Frontiers 05 Rise of the Corinari

by Ryk Brown

  “We have capture,” Loki announced.

  “Kill all maneuvering systems, power down all flight controls, and signal engineering to bring the reactors down to minimal levels until further notice,” Nathan instructed.

  “Yes, sir,” Josh answered.

  “Comms, notify all hands; we are safely docked at Karuzara.”

  “Yes, Captain,” Naralena answered.

  “Lieutenant Commander, let’s set up a security detail for the port boarding hatch. Everything and everyone gets checked both coming and going. No exceptions.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Nathan looked at Tug. “Just playing it safe, for both our sakes,” he assured him.

  “A wise precaution, Captain,” Tug responded.

  “Finally, some time off,” Josh exclaimed.

  “Not so fast, Mister Hayes,” Nathan warned. “You two get cleaned up and get some chow. Then report to the simulator for training.”

  “But Captain, we already know how to fly the ship,” Josh objected.

  “Not well enough to train new flight teams. Until Commander Taylor returns to active duty, you guys are going to be training officers. So you need to work your way through every simulation program in the database. And believe me, there are a lot of them, and they are not easy. In fact, some of them will make you cry. So I suggest you get to it.”

  “Yes, sir,” Josh agreed sheepishly, heading for the exit with Loki hot on his heels.

  Jessica watched them exit then turned back toward Nathan. “Some of them will make you cry? Really?” she said sarcastically.

  “Too strong?” Nathan asked, remembering when Captain Roberts had said much the same.

  * * *

  Nathan, Tug, and Vladimir made their way through the tube that led from the Aurora’s port boarding hatch to the Karuzara spaceport’s docking platform. The platform was nothing more than a long, wide, single-story box that stuck out from the inside wall of the asteroid about fifty meters. Telescopic mooring arms with electrically actuated clamps reached out from the docking platform and were connected to the Aurora to hold her in place. The boarding tube was also telescopic and used inflatable seals to create an airtight inner chamber once the tube was fully extended and locked onto the side of the ship. Vladimir himself had helped modify the mating skirt on the boarding tube to seal up properly against the Aurora during their last stay inside what was then a secret rebel hideout deep within the Darvano system. Now, however, it was the sovereign territory of the newly formed Karuzari government of which Tug was the leader.

  The four of them exited the boarding tube, followed by Sergeant Weatherly and the captain’s security detail. As they walked out into the main docking hangar, they found Jalea and another man coming toward them. All around there were numerous technicians, some Karuzari and some Corinairans, all scurrying about doing their jobs as they prepared to begin their work on the Aurora.

  “Jalea, a pleasure to see you again,” Nathan greeted.

  “Captain, Lieutenant Commander, sir,” Jalea greeted. “May I present Mister Tonken,” she said, gesturing to the man standing to her right. “He is the dock foreman. He is on loan to us from the Corinairans. He is quite experienced in spacecraft repairs and will be supervising the Corinairan technicians who will be working on the exterior of your ship. I thought Lieutenant Commander Kamenetskiy would like to meet him.”

  “Yes, of course,” Vladimir said. “It is an honor, sir.”

  “The honor is all mine,” Mister Tonken insisted. “Please, allow me to show you our facilities,” he offered.

  “Captain?”

  “Enjoy yourself, Lieutenant Commander,” Nathan insisted. He turned and looked at Jessica. She instantly gestured for two men from their security detail to follow Vladimir and Mister Tonken, after which Sergeant Weatherly radioed for two more troops to join their team from inside the Aurora in order to bring them back up to strength.

  Jalea cast a suspicious look toward Jessica, which the Lieutenant Commander returned with a wry smile.

  Nathan noticed the tension. “On my orders, all senior staff are to be escorted by armed security personnel when away from the ship,” Nathan explained.

  “A wise precaution,” Jalea noted. “Did you also order everyone to wear side arms?” she added, taking note of the weapons worn on the hips of all of the Aurora’s officers.

  “My idea,” Jessica stated.

  “Yeah,” Nathan agreed, “and there was far less resistance to that one.”

  Jalea turned and started slowly toward the far end of the docking platform, headed for the doors that led into the main facility attached to the walls of the asteroid itself. “I have received your mission report, Captain. It was most impressive.”

  “Tug did all the work,” Nathan insisted. “We just kept putting him in front of the drone so he could do it.”

  “Nevertheless, heading deep into Takaran space carried its own risks.”

  “I thought there were only a dozen or so Karuzari on Corinair,” Jessica said. “There’s got to be at least fifty people on this dock alone.”

  “Yes. Most of them are on loan from Corinair. However I am happy to report that our own numbers have doubled in the last day and a half. Since word of the new Karuzari government was released, more members have come out of hiding. Some have been in hiding for years, from what I understand.”

  “Have these people been properly vetted?” Jessica asked.

  “Of course,” Jalea defended. “As much so as any of the Corinairans that are working here.”

  “Then I guess the Corinairans are making good on their promise of support,” Nathan observed.

  “Yes, in fact we have already received enough materials, equipment, and manpower to repair the structural damage and the hole in the bow of your ship, Captain.”

  “I’m sure that will make Vladimir quite happy,” Nathan observed.

  “And what of the Yamaro?” Tug inquired.

  “The Corinairans have agreed to move the Yamaro into a nearby hollowed-out asteroid. It does not have the existing facilities inside as this one did, but it is big enough to hold the Yamaro. They have proposed that the Yamaro herself remain mostly intact to act as the inner shell, rather than tear her completely apart.”

  “Makes sense,” Nathan agreed. “She still has working power plants, life support, crew accommodations, and a functioning flight deck.”

  “It would be easier to use the Yamaro’s fabricators in their current environment, as it could take weeks to remove them and set them up elsewhere.”

  “Another advantage to their plan is that the inside of the asteroid still has a considerable amount of raw materials. Therefore, the additional structures and components needed to complete the conversion can be manufactured in situ, thus accelerating the process.”

  “Being in close proximity to Karuzara will make it easier to apply weapons and technology stripped from the Yamaro to the Aurora and other Corinairan spacecraft,” Tug added.

  “It all sounds like a reasonable plan,” Nathan agreed. “Do they have a way to tow the Yamaro to this asteroid?”

  “They are moving two cargo haulers in from one of the outer worlds now,” Jalea advised. “They should be ready to start the towing process in a day or two.”

  “Well, it sounds like you’ve got things under control here,” Nathan decided. “Where are we headed now?”

  “I thought I would show you around the complex until it is time for our departure.”

  “Departure?” Nathan asked. “Departure to where?”

  “Back to Corinair, Captain,” Jalea told him. “You and Tug have a treaty to sign.”

  * * *

  The lobby of the largest building left standing had been decorated as lavishly as possible considering the stress the rebuilding of Aitkenna had placed on the city’s available resources. There had been some controversy over the ceremony itself, as some felt the pomp and circumstance was inappropriate considering the many thousands of citizens still liv
ing in squalor in the hastily assembled survivor camps. In the end, it was decided that the ceremony would serve to inspire hope in the hearts and minds of the displaced citizens of not only Aitkenna, but the entire planet of Corinair, as well as the other minor worlds in the Darvano system.

  With the help of Chief Montrose and a few Corinairan tailors, Nathan and Cameron had managed to put together something that resembled dress uniforms. Although their attire for the occasion would not have met fleet standards, it was sufficiently impressive for the evening’s events.

  Tug and Jalea had also put together uniforms of a sort befitting the minimalistic ways of the Karuzari. Since they were now officially a nation, their entire adult population of fifty-seven men and women also comprised their military. The Corinairans had provided them with standard black uniform pants and shirts, to which the Karuzari had added stark white tunics to be worn as a simple dress uniform. As leaders of the new Karuzari nation, Tug and Jalea had added simple red baldrics hanging from their left shoulders down to the opposite hip where they fastened to their gun belts.

  The Corinari officers in attendance were, of course, far more impressive in their understated black dress uniforms. Rather than the subdued gray trim and piping used on their basic duty wear, their dress wear used dazzling gold trim and piping, as well as bright red sashes around their waists that held ceremonial swords at their hips. By all accounts the appearance of the Corinari greatly belittled that of the Karuzari and of the two representatives of Earth, but the ceremony was more for the benefit of the previously oppressed people of Corinair than it was for their two new allies.

  Despite his objections, Sergeant Weatherly had also been given a dress uniform similar to those worn by Nathan and Cameron. As the other four members of the captain’s security detail were Corinari troops on loan to the Aurora, they wore the same dress uniforms as their Corinari brethren, the only difference being the fleet comm-sets hanging on their left ears as well as the heavier armaments they carried.

  As they entered the decorated lobby, Nathan saw that Jessica would have been pleased by the security measures in place. They had undergone full retinal and ID checks upon entering, and there were armed Corinari guards positioned at every exit. In addition, he had noticed Corinari snipers on the mezzanine above and pairs of guards patrolling the crowd itself.

  Getting past the main security checkpoint carrying weapons had been the difficult part, and in the end everyone except for their security detail had been forced to give up their side arms. Surprisingly, Nathan found himself feeling quite vulnerable without his sidearm, despite the fact that a few weeks ago he would’ve argued against carrying it at all. He shuddered at the thought of Jessica being ordered to give up her sidearm. It undoubtedly would have been an ugly scene.

  The cavernous lobby appeared to be quite crowded, despite the fact that only a few hundred people had been allowed to attend. In addition, there were digi-cams set up at several key locations in order to broadcast the event to not only those watching through the system-wide communications network, but also for the thousands more gathered in the streets outside who were watching the ceremony via massive viewing screens erected on the sides of buildings. Those thousands outside, and the millions viewing online, all hoped to be part of a moment in history. It was an auspicious moment for the people of the Darvano system. Nathan only hoped it would eventually be considered as such by the people of Earth, as well.

  Luckily, there were to be no speeches. The ceremony itself was kept relatively simple, despite all the tedium in its preparation. Each representative from the major nations of Corinair, as well as the lesser worlds within the Darvano system, stepped up to sign the document. As leader of the smallest and newest nation in the Darvano system, Tug was the last to sign. The Prime Minister was next, and finally Nathan himself signed the document, thus ending the ceremony. The announcement that the Earth-Darvano Alliance was now official raised applause from the crowds both inside and out.

  It had taken more than two hours for all the dignitaries to arrive in addition to the hours of preparation that must have gone on prior. All for a ceremony that lasted less than thirty minutes. Nathan understood the purpose of the ceremony itself, as well as the positive effect the telecast might have on the people of the Darvano system. This had to be their most desperate time since the Ta’Akar first invaded their system over thirty years ago. Still, he found it all distasteful in the same way he had been irritated by all the ‘fluff’ around his father’s many political campaigns. Only this time it was worse as he was no longer a spectator on the sidelines, he was center stage.

  Eventually, it ended and the broadcast digi-cams shut down. The crowds outside began to disperse and the millions of people who had watched the ceremony through the system-wide communications network went back to the demands of their daily lives. Unfortunately for Nathan, the reception would last longer than the signing ceremony itself.

  * * *

  After an endless stream of handshakes and brief exchanges of translated pleasantries, Nathan finally found himself able to relax somewhat. After a few moments of searching, he spotted Cameron sitting at a side table with Chief Montrose. The chief had spent a lot of time with Commander Taylor over the last two weeks as they had interviewed thousands of Corinairan volunteers applying to serve on the Aurora. As Nathan’s presence had been required on the greeting line, the chief had taken it upon himself to attend to the commander’s needs out of concern that she might over exert herself. Although she was making considerable progress in her recovery, her former drive and energy had still not returned.

  “Chief,” Nathan said as he took a seat at the table, “how is the family?”

  “Fine, sir,” Chief Montrose answered. “Deliza is very good. She is helping in the house and helping children with lessons.”

  “Lessons?” Nathan wondered.

  “The neighborhood school was destroyed,” Cameron explained. “A few of the parents started up their own little school in one of the larger homes. Deliza helps to teach the little ones.”

  “I had forgotten that Tug’s daughters were staying with you and your family,” Nathan told the chief.

  “Not for much longer,” the chief told him. “Soon she will join her father on Karuzara.”

  “Really?” Nathan wondered, somewhat surprised by the news.

  “She’s too smart to keep tucked away in some makeshift school,” Cameron insisted. “She thinks she will be more useful on Karuzara helping with programming.”

  “She just might at that,” Nathan agreed. “But what about his youngest daughter?”

  “Nalaya? She will stay. She gets along very well with our girls,” the chief explained. “Inside of rock in space is not place for little girl.”

  “You may be right, Chief,” Nathan admitted. “You know, your Angla is getting better.”

  “Commander Taylor is most helpful with this,” Chief Montrose explained. “She is always to be correcting me when I make mistakes.”

  “I’m sure she is,” Nathan mused.

  “Speaking of always to be corrected,” the chief said, trying to make a joke as he looked at his watch, “it is time that I got home to my wife.” The chief rose from his seat. “If you will excuse me, sirs?”

  “Thank you, Chief,” Cameron said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Nathan waited for the chief to leave before speaking. “He’s a good man.”

  “Yes, he is,” Cameron agreed. “And he really believes in what we’re doing.”

  “What about you?” Nathan asked. “Do you believe in what we’re doing?”

  “It’s not as cut-and-dried as you think it is, Nathan. I still think we should have headed back for Earth the moment we got the jump drive back online back in the Korak system. We could have been halfway home by now.”

  “More like a quarter,” Nathan joked. Cameron obviously wasn’t laughing. “Okay, one-third maybe, but not half.”

  “You understand my point, Nathan. We didn’t ne
ed to get involved in all of this.”

  “I was only trying to keep us alive,” Nathan defended, “so that we could get home.”

  “I’ll go along with that,” Cameron agreed, “right up until you decided to take on the Yamaro.”

  “I couldn’t let them destroy an entire world, Cam…”

  “You don’t know that they would have,” she interrupted. “Besides, you were ignoring Captain Roberts’ last orders and seriously jeopardizing our primary mission…”

  “I was only doing what I thought was the right thing.”

  “And you almost got me…” Cameron paused, correcting herself, “…got us killed.”

  Nathan could sense that the conversation was escalating and decided to back down for the moment. The reception for the signing of the Alliance treaty was not the place for this particular line of discussion. As the duly appointed captain of the Aurora, Nathan was not required to defend his actions to his executive officer, only to his superiors. He did, however, feel compelled to explain his reasons to his friend.

  “However,” Cameron continued, “in regards to this treaty, I’ve decided that I support your decision.”

  “Really?” Nathan wondered, not quite believing what he was hearing.

  Cameron looked at him for a moment. “Are you really that surprised?”

  “Actually, yes,” he admitted. “May I ask why?”

  “Well first, because you do have the authority according to regulations. Therefore, I don’t have sufficient grounds to relieve you of command.”

  “Thanks, I feel so much better…”

  “And second,” she interrupted, “because I believe that allying with the Corinari and the Karuzari, and defeating the Ta’Akar, offers us the best chance of getting back to Earth and successfully defending her against the Jung.”

  Nathan leaned back in his chair, stunned at her sudden change of heart. “Wait, is this a trick? Is this one of those reverse-psychology things?”

  “Just promise me you’ll be smart about this,” she said, looking deadly serious.

  “What do you mean, Cam?”