Frontiers 05 Rise of the Corinari

by Ryk Brown

  “Yeah, I helped fight them off,” Jessica explained. “They didn’t seem very organized. More like a ‘Hey everybody, grab a gun and join us’ kind of group.”

  “You may be right, Lieutenant Commander, and you should be thankful. Takaran boarding parties are not known for their failures.”

  “You see, that’s useful intel. Why didn’t you tell me that before?” she asked.

  “You did not ask,” Dumar responded.

  Jessica grunted. “Yeah, you’re an intelligence officer; that’s for sure. So what did you find?”

  “This,” Dumar answered, holding up a small flat device not much bigger than the palm of his hand.

  “What’s this,” she asked, “a data pad of some sort?”

  “More of a communication pad. It is used for sending and receiving personal messages.”

  “You mean, like to friends and family?”

  “Possibly, yes.”

  “But not for military messages?”

  “Definitely not. The empire has a far more sophisticated messaging system than this. They use point-to-point messaging. These devices use broadcast topologies.”

  “Meaning they send it out to everyone, but only the person with the right address bothers to receive it.”

  “Precisely,” Dumar confirmed.

  “Yeah, not very secure. What do you make of it?”

  Dumar studied the device for a moment. “My first concern was why he was carrying it on him. These are generally used while a ship is in port, and mostly only when they are in their home port of Takara to keep in touch with their families. Usually one would stow this in their personal locker for safe keeping. However, if he had only recently left port, he might have kept it on him for sentimental reasons, as they also store pictures and video clips to remind them of home. Many will do so for at least a few weeks, until they get over missing their families.”

  “But this happened in Taroa,” Jessica pointed out. “That’s, what, four light years from Takara? It would take months to make that journey.”

  “Three point nine light years, to be exact, and it would take approximately one hundred and forty-two days at top speed.”

  “So why was he carrying it on him?” Jessica wondered.

  “The more important question would be: why was it encrypted?” Dumar asked. Jessica looked at him. “And not just any civilian encryption,” Dumar added, “floating point, floating key, ten-thousand bit encryption.”

  “I’m not a crypto-geek,” Jessica admitted, “but that sounds like some serious encryption to me.”

  “It is,” Dumar assured her, “very much so.”

  Jessica continued studying the device as she spoke. “So why was a junior officer in a support unit, carrying around an encrypted personal messaging device while on a boarding action for which he was not trained, almost five months from home.”

  “My best guess is that he expected to send or receive a message from someone at any moment.”

  “But as I understood it, the Campaglia came out of FTL and went straight into her attack on the Karuzari encampment. That suggests that she was sent there from Takara for that express purpose.”

  “Agreed.”

  “The Karuzari?” Jessica wondered. “Maybe he was a mole, or a double agent.”

  “It is possible,” Dumar agreed, “but it is also possible that he was planning on sending a message to friends or relatives, or even a mistress in the Taroa system. That is also a common practice among the nobles in Ta’Akar society.”

  “One in every port, huh?” Jessica joked.

  “Excuse me?”

  “An old Earth expression. Then you don’t think it looks suspicious?”

  “If it were not for the encryption, I would say no.”

  “Yeah, that makes you wonder, doesn’t it? I’ll have Ensign Willard take a crack at the encryption on this thing,” she said. “Maybe there will be some messages still on it that will tell us something.”

  “Ensign Willard?” Dumar asked, trying to hide his curiosity. He remembered the late Captain de Winter mentioning the young mutineer before the captain had departed on his attempt to recapture his ship and take possession of the Aurora by force. “I do not remember seeing his name on the crew roster.”

  “He’s not,” Jessica explained. “He’s the guy who led the mutiny on the Yamaro.”

  “A noble led a mutiny?” Dumar said, doing his best to sound surprised.

  “Not a noble, a common officer. He’s Corinairan, actually. He’s been helping us out, providing us with intel and such.”

  “I see. What were his duties on the Yamaro?”

  “Comms and crypto.”

  “Interesting, I can see how he might be of service. I would like to meet him someday and thank him for his brave actions. I am sure he saved countless Corinairan lives on that day—perhaps even my own.”

  “Listen,” Jessica interrupted, suddenly having an idea, “you used to work in intel and mission planning and such, back when you served the Ta’Akar, right?”

  “Yes, but that was many years ago.”

  “Tell me what you think of this idea. The Yamaro was due to stop in the Savoy system in a few weeks to pick up some inductees and ferry them back to Takara. Willard suggested that we use the Yamaro’s transponders and pretend to be the Yamaro, go to the Savoy system and make the pick up using the Yamaro’s shuttles. The captain thinks it could buy us some additional time to put together our little alliance before the Ta’Akar come a knockin’.”

  “Interesting idea,” Dumar admitted.

  “Do you think it’ll work?”

  “Yes, it might,” Dumar agreed. “In Savoy it might. They are not as industrialized as the Darvano system.”

  “Yeah, that’s what Willard said.”

  “But it is not without risk,” Dumar warned. “If you are successful, it might buy you the extra time your captain seeks, but if unsuccessful, you could be losing time as well.”

  “Would you recommend it?” Jessica wondered as she picked up Mister Dumar’s data pad and scanned the list of items found on the dead Takaran soldiers.

  Dumar was very careful not to recommend Ensign Willard’s plan with too much enthusiasm. A trip to the Savoy system might present him with a golden opportunity, but if he was too eager, the lieutenant commander might become suspicious of him as well. “The success of the mission hinges on two things. First, you must have a convincing officer and guards for the trip to Savoy. That will be key, as they will be speaking with the garrison staff directly when they pick up the conscripts. Second, if another Ta’Akar warship enters the system, you will be instantly exposed, as they will scan you to verify your identity, regardless of the ID codes your transponder is sending out.”

  “You didn’t answer the question,” Jessica said.

  “I do not believe it is my place to make that call,” Dumar defended. “However, the plan is sound and it could work. But, ultimately, it is up to the captain to decide if it is worth the risk.”

  “Nice. I like the way you worded your answer—again, like a true intelligence agent.”

  “It comes not from my work in intelligence,” he assured her. “It is more from my work as a commodities speculator. It is never a good idea to tell a client where they should invest their money, but rather one should tell them the risks and rewards and let the client come to their own conclusions.”

  Jessica smiled. “Hey, I noticed that Takaran officer had an empty gun holster. They didn’t find his weapon anywhere?”

  “Not to my knowledge, no. I assumed it fell out of his hand as he was sucked out into space. As I said, he was not really trained for a boarding action.”

  “Right,” Jessica remembered.

  Chapter Seven

  “Attention on deck,” the guard called as Nathan entered the ready room.

  “As you were,” Nathan ordered as he made his way to his seat. “I trust you’ve all read Ensign Willard’s proposal. I’d like to know if anyone has a problem with t
he idea.”

  “Sir, are you saying that we are going to do this?” Jessica asked.

  “I’m seriously considering it,” Nathan admitted. “Unless one of you can give me a good enough reason not to.”

  “How much more time do you really think it will give us?” Jessica wondered.

  “Ensign Willard?” Nathan asked.

  “It is impossible to say for sure, Captain. However, assuming that the Yamaro did not show up, and assuming another patrol ship arrived relatively soon afterward, it would only take that second ship one of your months to reach the Darvano system.”

  “Is there any way to know when the next patrol ship will show up in the Savoy system?” Nathan wondered.

  “We’ve been monitoring communications from all over the cluster, sir,” Jessica reported. “The Corinairans have also shared all their arrival and departure records. The Ta’Akar appear to keep at least one fairly regular patrol schedule. However, they also like to maintain a random patrol, surprising the systems within the cluster with irregular visits. They’ve even been known to double back a few days later just to check. Our best guess is that the Savoy system is due for a visit within the next month.”

  “Tug?” Nathan asked, wanting to get the opinion of the Karuzari leader.

  “Lieutenant Commander Nash’s assessment is accurate, at least as much as is possible.”

  “So, if the Yamaro doesn’t show up, the worst-case scenario is that we get a visit one month later,” Nathan surmised. “That would be about five to six weeks from now. What if a patrol ship doesn’t show up, and they don’t believe we’re the Yamaro? How long do we have then?”

  “It would take about two weeks for a message to reach Ta’Akar command,” Ensign Willard stated. “At that point, they would either dispatch a ship from Takara—which would take about six months—or contact a ship that is already in the area which, again, could arrive within a month—even less if they happen to be close by.”

  “Sir, what bothers me is that we won’t really know either way,” Jessica pointed out. “Knowing we have to be ready to fight in a month requires a completely different build up than knowing we’ve got six months.”

  “I see your point,” Nathan agreed, “but what can we do?”

  “We could put a spy in the Savoy system,” Jalea suggested. “We have been talking about trying to make contact with Karuzari that might be hiding out in the Savoy system. We just have not had a way to get anyone in place.”

  “What good would a spy be?” Jessica asked. “It would take a year for a message to reach us.”

  “Not if you jumped into close proximity to the system,” Jalea suggested.

  “She may be right, Captain,” Tug concluded. “We could set up regular contact appointments. We could jump in, wait for a broadcast from the agent on the surface, and then respond appropriately if a message is received.”

  “We don’t know that the Aurora is always going to be available for such missions,” Nathan warned.

  “The Corinairans are making remarkable progress on the miniaturized version of the jump drive, Captain,” Abby added. “They expect it will be ready for testing in another week or two.”

  “If it works, we could make regular contact jumps,” Tug stated.

  “Who would you send to the surface?” Nathan wondered.

  “I would be the logical choice,” Jalea offered.

  “She does have extensive experience in covert intelligence,” Tug pointed out. “And if there are still any Karuzari in the Savoy system, they will recognize Jalea and trust her.”

  Nathan looked at Jessica, well aware of her distrust for Jalea.

  “As much as I hate to admit it,” Jessica began, “it is a good idea. And it could turn out to be a really good idea, depending on what she learns.”

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Nathan asked. “It sounds like it could be dangerous.”

  “No more so than before, Captain. I will be fine.”

  “How will we get you into the system?” Jessica asked.

  “I can pose as an accountant for the Ta’Akar. They regularly send out investigators to keep their financial partners honest. I have used this ploy before with success.”

  “Such investigators are known to catch rides on warships, Captain,” Ensign Willard pointed out. “It would not raise any suspicions if she were to accompany the team that would be going down to pick up the inductees from the garrison.”

  “In fact, it would probably serve to strengthen her credibility,” Tug added.

  “Ensign Willard,” Nathan said, changing the direction of the conversation, “have you talked to your shipmates?”

  “Yes, Captain. Although few were willing to take on such risk, there were enough that felt it was a worthwhile endeavor. I believe they will perform acceptably.”

  Nathan scanned the faces of everyone in attendance. “I have to admit that I was hesitant to take the risk before,” he explained. “However, if we can get boots on the ground and get some real intel, especially an early warning of trouble headed our way, it makes the risk that much more acceptable.” Nathan took one last look around the room, looking for any dissenting expressions. “Very well,” he continued, sensing no opposition to the idea. “We’ve only got four days left to pull this off, and we’ve got a bit of work to do. If we’re going to make this work, we need a plan. So let’s get started.”

  * * *

  Nathan’s eyes widened as he entered one of the many rehabilitation suites in the Aitkenna hospital. There, in the middle of the room, was his executive officer, Cameron. She was dressed in an exercise suit and had some sort of virtual reality equipment strapped to her head, with a long cable running from the headgear to the ceiling above. She was reaching out and grabbing at the air, over and over again, as if trying to catch flies. Nathan watched for several seconds, trying to suppress his laughter, until finally he could no longer control himself. “Oh, God, please,” he begged as he broke into semi-controlled laughter. “Tell me this is some kind of therapy, and that my XO hasn’t lost it.”

  Cameron stopped the exercise cold, and placed her hands on her hips. “Drop dead… sir,” she responded as she waited for the technician to come and remove the device from her head.

  “What were you trying to catch?” Nathan asked.

  “Little floating balls,” Cameron answered.

  “Why?”

  “Hand-eye coordination testing, sir,” the technician answered as he removed the apparatus from Cameron’s head.

  “Ah. Did she pass?”

  “She always passes,” the technician assured him.

  Cameron flashed a sarcastic smile at him. “What are you doing here?”

  “I brought the bodies of the four crewmen I found in the bow. The Corinairans are going to store them in their morgue until we have a chance to arrange a burial ceremony.”

  “You should have assigned that task to a junior officer, Nathan,” Cameron scolded.

  “And miss all this?” Nathan teased. “Actually, I did. I just hitched a ride. I needed to talk to you.”

  “About what?” Cameron inquired.

  “Not here.”

  A few minutes later they were back in Cameron’s room. As there was always a Corinari guard posted at the door, it was about as secure a location as they would find in the entire hospital on short notice.

  “What’s going on, Nathan? Why all the secrecy?”

  Nathan handed her his data pad. She pressed her thumb to the biometric scanning window on the device to unlock it. Other than himself, Cameron, Jessica, and Vladimir were the only other people that had access to his data pad. “What’s this, a mission brief?” she asked as she looked it over.

  “Yeah, Jessica recommended we compartmentalize it—need to know and all that.”

  “Jessica thinks there are already spies on our new crew?”

  “No, Jessica thinks there are spies everywhere.”

  Cameron’s eyes widened as she read the mission brief.
“You’re going to masquerade as the Yamaro? Seriously?”

  “It worked before,” Nathan commented.

  “We were pretending to be a Volonese cargo ship that no one had ever seen before, Nathan. This is not the same thing, not by a long shot, and you know it.”

  “Please, Commander, read on before you decide I’m a complete idiot,” Nathan urged.

  Cameron flashed another smirk at Nathan as she continued reading. “Do you really think we’ll gain that much time if we pull this off?” she asked a few moments later.

  “That’s exactly what I thought, until Jalea suggested that she could remain there to gather intel and make contact with any Karuzari hiding in the system. If we’re unsuccessful, at least she’ll be able to warn us.”

  “That doesn’t necessarily make it worth the risk, Nathan.”

  “No, you’re right; it doesn’t. But just putting Jalea on the ground there could be worth it. For all we know, word of what happened in the Darvano system may have already leaked out.”

  “I thought the Corinairans said that no other comm-drones had been dispatched.”

  “Yes, but in all the chaos, it is possible that they missed one. According to the logs that the Corinari gave Jessica, there were comm-drones leaving for various systems on a fairly regular basis. Most of them carried routine stuff: financial transactions, commodities reports, personal messages—that kind of thing. It would be nice to know if the closest system to Darvano still hasn’t heard of the events here. It would make us all breathe a little easier.”

  “True, it might,” Cameron agreed as she read on. “So you really think you can trust this Willard guy?”

  “He’s taking a bigger risk than any of us,” Nathan pointed out. “He’s guaranteed a swift execution as a mutineer if he’s apprehended by the Ta’Akar. If he was smart, he’d find a hole somewhere and hide.”

  “Both Tug and Jessica are for this?”

  “Yes, but more because it puts boots on the ground to gather intel. I’m not too sure Jessica’s happy about Jalea being the one wearing those boots, but she is the best person for the job.” Nathan noted the look of concern on Cameron’s face. “What is it?”