He took another look at Captain Desjani, trying to see her as if for the first time. “What’s your first name, anyway?”
She smiled briefly. “Tanya.”
“I don’t think I’ve known anyone named Tanya before.”
“The name became fairly popular at one time. You know how that goes. There’s a lot of women in my generation named Tanya.”
“Yeah. Names do come and go, don’t they? Where’re you from?”
“Kosatka.”
“Really? I’ve been to Kosatka.”
Desjani looked disbelieving. “In-system or landfall?”
“Landfall.” The memories tumbled out and left a pleasant glow in their wake. “I was just a junior officer, then. My ship got sent to Kosatka as part of an official Alliance representation for a royal wedding. Some really big deal. The whole planet went sort of manic over it, and they fell over themselves being nice to us. I’ve never gotten so many free drinks and meals.” Geary smiled at her, then saw the lack of recognition on her face. “I guess it didn’t make history.”
“Uh, no. I suppose not.” Desjani smiled politely.
“Kosatka doesn’t pay nearly as much attention to the royal family as it used to.”
Geary nodded, trying to keep his own smile in place. “Yesterday’s unforgettable pomp and circumstance got forgotten pretty quickly, I guess.”
“But, still, I’m not sure anyone remembers you were on Kosatka. That’s something special. Did you like it?”
His smile turned genuine again. “Yeah. I don’t remember any spectacular scenery or anything like that, but it seemed like a real welcoming, comfortable place. Some of the crew talked about going back there to live once they’d retired.” He forced a laugh. “I bet it’s changed, though.”
“Not that much. I haven’t been home in a long time, but that’s how I remember it.”
“Sure you do. It’s home.” They sat silent for a moment, then Geary exhaled heavily. “So, how is home?”
“Sir?”
“Home. The Alliance. What’s it like?”
“It’s … still the Alliance.” She shook her head, looking older and more tired than just a moment ago. “It’s been a very long war. So much has to go into the military, to build new ships, new defenses, new ground forces. And so many of the young have to go into those same things. All of our worlds have such wealth when combined, but it’s being worn away.”
Geary frowned down at his hands, not wanting to see her face just then. “Tell me the truth. Are the Syndics winning?”
“No!” The answer came so quickly that Geary thought it must reflect some sort of faith rather than professional analysis. “But neither are we,” Desjani conceded. “It’s too hard. The distances involved, the ability of each side to recover from losses and field new forces, the balance in weaponry.” Desjani sighed. “It’s been a stalemate for a long time.”
Stalemate. It made sense, for exactly the reasons Desjani gave. Both the Alliance and the Syndicate Worlds were too big to be defeated in less than centuries of war. “Why the hell did the Syndicate Worlds start an unwinnable war anyway?”
Desjani shrugged. “You know what they’re like. A corporate state run by dictators who call themselves servants of the people they enslave. The free worlds of the Alliance were a constant threat to the dictators of the Syndicate Worlds, living examples that representative government and civil liberties could coexist with greater security and prosperity than the Syndics could ever dream of. That’s why the Rift Federation and the Callas Republic ended up joining with the Alliance in the war. If the Syndics succeeded in crushing the Alliance, they’d go after any remaining free worlds next.”
Geary nodded. “The Syndic leadership was always worried about revolt by some of its worlds. That’s why they attacked us when they did? Because turning the Alliance from an attractive alternative to a wartime threat was the only way to keep control of their own populace?”
This time Desjani frowned slightly, then shrugged again. “I suppose, sir. To be honest, the war started a very long time ago. I never really studied the exact circumstances. All that matters to me, and to everyone else in the Alliance today of course, is that the Syndics launched an unprovoked attack on us. Or rather, on our ancestors. We can’t allow them to benefit from that.”
“Have they?” Geary asked.
“Not that I know of,” Desjani replied with a fierce grin. Then her smile faded. “Nor have we, needless to say.”
“Nobody’s benefiting, and no one can win. Why not end the thing, then? Negotiate.”
Her head whipped up, and she stared at him. “We can’t!”
“But if neither the Alliance nor the Syndics can win—”
“We couldn’t trust them! They won’t honor any agreement. You know that. The attack you held off so long ago was a surprise blow, an unprovoked stab in the back! No.” She shook her head, with anger this time. “Negotiations are impossible with creatures like the Syndicate Worlds. They need to be crushed so that their evil won’t spread further, won’t result in the murder of more innocents. No matter what it costs.”
He looked away again, thinking about what a century of warfare can do not just to economies but also to minds. I guess Desjani’s right that the exact reasons the Syndics attacked a century ago aren’t that important anymore. But I’ll have to try to remember to look it up sometime, try to find out what exact reasons caused this war instead of just laying it at the feet of the immoral nature of the Syndic leaders. Not that the Syndics haven’t already shown themselves to be capable of horrible acts. Admiral Bloch could certainly testify to the futility of negotiations with them. But if neither side can win and neither side will negotiate, that dooms everyone, good or bad, to endless war. Geary glanced back at Desjani and saw she was watching him now with calm certainty. Certain I’ll agree with her, because aren’t I the legendary Black Jack Geary?
As if reading his mind, Captain Desjani nodded at that moment. “You see how important it is that we get home. The strike at the Syndic home system might’ve been the means for us to finally tip the balance. It failed, but if we can get the Syndic hypernet key home and get it duplicated, the Syndics will face an impossible situation. They’ll have to either take down their own hypernet or know we can use it against them at any time and any place on the net.”
Geary nodded back. “And if they took down their hypernet, the Alliance could shift forces so much faster than the Syndics that we’d be able to concentrate forces again and again, crushing the Syndics piecemeal while they scramble to try to catch us. It’d be a huge advantage on those grounds alone. I can only imagine the economic advantage the Alliance would gain. Why’d they risk giving us one of their keys?”
Desjani made a face. “From their perspective, the plan probably looked foolproof. Dangle the bait of the Syndic home system, offer us a key there through a supposed traitor, and then trap us so far from home we couldn’t possibly escape.” She grinned. “But they didn’t know we’d have you.”
Oh, for the living stars’ sake. But as long as she brought it up… “How’d you find me? After all that time? Why didn’t someone find me earlier?” The questions had occurred to him before, of course, but he’d never pursued the answers, not wanting to delve into the events that had separated him from his own time and left him here among these familiar strangers.
Desjani tapped on the small table between them, bringing up a display of star systems. “Did you know you could do this? Your last battle—Excuse me, what we thought was your last battle, took place here.” She pointed to an unremarkable star. “Grendel.”