Free Jack of Harts 2.5: Wolfenheim Rising by Medron Pryde

on her, Malcolm had to admit they had a point.  The largest warship ever built by America, she dwarfed the “mere” battleships surrounding her in defensive positions.  The scores of cruisers, destroyers, and frigates supporting them looked like mere toys next to her bulk, but reinforced how seriously America took the buildup at Sunnydale.
    The display shifted again, this time showing nearly fifty brilliant white spires floating in the darkness.  Malcolm swallowed and licked lips that were suddenly dry.  He’d seen ships like that before, in orbit over Earth, but he’d never seen more than nine at a time.  Nobody this side of Independence had ever seen more than nine.  Aneerin’s single battle squadron had been the symbol of Peloran support of the Alliance for a hundred years.  Now two more battle squadrons floated nearby.  He blinked and reread the display to make sure he understood it.  Yes.  Someone on the other side of The Gateway had shaken loose an actual carrier squadron, and what looked like two escort squadrons, as well.
    It wasn’t a true battle fleet.  Nothing short of two hundred Peloran warships could ever be a real battle fleet.  But those fifty warships were the most powerful collection of Peloran might seen in Terran space since Fifth Battle Fleet disappeared into the Hyades Cluster five years before.  Which was what made the fleet assembled here at Sunnydale so very important.  They had to fight an enemy that somehow wiped out two hundred Peloran warships at Hyades with no survivors.  And as if that wasn’t enough to make anyone nervous about The War, that same enemy had destroyed over three hundred Alliance warships at Epsilon Reticuli with almost no survivors.
    Malcolm glanced at Captain Wyatt’s taut frame, wondering if she wished she were here to join the fleet.  The very slight quivering of her shoulders that anyone else would have missed answered the question for him.  She was a naval officer, no matter what her superiors said.  No naval officer worth her salt could come in sight of a fleet like this and not want to be part of what they were about to try to do to the Shang.  Even Malcolm felt the allure of at least getting close enough to watch.  But that was a deadly allure, and he didn’t have time for it.  He had a mission.
    “Olivia?” he said in a very soft voice.
    “Yes?” she asked in a breathless voice as she turned to face him with flushed cheeks.  When her eyes met his, he recognized the lust in them.  Oh yes, she wanted to be in that fleet with every ounce of her being.
    He aimed a wry smile at her, doing his absolute best to not sound overly awed by the sight.  He was pretty certain he failed, but one had to make the effort at least.  “Just in case word of our…departure has preceded us, do you think we could keep our distance from…that?” he finished with a wave towards the gas giant and its gaggle of warships.
    “Yeah,” Olivia gasped.  She scanned the displays again, taking in the impressive sights, and let out a very long breath.  “I think I can arrange that.
    He glanced at Dawn before coming to his feet.  “And Olivia?” he asked and then waited for her eyes to meet his again.  “I know how much you want to be there.”  He waved at the displays showing the fleet again.  “I also know how much I want you here .”  He ran his gaze across the bridge to see the rest of the crew looking back at him.  Some of them exchanged knowing smiles, and he suppressed a sigh.  “ All of you,” he added with a firm smile.  “This mission would not be possible without all of you.”  He nodded in emphasis and turned back to Olivia with a far warmer smile.  “I will never forget that,” he finished in the tone of a man giving a solemn oath.
    Olivia bestowed a professional smile on him, though a slight amused quirk spoiled its edges.  “On behalf of my crew, I thank you for your kind words.  I’m sure they all appreciate the