She smiled again. “That’s why I remain interested in you. You keep passing your tests, General. I will admit to you that I won’t be thrilled to be going, but as you say necessity must rule our actions. Speaking of actions, there’s another decision coming up. Manticore will reach orbit around this world today and those three soldiers from Iwa will be shuttled down to here.” Iceni gave Drakon an inquiring look. “What are you going to do with the three soldiers?”
He shrugged. “Let my medical people check them out and fix them up, while my intelligence people find out everything they saw at Iwa and try to learn anything they might have observed but didn’t realize was important. Then do what I usually do. Security screen them, and if they pass ask if they want to join my forces. I have no idea from the Kommodor’s report whether any of those three are hard-core Syndicate, or have strong family ties that they wouldn’t want to imperil by joining us.”
Iceni looked pensive, putting her hand to her mouth and looking off to the side. “They were rescued from an enigma-controlled world. Black Jack’s fleet rescued humans from the enigmas, too. But now we have. That is going to give us important standing with everyone who hears of it.”
“I love it when you talk like that,” Drakon said, amused and relieved that the conversation had gone so well despite the need to talk about Morgan.
She gave him a sidelong look. “We have enough challenges facing us that we need to make use of every possible resource.”
“I was thinking about that,” Drakon said. “Every possible resource. What are you going to do with that heavy cruiser we just captured?”
“Something that big isn’t just my decision,” Iceni said. “You get a say even though this is a mobile forces unit. The obvious thing to do is to add it to our forces, and screen the surviving crew to see which ones we can trust. But…”
Drakon nodded. “What’s the hitch?”
“Money,” Iceni said. She spread her hands in the age-old gesture of helplessness. “We’ve had enough discussions about this, especially before mounting that operation to Ulindi. Midway is one star system. We’re not particularly wealthy, though thanks to the hypernet gate and transit fees on merchant ships using our many jump points we rake in more money than most star systems like ours. We’ve been collecting more warships, and using up expendable weapons and fuel cells, and recruiting crews, and…” She sighed. “In a perfect world we’d keep adding more warships until we matched Black Jack’s fleet. But money is getting tight. We can borrow, we can delay, but we have to think of the future as well as right now.”
It felt good to hear her talking about “we” and knowing that Iceni really meant it. “Are you thinking of scrapping that heavy cruiser because we can’t afford it?”
“No! It’s too valuable. But it will require a lot of repairs, and a crew that has to be paid. I haven’t decided.” Iceni waved one hand toward him. “What do you think?”
Drakon returned the gesture. “You brought this up before. If we can’t pay for it, why can’t we get someone else to pay for it?”
She laughed. “I don’t—You’re serious?”
“We handed a battle cruiser over to Taroa,” Drakon pointed out.
“A battle cruiser that was not even half-built,” Iceni protested. Then she fell silent as she considered Drakon’s words. “We’ve already reached out to surrounding star systems to form a tighter relationship for self-defense and trade. They’re concerned that we’re just going to use that as a step for eventually establishing full control over them by building a new, mini-Syndicate.”
“But,” Drakon said, “if we give one of them something as substantial as a heavy cruiser, even one that needs repairs…”
She nodded quickly. “I wasn’t actually ready to start offering warships to other star systems. Mentally, I know the importance of that. Emotionally, I still want every warship here at Midway that I can get my hands on. But you are right. And there are still some survivors of the Reserve Flotilla who haven’t found new jobs. Some of them would surely want to go to that heavy cruiser, no matter whether it ended up at Taroa, or Ulindi, or Kane, or— Who gets that cruiser, Artur?”
“Taroa.” Drakon leaned back and explained. “They’re finishing building that battle cruiser that the Syndicate started. According to the status reports that I’m getting, in another few months that battle cruiser will be well enough along that other people might decide it’s worth trying to steal it, or the Syndicate might get wind of it and decide to send in a small force to sabotage it if they can’t steal it. Taroa needs the heavy cruiser to protect the battle cruiser, until that battle cruiser can protect itself.”
She nodded to him, smiling. “I can’t find any flaws in that reasoning. Taroa is also, aside from Ulindi, the best positioned to actually be able to pay for repairing and operating that warship. As soon as the heavy cruiser is fixed up enough to safely jump to Taroa, we’ll gift it to them as a sign of our deep commitment to the security of neighboring star systems, and that we meant what we said to them. And you know what else, Artur?”
“What?”
“I just realized that during this whole conversation I never once found myself wondering what other game you might be playing, what cards you were holding back, or how you might be maneuvering to position yourself against me.”
He gazed at her, surprised to realize the same of himself. “Damn. Saves a lot of time when you’re not worried about a knife in the back, doesn’t it?”
Iceni’s smile broadened. “We’re going to do it, Artur. You and me. We’re going to beat the enigmas, and Imallye, and the Syndicate, and we are going to make this star system and those around it into something that will stand against every danger.”
He smiled back and nodded, trying not to show the fears he felt about her facing both the enigmas and Imallye at Iwa. “How about discussing it over dinner?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’d love to… discuss more with you tonight. Your heavily defended place or mine?”
The next morning, she and Drakon went together to the ground forces medical wards to see the three rescued soldiers. Iceni wanted to make it publicly clear that the relationship was not a one-night thing and that it was not considered a secret by either her or Drakon. She also wanted to see those soldiers.
The three had obviously benefited from the medically imposed sleep aboard Manticore as well as from all of the intravenous and regular nourishment that could safely be pumped into them. Their bodies showed substantial recovery from the hardships that the three had endured. But their eyes still held that trapped-animal look which would take longer to heal than the damage done to their bodies. “I want to thank you for a job well done, and assure you that you will be welcome in this star system should you pass the security screening,” Iceni told them.
The three, lying in three adjacent med units, stared at her with varying degrees of incomprehension and disbelief. Finally, the most senior spoke up hesitantly. “Honored CEO—”
“President,” Iceni corrected.
“Honored… President, we failed in our mission.”
“Your mission,” Drakon said, “changed. The moment it became clear that you had no chance against the aliens and the rest of your unit died, your mission became to survive so that the records in your armor and your own personal observations could be of use to us in retaking Iwa for humanity.”
The woman’s eyes grew dark. “You are going to retake Iwa? Avenge our fellow workers?”
“Yes,” Drakon said.
“I will give you all you wish. Ask me! I will… I will even go back! I will go back there and fight them again!”