Ep.#6 - Head of the Dragon (The Frontiers Saga)

by Brown, Ryk

  “Most of them are taking advantage of the downtime before the attack to get some rest. It may be awhile before they get another opportunity.”

  Nathan nodded his agreement. He, too, was considering trying to get in a nap, but doubted he would be able to do anything but lay on his bed and stare at the overhead.

  “So what does bring you to medical?” Doctor Chen asked.

  “I was just out walking the ship,” he told her.

  “Walking the ship?”

  “Yeah. For some reason, I just felt like I needed to reconnect with her.”

  “You don’t feel connected to your ship?” she wondered, a look of confusion on her face.

  “I spend most of my time on the command deck: the bridge, my ready room, briefing rooms. I get down to the flight deck on occasion. I even stopped eating in the mess hall. Vladimir got me eating in the captain’s mess. I didn’t even know I had a mess.”

  “I see,” she answered, despite the fact that she did not.

  “I mean, we’re about to go into battle, not because we have to, but because we chose to, or more precisely, because I chose to.”

  “You didn’t choose any of this, Captain,” Doctor Chen disagreed. “You may think you chose to attack the Takaran capital, but that’s not really the case, at least not directly. Events left you, left us, with few alternatives.”

  “We could’ve packed up and started jumping home,” he reminded her.

  “Yes, we could have, and I’ll be the first to admit that, at times, I wish we had done just that. But we all know that was never really a choice.” She looked at him for a moment before continuing. “A wise, old Chinese man once said, ‘We cannot be accurately judged by those that come after us, but only by those living in the moment in which the decision was made.’”

  Nathan’s face crinkled about as he tried to recall the phrase. “I don’t think I’ve heard that one,” he admitted. “What wise, old Chinese man said that?”

  “My father,” she answered.

  “Not one to get directly to the point, is he?”

  “No, he isn’t,” Doctor Chen admitted with a slight chuckle at the end.

  Nathan rose from his chair and headed slowly to the exit. “Thanks, Doc.”

  “For what?”

  “For doing your job so well,” Nathan told her as he paused at the door. “It makes it a lot easier to put people in harm’s way when you know someone like you will be waiting to care for them when that harm comes.”

  “You’re quite welcome, Captain.”

  Nathan stopped and turned around to face her. “One other thing, Doc. I’ve had to make some, shall we say, regulation-testing decisions as of late, and it was brought to my attention not too long ago that the legality of those decisions may hinge on the proper assignment of command. Were you present when Captain Roberts handed command to me? I mean, could you hear him?”

  Doctor Chen smile. “I heard every word, sir.”

  Nathan nodded slightly, feeling a load suddenly lifting from his shoulders. “Thanks,” he said, turning back toward the exit.

  “You know, Captain Roberts refused all pain medications,” Doctor Chen told him. “He specifically said, ‘Not until I hand over command.’”

  Nathan smiled again, more broadly this time, then turned and left the room.

  * * *

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Jessica demanded as she stormed into Nathan’s quarters.

  “What the hell is wrong with you, sir?” Nathan suggested as he closed the door behind her while she strode past him. “And what are you talking about?”

  “Walking the ship. That’s what I’m talking about.”

  “All I was doing was giving the ship the once over, trying to reconnect with her and the…”

  “Bullshit!” Jessica interrupted. “You don’t think we’re going to pull this off, do you? That’s why you’re walking around like some sad-eyed little boy who lost his mommy. You think we’re all going to die!”

  “I do think we’re going to pull this off, but I have no delusions about the number of casualties we’re going to suffer. Many of us are going to die, Jess.”

  “So you thought you’d go around and say goodbye to everyone; is that it?”

  “No, I just…”

  “You’re scared!”

  “Of course I’m scared!” Nathan defended. “Aren’t you?”

  “Let’s see; I’m about to jump off the side of a spaceship in orbit, fall through the atmosphere at who knows how many times the speed of sound, then parachute into the middle of an enemy stronghold, wearing enemy uniforms… and oh yes, I almost forgot, in the dark no less. Fuck yeah I’m scared! I just don’t show it! Especially not to those under my command.”

  “That wasn’t my intent.”

  “It doesn’t matter what your intent was,” Jessica told him as she sat down on his couch. “What matters is how your crew interprets your actions, and what they see is that their captain doesn’t believe in the mission. How the hell do you think that makes them feel?”

  “That hadn’t occurred to me,” Nathan admitted, somewhat embarrassed.

  “No shit. I never would’ve guessed.”

  “So what do you suggest I do?” Nathan asked as he took a seat in the chair across from her.

  “How about acting like a leader, like you were before?”

  “Just like that? Flip a switch and everything is fine.”

  “You come from a political family. Surely you’ve seen your father wave to the crowd and flash a confident smile. He gets elected because people see the confidence in his face, and they believe if they follow him, they will all succeed in his wake. That’s what your crew needs now… They need to know that you believe we can kick the empire’s ass.”

  Nathan stared at her for a moment. “How do you do it?” he asked. “How do you believe? I mean, you and the other Karuzari are the least likely to come out of this alive. Yet you walk around as if there’s nothing to worry about… like it’s only a training exercise. Do you really believe you’ll survive this mission?”

  “Yes, I do,” Jessica answered plainly. “I believe it’s going to be dangerous, and I believe there’s I high probability that many if not all of us are going to die. But I still believe we can pull it off. If I didn’t, I’d be trying to come up with a better plan.”

  “That’s what I keep thinking,” Nathan insisted. “There’s got to be a better way to do this.”

  “But there isn’t,” Jessica insisted. “That’s the deal. This is what we’ve got. This is what we have to do. Am I going to die? Probably, but I’m going to die fighting… fighting for something I believe is worth dying for. I’m going to fight for the Corinairans and for everyone else in the Pentaurus cluster, so that we can get our asses back home and fight for the Earth as well.”

  “It would be so much easier to just pummel that planet with KKVs,” Nathan mumbled.

  “Sure, if you don’t mind killing billions of innocent people.”

  “That’s what the Ta’Akar have done,” Nathan reminded her.

  “That’s what their leaders have done,” Jessica corrected, “not their people. That’s what makes us the good guys.” She leaned back on the couch, satisfied with her answer. “Look, Nathan, I don’t expect you not to have doubts; that’s only natural. I’m just asking that you don’t allow your crew to see those doubts.”

  “It’s not as easy as you think.”

  “Yes, it is. At least, it should be for you. It’s in your blood, remember? Politics?”

  Nathan did remember. He remembered hearing his father talk about political problems and debates, and how badly things seemed to be going at times. Then the very next day, he would be talking to the press or some organization or rally as if nothing were wrong, as if everything were going splendidly. Nathan had always hated that side of politics, and it had been one of the main reasons he had refused to follow in his father’s footsteps despite the objections of both his father and his grandfather.
Yet here he was, playing the same role only in a different set of clothing and in a different part of the galaxy.

  “So what’s it going to be?” Jessica asked him. “Are you gonna man up, or do I have to slap you around some more?”

  “I could clap you in irons,” he joked.

  “Don’t tease me,” she answered, swinging her feet up on the couch and settling in to get comfortable. “Now call Vlad and Cameron in here, and let’s get this party started. We’re all going to die in a few hours, remember?”

  Nathan smiled and reached for his comm-set.

  “And tell Vlad to bring some snacks,” Jessica added. “I don’t want to die on an empty stomach.”

  * * *

  Nathan entered the general briefing room on the main deck, the memory of his first orientation as he came aboard as a boot ensign flooding his mind as he entered the room. Before him were the faces of the Corinari officers that would command the ground forces, the senior pilots, and the leaders of the squads that would be jumping from the Aurora once the ship jumped into orbit over Takara. These men were all there for one reason: to defend their world, their people, their way of life against those that would oppress and even destroy them without remorse. Their world had already been attacked. In fact, it had nearly been destroyed. Hundreds of thousands were dead or dying back on Corinair, many of whom were either known by or were related to these very men. Perhaps it was for this reason they all seemed so convinced they were doing the right thing by going to war. Nathan wondered how far the people of Earth would need to be pushed before they, too, would summon the resolve and the single-minded purpose of the men before him.

  “Captain on deck!” the Corinari guard announced, causing the fifty men and women in attendance to rise to their feet.

  “As you were,” Nathan ordered as he took the podium. Before speaking, he waited for the audience to take their seats once again. As he waited, he remembered Jessica’s words and tried to summon all the confidence he had in him. “The purpose of this briefing is to review the plan and ensure that everyone understands their individual roles in the overall mission. We are now two hours from mission zero. The latest recon data arriving a few hours ago shows no significant changes in the Takaran system. She still boasts eleven warships including the Avendahl, which still shows no signs of preparation to get under way. Either imperial command does not believe there is a direct threat to the Takaran home system, they do not believe the threat is significant enough to power up the Avendahl, or the Avendahl is not ready for operations. Let’s hope it’s the latter of the three. To our knowledge, the battle group of four ships dispatched from Takara is still bound for the Darvano system with an ETA of five months. We still do not know the whereabouts of the fifth ship that left Takara at the same time as the battle group.” Nathan paused a moment before continuing, taking a moment to look out at their faces. Jessica and Vladimir were sitting in the front row, with Tug, Jalea, and Dumar sitting directly behind them. “As you all know, our intention is to take the fight directly to the Takaran homeworld—more specifically, to the capital city of Answari itself. Our goal is to destroy the imperial command and control facility within the palace grounds, to capture their leader, Caius, and to force him to surrender his forces.” Nathan looked sternly at the people in the audience. “If necessary to obtain our objectives, we will terminate Caius.” His sentence ended with his eyes on Jessica. If the insertion teams had to kill the emperor, their fate would be sealed. Jessica’s fate would be sealed.

  “To achieve our objectives, we have devised the following plan. From this staging point approximately two light days outside the Takaran system, the Aurora will jump into low Takaran orbit and broadcast an announcement to the people of Takara. Withdraw from all worlds outside of the Takaran system and disband the empire or suffer the consequences. They will be given forty-eight hours to respond with their intentions. During this broadcast, ten strike teams will space jump from the Aurora’s flight deck. They will make their descent through the atmosphere, eventually using auto-nav chute systems to land on or near their respective targets. The Corinari teams, teams one through eight, will disable the ground based air and space defense batteries located around the perimeter of the city. Upon completion of their primary assignments, these teams will move to their respective zones to provide cover for the incoming jump shuttles. Teams nine and ten will be made up of Karuzari and will be wearing imperial uniforms. They will land within the palace grounds, hopefully with the assistance of a blackout orchestrated by a sympathetic contact within the palace. Once inside, their jobs will be to destroy the command and control facility and to capture or terminate Caius. Now, during this, the Aurora will be engaging targets of opportunity, beginning with the warships closest to Takara in the hopes of engaging any ships that could provide combat support to Takara before they can receive the distress call and respond accordingly.”

  Captain Waddell raised his hand, waiting to be acknowledged by Captain Scott before asking his question. “Have we decided what level of air support will be available?”

  “The airbase just outside of Answari will be targeted by the jump interceptor, code-named Falcon one, at the same time that teams one through eight attack the defense batteries,” Major Prechitt explained from beside Nathan. “Once the air defense batteries have been disabled, the Aurora will return to orbit temporarily in order to launch atmospheric fighters. At that point, you will have top cover. Be forewarned, however, that the amount of cover may be limited as they will have to return to orbit before their fuel runs out. There, they will wait for the Aurora to return and recover them.”

  “What about gunships for close support?” Waddell asked.

  “Once a landing zone is secured, the Aurora will jump in the cargo shuttles. Each of them carries two Kalibri gunships that can be up and running within thirty minutes of touchdown.”

  “Beg your pardon, sir, but thirty minutes is a long time,” Waddell pointed out.

  “That’s why you’ll have fighter cover, Captain,” Major Prechitt reminded him.

  “Once the air defenses are down, the jump shuttles will begin ferrying troops from the staging area to the combat zone via fast-ropes,” Nathan stated, retaking the discussion. “In between engagements, the Aurora will continue to return to Takaran orbit to provide support as needed.”

  “How are you going to even know we need help?” another officer asked from the audience. “The Aurora is going to be on the other side of the system.”

  “We will be operating a command and control center from the staging area. We will receive comm relays via the jump shuttles and the Falcon in order to maintain communications with both major theaters as well as to make tactical changes to the battle plan as needed,” Commander Taylor added.

  “Commander Taylor will be running the C2,” Nathan explained. “I’ll be on the Aurora. Major Prechitt will be in charge of air support over Takara, and Captain Waddell will be running the ground campaign against the city of Answari, especially the palace itself.” Nathan looked at Captain Waddell. “Captain, it is vital that your men keep the palace guards engaged. Those men have to believe that our forces are attempting to storm the palace in order to keep their attention away from our insertion teams.”

  “And if the insertion teams are successful,” Captain Waddell asked, “the imperial forces will simply drop their weapons and surrender?” His tone was dubious, and Nathan did not blame him. He also questioned the outcome of even the most successful version of the attack.

  “Intel suggests that the nobles will cease to put their lives on the line without the emperor to guarantee their lands and wealth. Any ships still in service should break off any engagements and retreat,” Nathan explained. He did his best to sell it, but doubted anyone believed him.

  “That is well and good for the Aurora,” Captain Waddell answered, “but what about my men on the ground? The Karuzari may be willing to sacrifice themselves, but I suspect my men would like to have a way out.”

/>   “Once the emperor is no longer in command, imperial forces should fall into a chaotic state,” Tug admitted. “There will continue to be resistance, especially by the palace guards. However, if the Corinari then conduct an orderly retreat, limiting their return fire to defensive only, they should be able to fall back to one of several safe recovery positions both within Answari and outside her borders. If we can get the airships down to provide cover, or even enough of the fighters, we should be able to successfully retrieve the ground forces.”

  Nathan looked at their faces once more. Captain Waddell did not appear convinced, but neither did he appear convinced. “I admit that the task we face is overwhelming,” he began, his tone becoming more somber, “and we lack many of the resources needed to pull this off. But we are left with little choice. All of us. If we do not strike now, before the Avendahl’s ZPED upgrades are completed, we may not get another chance.” Nathan stepped out from behind the podium and moved closer to the front row of the audience of over fifty officers and men. “We know that many of us will not survive the day, but destiny has left us little choice. If we do not defeat the empire now, in their own homeland, in several months, they will come in force and destroy Corinair and possibly all of the Darvano system. We must draw a line in the sand, here and now. We are a force to be reckoned with,” Nathan told them, the conviction in his voice building. “We are a force to be feared and respected. You are no longer Corinari,” Nathan told Captain Waddell, “and you are no longer Karuzari,” he said, looking at Tug and Jalea, “just as we are no longer Terrans. Today, we are all Alliance. We fight as one, we die as one.”

  Nathan looked across the room, hearing the murmurs of approval from the officers, squad leaders, pilots, and Karuzari agents in the room. They were beginning to believe. It was only a spark, but there was still a few hours left for that spark to build into a fire.

  * * *

  “Six months ago, had anyone told me I’d be leading the invasion of Answari, I would have thought them mad,” Captain Waddell announced as they walked the main corridor of the Aurora.