Since the Aurora was tucked away, safely moored to the Karuzari base deep inside the asteroid, the bridge was not fully staffed. Other than the comm-officer and the marine at the entrance, the only other people on the bridge were Abby and Deliza, both of whom were busy working out the bugs in the new jump plotting system.
“Good morning, sir,” the comm-officer greeted as Nathan entered the bridge.
“Good morning. Any news?”
“Shuttle is on its way back to Corinair. They should be landing shortly. Other than that, nothing.”
“Where’s Kaylah?” he asked, noticing her absence. Of the few bridge staff he actually had, Kaylah had been the most dependable. She had been at her station every waking hour since the crisis began. Cameron had commented that Kaylah was perhaps the one person on the ship that slept even less than she did. Nathan hoped the ensign’s long hours hadn’t finally caught up.
“She’s crashed out in the break room. She was up most of the night tying in her console with the asteroid’s external sensor array.”
“Did she get it working?”
“Yes, but it’s only a passive system. I guess the Karuzari don’t want to advertise their position. I’ve got her primary display up on my auxiliary here,” he added, pointing to one of his smaller side screens. “I’m supposed to wake her if we pick up anything out of the ordinary. Would you like me to wake her?”
“No, let her sleep awhile. She’s earned the rest, I’m sure.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Who’s the duty officer?” he wondered, not seeing any command staff nearby.
“Ensign Nash, sir. She’s in your ready room.” The comm-officer made a face indicating that she too was probably sleeping.
Nathan nodded once his understanding as he turned his attention to the tactical station in front of him. He stood for a moment, looking over the displays. The same passive sensor readings that were currently displayed on the comm-officer’s side screen were also displayed on one of the tactical screens. There was plenty of traffic being tracked. But it was all standard civilian traffic, and it was all at a considerable distance from them without a single track bound anywhere near them. All in all, Nathan felt safer than he had in days. If a suspicious ship were to suddenly appear in the vicinity, unless they had sensors that could penetrate several kilometers of solid rock, their asteroid would appear to be just another abandoned mining camp, one of hundreds floating in the belt of the Darvano system. And should something go horribly wrong, he was confident they could exit the underground base, clear the belt, and jump away, all before sustaining any significant damage.
Satisfied that everything was in order, he turned his attention to the upgrade project being conducted by Abby and Deliza. “How’s it going, ladies?”
Deliza quickly stood, youthful exuberance and excitement in their little project evident in her demeanor. “Very well, Captain,” she announced proudly. “The shuttle’s computer core is much more powerful than the ones in this console.”
“That’s great news,” Nathan said, sensing that Deliza needed some confirmation. He looked to Abby for some sort of confirmation as to the young girl’s claims.
“She’s not exaggerating, sir,” Abby assured him. “Not only will this computer greatly decrease the time necessary to calculate a jump plot, but it will also significantly increase the accuracy of the jump as well.”
“How so?” Nathan asked. He didn’t for a moment expect to understand any of what he was sure she was about to tell him, but he was feeling unusually optimistic this morning.
“The calculations are far more precise than our own computers. Ours have a fixed number of digits available to either side of the decimal point. Granted, there are many. And in almost all cases they are more than adequate. But their computers use a floating point system that can accommodate a nearly infinite number size.” She could see that he did not understand what she was talking about. “The gist of it is that we can calculate most jumps in less than a minute. And the increased accuracy means that we can arrive as close as a few hundred meters without fear of merging with a nearby object.”
“Merging?” Nathan shuddered. “That doesn’t sound like something we would want to do.”
“No,” she agreed. “It does not. However, I should point out that we have no idea what the effects of such a ‘close-in-arrival’ would be, to us or to any nearby objects.”
“Don’t worry, Doctor. I have no intention of finding out,” he assured her as he turned to go to his ready room.
The skies of Corinair were thick with air traffic, as ships of every possible size and design darted back and forth between the surface and her orbital platforms.
“Is it just me, or does it seem like there’s a lot more traffic than there was yesterday?” Loki observed.
“Yeah there is,” Josh agreed. “I’m actually glad they use auto-landing systems today. I’d hate to have to try and navigate through all of this.”
“Yeah, and most of it is outbound,” Loki added. “In fact, nearly all of it is outbound.”
“I don’t like the looks of this,” Marcus commented from behind them. He had been looking between their seats out the front windows for the last few minutes.
Josh looked over his shoulder. Despite the old-timer’s many failings, he had grown to trust the man’s instincts about such matters. “You think something is bugger?”
“When this many people react the same way, it’s usually only one of two things,” Marcus said. “Something really good, or something really bad.” Loki also turned to look at Marcus. “My money’s always on bad.”
“Yes?” Jalea answered into her comm-unit.
“Jalea?” Loki called through the unit. “Is that you?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“We’re in the upper atmosphere now. Should be touching down in about half an hour.”
“The supplies are already there waiting for you. We’ll be there by the time you finish loading.”
“Copy that. You got any idea what the hell’s going on down there?”
“What do you mean?”
“Ships are leaving the surface in swarms! But not many are returning by the looks of it.”
“I do not know, but I will attempt to discern the cause.”
“Just be sure you get to the port quickly. I have a feeling that we don’t want to be hanging around when whatever is about to happen actually happens.”
“Agreed,” she said, as she unceremoniously ended the call and replaced the comm-unit into her jacket pocket.
“What was that all about?” Tug asked.
“We need to hasten our departure from Corinair,” she told him, trying not to appear overly concerned.
“Why? What has happened?”
“I do not know. But I suspect we will soon find out,” she told him as she quickly gathered her few things.
Nathan stepped quietly into the ready room. As the comm-officer had guessed, she was asleep on the couch. Between her, Cameron, and himself, that couch was going to wear out in a hurry. He moved silently over to his desk and sat, after which he activated the small monitor on the corner of the desk itself.
First he checked the reports. As usual, the most thorough and informative reports were the ones submitted by Cameron. As suspected, she had turned out to be a fine executive officer, always staying on top of every detail of the ship’s operation. From her reports, he knew that all of the rail guns were not only operational, but their rate of fire and rail velocities had also been improved. However, with the increased rates of fire, their ammunition levels were more dangerously low than before. The commander’s estimates showed that, given the average length of each engagement thus far, they only had enough point-defense rounds for one engagement, maybe two if they were relatively short. This reality greatly troubled Nathan, since it meant that they could not maintain a toe-to-toe slug-out for long. The good news was that, as far as solid kinetic rounds went, they had plenty. In addition, their relatively simple design meant they could manufacture additional rounds in respectable quantity if needed. Nathan suspected that the raw ores left over from their harvesting operation in the Haven system would provide the materials needed.
The bad news was that, although two of the four torpedo launch tubes were again operational, there were no more torpedoes left for them to shoot. Despite the rather adaptable design of the tubes, they were unlikely to acquire ordnance to launch from them.
With no shields, no long-range standoff weapons, and little more than kinetic rounds for the rail guns, Nathan didn’t see how they could ever hope to take on anything more powerful than a patrol frigate. And even then, only if they were lucky. The only trick he had up his sleeve was the jump drive, and that trick might get old really fast.
Nathan just didn’t see how he could justify involving the Aurora in the fight against the Ta’Akar, despite the potential benefits to Earth should the Karuzari actually win the war. Even worse was that he didn’t know how he was going to break the news to Tug. He could tell that the old warrior was counting on him to at least give them a fighting chance once again. Although they had not yet talked about it, Nathan felt sure that using the Aurora’s jump drive to capture a Ta’Akar vessel of at least the size and firepower of a frigate had to be the rebel leader’s first objective.
Nathan also suspected that he would not have to tell Tug. The man was a seasoned veteran of armed conflict. In fact, he had considerably more experience than Nathan, as did everyone else for that matter. He wondered if Tug would even ask him to do such a thing, considering the reality.
Looking at Jessica asleep on his couch, he also wondered how the only true one-night stand he had ever had ended up to be one of his most trusted officers, and friends. The young ensign was probably the toughest woman he had ever known. In fact, she was one of the toughest people he had ever known. She had in fact saved his ass, as well as the ship, on more than one occasion.
Having her on his side definitely made him feel better as he finished reading the status reports and started skimming through the video files collected by Sig-Int once again.
Tug and Jalea found the walkways more crowded than expected. There were groups of people standing around talking energetically. Some were even arguing. There were people huddled together, crying. And there were more than a few people carrying large makeshift signs, with phrases like ‘The Legend Has Come True’ or ‘The End Is Upon Us’.
Tug grabbed Jalea’s hand and led her through the crowds, weaving between the different groups of people. As they made their way, they were nearly pulled into a melee between a group of followers of the Order and a gang of young men, all of which were supporters of the Doctrine. They managed to pull away and escape just in time to avoid being swept up in a mass arrest as armed riot police began to descend upon the crowd from troop carriers hovering overhead.
After much difficulty, they managed to make their way up the stairs to the monorail platform. Once at the top, they could see that there was little hope of getting through the crowd of people waiting to get on the next car headed toward the spaceport.
As the next car approached the platform, Jalea, who was pushed up against the side railing, pulled out her small handgun, pointed it in the air and fired off three quick shots, sending energy blasts across the heads of the crowd. Before anyone could see where the shots were coming from, she dropped the weapon over the side, letting it fall into the bushes below.
The crowd panicked, making a mad dash for the exit. By the time the car arrived, most of the crowd had fled the platform for the ground below. Tug and Jalea quickly made their way onto the car, along with the few members of the crowd that had not fled in panic. Even with most of the crowd pouring down the exit stairs, those remaining quickly filled the car to standing room only by the time the doors closed and the car sped away.
“Stay near the exit,” Tug warned her. “Do not let them force you off until we reach the spaceport.” Jalea nodded agreement. Luckily, the car operator understood the dangers of the crowded platforms and only opened the doors on the left side of the car, which opened to the exit side of the platform where there were no crowds. It was a pointless exercise, however, as it appeared that no one planned to get off the car until it reached at least the outskirts of the city.
One stop at a time, the operator let people off but did not take on any more passengers. Jalea quickly realized that, due to the rioting and numerous public demonstrations, the operator was planning on getting the car back to the station and then finding her way to the safety of her own home. Jalea soon learned, however, that she was only partially correct. The car operator was not planning on continuing her duties, but neither was she planning on taking the car all the way to the end station first. At the next platform, she too disembarked with a few of the others, moving away from the platform and stripping off her uniform jacket as she ran away, headed toward a residential area that must have been where she lived.
Jalea immediately moved forward, pushing her way past the confused passengers still on the car and stepping into the open operator’s compartment. Tug followed her, already surmising her intent.
“We’re taking this car all the way to the spaceport!” Tug announced to the remaining passengers. “If you do not wish to go to the spaceport, you have ten seconds to get off this car.”
“Who the hell are you to-” a male passenger began as he moved toward Tug.
“I’m the crazy old man with a gun,” Tug said as he pulled out his weapon, “that is currently pointed at your head.” Tug smiled. “Eight seconds.”
The man that had spoken up now backed away, immediately disembarking along with a few others. Several people remained seated, however, and Tug wasn’t sure why.
“Are you going to shoot us?” an elderly woman asked.
“Do you plan on trying to stop us?” Tug asked, only half serious. The old woman shook her head. “Then of course not, ma’am. Sit back and relax, everyone. We’ll arrive at the spaceport in a few minutes.” Tug put away his gun as he turned back toward Jalea in the operator’s compartment. “Best speed to the spaceport, if you please.”
Jalea activated the controls, and the monorail car began moving slowly away from the platform, picking up speed with each passing second until it reached its maximum safe cruising speed.
“You weren’t planning to stop at any of the platforms along the way, were you?” Tug asked. Jalea just shot him a dubious glance. “Just checking.”
The comm-panel beeped twice, announcing an incoming call. Nathan quickly activated the comm, mentally admonishing himself for not muting the system to avoid waking Jessica from her catnap on his couch. But the damage was already done, and Jessica was beginning to stir.
“Go ahead,” Nathan said into the comm, trying to keep his volume down.
“Captain, Mendez. I’m down in Sig-Int, and we’re picking up a lot of strange broadcasts from Corinair.”
“What kind of broadcasts?”
“News broadcasts, sir. There’s riots going on-something to do with the Legend of Origins. They’re saying there was some kind of sign. They’re talking like it’s the end of the world or something.”
“Can you send it to the viewer in my ready room?”
“Yes, sir. But it won’t be translated. I’ve got Nara working on the translation now.”
“That’s fine, just send me the video for now. I’ll check out the translation later, after you finish it.”
“Yes, sir. I’m sending you the live feed now.”
The main view screen in the ready room came to life and began displaying a broadcast feed from one of the local news stations in the capital city of the planet Corinair. The broadcast was split into four views, each showing different events happening simultaneously. The image in the upper left corner showed a map of the city, with dozen of icons on it, each representing the location of an event. At random intervals, one of the icons would expand to fill one of the other three views, replacing what had been showing previously.
“What’s going on?” Jessica asked, opening her eyes slightly but not yet sitting up.
“Something is happening on Corinair. There are riots and stuff. Sig-Int says the people on Corinair are talking about the end of the world.”
“Oh, is that all?” Jessica said, stretching.
The comm beeped again. “Captain, Communications. Urgent inbound message sir.”
“From who?”
“From a Ta’Akar warship, sir. Their captain is asking to speak with the captain of the disappearing ship.”
Jessica immediately sat up right, her eyes wide. Nathan’s eyes were also wide. “I think he’s talking about us.”
“Uh, put him through, I guess.”
“The signal includes video, sir. Shall we match it?”
Nathan looked to Jessica.
“Why not? Let’s see what the asshole looks like.”
“All right. Pipe the video in here as well.”
The images from the Corinairan news broadcasts were instantly replaced by a stately looking man, probably in his mid-fifties, with graying temples and a perfectly groomed mustache. His uniform was clean and well pressed, and boasted numerous ribbons and commendations. Nathan couldn’t help but wonder if the man expected to appear in a parade later in the day. He also wondered how this man would consider Nathan’s own appearance. No doubt, his scruffy whiskers, unkempt hair, and simple duty uniform carried nowhere near the same impact.
“Hello Captain,” the man on the screen said. His tone was cheerful, although not overtly so. His manner was well rehearsed, no doubt through years of service in his position. Nathan couldn’t help but notice that the man seemed somewhat surprised by not only Nathan’s disheveled appearance, but also the obvious difference in their ages. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sir Augustine de Winter, captain of the warship Yamaro. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”
“My name is Nathan Scott, captain of the Aurora.”
“A pleasure, sir.”
Nathan was about to introduce Jessica as well, if only out of instinct. Her emphatic gestures indicating that he should not know that she was there stopped him from doing so.
“To what do I owe the honor, Captain de Winter?”
“I have been authorized by my government to offer you amnesty and safe passage out of Ta’Akar space.”
Nathan could tell that the task did not sit well with the officer. It was obvious that he held himself in high esteem, and Nathan got the distinct impression that he did not feel he had been accorded the same level of respect from his peers that he felt he deserved. Being forced to serve as a messenger foremost obviously bruised this man’s ego.
“Interesting. However, I wasn’t aware that our flight plans required your government’s approval.”
Jessica smiled. She already liked the position Nathan was taking with this guy. She was able to lean forward just enough to be able to turn her head and see the man’s image on the viewer without her image being picked up by the viewer’s camera and transmitted back to the Yamaro. As best they could tell, the pompous captain wasn’t even aware that she was in the room.
“Yes. Well, your recent activities have earned you some degree of notoriety among those of us tasked with maintaining order out here amongst the stars. To put it bluntly, sir, there is a price on your head, as well as the heads of the Karuzari you harbor. Command would prefer that your ship be taken intact.” The man thought for a moment. “However, they made no such specification regarding you or your crew.”
Nathan didn’t care much for threats, veiled or otherwise. His father had always said that threats were the sign of weakness or fear. This man, however, did not appear to be displaying either emotion.
“Let’s cut to the chase,” Nathan told him. His use of the phrase was met with a puzzled look. “What is it you require from me in return for safe passage?”
“Nothing much. Simply turn over all members of the Karuzari currently on board your vessel, as well as any information you have about the whereabouts of any other members you might possess.”
“And that’s it?”
“We also require all information regarding the technology you use to so effortlessly jump between the stars. It’s really quite an impressive feat, I must say.”
“And if we refuse?”
“Then you will be captured and executed. Either way, we shall have the secret of your miraculous method of interstellar travel.”
“Captain, I’m curious about one thing. What gives you the right to make such demands?”
“You have fired on and destroyed ships of the Ta’Akar. This, sir, makes you an enemy of the Ta’Akar. As well, you have entered our domain without permission, with the obvious intent of aggression.”
“We entered your domain by accident, sir, and without any intent. In fact, we didn’t even know anyone’s domain was out here. And for the record, your ships fired on us. We merely defended ourselves.”
“Furthermore, Captain Scott, you have provided aid and support to the Karuzari, who are also sworn enemies of the Ta’Akar.”
Nathan made no immediate response to Captain de Winter’s last accusation, preferring to consider it before responding. His careful consideration before speaking surprised Jessica, as it was not a trait for which he was known.
“I’m afraid your facts are in error,” Nathan began. “The people you speak of came aboard our ship while we were helplessly adrift, after the mistaken engagement with one of your warships. They offered to help and we accepted. At the time, we did not know of their political agenda or of their conflict with your people. And, I might add, we had little choice in the matter, as more of your ships were on their way.”
“While that may be the case, Captain, at this point it is irrelevant. In the eyes of my government, you are guilty as charged. Your only option is to abandon your Karuzari friends and ally yourself with us. Then together we can swiftly end this annoying rebellion and restore order to the galaxy.” The captain was getting a bit irritated at Nathan’s unwillingness to cooperate, forcing him to take pause to regain his composure. “Captain, do you truly know who you have allied yourself with?”
“I’m sure you’re about to explain it to me,” Nathan quipped.
The captain of the Yamaro ignored his sarcasm. “The Karuzari are terrorists, Captain. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“They claim to be freedom fighters.”
“What they are is responsible for the needless deaths of hundreds of thousands over more than two decades.”
“That’s a pretty big claim, Captain. But it’s my understanding that the Ta’Akar are responsible for just as many deaths, if not more.”
“The Ta’Akar do what must be done in order to prevent the support of these terrorists. We do what must be done to end this unrest once and for all. We do what must be done to maintain order!”
Nathan was pretty sure that he struck a nerve. He decided to push a little harder. “You do what must be done in order to force your population to worship your leader as a god. And you have the arrogance to pretend that you are justified in your actions.”
Unfortunately, Nathan’s plan did not work. Captain de Winter had not taken the bait. Instead, he was again recomposing himself. “Captain. Do you really think that people of nobility and rank, such as myself, actually believe that our king is a god? Those of us who serve the crown do so in order to establish our own power and position. Not as a result of some religious idealism.”
“And this is how you justify the atrocities committed by your commanders?”
“Of course not,” the captain answered with a sigh. “But at times, a seemingly unforgivable atrocity must be committed in order to avoid committing an even greater one. It is unfortunate, but nevertheless true, that sometimes, the only way to fight terrible evil is to become just as evil.”
“Is that what you were doing when you tried to glass the planet that the Karuzari were hiding on?” Nathan stood, wanting to appear strong and resolute. He waited several seconds for a response that he was already sure would not come. “We shall not be accepting your offer, Captain.”
“You do realize what will happen if you do not?”
“Yes. We’ll simply jump away before you even get within firing range.”
“Then I suppose we’ll have to chase you all the way back to Earth, won’t we?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Captain. Even your comm-drones would take at least a decade to reach Earth. And your ships are nowhere near as fast.”
“Not yet, but soon. Of course, meanwhile, as punishment for welcoming you into their system, Corinair will have to be obliterated. A pity, really. It is a lovely planet after all.”
Try as he might, Nathan could not hide his shock at the man’s threat. “Those people don’t even know we are here,” Nathan argued. “You couldn’t possibly-”
“I can, and I will. Make no mistake-”
“You’re bluffing.”
“Bluffing?” the Captain asked with that same puzzled look as before. “I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that term.”
The view screen suddenly switched back to the news broadcast from Corinair being fed to him by the Sig-Int staff. Nathan immediately activated his comm-panel. “Comms! What happened to the connection to the Ta’Akar ship?”
“The signal transmission was discontinued by the Ta’Akar, sir.”
As Tug and Jalea made their way along the raised walkway from the monorail platform to the main terminal at the spaceport, they could see numerous pillars of angry, black smoke rising from the city in the distance. The fires were obviously the result of the riots and other general panic that was taking place on the streets and pathways of the city. Although she did not say as much to Tug, she knew that the panic had been set into motion by the words spoken to the priest of the Order yesterday afternoon. She did not feel guilty, despite the fact that many people may have already suffered or even died as a direct result of her actions. Things were going exactly as she had hoped.
“Jesus,” Marcus exclaimed as he wheeled the crates full of supplies on board the shuttle. “Do you think they bought enough food?”
“Stop complaining,” Josh told him. “At least we won’t be eating any more molo.”
Just as they were loading the last of the supplies, Tug and Jalea came running across the tarmac.
“We must…depart…immediately,” Tug ordered, out of breath.
“What’s going on?” Loki asked.
“Yeah, what are all those fires we saw coming in?” Josh asked.
“Religious zealots,” Tug explained between breaths. “Fools, rambling on about salvation and the end of the world.”
“Bunch of idiots,” Marcus exclaimed. “I mean, who cares where we’re from? We’re here now. That’s all that matters.”
“We must go!” Jalea urged. Josh and Loki went back into the shuttle, climbing over the mounds of supplies filling their cargo bay in order to get to the cockpit. Tug and Jalea climbed up the ramp and took their seats near the massive aft hatch that doubled as a cargo ramp.
“Hey!” Marcus called out toward the cockpit as he ascended the ramp. “Whattaya think they’d all say if they knew the ship we’re crewing on is actually from Earth?” At the top of the ramp he took his seat on the opposite side from Tug and Jalea and put on his headset. “Let’s get the hell off this rock!” he called to Josh as he hit the button and start retracting the boarding ramp to close up over the rear opening.
“Light up the mains,” Josh ordered as he dropped into his seat.
“I’m on it,” Loki answered. He reached up over his head and started flipping switches in preparation to start the engines, but nothing was happening. “What the hell?”
“What’s wrong?” Josh asked.
“The mains are cycling over. I can’t get the turbines to light up.”
“Did you prime them first?”
“Of course I primed them first!”
“Oh shit,” Josh exclaimed as he noticed the flashing red display on the center data display console. “We’re locked out.”
“What? Why would we be-”
“Attention all vessels,” the voice came over the surface traffic control frequency. “This facility is on full operational lock down, by order of the Ta’Akar warship Yamaro. All flight crews will shut down their systems, disembark, and stand beside their ships.”
Loki looked at Josh as the message repeated. “Oh, we’re in so much trouble.”