by Ryk Brown
“I don’t know,” she admitted in frustration. “All I do know is they have to check my progress and update the nanite programming every few hours.”
“Well, when do they take those things out of you?”
“They’re already coming out of me,” Cameron explained. “When one of them finishes their assigned task or gets low on energy, they head for my kidneys to make their exit.”
“Jeez, it’s just creepy, the thought of having millions of those things inside of you, knitting away at your insides.” Jessica shuddered at the thought. “What does it feel like, anyway?”
“Most of the time you don’t feel it, at least not like before,” Cameron explained. “When I first woke up, it was awful. It was like I was being poked with a million tiny needles from the inside. If it wasn’t for the pain meds, I would’ve freaked. Now, it’s just an occasional shooting pain here and there.”
“Are you still on the pain meds?”
“No, not for a few days now.”
“How are you sleeping?” Jessica asked. There was a pause, a long one. Jessica knew what it meant, as most of the crew had experienced some difficulty sleeping due to the events they had lived through. And Cameron had been through more than most.
“Not too bad,” she said in a less than convincing fashion. “Some nights are better than others.”
Another long pause told Jessica that it wasn’t an issue to be pushed. “Well, just hurry up and get well,” she told Cameron. “We’ve got a whole new crew to train, and if we leave it all up to Nathan and Vlad, we’ll have a ship full of idiots.”
Cameron smiled ever so slightly through her fatigued expression.
“I’ve got three hours until I’ve got to head back,” Jessica stated, trying to change the subject. “How’s the room service in this joint?”
* * *
Decades of training and experience had made it impossible for Travon Dumar to sit in a confined space with anyone sitting behind him. From the back of the shuttle’s main cabin, he felt more at ease, as he could easily keep an eye on everyone aboard.
He was on the first of two shuttles heading for Karuzara where the Aurora was docked. Between the two shuttles there were one hundred volunteers. When combined with the surviving members of the Aurora’s original crew, the ship would have nearly two full shifts available. There were two more waves of volunteers due over the next two weeks as well, after which the ship would be fully staffed.
Training would undoubtedly be difficult, as time was short. Everyone knew that the Ta’Akar kept irregular patrol schedules so as to keep their subjects better in line. He looked over the rows of volunteers in front of him, noticing every type imaginable. They had come from all walks of life, with different skills and experience. Many of them had served aboard Ta’Akar ships during their mandatory service, but even more had not. He wondered if either had an advantage over the other, as he had no idea how different these people from Earth might run their military vessels.
The people of Corinair had a long history of being a proud, strong-willed people. Their strength and courage had earned them considerable respect from the field commanders of the Ta’Akar Empire during the invasion of the Darvano system over thirty years ago. However, nearly two generations and several decades of incessant brainwashing by Ta’Akar propagandists had bred much of the fight out of them. He could only wonder if these volunteers had what it took to stand up against the ruthless dictatorship that was the Ta’Akar.
Travon Dumar had no love for the empire. He had lost that long ago. He also had no expectations of returning safely to Corinair. He had sent his family away to the safety of a mountain retreat only he had known about. There was ample wealth to see to their needs, and from that location, they might even survive should the Ta’Akar achieve their goal and fully occupy the planet.
He had disbanded his unit and destroyed all evidence of its existence. The fires that had consumed it would be attributed to just another of the many conflagrations that had been burning in Aitkenna for days on end after the Yamaro had attacked the planet. He had even murdered the only other person who knew the secret he now carried with him. He had no plan, no idea, what he was going to do once he got to the Aurora, aside from one goal—find Redmond Tugwell.
The shuttle passed through the tunnel leading into the Karuzari asteroid with ease. The idea seemed so simple as to be considered genius. The belt was littered with such hollowed out shells, all waiting for their turn to be de-orbited and sent to a new orbit high above Corinair where their remains would be broken up and completely harvested once and for all. It was also somewhat embarrassing that the Karuzari had managed to establish this base under his very nose. He had searched his memory for days on end when he had heard the news of the secret Karuzari asteroid base, and he could not find a single clue he might have overlooked. These Karuzari were not stupid; of this he was sure. After all, they had managed to fight a guerrilla war for three decades and had reduced the strength of their enemy by more than half. It had been an accidental bit of intelligence that had led the Campaglia to the Taroa system, where they would have squashed the rebellion once and for all, had it not been for the Aurora.
Travon Dumar had taken his posting in the Darvano system in order to remove himself from the corruption and nepotism of the regime of Caius the Great. Yet here he was, about to be thrust into the middle of a struggle that could ultimately decide the very fate of the empire. He neither wanted to be here, nor could he walk away; that was the irony of the situation.
He looked out the window of the shuttle as the tunnel walls gave way, widening into a vast inner cavern. A minute later, he could barely make out the gray and white shape of the Aurora moored at the Karuzara docks in the middle of the lower half of the cavern. He looked in amazement at the ship as her back half, obviously the main propulsion section, passed beneath them and slid to their aft. The ship didn't look terribly different from any other he had seen. She had rather smooth lines, punctuated by various protuberances here and there, as well as the seams between outer hull plates.
The main propulsion section seemed to drop away suddenly and the shuttle fired her thrusters to initiate a rapid change in altitude in relation to the ship below her. Travon put his face to the small window, straining to look forward along the curve of the shuttle’s hull to see the ship they were about to land on. A deck, an apron of some sort, with markings meant to assist the pilot in lining his ship up for a safe landing, were painted on the deck below. Lights inside the lines were flashing in a sequential pattern, moving from the aft end of the apron forward, shifting closer to the center line as they progressed. The shuttle fired more maneuvering thrusters, rolling slightly from side to side and yawing to starboard, then finally sliding laterally until she came to rest on the exterior landing apron of the Aurora. The shuttle shook slightly as the ship touched down. There was obviously a bit of gravity generated on the deck in order to make it easier for the pilots to keep their ships on the deck while rolling forward. As they rolled in under the aft canopy, he could feel the gravity increasing until it was at a level close to normal. He wondered what normal gravity was for the people of Earth. For that matter, had they chosen to use their normal level of gravity, or a level that was normal for the Corinairans who would be filling out the Aurora’s crew roster?
The brightness of the lights outside the shuttle increased as it rolled inside the center transfer airlock. The lighting in the main cavern of Karuzara had been somewhat dim, but adequate for navigation. Here, however, they appeared to prefer much more light.
As the shuttle rolled to a stop inside the transfer airlock, Lieutenant Commander Nash stood at the front of the cabin and turned back toward the passengers. “May I have your attention,” she ordered. A quiet quickly fell over the cabin, the sound of the ventilation fans inside the cabin being the only sound left. “As soon as the airlock pressurizes, a Corinari inspection team will come aboard and perform a security check. Please have all ID chips, bio-scan info
cards, and personal belongings ready for inspection. If you do not cooperate you will be forcibly detained, and I do mean forcibly. Is that understood?” Before anyone in the cabin could answer incorrectly, the Lieutenant Commander continued. “The correct answer would be, ‘Yes, sir.’” She looked them over again. “Is that understood?”
Everyone in the cabin responded with a resounding, “Yes, sir!”
“Very good,” she told them. “Remain in your seats until your name is called. When you hear your name, remove your bag from under your seat and step forward. As the guards clear you, exit the shuttle and form up outside in the transfer airlock. Once the shuttle and passengers have been cleared, the inner doors will open. Is that understood?”
Again the group answered, “Yes, sir,” together as one.
Travon Dumar smiled. He recognized Corinari security procedures when he saw them. He wondered how much of this was their idea and how much of it was on the orders of Lieutenant Commander Nash. Again, the idea amused him. He peered out his window again as the outer door of the transfer airlock slammed shut. The lighting in the transfer airlock suddenly became a pale blue, with green strobe lights flashing on the walls. A similar method was used on Ta’Akar ships to indicate that an airlock was currently re-pressurizing—yet another similarity between their peoples. As the pressure in the airlock increased, so did the audible hiss of the air being pumped into the room. At first, it was barely audible over the sound of the internal ventilation fans as well as the excited voices of the volunteers as they chatted amongst themselves in anticipation of what lay ahead. But within minutes the hiss was quite distinct, if one was listening for it.
A few minutes later, the hissing outside the shuttle stopped and the lighting changed from pale blue to a clean amber white light that was distributed evenly throughout the airlock. The green strobe lights had also stopped flashing. A small door opened in the main inner airlock door, and a column of ten heavily armed Corinari troops entered the airlock, followed by a sergeant carrying a data pad. The small door instantly closed after the sergeant entered. Moments later, two of the guards and the sergeant cracked open the hatch to the shuttle and stepped inside to begin the inspection.
* * *
“Attention on deck!” Jessica called out as she entered the room just behind the captain. Everyone in the room immediately stood at attention as Nathan stepped up onto the stage and took the podium. “At ease,” he announced. He looked to his left at Chief Montrose who had entered behind him. “Good evening, everyone. I’m Captain Nathan Scott, commander of the UES Aurora. For those few of you who do not speak Angla, Chief Montrose will be translating.”
Nathan paused for a moment as he looked around the room. The majority of the volunteers were male, by appearances between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five, with a few older ones scattered about. There looked to be a handful of women as well, most of which seemed a bit younger. The average age of the volunteers surprised him, as most of the new cadets coming out of the three fleet academies back on Earth were in their mid twenties. He himself had been one of the oldest cadets in his class, having completed his graduate work before pursuing a commission in the Earth Defense Fleet.
“Before I begin,” Nathan started, “I’d like to get a few things out of the way. First, by order of the Corinari Command Authority, Chief Doran Montrose is hereby promoted to Master Chief. Second, on the strong recommendation of my executive officer, Commander Taylor, I hereby appoint Master Chief Montrose as the Aurora’s new chief of the boat. Congratulations, Master Chief,” Nathan said extending his hand to Master Chief Montrose.
“Thank you, sir.”
“I would like to begin by thanking all of you for volunteering to serve aboard this ship. Make no mistake; by doing so you are putting yourselves directly in harm’s way. The Aurora will serve as the point of the Alliance spear. Many of us will not survive, but I have no doubt that all of us will be remembered, regardless of the outcome.”
Nathan paused and looked around the room again as the chief of the boat caught up in his translations. “Why this ship? Why now? I can’t answer the ‘why now’, but I can answer 'why this ship'. It’s not because we’re bigger, or stronger, or more heavily armed. This ship is unique because it is equipped with a system that can move her across vast distances of space in the blink of an eye. We call this system a jump drive, and it can jump us up to ten light years at a time. The jump drive provides a huge tactical advantage that we intend to use to defeat the Ta’Akar Empire and liberate not only the Darvano system, but all of the Pentaurus cluster. But this ship, as amazing as it might be, is only a tool. It is nothing without a crew that can use her properly. And that is where you, and the volunteers arriving over the next few weeks, come in. It will not be easy, as despite your various levels of expertise, many of you have no shipboard experience. The training will be endless and exhausting, but we have no choice, as the Ta’Akar could show up on our doorstep unannounced at any moment. We have to be ready to fight as soon as possible.”
Nathan looked around the room one last time as the master chief continued translating. “As I said, I cannot tell you why we are here now. Call it chance; call it fate; call it legend; call it the will of whatever god you choose to believe in. The fact of the matter is that we are here now, and we have a job to do… together. For together we are one.” After a moment’s pause, Nathan realized he had nothing more to say. “I’ll now turn over the room to Lieutenant Commander Nash who will go over the ship’s basic rules and regulations, after which the chief… I’m sorry, the Master Chief, will pass out your berthing and duty assignments, as well as your training schedules. Thank you all again for volunteering.”
The volunteers began to applaud as Nathan left the podium. He smiled slightly, a small wave escaping as he exited the briefing room.
“Attention on deck!” Master Chief Montrose barked, immediately ending the applause before it gained momentum, allowing Jessica to start her part of the briefing.
* * *
Nathan had been studying the training schedule Commander Taylor had sent back with Jessica for over an hour. As expected, the schedule was thorough and well organized. The only thing missing was training for flight operations, as she still had to meet with Major Prechitt and his deck chief in order to discuss operational issues.
Just as his eyes were beginning to cross, the entry buzzer sounded. “Yes?” he called.
“Ensign Willard to see you, sir,” the guard who peeked in the hatchway stated.
“Send him in.”
Ensign Willard stepped through the hatchway into the captain’s ready room. “Thank you for seeing me, Captain. I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“Not at all, Mister Willard,” Nathan assured him. “Have a seat. How may I help you?”
“I was wondering,” Ensign Willard began as he sat, “if you had considered allowing some of the Yamaro’s crew to serve aboard the Aurora.”
“The thought has crossed my mind, yes. But I haven’t had a chance to discuss it at length with my XO. I also expect that my chief of security will have some issues.”
“Understandable, Captain. However, at least twenty of the Yamaro’s crew, most of them Corinairan born and raised, fought to protect this ship. Many of them gave their very lives.”
“While that may be so,” Nathan said, trying to remain respectful, “let’s not forget, Mister Willard, they were fighting for their own lives just as much as they were fighting for this ship, perhaps even more so.”
“Perhaps,” Ensign Willard agreed, “but those men could just as easily have taken to the escape pods like the others, and they chose to stand and fight. And for what? So they could languish away in some internment camp on their own home world, watching as their people struggle to prepare for war? Captain, if their skills are not to be utilized here, at least set them free to defend their own world, to be with their own families.”
“Mister Willard,” Nathan replied, leaning back in his chair, “has it oc
curred to you, that some of the people on Corinair might not make the distinction between those that ordered the attack on Corinair and those who carried it out?” He waited a moment for a reply, but saw that none was coming. “It’s quite possible that they are safer right where they are, at least for the moment.”
“I must admit, sir, I had not considered that possibility.”
“Neither had I,” Nathan admitted. “It was one of the Prime Minister’s staff that raised the concern.” Nathan studied Mister Willard for a moment. He was obviously concerned for the well-being of his shipmates. “Listen, make up a list of the names and qualifications of those among them that are from Corinair, and I’ll take a look at it. I cannot promise anything, but I will give it serious consideration.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Ensign Willard said.
Nathan noticed that the ensign was not rising from his seat to depart. “Was there something else?”
“Yes, sir. I was wondering if you had any plans on how to deal with the Yamaro’s eventual failure to show up in the Savoy system.”
“There’s not much we can do about that, I’m afraid. There is no way we can repair the Yamaro’s damage. Her entire drive section is nearly gone. It would be impossible to get her into the Savoy system for her rendezvous.”
“Then don’t,” Ensign Willard said. “Just send her transponder.”
“Excuse me?”
“You could pull her transponder and go into the Savoy system yourself, transmitting her ID codes.”
“This ship is nothing like the Yamaro; you’d have to be blind not to notice the differences.”
“Of course, but no one will be looking at the Aurora. The Yamaro would not enter into a planetary orbit, Captain. Standard procedure for Ta’Akar warships is to park at a gravitationally stable point out of reach of the primary planet’s defense systems.”
“You’re talking about Lagrange points,” Nathan stated.
Ensign Willard continued, paying little attention to the captain’s comment. “In order to conserve fuel, Captain de Winter normally parked at a gravity point even farther out, as it required much less deceleration than going deeper into the system. Granted, it is not much of a savings, but Ta’Akar ships are usually out on patrol for several years at a time. Their captains have this strange pride system. Showing up with empty tanks tells of a captain that did not plan well. It does make for more difficult transits for the shuttles, but they get refueled at their destination.”