Geary nodded. “Yeah. So you spotted how the enemy force behaved in that simulation, huh?”
“Yes, sir. As much as I hate the Syndics, I don’t think they’re quite as stupid as that attacking force acted.”
This time Geary grinned. “Maybe if we’re lucky. But, no, I’m not planning on them actually acting that stupid. But, yes, I think I can call the orders. I learned the skill under some very good practitioners of the art.” Then he remembered how long those men and women had been dead, and his smile faded.
By late the next day, Geary realized his prediction had been off by one day. Most of the ship commanders, burdened by their normal command responsibilities, had already gotten tired of simulating maneuvering and battles for a good portion of each day. It didn’t help that Geary had set the simulations to get progressively more difficult. “Listen up,” Geary admonished them after the last drill of the day. “We don’t know how long we have before the Syndics show up here. We need to be ready. That means packing a lot of work into the shortest time possible. See you tomorrow.”
He slumped back in his seat, feeling wearied from the constant effort involved in not only riding herd on all the ships under his command but also in massaging the egos of their commanders. “We have an update from Witch,” Desjani advised. “The mining facility on Ishiki’s Rock should be in working order tomorrow. They expect to be pulling out ore and sending it to the auxiliaries by late tomorrow afternoon.”
“Great.” Geary peered at the message. “Ishiki’s Rock? Oh, that one. The asteroid mine. That isn’t what the Syndics called it, is it?”
“No. There didn’t seem any reason to go to the trouble of finding out what name the Syndics used. Ishiki is the senior enlisted who did the first reconnaissance and evaluation of the mining facility there.”
“Then it’s as good a name as any,” Geary reflected. He called Witch. “Captain Tyrosian? If time permits, I’d like one of your machine shops to churn out a small plaque identifying the asteroid mining facility as Ishiki’s Rock. We’ll tack it up somewhere down there.”
Tyrosian looked briefly startled, then smiled. “Chief Ishiki will surely appreciate that, sir. Do you want any ceremony when we put the plaque up?”
“If you want to improvise something, feel free. Everybody in this fleet is working their butts off, and we can use an excuse for a little fun.”
“Yes, sir. There’s some good metal in that rock. How long will we have to exploit it?”
Geary thought about the question. “That’s still undetermined at this time. Assume you have to work fast, but if possible, I want to top off the bunkers in the auxiliaries with raw materials before we leave.”
Tyrosian raised her eyebrows. “That’s a lot of raw material, Captain Geary. At the rate we can mine and transport it here, it’d take weeks.”
“I can’t promise weeks, but we’ll take every day we can.”
“I feel obligated to remind you as well that all the extra mass will adversely affect the maneuvering capabilities of my ships. Titan, in particular, since she’s the largest. But Witch, Jinn, and Goblin will all get a lot more sluggish as well.”
Geary felt an increasingly familiar pain behind his eyes. “How bad will Titan’s ability to accelerate be if her raw material bunkers are topped off?”
Tyrosian looked to one side, apparently working some controls. “Here’s Titan’s performance at full load, Captain Geary.”
Geary exhaled as he read the data Captain Tyrosian displayed. “She’ll be a real flying pig, won’t she?”
“We usually use the term flying elephant. A flying pig would probably be much more maneuverable than Titan with a full load.”
“Thanks. I appreciate the heads-up.”
Tyrosian looked questioning. “Do you still want Titan’s bunkers topped off, sir?”
Geary rubbed the place between his eyes to try to push back the throbbing there. “Yes. If we can’t manufacture what we need for the long haul, it won’t matter how fast we can move for the short haul. If I have to choose, I want to be prepared for the long run.”
“Yes, sir. You need it, we build it.”
The old motto of the fleet engineers, unchanged since Geary’s time, brought a smile to his face. “Thank you, Captain Tyrosian. I know I can always count on you and your ships.” The statement made Tyrosian smile as well.
Geary made his way back to his stateroom, cheered by his dealings with Captain Tyrosian but still looking forward to relaxing and pretending to be away from the demands of being in charge of the fleet. But he found someone waiting outside of the hatch leading to his stateroom. “Madam Co-President.” Geary hoped his weariness and lack of desire for conversation didn’t come through too clearly. “To what do I owe the honor of your presence?”
She inclined her head to acknowledge the greeting, then gestured toward the hatch. “I wish to speak to you privately, Captain Geary.”
“I don’t want to seem unwelcoming, but is there another time we can do that? I’ve been pretty heavily occupied lately.”
“So I’ve noticed.” Rione gave him an arch look. “You’ve been so heavily occupied, that I’ve been frustrated in my other attempts to meet with you. I would very much like to speak with you now.”
Geary managed not to sigh too heavily. “Okay. Please come in.” He let her enter first, then waved her to one seat while he unceremoniously flopped into another.
That earned him another look from Rione. “You don’t seem to be the iron-willed hero of legend today, Captain Geary.”
“The iron-willed hero of legend is damned tired today, ma’am. What can I do for you?”
Rione seemed a little surprised by Geary’s directness, but she finally sat down in the offered seat. “My question is a simple one. What are you planning, Captain Geary?”
Geary shrugged. “As I’ve stated every time I’ve been asked that question, I’m planning on getting this fleet home.”
“Then why are we lingering at Kaliban?”
The woman does have a gift for asking awkward questions. Geary considered her for a moment before answering. “We need some time. We’re not sitting idle. As I’m sure you’re aware, we’re getting raw materials to the ships that can use them, Titan and her sisters are churning out new fuel cells as well as replacements for the equipment we’ve had damaged or destroyed and the weapons we’ve expended, we’re getting some major external repairs done to some of our ships that couldn’t be accomplished in jump space, we’re scavenging through the abandoned installations here for anything we can use, and most important of all, we’re training.”
“Training.” Rione’s eyes narrowed. “For what?”
“As I’m also sure you’re aware, Madam Co-President, we’re training for combat. The next time we face a large Syndic force, I want this fleet to operate like a military organization instead of an untrained mob of well-intentioned but overaggressive warriors.” Damn. He had to be careful not to be too blunt with Rione. It wouldn’t do to have a phrase like that repeated too widely.
“Captain Geary, I told you when first we met that this fleet is brittle. You agreed with me. How can you now speak of facing a large enemy force?” Rione’s voice had gotten flatter and harder as she spoke.
Geary, wishing he could strengthen shields around himself against the force of Rione’s words, simply nodded. “I agreed with you then. But brittle metal can be reforged, Madam Co-President. It
