her.
“Earth is your ally, but they are a frightened ally. I lead their forces, and they are not ready to turn that leadership over to anyone not of Earth. They have to know that I’m theirs, that I speak for them, that my allegiance is to them and only to them.
“I do swear allegiance to the Empire, Your Majesty, but not as a Knight. For me to do so, not only would it muddy the waters, not only would it slow things down, it would cause an irreparable rift between me and my people. At the very least, I would lose my job. At the worst, it would poison our hopes of Earth’s joining the Empire for many years to come.
“This is a bitter pill for me to swallow. As a man, I say yes, but as leader of Earth’s forces here in space, I must say no.”
By the time he was done, Ellie’s eyes were brimming. He was right. It was too soon. Someday maybe, but not yet. She sensed the brightness around them dimming. This great man had turned her down, but she was not done with him yet.
“Earth did not have much of a choice when they selected you. Mike chose you. I wonder if they know how lucky that choice was? You are called, Raymond Trexler, just as I am called, to serve. You lead all of us in battle. More, you are the man who will build bridges between our peoples. As your Queen, I stand with you.”
She clasped her hands and started to turn away, paused, then turned back to him. “You will have your Naming day, Raymond Trexler. It is not this day, but I will not wait forever.”
“Nor will I, Your Majesty.”
“Earth needs your voice in my deliberations. I call you to my Inner Circle. Will you accept?”
“I do accept, Your Majesty.”
“Very well. My Inner Circle is now in session. Colonel James Waverly is also on my agenda today. He has worked wonders, and he needs better credentials. I intend to Knight him, but I have never even met him. Is he right for the job?”
Trexler considered her words. “I know him, but not as well as Reba knows him.”
“This is not our first discussion of this matter, Ray. Val and Reba both support my decision, but once Knighted, Waverly’s decisions will bind me. Will he bind me wisely?”
Trexler frowned. “He is more than just a warrior, Ellie. We knew we needed someone of his caliber before we hired him. He’s not a politician, but he is broad-minded and understands that his decisions have political ramifications. He will not abuse his power, and he will choose wisely. I do not believe you will regret your choice. And there’s more.”
Ellie’s eyebrows lifted, but she did not speak.
“We’re taking this war to the sectors, Ellie, and he’s our point man. He’s going to have more men, enough to hit two or three worlds at a time. Whenever possible, he will precede the arrival of his men and make whatever arrangements are necessary. When the Raiders get there, everything will be in place for them to get right to work. Knighting him is the perfect move. It’s precisely what both of you need.”
Her hand went to her throat. “Does he know about this expansion of the Raiders?”
Trexler smiled. “It was his idea. But, Ellie, his biggest problem will not be the Chessori, it will be convincing governors and sector commanders to give him adequate support. No one out here knows him, and he has no authority. Our plan was for Chandrajuski or M’Coda to accompany him, or maybe a squadron commander if no one else was available, but speaking in your name works far better.”
“My thought, exactly. Will he accept Knighting?”
Trexler’s eyes moved to Reba. She had resigned her commission before joining with Ellie, and for good reason: military rules preclude officers from accepting commissions from foreign governments.
“He might not,” Trexler mumbled. “He knows the rules.” His voice rose, a decision made. “It’s also the best way for him to serve Earth and the Empire.” His gaze shifted to Reba. “See him before you leave on your mission. Let him know that if the offer is made, I approve. In fact, let’s make it clear: I order him to accept.”
Reba smiled. “I’ll give him your message, sir.”
“And while you’re at it, you might want to find my stuff. I have no idea which ship it’s on at the moment, but I have an old set of stars that you could give him, and there’s something else. I brought my dress uniform.”
“We need that?” she asked, confused.
“Well, it depends. I don’t know what the ceremony is for knighting, but I know what it was on Earth. I brought my saber.”
Her dazzling smile lit her face. “Oh, this could be fun.” She looked to Ellie. “We’ll discuss it later. It’s time to go.”
Reba leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, then Ellie did the same. Mike shook his hand, his lips a thin line. No words were necessary. They both had their work cut out for themselves.
Trexler looked around the cavernous room, empty of everyone but himself now, and realized that he didn’t like the feeling. He could not remember the last time he’d been so isolated. Here he was, supposedly in charge, and he’d had not one iota of input for the massive preparations going on around him.
He said to the room, “Ship, get me Steve Brinson.”
The phone beside his bed started vibrating again. He picked it up and said, “Stop. Get me Steve Brinson.”
“He left for Orion III with Admiral M’Coda, sir.”
“Okay, get me Sam Taylor.”
“He just boarded a shuttle with Admiral Chandrajuski.”
“Without even saying goodbye?”
“They’re traveling with the Queen, sir.”
“Figures. Okay, who’s the senior Terran officer aboard?”
“You, sir.”
“Besides me.”
“The squadron commander, Admiral Wen, sir.”
“Get him for me.”
He heard a short beep, then, “Admiral Wen speaking.”
“This is Ray Trexler. We need to discuss our mission.”
“Yes, sir. Can it wait? We’re just about to get underway, and I’m still confirming the personnel transfers. I don’t want to leave without a full crew of Terrans.”
“Do you have room for me in the ops center?”
“Not yet. We’re still cleaning up from the battle, and that table you are on is pretty big.”
“Look, I’m not one to sit on the sidelines.”
“Yes, sir. All I know is that we’re going to Earth with another squadron. Sam Taylor put our crews together, then left. Both squadron commanders will need to be briefed, but at this point, it’s too late to change anything. We’re minutes away from departure. We’ll have a full week before we drop from hyper, then three weeks to transit the system to Earth. Plenty of time, sir.”
Trexler hung up, thought for a minute, then picked up the phone again. “Get me my doctor.”
“She’s off duty, sir. I believe she’s sleeping.”
“Okay, get me a doctor, any doctor. I’m getting out of this tank. On second thought, send the Chief. He knows how to do it, and he’ll talk to me. He has to. I outrank him.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
A week later, Ellie’s frigate touched down at the port on Aldebaran I. Seeton came aboard and was greeted by the Queen and her retinue. He went to one knee before her.
“A pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.”
