“I don’t want to fire on any more Fleet people,” I continued. “They won't listen to Captain Danought; they called him a traitor and a coward. They think I’m an imposter. They’re demanding a ship to go back and, quote, ‘let His Majesty know what’s being done out here in his name.’ They went for Jonas’ cover story hook, line and sinker.”
The Fleet Admiral looked thoughtful. “I see. Do they know I’m here?”
“Yes, sir. We were negotiating with them when your ships arrived. I was hoping, well, would you mind, sir? My people have had their fill of fighting for awhile.”
He walked back to the desk and flicked a switch. “Res? I want to talk to a particularly thick Lieutenant Commander squatting on a moon out there. Captain Danought can tell you how to make contact. Call me when you have him.”
He returned to me. “All right. Now, I’ve been hearing that you’ve developed some interesting unconventional ships out here. I’ll take that stupid crew off your hands if you’ll offer me a tour.” His grin was genuine and wide.
I returned the grin. “Done, sir! We’ll board one of the privateers, and we’ll tour her. We’ll even let you have some fun with some interesting weapons. But I think you’ll be just as interested in our attack boats. They’re weird and wonderful.”
We continued to chat for several minutes. Then a buzzer on his desk rang, and he went to talk to the mutineers on the moon.
“I am Fleet Admiral Vinlen Chu-Lo,” he began. “Do you recognize me?”
“Of… of course, sir,” the Lieutenant Commander replied in a small voice.
“Good. That may be the only intelligent thing you’ve done recently! I have orders for you. In one hour, a shuttle will be sent to the moon you occupy. You and your people will board that shuttle for transport to this ship.” His thunderous scowl turned sardonic. “You’re about to get your wish. You’re going ‘home’ to Prime. Chu-Lo out!” He didn’t give the Lieutenant Commander a chance to reply, or even to acknowledge the orders. “That takes care of that,” he said. I could almost hear the thud of twenty-three Fleet careers slamming into a dead end. He sighed. “I guess I have to take the idiots back. I almost wish you’d wiped them out before I got here — would’ve raised the average IQ in the Fleet by ten points.”
I shook my head. “I’ve killed entirely too many Fleet people, thanks to Jonas. Thank you for making it unnecessary to kill more.”
He looked at me intently. “You mean that. I’m surprised you ever left the Fleet, if it means that much to you.”
I shrugged. “I had to. After Haskins’ World, I had to get entirely away from the military. As it was, the nightmares nearly drove me crazy. Thanks to an engineer named Hari Carlon and an old surplus cargo hauler, I made it. But I still feel like Fleet.”
I took him for a tour of one of the privateers. He stood on the bridge as its amazing speed and maneuverability were demonstrated, then thoroughly enjoyed shooting up an asteroid with one of the quick-firers. By the time we headed for Valkyrie, he was dictating memos directing Fleet procurement to look into contracting with the rim yards for a number of privateers.
The privateers impressed him, but the boats were something completely new. We went all out, staging a mock attack on Ruthless with three privateers and all our boats. Cackling gleefully, Admiral Chu-Lo launched Ruthless ' fifty Strengl fighters. The Strengls ‘destroyed’ one privateer and ‘damaged’ another, but were themselves ‘wiped out’ in minutes at the ‘cost’ of four boats. The remaining boats swarmed around Ruthless, registering hit after hit, and defying Ruthless ’ gunners’ efforts to lock onto them. In less than half an hour, Chu-Lo was forced to admit that Ruthless had been ‘destroyed’. When the simulated attack was concluded, Toms Tindarr and his boys went on to give the Fleet Admiral an unscheduled exhibition of a boat dance.
When we returned to the flag cabin, Chu-Lo was looking thoughtful.
“What you’ve done out here is incredible,” he began. “I had my doubts, but His Majesty insisted that the Rim would be the salvation of civilization. Now, I’m not so sure he wasn’t right. I know that I wouldn’t want to take on your forces with an entire battle group. You’re rewriting the book on spaceborne tactics. Once you get your Fleet established, I hope you’ll entertain visitors from the Fleet — we’ve got a lot to learn from you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t expect to be around, sir. Cord shanghaied me by grabbing my ship. Now that it’s all over, maybe I can go back to being just a fat old trader.”
He gave me that intent look again. “Had any nightmares recently?” he asked with elaborate casualness.
“Why, no sir.” I replied, confused.
“Uh huh. Admiral,” he continued, “You’re an excellent strategist and an outstanding tactician. You probably even make a profit as a trader. But mostly, you’re a commander. You can no more walk away from command than breathe vacuum. Cord’s too smart not to ask you to build the new rim worlds Fleet. If you turn him down, you'll regret it the rest of your days.”
“Will you be visiting Haven, Admiral? I'm sure the Viceroy would be honored.”
The old man's grin told me that he’d seen through my effort to change the subject. “I’m afraid not, Val. I’ll have to return to Prime immediately." He grimaced. “The only reason His Majesty unchained me from my desk this time was that we thought a dreadnought might have fallen into the wrong hands.” He shrugged and chuckled. “We were right, but we didn’t count on having you out here to throw rocks at it!”
Fleet Admiral Chu-Lo didn’t participate in the ceremonies that had been hastily prepared. Instead, he ordered that all Fleet personnel tune into a broadcast, during which he announced an amnesty for all Fleet people for any acts committed pursuant to orders from a superior officer. He also mentioned that despite Jonas’ claims, the Fleet had never intended to abandon its personnel on the rim. “Our intent was that you would be rotated back as you finished training rimworld replacements for yourselves. His Majesty was very disturbed to learn that Fleet personnel would believe that he would violate the Round Trip Ticket. I was equally disturbed to learn that our people would believe such a ridiculous story. If you can truly believe that the Fleet is capable of such duplicity, perhaps you should reconsider your career choices.
“Yes, the rim will be taking over Thaeron and the ships currently homeported here. His Majesty has seen fit to present them to his good friend and ally, Sander Cord. However, he has not and will not abandon Empire subjects! On the contrary, His Majesty has asked me to urge you to train the rim people as quickly as possible, so we can bring you home.”
After a few more reassurances and pleasantries, Chu-Lo ended his broadcast.
Finally, it was time to say goodbye. I saluted him, but Chu-Lo would have none of it; he shook my hand. “Admiral,” he said, “It’s been a genuine pleasure to meet you. I’m sure we'll be seeing each other again.” Suddenly he leaned close. “Val, thank you for the most fun I've had in years! Playing with that quick-firer and then commanding during that battle exercise are things I’ll remember fondly when I’m chained to my desk."
His smile faded and his voice got even softer. “I can guarantee you at least five years, Val. His Majesty is positive that he can control the troublemakers for that long. After that…” he shrugged. “Use the time wisely.” He sighed. “I’ll pray that our fleets never have to oppose each other. Good Luck, Val!” He turned sharply and strode away. Ruthless boosted for the jump point within the hour.
Chapter XVII
Valkyrie and the privateers jumped shortly afterward. We had nothing to fear from Thaeron, and our jobs were largely done. All that remained was for the privateers to jump to Outback for removal of their weaponry, and Valkyrie to Haven, so I could report to Cord. I hoped he wouldn’t suck me back into that social whirlpool. We left all the true warships at Thaeron; they wouldn’t be needed immediately — we hoped.