“Four squadrons and over a hundred smaller ships,” Joshua said, thoughtfully. His voice had darkened significantly. “Where did they all come from?”
Penny knew part of the answer to that question. Four squadrons from Home Fleet had deserted during the final stages of the Battle of Earth, vanishing into flicker-space and ensuring a rebel victory. No one knew what had happened to them, until now. Daria’s command of Home Fleet had evidently had a far more lasting effect than Imperial Intelligence had ever understood… or did she command Imperial Intelligence as well? Just how far did her influence stretch?
“Perhaps she had them built at one of the many yards and quietly diverted,” Penny said, finally. It was the only explanation that made sense. There might be only three Type-I shipyards in the Empire, but there were hundreds of Type-II and Type-III shipyards, some of which even built starships for pirate crews, knowingly or otherwise. A creative accountant could hide the expenditure with ease. After all, the Empire rarely bothered to run more than a handful of audits, unless they wanted to ruin the shipyard in question. “Did she make the crews stay here with their ships?”
The transport slid towards the lead superdreadnaught, which read out as the General Monck, and docked neatly at once of the external hatches, rather than attempting to slip into the shuttlebay. Joshua stood up and adjusted his uniform, before opening the hatch and leading the way down to the transport’s airlock. When they stepped through the airlock, they were met by a full party of Household Troops standing at rest — and an old friend.
“Present arms,” Captain Anne Cotman said, as the Household Troops stood to attention. The motions, Penny noted, were different from more regular Marine performance, but it was clearly heartfelt. The presence of the Household Troops explained a great deal. They were only deployed on Imperial Navy starships under very rare circumstances. Joshua, as far as Penny knew, had been the only Admiral to have a brigade of Household Troops under his command for nearly a hundred years.
Joshua smiled as he saluted. “Permission to come onboard, Captain?”
“Granted,” Anne replied, as she returned his salute. She was wearing a uniform that Penny didn’t recognise at first, before finally placing it. A uniform of the Imperial Guard, outlawed for fifty years. Merely wearing it was a direct challenge to established authority. “We’ve been waiting for you, sir.”
She dismissed the Household Troops and led them through the superdreadnaught’s endlessly corridors, up to Officers Country. Penny used the time to inspect the superdreadnaught’s general condition and was pleased to see that it was as fresh and new as if it had just sailed out of the shipyard… and the dull background thrumming of the drives was pleasantly muted. A louder, more unpleasant noise generally meant that something was on the verge of going spectacularly wrong. She spotted a handful of familiar faces from the Morrison Sector Fleet as they entered Officer Country, men and women who’d served under Joshua at Morrison and respected him, and smiled. No wonder Daria had been able to keep them here for so long. They trusted Joshua…
It dawned on her, suddenly, that unless Joshua had known about the plot for far longer than seemed possible, Daria had been running a considerable risk. If Joshua hadn’t been available to command her little fleet, what would have happened to the crew? They might have been convinced to follow someone else, although Penny couldn’t think of anyone with the same degree of prestige and experience, or perhaps Daria had had a more final solution in mind. It was something to remember at the back of her thoughts.
“It’s good to see you again, Anne,” Joshua said, as soon as the hatch hissed closed. The Commander of a superdreadnaught was given almost palatial quarters, although Penny was pleased to see that Anne hadn’t filled hers with souvenirs and knickknacks. Percival’s quarters had been a tribute to his wealth and complete lack of anything reassembling taste, while Joshua had preferred nothing beyond a standard wall for his medals and awards. “How did you end up here?”
“The senior crews who served at Morrison were scattered after the end of the war,” Anne said, as she poured them tea and handed Joshua a china cup. Penny accepted one herself and sipped it gratefully. “I was offered a cruiser command, but then I was approached by your representative and asked if I would like to continue to serve you…”
“Yes, my representative,” Joshua said, calmly. Penny, who knew him better than most, caught the ice hidden behind his words. Joshua was annoyed… and amused. “Tell me about the status of these ships, then.”
Anne smiled as she sipped her own tea. “There’s not much to tell,” she said. She paused, thoughtfully, before continuing. “We had the original crews of these ships and several hundred engineers from the Jupiter Yards, so we started refitting them as we did at Morrison, back before the end of the war. It wasn’t an easy process, but to be fair to Admiral Porter, he did make some inroads on the most urgent problems.”
“There are superdreadnaughts being refitted at Jupiter that should have fought in the battle for Earth,” Joshua rumbled, before taking another sip of his tea. Penny, who’d heard his frequent rants on the subject hundreds of times, nodded in agreement. After the Empress Janice — after Daria — Home Fleet had been run down. It had cost the Empire dearly. “If they had been in any condition to fight without a refit — indeed, practically a rebuild — the battle might have gone the other way.”
“Yes, sir,” Anne agreed. “The first few months were pretty manic, but we finally managed to complete the refit and modernisation scheme for these ships. I can fairly say that they should be a match for anything in the Shadow Fleet, with the possible exception of the Independence-class ships, and have the latest weapons. Of course, there is absolutely no chance of our base being discovered out here, even only two light years from Earth.”
And bare seconds from the planet at FTL speeds, Penny thought. Anne was right, of course. Even the most sensitive sensor network wouldn’t be able to detect the base, until any emissions reached passive sensors orbiting at the edge of the Solar System, and that would be at least a year off, assuming that they weren’t lost in the background roar of the universe. One way or another, the struggle for the future of the Empire would be decided by then. The tri-cornered war would have been resolved.
“Excellent,” Joshua said, as she finished. He wasn’t a man for praise. Penny knew that he only praised people who had done an excellent job. “You have done very well indeed.”
Anne glowed with pleasure. “Thank you, sir,” she said. She smiled brightly enough to make Penny smiled back at her. “Can I ask when we move?”
Joshua lifted an eyebrow. “What did my representative tell you?”
“That when you arrived, we would be going on alert and on an hour’s notice to move,” Anne said. She hadn’t realised — yet — that Joshua had sent no representative. “Now that you’ve arrived, I would like time to run through drills so that you are familiar with your fleet and…”
Joshua held up a hand. “It’s quite all right,” he said, calmly. There were Admirals who would have bitten Anne’s head off and blighted her career for daring to show any trace of independent thinking. Joshua accepted it and welcomed it. His power and position were not at stake. In his Empire, Anne would already be a Commodore by now. “We should have enough time to run some exercises before we flicker out.”
Penny considered it as she finished her tea. It was easy to see what Daria was planning, now. Home Fleet — the Shadow Fleet — represented the core of Colin’s power, a level of firepower that was literally unbeatable by anything that his enemies on Earth could present. As long as he controlled Earth’s low orbitals, his position was effectively impregnable. His death might mean chaos, or it might place someone else in his position, with every incentive to wipe the Earth clean. Joshua’s fleet would do more than just give Daria some teeth. Properly used, under an experienced commander, it would counter the Shadow Fleet. The game was far from unwinnable.