Incansable (81 page)

He’d made it back, reached the star system where his grandniece was located, and his first words to her had been orders to sacrifice herself if necessary to defend the hypernet gate here.

“Are you sure your orders won’t be overridden?” Rione asked. “There may still be a surviving admiral within this star system.”

“No one’s asserted command over Jane Geary yet,” Desjani pointed out as if answering something that someone else had said. “But we’re back in home territory, and someone might try to order senseless assaults by the defenders or by this fleet.” Desjani turned to face her communications watch. “Should any orders come for Captain Geary from any officer senior to him within this star system, I want to ensure that this ship does not develop a serious problem with receipt and relay of incoming messages. Any error would be unacceptable. Under the circumstances, I will personally screen all such messages before receipt is acknowledged and before they are relayed to any other ships in the fleet to ensure they aren’t garbled and that Captain Geary isn’t distracted at an inopportune moment.”

The communications watch-stander seemed momentarily startled, then nodded with a serious expression. “I understand, Captain. If I see such a message, I should pass it on to you alone so that you can see how badly garbled it is.”

“Yes. Exactly. You are not to bother Captain Geary with anything like that until we’ve finished with the Syndics in this star system.” Desjani settled back in her captain’s seat and saw Geary’s expression. “Is there a problem, sir?”

“Only that I may still have been underestimating you, Captain Desjani.”

She raised one eyebrow at him. “That can be dangerous, sir.”

“I won’t argue that.” Geary turned, looking toward Rione. “Madam Co-President, while I’m engaging the Syndics, I’d appreciate it if you could find out what we’re dealing with in this star system on the Alliance side.”

Rione made a noncommittal gesture. “That’s already under way. As far as I can tell at this point, I’m the senior political figure present, so you need not worry about additional political thorns in your side for the time being.”

“That leaves the Syndics. How do we short-circuit their plans, Tanya?” He already knew the answer, the only one available. “We have to reinforce the defending task force and bring the rest of the fleet against the Syndics. Stop them from collapsing the gate and hurt them badly enough that they can’t carry out their plans.”

Desjani gave him a challenging look. “You know what battle cruisers do, Captain Geary.”

“Yeah.” He had twelve battle cruisers left with the fleet, several of those still bearing significant damage. But they had the firepower he needed, and they could get it where it was needed. “How fast can we go without running out of fuel cells once we get to the Syndics?”

She ran the calculations. “Point one four light speed.
Dauntless
is accompanying them?” The question was tinged with worry and hope.

“You bet she is.” He started working up new formations. “We need to split the fleet. One formation consisting of the twelve battle cruisers accompanied by the light cruisers and some of the destroyers. The other made up of the battleships, the heavy cruisers, and the rest of the destroyers.”

“Got it. I’ll make sure the Twelfth Light Cruiser and Twenty-third Destroyer Squadrons stay with the battleships. They’re too low on fuel cells to accompany the battle cruisers.”

“Good catch.” They worked frantically, double-checked their work against each other’s, then Geary transmitted the orders. “All units in the Alliance fleet, execute attached maneuvering orders at time two one zero five.” He paused, eyes running down the list of battleships.
Warspite.
She’d done very well. “Captain Plant, you are designated the commander of the battleship formation. If something happens to me, you are to make every effort to prevent the Syndics from destroying the hypernet gate here.”

“I understand,” Plant replied several seconds later. “Good hunting, sir.”

Rione was by his side again, speaking urgently in a hushed voice only he could hear. “Captain Geary, you can’t send
Dauntless
into that kind of danger.”

“Madam Co-President,” he responded in equally quiet tones, “if that hypernet gate collapses, then
Dauntless
will be in peril no matter where in this star system she is located. We have to stop the Syndics from succeeding in that, and
Dauntless
is now one-twelfth of my battle-cruiser force. She is needed with her sister ships.”

Rione exhaled in exasperation but didn’t argue further, going back to her observer’s seat.

“Thank you, sir,” Desjani breathed.

“We need to beat the Syndics and survive, Captain Desjani. Can we do that?”

“We’ll do our damnedest, sir.”

On the display the smooth shapes of the Alliance subformations came apart, roughly half of the ships collapsing in toward a single disc holding every surviving battleship and the heavy cruisers along with a healthy number of destroyers. The battle cruisers, most of the light cruisers, and the rest of the destroyers surged forward, sliding together into their own smaller disc as all of them accelerated along a vector aimed at reaching a projected position between the Syndic reserve flotilla and Varandal’s hypernet gate.

Geary felt a thrill as the battle cruisers surged forward, hurtling toward the enemy at an acceleration that battleships could never match. He’d never really experienced the charge of a massed battle-cruiser formation, and even though the rational part of him saw the weakness of the armor and shields in the battle cruisers and knew this force couldn’t sustain much more damage, his emotions watched the display as the battle cruisers charged and felt an irrational thrill at the courage and glory of it all.

It wasn’t smart, but by his ancestors, it was magnificent.

He wondered how many of the battle cruisers would survive this charge.

MORE messages to send, one to the enemy. “Give me a link to the Syndic flagship.” A moment later, the link established, Geary put on his best “hero out of legend” look as he sent his message. “To the CEO commanding the Syndicate Worlds reserve flotilla, this is Captain John Geary. We know from whom your flotilla has been defending Syndicate Worlds space on the border on the far side from the Alliance. You know that the Alliance did not collapse the hypernet gate at Kalixa. You know who did. Don’t serve their aims. You will not be permitted to carry out your orders in this star system. To the honor of our ancestors. Geary out.”

It probably wouldn’t work, but it was worth trying.

Another message. “To the Alliance command center in Varandal, this is Captain John Geary, acting commanding officer of the Alliance fleet. I will attempt to defeat this Syndic flotilla and request any assistance you can provide. Be advised that the Syndic goal is to collapse the hypernet gate here, producing an energy discharge of nova-scale intensity. To the honor of our ancestors. Geary out.”

Desjani got his attention. “Cresida is broadcasting her package. It’s going out to everyone in the star system.”

“Good.” He took a moment to think, watching his ships move through space, the arcs of their paths forming a brilliant web on the display. The battle cruisers were swinging out wide, the battleships cutting in through the star system, aiming to reach positions on either side of the Syndics.

Should he have said something else to his grandniece? But what could he say in the middle of battle?
You’ve probably noticed that
Repulse
isn’t with the fleet. That’s because your brother probably died covering the fleet’s retreat from the Syndic home system. He gave me a message for you, by the way.

No. Anything personal would have to wait. Jane Geary didn’t need the distractions. Neither did he. Until this engagement was over, he was the fleet commander first, Captain John Geary second, and the granduncle of Jane Geary a distant third.

The battle cruisers were settling into formation with their light cruisers and destroyers, the battleships already falling behind. After the rush of activity, there would be a long period of waiting. Even at their higher velocity, it would take the battle cruisers twenty-five hours to reach their goal, an orbit between the Syndics and the hypernet gate. In about two and a half more hours, the Syndic reserve flotilla would see the arrival of the Alliance fleet. It would be a little less than three additional hours before the Alliance fleet saw how the Syndics reacted to that.

Geary called the fleet. “Stand down from combat imminent status. Rest your crews.”

“Sir,
Howitzer
is requesting instructions.”

He accepted the message, seeing
Howitzer
’s commanding officer’s jaw drop as she saw Geary. “What were your orders, Captain?” he asked.

It took
Howitzer
’s commanding officer a moment to recover. “Uh, sir, we had orders to maintain position near this jump point, acting as scout and courier as necessary.”

“Very well. I understand that’s not the most glamorous assignment, but it’s a very important one. Remain on station. If the Syndics succeed in causing the collapse of the hypernet gate here, you’ll see them destroying the tethers. Do not wait to view the collapse of the gate. If you do, you’ll be destroyed by the wave front coming out of it. You’ll be able to tell when it’s close to collapse. You’ll have to jump before that and report that Varandal has probably been destroyed.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

“Thank you.” Geary sat and gazed at the display after the image of
Howitzer
’s captain vanished, thinking of everything that could go wrong. “Tanya, what should the battle cruisers’ fuel-cell reserves be at when we meet the Syndics?”

“Roughly fifteen percent, sir, more or less depending on what the Syndics do.”

“How many fuel cells does the fleet use in a typical engagement?”

Desjani spread her hands. “One of your typical engagements or one of the engagements before you assumed command, sir?”

“Mine.”

“You don’t have a typical engagement, sir.” She smiled encouragingly. “We can do it with fifteen percent.”

“If faith were fuel cells, Captain Desjani, you could power this entire fleet.”

“I’m not the only one with faith, Captain Geary.” Her eyes indicated the watch-standers on the bridge, who were calmly or excitedly discussing events. None of them betrayed dread or uncertainty. “They don’t fear the outcome here.”

About five hours later Geary watched his display. In a window there, Captain Jane Geary was acknowledging her orders, her posture and voice stiff, her eyes blazing. She had a haggard appearance, obviously worn by the extended battle that had been fought here before the Alliance fleet arrived. He’d known that because of the century he’d spent in survival sleep, Jane Geary had aged more years than he despite being his grandniece, but it was still odd to see her a bit older than he, her great-uncle. “This is Captain Jane Geary, acknowledging orders from the acting fleet commander. Understand we are to fight to the death to prevent the Syndics from destroying the hypernet gate. Geary out.”

She avoided saying his name, but she wasn’t disputing his authority. For a moment Geary felt a twinge of resentment that Jane Geary hadn’t saluted, then recalled that no one outside of the fleet would use a gesture that he had reintroduced to the fleet. Her omission hadn’t been an insult.

Jane Geary had clearly understood the orders to stop the Syndics at all costs. Had she also understood that she had to keep her task force from being destroyed for as long as possible consistent with that?

“Are you all right, sir?” Desjani asked casually.

“I’m just wishing my family reunions could take place under less stressful circumstances. Wait. The Syndics are reacting.” Two and a half hours ago, the Syndic reserve flotilla had altered course, angling down and over toward the hypernet gate. Geary ran the courses out, seeing that the Syndics would reach the gate before his battle cruisers could. “It’s up to Jane Geary. Can she slow them down?”

“Let’s hope so.”

The remaining defenders in the
Dreadnaught
task force had fallen back before the Syndics, maintaining their distance as the enemy headed for them and the hypernet gate. Geary watched as the retreat continued for almost half an hour, wondering what Jane Geary would do.

The answer came as the display reported mine strikes against ships of the Syndic reserve flotilla. “Nice,” Desjani approved. “They waited until the Syndics were fixed on a course pursuing them, then laid mines in their wake. Look. That Syndic battle cruiser took three hits.”

“They lost one of their heavy cruisers, too,” Geary noted. None of the other Syndic warships seemed crippled, but even that small blow helped even the odds a bit.

But the Syndics kept coming, until fifteen minutes later another flurry of mine strikes took out two HuKs and damaged several other ships. “How many mines has she got?” Desjani wondered.

“The Syndics are probably asking themselves the same question.”

This time the Syndic reserve flotilla didn’t hold course, instead accelerating and climbing to alter its intercept of the
Dreadnaught
task force. But the Alliance ships responded by coming around and dodging to one side, putting the Syndics into another stern chase, this time at an angle away from the hypernet gate. “She’s trying to draw them off,” Desjani noted approvingly. “She is a Geary.”

But the entire Syndic reserve flotilla didn’t pursue. Instead, the Syndic box split, with a half dozen battleships, two battle cruisers, and a bevy of escorts wearing around to go after
Dreadnaught
while the rest of the Syndics continued toward the hypernet gate.

“What’s she—?” Before Geary could finish the question,
Dreadnaught
,
Dependable
,
Intemperate
, and their escorts had come around again, charging at the Syndic warships pursuing them. The odds were still far too bad, though. He waited with a sick feeling, knowing that whatever had happened had taken place two hours ago.

Then the two groups of warships were diverging again, with no losses visible on either side. “She avoided them. They expected her to charge straight at them and instead she dodged enough to one side to avoid any hits on her force.” Desjani was watching the display with an intrigued look. “Sir,
Dreadnaught
is deliberately avoiding the Syndics. She’s figured out that as long as her warships are anywhere near that hypernet gate, the Syndics can’t send the heavy cruisers to collapse it while the rest of them run, because
Dreadnaught
and her companions could finish off the heavy cruisers easily.”