prayers for what she thought of as sanity to prevail. “Captain Geary, what can I say to convince you that this fleet’s survival is the most important factor to consider?”
“Madam Co-President, I understand your concerns. I must ask you to trust my judgment that this fleet’s survival will depend ultimately on many factors.”
“Captain.” Rione stepped close and spoke very quietly. “You know how critical it is for Dauntless to return safely to Alliance space. The item it carries is of incalculable value.”
“I haven’t forgotten that,” Geary replied in an equally quiet tone.
“Have you forgotten that I have it in my power to pull from your command the ship contingents from the Callas Republic and the Rift Federation?”
“No. I’d strongly urge you not to do that.” Geary tried to look like he imagined someone should look when they knew the risks but could still be confident. “I’d wanted more training time, but the fleet can handle this well. There are good reasons for why I’m doing this. I’d like to have your ships participate.”
“And if I refuse to allow that?”
Geary exhaled heavily. “There’d be nothing I could do about it. You know that.”
She eyed him for a long moment while Geary ached to get back to the developing battle, but he knew he had to resolve this situation first. “Very well, Captain Geary. Your actions thus far have earned you the benefit of the doubt from me. You have your battle and you have the ships of the Callas Republic and the Rift Federation. May the living stars grant that neither of us regrets our decision.”
“Thank you.” Geary took another deep breath and turned back to his display. It would be several hours before the fleets clashed, but he’d already set events in motion that would make that battle inevitable. He needed to use the intervening time to maximize his chances of winning. And planning for what to do if disaster struck and he had to pull another desperate retreat out of his hat.
TEN
DECIDING to fight started the adrenaline flowing, though combat was still several hours away even if both sides rushed toward each other at maximum acceleration. Geary ached to immediately order the fleet out of the generic Alpha formation into the actual battle formation he planned on using, but he knew that would be a mistake. His old commanders had drilled that into him. The three things you need to worry about the most during the hours leading up to an engagement are acting too early, acting too early, and acting too early.
And here was Desjani wanting to do just that. “Will we be fighting in this formation?” she asked dubiously.
“No.” Geary caught the look of frustration that flashed across her face and relented. “We won’t move into the battle formation until shortly before contact. I want to leave just enough time, with a small margin of error, for our ships to reach their new stations and then be able to accelerate to battle speed.”
“Why not do it now? You’ve told me you’re concerned about the fleet’s ability to maneuver properly in an actual combat situation. Why wait until we’re almost in contact with the enemy?”
He’d asked the same question a long time ago. “Because we don’t want to give the enemy hours of leisure time to study our formation and figure out our plan of engagement.”
“But we could be in one usable formation and then shift to another, couldn’t we? Then we’d be ready even if the ships didn’t get into the new formation in time. We could shift a lot and keep the enemy guessing as to our intentions.”
Geary laughed softly, drawing a puzzled look from Desjani. “I’m sorry, but I’m just remembering wanting to do the same thing. It took me a while to learn the flaw in that approach.” He waved at the display, where the symbols representing the Alliance and Syndic forces were slowly converging across the huge distances between them. “We decide to fight and then usually have quite a while to prepare. There’s a tremendous temptation during that time to keep messing with things. Keep changing formations, keep making minor adjustments, keep altering plans. And if you do that, you end up wearing out your crews and drawing down your fuel reserves before you even get into contact with the enemy. It’s far better to discipline yourself to wait, to give your ships a chance to rest a bit before battle.”
“I see.” Desjani shifted in her seat. “Yes, I do understand. I want to do something now, but it’d be premature. That’s how we’ve fought, you know. Immediately assume battle formation, almost always something simple, and then charge straight at the enemy.”
“I figured that.” He looked again at the display, where the Syndic force seemed to be following that kind of approach. Two opposing forces just hurling themselves straight at their opponents and beating the hell out of each other. Brute force against brute force. No wonder these people value pride and courage so much. In that kind of battle, the side that keeps fighting the hardest and longest is likely to win. But at a terrible price in casualties and ship losses.
Geary checked the time, then called the fleet again. “All units. Updated estimated remaining time to contact with enemy force is seven hours. Recommend all ships rest their crews for the next few hours.” He grinned at Desjani. “Did you ever get held at maximum alert for half a day?”
She looked away. “That’s actually been common. To ensure everyone was fully ready.”
“You’re joking.” The look on Desjani’s face told him she wasn’t. “That wears everybody out before the battle’s even joined. There are situations where you don’t have any choice, but with something like this, where we know the enemy can’t engage us for close to seven hours, it makes sense for everybody to get what rest they can.” Geary made a show of standing up. “I’m going to take a walk,” he announced to the entire bridge, “and get something to eat.” Aware of all their eyes upon him, Geary sauntered off of the bridge, wondering how well he’d be able to fake an interest in food. He’d have to pretend to be resting for at least the next couple of hours, too, though he knew the chances of actually getting any sleep were nonexistent. “Please keep me informed of any changes in the Syndic force’s formation or movement, Captain Desjani.”
“Of course, sir.” Desjani hesitated, but as Geary was leaving the bridge he heard her standing down a good part of Dauntless’s crew so they could get some food as well.
After spending hours wandering through Dauntless to visit compartments and talk to the sailors in them, after pretending to eat in three different meal areas, and after periodically checking with the bridge to make sure there weren’t any new developments, Geary finally gave in and returned to the bridge. Desjani was still in her seat, having apparently not left the bridge the entire time.
Desjani gave him a sheepish look. “Force of habit.”
“You’re a ship’s captain, Tanya. I know that means you have to be here even when you shouldn’t have to be here.” Geary sat down, then forced himself to lean back and study the display again. The two opposing fleets had gotten much closer, but were still hours from contact. The Syndic formation remained unchanged. “We’re going to fight in Fox Five,” he advised her.
“Fox Five?” Desjani grinned in anticipation. “I can’t wait to see this fleet carry that off.”
Me, too. I hope they can carry it off. He ran calculations, using the latest estimates of the velocity at which the Syndics were traveling and the point at which the two formations would come together if nothing changed between now and then. Two more hours. Too long. I can’t order the fleet into Fox Five yet. Dreading the thought of spending the next hour staring at the display, Geary called up the simulation program and began running it using his fleet and the actual Syndic force. This should keep me busy, and maybe I’ll spot something I need to know.
It still seemed to take forever for the next hour to crawl by. “Okay, Tanya. Let’s get ready to kick some Syndic butt.” She bared her teeth in an eager smile as Geary called the fleet. “All units, this is Captain Geary on the Dauntless. Execute Formation Fox Five at time four zero. I say again, execute Formation
