Marshall took a deep breath, and replied, “Most of the crew have seen these new ships, and our tactical database has a lot of information on them. I want a full tactical briefing on tackling them by the time we enter hendecaspace. Draw on anyone you want for the analysis, and make it good.”
“I’ll get right on it,” she said, heading for the elevator. Pausing, she continued, “I never thought that I’d be doing one of these on a Triplanetary
capital ship
.”
“I never thought I’d be ordering one,” Marshall replied.
Chapter 18
Cooper pushed his empty plate into the middle of the table, then looked around the empty mess, finally turning his attention back to his wife.
“Funny having the whole place to ourselves,” he said.
“That’s what comes of operating with a skeleton crew,” she replied, taking a bite of reprocessed salad. “I wish the Captain had at least let us top up on fresh food before we left. Alamo’s been out for four months, and it’s really beginning to
show
.”
Making a face, she said, “This lettuce tastes like chicken.”
He smiled, then said, “
Everything does in this galley.” The two laughed together, then he added,
“Thanks for coming out here.”
“I should have gone with you in the first place, and to hell with flight school.” She shrugged, and said, “I’m ten years too old to take real advantage of it anyway.
Only s
even years before I’ll need a waiver to fly.”
“Captain Marshall would give you one.”
“He won’t always be my commanding officer. In fact, I’d lay reasonable odds that he won’t be in the service for much longer.”
Frowning, Cooper said, “If you think that…”
“I knew that I was throwing my career away when I went AWOL. Don’t worry about it. Hopefully the two of us will at least avoid jail time.” She looked him up and down, and said, “After all, you’re a big hero now. Winner of the Second Battle of Hades Station.”
“That’s a lot of crap.”
“You wait until the press get hold of you. They’re going to want to salvage something from this mess. As for me, well, I’ve got the honorary Ragnarok citizenship that seems to be a common factor for everyone involved in this.” She pulled a badge out of her pocket, waving it in front of him, and said, “I’ve got the membership card and everything.”
“There really wasn’t any choice.”
“You volunteered. So d
id
I. Maybe you’re right, and there really wasn’t any choice, not for us. Maybe we’ve been serving on this ship for too long, been out in deep space too long, under the same commanding officer for too damn long.” She looked down at her half-eaten dinner, and said, “Maybe Captain Marshall’s navy isn’t the same as the Triplanetary Fleet.”
“I’d hate to think that.”
“Perhaps the time has come for us to face it, as uncomfortable as we might feel about it. I don’t like it, I hate it, but back home...back home the politicians are baying for blood, and all of this is just an excuse. We’re going to make the galaxy safe for democracy, and we’re going to do it at the point of a gun. If they have their way, we’ll never be done fighting.”
Shaking his head, Cooper replied, “There’s always a choice, Barbara, and we’ve made it. If the people want a war, then they’ll get it.
T
he Cabal will only be too happy to oblige.”
“And what about us?”
“There’s always Ragnarok. Or further out, to the Perimeter.”
“The UN Trust Territories?” She replied, scowling. “Please.”
“Beyond that,” he said. “I hear that there are people pushing out that way, even colonies. Hell, it’s only a matter of time before we set up new ones ourselves.”
“There were people talking about it before I left.”
“Maybe that’s the answer.”
Shaking her head, she replied, “Do you honestly think that we can run away from our responsibilities, just like that?”
“Why not?” Cooper said. “No-one can say that we haven’t done our bit. Besides, the damn politicians sent us out to die. They trawled through the training program for the dregs and threw them at the Cabal as cannon fodder.” A bitter smile crossed his face, and he continued, “We won anyway, despite them, not because of them. Despite being given a fool as our mission commander, and a bigger one commanding our Espatier forces. They wanted some glorious defeat, but we went off-script and gave them a victory. A damn expensive one.”
“It must have been terrible.”
“Kids, Barbara. Just a bunch of kids. Not even as prepared as we were the first time around. They didn’t know what they were getting into, but they found out quickly enough.” He looked up, as though beyond the hull, and continued, “Most of them worked it out as they took their last breath.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Turning abruptly to face her, he said, “Of course it was my fault! I was in command, and it was my job to look after them. I spent their lives like water, watched half my platoon die, and hell, we had a good casualty ratio!”
“No-one forced them to sign up, Gabe. No-one made them put on the uniform, and they knew that when they enlisted, it might mean that they were called upon to sacrifice their lives. They did it anyway.”
“Sacrificing their lives is one thing, but this mission was designed to throw them away! That’s why they picked Hades Station, because we’d been given a bloody nose there before and they were counting on the Cabal to do it to us again.” Shaking his head, he said, “We should have aborted the mission right at the start. And you know the craziest thing of all? Most of my platoon – the survivors of that fight – are down in the barracks right now ready to do it all over again.”
“I guess they trust you.”
“They haven’t got any sane basis for that decision! I got their friends killed, injured, some of them crippled for life. They’re going to live with the consequences of my mistakes.”
“Tell me something,” she said, softly. “Say you had refused to go, maybe even got yourself thrown into the brig for insubordination. What would have been different? They’d have still gone in, wouldn’t they, but under a different commander. Someone less experienced, who would have done a worse job.” Leaning forward, she said, “They might have lost the whole platoon, and failed to pull o
f
f a miracle and complete the mission to boot. As it is, those sacrifices at least were worth something.”
“And if Newton throws all of that away at the peace talks?”
“Then they died to buy peace for everyone else, and isn’t that why we’re out here? So that everyone back home can rest easy at night?” She shook her head, smiled, and said, “We have a honeymoon that lasted a grand total of three hours, haven’t seen each other for two months, and this is the best conversation we can have?”
“I’m sorry,” he replied. “I’m not very good company, I know. I guess all of this is beginning to get to me.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “That’s what I’m here for. I had a word with the Captain, by the way. He approved me for fighter duty.”
“That’s great!” Cooper said,
forcing
a smile.
“Beats sitting around on the bridge,” she replied. “I might stick with shuttles though, long-term. Hell, Alamo hasn’t had a deck officer since Captain Marshall fired the one he found when he first arrived. Maybe I could have that job.”
“What?”
“Apparently he was working for the Callistan Patrol, making sure the ship was nicely stripped of spare parts before it was handed over to the Triplanetary Fleet.”
“That was three years ago,” he said, shaking his head. “They never got a replacement?”
“The berth was always being filled with someone else. Admin Officer, Science Officer, and I guess no-one ever made it enough of a priority, and Fleet never pushed it for some reason.”
“Probably because they were too busy assigning Science Officers to warships.” He sighed, then said, “I’d far rather have one on board now, be heading back out to the frontier again. I guess that’s turning into the common dream around here.”
“We can do that. Once all this is over,” she said. “The two of us could gang up on your uncle and get him to finance us for an expedition. Since Cornucopia collapsed, there are quite a few hendecaspace-capable ships going cheap.”
He smiled, then said, “I don’t think my back pay would come close to covering it, but a little bit of trade pioneering might be fun. One thing we do know is that there are a lot of surprises out there, a lot of worlds waiting to be contacted. More than we could ever have dreamed of.”
“See, it was worth it.” She looked around the room, then said, “We’ve opened up the damn galaxy, Gabe. Hundreds, thousands of stars out there waiting to be reached, pioneered, explored, and we’re going to get to do it. Never mind what’s happening now, this is something to be endured and suffered through. The recruiting poster promised strange new worlds, and I aim to collect.”
“Something to look forward too. I’d guess we’ll get a lot of volunteers from the crew if it came to it, as well. Especially if we’re going to have to get used to civilian clothes again when this mission’s over.”
“You were dreading that before,” she said.
“Maybe I’m almost looking forward to it now.” He looked down at his shoulder, at the simple metal insignia, and said, “I never thought about being an officer. Never even occurred to me that I might do it. I’d have been perfectly happy just to stay as a Private, maybe try for promotion to Lance-Corporal, maybe Corporal. Being the one who gives the orders…”
“I’ve seen you in action, remember,” she said with a smile. “You just start giving the orders whether you should or not. Remember Hydra Station, before you got promoted? I seem to remember that Lance-Corporal Cooper was pretty happy to give orders to Sergeant Forrest, and he seemed happy enough with it.” Placing her hand on his arm, she said, “Sometimes you need to look at yourself through the eyes of others, rather than looking in the mirror.”
He looked down at his plate, back up, then said, “That’s why I married you, I guess.”
Waving her arms in the air, she said, “That and my obvious physical charms.”
“Naturally,” he replied. “Thanks. For everything.”
“It works both ways,” she said. “Though I know you’ve been through a hell of a lot. I was talking to Sergeant Fuller…”
“You were talking to my platoon about me?”
“Just the senior NCOs. They’re worried about you as well. Forrest especially. You’ve been through a hell of a lot in the last two years…”
“Tell me about it.”
“And it’s going to all crash down on you at some point. What I’m trying to say is that you need some time off. I’ve had a word with Tabby and Forrest, and they’re both fine with the two of us having a few days off.”
“Tabby?”
“Quinn’s wife. I understand they’re sharing a cabin now.” She shook her head, and said, “This crew really has thro
wn
a lot of the fraternization rules out of the window. Something’s changed.”
“A year like we all had was bound to have an effect. It’s tied us together in a way that I don’t think I thought possible. We faced death together, not just once, but for weeks, months at a time. I guess it must have been the same after the last war, during the big demobilization.” He looked up, smiled, and said, “At least I got you out of the deal. Worth every moment.”
“I’m glad you think so.” She stood up, abandoning the remnants of her meal, offering him her arm. “Why don’t we go on a tour of the ship? Maybe see if anything is happening down at the squadron bar.”
“There’s a bar on Alamo? Why did no-one tell me?”
“I only found out about it this morning. I’m surprised the Espatiers never organized one.”
“That’s the key word. Organize. I’m certainly interested. There’s a chance they might have some decent food down there.” As they left the room, his datapad chirped, and he pulled it out, his face falling as he scanned the screen.
“Trouble?” she asked.
“In a manner of speaking. It looks like I’ve been invited to come up with another method of dying gloriously for the Confederation. Remember those battleships?”
“What about them?”
Waving the pad in the air, he said, “Caine wants me to come up with a plan to capture one with my platoon.” Shaking his head, he continued, “To hell with it, it can wait until the morning. I need a drink.” He smiled, and said, “I don’t plan suicide missions well when I’m sober.”
Chapter 19
Orlova staggered down the corridor, trying to avoid wincing at the pain shooting through her leg as she completed her daily exercises under the supervision of the embassy medics. Had she been transferred to a hospital, all of this would have been over and done weeks ago, and she chafed at being out of the action for so long, but realistically, the only hospital that the authorities would have allowed her to attend would have been one attached to a prison.
At the far end of the corridor, Nelyubov was walking in, and she waved an arm to attract his attention, increasing her efforts to get to him. Seeing her discomfort, he hurried down the corridor, shaking his head.
“You’re supposed to be taking it easy,” he said.
“This?” she gestured down at her leg. “The damage is healed, it’s just sore as hell. A few more days and I’ll be fighting fit again. What’s going on out there?”
“Harriet’s filing another story now. Turns out that Senator Norman has been having an affair with an officer both of us are familiar with.”
“Tarrant?” she replied.
“The very man. It’s not big enough to do any serious damage to her, though we’re getting it on the record in any case, but the dots are really beginning to connect themselves
together
now.”
Quick footsteps echoed down the corridor, and they turned to see Senator Harper racing towards them, waving a datapad in the air, a beaming smile on his face.
“It’s done! He said. I’m not going to say something stupid about ‘peace in our time’, but we’ve got a workable agreement. We don’t even have to give up Hades Station; it’s to be demilitarized under a Triplanetary administration, and become a free trade port.”