Ep.#1 - Escalation (The Frontiers Saga: Rogue Castes)

by Ryk Brown

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Captain Roselle said. “But it’s been that way ever since Dumar stepped down and President Scott caved in and reinstated Galiardi.”

  “And you didn’t even like Dumar.”

  “I liked him a whole lot better than Galiardi, that’s for sure.” Captain Roselle set his mug down on the table and leaned back. “Just wait, you’ll get a ship. I’d bet my life on it. Meanwhile, sit back and enjoy the easy duty.”

  “Easy duty my ass,” the commander complained. “Easy for you, perhaps. You’re not the one who has to deal with all these whinny-ass Koharan department heads every day.”

  “Again, politics. Tau Ceti is this ship’s home port, you know. Technically, it is the property of the Cetians. You and I are just here to teach them how to operate the damned thing. That will also come to an end someday, at which point we’ll both move on to bigger and better things,” Captain Roselle insisted.

  “Your mouth to God’s ear…”

  The intercom beeped. Captain Roselle turned to face the intercom panel on the wall. “Roselle.”

  “Flash traffic from Alliance Command,” the communications officer announced over the intercom. “We’ve been put on alert, sir.”

  “On our way,” the captain replied.

  “Another damned readiness test,” Commander Ellison groaned.

  “Hey, at least we get to pretend like we’re a real combat ship, just like the good old days,” the captain said as he rose from his chair and headed out of the captain’s mess.

  “You’d think command would ease up a bit by now,” the commander said, rising to follow his friend. “I mean, it’s not like the Jung are going to attack us, or anything. Not with a few dozen super KKVs trained on their primary worlds. Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that our fleet has more than tripled in size since the cease-fire was signed.”

  “The Jung still have a lot of ships out there, Marty.”

  “Did I mention all the gunships? What is the count up to these days? Three hundred and something?” the commander commented as they entered the Jar-Benakh’s command center.

  “Captain on deck!” the guard at the entrance announced.

  Captain Roselle and Commander Ellison walked over to the communications officer. “What have you got, Mister Bussard?” the captain asked.

  The ensign handed the captain a message pad as he spoke. “We’ve been ordered to go to full alert and break orbit, but remain in the Tau Ceti system for now, sir.”

  “Did they say why?” Commander Ellison wondered.

  “Holy shit,” the captain muttered as he read the rest of the message. “A total of four separate contacts so far, all of them well within Alliance space,” the captain said as he continued reading. “Both the Tanna and the Belem have confirmed kills.”

  “Jobu shot down a Jung ship?” Commander Ellison exclaimed in surprise.

  Captain Roselle looked at his XO, one eyebrow raised.

  “Well, good for him.”

  “Increase patrols, and order our gunships to increase their current patrol range,” Captain Roselle ordered. “I don’t want those bastards sneaking up on us.”

  “What do you think they’re up to, Gil?” the commander wondered. “Probing us, maybe? Testing our response?”

  “Are we at war, sir?” the communications officer asked nervously.

  “We just may be, Ensign.” Captain Roselle looked at his XO again. “Set condition two throughout the ship.”

  * * *

  “Holy, fuck!” Sergeant Torwell exclaimed from the gun turret atop the combat jump shuttle, after it came out of its last jump in the series. “You might want to warn a guy when you plan on coming out of the jump so damned close to a planet!”

  “It’s not a planet, it’s a moon,” Commander Kainan replied.

  “It’s still fucking close.”

  “Relax, Sarge, it’s a small moon. You could fart and reach escape velocity from its surface,” the commander said comfortingly.

  “Torwell could, that’s for sure,” Lieutenant Latfee added.

  “You guys did that on purpose,” Sergeant Torwell accused. “I just may have crapped my suit, you know that don’t you?”

  “It was my idea, Sarge,” Jessica admitted, as she activated the hailing call on her comm-panel. “We can hide here while we task the comm-drone.”

  Sergeant Torwell stared out at the moon to his right. It was so close, he felt as if he could reach out and touch its icy surface. Then he turned to look to his right. He noticed a strange amber glow on the frame of his turret’s canopy, and turned to look behind him. His eyes popped open even wider with a start, and he nearly fell out of his seat at the sight of the massive gas giant behind them. “Jesus!” he exclaimed. After catching his breath, he continued. “Seriously, guys, you have to warn me before you do this kind of shit.”

  “What’s the big deal, Sarge?” the commander asked. “We used to jump into atmo less than a hundred meters off the deck.”

  “Maybe, but I had nothing but sky above me when we did!” the sergeant argued. “And you guys are surrounded by the hull. I’m sitting up here in this little fucking bubble, remember? Besides, it’s been years since we did those kinds of jumps, and I’m an old man now.”

  “What are you, like twenty-six, twenty-seven, maybe?” Jessica wondered.

  “Earth years, maybe. But I’m thirty-two by Corinairan years…I think.”

  “You suck at math, Sarge,” Commander Kainan commented. “You’re only thirty Corinairan years old.”

  “Whatever.”

  “How’s it going back there, Lieutenant?” the commander asked.

  “Handshake is complete, and the control codes have been accepted. I’m sending tasking to the comm-drone now,” Jessica reported. “Are you picking up any ships on passive?”

  “Not yet,” Lieutenant Latfee replied. “But our reception angle is pretty narrow right now.”

  “That’s the plan,” Jessica replied. “Tasking has been received. Just waiting for departure confirmation.”

  “You don’t think it’s going to raise some suspicion when the Jung see a comm-drone suddenly jump away?” Sergeant Torwell wondered.

  “That’s why we needed to act immediately,” Jessica explained, “while there are still shuttles jumping in and out of the system. Once the Jung get this system locked down, nothing will be able to leave without getting tracked.”

  “What makes you think they won’t track it now?” Lieutenant Latfee asked.

  “They might,” Jessica admitted. “That’s why I routed the drone to about ten different systems before parking it in the Borada system.”

  “Borada?” Lieutenant Latfee said. “There’s nothing in the Borada system.”

  “That’s the idea,” Jessica replied. “If the Jung do track the comm-drone, by the time they reach Borada, we will have already retasked the drone again and sent it on its way to Earth.”

  “Two minutes until we get line of sight on Corinair,” Commander Kainan warned.

  “That’s it,” Jessica replied. “I’ve got launch confirmation.”

  “And I’ve got the drone’s jump flash,” Lieutenant Latfee replied.

  “Setting up the comm-array for directional beam,” Jessica announced.

  “How do you know where the recipient is located?” Sergeant Torwell wondered.

  “We know Dumar lives on the side of Corinair that’s facing us now, and from this distance, a directional beam will cover the entire planet. If he has an active receiver, he’ll get the message.”

  “And so will the Jung,” the sergeant pointed out.

  “The message is encrypted,” Jessica replied.

  “How does he know the encryption key?”

  Jessica looked up at the sergeant in the turret above her, then looked forward between the engine bulkheads toward the cockpit. “Is he always like this?”

  “I get talkative when I’m nervous,” the sergeant said defensively.

  “I’m trying
to remember a time when you weren’t running your mouth off, Torwell,” Jessica commented as she prepared to send the message.

  “That hurt, Jess.”

  “The encryption key is his son’s birthday,” Jessica said.

  “How does he know that?”

  “He’s a smart man,” Jessica replied, “he’ll figure it out. And I’m seeding it with information that only he and I know.”

  “Like what?”

  “Who his target was when he first came aboard the Aurora.”

  “His target?”

  Jessica reached out and slapped the side of the sergeant’s leg. “Jesus, Torwell. Enough already.”

  “Line of sight in thirty seconds,” the lieutenant warned.

  “I’ll be ready,” Jessica assured him.

  “New contacts on passive,” the lieutenant added. “A pair of fast movers, close together. Probably a patrol of two fighters.”

  “Where?” Jessica asked as she worked.

  “Fifty thousand kilometers. They just came onto sensors. They probably just left the orbit of Corinair. The planet is coming into our line of sight now. Ten seconds until you’re clear to transmit.”

  “I’m ready,” Jessica announced, her hands rising up from her console.

  “Contacts are turning toward us,” the lieutenant warned. “You’d better start transmit…”

  Two jump flashes suddenly appeared less than a kilometer ahead of them, their light filling the cockpit from both the cockpit and the turret above Jessica, spilling into the utility area where she sat.

  “Fuck!” Commander Kainan exclaimed as he pushed the shuttle into a spiraling dive to the right. “You got’em, Sarge?”

  “How the fuck am I supposed to get them while you’re spiraling like a crazy bastard!” the sergeant yelled back.

  The shuttle lurched to one side, flinging Jessica across the cabin.

  “We’re hit!” Lieutenant Latfee warned. “Port shield! It’s down to fifty percent!”

  “Level off so I can get a shot at them on their next pass!” the sergeant demanded.

  “I need a clean shot with the comm-array to get this message out!” Jessica reminded the commander.

  “They’ve split!” the lieutenant warned as the shuttle came out of its spiraling dive. “One to port, and one to starboard!”

  “Which one is high and low?” the commander asked as he gunned all four engines.

  The lieutenant checked the sensor display. “Port is high, starboard is low.”

  “Sarge, I’m going to turn into the fighter to port and show him our topside. That’ll keep our port shield away from the starboard contact. Don’t let that fucker pass on our left. If he hits our port shield again, we’ll lose it.”

  “I’ve got it!” the sergeant replied.

  “You’ll have about ten seconds to get the message out,” the commander told Jessica.

  “I only need five,” Jessica responded.

  “Don’t forget to give him the return message coordinates!”

  “I did, I did!”

  “Coming around now,” the commander warned as he rolled the ship slightly to port and started his turn in the same direction.

  “Shit! He jumped!” the lieutenant warned.

  “Who jumped?” the commander demanded. “To where?”

  “The guy on the right! Shit! He’s on our left now! He’s firing!”

  “Jumping!” Commander Kainan announced.

  The windows of the shuttle turned opaque momentarily as the ship jumped ahead a few thousand kilometers.

  “Hang on!” the commander warned as he rolled the ship in the opposite direction and started another hard turn.

  Jessica felt herself sliding to the right, all the while wondering why she hadn’t put on her restraints.

  “Jumping again,” the commander warned.

  Once again, the shuttle’s windows turned opaque, clearing a few seconds later.

  “That should buy us a few seconds,” the commander decided.

  “Corinair is at two one seven by one one four!” Lieutenant Latfee reported as the windows cleared again.

  “How far did we jump?”

  “About ten light seconds from our last position,” the commander replied. “Start transmitting! Quick, before they figure out where we went!”

  “I’m transmitting! I’m transmitting!” Jessica assured the commander.

  “Two more contacts!” Lieutenant Latfee warned. “Fifty thousand clicks… FUCK!”

  Two more jump flashes filled their forward windows as another two Jung fighters suddenly appeared in front of them and opened fire. Sergeant Torwell attacked with his double-barreled plasma cannon, sending bolts of red-orange plasma energy streaking toward the incoming fighters. The fighters split apart just like the previous pair, one to port, and one to starboard.

  “Two more to stern!” the lieutenant warned. “I think it’s the first two!”

  “Message is sent!” Jessica exclaimed.

  “We’re out of here!” the commander added as he pushed the escape jump button on his flight control stick.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Loki stared out the window of the Ghatazhak’s flight operations office. On the apron sat the corporate jump shuttle he had flown for the last five years, its port side torn open by weapons fire.

  It had been so long since he’d been fired upon in such a way. It seemed a lifetime ago. Yet, back then, it had been a fairly regular occurrence. Now, after so much time had passed, he failed to understand how he managed to get through it all. Even now, only a few hours after they had escaped, his hands still trembled at the thought of what might have happened. His wife. His child. They were all that mattered to him now. He would gladly live under Jung rule if it meant his family would be safe.

  His perspective on the war he had been a part of so long ago had changed today. He viewed the war differently than he had as a single young man with no one depending on him other than those who fought by his side. It had simply been him and Josh, together in the cockpit of that Falcon, challenging death at every turn and every jump… And winning. But now…little Ailsa. His little angel. The thought of her growing up without a father…

  “How are you doing?” Deliza asked as she entered the office.

  Loki wiped his eyes. “I’m okay… I guess.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Deliza replied, handing him a cup of tea. “Try not to worry. They’ll figure out a way to get them off of Corinair.”

  “I keep telling myself that,” Loki began quietly. He stopped mid sentence, unable to verbalize his next thought for fear he would break down. He looked at Deliza. “You’re not worried?”

  “Of course I am,” Deliza assured him.

  “You don’t look it.”

  “That’s my father’s influence,” she said, sitting down in the chair next to Loki. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly in a long sigh. “He always believed that worrying was a waste of time. He used to tell me, ‘If there is something you can do about it, do it. If not, worrying about it isn’t going to help. It’s just needless suffering. Not only for yourself, but for those around you. And it certainly isn’t helping those you might worry about.’”

  Loki smiled. “Yeah, that sounds like Tug. Not Casimir, mind you, but Tug.”

  “Yeah, I think I liked him better as Tug myself,” Deliza said.

  Loki looked out the window again, watching as several Ghatazhak technicians removed the body from the damaged cabin of their shuttle. “Did she have any family?” he asked, wanting to get his mind off his own problems.

  “Biarra? A brother, I think. Her parents were killed when she was young, back when the Yamaro attacked Corinair.”

  “I remember that day,” Loki said. “We were still flying the Aurora, then.” He turned and looked at her. “You were there. You and your sister, and your father.”

  “Yes, we were.” Deliza smiled bashfully. “I had a bit of a crush on you back then, you know.”

  Loki looked sur
prised. “Really?”

  “Who wouldn’t? A dashing young pilot, one who saved our lives.”

  “Yeah, I was kind of smitten with you as well, I have to admit. I just never really had the nerve to say anything.”

  “Why not?” Deliza wondered.

  “You were so smart, and your father was there, and I was trying to learn how to fly the Aurora… There just wasn’t the time, really. Not with all that was going on. Besides, I was never very good with girls.”

  “You seemed to sweep Lael off her feet without any problem,” Deliza grinned.

  “Lael was easy.”

  “What?”

  “I mean it was easy with her. She was so easy to talk to. I always felt so relaxed around her. We just hit it off without any effort. Simple, honest, and direct. It’s like I couldn’t say anything wrong with her. Even if I accidentally insulted her, it would just bounce off her like I had never said it.”

  “That’s one of the reasons I hired her,” Deliza said. “Because she’s so honest and direct. It saves a lot of time when you don’t have to dance around a person’s sensitivities. That, and because she is so damned organized that it’s frightening.”

  “Yes, she is,” Loki agreed. “And yes it is.”

  Deliza looked out the window as well. “Do you think it will fly again?”

  “Probably,” Loki replied. “The damage is mostly to the hull itself. All the systems are in the ventral box truss that runs under the deck. If we can get some scrap metal, we can probably just weld it in place to cover the hull, and the cabin will likely hold pressure just fine.” Loki smiled. He knew that Deliza was trying to get him to focus on something else.

  “Good. Once we fix her up, you, me, Yanni, Lael, and Ailsa, will all load up and get as far away from the Pentaurus sector as possible.”

  “To where?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe back to Earth?”

  “We don’t have the range to get to Earth,” Loki said. “We barely had enough energy to get here.”

  “We’ll just have to get a better power plant, then. Maybe a mini-ZPED?”

  “Where are we going to get a mini-ZPED, Deliza?”

  “I’ve got money, remember?”