by Ryk Brown
“Wait!” Tony called after her. “You said you wanted to contact the resistance, didn’t you?”
“So what.”
“Maybe we can help you.”
Jessica stopped and turned back around. “How?” she asked, her expression doubtful.
“I know the right message boards,” Tony explained, “where to post, what threads to watch. That’s how we’ve been trying to make contact with the resistance.”
“You think it’s as easy as posting in a net forum?” Jessica asked in amazement. “You need code words, code phrases, encryption algorithms…”
“That’s what we figured,” Tony said. “Maybe you have them?”
“I don’t, actually,” Jessica admitted.
“But, if you’re spec-ops…”
“I’ve been off-world for a while,” Jessica mumbled. She looked at the three of them, Tony, his friend, and their leader lying on the floor. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I just know I’m going to regret this,” she said as she moved back toward Mack lying on the floor. “You go find some ice somewhere,” Jessica instructed Tony’s friend, “or some chemical cold packs. Tony, you hold tough-guy down while I pop his elbow back into place.”
* * *
Loki gazed out at the valley below from his perch at the edge of the cave opening high on the canyon wall. They had been waiting in the cave for several hours now in the hope that Garrett, or friends of Garrett, would show up wanting to use the cave as a surveillance point.
“I miss the sunlight at times,” Loki said as he checked to see if his pants were still wet.
“Yes.” Major Waddell looked up at the sky. “The sun is not as intense on my world. Nor is the sky so bright.”
“On Haven, it was more amber than blue. Most of the light was reflected off the main planet.”
“I have read about it,” the major said. “Are your pants dry?”
“Almost.”
“How long did it take for the local resistance to make their appearance the last time you were here?”
“Not sure,” Loki admitted. “An hour or two maybe. They said they frequently used this cave as a vantage point to observe the valley below.”
“Of course, at the time, there was something of interest for them to observe.”
Loki looked at the major, confused.
“The diversionary crash site that your friend created.”
“Oh, yeah. I guess you’re right. Now that I think about it, they didn’t say if they came here routinely.”
“It is of no matter,” the major told him. “We can wait as long as is necessary. We have plenty of meal bars and an abundance of fresh water,” he added, pointing to the massive falls in the distance to their right.
“I thought we only had seventy-two hours.”
“We have seventy-two hours in which to make contact with the Aurora. The time available for us to complete our mission is unlimited as far as we know—as long as we continue to update the Aurora. If they wish to pull us out, they will say as much.”
“Can you make contact from here?” Loki wondered.
“We have a clear line of sight to the comm-coordinates from this position,” Major Waddell assured him. “We have already missed the first scheduled contact window. We were still on the move at the time. I intend to use the next one.” He looked at his watch. “In two hours.”
Loki continued staring at the valley below. He could see clusters of buildings here and there, usually in naturally occurring open spaces in the forest or at points where the rivers widened or turned sharply. Some of them appeared rustic, while others appeared far more advanced. In the distance, there was a larger town where two rivers merged. He could also see the site where Josh had fired their drones and missiles in order to create a diversion. He wondered if Josh had even considered the fact that he had been firing weapons into a populated area, although he doubted that Josh was aware of the population in the valley at the time.
“Seems like a really nice place to live down there,” Loki said.
“Yes, it does,” the major agreed. “Very peaceful. I just wonder what their lives are like under Jung rule.”
“All I ever knew was life under Ta’Akar rule,” Loki said. “When the Ta’Akar withdrew from our system, things became worse: more crime, more corruption, less work. Our family was doing well when I went into flight school. By the time I graduated, we were dirt poor and unable to pay my loans.”
“Is that why you ended up on Haven?” the major asked. “As a debtor?”
“No, I was lucky. I was actually paid to work there. It was the only flying job I could find at the time.”
“Were you able to repay your loans?”
“Almost. I still owed a few thousand credits when we got caught up with the Aurora.”
“In your absence, aren’t your parents responsible for your debt?”
“I never got the chance to find out. There was no way for me to make contact with them before we left for Earth. Tug promised to take care of the debt on my behalf.”
“I’m sure he did so,” the major commented. “He seemed an honorable man… for a Takaran.”
“You really don’t like them, do you?”
“It is not a matter of liking them,” the major explained. “It is a matter of trusting them… which I do not.”
“I guess I can understand that, considering all that’s happened.” Loki paused for a moment, thinking of what it must have been like for the major, as well as all of the Corinairans. “So you don’t trust any of them?”
Major Waddell sighed. “With most men, I grant them basic trust as a courtesy. However, until I know them to be trustworthy, my trust in them is limited.”
“And with Takarans?”
“With Takarans, it is different. I consider them to be unworthy of my trust.”
“Even if proven otherwise?”
“I have yet to be presented with that situation,” the major said.
“You trust Tug, don’t you?”
“I have not yet had the need to put my trust in him directly.”
“Would you? I mean, if the situation arose.”
“Possibly. Although it would not be an easy thing for me to do.”
“Is it because of your son?” Loki asked, hesitant to bring up the subject of the major’s deceased child.
“In part, yes, but it is more the subjugation my people endured for more than three decades.”
“Wasn’t life under Ta’Akar rule peaceful?”
“Yes, I suppose it was. Our lives were good for the most part. But no man chooses to be ruled over, especially not a Corinairan.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that about the Corinairans.”
“We are a proud people,” the major said, “perhaps too much so at times.”
“I heard that the Corinairans are of Scottish descent from old Earth.”
“I have heard that recently as well.”
“Are you planning on visiting Scotland?”
“Assuming the opportunity ever presents itself, perhaps. To be honest, I had not really considered it.”
“I would definitely want to go,” Loki insisted.
Major Waddell smiled. “You remind me of my son… always curious, always wanting to see what is over the next hill. He, too, was full of thought and wonder, just as you are.”
“Yeah, Josh says I think too much.”
“How can one ‘think too much’?”
“He says it keeps me from making quick decisions.”
“Perhaps that is a good thing.”
Loki shrugged, his attention returning to the valley below as he continued to let the sun beat down upon him.
* * *
“Captain on deck,”
the guard at the entrance to the Aurora’s flight operations center announced as Nathan, Cameron, and Abby entered the compartment.
“As you were,” Nathan ordered as he made his way deeper into the facility. “Major.”
“Sirs, ma’am,” Major Prechitt greeted. “Jump Shuttle Two is in position, approximately one hundred kilometers off our starboard. The pilot reports they are ready for the first test jump.”
“Very well,” Nathan answered as he looked through the main windows across the aft bulkhead of the compartment at the main hangar bay below.
Major Prechitt nodded at the flight operations officer. “We’ll be tracking them on view screens three and four.”
Nathan looked up at the row of view screens hanging at select angles from the ceiling of the flight controller’s pit in the middle of the room. View screen three was receiving the visual feed from one of the Talon fighters acting as the chase ship. The other view screen displayed flight data from both the experimental jump shuttle and the Talon chasing it.
“It will take them a few moments to accelerate up to their assigned jump speed for the first test,” Lieutenant Montgomery explained from the controller’s pit. “The first two jumps will be at one light hour, the third and fourth jumps at one light day, and so on.”
“And there are no other power sources on the shuttle other than the ZPED?” Nathan asked.
“There are two fusion reactors on board,” Abby explained, “the same as any other shuttle. However, they do not provide any power to the shuttle’s jump drive, only to the rest of the shuttle’s systems.”
“All jumps will be powered by energy fed into the jump drive directly from the mini-ZPED,” Lieutenant Montgomery assured the captain.
“And if the ZPED or the jump drive fails?” Nathan wondered.
“If that should be the case, even if the shuttle survives, they will be stranded and unable to jump back,” the lieutenant answered.
“The shuttle’s course is parallel with ours, Captain,” Cameron said. “If necessary, we could jump forward incrementally for at least a light year without coming too close to the 72 Herculis system.”
“True, if the failure leaves them on their original course,” the lieutenant agreed. “If not, we could always dispatch Jump Shuttle One to search for them.”
“The pilots are aware of the risk?” Nathan asked.
Lieutenant Montgomery looked puzzled. “Of course, Captain.”
“Just checking.”
“Twenty seconds to jump point,” the flight controller reported.
“How will we know if the first jump was successful?” Cameron asked.
“The test shuttle’s second jump will be the return jump a few minutes later,” the lieutenant said.
“Ten seconds.”
All eyes were glued to view screens three and four over the flight controller’s pit as the countdown continued. When the countdown reached zero, the test shuttle disappeared in a blue-white flash of light as expected. There was a banter of communications between the flight controllers and the Talon that had been chasing the test shuttle as it veered away to clear the area before the test shuttle jumped back again.
“So far, so good,” Cameron mumbled.
“If this works,” Nathan began.
“I know. I know.”
“I’m just saying.”
“I know,” Cameron repeated.
“The possibilities are endless,” Nathan continued under his breath.
“Enough.”
Another bright flash of blue-white light appeared on view screen three as Jump Shuttle Two completed its second jump. A small round of applause rose from the room.
“Congratulations, Lieutenant,” Abby said. “I must admit that I was skeptical, but you seem to have done it.”
“Of course, that was only the first jump,” Lieutenant Montgomery admitted, “and it was only a single light hour. There are still many more test jumps to conduct.”
“How many more?” Nathan asked.
“At least thirty jumps.”
“Assuming all the jumps are successful, how long until the shuttle will be ready to travel back to the Pentaurus cluster?”
“We will need a few days to study the test data and to make additional calibrations to the system as indicated by that data. In addition, I would like to conduct longer-range testing in order to determine its maximum, single-jump range.”
“How far do you think that might be?” Nathan asked.
“I am quite confident that it can jump two light years at a time. I suspect, with a few modifications and refinements, it may be able to jump considerably farther.”
“Let’s keep it at two light years for now, Lieutenant,” Nathan said.
“But Captain…”
“That wasn’t a request, Lieutenant,” Nathan said.
“Of course, sir.”
“As time and resources permit, we will arrange for further development of your ZPED-powered jump drive,” Nathan said, “but for now, we need that shuttle to complete its first mission.”
“Understood, sir,” the lieutenant answered.
“Please inform me of the results of your test jumps once they are complete, Lieutenant,” Nathan instructed as he turned to depart.
“Yes, Captain.”
Nathan paused for a moment. “Well done, Lieutenant.”
“Thank you, sir,” the lieutenant answered proudly.
* * *
Major Waddell sat watching the distant canyon wall. The mist from the falls created rainbows in the afternoon sun as the breeze sent the mist wafting past them and into the valley below. The sun was already low in the sky and would descend behind the far ridge within a few hours at most.
A beep sounded from his comm-set, followed by several more beeps. He recognized the tones, reached over, and nudged Loki, who had fallen asleep in the afternoon sun.
“What?” Loki asked as he woke. He looked over at the major, who was getting up from his seat on the edge of the cave and picking up his weapon. “What is it?”
“Motion detectors picked up movement on the trail leading up to us. Someone is coming.”
Loki scrambled to his feet and moved back into the cave. “What do we do?”
“Take a position over there,” Major Waddell explained, “on that side of the mouth of the cave, just outside. I will be on the opposite side. We will wait for them to enter the cave, then we will have the advantage.”
“Why don’t we just go hide in the back of the cave?”
“Because if they are not those we seek, they will have the advantage, and we will be trapped. Do as I say.”
Loki quickly made his way to the far side of the cave, stepping carefully down from the mouth of the cave and into the mist-covered bushes on the outside of the cave’s wide entrance. By the time he had gotten in position and turned around to see the opposite side of the cave entrance, the major had disappeared. It took him several seconds to find any sign of the major in the thick bushes on the far side of the cave entrance, and even then, all he was able to make out was the upper sleeve of his camouflaged uniform shirt. Loki pulled out his sidearm and held it at the ready as he waited for the visitors to arrive. He did not have to wait long.
Four men, each dressed in the same heavy, protective jackets and pants that Garrett and his men had worn, made their way up the trail to the mouth of the cave. They made very little noise, using only hand signals as they entered the mouth of the cave and spread out with their rifles held ready. As soon as they were well past the entrance, but before they could move far enough into the cave to seek cover, Major Waddell stepped forward just enough to be seen. “That’s far enough, gentlemen,” he stated calmly. His rifle was held tightly against his shoulder, the weapon sighted on the nearest member of
the group.
The four men spun around, bringing their weapons to bear in the direction of the major’s voice.
“Loki,” the major added as he took another step forward.
Loki swallowed hard and stepped forward, his sidearm held out and supported by both hands in the fashion that Marcus had taught him back on the Aurora. He tried to look as confident as the major in his stance but seriously doubted he had achieved the desired appearance.
The two men farther back turned their weapons toward Loki as he stepped from the bushes on the opposite side from the major. Three of the men looked unnerved. One of them did not.
“Put the weapons down,” Major Waddell urged.
“And if we choose not to do as you ask?” the closest man asked.
“Not a good option, I assure you,” Major Waddell told him. “We don’t want to hurt anyone. We’re looking for a man named Garrett.”
“You look for this man in a cave?” The man laughed. “Is that really where you expect to find a man?”
“We found you,” Major Waddell said. “Now put your weapons down.”
“I think not,” the man said, standing his ground with confidence.
“That’s a mistake,” the major warned.
“Possibly,” the man admitted, “but surely not as big as the one you just made.” The man smiled.
Out of the corner of his eye, Loki noticed movement in the bushes. He turned his head to the right and saw the barrel of a gun poking out from the brush. He began to swing his weapon over when he felt something press firmly against the base of his neck… something cold, metallic, and round. “Major?” Without moving his head, Loki’s eyes moved toward the major on the far side of the cave entrance. He, too, had a man laying a gun barrel to the back of his neck, and another man was taking the major’s rifle from him.
Loki felt the other man guarding him pull Loki’s sidearm from his hand, after which, the man holding the gun to Loki’s head shoved him forward, nearly knocking Loki over. He stumbled along, finally ending up on his knees next to Major Waddell in the center of the cave opening, both of them with their hands held behind their heads.