The Lost Fleet - Courageous Part 13

Geary broke the connection, and Falco's image vanished. d.a.m.n. d.a.m.n, d.a.m.n, d.a.m.n.

"LAKOTA!? " Victoria Rione wasn't quite screaming. "Where did you get that idea?" Her face lit with horrified realization. "You spoke with Captain Falco this afternoon. Did he suggest that? And you listened to him?"

"I-" Geary stared at her. "You know I talked to Falco? I put that conference under my tightest security seal."

"I don't know what you said, if that makes you feel better." Rione turned away, shaking her head. "Please tell me you didn't ask his advice."

"Not in so many words." Geary felt defensive and knew that Rione had every reason to be incredulous with him. "I wanted to know what he would do."

"Something stupid! I could have told you that!"

"He didn't want to go to T'negu."

Rione spun back to face Geary and watched him with narrowed eyes.

"Falco thought T'negu would be a trap."

Rione threw her hands up. "And now I find that I agree with Captain Falco about something. I never thought that would happen."

Geary checked to make sure the hatch into his stateroom was sealed. He didn't want anyone overhearing any part of this debate. "Look, I wouldn't go to Lakota."

"Then don't."

"The Syndics probably know I wouldn't go there," Geary explained with all the patience he could muster. "They know where I'm likely to go, one of the other stars within reach of Ixion. They know where this fleet will go if it keeps on the straightest possible course toward home. Lakota doesn't match either of those."

"Because going there is stupid!"

"The Syndics know it'd be stupid for us to go there, and we know it'd be stupid for us to go there, so maybe that's the last thing they'd expect us to do!"

Rione stared at him. "You're serious."

"Yes!" Geary paced, then paused to turn on the star display in his stateroom and center it on Ixion. "T'negu is too clearly a possible objective for us. We can't go there without a.s.suming every jump point is laced with far more mines than we found waiting for us here. Going back to Daiquon wouldn't achieve anything except hurting morale in this fleet and might land us in the lap of a Syndic force pursuing us through systems we've visited. Vosta takes us up and back into Syndic territory, and there are only two stars reachable using jump drives from Vosta. Kopara takes us off to one side, neither gaining nor losing much ground toward the Alliance, and has only one star accessible using jump drives. Dansik, according to our intelligence and the records we've captured, is a regional military headquarters and certain to be heavily defended. That leaves Lakota."

Rione looked from the display to Geary, her expression guarded, then back to the display. "Where would Captain Geary go?"

"Vosta." Geary scowled at the display. "To throw off pursuit."

"But the Syndics have already seen you backtrack that way more than once."

"Yeah."

"Would they think you'd go to Kopara?"

"Doubtful. They'd only have to place strong forces in two star systems to trap us. It'd be nice if they thought I was that dumb, but I can't count on it."

Her expression hardened. "You managed to get us to Ixion, where you don't like any of the options."

He almost snarled in reply but realized the truth of her statement. "I didn't think we'd make it to Ixion. I thought the Syndics would react faster, and we'd divert at Daiquon from the dash toward the Alliance."

"And you're basing your plan now on the hope that the Syndics won't think you're stupid? Listen to yourself, taking advice from Falco! Falco has always been an idiot, and now he's an insane idiot." Rione walked around the star display, burying her face in both hands. "John, don't do it. Don't take the fleet to Lakota."

She'd never called him by just his first name before. "The other options aren't that good. If Lakota works-"

The hands came down, and Rione glared at him. "If! What if it doesn't? What will your options be then?"

"We can avoid combat, proceed across the system, and jump to another objective."

Rione's head sagged. "Do you honestly believe that this fleet will allow you to refuse battle? Yes, it did so after the losses suffered in the Syndic home system, when everyone was so shocked their instinctive urge to suicidal charges was temporarily thrown off. But if you try to avoid battle at Lakota, some of your ships will turn to engage, and then what will you do?"

That was something he hadn't considered. Geary stared past her, thinking. "You really believe some of them would do that? The ones who work against me, people like Casia, don't seem the sort to risk themselves in heroic charges against huge odds."

"They're not the ones you have to worry about! What did the living stars give you for brains, John Geary?" Rione stepped closer and grabbed his arms. "The ones most dangerous to you are the ones who believe in you enough to offer you a dictatorship but not enough to accept changing their own ways of thinking! Ask the officers you trust most. Roberto Duellos. He'll tell you. Even Tanya Desjani will tell you. If you don't believe me, then ask them!"

It made a great deal of sense. "I guess there are advantages at times to thinking like a politician."

"Thank you. I think," Rione flung at him as she stomped off and pointed at the display again. "If they'd never believe you'd go to Kopara-"

"No! If we get trapped at Kopara, there's no way out! Lakota leaves us options." He glared at the display, then shifted his gaze to Rione. "Why haven't you said it?"

She glared back. "What?"

"Threaten to tell the ships from the Callas Republic and the Rift Federation not to follow my orders anymore. Why haven't you warned me that you'd do that?"

"Because I don't make threats I can no longer back up," Rione replied angrily. "Please don't pretend that you don't know the loyalties of my own commanders are now split. No matter what I said, many would still follow you."

"Really?" His surprise must have showed. "I haven't tried to subvert their loyalty to-"

"Aiyee!" Rione yelled in rage, stepped close again, and thumped a fist onto Geary's chest. "Stop pretending that you're that big a fool! They believe in you, John Geary! Because you've brought the fleet this far and won some notable victories along the way! They believe that you are Black Jack and that you'll save them and the Alliance! They believe that you're not a politician, and in that they are certainly correct. But you've earned their trust." She thrust an angry forefinger at the display. "Don't repay that trust by taking them to Lakota!"

"h.e.l.l." Geary let himself drop into a nearby seat, feeling suddenly weary. "Do you think I don't spend every minute of every day trying to do the best I can by the people who've placed their trust in me?"

Her rage visibly faded, leaving Rione eyeing Geary with apparent helplessness. "What are you going to do?"

"Call a fleet conference. See how they react to Lakota."

"They'll love it. Just the sort of bold stroke that Black Jack Geary would do." Rione sagged into a seat as well.

After a minute of silence, Geary looked over at her. "Madam Co-President, have you ever heard of something called a Geary Complex?"

Rione raised her head and bent one eyebrow upward. "Yes. It was first mentioned to me years ago when a fellow senator was telling me about Captain Falco. You finally heard about it?"

"I'm curious as to why you never accused me of having one."

"You could scarcely be accused of imagining you were Captain John Geary."

"I think there's at least one fleet doctor who suspects that," Geary replied dryly. "I don't get it. You're different this time."

"Why, thank you," Rione ground out. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Among other things, that you haven't given me any warnings about the dangers posed by Black Jack, about what might happen if I start believing I really am him."

Rione shrugged. "I've stated those warnings many times, and you seem well aware of them. Saying them again would probably be overkill."

"That's never stopped you before."

"Perhaps it's time I warned you about that misplaced sense of humor you have," Rione stated in a dangerous voice. "Is there some point you're trying to make?"

"Yes." Geary studied her before answering. "You're strongly opposed to the idea of this fleet going to Lakota. You think I'm mistaken; you think I may be trying to live up to the reputation of Black Jack. But you haven't exploded at me. You haven't stormed out of this stateroom or uttered barely veiled warnings about what might happen to me personally if I really start acting like Black Jack would act. Why haven't you done any of that?"

She shrugged, looking away. "Maybe I'm trying to be unpredictable. You think I'll do that, and I know you think I'll do that, so I'm doing something else. Though in my case what I'm doing isn't stupid."

"You've got quite a sense of humor yourself." Geary dropped any pretense or mockery from his voice. "Seriously. What's changed?"

It took Rione a little while to reply; then she finally looked back at him. "To put it bluntly, I have issued dire warnings before about the actions you planned to take. Every single time I was certain that I was right, and every single time it turned out that I was wrong and you were right. Sancere is only the largest of those misjudgments I've made. There's no way of knowing where this fleet would be if you'd listened to me, but I find it hard to believe that it would be in a better state or that our enemies would have suffered anything like the losses they have endured."

"You trust me?" His surprise must have been obvious.

Rione smiled wryly. "I'm afraid so. I think going to Lakota is a mistake. I've told you that, and I've told you my reasons. You've listened. Yes, I noticed that you did. Now, given our respective track records, I don't feel I have the right to work against your instincts. They've been right too many times." She paused, searching his eyes. "Yes, I know you're wondering if your instincts are right about me. You aren't sure why I returned to you, why I chose to share your bed in the first place, or why I came back to it."

He nodded. "That's true."

"And you won't ask me, because you don't know if you'd believe whatever I'd tell you. Don't deny it. I see the hesitation within you. I deserve it."

"I didn't say-"

"You don't have to." Rione spread her hands. "Do you want me to say I love you? I won't. You know where my heart is."

"Then why?" Geary demanded. "Why are you sleeping with me?"

"You're irresistible to women. Didn't you know that?" Rione laughed. "You should have seen the look on your face."

He smiled back at her, realizing that Rione would never actually answer the question but just provide more words, the sincerity of which he could never prove. "I'll think some more about it."

"About Lakota? Will you?" Rione's laughter faded, and she nodded. "Maybe that's why I came to you, John Geary. Maybe that's why I'll be with you tonight."

"What about when we return to Alliance s.p.a.ce? a.s.suming we make it. Will you walk off this ship on my arm? Will you still spend the nights with me?"

She regarded him silently for a long moment. "You ask a politician what she'll do in the future? Yes. Do you believe me?"

"I don't know."

"Good job. I'll teach you a bit about politicians yet. You'll need that when you get home." She stood up and extended one hand. "Come on. Let's get something to eat. Publicly. Together. We need to let the fleet see that their hero is happy."

Geary stood up as well, still feeling tired. "I suppose I can try to pretend to be happy for a few hours."

"You'll do fine." She smiled again, differently this time. "And then we'll come back here, and you and I will make each other truly happy for a while."

Even through the excitement that promise generated, Geary wished he could see what she was really thinking at that moment.

"IT hasn't been easy deciding on our next course of action," Geary announced to the images of the fleet captains gathered in the conference room. The tension was like that before a battle. Obvious opponents like Captains Casia and Midea and Commander Yin were poised to pounce if Geary suggested anything that could be construed as insufficiently aggressive.

His allies, like Captains Duellos, Tulev, and Cresida, were just as clearly worried that Geary would propose something designed to placate the fleet, which would also put it in serious danger. He'd talked to all of them, one-onone, before this meeting, trying to a.s.sure them that he'd thought this out. He hoped he'd convinced them.

Near him, the real presence of Captain Desjani waited, her attention focused on Geary's opponents as if she were a bodyguard. Farther down the table, where the commanders of the ships from the Callas Republic were gathered, the virtual presence of Co-President Rione sat among them. She'd chosen that over physical attendance to ensure that the ships from her republic felt that Rione was still committed to them. But it left Geary wondering how much Rione might have held back in their discussion, whether she would really back him or stay silent or offer a telling word against Geary's plan when debate started.

The star display flared to life. "You're all familiar with our options, I'm sure. T'negu, attractive as it looks, is certainly a trap."

"We made it easily this far along a straight track for Alliance s.p.a.ce," Captain Casia interrupted.

"And have thereby established a pattern the Syndics can see with both eyes closed," Duellos responded. "T'negu is tailor-made for extensive minefields."

"My thoughts exactly," Geary agreed, then pinned Casia with a glare before he could speak again. "The other stars we can reach all offer various shortcomings, various degrees of threats. After long thought and consultation with others, I've concluded our best objective is Lakota."

Captain Midea made to speak, then choked off the words as what Geary had said got through to her. "Lakota?" she finally asked.

"Yes." Whether or not he ended up surprising the Syndics, he'd certainly surprised Midea. That was rea.s.suring, since it meant his opponents' spies in the fleet hadn't been able to discover his plans earlier. "There will be a Syndic flotilla there to guard the hypernet gate in that system. But the Syndics may regard our arrival there as so unlikely that the flotilla will be too weak to stop us."

"Can we use the gate ourselves?" someone demanded breathlessly.

"If possible," Geary replied in an even voice. He couldn't afford for any illusions to exist about that. "But we know the Syndics are willing to destroy their own hypernet gates to avoid us using them, and the flotilla at Lakota will certainly have orders to do just that. If we're very lucky, we may catch that flotilla out of position and be able to reach the gate before the Syndics can. That's a very long shot, though. If the Syndics do start to destroy that gatea" He let the sentence hang, allowing each officer to bring up their own memories of what the collapse of the hypernet gate at Sancere had been like.

"We can still charge the gate, try to stop them," argued Commander Yin.

"Speaking personally," the captain of Daring said, "I'd really prefer not to be near a collapsing hypernet gate again."

"Me, either," the captain of Diamond added. "If Orion wants to take on the job, I'll gladly let her do so."

Commander Yin glowered at both of the other commanding officers but apparently had enough sense to realize that picking a fight with them would only expose her to further ridicule.

"How many Syndics might be at Lakota?" asked the captain of the Warspite. "We've hurt them a lot in the last several battles and torn up the ships under construction at Sancere along with the shipyards there. If the bunch we found waiting for us here at Ixion is any measure, the Syndics are desperate for ships right now."

Captain Tulev answered, his voice somber, "Recall our own serious losses in the Syndic home system. Every loss we have inflicted on the Syndic fleet since then has only gone to balance out the ships we lost in the ambush there."

Grim silence fell around the conference table. No one denied the truth of Tulev's statement.

"But the Syndic warships we destroyed here had totally green crews," Commander Neeson of the Implacable noted. "They shouldn't have been sent on an actual combat mission."

"True," Captain Duellos agreed. "Captain Geary and I have discussed this, and we believe the Syndics regarded our arrival at Ixion as unlikely and sent their most qualified ships to other star systems."

"But that means they are short of ships," Neeson argued.

"Short in the sense that they need to try to establish local superiority over us at more than one location, since they can't know exactly where we're going," Duellos pointed out. "They certainly have increasing difficulty doing that."

"And with any luck," Geary added, "that will affect the type of force we encounter at Lakota."

"Did you discuss this matter with Senator Rione?" Captain Midea asked.

Geary eyed her dispa.s.sionately, thinking that Midea looked more like a Syndic CEO every time he noticed her. "The proper t.i.tle is Co-President Rione of the Callas Republic, Captain Midea, though she is also a member of the Alliance Senate. Yes, I did discuss it with her."