The Lost Fleet: Outlands - Boundless E-Book

Jack Campbell

• Herausgeber: Titan Books
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Seitenzahl: 625

Beschreibung

The New York Times-bestselling series continues as Admiral 'Black Jack' Geary returns to Unity to save the Alliance, this time from itself.The master of military science fiction returns.Admiral John 'Black Jack' Geary carries evidence of crimes which could destroy the Alliance he has fought so hard to save. Now his battle-weary fleet returns to Unity, the seat of the Alliance government.But instead of a hero's welcome, he faces assassination attempts and political threats. His arrival ignites a furious Senate trial, and Geary must use all his guile to ensure the guilty are brought to justice, without himself becoming judge and jury. All the while forces lurk in the shadows, poised to strike at any moment.Unsure of who he can trust, Geary is sent on a dangerous mission to lead his fleet through the shattered Syndicate Worlds, and beyond to alien-controlled space. As the Alliance faces the failures of its past, Black Jack must confront its legacy – distrust and rebellion.

Leseprobe

Contents

Cover

Also by Jack Campbell and Available from Titan Books

Title Page

Leave us a review

Copyright

Dedication

The First Fleet of the Alliance

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Acknowledgments

Also Available from Titan Books

ALSO BY JACK CAMPBELLAND AVAILABLE FROM TITAN BOOKS

THE LOST FLEET SERIES

Dauntless

Fearless

Courageous

Valiant

Relentless

Victorious

Beyond the Frontier: Dreadnaught

Beyond the Frontier: Invincible

Beyond the Frontier: Guardian

Beyond the Frontier: Steadfast

Beyond the Frontier: Leviathan

THE LOST STARS SERIES:

Tarnished Knight

Perilous Shield

Imperfect Sword

Shattered Spear

THE GENESIS FLEET SERIES

Vanguard

Ascendant

Triumphant

THE STARK’S WAR SERIES (as John G. Hemry)

Stark’s War

Stark’s Command

Stark’s Crusade

JAG IN SPACE (as John G. Hemry)

A Just Determination

Burden of Proof

Rule of Evidence

Against All Enemies

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The Lost Fleet: Boundless

Print edition ISBN: 9781789096576

E-book edition ISBN: 9781789096750

Published by Titan Books

A division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd

144 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0UP

www.titanbooks.com

First edition: June 2021

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Names, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead (except for satirical purposes), is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2021 John G. Hemry writing as Jack Campbell.

The right of John G. Hemry to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

To Palin Spruance, a different generation of quiet warrior.A gentleman whose presence made the world brighter andwho is deeply missed.

For S., as always.

THE FIRST FLEET OF THE ALLIANCE

Admiral John Geary, Commanding

FIRST BATTLESHIP DIVISION

SECOND BATTLESHIP DIVISION

GallantIndomitableGloriousMagnificent

DreadnaughtFearlessDependableConqueror

THIRD BATTLESHIP DIVISION

FOURTH BATTLESHIP DIVISION

WarspiteVengeanceResolutionGuardian

ColossusEncroachRedoubtableSpartan

FIFTH BATTLESHIP DIVISION

RelentlessReprisalSuperbSplendid

FIRST BATTLE CRUISER DIVISION

SECOND BATTLE CRUISER DIVISION

InspireFormidableDragonSteadfast

DauntlessDaringVictoriousIntemperate

THIRD BATTLE CRUISER DIVISION

IllustriousIncredibleValiant

FIFTH ASSAULT TRANSPORT DIVISION

TsunamiTyphoonMistralHaboob

FIRST AUXILIARIES DIVISION

SECOND AUXILIARIES DIVISION

TitanTanukiKupuaDomovoi

WitchJinnAlchemistCyclops

TWENTY-SIX HEAVY CRUISERS IN FIVE DIVISIONS

First Heavy Cruiser DivisionFourth Heavy Cruiser DivisionEighth Heavy Cruiser Division

Third Heavy Cruiser DivisionFifth Heavy Cruiser Division

FIFTY-ONE LIGHT CRUISERS IN TEN SQUADRONS

First Light Cruiser SquadronThird Light Cruiser SquadronSixth Light Cruiser SquadronNinth Light Cruiser SquadronEleventh Light Cruiser Squadron

Second Light Cruiser SquadronFifth Light Cruiser SquadronEighth Light Cruiser SquadronTenth Light Cruiser SquadronFourteenth Light Cruiser Squadron

ONE HUNDRED FORTY-ONE DESTROYERS IN EIGHTEEN SQUADRONS

First Destroyer SquadronThird Destroyer SquadronSixth Destroyer SquadronNinth Destroyer SquadronTwelfth Destroyer SquadronSixteenth Destroyer SquadronTwentieth Destroyer SquadronTwenty-third Destroyer SquadronTwenty-eighth Destroyer Squadron

Second Destroyer SquadronFourth Destroyer SquadronSeventh Destroyer SquadronTenth Destroyer SquadronFourteenth Destroyer SquadronSeventeenth Destroyer SquadronTwenty-first Destroyer SquadronTwenty-seventh Destroyer SquadronThirty-second Destroyer Squadron

FIRST FLEET MARINE FORCE

Major General Carabali, commanding3,000 Marines on assault transports and divided into detachments onbattle cruisers and battleships

THEY HAD LEFT BEHIND the star system known to humanity as Unity Alternate, left behind the wreckage of the battleships Amazon and Revenge, the debris that had once been the battle cruisers Leviathan and Implacable, the remnants of cruisers and destroyers and the massive orbiting facilities secretly constructed to prolong a century-long war if defeat had finally loomed. The fleet brought all of the dead they could recover with them, as well as many wounded in a fight that no one had expected to survive.

Behind they also left the ruin of the entire badly misnamed Defender fleet, warships crewed and commanded only by “reliable” artificial intelligences that had come close enough to self-awareness to go insane and begin attacking the Alliance they were supposed to defend. Stopping them had cost a lot of lives. The Alliance had been saved again, this time from its own folly.

Once, the sailors aboard these Alliance warships had been certain what lay ahead. They’d fought the Syndicate Worlds all their lives, thinking that war would never end. Today they knew only what lay behind them. The Syndics had finally been beaten, and then the Defender fleet foolishly created to deal with future threats to the Alliance had been faced and destroyed when it also became a danger. Now, though, the future seemed both limitless and unknowable.

For Admiral John “Black Jack” Geary, on his flagship, the battle cruiser Dauntless, that meant that he couldn’t help wondering if this time he had saved the Alliance only to destroy it.

They’d jumped from the twin stars of Unity Alternate to the star called Drezwin. From there, most of the surviving ships of the fleet had jumped for the base at the star named Varandal to resupply and repair damage. But Dauntless and the attack transport Mistral had jumped in another direction to reach a star system with a hypernet gate that could bring them to the star that held the capital of the Alliance. The capital long ago named Unity in hopes that it would inspire harmony among the many star systems and peoples who made up the Alliance.

Soon, a moment dreaded by countless people (and hoped for by countless others), would finally happen. Geary, the Alliance’s greatest hero, back from the dead, would be arriving at the Alliance capital in his flagship. That action alone might trigger the collapse of a government stressed to near the breaking point by the recently ended century-long war with the Syndicate Worlds. Even if the government survived that, the evidence being brought to the capital aboard the attack transport Mistral might well shatter the Alliance.

And yet, in the end, he had no choice. The same sense of duty that had led him to save the Alliance when it trembled on the brink of final defeat now forced him to take the actions that could destroy it anyway.

“Five minutes until arrival at Unity Star System.” Lieutenant Castries’s announcement carried easily across the bridge of Dauntless.

“You look like you’re going to another funeral,” Captain Tanya Desjani remarked. Her ship’s command seat sat next to Geary’s own fleet command seat on the bridge, so she could speak in a low voice.

“We may well be doing just that,” Geary said.

“You’re doing what has to be done.”

“I know.” He scowled at the display before him, which showed an image of the outside that revealed nothing. The jump space accessed using the older jump drives that had opened the galaxy to human exploration and settlement (and war), appeared as an endless, formless gray. But when using the newer hypernet gates, ships traveling from gate to gate were literally nowhere, surrounded by nothing. The blank emptiness outside the ship made him think of the dark beyond life, which did nothing good for his mood. “I’m not bothered so much by what might happen to me,” Geary added, “as I am thinking about how many men and women have died to protect the Alliance. Am I betraying their sacrifices?”

Tanya didn’t answer for a moment, then shook her head. “I knew Kostya Tulev for a long time. And I spent much more time around Victoria Rione than any sane person would want. I have no doubt at all that both would agree with what we’re doing.” She paused. “Though that woman would’ve surely expressed her agreement in the most disagreeable way possible.”

He knew that last sentence was an attempt to distract him from his thoughts, which dwelled on the dead in body capsules on many of the ships that had gone to Varandal. Those sailors would be given the most honorable burial possible, consigned to space, their bodies launched on trajectories that in time would bring them to the star itself, to be consumed by the light. Some far-distant day, the star would explode, hurling outward atoms and elements forged partly from those bodies, to help form new stars and worlds and all that existed on those worlds. But the spirits that had once animated those bodies were already gone, hopefully having been received into the arms of their ancestors. “I’ll never get used to it,” Geary said. “We did our duty, but so many paid the price this time.”

“A lot more would’ve paid the price if you hadn’t made the right decisions,” Desjani said.

“And if Victoria Rione hadn’t sacrificed herself to save the rest of us.”

“We were all willing to do the same,” Desjani pointed out. “I honor her sacrifice, because it saved the rest of us, but we all would’ve died to protect those depending on us. Don’t forget how many lives were saved, Admiral.”

“I—” Geary broke off his reply as he heard the brief whistle that alerted him to an urgent incoming message. He called up the message screen before realizing that there shouldn’t be any incoming messages while the ship was still inside the hypernet. “Captain Desjani, why did I just get a message supposedly sent from an outside source?”

Tanya frowned at him. Getting up, she leaned close enough to gaze at his message display. “That’s impossible.”

“The time of receipt says it arrived on the ship one minute ago.”

“That’s—” She paused before speaking again. “Did you take a look at the originator?”

“No, not yet.” Wondering why Tanya was focusing on that, Geary found the line identifying who’d sent the message. He felt a chill run down his back. “Victoria Rione?”

“It’s not her ghost,” Tanya said, angry. “That woman must’ve somehow planted the message in Dauntless’s comm system in a way that kept it invisible until now. That’s also supposed to be impossible.”

“Should I read it?”

“Not until we figure out why it’s here,” she said. “And if it really is from her. If it was hidden that well, it might be from anyone, and might contain anything.” Reaching past him, she tapped the quarantine command for the message. “Comms!”

“Yes, Captain?” the communications watch stander responded.

“The comm system says the ship just received an external message.”

The lieutenant took a moment to process her words, bafflement appearing on his face. “Captain, we’re still in the hypernet. It’s impossible to receive external messages.”

“I know that. You know that. The comm system apparently doesn’t know that. I’ve quarantined the message. I want to know where it’s been hiding in the system, who put it there, and whether it contains any malware or other hazard.”

“Yes, Captain!”

Two minutes until arrival at Unity.

Geary looked over at Tanya as she settled back into her ship’s command seat. “I’ve noticed something about you and this ship.”

“What’s that, Admiral?”

“You never have to say ‘do this now’ or ‘get this done fast.’ Your crew can tell when something needs done quickly just by the way you give the order. They can tell what you want, so they get it done without confusion or delay.”

She glanced from the display before her to look at him. “I’m the ship’s captain. That’s how it’s supposed to work. Why is that finally getting a smile from you?”

“Because from anyone else that’d be a boast, but from you it’s just a statement of what you think is expected of you.”

“Standing by for arrival at Unity,” Lieutenant Castries called.

No one could miss the impact of leaving jump space, a jolt that would momentarily rattle the strongest mind. But in that way, too, the gates were different. Dauntless exited the hypernet gate on the edge of Unity’s star system without any physical effect humans could sense. What they could feel was the sense of relief as the nothingness beyond the ship was replaced by an infinity of stars.

The virtual display screen before Geary came to life, space traffic and other information multiplying as fast as the sensors aboard Dauntless could spot the information, process what they saw, and display it in forms easily grasped. Less than a light second away, Mistral had also arrived and was broadcasting normal status. The nearest other ship was a ponderous Alliance battleship orbiting a light minute from the hypernet gate, apparently on guard. No alarms sounded or appeared on the display to indicate potentially dangerous situations.

“Do we head for the primary world?” Desjani asked.

Geary nodded. “Unless and until we receive orders otherwise.”

“Lieutenant Yuon,” Desjani ordered. “Give us an intercept to the primary world. Use point two light speed.”

“Yes, Captain.” Yuon’s hands flicked over his own display. “Ready, Captain.”

The projected course appeared on Geary’s display as well. Intercepting something in a fixed orbit, such as a planet, was child’s play for the navigation systems. A long arc curved through the star system, heading in toward the star and the planet orbiting about ten light minutes from it. Given that Varandal was a bit larger and a bit hotter than Sol (the star that still warmed humanity’s ancestral home world, Earth) the surface of the primary world was mostly comfortable for humans. But it also meant that the intercept was about five light hours away from where Dauntless and Mistral were at the edge of the star system. Even at two-tenths the speed of light, or sixty thousand kilometers per second, which was the sort of velocity warships could achieve in a reasonable time, that distance would require more than twenty-five hours to cover. “I’m good with it,” he said. “Make sure Mistral has it, then execute.”

“Yes, sir,” Desjani said. “Lieutenant Yuon, send to Mistral and get their receipt for the signal.”

“Yes, Captain. Mistral acknowledges and reports ready for the maneuver.”

Geary tabbed his comm controls, comforted by the routine. “Dauntless, Mistral, this is Admiral Geary. Immediate execute, turn starboard zero one five degrees, down zero two zero degrees, velocity point two light. Over.” Space didn’t have an up or down, an east or a west, so humans made up standard directions based on the star. “Starboard” meant toward it, “port” meant away, while the plane in which the star’s planets orbited defined “up” as above it and “down” as below it.

“Mistral, aye,” the reply came back.

“Dauntless, aye.”

Desjani moved her fingers lightly across her controls. Thrusters fired along the hull of the battle cruiser, pitching the vessel’s bow toward the star and down relative to the plane in which the star’s planets orbited. Moments later, as the bow lined up on the right vector, the main propulsion units aft kicked in, hurling the ship toward the star, Mistral matching Dauntless’s movement.

Geary kept his eyes on the image of the world they were headed for. To the naked eye, it was a barely visible point of light, billions of kilometers distant. He was seeing where it had been five hours ago. At the speed of light, it would be five hours before the people on that world saw that Dauntless and Mistral had arrived. Against the size of space, even light seemed to move slowly.

But he knew how people might react when they saw that Dauntless had arrived here. So he called up the status report he had carefully crafted during the trip from Unity Alternate, fully aware that the fate of the Alliance might rest on whether he used one word or another in any part of the report. The report had a huge attachment, containing what seemed to be the most important evidence collected at Unity Alternate.

He tapped the send command, feeling as if he’d just pulled the trigger on a weapon.

“Captain,” Lieutenant Castries said, “we’re receiving a challenge from Audacious.”

Geary tried not to grimace as the name of the nearby battleship was announced. Since awakening a century after his supposed last battle, he hadn’t gotten used to the frequent reuse of the names of destroyed ships, which had become routine in a fleet that suffered appalling losses all too often. The last time he’d seen a battleship named Audacious it had been a badly battered hulk at a star named Lakota, where his fleet had fought the Syndics twice. The memories the name brought up weren’t happy ones. “Inform Audacious that I’m aboard and we’re heading to the primary world to deliver important individuals and documents to the government.”

“Audacious is guarding the capital of the Alliance,” Tanya Desjani observed to him. “What orders do you think they might have in case you turned up?”

“Hopefully nothing extreme. Can he intercept our track from where he is?”

She frowned at her display, her fingers rapidly testing maneuvers. “Maybe. Mistral is a bit slower at acceleration than we are. I doubt you want to leave her behind.”

“No,” Geary said. “Recommendation?”

“Stall him. For . . . ten minutes. Then we’ll be far enough along that any intercept by him will be a stern chase. Even Mistral can outrun a battleship under those conditions.”

“Fleet Headquarters should have known that,” Geary said. “Why put a single battleship in orbit here knowing my flagship could outrun it?”

“Because it’s a battleship,” Tanya replied. “The biggest, most powerful type of ship the Alliance has. They put Audacious here because it looks like they’re using the strongest defense available.”

“Does anyone at Fleet Headquarters ever do the right thing? Instead of doing what looks right to outside observers?”

“Maybe by accident,” she said.

Sometimes having light speed limiting communications speed was a good thing, especially if you wanted to stall. It took another couple of minutes for Dauntless’s reply to Audacious to be received and the battleship’s answer to cross the light minute between the ships. A window appeared on Geary’s display, showing the commanding officer of the battleship on his ship’s bridge. “This is Captain Zhao of the Audacious,” that officer began, his tone of voice and appearance seeming more nervous than welcoming. “Admiral Geary, I have standing orders that if you arrive at Unity your ship and any accompanying ships are to assume orbit near my ship and await orders from headquarters. Adjust . . . please adjust your course and speed to take up position one kilometer from Audacious. Zhao, over.”

“He did say please,” Desjani commented, sounding amused.

“Yeah.” Geary tapped reply, determined to try to keep the situation from escalating as he tried to stall. “This is Admiral Geary. Captain Zhao, the circumstances under which I arrived here are exceptions to your standing orders.” He didn’t know that, but Zhao would now have to check his orders for any exceptions, which would buy a little more time. “My flagship and the attack transport that we’re escorting will proceed onward to the primary world so that vital personnel and materiel can be delivered to the government. Once there and upon instructions from the government I will proceed to Fleet Headquarters for further orders. Geary, over.” He could’ve ended the message with an “out,” but instead wanted to encourage Zhao to keep talking, each exchange of messages requiring at least a couple of minutes.

“Do you really think he’s going to be brushed off that easily?” Desjani asked.

“No. How much longer do I need to stall him?”

“Eight minutes.”

“Eight? We’ve already stalled him for several minutes.”

“And he’s maneuvering,” Desjani said, pointing. “Not full propulsion yet, though. He’s probably worried about scaring us into bolting at full acceleration and walking away from him.”

Geary laughed despite the tension inside him. “So he’s trying to stall us?”

“He’s trying to get us to stop accelerating.” She shook her head. “That’s his only real option. He’ll answer you again.”

Sure enough, three minutes later another message arrived, Zhao now trying to project sincerity as he spoke.

“This is Captain Zhao of the Audacious. I regret that I am unable to find the exception you speak of in my orders. But I don’t want to make any errors where another Alliance warship is involved. It won’t require much time for you to close on my ship so we can resolve any issues. Please do so. I’ve always wanted the opportunity to speak with you, sir. Zhao, over.”

“Seriously?” Desjani grumbled.

“How much more time do we need?”

“Seven minutes.”

“Three minutes ago we needed eight minutes!”

“Do you want to be certain that he can’t catch Mistral, Admiral? He’s shifted vector slightly to intercept her instead of Dauntless.”

“I shouldn’t have told him Mistral had valuable things aboard her,” Geary said, angry with himself. He composed his expression before tapping the reply command. “This is Admiral Geary. Captain Zhao, your interest in avoiding errors is commendable. In that regard, I suggest you review the top secret annex to your standing orders for the situations under which exceptions occur. As you say, we don’t want to make any mistakes that would reflect negatively on either of us. Geary, over.”

“How do you know his standing orders have a top secret annex listing exceptions?” Desjani asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t,” Geary said. “But now he’s got to search for one, and be as certain as possible that no such annex exists. Otherwise, if such an annex existed and he violated orders, he’d see his chances of making admiral go spiraling into a black hole.”

“That’s good,” she said approvingly. “Four more minutes and Mistral will be clear. He’ll never be able to catch us before we reach the primary world.”

How long would Zhao spend searching for an annex that didn’t exist? Geary watched his display, where the tracks of the spacecraft slowly altered as they accelerated, and the intercept point for Audacious moved farther and farther away. A blinking alert drew his gaze to the battleship at the same time as Lieutenant Castries called out. “Audacious has lit off full propulsion. She’s accelerating at maximum.”

“Audacious can still intercept Mistral at our closest point of approach,” Desjani said.

Oh, hell. Geary touched another comm circuit to call Mistral. “Commander Young, can Mistral give us any more acceleration?”

Commander Young appeared totally unruffled as she replied. That wasn’t surprising, since she’d shown few signs of worry even when things had seemed bleakest at Unity Alternate. “We’ve got some new mods. If ordered, we can boost at override for about thirty seconds max before the engineering controls mandate going back to normal levels to avoid blowing up the ship or having the inertial dampers fail. I can’t guarantee the extra boost will last that long, though. At those levels, main propulsion units don’t behave predictably.”

“Consider yourself ordered to boost at override,” Geary said. “Hold it as long as you can, but don’t risk your ship.”

“Understood, Admiral.”

“Mistral’s propulsion has increased output,” Lieutenant Castries reported. “She’s accelerating at ten percent beyond safe parameters.”

“If she holds that for thirty seconds, will we be clear of that battleship?” Geary asked Desjani.

She frowned, then slowly nodded. “Twenty-five seconds at that rate will get Mistral beyond intercept. We are going to face other warships deeper in system, though.”

“By that time the government will have received my arrival message, and hopefully sent out some orders of its own.”

Desjani turned a slight smile his way. “You still believe in the government.”

“I have to,” he said as another message came in from Audacious.

Captain Zhao had now adopted a determined look to match the harsher tones of his voice. “Admiral, I must order you to comply with my instructions. Immediately adjust your course and speed to take up position one kilometer from Audacious. My orders authorize me to take all necessary measures to enforce my instructions. Zhao, over.”

“How are we doing?” he asked Desjani.

“Almost—”

“Mistral is throttling back to one hundred percent acceleration,” Lieutenant Castries said.

Desjani paused, eyeing her display while Geary waited, tense.

She smiled.

“That did it, Admiral. Audacious is in a stern chase. Intercept probability has gone to zero.”

Geary sighed with relief before touching the reply command. “This is Admiral Geary. Captain Zhao, I regret to inform you that I judge my mission to be of extreme importance to the Alliance, such that delays would be inadvisable. I should also note that I am under no obligation to follow orders issued by an officer of lower rank. Dauntless and Mistral will proceed toward the primary world. Audacious is welcome to follow, but I strongly encourage you to check with Fleet Headquarters for further instructions before leaving your patrol orbit. Geary, out.”

“You were easy on him,” Desjani complained.

“He’s stuck in a bad place,” Geary said. “That’s not his fault. He can’t stop me, and if he keeps chasing us he can’t catch us, and he’ll leave the hypernet gate unguarded. I’ve given him a perfect out from that dilemma by recommending he call headquarters. Just calling in for instructions and getting an answer will take at least ten hours, and by then we’ll be almost halfway to the primary world.”

“Audacious is reducing propulsion,” Lieutenant Castries reported. “She’s firing thrusters. Estimate the battleship is returning to her patrol orbit.”

“And there’s our answer,” Geary said. “He’s taking the only approach left that covers his butt.”

Desjani shrugged. “He probably already worked his butt off to get that command by kissing up to everyone with higher rank than him. Who else do you think Fleet Headquarters would choose to protect it?”

“You’re an awful cynic,” Geary said, watching his display to see if Audacious would continue back to her orbit and leave off the now-futile pursuit of Dauntless and Mistral.

“War does that to you,” Desjani said.

*   *   *

SWEATING OUT THE NEXT ten hours wasn’t easy, wondering what the Alliance government would do with the information he’d provided. There were some senators who wouldn’t be surprised by the news of what had been going on outside normal channels (though unpleasantly surprised to see it uncovered), but hopefully most of them had remained ignorant of the malfeasance and would act to deal with those who’d decided that laws and rules were things for other people to worry about.

He called Commander Young on Mistral for an update on the status of her ship. He took the call in his stateroom, both for privacy and to give the bridge crew a break from having the admiral underfoot. “No problems to report with the ship, sir,” Young said. “My only real problem is that most of the former prisoners we liberated at Unity Alternate are mad as hell because I’m still treating them as security risks.”

“You have to,” Geary said. “Once we release them to the authorities on Unity, the government is going to have to decide whether to charge them with crimes or let them go.”

Young gestured toward a display to one side of her. “I’ve looked over the files of a few of the people who were disappeared to Unity Alternate cells on suspicion of being terrorists or traitors during the war with the Syndicate Worlds. I’m no lawyer, but there doesn’t seem to be very much there. I guess that’s why they disappeared them, because they didn’t have enough evidence to charge them.”

“Meaning they didn’t have enough evidence to know whether they really were guilty of the crimes they were suspected of,” Geary said. “That’ll be the government’s job to figure out, how to handle the former disappeared, and how to handle the people in the government who approved and ran a program like that contrary to the laws of the Alliance.” The idea of building a secret, alternate capital for the Alliance government to flee to if necessary had probably seemed wise as the war dragged on for decade after decade, but in retrospect those secret facilities had also been the perfect place to hide things from even the Alliance government itself.

“I’m glad that’s above my pay grade, Admiral,” Commander Young said. “Colonel Rico is standing by to give you an update on the Marines aboard Mistral.”

Rico reported that all was well with his Marines, aside from complaints about their having to act as prison guards. “That’s good, though, Admiral,” Rico said. “As long as they’re grumbling about little stuff like that, it means nothing big is wearing at them.”

“Are the prisoners giving you any trouble?”

“No, sir. Nothing to speak of. The mercenaries who were being employed as security guards at Unity Alternate are very unhappy about having been abandoned to their fates by the people running Unity Alternate. They’ve been spilling their guts to my interrogation specialists, telling us everything they can.” Rico paused. “My Marines will ensure all the evidence we have is turned over to the authorities. Some of my people have asked me about what we found at Unity Alternate.”

“What have you told them?” Geary asked.

“I’ve told them that we’re upholding our oaths to defend the Alliance. That what we’re guarding and delivering is the truth, and the truth matters. We’re Alliance, not Syndics. I understand ‘truth’ in the Syndicate Worlds is whatever the people in charge declare it to be.”

“That’s right,” Geary said. “That’s why we fought the Syndics, because we believed in things like the truth. Thank you, Colonel.”

“Admiral, can I ask about those aliens? The ones who helped us at Unity Alternate?”

“The Dancers,” Geary said, using the name sailors had given the species because of the grace with which they maneuvered their spacecraft. “What about them?”

“They’re our friends, right?” Rico asked.

That was a question Geary himself had spent considerable time wondering about. “They’ve helped us more than once,” he said. “Whatever their reasons, the Dancers have helped us.”

Rico nodded, his expression as serious as if Geary’s vague answer had been detailed and complete. “They were going home, right, Admiral? Do you suppose the Dancers made it home safely?”

“They said they could make a jump that far,” Geary said. “Why does that worry you, Colonel?”

“Well . . .” Rico hesitated. “They’re sort of comrades-in-arms, right? They fought alongside us. You know Marines never leave any of our own behind. I just think the Dancers deserve the same kind of consideration, to know they made it back safely from battle.”

“I have every reason to believe they will make it home safely,” Geary said. “They seem to have been a step or two ahead of us ever since we first encountered them.”

The link ended, Geary’s primary display shifted to a view of local space, the projected track for Dauntless and Mistral curving through the star system until it intercepted the primary inhabited world on its orbit about the star. Audacious, steadily getting more distant, had remained in its orbit, but a pair of heavy cruisers lingering near the primary world could pose a danger if things went wrong.

He sat in his cabin, gazing at the tracks showing all of the other space traffic in this star system, trying not to speculate in endless circles about what would happen when the evidence was delivered. About how the message he’d sent on arrival would be received. About whether after all was said and done he was really doing the right thing.

Tanya Desjani’s arrival was a welcome distraction. As always she left the hatch to Geary’s stateroom open after she entered. That remained the rule when they were on her ship and on duty. Off the ship, they could be a married couple. Aboard it, there couldn’t be a hint of them acting as anything other than admiral and captain. If anything, Tanya’s insistence on abiding by regulations was even stronger than Geary’s.

She wore an expression that combined admiration with annoyance as she dropped a data coin on the desk. “We isolated that message and my code monkeys took it apart. There’s no malware hidden in it.”

“Did they find out how it was activated?” he asked, picking up the coin and turning it so the light glinted off one side and then the other.

Desjani blew out an angry breath. “It had a subroutine monitoring the ship’s navigation system to tell it if we were close to arriving at Unity. That’s supposed to be impossible, by the way, for an outside program to monitor the navigation systems without being detected. My code monkeys would love to meet whoever that woman got that program from, but there aren’t any fingerprints on it, real or virtual. Anyone capable of coding that well is capable of hiding their own presence.”

“Is there any reason I shouldn’t activate the message?”

“Not that I know of. I’ll leave.”

“Why should you leave? I want both of us to see what Rione thought was important enough to send to me this way.”

But he hesitated with the data coin just above the read panel. All of the recent losses were too fresh, too painful. This was certain to rip the bandage off of emotional wounds that were still far from healed.

It had to be important, though. He dropped the coin and waited.

He couldn’t help staring at the image of Victoria Rione that appeared on the display, gazing outward at him as if she were still alive and contacting him in real time.

For a moment, he wondered if she was, somehow, really still alive.

“Admiral,” Rione said, her words carrying a heaviness despite her attempt at a light tone, “if you’re seeing this message, it means I’m dead, and your ship will soon arrive at Unity. Needless to say, I don’t want either of those things to happen. But I’ve long lived with the possibility of both, though my fear of what you might do at Unity has been considerably lessened.”

Rione paused as if gathering her words.

“This was made within a few weeks of us heading for Unity Alternate,” Desjani said. “That’s her as she was very recently.”

“All I can do,” Rione finally said, “is offer what advice I can. Never forget that just by going to Unity you create the conditions that could shatter the Alliance. Others will interpret your actions in the ways they want to. Everything that you do and say must be carefully thought out. If you want to save the Alliance, and I believe that you do, you have to express support for the ideals behind it even while pressing for actions against those who betrayed those ideals, no matter their reasons, and no matter their positions. This cannot be about one man or one woman. Not you. Not anyone else. It has to be about the principles, the ideals, that have always justified the Alliance. Make it clear that you believe that you are just as subject to the guiding spirit of the Alliance as any other person, and just as subject to the laws that govern it.”

Another pause, this one brief. “As a rule, you should trust no one, but there are a few exceptions in the Alliance Senate. Senator Navarro is bitter enough to see through whatever must be done. Senator Unruh will not betray you though she remains wary of you. Your most important ally in the Senate, though, is Senator Sakai. He will do his best to hide his leanings toward you, and his reputation for impartiality will make any statements and actions on your behalf seem all the more significant. Do not tell anyone Sakai is an ally of yours. He will act when and how he deems best.

“There will be many people who want to suppress any evidence of violation of laws. They’ll use the official classification system to do that if they can. It’s only supposed to be used for matters of Alliance security, but people long ago learned that classification can also conceal matters that might embarrass those in power. Ensure that whatever evidence you have is known to the public. If the public nonetheless rallies to demagogues who tell them what they want to hear, the fault won’t lie with you.”

Rione seemed to be looking straight at him, Geary thought, her eyes dark. “This last advice is the most important of all. Tanya Desjani. Keep her close. She will tell you the truth, she will tell you what she thinks you need to know, even and especially when you don’t want to hear it. Everyone with power needs someone like that. You have her. Listen to her.”

Her image on the display leaned closer, tense. “The legend claimed that Black Jack would save the Alliance when it most needed saving. I have come to believe that Admiral Geary may be able to do that. Don’t let me down.

“To the honor of our ancestors. Goodbye, Admiral.”

Rione’s image froze as the message ended.

He stared at the unmoving image a few moments longer before lowering his gaze. Geary rubbed one hand across his eyes and forehead, trying to calm the tumult in his mind.

He heard Tanya say one word. “Huh.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I think you should pay attention to that advice,” she said. “Especially the last part.”

“Thank you, Captain Desjani.” He dropped his hand, looking over at her. “Anything else?”

“You’ve already done some of what she advised,” Desjani said, crossing her arms and gazing steadily at him. “Your arrival message was coded, of course.”

“Of course,” he repeated, already knowing where she was going.

“You apparently didn’t notice that the code you used to encrypt that message is old, and was compromised some time ago. Every news organization in the star system will be able to read your message almost as fast as the Alliance government and Fleet Headquarters can.”

“Oh . . . that’s . . . unfortunate,” he said, trying to avoid sounding guilty. “It’s my responsibility to spot things like that, so the fault is clearly mine.”

“Sure.” She shook her head at him. “If I didn’t know how much you must’ve wrestled with your conscience before doing that, I’d be worried about you deciding not to play by the rules in that case. But you knew as well as that woman did that a lot of very powerful people would do all they could to make sure what we found at Unity Alternate got buried so deep in the classification system that a black hole couldn’t suck it out again. That’s now impossible.”

“Yeah.” Geary sighed and rubbed his eyes once more. “If the truth still matters, I had to do what I could to bring it out.”

“But, technically, all you did was use an outdated code,” Desjani said. “Inside an Alliance star system. They can’t hang you for that, even if you weren’t Black Jack. Were you disappointed?”

The sudden change of topic threw him. “By what?”

“Her farewell.”

“Tanya . . .” Geary frowned at the display. “She said what mattered.”

“What mattered to her, yes.” Desjani kept her eyes on the image of Rione as she spoke. “There’s something I’ve wondered about for some time, and I think that woman just confirmed it. Why did she take up with you in the first place soon after you assumed command of the fleet? She never seemed to be in love with you, or like the sort of person who was attracted to power.”

“Excuse me?” Geary shifted his frown in Tanya’s direction. “What are you implying?”

“I’m not implying anything, Admiral. I think Victoria Rione wanted to be close to you not only so you’d be within reach of her knife if necessary, but also so she could serve as the person who’d tell you the truths you might not want to hear.” Tanya straightened, eyeing him. “But then she saw you developing feelings for me, realized I’d tell you those truths, and backed off.”

His frown deepened. “We’re not supposed to discuss personal matters while on duty.”

“Is that why you’re upset at what I said?” Desjani shook her head. “That woman wasn’t the sort to give up when she wanted something. If she’d wanted you, she’d have fought for you.”

Geary bit back an angry retort, wondering whether it would’ve been born of dismay at her words or embarrassment at the idea that Rione had only bedded him to further her own aims. He’d long since reached that same conclusion, but didn’t like hearing it from someone else. “Victoria Rione had honor,” he finally said.

“I’m not denying that. As a single woman, she had every right to make the choices she did. But you saw her with her husband when we found him. You saw how it hit her when she learned he’d been alive all the time and a Syndic prisoner.”

“Yes.” That had been one of the few times Rione’s shell had cracked, revealing the depth of the pain she kept shielded. “There’s no doubt she loved him, and never stopped loving him.” He let out a small, self-mocking laugh. “I guess I’m just as egotistical as anyone else. I don’t want to dwell on the idea that she was motivated by other reasons than . . .” Geary stopped, realizing he’d just dodged an incoming rock by avoiding saying he wanted to think she’d really been attracted to him.

Tanya Desjani raised her eyebrows at him. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“You didn’t finish your sentence.”

“I was thinking. And we’re still on duty.” He nodded to the display. “Any other comments?”

“Not at the moment. Well, one other comment. I’m glad that woman was on our side.” Desjani grimaced. “Especially at Unity Alternate. I’ll light another candle for her later.”

“I’m sure her spirit will appreciate that.”

“Her spirit will probably try to trip me as I’m leaving the room.” Tanya offered him a casual salute. “I’ll see you on the bridge later, Admiral.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

Before she made it to the hatch, alerts sounded from her comm pad and his desk. Geary checked his display as Desjani checked her pad.

“Eyes only message for Admiral Geary, highest priority,” Desjani said. “From the Grand Council of the Alliance Senate. Want me to hang around a little longer?”

“Yes,” he said, reaching to accept and read the message.

THE MESSAGE, HEAVILY ENCRYPTED and text only, offered clear direction but few clues to what his reception would be at Unity. “We’re to proceed to orbit about the primary world,” Geary told Desjani. “Once there, I’m to come down in a shuttle to meet with the Grand Council.”

“That’s it?” She leaned over to view the message. “What makes that eyes only for you?”

“I don’t know.” He sat back, rubbing his face. “Strange. I know exactly what Rione would be saying if she was here. They’re idiots for keeping this message so secret. If everyone knew I was coming there on orders from the Grand Council it would quiet a lot of speculation.”

“So, we keep on?”

“Yes, Captain Desjani. Maintain our current vector.”

But as she was almost out the hatch, Desjani paused to look back. “That message doesn’t give any clue as to what will happen when you land there.”

“They won’t . . .” He let the sentence die, unfinished.

But she figured out the rest. “They won’t do anything stupid? Were you really going to say that?”

“Tanya . . .” Geary let his eyes go to his display, where the field of endless stars outside the ship was visible once more. “I still have faith in the Alliance. Faith that enough of those elected to serve it will live up to their responsibilities.”

She nodded. “I hope you’re right. But even if you’re wrong, I’ll be beside you all the way.”

*   *   *

THEY WERE STILL SIX hours from reaching orbit about the primary world, the star for Unity a small disc to the naked eye rather than a spot of light. They could now see where the planet had been an hour ago, and hear messages or other transmissions sent an hour in the past.

During a restless walk through the passageways of Dauntless, meeting and greeting sailors who seemed cheered up by seeing him, Geary encountered General Charban, the retired officer who’d become the primary speaker with the alien Dancers. A nearby break room was empty, so they both grabbed coffee and sat down in the regulation chairs that rumor said had been carefully designed to become uncomfortable after a few minutes to keep sailors from lingering on break.

“Have you been keeping track of the news reports?” Charban asked, grimacing as he took a drink. “I thought fleet coffee was supposed to be better than what the ground forces got, but it tastes just as bad to me.”

“Believe me,” Geary said, “I’ve had coffee that was a lot worse than this. I think it’s a fleet tradition. No, I’ve been avoiding the news.”

“So has your intelligence officer,” Charban said. “Lieutenant Iger knows the laws that forbid military intelligence to collect against civilian Alliance targets, and he’s ethical enough to not try searching for loopholes he could claim allowed it in this instance.” He set down his coffee, gazing at the battered surface of the table. It had been repaired using a variation on an ancient means of fixing broken items with bright strands of gold to highlight the former break and turn it into a form of art. Like everything else on Dauntless, the table had been built with the expectation that the ship would have a combat life span measured in months, because that was what the war had come to. But Geary, bringing back prewar tactics forgotten in the century-long bloodbath, had considerably raised the combat survival rate of ships, creating an unexpected problem as they outlived the life span of their components. While critical systems had been overhauled to keep Dauntless working, things like break room tables hadn’t been replaced for lack of time and the money spent on more important things.

“I’ll summarize them for you,” Charban continued. “Some senators, by I’m sure pure coincidence those prominently named for wrongdoing in the evidence you compiled, are asserting they are in fact innocent and everyone else is guilty.”

Geary nearly choked on his own coffee, managing to swallow without ruining his uniform. “That isn’t working, is it?”

Charban smiled sadly. “The Big Lie is an old, old tactic. Make a lie so huge that no one would believe anyone would dare try such a massive distortion of the truth. And there’s a portion of the Alliance’s population who’ve stopped caring about the truth after hearing so many lies. So, it is working in some places among some people. Beyond that, there’s a lot of tension about you coming to Unity. What it means. What you intend. Here. I saved this one. It’s typical of what’s being said.”

Charban displayed his epad, which showed two women and one man sitting in casual chairs arranged in a semicircle so they faced the screen and each other. “John ‘Black Jack’ Geary,” one of the women said, looking out to address her audience. “One hundred years ago he stopped the first Syndic attack on the Alliance in the famous battle at Grendel, where he was believed to have died saving as many of his crew as possible. For a century, he inspired everyone in the Alliance with his heroic example. Over time, his reputation kept growing. People began claiming that he would return someday when the need was greatest, and save the Alliance. In fact, though believed dead, Black Jack was found frozen in survival sleep in a damaged escape pod, lost amid the battle debris, and revived after nearly a century just before the Alliance fleet launched a daring and dangerous attack deep in Syndic space.”

“An attack which resulted in a disastrous ambush,” the man in the group said. “Black Jack took command of the surviving Alliance warships and in an incredible series of battles, brought them back home. No one else could have done that!”

“And then,” the second woman said, “he took the fleet back into Syndic space and finally defeated the foe we’d been fighting for a hundred years. Not content with that, he soon discovered three intelligent alien races. And now he arrives at Unity, with news that secret government programs imperiled the Alliance they were intended to defend. That the legendary Unity Alternate location for the Alliance government to retreat to if the war had gone badly enough did indeed exist, and was used for more than one secret project that violated the laws of the Alliance.”

“Black Jack saved us all. Again!” the first woman said.

“But why is he here at Unity?” the man asked.

“Maybe he’s decided the next place the Alliance needs to be saved is here,” the second woman said.

“Can we trust him?” the first woman said. “Unity is the heart of the Alliance. Great men and great women have often had great ambitions.”

“Black Jack is the Alliance,” the second woman answered as the man nodded in vigorous agreement. “He didn’t bring the fleet here as a conqueror would. Just his flagship and one other ship.”

“That might be all Black Jack needs to do what we wants,” the first woman said. “All we can do is wait and see what he does.”

Charban tapped the vid recording to end it. “That speaks for itself, doesn’t it?”

Geary nodded, grimacing. “That was all about me but it felt to me like they were talking about someone else.”

“Black Jack,” General Charban said. “Your mythical counterpart who always knows just what to do.”

“I wish I could ask him for advice,” Geary said. “You know I can’t make a public statement about my intentions without approval.”

“I know.” Charban paused. “But maybe you should. Until you speak, others can claim to speak for you. Some already are.” He raised one hand to stop Geary’s response. “Wait, please. I know. It’s a violation of regulations. A minor violation, as long as you don’t call for mutiny or the overthrow of the government or something like that. Measure that against the major problems that can happen if you stay silent in public. Read more of the news. A rumor that you’d been arrested might set off riots. A rumor that you’d arrested the Senate might cause something even worse.”

“It’s that bad?”

“I think so. That newscast I showed you is very middle of the road, and you heard the questions they posed. Some of the other reporting out there is . . . very speculative and seems designed to incite trouble.” Charban sounded regretful as he continued. “Admiral, sometimes you have to bend the rules a little for important reasons, as long as those reasons aren’t for your personal benefit.”

Geary sat thinking, frowning down at his coffee, trying to find reasons to debate Charban, and realizing he had none except for his own distrust of stretching the rules because he could. “I’ll assess the situation on the ground when I land,” he finally said. “I’ll make a decision then.”

“I can’t ask for more than that,” Charban said. He took another drink of coffee, grimacing only a little this time at the taste. “What do you need from me? I’m supposed to make a report based on my status as an observer with you.”

That one was easier to answer. “I don’t think you should get involved in any aspect of the political drama,” Geary said. “You’re the person who’s had the most contact with the Dancers. Communicated with them most frequently. It’s important that whatever you say be listened to. If you get identified with one political faction or another, a lot of people might not listen. I know you were thinking of going into politics yourself, but for the time being there’s a more critical need for you to be perceived as completely nonpartisan.”

Charban looked at the small table, running one finger along the twisting gold line where the break had been repaired. “It looks like we’re both giving the other advice we’d rather not hear. I’m not the sort to keep my head down when others are charging into danger. It’s not in me.”

“How’d you survive this long?” Geary asked.

“The living stars may know, but I have no idea.” Charban raised his gaze, meeting Geary’s eyes, and smiled a bit. “Maybe to do something important, like improving communications with the first alien species that will willingly talk to us. I won’t lie in my report. I saw too many lies in official reporting and too many lives lost as a result of such lies. I will be truthful as to what I saw and what I experienced. If anyone takes truth as a partisan political issue, then I doubt anything I said would make a difference to them.”

“Fair enough.” Geary stood, feeling tired. “I should try to get a little rest before we reach the planet.”

“Remember what I said, Admiral.”

“I will.”

*   *   *

FROM NEAR ORBIT, THE world called Unity looked like many other planets. Patches of darker and lighter land, green where vegetation bloomed, white where ice or snow lay, a very broad ocean and some slender seas, and rafts of cloud cover sailing between the surface and space. The native vegetation on the planet was lighter in shade than species from Old Earth, with a silvery sheen, so the forests and grassy plains bore a strange gloss where the light of the star fell upon them. One city bore the name Unity as well, but there were other cities, and many citizens whose work and lives weren’t directly tied to the fact that this planet held the capital of the Alliance.

Tanya Desjani walked him to Dauntless’s shuttle dock. “Be careful.”

“You, too. Keep an eye on Mistral. There are people who’d love to see all of that evidence destroyed.”

“I’ll be watching.” They walked into the dock, where a large display showed the planet below. She nodded toward it. “I read that once this star had another name. The first colony planted here was bombarded from space, though. They never did find out who was responsible.”

He looked at the planet, imagining it as it must have been on that long ago day when death fell upon it from orbit. “Why mention that now?”

“Because even at the time a few people speculated aliens might’ve been responsible.” Tanya gave him her most serious look. “We’ve learned some alien species were making tentative moves into this part of space when humanity came flooding in. And we’ve learned that one of those alien species, the enigmas, wouldn’t have hesitated to try to stop the human expansion. And we know they had malware hidden in all of our fleet’s systems. There might still be some hidden dangers down there, because the enigmas still don’t want us at peace and we don’t know what else they might have planted before we discovered them. Don’t assume all of your dangers will come from known sources.”

“Good point. I’ll contact you as soon as I can.”

“Yes, Admiral.” She saluted him, still solemn. “We might develop some comm problems of the blind eye to the scope variety, though. Depending on events.”

“I understand.” He returned the salute, praying that everything would be fine and he’d see her again, before turning to walk up the ramp into the shuttle.

Orbital space was busy, filled with maneuvering traffic and satellites of many kinds as well as human habitats and stations. But the shuttle was given a clean path down, other spacecraft scattering to clear the way.

“We’ve got company,” the pilot announced, her voice echoing in the passenger compartment where Geary sat. The display on the forward bulkhead shifted to highlight several contacts swerving in to match vectors with the shuttle. Aerospace craft, deadly and swift. Hopefully an escort to protect the shuttle, and not guards with orders to keep the shuttle from deviating from its trajectory.

The shuttle swooped down, coming to rest on the surface with the unnecessary but graceful élan of a human pilot showing off their skills.

The VIP landing field was clear, security barriers and what seemed to be hundreds of police holding back a crowd of spectators that appeared to number in the tens of thousands, filling the open public areas that ringed the landing field.

Geary stood up, straightened his uniform, and nodded to the two members of Dauntless’s crew who’d come down in the shuttle with him. Marine Gunnery Sergeant Orvis and Master Chief Gioninni, both resplendent in dress uniforms, nodded back. Tanya Desjani had suggested sending down Dauntless’s entire Marine contingent in full battle armor as escorts, but the impression that sort of show of force would create would send precisely the wrong message. Aside from displaying professional background, Gunny Orvis would spot any open threats being aimed at the shuttle, while an expert schemer like Master Chief Gioninni should be able to detect any covert dangers. Geary didn’t think anyone would be authorized to take steps against him, but he had to worry about those who might be worried enough about protecting themselves that they might try something.

The shuttle ramp dropped, letting in the air of Unity’s atmosphere, as well as the distant rumble of thousands of voices. As Orvis and Gioninni walked down the ramp and took position on either side of the bottom, the noise dwindled rapidly, not even the sound of wind rising over the silence, as if the entire planet were holding its breath.

Geary walked down the ramp, trying to look calm and professional despite the worries filling him.

As his right foot touched the surface of the planet, noise erupted from the watching crowds. He nearly froze as the sheer mass of sound from so many people rolled past.

But he did pause, looking out across the landing field, nerving himself for what was to come.

It was one of those moments that he knew would be forever branded in his memory, the smallest details clear no matter how many years passed. On this part of the planet, the sun was just rising, its rays lighting up the bottom of a swath of clouds so that they looked like a sheet of molten gold flung across the sky. The air smelled of cut grass and distant flowers and the thousand faint scents put off by people and their machines and their buildings. A flock of something birdlike was circling the landing field, repelled by the measures used to keep wildlife off the field, but stubbornly still trying to find a way in.

There was something else in the air, something indefinable, that made him want to back away. The same feeling the air got before a huge storm, the same sense that immense danger hovered just out of sight but was bearing down and would soon strike with overwhelming force. These crowds held a terrible potential, which if unleashed would rage against anything and everything in its path. In that moment he knew with absolute certainty that Charban had been right.