The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Leviathan (21 page)

“You can’t have field commanders thinking for themselves, now can you?” Geary said.

“Apparently not. But I think the main concern of your fleet headquarters was personnel costs. You have no idea how huge the budget is that the Alliance Senate deals with, and how huge the military personnel costs are within that budget.”

“Why is spending on equipment an investment and spending on people a cost? I’ve always thought that personnel expenses should be considered investments as well, not costs,” Geary said. “Calling them costs creates the image that it is just money being thrown away because we have no choice. But that money is an investment in the people who make all of the difference in effectiveness and efficiency and everything else.”

The senator raised her eyebrows at him. “That’s an interesting word choice. And a worthwhile argument for future budgets. In terms of commitments we already face, retirement hasn’t been that big an expense given that relatively few personnel survived long enough to retire,” Unruh added bitterly, “but existing medical costs are immense. The citizens of the Alliance clamoring for reduced spending don’t realize how much of that spending has to go to helping those who gave pieces of themselves to defending us.”

“Have you told them?” Geary asked. “Has anybody gone to the citizens and said here is why we need this money, here is who it has to go to, this is why we owe it to them?”

Senator Unruh looked at Geary, then shook her head. “I doubt it. Oh, I’ve had senators hitting me up to know where the money is going because they weren’t read into the Defender Fleet program and couldn’t understand how much funds that money-sink has been eating up. Those automated systems have devoured more and more of the budget as costs and complexities mounted. But no one has been beating my door down demanding that we spend more money on people. I promise you I will make that case myself.”

“I need money here, too,” Geary said. “My people are scrambling to find the funds needed to keep repairing my damaged ships, and even to keep day-to-day operations going.”

“That’s ridiculous. Your fleet headquarters has said nothing about that but has requested extra funds to expand their own offices and operations. They claim that as force levels shrink, the staff must grow to deal with the additional challenges,” she added wryly.

Geary inhaled deeply, considering his next words carefully. “That’s an interesting perspective on priorities,” he finally said.

Unruh smiled. “Isn’t it? Senator Sakai suggested that if artificial intelligences would make effective replacements for field commanders, they would probably do even better as replacements for headquarters commanders. For some reason, that proposal was not enthusiastically received at fleet headquarters.”

“I can’t imagine why not.”

“It is a mystery,” Senator Unruh said. “I promise you there will be a supplemental appropriation introduced specifically for your fleet when I get back.”

Geary regarded her closely. “Can I trust you, Senator?”

She smiled again though only slightly this time. “I hope so.”

“Do you have all the answers?”

“Me?” Unruh laughed. “That would be nice. I’m looking for the answers. I’m asking questions. I’m trying to figure out where we go from here.”

“Then I think I can trust you,” Geary said. “Most of my problems seem to originate with people who are certain they know all the answers. Will you need an escort back to Unity?”

“As you saw outside of this room, I have some special forces accompanying me on what is officially a training mission,” Unruh said. “My ship is old but can outrun anything in space, I’m told. It was designed specifically to help senators and other high officials get away fast when necessary. Part of the Unity Alternate program, apparently, though I imagine that more than one senator thought it could come in handy in other circumstances. You weren’t offering to escort me back with your fleet, were you?”

Geary shook his head. “It would be very bad imagery, I think, for Black Jack to show up at Unity with a fleet.”

“Very bad imagery,” Senator Unruh agreed. “We want to forestall a covert coup, not make it look like an overt coup is taking place. Besides,
all of those warships would make my return far too high-profile for what is supposed to be a very low-profile mission. One last thing. We believe that the dark ships are focused on you.”

“I’ve noticed that,” Geary said. “The dark ships’ tactics at Bhavan confirmed it. They want to destroy the First Fleet, but they also want me dead.”

Unruh shook her head, looking off to one side. “I have reason to believe that you were programmed into a contingency target set that might have activated without proper authorization, but I suspect there are private reasons as well for your personally being a priority objective.”

“Admiral Bloch?” Geary asked.

“He got command of the Defender Fleet,” she said, “as I understand you were already told. Bloch still has, or still had, some powerful political backers. But I have been unable to confirm his current status.”

“Do you think Bloch has effective control of the dark ships? I’ve seen them doing things that I didn’t think Bloch would order.”

“I think he has influenced them to some extent. But I am certain he’s not in control now if he ever really was.” The senator gazed directly at Geary. “There is more than one way to neutralize a threat, Admiral. Some people wanted Admiral Bloch in a certain position because they hoped to benefit from that. But others of us intended all along that Bloch would be neutralized by giving him what he thought he wanted. He might still be alive, but if so, he is likely more miserable than when the Syndics had him. That’s ironic, isn’t it? He has all of space available to the warship he is aboard, but his compartments on that warship might form a very small prison from which there may be no escape.”

Geary looked back at her, appalled. “What if you’re right about that? Does even Bloch deserve such a fate?”

Senator Unruh stood up, sighing. “He got what he wanted, Admiral. If it isn’t what he thought it would be, that’s his own fault. And a useful lesson to anyone else who thinks pursuit of power is the path to happiness.”

“Where does the pursuit of power lead?” Geary asked as they waited for the hatch to open.

She gave him an amused look. “You care what I think? All right, then. Trying to accomplish something that requires someone to pursue power leads toward that something. But the pursuit of power as an end in itself doesn’t lead anywhere. It’s like someone walking on the surface of a Mobius strip. They go up and down and over and around, but they never reach a destination. They just keep walking, and wondering why they never get anywhere no matter how far and fast they walk.”

“Thank you, Senator.”

“For what? Letting you know just how badly we’ve screwed up and how much we’re counting on you to fix things?”

Geary shook his head. “No. For giving me proof that my faith in the government is not entirely misplaced.”

She stepped out to join the special forces soldiers, who began forming an escort around the senator. But Unruh turned to look back at Geary, her expression somber. “You do me too much honor, Admiral. I will do what I can to live up to your faith.”

Admiral Timbale waited until Senator Unruh and her escort had disappeared around a corner before turning a questioning look on Geary. “How did the meeting go?”

“What meeting?” Geary asked.

“Right.” Timbale walked alongside Geary in the opposite direction from that Senator Unruh and her escort had gone. “Is there anything I should know?”

Geary pondered what he could say. “We’re not alone.”

“Exactly who is we?”

“The good guys.” Geary smiled crookedly at Timbale. “Right?”

“I sure hope so.” Timbale walked a few more steps. “Do you still have those two agents aboard
Dauntless
?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I still want them shot, remember?” Admiral Timbale glanced
around, then checked a security device on his wrist to ensure they could not be overheard. “I have been apprised of subtle indications that someone is nosing around, trying to figure out what we might have learned from those agents.”

“We’ll make sure security around their cells remains tight,” Geary said. “Anything else?”

“I received classified orders to locate former Alliance senator Victoria Rione. There are people who want to talk to her.”

“Which people?” Geary asked.

“I can’t tell. That’s left fairly vague in the orders,” Timbale explained. “For that matter, just who originated the orders was left fairly vague. Which is why I haven’t been overly worried about trying to locate Rione.”

“It sounds like some other people are worried,” Geary said.

“I certainly would be if I were one of those responsible for what happened to her husband.” Timbale rubbed his nose. “By the way, my security people, the ones I trust, said they had found some odd anomalies in our security routines, some additional covert applications that could have allowed someone like Victoria Rione to pass through Ambaru as recently as a day or two ago without any alerts being sounded.”

“Really?” Geary asked.

“Yes. If she comes onto Ambaru again, she would be spotted.” Timbale gave Geary a bland look. “I thought you should know.”

“Thank you. I think you should know that a lot of things may be coming to a head soon.”

“In a good way?”

“Maybe.” Geary paused and faced Timbale, speaking in formal tones. “If we don’t meet in person again, I want you to know it has been an honor and a pleasure serving with you.”

Timbale replied with equal formality. “The honor and the pleasure have been mine. Good luck, Admiral. Does this mean it’s on?”

“It soon will be.”

—

TANYA
was waiting in
Dauntless
’s shuttle dock when he got off the shuttle. “I hope your visit to Ambaru was worth the risk,” she said.

“Yes, it was. And in any case, I can’t live aboard
Dauntless
,” he told her.

“Why not?”

Instead of replying to that, he held up the data coin that Unruh had given him. “We have orders, from the government, and we have the means to get to Unity Alternate.”

“Orders?” Desjani asked, instantly suspicious at mention of the government. “Orders to do what?”

“To take Unity Alternate.”

“The government has ordered us to take the government’s secret, fallback capital?”

“It’s a long story,” Geary said. “But, basically, just like the Alliance military adopted some practices in the name of winning the war that weren’t really consistent with winning or with what the Alliance was supposed to be about, so did the government.”

“So we’re saving the Alliance?” Desjani asked.

He gave her a flat look, knowing that she was referring to the legend that Black Jack would return to “save the Alliance.” “Yes.”

“Good. I just wanted to be clear on that. When do we roll?”

“I need to check the status of our repair work and resupply,” Geary said, “but the same concerns apply as before. We need to give the dark ships enough time to resupply and leave their base again. Another week, at least, I think.”

She gave him a cautionary look. “They’ll come after you again. If we wait too long, they may show up here.”

That was an ugly thought. “You’re right. Let’s find out if we can get moving within a week.”

Once at his stateroom, Geary called Captain Smythe. “One week. I want everything out of dock and ready to go.”

“Admiral, I want . . . never mind. I can make it happen, but not everything is going to be done. You’re still facing the possibility of system failures on your ships, just like that main propulsion unit that failed on
Fearless
at Bhavan.”

“I understand. Make it happen.”

“Aye, aye, sir. As far as funding goes . . .”

“I have it on very good authority that the funding we need will materialize soon,” Geary said. “Through official channels.”

Smythe looked impressed. “How did you manage that?”

“I asked nicely.”

Despite Senator Unruh’s warning that the dark ships might still be getting information about what Geary was doing, there was no way to hide the preparations necessary for an offensive using the entire force remaining to First Fleet. But he still took some extra efforts to conceal one aspect of that offensive, personally summoning two officers to his stateroom on
Dauntless
rather than risking using a comm channel that could be tapped into.

In person, Marine Colonel Rico wore the same serious expression as his official portrait. The commanding officer of the Third Brigade stood at attention, giving the impression that he never really relaxed. It wasn’t a nervous sort of tension but rather the kind of alertness that assumed every moment required full attention lest something important be missed. In someone who lacked confidence in themselves and others, that would have produced a twitchy, perpetually fearful boss who made life hell for everyone under them. But Rico conveyed a sense of assurance that made his constant watchfulness reassuring rather than worrying.

Beside him stood Commander Young, captain of the assault transport
Mistral.
Much more casual in her bearing than Rico, she gave the impression of having dealt with Marines often enough to regard them with weary exasperation.

Like many of Geary’s officers, they seemed far too young for their
ranks. A century ago, he had been accustomed to a peacetime military, with promotions coming fairly slowly and requiring years of time in each rank. But the long and recently ended war had enforced its own requirements, the deaths of more senior officers often requiring rapid promotions of junior officers to fill in the gaps.

Geary waved Rico and Young to take seats. “We’re facing a difficult problem.”

“What do you need the Marines to do, Admiral?” Rico asked, sitting with the same straight posture he used when standing.

“Where do you need us to take the Marines so they can do something?” Commander Young asked, drawing a sidelong, amused look from Rico.

Geary sat down opposite the two officers. “You’ve both just done the first thing I need by showing me you’ve got the right attitudes for the job. What have you heard about the dark ships?”