Michael tried not to think what failure meant. “So what are your plans now, sir?”
“I’m joining your Anna’s battalion along with all the other Feds ENCOMM doesn’t have jobs for. We leave tomorrow.”
“You’re … You are kidding me, sir!” Michael said, eyes wide with surprise.
“Think I’m too old?”
“No, no, no,” Michael protested. “Just seems a waste of … you know … a waste of an admiral.”
“The NRA doesn’t need any admirals, Michael. It needs soldiers. Besides, what else would I do? I can use a gun, I can take orders, I’m a bit old but I’m fit, and it’ll be nice for someone else to do the worrying for a change.”
“Fair enough, sir,” Michael said, still trying to get his head around the idea of an NRA battalion stuffed with top brass playing at soldiers and commanded by an ex-lieutenant; he wondered how much more bizarre it could get. “Well, good luck with that, sir,” he continued, getting to his feet. “I’m here to see General Vaas, and I’ve got a few things to do first, so I’d best get going.”
“Off you go, but take care. We’re almost there.”
“I will, sir.”
Vaas looked up as Michael walked in.
Vaas said nothing for a moment, then nodded. “Yes,” he said, his voice soft. He looked at Michael for a minute; his eyes were hard and unforgiving. “Now,” he went on, “did you or did you not understand my orders before you left for Gwalia?”
“Yes, sir, I did.”
“But you chose not to obey them. Is that it?”
“I’m not sure I follow you, sir.”
“Don’t mess with me, Colonel Helfort. I ordered you not to take any unnecessary risks, but you went ahead and did anyway.”
“Yes, sir,” Michael said. “Sorry, sir.”
Vaas threw his hands up. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, sit down. I was briefed on what happened at Gwalia this morning. What the hell were you thinking?”
“Of the mission, sir.”
“No, you weren’t,” Vaas snapped. “The only mission that matters is defeating the Hammers, not blowing the head off the Gwalia base commander. Kraa damn it! I don’t need you to do low-level shit like that. You’re no good to me dead, and if I cannot trust you to obey orders, you are useless. I have to be able to trust you; you must see that.”
“I’m sorry, General,” Michael said, and he was. Deep down he’d always known what the right decision had been; the problem was that he had been too caught up in the moment to walk away as he should have. “It won’t happen again.”
Vaas looked at him; after a while, he nodded. “Nobody doubts your bravery or your dedication,” he said, his voice all the more damning for its absolute lack of emotion, “but I do doubt your self-discipline. I’m not giving you any more chances, Michael. Disobey an order again, no matter how dumb you think it is, and I’ll bust you down to trooper. And if I do, you won’t be joining the Federal Battalion. You’ll be spending the rest of this Kraa-damned war on sector security. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“When we’re done here, I expect you to kick the ass of that sergeant of yours. She had her orders too, and I don’t give a damn whether you overruled her or not. She knew what she had to do.”
“I’ll do that, sir.”
“Speaking of security, you’ll be getting your own close protection detail. Call me a slow learner, but Sergeant Shinoda will be in charge, and ENCOMM is giving you four troopers with the right training and experience. You are to make it quite clear to Shinoda and the rest of the team that they are to take you by the scruff of your miserable neck and drag you to safety anytime they think your life is in danger whether you want to be dragged or not, and that’s not a suggestion, Colonel Helfort. That’s an order, and I expect it to be obeyed to the letter. Is that understood?”
“Understood, sir,” Michael said through gritted teeth.
“Good. We won’t mention this lapse of yours again. Now, how is Colonel Balaghi?”
“In a word, optimistic, sir.”
“That’s good to know. He’s a thinker, that man. Any issues I should know about?”
“One, but I’d like another couple of days to talk it through with the political affairs people over at the Resistance Council.”
That got Vaas’s attention. “The Resistance Council?” he said, eyebrows raised. “A bit out of our area of operations, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is, General. But as I see things, working across the boundaries is precisely what I’m supposed to do.”
“Can’t argue with that, but the Resistance Council can be prickly if they think the NRA is interfering in their business, so be careful.”
“I will be, sir.”
“Good. Let me know when you’re ready to brief me.”
“So is that clear?”
“As crystal, sir,” Shinoda said.
“I hope so,” Michael said. “I do not want another kicking like that again.”
“It won’t be a problem, sir. And I’ll make sure the rest of the detail understands things as well.”
“Who have we got?”
“Corporal Bavalek, and troopers Kleber, Mallory, and Delabi. They were all Hammer marines once, so they’re competent, well trained, and experienced.”
“I’ll catch up with them when we move out in thirty minutes.”
“Where are we off to now?”
“The Resistance Council.”
Shinoda’s eyebrows lifted a fraction. “Thirty minutes, Resistance Council, got it,” she said. “We’ll be ready.”
• • •
Michael looked at Martin Ruark for a moment. The more the Resistance Council’s authority on the Hammer’s bizarre state-sponsored religion told him about the Word of Kraa, the more he realized how little he knew. “So,” he said, choosing his words carefully, “the Teacher of Worlds has the power of life or death over everyone below him: every high prelate, every priest, every deacon, every acolyte?”
“Every last member of the Brethren,” Ruark said. “They take what is called the Vow of Absolute Submission. That means there is no appeal against any decision made by Calverson. It’s very simple: The Brethren obey or they die.”
“What about Calverson? Who controls him?”
“In theory, his imaginary friend in the sky.” Ruark pointed to the ceiling with a grimace. “But in practice, he is constrained only by the networks of mutual obligation that govern all Hammer politics. Just like any senior Hammer, Calverson has to negotiate to get what he wants, though nobody should be in any doubt that he is an immensely powerful man.”
“But if he says ‘jump’ to the Brethren, they jump?”
“They do. And Calverson is not afraid to take Polk on, especially if he believes the Doctrine of Kraa is under threat. Remember the Salvation operation?”
“How can I forget?” Michael said. “We lost eleven ships that day.”
“That was all Calverson’s doing. He leaned on Polk to send a task force to clean out a breakaway Hammer sect on a pissant planet nobody cared about. And yes, it did cost you Feds eleven ships, but the Hammer fleet lost
