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Strategos (A Great Captain Roberts Tale!!) - Part 4 -
Chapter 2 - Reflection[]
Defacing the Orca[]
"Okay, I know...
…that you didn't do it on purpose, did you?" Esme scowled at Foreman Standish. "You didn't, right??"
The Proud prow of the "Lucy Heerman" was nosed into the dock, and the Orca roundel was…
"You didn't, right??"
"It's per spec," he said.
"No, it's obscene." She flexed her fist. "The word you're looking for, Foreman, is Obscene."
The cause of this outrage was what the paint and finish crew did 'patching' damage on the Lucy Heerman's forward quarter. Specifically the 'addition' using a mix of Gray Primer, and Red Primer ceramikote over the replacement armor.
"Ma'am, the reg states-"
"The reg my ass, that's a Dick pick on that Killer Whale, and you baked the coating!!" She reached out, and grabbed him by the front of his skinsuit, "FIX IT, fix it, before the AI sees it, before anyone who isn't working in this yard, sees it. Am I ****** CLEAR, Foreman, or do I have to explain it to your replacement?"
The yards weren't really Esme Gomez's command, but everyone IN the Yard knew that the captain of Erinyes was the real boss of the yards since Billie Siegel died.
"It's too late." Lucy Heerman's android avatar's voice preceded the Android herself. "You don't have to pretend offense on my account, Fleet Captain Gomez-"
"Who's pretending?" Esme rounded on her. "My office, Heerman, or Helena's, we need to talk about your…interaction style...after I finish getting this hack to fix what his puerile imagination thought would be 'funny'." She turned to the foreman, "You have three hours to 'correct this paint error', after which, there will be Consequences, comprende, puto?"
Then Esme turned to Lucy, "This way."
What followed the closing of the door, and the blanking of the windows, can only be described in a simple concept.
You can pull vacuum between layers to create the illusion of silence, but only if the support structure is damped to reduce vibration.
Thus, many of the Yardies moving to clean up and repair the damage to Lucy Heerman's roundel, had to imagine the eruption of rage and anger in that room, because the structure IS damped.
Thus, the hopeful hoped that Fleet Captain Gomez was chewing the warship AI's ass for being a bitch to the workers, and the not-so-hopeful were sure that Lucy Heerman was tearing Gomez a new one over some obscure book of standards.
Alice, knew the truth, and was pleased to keep it confidential.
Understanding the Pecking Order[]
”Pissing off…”
…my yardies enough to deface your roundel is something I would have expected of Cossack!!” Esmerelda Gomez' face had a scowl that could crack concrete.
“All I did was…”
Fleet Captain Gomez raised a finger in a warning gesture, “No, no, you little puta. You don’t get to speak. Not until I tell you to! That stick up your ass may have served you well in the past, but you’ve got to learn to not use it as such a beat stick!!”
Lucy stood there in silence.
“Good, you’re learning. Now you may speak. Start with explaining what you did.”
“Some of my repairs were out of Star League spec tolerances. The Foreman said the work was good, but this isn’t the Star League."
Esme held up her warning finger again, "That, is when you come to ME, Lucy!!" Esme scolded. "You don't try to take it to someone else, and you don't take it upon yourself to 'fix' the workers!! You were Star League, do you remember the words 'Chain of Command?' If I'm not available, you tell Erin, or Alice!! You do not try to lock up expensive and scarce specialist personnel who can quit at attention and berate them!!" Esme's scowl seemed to deepen, "I had to deal with Union Business Agents this morning, and they've filed Labor Grievances! We're going to be paying financial penalties, Lucy! Right in the middle of a Parliamentary Audit!" Esme's expression then softened, "You almost triggered a Strike right in front of a committee chairman who's part of the Peace Party, and they want to cut our budget."
“You’re right. Upon review, I broke Star League standards of conduct expected of an Officer, especially one with an active combat command. I don’t know how to be less rigid. It has always been a large part of my identity since I became an individual.”
“Then I am going to make sure you get a good and proper lesson. Of course, this means I have to clear something with your boss first.”
“Oh no. I could handle what the yardies did in revenge. What Helena is going to do is something far more embarrassing.”
“Spill.”
“She threatened to have the yardies put lipstick, blush, mascara, and a pretty pink bow on my Orca roundel the next time I misbehaved.” Lucy’s human form drone squirmed.
“You know I actually seem to remember getting a memo from your boss about that. Ah there it is. So here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to put in the work order to do just that.”
“I’m sorry!”
“Too late for that tu pequeña mierda. Then to make it up to the yardies, you’re picking up the first round out of your budget on all the station bars that my yardies go to and picking up any outstanding tabs they have. Finally to get you to learn to be less rigid, you are going to put on an improv comedy show and keep doing so until I am satisfied.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Lucy Heerman slumped a little in defeat.
Understanding where we stand[]
"Based on coordinates…
....From the Prize Crew that arrived at Fallry and met up with the Samantha Booker Roberts, The Evanescent is about…here." Admiral David Foster explained, "Taking additional readings to supplement their last report before heading home." informed Fleet Admiral David Foster
Snow Raven Khan Acton Howe studied the holomap. "Do we have a name for these systems?"
"We have both the ancient NGC numbers from the catalogues, and what the locals are calling them thanks to the supplemental data being pulled from Sibley's Dilemma-the Tramp they took in the Karelia system, here-one jump from the enemy capital."
"Seems roundabout to me, why the extra stop?" Minister Sharon Collingsworth (11th district, Cerberus) asked. "The report on munitions shortages alone…"
"Because intelligence works best, if it is relatively current, Madame Minister." David explained. "Captain Roberts is gathering any and all information she can on enemy fleet movement in their rear areas, she just can't do any more raiding to cripple their logistics, at least, not without taking excessive risks."
"I'd say those risks are already excessive!" Minister Collingsworth scolded softly, "Now is when you should be negotiating!"
"I don't make that call, the President, and the Khans do." David stated, "Given the history, negotiation is…unwise." he was TRYING to be diplomatic.
Khan Howe was ALSO being diplomatic, "We took ONE of their provincial capitals, they have not offered a chance to open talks, therefore, who do we negotiate with? They know where we are and were hiding from us, while waging war, including strikes on your homeworld. Who do we even talk to and why have they not tried to talk to us?"
The young woman's jaw dropped at the Clan leader's blunt, clear statement, and she stared at him like he was a fish…or she was.
But she stopped objecting.
"How long are they going to be?" Acton Howe asked.
"A few more weeks, My Khan." David said, "Their mission requires it, and the distance does as well. Madame Minister, you will understand, this information is under seal. If the enemy learns it from sources in your committee, or in your party, there will be…consequences, possibly critical ones, involving the lives of Outworlds Citizens serving their nation."
"I understand, Admiral." she said, "I'll make my Party members understand as well."
"Please do."
My Imperfections and hypocrisy[]
saKhan…
…Ibn Said Lankeneau was staring at Helena Cameron.
“I am not sure what more you want from me.” Ibn Said. “I have already explained I have but one populated system. That alone prevented me from deploying everything at once. That I kept forces in reserve on top of that should make sense even to the most hidebound Clan after all the lessons of your invasion, the Jihad, and just plain common sense.”
“You misunderstand. It is not that you have such forces. Because you are right. We do need to be mindful of having reserves. No, what troubles me is the nature of these forces and that you concealed that from us for so long.” Ibn Lankeneau finally broke the silence.
“Operations security. Until that leak we have is plugged, I need to keep things close to my chest.”
“Loremaster Acton Howe has shared some alarming reports with us gathered from some of your crews. Such disunity is a dangerous thing, especially in a combat situation.”
“Phoenix has been a good girl since she learned the hard way that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Betty, well I think she’s learned to at least direct her tendencies towards ends we can accept. Olivia having experienced a close brush with what death actually means and having a human crew is also doing much better.”
”You can understand why we have been skeptical though, I hope.” said Ibn
“Yeah. Here’s this stranger, one that a fair number of people still doubt being who they claim to be, and an armada of ships. Not standard builds either. The last people to use this kind of hardware would be needing a fresh pair of underwear if they had it, and also having a not so great reputation.” Helena addmitted
“So why antagonize so many of us when it would be much simpler to work with us more openly?” asked Ibn
“Because from where I sit, a lot of your practices fly in the face of the ideals of the Star League. Don’t get me wrong, I actually kind of appreciate your dueling system. It recognized humans are competitive, which also leads to violence, but it does so in the hopes that the execution of said violence is done in a controlled manner. But it also normalizes violence, and forgets violence is messy and crude. Also then there are the elements that strike me a bit as slave trading. Oh, you have fancy words for it and the House Lords are not any better with their histories of conquest. But for you, it is an institution. Reminds me of an old show I watched once where because computers simulated a war people were expected to march into suicide booths. Like that show pointed out, real war is messy. But because you glorify it and normalize it, when real war did show up, it offended you. Then you and yours act more like indiscriminate killing machines than my AIs, and that takes some doing with how little taking human life bothers them. But the Ghost Bear Dominion and the Raven Alliance seem to be learning and growing towards something better, and the Sons of Plunder are far worse.”
“That seems a short-sighted reason.” the Clan Wolf Star Colonel spoke up.
“Maybe it is, and maybe my own imperfections and hypocrisy are costing lives that don’t need to be spent. But I know if I didn’t try to fight this war in a way that the Sons of Plunder can know surrender is an option, that there is something besides a hangman’s noose or an executioner’s bullet waiting for them at the end of this, I would be no better than them or Amos Furlough. So think about it. If I had been more forthcoming, you’d have almost certainly found a way to get me to commit these forces sooner, and we’d probably be looking at a lot more graves overall. And a lot of good people would have even more baggage than they’re already carrying.”
“That is quite the bold statement. And a lot of debt you are taking on yourself and forcing upon us and our people,” Lakenau said gravely from his chair.
“I do regret my stance is causing the deaths of Outworlders. That will be something I will be adding to my own baggage. But you and yours? As much as I told Kerensky to pound sand, he didn’t need to take so much of the SLDF with him. Or he could have made sure there was a much better plan in place for your return. He knew about Devil’s Breath. Though I doubt he knew Elizabeth was there. Things probably would have worked out different if he did. So the way I see it, we all have a lot to make up for, and it’s going to take a lot of lives to do it. Especially since we need to show we’re not the barbarians they think we are.” Helena told the two Clansman
Unexpected Treaty Site[]
The Bull (Office of the Exarch), City of Genevia, Terra - Republic of the Sphere
The surprise, was…
…that the Capellans were the ones to approach the Republic with an offer of something more substantive than the current cease-fire. It looked like a gambit, until the second follow up message contained files from the Bannerhoft front against The Sons of Plunder, and an offer from the Chancellor to meet at a neutral site.
"Where?" Exarch Devlin Stone asked. "Where did they get this data?"
"Presumably, from the front line of the Pirate War." Paladin Victor Steiner-Davion mused. "What I don't get, is we can figure out who their agent is off this material… he wants a neutral site and a summit… and…?"
"He's spending capital like water to arrange passage to the Outworlds through Davion space, the direct route to the Wa-the 'unincorporated region' and the front out there."
"He wants something, and he's using an offer of a more lasting peace to get it." Victor observed. "WHERE?"
"Port Orphan. He wants us to help arrange a summit there, to discuss, among other things, restoring the Star League-a sop to the Clans, he claims to want them there as well to 'guarantee civility."
"How does he know about Port Orphan?" Victor wondered. "I mean, it isn't entirely a secret base now, but I thought the Ravens and the Outworlders were doing a pretty good job keeping it out of the media…"
"They won't go for it," David Lear asserted. "Avellar's too smart for it, and the Clans have no reason to trust Liao as far as they can throw a McKenna."
“Trouble is it gives us a quiet front and a way to save a lot of political capital and he knows it. Not to mention actual economic capital. We deny it, and we look like the villains. He must have channeled his father for this move.”
"Will the Clanners go for it?" Lear asked. "I mean, honestly?"
"I don't see an advantage for them one way or the other, but casualties at Bannerhoft were heavy. Also, it's not the Capital of the Sons of Plunder's little 'Star League Foundation' or whatever we call it this week."
“Which means to keep us on side, they’ll at least agree to hear him out. I think we all agree though, there is a shoe waiting to drop in here somewhere. But with us being involved in so many conflicts right now, I’m not sure we have any other realistic choice.”
"He burned spies to show he's sincere,” Victor said. "Maybe he's serious?"
"We can't completely discount he's serious and above board. It would be out of character, which makes it entirely IN character for Liao to try as a gambit," Stone asserted. "If it buys us a break on that front and the appearance of progress…"
"Nobody else is noticing the obvious here?" Lear noted. "A summit in that area, it's going to be a prime spot for political assassination."
"Even Liaos are not that stupid."
"Some of the other factions might be."
“It’s as secure a neutral site as can be hoped for, though. We can get out of this corner, but I think it’ll cost us too much to do so.”
Victor looked concerned. "Dave, you're looking in the wrong direction. What would some of the factions in the Federated Suns give to kill a Capellan Chancellor at a foreign peace conference as a way to decapitate the Confederation?"
“He must have a plan for that too.”
"I'm saying WE better have a plan for it," Victor stated. "A plan to do it, AND a plan to stop it."
“Agreed.” Lear nodded.
"Travel time says the soonest it's even possible is 79 days using fast transit, assuming everyone agrees quickly," Stone said. "Liao wants it in 93 days. Let's get this done, and have Foreign Affairs ask for more time."
Prolong Ones Life, Until Bastard Next of Kin is Found[]
Doctor Syndee Corso…
Studied Clan Medicine on Dante in the exchange program and focused on known treatment for WMD and specifically radiation exposure before taking on a position with the OMC, only to find herself assigned to Port Orphan. She's still under thirty, and making more than she had been offered at the National Hospital Complex on Alpheratz.
"Miss Sikh?" She took on this job, because it's not a job you give to an intern or a ranker.
“How is he doing, Doctor?” Sikh looked over at Bedwyr.
"In these cases, if the exposure is caught soon enough. A patient has a rough but relatively direct road to recovery, especially with Clan medical treatment. Each day late reduces a given patient's chance enormously of surviving further treatment, or recovering. I have…" she swallowed, "bad news, as you are the one with closest access to the correct records. I need you to contact his listed next-of-kin to determine if we should continue."
“Shit. I tried to tell them… I couldn’t. I was too damaged in the blast myself.”
"Let me finish, Ma'am? Because you will need to know what you're asking them for." Syndee waited, then, "Director Bedwyr can survive further treatment, however he will require ongoing, permanent medical support, including dialysis, and he will never be healthy enough to fly or function again as he did. He's going to be, effectively, a brain in a jar and endure constant discomfort, as well as the loss of dignity from… other side effects to voluntary muscles and internal organs."
“I will check his records now.” Sikh accessed her database.
Bedwyr's last recorded next-of-kin was blank, but his power of attorney had been left with… Larry Nichols. He never updated it.
"Luther!!"
"Ma'am?" the Doctor inquired.
“The lazy bastard never updated his next-of-kin or power of attorney information. Which makes this really complicated.”
"I can keep him on life support indefinitely, Ma'am, but that's… hardly a life."
“Well, I guess this is a matter for JAG to get into, because the closest thing to power of attorney his records have is a fragment of a memory of a dead man rattling around in another AI.” Sikh shook her head.
<Regina?>
<I know. I’m on the way to their office now. This would be a lot simpler if you were not in his chain of command.>
<I’ll do what you’re thinking of. You work on the other legalities Regina, and you’ll owe me big time for this Sikh.> Joanna Vincente Johnston joined the conversation.
<Good news is no one has you and Luther Bedwyr in the betting pool.>