He could have Numos shot. And Faresa. Maybe Kerestes, too, though the man didn’t seem worth a bullet. No one could stop him. Numos could get what he deserved. Justice would be done and done quickly and damn the legal niceties.
It was so very tempting because it felt so very right and because it was what his anger wanted him to do.
Geary took a long, slow breath. So this is what life as Black Jack Geary could be. Do what I want. Make my own rules. I’m a hero. The hero of the Alliance. The hero of this fleet. And I want so badly to make Numos and Faresa pay.
Badly enough to use the sort of power I swore I had no interest in? Badly enough to act like a Syndic CEO? Badly enough to become the man Victoria Rione believed me to be? Is that what all my lectures to these people about doing what is honorable come down to? Myself breaking the rules because I can when the reason matters enough to me? At least Falco genuinely believed he could break the rules because he was special and the only one who could save the Alliance. I wouldn’t even have that excuse. I’d be doing it because others thought I was special when I didn’t believe it myself.
He looked down the table to where Rione sat. She was watching him, her face devoid of expression, but her eyes bored into him like a battery of hell lances. She knew what he was thinking, knew what he was feeling.
Geary did not look at Numos, not sure he could refrain from giving an order for an execution if he kept seeing Numos’s ugly pride. “I won’t. This will be handled in accordance with the letter and spirit of fleet regulations. Charges will be preferred. If opportunity permits, court-martials will be held before our return to Alliance space. If not, you’ll be handed over to Alliance authorities with charge sheets signed by me.”
“We demand to be released,” Faresa insisted. “There’s no grounds for this unlawful detention.”
“Don’t push me,” Geary warned, realizing as he did so that both Numos and Faresa would probably derive a last satisfaction from driving him to compromise his principles by having them executed. You won’t get that from me. I won’t grant you that victory. Not today. Every day I’m going to wake up and go to sleep knowing I could make them pay. May my ancestors help me avoid the temptation to inflict vengeance upon those two and that idiot Kerestes. “You have the blood of Alliance sailors on your hands,” Geary stated. “If you had honor, you’d resign your commissions in shame. If you had courage, you would’ve stayed and let Triumph escape.” He was using his power to browbeat them now, when they had Marine guards standing nearby and had to just take it. Abuse of power was too damned easy. Calling the Marines guarding Numos, Faresa, and Kerestes, Geary had them dropped from the conference circuit.
He took a moment then to run one hand through his hair, looking at the surface of the table and trying to let his anger drain away. Looking up at the other officers again, Geary spoke in what he hoped was a calm voice. “It will take a little while to properly evacuate Invincible. Her crew performed in an outstanding fashion. Invincible and her crew will receive a fleet citation for courageous action prior to the crew being evacuated and the ship abandoned. We’ll blow up the wreck afterward to keep it out of enemy hands. I deeply regret the loss of that ship, as well as the other ships lost recently. I want us to be ready to leave this star system tomorrow, subject to the readiness of Warrior, Majestic, Orion, and the lighter units that have sustained damage to make the jump. I’d like to be informed of any problems on any of those ships that might prevent us from leaving. Our objective will be Tavika. Are there any questions?”
A commander with a haunted expression spoke in a steady voice. “What are your intentions toward the commanding officers of the other ships that accompanied Captain Falco, sir?”
Geary studied the woman. Commander Gaes of the Lorica, one of the surviving heavy cruisers. Her ship had stayed with Invincible while that ship limped to safety. “What do you think I should do?”
Her mouth worked silently for a moment before words came out. “Hold us accountable for our actions. Sir.”
“How bad was it at Vidha?” Geary asked.
Commander Gaes bit her lip and looked away for a moment. “Very bad. Overwhelming odds. We’d already lost two light cruisers and a destroyer at a mined jump point on the way to Vidha. As soon as we reached Vidha, we lost four more ships to mines right out of the jump point, and Polaris took enough damage she couldn’t keep up. The Syndics were sweeping in. We were asking for orders but none came. Triumph told us to run while she acted as rear guard, otherwise none of us would have made it out.” She paused. “My executive officer is ready to assume command of my ship.”
Gaes was no less guilty than Numos, perhaps, but had the courage to accept the consequences. And she had stayed with Invincible, doing what a damaged heavy cruiser could do to protect a crippled sister ship. “Not yet,” Geary replied. “You made a grave error. So did the commanders of the other escorts. Unlike certain fleet captains, you’re willing to admit that, and willing to take responsibility for your actions. You also had the courage and honor to remain with Invincible. I’m not blind to that. On that basis, I’m willing to give you another chance. Will you stick with this fleet from now on, Commander Gaes?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then show me how good a commanding officer you can be. You and the others. I won’t pretend I won’t be paying particular attention to you and them. Can you live with that?”
Gaes looked back at Geary, her expression still haunted. “I’m going to have to live with memories of Vidha, sir.”
“So you will. May it make you and the others better officers. If you or any of those others decide you can no longer bear the burden of command, let me know. Otherwise, carry out your orders, Commander Gaes.”
She nodded. “I will.”
“Then I’ll see you all in Tavika.” Geary waited as the images of the other officers vanished rapidly. Rione’s image disappeared as fast as the others. Desjani, shaking her head and giving Geary a sympathetic look, left with a quick apology about duties she needed to be seeing to.
In a very short time, only Captain Duellos’s image was left, looking pensive. “I never cared for Captain Falco, but it’s a sad thing to see, isn’t it?”
Geary nodded. “How do we do justice to a man who no longer lives in this world?”
“Perhaps the fleet physicians can cure his ailment.”
“Cure him so we can try him? Cure him so he can use his skills to contest command of the fleet again?” Geary gave a bitter smile. “Or just cure him so he can realize what he did to the ships and crews who followed him? That would be a form of vengeance, wouldn’t it? Would Falco ever be able to recognize and accept guilt? Or would he rationalize it all away?”
“I don’t pretend to know what justice would be in a case like this,” Duellos noted. “But Captain Falco has lived in a universe centered on himself for a long time. On devotion of a sort to the Alliance as well, to be sure, but in Falco’s mind he and the Alliance are one and the same. I don’t think he’ll ever be capable of understanding his role in the loss of those ships.”
“What about the others?” Geary asked.