“Perhaps, sir, you could consider being completely honest with me. If I understood how you got to where you are, it could affect not my testimony per se, but at least the spin I apply.”

Moore sighed and looked at the ceiling for a few moments. “Captain, you know the metaphor of the frog and the pot of boiling water?”

“Mm, hmm. Put the frog in cold water, heat gradually, and so on. I take it you are the frog?”

Moore nodded. “And Pritchard is the water. Or maybe the fire. The metaphor has its limits.”

Moore paused to scrub his face. Then he leaned back in his chair and gave Lê the whole story, sparing nothing.

About halfway through, Lê ordered coffee for the two of them. At the end of the story, Lê looked down at his cup, still half-full and cold. With a sigh, he pressed the intercom and ordered replacements.

“Pritchard is definitely the fire,” he said. “Although I do think you overreacted, sir.”

Lê waited until the orderly had delivered the coffee and left. “While I understand what you are concerned about, I think that once the imminent threat of infection had been ruled out, a more conservative course could have been navigated.”

“Hindsight, Captain. Always twenty-twenty.”

“True. And not my place to judge, in the end. For that matter, Admiral, I could be in the minority on this. I tend to be a dove on many issues.”

Moore realized that, having effectively given up, he felt relief more than anything else. And Lê was being very civilized about it. He could have tossed Moore in the brig and had a good chance of being vindicated in a Board of Inquiry.

* * *

“We’ll make arrangements,” Lê said to the intercom. He glared at Moore for a moment. “Any preferences?”

Pritchard answered right away. “Not really. The cruisers are all of a size, and have about equal weaponry. Don’t try to booby-trap them. I’ll know, and I’ll just take different ships. But without the offloading option, in that case. Clear?”

Lê made a motion to the Crew Chief, and he started giving orders. Lê motioned with his head to the Ready Room, and Moore followed him in.

They sat. Lê did not offer Moore any refreshments, which in and of itself was a small thing, but with a large meaning.

“I spoke to the Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Moore. Their orders are to relieve you of authority and place you under arrest, pending a Board of Inquiry. Unauthorized use of Navy resources—the naval exercise thing isn’t going to fly, I’m afraid—and loss of two cruisers in the process.” He shook his head. “There was some mention of interviews in process, several names mentioned. Castillo? Gerrard? Anyway, you appear to be in the shit.”