by Ryk Brown
Tug thought about the hundreds if not thousands of men and women who had died under his leadership fighting against the Ta’Akar Empire over the decades. They had gladly sacrificed their lives for what they believed. If he did not succeed this time, all of their deaths could be in vain.
Tug thought about his daughters, whom he had entrusted to Chief Montrose’s family back on Corinair. They had lost their mother to his cause, and they might still lose their father as well. He could still see their faces as he bid them farewell. His youngest smiled and waved happily, as if he was off to the day’s market on Haven. However, his oldest , Deliza, understood the gravity of the situation. After all, she had lived through the boarding attempt on the Aurora, hiding in the service tunnels with Vladimir as they struggled to find a way to stop the intruders.
“Two minutes to launch,” Naralena’s voice announced, jarring him back to the present moment.
“Understood.” Tug knew what he had to do, and it was no more than he had asked those who had served under him to do in the past.
“Transmitting dropout signal,” Naralena acknowledged.
“Launch the interceptor,” Nathan ordered calmly.
“Interceptor away,” Naralena replied a moment later.
Nathan looked up one last time at the icon on the forward viewer that represented Tug’s interceptor as it moved quickly away from the Aurora toward its course parallel to that of the Takaran comm-drone.
“Contact!” Ensign Yosef announced. “Same course and velocity.”
“I have the contact,” Tug announced. “Moving into firing position.”
Nathan watched the track as Tug’s fighter slipped into position, but something was different.
“Captain,” Jessica called, “Tug has moved directly into the drone’s flight path.”
“Tug, Aurora,” Nathan called out over the comms. “You’re in the drones flight path!”
“I know, Captain.”
“You know? What the hell are you doing, Tug?”
“Remember that bright idea I told you about, the one I was saving for last?”
The collision alarm began sounding in the cockpit of Tug’s interceptor. Tug killed his main drive and flipped his ship end over end, bringing his nose facing aft, directly toward the onrushing comm-drone. He was now flying backward at eighty-nine percent the speed of light. He immediately opened fire with both his nose turret and his wingtip lasers, piercing the blackness with their fiery intensity.
“Tug, you’ve got about ten seconds before that thing hits you head on and turns you into dust!” Nathan’s voice yelled over the comms.
“Either way, that drone will be destroyed,” Tug promised as he swung his nose back and forth. An idea hit him and he reached for the auto-fire pattern selector for his nose turret. He quickly scrolled through the selections until he found the one he was looking for—one of the wide, erratic patterns that the Corinari programmers had installed. He selected the firing pattern and activated it. His nose turret continued firing in rapid succession as it swung its barrels about in seemingly haphazard fashion. In fact, it was laying down a pinpoint firing pattern that placed a perfectly aimed shot in every square meter of space in front of him across an area of ten square meters in less than two seconds.
“Five seconds!” Nathan’s voice called out.
The nose turret continued to fire, repeating the pattern as Tug braced himself for the inevitable collision that he probably would not even feel. Then it happened: a flash of light directly in front of him. Tug pulled his flight stick back hard, pitched his nose ninety degrees upward, and immediately fired his main engines at full thrust. As his interceptor continued to hurtle along the same path as the expanding debris field of the drone he had just blown apart, his powerful main engines caused his ship to leap upward.
“Target destroyed!” Jessica yelled. “He got it!”
“Tug, Aurora!” Nathan called over the comms. There was no answer. “Tug! Are you still with us?”
A few moments later, they received a crackled reply. “Where else would I be?”
Josh rose from his seat in excitement. “Now that’s what I call playing chicken!”
“Captain, we’re getting awfully close to Takara,” Jessica reported.
“How close?”
“Coming up on half a light year from their heliopause, sir.”
“Comms, tell Tug to get aboard as quick as he can. Abby, do we have enough energy left to jump back to Darvano?”
“Just barely,” she warned.
“Captain,” Loki interrupted, “at this speed, it will take us forever to come a hundred and eighty degrees about.”
“We’ll also be drawing a huge hot arc across the area,” Ensign Yosef added. “Any ship with a half decent infrared suite will spot us.”
“Maybe, but we’ll be long gone before anyone even sees us, let alone comes to investigate,” Nathan insisted.
“But you would be giving them another piece of the puzzle,” Ensign Willard stated.
“He’s right, Captain,” Jessica agreed from her position at the tactical station. “Think about it. There are already a few hints about who and what we truly are. But the only solid explanation died with de Winter and his staff. As things stand, their focus is probably still on either the Korak or Haven systems. Those are the only two places that we’ve been where a Takaran ship saw us jump out and lived to send a message home.”
“But Haven is too far out,” Nathan argued. “There’s no way they could’ve received word about the events there by now, not even at one hundred times light.”
“True,” Ensign Willard agreed, “but Korak is only four point four light years from Takara. If a message was dispatched immediately after your encounter there, which would be standard procedure, it has already reached Ta’Akar command.”
“So a huge hot arc out here would be like a giant arrow pointing out the way we went,” Nathan realized.
“Precisely,” Ensign Willard agreed.
“Captain, I recommend we change course for Taroa,” Jessica suggested.
“Taroa? Where we first arrived?”
“Yes, sir. My understanding is that there are still survivors of the Ta’Akar attack on that system’s primary world. If we make ourselves seen in Taroa and word of our presence there gets back to the Ta’Akar, that would reinforce their perception that our interests are in that part of the Pentaurus cluster.”
“Deception,” Nathan stated, seeing the logic of her suggestion.
“It would also be a great opportunity to gather some more signals intelligence,” Jessica added.
Nathan turned to Abby. “Can we make a jump to Taroa?”
“Again, barely. But we would arrive with insufficient energy to depart should we encounter yet another problem.”
“Very well. Plot a jump to about halfway between Takara and Taroa. Then we’ll sit and recharge the system before jumping into Taroa.”
“It will take us longer to get back to Darvano,” Abby warned.
“Seems worth it to me,” Jessica added.
“Agreed. How long will it take us to get back to Darvano if we go to Taroa first?”
“Between twelve and twenty hours,” Abby advised, “depending on how much charge we take on during our second layover.”
“Well, the Corinari will certainly be worried,” Nathan concluded.
“That’s an understatement,” Jessica mumbled.
“Helm, alter course for Taroa. Abby, as soon as you’re ready, jump us to our first recharge layover. Just be sure Tug is aboard before we leave.”
“Yes, sir,” Abby answered.
“Changing course for Taroa,” Josh announced.
* * *
Marcus came strolling up to Tug’s fighter in the Aurora’s main hangar bay, a dozen or more Corinari gathered behind him. “Hail the conquering hero!” he bellowed at Tug.
Tug climbed down the boarding ladder that had been rolled into place by two of the Corinari technicians assigned t
o the flight deck. He was grinning from ear to ear, which was a look that Marcus had never seen on the grim old man until now. As he set foot on the deck, he was greeted by several Corinari technicians offering congratulations.
“I am not the hero on this day,” Tug exclaimed as he grabbed Marcus, hugged him, and then kissed him on the cheek. “It is you and your Corinari friends.”
“Huh?” Marcus said as he wiped his cheek.
“Those firing patterns, they worked!”
“Oh, that,” he replied, still wiping his cheek in disgust. “Jesus, I’ve been kissed by a terrorist. Does that mean I’ve been marked for death or something?” he asked, half-joking.
Tug finished accepting the congratulatory handshakes of the Corinari and then put his arm around Marcus’s shoulder, leading him toward the exit. “If they served drinks on this ship I would surely buy you one, my friend.”
Marcus shrugged off Tug’s arm, not feeling too comfortable being touched. “I’ll take you up on that as soon as we get back to Corinair.”
* * *
“Captain?” Tug called from the ready room hatch.
“Tug, come in,” Nathan offered, happy to see him. “Nice shoot’n,” he offered as he rose and shook Tug’s hand.
“Thank you, Captain,” Tug accepted, “but it was the new firing pattern provided by the Corinari technicians that did the job. All I did was fly the ship.”
“Directly in the path of a drone rushing toward you at ninety percent the speed of light,” Nathan added.
“Technically, as I was already doing eighty-nine percent light, it was only closing on me at one percent light.”
“Oh, is that all?” Nathan joked. “So what, it was only doing about three million meters per second? So no big deal, huh?” Nathan sat back down in his seat. “So, I heard the Corinari threw you a little celebration. Must feel kind of strange.”
“Indeed,” Tug agreed as he took a seat across the desk from Nathan. “As you may have noticed, relations between the Karuzari and the people of Corinair have been somewhat strained as of late.”
“Yes, I had noticed. But this should help, I suspect.”
“Quite possibly, yes,” Tug agreed. “However, I am not entirely sure that celebration is in order.”
“How so?” Nathan asked, leaning forward again.
“The drone was not completely destroyed, Captain. There were many pieces, some the size of a man’s head, that although damaged, are still large enough to detect once they reach the Takaran system.”
“You really think that’s a problem?”
Tug leaned back in his chair, taking a deep breath before continuing. “If discovered, yes, possibly. It is possible to determine that the debris is from a destroyed comm-drone. It is also possible to determine the point of origin of that drone based on the flight path of the debris.”
“That seems a bit unlikely, don’t you think? I mean, that blast had to scatter the debris pretty widely. It would be difficult to figure out where it came from unless you had multiple pieces of debris on different trajectories.”
“This is true. However, you should not discount the cleverness of the Ta’Akar, Captain. They are not stupid—arrogant, yes, but not stupid.”
“Okay,” Nathan said, becoming a little more concerned over the possibility. “Assuming that they did discover the debris, which would take at least six months…”
“Assuming a patrol ship does not discover the debris sooner,” Tug interrupted.
“Assuming they don’t,” Nathan agreed, “after time spent figuring out what it was and where it came from, and then dispatching a response, we’re still talking several months at the very least,” Nathan insisted.
“I am sure you are correct, Captain. I only wish to point out that we still cannot afford to take our time. We must act decisively, and with great haste. Every moment we let slip by increases our chance of failure.”
“But we need time to repair the ship, to rearm, to prepare the Corinairans…”
“Yes, this is all true. But in the meantime, we need to devise a plan. We need to become the aggressor in this war. We cannot afford to let the Ta’Akar come to us. We must take the fight to them, at a time and place of our choosing, while they still have no idea where our base of operations is located. For once they discover our location, they will strike with everything they have. That is their favorite strategy, and it has served them well for many decades.”
Nathan contemplated Tug’s words for a moment. They had been reacting to everything thrown at them for so long, he had never stopped to seriously consider how to become the aggressor. However, his friend was correct; they had to do just that. “Any suggestions?”
“I have some thoughts on the subject, yes,” Tug said with a smile. “But for now, I have an appointment with my bed. Perhaps we can talk later?”
“Of course.” Nathan answered as Tug rose and headed toward the exit. “Tug?” he called after him. Tug stopped at the exit and turned back to face him. “It was still nice shoot’n.”
Tug nodded and smiled, fatigue evident in his face now that the adrenaline of the events had finally subsided. “Goodnight, Captain,” he said as he turned and stepped through the hatchway.
Chapter Four
“Jump complete,” Abby announced.
“Threat board?” Nathan asked Jessica.
“All clear, sir,” Jessica replied. “All normal traffic. No unidentified ships in the system. Everything looks pretty much as we left it.”
“Great. How far are we from the asteroid base?” Nathan wondered.
“I took the liberty of jumping us relatively close by,” Abby informed him.
“She did at that, Captain,” Loki answered. “Karuzara is only an hour away at our current velocity.”
“Karuzara?” Nathan asked.
“That’s what Tug was calling it?” Loki defended.
“It was my idea,” Josh bragged from the helm.
“Actually,” Tug interrupted as he entered the bridge, “the official name is ‘Do-Karuzara’, which means ‘home of the freedom fighters’.”
“Technically, it means ‘house of the warrior’,” Naralena corrected, “at least in proper Palee, that is. I’m assuming that is where you got the term ‘Karuzari’.”
“Yes, you are correct,” Tug confessed. “But I believe my translation is more fitting.”
“Very well. Mister Hayes, take us to Do-Karuzara,” Nathan ordered. “Will they be ready to receive us?” Nathan asked Tug.
“I believe so, Captain. I spoke with Jalea just before we departed, and she was confident that they were ready to begin repairs as soon as we returned. Since we have been gone considerably longer than expected, I expect they are ready and waiting for us.”
“Very well. Naralena, please let Karuzara know our ETA. Also, contact the Corinari and transmit our mission report. I’m sure they’re dying to know how things went.”
* * *
“Look at that,” Nathan said, his hand raised pointing at the view screen. “On either side. Are those doors?” he asked.
“I think you’re right,” Jessica agreed.
“Were those there last time?” Nathan asked.
“Hell no,” Jessica insisted. “I was standing on the back ramp of the shuttle looking out as we flew in. I’m pretty sure I would’ve noticed a pair of massive doors.”
“Many of the asteroids had pressurized interiors, as did this one. This is one of the reasons we originally chose this asteroid, as it would greatly facilitate repairing the exterior of our spacecraft. But the doors themselves, along with many other components, were taken by the original occupants. It took some time to obtain all the panels to make the doors themselves, but we never had the manpower to install them.”
“Apparently Jalea has,” Nathan commented.
“Yes,” Tug observed, “she can be quite resourceful.”
They watched as the ship passed the inner threshold of the entrance tunnel, passing into the main central ch
amber. The interior of the asteroid was big enough to hold at least two ships the size of the Aurora if parked carefully.
“Captain, we’re receiving docking instructions from Karuzara Port Control,” Loki announced. “They want us to take up station on the starboard side of the main docking platform, as close in as we can put her.”
“Very well, Mister Sheehan,” Nathan answered. “You got this?” Nathan asked Josh.
“I got it, Captain. No worries.”
Josh slowly maneuvered the Aurora into the main chamber, dropping her down toward the main docking platform that ran across the bottom half of the main chamber. Stopping all forward momentum, he continued drifting downward until he lined her up with the retractable mooring arms that the Karuzari technicians had recently installed.
Nathan was immediately reminded of the hydraulic mooring arms back at the Orbital Assembly Platform above the Earth, where the Aurora had been constructed. Her sister ship, the Celestia, was also being assembled there. She had been at least six months behind the Aurora in her build cycle. Nathan wondered if they had tried to pick up the pace of her build since the Aurora had disappeared. For the first time, he found himself wondering how his parents were doing. He wondered if they knew what had happened. His father undoubtedly knew something. At the very least, he knew that his son’s ship was missing and presumed lost. But did his mother know? It wouldn’t be unlike his father to hide such knowledge from her until he knew for sure what had happened. That had always been his style, making decisions for others as if they couldn’t make decisions for themselves.
“We’re in position,” Josh announced.
“Mooring arms are extending,” Loki added.
A moment later, there was a muffled thud and a mild vibration as the mooring clamps attached themselves to the Aurora’s hard-points on the outside of her hull.