“I would not presume to accuse you of such a thing, Madam President.”
“Good.” Iceni let her gaze rest on the inhabited planet. Nearly five light-hours distant, so her message would not be received there until that time had elapsed, and any reply would take at least as long even if sent immediately. At least ten hours before she received any answer, and she had slept poorly earlier due to worries about what they would find here at Kane. “I am going to get some rest. Notify Colonel Rogero that it will be approximately forty hours before we expect to employ his ground forces. And notify me of any significant changes in the situation.”
“Yes, Madam President,” Marphissa said, all business again. “What about the readiness state of the warships? Do you wish them maintained at condition one?”
“No.” There had been times when Iceni had been under the command of CEOs who kept their crews at maximum combat readiness for days at a time so they would be “ready for anything.” The actual result had been that the crews were totally exhausted when they finally encountered the enemy, and thus far from being ready. She would not repeat that mistake. “Bring the warships back to standard cruising readiness state. Make sure every unit commander knows that I want the crews well rested when we get close to that gas giant.” There wasn’t anything humanitarian about that, either. It was simply good planning.
Nonetheless, the wave of relief that swept through the junior officers and specialists on the bridge was so strong that it almost felt like a physical thing. Iceni suppressed a smile, recalling the days when she had resigned herself to indefinite time on a bridge duty station while the enemy was still several light-hours distant. Everyone on the bridge knew that their target was a battleship, yet all of them seemed confident and cheerful. She could not understand it.
As Iceni closed the hatch on her stateroom, she felt the sense of respite that came from being behind a locked barrier. How long had it been since she could go out among others without worrying about who was at her back?
She felt more confident about Marphissa, though. The woman showed every sign of being smart, capable, loyal, and willing to speak truth to power. That last was often regarded by CEOs and sub-CEOs as an annoyance at best, but Iceni knew the value of that quality in a subordinate when married with the other virtues. Assuming that Marphissa really was all of those things, particularly loyal.
Did they really decide to back me because they thought I would care what happened to them? I suppose I do care, to the extent that I wouldn’t abandon them to the enigmas when things seemed hopeless. That was my responsibility as the CEO in charge of the star system. That’s how I operate—I do my job right—and not taking care of them now, when my fate rests on how well they perform in battle, would be foolish.
She lay on her bunk, gazing upward, wondering why the memory of the cheerful confidence in the crew made her feel rewarded. Their opinions didn’t matter. They didn’t matter. She had been taught that all of her professional life.
But, then, she had rebelled against what she had been taught, hadn’t she?
Because that system had failed.
“CEO Janusa.” The man sending the message seemed to be cautiously welcoming. Iceni didn’t recognize him. “I am CEO Reynard. Welcome to Kane. I congratulate you on your victory in the Midway Star System and would be appreciative if you would forward me the details of the fighting there so that I can learn from your example.”
He’s not a CEO. He’s talking like a sub-CEO, trying to flatter me as a way of gaining information. Interesting.
“CEO Reynard” had taken on a concerned look. “I must inform you that our mobile forces facility orbiting the fourth planet was recently picked clean of supplies by another Syndicate flotilla. If you will instead proceed to the second planet, I will ensure that your flotilla receives any support that it requires. That will allow you to resupply as quickly as possible so you can proceed with your assignment. For the people, Reynard, out.”
So, “Reynard,” what is your real name and what is your real game? Have the Syndicate Worlds been overthrown here? What happened to CEO Chan, who was in control here the last I heard? He could have been swept up by the snakes, in which case you could be a Syndicate replacement, promoted rapidly after the ISS cleaned out the CEO ranks in this star system.
He also seems eager for us to leave. One thing I can be certain of is that “Reynard” doesn’t want us going to the gas giant. That’s a good sign. “Maintain course for the mobile forces facility about the gas giant,” Iceni ordered Marphissa.
She thought about her next step, then activated her comms.
“This is CEO Janusa responding to CEO Reynard. Unfortunately, I lack the time for a diversion to the second planet of this star system. My flotilla will proceed to the mobile forces facility, where I am certain I will be able to acquire whatever I need. For the people, Janusa, out.”
Another message. “This is CEO Janusa to the commander of the flotilla located near the fourth planet of this star system. I am here under direct orders from the government at Prime. I wish to be contacted by your commander as soon as possible. There are urgent requirements that necessitate changing your tasking.” Those requirements being the need to get you farther away from that mobile forces facility so I can have a free hand there.
“CEO Janusa is really throwing her weight around,” Kommodor Marphissa commented after Iceni finished sending the second message.
“She’s a real bitch,” Iceni agreed. “That will ensure that no one questions whether she’s a real CEO. Have you had any luck informally contacting the commanders of any of the warships in that other flotilla?”
“I’ve sent them some feelers via the unauthorized back channels in the comm system, but no replies yet.”
“Let me know the instant there are. I’d much rather collect those warships as additions to my flotilla than have to fight them.”
They were twenty-eight hours’ travel time from the mobile forces facility.
The next message came seven hours later, from the facility orbiting the gas giant rather than the inhabited planet. “CEO Janusa, please alter vector and proceed to the second planet. I regret to inform you that we have had an outbreak of serious illness following the last flotilla’s visit to this facility. We have yet to identify a successful treatment. More than half of our personnel are already incapacitated. For the people, this is acting facility commander Sub-CEO Petrov, out.”
“She looks in good health for someone overseeing a plague-struck facility,” Iceni commented. “Kommodor Marphissa, I want your ship’s physician to evaluate the appearance in this message of Sub-CEO Petrov, if that is indeed her real name.”
Marphissa passed on the order, then turned to Iceni. “If they are suffering from possible plague conditions, then regulations call for the facility to have already been broadcasting a standard warn-off when we arrived in this star system. Instead, this message comes at a time delay consistent with having received orders to send it from the authorities on the second planet after those authorities had heard your reply to their request that you divert there.”
“What an astounding coincidence.”
Listening to an internal message, Marphissa nodded. “Understood,” she said. “Madam President, my unit’s physician says that Sub-CEO Petrov was clearly under stress when she sent the message but showed no signs of illness or long-term stress outside normal parameters for a sub-CEO.”
Iceni watched the slow changes in the positions of objects on her display as her flotilla raced steadily toward the gas giant, and as the planets, moons, asteroids, and comets in the Kane Star System swung much more slowly about their sun or each other. “The flotilla near the gas giant still hasn’t moved. How long can they wait to move and still be able to intercept us before we reach a position where we can see behind the curve of that planet?”