The Lost Fleet: Courageous

“Maybe because it doesn’t do us any good? We’re still trapped.” Geary felt anger growing. With all the problems he faced already, it wasn’t fair to have aliens jump in and make things worse. That was ridiculous grounds for being mad, but it just wasn’t fair, and it made him mad as hell. “This fleet must get home the hard way or not at all. And it is going to get home.”

Rione gave him a disbelieving look, then smiled. “From despairing to determined. This has been a good day for mood changes as far as you’re concerned.” The smile faded, and she frowned slightly. “There’s a possibility we haven’t considered.”

“What’s that?”

“Perhaps the aliens deliberately let us know of their capabilities with the hypernet system. Perhaps they expected you to somehow escape from that star system just as you have successfully escaped from others. Perhaps they aren’t helping the Syndics but trying to tell us something.”

Geary stared at the star display, letting the idea filter through his mind. “I have enough humans who think I can do the impossible. I don’t need aliens piling on, too. Why would they do that?”

“I don’t know,” Rione stated with open frustration. “We don’t know what the goals of these mysterious opponents are. We don’t know how they think, assuming they’re not human. What do they want? Humanity tricked into endless war? Are they waiting for some optimum number of hypernet gates to be built before they cause all of them to collapse and liberate enough energy to sterilize every part of space colonized by humanity? Or are the gates simply insurance if we ever threaten them? Or is it something totally different, a goal based on some alien concept we can’t even put a name to?”

“You’re telling me they may not be hostile? Even though they redirected that Syndic flotilla to Lakota so we were almost trapped there?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. If an alien fleet appeared before us tomorrow, what would you do?”

Geary paused to think. “I’m not sure. If they opened fire, my decision would be easy. But if they just appeared…I guess the smart thing to do would be to talk. Find out what they want.”

“And then,” Rione added, her eyes hard, “decide if what they want is something humanity can live with.”

“Whoever or whatever they are, they owe us for the loss of Audacious, Indefatigable, and Defiant,” Geary replied, his own voice harsh. “They better have a really good justification for that.”

THREE more days of thinking, three more days of not finding answers. As the fleet exited into normal space back at Ixion, Geary felt a bitter taste in his mouth. No minefield awaited them at this jump exit from Lakota, so Geary just watched as the Alliance warships flashed into existence around Dauntless. He kept his eyes on the ship status readouts as reports came in, seeing updates on damage and repairs, fuel cell reserves, and expendable munitions remaining. Everything looked bad. Worse yet, a number of ships were still trying to get some of their main propulsion drives repaired. Until they did, the fleet couldn’t even run at a good pace without leaving those ships behind.

Leaving them behind to the Syndic wolves that would be coming out of this same jump point in pursuit. Geary had no trouble imagining the scene, because he’d already run some worst-case simulations. The Alliance fleet fleeing for another jump point, the faster Syndics coming on after them, swarms of swift light cruisers and Hunter-Killers picking off those Alliance ships too badly damaged to keep up, then harassing the main body of the fleet itself, hitting the ships in the rear of the Alliance formation and one by one causing them to lose ground and be caught by the main body of the Syndic pursuers.

He’d tried simulations of what would happen if he tried to re-form his fleet here and fight the superior numbers of Syndics who’d be coming through that jump exit in pursuit. With many damaged ships, low fuel reserves, and expendable ammunition stocks almost exhausted, the results were always total destruction for the Alliance fleet.

Assuming he retained command after the fleet conference that would have to be held. Now, when the external threats were so critical, he knew that he had to deal with an even greater level of internal threat.

They couldn’t linger in Ixion for even an extra moment, and they wouldn’t get out of Ixion without losing a lot more ships. Beyond Ixion, if any Alliance ships made it out, there seemed no way to throw off the Syndic pursuit this time, no way to justify the sacrifice of all of the ships lost at Lakota. All around him on the bridge of Dauntless he could see the watch-standers gazing at each other with helpless expressions, looking scared and beaten as they absorbed the current condition of the fleet.

They couldn’t stand, and they couldn’t run.

And just like that, Geary realized what the Alliance fleet had to do. To hell with the fleet conference. I’ve made up my mind, and everyone’s going to follow orders.