Zero-Option | Page 7

fatal mistake. She had raised the
ire of Red Catholics throughout the empire, and there had been no
turning back after that. The Red Catholic Unity had gained steam
quickly, spreading throughout worlds on the Fringes, then rapidly
inwards, towards the more populous regions of the Federation. The
Unity had grown more and more powerful, until Fleet itself had been
seriously threatened.
He listened through to the end of the AI's recitation, but was frustrated
to find that one critical piece of data was still blocked. Whatever had
happened to her on Obsidian remained a mystery. Nothing he could do
would allow him to see the file on that. Admiralty was clearly
determined it never be known but by a handful. Or someone in
Admiralty was so determined. Because now, as he looked over her
dossier, he could see a distinct pattern emerging. Vice-Admiral Carter's
prints were all over it. The admiral had constantly intervened in her
career; it was as though he had made it his personal mission to do so.
Imbrahim pondered this, considering the many possibilities, and
reaching the conclusion that whatever it was that had happened to her
on Obsidian had had something to do with the Reds and why she
seemed to hell-bent on exacting some sort of revenge. He better
understood her, he thought, despite the blacked out information.
Jhordel's recklessness—as some would call it—was firmly rooted in
her past. It was a simple enough motivation; and he could sympathize
with her wholeheartedly. But it was an emotional response, and in his
experience that was the sort of thing that led to mistakes. And in space,
mistakes got you killed.
While the episode that seemed to have changed her life was sealed
from scrutiny, there was considerable information regarding the
incident for which she was publicly famous—the one for which she had
almost been court-martialed. And would have been, Imbrahim thought,
if not for Admiral Carter.
For Imbrahim much of this information was new, since he had not been
on Earth at the time of the furor. By the time he had returned, the
details had already become blurred by countless retellings. Of course,

as far as what had gone on in the Council of the Admirals, that
information had been limited to the handful who had been there. It
wasn't counted among the data the computer offered up for his
edification. He did know, however, that quite a battle had been fought
as to whether Jhordel should be demoted and denied future command.
Some of the traditionalists had insisted it was the only way of
maintaining discipline, but the more moderate element in the Admiralty
had foreseen that such a move would alienate the public, and
consequently the politicians whose support the Navy so desperately
needed.
He smiled roguishly as he imagined the fur flying in that closed room
of seasoned military strategists. It had long been rumored that the
Admiral of the Fleet himself, Silas Jackson, had taken a personal
interest in the case and had come down in favor of Jhordel. For that
reason and that reason alone, many argued, Jhordel had been given the
much sought after and prized command of the Confederation. He
thought it more likely that Carter had played the bigger role, but
Jackson would have gone along with it because of the flak he'd been
receiving at the time: Jhordel's success against the Unity in her
unprecedented action had been the first major victory for the Federation
in several years. It had come, too, after a spate of embarrassing losses.
Certainly in the time that Jhordel had held command of the
Confederation she had proven herself an able—and daring—officer.
Her ship and crew had the highest success rate of any in the fleet; and
hers was currently the only ship given letters of marque that allowed it
to raid indiscriminately beyond the Pomerium Line, deep in Unity
space. Imbrahim surmised that much of her success arose from the
ruthlessness for which she prosecuted her missions—a ruthlessness that
had garnered a considerable reputation. And it was probably because of
this that in the Unity they called her 'Satan's whore.' The Cardinali, it
was said, had put a price on her head, with a reward of untold riches
and an assured spot in the Heavens for the captain who brought her
down. From what he had heard through the grapevine, there had been
many among the Unity fleet who had taken up the challenge; and what
he had seen of the Confederation as he had come in from Earth had

been visible proof. How long, he wondered, before someone succeeded?
Even the magnificent Jhordel, he ventured, was not invulnerable.
Satan's whore. He found it difficult not to smile at that; it was easy to
admire someone who could so enrage