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Authors: Jack Campbell
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deflated for someone in the midst of a rebellion. There was very little chance that Kolani would accept Iceni’s authority, which meant there would be a fight up here as well as on the surface of the planet, and Iceni was already sick of death this day.
CHAPTER THREE
ICENI felt a sense of familiarity as she walked through the passageways of the cruiser. One of her first junior-executive assignments had been on such a warship, and there hadn’t been any major design changes in the years since then. That C-333 had been destroyed in a battle (to be seamlessly replaced by another C-333) two months after Iceni had transferred to another assignment, continuing on her path upward through executive ranks, cultivating mentors and connections, discrediting and outmaneuvering rivals. Eventually, she had briefly commanded flotillas of mobile forces, surviving a few bloody battles with Alliance warships whose crews had an ugly yet admirable tendency to fight to the bitter end, before a snake loyalty sweep had left a star system without a senior CEO, and one of Iceni’s mentors had rigged the replacement process in her favor.
She laughed very softly at the memory, drawing a brief glance from Executive Marphissa walking beside her. “What would you do, Executive, if you stumbled across a major smuggling and tax-evasion scheme that seemed to have no senior CEO involvement?”
Marphissa frowned. “I’d report it, of course. There’d be rewards for whoever did that.”
“You would think so,” Iceni replied, “except that in fact a very senior CEO at Prime had her fingers deeply into that scheme, and she wasn’t happy at all to lose the income it had generated.”
“That’s how you ended up at Midway, Madam CEO?” Marphissa asked.
“That’s how I ended up at Midway. Promoted to senior CEO of a star system facing an unknown foe and as far from anything as any star in Syndicate space as a ‘reward,’ while the other CEO went on to bigger and better things on Prime.” Iceni grinned. “She was there when Black Jack showed up again with the Alliance fleet.”
“How tragic for her,” Marphissa commented. “I ended up here because I had a brother who was accused of treason by a sub-CEO who wanted his position.”
Iceni had already known that, of course, but the records available to her had left one gap. “Did the sub-CEO also encounter Black Jack’s fleet?”
“No. He died just before I transferred. An unfortunate accident.”
Iceni raised one eyebrow at her. “How tragic for him. And just before you left. An accident, you say?”
Executive Marphissa’s expression remained professionally detached. “The official investigation determined that his death had been accidental.”
“Accidents do happen.” So Marphissa had managed to avenge herself without being caught, which implied that the executive had some skill sets that could be very useful for Iceni. Marphissa had also made a point of subtly letting Iceni know that.
I need to keep my eye on this one. She has a lot of promise.
“But I don’t like being surprised by accidents.”
“If I know of any accidents that might occur, I will be sure to inform the CEO in a timely manner.” Marphissa glanced at her. “There are many uncertainties in battles fought with mobile forces, though, and sometimes surprises. How much command experience do you have in space, Madam CEO?”
“Some time with the mobile forces. Perhaps seven years total. It’s been five years since I commanded a flotilla, though.” Her control of this ship, of the entire situation, rested on her ability to appear to be the best, most competent, and most believable leader in this star system. But something told Iceni that Marphissa was not the sort of subordinate to be easily fooled by a confident demeanor.
“That’s something,” Marphissa said. “Enough to know what to expect. And you will not be alone on the bridge.” She faded back as they reached the bridge, letting Akiri and Iceni
CHAPTER THREE
ICENI felt a sense of familiarity as she walked through the passageways of the cruiser. One of her first junior-executive assignments had been on such a warship, and there hadn’t been any major design changes in the years since then. That C-333 had been destroyed in a battle (to be seamlessly replaced by another C-333) two months after Iceni had transferred to another assignment, continuing on her path upward through executive ranks, cultivating mentors and connections, discrediting and outmaneuvering rivals. Eventually, she had briefly commanded flotillas of mobile forces, surviving a few bloody battles with Alliance warships whose crews had an ugly yet admirable tendency to fight to the bitter end, before a snake loyalty sweep had left a star system without a senior CEO, and one of Iceni’s mentors had rigged the replacement process in her favor.
She laughed very softly at the memory, drawing a brief glance from Executive Marphissa walking beside her. “What would you do, Executive, if you stumbled across a major smuggling and tax-evasion scheme that seemed to have no senior CEO involvement?”
Marphissa frowned. “I’d report it, of course. There’d be rewards for whoever did that.”
“You would think so,” Iceni replied, “except that in fact a very senior CEO at Prime had her fingers deeply into that scheme, and she wasn’t happy at all to lose the income it had generated.”
“That’s how you ended up at Midway, Madam CEO?” Marphissa asked.
“That’s how I ended up at Midway. Promoted to senior CEO of a star system facing an unknown foe and as far from anything as any star in Syndicate space as a ‘reward,’ while the other CEO went on to bigger and better things on Prime.” Iceni grinned. “She was there when Black Jack showed up again with the Alliance fleet.”
“How tragic for her,” Marphissa commented. “I ended up here because I had a brother who was accused of treason by a sub-CEO who wanted his position.”
Iceni had already known that, of course, but the records available to her had left one gap. “Did the sub-CEO also encounter Black Jack’s fleet?”
“No. He died just before I transferred. An unfortunate accident.”
Iceni raised one eyebrow at her. “How tragic for him. And just before you left. An accident, you say?”
Executive Marphissa’s expression remained professionally detached. “The official investigation determined that his death had been accidental.”
“Accidents do happen.” So Marphissa had managed to avenge herself without being caught, which implied that the executive had some skill sets that could be very useful for Iceni. Marphissa had also made a point of subtly letting Iceni know that.
I need to keep my eye on this one. She has a lot of promise.
“But I don’t like being surprised by accidents.”
“If I know of any accidents that might occur, I will be sure to inform the CEO in a timely manner.” Marphissa glanced at her. “There are many uncertainties in battles fought with mobile forces, though, and sometimes surprises. How much command experience do you have in space, Madam CEO?”
“Some time with the mobile forces. Perhaps seven years total. It’s been five years since I commanded a flotilla, though.” Her control of this ship, of the entire situation, rested on her ability to appear to be the best, most competent, and most believable leader in this star system. But something told Iceni that Marphissa was not the sort of subordinate to be easily fooled by a confident demeanor.
“That’s something,” Marphissa said. “Enough to know what to expect. And you will not be alone on the bridge.” She faded back as they reached the bridge, letting Akiri and Iceni
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