Starbound (30 page)

I broke free of her hand, went to my room com, and called down to Walther.

“Listen very carefully,” I said.

I
wa
lked into the palace
's map room on the t
hird floor at 0850,
dressed in my full r
oyal uniform, indica
ting both my rank an
d decorations as Duk
e of KendalFalk. I c
hose this over my re
gular navy uniform f
or obvious reasons;
the decisions being
made in this room we
re going to be of hi
storic importance.

The map room was the only one big enough to accommodate the more than forty people required in the council that also had the plasma displays and 3-D projectors necessary for strategy and planning. The main table had a dozen seats around it, and I had instructed the stewards to place me on the wall side, facing the windows, third from the head, where my father would sit. Spaces were reserved next to me on my right for both the grand duke and his daughter. I hoped Karina could get him prepared enough to both attend the council and be coherent enough to make decisions.

Next to my father would be Wesley on his right, followed by a Royal Navy Admiral and Union commanders in descending order of importance. It seemed to me that I had chosen the proper side of the table to sit, next to our allies and not in opposition to them.
Harrington would be on my immediate left and Zander was placed next to him as his primary military consultant. Essentially it was the Quantar and Union Navy on the window side and the foreigners, except for me, on the wall side. As the principals began filtering into the room I sat down and then poured water from a crystal pitcher into a glass, as did many others in the grim-faced crowd. Those not anointed with a seat at the table took up strategic positions around the room, standing against the strategy console or sitting in chairs brought up from the family dining room.

My father came in three minutes early, trailed as always by Wesley. They sat down together, engaging in hushed conversation. I was soon joined by Harrington and Zander and their subordinates. My father glanced over at me from his notes, perhaps curious that I had chosen to sit on the wall side, then looked to the two empty chairs next to me reserved for Karina and the Grand Duke Henrik. He cleared his throat.

“Let's begin,” he said. I looked at my watch: still two minutes early.

“Pardon me, sir,” I said to him. “But could we give the grand duke and his daughter another two minutes? We are starting early.”

My father looked at the wall clock and nodded while Wesley gave me a cold glare from across the table. I stayed calm and sipped my water.

At precisely 0900 the Grand Duke Henrik and his daughter came into the room, and everyone stood and gently applauded. His gray-streaked hair was clean and styled, his black military uniform was pressed and properly pleated, and he strode through the room as if he had been in such situations thousands of times. Indeed, I supposed that he had. Karina was at his side and guided him by the arm to his chair, where he sat with the kind of dignity only a lifelong royal could muster. Karina, dressed in her green Carinthian lieutenant's uniform,
sat down between us. She smiled at me and gripped my hand quickly under the table before letting go. Then everyone else took their places except my father, who stood and addressed the duke.

“Grand Duke Henrik, let me be the first to officially welcome you to Quantar, and to wish you many blessings on your visit here,” he said.

The grand duke nodded, acknowledging my father, but said nothing while the crowd applauded politely again. My father sat down then and looked my way a second time, but again said nothing to me. Then he started in.

“This council is called to address the great threat before the Union, the possible secession of Carinthia from our alliance, and all the implications thereof, up to and including the possibility of war,” my father stated formally. “I will ask Grand Admiral Jonathon Wesley of the Union Navy to give us the latest tactical report.” Wesley stood, cleared his throat, and then nodded to an assistant who activated the main plasma display taking up almost the entire near wall. The Union Navy Linkworks logo appeared as we all looked down the table to the wall display.

“About nine hours ago we received a distress signal via longwave from
H.M.S. Valiant
, on a survey mission in the Sandosa system. She reported that she was under heavy attack from unknown forces, but was seeking to avoid the conflict and find safe haven. About two hours ago we received an update packet from
Valiant
, containing the following visual recording. I'll let the room assess what it shows,” Wesley said, then nodded to the assistant who played the recording.

The display showed a formation of ships attacking
Valiant
from at least three sides, I couldn't be sure but the vessels looked like the type of automated HuKs both
Impul
se
and
Starbound
had faced before. The grainy images showed
Valiant
avoiding and escaping from the buzzsaw-like attacks. Then suddenly the field of view cut to a deep
field scan that I recognized as being generated by a longscope tactical screen. It showed a large-displacement ship jumping into the fray very close to
Valiant
, and her moving evasively to avoid the rising hulk.

“Imperial dreadnought,” I said out loud, more muttering to myself than anything else, but Wesley overheard me.

“Since you're the only one in this room who has seen one up close, Commander, we'll take your word for it,” he said, then waved to the assistant, who shut off the screen. “An Imperial dreadnought. From this point
Valiant
was able to use her sub-light impeller drives to escape to the jump point and make a direct jump to Pendax before the pursuing ships caught her, but she burned out her HD impellers doing it. I think you can all see the implications of this attack. The Imperial Navy is operational, and is now hunting our Lightships. They will eventually figure out where
Valiant
jumped to and pursue her. If they do, the Pendax system will be under real threat.” I looked to Admar Harrington, who looked more than a bit upset at these potential circumstances, and I couldn't blame him. Something else occurred to me though, so I spoke again.

“According to the tactical display we saw, that dreadnought jumped directly into the battle scene, Admiral,” I said. “That indicates the dreadnoughts don't need to use jump space to ingress and egress our star systems anymore.”

“And that means they're a goddamned menace to the whole Union,” said Wesley. “No one is safe from them. And the larger implication of this attack is that we may be facing a war on two fronts.”

“Or a single front with two enemies,” Karina said. Wesley shrugged.

“Either way, it's not good news, Princess,” he said, using her royal rank rather than her military one.

“What will we do about
Valian
t
?” I asked. “Rescue mission? Reinforcements?” Wesley waved at the assistant again and the display
reactivated, bringing up a link to
Starb
ound
's command briefing room, where I was heartened to see the faces of Captain Maclintock and Serosian appear.

“Valiant
was intended as a survey and First Contact ship, and her captain and crew are not trained for serious battle situations. She will need to be reinforced and brought up to battle trim, and quickly,” continued Wesley. “I don't think I need to introduce Captain Jonas Maclintock or Historian Serosian of
Starboun
d
to most of you, but I'll do so as a courtesy to the grand duke and to you, Princess.”

“Thank you, Admiral,” Karina said for them both. Then I noticed that she had to give her father a gentle nudge as his eyes started to close. He responded by tapping her hand to thank her.

“What's your status, Captain?” Wesley demanded.

“Fit, trim, and ready to rumble, Admiral,” Maclintock said. That set off a round of low-level laughter. “All repairs are complete. We just need our longscope officer back aboard and we'll be ready to head out to Pendax.” That was a nod to me and I appreciated it.

“That's good news, Captain, and I do have your departure orders,” Wesley said. I looked to my father, but his attention was fixed on the screen. Wesley went to his briefcase at the table and pulled out some papers, shuffling them a couple of times before continuing. I was beginning to worry that I might get left out of the coming battle. Perhaps I had gone too far and now both Wesley and my father saw me as a liability to the navy. Wesley cleared his throat again.

“
St
arbound
is hereby ordered to the Pendax system, there to provide protection for the local populace as well as to relieve the command crew of
Valiant
. You'll need to get her on a battle footing quickly, Jonas,” he said. Wesley then turned to Admar Harrington. “Mr. Harrington here has a flotilla of merchant frigates, or Wasps as he calls them, five in all, deploying throughout the Pendax system now. They aren't Lightships but they pack a solid punch and they're
faster than anything those Imperial thugs have. You'll coordinate with the Wasp fleet commander to set up a systemwide defense. Understood, Captain?”

“Yes, Admiral,” said Maclintock.

“Good. Captain Zander will follow you in with a battle group of seven more Wasps deployed from Candle, and the remaining ten are going to be split equally between defense of Levant and Quantar, though we here likely already have enough in-system firepower to hold off anything but a full-scale invasion. The Earthmen, of course, need no help with planetary defenses. You should note that those additional seven Wasps will likely take another twelve hours to reach you after
Starbound
makes her jump, so you can't count on them until they show up.”

“Understood, Admiral. But I have a question: if Captain Scott of
Valiant
and his command crew are to be relieved, who will be taking command of her?” asked Maclintock.

“Believe me, that's been a question here,” replied Wesley, setting the reference paper back down on the table and then returning his attention to the display.

“I can't recommend Commander Devin Tannace highly enough, sir,” said Maclintock. Tannace had been
Starbound
's XO before Dobrina and I had been assigned to her at Levant. Since then he'd been the military attaché in charge of training the Levantine crew of their Lightship
Resol
ution
.

“Your recommendation is noted, Captain, but I've already made Tannace captain of
Resolution
. He left for Earth this morning, and the Levantine crew is going to be replaced with experienced Earth spacers. The ship itself will likely not be ready for another week, but we're rushing to get her in the game.” At this he took in a deep breath. This situation made me want to get back to my own ship to help as soon as possible.

“With apologies Admiral,” started Maclintock, “but who—”
Wesley stopped him with a raised hand. He came back to the table and pulled a small box out of his briefcase. He looked at the box briefly, then set it down and slid it across the table.

To me.

I looked at the box, then reached out and opened it. Two matching gold captain's bars for my collar.

“Mr. Cochrane will command
Starbound
. He's the only command-level field officer besides you with battle experience against the empire, and he's familiar with your ship,” said Wesley. This sent a ripple through the crowd. I looked at the bars again, and started to get nervous. Wesley turned his attention back to the display screen.

“But, Admiral,” said Maclintock, “Captain Zander has—”

“Lightship command experience, yes I know, Captain. But he's not in the Union or Carinthian Navy anymore. And besides that, I believe Mr. Harrington here would prefer that Captain Zander protect Pendax's interests, since that is what he's paying him for,” said Wesley.

“As you say,” said Harrington with a nod.

Maclintock looked nonplussed at this turn of events. “Understood, Admiral,” he said. I looked down the table at Harrington and Zander. Zander winked at me, which I took to mean that he had given Wesley a recommendation in my favor. Wesley continued.

“Captain Maclintock, you will take command of
H.M.S. Valiant
once
Starbound
reaches Pendax. You may take any three command-rank officers with you, but the rest you'll have to parcel together from the existing crew and any locals from the Wasp crews,” Wesley said.

“I can give you a list of capable men, Captain,” came Zander's scratchy voice from down the table.

“Appreciated, Captain Zander,” replied Maclintock. Wesley turned back to me.

“Commander Cochrane,” he said. I snapped to my feet. “You are hereby placed in field command of
H.M.S.
Starbound
from your
arrival in the Pendax system until further notice. Do you understand and acknowledge your orders?”