The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Dreadnaught by Jack Campbell Read Free Book Online Page A

of Armus’s division seemed to be helping restrain a lot of other battleships and escorts.
    Perhaps most surprisingly, the seemingly jinxed Orion , which in the past could always be counted upon to do the opposite of what was demanded, had held station just as Geary had ordered.
    Elsewhere, on planets, moons, and orbital installations, including Ambaru itself, system defense forces were springing to higher alert levels and activating shields and weaponry. None had yet targeted any of the fleet’s warships, though.
    Not as bad as it could be, but pretty damned horrible. If one shot was fired, by anyone, it could set off civil war.
    Navarro had frozen momentarily as he stared at the display but finally jerked back into motion, touching one of the messages.
    An image of Tanya appeared. “All units are to hold position by order of Admiral Geary. All ships are to immediately return to their assigned orbital locations. You have all received Admiral Geary’s order. Cease unauthorized actions and return to station now.” Desjani was radiating all of the command authority she possessed. Which in Tanya’s case was considerable. But it clearly wasn’t enough.
    His expression grim, Navarro touched a later message. Admiral Timbale, speaking quickly. “Stand down. All military forces within Varandal Star System are to stand down immediately. Halt all unauthorized movement. No one is to fire under any circumstances. I repeat, stand down now. Weapons are code red status null. No firing is authorized.”
    “Why aren’t we seeing any messages from the warships?” Suva demanded.
    Sakai answered. “Because they are most certainly using back doors within the command and control system to communicate. Those messages will not appear in official records. Is this not so, Admiral?” He had been with the fleet on its last voyage and had doubtless learned that firsthand.
    Geary nodded, not bothering to try to hide his worries. “You can see that we’re trying to keep things under control—”
    “Under control?” Suva glared at him. “That other admiral told the defense forces here not to fire!”
    “That’s because a lot of people are still on the fence,” Geary insisted. “Once someone starts shooting, it will force people to take sides. Under that kind of pressure, too many people will reflexively take the side of the comrades they’ve fought beside. We saw that in the Syndic home star system when rebellion broke out there. Don’t you understand? This situation is degenerating fast. Not acting is not an option.” He pointed to the display. “I can’t control this!”
    “We can’t surrender to a coup before it even begins!” Suva almost shouted back at him.
    “Follow orders, Admiral,” Navarro urged, open desperation tingeing his voice. “Senator Suva is right. Giving in to this kind of pressure would amount to a coup in and of itself. No one in the fleet is going to act against the commands of Black Jack Geary. Tell them to stop and obey all orders.”
    Despite all of his efforts, the precipice was there, right at his feet. Like whoever had brought the charges against his officers, the politicians were technically in the right. He didn’t have legal grounds for doing anything other than saluting, saying, “yes, sir,” and doing his damnedest despite his certainty of disaster. Doing otherwise would betray his oath, and he was the only person who had the tiniest chance of succeeding. But simply following orders would betray those who had followed him in battle, and too many officers would assume he had either been forced to say they should obey or that he had sold them out. Given the likely consequences in the fleet, obeying orders could well be the final nail in the coffin of the Alliance.
    He had only one weapon left to use, one last means of trying to rein in a situation already almost too far gone. Geary hesitated, fear and uncertainty blossoming inside, then felt a strange calm descend upon him. It was as if