A ship the size of Saber didn’t have conference rooms. Rob’s cabin felt a little crowded with only two people in it. Three people didn’t leave much room for moving around.
Rob sat at his desk, Lieutenant Commander Shen sat in the other chair, and Captain Mele Darcy leaned against the door. “The plan up to this point was to head back to Glenlyon now,” Rob told the other two. “I’d like your input on another option, going ahead of the Bruce Monroe, jumping to Kosatka to make sure everything is clear there, then jumping back to Jatayu and home to Glenlyon.”
Shen looked startled. “That’s a long side trip, sir.”
“How long would it be?” Mele asked.
“I’m guessing three weeks if we don’t linger at Kosatka. If we spend any time there, it’ll be longer.”
“That’s awhile,” Mele agreed. “What’s your thinking?” she asked Rob.
“I’m thinking,” Rob said slowly, “that the surveillance records on Scatha’s facility showed the two destroyers that were here jumped for Kosatka about a week before we arrived. Kosatka might really need some help.”
“It’ll take us awhile to get to Kosatka,” Shen pointed out. “By the time we arrive, things might already be decided. And the last we heard, Kosatka has two destroyers. They’d face even odds.”
“Unless,” Mele said, “they’ve already lost some of their ships, or unless other enemy forces jumped to Kosatka from other star systems.”
“We can’t know that,” Shen said. “We have no way of knowing that or anything else about what’s happening at Kosatka until we actually got there. This would be a leap into the dark.”
“You think we shouldn’t go to Kosatka,” Rob said.
“That’s right, sir. We’d be leaving Glenlyon without any warship protection for more than twice as long as anticipated. We don’t know what might be waiting at Kosatka. If those two destroyers return to Jatayu, we could run into them close to the jump point and at best face a running fight back to the jump point for Glenlyon.”
“Those are all good reasons for not going,” Rob said. “Captain Darcy?”
Mele grimaced. “Commander Shen is right on all counts. But . . . if Kosatka needs us to defeat an attack by Scatha . . . it would be very much in our interest to go there and help. If we caught those two destroyers while they were tied up fighting Kosatka’s ships, we could ensure they were destroyed.”
“If,” Vicki Shen repeated.
“Granted,” Mele said. “Those are just the two possibilities that would benefit us the most. As you said, there are others that wouldn’t be so great.”
Rob nodded, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “At best, it’d be a risk. I know that. I know all the reasons I shouldn’t even be considering it. I want to go back to Glenlyon. So why do I keep having a feeling we should jump to Kosatka?”
“Is there something else you know that we haven’t been told?” Mele asked.
“No,” Rob said. “You two know everything that I know. And your advice is good. I know that.”
Shen frowned at him. “But you still feel we should go to Kosatka?”
“Can either of you see anything in this situation that might be leading me to feel that way?”
“No, sir.”
Mele Darcy paused before replying, then spoke reluctantly. “It’s usually a good idea to follow up on success. Keep hitting the enemy while they’re off-balance instead of giving them time to recover. Is that what you’re thinking?”
“Maybe,” Rob said.
“But,” she added, “you have to balance that against the fact that when it comes to warships, Saber is all Glenlyon has. Can you afford to risk Saber or leave Glenlyon unprotected for that much longer?”
Shen sighed like someone who had just come to an unhappy conclusion. “Those two Scathan destroyers jumped for Kosatka. The enemy’s eyes are clearly focused there, not on Glenlyon.”
“You think Glenlyon will be okay if we jump for Kosatka?” Mele Darcy asked her, surprised.
“I think, from what we know, Scatha and its allies are aiming to knock out Kosatka,” Vicki Shen said. “It makes sense strategically if they want Glenlyon to surrender without a fight. Taking out Kosatka would leave us even more isolated, without any friendly star system within two jumps of Glenlyon. Our situation really would be hopeless then.” She focused on Rob. “Captain, you said you want to go back to Glenlyon?”
Rob didn’t have to think about the answer. “Yes! I want to be where Ninja and my little girl are so I can be there to protect them.”
“But?”
“But every time I look toward Glenlyon I get a sense of the jump point to Kosatka pulling at me.”
Vicki Shen startled him again by nodding. “Sometimes we know things. Maybe we don’t understand them, but we know them. Somehow. If you’ve got something pulling at you that strongly, maybe you should listen to it.”
“I didn’t expect to hear that from you,” Rob said.
“I didn’t expect to say it. But I’ve learned to listen to my gut. And we do know that the enemy is currently hitting Kosatka.” She paused, inhaling deeply before nodding to herself. “My advice has changed. Let’s go to Kosatka.”
Mele Darcy stared at her, then at Rob, then back at Shen. “I’m supposed to be the voice of reason?”
“Give it your best shot,” Rob told her.
“Fine. The government is likely to freak if you take Saber to Kosatka. They’ll have no way of knowing what happened here. And you know they wouldn’t approve of your going to Kosatka. You might lose your command, Captain Geary.”
For some reason he found that funny. “The last time I lost my command it was because I’d won.”
“You and me both,” Mele agreed. “And you didn’t leave me hanging that time, so I won’t leave you hanging now. I’ll make it unanimous. Let’s go.”
Rob shook his head at them. “You two were supposed to talk me out of the idea of going to Kosatka.”
“Sorry about that.”
He looked at Shen. “How do you think the crew would take it?”
She gave him a crooked half smile. “Blowing up that facility wasn’t exactly a second victory, but the crew is feeling it that way. Two wins. They’re going to be worried about what’s waiting at Kosatka, but they’re not going to expect defeat.”
Mele Darcy nodded. “You’ve got a bunch of happy space squids. They always had mad skills when it came to their jobs. Now they’ve got confidence, too.”
“Overconfidence can also be a problem,” Rob said. He realized that he actually had been hoping the other two would convince him to forget about Kosatka and head back to Glenlyon immediately. That left the decision once more in his lap.
What would Ninja tell him to do?
She’d tell him to make up his mind and do what he already knew he should.
“All right,” Rob said. “We’re going to Kosatka. Our best chance to take out those two Scathan warships is if we’re fighting alongside Kosatka’s forces instead of facing the enemy alone.”
He made the announcement from the bridge, reassured by the grim enthusiasm with which the crew reacted. After setting Saber on course for the jump point for Kosatka, Rob walked through the ship, talking to the officers and crew.
The wariness and caution he had felt in his interactions with most of the officers and crew were no longer apparent, and the aura of doom that had haunted the ship had dissipated. Apparently he’d done mostly the right things since taking over command.
But he knew others might not react as positively to his move. As soon as he got back to his cabin, Rob called the Bruce Monroe and asked to speak with “Mary Alice Norton.”
Leigh Camagan heard him out before shaking her head. “You’re going to catch hell when you get back. The council is going to be furious that you left Glenlyon undefended for more than twice as long as expected. Be prepared for the worst.”
“I know. But I’m certain we can’t just sit and wait for whatever Scatha and its friends are planning next,” Rob said. “Everyone’s been playing that game, sitting back and leaving the initiative to the people who want to cause trouble for others. Unless we start hitting them when they don’t expect it, they’ll keep taking down star systems one by one.”
Leigh Camagan shrugged. “I won’t argue that. And I admit that I’m grateful that Saber will be going through ahead of this freighter. With two of Scatha’s warships already at Kosatka we might have run into serious trouble there. But I won’t be at Glenlyon when you get back, Rob. That may be a rougher fight for you than whatever waits at Kosatka.”
“I’m not in this to build a career,” Rob said. “There’s a job that needs doing, and I’m doing it.”
“Rob, do you want to establish a precedent of officers disregarding their orders from the government? Even for what they think are the best of reasons?”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t want that. And I’m not doing that. President Chisholm told me to do whatever seemed best while I was at Jatayu. Those were her words. Those are my orders.”
“You know that she didn’t mean going on to Kosatka.”
“She gave me discretion to act,” Rob said. “I know this is risky, and I’m willing to accept the consequences if it turns out to be a mistake.”
“Rob,” Leigh said with a sigh, “what about the others who will also bear the consequences if this is a mistake?”
He paused, anger at the question warring with the realization that it was a fair thing to ask. “Those others include my family. Don’t think I don’t realize that. If my daughter is going to grow up free, I think I need to take this chance. And afterward I’ll face the council. If they don’t like what I’ve done, they can go ahead and replace me. I’ll know that I’ve done what I can to protect Glenlyon.”
After thinking for a moment, Leigh Camagan nodded. “Rob, tell me this. What if the president’s orders to you had been to return to Glenlyon as soon as you dealt with whatever was at Jatayu?”
He didn’t have to hesitate, having already asked himself the same question and remembering Danielle Martel’s warning that everything he did would serve as an example to everyone who came after. “I’d be heading back to Glenlyon.”
“Thank you. I needed to hear that. So will the council. Never forget that one of our greatest fears is that we’ll become too much like our enemies because of what we’d do to win. The history of Old Earth is full of bad examples. We want Glenlyon to be an example of how to win while holding to our principles.”
“I understand,” Rob said. “That’s one reason I want to go to Kosatka. If they need our help, we need to help. Because we don’t leave friends hanging.”
“That’ll be a good precedent to set,” Leigh Camagan said. “Good luck. And don’t linger at Kosatka any longer than you have to.”
It wasn’t until the call had ended that Rob realized Camagan’s last words were something like an order. And that as a member of the government’s defense council she could have ordered Rob to immediately return to Glenlyon. Whether she had the authority to unilaterally issue such orders wasn’t clear, but she could have tried to prevent him from going to Kosatka. And she hadn’t.
He had to make sure she didn’t regret that.
Rob called Vicki Shen into his cabin again and replayed the entire message. “I wanted you to see that,” Rob said, “because of the possibility that the council will relieve me of command when we return to Glenlyon.”
She frowned. “I understand that the council might not be happy. It also has the right to make that decision.”
“Yes. I wanted you to know that I wouldn’t contest the council’s right to relieve me,” Rob said. “That would set a very bad precedent. If they do relieve me, you’ll be the senior officer left aboard, and you’ll probably get offered command.”
“I hope you don’t think I’m maneuvering for that!”
“Not at all. I want you to know I’m going into this with my eyes open and that I think you can do a good job if it comes to that. Don’t let things revert to how they were. Don’t reinstall the checklists for anything that doesn’t absolutely require a checklist. Otherwise, follow your instincts and lead the crew.”
She paused, looking away as if searching for words. “Were you thinking of this when you made me XO?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. I honestly never thought of that.”
Rob nodded to her. “That’s one of the things that I thought qualified you. When I was a junior officer in Alfar’s fleet I met far too many people who only cared about getting promotions and getting the right tickets punched. You did your job as if that was what counted. And I think it is what counts.”
Shen raised an eyebrow at him. “What about Darcy?”
“You mean if you get my job? I guess you’d be the one in charge of her.”
“Tell me that wouldn’t be as bad as everyone says.”
He laughed. “It wouldn’t. She knows her job, and she does it. Mele Darcy just doesn’t suffer fools very well. She’s not bad.”
Shen shrugged. “For a Marine.”
“You can’t ask for a better ally at your back. If it comes to that.”
“Thank you for taking me into your confidence, sir,” Shen said, her tone formal as she got up from her chair. “You do realize that you’ve given me a weapon to use against you?”
“Yeah,” Rob said. “But if I can’t trust my XO, I’m toast anyway.”
Shen paused before opening the door. “Sir? There’s one thing that’s confused us. I mean, those of us from Earth Fleet. We were taught to prize experience. You don’t have that much experience as an officer or a commanding officer. But . . . you seem to be doing things right.”
He smiled slightly at the question, knowing his expression reflected not humor but both regret and melancholy. “I didn’t have a very long period in command of Squall, I guess, but that included some very intense experiences. Squall was a small ship. Just a cutter, with a crew of amateurs. There was a lot packed into a short period of time. And then I had three years to think about it, remember everything I did wrong, and try to figure out how to do it better if I ever had to.”
“I see. You got your experience in sort of a burst mode, a lot compressed into a short signal. Then you had a long time to analyze the meaning of it.”
Rob nodded to her. “That’s a good way of summing it up. Does that make sense to an Earth-Fleet-trained officer?”
“It does.” Shen gave Rob a salute as she left.
A couple of hours later Saber raced past the Bruce Monroe on her way to the jump point.
* * *
“Get out while you can.”
Lochan Nakamura stared at the image of Carmen Ochoa. She was calling from the planet below, from what he could see of her surroundings just outside the building where she worked as part of Kosatka’s budding intelligence service. “You think it’s that bad, Carmen?”
“Shark is out of commission for a while. The work on Piranha is being rushed so she can get under way, but she’ll face two-to-one odds.” Carmen paused, her expression worried. “Those two destroyers who jumped in aren’t heading for this planet, Lochan. They’re heading for the jump point from Kappa. That looks a whole lot like they’re planning to meet somebody there.”
“An invasion force?” Lochan blinked in disbelief, trying to get his head around the idea and failing. “An actual attack? They’ve been wearing us down by feeding the so-called rebels. Why would they openly invade? And who is this attacking us? I thought those destroyers looked like they were from Scatha.”
Carmen answered the last question first. “As far as we can tell they match warships bought by Scatha. But if an invasion force is on the way through Kappa, it’s likely to be coming from Apulu, maybe reinforced by troops from Turan.”
“So it’s all going to be in the open.” Lochan slammed his palm against the surface of the desk. “Why?”
“Maybe they’re worried that you’re doing too good a job,” Carmen said. “Maybe their sources in other star systems are saying that people are beginning to think they need to stand by Kosatka before it’s too late.”
“So they’ll make it too late, right now,” Lochan said. “And do it in a way that makes it clear the same thing can happen to anyone else who puts up a fight. Carmen, you and I both decided to make Kosatka our home. How can I run away when it’s going to need everyone who can fight?”
She gazed back at him with a sort of fond sadness that made Lochan remember his once-upon-a-time dreams in a failed marriage to another woman back on Franklin. He’d wanted that sort of look from a woman, and thanks to the universe’s sense of irony, he’d finally found it in one who was “only” a close friend. “Lochan, you’re not a fighter. What you can do is talk and convince people. Get out of Kosatka. Go where you can find help for us. We’ll hold out until you get back.”
“I don’t want to leave you here,” Lochan said.
“Domi is going to be in the thick of any fighting. I can’t leave him.”
“Then marry the guy before it’s too late!”
She shook her head, looking down. “Being married to a Red would ruin Domi’s career and probably his life.”
“Oh, hell, Carmen! Why don’t you stop thinking about what you think is best for him and start thinking about what he thinks is best for him? Which is you if that wasn’t clear.”
Carmen looked him in the eye, clearly aggravated. “When did this conversation become about me? Lochan, I know the freighter docked up there is going to pull out as soon as it can get clearance from the government, and that will be pretty soon. Get aboard. Get help.”
“I also need clearance from the government! I’m an official, remember?”
“Then get it!” she almost shouted. “What other hope do we have?”
“Glenlyon—”
“If they have any sense, Glenlyon’s forces are huddled close to their primary world waiting for the hammer to fall on it! We need whatever you can get us, Lochan!”
He nodded in reluctant agreement. “All right. I’ll try. Do your best to stay alive until I get back. Say hi to Dominic for me.”
She gazed back at him, some unreadable feeling in her eyes. “May . . . your ancestors guide you safely home again. Take care, Lochan.”
“You, too. And I still think you should marry that guy because you want that as much as he does but won’t admit it to yourself.” He ended the call, wondering how he’d ended up with someone who had come to feel more like a daughter than a friend.
And wondering if he’d ever see her again.
* * *
The captain of the freighter Oarai Miho openly glared at Lochan as the ship finally broke free of the orbital station and began its lumbering escape from what looked more and more like an impending war zone. “I don’t appreciate having my ship’s departure time held up for the benefit of someone with special connections. If my ship doesn’t make it to its next stop on schedule, we’ll have to pay the penalty, not the government of Kosatka!”
“The warships don’t seem to care about this ship,” Lochan pointed out, thinking that threat must be what had the captain in such a bad mood. “They’re, what, about three and a half light hours from us? And heading for the jump point from Kappa.”
That statement earned him another glare from the captain. She swung one hand up to the control deck display and touched a command. Long, long lines speared forward from the two enemy destroyers. A much, much smaller line appeared from the front of the Oarai Miho. “Those are vector markers, their length matching the velocity of the ship. Notice any difference?”
“Yes,” Lochan admitted.
“They’re fast hunters, we’re slow prey. Don’t you decide for me what to worry about!”
“I didn’t mean—”
“I work for a shipping line that expects me to make my schedules! You’d better not expect any special treatment on this ship!”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Lochan said. “I guess you’re not planning on returning to Kosatka?”
“Of course I am,” the captain told him scornfully. “We’re merchants, not fighters. We’ll do business with whoever is in charge at Kosatka when we come back.”
She turned away, the glares from other crew members on the command deck making it clear that Lochan wasn’t welcome there. Since he wasn’t interested in staying, Lochan went back to the closet-sized cabin assigned to him, one of a dozen identical cabin doors in a passageway running down one side of the crew area on the ship. The walls of his cabin were unadorned metal and composites, the ceiling not much more than two meters high, the bathroom a toilet built into one wall with a tiny sink set above it. A battered sign above the sink warned that all water use was metered and would be cut off if the allowed daily amount was exceeded. Freighters didn’t waste much space or money on passenger accommodations.
The scramble to get approval to leave, get a room on the freighter, and get necessities packed had left Lochan physically worn-out on top of the emotional stress of leaving. Sitting down tiredly on the bench that would become a narrow bed, he saw the message light blinking on the pull-down desk. Hoping it was from Carmen, Lochan tapped receive.
Instead, Brigit Kelly looked out at him, her eyes shadowed by worry, even the normally brilliant green streaks in her hair seeming subdued. “Lochan, I’m sorry I couldn’t catch you before you left. I’m staying here as my duty requires. I’m a neutral party, so whatever happens, I should be all right. I’m going to try to get reports back to Eire. The ship you’re on is carrying a report from me of what has happened so far and what’s expected to happen next. I’ve attached a copy to this message. Please download it and if . . . something happens . . . make sure the message gets to Eire. It’s not proper diplomatic protocol to entrust a message like that to a third party, but I know you can be trusted.
“This is as bad as we’d feared it could be. Hopefully, it will spur worlds to action rather than scaring them into submission. My own people don’t scare very well. They’re going to want to fight when they see what’s coming. That may be small comfort to Kosatka if it’s already fallen by then, though.”
She paused, her eyes looking outward as if searching for him. “You’re a good man, Lochan. I’ve been meaning to tell you that. I hope to see you again. Try not to get your fool self killed before then.”
Lochan replayed the message before tapping the reply command. The freighter was still within a few light seconds of Kosatka’s orbital facility, but he was still surprised when the reply went live and he saw Brigit looking at him from the screen. “Lochan? You got my message?”
“I did,” he said. “I’ll make sure your other message gets to Eire. I’m really sorry I didn’t have a chance to say good-bye in person.”
“Don’t be thinking you’d have gotten anything special out of a good-bye,” Brigit warned him with a slight smile. “But I will miss you and worry about you.”
“Same here. You’re going down to the planet, right? Staying in orbit could be dangerous if the facility is attacked.”
Her eyes lit with defiance at the idea of running. “I’m neutral. They have to respect that.”
“Shark is being towed to the facility,” Lochan warned. “If the facility is attacked before Shark’s main propulsion can be repaired, my understanding is the government intends having Shark act as part of the facility, using her weapons to defend it.”
“She’d be a sitting duck,” Brigit objected. “Unable to maneuver out of a fixed orbit.”
“Shark will fight as long as she can. Which means anyone in the facility could be in danger when the attackers shoot back. Particle beams don’t care about the diplomatic status of any person who happens to be in their path.”
“True enough,” Brigit admitted with obvious reluctance. “I’ll consider moving down to the planet, though if they decide to bombard that won’t be any safer.”
“They wouldn’t—” He stopped, thinking that maybe they would. The exact identity of the old Warrior Class destroyer that had bombarded Lares three years ago, and apparently sought to bombard Kosatka as well, had never been discovered. Rumors of those responsible had ranged from plausible accusations against Turan, Apulu, or Scatha, to the extreme of claims that it was a ghost ship whose crew had been driven insane by prolonged exposure in jump space.
How had it come to this? The slow buildup of the insurgency had suddenly exploded into war in space and the threat of planetary invasion. Perhaps historians, looking back, would trace a clear pathway of steps that had led to this point. But at the time it had always seemed under control. Worrisome, problems to be dealt with, but not a full-scale war in which Kosatka seemed to be standing alone.
“I’m sorry,” Lochan finally said, unable to think of anything else.
“It’s my job,” she reminded him. “And you’re doing your job.”
“If you run into any problems, you know Carmen Ochoa can help.”
“The lass who works for your intelligence people? And how would it look if a diplomat was spending time with someone like that?”
Lochan laughed briefly, surprised that Brigit could joke at a time like this. “Carmen is pretty resourceful. She’s a good friend to have.”
“She’s a Red,” Brigit pointed out, then paused, waiting for Lochan’s reaction.
He shrugged, having heard variations on that statement many times in the last few years. “Carmen came from Mars originally. That’s what she was. It’s not who she is.”
“So I’ve heard. And the quality of her own friends speaks to her quality. I’ll look her up, Lochan. And you be careful. If Scatha and its friends have set things up this well here, they might have agents elsewhere whose duties could include making certain that someone like you doesn’t succeed.”
Those last words chilled him inside. And yet it made a lot of sense.
He’d felt guilty to be leaving others to face any upcoming fighting, but maybe he wasn’t going to be all that safe himself. “Thanks for the warning. I hadn’t thought of that. Are you . . . concerned about this ship?”
Brigit Kelly made a noncommittal gesture. “Why would I worry about that ship? It’s owned and operated by a reputable company based on Hesta.”
That was a double-edged statement if ever there was one, Lochan thought, since Hesta was firmly under Scatha’s control. Was that why, despite her words, the ship’s captain had seemed more worried about her schedule than about those Scathan warships here at Kosatka? “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said.
“And you won’t be alone. Maybe you and one of the other passengers will hit it off if you find yourself in need of company,” Brigit said with a slight smile.
“I don’t usually make friends that easily.” Lochan hesitated, wondering again about Brigit’s other words, what they meant as far as he was concerned. “I . . . I’ll look you up when I get back.”
Brigit smiled politely and nodded. “You do that. I’ll look forward to it.”
Afterward, he sat for a while staring at the blank display. Him leaving just as Brigit showed possible interest in him probably wasn’t a matter of bad timing. More likely she, and he, were reacting to the rush of events, which made it clear that everyone’s time was limited. That sort of thing tended to focus people on what they really wanted.
Lochan finally checked the relayed data from the control deck, seeing how far it still was to the jump point that the Oarai Miho was heading toward. He lay down on the chair/bed, gazing up at the metal forming a ceiling for his room. He had a suspicion that by the time the freighter reached its destination he’d know every imperfection in that surface and would have rehearsed in his mind a few hundred times every conversation he’d ever had with Brigit Kelly.
He’d thought he was safe once this freighter had left the orbital facility. But apparently he’d have to worry until he reached Eire.
No matter what, at least he’d have time to catch up on his reading.
* * *
Carmen woke up with a headache and a brief sense of confusion. It took her a moment to realize she was on the cot in the back room at work.
She sat up, rubbing her eyes and feeling achy. Too many hours spent in this building, too many attempts to figure out what would happen next, too many dangers to even know what to focus on. She had once imagined that intelligence offices were like they were shown on vids, all-seeing centers where quirky individuals discovered important insights from the smallest possible clue picked up by the most amazing possible sources. The reality was more like this back room: dark, dingy, smelling of old coffee and too many people who hadn’t had time to get clean for too long, and a perpetual headache as analysts often unsuccessfully tried to fit too few bits of information into some sort of useful picture.
Carmen gradually realized that the outer room was very quiet. Much more quiet than it should be with everyone working.
She went to the door and looked out, seeing several men and women standing, silent, their backs to her.
Walking up to them, Carmen saw what they were looking at. The big display had an image of Kosatka’s star system on it. A large symbol marked the orbital location of the crippled Shark. Another marked where Piranha was, only half a light hour from this planet, holding orbit while waiting to see what happened next. Farther out was a symbol for the freighter Oarai Miho still on its slow, steady way to the jump point that would allow it, and Lochan Nakamura, to escape this star system.
All of that was as it had been for days. But something else was new. Nearly four light hours from this planet, the two destroyers, which had still refused to identify themselves, had reached the jump point from Kappa. As had been feared, other ships had arrived, jumping in from Kappa and heading to rendezvous with the destroyers that would protect them as the entire force headed for the planet.
She spotted the somber face of her boss, Loren Yeresh, and pushed through the group to him. “How bad is it?”
Loren shrugged as if no longer able to care. “Bad enough. Some sort of cutter along with several freighters and a big passenger ship that probably isn’t bringing tourists.”
“How many soldiers do you think are aboard?”
“It depends on a lot of factors, but our best guess is anywhere from several thousand to ten thousand.” Loren’s grimace held a mix of despair and grief. “That doesn’t sound like much to invade a world with, but they’ve also got however many troops the rebels can field. Given the size of our current population, it ought to be enough to take over.”
“We’ve only got a thousand regular troops,” Carmen said, staring at the symbols on the display. “And, what, three thousand militia?”
“That might be enough to stop them,” one of the other analysts commented. “Except that they’ll also have control of space around the planet. They’ll be able to bombard from orbit any place where we try to make a stand.”
“Piranha is outnumbered three to one,” Loren said. “If they hadn’t taken out Shark, we’d have a chance. But not at these odds.”
“What’s the government going to do?”
Another shrug. “As I understand, at the moment they’re debating whether we surrender outright to avoid tremendous destruction and loss of life or whether we put up the toughest fight we can to make their conquest of Kosatka as costly for them as possible.”
Carmen had been sensing an odd feeling of familiarity as she stood among the others. As she spoke to Loren, she finally realized what it was. That old sense of helplessness and hopelessness that she had known on Mars, which had filled the atmosphere of Mars like a toxic perfume that never went away. Carmen had grown up among people who never spoke of success, or of winning, but only of what had to be done to survive. “No!”
It wasn’t until everyone turned to look that Carmen realized she had said that.
But it didn’t matter. Her anger flared as she looked at those dull, defeated expressions. “This is our home! And you’re all giving up? You’re not even thinking about how to win?”
“It’s impossible to win,” Loren said in the tone of someone speaking to a child who couldn’t grasp a hard truth.
“It’s not impossible until you give up!” Carmen shot angry looks at them. “I made it here! I survived! I won! And I will not give that up to anyone! If they want my home, they’ll have to fight for it. I don’t care what the government decides. I will fight!”
Some of the others were videoing her with pads they weren’t supposed to use inside this building, but Carmen wasn’t worried about that. She shoved Loren, seeing fire in his eyes as he staggered back. “Are you giving up? Are you ready to surrender your freedom and this world’s future?”
“Why fight if you can’t win?” he demanded.
“I saw this on Mars! Don’t you understand? No one wanted to fight battles they thought were hopeless, and every battle that could make things better seemed hopeless.”
“This isn’t Mars,” someone else said.
“It can become Mars,” Carmen said. “A place where every dream is dead and force is the only law. Mars became like that because everyone there gave up. I gave up, too. That’s why I left. I’m not going to leave Kosatka.” Carmen paused to breathe, looking at those around her. “I’m not going to leave this new home, and I’m not going to surrender. I’m going to fight for it, no matter what anyone else decides.”
Loren Yeresh shook his head, unhappy. “Carmen, you’re talking about dying in a fight you can’t win.”
“No! Mars was too far gone. Kosatka still believes in freedom. We can win! Or we can go down fighting, and make Scatha and Apulu pay such a price that they will never dare attack another star system. That’s what I’m going to do,” Carmen said. “I’m not running away from another world. I’m going to stand here. When people remember me, it will be as someone who died on her feet. I won’t kneel! I’ll stand. Will you stand with me?”
Loren Yeresh frowned at her a moment longer before nodding. “I sure as hell will. Yuri? Did you get all that? Send it to the legislative chambers right now. I want our representatives debating what to do to see what this woman said.”
“It’s only two-to-one odds,” one of the others said as Yuri sent the vid. “And destroyers don’t have much in the way of bombardment capability.”
“If we hit them coming down, we could inflict serious losses,” a third added.
“Figure out how to do that!” Loren ordered. “I want everything we’ve got on how our enemies might be planning to land ground forces on this planet. Once we have that we’ll start figuring out recommendations for how to hit those forces on the way down. Move it!” He bent a sharp eye on Carmen. “Well? Didn’t you hear me? We’ve got work to do.”
She grinned at him. “Yes, sir. I’m on it.”
As she dropped into the seat at one of the desks and started searching for data, Carmen felt a momentary qualm, imagining people watching that vid of her.
But what the hell. She had far worse things in her past.
Loren Yeresh bent down next to her as she worked. “Carmen? Where did that come from? I knew you were tough, but . . . man, that was something.”
She paused, thinking about the question. “I spent my earliest years fearing that I’d die on Mars, a victim of the red planet like so many others. If I hadn’t fought back against those fears, I’d still be there. Then I spent years trying to become someone else, someone educated, someone who wouldn’t scare people the way a Red would. All that time I was afraid that someone would find out, would tell others. I had to overcome those fears. Now I tell people I’m a Red. Now I have a home where . . . I’m accepted as who I am. I won’t let fear stop me now.”
Loren nodded slowly as he straightened up. “That Dominic Desjani is one lucky guy.”
She smiled, embarrassed. “I’ll tell him you said so.”
But her smile faded as she thought about the thousands of invading soldiers on those newly arrived ships. Soldiers who might all be wearing battle armor and carrying military weapons. Domi would be in the front ranks of those fighting to stop them, with a mix of old and improvised equipment, against bad odds, and with death looming from orbital bombardment. What were the chances that he’d survive? How much longer would she have with him?
And what did she want of what might be only a couple more weeks with the man who had asked her to marry him?
Carmen paused her work long enough to tap out a quick message to Dominic, hesitating only for a moment before sending it. Yes. Let’s do it.