Admiral's Revenge (A Spineward Sectors Novel:) Page 5

  “Well…you’re the Admiral, Sir,” Laurent said neutrally.

  “Yes,” I agreed, “yes I am. Can I assume from your answer that I have your support?”

  “Of course, Sir,” he sighed in response. Then he brightened, “It’ll be good to get back in the saddle again, Sir.” Then something seemed to occur to him, “Although, Sir, did I just hear you refer to the Chief Engineer by the rank of Commander?” he asked curiously.

  “Indeed you did, Lieutenant Commander Laurent,” I said with a tight expression.

  “I’m just a Warrant Officer, Admiral,” the Tactical Officer said, almost reflexively raising his hands between us like a wall.

  “It’s come to my attention that I’ve been remiss in providing the appropriate promotions and rank to those crew and officers who have served the Confederation with distinction under my tenure,” I explained, forcing a smile as I did so. I didn’t add that what had brought it to my attention was the realization that almost all of ‘Commodore LeGodat’s’ men outranked mine, since he had been issuing field promotions since his assumption of command. I, on the other hand, had been all but oblivious to the entire issue until it had been literally rubbed in my face.

  “Even still, it’s hardly necessary in my case,” Laurent reiterated, “or particularly wanted, truth be told.”

  “The paperwork’s already on my desk having been signed, sealed and delivered to the hall of records,” I said, waving away his objections like they were buzzing flies, “we’ve lost too many men along the way and some fine good officers. It’s time for all of us to start stepping up to our new duties and responsibilities.”

  “If you say so,” Laurent looked temporarily uneasy and then seemed to resign himself to this new state of affairs and put it behind him.

  “I do,” I said simply with a curt nod.

  Chapter 5: Pried from Reluctant Fingers

  “Was there a particular reason you called this joint meeting Admiral?” Commodore LeGodat asked, looking at me sharply.

  “Yes,” I said easily.

  The Nordic-looking Officer standing behind the System Commander did a poor job of suppressing a snort at my response.

  LeGodat’s face tightened as he turned to cast a quelling look at his Chief of Staff before once again turning back to face me.

  “If the Admiral would care to share?” he asked with a professional smile. As always, the man looked like the epitome of a real Fleet Officer and if I hadn’t been so well-trained in courtly politics, I would have felt the urge to squirm under his gaze.

  Fortunately, I was able to honestly remind myself that I was a battle-hardened warrior—one who didn’t quail in the face of disapproving auras.

  “Certainly,” I said lightly, “having had the chance to rest and regroup after our harrowing experiences on Captain McCruise’s Dungeon Ship, I think it’s time to begin the next phase of our planning.”

  “What phase would that be, Admiral?” LeGodat asked levelly, locking eyes with me.

  “I’m surprised you even have to ask,” I said coolly. “Confederation warships, officers and crew have been attacked and illegally detained; it’s time to we stop reacting and start taking the fight to the enemy.”

  “You want to attack the Sector Capital!” blurted the Commodore’s chief of staff. “Are you insane,” she asked and then gave a belated, “Admiral?” When LeGodat swiveled around to stare at her with eyes hot and angry with disapproval, she visibly withdrew.

  For my part I gave her a hard look. I wasn’t the happy-go-lucky Admiral of yester months. The Admiral Montagne who had been almost killed and sent to prison had been a far nicer person than the hardened survivor that had emerged from that dungeon ship, and only the fact that I was about to take the lion’s share of the mobile assets in the Commodore’s line of battle made it possible for me to sit silent while some woman I didn’t even know insulted me publicly.

  “Sorry, Sir,” the female officer said ducking her head at the Commodore and deliberately ignoring me.

  “An apology, Lieutenant Commander Stravinsky,” LeGodat said his voice cracking like a whip, “now.”

  “My apologies, Commodore LeGodat,” the Lieutenant Commander said stiffly.

  “Not to me; to the Admiral,” the Acting System Commander’s voice grated.

  “Apologies, Honorary Vice Admiral,” Stravinsky said her eyes burning when she turned to me, “I’m sure I must have misheard when you said you were planning to attack Central.”

  The Commodore’s breath hissed out at this insult, but I lifted a finger before he could upbraid his officer further and watched as the Commodore’s mouth became a rigid line. For a moment I thought he was going to ignore my silent instruction, but after a brief pause he begrudgingly leaned back in his chair and gestured his acceptance.

  Placing a meaningless court smile on my face I leaned forward and steepled my fingers. My shift in posture was rewarded when the female Officer assumed a position of attention under my gaze.

  “Not only did you mishear, Lieutenant Commander,” I said evenly, “but even the manner in which you did so was insulting in the extreme.”

  “I’m sorry if I damaged your feelings, Honorary Vice Admiral,” Stravinsky bit out. “However, attacking Central with the forces at our disposal would not only be perilously hazardous in the extreme to attempt, but morally ambiguous at beast!”

  “Lieutenant Commander, you continue to harp on a conclusion I’ve already assured you is completely erroneous—desist at once,” I said flatly. “I was not talking about the Sector Government and their crimes against me, my crew or humanity but instead the Pirate Plague threatening this sector. As you might be aware, one of their leaders is currently in possession of my missing Flagship.”

  “With respect, Sir, now you’re trying to say that instead of attacking a System protected by a squadron of The Wall in Praxis, you want to take on a pair of fully equipped Battleships?” Stravinsky pressed. Her posture was still stiff and at attention, but her voice dripped with disbelief and more than a touch of scorn. Clearly she thought either avenue more akin to suicide than strategy.

  “That’s it; you’re relieved, Lieutenant Commander,” LeGodat barked. “Leave this conference room and consider yourself confined to quarters for the duration!”

  “No-no,” I said making a chopping gesture with my hands, “let your Chief of Staff continue.”

  “Thank you, Honorary—” the Lieutenant Commander’s mouth twisted slightly as she once again started to emphasize my somewhat irregular Flag Rank, but I decided it was time to cut her off.

  “Are you aware that you’re voice becomes shriller than a fishmonger’s wife when you’re harping, Miss Stravinsky?” I observed clinically.

  The Lieutenant Commander huffed with outrage. “As if you’ve ever met a fishmonger, let alone his wife!” snarled the Lieutenant Commander. “What gives you the right to speak for such people? Who do you think are you, Sir, the Tyrant of Cold Space?!”

  “No, Miss Stravinsky,” I said mildly, “I merely think of myself as your Commanding Officer.”

  “I am not an officer in your organization, Honorary Vice Admiral, nor am I planning to volunteer to serve under you,” stated Stravinsky. “I’m an activated reservist on Wolf-9 and not a member of your,” her mouth twisted rudely, “Multi-Sector Patrol Fleet. Or wait, you don’t have a Flagship anymore, you lost that one. Do you still even have a fleet, Sir? Of course, that might be remedied if you intend to take ours!”

  “But I am!” Commodore LeGodat shouted. “And as your Commanding Officer I’m ordering you to back down Stravinsky before you find yourself at a Court Martial!”

  “A Superior Officer then,” I said with a grave nod and completely ignoring the Commodore, my eyes locked solely with those of the Lieutenant Commander, “and as such, deserving of vastly more respect than you’ve been showing to me.”

  “Respect has to be earned first, Sir,” Stravinsky said stiffly.

  “Before the Imperials
left us, Lieutenant Commander, I was a man with an empty title who was part of bankrupt royalty and had a meaningless job to do. I stood in front of the cameras and smiled—not too terribly unlike the duties of that reserve light squadron of yours,” I said with just a touch of venom. “In short, I lived and died by the empty words of myself and others,” I said my voice turning hard.

  “You have my condolences, Honorary Vice Admiral; I’m sure it’s been a hard life,” she retorted her tone making it clear she felt the opposite of her words.

  “I may not demand the actual feelings of respect you alluded to, Miss Stravinsky,” I said with dire promise, my courtly mask firmly in place, “but the words…those I ‘WILL’ have, Senior Lieutenant.”

  “You may not be entirely familiar with our military ranks but it’s Lieutenant Commander, Honorary Vice Admiral, Sir,” Stravinsky said, arching an eyebrow as she stressed her rank.

  “Not anymore,” I said with a pleasant smile, “at this point it’s either a voluntary reduction in rank, or the brig.”

  “This is highly irregular, Admiral,” LeGodat said, his mouth dropping open. “I must protest,” he declared, his mouth snapping shut into a steel trap of disapproval for all present.

  “At this point I have no choice but to exercise my right to legal counsel,” Stravinsky said stiffly, her eyes shooting hot and angry sparks my direction, “even if this goes before a Court Martial, you won’t get away with this, Honorary Vice Admiral Montagne. A panel of officers from this star base won’t allow it.”

  “Allow?” I said in a low, dangerous voice. Shooting a glance over at LeGodat I saw that his eyebrows were climbing for the ceiling, and I leaned back in my chair and deliberately placed a highly satisfied smile on my face, knowing I still had one or two arrows in my quiver. “An interesting choice of words, Miss Stravinsky, however I think you are forgetting that any judicial panel of ‘Confederation’,” I stressed the word, “Officers would consist of an equal number of Wolf-9 and the MSP—to ensure an unbiased result, of course.”

  “Easy Haven will not sit still for this!” Stravinsky shouted.

  “Mutiny?” I asked mildly, “as you may be aware I have some measure of familiarity dealing with such.”

  “We’ve all seen how well you’ve dealt with—” Stravinsky sneered before she was cut off.

  “Enough!” roared the Commodore, “both of you!” He slammed a fist onto the conference table, activating the communication system.

  “Lieutenant Drecker,” replied the desk promptly.

  “Send a quad of marines into the conference room on the double,” LeGodat ordered, glaring at the two of us while Laurent continued to remain silent in the corner.

  I kept my face impassive while I waited. I had thousands of crew who would probably take my orders over the Commodore’s, but only a single company of lancers. Most of those Lancers were busy guarding the Sector Guard and their Corvettes until Druid finalized which Captains, ships and crew were staying. Such was a far cry from the overwhelming firepower I’d enjoyed during my last stays here. Unfortunately my best play was probably to be a responder at this point. If I was perceived as the one to initiate hostilities….the potential consequences of that thought didn’t bear considering. I was walking a razor thin line, after all…but what else was new?

  “And when they ask what their assignment is?” Lieutenant Drecker asked with sudden tension in his voice.

  “They’ll be briefed on the situation when they get here,” LeGodat snapped, and his finger stabbed down to cut the connection.

  “Sir, if I may,” the Lieutenant Commander turned to LeGodat.

  “No, you may not, Stravinsky; you’ve done quite enough already,” Commodore LeGodat snapped and then rounded on me. “As have you, Admiral,” he glared.

  “Oh?” I said evenly.

  “I could quote the exact rules and regulations, but I’m going to keep this simple and put it in a way you cannot possibly misunderstand, Sir,” he said with icy precision.

  I leaned back in my chair and folded my hands together.

  “This is my House,” he scowled his voice like iron, “and you are my guest. As long as you are such, you will not issue orders to my people or my staff under my roof. Any and all orders will pass down the chain of command—meaning, for clarity’s sake, through me. Do I make myself clear, Admiral Montagne?”

  “Quite, Commodore LeGodat,” I said inclining my head as would one noble to another on Capria, “and I apologize if I have imposed.”

  “Just so long as we understand one another, Sir,” he said, his eyes boring into mine.

  “Have no fear, Commodore, I think we have reached a new meeting of the minds,” I drawled, flipping a languid wrist as if brushing off a minor matter. “Your house means your rules. I am firmly reminded that this visit as I come in reduced circumstances, and as such I am perhaps imposing on your hospitality? If I should infringe on your generosity a second time, just say the word and I…” this time I paused to give extra ironic weight to my next words, “along with all of my retainers shall depart post haste, to trouble you and yours no longer.”

  “Damn you,” Stravinsky breathed, clearly not liking the thought of my men in all their thousands departing form Easy Haven, “you bastard! You would take all your men and leave us defenseless?! I knew you couldn’t be trusted the first time I laid eyes on you.”

  “There’s no need for such displays of your clearly volatile temper, Miss,” I rebuked her as gently as I was able. “I see no reason that we cannot still be friends or, if we must part, that it can’t be done as amicably as possible,” I said giving the Commodore a nod. “But I must insist that either we are all in this together and I will have the respect due my station, or we are not and you are all free to speak to me however you choose.”

  LeGodat’s face had turned a deep shade of fiery red as his Chief of Staff and I continued to spar.

  The door to the conference room swept open before he had to say something and a quad of power-armored Confederation Marines stepped into the room.

  “3rd Quad reporting as ordered, Commodore,” a Marine Sergeant stepped forward and drew himself up to attention.

  The Commodore locked gazes with me and if he was going to violently dissolve our relationship, this would be the perfect time. I was weak and discredited, so if he was going to strike he wasn’t going to get a better chance. Who knows, with me out of the way and the right spin put on these events, my discrediting among the former men of the Clover both former prisoners and transferees—begun when I lost the old Battleship—could be complete.

  However, I was well-trained in the art of not being seen to sweat, and my time in prison had forced me to face some of my deepest fears. Good or ill, I was no longer the man I had been before suffering in durance vile.

  I met his glaring eyes coolly, refusing to back down. Compromise had failed me in the past and gotten a lot of good men killed. While the old Jason Montagne might have felt compelled to issue second chances and attempt to sweep everything under some kind of an all-encompassing rug, the New Me was determined not to give an inch. Inches became miles, insults and discontent became outright rebellion, and then ships were lost and men died. These people were supposed to be my allies! Next to the people of Tracto, I had done more for LeGodat and those under his command than anyone. If that wasn’t good enough and they now wanted me to leave, I would take my ball and go home.

  LeGodat’s mouth twisted, and I cocked my head pointedly, making it perfectly clear that the choice was his.

  Head creaking like it was a stone sphinx, the Commodore turned to the Sergeant.

  “Take Stravinsky to her quarters, disable her communication links and see that she stays there. You are to use any level of force necessary to ensure she complies,” Colin LeGodat said baring his teeth.

  “Aye aye, Sir,” the Marine said bracing to attention before turning to the Lieutenant Commander, “come along, you.”

  Head high and chin up, the woman marched o
ut of the room under her own power.

  The System Commander waited until the door had closed before turning to me with burning eyes.

  “You may have just cost me my Chief of Staff and one of my best officers,” he snapped.

  “Let me be blunt,” I replied my eyes narrowing, “you can muzzle your dog or let her bite, but at this point anything that threatens to attack me is going to get savaged. I’m in no mood to be pressed.”

  “I think you’re forgetting something,” LeGodat glared, taking a step forward to loom over me.

  “I have already extended the hand of friendship to Wolf-9, so either we’re in this together until the bitter end and I will have more respect than that Officer was prepared to give me, or we’re not and it’s every man for himself,” I said coolly, rising to my feet and matching his glare with a dispassionate stare of my own. “The decision is yours, Colin; my position remains unchanged.”

  “Blast it, Admiral,” Commodore LeGodat swore, thumping a fist on the conference table before slumping back into his chair, “of course we’re still on the same side! But I desperately need every trained officer I can lay my hands on. Besides, by all the angry space gods, this was a reserve formation, not regular duty Confederated Imperial Navy. I’m not excusing what she said,” he raised a hand to pound the table for emphasis, “but if you’re going to actively stop me from heading these sorts of things off at the pass, then I can’t be responsible for the results! Of all the blighted things I might have expected from this meeting, losing my Chief of Staff was not among of them!”

  “Perhaps I could have sat back and allowed you to deal with your officer,” I said, working to sound agreeable and conciliatory, even though on the inside I figured something like this was inevitable. The men and women of this Fleet needed to see that I was back on top, and if that meant laying down the law on one of their own officers then so be it. The last thing I needed was an Officer like Stravinsky running around bad-mouthing me and spreading rumors and discontent behind my back. I was determined to nip that kind of thing in the bud.