The Price of Conquest

In the quarter century since he secured his supremacy in an organization designed never to have a supreme position, Colliard Gaunis had called nearly every Admiralty Council meeting and was always the last to arrive at each one. Today would be different. With the uncertain future of the United Galaxy hanging in the balance, and the precarious, ever-shifting alliances of one admiral to another, Gaunis decided to arrive for Council early, to wait and watch, noting in what order the others entered, and with whom they arrived.

His informants on Eminence had supplied him with a believably accurate picture of the current affiliations between the admirals when he arrived on the station. Still, informants could be misled and could easily misinterpret the actions of people they did not understand. But Gaunis did understand them. After all, it was he who had, to a greater or lesser degree, allowed each of them to gain their current positions of power. Best that he, who knew these people almost as well as they knew themselves, observe them firsthand to determine their current allegiances.

He stepped into the dim-lit council chamber. The huge, elegantly outfitted room was silent, the twelve positions at the massive curved black granite table empty. He paused for a moment, allowing the dark, quiet grandeur of the room to blanket him, and then he moved around the council table to his seat, seventh from the end nearest the door, as close to center as one could get on a table set for twelve.

For a moment, he considered slipping behind the black, sound-muffling draperies that lined the room, ceiling to floor, to watch the arrival of the others from concealment, but he decided his presence would evoke more telling responses. He settled into his chair and looked around, one finger absently tracing the outline of the inlaid silver and ivory fleet insignia that decorated the tabletop before him.

A clanging echo shattered the reverent silence of the chamber as the old-style hinged doors flew open. The sound of voices raised in friendly debate and a single raucous laugh boomed in the council room.

Gaunis peered through the dimness, eager to learn which of the admirals had arrived first. But, although the three newcomers wore the short cloaks of office signifying their right to attend Council, the insignia that graced their uniforms were not those of an admiral.

Still bantering good-naturedly, the three started toward their seats, but their conversation ceased abruptly at the sight of Gaunis. They halted to return his impolite stare.

In the dim lighting, Gaunis did not recognize them, but as they moved toward their seats, he realized they were representatives of admirals Byerly, b'Sora, and Narcia, three of the four men who had backed Shaw at his court-martial, and who supported recognition of the Confederacy as a legal body. Apparently, the three admirals had not deigned this Council worthy of their attendance, or they decided it was unsafe to put themselves in too easy reach of the High Admiral's forces.

A wise decision on their part, Gaunis mused. He had already decided to rid himself of the four troublemakers. He would let them play their little avoidance game for now, but they could not hide forever.

Byerly and b'Sora's aides took their chairs, first and third respectively, from the chamber entrance, and quietly resumed their conversation across the empty seat between them. Narcia's seat was on the far side of the room, the tenth position; his agent had to make his way across the chamber to reach it. The man hesitated minutely before starting around the empty chair and podium that stood within the arms of the council table.

Gaunis noted the man's chosen route, and then looked back to the doors as they opened to admit two more men. The first was stout, gray haired, and heavy browed, with a massive warrior's build. His companion was dark skinned and slightly taller, with an almost equally impressive physique. Admirals Jhun Reiger and Kelthan Estura.

The newcomers halted near the entrance and quickly covered their expressions of surprise at the High Admiral's presence. Reiger nodded a tight but seemingly sincere greeting in Gaunis's direction, his normally mistrustful blue eyes meeting the High Admiral's with a respectful look, and then crossed silently to his seat in the fourth chair, beside Admiral b'Sora's agent. Estura did not bother with greetings. He strode to his seat between Byerly and b'Sora's representatives and was quickly caught up in their conversation.

Neither Reiger nor Estura appeared surprised to see the agents who sat in for the three absent admirals. Gaunis wondered at that. To date, Reiger and Estura remained carefully neutral on the Confederate issue, neither supporting Gaunis's insistence on its destruction nor agreeing with the renegade admirals' desire to accept the Confederacy's sovereign status and trade agreements. Did their knowledge of the three agents' attendance indicate they were in contact with one or more of the dissident admirals and were leaning toward support of the Confederacy? Or had they simply assumed their trouble-making compatriots would choose to stay away from Eminence and send representatives in their stead?

Gaunis pursed his lips in indecision. Reiger's greeting gave him reason to hope the man was coming around to his way of thinking, but both he and Estura would have to be watched closely.

The sturdy, compact figure of Admiral Braeum Len entered next, alone as usual, his broad, flat features a study in practiced control. He was the fourth man who had supported Shaw during his court-martial, and it surprised Gaunis that he attended the Council in person rather than send a representative as the others had.

Len moved to his chair at the twelfth position on the table's far end. After Shaw's dismissal, Gaunis had wanted to close the gap left by his absence, but Len refused to change seats. Gaunis knew it was his form of silent protest.

Len took his seat and scanned the room. His gaze settled at last on the High Admiral. The look in his dark, slanted eyes was one of unbridled defiance, and Gaunis renewed his vow to rid himself of Len and his three accomplices as quickly as possible.

Admirals Steven Isaacson and Jaise Siyeen arrived moments later. They entered the room within seconds of each other, but they were careful to avoid crossing each other's paths. Their feud was no secret, being well apparent whenever the two were within a light year of one another.

Gaunis frowned at the thought of the discord between Isaacson and Siyeen. The two men's animosity was a direct result of one of his plans gone awry. He had intended only to weaken their growing friendship, to prevent the chance of them banding together against himself or any of the others, but one or both of them had taken the rumored comments and slights too seriously, and their relationship had crossed the line from friendship to hostility. Both men still supported him, but there was a very real chance that one would abandon that support simply to get at the other. Somehow, he had to mend their differences well enough to assure their continued loyalty.

Admiral Siyeen, sporting a trim dark beard and mustache Gaunis had not seen before, took his seat in the fifth chair from the door and greeted the High Admiral with a quick glance and tight nod. Isaacson moved behind Gaunis to take the chair on the High Admiral's left, Richard Shaw's former seat. Gaunis whispered a friendly greeting to the tall, brown-eyed man, and then scanned the room again.

Everyone had arrived except for Deroga and Genen. He could begin without them, for their allegiance had been recently reaffirmed by their assistance at Falira. But Gaunis decided he would wait for the two, even if they arrived late. In fact, he almost hoped they did, for his postponement of the meeting on their accounts would serve to demonstrate to the others a small taste of the favors afforded those who supported the High Admiral with actions as well as words.

Gaunis let his eyes rove the room once again, noting those who met and held his gaze, those who looked away, and to whom they looked for support.

Weighing what he saw now and what he noticed as the men entered the room, he decided that his informants had been fairly accurate. Admiral Len seemed more bitter than reported, but that was balanced by Jhun Reiger's new openness.

As the time for the start of the meeting grew nearer, the few hushed conversations faded away, and a blanket of expectant silence settled over the chamber. Less than a minute before the chime sounded to signal the beginning of Council, the door opened, and admirals Imez Genen and Korin Deroga entered the room. Genen's small, nervous form contrasted wildly with Deroga's bulk.

Gaunis cleared his head of the speech he'd been composing to inform the others they would wait for their tardy comrades and welcomed Genen and Deroga with brisk nods.

They stopped short and stared at him in surprise, and then Deroga stepped to his seat on Gaunis's right. Genen circled behind the High Admiral and took his chair in the ninth position at the table, two seats to Gaunis's left. They both sat silently, watching, expectant.

The Council chime rang, the lights came up, and Gaunis rose to his feet.

"Gentlemen," he said, his voice booming in the large room, "we have gathered here to discuss our continued tolerance of the rebel Confederacy. To date, we have elected not to respond to the confederation documents and trade agreements they sent for our consideration." He paused and gazed pointedly at Admiral Len and the three absent admirals' representatives. His intelligence network had informed him of the four upstarts' duplicity, how they had gone behind the Council's back and against its orders to contact the Confederacy with tentative offers of recognition and trade. Gaunis was sure none of them knew of his awareness of their seditious actions until now.

Len controlled his surprise well, his broad features showing none of the anxiety he must be experiencing. Gaunis held his eyes for a moment, silently threatening, and then returned to his seat to continue his speech.

"We have also failed to agree on any single course of action regarding the Confederacy's fate. This inability to come to a decision seems based on our lack of knowledge regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the Confederate forces. However—"

"Excuse me, sir."

Gaunis glanced up sharply at Admiral Len's interruption.

"The disagreement was not based solely on our assessment of Confederate strength," Len said. "There are those who feel that acceptance of the Confederacy's terms would be to our benefit, not only because we do not know whether we have the strength to overcome the Confederate forces, but also because they are willing to trade, providing us with the goods you and others believe we can get only through the use of force."

"Admiral Len, the goods you are suggesting we trade for are ours by right," Gaunis said. "The Free Worlds—"

"Were costing us more in shiptime and manpower than the Confederacy is asking for in trade," Admiral Byerly's agent said in a voice pitched too high for a man.

Gaunis snapped his head around to study the slender, confident figure sitting opposite Len, her white-gold hair gathered in an intricate bundle of loops and braids at the back of her head. He damned himself for not taking the time to identify the officer sooner. "Captain—"

"Andren, sir," the woman said needlessly. Who here did not know of Byerly's famous Captain Andren? "Sector Captain Renee Andren, aide to Admiral Darus Byerly," she added pointlessly, but tellingly.

"Captain Andren," Gaunis began again, and then hesitated. He had intended to reprimand her for interrupting him and put her in her place as Byerly's representative, not his spokesperson, but there would be no point arguing such blatant mistruths with her.

Gaunis learned early in his career never to underestimate anyone, and although there was plenty of talk that the delightful Renee Andren had reached her present status largely through the use of abilities specific to her gender, Gaunis knew she was not a person to be trifled with or casually manipulated. None of the absent admirals' agents were. The cloaks they wore signified their commanders' trust not only in their abilities to represent their point of view in a vote, but to speak for them, as well. And an Admiralty Council was designed to be a speaker's forum, despite all Gaunis had attempted over the years to change it.

"Captain Andren, it is true that the Free Worlds were a problem when they were acting independently," Gaunis said, "but the fabrication of a confederacy uniting them will not solve those problems by providing us with trade. We need the items they have. We cannot allow a rival power to control those goods, else what is to stop them from controlling us, as well?"

"I do not believe the Confederacy is interested in controlling us, High Admiral," Andren said.

"You do not believe, Captain Andren?" Gaunis said. "And does your belief make it so? I found it difficult to believe that your disinterested Confederacy shot a dreadnought out from under me without provocation, yet it happened, and—"

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"You were in Confederate space," Admiral Len said.

Gaunis did not take his eyes from Andren. The woman was practical, as well as attractive and intelligent, and there was a chance he could bring her around to see things his way, given the right arguments—and the incentive of a place in the Admiralty.

"To the best of my knowledge, Arecia and Arecian space were under United Galaxy control at the time," Gaunis said.

Andren shrugged, and her violet eyes met Gaunis's almost casually. "The events surrounding the Kinsa's destruction have little to do with our present discussion, sir. That question was answered during Richard Shaw's court-martial. What we are debating now is the Confederacy's intentions toward us. Based on their behavior to date, I do not think they are planning any moves against us."

"Perhaps you are correct, Captain," Gaunis said slowly. "Perhaps they have no plans against us, at least not for the immediate future. But what happens when they discover that the worlds they control are not enough? Better to stop them now while we know we can."

"Do we know that?" Kelthan Estura asked from his seat beside Andren, his thick accent, cobalt-blue eyes, and dark features potent reminders of his Ilekian ancestry. "I was under the impression that we were unsure of the strength of the Confederate forces."

"We were unsure," Gaunis said with a nod, careful not to meet the man's eyes directly. Although Estura had received no formal mental training, Gaunis had been convinced long ago by the man's uncanny astuteness that he had a natural ability to apply the psi powers that were his Ilekian birthright. "But recent developments have indicated that the Confederacy's strength is not all we feared it to be."

He paused to study the faces around him, looking for indications of who had heard about the Taas and Falira incidents. He had purposefully kept the news under tight control, recognizing its potential shock value as a powerful playing piece in Council, but the United Galaxy communication network was a dynamic force, and even unlikely rumors had a way of spreading at phenomenal speeds. This time, however, rumor seemed not to have spread either quickly or far. Of those who were not directly involved in the incident, only Admiral Len showed any sign that he was aware of what had occurred. And that, Gaunis realized, could very well be the reason for the man's intensified bitterness.

Gaunis surveyed the room again. Those not privy to the news were watching him expectantly. He quickly related what happened at Taas and Falira, with occasional commentary and observations from Genen and Deroga, the two who assisted him during the operation.

A short, thoughtful silence followed, and then quiet conversations started up throughout the room. Gaunis let the dialogues continue unabated for several minutes before raising a hand for silence. But before he could speak, Admiral Reiger stood, his perpetual frown in place on his rocky features.

"How many worlds do you intend to destroy before you're through, Gaunis?"

The High Admiral met Reiger's blazing blue-gray eyes and held them until he returned to his seat.

"I do not intend to destroy any worlds, Jhun," Gaunis said quietly. "That is no way to win a war. If it were, you would all be provided with the means to do so. But we cannot afford to have that option open to all of us. The ability to destroy a world was to be used as a threat. We did not set out to destroy Taas."

"But—" Reiger started to protest.

Gaunis held up a hand. "We gave the Taasians fair warning. You can check the records yourself. We did not expect the Taasians to put up such resistance," he added, putting as much honest feeling as he could behind the lie. "But perhaps saying that the Taasians brought it on themselves is judging them too harshly. After all, it was the Confederacy that backed Taas's claims to independence. And it was the Confederacy that swore to defend Taas and Falira, but took hours, even days, to come to their aid." He paused to take a breath. "For better or worse, the deed is done. We can only hope that some good will come of it in the form of a warning for other worlds that claim Confederate protection. What happened at Taas demonstrates what the Confederacy's promise of protection is worth."

"But you destroyed their hyperwave system." Admiral Siyeen's golden-brown eyes met Gaunis's challengingly from beneath dark brows. "The Confederacy couldn't very well respond if they did not know anything was happening."

"Just my point," Gaunis said. "The Confederacy does not have the ability to protect what they have claimed. And if they continue to run from confrontations with us, as Westlex did at Falira—"

"Did he run?" Captain Andren asked. "I wonder."

Gaunis looked at her. "Captain, there were three dreadnoughts—one of them my new Esprit—against his single vessel. Against those odds, wouldn't you have run?"

"I don't know, sir. That single vessel destroyed your Kinsa in one pass. And knowing what we do about the black ship's abilities and its past record, I doubt her captain would run from such a confrontation. Unless there was no reason to fight."

"You don't think Westlex thought Falira was worth fighting for?" Gaunis asked, surprised but not displeased by the woman's eagerness to voice her opinions.

"I can't see that it was worth it at that point," she said. "You already occupied Falira. Even if Westlex won the battle, what kind of damage might your people have done before he could reclaim the world? I believe Westlex left with every intention of doing something in the future to take Falira back."

"Then you admit that the Confederacy is planning something against us?" Gaunis struggled to keep the triumph he felt from revealing itself in his voice and expression.

Andren opened her mouth to answer, and then closed it, her face displaying the realization that she had maneuvered herself quite neatly into a verbal corner.

"I see your point, sir," she said with a hint of a congratulatory smile. "But they were provoked into making such plans."

"As we were provoked into the attempt to take back Taas and Falira," Gaunis said. "Recall that before the advent of the Confederacy, we could go to either world, as well as most of the other now-Confederate worlds, and take what we wanted."

"But at what cost?" Andren asked, not bothering to hide her victorious look.

Gaunis gave a small smile and sighed audibly in public acceptance of her having expertly turned his circuitous argument back on him.

"So we have gotten nowhere!" Admiral Len's dark gaze settled on Gaunis. "Nowhere but several steps closer to a war we cannot afford to fight."

"On the contrary, Len," Admiral Deroga said. "We can't afford not to fight this war."

"Only because you refuse to trade!" Len snapped. "Only because you refuse to put aside your pride of ownership long enough to realize what is best for your worlds!"

"What is best for our worlds," Gaunis said, "is to get the items our citizens need. If you have an extra supply of any of those items or some outlet for them that you have not told us about, please share it."

Len started to speak, and then snapped his mouth shut and glared.

Gaunis nodded. "As I suspected. Admiral Len, I have billions of citizens on Ularis, Nepurha, Terra, Calton, to name just a few of the worlds for which I am responsible. All of those citizens have needs, and I intend to continue to meet those needs as I always have, Confederacy be damned! Admirals Genen, Deroga, and myself have shown that the Confederacy does not have an unbreakable hold on its worlds. If we work together, we can take back those worlds. The Confederate people have needs, too, and once we control their goods, they will have no choice but to answer our demands for surrender."

"What about the Stingrays?" Admiral Estura asked. "They may have abilities we know nothing about. And how many of them are there? I know you suspect there are two, but is that all? For all we know, one or all of them could be sitting outside Eminence at this very instant, listening to this meeting."

Gaunis took a moment to consider the questions, and the questioner, before answering. Estura's queries made it plain that his concerns lay in the Confederacy's strength in ships. If Gaunis could assure him of the Patrol's ability to overcome anything the Confederacy used against them, he would have Estura on his side. But could he give him that assurance? The man's questions were difficult to answer and difficult to brush aside. It was true they knew little of the actual abilities of the Stingrays, and there was no way to insure that the day would not come when one or both (or more?) of them would turn and fight, rather than turn and run. As for any or all of them being outside now…

He shook his head. The latest report from Arecia indicated that Westlex was looking for him, but even if he found him here at Eminence, there was no way he could listen in and no way he could get close enough to do any damage without being noticed.

"It is true the abilities of the black ships are partially unknown," Gaunis said at last, his words coming slowly as he chose each one with care. "But we know they can be damaged by physical attacks such as missiles. Even if there are more than two of the vessels, we still outnumber them many to one. And they cannot be everywhere at once. Working together, we can trap them in a battle they cannot hope to win." He paused to meet each of the ten pairs of eyes that watched him. He found outright distrust from Len, caution from Estura, wary acceptance from Reiger, and confident agreement from Genen and Deroga.

He rose to his feet. "Well, gentlemen… and lady," he said in a companionable tone, "who will support me against the Confederates who stole what is ours by right?"

Instantly, Genen and Deroga were on their feet, pledging their loyalty and support. Admiral Siyeen joined them a moment later. With an almost remorseful look at Estura, Reiger rose from his chair, to be joined an instant later by Admiral Isaacson. Estura glanced hopefully at Captain Andren, cobalt eyes questioning, but Andren shook her head and looked away. Slowly, Estura stood.

Gaunis watched Andren and tried to catch her eye. Finally, she looked at him, and her open expression assured him that, although he had not won her wholehearted support, he had at least convinced her to consider what had been said today.

With a bleak look in Andren's direction and an angry glance at those who were standing, Len swept to his feet. But he did not stand in support of the High Admiral.

"You're all fools!" he said, and his wide, wrathful gaze took in everyone except Gaunis. "Do you think that what happened to Richard Shaw was an isolated incident? When the High Admiral," he pronounced the title like a condemnation "is ready, he'll get rid of each of you, as well. He may not send you to Calton to meet with some unfortunate accident as Governor Shaw almost did several days ago—"

Gaunis controlled his reaction to Len's words and forced himself to calmly consider the intelligence network the man must control to have not only heard about what happened at Taas and Falira but to also have discovered what had occurred so recently on Calton.

"—but he will find some way to rid himself of you," Len continued. "One by one, you're going to do the wrong thing, or say the wrong thing, or be in the wrong place. And, one by one, he'll move you out of the way. Reiger, Estura… Andren! Listen to me. Do what you feel is right, not what he says is right."

Len's words were beginning to border on treason, and Gaunis started to interrupt, but then he stopped himself. The man's hysterical ranting could only hurt Len's cause, not help it. Already the others were watching him with varying degrees of disbelief and pity. Let the man dig his own grave. He was dead now anyway, the only reason he still breathed was that Gaunis had not given the order for his destruction. But he would, he promised himself. Very soon, he would find a clean way to rid himself of Admiral Braeum Len.

"Resist him!" Len pointed an accusing finger at Gaunis. "Resist him now, and do what you feel is right. Or else all you're doing is giving him more power. You made him High Admiral, you allowed him to take the title. Take it back!" Len whipped his head back and forth, gazing around the room like a trapped animal. An ominous calm settled over him. He drew a ragged breath and said despondently, "None of you have a chance." He crossed the room and stepped out of the council chamber.

A pall of stunned silence fell over the room.

Gaunis activated the comm at his seat. "Commander," he said when his aide answered, "Admiral Len just left the Council Chamber. He was… somewhat distraught. Be sure he reaches his quarters safely."

"Of course, High Admiral. Will that be all?"

"For now." Gaunis switched off the comm, confident that Len's movements through Eminence would be watched, and that he would end up in his quarters, either by choice or subtle force. He looked at those standing mute before him. Some of Len's accusations had come appallingly close to the truth, and he feared the others might realize—

He shattered that line of thought, aware of the danger in even considering it.

The fact that few Patrol officers rose above the rank of captain without Gaunis's knowledge or consent, and that none reached admiral without his direct support had never been proof against disruptive individuals slipping through. There were always men like Richard Shaw and Braeum Len who played by the rules only until they were in a position to change them, and those attempted changes inevitably drew others to them. He had lost four supporters to Shaw, perhaps permanently, perhaps not. He was determined to lose no more.

He studied the eyes that watched him, but found no trace of the betrayal he feared. Apparently Len's ranting had not adversely affected the others' opinions. There might even be a way to take advantage of the man's breakdown.

"Please, return to your seats," Gaunis said quietly and waited for them to settle themselves. "I feel somewhat responsible for what just happened. I hadn't realized that Admiral Len harbored such bitter feelings toward us. He must be under an extraordinary amount of pressure. But there is one thing he said that concerns me. If any of you believe you are here only to follow my orders, then I must tell you that the actions I suggest in Council are out of concern for your worlds, as well as mine. I do not feel I have ever forced anyone to go along with any of my suggestions, and I surely don't gain anything by helping you help your people, except perhaps the pride of accomplishment. Certainly, I don't gain any power."

He stood up and began pacing behind his seat, a thoughtful expression on his face. Finally, he stopped, rested his hands on the back of his chair, and glanced up with a concerned look that ended in a warm, self-critical laugh. "Admittedly, I may on occasion argue a point into the ground, but I believe in the truth of what I say to you. I believe it will help us all. When one or more of you disagrees with a proposal and decides not to go along with the others, I recognize that is the way the Admiralty was designed to operate. After all, if we agreed on everything, every time, why not let a single man rule?"

He laughed lightly again. "But we know that one man's rule is not possible. In my thirty-five years as an admiral, I have seen more than sufficient evidence to convince me of that. I did not accept the title of High Admiral as an indication of my supremacy over this Council. Rather, I look on it as an acknowledgment by you, my colleagues, of my years of service to the United Galaxy, its worlds, and its citizens. I'll continue to trust in your good judgment and tolerance to help me continue that service."

He scanned the room a final time, noting the fresh looks of openness and trust in the eyes that met his. "Now, if there is nothing more that needs airing, I call this Council adjourned. Good day, gentlemen… and lady." He lowered his eyes and withdrew from the chamber.