Eagle (Jacob Hull) (30 page)

The cheers were already breaking out around him as he sat back again, and he smiled as his gaze went to the star that marked Tiredel on the strategic display. He thought of Al-shira waiting for him there, and his smile grew wider. It looked like she hadn’t managed to get rid of him after all.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

It took another week and a half for the
Eagle
to return to Tiredel, and in that time the universe had changed.

The official confirmation of the armistice had taken that long to reach New Manassas from the Oduran League. President Sessors had been as anxious to receive her son home safe and sound as she had been to rescue the many crewmembers
who had been taken prisoner. High Seat Smithson had agreed to release those prisoners as a small concession to the League, though there had been many who wanted to keep ex-Admiral Yeseti and try her for crimes against the Union. Though Jacob had agreed on a personal level that Yeseti should face justice, he had seen the sense in releasing both her and Carmichael to return to their new homes in disgrace.

San Marcos had been recognized as a protectorate of the Odurans, though most of her population was now migrating to the League proper. The San Marcos separatists were too fearful of Union retaliation to stay put, and the massive defeat their forces had suffered had broken their resolve to stand in defiance of their neighbors. Carmichael remained in power, but he seemed to be a broken man now his ambitions had failed, and there were already
rumors  others were planning on stepping into his place.

Of course, if those bitter refugees had hoped to find peace and stability by fleeing to the League, they were going to be rather disappointed. The severity of the losses at Manassas Fords, combined with the previous losses at Tiredel, Kryshaen, and other conflicts, had been a complete disaster for the League as a whole and the Oduran military especially. There barely remained any dreadnaughts in their military, and a large number of President Sessors’ cruiser fleet had been sacrificed in repeatedly catastrophic campaigns. Rebellions were already starting on several League worlds, along with rumors of bankruptcy and economic collapse as the government tried to rebuild itself. No matter what Sessors had planned for her new empire, it appeared she would have a difficult time doing much more than holding her nation together in the coming years. It would be a very long time indeed before the nations of the Grand Alliance would threaten the borders of the Celostian Union again.

The celebrations across the width and breadth of the Celostian Union were a sharp contrast. Politicians were already lining up to take credit. There was talk of monuments or official holidays, neither of which meant much to Jacob. He did, however, look forward to the letter from his sister Catherine. There was peace now, for her and Michael and their new family. From Reefhome to Celostia to Tiredel, the people of the Union were finally safe.

As much as that meant to Jacob—and to the rest of the people of the Union,
for  matter—he felt an exultant joy rise in him for an entirely different reason when his flagship appeared over Tiredel. It was one thing to see one’s enemies in rout, to have secured peace and safety for those you held dear, and to have been vindicated in his decisions throughout his command. For all that satisfaction, there was something quite different to be coming home.

Al-shira was waiting for him. Her shuttle had been in orbit, and she docked with the
Eagle
almost immediately. He stood waiting for her in the shuttle bay, watching the shuttle arrive and the shuttle bay pressurize.  Anticipation built as that light slowly turned green, and it spiked as the hatch to the shuttle swung open.

She stepped out of the small ship and onto the deck, and for a moment all Jacob could do was look at her. Her gaze swept the deck until she saw him
standing at the entrance, and her eyes flashed. Al-shria strode across the deck until she came to him, and then snapped to attention, her hand raised in a precise salute. “Captain Naomi Al-shira, reporting, Sir.”

Jacob returned the salute, almost in a daze. “Naomi, I—”

Al-shira held up a hand, and Jacob showed some small amount of wisdom when he stopped. Then he gestured for her to follow him, and they walked in silence to his office.

When he’d slid the door closed, Jacob turned back to Al-shira. He forced a smile.
“So.”

She raised an eyebrow in return.
“So.” Al-shira gestured to the star map rotating over his projection unit. “Congratulations on your victory, High Admiral.”

Jacob nodded. “Thank you.” He met her gaze. “It wouldn’t have been possible without you, Naomi. I owe you for that.”

“For that and more, Admiral Ironsides.” The corner of Al-shira’s mouth quirked in a wry grin. “Have you heard any news on your way here?”

Something in Al-shira’s voice hinted at a brand of mischief he knew well enough to be wary of. He shook his head, keeping his eyes on Al-shira. “No. Nothing since we left New Manassas.”

“Then I should probably catch you up on a few things.” Al-shira took her reader out of her pocket and started to tab through the documents on it. “So. First off, I’m sure you already noticed all the ship traffic around here.” When Jacob nodded again, she continued. “The Oathbound have made the decision—after Nathan Maxwell finally talked them around to it—to move further into the interior of the Union. I think the world of Montressor has offered them sanctuary.”

Jacob blinked.
“Montressor? I guess that would be a good spot for them.” He thought over the idea quickly. “Deep enough the Odurans wouldn’t be able to threaten them, but close enough to the border they could help with resupply operations if they had to. I’m surprised the rest of the Union is agreeing to it.”

“As I said, Sir, you should probably watch more of the news.” Al-shira’s wry grin returned. “The actions of the Oathbound have more than won over most people. Montressor isn’t just agreeing to host them; they were
bidding
for the right to have them settle there. Apparently having a bunch of hardworking, charitable pacifists for neighbors sounded like a decent deal after the experience we’ve had with San Marcos.”

“Understandable, I guess—though I suppose we won’t have to worry about San Marcos much longer.” Jacob felt a burst of satisfaction at being able to say it out loud. He tried to keep his thoughts focused on the conversation at hand. “Are the settlements on Tiredel going to be abandoned, then?”

“No. The Oathbound plan on leaving them for the refugees they were sheltering.” Al-shira made an expressive gesture. “I think those refugees have already started looking to Reefhome for advice on how to form a self-defense militia. I doubt Tiredel will be an undefended system for much longer.”

Jacob didn’t quite manage to restrain a frown. “Are we sure that’s such a good idea? The last time we had a border system establishing a strong defensive force, it didn’t turn out so well.” When Al-Shira's expression hardened, Jacob frowned. “In fact, if I remember right, it was some of these same people doing the building, Captain Al-shira.”

“As far as I’m concerned, they aren’t the same people at all, High Admiral.” Al-shira raised an eyebrow. “And I would think you would be happy to welcome back a few people who have already seen the error of endorsing the separatist cause. They’re hardly going to jump right back into the arms of another Carmichael or Yeseti. I can tell you they aren’t enthusiastic about the League either, after Sessors tried to help Carmichael’s goons. You’ll have no better friends than these people, trust me.”

“You, I can trust.” Jacob folded his arms across his chest. “It’s them I’m worried about.” She gave him a look Jacob knew well, and he sighed.
“Fine. I guess I’ll just have to keep an eye on them.”

“Leave it to me.” Al-shira smiled. “While I seem to have a bit more optimism about them than you do, I
have
taken the liberty of placing a few agents on Tiredel. If anybody tries to do anything we don’t like, you’ll be the first to hear about it.”

Oddly comforted by that statement, Jacob turned back to the display. “So the Oathbound are heading further into the Union, and Tiredel is going to have a lot more protection in the future. What else has been going on since I’ve left?”

“The former High Seat, Roderick von Clarence, left the other day. He said he was headed to Erad, where his son was stationed.” Al-shira sighed when Jacob raised both eyebrows. “You really didn’t know about that?”

“About what?”
Jacob gestured to the star map. “Since when is von Clarence’s son stationed at Erad? For that matter, since when is his son even a serving officer? I thought he was on some sort of educational retreat.”

“An educational retreat that has lasted for the past five years?”
Al-shira chuckled. “It turns out Marine Captain Harold ‘Montgomery’ is actually Captain Harold von Clarence. The elder von Clarence apparently has some instructions for him, though what sort of instructions they are I can’t say.”

Jacob stared at her.
“Another one with a fake name. Did he somehow take Nivrosky’s advice?”

“Actually, based on the timeline I’d say the former High Admiral took von Clarence’s advice.” Al-shira shrugged. “The officer has a sterling reputation and a fine record, so I think he shouldn’t be anything to worry about.”

Though he trusted her judgment, Jacob felt a twinge of resentment. There was a spark of suspicion still lingering toward Roderick von Clarence, but had to set it aside. After all, the man had come through for him, and he’d served the Union as well as Jacob had ever done. At the very least Roderick was headed for somewhere safe behind the Union’s border, rather than charging off into danger again. Perhaps, if Jacob ever ran across him again, perhaps he could offer his thanks instead of another argument. “All right. What’s next?”

Al-shira walked over to stand beside him. “There’s been a bit of a shift in the House and the Council since last you saw it. They’ve suddenly converted to absolute supporters of your position—in
fact, they secretly always have supported you. Representatives and Lower Seats alike have been lining up behind every proposal they were blocking before. I’ve never seen High Seat Smithson quite so happy.”

Jacob grinned. “So the new designs?”

“They’ve all been authorized to go forward.” Al-shira handed him the reader. “Practically every shipyard in the Union is being asked to take on the work. Everything from Reefhome to New Manassas is going to be occupied.”

Jacob’s eyes widened as he studied the information. “Naomi, this has to be two or three times the construction I asked for! Where did they come up with the funding? Better question, how are we going to find the crews for all of them?”

“Crews aren’t going to be a problem, Jacob.” She tapped another button, and the information shifted to a report from the Naval Academy near Graveston Station. “Recruits have been pouring in since Manassas Fords. The main challenge we’re having is where to put them all. The training facilities are overrun with all the new volunteers, but Admiral Mirov is already finding ways to stretch our resources. I’m sure if we present the House with the problem, they will be more than happy to give us more support anyway.”

The universe had turned upside down while Jacob wasn't looking. “But…but, they always said there wasn’t enough funding to…” He trailed off and she laughed.

“They may have been holding out on us, Jacob. They weren’t exactly a fan of Ironsides, now were they?” She shook her head ruefully. “Now, though, the Navy has won an unqualified victory, and they are starting to see all sorts of ways the Union might benefit from having a stronger defense force. No one really believes the Telosians will abide by the treaty, and even if they do there are plenty of independent pirates who would love to raid our frontier. Both the people of the Union
and
their representatives in the House and Council would like to have a stronger bulwark against those threats in the future, and they’ve decided you know enough about what you are doing to provide that protection.”

Jacob looked down at the information in his hands again and struggled to find an appropriate response. “This is incredible, Al-shira. They’re already looking into new dreadnaught designs, and the new
Republic
-class cruisers could change everything. Imagine what we could do with an actual, built from the ground up ‘ironside’ design. We could start retiring the older vessels, selling them off to militia. We’d actually have a strategic reserve on hand instead of having to depend on converted freighters…”

He trailed off, and Al-shira nodded. “That’s right. No matter whether or not the Oduran League keeps their end of the deal, they are going to find a surprise waiting for them the next time they come after us. They might know about the ironside modifications—Yeseti’s probably telling them everything she knows—but they haven’t seen anything like what we’ll be able to do now.”

“Right.” Jacob thought back to the conversation he’d had with Leon before the battle had begun. “That’s not the only thing I want to work on. There’s something else, something I’m going to want to talk with Michael about.” He smiled. “Then we might be able to set up something a bit more out of the box to surprise our Oduran friends.”

Al-shira looked at him, questioning, but Jacob waved it away with a laugh. “I’ll explain on the way to Reefhome, but all I’m going to say for now is if the Council and the House like the Ironsides designs, they’re going to
love
what I’ve got planned next.” He fought another burst of laughter at the annoyed expression on her face and held up both hands defensively. “Before we get into that, is there anything else you’re holding out on me about? Any other miraculous surprise the Council and the House have decided to grant me? Or maybe there’s something High Seat Smithson has done?”