John Ringo - Against the Tide

“Could he take over the Black ?”

Karcher paused at that and frowned. “Am I being relieved, sir?”

“I asked the first question,” Edmund replied.

“Yes, sir, he could.” Karcher sighed.

“Good,” Edmund said, handing her another sheet of paper. “You’ve just been appointed command of the Hazhir . The XO knows the ship but Shar doesn’t feel he’s up to commanding it, yet. I’ve looked at your record and I think you can.”

“Yes, sir,” Karcher replied, taking the paper as if it were incendiary. She slid it under her hat and continued working the brim, a bit harder.

“Just that, ‘yes, sir’?” Edmund asked, smiling.

“Thank you, sir?” Karcher said.

“You think you can handle it?” Edmund asked.

“No, sir,” Karcher said, honestly. “But I can give it my best shot. And I would guess that you’ve thought it over. I’d have expected that you’d transfer someone from one of the frigates or cruisers and that I’d get that, instead. But if you are willing to take the risk, I’ll do my damnedest.”

“Karcher, you’ve got more time at sea than half the frigate commanders.” Edmund sighed. “And, yeah, I gave it some thought. And some second thoughts. You know what clinched it?”

Karcher thought about that for a second and then shrugged.

“My saying that Fink had come up with the landing program?”

“Bingo,” Edmund replied. “That and your crew is loyal as hell. You can sail and you can lead. That’s a hard combination to find in this Navy. And you’re not afraid to say: ‘I don’t know, sir.’ That takes guts. Now we just have to find out if you can fight. Don’t prove me wrong.”

“No, sir,” Karcher replied. “I was just wondering…”

“I know your background,” Edmund said. “In fact, I probably know more about it than you do. Despite the fact that Changed are facing some very ancient prejudice, I don’t have it. Changed are humans just like those of us who look normal. I’ll except from that category the New Destiny Changed which have been programmed to be in human. You’re a good CO, you’re a good sailor and I have damned few people that fit both categories. I don’t care, quite frankly, if you eat live mice. That might have mattered under Draskovich, it doesn’t matter to me.”

“I don’t, sir,” Karcher said, then took a chance. “Well, hardly ever.”

“And I don’t fling shit,” Edmund said with a grin. “Well, hardly ever.”

“Yes, sir,” Karcher said with a catlike smile.

“That’s it,” Talbot said. “Good luck.”

“Thank you, sir,” Karcher said, standing up and putting on her hat. “I’ll try to make my own.”

“Hello, your Dukeship,” Herzer said, striding into the lamp-lit tent.

“Herzer, you’re really losing your military bearing with me, aren’t you?” Edmund chuckled.

“I bring orders from your wife, via your daughter who you haven’t even said hello to, yet,” Herzer replied, walking over and pulling a sheet of paper out of the admiral’s hand. “We are ordered to repair to the O-Club. Where you, Van Krief and I, at a minimum, will occupy one corner and get shit faced. Rachel’s precisely transmitted words. ‘You are hereby ordered, by mother, to get him, and I quote, shit faced.’ It’s a rest day tomorrow and that gives us at least a few hours to get over the hangover. So stand up, our real masters call.”

Edmund shook his head and waved at the desk. “She already had me sleep in. I’ve got reams of paperwork to catch up on.”

“All of it will wait,” Herzer said, walking around the desk and lifting up on Edmund’s arm. “Don’t even think about fighting. I’m younger and faster than you.”

“Age and treachery beats youth and speed every time,” Edmund growled. But he stood up.

“Well, once we get drunk enough, maybe we can put it to the test,” Herzer chuckled. “Come on, boss, times a wastin’.”

“You sound like Bast when you say that,” Edmund chuckled. “Speaking of which, you gotten your tubes cleaned lately?”

“No, more’s the pity,” Herzer replied, frowning. “When we got here we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off. And since then the only female contact I’ve had is with subordinates. And I don’t even want to go there after the day I just had. Especially since that idiot decision of mine to set up The Mast.”

“I thought that was brilliant,” Edmund said as they strode past the ring of guards around the headquarters.

“So did I,” Herzer growled. “And I thought putting it up where the commander could watch was brilliant as well. Then I noticed that when they’re running up the ratlines, well… let’s just say that there are some fine butts in that class. And they’re getting finer every week!”

Edmund laughed and clapped him on the back as they crossed the blacked-out road.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure your lackanookie condition won’t…” He spun sideways as a sword lashed out of the darkness, then spun again as another attacker came from his off-side.

Herzer and Edmund were unarmed but that didn’t last long. There was a crack of a broken arm and a scream as Herzer spun sideways, hurling one of the attackers into the roadway. But he had retained the assassin’s short sword and he tossed it -overhand to Edmund as the admiral flipped his cloak in the face of another attacker. Edmund caught the sword and skewered one of the assassins through the neck, then tossed the dead assassin’s sword to Herzer. After that it became somewhat bloody.

Herzer parried a blade and used the same trick with the cloak to wrap up one of the attackers, running his blade across the man’s throat and throwing the thrashing body onto one that had closed on Edmund’s back.

Edmund now had two blades and was moving forward through the group, the blades acting as if they had a will of their own. An arm thumped the ground followed by a head and Herzer used the distraction of the blood from the spurting stump to kill another half-blind assassin. He felt a cut across his shoulder but turned and jabbed backwards, killing the man behind him, then kicked out at one to his front. As the attacker bent double Herzer drove the blade of the sword into the side of his neck and outward, slashing his carotid artery and spilling more blood onto the soaked ground.

In moments it was over, two of the attackers running into the night as a group of lantern-bearing marines pounded across the road.

“Bloody hellfire,” the sergeant choked, looking at the scattered pieces on the ground.

“Indeed,” Edmund said, dropping one of his swords and cleaning the other on a bit of almost-clean cloth. “Herzer, I think I owe you a drink.”

Herzer looked at the lamp-lit ground and counted. “I dunno… I think we’re about even. Youth and speed might not beat age and treachery.”

“Do we get cleaned up?” Edmund asked, looking at his blood-soaked uniform. “Or just go to the club?”

“They’ve got a dress-code,” Herzer pointed out, chuckling.

“Ah, they make exceptions for admirals,” Edmund said, walking towards the doors of the club and into the night.

“Hey, Van Krief,” Edmund said as they entered the main bar.

He’d heard the expression: “You could have heard a pin drop,” but he’d never actually experienced it in his very long life. Now he really understood it. He actually heard, all the way across the club, a bartender set down the bottle he was holding. The faint “tap” was the only sound in the room for a moment.

“Good evening, sir,” Van Krief said, getting up from the table by the door. “Are all the members of your staff alive?” She was a Blood Lord and be damned if she was going to react in shock to two blood-soaked officers walking into the main bar.