Reflecting in darkness

"Simon did not accompany you.  I had assumed he knew enough of our operation to join us here, especially with the impending wedding.  Was I wrong?"  Captain Hawke's voice was soft and proper, as always.  Almost a purr.  Both soothing and disconcerting at the same time, with an air of command.  He and my Grandfather would have spoken as equals.

"Simon was called away.  More business.  And, yes.  He knows enough to come join us here, even if we're not entirely on the same page with where I want this to go.  Why do you ask, Captain?"

He stepped up next to me in the observation blister above Saule Silencieuse's hanger deck, gazing out the port at the bright distant point of Kalidasa visible between two of the deployed baffles.  "You are unsure, Colonel.  Worried about the decision to marry again.  Worried whether we are doing the right thing.  I would assume, also, worried for your adoptive children."

I looked at him for a long moment, suppressing a frown.  He had called it distressingly close to the mark.  "I didn't know you were a Reader, Captain, or that my own self control had slipped that far."

A faint smile crossed his lips, not looking down to meet my eyes.  "Neither, Colonel Kawanishi.  I am intuitive, however, and have made something of a study of you over the time we have worked together.  You do not deny my assessment, which makes me believe my concern for you is justified."

"Concern for me?  I'm flattered, Captain."

"Colonel. . . Seana.  We have known each other for some years now.  I have grown to respect you both as an Officer and as a Person.  As an Officer on your executive staff, observing that you are troubled, I believe it is my duty to help you deal with your troubles.  As a Person . . . I do not like to see a friend in pain."

"We count as friends now?" I asked with a hint of amusement.  We were close professionally, but socially?

"Yes."

He stated it with absolute certainty, as if the fact was self evident.  I suppose, on some level, it was.  "Nous affirmons que ce qui est évident, eh?  Though you're right.  On most counts, anyway.  The wedding and the girls certainly.  The mission though?  I have no doubts.  I know we are doing the right thing.  Even with that sadistic old bastard."

"Good.  You know that is why remain, yes?  The Crew believes in me.  I, in turn, believe in you.  It is why we have dropped off the grid and effectively gone rogue.  In fact . . . " he paused again, waving his hand to bring up a ghostly image in front of the view port.  "I believe, we are very close to solving another issue before it comes up."

On the display, a series of orders and authorizations - not yet implemented - filled the display.  My own "official" retirement documentation, releasing me with the final rank of Colonel in an honorable discharge with full benefits.  Similar orders for Captain Hawke and several of his officers, and the piece de resistance, orders releasing Saule Silencieuse as an independent asset with an ambiguous disposition.

None of the orders had been filed, though my own retirement was just a matter of a signature at this point, and there were a few crucial signatures missing.  "Impressive.  Looks like about eighty percent of this paperwork is actually legitimate.  Nice work.  We're going to make a very expensive military asset disappear.  Though I see there's no authorization for the ship herself."

He nodded, bringing up more of the documentation, focusing on the authorization chain.  "There is none, as yet.  Unfortunately, we need someone to die before we can properly execute this."

"Someone who will conveniently be unavailable to answer for it when the Auditors ask what happened to this ship and her crew?"  His faint smile was as good as a yes.  "Taggart has probably known this was coming for a while, I'm sure.  Probably planned for it.  So who's span are we waiting for the end of?"

"There are several people with the authorization to release the ship who are also, potentially, looking at a short span.  We are watching, though, without your express authorization we do not plan to . . . expedite the process.  Once it happens, we can retcon our status as needed."

I had to laugh.  Assassination was almost always an option in the Intel community, but he know I wanted to keep our collective hands clean.  "Very well, Captain.  Let me know when someone dies, will you?"

"Of course, Colonel."

For a noble cause
Plans nested in other plans
Converging in time