by Ryk Brown
It wasn’t soon enough for Vladimir. He had never been comfortable with antimatter reactors. Yes, they produced a great deal of energy and were very efficient, but they required constant monitoring and maintenance, and their delicate containment systems were a constant threat. Any power generation system that required a method to quickly jettison them, to protect the ship from a catastrophic failure, is one that should never be installed in a starship. That’s what his professor of antimatter engineering had said to them on their first day of class, and it had remained in the back of Vladimir’s mind ever since.
The ZPEDs, on the other hand, were a marvel of engineering technology. Although they, too, were a delicate balance of physics; now that they were somewhat perfected, they were far more robust, reliable and, more importantly, immeasurably safer than antimatter reactors. The only thing antimatter was good for were warheads; another opinion of his professor’s that had stayed with him all these years.
“Primary and secondaries show ready,” his lead ZPED tech reported. “Reaction chamber shows ready for startup.”
“Spin the reactor up,” Vladimir ordered.
“All safeties are off,” the technician replied. “Initiating zero-point reaction sequence.”
Vladimir stood there, his eyes glued to the main status view screen, half-concerned, half-fascinated by the process that was taking place deep within the complex reactor.
“Reaction confirmed,” the technician reported.
“Increase reaction level to ten percent,” Vladimir instructed.
“Reactor to ten percent,” the technician replied as he increased the reactor level.
Vladimir continued watching as the reactor reached ten percent of its maximum output. “Unbelievable,” he said with a giggle. “Any problems?”
“Negative.”
“Open the breakers and charge the main power trunks,” Vladimir instructed.
“Shall I take our fusion reactors offline?” the other technician asked.
“Negative,” Vladimir replied. “Leave them at idle until we are certain they will not be needed.”
“Aye, sir,” the second technician replied.
“Main power trunks are charged,” the ZPED technician announced. “We are now generating enough power to run all the ship’s systems, including main propulsion and the jump drive, once it’s operational again.”
“On only twenty percent of maximum output,” Vladimir said, astounded. “And with only a single reactor.” Vladimir giggled again as he touched his comm-set. “Bridge, Chief Engineer,” he called over his comm-set.
“Go ahead, Commander,” Cameron answered.
“ZPED one is operational. The ship now has full power for all systems.”
“Well done, Commander,” Cameron congratulated. “Well done.”
Vladimir patted his lead ZPED technician on the back. “One down, one to go.”
* * *
“Where are we going?” Nathan asked Jessica for the third time since they had left the command deck.
“We’re going to meet General Telles.”
“On G deck? There’s nothing down here but cargo bays and machinery.”
“Jesus, Nathan, it’s your ship, and you don’t know what’s in here?” she said, stopping and pointing to a door.
“The sign says raw materials storage,” Nathan said.
Jessica shook her head as she opened the door and headed inside.
To Nathan’s surprise, the room did not contain raw materials. In fact, it was relatively empty, with only a few benches and lockers along one side, as well as a drinking water dispenser. “What is this?”
“This is where the Ghatazhak train, when aboard,” General Telles announced as he entered from a side hatch. “Captain Taylor was kind enough to let us take over the space.”
“There’s no training gear,” Nathan commented.
“It’s where we practice hand-to-hand combat,” Jessica explained. “I figured, since you were thinking about fighting Lord Dusahn, we should see just how much training you’re going to need.”
“I said I was only considering it,” Nathan reminded her.
“In order to make a sound decision, you should first have a proper measure of your own abilities, as well as your opponent’s,” the general said.
“Fair enough, I suppose. So, who am I going to spar with?” Nathan asked as he took off his uniform jacket.
“Who else,” Jessica replied, taking off her jacket, as well.
“You’re wearing a Ghatazhak assistive suit.”
“What’s the matter?” Jessica teased. “You afraid of a little girl?”
“If you’re trying to prove to me that I’m not ready to fight Lord Dusahn by kicking my ass, don’t bother,” Nathan told her. “I’m the first to admit that you can kick my ass any day of the week and twice on Sundays.”
“The purpose of this session is to establish your baseline ability, and to determine how quickly you learn and adapt,” General Telles explained. “This information will give us half of the data you need to make your decision, if and when the time comes.”
“What’s the other half?” Nathan wondered as he took off his boots.
“How good Lord Dusahn is,” the general replied.
“Of course.”
“Don’t worry, Skipper, I’ll go easy on you,” Jessica teased. “Hell, I’ll even turn off my super-undies.”
Nathan twisted back and forth a few times, loosening up. At the same time, Jessica went through a series of unusual moves. “What are you doing?”
“She is performing the Kentora,” General Telles explained. “It is a series of moves designed to quickly stretch every muscle in the body prior to training.”
“Maybe I should learn that?”
“If we train you, you will,” the general replied.
After a few moments, Jessica finished her Kentora, returning to a normal standing position. “Ready to be embarrassed?” she asked with a wry smile on her face.
“You can stop trying to psych me out,” Nathan said as he stepped forward and prepared for whatever was about to happen, “I’m already scared of you.”
Jessica’s smile grew more pronounced. “At least you’re not stupid.”
“I’m still your commanding officer, remember.”
“At least you’re not stupid…sir.”
“Your opponent will start with a basic attack combination, against which you will do your best to defend,” General Telles explained. “Do not try to counterattack, as I am only trying to analyze your defensive skills, at the moment.”
“Are you ready?” Jessica asked.
“Show me what you’ve got,” he replied, raising his hands and settling into his stance.
Jessica also assumed a fighting stance, although hers appeared somewhat more relaxed and confident than her captain’s. She waited only a few seconds, then went through a basic left-right-left combination of punches, all of them targeting his face.
Nathan blocked all three punches with all the skill and efficiency expected of an officer who had just completed basic, personal combat training.
“Well done, Captain,” the general congratulated. “You did not give any ground to your opponent.”
“It’s not the first time that she and I have sparred since my memory was restored,” Nathan admitted.
“You’re actually a little faster than the last time we sparred,” Jessica admitted. “Have you been training without me?”
“Not that I can remember,” Nathan replied, feeling good about himself.
“Try another combination,” General Telles suggested.
“Anything in particular?” she wondered.
“Surprise us.”
“Can do,” Jessica replied, taking her combat stance once again.
Nathan, too, prepared hims
elf and was immediately under attack again. This time, Jessica delivered six blows, ending with a spin, which brought her right elbow around in an attempt to catch him in the chin. Nathan, however, instinctively leaned back just enough to avoid her elbow.
“Excellent,” General Telles praised. “There may be hope for you, Captain.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Your moves are fluid and efficient, and you do not seem to be expending undue energy,” the general continued as he stepped forward. “However, I would like you to try something.” The general took Nathan’s place, facing Jessica. “Repeat that last series of attacks, Lieutenant Commander, but at one-quarter speed.”
Jessica began the same sequence of attacks, albeit at a much slower pace.
“Instead of actually blocking your opponents blows,” the general explained as he demonstrated, “redirect them just enough so they make no contact with you at all. Any less, and you will be struck; any more, and you are wasting energy. In addition, your opponent will be expending more energy, as their movements will be traveling their full range. It may also increase the time between blows, making them a bit easier to manage.” The general dealt with Jessica’s elbow in the same fashion as Nathan, but leaned to his left, as well as back. “Did you notice the difference between my last evasive move and yours?”
“You leaned to your left, as well as back,” Nathan replied, “which means that you did not have to lean back as far.”
“It also adjusted my center of balance, making me better prepared for the next attack,” the general added, stepping back to make room for Nathan. “Many think that personal combat is about remaining calm, defending oneself, and waiting for an opportunity to attack. While all that is true, there is more to it. There is analysis, anticipation, and strategy. Personal combat is much like fighting a war. You must gather intelligence on your opponent. This you do by watching how they attack and how they defend. You measure the strength of their blows to determine how many of them you can tolerate. You try to spot patterns, favorite moves, and weaknesses in both offense and defense. It is not about strength, speed, or training. It is about awareness, focus, and control. Control of yourself and your opponent.”
“Understood,” Nathan replied.
“Now, Lieutenant Commander, the same moves at normal speed,” the general instructed.
Jessica looked at Nathan. “Ready?”
“Ready,” he replied, again assuming position.
Jessica launched her attack again, and Nathan defended as expected, this time redirecting her blows as the general had suggested.
“Very good. You learn quickly,” the general praised. “Again, at full speed. Do not hold back.”
“Are you sure?” Jessica asked.
“I am,” the general assured her.
“Let me have it,” Nathan insisted.
“Okay,” Jessica shrugged, immediately launching her attack. She quickly delivered all six moves but continued further, sweeping her leg. Nathan managed to hop over her leg, then spun around to his left to avoid the blow he expected to come next, which was her opposite hand coming around as her body continued to rotate.
But it wasn’t her hand, it was her opposite knee, and it caught him in the side, hard, knocking the wind from him. A split second later, he felt a sharp blow to the left side of his neck. Before he knew what was happening, he was on his back, his right hand flipped over and held tightly by Jessica’s left hand, her foot on his throat, and a grin on her face.
“I thought you were supposed to stick to the same moves,” Nathan was barely able to say.
“Sorry,” she said, removing her foot from his throat and releasing his hand. “I guess I got carried away.”
“Isn’t that cheating?” Nathan accused.
Jessica reached out and pulled him up from the floor. “No such thing.”
“The first rule of personal combat is that there are no rules,” General Telles told him.
“You could have told me that to begin with,” Nathan complained, shaking out his hand.
“It seems rather obvious, don’t you think?” the general replied, smiling.
“Don’t enjoy this too much,” Nathan told the general. “You either,” he said to Jessica.
“Shall we continue?” the general asked.
“Do I have a choice?” Nathan wondered.
Jessica smiled. “Nope.”
* * *
“Good morning, Commander,” Nathan greeted as he sat across the table from Vladimir, in the Aurora’s mess. Although he usually ate dinner in his private mess, he and Vladimir met for breakfast in the main mess nearly every morning.
“Good morning.” Vladimir stopped eating for a moment, examining Nathan’s face as he sat. “Who beat you up?”
“That obvious?”
“Da.”
“Jessica.”
Vladimir giggled.
“Don’t laugh,” Nathan said. “She could kick your ass, as well.”
“Of this, I have no doubt,” Vladimir agreed as he continued eating. “Did you two have a spat?”
“General Telles wanted to see how I handle myself in a fight,” Nathan explained.
“I would ask how you did, but…”
“I did all right,” Nathan insisted, “but I’m pretty sure Jessica was holding back a bit.”
“How do you know?”
“If she wasn’t, I’m pretty sure I’d be in medical right now.” Nathan scooped up some eggs and began to eat.
“Maneuvering is fully operational again,” Vladimir said.
“When did that happen?”
“Early this morning.”
“How long have you been up?”
“Five hours,” Vladimir replied. “This is my second breakfast.”
“You were up at oh-three hundred?”
“There is still a lot of work to do.”
“How long until main propulsion is back?” Nathan wondered.
“About a week,” Vladimir replied. “You have about twenty percent capability right now, using only the inboard drives.”
“What about the second ZPED?”
“Five or six days. The second one is always easier than the first.”
“How are things going with the jump arrays?”
“On schedule. You should have long-range jump capability in about ten days.”
“Not a moment too soon,” Nathan said. “We can’t hold the Dusahn off forever. Sooner or later, they’re going to send in everything they’ve got and glass both Rakuen and Neramese.”
“Surely they realize we can just go find another ally,” Vladimir said.
“Of course, but that takes time, during which the Dusahn will build more ships, making them more difficult to defeat.”
“Then, you are going to fight him?”
“Not if I don’t have to,” Nathan said, “but I’m starting to wonder if I even have a choice. If what General Hesson said is true, destroying the Dusahn fleet may cost more lives than it saves. Do I even have the right to make such a decision; to doom billions?”
“You can’t think of it that way,” Vladimir insisted. “You have to choose the path that offers the greatest chance of success.”
“Or the path resulting in the fewest unnecessary deaths,” Nathan argued. “If I fight him and lose, everyone else will still live, and they can continue to fight without me if they choose. If I don’t fight him, and we lose, it will be after months of war, and most likely two worlds will end up glassed…worlds that I promised to protect.”
“What makes you think we’ll lose?” Vladimir said, trying to be positive.
“That’s the point,” Nathan replied. “Even if we win, just as many people may die. So you see, it’s not just about which course of action has the highest probability of success.”
“Captain, Int
el,” Jessica called over Nathan’s comm-set.
“Go ahead,” Nathan replied.
“We’ve got a new message from our friend on Takara.”
“On my way,” Nathan replied. “Duty calls,” he told Vladimir.
“Are you going to finish that?”
Nathan shook his head. “Help yourself.”
* * *
Dom Jung-Mogan strode confidently down the boarding ramp of his personal shuttle, onto the deck of one of the Ton-Mogan’s numerous hangar bays.
“Welcome aboard, sir,” Admiral Korahk greeted as his commander approached. “It has been too long.”
“Agreed,” Dom Jung-Mogan agreed. He paused a moment, taking in the sterilized, processed atmosphere of the massive battle platform as he looked around the bay. “It has always struck me as odd that the very thing we pledge our lives to protect is also the very thing we wish to get away from at the earliest opportunity.”
“The natural worlds are for the citizens of the empire,” the admiral said. “Men like you and I belong in space.”
Dom Jung-Mogan smiled. “Of all my admirals, you understand this best.”
The two men headed across the hangar bay toward the nearest exit, both accompanied by their junior officers and personal guards.
“I trust the Doms are still in disagreement,” the admiral said as they walked.
“It is a perpetual state,” Dom Jung-Mogan agreed. “We are fortunate that the people’s voice has been so clear.”
“Then, the word has been given?”
“It has,” Dom Jung-Mogan replied. “A Tonba-Hon-Venar has been declared.”
“Are they aware of our positions?” Admiral Korahk wondered.
“I confessed that we have many ships that are hidden, even battle platforms. However, I did not reveal their locations.”
“Then they do not know how close we are.”
“They do not,” Dom Jung-Mogan confirmed. “Our decision to reposition our ships for attack the moment the treaty was signed has finally paid off. The duplicity of the Sol Alliance was never in doubt.”