“So to sum up, I think it is fair to say that the Faith operation was a stunning success. A well-conceived operation, brilliantly executed. A space battle station is the toughest target there is, and to take one out with a single ship is an outstanding result, something which no Fed cruiser has ever been able to pull off. Let’s be clear. The dreadnought has come of age.”
Jaruzelska waited patiently while a mix of cheers and applause ran through the crowded conference room. She understood the enthusiastic response. For the spacers present, Tufayl’s stunning success represented much more than a long-overdue reminder to the Hammers that the Feds were staying in the fight. More important, Tufayl’s success validated their commitment to an increasingly unpopular cause.
Slowly, the noise died away.
“Before I call it a day, there is one more thing. Lieutenant Helfort, I’d like you up here with me, please.”
Baffled, Michael made his way to the front of the conference room.
“Right. I am pleased to be able to report that the commander in chief has issued a unit citation to the Tufayl and its crew for the Faith operation. My congratulations. I—”
Jaruzelska stopped, her words drowned in an avalanche of cheers, every spacer present coming to his or her feet.
It took a while, but the noise finally died away.
“Okay, folks. Thanks. Things went well at Faith, but there are always lessons to be learned. I’ll release the after-action report today. Time of the follow-up review to be advised. That’s all, folks. Michael, with me.”
“Sir.”
Leaving the conference room, the two officers walked back to Jaruzelska’s office, neither saying a word. Closing the door, Jaruzelska waved Michael into a chair.
“I don’t think I have to tell you why you’re here.”
Michael shook his head ruefully. “I’m only guessing, sir, but let me see. Does it involve Rear Admiral Perkins?”
“Yes.” Jaruzelska leaned back, hands running through her hair before rubbing eyes red-rimmed with fatigue. “I’m sorry to say it does. Anyway, let’s get this out of the way. I have forwarded my report on the matter to the commander in chief together with a recommendation that no further action be taken.”
“Oh,” Michael said. For a moment he was at a loss for words. Had he heard Jaruzelska correctly? “Hang on, sir,” he said. “No further action? I don’t understand. How’s tha—”
“Michael, that’s my recommendation,” Jaruzelska said. “No further action.”
“Sir! I understand that, but I’m sorry,” Michael said doggedly. “The admiral disobeyed a direct order in the combat information center of a warship during combat … in the face of the enemy! Not my order, sir, yours. And I had to deal with it while the Hammers hurled missiles and rail-gun slugs at us”—Michael’s voice started to rise—“so how can there be no furth—”
“Enough!” Jaruzelska snapped, cutting him off in midstream. “Goddamn it, Helfort, there are times …” She breathed carefully in and then out before continuing. “Look,” she said, her voice softening, “you have to trust me on this. I don’t want … no, that’s wrong. Right now, I cannot afford to get into an open fight with the antidreadnought faction, and that is exactly what I’ll get if I take any formal action in response to the admiral’s … um … the admiral’s behavior. Believe me, I don’t, and nor do you. I spend far too much time as it is fighting to keep them in their damn box. So you get back to Tufayl and forget it ever happened. Okay? That’s a suggestion, by the way. Don’t make me turn it into an order, which,” she said, her voice hardening, “I will if I have to.”
Reluctantly, Michael nodded. “Yes, sir,” he said. “Sorry. What happened was just … so wrong, sir.”
“I know how wrong it was, so there’s no need to apologize. I’ll make sure it does not happen again.” She paused. “Michael, there’s something you need to understand.”
“What’s that, sir?”
“The day you stop trusting me is the day we—you and me—fail. I don’t have another Michael Helfort, and you know as well as I do that we have to make dreadnoughts work. The Faith operation shows me we are just about there, but don’t underestimate the bull—” Jaruzelska stopped herself. “Well, let’s just say you’re not the only one fighting the good fight. You do your bit and let me do mine.”
“Yes, sir,” Michael said, ashamed that he had doubted her, if only for a moment. “I trust you, sir. You must know that.”
“I do. Moving on. It won’t happen again because Rear Admiral Perkins will not be space riding in Tufayl unless I am there, too, something I don’t have the time for.”
“Thank you, sir,” Michael said with some feeling.
“Don’t mention it,” the admiral replied. “One more thing. I’ve finally organized your Block 6 lander. Fleet will advise you exactly when, but it looks like it will arrive later this month.”
Michael perked up. “Ah, that is good news, sir. Places we’re going, it’ll be good to have another way to get home. Attacking that battle station with just the one ship was a lonely business. If things had gone wrong …” Michael’s voice trailed off.
“I know; sorry about that. Pity Elusory lived up to her name. Next time I’ll task two ships for casualty recovery … if I can find the ships to task, that is. By the way, not aborting the operation when Elusory went unserviceable? That was a gutsy call, Michael. Very gutsy.”
Michael nodded. More than you know, Admiral, he said to himself. At the time, he could not shake off the awful thought he might fall back into Hammer hands; only his unshakable faith in Tufayl and her crew had persuaded him to push on without a ship standing by to rescue them if things went wrong.
Jaruzelska broke what had turned into a long silence. “How will you use the lander?”
“Well, sir. Without marines, it’s really there as a backup ship. As for live ops, I’ve been running through the options. The sims have confirmed that my best choice is to deploy the lander to one of the unmanned ships prior to an attack; that way, I can use it for casualty recovery if anything goes wrong with the Tufayl. Diversionary attacks, decoy work, and limited ground assault operations are some of the other things I’m looking at.”
Jaruzelska’s eyebrow shot up. “Ah! Let me guess. If you’re going to send your Block 6 into harm’s way, you’ll be wanting to keep the old lander,” she said, “just in case. Am I right?”
“Of course you are, sir,” Michael replied cheerfully. “To paraphrase an old saying, you never know when a spare lander might come in handy!”
The admiral laughed. “I don’t know a spacer who would argue with that, so I won’t, and I don’t think Fleet will, either. I’ll authorize the change to the master equipment list. Unless there’s anything else … no? Right. I think it’s time for a drink, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
As the shuttle taking Michael back to Tufayl lifted off, Ferreira commed him.
“Yes, Jayla?”
“Com from Fleet, sir. Seems we are going to get our heavy lander at last.”
“Ah, yes. The admiral just gave me a heads-up. When?”
“Twentieth, sir.”
“Good. What about the crew?”
“I’ll com you the personnel files when I get them. The command pilot is a Junior Lieutenant Sedova, Kat Sedova.”
“Of her, sir.”
“And?”
“All good, sir. Outstanding, in fact. She’ll be a real asset.”
“Let’s hope so.”
“Well, sir. If the admiral had any say in her selection, I’d be pretty sure she’s one of the best.”
“I would, too. See you shortly.”