“I expect that President Iceni would say the same thing if I asked for the battle cruiser as well as half of her other warships,” Drakon conceded. “I understand why she would want to keep Pele protecting Midway. If we don’t keep our base here safe, taking Ulindi won’t do us any good.”
Malin gestured toward the display. “The data on the ground forces also matches what we knew, with only one brigade of regular Syndicate forces assigned. That brigade lost some of its soldiers, who were added to the battle cruiser’s crew to assist in capturing our battleship. All of those died when we took the battle cruiser.” Malin paused, eyeing the display. “And then there are a couple of battalions of planetary militia which are considered unreliable, and the snakes loyal to CEO Haris. Some of the ground forces and some of the snakes are deployed to orbital bases and locations around the star system. From the records Morgan procured, I estimate the actual ground strength of the opposition will be about sixty percent of officially authorized personnel for the Syndicate brigade.”
“One brigade of regular forces at sixty percent strength,” Drakon repeated, “and a couple of battalions of planetary military that have no heavy weapons because the snakes don’t trust them. What do you make of the arrests that started before Morgan got there?”
Malin smiled without visible humor. “Haris is worried. He is seeing more enemies everywhere and striking out at everyone. The sort of mass arrests that Colonel Morgan reported will further turn the population and the ground forces against him.” The smile went away. “However, it means that Colonel Morgan’s attempts to form resistance cells may be limited in success.”
“Through no fault of hers,” Drakon said, frowning. “Haris must be smart enough to know that mass arrests are going to destabilize the populace. It’s the fear of arrest that keeps most Syndicate citizens in line. If the arrests become so common that no one appears safe, they become counterproductive. Haris is courting serious trouble in the long run.”
“Perhaps he is not smart enough to know that, General.”
Drakon eyed Malin. “Colonel, I know you want this operation to be carried out. You want Ulindi turned from threat to ally. Maybe we can achieve that. But I don’t want eagerness to cause anyone to turn a blind eye to potential difficulties.” He was feeling the lack of Morgan here. She would have been challenging Malin’s assumptions, keeping him honest, and pointing out alternatives. And Malin, anticipating her jabs, would have taken extra effort to double-check his own plans.
As mother/son relationships went, it was sort of messed up, but then Morgan didn’t know it was a mother/son relationship, and it had worked pretty well for military planning as far as Drakon was concerned.
“Sir, I am considering all possibilities,” Malin said.
And, to be honest, Drakon couldn’t see any significant problems with what Malin was presenting. “Even if the military in Ulindi stays loyal to Haris,” Drakon said, “we should still be able to take them with no trouble with two brigades of our own supported by warships in low orbit. Captain Bradamont says it should be simple to take down the few antiorbital defenses that Ulindi has.”
“I agree with her assessment,” Malin said. “Morgan also included her assessment that morale is low among the ground forces in Ulindi. It looks… almost easy.”
Drakon nodded, twisting his mouth as he gazed at the display, glad that Malin had brought that up. “Too easy. What are we missing?”
“I can’t find anything, sir. Morgan’s information is very complete, and no matter her other… activities… Colonel Morgan is very good at this sort of thing. Supreme CEO Haris’s recent actions, the surge of arrests and executions, do not suggest confidence or a feeling of strength on Haris’s part.”
“He’s acting scared, isn’t he? But it still looks pretty easy.”
“We could bring three brigades,” Malin suggested. “There should no longer be a requirement to stiffen the locals—”
“No.” Drakon smiled briefly to soften the firm rejection of Malin’s suggestion. “Two brigades won’t short this effort. Haris is not acting like someone with a hidden trump card ready to play, and Morgan would have spotted any hidden trumps. If everything were quiet here, and we had the necessary lift on hand, I’d take all three of our brigades, but President Iceni needs backup, and getting enough lift for two brigades is going to be hard enough. What’s your assessment of the security situation here?”
Malin paused before answering. “General, there is no doubt that someone is working to create problems with the citizens. My sources have yet to identify who that someone is, but with the changes that President Iceni has made, it will be much harder for them to cause civil unrest. The local forces under her control should be more than sufficient—”
“I think President Iceni requires one of our brigades,” Drakon said in a way that made it clear the matter was closed. “Your last guess was that snakes weren’t actually involved,” Drakon pressed. “Do you still believe that?”
“No, sir,” Malin admitted. “Midway needs the commerce that passes through this star system, but that commerce can easily mask the movements of Syndicate agents. I suspect that has happened. There are also very likely more snakes among the personnel from the Reserve Flotilla. I have cautioned against crewing the battleship almost exclusively with them, and against giving command of the battleship to a Reserve Flotilla veteran as well. I still believe that is a mistake we may all regret.”
Drakon made a casting-away gesture with one hand. “That’s a lost battle, Colonel. President Iceni has the utmost faith in Kapitan Mercia. I understand that Captain Bradamont also believes the crew of the Midway are overwhelmingly loyal.”
“How many snakes does it take to bite?” Malin asked. He always projected a cool demeanor, one that many thought actually cold, but now the heat behind his question came through. “If we lose that battleship, then nothing else can possibly make up for it.”
“It’s pretty hard to destroy a battleship,” Drakon said, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his desk. “You’re not really worried about Midway, are you?”
“Sir?” Malin gazed back with an uncomprehending expression.
“You’re worried about Colonel Morgan. You want to ensure that we can take Ulindi so she can be safely recovered.”
“General, with all due respect,” Malin said, his voice stiff, “that is not my primary concern.”
“I didn’t say it was. But you’ve already admitted that you’ve been protecting her for years, without her knowledge.”
“Only when absolutely necessary. She has been sent on a hazardous mission,” Malin said, speaking with extreme care. He had gone cool again, betraying no feeling. “I would be concerned about any officer under those circumstances. But the mission always comes first.”
“Of course,” Drakon agreed, sure that Malin believed what he was saying, but also pretty certain that it wasn’t true. There had been too many incidents in the past which had only become understandable after Malin’s relationship with Morgan had been revealed.
“Sir, all three brigades—” Malin tried again.
“Are not going.” He didn’t know why he felt a growing certainty that a brigade had to be left here. It was like that sixth sense that warned that someone was aiming a shot at him. What it meant, he didn’t know, but Drakon had learned to pay attention to those kinds of intangible premonitions. In this case, though, he had some very tangible reasons as well. “Apart from other considerations, having to arrange transport for and load a third brigade will add significantly to our preparation time for this operation. I won’t waste weeks of time in order to pad our margin of victory, which seems very comfortable already. Do you believe that is a misperception, Colonel?” Drakon asked.