Jack Campbell - Guardian

A call came in from Tanuki . It wasn’t high-priority, but Geary didn’t have much else to do at the moment. “What’s up, Captain Smythe?”

Smythe twitched a brief smile. “That freighter. He’s looting the station.”

“Looting? Are you sure?”

“There’s a very minor chance that the Syndic authorities chartered the ship to pick up equipment that they need elsewhere, but it’s unlikely. Now that the Syndicate Worlds’ government has little authority around here and a lot of other things to worry about, that freighter has come out to this mothballed, off-limits station to haul away everything and anything its owners can sell, even if just for scrap.”

Geary stared at the image of the freighter, his instincts urging him to do something. But what? “Even though that station was mothballed, it still must have held a lot of equipment and supplies that could be critical for any ship passing through Padronis that suffered a serious problem.”

“Right,” Smythe agreed. “Absolutely right. And the looters don’t care. They’re out to make some money even though it could cause tragedy for someone else. That’s how things go when central authority collapses, Admiral. The rich and powerful can still take care of themselves. It’s the people who need help who get hurt the worst. As usual.”

“Thank you, Captain Smythe. I guess there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“No. We could chase this looter off, but another one would show up after we left.” Smythe ended the call with a resigned shrug.

“Admiral,” Desjani said, “look at the Dancers.”

He looked. At Sobek, the Dancers had tried to warn the fleet of danger. At Simur, they had stayed close to Invincible , apparently because of the threats from the Syndics there.

But here the Dancers had left the confines of the Alliance formation, swooping around in a way that made Geary think of giddy elation. “They look like they feel safe.”

“I don’t,” Desjani admitted. “I can’t forget what happened the last time we were here.” The dust that had been the heavy cruiser Lorica and her crew still circled this star, a fate that had nearly befallen Dauntless as well. “Can we head for home?”

“Yeah. Let’s go. Head straight for the jump point for Atalia.”

Atalia was a living star system though a badly hurt one because of its front-line position during the long war. The fleet came out of jump cautiously again, but Geary had not really expected trouble here. Atalia was too close to Alliance space and had already declared its independence from the Syndicate Worlds. The Syndics would have had a nearly impossible task setting any traps here.

Which made it all the more surprising when combat systems sounded alerts as they arrived from jump.

“Syndics!” Desjani glared at Geary. “Two heavy cruisers near the jump point for Kalixa and four light cruisers and six HuKs near the jump point for Varandal. The Syndics must have moved to take back this star system. Don’t we have grounds for kicking them out again?”

“Maybe.” After everything they had been through, the idea of pushing the Syndics out of Atalia had a great deal of appeal despite its questionable legal basis. “That’s strange. The courier ship is still here, and near those light cruisers and HuKs.”

Inexplicably, the Alliance courier ship still orbited near the jump point for Varandal. That ship represented the Alliance’s halfhearted commitment to keep an eye on Atalia but had never offered any real defense of the star system if the Syndicate Worlds came storming in to force Atalia back into their empire. As it seemed the Syndicate Worlds had. But why hadn’t the courier ship left when that happened? Even if not threatened by the Syndics, it would need to carry the news of the event back to Varandal.

Before Desjani could reply, hull identifications began popping up on their displays. “We know those Syndic ships?” she asked, mystified.

“They’re not Syndic ships?” Geary asked as the colors on the display changed. “They’re—They’re from Midway? They hadn’t sent— Manticore ? Kraken ? Those heavy cruisers were still at Midway when we left!”

Desjani’s expression had hardened further. “They could only have gotten here before us by using the Syndic hypernet to go somewhere like Indras. The Syndics did do something to temporarily block use of their hypernet, and the ones at Midway were in on that trick.”

“Hold on.” Geary took a moment to think, aware that the unexpectedness of this had left him off-balance. “If they had been part of a Syndic trick, why let us know by being here when we came through? They couldn’t have expected this entire fleet or even the majority of it to be destroyed even if everything we ran into had been one hundred percent effective. Let’s head for the jump point for Varandal while we wait to hear their explanation for being here.”

When that explanation eventually came, they saw Kommodor Marphissa gazing at them. “If she is faking happiness at seeing us, she is doing a good job,” Rione commented.

“Admiral Geary,” Marphissa said, “we are pleased to see you again. Two days after your departure from Midway, we regained access to all gates on the Syndicate hypernet. The Syndicate must have learned how to temporarily shut down most or all of their hypernet. We are bending every effort to learn how they do this but so far have no information.

“We came here at the suggestion of Captain Bradamont, who told us of the captured Reserve Flotilla survivors at Varandal. Those survivors could provide the crews we need for our warships, so President Iceni approved a recovery mission. Six freighters have gone on to Varandal, accompanied by Captain Bradamont, who assured us that Admiral Timbale would do as you wished in your absence.

“We are nonetheless concerned for her and our ships and are glad that you will soon reach Varandal as well. If there is anything the warships of the Recovery Flotilla of the independent Midway Star System can do to assist you, please let us know. Marphissa, for the people, out.”

For a moment, no one spoke, then Rione shrugged. “I wasn’t expecting that. What do you suppose happened when Captain Bradamont and those six freighters got to Varandal?”

“Hopefully, they’ve been picking up those Syndic prisoners,” Geary said. “I hope my orders provided sufficient cover for Captain Bradamont.”

“That Kommodor actually seemed sincere when she expressed concern for Captain Bradamont,” Rione commented.

“Syndics are good liars,” Desjani said. “And she was probably actually concerned about her freighters. I know, I know,” she added, when Geary turned a look on her. “These aren’t Syndics anymore. Well, they’re welcome to those deadweight prisoners at Varandal, right?”

“Right,” Geary agreed. “And if these ships from Midway are only here waiting for the freighters to return, we don’t have to deal with them. They’re no threat to Atalia.”

“They are actually a defense for Atalia,” Rione pointed out.

Geary shook his head. “Another thing I never expected to see.” He tapped his comm control. “Kommodor Marphissa, you should be aware that the Syndicate Worlds launched deniable attacks on us at Sobek and Simur. We would appreciate any more information you have about what happened with the Syndic hypernet. We are proceeding to the Varandal jump point. Once at Varandal, if Captain Bradamont and your ships are still present, we will ensure that they depart safely. It is, uh, good to see you again as well. To the honor of our ancestors, Geary, out.”

“Did you have to add that good to see you stuff?” Desjani grumbled.