Theirs Not To Reason Why: An Officer's Duty Part 36

"You will have to get his approval for any and all crewmembers, and any and all changes to the s.h.i.+p, and you will coordinate and approve all patrols and special a.s.signments through him. Project t.i.tania has been under his purview since its inception. I don't care what kind of psychic you think you are, he knows all of it better than you do," Myang stated. She paused, then added, "Secondly, and more importantly, Captain Ia...you are hereby placed under a double indemnity clause for any and all corporal punishments a.s.signed to your so-called handpicked crew. From a single stroke of the cane all the way through a Grand High Treason hanging, whatever your crew suffers, so do you. Is. That. Clear?"

"Yes, sir." Relief threatened to make her giddy. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the part of her that kept track of the flux of the timestreams warned her that there might be problems up ahead, but they were troubles she knew she could navigate. Ia repeated her orders carefully to let Myang know the message was fully received and fully understood. "I accept the double indemnity of responsibility not only for my own actions, but also for those of my crew, sir. I shall willingly endure without restraint or hesitation any and all corporal punishments a.s.signed to them, as well as any I may accrue on my own, whether it's five canings, or five hundred, or being hung for Grand High Treason, sir."

"Good. I'm glad that you do understand the severity of your situation, and the price you will pay if you abuse it. Now, is there anything else you wished to discuss with us, soldier?" Myang asked mock-sweetly. "Or can we get on with our business? We do have two wars to prepare for, if what you said is true."

For a moment, Ia's mind went blank. She blinked a couple of times, drew in a deep breath, then shook her head slowly. "No, sir. I do think all the rest of the business regarding Project t.i.tania can be discussed between Admiral Genibes and myself in another location, at another time. And I'll get you datafiles on everything I can safely foresee for you, Johns and Mishka notwithstanding. Oh-ah, you might want to send the all-clear signal through to the other side of this room," she confessed, blus.h.i.+ng. "I've...sort of...um..."

"Been holding off the security forces just long enough to have your little Yamaneuver say, yes, I know," Myang finished for her. "Not all of the security measures built into this room are electronic." Flipping up her arm unit screen, she punched in several commands.

Project t.i.tania vanished from the screens, and the airlock doors guarding the chamber slid open. Both sets of doors opened, revealing a team of armored soldiers, weapons at the ready. They peered warily into the room, clearly wanting to see what was going on first, rather than randomly opening fire. Lowering his gun only slightly, the major from the staff desk stared first at Ia, then peered at the men and women seated behind her. "Admiral-General, sir?"

"Stand down, Major," Myang stated. "Your diligence is commendable, but I sincerely doubt even a thermonuclear bomb could stop this woman from going wherever she thinks she needs to go."

Oh, I'm pretty sure a thermonuclear bomb would stop me, one of the few corners of Ia's mind not dazed by her success muttered. It wouldn't stop the Immortal One, but I'm not that strong a psi, thank G.o.d...

Myang addressed Ia, recapturing her attention. "Be advised, Captain, that if you ever charge in here uninvited again, I will flog you myself. Stroke for stroke. For now, consider this a successfully accomplished Yamaneuver. I trust you will be too smart to brag about it to anyone. Dismissed."

"Sir, yes, sir. No, sir, I won't brag about this. And thank you, sirs, for listening to me. If there were any other way to have gotten my name onto that list-an honorable way-I'd have done it, sirs," Ia said. "You'll have my absolute best; I promise you that."

Mindful of the cap still on her head, Ia gave the Admiral-General a salute. Myang returned it crisply, then flicked her hand in silent admonition to go. Turning on her heel, she strode for the doors, ignoring the weapons pointed at her. The security team lowered their guns, s.h.i.+fting back to give her room to exit. Outside, across from the doors and desk, she found an unpleasant sight awaiting her return.

Oh, Bennie...I'm so sorry. I didn't think they'd go that far with you.

At least the chaplain was being released from custody; the zip-ties lacing her wrists and ankles together were being cut free by one of the Tower guards as Ia approached. The guard even offered her his hand, helping the older woman back to her feet. Smoothing back her auburn hair, Bennie faced Ia with a lividly curious glance toward the now shut double doors.

"Well?" she asked Ia. "I take it I won't have to visit you in the Dungeon? Or share a cell next to yours, for that matter?"

Still a little dazed, Ia opened her mouth, shut it, tried again, and finally found her voice. "I...got promoted. And transferred. I'm now s.h.i.+p's Captain Ia, Branch Special Forces."

Bennie peered at her face, then at the doors several meters away. "You got promoted? All the way to a s.h.i.+p's Captain?"

She shrugged almost helplessly, jacket thumping against her left leg. "I won, Bennie...I won."

"Well, you sure don't look like it," Bennie quipped, guiding her by the shoulders away from the staff desk and the dispersing guards. "Why don't we head for the nearest commissary, get you a nice cup of tea, or maybe a hot caf', and you can tell your Auntie Bennie all about it."

That snapped her out of her daze, if only from mild irritation at the chaplain's mock-patronizing tone. "I can't tell you 'all' about it. Not yet. Most of it's Ultra-Cla.s.sified. But...I have a s.h.i.+p. I have the s.h.i.+p," Ia emphasized, thoughts turning back to the future. "The right s.h.i.+p. And all I have to do is fill it with the right crew, and the right-"

Her arm unit beeped. Ia flipped open the lid. A text message scrolled onto the screen.

"The official paperwork for your new promotion and cross-Branch transfer will be ready by 1400, Lieutenant. Meet me in my office. I'll trust you can find it, since you found your way in here. ~Adm. Genibes."

"Right," Ia murmured, closing the lid again. Her words to the Command Staff came back to her. Time was fleeting, and every second counted. She had too much to do, and too many wars to win. "Let's make that a meal instead of a drink, Bennie. I didn't eat any breakfast, and I'll have a lot of work to do, this afternoon."

"A lot of work, eh?" Bennie asked wryly. "Anything I can help with, or is that ultra-secret, too?"

"Oh, I fully expect you to come along with me for some of it," Ia sighed roughly. "I'll need a good chaplain for my crew-and I'll need you to be ready to save their souls while I'm busy trying to save everyone else's lives."

"You make it sound like you're about to drag your crew into h.e.l.l," Bennie quipped. "But no single mission, however important, could possibly d.a.m.n you all."

"If I don't get every step of this just right, then yes, we all are," Ia muttered. They stopped in front of a bank of lifts, and she pushed the b.u.t.ton for the ground floor. Giving her friend a wry look, Ia shook her head. "I may have won this battle, Bennie-and I thank G.o.d I did-but I still have to win the coming wars."

Every single day, we have choices to make. What to wear, what to eat, where to go, who we will interact with, and how we will do it. But none of these choices can hold a candle to the choice, the impulse, the drive to serve others. To be a part of something greater than ourselves. To think first of the welfare of others, and then of our own.

It takes surprisingly little effort to think of the welfare of others. All it requires is a slightly higher level of consciousness, a higher level of awareness, to be able to move beyond the sole concerns of the self. How much more important is it when the welfare you are considering concerns the life or death of your fellow sentient beings? Is that something you yourself would consider?

As an officer, it is my duty to consider the lives and welfare of those around me. Not just of those placed in my command, but of those my soldiers can help, and those my soldiers must face. I know I will not be able to save every life. I am only one person, and there is only so much even someone like me can do. But I will put my own life on the line to save those that I can, and I will direct those under my command to do the same. We will fight to save lives. That is my promise to you.

I am an officer. That duty is mine.

~Ia.

t.i.tles by Jean Johnson.

Theirs Not to Reason Why.

A SOLDIER'S DUTY.

AN OFFICER'S DUTY.

The Sons of Destiny.

THE SWORD.

THE WOLF.

THE MASTER.

THE SONG.

THE CAT.

THE STORM.

THE FLAME.

THE MAGE.

s.h.i.+FTING PLAINS.

BEDTIME STORIES.

FINDING DESTINY.

THE s.h.i.+FTER.