The Landfall Campaign (The Nameless War) (28 page)

“
How
’
s the Brigadier?
”

“
He seems to be improving, Madam Governor. The danger for him seems to be passing. Would you like to come through,
”
he replied. Disapproving or not, the Governor was enough of a professional not to make their disagreement too public.

“
What can I do for you today?
”
he asked as he close the hatch behind them.

“
You can stop stonewalling me for a start.
”
Of course open disagreement in public and open disagreement in private were two totally different ball games.

“
I don
’
t believe I have been stonewalling anyone Governor,
”
Eulenburg replied as he seated himself.

“
On behalf of the Civil Council I have been asking for details of your future plans. Your office has made no reply.
”
Reynolds gestured over her shoulder.
“
I don
’
t think that our requests are sitting in your secretary
’
s email inbox. I would remind you Admiral that Battle Fleet does answer to the civilian authorities.
”

“
In turn I would remind you Governor, that Battle Fleet answers to the civilian authorities
on Earth
,
”
he replied as he sat down and waved her into the opposite seat.
“
I in turn answer directly to my military superiors but only to those superiors.
”

“
We have co-operated with your command
…”

“
Which I am grateful for,
”
Eulenburg interjected.

“
That co-operation can be withdrawn,
”
Reynolds finished flatly.

Eulenburg forced himself not to visibly react. He
’
d known his stock had fallen with the civilian leadership but not to the point of them issuing ultimatums.

“
To what end? What is it the council wants?
”
he asked evenly.

“
Oversight on military operations, including but not limited to, command postings and details of plans. And authority over communications between this base and Earth.
”

“
Consideration and consultation on future plans? Do you or any members of the Council have military experience?
”

“
We have our own military advisers.
”

“
Those are line officers with their own responsibilities, Governor. You
’
ll be pulling them away from those responsibilities.
”

“
Nonetheless, we feel it is necessary. Without intending any slur Admiral, your own experience is, I believe, relatively limited, and with Brigadier Chevalier
…
unavailable, we believe that changes in postings are needed. You would retain administrative control over the base, but there are a number of other candidates for active control of the defence.
”

Eulenburg rubbed his chin for a moment before replying.

“
A military force cannot operate as a democracy. In a military setting such as we now find ourselves, there is no place for discussion, debates or votes. To attempt such will lead us to disaster.
”

“
Like the disaster we had nearly two weeks ago,
”
Reynolds replied sharply.

Eulenburg felt himself getting hot and he longed to shout the woman out of his office. She wasn
’
t there when the decision had to be made. She had only the most tentative understanding of what the alternative would have been but to throw her out would play directly into her hands.

“
I am sure than the events of the thirtieth will be subject to an inquiry, which I will not pre-empt. In the meantime I will not share or hand over command, except at the direction of my lawful superiors.
”

“
Then we will have to withdraw our forces,
”
Reynolds said as she started to get to her feet.

“
Withdraw them to where, Governor?
”
he asked.
“
This is one of only three protected areas on the planet. I don
’
t have the means to move you or your population to the other two, nor do they have the means to accept you.
”

“
You misunderstand me Admiral. Our military forces will be instructed to no longer accept orders from your command. Until our terms are met, instructions to the various contingents will have to go through the civil authorities of those nations.
”

Terms? Demands more like it, Eulenburg thought to himself. Reynolds wasn
’
t stupid. Even a civilian would know that to try to route tactical military orders through a non-military command structure would render their response to developments as slow as a three-legged arthritic hedgehog. It wasn
’
t hard to envision a scenario in which that would prove disastrous, yet he would still be left carrying the can. And it was so tempting to give in. Let someone else shoulder the burden. Yet who could they replace him with?

“
I regret it has come to this Admiral,
”
Reynolds said as she got to her feet,
“
because I do respect what you have had to do here, but we feel that this is a very necessary move and ultimately Battle Fleet serves, it does not command.
”

He believed her. They weren
’
t acting out of malice or even politics. They were searching desperately for someone they believed could deliver. But he was going to have to stand in their way.

“
Very well Madam Governor, then I will require your forces to vacate their current positions within the next twelve hours.
”

Reynolds was halfway to the door, when he spoke and she stopped dead in her tracks. She turned back to him.

“
Are you proposing to drive our military forces from this base, Admiral?
”
She asked in a shocked voice. Whether the shock was genuine or not he couldn
’
t say.

“
Quite the opposite Governor, I expect them to move underground to the shelters. Battle Fleet Marines will take up their positions on the surface.
”

“
You don
’
t have enough troops!
”

“
No, I don
’
t,
”
Eulenburg replied after a pause.
“
However on my base there are only going to be two kinds of people. Defenders under my command and those who I must defend. If your troops are being removed from command, then they revert to the second category, in which case their place is beneath ground in the main shelters.
”

“
That is ridiculous!
”

Eulenburg made no reply as he stared at her.

Reynolds glared back.

This is how wars start
, he thought to himself.
Two sides back each other into a corner and in the end both are afraid to blink in case they appear weak. Many years and countless dead later, people wonder how men of reason could have allowed something like this to happen. We can
’
t afford that. I
’
ll blink, but only once.

“
I am willing to give you logs for off-planet communications, as well as access to communication with your governments, subordinate to military necessity. Furthermore I will allow an observer into my headquarters.
”

“
That falls well short of what we
’
ve asked for,
”
Reynolds replied heatedly.

“
It is as much as I am prepared to offer.
”

Reynolds stared at him, her eyes searching. Eulenburg kept his expression neutral. When she spoke, he knew he
’
d won the round.

“
I will have to speak to the rest of the Council about this.
”

“
And the status of the national troops while these deliberations are underway?
”

“
They will remain under Battle Fleet command until a decision has been made.
”

“
Very well Governor. I await your decision.
”

Reynolds stalked out. She didn
’
t quite slam the hatch but Eulenburg still winced.
I
’
m going to pay for that someday
, he thought to himself.

There was a ton of administrative work to be done but Eulenburg was unable to concentrate on any of it. He had considered himself to be politically pretty aware, but if today
’
s discussion proved anything at all, it was that there had been a catastrophic breakdown in trust between himself and the civil authorities, one he hadn
’
t even been aware of. They
’
d tried to take his command away from him. For all the stress and grief the posting had cost him in the past few weeks, the thought of this attempt still made his blood boil. They might yet succeed. Undoubtedly messages would be sent back to Earth asking for his dismissal. He might well in a few days time receive orders to relinquish command, an order that might be in part justified.

He knew himself to be first and foremost a staff rather than a line officer, but he had done time in line postings. Chevalier was a far more competent ground commander than he would ever be and because he was a fellow Battle Fleet officer, abdicating responsibility for ground operations to him had been possible. Unfortunately none of the remaining marine officers had the necessary seniority. Was it pride that made him cling to his command? He didn
’
t think so. He didn
’
t think it was the stubborn independence the fleet drilled into its officers and crew either. If it was just a matter of having a ground commander, then handing over to one of the senior national military officers would make sense. But there was more to Douglas Base than ground defences. The space above Landfall had to be contested and those officers didn
’
t have anything even resembling the necessary experience of running space operations. In the here and now, he was still the best available.

There was a tap at the door.

“
Come in.
”

Captain Gillum entered.

“
You asked to see me, sir?
”
he said.

“
Yes Captain, I need you to do something for me and I need you to do it personally. Send an FTL transmission to Earth, then delete it from the logs.
”

“
Sir?
”

Eulenburg ignored the Captain
’
s exclamation.

“
The message is to read: Marine commander Douglas Base down, stop. Request dispatch of replacement officer.
”

Gillum hesitated for a moment then took out his digital notebook.

“
Sir, may I ask whether this is political?
”

“
Extremely, Captain.
”

“
Very well sir, the message will be away within the hour.
”

“
Thank you, Captain.
”

If they were going to order him to relinquish command, then the reply would likely be as quick as transmission lag would allow. In a little over three days he
’
d know.

20
th
January 2067

“
What are they?
”
Reynolds asked.

The three of them were standing in one of the small annexes to Four C looking at a strange object on the screen.

“
I don
’
t know, Governor,
”
Gillum said.
“
They
’
re about fifty metres long and cylinder shaped, with a diameter of ten metres. There
’
s one that has gone into orbit in the last hour, with another six more on track to make orbital insertion at intervals over the next twenty hours.
”