Last Measure of Devotion (TCOTU, Book 5) (This Corner of the Universe) (32 page)

The
story unfolding in the holo-tank showed Wallace was closing the gaps in his
sections but had yet to shuffle vessels among them.  His van would be led by
Triumph
,
remarkably still in the fight.  The three snows behind the line ship were
virtually untouched.

They
would face
Hawk’s
section, which remained four vessels strong despite
the fact that Covington’s brig had taken moderate damage near her bow,
including the loss of her primary quad laser turret.  Behind
Hawk
, the
ships of the Iron Brigade also refused to yield despite the train of debris
behind them and the finger of flame jetting from
Hobelar
.

Heskan’s
heart sank as he shifted focus to his main.  Sometime within the last minute,
Dioscuri
had silently struck her lights.  An obscenity slipped past his lips as he
examined the second-rate’s status display.  While savagely punished during her
brawl with
Formidable
, the loss of Seshafi’s flagship stung Heskan
immensely. 
Dammit, Yon, you’re still too conservative.  She was our
strongest ship!  I understand the corporate desire to minimize losses but don’t
you understand what’s at stake?
  The deed was done, though.  Once retired,
a ship could not reenter combat or even communicate with active ships under any
circumstance.

“Commander
Vernay,” Heskan announced without preamble, “you’re leading the main. You’re
also the vice fleet commander.”

“Great,”
came the indifferent reply.  After a beat, she added darkly, “Just means I get
to kill Lane.”

Heskan’s
eyes swept down the two mains.  Sade had an extra snow but it was still a very even
match.  He returned his attention to the gruesomely battered
Dash
,
sailing alone. 
There’s nothing left but order Diane’s section to be the
rearguard now
.  He glanced at the undamaged section of ships she would be
facing. 
It’s still murder.  How can I order this?
  Heskan hung his head
and gave the command before he lost his nerve.  “Captain Truesworth, strike
Dash’s lights.  That’s a direct order.  Captain Selvaggio, take your snows to a
position ahead of Dash.  You are now our rearguard.  Confirm receipt.”

A
relieved Selvaggio acknowledged, “Confirmed, Admiral.”

Dash’s
reply sounded bitter.  “I… yes,
sir.”  The channel remained open for several seconds before Truesworth’s trembling
voice became audible again.  “Diane, all my heart.”

De
Haas pecked at her controls before facing Heskan.  “Admiral, we have a response
from Viscount Wallace.  Putting it on screen now.”

The bitter
gleam in Wallace’s eyes betrayed his calculated tone.  “I might have known that
you were still in charge of Seshafi’s fleet.  The dishonesty of tactics and
inability to fight honorably are hallmarks of
your
Brevic Republic.”

Wallace’s
eyes flashed while delivering the anticipated knockout blow.  He leaned forward
into the camera as he gloated.  “I’m well aware that you and your friends hail
from the Republic and now that we’ve witnessed your savagery and insidious
behavior, any denial from you would be pointless.”  The Red Admiral lowered his
head as if in contemplation before shaking it slowly.  “That AmyraCorp has
bedded itself with a barbaric ‘Vic cracks the very foundation of its integrity. 
I can understand the desperation but certainly not accept or forgive it.  There
will be a high price to pay for abandoning corporate honor.”  Wallace lifted
his head and smiled deviously before adding, “Unless, of course, you’ve hidden
your craven origins from the very people you’ve sought shelter with.”  He
gestured triumphantly to someone off screen, ending the recording.

The
room around Heskan distorted wildly but he was unsure if the pressure building
inside his head was from his body’s deteriorating condition or the verbal grenade
thrown onto the bridge.  A look to his right revealed De Haas staring unfathomably
at him with mouth agape.  In front of her, Commodore Cohen had taken an
involuntary step away.  Despite the looks of shock and horror from his bridge crew,
Heskan simply thought,
I’m just not that ashamed
.  His eyes wandered to
the holo-tank.  “Record, Erika.”

Heskan
rose stubbornly with a painful breath. 
I’m speaking to Seshafi, not
Wallace.
  “That’s right, Oliver, we were Brevics.  I haven’t lied to
Seshafi and I’m not about to start now. You might curse what you consider Brevic
barbarity and lack of honor but I want you to look at my battle sections and
tell me who you see leading them.”

Heskan
swallowed against the bile threatening to rise from his stomach; he closed his
eyes to keep from spinning into oblivion.  “My archduke’s own son and two expat
Brevics, Oliver,” Heskan explained to every soul in the star system.  Pride
coursed through his body, temporarily blotting out the pain.  “Each of their
ships is damaged and each of them will willingly face an opponent that out-masses
them.  They do this not because they’re bloodthirsty but to protect their homes
and the people they love.”  His voice caught and Heskan felt hot tears leak
from the corners of his eyes.  “I’m
so
proud of you all,” he choked out
before taking a deep breath.

He
felt himself slumping over toward his left side but caught himself.  “If you consider
that dishonorable, Oliver, then I’d say that Saden honor has lost all meaning. 
You see, you Sadens practice honor in the ballrooms and on pieces of paper.  We
Brevics lived it on the murder fields of Skathi, Sponde and, now, Seshafi.” 
The room was losing its color; he gripped strenuously with his right hand to steady
himself.  Despite the nausea overtaking him, Heskan smiled roguishly.  “But you’re
right about one thing, Oliver.  We are savages when it comes to war and I can
promise you that the sailors on your line will find that out before this battle
is over.  Prepare for the next pass.”

Heskan
was afraid to move his supporting hand to signal the message’s end.  Instead,
he mumbled, “End transmission.”  After a beat, he heard himself try to order
the fleet’s next maneuver.  What came out of his mouth was a garbled and
slurred mess.  A pair of hands grasped his waist.

“Admiral,
it’s time.  We have to get you into the infirmary.”  A cool disc was pressed to
Heskan’s neck and beeped annoyingly.  The same voice said, “Fifty over
thirty-three.  I want more hypertonic saline pumped into him while we move.”

Heskan
tried to resist but lacked the strength.  Before he knew it, he was on his
back.  “Dennis…” Heskan called out feebly.

“Here,
Admiral.”

Heskan
looked toward the direction of the voice but the room was fading to black.  “P-pass
command to Stacy.  Tell her that we have to end it with this battle… we can’t do
this again in six months.”

He heard his rank but
not the words that followed.

* 
*  *

“Understood,”
Vernay acknowledged and gnashed her teeth.  Seshafi’s fate had just changed
hands.  Vernay felt her stomach doing nervous flips and the distress over
Heskan’s condition frayed her nerves past the breaking point, but more than
anything; she was mad.  No.  She was furious.  The companions she loved had
prevailed against black-hearted pirates, Hollaran technological superiority and
Parasite lethality. 
We haven’t come all this way to fall to someone like
Wallace.

She tugged
at the front of her shocksuit before dialing down its internal temperature
another five degrees.  As intimidating as it was to lead the entire fleet, her wrath
burned through any trepidation she may have felt.  She mashed the command
channel button on her chair arm console and spoke with a manic determination
that scared even herself.  “Seshafi defense force, this is Commander Vernay. 
Command has been passed to me.”  She consulted the tactical plot and ordered, “Clayton,
come starboard two more degrees and make your course one-one-seven, same plane
and speed.  We’re going straight at them and finishing this.”  Her final words
came out as an angry growl.  “Expect a final course correction as we approach
but we’re making this pass hurt.”

Vernay
released the transmit button and began calculating the final course she would
order as she waited for acknowledgments from her section leaders.  None came,
other than
Hawk’s
subtle tack to starboard to match the course she had dictated. 
Heh, I guess my tone didn’t leave much open for discussion.
  She brushed
off the thought and looked at the ships under her command.
  Simplicity is
key.  Wallace will pull his maneuvering tricks but he’s not going to avoid me
if I go right at him.  
A crippling apprehension over Heskan tried to push
itself back into her consciousness but she forced the concern aside. 
I’ve got
to keep my focus on the entire formation though.
  A sly smile formed on her
lips as she thought,
Sam, get ready to have your world rocked.

“Commander
Ricot,” Vernay snapped irritably but kept her eyes fixed on the tactical plot. 
“You have command of Ajax.  I need to concentrate on the fleet.”

The
lieutenant commander gulped.  “Aye, ma’am.”  His voice trembled with doubt.

Those
embers of doubt laced into her first officer’s reply tugged at Vernay.  Almost
seven months ago, her own captain had thrown her into the same fire and given her
command of
Elathra
when he took control of Seshafi’s fleet.  She
remembered her own, initial doubt that her captain had quashed through
encouragement and unyielding support.  Vernay considered her present demeanor
and worked to unclench her fists. 
No wonder everyone is afraid of me. 
She
glanced at Ricot, he was speaking to Engineering, doing the best job that he
could.  The epiphany struck her like cold water to the face. 
They deserve
more from me.  All of them.

“We
have an incoming message from the command ship, Captain.”  
Ajax’s
SENS
officer jolted Vernay from her internal monologue.  “Ma’am, they’ve forwarded
Admiral Wallace’s message to us.”

The
main screen flickered and Vernay felt her hands begin to curl into fists again at
the sight of the Red Admiral.  This time, she stopped them.  Her hatred for the
Saden had turned intensely personal over the past months.  Now, however, she
found that even though she still loathed the pompous admiral, the unmitigated rage
she felt for him no longer blinded her.  She considered the man through a new
lens and thought with a growing serenity,
He’s just an obstacle, Stacy. 
Nothing more than an asteroid field to be navigated or a burned out power
converter to be replaced.

“You
shall receive your pass, Garrett,” Wallace promised on the screen.  “And I
shall see to it, personally, that you face justice in front of The Courts on
Nessus for your actions today.”

“Send this on all
channels, please,” Vernay replied calmly while brushing a stray lock of golden
hair from her face.  “Admiral Wallace, this is Commander Vernay.  Our fleet
commander is done with you, and frankly, so am I.  Save your threats for the
people who might be intimidated by them and may God have mercy on your
sailors.  All of them.”  She began to motion to end the transmission but
stopped.  A victorious smile flared into existence and she looked exultantly
toward the screen.  “And, by the way, because you’ve refused even perfunctory
negotiations before the battle, I’m keeping your ships.  All of them.”

*  *  *

Vernay’s
final words played in every Seshafian bridge like a promise of success.  Lieutenant
Selvaggio heard whoops of comradery punctuate their new commander’s statement
around
Ravana’s
bridge despite their impending fate.

Selvaggio
had intentionally overstated her ship’s readiness to Heskan.  The Hollaran
snow’s ventral radiator was shot to pieces in the first pass, leaving her with only
a few shots from the particle cannons before they would overheat.  Worse yet,
her port dual laser turret had been destroyed and the AIPS defensive screen was
functional but only able to hold a third of its charge.

It’s
not nearly enough,
Selvaggio
thought with a fatal acceptance. 
But I didn’t have a choice.  We needed a
rearguard and I couldn’t watch Jack die alone.
 She glanced to her left, at
Renata Nelson.  The Seshafian lieutenant had served with distinction on
Tigre
during the last skirmish in this system and had been the epitome of patriotic
zeal during her short time as a first officer.  The brilliance of that fervor
had dimmed slightly when Selvaggio had offered up her section to face destruction.

“We’ll
get two shots, maybe three at the most, Captain,” Nelson reported.

“We’re
not going to stop firing, Ren,” Selvaggio corrected.

The
first officer looked aghast.  “But, ma’am, the heat radiators—”

“Will
take care of themselves,” Selvaggio said resolutely.  She leaned toward her
first officer and asked in a quiet voice, “Ren, do you understand why I
volunteered us?”

Nelson
stared at her for several seconds but finally nodded with misty eyes.  To
Selvaggio’s surprise, the young woman smiled at her and whispered, “I do,
Captain.  I’m scared of what’s going to happen to me but I’m even more scared
of what would happen to me if we didn’t do our duty.”  She swallowed as she
leaned back against her seat and finished in a louder voice, “Seshafi needs us
and there are worse ways to die than protecting those you love.”

Selvaggio’s
eyes tracked to the tactical plot. 
Dash
was limping, unsteadily, outside
the designated combat zone and on to safety.