The Lost Fleet: Dauntless by Jack Campbell

Author:Jack Campbell [Campbell, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, pdf
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2006-06-26T18:30:00+00:00

GEARY sat down heavily in his stateroom, staring glumly at the display he’d activated. It showed the situation in Corvus System, with a few ships from the Alliance fleet finishing up their work at the Syndic base on the frozen world while the rest of the fleet proceeded through the system in a halfway decent formation. Fourteen hours since we entered this system. How much longer until serious Syndic pursuit shows up?

I can’t believe how tired I am. Do I dare sleep? Will the fleet fly apart again if I’m not watching it?

The hatch chime sounded. Geary heaved himself up into a more formal position. “Come in.”

“Captain Geary.” Co-President Rione spoke formally, her expression as controlled as usual. “May we speak?”

“Certainly.”

Geary waved her to a seat, but instead Rione walked over to stare at the starscape that dominated one bulkhead. “First of all, Captain, I hope my interventions on the bridge did not adversely affect your work.”

“Not at all. You had some good input. I appreciated the advice.”

A momentary smile twisted Rione’s lips, then vanished. “More so than Captain Desjani, I would assume.”

“She’s the Captain of Dauntless,” Geary pointed out in a carefully neutral voice. “The bridge is her throne room, if you will. The place where her authority finds a center. Any ship Captain would be a little touchy about someone else appearing to exercise authority on the bridge.”

Rione turned her head for a moment to give Geary a searching look. “Does she react this way to you, as well?”

“No. I understand the protocol, and I have an established role. I let her run her ship while I try to run the fleet. That sort of thing is well understood. But there’s no real protocol for having a high-ranking civilian on the bridge. There’s bound to be some friction. Captain Desjani’s a good commanding officer, though. She’ll get used to your appearances on the bridge, and she won’t act improperly toward you.”

“Thank you, Captain Geary.” Rione inclined her head in a brief gesture. “I wish you to understand that for my part, I did not take amiss Captain Desjani’s strong words regarding the issue of robotic warships. The argument is never-ending, and I truly appreciate the thoughts of those who actually fight, but I cannot imagine fully entrusting weapons to artificial intelligences.”

“To be perfectly honest, I agree with you.” Geary shrugged. “It’s the same problem we had in my time. If an artificial intelligence isn’t smart enough to employ a weapon all by itself, you can’t trust it very much in battle. If the AI is smart enough to employ a weapon all by itself, you can’t trust it at all.”

Rione’s lips made another very brief smile. “True. But it’s time I addressed the issue that brought me here.” Geary waited while Rione stared at the depiction of the stars. “I find it necessary to confess something to you, Captain Geary. You have shamed me.”

“If this is about the prisoner thing—”

“It is. I suppose you’re tired of hearing us express our feelings?”

“That’s not how I meant it.

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