by Ryk Brown
“He basically sent us everything he knows about the Takaran orbital shipyard, as well as the Teyentah herself,” the lieutenant commander explained. “He even sent a few ideas on how we might go about stealing her, although they all seem a bit impossible, if you ask me.”
“We already know quite a bit about the shipyards,” Jessica said.
“There have probably been a few changes since the Dusahn took over,” Nathan pointed out.
“How much could they have changed in six weeks?” the lieutenant commander wondered.
“Plenty,” Jessica insisted, “considering it’s probably their most important asset at the moment.”
“She’s right,” Nathan agreed. “Just the ability to service their existing ships makes it priceless.”
“Not to mention building new ones,” Jessica added.
“Something that we definitely cannot let them do,” Nathan added as he scanned the entire message. “Get this to General Telles, and see what he has to say about it. We’ll start brainstorming in the morning.”
“Aye, sir,” the lieutenant commander replied.
Nathan turned and exited the compartment with Jessica hot on his heels.
“You’re not really considering stealing the Teyentah, are you?” Jessica asked as she pursued Nathan down the corridor toward the bridge.
“I consider everything,” Nathan replied as he walked.
“A nearly-completed battleship… Don’t you think the Dusahn will have it heavily guarded?”
“I’m certain of it.” Nathan looked at her as he walked. “Why do you ask?”
“It just seems like after suffering so many casualties in the Kohara raid, you might be a little more apprehensive about taking such risks.”
“I’m always apprehensive about taking any risk,” Nathan replied. “Especially when the lives of those under my command will be put at risk.”
“Just checking,” Jessica replied. She took Nathan’s arm just as he was about to enter the bridge. “It’s a long shot, Nathan. You know that, right?”
“I’m aware of that, yes,” Nathan assured her. “Maybe you should get together with Telles and figure out a way to reduce the risk and increase our chances of success. I’m sure he could use some of your ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking on this one.”
“You got it,” Jessica replied with a wink.
Nathan turned, continuing onto the bridge, as Jessica headed back down the corridor in the direction they had come.
“Captain on deck,” the guard announced as Nathan passed by.
“Captain,” Nathan called to Cameron. “My ready room.”
Cameron rose from the command chair, at the center of the bridge, speaking to her tactical officer as she headed aft. “You have the conn, Lieutenant.”
Nathan walked around his desk as Cameron entered the ready room, closing the hatch behind her. “News?”
“Looks like it’s Navarro,” he said as he took his seat. “And he’s got some crazy ideas on how to steal the Teyentah, as well.”
“Anything promising?”
“Not really. But he may not have included everything in this first message. I know I wouldn’t.”
“How is he getting all this intel?” Cameron wondered.
“Apparently he convinced one of the nobles to get him hired on as a crawler operator in the shipyard. He’s been working on the Teyentah for a couple of weeks now.”
Cameron looked concerned. “The Teyentah has to be three or four kilometers long. One crawler operator is probably only going to see a tiny portion of the entire ship, and from the outside. How much could he possibly learn about her?”
“All we really need is a way in,” Nathan insisted. “The Teyentah is a Takaran ship, so Navarro should be able to figure out how to operate it.”
“Assuming that Deliza’s family override codes are still valid,” Cameron pointed out. “I don’t suppose there is any way to verify them ahead of time.”
“Not without tipping off the Dusahn that the codes exist.”
“Can he pilot the Teyentah single-handed?”
“Telles and his men should be able to help,” Nathan explained. “And all they have to do is make a few jumps to get clear. Then we can put a small crew on board and jump her back to us.”
“If the Dusahn don’t shoot her down, first.”
Nathan looked at her, a puzzled expression on his face. “Are you always this pessimistic?”
“You wanted me as your XO, remember,” she replied. “Shooting holes in your plans is part of the job.”
“That must be why you liked being my XO so much,” Nathan joked.
“The position does have its perks,” Cameron replied with an impish smile as she rose from her seat to return to her duties. “Let me know what Telles comes up with.”
“How’d you know I sent it to Telles?” Nathan wondered.
“Also a part of the job,” she added as she departed the ready room.
Nathan punched his command code into his console and called up the images of the Teyentah that Captain Navarro had included in his message, displaying them on the view screen on the wall of his ready room. The Takaran battleship was big, nearly as big as the older Jung battleships which flanked her in the bays on either side.
Nathan leaned back in his chair, staring at the images on the view screen. The Teyentah would be a tremendous asset. The question that remained was what it would cost them to acquire her.
CHAPTER FOUR
“How long are we going to stare at this place?” Birk asked as he, Cuddy, and Michael knelt behind the bushes alongside the roadway, peering through the foliage at the ranch on the other side.
“Until the sun goes down, and I’m satisfied that no one will see us approach,” Michael replied.
“The sun won’t be down for another hour,” Cuddy stated.
“Nobody has moved at that place since we’ve been here,” Birk pointed out. “It’s probably abandoned.”
“The front hedges are trimmed, the lawn is watered, and the fence and barn all appear in good repair,” Michael said. “Someone lives here.”
“Maybe they’re at work,” Cuddy suggested.
“It’s possible,” Michael admitted. “But this far out, people usually work the ranch they live on.”
“Shopping?”
“They’d be home by now,” Michael insisted. “Dusahn curfew starts at sundown. Being caught out after dark guarantees imprisonment, at the very least.”
“All the more reason for us to get off the streets,” Birk insisted.
“We spent all of last night on the move,” Cuddy reminded him. “Now you want to be off the streets before dark?”
“We were in a forest, not on the streets,” Birk replied. “So, yeah, I want to be off them before curfew.” Birk sighed. “Mostly, I just want to lay down somewhere and take a nap.”
“There’s a light,” Michael announced.
Birk raised his head, looking at the distant house again. “Where?”
“The little window to the right,” Michael replied. “Probably the bathroom.”
“It’s already getting dark,” Cuddy said. “Maybe they’re done for the day.”
“It is a possibility,” Michael admitted.
“Why aren’t there any other lights on?” Birk wondered.
“Single occupant?” Cuddy suggested.
“Also a possibility,” Michael admitted. “If it is only a single person, he or she is likely to be cleaning up. Now may be our best chance.”
“Chance for what?” Birk wondered, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
“To get into that barn unnoticed,” Michael explained.
“Three warm bodies in a barn, all night long,” Birk questioned. “Don�
��t you think we’ll look suspicious on Dusahn sat-scans?”
“Barns have hay lofts, which will shield our heat signatures from satellites,” Michael explained. “Most of these places keep their power plants in the barn, as well, which will also make the Dusahn satellites less effective.”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense to knock on the front door, and ask to spend the night?” Birk suggested, desperate for a warm bed.
Michael looked at him. “And tell them what?”
“That our vehicle broke down, and we need a place to hold up for the night so we aren’t breaking curfew,” Cuddy offered.
“A good cover story,” Michael admitted. “But the occupant of that house is just as likely to report us to the Dusahn, as he, or she, is to allow us to spend the night. We can’t take the risk.”
“Barn it is, then,” Birk agreed.
“We need to move soon,” Cuddy insisted. “Our heat signatures will become easier to detect once the sun goes down and the ground cools off.”
“Hey, if they’ve got satellites that can track us, why didn’t they find us tromping through the forest last night?” Birk wondered.
“Many of our satellites were destroyed during the initial invasion,” Michael explained. “They have to task the ones that are still operational as needed. The area we were in was likely not a high priority area at the time.”
“But weren’t they searching for us?” Cuddy asked.
“Yes, but by the time we left the cave, their search perimeter would have expanded beyond the capabilities of the satellites servicing that area.”
“If they are short on satellites, why would they use them on a ranch out in the middle of nowhere?” Birk challenged.
“We do not know that they would,” Michael admitted. “But we do not know that they would not, either.”
“So, better to play it safe,” Cuddy surmised.
“Precisely.” Michael scanned the area one last time. “Shall we?” Michael stood slowly and carefully, as if he were half-expecting someone to spot him and yell. After one last look around, he headed out across the road, walking as if there was nothing unusual about his presence.
Birk and Cuddy followed, neither one looking as inconspicuous as their leader. The three of them continued down the opposite side of the road, until they were far enough past the barn so that no one in the ranch house could see them, before hopping the fence and making a run for the barn itself.
Michael was the first to enter, cracking the large door just enough to slip inside, followed by Birk and Cuddy. There was barely enough light spilling in through the skylights above for them to get their bearings and find their way to the area directly under the hayloft, near the tractor and the various attachments that came with it.
“This should do for the night,” Michael said as he began pulling apart a nearby bale of hay.
“What are you doing?” Birk wondered.
“Making a place to sleep.”
“In the hay?” Birk couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Won’t that be…scratchy?”
“See those tarps?” Michael said, pointing to the other side of the barn. “Throw one of those on top of a couple feet of loosely-packed hay, and you’ve got yourself a bed.”
“Not any bed I’ve ever slept in,” Birk muttered as he fetched the tarps. “How are we going to keep warm?”
“Just pile more hay on top of you,” Michael replied.
“Great.”
“Beats the hell out of sleeping on a cave floor,” Cuddy reminded him.
“Barely.”
“We’ll have to clear out before the sun rises,” Michael warned as he spread out his tarp. “Ranchers start work early, and they do not care much for trespassers.”
“How do you know so much about ranchers?” Cuddy wondered.
“My uncle was a rancher,” Michael explained. “He had a small place east of Ballard. My mom used to send me to stay with him for a week each summer, while she went to her annual refresher training class.”
“What did your mom do?” Birk asked as he laid down on his tarp-covered pile of hay.
“She was a critical-care nurse.”
“What did your father do?” Cuddy asked as he finished making up his bed for the night.
“He never returned from his service to the empire.”
“The Takaran Empire?” Cuddy asked, sounding surprised.
“Yes.”
“Hey, this hay bed isn’t half bad,” Birk admitted as he settled into his makeshift bed.
“You served, as well, didn’t you,” Cuddy said.
“I did,” Michael admitted. “Four and a half years, in fact.”
“You’re lucky you made it back,” Cuddy said. “I heard that less than half who were drafted ever returned.”
“What, they died?” Birk asked, surprised.
“Actually, most of them survived their tours but were discharged far away from home, without a way to get back. Only the ones who scrimped and saved their meager pay, or were lucky enough to get discharged close to their homeworld, made it back.”
“Which one were you?” Birk wondered.
“I was a unique case,” Michael admitted.
“How so?”
“Let’s just say that an unusual opportunity presented itself, and I used it to my advantage,” Michael replied modestly.
A shocked expression washed over Cuddy. “Now I know where I’ve heard your name before,” he exclaimed. “You’re Michael Willard!”
“Uh, we already knew that, Cuddy,” Birk reminded his friend.
“Michael Willard,” Cuddy repeated. “The Michael Willard. The guy who mutinied and took control of the Yamaro, saving Corinair!”
“Get out!” Birk exclaimed, equally shocked. He looked at Michael. “Is that true? Is that you? I mean, are you him? Did you save the whole planet?”
“The entire planet is a bit of an exaggeration,” Michael insisted. “A few million lives, at the most.”
“Oh, is that all?”
“You really mutinied against a Takaran nobleman?” Birk shook his head in disbelief. “Man, that took guts.”
“Not really,” Michael admitted. “Not when you take into account that there were at least a few surface-to-orbit nukes headed our way, and our shields were too weak to protect us.”
“I don’t understand,” Cuddy said. “If the ship was about to be destroyed, why didn’t the captain surrender?”
“Takaran nobles do not like to admit defeat,” Michael explained. “Some more than others.”
“Still, it took guts,” Cuddy agreed.
“Didn’t you receive the Star of Corinair for that?” Birk asked.
“Yes, a few years later, after I returned from Sol.”
“That’s right,” Birk said, remembering. “You served on the Aurora, with Nathan Scott. What was that like?”
“Far scarier than anything I went through in service to the empire,” Michael replied. “Except for that mutiny incident.”
“So, do you really think he’s still alive?” Cuddy wondered.
“I admit, it is difficult to believe. And, it could be an impostor on the other end of the comms. However, even if it is not him, what he is trying to do is important enough for me to support him.”
“Even if it isn’t Na-Tan?” Birk wondered, half teasing.
“If you study the Legend of Origin, you’ll realize that Na-Tan is not a person. Na-Tan is an idea. An idea that one person can make a difference. People think that Na-Tan is Takaran for Nathan, but it isn’t. It is ancient Loranese, which was the original language of the Legend of Origin. It means ‘the one’.”
“The one what?” Birk asked.
“The one who made a difference. The one who took
responsibility. The one who led others to fight injustice.” Michael looked whimsically at the ceiling. “It means whatever you need it to mean.” He looked at them. “You know, in Hebrew, it means ‘gift from God’.”
“What’s Hebrew?”
“An ancient language from Earth,” Michael replied. “I believe that because Na-Tan has so many different meanings, all of which identify the person carrying the title to be someone trying to do good for all, is why it is such an easy persona for people of all backgrounds to follow.”
“And that’s why you’re willing to follow him, even if you’re not sure it is really him?” Birk said. “I’m sorry, but that doesn’t make much sense to me.”
“Do you believe in God?” Michael asked.
Birk looked surprised by the question. “I don’t know. I guess.”
“Why?” Michael asked. “Have you ever met God? Has God spoken to you?”
“No.”
“Then why do you believe in God?” Michael challenged.
Birk thought for a moment. “I guess I’m hedging my bets,” he finally admitted. “You know, better that I’m on board with it all, just in case there is a God, after all.”
“And if it turns out that there is no God, will you be upset that you spent your entire life believing?”
“Not really,” Birk admitted.
“Why?” Michael asked, leading Birk to his own conclusions.
“Because believing in something good is likely to make me a better person, I suppose,” Birk explained. “At least, that’s what my mother told me.”
“I am just following your mother’s advice, then,” Michael told him. “I am believing that Nathan Scott is alive and is trying to help us defeat the Dusahn and regain our freedom, just as he helped us defeat the Takaran Empire. And in doing so, I am doing good. Or, at least, I am trying to.”
“I see your point,” Birk admitted. “Either that, or I’m too tired to argue with you.”
* * *
“Major Aran has sent word that the roundup of the remaining Corinari is nearly complete,” General Hesson reported to Lord Dusahn as they walked through the gardens of the new Dusahn capital complex at the center of Answari.