Fear God and Dread Naught Read Free

their children into the military, normally the Royal Navy.  “They’ll understand.  And the ones who aren’t will have someone to explain it to them, even if they have to use words of one syllable.  They may not grasp the complexities of a naval engagement, but they will understand looming political disaster.”
     
    “I confess I don’t share your faith in their rationality,” the First Space Lord mused.
     
    Henry shrugged.  There was no shortage of inbred idiots amongst the British Aristocracy - in his nastier moments, he wondered if his sister had only one or two working brain cells - but the ones who managed to reach high rank tended to be very competent indeed.  And they would be ruthless enough to drop Blake like a hot rock, if patronising him raised the spectre of watching helplessly as their own positions were undermined.
     
    “We will see,” he said.
     
    He took a breath.  “At that point, you will inform them that the Board of Inquiry has decided that Captain Susan Onarina acted in the finest traditions of the Royal Navy, etcetera, etcetera and that it has recommended that she be confirmed as Vanguard’s commanding officer.  You will, of course, accept this recommendation.  And when they protest, as they will, you will also tell them that the Board of Inquiry has recommended that Captain Blake be given a medical discharge from the Royal Navy.  They will, I am sure, regard it as a way out of the mess they’ve managed to get themselves into.”
     
    “And grab it with both hands,” the First Space Lord observed.  “Do you think the Board of Inquiry will cooperate?”
     
    “A fair-minded Board of Inquiry will definitely produce a report that backs my conclusions,” Henry pointed out.  “Right now, I suspect they’re worried about the effects on their careers if they produce the wrong report, without actually knowing which one is the wrong report.  And if they seem reluctant, you can merely order them to come to the right conclusions.”
     
    “Boards of Inquiry hate being leaned on,” the First Space Lord said.
     
    “But it is a defensible position,” Henry said.  “And if it blows up, it will blow up in your face, not theirs.”
     
    “I’m starting to think you don’t like me anymore,” the First Space Lord commented.  He smiled, rather thinly.  “You’ve changed, Henry.”
     
    “I was an ambassador for over a decade,” Henry said.  He bit down the urge to ask just how much respect an admiral who was prepared to throw one of his subordinates under the shuttlecraft deserved.  His former commander was caught between two fires.  “I still am, technically.  And I have learned a great deal about how the universe works in that time.”
     
    The First Space Lord smiled, again.  “And what about Blake himself?”
     
    “My impression of him, towards the end of the voyage home, was one of relief,” Henry said, honestly.  “I think he will accept his pension and fade into obscurity.”
     
    He sighed, inwardly.  Captain Blake hadn't impressed him, but the First Space Lord was right.  Blake had been a good officer once, before he’d lost his nerve.  Henry would have been sorry for him if he’d been smart enough to request relief before the shit hit the fan, but he understood.  No officer would request relief if there was any way it could be avoided, knowing that it meant the near-certainty of never seeing command again. 
     
    You wouldn't have done it either , he told himself, dryly.  Would you ?
     
    He shook his head, dismissing the thought.  He’d been a starfighter pilot.  Even towards the end of the war, he’d never progressed beyond Squadron Commander ... and only then because everyone above him had been killed.  The Admiralty had promoted him to captain when he'd retired, but he’d never commanded a warship and probably never would.
     
    “I will trust that you are right,” the First Space Lord said.  He cocked his head.  “Might I ask why