Warpath (36 page)

“Do you want me to
finish for you?” Jake asked, resting a hand on his shoulder.

Finn shook his head and
took one step forward. “I did not know my Engineering Team well,
but I will never forget one night in the Mess Hall of the Warlord,
when rank was not an issue, and we shared. We asked, ‘where is your
family?’ I don’t remember how it started, but the stories were
told.” He saw Frost, Stephanie, Kadri and several other former
Warlord crewmembers all nodding, remembering that night. “Everyone’s
story was told that night. There were moments of sadness, anger,
celebration, and even laughter. After that I did feel like I knew
them, and they knew me. While we served we became a family, and I
will never forget them. I will never forget the Warlord, and I will
not stop fighting until I am sure the people who would murder our
families are gone.”

Finn thought he would
be deafened by the crush of applause that followed his statement. His
head was throbbing, and he knew his face had turned red, but he
walked back to his place beside Agameg with a stiffened-straight back
and his eyes looking straight ahead. Agameg and Liara were the first
to embrace him, and several of the Warlord crew followed.

Captain Valent remained
at the foot of the monument and waited. By the time Finn turned back
towards him, the crowd was silent. Finn was amongst the crew of the
Warlord, Liara closest on his left, and Agameg on his right, he
noticed Frost was tear stricken, wiping his reddened face.

Their Captain was
stoic. “The Warlord is gone,” he said. “Admiral McPatrick and I
have decided that no ship bearing that name will ever serve in Triton
Fleet, in honour of those who died aboard. During the final moments
of that ship’s service it delivered us to another, one that
required the efforts of hundreds of soldiers and my crew to secure.
I’m not going to regale you with a story, or tell you why this
monument was erected. I’m not going to render a speech about war or
why we fight. I will only tell you that tomorrow I take command of a
new ship, and, after days of trying to decide what that ship will be
called, I have finally chosen a name. This name will be familiar to
you all for many different reasons. My ship will not be the first to
bear it, not by far, but I cannot imagine a more appropriate one. In
honour of the warriors who have lost their lives defending the Triton
during our journey here, who died before all this was built, and
everyone who has defended Tamber, I am calling the newest Triton
Fleet fighting ship the
Revenge
.”

Frost was the first to
whistle and applause, as though startled by the sound of the name.
The rest of the crowd joined in, especially people who were about to
begin their service with Triton Fleet. Frost’s voice still managed
to raise above the din. “Yes, lad! Yes, lad! Show me the paint and
the brush and hang me over the side!” he thundered. “To the ores,
to the crows’ nest, to the rigging, to the tiller and the guns! A
crew and ship and Captain on the high seas, our work is not done!”
he recited from his favourite ancient movie, Pirates Are We. “Until
our prize is taken, until the day is won!” he finished. Finn had
heard him speak about it from time to time, but Finn had never been
able to find a copy. He decided he’d start trying.

Whether it was his
enthusiasm that drove the audience to it, or the thought of finally
fighting the Order of Eden in a meaningful way, the applause was
deafening. While it rolled on, Ayan stepped forward along with Alice,
the five Haven Shore Counsellors who decided to attend and the
Governor. They stopped to stand in front of the open end of the
semicircle of stone people and bowed towards the monument. A hologram
of Kambis before it was set on fire appeared in the middle of the
stone men, women and children.

Liara kissed Finn on
the cheek and said; “Yours was the best speech. I’m sorry you
lost so many people. Thank you for being brave enough to say what all
of us are feeling.”

He didn’t know what
to say, so he lightly squeezed her hand and muttered; “Thank you,”
which he thought was the weakest response he could imagine.

“Thank you, Finn,”
Agameg said. “I am glad to be serving aboard the Revenge with you.
There is no other place I’d rather be.”

“Aye,” Frost
agreed, still frenzied enough for Finn to want to shrink back a
little. “We’re finally going to take it to ‘em. We’re going
to make one hell of a mess.”

Stephanie led him
towards the centre, where many people were gathering as synthetic
champagne was being handed out. “He has been sober for weeks,”
Agameg said. “The only difference I can see is that he is easier to
understand, and fights with Stephanie less. Not much less, but less.”

“He used to drink a
lot?” Liara asked.

“Only off duty,”
Agameg replied. “But, yes. He was one of the only humans who seemed
to enjoy alcohol. Most of you prefer non-poisonous inebriants.”

“Speaking of which, I
have the night off,” Liara said.

Finn wanted to join her
more than anything, and he looked at her smiling face. He could count
the number of times he’d noticed when he was being flirted with on
one hand, and left no uncertainty that he could add one to the total.

“Finn and I have duty
aboard the Solar Forge,” Agameg said before he could stop himself.
“I can tell he wants to stay, but it’s going to take both of us
and much of the technical staff to ensure that the final
modifications are complete. He really wants to stay though, even in a
crowd this dense, my senses leave no doubt.”

“Thank you, Agameg,”
Liara said. “I’ll see you aboard tomorrow,” she said. “Unless
you finish early, then call me, okay?”

“Absolutely,” Finn
replied.

“I’ll make sure he
does not forget,” Agameg added.

The celebration was not
something most of the members of the new Triton Fleet had time for.
That included Captain Jacob Valent more than anyone. Even still, Ayan
broke off from their group to have a few minutes of family time with
her father before departing for the Triton, and Jake made sure he was
joined by Alice as he walked from the Everin building down the long
street leading to the main port building. He took one of the side
exits to avoid the crowd, wishing that the Council wasn’t blocked
on whether to start work on the exterior transit system, or the main
port building. All major construction in Haven Shore was at a stand
still, something Ayan wouldn’t talk about.

After shaking several
hands, and ignoring all but Lacey and Misca from the Council and
other arms of Haven Shore politics, he was able to sneak away with
his daughter. They weren’t outside of the Everin building before
she asked; “Why are you dumping me on the Rangers?”

She wanted a
confrontation. “You know that’s changed over the last few days.
You’re staying in Haven Shore, but I’m giving you choices,”
Jake said. “They do want you to continue with them, though.” Jake
replied.

“You mean the
Governor and you decided I should stay on Tamber, and you’re
keeping me busy. I get an illusion of choice, but they’re all just
activities, like I’m some little girl you sit in a corner. What did
I do? Was it the people I lost? I’m sorry, I play it over and over
in my head, and I can tell you about a million things I should have
done instead. What can I do? I screwed up, but I don’t deserve to
be abandoned.”

“You didn’t do
anything wrong,” Jake said. “And no one wants to abandon you. I’m
just going into dangerous territory you’re not ready for. If I had
a choice, you’d never be in danger again, not for the rest of your
life. Especially now that you’re having trouble,” Jake said. “You
have nightmares, trouble with crowds, and a lot of people in command
have those problems sometimes. You need time to heal, to be away from
the kind of stress that’s hurting you.”

“I just helped take
an enemy ship,” Alice said. “I’ve proven myself.”

“No, you’ve proven
yourself on a crew like the Warlord used to have. Over the last few
days I’ve realized that if I keep pushing people like I did on the
Warlord, I will get them killed. The Warlord was a grinder, and with
the way that was running, you were one of the next people that ship
would use up.” Jake told her firmly.

“But you can change
that whenever you want, put me in a place where I’m useful on your
ship. Not command, maybe. I can learn so much from you, or even
Stephanie.”

Jake drew her into an
empty office beside the Everin Building main doors. “You’re
having nightmares, your anxiety level is too high, and your tracker
has alerted medical that you lost track of where you were twice while
I was out of commission. None of that is your fault, and it’s not
permanent either.”

“So I get therapy,
while everyone else gets to take pills and do exercises for three
days while they’re on light duty. Weeks of therapy, maybe months,”
Alice replied sullenly. “While all I can do is train.”

“They are teaching
you coping mechanisms that you didn’t have,” Jake said. “If
you’re set on serving in the military, you’re going to need
them.”

“I know, but can’t
there be a counsellor on your ship?” Alice said. “You know that’s
where I want to be, what if something happens to you? What good am I
here?”

Jake could tell she was
trying to turn the conversation back into a confrontation and took
her shoulders in his hands. “I love you,” he told her. “I need
take responsibility for you as your Dad. If I let you serve and burn
out on my own ship, or let you get involved with something you can’t
handle, I will not be able to live with myself.” He pressed on
through her tears, tipping her chin up so he was looking into her
eyes. “I am making sure you are in the safest place, with the best
people, doing the best thing I can imagine for you. For all the time
I spent in rehabilitation, and all the time after, even when I was so
busy I could barely breathe, I thought about what is best for you. I
can not stop thinking about that while you’re in pain, especially
when that pain is from a situation I put you in. You are such a
clever, kind and incredible young woman, and you don’t deserve the
nightmares, or panic attacks. You don’t deserve a father who would
put you in a position that dangerous either, and that’s who I was.”

“No, you were a hero
who ignored limits, and-“ Alice said through a veil of tears.

“I was selfish and
angry,” Jake said. “I let it drive my decisions. I did not
consider what I was doing to you when I left you in charge of
security on the Warlord. You were not ready, and you could have been
killed. Since I woke up on the Solar Forge I have realized that I’m
not that man now. I understand the responsibilities I have more, and
I love you more than that man ever could. You are so incredible; you
could do anything, inside or outside of the military. So, I’m going
to give you a choice. You can either enter the Rangers Officer
Training Program, the Triton Fleet Officer’s Program, or take a few
weeks in Haven Shore and find a job that you love outside of the
military. Keep in mind, your therapy will continue, that’s
non-negotiable.”

He could tell those
were not the options she was hoping for, but he’d said something
that calmed her down. “Triton Fleet Officer’s Program. What’s
that? I’ve never heard of that,” she sniffed.

Jake took her hand and
started for the door. This was a conversation he was ready to have.
She dried her tears and they headed for the side exit. There was a
paved path leading to the landing fields that was being crowded by
jungle growth. The trees offered shade from the sun, their leaves
rustling in the breeze. On the clearer side of the path on their left
they could see the silver domes ahead. Small ships took off and
landed on the paved temporary port slips two kilometres ahead. “Once
you sign up, there won’t be any quitting until I’m back. They get
custody of you,” Jake told her.

“Seriously?” she
asked, surprised. “I’m too old for that, aren’t I?”

“Are we talking
chronologically, or judging physically?” He asked. “Because
physically, you’re about sixteen, maybe eighteen, and age of
majority is twenty on Tamber. If we’re talking chronologically...”
Jake finished with a shrug.

“Yeah, yeah, what’s
the Triton Fleet thing?” she asked.

“The Officer’s
Program is a new nine month school where you are specifically trained
to perform as a self sufficient soldier, behave as an officer, and
train your mind to command regardless of the conditions you and your
unit are in.”

“Another thing
designed by Governor Anderson using Freeground ideas,” Alice said.

“Actually, it’s a
hybrid program. Triton staff along with the artificial intelligence
there, some of it is from Freeground Fleet, and the rest is based on
the Rangers physical program.”

“Which I would ace
even without framework tech,” Alice said proudly. “Every time
this thing rolls me back to a soft girl, I’ve been able to get all
muscly and fit. I bet it’s no different when you’re just human.”

“I’ll tell you in a
few months,” Jake said.

“Oh, right, sorry,”
she replied.

“It’s okay. I
started off right, let’s see if I can keep fit, or fall to flab in
that Captain’s chair.”

“You’d better not.
So, what’s the point of this training?” Alice asked.

“Some of our best
officers are staying behind to train a new crop. Most of them are
young, some as young as sixteen, but mature enough to attend. The
next voyage the Triton and the Revenge take is going to be hard,
because we have to train our people to work together. Many of our
officers were trained by completely different military organizations,
and even though we’ve adopted one uniform set of rules, most people
won’t know them by the time we set out. Everyone is going to be
learning at the same time, as fast as they can, and the commanders
are going to have to prevent disaster on a daily basis because of all
those differences. What we want going forward are graduating classes
of Officers who know the rules, know how they are to be enforced, who
can fight, and take command responsibly. You already know so much
from Ranger training, and have been tested so many times that you’ve
already qualified. The six months you spend in fast track training
will count towards a three year term of service with Freeground
Fleet.”