The weight of the sceptre had increased all the way across the room, and now I drew on the local sun until it was no longer noticeable. Theory proved. I set that as the default for whenever I was near the other aspect of it, from now on.
“Attention to orders!” bellowed Jane, inevitably.
The room braced.
“I think we saw the closest we will ever see to a true miracle this afternoon.”
The Imperator sounded serious.
“The Trixone set another trap for us. We know it was a trap, because the signal we received purporting to be from a pre-space travel civilization was bogus. We know that because the planet cannot support life. And as Jane discovered after the fun was over,” Fun? “the atmosphere of that planet made sensors almost useless. It allowed them to position enough force where we wouldn’t detect them until it was too late, and hit whatever we sent there so hard we’d not be able to recover from the blow. Turning the tables on us, if you will, and maybe we were due for that.”
He paused, but there was no sound in the room at all.
“There was an interesting pattern to their first attack. No ship was hit in the same place. Other than fighters which were simply blown away. They targeted the two dreadnaughts to disable them. They targeted every other capital ship in a pattern so distinctive, there is only one conclusion to what they hoped to achieve. They wanted a jump drive. They were prepared for most of our ships to jump away even badly damaged, but they played it so at least one wouldn’t be able to, without destroying the drive itself. Or so they planned.”
“It nearly worked.”
“I also think they were targeting specific people, having identified ships from previous encounters. All the Eagle Wing squadron leaders were taken out. Dreamwalker was the target more so than Shade was. They’ve obviously worked out where the commands are coming from, and they sought to remove our order givers as a secondary objective.”
“Nine thousand fighters were hiding in the atmosphere. Thirty battleships. The very definition of a meat grinder. And we stepped in it.”
There was an audible group sigh which swept around the room.
“And then our miracle happened.”
He nodded to Jane.
“Seer Lieutenant Serena, front and center.”
I stepped back, somewhat surprised someone else had been called, and Serena took my place.
“I understand a lot of the people in this room have you to thank for their deliverance, Seer Lieutenant.” He looked out at the crowd. “The only reason some of you are alive right now is because this Seer raised the alarm, and it was instantly acted upon.” He looked back at her. “You are awarded the Bronze Mage Circle, for acting on what you received in enough time to save lives. Congratulations.”
The screen behind him was showing her now, and the suit change was obvious, as her awards all changed position. He saluted her, she saluted back, and they shook hands. With a slight nod, she stood back.
“Grand Master Mage Lieutenant Commander Bud, front and center!”
“Try saying that after you’ve had a few,” pinged from Jill, with a laugh on the end.
I took the step forward, and braced again. A strange look crossed the Imperator’s face.
“What the hell am I supposed to do with this officer?”
There was immediate laughter, as I don’t think anyone saw that coming. I controlled my face, but with difficulty.
“I gave him a pocket battleship. He turns up in the middle of a battle in a Lightning courier.”
Definite laughter now.
“I gave him a squadron of destroyers. He throws dinosaur ships at the trees instead.”
“He’s supposed to be thousands of light years away on a mission, but no, he has to crash another fleet’s party.”
“Thank god he did,” said Eagle.
The laughing stopped, and the room went silent again.
“What am I supposed to do with him?” asked the Imperator.
“PROMOTE HIM!” roared the crowd.
I couldn’t stop myself face palming. The crowd went wild again, and the Imperator waited for them to settle.
“Grand Master Mage Lieutenant Commander Bud, you are promoted to commander and awarded the Gold Mage Circle for truly amazing magic in combat, and the Earth Star for placing yourself in the middle of a battlefield with no thought for your own safety in order to save others, in the face of a disaster we’ve not seen the likes of before. Congratulations.”
He held his hand out before my suit even shifted, and I took it. There was a tingle of power there, but if he felt it, he didn’t show it. Neither did I. He took his hand back, but there was no salute, and I was not dismissed. The Earth Star was now my first ribbon, and a diamond had appeared on my Mage Circle, which was the second. My Gold Stars were third on that row now.
“Navy Mage Squadron One, front and center!”
Serena stepped up next to me. The rest of the squadron were obviously scattered around the crowd, because they took longer to appear, and didn’t turn up all at the same time. The Imperator waited patiently, until we were finally all braced.
“The Americans had a medal the Imperium hasn’t embraced, called the Purple Heart, issued to those who were wounded in battle. With our suit technology these days, there is usually only two states of being. Perfectly fine, or dead. Today however, highlighted several things, and I ran this through the Imperium council only a short time ago. From today, the Purple Heart will be awarded to anyone who suffers a suit failure in a combat zone, and lives to tell about it.”
“That would be me,” yelled Dreamwalker, and there was a titter of laughter, which soon stopped.
“But what of those who stare at Death’s scythe, and live because their suit doesn’t fail them? Some of you did that today. What destroyed your ships was so devastating, you were left floating in space with minutes of life support left. From today, anyone who goes through a near miss like that will be award the Grey Heart.”
Applause stopped him, and he waited it out.
“Which brings me to these people in front of me. The third medal in the Heart series will be the Red Heart, which will be awarded to those who undertake rescue missions, where a Purple or Grey Heart either is awarded, or Imperium lives were saved which would otherwise not have been. This will be back awarded to those who’ve already genuinely earned it, and is awarded to Navy Mage Squadron One, along with those bomber pilots who flew with them this afternoon. Congratulations.”
Our suits shifted, and I was surprised to see Serena received all three, and I received the Purple Heart as well. Apparently being infected by fungus through the suit was considered a suit failure, and Serena had almost died after her suit shredded in battle that time I’d subsequently caused a sun to go out healing her.
We returned the Imperator’s salute, but we were not yet dismissed.
“Lastly, the Heart medals will simply be awarded in the future as earned. Flag officers and our AIs will report when one should be given, and as soon as the award is confirmed, the ribbon will appear automatically on the dress uniform, and the medal will be delivered to the recipient. The medals awarded today by the way, haven’t been fabricated yet, but should be received in the next day or so.”
He looked back at us.
“There is one last order of business. Navy Mage Squadron One is no more. From today, the squadron will be known as the Spacemage Task Force.”