Alarm of War

anger, struggled to keep it off her face.

The corner of Captain Grey’s mouth twitched. “Something you’d like to say, Lieutenant?”

Emily put her glass down hard on the table. “With all respect, Captain, I don’t understand my final training evaluation. My overall rating was “Poor,” which I thought was inaccurate and unfair.” Part of her could hardly believe she was saying this to the Captain, but she had to bite her tongue to keep from saying more.

“Really?” Grey seemed surprised. “Do you think you did as well as Laura Salazar? Or Richard Burke? Or Watterson?” All three of them had been transferred to the prestigious Second Fleet on the basis of their training evaluations, which mystified Emily even more.

In for a penny, in for a pound… “Yes, Ma-am, I most certainly do.”

“And is there anyone else you think did well enough to deserve a good evaluation?” Grey asked blandly.

“Yes, Ma-am. Andrew Lord did a very good job on the convoy protection mission. He thought it all out before hand and stationed his ships where they could support each other quickly. And he didn’t allow himself to get lured away from the freighters.” Unlike that jackass Salazar. “Bob White did a brilliant job on the outpost attack.”

“And yourself, of course,” Grey added dryly.

“Yes, Ma-am.”

“I see from your record that you are a would-be historian, Emily,” the Captain said. “Have you studied the history of monarchies and empires?”

The sudden change in topic took Emily off guard. What was this about?

“Yes, Ma-am. Mostly old Earth, of course, but we studied the rise of the Sultenic Empire and the Tilleke Empire, and there was a course just on the Dominion at the Academy.”

“And what did you learn about their stability?

Emily relaxed a little. This was home ground for her. “Monarchies are surprisingly stable, unless you have a very poor king or queen. Typically, if the monarchy was moderately progressive, it lasted longer. If it was too totalitarian, or if it was radically progressive, it became unstable and vulnerable. England, Spain and Germany were pretty good examples on old Earth. China was the outstanding exception to the rule, because it was both repressive and stable, at least until the plague hit. The Sultenic Empire and Victoria are good modern day examples of stable moderates. The more repressive, totalitarian regimes tended to survive for a shorter time, and typically had a cataclysmic failure, usually by war or assassination, followed by civil war.”

“Now tell me, Lieutenant, how does your performance evaluation relate to all of this?”

“Ma-am?” Now she was confused.

“Come now, Lieutenant, your file says you are smart. Are you smart?” Grey sipped her wine and looked at Emily expectantly.

Annoyed, Emily opened her mouth to speak, then closed it with an audible ‘snap.’ She could almost hear her father’s voice in her ear: Emily, you are smart as a whip, but you don’t always listen too good. You’d be amazed at what you can learn when you just shut up and listen.

Okay, so Salazar, Burke and Watterson all got good reviews — which they didn’t deserve — and promptly got transferred to Second Fleet, commanded by Grant’s father. She could guess that Lord and White, who deserved good reviews, had been passed over because they had received poor reviews, just like she had. That told her that Second Fleet had enough clout to get the people they wanted…and that Captain Grey had made sure that no one in their right mind would want her. But that was nothing more than normal arm wrestling between Fleets competing for scarce leadership talent, wasn’t it?

There had to be more to this. Emily looked hard at Captain Grey, who smiled blandly back. Emily’s mind raced. Second Fleet. Easily the most prestigious Fleet in the Navy. Admiral Skiffington was a national hero, the hero of the Battle of Windsor. He was one of the most widely recognized persons in the entire Victorian Kingdom. Hell, his approval ratings were higher than the Queen’s! Why would Home Fleet try to-

The realization stopped her cold. Fine historian you turn out to be, she chided herself ruefully. Did you forget the thing you learned in your first year of college: The greatest threat to any kingdom is not foreign armies, but domestic intrigue. And where do you find domestic intrigue? She stopped as a new realization swept her, one that made the palms of her hands sweat.

“I apologize, Ma-am,” she told Captain Grey. “I didn’t realize until just now that this is a job interview.”

Grey’s eyebrows knitted together in a frown. “Perhaps you should explain, Lieutenant.”

Emily paused to take a long sip of her wine, thoughts racing through her head. “‘The task of the Home Fleet is to protect Victoria and the Queen from any dangers, domestic or foreign,’” she quoted from the Fleet Manual. “And history is rife with examples that the greatest threat to a monarchy is from domestic sedition and treachery rather than attack from the outside, although that happens a lot, too.” She took a very deep breath. She was about to be really clever, or finish her career with a bang.

“You are worried that Second Fleet — Admiral Skiffington — is getting so powerful and so popular that he might subvert the government, perhaps by force, perhaps not. Admiral Skiffington has so much power and favor that he can pretty much hand pick whoever he wants, so I would guess that you have been fudging reports on promising new officers in order to keep them in Home Fleet.” Emily paused. “You want to give yourself a better chance in case this ever turns into a shooting war. This” — she waived her hands around to indicate the dinner — “is a job interview to see if I am more interested in advancing my career or protecting the Queen.”

She stopped. I can’t believe I just said that.

A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of Grey’s mouth. She shook her head and combed her fingers through her hair, then tilted her head up to the ceiling. “I think you should come in now,” she said.

The door to Captain Grey’s office opened. Emily stood up automatically. Vice Admiral Alyce Douthat walked briskly in. Emily saluted.

Douthat waived her back into her seat. “At ease, Lieutenant. This is a social occasion, after all.” She sat down, smiling warmly at Emily and Captain Grey, reminding Emily of her plump little grandmother.

Emily had loved her grandmother, but never entirely trusted her.

“I hope you don’t mind if I join you and Julie for desert, Emily,’ she said. “Julie has a chef who makes the best chocolate mousse tort this side of Darwin.” She patted her ample stomach. “If it weren’t for him, I’m sure I’d still be as thin as when I was before my children, but we all have to make sacrifices, don’t we?” She turned to Captain Grey. “And do you think your steward might find an espresso? I’d kill for a good espresso.”

They sat silently for a moment, Admiral Douthat and Captain Grey smiling at Emily and Emily sitting in numb shock. The steward came in and set down desert plates and espresso. After he left, Admiral Douthat took a bite of the chocolate mousse tort and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Amazing,” she breathed. “Somehow he makes it better every time.”

“He’s mine, Admiral,” Grey smiled. “You can’t have him.”

Douthat snorted, took another sip of her espresso and turned to face Emily.

“And you, Emily. You are a very insightful young lady; this is a job interview, though I must say that you surprised us a little by recognizing that fact. And you’ve passed with flying colors. Now the question is, do you want it?” She was smiling, but her eyes were shrewd and probing.

Unexpectedly, Emily felt a surge of strong emotion, like she had the day her father hugged her at her college graduation. The past few years had been difficult. Endless hours of study, helping care for her mother, watching her be slowly taken by her illness. Then working in a mindless job with no hope of advancement, and the risky choice of joining the Navy. And now this, the totally unexpected chance to watch history being made, from the inside.

“Oh yes,” she said softly. “I want it.” Then Admiral Douthat startled her by suddenly leaning forward. “Do you now work for or report to anyone in Second Fleet?” she asked harshly.

Emily felt a flush burn through her cheeks. “No, Ma-am, I do not!”

Admiral Douthat exchanged a long look with Captain Grey, then tilted her head to the ceiling. “Merlin!”

“Yes, Admiral?” the computer voice replied.

“Assess veracity of the last statement by Lieutenant Emily Tuttle.”

A pause. “There is a ninety nine percent probability that the statement by Lieutenant Tuttle is true. I note that she is demonstrating signs of stress. Her heart rate has increased to-”

“Stop.” The Admiral nodded and patted Emily’s hand. “Welcome to the Home Fleet, Emily Tuttle. It won’t always be easy, but it will be the most important thing you’ll ever do.”

Emily blinked. “What would you have done if I hadn’t accepted?” she asked.