among them and cautiously optimistic at the sight of Senator Sakai. Balanced against them were Senator Suva, who had never made any attempt to hide her distrust of Geary and the fleet, and Senator Costa, who rarely bothered to hide her contempt for Senator Suva or her willingness to do anything she thought necessary. Geary wondered if Costa, who had once pushed for Admiral Bloch to command the fleet despite knowing (or perhaps because she knew) that Bloch was considering a military coup, had been in contact with Bloch since the Syndics had returned him in hopes of further destabilizing the tottering Alliance government.

“Why is she here?” Senator Suva demanded, pointing at Rione, before any greetings could be exchanged.

Navarro gave Suva a sharp look. “Among other reasons, because Victoria Rione was appointed an emissary of the Alliance government during Admiral Geary’s mission.”