“That’s probably only because the ‘long-term’ you’re picturing is fundamentally different from the ‘long-term’ I’m speaking of.”
“What do you mean by ‘fundamentally different,’ ma’am?”
“You’ll understand after reading the message. If not, then there’s nothing I can tell you.”
I see. If I don’t understand, she’ll peg me as a fool.
“But there’s no guarantee there’s always an Imperial in a fleet. What would happen if there isn’t one?”
“You’re here, are you not?”
“Can I not speak in hypotheticals, ma’am?”
Cohtponee shook her head. “That’s not what I’m saying. If there’s no Imperial, then there’s no Imperial. That’s all. As you mentioned, I’d just be standing in for Her Majesty’s authority. But so long as there’s a better way, it wouldn’t be very sensible not to adopt it.”
“Is making me the proxy a better way, ma’am?”
“That hinges on your temperament. I don’t know you very well. In fact, all I know is that you’re a novice starpilot and that you’re Her Majesty’s grandson. I have no idea how suited you are to command. If I judge you to be unfit for the position, I won’t hesitate to force you out.”
“I’m relieved to hear that.”
“You lack ambition for an Abliar,” she said, glaring slightly.
“Have I failed some sort of test?”
“No. It’s too early to be drawing conclusions.” This was the biggest shock yet. A Cohtponee, withholding judgment? “Any other concerns?”
“May I ask you just one more question, ma’am?”
“You can ask me questions until all of your misgivings have dried up completely. That is why I’m spending this time with you now.”
I see. And the Commander-in-Chief’s time must be as precious as an ice cube’s on a lava planet. “What is the purpose of informing me of the operation details beforehand, ma’am?”
“So you won’t get out of joint when the time comes,” she said. “...It will be a time of chaos, so we should do as much as we can get done beforehand. Also, we must take into account the possibility communication between you and Fleet Command will become severed.”
“Who would be around to ascertain my temperament in that event, ma’am?”
“No one. I plan to give you my own written orders before you leave the ship. The orders being to allow you to appear at Fleet Command in the event of an emergency, no matter the cost. You’re to hand those orders to the highest-ranked commander you can reach. If Fleet Command has been destroyed, that person will decide otherwise.”
“‘At all costs’?” Duhier stared fixedly at her.
“Correct. Allow me to underscore that that is no mere turn of phrase. We are to prioritize getting you there, even if the fleet is pulverized in the process.”
Duhier stood up, despite himself. “You mean to say the whole fleet would be escorting me!?”
“The orders to do so couldn’t be clearer.”
“I cannot stand by that!” shouted Duhier.
Abliars were warriors. He’d come to regard falling in war as a fitting end to his life. Even the Empress felt the very same. Of course, they always had personal security. Sometimes, when traveling on the Empress’s ship, several escort vessels came along for the ride. It was an Abliar’s heart’s desire to be buried by an enemy ship, not to be slain by an assassin or madman. Those escorts were akin to health insurance, and nothing to be spurned. Yet when the Empress was with the armada, she was a commander, there to lead the military to victory. The fleet didn’t exist to defend the Empress — it was the other way around. Moreover, Duhier was just an Imperial, not the Emperor. He was aboard ship merely to fight as a fellow Abh. There was no justification to be babysat like this. Getting escorted by the fleet made him feel naught else but humiliated. And while Cohtponee was a Star Forces admiral, Duhier didn’t think that gave her the right to abase him so.
“Displeased?” asked Cohtponee.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied quietly.
“Sit down, Linewing.”
“But Commander-in-Chief...”
“Enough, fledgling. You’re still just a linewing, and this is my flagship. Follow my orders.”
“Yes, ma’am.” She was in the right, so he sat back down, but that didn’t mean he’d accepted all this. His bosom burned with blue flames of ire, waiting for a chance to overflow.
“Abliar pride is not something I can touch upon. I’m simply ordering you to put up with it, whether you like it or not. Unless, that is, you’re demanding we safeguard your pride in the same breath you complain about being escorted?”
“No, ma’am...” Duhier had no rejoinder.
“You can come to terms with it however you wish. If you fail to do so, then you don’t even deserve to be called a ‘fledgling,’ because entering the field of battle was a mistake to begin with. The Star Forces are not in such a state of ruin as to rely on un-hatched eggs. If push comes to shove, I’ll allow you to return to the capital alongside the sick and wounded, so that you may ask someone to incubate you.”
She was right. Asking others to protect his pride for him was unwarranted.
“I apologize, Commander. I will follow your orders.”
“So long as you understand.” Cohtponee relaxed her shoulders. “You look fragile, but you truly are an Abliar. That expression you made earlier made my blood run cold.”
If her blood had run cold, she really didn’t look it. He was also less than pleased to be called “fragile,” but he decided to keep quiet for the time being. That being said, had he really pulled that scary a face?
“Do you think the chances we get isolated are high, Lonh?” asked Duhier.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “There are too many uncertainties at play. And even if I did know, telling you now might foment unneeded confusion.”
“Understood, ma’am.”
“No more misgivings, I take it?”
“To be honest, I’m still unconvinced by your reasoning, Your Excellency. However, reading the decree may dispel my doubts, so I’ll keep them to myself for now.”
“Very well. Now then, decode it.”
Duhier began doing just that. He decrypted and read it in nary a moment.
“This...”
“What do you think?” A smile graced her venom-red lips.
He couldn’t put what was festering in his heart into words just yet.
“I mean...” he stammered, “this isn’t written in stone, right?”
“It’s possible this directive comes to no avail.”
The imperial decree stated that the fleet should conduct preparatory research into occupying the Hania Federation and disarming its military. The preparatory research was written in stone, but it wasn’t clear whether or not that research would be utilized.
“Her Majesty is being unreasonable. How can they make us look into such a thing without telling us what for? They could even give us a fake reason for the length of the preparatory stage if they wanted to. But no reason at all?”
Duhier was relieved to know that even Cohtponee grumbled from time to time.
“The Chief of Staff must be aware,” said Duhier.
“Correct. Which helps,” she smiled. “Leading on her subordinates is her whole job.”
“What you’re telling me at this stage is... you think the directive won’t come to no avail, Commander?”
“I don’t know. I’m just a frontline commander. That’s beyond my rank. This isn’t self-deprecation, mind you. I’m just saying that the range of my work is limited. I can’t prepare for any and all situations, but I’m just coming as close as I can to it within that limited scope.”
“So my mission at this stage is to make a mental note of this decree, correct?” asked Duhier.
“Correct. And no notes besides mental ones.”
“I know, ma’am.” Naturally, he didn’t divulge this to anybody.
“Return the memchip and erase the decoded contents.” Duhier did as he was told. “Farewell, Linewing. Return to your ship.”
Duhier saluted, and made to exit. Then something dawned on him, and he looked back at her. “Commander, don’t tell me...” But he couldn’t finish that sentence.
“Don’t tell you what?”
“No, it’s nothing. Forgive me.” Duhier saluted once more before making for the door again.
“Linewing,” she stopped him. “I only deem kneeling acceptable when it’s before the Jade Throne. And I have no desire to install a provisional throne in my flagship, even if I could grasp absolute military power at its side. As such, I hope we don’t meet again until after the operation is over.”
“I would like to see you again, but not as an ornament draped over a provisional throne.”
“I’ll be happy to see you if, when next we meet, you’ve graduated from a fledgling,” said Cohtponee.