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He turned to look over his shoulder.
 Shit! he said aloud.  It s a Mollie destroyer!
Raeder stared at the
Invincible in horror. Her sleek skin was terribly mangled and there was an
enormous hole gaping in her side.
It s almost enough to make a grown man cry, he thought. She was still
beautiful, though tragically marred. Raeder swallowed hard, trying not to
think of Sarah James.
He d been angry when he d flown back with the destroyer he d renamed the
CWS Recycled.
He d wanted to kick ass and take names later for having been left out there
with no support. But now, looking at her, he was too shocked to feel anything
but sorrow over the loss of shipmates and the awful damage the
Invincible had taken.
 Welcome home, Commander.
Raeder spun round, hand snapping up in salute to the captain.
Knott returned it, and walked over to stand by the monitor with him.
 How did you ever bring her home, sir? Raeder asked in awe.
 We limped, Knott answered shortly. He turned to look at Raeder.  I tried,
when we finally got back, to get
someone out there to get you. He shook his head.  You know what it s like.
Though I must admit there really wasn t anybody here who could have brought
you all back. He laughed.  Of course, by the time we got back, you were
busily rescuing yourselves.
Raeder smiled. He d discovered that
Invincible had only been back at Ontario Station for a little over sixteen
hours when he d brought in the
Recycled.
 Which is good, Knott went on, his eyes suddenly hard,  because I don t think
your mentor would have sent you any help at all. He held up his hand as
Raeder opened his mouth to speak.  I wanted to warn you about him, but it was
too late.
 I appreciate that, Captain. But what could I do? Raeder raised his brows and
shrugged.
 Yeah. I know you didn t have any wiggle room. He shook his head.  But maybe
that nice, quiet desk on Earth wouldn t have been such a bad thing. And it
probably wouldn t have been forever. He shook his head, gave a rueful smile.
 Probably would have seemed that way, though.
Raeder grinned and nodded in agreement.   Fraid so, sir.
 Just watch your back, Commander.
 Yes, sir.
They stood in companionable silence for a moment, looking at the
Invincible
, attended by a multitude of workers.
 Well, Knott said,  at least our people will get a decent R & R this time.
There s no way they can rush us off somewhere with the old girl in that
condition. As he said it Knott s eyes narrowed and Raeder knew that the Old
Man was aware he d have a fight on his hands to keep his prime crew together.
 All of us except you, perhaps, the captain said, giving him a sideways look.
 The Marine general is probably busy planning all sorts of excursions for
you.
 Yes, sir, Raeder agreed.
 You know the reward for good work, don t you, son?
 More work, sir?
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 You re learning, son.
Scaragoglu tapped his desk and another page appeared on his screen. He read
with great concentration and admirable speed. He tapped again, and again, and
again.
Why do I have to be here while he s actually reading the damn thing?
Raeder wondered, growing more nervous as the silence stretched on.
Probably so I ll be taut as a bowstring by the time he s finished and then he
can play a tune on me, he answered himself.
Finally Scaragoglu finished. He looked up at Raeder. His face gave nothing
away.
Raeder stared back, his face equally impassive.
Captain Sjarhir, in his usual station behind the visitor s chair, slowly
stroked one finger over his upper lip, wondering how long this was going to go
on. The Marine general had, of course, read Raeder s report before the
commander had arrived. And he had questions. But first, this . . . ritual.
Raeder sat quietly in his chair. He did not shift, he did not attempt to break
the silence. Given what they knew of the commander s personality and his
record this indicated that he must be incredibly guilty of something
.
 Your report is very complete, Scaragoglu said at last.
 Thank you, sir, Raeder replied briskly.
The Marine general leaned forward, folding his hands before him. He gifted
Raeder with a warm smile.
 So complete that it s full of answers to questions I d never think of
asking, he said silkily.  Do you have an explanation for that, Commander?
Peter took a deep breath, and Sjarhir straightened in his chair. Scaragoglu
raised an eyebrow.
 Yes, sir. In exchange for their help, we arranged to deliver a year s worth
of confiscated Mollie antihydrogen to the planet Wildcat.
The Marine general stared at him for a moment.
 That s the pared down version, I take it?
 Yes, sir.
Scaragoglu raised his hand, leaned back in his chair, looked at the commander,
at Sjarhir, into the distance, back at the commander.
 Let me get this straight, he said at last, leaning forward.  You gave a
planet-sized supply of A-H, a year s supply, away on you own authority?
 Y-es, sir.
 You took a lot on yourself, Commander.
 I realize that, sir. But I saw a real danger that we might lose Wildcat to
the Mollies. And Wildcat manufactures at least one item that s vital to the
war effort. So when I also saw an opportunity to prevent their defection with
no real cost to the Commonwealth I acted as I was sure you d want me to, sir.
 No, Commander, don t go attributing your actions to me, Scaragoglu insisted.
 As for your move affording no real cost to the Commonwealth, you gave away a
year s supply of antihydrogen. I d call that very costly.
 Not if it keeps a knife from our back, sir.
Scaragoglu sat back.  Is this a test, Commander? he asked cordially.
 Only in the same sense that you ve tested me, sir, Raeder answered coolly.
 Ha! The Marine general slapped a big hand down on his desk.  So you did know
about Molochko! He looked over at Sjarhir.  I told you he d figure it out.
Raeder had turned to look at Sjarhir in puzzlement.
The captain watched the commander s face clear as understanding dawned and he
almost pitied Raeder. He remembered many such realizations in his own past.
Peter turned slowly back towards the general.
 I suppose you ve been saving up that look, waiting for an opportunity to give
it to me. Well you can just save it, boy. I had to know if you d stand up for
your people. You pilots are a cliquish bunch and you were going to be in
charge of all types and grades of people. I had to know if you had what it
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takes to stand up for someone who wasn t on your level. And I ll tell you
plain, you d be behind a desk on planet Earth right now, if you hadn t come
through for that kid.
 He could have been killed, sir. Raeder struggled to keep his voice level,
and his face composed.  It seems an unnecessary risk.
 I assure you it was not, Commander. Nor would he have been killed. The
conditions were very carefully controlled. Mr. Molochko is a genius in his
work and I trust him implicitly, which is something I can very rarely say.
It s why I chose him to teach you. That boy was never in any real danger at
all. He folded his hands across his stomach.  But consider the danger your
people might have been in if you weren t willing to stand up for them.
Consider the danger that Lieutenant Commander James would have been in, had
you been unwilling to take risks for her.
Peter merely looked back at him.
 As it happens, Commander, perhaps by sheer luck, which I warn you not to
press, you have met with my approval on this. The plight of the colony worlds
is a growing problem. One which you have satisfactorily addressed in this
case. He smiled benignly at the commander.  You ve done a good job on this
and Star Command sees you as its blue-eyed boy. Enjoy it while it lasts. The
Marine general gave him an evil grin.  You know the usual reward for good [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]