THE ETHOS EFFECT THE ETHOS EFFECTL. E. Modesitt, Jr. The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied so that you can enjoy reading it on your personal devices. This e-book is for your personal use only. You may not print or post this e-book, or make this e-book publicly available in any way. You may not copy, reproduce or upload this e-book, other than to read it on one of your personal devices. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy. In memoriam For Eric Maier, who always understood the eternal nature of the struggle shown in life and in this story, with both heart and mind CONTENTS COMMANDER Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 DIRECTOR Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68 Chapter 69 Chapter 70 Chapter 71 Chapter 72 Chapter 73 JUDGE Chapter 74 Chapter 75 Chapter 76 Chapter 77 Chapter 78 Chapter 79 Chapter 80 Chapter 81 Chapter 82 Chapter 83 Chapter 84 Chapter 85 Chapter 86 Chapter 87 Chapter 88 Chapter 89 Chapter 90 Chapter 91 Chapter 92 Chapter 93 Chapter 94 Chapter 95 Chapter 96 Chapter 97 Chapter 98 Tor Books by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. Copyright COMMANDER Chapter 1 Two officers sat side by side in the cramped command couches of the RSFS Fergus as the light cruiser accelerated away from the Galway system. The younger officer, a dark-haired woman with blue eyes and pale white skin, wore the double silver bars of a first lieutenant on the collar of her green shipsuit and the embroidered antique silver wings of a junior pilot on its chest. The older officer, a green-eyed, black-haired, sharp-featured man with skin the color of aged fine oak, wore the silver leaves of a commander, with the command star, and the wings of a senior pilot. Below the wings were the faded characters of his name—Van C. Albert. “Dust density?” asked Van. “Point three and steady, Commander.” “What does that mean, Lieutenant Moran?” Van’s implant continued to show minute fluctuations in the density readings, fluctuations that came from the ship systems, not the dust beyond the hull and shields. While the gravs could theoretically handle accelerations as high as eight while maintaining a steady one gee within the ship, Van kept the acceleration at three solid gees. Anything more created unnecessary strain on the systems for a vessel as old as the Fergus. Then, the RSFS Fergus should have been retired or rebuilt decades earlier, he reflected, not that she hadn’t been a good cruiser for her time, but the newer Argenti cruisers wouldn’t take that long to turn her shields to shreds, and even some of the recently commissioned Revenant cruisers were getting to that point. The Eco-Tech ships were roughly equivalent to those of the Argentis, but no one wanted to fight an Eco-Tech pilot, not the way they were modified, trained, and linked to their ships. “We could fold nets and jump, ser. The coordinates for Leynstyr are set.” “Would you recommend that, now?” “No, ser.” “Why not?” “If we wait until the density drops below three, we can make the jump with twenty percent less power.” “How do you know it will drop that far?” pursued Van. “It does in most systems, ser.” “How long would you wait to see?” “That would depend, ser. If we needed to jump, I wouldn’t wait. Now…the collectors are running in the green…another ten minutes.” Standing wave message for you, ser. The words burned across the shipnet to Van from the comm officer, Sub-major Parnell. I’ll take it, now. While still monitoring the Fergus’s telltales, Van shifted his concentration to focus on the incoming message. It was short. Given the enormous power requirements, even with compressions, all standing wave messages were short—and urgent. Nothing short of urgency could justify their use and cost. Proceed soonest to Gotland, Scandya system, to replace RSFS Collyns, FFA. Orders arriving Gotland via courier… The authentication codes indicated that the message had come directly from the Chief of Space Operations at Republic Space Force headquarters on Tara. Van had no idea why the CSO was rerouting the Fergus to Gotland, right in the middle of transit from Galway to their assigned picket station off Leynstyr. The Muir had already been on station off Leynstyr for all too long. “Lieutenant…” Van shifted his attention back to the junior pilot. “What are the accumulator reserves right now? What will they be in ten and fifteen minutes, assuming a standard density drop-off?” “Ser…let me check.” Van waited, still trying to figure out the reasons for the change in orders, then flashing back to Parnell. Did you double-check the authentications? Yes, ser. They were red over green priority, ser. Van tightened his lips. Red over green meant trouble. At least, it always had. But why send the Fergus, old and creaky as she was? “Ser…I see what you mean,” offered Moran from the second pilot’s couch. “Tell me. Don’t just tell me that you understand.” Moran stiffened, then spoke. “The accumulators aren’t fully charged. It will take about eight minutes from now. We’d come out of jump with less than full power for shields or acceleration. In a combat situation—” “Good!” Van forced a smile. “You’ve got it. The way things are now, you don’t ever want to come out of a jump underpowered—not if you can help it. I’d like to spend more time on that, but we’ve got to make some adjustments, Lieutenant. We’ve had a change in orders. Reconfigure for a jump transit to the Scandya system. Then, let me check the setup and coordinates.” “Ah…yes, ser.” “We just received a standing wave message from the CSO, ordering
