by Ryk Brown
“If you are a Ghatazhak, you will be sworn to follow my orders, even if they violate those of the Alliance.”
Jessica cocked her head to one side, examining the commander. “What’s really going on, here, Telles?”
The commander looked at her, long and hard. “Resign your commission, and swear your allegiance to the Ghatazhak, here and now.”
“Not unless you tell me why.”
“I cannot, unless you join us.” Telles kept his eyes locked on hers. “You must trust me, Jessica.”
She continued staring at the commander. Finally, she reached up to her collar, removed her rank insignias, and placed them on the table. “It’s just a gesture, you know. I’m sure there’s some paperwork to fill out, or something.”
“Will you join us?” the commander asked in all seriousness.
“Sure. Why not?” Jessica replied casually.
“Do you swear on your honor, that you will follow my orders, without question, and that you will serve the Ghatazhak with your very life?”
“Jeez…” she said, rolling her eyes. “Fine, I swear it. Go get a bible, if you like.”
“Very well. You are now a Ghatazhak.”
“Just like that?” she joked. “No paperwork?”
“We can deal with the formalities later,” he replied. “Everything discussed from this point forward is not to be discussed with anyone else without my express permission. Is that understood?”
“Of course,” Jessica replied.
“Very well.” Commander Telles took a breath and sighed. “The Alliance has established daily jump comm-drone relays with the Jung homeworld,” the commander began.
“Are you kidding?” Jessica said, surprised. “I hope it’s got fail-safes.”
“Multiple. It is impossible for them to take the drone intact. Its self-destruct device is designed to activate if it is unable to return to this system within a certain amount of time from departure. It cannot be disarmed. Not even by the Alliance.”
“I sure hope you’re right.”
“I am.”
“But that’s not what you wanted to talk to me about, is it?” she surmised.
“The Alliance received its first transmission two days ago,” the commander continued. “Captain Scott has been charged with attempted genocide against the Jung people.”
Jessica did not respond, only continued staring at the commander, waiting for him to continue.
“According to Lieutenant Commander Bowden, the trial is just a formality. If he has been charged, he will be convicted…and executed.”
“How did you learn about this?”
“Captain Scott’s sister, Miranda. The president’s aide. She informed me yesterday.”
“Why did she tell you?” Jessica wondered.
“She asked me to tell you personally, although I suspect there was additional intent, which she did not disclose.”
Jessica was trying to add everything up, but she wasn’t coming up with an answer. “Why are you telling me this?” she wondered. “You know how I feel about Nathan. You know how this will affect me.”
“I am telling you this for the same reason that I asked you to resign your commission, and join the Ghatazhak. I need a few people that I can trust.”
“Trust for what?” Jessica asked.
“I plan to rescue Nathan Scott.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Although Jessica had made the gesture of removing her rank insignias a few days ago and sworn her loyalty to the Ghatazhak, as expected, there were more procedures involved. It would take several days before her resignation would become official. In the meantime, Commander Telles had suggested that she stand down as a spec-ops instructor. She had offered to finish out the class, but the commander had other plans.
As far as the Alliance knew, she was still on Porto Santo. She had been smuggled off the island on one of the shuttles that hopped between the island and various parts of Europe several times per day. It only took a fake ID, a simple disguise, and a port security guard that had been sworn to secrecy.
Now Jessica found herself walking casually down the main boulevard of central Interlaken, dressed in typical attire for the Swiss city, attempting to blend in as much as possible. It had been months since she had done anything resembling covert ops, not since her time on Kohara in the Tau Ceti system. It had been what she originally trained for…what she had dreamed of doing from the moment she entered the academy.
Jessica could speak several languages, including German and French, so blending in was easy. In addition, there were so many people from nations all over the world working on the restoration of nearby Grindelwald, that English had become the norm, even in this remote mountain location.
After several minutes of walking, she found the cafe in question. Being mid-afternoon, the establishment was not crowded, making it easy for Jessica to spot Deliza. She made her way to the corner of the cafe, where Deliza was sitting in a corner booth, drinking tea and studying a data pad. Jessica glanced around, then approached her. “Deliza?”
Deliza looked up from her data pad, startled by the sound of someone calling her name. Other than Yanni and a few of his friends, no one in Interlaken knew her. “Yes?” she replied, her brow furrowed suspiciously. “Do I know you?”
Jessica sat down across the booth from her, removing her sunglasses.
“Jessica?”
“Surprise,” Jessica whispered.
“I didn’t recognize you. Did you color your hair?”
“Wig,” Jessica replied, keeping her voice low.
“What are you doing here?”
Jessica signaled Deliza to keep her voice down.
“Sorry,” Deliza said quietly, doing as instructed. “What are you doing here? What’s going on?”
“Can’t a girl just pop in on an old friend?”
“Well, certainly, but how did you even know where to find me?”
“I’m in intelligence, remember?”
“But I thought you were transferred to Porto Santo?”
“I was,” Jessica confirmed. “But I’m not staying there.”
“Where are you going?” Deliza asked.
“I’m resigning from the Alliance.”
Deliza’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”
“It’s complicated.”
Deliza was reeling from the news. “Of all people, I never thought you would resign.”
“I wish I could tell you why, but I can’t.”
Deliza cocked her head, studying Jessica’s face a moment. “You didn’t track me down to tell me you’re resigning.”
“No. I didn’t,” Jessica admitted. “I have a favor to ask of you. A big one.”
“How big?”
“Really big. Huge, in fact. But I can’t tell you why.”
“What’s the favor?”
Jessica looked around, checking that no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. “I need to use the Mirai.”
“Why?” Deliza’s eyes widened again, the revelation hitting her. “This is about Na…”
Jessica cut her off with a gesture and a stern look, before Deliza could finish saying his name. She looked around again, double-checking that no one was watching them. “Yes,” she confirmed in a whisper. “But you can tell no one, not even Yanni.”
“He will figure it out sooner or later,” Deliza warned, in a hushed tone.
“Probably. When he does, you can tell him. Just make sure he tells no one. And I mean no one. You shouldn’t even talk about it yourselves. You never know when someone might be listening.”
Deliza looked concerned. She too glanced around the cafe, as if checking to see if anyone was spying on their conversation.
“Relax. It’s too s
oon for anyone to have caught on to our plan.”
“Our? Who else is involved?” Deliza wondered.
“It’s really better that you know as little as possible, Deliza. Trust me on this.”
“I do. Just tell me what you want me to do,” Deliza replied.
* * *
“Where the hell are we?” Josh wondered as he and Loki followed the Ghatazhak corporal down the dimly lit corridor. “Hey, Corporal. I thought you were taking us to see Commander Telles.”
“I am, sir,” the corporal replied.
“Isn’t his office in the command building?” Loki asked.
“Yes, it is, sir.”
Josh looked at Loki. “Then why aren’t we going there?”
“This is where I was told to take you, sir,” the corporal replied evenly. The corporal stopped, opened the door to his right, then stood to one side, gesturing for them to enter. “Sirs.”
Josh looked at Loki again, before entering the doorway with Loki close behind. The room was dark, illuminated only by the scant light from the corridor. Once they were inside, the corporal closed the door behind them. They heard the door latch lock, and they were left in the darkness.
“This can’t be good,” Loki mumbled.
They both heard a muffled voice from the far side of the room, as if over a comm-set.
“Is somebody in here?” Josh asked.
The lights came on, revealing Jessica sitting at the back of the room.
“Jessica!” Josh said in shock. “What the hell?”
“Sorry about that, boys,” she apologized, “but I had to secure the room before anyone said anything.”
“What’s going on?” Loki asked, looking suspicious.
“No one can know that we met,” she instructed.
“Okay,” Josh replied cautiously.
“I take it we’re not here to lecture your spec-ops trainees about deep space reconnaissance?” Loki surmised.
“Not exactly, no.”
“Then why are we here, Jess?” Loki asked.
Jessica took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Before I can tell you, you must both give me your word, that regardless of your decision, you will not speak of this to anyone. Not even amongst yourselves, in private.”
“What’s going on?” Josh wondered.
“Swear to me, on your honor.”
“That’s going to be kind of hard, seeing as how I don’t really have any,” Josh joked.
“I’m not kidding, Josh,” Jessica warned him. “This is life and death shit here. Yours, if it comes to that.”
“Jesus, Jess,” Josh exclaimed. “I was joking. Of course I promise not to say anything.”
Jessica looked at Loki.
“Me, too.”
“Are you both sure?” she asked. “What I’m about to tell you could change your future, for better or worse. It could even put your lives in danger.”
This time, Loki looked at Josh.
“Not like it would be the first time,” Josh commented. “What’s up?”
“You’re sure you want to know?” she asked again.
“Hell yes,” Josh replied without hesitation.
Jessica looked at Loki again. “Loki?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Very well,” Jessica said. “We need your help.”
“Who’s we?” Loki wondered.
“Better you don’t know, at this point.”
“What do you need us to do?” Josh asked.
“I need you both to resign your commissions,” Jessica explained.
Both Josh and Loki looked surprised.
“Uh, you do know how hard I worked to get my commission, right?” Josh said.
“Yes, I know,” she replied. “Believe me, it’s not something I take lightly. And the only reason I am asking the two of you, is because you are the only two pilots I can trust.”
“Why do you need us to quit the Alliance?” Loki asked.
“So that you can take a new job, as Deliza’s private flight crew,” Jessica explained.
“Flying the Mirai?” Josh said skeptically. “Hardly a step up,” he added under his breath.
“Doesn’t she already have a flight crew?” Loki pointed out.
“Captain Navarro will soon be requesting their return, due to his own shortage of qualified pilots,” Jessica explained.
“Why the hell do you want us to fly the Mirai?”
“That’s not the only reason you want us to resign our commissions, is it?” Loki suspected.
“No, it’s not,” Jessica confirmed. “I need you to resign, because I’ll be asking you to do something that will go against orders.”
“Oh, shit,” Loki mumbled, a chill washing over his body.
“What?” Josh wondered, noticing his friend’s sudden change in disposition. He looked at Jessica. “What? What are you going to ask us…to……” Josh felt the same ominous chill down his spine. He looked back at Loki. “She’s not wearing any rank insignia,” he realized. He turned to Jessica. “You’ve already resigned, haven’t you?”
“Three days ago. I’m just waiting for the request to get processed,” Jessica replied.
“We’re in,” Josh announced enthusiastically.
“I haven’t even told you what I need you to do.”
“You want us to help rescue Nathan, right?” Josh asked.
“Yup.” She looked at Loki. “I know Josh always volunteers you both before you get a chance to say anything about it, so…”
“I’m in,” Loki added without hesitation.
“You’re sure?”
“Quite,” Loki replied. “In fact, it’s the only thing I’ve ever been sure about.”
Jessica smiled. “The Mirai has a minimum flight crew of three,” she said. “Two pilots, and a crew chief. Any idea where we can find a crew chief that’s crazy enough to take on this mission?”
This time, it was Josh who smiled. “I know just the guy.”
* * *
“I do not mean to belittle his sacrifice,” Commander Golan said, “but there is no denying that it was a mistake to allow himself to be drawn into a situation from which there was no escape.”
Captain Navarro looked away from his executive officer, his gaze drifting across his ready room aboard the Avendahl, finally landing on the ship’s schematics on the opposite wall. After a few moments, a sigh escaped him. “I suppose you are correct,” he admitted, looking back at his second in command. “Have you considered, however, that he may have anticipated the likely course of events, and allowed them to happen so he would be in a position to save his world?”
“No one could have anticipated such events,” Commander Golan argued.
“Most men, no. On that we agree,” Captain Navarro replied. “But you must admit, Captain Scott was not most men.”
“Is,” the commander corrected. “He is not dead, yet.”
“According to this,” Captain Navarro said, holding up the data pad containing the latest communications from the Sol sector, “he soon will be.” He sighed again. “A great waste. He was an exceptional young man, and I believe he would have gone on to accomplish great things.”
Commander Golan’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t buy into the whole Na-Tan thing, do you?”
“Of course not,” the captain said dismissively. “Educated men such as us do not put stock in legends. Still, the events of the last two years do give one pause.”
“I don’t believe I’m hearing this.”
Captain Navarro chuckled. “Do not be concerned, my friend. I am not about to start preaching from the Legend of Origins just yet. However, when you take the legend of Na-Tan exactly as it reads, and ignore the various broad i
nterpretations that are out there, its accuracy is somewhat…unsettling.”
“Except for one thing,” the commander pointed out. “According to legend, Na-Tan cannot die.”
“As you said, Commander, he is not dead, yet,” the captain reminded him.
Commander Golan smiled. “Even Na-Tan cannot escape a Jung prison…on the Jung homeworld.”
The door buzzer sounded. Captain Navarro pressed a button to open the door, revealing his communications officer, Ensign Permon.
“I have a message for you, Captain,” the ensign reported as he entered the captain’s ready room.
“From?”
“I do not know,” the ensign replied sheepishly. “It is encrypted.”
“Even the headers?” Commander Golan wondered, sounding surprised.
“Yes, sir,” the ensign nodded. “The recipient’s name was the only part that was not encrypted.”
Captain Navarro took the data pad being offered by the ensign. “Thank you, Ensign. That will be all.”
Ensign Permon nodded, turned smartly, and exited the ready room, the door closing automatically behind him.
Captain Navarro activated the data pad’s display, and placed his palm on the screen. A moment later, the decrypted message appeared on the screen. “Interesting,” the captain muttered as he read.
“What is it?” Commander Golan wondered.
“It seems that young Miss Ta’Akar wishes to return the Mirai’s crew to us.”
“Then you will get your prized yacht back,” the commander jested loftily.
Captain Navarro raised his eyebrow at his executive officer’s jab. “Not the Mirai,” he corrected, “just her crew. And she wants me to make the request to Admiral Dumar, as if it were my idea.”
“Odd. Did she say why?”
“No. She did not…which is even more odd.”
“Well, we are short of crew, especially pilots,” the commander commented. “Even two would be a welcome addition.” He thought for a moment. “Did she say who will be flying the Mirai in their place?”
“No,” the captain replied. “Nor did she say what she plans to do with it.”