Smoke on the Wind

by Sean Benjamin

  The Royal Navy and pirate ships returned to Wanderlust without incident. The Orion fleet returned to the border and established a blocking position as Fifth Squadron sat outside of missile range and watched.

  Chapter 46

  On the home planet of Zelenka, the military and political leaders had kept the news of the first two victories at the Metal Moon and Rurik within their tight networks as Hawkins’ ships were still in enemy territory so they could still be located and destroyed by searching Orion ships. The fight at Wanderlust was reported in the media as repulsing an enemy raid. Few details and no numbers of participants or casualties were given out so the reporting on it was short and stirred up little interest.

  The Queen was briefed on a daily basis by Admiral Wu and she approved of the news blackout. The operation was still ongoing and defeat was still a possibility. It would be demoralizing to announce victories only to have to report later the ships that achieved them were destroyed in subsequent battles within enemy space. Alexis was not superstitious by nature, but why jinx the operation by declaring victory early?

  The Queen did pursue one activity that presumed a totally successful campaign was about to be completed. She summoned Hawkins’ grandfather, Tobias Gallagher, to the palace. The two talked for many hours, and Gallagher spent the night to allow for further planning the next day. Alexis won his support for a bold plan that would change everything both in the Aurora Empire and the Badlands.

  So, for days after the two initial battles, the people of the Aurora Empire knew nothing of the offensive deep in Orion territory nor the results. After the border battle and the return of the fleet to Wanderlust, a full accounting of the operation was quickly published and circulated. The news of the victories spread through the capital city of Krasny on Zelenka and the remainder of the Empire at light speed. Church bells rang, holidays were declared, and impromptu celebrations began on dozens of planets.

  After the recent defeats, the media could not be put off as they were determined to characterize this as the turning point in the war, at least in print. They moved to Wanderlust and swarmed over the victorious ships. Raferty Hawkins received the lion’s share of the publicity at first. As a colorful pirate and overall commander, this was only natural. He downplayed his role while pointing the media at other people to interview and talk about. His reluctance to engage the journalists and the fact that he was somewhat “old news” after being covered for the Murmansk raid and the Electra System battle cut short the media attention given to him. There were the obligatory stories about the return of the Queen’s Hammer, but the journalists quickly went to other subjects.

  Since they couldn’t have the Hammer, they moved on to the Queen. The stories written of the Queen summoning her own warrior to achieve a victory cast Alexis as a strategic genius. She was given credit for her leadership and her courage in bringing in an outsider at a difficult time and then forcing the staid military establishment to support this flamboyant winner. The publicity campaign centered on the monarch was short lived as the Queen didn’t give interviews and the media was forced to treat her with deference that they did not have to show anyone else. Such restrictions forced the press to focus on other figures. Admirals Barrett and Levant used their rank to hide behind and granted no access to the press. Consequently, two ship captains were thrown into the publicity arena to face the always-hungry media.

  Much to his chagrin, Captain Jack Wilson became an overnight media darling. He was characterized as the colorful, brash destroyer commander who eagerly sought battle regardless of the odds. His performances at the Metal Moon and border battle were covered in excruciating detail and, when that was thoroughly digested, the media switched to his performance at the Battle of the Electra System months prior. Full facial beards suddenly rose in social acceptance due to his fame. The media thought his obstinate ways were just his own little act when, in reality, it was truly him. He really did dislike senior officers, stupid regulations, and idiot headquarters types and had disliked them his entire career. He was not “putting on a show” about it although the media assumed he was. Now he added the media to his list of things and people to be despised. He had little use for the attention he was receiving and treated the media with contempt. They loved it. To be insulted by Captain Jack Wilson in his own unique way was considered a high honor among the journalists. After three days, Wilson was fed up with it. He retired to his ship and refused to leave her.

  However, the media’s clear favorite in the aftermath of the battles was Blondie. She was one of the Empire’s own but also a flamboyant pirate. As far as the press was concerned, that was the perfect combination. The fact she commanded a destroyer as a lieutenant junior grade gave the tale a nice underdog feeling. Her order about shoving guns up a carrier’s ass went out on the command net so was recorded. Royal Navy public relations officers quickly saw the potential and released the recording to the public. The spirited directive given by the fiery, pretty, young commanding officer quickly became the quote of the war for the Royal Navy. The story practically wrote itself.

  Blondie did many interviews and image shots. She was asked to compare life as a pirate and a Royal Navy officer. She was quizzed about her home planet and how few people from there went to The Academy. Her family was interviewed. Several of her academy classmates were questioned. Jib’s crewmembers were asked about their captain. Then the cycle repeated itself. Blondie quickly figured out the trend here, and she talked with Captain Wilson about relinquishing her command of Jib and returning to Predator at the earliest opportunity. While in Jib, the Royal Navy could order her about. Once she was onboard Predator, that became problematical. Raferty Hawkins could simply ignore the Royal Navy publicity machine and the media, and there wasn’t much either could do about it. As another officer suffering from media fatigue, Jack Wilson understood the situation instantly. He knew her remaining in Jib or on the surface base at Wanderlust was an invitation to more media scrutiny and celebrity notoriety for the young officer. Accordingly, he sent his ship’s XO as temporary commander of Jib, and he relieved Blondie of her command so she and her four pirate shipmates could return to Predator. Wilson knew she had performed well beyond her years and experience, so for her skill and bravery, he recommended her for the Royal Shield, the fifth highest medal in the Royal Navy.

  Blondie packed her personal items and left Jib with no fanfare, escorted by her death squad. In fact, the majority of Jib’s crew didn’t even know she was gone until she was settled back in Predator. Usually, a change of ship command after such a successful tour was an ornate ceremony, but Blondie didn’t much care. She was a pirate, and ornate wasn’t in the buccaneer dictionary. After stowing her gear in her stateroom, she took the watch in engineering.

  Raferty Hawkins found her there and invited her for a visit to his day cabin. Blondie turned over the watch to Preacher and followed Rafe to his office. He went around his desk to his cold storage unit and took out the always available beer. He slid one bottle across the desk and motioned to a chair. Blondie took up the bottle and sat in the chair. Both of them took a drink at the same time.

  Hawkins smiled at her. “You did a helluva job. Your ship helped shoot up the Metal Moon, killed a bunch of enemy ships, performed well at the border, and you got the quote of the battle.”

  Blondie cringed. “Don’t remind me. I’m totally sick of it. I know now why you hate the Queen’s Hammer media circus. I can already see ‘shove the guns up that carrier’s ass’ engraved on my tombstone.” She shook her head and then sighed. “I’ve gotten about a hundred marriage proposals. Did twice as many interviews. My family was harassed by the media while they were out working the fields. Other people I barely know are talking to the media like they were my lifelong best friends. I’ve been told I rate a life peerage. I think my home planet wants to elect me prime minister. It’s crazy.”

  Hawkins nodded knowingly. He was not surprised at all by her experience. Publicity can make you a household name on fifty planets
in one day. Publicity can also destroy you in one day and, either way, there is not a damn thing you can do about it. Once the media machine starts to churn, it is self-sustaining and the only thing that stops it is when it moves on to someone else. He said quietly, “I think I know the answer here, but I will ask anyway. You do know you can stay if you want, don’t you? None of us would blame you if you did.”

  Blondie shook her head. “No. I would just be some damn junior officer who got lucky and is now too big for her britches. Nobody would take me seriously or give me anything good to do. They would probably send me on a war bond tour or something. I doubt I would ever see combat again. I’m damn certain I would never get a command again. I think I’ll quit while I’m ahead.” She was silent as she conducted a quick introspection, and then she looked Raferty in the eyes. “I feel like I’m cheating the other leaders and ship captains who were with us. I didn’t do anything more than everyone else did, and all our other people aren’t even mentioned in the media. There were thousands of people in our fights, and I got seventy percent of the publicity. It’s ridiculous.” She stopped and stared down at the beer bottle in her hand. After a long moment, she looked back at Hawkins. “I was scared most the time—not for myself but for my ship. I thought I might do something stupid and get a bunch of my crew killed. There were a thousand things going on at once. I couldn’t keep up with it all, so I was sure I would overlook something and that would be that.”

  She paused and Hawkins said, “Welcome to command. Any captain who says he or she has never experienced that is lying or doesn’t give a damn about his or her ship.”

  Blondie cocked her head in surprise. “Even you?”

  “Especially me. I worry about all Flot 1 ships. I’m actually kind of glad when we are disbursed into our raiding zones in the Badlands because then I don’t have to worry about all of them on a continuous basis.” He smiled now. “Then I just worry about them each in turn.”

  Blondie smiled to learn Hawkins was still human. “You make command look easy. You, Tactical, Mase Reed, Killian O’Hare, Shane, Captain Wilson, even Llewellyn Terrant. It’s actually hard. Every decision has consequences, usually unforeseen ones. Battle is semi-organized hell. I was shooting at everything because I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I have no clue how Captain Wilson kept on top of it. He is very good.” She smiled at Raferty. “That’s another reason to go back with Flot 1 to the Badlands. I have so much more to learn, and I won’t learn it here.”

  “Like what?” asked Hawkins.

  “Command, diplomacy as the liaison officer, handling enemies, handling friends. Besides, I know I will have much more fun in the Badlands than I ever would in the Royal Navy. I want to go back there with my ship, the pirate vessel Predator.”

  Rafe nodded. “The Royal Navy asked me to return you to them, but I said no. They gave you to us, and a deal is a deal.”

  Blondie smiled. “Thank you, Captain.” She looked at him closely now and then spoke softly. “I’m glad I got to command a ship in combat. I did learn one more thing from that.” Her voice got even softer. “I really hate admitting this, but I learned I didn’t love my ship or crew. I commanded the best way I knew how, and I wish them success going forward, but I don’t feel a kinship to them. I have spent my whole life wanting to go to The Academy and then being a Royal Navy officer. I got to do both. This is the first time I have actually gone to battle with the Royal Navy. It took that experience for me to fully realize the Royal Navy isn’t really for me.” She shrugged. “They aren’t my people anymore. They never really were, but I couldn’t see it clearly. I do now. I could never survive there with all the BS regs and bureaucracy. When I was with the Royal Navy, I was always vaguely uncomfortable. I thought it was my fault, and I would get over it. I now realize it wasn’t really me, and it wasn’t them. I was just in the wrong place. That is probably the biggest lesson I learned.” She smiled now as she glanced around. “It’s good to be home.”

  Hawkins held up his beer bottle in salute. “Welcome back to Pirate Flotilla One, Blondie. It’s good to have you home. We missed you.” He then added, “Home is where the heart is.” He looked at her, clearly waiting for her to identify the author.

  She held up her bottle in acknowledgement to his beer salute and then said, “Usually attributed to Pliny the Elder. He was a Roman naval commander, so it’s apropos here.” Hawkins smiled and nodded in agreement. They finished their beers in an amiable silence. Blondie rose and placed her empty bottle on the desk. She moved to the hatch but, after opening it, she looked back at Hawkins and said, “Home is not where you live but where they understand you. Christian Morgenstern.” She went out but peeked back around the open hatch at Raferty. She said in a low voice. “Aboard Jib yesterday, I was feeling lonely so was looking up home quotes and came across that one. It fits.” The two exchanged smiles, and she closed the hatch behind her.

  Rafe sat for a while in thought and then went to the shuttle bay. He had to make a trip to the Wanderlust surface base to visit the wounded, especially one of them. That person needed to go home too.

  Chapter 47

  Maclyn Yardley woke from her drug-induced sleep into a drug-induced haze. She was getting used to the drugs and the coming and going of consciousness. She knew she was getting better each day so it wouldn’t be long until she would be able to travel. She frowned as she thought about the travelling part, travelling right back to her cell on Agra 2. She found herself wishing she had died in the fight. She had been vaguely aware of Kit Kinkaid getting her off the bridge to safety. The med tech worked on her in a passageway, and then she faded away. She remembered her time in Cockeyed Bob in hazy snatches of time. Now she was on Wanderlust in the naval hospital.

  Yardley wondered why Kinkaid didn’t just let her die. She was sure nobody would have said a word. She liked Kinkaid and hoped she was master of Gawain at that moment, assuming Gawain had survived. She worried about her ship much more than about herself. As she gained full consciousness, she slowly became aware of a man leaning against the wall beside her bed. Raferty Hawkins looked down with no expression. She glanced around the room. They were alone, so she got right to the point about what was bothering her.

  “I admit I’ve been out of it most of the time, but they keep calling me Michelle Yankton. Why is that?”

  Hawkins’ expression gave away nothing. “They call you that because that is your name. Your wounds must be worse than I was led to believe. You have clearly been hallucinating, and you have suffered from some sort of memory loss. You’re Michelle Yankton, a rated first officer in the merchant marine service of the Aurora Empire. Due to the demands of the war, you have been on temporary assignment to the freighter Gawain as second officer. You were wounded in the fighting when Gawain was hit by several missiles. You were moved to a battlecruiser for initial medical treatment and are now in the hospital on Wanderlust. Upon your recovery, you will return to the merchant marine service here in the Aurora Empire and ply your trade with the heartfelt appreciation of a grateful Aurora Empire going with you.”

  Yardley stared at Hawkins. Finally, she nodded and then asked, “What happened to Captain Yardley of Gawain?”

  “She died heroically after directing her ship to provide cover for Dragon. She deliberately maneuvered her ship in front of the wounded Dragon to take missile hits that would have destroyed Dragon if not for her actions. After her ship was hit, she helped clear the bridge of wounded personnel but went back for one more man. Another wave of missiles hit Gawain, and she was badly wounded on the bridge. The man she was helping made it, but she died aboard Cockeyed Bob. It was a great loss of a fine captain.”

  Yardley stared at Hawkins. He stared back but continued the story. “Michelle, you may not remember, but you were wounded in that second wave of hits while leading damage control parties. While you recover, your possessions are being gathered together from Gawain and will be brought here to you when you are ready to depart. These possessions will include your fir
st officer papers, a list of your ratings and qualifications, and your professional history. You will also have a job once you get out of here although that is still being worked out right now.” He looked at her for a moment and then said, “Thanks for all your hard work aboard Gawain, Michelle.”

  “How is Gawain?”

  “She was hit by seven missiles in the first wave. Her shields stopped four of them before collapsing. Two missiles detonated against the hull without penetrating, and the third missile penetrated just aft the bridge. The second wave resulted in four missiles hitting the hull and two of those penetrating. The bridge took another near miss, and the other hit was in the crew’s forward quarters. There were nine dead and eleven wounded. Seven of the dead were pirates, Captain Yardley among them, while the other two were from Kit Kinkaid’s crewmembers. Gawain has been in the shipyard here for four days and has three more days of work. The Zeke repair crews and our people have been working without a break to get her repairs done. She’ll get a new engine nacelle, a new bridge, and a new cargo bay hatch. The compartments behind the bridge will be airtight. She will then depart for the Badlands under Kit Kinkaid. Gawain will be fine and will enter service with Flot 1 with the name of Banshee. Kit Kinkaid will get one of our old ships and be back in the hauling business in the Badlands. Her crewmembers will go with her to her new ship while the pirate crewmembers will remain in Banshee.”

  Hawkins turned to leave but Yardley’s voice stopped him. “Thank you. Thank you very much.”

  He shrugged and said in a quiet voice. “Least we can do for all the lives Gawain saved and her work at Wanderlust and out on the border. It’s a shame about Yardley. It might be for the best though. She would have gone crazy in the brig long before she got through her reduced sentence of fifteen years.” He now stared at the patient. “One good thing about her being dead is she will never, ever, appear in the Badlands again.”