“Contemptible, aren’t they?” Duellos noted with a sour expression. “Maybe that little show of theirs, seeking to avoid all responsibility for their actions, will eliminate the remnants of their support. But maybe not. Some people can find ways to get around anything. I think you handled Kerestes, Numos, and Faresa right, but as far as the commanders of the lighter warships go, you should know that not all of them seem to have learned the lessons that Commander Gaes has.”
“I know. I’ll keep an eye on them. I just hate wholesale sacking of commanders. That’s a Syndic thing to do.”
“Sometimes it’s necessary.” Duellos paused, giving Geary a searching look. “But I imagine you erred on the side of mercy after too nearly erring on the side of vengeance.”
Geary tried to push away a headache. “You could tell?”
“I could. How many others could, I don’t know. There you definitely made the right decision. I say that even though for a moment I was ready to volunteer to be a part of the firing squads for both Numos and Faresa.”
“Thanks.” Geary stared at the system display still floating above the table. “Why do people like the commander and crew of Terrible die while people like Numos and Faresa survive?”
“I fear the answer to that is beyond my knowledge,” Duellos confessed. “I know I’m going to be speaking to my ancestors about it tonight.”
“Me, too. May they grant us the wisdom we need.”
“And the comfort. If you begin to focus too much on those who died here, Captain Geary, remember the sailors who survived this battle, and who escaped from the Syndic home system under your command.”
“You’d think that would balance out, wouldn’t you?” Geary stated. “But it doesn’t. Every ship, every sailor we lose is a blow.”
“And it is nonetheless what we must do.” Duellos nodded and departed.
Exactly sixteen hours later, Geary watched on his display while the drifting wreckage of Invincible blew into fragments as its power core overloaded. There would be no trophy left for the Syndics, and at least the surviving crew members had all been safely transferred to other ships, but it was still a sad moment that called to mind the fate of the Terrible. “All units, accelerate to point zero five light speed and come to course down one three degrees, port two zero degrees at time five one.” It was time to head to the jump point for Tavika, time to bid farewell to Ilion.
He had to be seen on the ship, had to let the crew know he appreciated their efforts and cared about them, even though their welfare was primarily Captain Desjani’s responsibility. Geary walked slowly through the passageways, exchanging brief greetings, occasionally pausing for a short conversation with sailors who seemed to be daring to really believe that they would get home. Their faith in him was still unnerving, but at least Geary could find comfort in knowing that while he had made his share of mistakes, he had also brought them this far in the face of some serious obstacles.
Voices that were low but sounded angry came to him. Geary turned a corner and saw Captain Desjani and Co-President Rione standing almost nose to nose in an otherwise deserted short passageway, their expressions intense. The moment he came into view, they both stopped talking. “Is something wrong?”
“No, sir,” Desjani replied in a crisp voice. “Personal business. By your leave, sir.” She rendered a precise salute to him and walked quickly away.
Geary shifted his gaze to Rione, whose narrowed eyes were watching Desjani leave. “What’s going on?”
Rione glanced at him, her expression smoothing out and hiding any emotions. “You heard your officer, Captain Geary. Personal business.”
“If it concerned me—”
“Do you think we were having a catfight over you, Captain Geary?” Rione asked mockingly.
He felt his temper rising. “No. But I have a right and responsibility to know if there’s bad blood between you and Captain Desjani for any reason.”
Rione was giving him that cool look again, betraying nothing. “Oh, no, Captain Geary. Captain Desjani and I are on the best of terms.” She said it so it sounded like a lie, and he knew Rione had done that on purpose. But why, Geary couldn’t imagine.
Geary tried to control his temper. “Victoria—”
She held up a hand to forestall him. “Co-President Rione has nothing further to say on the subject. Interrogate your officer if you’re not willing to let it lie. Good day, Captain Geary.” Rione turned and walked away, her back and her movements betraying a stiffness of anger he could spot thanks to the time they had spent together.
They were still several hours from reaching the jump point to Tavika, and he already had another problem to deal with. But what was the problem? Desjani had seemed if not welcoming at least more tolerant of Rione lately. Rione, on the other hand, had managed to avoid him since the fleet conference. He still didn’t know how she felt about the events at the conference, and in their brief conversations since then Rione had begged off on the grounds that she was busy on research and other duties.
Geary reached his stateroom, sitting down and staring at the star display for a while before reaching for the internal communications control. “Captain Desjani, I’d appreciate seeing you in my stateroom at your convenience.”
“I’ll be right down, sir,” Desjani replied in a professional voice that revealed nothing. Within a few minutes she arrived, outwardly composed but with troubled eyes.
“Please sit down,” Geary offered. Desjani sat stiffly, her back straight, relaxing not at all. While she normally sat at attention in his stateroom, she was definitely more rigid this time. “I’m sorry if I’m prying, but I needed to ask again. Can you tell me what you and Co-President Rione were arguing about?”
She stared over his shoulder, her face betraying nothing. “I must respectfully decline to answer, sir, as the matter deals with personal issues.”
“That’s within your rights,” Geary agreed heavily. “But I must insist on knowing one thing. Whatever it was about, can you still work effectively with and regarding Co-President Rione?”
“I assure you that I am fully capable of carrying out all of my duties in a professional manner, sir.”
He nodded, letting his dissatisfaction show. “I can’t demand more than that. Please inform me if you think that changes, and please see fit to tell me at some future date if you consider whatever you discussed to concern the safety and welfare of this fleet and its personnel.”
Desjani nodded as well, her expression still controlled. “Yes, sir.”
“You understand I’m in a very awkward position here.”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Okay, then.” Geary was about to tell Desjani she could leave when the door to his stateroom opened, and Rione walked in, either deliberately or inadvertently blatantly advertising the fact that she had personal access to Geary’s living area. It was certainly a remarkable coincidence that Rione had chosen this moment to visit his stateroom again after avoiding him since the conference.
Rione eyed them dispassionately. “Am I interrupting anything?”
Desjani stood up and returned the same expression. “Not at all, Madam Co-President. I was just leaving.”
Geary watched them, fascinated in spite of himself. It was like seeing two battle cruisers circling each other, all shields at maximum, every weapon ready to fire, but both maintaining tight control over their every move so that the situation didn’t escalate into a bloodbath. And he had absolutely no idea why the two were at the brink of hostilities. “Thank you, Captain Desjani,” he stated carefully, wondering if the wrong word from him could somehow lead to open warfare. He wasn’t egotistical enough to think the women were sparring over him, which left him baffled as to what had happened between them.