Test of Magnitude (The Torian Reclamation)

by Kasch, Andy

  “Therefore, we must be on guard as not to follow suit. Folly can be a well-camouflaged snare. We become dangerously close to it when we seek to correct it. Such acts must be performed with diligence and a pure heart, lest we become entangled in the same folly ourselves. A wise prophet once warned of dangerous imbalances that would come to us from space. Guard your hearts from such. More recently, a wise being has proclaimed that to repay evil with evil is only justice if it can be administered without hatred, and that all judges themselves face the constant danger of judgment.”

  Brandon cocked his head at that statement.

  Nunon4 continued. “Fellow Torians, be of good courage, and make wisdom your bedfellow. Retrieving that which was stolen is never wrong in and of itself. Taking measures to protect yourselves from that which is known to be dangerous is always wise, even when it incurs risk. In truth, not taking such measures would be folly. Do that which you are called to do, and do it diligently. My brethren and I feel you will be successful, not only on your current mission, but in all your struggles in life.”

  Nunon4 stepped back. The room remained silent for a moment, but then someone began clapping. Another joined in, then another, until the entire room was unified in an orderly applause.

  Governor Stugin2 stepped forward and spoke next.

  “Cardinal-4 is only still here because of the skill and fortitude of those who defended it, many of whom are here in this room.” The governor looked over towards Brandon and Mip7 before continuing. “I never had the chance to thank you personally, so I do so now. Tomorrow, you set forth on a recovery operation. I only ask that while you are engaged, you conjure the same fortitude you had when you defended this station. Do that, and there is no question in my mind you will accomplish your mission and return safely.”

  The governor stepped back and the room once again filled with the sound of applause, albeit softer and of a lesser duration than Nunon4 had received.

  Finally, Olut6 came forward to speak.

  “All right, listen up. These are the final details. As you know, the ITF1’s will take 29 hours to reach the Milura system, while the transport ships can make the trip in less than 22 hours. Therefore, all ITF1 squads will launch tomorrow at 1300. All ITF1 crewmembers are to be in the hangar and aboard the landing craft no later than 1200.

  “The four transport ships making the trip will leave at 1900. The rendezvous point is now confirmed to be DM51, the fifth planet in the Milura system. It’s a very small, dead planet that should be of no interest to anyone. When the IFT1’s arrive, the transport ships should already be there.

  “The final cargo configuration is this: Eight landing craft and twenty three conventional fighters. The specific cargo roster for each transport ship will be available on all onboard computer systems, and kept updated as the mission progresses.

  “Squadron leader Lotus will make the call on the initial approach on Milura. Attack formations will be as practiced. Hit them fast, before they know you’re there. Take out the lasers first, and then the missile batteries if need be. Refrain from utterly destroying the enemy warships, at least until such time as the science staff on board the transport ships can confirm the hostages are all on the ground.

  “Ascertain the level of defense the enemy is capable and willing to put up during your first few runs. When that is determined, Lotus crew will make the call as to when the transport ships should establish orbit.

  “Transport ship science technicians, it will then be up to you to locate the hostages on Milura. Get the landing craft down to them as fast as you can. The conventional fighters will protect the transport ships and landing craft, and call for help from the ITF1’s if necessary.

  “Ground troops, just do your thing. Call in the fighters when and if you need them. Round up the hostages and get them into the two designated transport ships quickly and safely. Always remember that in the public’s eyes, the success of our mission is directly correlated to the percentage of captives we bring home alive.

  “When the hostages are safely on board, those two designated transport ships will immediately start the return journey. The ITF1’s will assess the situation at that point, and escort the remaining fighters back into the hangars. When all the fighters have re-docked and the remaining two transport ships are secured, all ITF1’s except for Aston crew will bug-out back to DM51 for dag recharging before initiating their own return trip. Aston will remain behind until the last transport ship is cleared away, and will then act at their discretion depending on the situation.

  “That’s it. The complete battle plans are in your onboard computers. Get some sleep, boys. Tulros”

  The room erupted in wild cheering once again. The four Torian leaders on the platform bowed and exited. Gradually, everyone began to clear out. Brandon and Mip7 stayed behind until the large room was only sparsely populated. Jack was sitting with his drawing pad in one of the chairs before the window, sketching a picture of the moored transport ship. Brandon gazed at the drawing from over his shoulder before speaking to him.

  “That was a heck of a shot today, Jack. I think you put everybody in a good mood.”

  “Thanks,” Jack replied without looking up. “Maybe I’ll end up doing the same thing to an enemy ship, huh?”

  “Maybe, but I can think of two good reasons not to be overly-enthusiastic for the opportunity.”

  “What’s the second reason?” Jack asked.

  “Don’t you want to know the first reason?”

  “I’m guessing it’s because of the possibility of hostages still being on board.”

  “Yeah. You really are a bright kid, aren’t you? Well, the second reason has to do with some of the things Nunon4 was saying up there.”

  “He was the Sheen, right? That’s the first one I’ve seen. I’d like to sketch one of them.”

  “That can probably be arranged,” Brandon said. “I see he’s milling around in the room still, and will probably come over to talk to us.”

  “Another friend of yours?”

  “Yes.”

  “Those guys are interesting. They’re like monks or something, all religious and stuff, right?”

  “Yeah,” Brandon said. “Kind of.”

  “Do you believe in what they preach?” Jack asked.

  “I don’t know that I consider it preaching. Everything I have heard them say makes perfect sense to me. They stress having balance in your life, and behaving in a morally responsible way.”

  “That answers my question. You do believe in it.”

  Brandon defended himself. “Do I believe in behaving responsibly and staying emotionally healthy? Yes, I do.”

  Jack looked up from his drawing. “Well, let me ask you this, then. If we get confirmation that no hostages are on board, and I have a clear shot at the enemy vessel on a weak structural point, should I take it?”

  “I think that depends on the situation,” Brandon said.

  “Just for the sake of argument,” Jack said, “let’s say the ship is disabled and is no longer firing upon us, and we appear to be in no immediate danger, and all the hostages have already been rescued. We’re about to warp out, or distort out, or whatever they call this space bending thing, and I have a clear shot at blowing their ship to rubble like that freighter today. Should I do it?”

  “Their warships are gigantic. Not like that little freighter. It’s extremely unlikely you can destroy it with your weapon.”

  “Let’s just pretend that I can. Should I?

  “It’s an interesting dilemma,” Brandon said. “You would be killing defenseless beings.”

  “These defenseless beings came over here and killed some of your defenseless friends for no apparent reason, remember? And kidnapped others. And if their weapons were still working, you can probably assume they would be firing them at us.”

  “Yes,” Brandon said. “When you put it like that, and remind me of what they did…”

  Brandon felt a surge of anger rise within him, but then became suddenly di
zzy. Images of the snakebite incident began flashing in his mind. The way the words on the rock had projected out, how his mouth and voice started proclaiming things he didn’t will them to, and Madkin3 later informing him that he had been reciting principles of Erob law.

  “Venom,” Brandon said.

  “What’s that?” Jack asked.

  “Venom. It destroys, but can also provide insight. Invasive destruction is a venomous act. Venom breeds venom, and destruction…destruction. The victims of venom are prone to turn and commit venomous acts, and so the infection spreads.”

  Brandon was still dizzy, but began to recover. Jack was looking up at him quizzically. Mip7 had come over to them, and apparently heard Brandon’s last statement as well, as his head was cocked.

  “Well stated, my friend,” a voice from behind said. Brandon felt a hand with long fingers on his shoulder. He turned to see Nunon4 standing next to him.

  “You are becoming versed in Erob law,” Nunon4 added, “and have developed a unique way of exposing its principles. Your time at Landen was beneficial indeed.”

  “Inadvertently,” Brandon said.

  Nunon4 nodded. “Our greatest education in life is not sought but stumbled upon.”

  “Nunon4,” Brandon said, “this is Jack, a member of my ship’s crew. Would you mind letting him draw you?”

  “It would be my honor to pose for someone with such uninhibited artistic talent.” Nunon4 was now also looking over Jack’s shoulder at his sketch.

  Brandon glanced over to the exit. The room had really thinned out now. “I’m tired,” he said to everyone listening, “and need to sleep.”

  “Yes of course,” Nunon4 said. “Tulros. And may Erob help you.”

  “Thank you. Tulros. I’ll come see you after our return.”

  Mip7 accompanied Brandon to the doorway.

  “You want to get an argim?” Mip7 asked.

  Brandon thought about it. He could see Nunon4 back across the room talking with Jack as he posed for the sketch.

  “No. I really just want to sleep.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Do you want to go rest for a while?” Mip7 asked.

  “No, I’m good,” Brandon said.

  Mip7 stretched in his seat. “I better go now then, so you can later.”

  “Good idea. There’s nothing to do up here anyway but keep an eye on the instruments. Wish we had a game we would play.”

  “No you don’t. Trust me.”

  “Why not?” Brandon asked.

  “I’ll tell you about it later.” Mip7 got up and left the cockpit. There were three beds in the main cabin of the ITF1, and the crewmembers took turns using them. Brandon doubted anyone was actually getting much sleep on the 29-hour journey, but it was at least good to be able to lie down and rest. There was also a blood circulating device on board, something which resembled an elliptical exercise machine from the gyms back on Earth. All crewmembers were instructed to spend at least 10 minutes on it for every 4-5 hours of flight time.

  Watching the stars move by from the cockpit window was mesmerizing, which seemed to have the effect of making time pass even slower. Brandon decided to play with his lightpad for a while. The ship was on auto-pilot now and just needed someone there to make sure no warning lights came on. The technicians on board would likely be first to know about any problems that developed anyway, so the pilot’s job was actually excruciatingly boring during interstellar travel. Mip7 had showed Brandon how to access several programs on the lightpad, including one where music could be composed by moving one’s fingers around in a multi-colored field and applying different levels of pressure. Brandon liked that one, and took to it quickly. He tried to play several classic rock tunes, and was pleased with his pseudo-recreation of the beginning of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust.”

  Mip7 returned to the cockpit after a few hours, at which point Brandon went back and used the exercise machine before lying down on one of the beds. They were more like couches than beds—no sheets or blankets, very firm, with one hard pillow.

  To Brandon’s surprise, he woke up several hours later and realized he had been dreaming about being in a space battle with Derek. The control he had gained over his sleeping since being at Landen was amazing. He could fall asleep almost on command, even at a time like this. While he wouldn’t admit it to any of his crewmembers, Brandon was nervous about the mission. Maybe everybody was, but no one was outwardly showing it.

  Brandon sat up and noticed Jack was on the exercise machine.

  “Not much to draw right now, is there?” Brandon said.

  Jack stepped off and sat down on one of the other beds.

  “You know,” Jack said, “the farthest away from home I have ever been is the south side of Indianapolis. I’m from the north side.”

  “Well, you’re a heck of a long ways from there now, and getting farther every second.”

  “You think we’ll make it home?” Jack asked.

  “You mean back to the Tora star system, after this mission?”

  “No. Back to Earth.”

  “I don’t know,” Brandon said. “If we can, it might all be destroyed, the cities and everything, if what they told us is true about the polar axis shift that was coming.”

  “Why can’t we just drive this ship there, and see for ourselves?”

  “I already checked that out,” Brandon said. “Earth is not in the mapping system. They might have intentionally removed it, or maybe it is too far off the grid to be included.”

  “You think the big ships might have it?” Jack asked.

  Brandon slowly nodded. “Some of them have been there, so they should. Maybe we can get the Torians to take us all home—after the rest of us are revived, I mean.”

  “Yeah—maybe we can,” Jack echoed.

  “Of course, I’ve been away for more than twenty years,” Brandon said, mostly to himself. When he realized what he just voiced, he studied Jack’s reaction, concerned about him freaking out.

  “And me more than fifty.”

  Good. He understood.

  “Jack, are you mad at the Torians for kidnapping us?”

  Jack shrugged. “The ones who kidnapped us aren’t the same ones who revived us and are helping us now. Besides, I thought I was dead.”

  “When did you think that?”

  “In my dreams. I knew something was wrong for a long time. The feeling just kept coming back to me. I figured I had died. When they revived me, I thought this was the afterlife. Then we saw the videos and it all made sense. I can’t rightfully say I was ever really angry about it. Stuff happens, you know. At least I’m not dead. Could be worse.”

  “That’s a healthy attitude,” Brandon said.

  Jack looked up at the ceiling of the inner hull of the ship, where the low humming sound from the dag drive was coming from.

  “You know,” he said, “I was talking to that Sheen fellow last night while I was drawing him—and for a little while afterwards, too. Interesting people, they are. He explained to me some of their beliefs, and I totally understood. He asked me three or four questions, too, wanting to know what I thought about certain things, philosophical questions you know, and it all seemed obvious so I agreed, and then he flat-out asked me if I believed something, some kind of principle in their law, sort of like what you were saying last night when you got all weird for a minute. I agreed with that, too, because it all sounded right. I know it’s strange, but I kind of want to go hang out with those Sheen folks when we get back, and learn all about their laws and beliefs.”

  Brandon felt slightly dizzy now. He focused on the exercise machine and forced himself to keep his composure.

  “That’s cool,” Brandon said. “My friend Derek, whom we are hopefully going to rescue, feels the same way. He was starting to learn to read Torian, and liked living with the Sheen. Maybe he and I will join you in that when we return.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “I better get back to the cockpit,” Brandon said. “Try
to get some rest.”

  Brandon made two more trips to the main cabin during the flight, but didn’t see Jack again.

  Finally, they drew near the Milura star system. The lights on the control panel in the cockpit began flashing yellow. A planet on the map-grid screen was starting to become visible. Mip7 announced their arrival on the intercom. Brandon put the ship in manual control and came out of dag-drive as the planet became large before them. They were here.

  DM51 was a nothing but a large, dark, lifeless rock. Brandon was once again impressed with the Torian command, and their decision to make this planet the rendezvous point. The enemy was unlikely to be monitoring this place. All the same, they had come out of dag-drive low, as planned. It could take a while to locate the big ships at this altitude. After a period of flying over the desolate landscape by themselves, another ship came into view on their left.

  The cockpit speaker burst to life. “Who’s that on our right?”

  “That sounds like Jol2,” Mip7 said. He pushed the radio button. “It’s the only crew that can outfly and outgun you, Lotus.”

  There was a short silence before they answered.

  “Tulros, Aston. Been here long?”

  “No, just arrived,” Mip7 replied. “Wait. We can see another ship on the horizon to our right now.”

  The flying object on the starboard side drew close enough to verify it was another ITF1, and then another appeared out of nowhere above them and settled in to the formation. Now Brandon felt good, flying alongside the three other ships. A great sense of purpose overcame him and a chill raced up and down his spine, which he shook himself free of. This was serious business and he didn’t want to become too sentimental.

  Several large objects appeared on the screen directly ahead. They rapidly came into view through the cockpit window. There they were; the four transport ships in a tight cluster orbiting the dead planet below. One of the other ITF1’s was there with them. So, they were only missing one now. Brandon followed Lotus’s lead and settled into a drift near the transport ships.