by Britt Ringel
Ironically, after nearly an hour of unrelenting battle, the relative strength of the combatants was essentially unchanged. While each fleet could barely muster a single section, the contest remained closely balanced, at five to four.
“One more ship than us,” Vernay noted, “and it’s a brig.” She looked at the fleet status display and stared skeptically at Heskan as she shook her head.
“I’m not giving up, Stacy,” Heskan vowed. He leaned toward her and waved her closer. When she was within earshot, he whispered, “I might consider it but we’ve got no other options.”
Truesworth’s panel chirped. “Incoming message, Captain.”
Admiral Wallace’s image appeared on the wall screen. The man’s face matched the color of his coat. “Are you satisfied, you lunatic?” he lashed out vehemently. “How many ships have been lost and how many more damaged to satisfy your morbid curiosity? Do you have any idea how many credits have been wasted on a battle that was won an hour ago?” He gestured violently toward his screen as he ranted, “I’ll make sure you never obtain privateer’s work again, you madman. Your disregard for established chivalry has ensured that I will most certainly not honor your contract!”
Heskan smiled at the man’s antics until he realized that Wallace was right about the death and destruction around him. With a brooding acceptance of what was to come, he recorded his challenge. “I’ve only just begun, Admiral. If you honestly think what you’ve been witnessing is wanton destruction, then you have no idea what true war is.” He smiled weakly but his eyes flashed boldly. “You also have no concept of sacrifice because the lost lives of the sailors under me haven’t been wasted. They were bequeathed to liberty.” He let his voice take on an unwavering edge. “And I won’t dishonor their last measure of devotion by surrendering to you, Admiral. Not while I can still fight. Prepare for a fourth pass.” He cut his recording and shifted his eyes to a horrified Truesworth. “Send it, Jack.”
Truesworth nodded soberly and then looked at his station panel. He hesitated marginally, staring at the button that would signal the beginning of the end of his life. Exhaling, he pressed it.
Lieutenant Covington’s voice sounded over the fleet command channel. “They’re going to sing songs about us,” he declared cheerfully.
“Or threaten their children with us,” replied Baldwin in the same channel.
The remark elicited a laugh from Vernay. She looked over to Heskan and said, “I think I like that woman.”
Heskan blew out a breath, connected to the fleet comm channel and addressed his captains earnestly. “I know. Each of you is getting a whole lot more than you deserve. I didn’t intend for it to be this way but we’re fighting to the end so Seshafi’s families won’t have to.” He sighed before saying, “I hope you can live with that.”
“Or die with it,” Vernay added from Heskan’s left.
“Captain,” Lieutenant Baldwin responded, “to be honest, I never thought we’d get this far. None of the captains in our navy would have dared push us this hard, but, you know what? I’m glad you did. After years of meaningless pageantry, I’m proud of what my crew has accomplished today and even if Wallace takes my life, he’ll never take that.”
“Here, here,” echoed Covington. “I feel like I’ve finally earned this gold command braid, Captain. Thank you.”
Heskan blushed at the sentiments and ordered, “Then let’s form up. Elathra will take the lead. I want Fame, then Honor, followed by Ravana.”
Vernay smirked at her captain and quipped, “I’d rather have honor first but fame is always appreciated.”
* * *
“They’re forming up, Admiral.”
Wallace looked toward the heavens in exasperation.
“You must put a stop to this,” his assistant pleaded. “No privateer will ever contract with us again! Admiral, we have but four snows and a brig left from the entire fleet!”
The Red Admiral cast a sideways glance. His voice no longer held contempt, just desperation. “That’s not true, we’ve only strictly lost a brig. The other ships have just retired.” He gritted his teeth and said, “We just need one more pass.”
“It won’t be just one more pass, Admiral. This man won’t stop! It’ll be another pass and another until we’ve ground ourselves into oblivion. For all we know, the Lagrin system hired him to come here and attrit our fleet into extermination. As damaged as our forces are now, Unadex Corporation could take our system with barely a fight!” His assistant stepped closer. “I beg you, Viscount. You must withdraw while we still retain rights to our retired ships.” The man bowed his head subserviently but persisted, “We all know you are the better man. We all know that your will would win the day should you wish it but what good is winning this battle if it causes us to lose an even larger war?”
Wallace’s eyes stared into infinity. All motion in the command center had stopped. Finally, the elder man’s eyes closed. “Very well. Strike our lights. You will negotiate the withdrawal. We can concede the entire casus bellum but we must retain our ships.”
* * *
“I don’t believe it,” Covington’s stunned voice sounded over the frequency.
“It’s official, Clayton,” Heskan confirmed. “I just received Sade’s surrender from Wallace’s assistant.”
After the cheers over the fleet channel died down, Lieutenant Baldwin asked, “Captain, permission to break formation? I need to recover my shuttle.”
Heskan nodded even though she could not see him. “I saw the launch…” He stumbled. I can’t remember her first name.
As if reading his mind, an answer came through the channel. “It’s Jaynee, Captain.”
“Um, yeah,” Heskan fumbled. “Sorry about that. As I was saying, I saw the launch… wondered if maybe one of my ship captains was going AWOL.”
The jest brought a chuckle from Honor’s commander. The agreeable voice quickly turned wicked. “No, I just figured you might want back the crewmember you jettisoned, sir.”
Vernay’s eyebrows launched skyward as she eavesdropped on the conversation. She stepped over to Heskan’s console and announced tersely, “This is Commander Vernay, Honor. What the hell are you talking about?”
Baldwin’s manner was instantly cowed by the coldness in Vernay’s statement. “Sorry, Commander. We detected a distress signal during the battle and launched a shuttle to recover it. It was the shocksuit beacon from one of your crew, ma’am. The shuttle reports she’s in critical condition and has both burns and severe frostbite but she’s alive.”
“Gables.” Vernay said the name as a statement of fact.
“That’s right!” Baldwin answered.
Vernay’s expression erupted into a broad smile as Brown hooted behind her. “Why am I not surprised.”
Chapter 32
Less than twenty-four hours later, Heskan exited a shuttle to step onto the surface of Seshafi Major for the first time. The shining sun emitted a familiar yellow light, slightly tinged with orange. He was escorted from the sunshine and brisk winds, past a swarming crowd of shouting media, and into a building with a historical fascia but modern interior. He walked through the security sniffers in the lobby and shortly came to a large office cohabitated by two secretaries. He stood at the entrance, staring beyond the administrators at double doors that bore the name “Archduke Joshua Covington, CEO.”
Heskan no sooner opened his mouth to greet one of the women when she pointed toward the double doors and stated, “The archduke is waiting for you, sir.”
Heskan walked to the doors to knock while his escort sat on a nearby couch. He raised his hand but both doors opened automatically.
“Please do come in, Captain,” a friendly voice greeted. “Welcome.”
The opulent room was unlike anything Heskan had seen before. Despite knowing that the title of archduke was contingent on Covington’s job as CEO of AmyraCorp, it was easy to believe the man was true royalty. Priceless, real oil paintings adorned the walls. Oak furniture resided upon
luxurious carpet.
Joshua Covington himself seemed a simple man. His suit, immaculately tailored but otherwise plain, elegantly draped his slight frame. He traveled around his desk and stepped deliberately toward Heskan, extending his hand in friendship. After Heskan shook his hand, he was directed to an antique couch.
Covington appraised Heskan through sparkling, grey eyes. The man’s apparent stiff demeanor broke with a slight smile of amusement. “My son simply cannot stop raving about you, Garrett.”
Heskan returned the man’s smile with a generous one of his own. “Your son has the heart of a lion, Archduke.”
Covington waved a modest hand. “He takes after his mother I’m sure but I must confess that I’ve never been more proud.” The gentleman looked away humbly and snorted. “I may never get him out of the service now.” He sat in contemplation for several, quiet moments before looking again at Heskan amicably. “Do you know why you’re here?”
Heskan scratched his chin. “To get paid, I suppose.”
Covington barked with staccato laughter. “Very good!” He huffed for several seconds, regaining his breath. “Actually, you’ve been paid, Captain, and it’s the best money AmyraCorp has ever spent, truthfully.” The man paused and then said, “But to the matter of why I requested your presence, Seshafi finds herself in a very vulnerable period.” He sighed heavily. “Admiral Cooke is gone, killed in a perfidiousness that, while a civilian murder, I fear will be ruled as an event preceding the casus bellum and without recourse under our rules of war.” He shook his head precisely twice and then continued. “We’ve also lost most of our navy’s senior command officers, especially those with combat experience.” He tapped his knee with fingers as if counting before confiding, “We now have exactly eight ship captains who have seen battle and the highest ranking one is Commander Nguyen.” Covington sighed. “He’s a good man but entrenched in corporate mores, and I suspect that you turned our covenants on their head yesterday.”
“I didn’t mean to—”
Covington placed a hand on Heskan’s knee. The gravitas of the simple action made Heskan silent. “We all know you didn’t mean to, Captain, but what’s done is done and I dare say IaCom did so first, even if The Courts may not see it that way. Mind you, I am grateful for your actions, as is the entire board and all of Seshafi, but you must understand that IaCom will be back.” He rubbed at the dark circles under his eyes and continued, “This obstacle will not stop them, not when they’ve revealed they want nothing less than a complete takeover and were willing to commit such treachery to secure it. Or, try to that is.” He looked at Heskan with a rueful smile. “I suppose they can’t stop even if they wanted to, now that we know their intentions. And so, we will be faced with more war, whether it be next month or next year.”
“I understand your position,” Heskan said with empathy.
Covington raised a finger with a grunt, “Heh, and that is just that, as they say. You see, we are very much hoping that our position will become your position.”
Heskan felt his eyebrows furrow. “Okay, now, I don’t understand.”
Covington smiled charmingly at Heskan. “We need each other, my good captain. Oliver Wallace wasn’t bluffing when he said he would make sure you never worked as a privateer again. He has powerful connections and you need us as much as we, now, need you.”
Heskan arched an eyebrow upward. “What exactly are you proposing, sir?”
“I’m offering you a position in our navy, a commission, not just as a privateer, Garrett. Oliver will throw everything he has at us next time and Nguyen won’t be creative enough to stop it. I can offer commissions and incentives to any of your crew who might wish to join us.” Covington motioned to his window-mode wall screen. “Wallace will force you into retirement, Garrett. This is as good a place as any to make a living and call home. Better than most, I would even say.”
Heskan’s heart leapt into his throat. Home. I want that. He thought of his crew. They deserve that, at least the choice. “I think we have a deal, Archduke.”
The man grunted slightly as he pushed off the couch cushion to stand. He took several truncated steps as he turned in a half circle to face Heskan with a smile. “Splendid, and call me Joshua when we’re in private, Garrett.” He walked deliberately to his desk. “I’ll take care of the arrangements, starting with your citizenship status. Since you are choosing to be Seshafian, you can pick your land anywhere on the planet. I’ll have Stewart place a shuttle at your disposal, but don’t dally. We have a lot of work to accomplish before we receive the next casus bellum from IaCom if we want to assure the upper hand.”
Heskan looked down at his suit and laughed. “I guess I should be happy that I never bothered with a privateer’s uniform.”
“Indeed. You’ll look smashing in our blues.” Covington circled the desk and huffed as he sat down. “Now go back to the orbital and retrieve me your entire crew. We would not have prevailed without them and our dependency on those sailors will only increase in the future.”
Heskan straightened formally as he came to attention. Though not in uniform, he rendered a precise salute. Midway through it, he realized it was a Brevic salute. Oh well, he’s going to find out eventually anyway.
The archduke nodded at the honorific and chortled. “I suppose you’re going to tell me an interesting story soon, Garrett, but it can wait.”
Heskan dropped the salute and winked before executing an about face and retreating from the extravagant office without further word.
* * *
The Red Admiral had faced a very different set of meetings after the battle than Heskan. Wallace now balled the anger and humiliation of the last forty-eight hours and launched it at the Secure Solutions representative in his office. “We paid you for noninterference, Colby! Your outfit has thrown their reputation away and for what?” He stepped back from the man to regain his composure. After several breaths, he resumed in a more civil volume. “I promise you that I will expose your duplicity to the entire Court and no corporation will dare trust you again. Do you have any idea how my personal standing may suffer because of the actions in Seshafi?”
Wallace began to pace in front of the representative who threw his hands up in defense. “But, Viscount, hear me out!”
Wallace spun in place and scolded, “There is no excuse! You violated your own agreement not to send Secure Solutions privateers to Seshafi. We paid you, and dozens of other privateer companies, to ensure a quick victory. I promised a quick victory.”
“But that’s precisely it, Viscount,” the man argued. “We didn’t send a representative.”
Wallace stomped to his desk and lifted the physical file bearing Secure Solutions’ name. “He’s right here, Colby.” He threw the thin file at his target and bellowed, “In your own records!”
The representative bent over and picked up the paper before continuing in a measured voice. “Viscount, I’m not disputing that this Garrett Heskan is in our records but nobody knows who he is or how he got there. Nobody in our company has even met the man.”
Wallace’s head cocked to one side. “Explain how can that be, Mr. Persin?”
The man shrugged defensively. “I can’t. We don’t know. There was an entry payment and his name was registered but that’s it.”
“Who paid?”
Persin remained silent, weighing his answer, and finally stated, “All I can tell you right now is that payment came from within the Commonwealth.”
Wallace grunted at the implication. “Another fee you’ll extort.” He nodded begrudging acceptance. “Very well, I’ll pay the price personally for this information.” Wallace walked to his windowed wall screen and looked out at a Saden bay. “This man seems to have gone to great lengths to disappear and one only does that when hiding from someone.” He smiled confidently. “I’ll find out exactly who Garrett Heskan is and then, perhaps, I will reacquaint him with his old friends.”
* * *
Vernay looked down at Denise Gable
s in her med-bed. “You know, when I told you that you had to send someone to their death, I didn’t mean for it to be you, Denise.” Tubes ran from Gables’ arms; her hands were bathed in gel. The operations officer’s initial condition was critical but she stabilized quickly in Honor’s medical bay. Her transport to Seshafi Major’s surface occurred on the first night, and two days later visitors were permitted. Despite her frostbitten face, Gables looked better than she had any right to. Only her blanket, smoothly flowing to the end of the bed where an outline of her feet should have been, belied her apparent remarkable condition.
Both of the lieutenant’s feet had been burned horrifically. As Gables lie dying in an auxiliary radiator access alcove, she had decided the bitter cold of space was a better alternative to immolation. She had mustered the strength to roll over to and out of the containment field several meters from her. As she entered the vacuum, her shocksuit constriction bands had activated around her ankles once the suit detected the breaches in her boots. The constrictions saved her life though also contributed to her loss.
Sixty hours after her charge into hell, she awoke to discover the price that had been levied. Like all Gables in her family, she took harsh news in stride. Advances in cybernetics would replace what she lost and Seshafian doctors assured her that AmyraCorp would spare no expense for one of its wounded heroes.
Gables looked up at Vernay and weakly shrugged. Her throat was still agonizingly dry but she croaked out, “I couldn’t ask them to do what I wasn’t willing to do myself.”
Vernay smiled warmly at her friend and blinked away her tears.
* * *
Six days after his initial conversation with Joshua Covington, Heskan stared at the advance and retreat of salty water. The gentle waves caressed the coarse particles of quartz that provided for a splendid, almost blindingly white beach. Behind him, grass rose dramatically with the terrain to a tall, rounded hilltop.
