Admiral's Nemesis Part II Read online

  “Alright then, I agree,” I said despite my better judgment.

  Akantha’s smile lit up the room.

  “Whoa there,” I said, leaning back as Akantha looked at me quizzically.

  I tugged on the collar of my shirt and quickly changed the subject.

  “Considering that we are about to lose several hundred, if not several thousand, of our most experienced personnel I’ve decided to order the Easy Haven contingent to send the bulk of their personnel to rendezvous with us here at Central. Hopefully that will help round out the losses. It won’t help for crew or command team cohesion but it’s the best we can do right now and, honestly, with Wolf-9 destroyed and their yard and fleet support and repair facilities still being repaired they’re swinging in the wind,” I said.

  Akantha cocked her head. “My understanding is that Easy Haven is Confederation Fleet the same way these sleepers are. Don’t you risk losing their loyalty by calling upon them now?” she asked and then leaned forward. “Worse, what if they decide their oaths call them to join forces with the invaders? Remember Cornwallis leads a coalition force made of up Empire and Confederation Fleet forces,” she reminded me.

  I winced. “Of course I’ve considered it. I just don’t see what I can do. For starters they are not exactly the same as the former sleepers, the reserve squadron based at Woldf-9 had to recruit heavily from Sector 25 to expand their forces and man their ships and reactivated facilities. Like me many of them should consider the Spine and, more specifically, Sector 25 and the worlds thereof to be their home. I hope that when called they will choose to follow me rather than join Cornwallis in suppressing their home worlds,” I said, giving the table a light thump with my fist.

  “Hope is a thin reed that bears no weight,” Akantha said, “but I’ll hope alongside you. We can use all the forces we can muster.”

  “While them joining with the Imperial Navy can be considered a worst case scenario, at the same time it would be a relief. Part of the reason I’m calling for them is Easy Haven can’t be defended by itself or what few forces I could spare them. At the same time, according to the armed services committee, the Grand Assembly in the Spine is sending out orders to rally everything at Central, as the place with the most intact defensive network. That makes this a natural extension of those orders and if they mutiny or declare their independence from my command doing so now will cut short any blow back in the Assembly,” I said.

  “My my, you're already considering the political angles regarding Easy Haven,” Akantha said with distaste.

  “Let’s not pretend we’re not the both of us political creatures, my beloved Sword-Bearer,” Akantha scowled, a hand instinctively going to the dark blade sheathed across her back.

  “The difference is you seem to enjoy the role in a way I never will,” she said curtly.

  “I don’t know that I actively enjoy it,” I said immediately and then honesty and two moments to reflect made me amend that statement, “well I don’t seek it out. If I could avoid the snake pit that is politics I would do so in a heartbeat. But I maintain it’s not my fault if I have a knack for it. Even if I occasionally enjoy the cut and thrust a little more than maybe I should,” I finished defensively.

  “Apparently I made a better choice when I accepted you than even I knew at the time,” Akantha said.

  “As I recall it, you didn’t have much choice in the matter,” I snickered, remembering the sight of her attached to the wall of the bug ship by a strap of living material extruded from the wall.

  She glared at me. “Don’t you know it’s not wise to twit a woman about such matters?”

  I suppressed a chuckle and hid a smile behind a quickly raised hand before smoothing out my features into amiable neutrality.

  She shook her head at me and discretion being the better part of valor I decided it was high time to catch up on some paperwork.

  Utilizing voice activated software I pulled up several standard forms and started dictating, cutting orders summoning as many warships from Gambit and Tracto as they could be spared before starting a new file.

  I hesitated before clearing my throat. I might as well get this over with as soon as possible.

  “Under my authority and in light of this invasion, I see no practical way for Easy Haven to hold by itself and no practical way for it to be sufficiently reinforced before it would fall to an enemy fleet. That being the case, I am summoning as much of the Easy Haven forces as can be moved to the rally point at Central alongside the MSP and our multi-sector allies.

  “Discretion is given to the commander at the scene on whether to continue manning the system or to abandon the facilities in place for a later return, considering the honor of the reserve squadron tasked with its defense and the high levels of sacrifice that has been called from them.

  “This message is to be sent by way of the FTL network marked urgent priority.

  “Post Script: so long as the Imperials come in for a brawl, the fixed defenses of Central will make all the difference. Commodore McCruise. As such, I urge you to consider the best interests of not only your sailors and marines but also the citizens of this sector we are both sworn to protect in this time of renewed turmoil.

  -Grand Admiral Montagne of the Multi-Sector Patrol Fleet for the Spineward Confederation, with all relevant attendant signatures.”

  I stopped to watch as the software finished affixing my electronic signature and felt the enormity of what I was doing. I was about to go up against the most powerful navy in human space, commanded by a military leader so successful he’d been elevated to a powerful position within the Empire of Man’s Galactic Senate. Worse, to do it I’d had to throw away five years of work. I fought for this Sector and others under the auspices of the Old Confederation—the original Confederation—for so long and so hard that I’d actually believed myself that I was a true son of the Confederation, and a real officer out doing Saint Murphy’s work here in the benighted regions of space the Spineward Sectors had become. The notion had become so ingrained in my public persona that I’d taken it on for myself. And now it was all coming apart.

  Sure, I was the Grand Admiral of a Confederation in more than just name now. At least so the self-appointed members of the Assembly told me, a group of men and women who hadn’t stood for election except possibly on their home worlds for much lesser positions and even then were most likely political appointees.

  I could already see the fault lines in our relationship and where I might have happily accepted the will of the old Confederation, so long as it meant the Spine would have been saved, not sold, and welcomed back into the Confederation of Worlds

  This sucked.

  “Feeling sorry for yourself again?”Akantha asked breaking into my mental train of thought.

  I gave her an irritated look. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said.

  “I’m your wife; I know you better than that, Jason Montagne,” she rolled her eyes.

  “You know they say behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes,” I shot back.

  She looked taken aback and then scoffed. “I think you mean that in reverse,” she riposted in typical Tracto-an matriarchal style and then scowled at me, “not that you haven’t done a lot of eye-roll-worthy things of late. But joining this new Confederation was not one of them,” she informed me.

  “Oh? Do tell,” I said, “regale me with your great wisdom, oh high-and-mighty Hold Mistress.”

  “You mock, but in your lack of humor you’ve hit upon a truism you’d be wise to remember: I am a Hold Mistress with great wisdom,” she said seriously.

  I couldn’t help myself from chortling.

  “Are you starting to believe the rumors of your own infallibility, Mistress Akantha?” I asked with a grin.

  “Who said I was infallible?” she shook her head. “No, I didn’t say I was infallible, I said I had wisdom. In this case, for you.”

  “Alright, lay it on me,” I said, this was going to be good I could just
tell.

  “I know you’ve wrestled with casting off the Confederation that abandoned you for this new one of paper, artifice, and scared little men scrambling for power in the face of their own destruction,” she said seriously.

  “I like your characterization of the new Assembly members,” I said seriously.

  “Can you not mock me for half of one single minute?” she demanded started to get really angry for the first time.

  “I’m sorry, my lady,” I said repentantly and then gestured for her to go on.

  “Listen to this if nothing else: you had two honorable options. To stand firm in your fastnesses and only come out from behind the walls once the Empire and the new Confederation had exhausted themselves, or to join forces with the enemy of your enemy. It’s as simple as that,” she informed me.

  “What about the fact that I’ve been telling everyone I’m an Admiral in one Confederation and suddenly I’m Grand Admiral in another, smaller one?” I asked.

  Akantha shook her head. “How long have we been bound together now?” she asked rhetorically. “In all that time, not once have I seen this Confederation. Where were they? Easy Haven? The reserve squadron was abandoned in place with no supplies or relief to speak of, except what it received from you. The Multi-Sector Patrol Fleet? As I understand it, every single ship except the Lucky Clover abandoned the fleet and you had to rebuild it entirely yourself. Loyalty flows both ways, Protector, not just one,” she informed me strictly, “and besides, as I understand it, there was no dishonor when every ship in your original fleet renounced their service to your Confederation. How is it now different for you to do the same?”

  “That’s one way to look at it,” I snorted, it didn’t help easy all of my worries but hearing the words definitely helped.

  “Hold the line, and only when this is over with worry about the finger pointing,” she advised me.

  “That’s good advice,” I agreed.

  “Speaking of which,” she said coming around the table, pulling me to my feet and linking arms with me, “since I get the feeling you don’t want me watching the sleepers too closely, how about I stay with you for a while.”

  “That sounds great,” I said.

  “Perfect,” she grinned a sharp edge suddenly emerging to her smile, “I’ve so wanted to see this new Assembly in person!”

  Alarm bells immediately started going off in my head. “I’m not heading down to the surface again for hours,” I said instantly.

  “Oh pish-posh,” she said in a most un-Tracto-an of accents, which I could only take to mean she’d been spending entirely too much time with my mother of all people, “I’m sure we can find ‘something’ to keep us occupied in between now and then.”

  “Akantha,” I said in a warning voice.

  “I’ve traveled half way across the Sector,” she declared, “you didn’t think I did that so I could stay cooped up in our rooms did you?”

  “Well no, but right now we are in particularly delicate negotiations and—” I started.

  “My mother gets to go to this new Assembly, you get to go, why even my mother’s assistant gets to see what it is all about. But all I get are rumors and these four walls?” she asked witheringly. “Why, I’ve even seen officers from this very ship accompany you to the Assembly building so don’t tell me that I of all people—”

  “Alright-alright-alright!” I cried before calming down, “Listen, it’s clear you have your heart set on it so I won’t try to stop you,” I hastened to interrupt. “I just beseech you: we are in the middle of very delicate negotiations right now, literally anything could set this off, if we’re going to make this work we need to do our best job.”

  “Implying I won’t do my best?” she asked archly.

  “That’s not what I meant at all,” I said with a sinking feeling.

  But instead of what would usually happen, her taking offense and the conversation degenerating from there, she just nodded. “Good. Then you won’t mind that I’m accompanying you,” she said.

  I was taken aback and momentarily thrown off my stride but I soon rallied. “That's great then,” I said with a sigh of relief.

  “Perfect,” she said enthusiastically, “I’ll make sure to wear my formal best. I think that, after we’ve done whatever it is you need to do, I’d like to visit the Assembly floor if possible.”

  “Any particular reason?” I asked, feeling a sense of foreboding.

  “Oh, no particular reason,” she said airily and I started to relax.

  That was a mistake.

  “I just remember my mother saying how intractable the Assembly proved to Tracto when she was here. It would be nice to put a face to the Assembly, and your holo-images only do so much,” she said.

  “We’ll probably end up spending more time here in Central, or reporting back here, so that’s probably a good idea,” I said.

  “Then of course there’s your less-than-stellar treatment here since we arrived, and the 'slap heard round the Sector',” she finished with a decided edge to her smile.

  “I’m a big boy; I can handle myself,” I said firmly.

  “I know you can—that’s why I took you in. But did you know that in my culture for a powerful woman to lay hands on a Hold Mistress’s Protector is a direct and personal insult to that Mistress, possibly even a challenge,” she said sounding almost happy.

  “Akantha…” I said.

  “Wars have been started for less you know,” she advised me.

  “We won’t be starting any wars here. Promise me that,” I said, as my hard-edged words from immediately after the incident surrounding my arrival at Central turning around to bite me.

  Akantha grimaced in distaste and gave me a hard look.

  “We’ve had several wars now and almost no hand-to-hand combat!” she berated me. “If I didn’t still have your sword I’d start to think you were biased against me in some way. No! I’m not here to start any more wars, we have enough of those, I assure you.”

  “Thank you,” I sighed.

  “Looking up the rules of this new Assembly has been quite illuminating: full members are subject to the rules of reciprocal decorum, requiring each side respect the individual culture or face the Ethics Committee, but it appears that since we are just provisional members that doesn’t apply to us,” she said.

  “I hesitate to know more,” I said firmly, determined to end the conversation now.

  “Instead we are treated as ambassadors,” she confided to me as I felt a growing sense of dread. “I’ll give you two words,” she added.

  “I’d prefer to skip the words and buy a vowel,” I joked.

  “Diplomatic Immunity,” she said.

  “Akantha,” I warned.

  “What do you think the media will do when they look back and compare the 'slap heard round the Sector' with the 'slap heard round the galaxy'?” she asked contemplatively.

  “Akantha!” I said, jerking away.

  “Okay, I’ll give her a fair chance to offer a challenge first,” she said patiently.

  “Akantha!” I shouted.

  Chapter 17: Long Faces in Easy Haven

  “New orders from the MSP, Commodore,” reported McCrusie’s Aide.

  “We’re getting bold now, aren’t we, Admiral,” she mused aloud before looking around and reminding her staff, “this is an independent command.”

  After she had made her point she motioned for the aide to continue.

  “The MSP, or directly from the Admiral, Ensign?” she asked. “Please try to be as specific as reasonably possible when reporting.”

  “The Grand Admiral has issued new orders, Acting Commodore,” reported McCruise’s aide when he finally had the chance to speak again.

  McCruise and Captain Far-Bright exchanged long looks as their slate’s pinged and the new orders sprang up on their small screens.

  “We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place then, Commodore,” sighed the Captain.

  “Grand Admiral, he says,” asked M
cCruise raising a brow, “is there any confirmation? I haven’t had a chance to look at the attachments yet.”

  “Grand Admiral Montagne, Sir. He’s been promoted by the new Confederation in the Spine,” the Aide reported stiffly.

  “It’s confirmed then? Ah, there it is. Montagne has officially joined this new Multi-Sector Spineward organization,” McCruise said flatly as she started reading through the new orders.

  “I don’t see how any of that matters, Sir,” argued the Captain, “we’re cut off, abandoned in place, and now invaded by the very same people who’re supposed to be on the same side as us!”

  “Check that kind of rhetoric double fast, Captain. This is Confederation Fleet territory—never forget that. Wolf-9 may be gone but the ‘Fleet’ still holds Easy Haven and given enough time we may even be able to rebuild it thanks to LeGodat’s early deal with Montagne,” said Synthia McCruise.

  “We won’t be able to build or rebuild anything if these new reports are accurate. We’ve been sold down the river, Sir,” the Captain said with a serious expression and a touch more reserve, “how much more confirmation do we need? We have media reports, Sector level briefings, and now a mining ship that came here directly after being boarded by Imperial Marine Jacks.”

  “I find your lack of faith disturbing, Captain. We swore an oath of service to the people of the Confederation and the government that represents them,” McCruise reminded stiffly.

  “I find being issued orders to hold in place indefinitely for a photo-op that never materialized disturbing. I find going on five years now without pay or direction from higher up disturbing, Acting Commodore. More than that, I think that those very same ‘rumors’ and lack of pay—and by rumors I mean smuggled in CNN reports from outside the region—saying that the Spine has been given to the Empire, to be more than just disturbing but out and out illegal! Sir!” he finished angrily.

  “While I sympathize with your point, please note that this operation is Confederation Fleet not Provincial SDF or this new…Confederation Lite, or whatever they’re trying to call it today. We’re the Fleet that holds these worlds together,” McCruise said harshly.