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

something spoke to him with an authority far beyond that of any living thing. This is the only path that offers a chance. He took a deep breath. “No, sir.” It came out firmly but not too loudly.
    The three senators stopped moving, not even an eye blinking. “What is it you don’t understand, Admiral?” Navarro asked.
    “I do understand, sir. But I will not obey those orders, sir. I hereby tender my resignation from the fleet.”

THREE
     
    THE silence in the room was so absolute that Geary realized everyone must have even stopped breathing for a moment. Absurd as it was under the circumstances, he couldn’t help wondering how that would affect the comfort level in the sealed conference room over time.
    He hadn’t known what to expect but was still surprised when Senator Navarro just looked over to Sakai, then back over to Suva, as if once again wordlessly conveying something that had already been understood.
    Finally, looking at Geary again, Navarro clasped his hands before him on the table as he spoke. “Just to be clear, are you formally declaring an intent to no longer follow orders from the government?”
    Geary wondered whether or not recording devices on the senators were working right now, ready to catch his confession to treason. “No, sir. That is not an option for me. But I can and will declare my resignation from the fleet, effective immediately, which means I will not be subject to orders.”
    “But,” Sakai said, shaking his head, “as an officer, you serve at the pleasure of the government. The government need not accept your resignation. If what you say about the fleet’s reaction to that message is true, then the Alliance needs you to help deal with this problem.”
    “If the Alliance government wants to deal with this problem, then the Alliance government can take the necessary action,” Geary said. “I’ve told you what that action is, in my best judgment. I will not be a party to an unjust and dishonorable process.”
    “Even if your resignation is refused?”
    “Even if my resignation is refused. The fleet may then court-martial me .”
    Navarro once again surprised him, sitting back and giving Geary a stern look. “You know as well we do what would happen if the government brought charges against you. The fleet be damned, the government would collapse under popular pressure. Don’t pretend that you don’t realize how much power you can wield here.”
    “If you know that I have that much power, and surely you have some idea how little I wish to use it, why won’t you listen to me?” Geary said.
    “Because we can’t ignore the law! We’re already under immense pressure, and more investigations are being launched every day! Any violation, any favoritism, would be used against us, and to be perfectly honest with you, Admiral, I do believe that having the government fall apart would destroy the Alliance just as surely as would a revolt by the fleet! What would you have us do?”
    “Find a way, sir. That’s the job of a leader, isn’t it?”
    Senator Navarro sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, raising one hand to cover them. “We need . . .”
    Whatever he had meant to add, if anything, was forestalled as Senator Suva, her eyes betraying calculation and assessment, spoke in an unemotional tone, surprising Geary with her words. “Admiral, you said that these charges should not have been brought, and even if they were brought properly, the implications for the impact on the fleet were not taken into account?”
    “Yes, Madam Senator.”
    “Do we regard Admiral Geary as authoritative in these matters?” Suva asked the other two senators in a way that sounded rhetorical rather than like an actual question. “Yes? Then we must conclude that we have strong evidence that the process for bringing these charges was not properly followed. Certainly, any measures with such extreme consequences for the defense of the Alliance should have been coordinated with the Alliance Senate