Bral Ranyr chapter 2

         Three rotations of study brought no more answers. Investigations of the wreckage narrowed the point of origin down to an area that far exceeded the travel capacity of any ship the locals were likely to have. Bral counted his blessings once again that his Chief Engineer was Taiad. The insectoid, for all it cared about the practical side of things, could piece together circumstantial evidence into a full picture. Dauroodra had thrown itself against this puzzle, devoting almost every waking moment for two full rotations to get as much as he had out of it.

         Dauroodra was not alone in its task, either. Grand Admiral Holden’s ship, the Thogos, had arrived from the Fleet Annex at Sector 24 half a rotation after the skirmish, bringing with it a team of Taiad engineers led by Dauclodra, a close colleague of Dauroodra and Holden’s own Chief Engineer. The wreckage had been transferred to the Thogos’ shipboard labs, which were far better equipped for the task at hand.

         Bral had transferred to the Thogos as well. Or so it seemed. Two and a half rotations saw the Captain spending a great deal of time on the Fleet Command ship, sitting through countless interviews with a number of flag officers, from the Grand Admiral himself to the most recently promoted Admiral, Aeli Ilaesu. Like Bral, the Inahin had commanded an Armada flagship until her promotion nearly six cycles earlier. Ilaesu was still new to her rank, though the probation was approaching its end. Bral envied the way she carried herself, however. Inahin were known for their poise, a trait the birdlike creatures had in seemingly endless supply. Though he was passed around among the twelve admirals accompanying Holden, it seemed that Bral was most often in the company of Ilaesu.

         He found himself in a brief moment of solitude, walking the portside corridor of the Thogos in an impromptu inspection, when it occurred to him what was going on. There had been four Admirals on the Trikin, a number which was too small to satisfy any official function other than looking over Bral’s shoulder. However, the Thogos brought twelve more Admirals with her, which by itself was a large enough group to perform any official ceremony, good or bad.

         Dauroodra, Bral’s chief engineer, was gifted at puzzling out things, and this fascination had worn off on Bral himself. Seven Admirals were needed to conduct a Court, which was the only way an officer as senior as Bral could be affected, but there were other restrictions on the Court. As his direct superior, Fleet Admiral Santos was ineligible to participate, due to perceived conflict of interest. Holden himself also was ineligible for the same reasons, since any favoritism shown by the Chief of Fleet Operations was certainly improper. No rule banned Kurasawa from the Court, but strong tradition forbade the Warmaster’s participation because of his Imperial title. Of the original four, this left only Sector Admiral Reynolds eligible. However, she could also fill one of the two key positions.

         Imperial Fleet Courts always functioned the same way. Seven Admirals were required for any Court to be convened: the most junior member to serve as Counsel, a sufficiently senior member to serve as Opposition, and five members to serve as the judicial panel. Courts could be called for virtually any reason, though by tradition they were called only for promotion to Admiral and dismissal from service. Either case required the orders of a Sector Admiral or Grand Admiral to be official, though decisions reached without such orders were rarely overturned. Reynolds gave the Court legitimacy, and was senior enough to Oppose, but she could not do both. None of the Admirals Bral had met over the past three cycles were “sufficiently senior” enough to Oppose; unless Grand Admiral Holden himself got involved, which Fleet Code would not allow, Bral was not yet in any real trouble.

         Until that third cycle.

         The Thogos was not simply a big ship. It was monstrous. Fifteen thousand meters from bow to stern, the Fleet Command Ship was as large by itself as a large portion of the Fourth Armada combined. Bral was walking the corridors partly because he could relax here. On the Trikin he always had to be the Captain, constantly giving orders and running the ship and its crew. On the Thogos, by rank and custom, he was practically just another officer. Any Captain in the Fleet earned respect from any crew, but here it was muted. The crew of the Thogos was no stranger to rank, and treated him with polite deference while largely ignoring him. On a Grand Admiral’s ship, little worry was given to what a Captain thought.

         Bral was choosing his path at random when Holden’s aide, Senastin, approached him. The Echak Commander, like virtually all of his species, was larger than most humans and covered in fur. The snarling muzzle and razor-sharp teeth belied a generally docile nature, but his dark eyes displayed a clear intelligence.

         “Captain Ranyr,” he said with a nod. Aides to Grand Admirals generally did not salute anyone.

         “Commander,” Bral replied. People generally did not pull rank on aides to Grand Admirals.

         “I am to escort you to the Grand Admiral’s stateroom. He has someone he would like you to meet.”

         Bral wondered for a moment who it could be. Protocol dictated that he would already have met anyone of real importance, but if the Admiral felt that way then there was no room to differ. Besides, Senastin was imposing enough without his patron’s title for Bral to decline. “Lead the way, please.”

         The Echak led him through a series of turns until Bral completely lost his sense of direction. The Captain was about to ask where they actually were when the Thogos’ massive hangar complex came into view. “Massive” was one way to describe it; another was to notice that two Trikins could fit side by side in the space. Thankfully, a transport was waiting for them. The hangar was simply too large to walk through quickly.

         Senastin took him to a secluded hangar at the aft end of the complex. The approach was guarded by men dressed in black with no insignia. Bral thought he recognized them from his first meeting with Holden and the others, and nodded to them. Neither of them men gave any indication that they noticed, continuing to watch everything around them except each other. Bral did not think that security was such a big issue on the Thogos, but judging from Senastin’s attitude, he gathered that now was not the time to ask.

         They passed two more guards at the rear of the hangar before entering the lift. A minute later they were standing in front of six more guards, one of which was giving them a thorough inspection with a handheld scanner. After pronouncing them clean, the guard opened the door behind him and ushered the Captain through.

         There were eighteen people sitting around a long conference table. Bral recognized all but three of them as the Admirals he had been speaking with over the past three cycles. Admiral Ilaesu went so far as to give him a cordial nod, and Admiral Kurasawa might have sneered at him, but Bral’s attention went to Grand Admiral Holden, standing at the head of the table behind a boy who was seated in the chair. The chair to the boy’s right was occupied by a man dressed in black who looked nearly identical to the guards Bral had passed on his way here. The chair to the boy’s left was empty and clearly belonged to Holden, and to his left was a woman dressed in the same uniform sported by Sector Admiral Reynolds.

         Nineteen sets of eyes fixed on him, and Bral Ranyr had never felt so exposed in his entire life. The three strangers examined him even harder than the others, each in a different way. The man in black seemed to pour more contempt into his gaze than the Warmaster had ever mustered for him. The woman watched him with more than a hint of approval, as if finally judging for herself that what she had been told was correct. But neither of those gazes was as intense as the one coming from the boy, of all people. He could not be any older than seventeen, but he was shaved completely bald and his head sported a pattern of scars. Gray eyes seemed to pick him apart and weigh him on invisible scales, as if passing judgment like a dispassionate god on his throne. The boy made his chair seem like a throne, at that. Grand Admiral Holden was no longer the most commanding presence in the room, and he seemed to know it. He looked at the boy, waiting for a nod before beginning to speak.

         “Bral Ranyr. Captain. Imperial Fourth Armada Flagship Trikin. Length of service: twenty-one years. Born in the Atusia system, in Sector Twelve. Ranked third in Imperial Academy Fleet Class 760.”

         Bral was not sure what was happening, but officers did not make it this far into Imperial service without knowing when to remain silent.

         “Captain Ranyr, you have been summoned to this convention of the Imperial Fleet Court. Your Counsel is Admiral Aeli Ilaesu. Your Opposition is Sector Admiral Jessica Reynolds. Counsel and Opposition will stand at this time.” The two Admirals stood, flanking the open chair at the end of the table opposite the boy and Holden.

         Holden continued after the two had stood. “Standing in judgment are Admiral Kelath Asrilith; Admiral Rurverdra Enet; Admiral Ledinon Darah; Sector Admiral Yasmin Arca; and Imperial Executor Rerenel.” The five stood as they were named. The man in black turned out to be the Executor, a position with which Bral was not familiar but apparently was a legitimate position to hold Court. The woman was Sector Admiral Arca, a name which sounded familiar but did not immediately ring a bell.

         Holden looked at Rerenel, clearly not about to speak another word before the Executor said something. Rerenel nodded to Holden, gesturing to the empty seat across from him as he started speaking. “This Court is convened according to Imperial Fleet Code 11. What is heard in this Court stays in this Court.” He paused for a moment, then continued in a tone that did not sound like he was reading from a script. “The Imperial Fleet serves the Emperor. Know that you are in His presence.” Still standing, he bowed his head toward the boy. In that moment, Bral was almost positive he could hear the breathing of every person in the room. Imperial Fleet Court was one thing. Imperial Court was something else entirely.

         Bral found it somewhat amusing that his perception of things could be so radically changed, so quickly. A moment ago the boy sitting at the head of the table was just a boy. Now he was the single most powerful figure in the galaxy, a man whose wishes Bral was sworn to obey. Grand Admiral Holden was the most powerful man in the Fleet and answered to nobody wearing the uniform, yet if the boy at the head of the table told him to jump, he would.

         The boy - the Emperor - spoke. “I would tell you where to run the Fleet, Admirals, but I would not tell you how to run it. Please, be seated.” He looked down the length of the table. “You as well, Captain Ranyr. The Court is convened.”

         Even if the officers around the table had forgotten who the boy was, his very voice carried the tone of self-assurance that said he knew he would be obeyed. Bral took the only seat available, at the opposite end of the table between Ilaesu and Reynolds. For another moment, everyone was silent save for the shuffling of people trying to find some measure of comfort. When that had ceased, Rerenel gestured to Arca. “I defer to Sector Admiral Arca.”

         Arca nodded in response. She was an older woman, her mostly gray hair streaked with brown and worn in a tight bun. She was handsome rather than beautiful, and wore her black uniform in the typical businesslike fashion of most Admirals. Like Reynolds, she wore the green stripe that indicated the Sector Admiral rank. She also wore a pin on her collar, which most Admirals did not. It appeared to be a series of concentric circles with a solid black center.

         “Captain,” she began in a brisk voice, “you are called before this Court. You are to speak of this to nobody. What happens in this room will remain in this room. No record will show that this Court happened. Know, however, that every officer in this room, and every Admiral in the Fleet, has sat in your chair. There is nothing you will experience that we have not.”

         She paused, looking down at her notes before continuing. “Two and a half rotations clearly is not enough time for us to come to know you. To assume that it would be is unfair to you. However, your superior officer, Fleet Admiral Santos, believes that you are worthy of consideration for promotion to the rank of Admiral. He is so confident that he has even begun training you in some of the common tasks you will encounter. But I assure you, he has not come close to scratching the surface of what it takes to serve the Emperor.

         “This Court has been convened to determine your worthiness of a promotion. Admirals Ilaesu and Reynolds have spent a full cycle examining not only your service record, but your life. Ilaesu will present the case favoring your promotion, while Jennifer will present the case against it. We will begin shortly. Do you have anything to say?”

         Bral hesitated for a moment. He knew nothing about the Court aside from what was required to hold one, so he knew he had to be careful. But something tugged at him. “I serve the Fleet, Admiral.”

         Arca, and several others, chuckled at that. “Captains serve the Fleet. Admirals serve the Emperor.” Rerenel did not look amused, but he had not at any point so far, either. For himself, the Emperor betrayed nothing.

         “If I am not found worthy, sir?”

         “Admiral Santos has never presented a candidate that was unworthy, Captain.”

         Bral frowned. “How many have been found worthy?”

         Arca smiled, a grin that reminded him of Senastin in a cruel mood. “What happens in a Court stays in that Court, Captain. Any further questions?”

         He had none.

         “Then we shall begin. The Court yields to Admiral Aeli Ilaesu.”

         Ilaesu stood, nodding gracefully to Arca and the Emperor. Everything the Inahin did was graceful. She also nodded to Holden, who was now seated beside the Emperor. She then made a show of organizing her papers, though she was expected to have her points committed to memory. When she began to speak, her voice came out soft. Bral could not blame her if it was due to nerves; it was not every day that even an Admiral was in the Imperial presence.

         “Bral Ranyr has served in the Fleet for twenty-one years. In that time, the worst performance evaluation rating he has received has been ‘Excellent’. I have spoken with each of his former COs, and each painted the same picture of an intelligent, responsible, driven officer who always carried out his orders and then some. His Academy records show the same picture. Ranked third in his class, he was in the top five in the five-year rating and in the top ten in the twenty-year rating. His sole deficiency was engineering, where he ranked third behind a pair of Taiad cadets who are currently among the top engineers in the Fleet. He received top marks in every relevant test, and the Commandant for the Fleet actually remembers him.” This comment drew a chuckle; to the Admiral who served as Commandant of the Imperial Academy for the Fleet, one cadet was very much like the next. “The numbers speak for themselves, but I find the highest compliment he has received has been that Fleet Admiral Santos has already begun his training. We certainly all know of the Admiral’s well-deserved reputation in this area. As Counsel, I endorse Bral Ranyr for the flag.”

         “Thank you, Admiral,” said Arca. “We shall hear the Opposition at this time. The Court yields to Sector Admiral Jessica Reynolds.”

         As Ilaesu sat, she shared a smile with Reynolds, who was standing up. By the time she was fully upright, though, the smile was gone and she assumed the businesslike demeanor that Arca herself wore. Reynolds nodded to the Emperor and Arca, then went through the same routine of organizing her notes. Her tone matched her expression when she began speaking.

         “Admiral Ilaesu is certainly correct in her presentation. I spoke with her same sources about the Captain, and they told me the same thing. To all appearances, Bral Ranyr is the model officer. But his record is not perfect. He was cited numerous times while in the Academy for what appear to be a series of juvenile pranks that left his fellow cadets severely disadvantaged. I examined what evidence was available, and it seemed that these pranks were always directed up the chain of rank, never down it.

         “There was also a matter of insubordination that never made it to his record - the so-called ‘Soston Incident’. As First Officer of the Imperial Patrol Frigate Soston, Ranyr defied his Commander’s direct order and forcibly detained a freighter registered to the Corporate Alliance due to what he called a ‘gut feeling’. Fortunately for Ranyr, his ‘gut’ proved correct as the ship was a disguised smuggler carrying illegal materials. The incident was never officially recorded, but his CO still remembers it and is not pleased. Bral Ranyr may serve the Fleet, but he has demonstrated a history of less than total compliance with his superiors. As Opposition, I do not endorse Bral Ranyr for the flag.”

         Arca nodded to Reynolds, thanking her before turning to the other Admirals in the Court. “You have heard Counsel for and Opposition against Captain Ranyr. Admiral Asrilith, do you have questions?” The man shook his head. “Admiral Rurverdra?” The Taiad did not. “Admiral Darah?” Nor did he. “Executor Rerenel?” A smirk in response, or perhaps a grimace.

         “I myself have no further questions. Admirals, how do you find Bral Ranyr?”

         A chorus of “worthy” went around the table.

         For the first time, Arca smiled at Bral. She even made it seem warm. “Bral Ranyr, it is my distinct pleasure to confer upon you the rank of Admiral of the Imperial Fleet. You are entitled to wear the Flag, and to enjoy the privileges with which the Flag is associated.”

         Everyone was silently watching Bral, clearly waiting for him to speak. For the moment, he left them disappointed. Then he spoke the only complete thought that was coming to him:

         “Is that all?”

         Several smiles answered him. For the first time, Fleet Admiral Santos spoke. “We could arrange some sort of fireworks display, I suppose. I’ll dock the cost of the torps from your pay, though.”

         “What is more important, Admiral?” Reynolds asked. “Fancy ceremonies, or service to the Empire?”

         “Sir,” he responded.
         



         The required pleasantries were exchanged afterwards, with each of the Admirals coming up to Bral and congratulating him on his promotion. He had always figured he would make it to the Flag eventually, but it had not occurred to him that he was at that point in his career already. He still felt strange being addressed as Admiral Ranyr, but he was fairly certain he would not ask the officers in the room to take it back.

         One by one the others filed out until he was left alone with Holden, Arca, Rerenel and the Emperor. Nobody spoke for a time, though the Emperor and Rerenel seemed to be conversing using some sort of sign language. The Admirals waited patiently, clearly not about to speak first. After a time the others stopped conversing, Rerenel looking somewhat disappointed. Bral found himself wondering what an Imperial Executor was, anyway. He had never heard of the position before entering this room.

         “Something is on your mind, Admiral Ranyr,” the Emperor said. “I would know what it is.”

         “What is to happen to the Trikin? Commander Cheuvor is capable of command, but I would like to spend some time with him before my reassignment.”

         Holden answered him. “You will remain in command for now. The Trikin is the only flagship in this part of the Empire that does not - did not, rather - have an Admiral commanding. As for your reassignment, Sector Admiral Arca will see to that.” He gestured to the woman, who took up talking when Holden stopped.

         “My domain is Home Sector, Admiral. That also means I am ultimately in charge of your posting.”

         Home Sector. In the company of other officers that would refer to Sector 17, the location of the Imperial Fleet’s largest facilities and shipyards. But every Fleet officer who had been to Home Sector knew that Sector Admiral Aaron Pall ran his domain tightly. There was also a strong unwritten rule that Fleet terminology was never used in front of non-Fleet people, regardless of their rank. Besides that, official Imperial policy stated that “Home Sector” always referred to the Sector of Naldel, the location of the Imperial capitol and the Throne Palace. The Emperor himself had direct control of the appointment of three positions in the Fleet, and Sector Admiral of Naldel was one of them. Holden’s was another, and Warmaster Kurasawa’s the third.

         In addition to administrating Home Sector, Admiral Arca’s position oversaw the College of Admirals, or the body comprised of every Admiral in the Fleet from Holden to now Bral himself. In some ways, Arca had more power than Holden did, since she ultimately was responsible for each Admiral’s posting.

         The Emperor spoke again. “A noble concern, Admiral, but Cheuvor’s capability is not in question. Any first officer of an Armada flagship is expected to be able to command at need. What is it that is truly troubling you?”

         Bral wasn’t sure how to respond, but he could not dance around the issue with the Emperor asking him directly. “My Lord, it just all seems so…quick.”

         Arca answered that one. “You think that two Admirals could learn all there is to know about you in a single cycle, and then present all the relevant information to a panel of five more, and that is how it is done? Twenty rotations would not be enough time if that was all they had to do. No, Admiral, we’ve been watching you for some time. You wanted a ceremony? That’s what the Court was.”

         Rerenel spoke for the first time since his introduction of the Emperor. “Admiral Arca, do you intend to reach the point any time soon? Not all of us can be so carefree with our time.” He did not sound angry. In fact, he spoke with a cold tone of assurance that no matter who Yasmin Arca was, she would heed his words.

         For all the iciness of his words, she actually smiled at him. “Of course, Executor. I am done with the information which I can give, but there are certain pieces which I cannot.”

         “Then you are dismissed.”

         She left the room, and the sound of the doors closing brought home to Bral that he was alone in a room with a man who could seemingly order any officer to do anything, and the one man in the galaxy who could command him.

         The Emperor seemed to sense his thoughts. The smile he gave Bral could have made an engine freeze.

         “Let us talk of what you need to know, Admiral Ranyr.”