by Ryk Brown
“Just as we thank you for yours.” Marak spoke a few words to Jalea as he rose. “Marak wonders if he might return to continue his work with your chief engineer?”
“Yes, of course. Jessica will accompany you.”
Jessica took the cue from Nathan and led Marak out of the room, leaving Nathan alone with Jalea.
“Captain,” Jalea spoke. “I offer you another bit of information that might ease your concerns?”
“Please do.”
“What you said before is true. We are losing our war with the Takarans. In fact, had they defeated us this day, it is likely that the few remaining ‘Karuzari’, or ‘rebels’ as you call them, would’ve disbanded forever, and the revolution would be over. So you have done far more than saving our lives this day. You may have also saved our cause.” Jalea bowed her head slightly, then brought her eyes back up to his, their fierce determination showing brightly. “It is for this that Marak feels indebted.”
“Thank you for sharing that with me.” Nathan looked at her intently. “Is there anything else?”
“You should understand, Captain, that a life debt is a very serious thing to the Karuzari. And Marak would gladly sacrifice his own life to honor that debt.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Nathan stated in a tone that indicated he had nothing further to say on the matter.
Jalea bowed her head again, took a step backward, then turned and strode confidently out of the room, leaving Nathan alone.
“Captain to the bridge!” the comm officer’s voice called over the comm. Nathan immediately rose and followed Jalea out of the room.
“What’s up?” he asked as he entered the bridge.
“We’ve got a contact, Captain,” Cameron reported. “It just left the Takaran outpost on one of the gas giant’s moons. It’s headed toward the asteroid field.”
“Did you power down the reactors?”
“The moment they appeared,” she assured him.
“Are they headed for us?”
“Not yet. They appear to be headed to a different part of the field.”
“Let me know if they change course,” Nathan ordered before turning to Abigail. “How much of a charge did we get?”
“Eighty-seven percent.”
“So we can jump what, maybe eight and a half light years?”
“I would try to keep it under eight, if possible.”
Marak and Jessica entered the bridge, having turned back when Jessica heard of the contact on their way to engineering. Marak immediately began talking excitedly with Jalea in their language.
“Comm, find out how much longer until we get maneuvering and propulsion back online.”
“Captain?” Jalea interrupted. “Marak has told our ships to monitor all transmissions from the Takaran ship. We will provide translations of any communications that we intercept.”
“Thank you.”
“Captain,” the comm officer called out. “Engineering reports maneuvering is restarting now, should be online in a few minutes. Main propulsion will take longer.”
“So we can crawl out, but we can’t run.”
“We do have rail guns back up. At least we’ll be able to fight back,” Cameron suggested, hoping to alleviate some of Nathan’s frustration.
“I do not believe they will find us,” Jalea assured him. “The rocks are an excellent place to hide.”
“She’s right sir,” Ensign Yosef chimed in. “With all the metal in these asteroids, and the distortions and echoes caused by their gravitational fields, they’d have to be able to actually see us in order to find us. I’m having a hard time tracking them, and our sensors are pointed away from the field.”
“Okay. What else can we do?” Nathan was getting anxious.
“We can pre-load the forward torpedo tubes,” Cameron suggested.
“Yeah, but we can barely turn the ship toward the targets,” Nathan reminded her.
“They do have their own guidance systems, Nathan,” she explained. “If they come so much as thirty degrees of our bow line, we can fire on them-as long as they’re in range that is.”
“Okay, make it happen.”
“Might I suggest that you take steps to reduce any signals coming from your ship, Captain,” Jalea advised.
Nathan did not yet fully trust Jalea, but as long as she was on the same ship as them, their immediate motives were still the same-to survive.
“Ensign Yosef, please see to that,” Nathan ordered, distracted by the continuing conversation between Marak and Jalea.
“Yes Sir.”
Jalea broke from her discussion with Marak to speak to Nathan. “Captain, I do not understand. Can you not do as before? Can you not bring our ships on board and then simply disappear?”
“But to where?”
“Captain,” Abigail interrupted. “We’ll need to get clear of the gravitational influences of the asteroid field before we can safely jump.”
“How clear?”
“Well clear, I’m afraid.” Nathan didn’t much care for the thought of wandering out into open space with a Takaran warship out their looking for them. In their current state, he doubted they would stand a chance.
“What would happen if we jumped from here?”
“I really do not know,” she admitted. But Nathan could see on her face that she didn’t want to find out.
“The minute we run, that ship will come after us,” Cameron warned him.
“But they’re not coming toward us now.”
“No, but that could change at any moment,” she reminded.
“Well, let’s not wait around for that to happen. Work with Jalea to find us a new place to hide. Preferably somewhere within eight light years. And let’s start moving those rebel ships back inside. No use in waiting until the last moment.”
Marak suddenly received another communication from his ships, and immediately began giving Jalea instructions.
“We have intercepted a message,” Jalea translated.
“From who?” Nathan’s gaze was focused on the two of them, as if staring at them would make him able to understand what Marak was saying before she translated it.
Jalea listened in on Marak’s conversation with their ships, translating what she heard. “From another Takaran ship, directed to the first one, the one that is searching for us,” she explained. “They will soon join them.”
“How soon?” Nathan asked.
“Contact!” Ensign Yosef reported.
“That soon?” Nathan exclaimed, throwing his hands up.
“Just dropped out of FTL! Transferring track to tactical!”
Cameron studied the tactical display. “It’s another Takaran ship, Sir. About the same size as the first one. The must’ve sent the message just before they arrived.”
“There is more to the message, Captain,” Jalea warned. “More ships will be arriving to join in the search.”
“I’m afraid to ask how soon,” Nathan admitted.
“The next one within the hour.”
“Great,” Nathan mumbled.
“Every ship they add to the search increases their chances of finding us,” Cameron pointed out.
“Really?” he replied in a sarcastic tone.
“Marak, says we must leave now,” Jalea warned, interpreting Marak’s words as he spoke, “or we will not leave this place alive.”
“Damn it!” Nathan swore. “We can’t crawl out of here, they’ll be on us in seconds!” Nathan looked around the bridge. His outburst had startled more than one of his crew, and he knew that he shouldn’t have lost control that way. But frustration had gotten the better of him. “We’re gonna have to jump from here,” he resigned.
“Nathan…” Cameron began.
“…Captain,” Abigail interrupted, standing to protest. “I cannot allow that! It’s too risky!”
“I don’t see that I have much choice, Doctor!”
“You don’t understand, this system is the only one in existence.”
&nbs
p; “Don’t worry, Doctor. I’m sure that Fleet will start building another one as soon as they figure out we’re overdue.”
“No, they won’t,” Abigail disagreed. “You don’t realize how secret this project has been. There is no evidence of its existence anywhere on Earth. The research it was based upon was erased from the Data Ark, and we brought all of our research with us when we came on board. Our leaders could not take the chance that it might fall into the hands of the Jung. Captain Roberts even had standing orders to destroy the entire ship if captured. There are only a few people on Earth who even know that the project exists. If we don’t get this system back to Earth, they will have no defense.”
Nathan stared at Abigail. Other than Jalea’s constant translations to Marak, the room was quiet. Nathan Scott had come aboard the Aurora as an ensign fresh out of the academy just three weeks ago. Since then he had become the primary helmsman, a lieutenant, and now he was Captain. And not only was his ship badly damaged and half his crew dead, apparently now his entire homeworld was depending on him to somehow quickly cross a thousand light years in order to save them from invasion. And he had hoped that this would be an easy assignment.
But at least now he finally understood things more clearly. This had been the reason that Captain Roberts demeanor had changed so drastically during their flight to Jupiter. This is why he had attacked that Jung patrol ship in the Oort without provocation. And this was the reason he had so adamantly ordered Nathan to get the jump drive home. It was their only hope.
After what seemed like an eternity, Nathan looked at Cameron. She was always so calm, so confident. But now, he saw something different in her eyes. She was looking to him to decide what to do. They all were. And for once in his life, he was determined not to let anyone down.
“Alright,” he started calmly, “we’re going to need a diversion. We need to draw them away from us if we’re going to get far enough out to jump safely before they open fire.”
Marak began speaking into his communicator.
“Captain,” Cameron reported. “Two rebel ships just began accelerating away from us. They’re on a course out of the asteroid field.”
“What the hell are you doing?” Nathan sputtered at Marak, forgetting that he didn’t understand English.
“Marak is sending ships to draw the Takarans away from us,” Jalea explained.
“Are you crazy? They’ll be slaughtered! Tell him he cannot do this!” he ordered.
Marak continued speaking to Jalea as she spoke for him. “We need a diversion, you said this yourself. This is the best way to achieve both our goals.”
“You’re just going to send them to their deaths?”
“It is what soldiers do,” she translated.
“You fuckin’ bastard!” Nathan screamed as he violently grabbed Marak by his tunic with both hands, quickly drawing him in closer, and yelling in his face, “you can’t do this!” In the blink of an eye, a small but deadly blade appeared in Marak’s right hand, pointed at Nathan’s throat. Just as quickly, Jessica, who had been quietly observing, had her sidearm out, safety off with the weapon sighted on the back of Marak’s head. Both the marine guards at the doors had done the same with their close-quarters weapons.
“Drop it!” Jessica ordered in no uncertain terms. “Or I drop you!”
Jalea translated Jessica’s warning to Marak, repeating the translation at least two more times before he began to relax and bring the knife slowly away from Nathan’s throat.
“He was only defending himself!” Jalea insisted. “It was a reflex! He will not harm your captain!”
As Marak’s right hand slowly withdrew from Nathan’s neck, Jessica stepped up and swiftly snatched the blade from his hand.
“We’re clear!” she instructed the two marines, holding the knife up high for them to see. “It’s all over, everybody just calm down.”
Marak said something else, in a tone that could only be described as arrogant.
“What did he say?” Nathan asked after releasing his hold on Marak. Jalea was hesitant want to answer. “What did he say?” Nathan repeated more sternly.
“He said, it is already done.”
Nathan continued glaring at Marak, who stood confidently beside Jalea. He could tell by the rebel leader’s steely eyes that he was not one to back down when challenged. Nathan knew that the man had made his decision and there was nothing he could do to change it. The only question was, how he could make this work in their favor?
“Is there another place we can go?” Nathan was asking the question of Jalea, although his eyes were still locked with Marak’s for the moment. “Some place where we can make repairs? Get some supplies?” Jalea translated his request to Marak. For a moment, Nathan sensed that Marak was pleased that Nathan still sought his assistance. He had no doubt that Abigail’s words had been clearly and accurately translated to him by Jalea. And now had to wonder if Marak somehow felt like he had power over them because of their desperate situation. However there was nothing in Marak’s expression or demeanor that might reveal his intent.
“There is a world,” Jalea translated, “that still supports us. Not openly, but covertly. They are just beyond Takaran space. We have contacts on this world. Through them, we may find the assistance you require.”
“Please give the location of this world to Doctor Sorenson,” Nathan requested coldly.
“As you wish,” Jalea nodded, turning toward Abigail.
Nathan stared at Marak a moment longer, until the tension was broken by the communications officer.
“Sir, message from engineering. They can give us limited forward propulsion, but no more than ten percent thrust.”
“Thank you, Ensign.”
“That should be enough, for now,” Cameron noted.
Nathan finally broke eye contact with Marak, turning to Cameron instead. “Can you handle both helm and navigation?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem, especially not at that speed.”
“Good. I’ll back you up on navigation if I can.”
“Thanks, but I’ve seen your navigation skills,” Cameron jabbed, finally getting a smile to crack Nathan’s serious expression.
“Jess, I assume you trained for tactical at some point?”
“You bet,” she answered. Spec-ops was a branch of the Security division. And all spec-ops applicants had to have graduated as rated security officers before they could get accepted into the spec-ops training course. Jessica stepped up to the tactical station and looked it over like she was being reunited with a long lost favorite toy.
“What’s the plan, Skipper?” Jessica asked, giddy at being back behind the tactical console.
“First, we get the hell outta here and jump to someplace safe,” Nathan explained. “Then we beg, borrow, or steal whatever we need to get our ship fixed. Then we find a way to get this ship, and that jump drive, back to Earth as quickly as possible. If that means we have to deal with the devil, then so be it.” Nathan stepped away from the tactical station and moved forward, taking a seat in the command chair directly in front of the station. Cameron traded looks with Jessica before taking the helm directly in front of Nathan.
“Sound General Quarters.”
CHAPTER 9
“The rebel ships have exited the asteroid field,” Jessica reported from the tactical station.
“Any change in the Takaran ships?” Nathan could feel the tension in the room as they waited to see if the diversion would have its desired effect.
“Nothing yet, but there’s still a lot of the field still in their way. They may not see them yet,” she pointed out.
“Captain,” Ensign Yosef called. “The rebel ships are generating an unusually high radiation output from their propulsion systems.”
Nathan spun his chair around to look at Jalea. “They’re lighting themselves up?”
“To ensure that they will be noticed,” Jalea explained.
“Isn’t that an obvious tactic?” Jessica asked.
“To you and I, perhaps,” Jalea answered. “But the Takarans do not usually win their battles through intelligence. They prefer overwhelming force.”
Jessica smiled. “I like the sound of that.”
She knew it was usually much easier to outthink an opponent than outgun them. Especially if they had a tendency to think with their guns.
“I don’t,” Nathan added. They had already been through a pounding by Takaran guns, and he didn’t care to go through it again anytime soon.
“Well, it worked,” Jessica reported. “The closest Takaran ship just lit up their mains and is giving chase. At their current speed, they should intercept the rebel ships in three minutes.”
“What about the second ship?” Nathan asked. If they were going to make their escape, they would need both of the enemy ships to take the bait.
“No change.”
Nathan was becoming nervous, and had to fight to hide it from his crew. He knew that although they might be able to slug it out with one Takaran ship, there was little chance of defeating two of them, unless they got really lucky with a few torpedo shots.
“Doctor Sorenson,” Nathan said. “How long do you need to calculate our jump?”
“Maybe five more minutes. But it will take twice that just to manually key it into the event sequencer.”
“Sounds like something that should be done automatically,” he commented.
“This is just a prototype, remember?”
“How long will it take us to reach a safe jump distance?” This time he was asking Cameron.
“About ten minutes at ten percent thrust.”
“That’s going to be cutting it close.”
“The ship finally reports ready for battle, Sir,” Jessica reported.
“Good. Make sure the forward torpedo tubes get loaded.”
“I’m on it,” Jessica answered. “The Takaran ship is launching missiles at the rebels. She’s launched four, two per target. The rebel ships are breaking formation, they’re launching countermeasures, and jamming. They’re performing evasive maneuvers.”
“At least they’re not going down without a fight,” he observed.
“Whoa! I’m seeing four rebel contacts now!”
“What? Where’d they come from?” Nathan stood in alarm at the news.