The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Guardian

Geary glanced at Rione as he began speaking again. “We did everything we could to try to communicate with them. The first thing they did was attack us the instant they saw us. We took the actions necessary to defend ourselves. We kept trying to talk with them as long as we were in their star system. They never responded in any way except with further attacks.”

“You all saw the reports,” Rione added in a matter-of-fact voice. “They attacked us, they pursued us, they continued the pursuit into another star system; even when facing certain defeat and death, they would not communicate with us, preferring suicide. You cannot talk to those who refuse to reply with anything other than further attempts to kill you.”

“Perhaps they were frightened of us!” Wilkes insisted.

“Perhaps they were. They may well have had what were for them excellent reasons for not communicating with us and fighting us to the death,” Rione said. “However, I did not feel any obligation to die simply because they thought they had a good reason to kill us.”

“If you had not barged into their star system with all weapons blazing—”

“We did not fire first,” Geary said.

“Admiral,” Senator Navarro said, “did you enter, where was it, Honor Star System, in the same fashion as you did the enigma and uh, other alien species star systems that you visited?”

“Yes, Senator. In a defensive formation.”

“And at Honor, the representatives of the Dancers there welcomed you.”

“They helped our fleet there!” Senator Costa declared triumphantly.

“But . . .” another senator began, “these Dancers. They’re . . .”

Costa kept grinning. “What’s the matter, Tsen? Would saying they’re ugly as sin be politically incorrect?”

“We cannot judge them by appearances!”

“But you are doing just that, aren’t you? And it’s tearing you apart, isn’t it?”

“Senator Costa,” a tall, dark woman said wearily, “you might win more converts if you didn’t take such obvious joy in ripping your opponents’ arms off and beating them with the bloody stumps.”

“I have a statement to make!” Senator Suva insisted.

“We’ve hardly asked any questions, Senator,” the dark woman said. “Could we break with long-standing precedent and actually learn something about a subject before we make statements about it?”

“Senator Unruh has a point,” Navarro said.

Wilkes erupted again before anyone else could, pointing at Geary. “Why did you turn over every human liberated from the enigmas to the Syndics?” The senator’s tone was accusing, making the words sound as if a capital murder charge were being leveled against Geary.

Geary did his best not to sound defensive. “They were all citizens of the Syndicate Worlds.”

“They could have provided us with critical information about the enigmas!”

“They knew nothing about the enigmas!” Geary controlled his anger before saying more. “Absolutely nothing. If you read my report—”

“You gave away—”

“I am NOT finished answering you, sir!” Everyone was staring at him. Fine. Let them stare. He had been through too much to put up with this. “Before you question me, read the available information so you know what you’re talking about. Then permit me to answer you in full without interruption. Every one of those humans we liberated from the enigma prison asteroid was a citizen of the Syndicate Worlds. I had no right to hold them against their will. None of them knew anything about the enigmas. None had ever seen an enigma, or spoken with one, or even seen any of their artifacts. They knew far less than we did even before the First Fleet entered enigma space. But the most important factor in my decision was that I had no right to hold them. They were free to make their own decisions about their fates.”

Navarro spoke with an unusual level of sarcasm. “Are we to condemn Admiral Geary for acting in accordance with Alliance law? With Alliance principles?”

“Since you brought up Alliance law,” Senator Costa said, “and the subject of leaving people with the Syndics has already been raised, I wonder if the Admiral would care to explain leaving one of his senior officers in the custody of the Syndics?”

“One of my officers?” Geary asked. “We lost far too many officers in combat, and most of those received honorable burials in space. The only living officer who did not accompany the fleet home was Captain Bradamont. She has been assigned as liaison officer for the Alliance to the Midway Star System.”

“Who approved leaving a liaison officer at Midway, Admiral?” Senator Costa asked, her voice harsh.

“I wrote the orders,” Geary said in his blandest voice. “The idea was mine.” That was the official story he and Rione had agreed upon, and he was going to stick to it. One or more of the senators he was facing might have been among those planning on blackmailing Bradamont over her work for Alliance intelligence during the war. “Naturally, I first gained approval from the representatives of the government who accompanied the fleet.”

“That would be me, and Emissary Charban,” Rione said brightly.