by Ryk Brown
“Or, someone tries to tamper with them,” Josh reminded him. “I was at the briefing too, Lok.”
“We won’t be within the blast radius until the system has been disarmed.”
“We’re still trying to dock with a weapon, with an explosive charge inside, at half light…”
“Piece of pie,” Loki insisted.
“…using a retrieval system that has yet to be tested,” Josh finished. “And for the last time, Loki, it’s ‘a piece of cake’ or ‘easy as pie’!”
“Alright, alright. Why are you being so dramatic? Are you afraid you can’t do it? Because, I can…”
“Oh, I can do it,” Josh scoffed. “Don’t you worry about that, my friend.”
“Then what is the problem?”
Josh took a breath and let out a sigh. “I just think it’s a poor use of our talents, that’s all.”
“Falcons are the only ships, besides the Aurora and the Celestia, that can catch up to those things. And you’re the best Falcon pilot we have.”
“Well, since you put it that way…”
Loki shook his head. “Contact. I’ve got the first JKKV dead ahead.”
“What happened to all that ‘needle in a haystack’ crap you were spouting back in the mission briefing?” Josh wondered. “I’ve got the course data entered into the auto-flight system.”
“It seemed like the right Earth expression at the time.”
“Not exactly,” Josh said. “I mean, we did have the course and speed data. Just a matter of cruising at the same speed along the same course, and jumping ahead to its calculated location.”
“I know. I know. I really thought it was the right expr… Wait, did you say you were entering the data in the auto-flight?”
“I said I was entering the data, not engaging the system,” Josh pointed out. “I’m just following procedure.”
“Josh Hayes, following procedure?”
“Would you be happier if I did a few barrel rolls on approach?” Josh suggested.
“No, that’s quite all right,” Loki replied. “We’re close enough to transmit the disarm codes. Sending them now.”
Josh watched his own sensor display as the Super Falcon closed rapidly on the jump KKV that had been coasting through space since it missed its target the day before. After a few minutes, he flipped on the Super Falcon’s landing lights, and looked out the forward window. There, in front of them, was the JKKV still traveling its course at fifty percent the speed of light, just as it had been the moment it left the Aurora’s main launch tubes.
Josh let out a low whistling sound. “Man, when you think of how deadly that thing is, just cruising through space, waiting to strike something.”
“This ship has way more mass than that jump KKV,” Loki pointed out. “We’re just as deadly, if used the same way.”
“So is an asteroid,” Josh replied. “But it’s not designed for that purpose. That thing, is. And that’s all it’s designed to do. Jump in close and ram its target, transferring all its kinetic energy into whatever it collides with.”
“I don’t see how it’s different from any other weapon.”
“There’s something simple, something elegant about it. It’s way more impressive than the old converted Takaran comm-drones.”
“But those were far more destructive.”
“Yeah, I know, but…”
“As usual, you’re not making any sense, Josh. Let’s just retrieve the thing and then go and grab the rest of them so we can go home.”
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Josh wondered as he maneuvered the Super Falcon in closer to the JKKV. “Got a hot date?”
“Maybe.”
Josh glanced at Loki. “Seriously?”
“Why is that such a surprise?”
“No surprise,” Josh said, back peddling. “Who is she?”
“That girl in medical, the one who was originally on Doctor Sorenson’s team.”
“Cassandra?”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
“She’s hot.”
“She’s nice, Josh, not hot.”
“Nice and hot,” Josh corrected. “What are you two love birds going to do? I mean, it’s not like there’s a lot to do for entertainment on the Aurora.”
“It’s wacky-cake night in the galley,” Loki told him, raising his eyebrows.
“Ohhhh,” Josh drooled. “Chocolate. The absolute best thing about Earth. I still can’t believe the original settlers of the Pentaurus cluster didn’t think to bring a chocolate plant with them.”
“I don’t think chocolate is a plant,” Loki said. “I think they make it from a lot of different ingredients.”
“Well, whatever those ingredients are, they should have brought the seeds with them. That’s all I’m saying.”
* * *
Eight men in well-fitted Takaran officer uniforms stepped out of the passenger jump shuttle and onto the tarmac at the Porto Santo airbase. The men were well groomed and moved with confidence befitting their upbringing.
“Sons of nobles,” Master Sergeant Jahal muttered as he watched them approach. “I forget. Do I bow before or after they are introduced?”
“We are Ghatazhak,” Commander Telles stated flatly. “We bow for no one.”
“I have no love for Takaran nobility, either,” Major Prechitt agreed. “Unfortunately, we need pilots. Pilots with experience, and they are in short supply these days.”
“You don’t really believe these eight men will make a difference?” the master sergeant challenged. “I don’t care how good they are.”
“Personally, I’d rather have any eight Corinari pilots, myself,” Major Prechitt said.
“Agreed,” Commander Telles added.
“Unfortunately, no more are available,” the major continued. “Hence, the sons of expatriated Takaran nobility. We’ll teach them to fly the Super Eagles, and they will help us train pilots from other Alliance worlds…assuming we find any.”
Commander Telles turned to look at the major. “None yet?”
“I’m afraid not,” the major sighed. “On the bright side, though, we have plenty of volunteers for basic flight school.”
Commander Telles did not look amused.
“Thank God for auto-flight,” Master Sergeant Jahal joked.
“Gentlemen,” the first Takaran officer began as he neared. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Commander Goodreau of the Avendahl. These are Lieutenants Jarso, Sistone, and Dornahki, as well as Ensigns Giortone, Auklud, Riordan, and Masa. We have been sent by Captain Navarro to act as Super Eagle pilots. I trust we were expected?”
“Indeed, you were, Commander,” Major Prechitt replied. “I’m Major Prechitt, air group commander for the Alliance forces in the Sol sector, and CAG for the Aurora.”
“Corinari, yes, I have heard of you, Major. It is an honor.”
“The honor is mine,” the major assured him. “Allow me to introduce Commander Telles, commanding officer of all Ghatazhak forces attached to the Alliance in the Sol sector. And this is his assistant, Master Sergeant Jahal.”
Telles and Jahal offered only a polite nod, their hands still folded behind their backs.
“A pleasure, sirs.” Lieutenant Commander Goodreau looked past them at the Porto Santo base. “An impressive facility. We were able to get a birds-eye view on approach. It appears to cover the entire island.”
“Much of it is housing for civilian support personnel,” Major Prechitt explained.
“There was also a city of several thousand in existence prior to our procurement of the island,” Commander Telles added. “They have been most helpful.”
“Yes, of course. And a beautiful island it is, Commander.”
“We have arranged officer’s quarters for you and your men here on Porto Santo,” Major Prechitt told the leader of the Takaran pilots. “I trust you have all had an opportunity to study the technical data that we forwarded to your captain?”
“Yes, indeed. We have been studying the data
for weeks. An interesting design concept, to be sure. Is it true that Deliza Ta’Akar was its designer?”
“In part. It is based on a Terran design that was already in service. Miss Ta’Akar reconceptualized its operational design, with the help of Terran, Corinairan, and Takaran engineers. The concept was hers, however.”
“Impressive, indeed. I would love to meet this remarkable young woman.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” the major promised. “If you’ll all follow me, I will have my staff see you to your accommodations.”
“Thank you, Major,” the lieutenant commander replied. “How soon can we get started flying the Super Eagles? I trust you have a few built by now?”
“We have thirteen of them on the line as we speak, and are producing them at a rate of one ship every other day.”
“Excellent. I cannot wait to get started.”
“You can start using the simulator this afternoon, if you’d like?” the major offered.
“That won’t be necessary, Major. Tomorrow will be soon enough. It has been a long journey, after all. Best we get a good night’s rest, and start fresh in the morning, I suspect.”
“As you wish,” the major agreed, pointing the group of pilots toward the waiting transport vehicle.
The group of Takaran pilots walked to the waiting vehicle. After they were beyond earshot, the master sergeant spoke. “I’m so glad my residence isn’t in officer’s country.”
* * *
“The Adlairans didn’t seem to care one way or the other,” Admiral Dumar said over the vid-link to President Scott’s office. “The Jung showed up about a decade ago and set up an airbase and a troop base. Their only interaction with the locals in all that time has been purchasing of crops and paying for them with basic services such as health care, power generation, sewage treatment… Basic stuff, really.”
“No propaganda campaigns? No forced rule?” the president wondered.
“No, Mister President. At least nothing like we’ve seen on other worlds. To be honest, Adlair is a very simple world. They eschew technology for the most part, and have little interest in expanding or progressing beyond that which they need to continue their simple way of life.”
“So, they don’t have any technology?” the president confirmed.
“They do, just not much,” the admiral explained, “and they don’t have any real industrial capacity to speak of, either.”
“How do they feel about the Alliance?”
“They understand why we are clearing out all Jung forces within reach of Sol, but they have no interest in being part of it. They would prefer to remain neutral.”
“Are they asking us to stay away from their world?”
“Not exactly, but neither are they inviting us to come back and visit any time.”
“Do they understand what the Jung might do to them, if they return?” the president asked.
“They understand what we believe the Jung may do to them, if they should return. However, they do not believe it will happen. As I said, the Jung have never done anything bad to them. They simply do not care, one way or the other.”
“Not exactly the reception we were expecting.”
“No, Mister President, it is not,” Admiral Dumar agreed. “In the grand scheme of things, however, it does not matter. There is nothing of value to the Alliance on Adlair.”
“I see,” the president replied. “Recommendations, Admiral?”
“I recommend we leave a jump-capable recon drone hidden in the system. It will detect the presence of any Jung ships, and it will provide the means for the Adlairans to contact us, should they change their minds in the future.”
President Scott rubbed his chin, somewhat uneasy with the proposed plan. “What’s the risk of leaving a jump-capable device behind?”
“Negligible,” the admiral assured him, confidently. “All our jump drives are rigged with self-destruct systems. Especially our drones and jump KKVs.”
“Like the scout ships were?”
“We have made considerable improvements in the self-destruct and tamper protection systems since the Scout Three incident. I would not be suggesting leaving a recon drone behind if I believed it to be a risk.”
“Of course, of course,” President Scott replied. “Very well.”
“If there is nothing else, Mister President?” the Admiral asked.
“Actually, there is one other thing. I was concerned that the battle platform in the Eta Cassiopeiae system was not destroyed by the initial jump KKV strike, putting our forces at greater risk.”
“It was a calculated risk on my part,” the admiral explained. “The jump KKVs are not as powerful as the original FTL KKVs. Ideally, we should be launching a spread of eight jump KKVs to ensure a first-strike kill against a battle platform. Unfortunately, the rate at which we are able to convert the old EDF missiles into jump-capable KKVs is limited. It was my call to strike with only four JKKVs, a decision I regret. Luckily, neither ship suffered any damage. However, the Celestia’s early departure from her bombardment duties did cost us more lives on the ground than we had hoped, especially considering the distance of the base from the local villages. If the mission had gone as planned, that base would have been completely obliterated, and there would have been little to no resistance on the surface. I take full responsibility for those losses, Mister President.”
“Thank you for the explanation, Admiral. I wish you and your forces better luck on your next mission.”
“Thank you, Mister President.”
The image of Admiral Dumar disappeared from the view screen on the wall, replaced by the logo of the North American Union for a moment, before automatically shutting off. The door on the side of the president’s office opened without warning, and President Scott’s daughter, Miri, entered the room.
“Why didn’t you tell him to use more JKKVs in the future?” she asked as she walked into the office.
“It’s not my place to tell the admiral how to accomplish his missions.”
“Since when?” she asked, stopping beside her father’s desk. “You’re the president of the NAU, as well as the Coalition. If it’s not your job, whose is it?”
“My job is to listen to his recommendations, and to accept or reject them, based on the needs of the people of Earth. The same is true of every leader of every member world. Besides, you heard him, Miri. We lack conversion capacity, and thanks to Galiardi’s petition, the admiral’s operational timetable has been shortened. If he uses too many pre-mission, we may run out of them before the job is done.”
“I thought they successfully retrieved the ones that missed? If that’s the case, then what’s the problem? Just fire a bunch of them and recover the ones that missed.”
“They’ve had one good recovery mission, Miri. Until we can be sure that we’ll always be able to recover the JKKVs that miss, I have to agree with the admiral.”
“Speaking of admirals, Galiardi is still waiting to see you,” Miri reminded him.
President Scott sighed.
“Do you know what you’re going to say to him?” she wondered.
“I have some ideas, yes,” the president admitted, “but I think I’m going to just listen to what he has to say, and take it from there. The last thing I need to do is to feed the fire.”
“I’ll send him in, then,” Miri said, exiting the room.
President Scott rose from his desk and moved toward the center of the office, in preparation to greet his guest. The door opened, and Miri led Admiral Galiardi into the room.
“Admiral,” the president greeted, taking caution to use exactly the right tone and level of courtesy. “A pleasure to see you again,” he added as he extended his hand.
“The pleasure is all mine, Mister President,” Admiral Galiardi replied politely, shaking the offered hand. “Thank you for agreeing to speak with me. I know how busy you must be.”
“Aren’t we all.” President Scott gestured for the admiral to take a seat in the sitting are
a to the side of the office.
“Gentlemen, I’ll leave you to your discussions,” Miri offered politely, backing toward the door to exit.
Admiral Galiardi bowed appreciatively to Miri as she exited, then turned back to the president. “Your youngest daughter, isn’t she?”
“Yes, Miranda.”
“I almost didn’t recognize her,” the admiral said as he took his seat.
“The last year has aged us all a decade,” President Scott said as he sat.
“Indeed it has.”
“How may I be of help to you today, Admiral?”
“Please, Mister President. Call me Michael. I think we’ve known each other long enough for that. Besides, while I appreciate the respect the title infers, I am no longer an admiral.”
“Very well, Michael. How may I help you?”
“I assume you are aware of the petition my people have been circulating?”
“Of course.”
“I thought we might discuss its intent.”
“I thought its intent was quite clear,” President Scott said. “The ‘Strength Now’ group, of which I assume you are the leader, wants Earth to withdraw from the Sol-Pentaurus Alliance and concentrate its efforts on the defense of Earth, and only Earth.” One of President Scott’s eyebrows went up. “Isn’t that a correct interpretation?”
“Partly,” the admiral admitted. “Some of our most vocal members would like nothing less. However, I believe it is the aggressive expansion of the Alliance within the Sol sector that we object to, more than the Alliance itself.”
“The Alliance’s goal is not expansion of the Alliance itself, Mister Galiardi. You know that as well as anyone. Expansion of its member worlds is merely a byproduct of removal of Jung forces from nearby systems.”
“Your Alliance is not just removing forces, Mister President, they are liberating worlds. And with the liberation of worlds comes the responsibility to protect them.”
“Agreed, assuming that those worlds are willing to join the Alliance,” President Scott replied.
“Mister President, we are barely capable of protecting our own world, let alone dozens of others. One could make an argument that our ability to protect this world depends on how many ships the Jung are willing to commit to a single, mass assault.”