by Ryk Brown
Terig pressed the ‘submit order’ button and leaned back in his chair, a welcome sigh of relief passing his lips. In his mind, he could see the message being transmitted to the sat-com ground station, then uploaded to the jump comm-drone relay satellite, and to a waiting comm-drone. It would take several minutes for that drone to series-jump to Haven, deliver its message, then jump back to Takara and download the delivery receipt that would find its way back to his terminal, seconds after it hit the sat-com ground station.
As was his normal routine, he went to the kitchen and poured himself a small glass of kava milk, the perfect complement to one of his wife’s treasured senshew-nut cookies. Kava milk was renowned for its sedative properties, which he would need to fall asleep after receiving confirmation. The senshew-nut cookie, well, that was just because he wanted it, and his wife made such a fuss whenever he asked for one.
With the cookie devoured and the milk consumed, he rinsed the glass, placed it in the dishwasher with the rest of the evening’s soiled dishes, and returned to the living room. He sat down, turned his view screen back on, and reached for his keyboard to close out the order window. That’s when his mouth dropped open, and his eyes went wide.
Thank you for your order. Unfortunately, we are no longer in business. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Terig read the message at least half a dozen times before it finally sunk in. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.
Terig leaned back in his chair, his heart racing. He looked around the room, wondering what he was supposed to do while a million scenarios—all of them terrible—ran though his mind. He heard the sound of a vehicle coming to a stop outside. He quickly shut off the view screen, plunging the room back into darkness, and scurried to the window. He pulled the curtain aside ever so slightly, peeking out at the street below, certain that he would see a Dusahn troop vehicle unloading an assault team. Fortunately, all he saw was an automated trash collection vehicle doing its weekly pickup.
A thought occurred to him, and he ran back to the kitchen, looking out its window, as well, which overlooked the back of the apartment building. The sound of the trash vehicle would be the perfect cover for an assault team.
Again, there was no sign of trouble. Everything appeared as one would have expected, for an apartment parking lot at three in the morning.
Terig turned away from the window, his mind and pulse rate still racing. There was only one reason he had received that message. That communication method was no longer valid, which meant it had been abandoned for a reason. Unfortunately, the only reason he could think of was that it had been compromised. The question was, at which end? If it was at his end, he would already be facing execution.
Another thought suddenly occurred to him. Did they have multiple orders coming in from many different worlds, to make the company seem legitimate? It seemed such an obvious step to take, but he had never thought to ask. If they had, then he had far less to worry about…theoretically. If they hadn’t…
One thing was certain. He wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight.
* * *
Thanks to an encouraging update from Neli back on Sanctuary, Nathan had finally managed to get a decent night’s sleep. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he was headed to meet Vladimir for breakfast on the Aurora’s general mess deck. It had been a tradition of theirs since they first shared a stateroom as young ensign’s, new to the Aurora. Somehow, that tradition had fallen by the wayside and turned into occasional meals, usually dinner, in the captain’s mess. However, Nathan preferred having the same breakfast as his crew, in the same space. It made him feel more connected to those who entrusted their lives to him. He hoped his presence had a similar effect on them, as well.
Despite the fact that breakfast had been in progress for more than an hour, the mess deck was still crowded. The bustling deck was quite reassuring to him, since only a few short weeks ago his ship had been significantly undermanned. Now, they even had an extra fifty-seven techs working the day shift, who were either hot-racked or shuttled to and from Rakuen on a regular basis. The same was true of the other ships in their fledgling fleet, all of which had an abundance of crew. The result was that all of the refit projects going on throughout the fleet were ahead of schedule.
Nathan proceeded across the mess deck, nodding in response to the many greetings he received from his crew as he made his way to the table where Vladimir was already busy devouring his breakfast.
“Nathan!” Vladimir called, his mouth still half-full. “I’ve already got your plate for you,” he told Nathan as he approached.
Nathan stepped up to the table, looking down at the plate overflowing with food. “You sure you didn’t miss anything?” he asked as he sat down.
“You can go back for more, if you like,” Vladimir replied. “I plan to.”
“I probably should have warned the cook to prepare extra.”
“I think the food has gotten better since we left Sol,” Vladimir commented between bites.
“I think you just appreciate it more, after a week of meal kits on the Seiiki,” Nathan replied as he started eating.
“I didn’t think they were that bad.”
“Why am I not surprised,” Nathan said, half to himself. “Did you find space for more jump field generators?”
“I actually did one better,” Vladimir bragged. “We already have two sets of jump field generators, each powering a different emitter array. Primary and backup, right?”
“Right.”
“And they are cross-connected, so either set can power either array. So, I got an idea. Rather than install a third set of generators, why don’t we just stop using them as dedicated pairs. That way, if one generator goes down, it doesn’t affect the other one. We can use any two of four jump field generators to make the jump.”
“Not bad,” Nathan agreed. “But I’d still rather have a third set.”
“And you will, they just won’t be installed.”
“What good will they be if they are not installed?” Nathan wondered.
“It takes more space to accommodate an operational jump field generator than one that is not connected. With just a little reconfiguring of the midship area between the port and starboard generator compartments—basically, widening the lateral corridor and taking out the bulkhead between compartments fifteen-twenty and fifteen-twenty-two, and installing quick-connect systems on all four field generators—we can swap out a damaged generator with a spare in five minutes.”
“Five minutes is a long time in battle,” Nathan reminded his friend.
“We have never lost two jump field generators at once,” Vladimir defended, “and we are certainly not going to lose three.”
“Still…”
“With this new cross-connecting system, we will be even better prepared to deal with the loss of one, or even two, jump field generators in battle,” Vladimir insisted.
“What about when we finally get stealth-jump capabilities?” Nathan wondered.
“Abby thinks it should be installed as a separate, isolated jump system, to be used only when stealth jumping is necessary. Something about the emitters wearing out more quickly.”
“Is that going to be a problem?” Nathan asked.
“I’m sure she will work any problems out in subsequent versions of the stealth emitters,” Vladimir assured him.
“Captain,” Deliza interrupted.
“Good morning,” Nathan greeted.
“Sorry to bother you, sir, but do you have a minute?”
“Of course,” Nathan replied. “Please, join us.”
Deliza stared at Vladimir as he ate, a skeptical look on her face. “Is it safe?”
“Just keep your extremities away from his plate, and you should be fine,” Nathan joked. “What can I do fo
r you?”
“I was thinking that we might be able to speed up development of a better energy bank system to improve the Aurora’s single-jump range, if we had a few of the Volonese high-capacity Aramenium energy cells. It would save us a lot of time in research and development.”
“Do they have cells that even come close to our energy needs?” Vladimir wondered.
“No, but by studying the differences between their smaller, low-capacity energy cells and their industrial, high-capacity cells, we could get an idea of what aspects scale up properly and which ones have to be altered.”
“I suppose we’d have to go to Volon to get them,” Nathan surmised.
“Yes, sir,” Deliza confirmed, “but I have contacts on Volon. It shouldn’t take me more than a day to buy what we need.”
“You want to go?” Nathan asked, surprised.
“Considering that I’ve done business on Volon many times in the past, and that I know what we need, it’s logical that I be the one to go.”
“What about the plant expansion, and your R and D projects?” Nathan asked.
“My staff runs the plant, and Abby can manage R and D while I’m gone,” Deliza replied. “I just need a few hours to tie up some loose ends first.”
“It’s about seven hours to Volon,” he warned.
“I thought it was just under five,” Deliza replied.
“You’ll have to skirt around Dusahn-controlled space,” Nathan reminded her.
“I see.”
Nathan set his spoon down, observing her. Deliza had come a long way from the teenaged farm girl he had met nearly a decade ago. “Alright, but have the Seiiki take you.”
“What I need would fit on a Ranni shuttle,” Deliza told him.
“Along with a couple of Ghatazhak as protection,” Nathan added.
“Is that really necessary?” Deliza asked.
“Trust me, if it is, you’ll be awfully glad you brought them along,” Nathan insisted. “I’ll make the arrangements.”
* * *
“The Forenta will be ready to go in a few minutes,” Commander Prechitt informed Nathan and Cameron as they walked down the ramp from the command deck to the flight operations deck.
“Did you manage to get her some defenses?” Nathan wondered.
“Thanks to Captain Taylor, yes,” the commander replied.
“I gave him a few of our spare point-defense turrets,” Cameron told Nathan.
“We have spares?”
“You didn’t know?”
“I thought they were just parts, not entire weapons,” Nathan admitted.
“All EDF ships carry spares,” Cameron explained.
“How many do we have?” Nathan asked.
“None, now,” Cameron replied. “But I’ve already ordered two of our fabricators to start producing replacements. I figured it was better to use our spares to finish arming the commander’s fleet.”
“Now all five ships have point-defenses, and the Perryton has two plasma cannon turrets, as well,” Commander Prechitt boasted.
“We even gave Hunt a pair of plasma torpedo cannons,” Cameron added. “You should have seen the smile on his face when he tested them.”
“I’ll bet,” Nathan remarked as they reached the bottom of the ramp, made an about-face, and headed aft toward the main hangar bay. “How long until you depart?”
“I got word from Commander Verbeek that all his gear is loaded aboard the Torrecun, and his crews are already on their way to the Perryton. So, we should be ready to go as soon as I depart.”
“How are we on communications?” Nathan asked as they entered the main hangar bay.
“Four jump comm-drones have been tasked to maintain comms between us and Commander Prechitt’s task force,” Cameron told Nathan.
“Sounds like you’re good to go, Commander,” Nathan said as they approached his shuttle. “There’s just one last thing.”
“What’s that, sir?” Commander Prechitt wondered.
Nathan tapped his comm-set. “Comms, Captain. Patch me through to Captain Hunt on the Perryton.”
“Aye, sir.”
“I had intended on doing this once the Perryton was fully armed,” Nathan explained, “but she’s nearly there now, and if she’s going to be your flagship, she needs a stronger name.”
“Captain, Comms. I have Captain Hunt on the line.”
“Connect him,” Nathan instructed.
“Perryton, Captain Hunt.”
“Captain Hunt, this is Captain Scott.”
“What can I do for you, sir?” Captain Hunt asked over their comm-sets.
“Before you get underway, I’d like to change your designation.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Congratulations, Captain,” Nathan said. “You are now the commanding officer of a frigate.”
“Thank you, sir,” Captain Hunt replied.
“And, seeing that you’re now a combat ship, and about to become the flagship of a task force, I think your ship needs a stronger name, something befitting her new purpose,” Nathan continued. “Assuming you have no objections, your ship will henceforth be known as the KAS Sergeant Jerome Weatherly.”
After a pause, Captain Hunt replied. “A fine name, Captain. One we’ll be honored to carry.”
“Safe journey, Captain.”
“Thank you, sir. Weatherly, out.”
Nathan glanced at his two officers, both of whom were smiling. “I take it neither of you has any objections?”
“No, sir,” Commander Prechitt assured him, beaming with approval.
“Then you best get to your flagship, Commander,” Nathan said, reaching to shake Commander Prechitt’s hand.
“Yes, sir,” the commander replied, snapping a salute to his two superiors.
Nathan and Cameron watched in silence as the commander boarded his shuttle, the hatch closing behind him.
“Nicely done,” Cameron commented.
“I thought you’d approve.”
“KAS?”
Nathan turned to her and smiled. “Karuzari Alliance Ship,” he replied as he headed forward.
“Of course.”
* * *
Deliza walked up the Seiiki’s cargo ramp, her bag slung over her shoulder.
“Dressing down, Princess?” Josh joked from the top of the ramp.
“The latest in Volonese fashion, I’m told,” she defended.
“By who, the guy who tricked you into buying them?”
“Volonese fashion is somewhat drab,” Deliza agreed as she reached the top of the ramp. She spotted the two Ghatazhak soldiers checking their gear at the front of the cargo bay. “Are they our bodyguards?”
“Corporals Amund and Torlak,” Josh replied. He turned to look at the two men. “Guys! Meet the princess!”
Deliza cast a disapproving look at Josh. “Are you ever going to stop calling me that?” she asked as she returned the polite nods from her protectors.
“Doubtful,” Josh replied, grinning. “Especially since I had a date tonight.” Josh looked down the ramp to see if anyone else was coming. “Where’s Yanni?”
“He’s managing the plant expansion for me while I’m away. Besides, the air on Volon is a little thin for him.”
“Yeah, he is a bit delicate,” Josh agreed as he slapped the ramp control button, activating its retraction motors. “Captain’s cabin is all yours, Princess,” he added as he headed forward.
“How long until we depart?”
“Wheels up in five,” Josh replied as he bounded up the forward ladder. “Better strap in. I’m feeling a bit rambunctious today.”
“Great,” Deliza said under her breath. She followed Josh forward, passing between the two G
hatazhak soldiers. “Gentlemen.”
“Ma’am.”
“I trust you have something less conspicuous to wear on Volon.”
Corporal Amund reached down into his bag and pulled out a Volonese jacket. “Not our first op, ma’am.”
“Good to know,” Deliza replied. She tossed her bag up onto the shoulder-height landing, and then turned back around. “It should be an uneventful trip. I have several contacts that I trust on Volon. I expect we’ll be done and on our way home within a few hours of arrival.”
“Good to know, ma’am,” the corporal replied.
For a moment, Deliza thought she noticed a wry smile on the corporal’s face.
* * *
Three large, blue-white flashes appeared in orbit above the planet Palee, revealing two Dusahn gunships and an assault ship. Seconds later, a dozen Teronbah fighters joined them. Within half a minute of their appearance, Dusahn troop pods began dropping from the assault ship, disappearing behind tiny flashes as they jumped to the surface of Palee.
The streets were in chaos as Dusahn troop landers jumped in meters above the surface, slowing to a hover as four armed soldiers leapt from the pod to the ground below. Within two minutes of arrival, there were armed intruders at every tenth intersection in Palee’s capital city of Dorum. Citizens ran in every direction, frantically looking for places to hide from the invaders who had, literally, fallen from the sky.
“Mister President! I have Toran on the line. They, too, have Dusahn soldiers on their streets!”
“Castell is reporting the same,” another man announced, comm-unit in hand.
“It’s happening everywhere,” the man standing next to the president of Palee said. “What are we going to do?”
President Voros watched out the window as a Dusahn combat shuttle swooped down and landed in the square outside the capital building. Twelve armed men jumped out and ran toward the entrance, weapons held high. “What can we do?” he sighed, turning to look at his assistant. “We have no defenses.”