by Brown, Ryk
“Including inhabited moons, there are actually eight,” Tug explained, “three planets and five moons.”
“You’re telling me that one system has that many hospitable worlds?”
“Actually, there were originally only two,” Dumar stated, “the planet Takara and the moon Liko. The others were reformed to better support human life early on, perhaps seven or eight hundred years ago.”
“How many people live in the Takara system?” Cameron wondered.
“Over forty billion,” Tug stated.
“Captain, the situation does present an interesting opportunity,” Dumar said. “With both the Campaglia and the Wallach destroyed, if you were able to somehow destroy the Avendahl as well, the lesser nobles might see it as the perfect opportunity to fulfill their dreams and overthrow Caius.”
“That could work in our favor,” Nathan observed.
“Or it could lead to even more chaos, death, and destruction, as the nobles battle it out amongst themselves,” Dumar added. “But those battles would likely take place in the Takaran system, and not here in the Darvano system. And it could take years for the dust to settle, during which time the Corinari might be able to produce adequate defenses of their own, especially now that they have the jump drive technology.”
“Definitely something to think about,” Nathan concluded. “Thank you.”
“If there are no objections, I would like to continue my discussions with the Loranoi’s captain,” Mister Dumar announced. “I believe there is much more information I can obtain from him.”
“Very well, continue your discussions,” Nathan ordered. Mister Dumar bowed his head, turned, and exited the ready room.
“We’re going to need to verify the intel he’s giving us,” Jessica warned Nathan.
“Agreed,” Nathan answered, “at least as much as is possible.”
“Shall I fly a recon mission through the Takaran system?” Tug asked.
“Do you think that’s wise?” Nathan asked.
“No, but it is necessary,” Tug admitted. “Besides, I believe that, if I keep my emissions low and stay cold, I can drift through the system without being seen.”
“Very well, but play it safe,” Nathan urged.
“Of course,” Tug agreed, also exiting the ready room.
Nathan looked down at the interrogation report on his data pad. “Jesus, Jess. Did he really make them shit themselves?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t pretty,” Jessica commented.
“And he had you fooled as well?” Nathan asked.
“Yup,” she admitted. “He’s good.”
“But Tug knew what was going on.”
“Yup.”
Nathan could tell that Jessica was still a bit angry about being played along with the prisoners. “I’m glad I’m not Tug or Dumar,” he mumbled.
“Damn right you are,” Jessica responded.
A small laugh escaped his lips. “I’ve got another job for you, Jess,” he began. “We need to reestablish contact with Corinari command. From what Naralena picks up through comm traffic, things are pretty chaotic on Corinair right now, even worse than after the Yamaro’s attack. Put together a team and see what the hell is happening down there. We need to be able to speak to whoever is in charge at the moment.”
“Yes, sir.”
Chapter Two
“I’ll be waiting for you, Mister Tugwell,” Jessica stated as they walked across the hangar deck. She was in full combat field gear, and Tug was in his flight suit.
“I may just go straight to Karuzara upon my return,” Tug joked.
“Chicken?” Jessica asked as they parted and she headed away toward her shuttle.
“Quite,” he chuckled as he ascended his boarding ladder. Tug dropped himself into his seat and began to fasten himself in. He reached to his left to receive his flight suit helmet from the deck technician, only to find that it was Marcus handing it to him.
“I’m fairly certain senior chiefs aren’t usually the ones to tuck pilots into their cockpits,” Tug stated as he donned his helmet.
“And I’m fairly certain leaders of newly born nations don’t go off on dangerous recon missions deep into enemy territory,” Marcus countered. “Besides, last time, I brought you luck. I figure it’s best not to break tradition.”
“Last time, you brought me good advice,” Tug corrected. “I’d welcome any you might have to offer this time around.”
“How about keep cold and quiet, and keep your finger on the jump button at all times.”
“I’ll try to remember to do just that.”
“See ya soon,” Marcus told him as the canopy closed. Tug nodded his acknowledgment as he began firing up his interceptor. Marcus climbed down the ladder and rolled it away, and a few moments later, the interceptor began to move slowly toward the transfer airlock at the aft end of the hangar.
“That is one crazy, old coot,” Marcus mumbled.
“Crazier than you?” Master Chief Montrose asked from behind him.
“Much.”
* * *
The small Corinari tactical shuttle flew low over the city of Aitkenna. Between the Yamaro’s attack a few months ago and the Wallach’s massive bombardment only a few hours ago, there was not much left of the city.
Jessica leaned out the open starboard hatch, holding onto the hand rail above while she gazed at the devastation below. “Anything yet?” she asked over the comms.
“No, sir,” the copilot answered, “nothing but civilian traffic and some local security band stuff. No high-powered Corinari signals yet, but we’re still too far away from the command center to pick them up if they are using local comms only.”
“Copy that,” Jessica answered. She looked out at the horizon. Two of the six fighters that had escorted her flight of three tactical shuttles were flying cover for them. The other two pairs covered the other shuttles as they all searched for signs of an organized Corinari presence. Aitkenna was the fifth city her shuttle had searched. It was the most likely one to have a Corinari presence since it was not only the capital but also close to the Corinari command center on the far side of the city.
“I don’t understand,” Jessica stated in frustration. “There should be somebody in uniform down there. They’ve got to see us flying overhead.”
“Sir,” the copilot began, “our shuttles look just like theirs. After all, they did come from the Ta’Akar. From below, they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”
“But you’re squawking Corinari ID codes, right?”
“If by squawking you mean transmitting, then yes, we are. But if they don’t have working comms, they will not hear us. If you’d just gotten the hell bombed out of you, you’d be lying low as well.”
“How long until we get in comm range of Corinari Command?”
“Two minutes, sir.”
Jessica continued to scan the city below. They were flying low enough that she could make out small groups of people here and there as they moved about, so she knew there were survivors. Although the Wallach had been able to bombard the surface of Corinair from orbit for over half an hour, there was no way she could exterminate the entire population in such a short time, not without using nukes, and if Tug were right and the Ta’Akar intended to colonize this world for themselves, nuclear strikes against the surface would be unlikely.
Still, the amount of devastation from a single orbit was immense. The Wallach had undoubtedly used orbital launched cruise missiles that were able to steer themselves to various targets within range of the Wallach’s orbital path. With such weapons, she might have been able to level the planet within a few orbits.
“We’re in radio range now,” the shuttle’s copilot announced over the comms. “Continuing to transmit Corinari ID codes.”
Jessica shifted her position in order to get a better view as the shuttle cleared the edge of the city and descended slightly now that they were clear of the taller structures. There was a smoke plume directly ahead of them, a few kilomet
ers yet distant.
“Uh oh,” she mumbled. “Is that where the…”
“Yes, sir, it is,” the copilot responded.
The smoke plume continued to grow in circumference as they flew toward it until, finally, it became clear that it was not a single plume, but several. In the middle of the plumes was a massive blast crater at least fifty meters deep and a few hundred meters in diameter. There were pieces of debris thrown out past the crater’s edges, many of which had landed in the surrounding forest, setting it ablaze in several spots.
“Jesus,” she exclaimed as the shuttle turned to starboard and began to circle what used to be the Corinari command center.
“I’ve got movement in the tree line,” the copilot announced. The ship banked hard to the left and began to climb, putting distance between the tree line and the shuttle.
“Are they friendlies?” Jessica wondered aloud. With the Corinari command center down and the national security services barely functioning, there was a good chance there could be armed loyalists or even Ta’Akar operatives below them in the trees, and the pilot wasn’t taking any chances.
“I’m getting hails. Issuing challenge,” the copilot reported. The shuttle rolled back to the right as it continued climbing hard. Jessica looked back inside at the ten heavily armed Corinari troops sitting patiently inside.
“ID confirmed, sir,” the copilot reported. “They’re survivors from command.”
“Put us down,” Jessica ordered. “I want to talk to them.”
* * *
“This will work,” Cameron insisted.
“How can you be sure of that?” Major Prechitt asked.
Cameron felt herself getting annoyed in much the same fashion as Nathan used to annoy her when they first started working together in the flight simulators. “Look, it was designed to be able to function as an open deck,” she explained. “We’re just taking it one step further.”
“But that one step is a rather big one,” Master Chief Montrose reminded her. “Three-quarters of our deck crew will be operating in a vacuum. That’s a lot of potential mistakes just waiting to be made.”
“We’ll have to beef up the deck monitoring,” she suggested. “We can set up teams to keep an eye on everyone working the open decks. We can monitor their life support systems, bio-telemetry, the works. And we can keep extra guys on cameras to keep people from making mistakes.”
“I suggest we have designated gear bosses to maintain all the pressure suits used by the deck crews, as well as having suit-techs to help people on and off with their gear and to check them over before they hit the airlock.”
“What about the cargo shuttles?” Major Prechitt asked.
“They’ll have to be loaded on the open deck,” Cameron told him. “They’re too big to fit through the inner airlocks.”
“That’s fine for cargo,” Master Chief Montrose said, “but it’s not going to work for passengers.”
“We can always close up the deck to receive cargo shuttles,” Cameron suggested, “but it would take about half an hour to repressurize the main hangar deck each time.”
“Couldn’t we rig up some kind of gangway?” Marcus asked.
Master Chief Montrose looked at Marcus, surprise on his face. “That’s actually not a bad idea, Senior Chief. Perhaps we could modify one of the gangways used at the Aitkenna spaceport. We could set it up to lead from the forward hatch to the bay and shuttle.”
“We’ll need an airlock on it,” Cameron reminded them.
“We still have a few breach boxes,” the master chief stated. “We could use one for the airlock at the forward hatch, then we could put wheels on the other one.”
“We’ll need some kind of hydraulic lift system to adjust its height off the deck,” Marcus added, “so we can line it up with any shuttle’s height. They’re not all the same, you know.”
“Looks like you’ve got yourself a project, Senior Chief,” Cameron stated.
“Could you wait until I rig something up before you go to an open deck, so I don’t have to set it up in a vacuum?”
“Sorry, Senior Chief,” Major Prechitt said. “If we are going to be ready to fight with an open deck, we need all the practice we can get.”
“Agreed,” Cameron said. “We set an open deck now.”
“We need time to set the deck and get our crews into pressure suits,” Master Chief Montrose stated.
“You should be able to go to an open deck in five minutes or less.”
“And given the appropriate amount of time and training, we would be able to do just that,” Montrose stated. “Under the current circumstances, I need an hour.”
Cameron already knew enough about Master Chief Montrose to know that he had meant what he had said. More importantly, she knew he wouldn’t have said it unless he really did need an hour. As chief of the boat, it was the master chief’s job to make it work for the XO. It was also his responsibility to watch out for the welfare of the crew and to tell the XO when what she was asking for couldn’t be done.
“Very well, Master Chief,” Cameron resigned, “one hour.”
“What about the tactical shuttles down on the surface of Corinair?” Major Prechitt wondered.
“They’ll fit in the forward airlocks,” Marcus told him. “And they can ride the elevator pad in the airlock down to the cargo deck. If we move stuff toward the back of the bay, we can use it for a pressurized staging area while we’re running an open deck.”
“Good thinking, Senior Chief,” Cameron said.
Master Chief Montrose smiled. Marcus Taggart was doing just fine at his new job as chief of the deck.
* * *
Jessica and a line of five Corinari troops, all of them heavily armed and armored, advanced slowly on the tree line where the copilot had originally seen the movement. Their weapons were held high and ready. Their safeties were off as they made their approach. Sending a false Corinari ID signal and using captured authentication codes was not beyond the realm of the possible. In fact, it would be a logical way for an enemy to try to get on board the Aurora, but with all the security measures currently in place, it would be practically impossible. Still, if it was an enemy in the tree line, they would have no way of knowing that the Aurora was so secure, so they had no choice but to approach the tree line as if it were the enemy hiding among the trees.
The Corinari to Jessica’s right raised his fist signaling everyone to stop their advance. His next signal sent the two outermost men shuffling quickly to either side in order to box in whomever might be waiting for them. As soon as the two outside men reached their positions and readied themselves, the Corinari to Jessica’s right called out to the tree line in Corinairan. A moment later, a voice from the trees answered in the same language. The man next to Jessica said something else to the voice in the trees, after which three men came slowly out of the forest. They were similarly dressed, wearing the same black and gray uniforms as the Corinari serving on the Aurora. They were also armed, though they did not hold their guns quite as rigidly as the members of Jessica’s team. She wasn’t sure if they were trying to appear non-threatening or if they were just plain tired, but the looks on their faces were of relief.
More words were exchanged between sides, all in Corinairan, and the troops on Jessica’s team lowered their weapons and relaxed to some extent.
“They’re ours, Lieutenant Commander,” the Corinari next to her announced.
“How can you be sure?” she asked.
“I went through basic with two of them,” he explained.
“Good enough,” she stated, lowering her own weapon. “Is this it? Are these guys all that survived?”
The trooper questioned the three men for a few more minutes before answering her. “No, sir. There are about ten more holed up deeper in the forest. They say they have made radio contact with a few other groups nearby. Reports are that there are small pockets of men scattered all over the place. But without any command and control, they’re all just sitting t
ight, waiting for direction from someone in command.”
“Very well,” Jessica told him. “Have them round up their men, and report back here. I’m going to report in.”
“Yes, sir,” the trooper answered.
* * *
Major Jonas Prechitt had been a member of the Corinari since his return from imperial service over a decade ago. His imperial service had seen no action as he had been stationed at the Norwitt garrison, a small training outpost used for space fighters. It had been there that his interest in flying had been aroused. He had spent four years observing the Takaran-born officers as they went through their flight training, dreaming of being in the cockpit himself.
It wasn’t until he had returned to his homeworld of Corinair and enrolled in the Corinari that he got his chance. Corinari Command had recognized the major’s natural abilities, as well as the above average understanding of flight dynamics that he had gleaned from all those years of observation. It was ironic that he was now killing the very pilots that had stirred his interest in flight so many years ago.
Although he had been training for over a decade, the battle of Darvano was the first time he had fired his weapons at an enemy. During the post-Yamaro chaos, he had been called upon to destroy two of their own missile bases, as well as to intercept and destroy the missiles that had targeted the Aurora, the latter of which had not only earned him his promotion, but had also landed him the assignment as the commanding officer of the Corinari fighter wing assigned to the Aurora. He was now what Captain Scott had referred to as ‘CAG’, an acronym that on Earth apparently stood for ‘Commander of the Air Group’.
Major Prechitt entered the Aurora’s flight operations center. The room was situated just forward of the main hangar deck. He really liked this room. It felt like a real command center to him. He could even see into the main hangar bay through a row of windows along the aft wall. Of course, the windows weren’t really necessary, as there were so many cameras available with which to monitor the activities on the flight line. Still, it gave him a feeling of being connected to the flight line, which he liked. He wondered if that had been the original designer’s intention all along.