Ep.#14 - The Weak and the Innocent (The Frontiers Saga)

by Ryk Brown

  She tried to look at the man standing before her, but her eyes were not yet accustomed to the light. “Who are you?” she asked, still in Jung. “What do you want from me?”

  “The very questions I wish to ask you,” the man replied, but not in Jung.

  The man was speaking Koharan.

  “Who are you?” the man asked.

  “I am Naralena Avakian,” she replied, still speaking in Jung.

  “That is not a Koharan name,” the man replied, sticking with the Koharan language.

  “Avakian is my father’s family name,” she told him. “He is not from Kohara.” Naralena surprised herself that she had not lied, yet had not offered him any information either. It was a small victory for her, but an important one nonetheless.

  “Why did your people attack my world?” the man asked in Koharan.

  “My father?” she asked, still speaking in Jung.

  “You obviously speak Koharan, so do so. I am not in the mood to speak Jung at the moment.”

  “I don’t understand,” Naralena told him, switching to Koharan.

  “Why did your people attack my world?”

  “What people?” Naralena wondered.

  “You can drop the pretense, Miss Avakian. We saw the reports. The Jung are looking for you and your friends, the Earth woman and the Koharan man.”

  Jessica and Gerard, she realized.

  “They are offering a substantial reward for your capture,” the man said. “Why is that? Are you one of the infected ones from Earth? Have you been sent here to spread the bio-digital plague to my people?”

  “Are you insane?” Naralena said. “My name is Naralena Avakian. I live in Cetia. I do not know that woman.”

  “How do you know you do not know her? I have yet to tell you anything about her.”

  “You said she was from Earth. I don’t know anyone from Earth.”

  “If you live in Cetia, what were you doing so far from home, and in the middle of an invasion, no less?”

  “We were on a nature hike,” she told him, “for nearly a week…”

  “We who?”

  “My husband and I.”

  “Your husband? Odd then, that it took you this long to ask about him.”

  “I am weak with hunger, and I have not slept in days…”

  “…You can stop the pretense,” the man told her. “Our doctors sampled your blood. You have no nanites within you, therefore, you are either a member of the CLA, or you are not of this world. Given that I can find no government records matching your description or biometric signature, I must conclude the latter.” The man paused to take another breath. “So I ask you again… Who are you, and why did your people attack my world?”

  Naralena stared at him defiantly.

  “I can put you back into your cell until you cooperate,” he warned, “giving you just barely enough sustenance to keep you alive, and in misery, until you are willing to tell me the truth.”

  Naralena continued to stare at him. “I already did,” she stated. “You simply choose not to believe me.”

  “Then back to your cell it is,” the man said, rising from his chair to depart. He stopped suddenly, turning back to her. “Of course, there is another way. Unpleasant, but effective.” He turned toward one of the inside walls and pulled back the long curtain. Behind that curtain was a window. On the other side of that window was another room, and in that room was Gerard, sitting in a chair just as she was, bound and gagged, his hands behind his back.

  Gerard’s eyes suddenly opened wide, silently pleading with her, as if he knew something terrible was about to happen.

  And so did she. She could feel it with every fiber of her being.

  “Interestingly enough, although there is no record of your existence on this world, that man’s record is quite extensive…dating back more than twenty years, I believe. In fact, he is suspected of involvement with the Cetian Liberation Army, no less.” He paused a moment, then turned back to look at Naralena. “Odd that it goes back no further than that, though.” He sighed. “Anyway, you can see how this all starts to piece together? Something about each of you is not as you say it is.”

  A man entered the next room…the same burly man that had taken her from her cell. He pulled a Jung energy pistol and pointed it at the side of Gerard’s head, then looked at the window, waiting for a signal from the man interrogating Naralena.

  “So tell me, Naralena Avakian… Who are you, and why did you attack my world?”

  “We are from Earth,” she admitted without hesitation. She felt as if the gates had been opened, and there was no turning back.

  “Why is it that he has records and you do not?” the man began, sensing the opportunity and running with it before she changed her mind.

  “I only arrived a month ago.”

  “And he has been here for twenty years?” he asked in disbelief.

  “Yes.”

  “How many more like him are there among us? Spies from Earth?”

  “He is the only one left alive,” she told him. “You killed the others.”

  “And the other woman, the one spouting lies while holding Kata Mun and her co-workers hostage.”

  “She is from Earth as well. We came together. However, she was not lying, and you know it. The Earth is no longer infected, and has not been for nearly a thousand years. You have been lying to these people for decades.”

  “It is you who are lying!” the man shouted. “Admit it now, or I will have him killed!”

  “I am telling you the truth, damn you!”

  “I will kill him!”

  “Then do it, you bastard!” she cursed back defiantly. “Do it!”

  Her interrogator spun around and nodded at the man in the next room who immediately fired his weapon. There was a flash of red-orange light and a spray of blood and tissue that splattered across the window, as Gerard’s body was pushed to the side by the force of the energy charge impact against the side of his skull.

  Naralena collapsed forward, nearly falling out of her chair, held up only by her restraints, as she sobbed uncontrollably, cursing them in a language that none of them understood.

  She hung there, dangling to one side from her restraints, sobbing for what seemed an eternity before she noticed the boots of the man that had been her interrogator were gone, replaced by dress shoes of a much nicer quality. She raised her head, slightly at first. It was someone new. An older man she realized as she sat upright. In her grief, she had never even noticed the change of interrogators. “What do you want?” she asked, her voice seething with anger and contempt.

  “First, I would like to apologize for your treatment, Miss Avakian…assuming that is your real name.”

  The man was also speaking Koharan, but his syntax was more polished and formal.

  “Does it matter?”

  “I suppose not. All that matters is that we find out the truth about Earth, and about the Jung.”

  Naralena suddenly found herself confused.

  “It has been a difficult couple of weeks. Many of my people have died. I simply want to know why.”

  “And you had to kill Gerard to find out?” Naralena asked in accusatory tone.

  “We have killed no one,” the older gentleman replied. He reached out and tapped on the door. It opened, and Gerard was led in, still tied but no longer gagged…and very much alive.

  Again, Naralena wept, this time with relief.

  The guard pulled up a chair and sat Gerard down next to her. Naralena leaned into him, her head against his shoulder, still sobbing. He tilted his head toward her, kissing her affectionately on the head and whispering, “I am so sorry.” He repeated the words over and over, almost crying as he begged her forgiveness.

  “Again, I regr
et that we had to put you both through all of this…” The man sighed. “This, unpleasantness. But again, these are very difficult times.”

  “Who are you?” Gerard asked.

  “I am Titus Kanor.”

  Gerard shook his head. “Wait, I know that name…”

  “I am the leader of the Koharan parliament, fourth in the line of succession. The Jung have executed all the leaders before me, and many of those who followed. I am therefore the de facto leader of the Koharan government.”

  “What do you want from us?” Gerard wondered.

  “As I said, I only wished to learn the truth about the Earth, and the Jung.”

  “How did you find us?”

  “Your images are everywhere,” he told them. “Since several days before the invasion. The clerk at the resort notified my people. Lucky for you, I might add. Had he notified the Jung, you would both be dead and they would know all that you know.”

  “And that’s it?” Gerard asked, not quite convinced.

  “Not exactly. We have detected an unusual series of tones. They are being broadcast at random times, and on random frequencies. I assume they are hailing tones of some kind. A way for you to make contact with the people of Earth?”

  “Yes,” Gerard replied.

  “Then I would like you to do so.”

  “Why?”

  “I wish to speak to them.”

  “Why?” Gerard pressed.

  “They managed to destroy all the Jung ships in our system, yet they were not able to destroy all of their forces on the surface of Kohara, despite having easily eliminated them on both Stennis and Sorenson. Why is that? What is their intent? Are they planning on returning to finish the job?” President Kanor shook his head. “I have so many questions. Is it so much to ask to simply speak with your leaders?”

  “And if we cooperate, what will happen to us?” Gerard asked.

  “We will see to your safe passage to wherever it is you wish to go.”

  “Even if it’s back to Earth?”

  “Even if it’s back to Earth,” he affirmed.

  Gerard looked at Naralena for her opinion, but her eyes offered no advice. He looked back at President Kanor. “The last time we spoke with them, the Jung came looking for us within hours.”

  “We have ways of masking our signal against triangulation by Jung ground forces,” the president promised.

  “Very well,” Gerard agreed. “But first, untie us.”

  “As you wish,” the president replied, signaling the burly man.

  The man stood to one side of Gerard, reaching around to untie his hands. His hands freed, Gerard brought them around in front and rubbed his wrists while the man untied Naralena’s hands as well. The man stepped back, moving back in front of Gerard on his way back to the door. Gerard lashed out, driving his knee into the burly man’s gut, causing him to double over as Gerard drove his left fist into his nose with all his might.

  The man fell to the ground, his nose broken and bloodied. A moment later, the room was full of armed men, their weapons all trained on Gerard.

  “That was for pretending to shoot me in the head, asshole,” he said in English.

  * * *

  Gerard fiddled with the controls of the communications equipment in the room, attempting to isolate the frequency that, by his calculations, should be the one currently used by the communications buoy in orbit over Kohara. Despite the president’s reluctance, Gerard had convinced him that only he could successfully initiate the link to the comm-buoy. Hence, he and Naralena had been moved out of the makeshift interrogation block to an equally makeshift communications room in the next building. During their transfer between buildings, it became obvious to Gerard that the acting president had little in the way of manpower and resources, and that he too was attempting to operate covertly, without the Jung’s knowledge.

  “I have established contact with the comm-buoy,” Gerard told President Kanor.

  “Comm-buoy?”

  “It is not the correct time for direct contact. The buoy will allow us to leave a message for them when they return at the correct contact window.”

  “Then perhaps we should wait until the next window?” the president suggested. “I would prefer to speak with them directly.”

  “The next comm window is not for sixteen hours,” Gerard told him. “Besides, my leaders will not be present at that time. The ship making contact is only a messenger, meant to exchange messages and retrieve any missed messages from the comm-buoy and relay them back to command. If you wish to speak with them, you will have to let them know, so they can be present, in orbit, at the time.”

  President Kanor looked at Gerard with suspicion. “And your people can really travel nearly twelve light years so quickly?”

  “Yes, they can.”

  The president shook his head in disbelief. “Amazing. I can see now why the Jung are so concerned.” He thought for a moment, looking first at Naralena, then at Gerard, then at one of his men. After a sigh of resignation, he spoke. “Very well. Send the following message. Tell them I wish to speak with someone of authority. Your president, or at the very least, the commander of your armed forces… The ones that attacked our world.” He looked at the clock on the wall of the communications room. “Tell them they have twelve Koharan hours to respond…or we shall turn you and Miss Avakian over to the Jung.”

  Gerard began to rise from his seat to attack, only to find four weapons aimed at him, fully charged, ready to fire.

  “Exactly twelve hours. No more, no less. As I said, these are difficult times, hence, they require difficult decisions be made.”

  * * *

  “Captain,” the guard called from the hatch to the captain’s ready room. “Miss Mun and Mister Essa are here to see you.”

  “Send them in,” Nathan instructed.

  The guard stepped back, allowing the captain’s guests to enter the ready room.

  Nathan rose from his desk to properly greet them.

  Kata and Karahl entered the ready room, both of them looking surprised.

  “I’m sorry,” Kata said, “I was told we were meeting Captain Scott?”

  “I am Nathan Scott,” Nathan replied.

  “Captain Nathan Scott?”

  “The one and only.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kata apologized, “I didn’t expect you to be so young.”

  “I’m a quick study,” Nathan joked as he stepped out to shake her hand.

  “Ah, yes. I forgot you were a lieutenant when your captain died and command of this ship was passed to you.”

  “For only a few weeks, I believe,” Nathan replied.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I had only been a lieutenant for a few weeks when the incident occurred,” Nathan explained, gesturing for her to sit.

  “Of course. Captain, this is my porta-cam operator, Karahl Essa.”

  “Mister Essa,” Nathan replied, shaking his hand as well. “Shall I sit here, or behind my desk?”

  “How about on the couch?” Kata suggested. “We only have the one porta-cam, so…”

  “Of course,” Nathan agreed. He waited for Kata to take her seat before joining her. “So, how does this work?”

  “I’ll just ask you some questions, and you answer them however you like,” she explained.

  “Very well.”

  Kata looked at Karahl, who had already extended his tripod and had the porta-cam up and running.

  “I know you’re pressed for time, and something could come up that would pull you away from the interview, so I’ll begin with what I think are the most important questions for my people, given what I already know about the previous chain of events.”

  “Sounds like a good idea to me,” Nathan agreed, trying to hi
de his nervousness.

  “Captain, why did you choose to play the role of Na-Tan back on Corinair? Didn’t it feel like you were deceiving the Corinairans in order to achieve your goals?”

  Nathan paused a moment, considering his answer. It was not a question he had anticipated. “I suppose it would seem that way, but to be honest, it wasn’t really a conscious decision on my part. It was sort of thrust upon me. Long afterward, we learned that one of the Karuzari rebels had, in fact, fed information to key people on Corinair, leaders of the Followers of Origin, in order to create a wave of support that would help the rebels achieve their goals.”

  “But you knew what was going on. You could have denounced the legend and told them you were not the Na-Tan of legend. Yet you did not.”

  “How do I know I wasn’t?”

  This time, it was Kata who appeared surprised. “Pardon me?”

  “Seriously. There was nothing in the legend that identified exactly who this Na-Tan was. I showed up as if from nowhere, at the very time they felt they needed Na-Tan the most.”

  “But Captain…”

  “Don’t misunderstand, I don’t seriously believe I’m some kind of legendary savior. I have no doubt this legend was a story made up centuries earlier in order to give those who suffered at the hands of the Ta’Akar empire hope… Hope that someday someone would come and save them, or lead them to freedom. For quite some time, many believed that the leader of the Karuzari rebels was Na-Tan, but then he disappeared and that belief died away. It was merely a coincidence…our sudden arrival at a dire moment, or defeat of the enemy, my name being Nathan…”

  “You cannot be the Na-Tan of legend if you don’t believe the legend to be true,” Kata argued.

  “I don’t know that it isn’t true. Anyone who led them to victory over the empire could have been seen as Na-Tan. Had we failed, many might have simply decided that I was not the true Na-Tan. You see, the prophecy is written in such a way that it really cannot fail. If you succeed, you’re Na-Tan. If you fail, you’re an impostor. That’s how most prophecies are written.”