Relentless (28 page)

Captain Duellos sighed into the awkward silence. “I wish that the Syndics had spared us the trouble of finding her out. When I think of how many battles Kila survived, and for what? To betray those who guarded her flanks. Now I feel stained by her dishonor, shamed that any officer could do such a thing.”

“Her actions don’t reflect on you,” Geary replied. “Or on anyone but her.”

“So you say, and I appreciate it.” Duellos gazed soberly into the distance. “I need to have a talk with my ancestors.”

“That’s never a bad idea,” Badaya agreed.

Geary gestured toward Desjani and Duellos. “All right. I need to have a private talk with Captain Badaya now. Would you two mind?”

Duellos and Desjani left, both playing their roles well, as if both were part of the sort of conspiracy that Badaya expected.

Geary stood up, feeling a bit nervous. Rione had been right when she accused him of being a lousy liar, but he had to act out this role as well as he could. He walked back and forth for a moment to work out his nerves, then faced Badaya. “Captain, I wanted to talk with you regarding what actions should be taken when the fleet returns to Alliance space.”

“Of course.” Badaya stood up as well, his tension betraying eagerness. “You’re ready to agree? The Alliance needs you.”

Geary didn’t look at him, bowing his head for a moment. “Captain Badaya, I hope you appreciate how very difficult even speaking of such a thing is for me. I come from a time when the idea of the fleet’s acting against the government would have been unthinkable.”

Captain Badaya grimaced, then shook his head, the movement slow and ponderous as if a heavy weight were resting on it. “Don’t think I’ve made the offer lightly, Captain Geary. Not me, and not any other officer. It’s not an easy thing to decide, even for those of us who’ve endured the consequences of our government’s incompetence and corruption.”

“I appreciate that.” Geary sat down again and gestured for Badaya to do the same. “I’m just having trouble grasping why you all came to the decision you reached.”

“Why?” Badaya sat heavily, hunched over a bit and frowning toward his hands where they rested between his knees. “Sometimes the options all seem worse. You know that. We’ve all taken an oath to the Alliance, but what does defending the Alliance mean? Does it mean letting politicians continue to let their greed and ambition destroy the Alliance?”

“There’s more than one way to destroy the Alliance,” Geary stated carefully.

Badaya’s answering grin was tight and humorless. “True. You haven’t experienced it, though. Not enough backing when it matters, too much interference in command decisions, waste, profiteering, starving us of what we need to win, then blaming us when it goes to hell.” He looked at Geary, his gaze measuring. “They used you against us, you know. The legend of the great Black Jack Geary, who’d never go against the political leadership, never question their demands however unreasonable, never fail to salute and charge off to die. That’s one of the biggest reasons a lot of us were worried about you.”

He hadn’t seen things in that light before, but it made sense that officers would have distrusted him on those grounds, if they thought he was a puppet of politicians they distrusted in turn. “What made you decide you could trust me? I haven’t spoken against the government.”

“No, but you demonstrated very clearly your loyalty to your fellow officers and the fleet,” Badaya pointed out. “You won battles and kept our losses down. You’re a fighter, and only a blind fool couldn’t see how dedicated you were to those who fought alongside you.” The other captain looked down again, grimacing. “Honor says we should abide by our oath to the Alliance, but what does that mean? Does it mean letting our fellows die?”

“If an officer doesn’t want to execute orders—” Geary began.

“He or she can resign,” Badaya finished. “Certainly. Walk away and leave his or her fellows to fight on without them, to fight and die following orders one personally thinks are foolish. Where’s the honor in that? We can’t leave our comrades in arms. Yet we can’t let them keep dying for nothing, and we can’t let the Alliance be destroyed by politicians who care nothing for those who die. You see? It’s a hard road, yet it leads to one option, to honor our oaths to the Alliance and our loyalty to our comrades by backing a leader who will do what’s right.”

Geary shook his own head. “What makes you so certain that I’ll know what’s right?”

“I told you. I’ve watched you. So has everyone else. Why do you think Kila and Caligo shifted from trying to discredit you to trying to kill you? Because they knew that after enough experience with you, this fleet wouldn’t allow you to be deposed.” Badaya laughed. “By my ancestors, if I tried to act against you now, my own crew would revolt. I’m not saying you couldn’t lose the loyalty you’ve acquired, but it would take some serious misjudgments, and as long as you listen to Tanya Desjani, you won’t have to worry about that.”

He hadn’t wanted Tanya brought up again even in passing. Time to get the subject back on track. “Captain Badaya,” Geary said slowly, “I’ve been seriously considering options once we reach Alliance space, and something disquieting has occurred to me.” Badaya gave him a keen look but remained silent.

Geary activated the star display on the table between them, setting it to display a vast reach of the Alliance and Syndic space as well. “It seems so easy, so certain. We return, I assume whatever authority is needed, and the politicians are put in their proper place.” Badaya nodded. “And yet I found that I kept thinking about the attack this fleet launched on the Syndic home star system.”

Badaya frowned this time. “I don’t understand the connection.”

Leaning closer to the star display, Geary indicated the representation of the Syndic home star system. “Apparently a sure thing, but it was a trap. Why did I keep thinking of that when I thought about our return to Alliance space? I haven’t been sure, but I think I’m beginning to understand what’s bothering me.”

“If you’re thinking they’re similar,” Badaya objected, “they aren’t. This fleet outguns anything in Alliance space by a wide margin. The politicians couldn’t defeat it, even if they were insane enough to order it attacked.”

“It’s not that,” Geary said as he carefully chose his words to match those he’d gone over with Desjani and Duellos. “I think that it’s a question of not playing by the rules our enemies want us to follow.”

Badaya cocked his head, regarding Geary. “Meaning? You’ve been adamant about following rules, about abiding by the policies and beliefs of our ancestors.”

“Yes.
Our
rules.” Geary walked to the display and pointed randomly at Syndic star systems. “The Syndics want us to play by
their
rules. Things like bombarding civilians and killing prisoners. Because if we do that, it’s to the Syndic leaders’ advantage. Their own populace won’t revolt against their leaders as long as they’re scared of us.”

Badaya nodded. “I’ve seen the intelligence reports of what we’ve learned from being deep inside Syndic space. By matching Syndic atrocities, we worked against ourselves. I won’t deny that. What does that have to do with our return to Alliance space?”

“I’m wondering if our opponents in Alliance space
want
me to seize power.”

Badaya leaned back, his eyes narrowing in thought as he gazed at Geary. “Why would they want that? They don’t even know you are with this fleet yet.”

“They don’t necessarily want me,” Geary explained, “but they must have known about Admiral Bloch and his ambitions.”

“I didn’t know you were aware of Bloch’s goals. You’ve obviously done your homework on this.” Badaya rubbed his chin, looking away from Geary as he thought. “He thought winning at the Syndic home star system would give him the stature to try to seize power. Whether he could have actually had the backing within the fleet to do that is another question, but it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility. I believe our political leaders are corrupt, but I don’t think all of them are stupid, so some of them must have known of Bloch’s ambitions and the potential for him to achieve them. Yet they let Bloch lead this fleet anyway. I hadn’t put that together before.” He centered his gaze on Geary again. “Why?”

Geary tapped the table lightly to emphasize his words. “I’ve been doing some research. Historically, corruption is a problem in every form of government, but it’s far worse in dictatorships than it is in elected governments. That’s because dictatorships don’t have formal limits on the powers of officials and don’t have a free press or open government that exposes corruption.”

Badaya frowned again. “You wouldn’t be a dictator.”

“I wouldn’t be elected,” Geary pointed out. “No matter my intentions, I’d have to rule as a dictator. Now, what form of government would corrupt politicians favor the most?”

The frown deepened. “They want you to take over so they can operate their corruption freely? Why would they think you or even Admiral Bloch would allow that?”

“Because I’m not a politician.” Geary nodded toward the representation of Alliance space. “Whatever Bloch thought of his political skills, I think he was probably outclassed by those who have politics as a profession. A military officer in power could be manipulated by corrupt politicians, manipulated in ways that would enhance the power and the wealth of those politicians far more than could be managed in an open, democratic system.”

Badaya sat silent for a long time, then nodded as well. “I see your point. A fleet officer wouldn’t know how to play their games any more than the politicians could command a fleet action. The politicians want a puppet they could pull the strings on and hide behind, just like Kila wanted to use Caligo. Is that what helped you see this? It wouldn’t matter who the officer was who seized power. Hell, the politicians would probably be thrilled that it was you because of what they could get away with by claiming it was what Black Jack wanted.” He nodded again. “Playing by their rules. I see what you mean. They want a fleet officer to try being a politician because they can run rings around us with words that don’t mean what they seem to mean. But what do we do? Just let them keep running the Alliance into the ground?”

“There’s a middle ground.” He didn’t like saying this, let alone admitting it. But what he was about to say was true. “I have the potential to take over. I could really overthrow the government.” The words felt sour in Geary’s mouth as he spoke of something contrary to his oath and his beliefs. “The politicians know that. The decent ones, the ones who can be brought around, will know they have to listen to me.”

Badaya smiled. “They’ll be afraid not to do as you say, afraid enough for you to get things done. And the corrupt ones will cooperate with you because they’ll want to curry your favor for when you do take over.” He held up one hand, palm out, as Geary started to speak. “I understand you don’t want to give them that opportunity. But if they’re anything like we believe, it won’t even occur to them that you could resist the temptation.”

He hadn’t thought of that, but Badaya’s suggestion made sense. Geary nodded. “I remain a threat, someone they have to listen to, yet the strengths of the Alliance government, of our democratic principles and individual rights, also remain intact.”

“Clever.” Badaya’s smile grew. “You outthought them, didn’t you? Just like you’ve outthought the Syndics. I made the same mistake a lot of other people did, assuming that the politicians weren’t just as capable of manipulating us as they were of enriching themselves. Is that why you had that affair with Rione? To learn all you could about them?”

It took Geary a moment to calm himself enough to trust his response. Badaya was honorable enough by today’s standards, and a decent officer, but to call him undiplomatic was an understatement. “I learned a number of important things from Co-President Rione,” he finally said, a true statement Badaya could interpret any way he wanted. “But,” he added while fixing Badaya with a sharp look, “Rione can be trusted.”

“You’d know,” Badaya agreed with an amused expression. “After all, you have seen parts of her none of the rest of us have.” He chuckled at the clumsy joke while Geary hoped he wasn’t flushing with discomfort. “Now, I take it you want your supporters in the fleet to know what you intend?”

“That’s right.” Geary kept his voice level. “It’s important that everyone understand what is going on.” Or rather, what he wanted them to think was going on.
I will not dictate to my political leadership. I just pray the military and political superiors I deal with will listen to me or at least not obviously dismiss me.
“The last thing we want is for my hand to be forced by officers who think they’re doing me or the Alliance a favor but will actually be playing into the hands of the most corrupt politicians.”

“I think I can guarantee you that won’t happen now.” Badaya smiled admiringly as he stood up. “All of those times you denied wanting enough power to change things you were studying the situation and planning options, weren’t you? I should have guessed. A good commander doesn’t play by the enemy’s rules. I’m going to remember that.”

Geary slumped down after Badaya’s image vanished, rubbing his eyes with one hand and feeling dishonest, manipulative, and even a bit dishonorable. He hadn’t directly lied to Badaya, but he’d certainly misled the man as thoroughly as any politician could have done.

After a while he called Rione to his stateroom. She came in, evaluated his attitude, then smiled approvingly. “You did it. Badaya bought it?”

“Yes. I think so.”

“Good. And you’re unhappy.”

“I don’t like lying to people,” Geary told her coldly. “Maybe that’s why I’m so bad at it. I don’t like knowing I can be good enough at it to deceive even someone like Badaya.”

Rione walked slowly to one side. “Lying? What lie did you tell?”

“You know perfectly well—”

“What I
know
, Captain Geary, is that what you told Badaya is, as near as we can determine, truthful. Now try to get this through your thick head. Captain Badaya didn’t ‘buy’ anything. Do you believe that a military dictatorship would be a disaster for the Alliance? Yes? Then what did you lie about? I admit comparing it to the Syndic ambush hadn’t occurred to me, but once you and your captain came up with that, I thought it was brilliant.”