“HOW about Seruta?” Rione asked, her eyes on the star display in Geary’s stateroom. “If we dodge that way-”
Geary shook his head, and she stopped speaking. “The biggest problem with that is that the jump point for Seruta is closer to Syndic Flotilla Delta. They’d intercept us earlier, and we’d have a longer fight to get through to the jump point.” He gazed at the star. “Lesser but still significant problems are that we don’t know what the Syndics have at Seruta, and the captured star system guides we have say Seruta is a very old and very poor system. No planets at all, just thin clouds of asteroids orbiting a dying red star, and not much in the way of good metals in the asteroids. All the Syndics ever had there was an emergency station that was shut down a long time back. We might find some nasty Syndic surprises at Seruta, and we know we wouldn’t find any of the resources we need there.”
Rione slumped back, frowning. “We just keep heading for the jump point for Ixion? Even knowing that the Syndics will catch us before we reach it?”
“I’ll try some maneuvers to keep them from closing with us.”
“Try?” She shook her head. “A very, very weak hope, John Geary. How did we end up stuck like this?”
“Exceptionally bad luck, for one thing. If Flotilla Delta hadn’t shown up, we could have finished eliminating Flotilla Bravo as a threat, then left for Branwyn.” Geary stared into the depths of the star display. “And bad judgment. My bad judgment. I made the decision to come to Lakota, and it was a very bad decision.”
“Was it? Because you didn’t know you’d encounter exceptionally bad luck?” Rione moved over and sat down beside him, leaning against his shoulder. “This isn’t something you can blame yourself for. And I should know, being an expert on blaming oneself as I am.”
“It doesn’t feel right to not have you chewing me out for messing up by being too aggressive,” Geary remarked.
“I’ve told you that I don’t want to be too predictable.” She sat up and made an exasperated sound. “Maybe we’re not supposed to get home. Maybe what we’ve learned is too dangerous.”
“I won’t accept that.”
“Good.” She stood up. “I need to make peace with someone, if I can. I might not have too many more days to try.”
Desjani? “Who?”
“My ancestors. I’ll see you in a while.”
“Do you mind if I walk with you?”
Rione frowned at him again. “You’re not my husband. You don’t belong in the room with me.”
“I know. I wouldn’t go that far. I want to talk to my ancestors, too.”
Rione’s face cleared. “Perhaps they’ll have some good advice.”
“If they don’t, I’ve always got you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Advice I have in plenty. Good advice is another thing, it seems.”
“You told me that I’d be stupid and insane to bring this fleet to Lakota,” Geary pointed out. “You seem to have been right about that.”
For some reason that seemed to amuse her slightly. “I think I said you were stupid and Falco was insane. Fine. Walk with me. Let the crew see their hero and his lover being pious and proper. Then, assuming I haven’t been blasted into ashes by my shamed ancestors, we can come back here and compare notes on whatever inspirations or warnings we felt.”
Geary stood up, laughing slightly. “That’s one hell of thing to base military planning on, isn’t? Signs and portents. Like we’re ancients peering up at the stars and wondering what they are.”
Rione paused on her way to the hatch and gave Geary a serious look. “The ancients thought the stars were gods, John Geary. So do we, though in a very different way. But we’re not so different from the ancients, who lived but the blink of an eye ago in the sight of this universe and spent their lives trying to understand why they were here and what they were supposed to do with the gifts of their lives. I try never to forget that.”
He nodded, wondering once again at the woman inside Victoria Rione.
HALFWAY to the Ixion jump point, Syndic Flotilla Bravo still hung behind them like an ancient sword poised to fall on their necks, and Syndic Flotilla Delta, cutting a curving path through Lakota Star System, would cross the track of the Alliance fleet at a point just two hours shy of the jump point. Syndic Flotilla Alpha still cruised serenely back and forth near the hypernet gate, standing sentry against a desperate and increasingly impossible lunge for the gate by the Alliance fleet. No sign of the smaller Syndic flotilla expected to be coming from Ixion.
Lacking omens or inspirations from his ancestors, Geary sat and watched the slow track of the formations across Lakota Star System. Every example he’d been able to find of a force in the position of the Alliance fleet ended the same way, and it wasn’t a good way as far as the Alliance fleet was concerned.
He tried to ignore another stress headache building between his eyes. Why had it come to this? If only he hadn’t been constantly thrown off balance and forced to change plans by the arrival of one Syndic force after another. Instead of calling the shots in this system, it seemed he’d just been reacting to a constant series of moves by the enemy.
Reacting to moves by the enemy.
The enemy was faster. Both Syndic Flotilla’s Bravo and Delta could out-accelerate Geary’s fleet and maintain higher velocities. That was a definite advantage, but slower-moving ships could turn tighter, though tighter didn’t exactly mean a small turn radius at even point zero five light. Still, he’d been kept off balance a lot. Maybe if he figured out how to keep the Syndic flotillas off balance…
It wasn’t a great plan, but it was a plan.
THE face of Commander Suram, acting commanding officer of Warrior, gazed back at Geary warily, doubtless expecting bad news. Suram had been Captain Kerestes’s former executive officer, but what was he really like? No one was sure. But Geary had to give the man a chance now. “Commander Suram, Warrior’s crew has done an amazing job of repairing battle damage. Your shield capabilities are fully restored, and half of your hell-lance batteries are operational again.”
Suram nodded. “Yes, sir. We haven’t been able to repair all of the damaged armor, though, and propulsion is still at only seventy-five percent.”
“That’s good enough to keep up with the auxiliaries. I’ve got a special assignment for Warrior, Commander Suram. I’m putting you in command of Orion and Majestic as well.”
That got a startled reaction. “Sir?”
“I need those auxiliaries protected, Commander Suram,” Geary stated with grim intensity. “If we lose them, this fleet is dead. You know that. When we mix it up with the Syndics again, those two flotillas are going to be coming at us from multiple directions. It’ll be very difficult for me to make sure that Titan, Witch, Jinn, and Goblin aren’t damaged or destroyed. I want Warrior, Orion, and Majestic to stick to those auxiliaries like you were tied to them by a short rope. I want you to physically block any Syndic fire at the auxiliaries if necessary and destroy any Syndic warships that try to get at the auxiliaries. Can you do that, Commander Suram?”
Suram’s jaw set. “Yes, sir.”
“You understand I’m giving you the most important job in this fleet. I don’t have a single major warship to spare. No minor warships to spare either, for that matter. I need to know that you’ll do whatever it takes and stick with those auxiliaries.”
“Warrior will be destroyed before those auxiliaries are harmed,” Suram stated. “We know we have something to prove,” he added in a rough voice. “Myself and the crew of Warrior. We left Polaris and Vanguard at Vidha. We won’t leave these auxiliaries, not while we have any capability left. I swear it on the honor of my ancestors.”
Geary knew that anyone he asked would tell him he was insane to trust Warrior, let alone Orion and Majestic, but his instincts told him that no other ships had as much to prove. That didn’t mean he would have given this mission to Commander Yin on Orion, of course. That really would have been insane. “If I didn’t believe you capable, I wouldn’t have given you the mission, Commander Suram. You tell your crew that. I know that Warrior can carry it out or die trying.”
Suram nodded again, then saluted. “Thank you, sir. We will regain our honor or die in the attempt.”
Geary smiled. “Do us both a favor and regain your honor without dying. I want Warrior back in the front of battle. Are you comfortable with the commanders of Orion and Majestic? Will they follow your orders?”
