Her lips thinned. “It’s a harsh job you have, sir. Every ship here is undermanned, and our guys know it. Staring out through the net at that horde of ships coming at us is intimidating.”
“I know it, too well. They might not know it, but the slow ships like the one you were on will likely not end up facing worse than two-to-one odds. We’ve done that before and come out on top.”
“I’m telling you, our guys would do a better job if they knew.”
“There’s no way to tell them. They’ll do their duty.”
She moved to his bed and stared down at him, then kissed him lightly on the forehead. ”It’s been a while, Ray. You look older.”
“You look just as ravishing as always, My Lady. Val is a lucky guy.”
She turned away with her eyes brimming to find Waverly staring at her. She took his hand and leaned down to kiss his cheek.
“Your Raiders pulled it off again, My Lady.”
“I know, Jim. There was never any doubt in my mind.” She went to Stevens, ran her hand along his arm, then went to Walters and did the same. “Did I ever thank you for saving my life?” she asked.
“When?”
“When you opened fire on that gun emplacement on Orion III. My ship was holed with the first shot. You were ready, even though we weren’t supposed to open up on it for another half hour. I wouldn’t be here today if you hadn’t been ready.”
“I never knew,” he said in amazement. She leaned down and kissed his forehead, then turned to leave. Before stepping out the door, she turned back to Trexler. “You owe me, Ray.”
After she’d gone, Lieutenant Stevens moaned, “How come I never get the kisses?”
Reba double-checked that her beacon was off, studied her screens for a while, then picked the biggest hole in the Rebel armada she could find and fast-shipped out of the system. When clear of the gauntlet, she turned the small fighter back and set course for the Queen’s frigate. Several short jumps brought her alongside, and she latched her fighter to its side.
The first person she met was Mike, and he was angry. “What are you guys trying to do?” he demanded. “Attract all the Rebel forces to us?”
“Hi, Mike. Actually, yes.” She turned to Ellie and gave her a hug. “You have a job to do for us, Your Majesty.” She greeted Otis, Jessie, Ralph, and Josh, then turned back to Ellie. “I’d forgotten how crowded it always is around you.”
“I like being surrounded by my friends. Val is on the bridge. We didn’t know it was you coming in.”
“Can I say hi to him before I brief you? We have two hours before you take center stage.”
“We’ll brief on the bridge. The ships’ officers should know what’s going on if we’re going to somehow get involved.” Ellie took her arm and led her away. “It’s been many months, Reba. It’s good to see you. How are you?”
Mike and Josh looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, then fell in behind the two women.
Half an hour later, Reba finished delivering her message. Mike had moved to stand behind Ellie with his hands on her shoulders. The strain literally melted from her as Reba explained the battle plan.
Ellie took one of Mike’s hands in her own and turned to him. “Help me construct the message, Michael. The Rebels are my people, too, and I would preserve as many of them as I can.”
“They’re not all your people, Ellie.”
“The commanders are not, most likely, though who can say? I want to reach the crewmembers.”
“The ship’s captains will never let your message go out to the rest of the ship. I’m sure they learned their lesson at Gamma VI.”
“The only survivors in Val’s squadron were the loyal ones, and they have joined with us. The Rebels cannot know what happened there. I want a seed of doubt in the minds of ships captains, a seed that will sprout when the battle heats up. And you know as well as I do that my words will filter through the ships over time. Once the dying starts, some will have a change of heart. I want to encourage that change of heart. I want to encourage surrender. I intend to send the message again when the Rebel reserves come in to make sure they hear it, too.”
“Ellie,” Reba said, “I must caution you against doing anything at all without Chandrajuski’s approval. This battle is incredibly orchestrated.”
“I won’t do anything without his approval. After my first message goes out, everyone will know where we are, and I will be free to tight beam him.”
“If you can get through. They only have three channels, and everyone is going to be screaming. Maybe you’d better give him a heads-up now while they’re not so busy. I don’t think it will hurt to attract a little attention to yourselves at this point. If the Rebels haven’t seen you yet, you might want to get them wondering about who you are.”
“What do you mean, they only have three channels?”
“Our senior people are all on the same ship, Your Majesty.”
“What?”
“I don’t know why. Admiral Trexler and Colonel Waverly are wounded and in sick bay on the same ship.”
“Wounded! Colonel Waverly I can understand, but Ray? What happened to him?”
“I don’t know. They’re both awake and alert and functioning, but the ship only has three tight beam channels.”
“Have they thought about how they’re going to accept surrenders?”
“I have no idea. I know they’re going to try to prevent retreats.”
Ellie looked troubled, but she nodded her head. “Will you convey my concerns to Chandrajuski for me? I’m going to the conference room.”
The clock ticked down. At the precise moment, Ellie nodded to the communications officer, and the general broadcast channel opened. She was dressed in rugged pants and a tight blouse, with a blaster strapped to her hip and a delicate crown resting in her hair. Mike stood by her side, his First Knight medallion prominent on his chest.
She spoke. “I am Ellandra of the Chosen. The line of Chosen continues, through me. I am Queen of your Empire, and I am here leading my loyal Empire forces.
“Hear my call, for I am the only legitimate ruler of Empire, and I have been chosen by you.
“To you Rebel sailors, I say to each and every one of you personally, I have not forsaken you. Rise up against your cruel and cowardly leaders. They will fail you today, and they will fail you always. I will accept the surrender of any ship that asks. Once the battle starts, you will have but two choices, surrender or die. Retreat will not be permitted.
“To you loyal Empire officers and sailors, I say thank you. You have chosen rightly and well, and you will come away with honor.”
She leaned into the pick-up, watching the monitor until her face completely filled the display. “Struthers, I believe you are within the sound of my voice. Hear me well. You have thrust your will upon our Empire in the most cowardly way. You know which ship I am in. Come for me if you dare. I will not run from you. I will stay and fight. Your grand plan has failed. You have lost Orion Sector, you will lose Aldebaran Sector today, and that is but the beginning of the end for you. You’re a coward, and I call you out.”
“So that’s the Queen, huh?” Waverly said. “There’s a bit of iron in her backbone.”
“More like steel, I’d say,” Trexler responded. “She’s also one of the warmest women you will ever meet. Did it do the job you intended?”
“I believe it did. If I was a Rebel, and if I was sitting on the fence, I’d know which side to get off.”
“How about you, Stevens?”
“Bring it on, man!”
“Walters?”
“If I was Struthers, I’d be really, really embarrassed right now, and I’d be angry. I wonder if he’ll send out a rebuttal?”
“Hmm. Good question. If he does, he’ll sound weak. She showed leadership, whereas a rebuttal puts you in second place no matter how well it’s done. We have more waiting to do. I think I’ll get some sleep.”