He stared at her, aghast. Did that explain the looks he’d gotten from Dauntless’s crew recently? “You can’t be serious. ”

“I can show you the reports I’ve received, or you can walk around this ship some more and listen to the crew talk. Even the ones who don’t credit divine intervention with saving us believe with plenty of justification that your recognition of the danger and quick reaction saved many ships and personnel. Those in this fleet who didn’t believe in Black Jack Geary the myth are coming to believe in Black Jack Geary the man, and those who always believed in you now have unshakeable faith. Your enemies in this fleet can see that as well as I can. After what you’ve done here, returning to annihilate a Syndic force that outnumbered you and had this fleet on the run, your enemies will be growing desperate. Despite their own disbelief in you, they have to be coming to the conclusion that you might actually get this fleet home. They know they must discredit or stop you soon, or their chance will be lost.”

Geary nodded, his eyes narrowed in thought. “What do you think they’ll do?”

“I don’t know. I’m trying to find out. They can nibble away at your standing with accusations of personal scandal, but that alone can’t dislodge you from command of this fleet. Not anymore. Their chosen figureheads like Casia are thoroughly discredited, not only because of your latest victory but also by their own recent actions. You have to assume that your real opponents among this fleet’s senior officers will finally have to make themselves more publicly known. Because your opponents have to strike, and they have to do it before much longer. Somehow.”

“You make it sound like they may actually attack me.”

“They might. Fortunately, on this ship you’re surrounded by the faithful, most notably your special captain, who would gladly sacrifice herself for Black Jack.” Rione saw his angry reaction. “Don’t try to claim otherwise. Just be grateful. She and I have our differences, but right now we are fully committed to ensuring that nothing happens to you.”

Of all the strange things that had happened since he was woken from survival sleep, the idea of Victoria Rione and Tanya Desjani standing on either side of him as bodyguards was perhaps the strangest. “I need to hold a conference with the ship commanders. Will you attend?”

“Not this time,” Rione answered. “I will monitor events remotely, but I’d like to see what people say without me there.”

Geary gave her a look. “The fleet conferences are conducted under a tight security seal. No one not present is supposed to be able to observe events.”

“Ah, well, another illusion shattered. Any security lock a human can make can be broken by another human, John Geary.” She went to the door. “I’ll be watching. What will you do with Captain Casia and Commander Yin?”

“I’m still trying to decide,” he replied truthfully.

“You don’t have to be Black Jack to have them shot, you know. Even Admiral Bloch could have done it with a simple order.”

“I know. I just don’t know if I want to do that. Do you think they should be shot?”

“Yes, and as soon as possible, Captain Geary,” Rione stated with total seriousness as she left.

SIX

GEARY walked steadily into the conference room. Although it was actually an average-sized compartment inside Dauntless with an unimpressive table anchored on one side, the conferencing software created the illusion of a room big enough to hold the commanding officer of every ship in the fleet, arrayed down the length of a table virtually expanded to accommodate them all.

Even though that table was now crowded with hundreds of officers, the only other person physically present in the room was Captain Desjani. The others were images, allowing officers to remain on their own ships and attend the meeting at the same time. Aside from the seconds-long delays in reacting that afflicted those officers on the ships farthest away, the images otherwise acted just as if every officer were actually here.

He’d never liked these conferences, and part of the business he had to do today was distasteful enough to make him look forward to this one even less than usual. Deciding to start on a high note, Geary nodded to the assembled officers. “May I open this meeting by congratulating the officers and enlisted personnel of this fleet on a great victory. We’ve not only more than avenged our losses from the last time the fleet was in Lakota Star System, we have in battles from Kaliban to here evened the score for all of the ships lost by this fleet since arriving in the Syndic home system. You have every right to feel proud of these great achievements, purchased by the courage and fighting spirit of everyone in the fleet.”

Smiles appeared nearly everywhere. Geary noticed Captain Casia frowning into the distance and Commander Yin staring nervously at the table’s surface. “Unfortunately,” Geary continued, “not everyone in this fleet can honestly share in that praise. In our last engagement, two ships avoided battle. Or rather, two commanding officers avoided battle.” The atmosphere in the room had suddenly grown extremely tense, the silence so profound it seemed the slightest noise would deafen everyone. Captain Casia’s face had reddened, while that of Commander Yin had paled. No one else was looking at them. Whatever support they had once had was gone.

Geary faced Casia. “Captain Casia, you are hereby relieved of command of Conqueror. Your current executive officer will serve as acting commander. Commander Yin, you are relieved as acting commanding officer of Orion. Orion’s operations officer is appointed acting commanding officer, effective immediately. Both of you are to transfer to Illustrious, where you will be assigned to whichever tasks Captain Badaya finds appropriate.” He’d wondered what best to do with Casia and Yin, who had openly opposed him in meetings like this, and the idea of sticking them on the same ship with Badaya, who was supporting Geary for the wrong reasons had a certain simplicity to it.

Commander Yin’s mouth worked, but no sound came out. Captain Casia, though, stood up and spoke loudly. “You cannot relieve a senior officer without good cause!”

Geary somehow kept his voice level. “Your ship avoided combat. You had orders to protect this fleet’s auxiliaries, and instead you remained too far from them to defend those ships, engaging only those enemy warships that came close enough to you to constitute a threat to your ship. You refused to engage enemy ships when both duty and honor required it.”

“Are you accusing me of cowardice?” Casia almost shouted.

“Yes.”

The single word rang through the room. In a fleet so obsessed with honor, to state such a charge openly was almost unthinkable.

Captain Tulev spoke into the silence that followed Geary’s answer. “I am unhappy to be forced to agree that the records of the engagement fully support Captain Geary’s charge.”

“If so,” Captain Armus noted, leaning forward, his face and voice hard, “and I agree with Captain Tulev that it is so, then simply relieving Captain Casia and Commander Yin of command falls far short of the punishment expected for such acts.”

“Shoot the cowards,” someone muttered.

Noise erupted as everyone began shouting, many seconding the suggestion, others protesting. Geary tapped the control that let him silence everyone, one of the best features of the conferencing software in his opinion, then waited a few moments for attention to return to him. “I am aware that fleet regulations permit me to order death by firing squad on the battlefield for any officer who clearly displays cowardice before the enemy.” He looked to Casia again and was surprised that Casia met his eyes even though fear was apparent on the other officer’s face. He felt a grudging measure of respect for Casia that the man hadn’t collapsed.