five were hustled out. Order slowly returned.
I yawned. “I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s been a rather long day for me, with the battle and all.” Chuckles rumbled through the group. “Let me see. It’s the middle of the night for me; but it’s… late morning for you?” I looked to Rigslan for confirmation and he nodded. “All right,” I continued. “We’ve been here a long time. That tape was over two hours long, and I talked for… well, too long.” The chuckles turned to laughs. “Knowing how long that tape runs, I made arrangements for food to be prepared and served. I suggest we adjourn this meeting for, say, an hour. In addition to food, this will give you a chance to absorb and discuss what you’ve seen and heard here.” I opened the door and signaled the servers waiting outside. A benign chaos ensued as the senior officers fought their way out of the wardroom and headed for the senior officer’s mess and the junior officers began jockeying for seats.
Captain Rigslan approached, rescuing me from officers besieging me with questions. “Perhaps you’d care to join me in Cap… uh, my cabin, Admiral?” He looked embarrassed and old.
“I’d be delighted, Captain,” I replied.
Chapter XIV
Captain Bon-Lor’s cabin was luxurious, but a total mess. A number of empty liquor bottles littered the room, which smelled of alcohol and stale body odor. Captain Rigslan stopped suddenly just inside the door, and whirled to me with an oath. “I’m sorry, Admiral,” he began, “I haven’t been in this cabin since we arrived in this system. I had no idea… If you don’t mind; perhaps we could go to my cabin?”
I nodded, and he led me farther down the passage. “Surely Captain Bon-Lor wasn’t always… that way?” I asked. He opened the door to a neat, smaller cabin. Pictures of a gray-haired woman and a variety of children and adults adorned the bulkheads. He ushered me to a seat, and an orderly brought us sandwiches and caf.
Rigslan’s head came up. “Oh, no, sir! Captain Bon-Lor was always very meticulous, and only a social drinker. This started after your.. visit to Thaeron, Admiral. The Captain became irritable. After meetings with Admiral Jonas, he was frequently in a rage. He seldom came to the bridge, and when he did, he smelled of alcohol. But he was a good officer until then, sir.” Rigslan looked me in the eye. “I guess he realized that we were on the wrong side. But I don’t understand it. For a while, it was a toss-up aboard, which side to join. The Captain could’ve swung opinion either way. He was the one that chose that we follow Admiral Jonas.”
I shrugged. “I was told that Relentless was in the same orbit as Nemesis, and slightly ahead of her at the time. Perhaps the Captain thought that not choosing Jonas would risk the destruction of his ship.”
Rigslan straightened. “Of course! That must be it. He felt that to save his ship he had to betray his duty. That’s why he was acting so strangely.” His tone turned puzzled. “But why didn’t he just surrender to you this morning?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Now that you are in command, you’re going to find that Captains must often make difficult decisions. Moreover, there is no one with whom to discuss them. Nor can you explain them.”
Rigslan’s tone became bitter. “I won’t be in command long, sir. Just until your prize crew takes over.” He sighed. “Then I can watch my career self-destruct.”
I could feel the flush of anger suffuse my face. “How dare you? How dare you feel sorry for yourself? You're an adult. You made your choices. But most important, you’re in command. You have no right to self-pity!” I waved toward the door. “There are more than three thousand people out there who are frightened and confused. They are your people, Captain. And they need your help. Bon-Lor abandoned them after Thaeron, and now you want to abandon them again to wallow in self-pity!”
Rigslan jumped as if slapped. I continued, “Qualified or not, selected or not, you are in command. If your people see you mope around, worrying about your own career, they will cease being disciplined Fleet troops and become a frightened rabble. Damn it!” I shouted, “I don’t want to have to order my troops to open fire on these people one day just because Captain Rigslan abandoned them!”
He flushed, but his gaze was level. “I was good once,” he said quietly. “I was a good officer. Maybe I could be one again. My apologies, Admiral.”
I looked at him appraisingly. He had been a good officer, once, or he’d never have made Commander. “Would you mind some unsolicited advice, Captain?” I asked.
He looked embarrassingly grateful. “Of course not, Admiral. I’d appreciate it. I admit to being a bit lost.”
I shrugged. “This crew has been leaderless for a long time, certainly longer than they deserved. You have to take command. Give orders and act as though the thought that they might not be obeyed would never occur to you. No matter how busy you are, take the time to dress down a man who shirt isn’t pressed, or a woman whose hair is unacceptable. The crew must believe that you see everything, and know everything. Don’t explain your decisions, and don’t accept excuses. Accept input only from those on your staff, but don’t let them begin thinking that they get a vote.”
I sighed as I continued, “If you have any friends among the crew, you’ll have to give them up. Command is a lonely position.” I shrugged again. “As far as what you should do immediately, I’d suggest you find out if any of your people have legal training. If so, put them in charge of counseling the rest of the crew.
“We’ll be putting you aboard a disarmed ship as passengers and prisoners. Your people won’t have anything to do except sit around, complain and worry for a long time. Nevertheless, remember, the weapons on that ship may be disabled, but the comp’s memory banks are fully functional. Assign research tasks to teams, with the expressed purpose of helping your people defend themselves against charges. Or think of something else. Your one and only job is to keep hope alive. Keep them busy and motivated. Don’t let them fall into the trap of self-pity or desperation.”
I looked directly into his eyes. “It’s a big job, Captain. It may be a hopeless job. Nevertheless, you have to try. Over three thousand lives depend upon it. You're not retired or fired yet, Captain. If you must go out, go out trying, with your head held high; don’t just slink out the back door.”
Rigslan had slowly straightened. By the time I finished, he was straight as a rod and I could see some of the young man with high hopes that once had been. “Thank you, Admiral,” He said in a quiet, dignified tone. “You've reminded me of some things I’d forgotten. Including my own capabilities. I think I’ll be all right, now.” With a final sip of his caf, he stood, ramrod straight. “I believe the hour is up, Admiral. Shall we go surprise my crew?”
I grinned. “Why not?”
There was no trouble as the shaken crew of Relentless was exchanged with that of Fearless, though I understand there were some tense confrontations when crewmembers from the two ships encountered each other. Finally, Fearless, with an escort of armed tramps, boosted for the jump point and Bolt Hole.
Meanwhile, cleanup efforts continued. Though Relentless appeared to have taken little serious damage, she had numerous hull leaks, and the tramps’ projectiles had been more effective than it appeared. Forty of Relentless ’ crew had been taken to Fearless ’ sickbay with wounds and decompression injuries. Twenty-four, including Captain Bon-Lor, were dead. Blood and body parts had to be cleaned up, and the ship set right. Vidsen lost no time beginning work.
Our own losses were fourteen boats and three rim tramps, with all hands. Only one of the tramps hadn’t blown up. She drifted airless, almost cut in half by Relentless ’ lasers. Her entire crew was dead. We recovered the bodies, and put a beacon on the hulk to prevent collisions. Then we nudged her into an orbit that would eventually take her into Gamma’s sun.
We were involved in recovery of bodies from the debris of the attack boats when Shar pulled me aside.
“Admiral,” he began, “I want to remind you that it might be considered polite to inform the people of Gamma about the battle and its result.”
“Damn!” I exclaimed, “I’d completely forgotten about that.”
“Shall I set a course for the planet, Admiral?”
“Gods no! It’d take us a week or more to get away again. Besides,” I added, “I detest ceremonies and such nonsense.” I thought frantically. “I’ll just record them a message. We’re far enough out that the time lag would make two- way conversation practically impossible anyway.”
Shar grinned. “If you say so, Admiral. I’m not sure it would be the Viceroy’s solution, though.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure it wouldn’t. But I’m just a fat old trader captain, not a Sector Viceroy. If he wants speeches and ceremonies, he can come back and make them himself.”
