by Ryk Brown
The people had quieted down, allowing Nathan to lower his voice once again. “Some of you may recognize the uniforms of the men here with me. For those who do not, they are the Ghatazhak. There are only a few hundred of them left, yet they have pledged their lives, just as I have, to defeating the Dusahn, and liberating the people of the Pentaurus sector. We are a small force, with only a handful of ships, but we will grow. We will put word out to all the worlds of the Pentaurus sector, and to the worlds of all the sectors that surround her. Ships will join us. Men and women will join us. I know not how long the battle will take, nor how many lives it will cost, but I promise you this… These men, and their brethren, the crews of our ships, and myself, will fight to our last breath. We will defeat the Dusahn, or we will die trying.”
Nathan paced over to the left as he spoke. “The Dusahn will try to convince you that life under their rule will be prosperous, and that all who serve them will be rewarded. But the Dusahn exist for one reason, and one reason only… To conquer all that they see. They are merciless in their desire for power, and they make Caius look like a saint. Believe me, I know. Because my name is Nathan Scott.”
The murmuring grew louder, as people began to examine the young man more closely, noticing the resemblance to the videos they had seen years ago. But that man had died at the hands of the Jung, after surrendering himself so that countless other worlds might live.
“Together, we defeated Caius, and together, we shall defeat the Dusahn. But to do so, we must build a fleet, not just of warships, but of ships to support them. To support the men and women who serve on them, and the families whom they dare not leave behind on worlds that might be ‘cleansed’ by the Dusahn as punishment for sins never committed. Ships like the Mystic Empress, who these men just rescued from pirates that would turn her over to the Dusahn for the reward.”
Nathan began walking back in the opposite direction as he continued to talk. The mutterings of disbelief about his identity had seemingly vanished, and all eyes were transfixed on the one they knew as Na-Tan.
“Captain Rainey has met the challenge, and has pledged this ship to our cause. But he has done so on the condition that every person serving aboard her must choose whether or not to follow him. And I am to give each of you that choice as well. Join us, and we will make use of your skills. If not, we will send you back to your homeworlds, and we will wish you the best of luck under Dusahn rule.”
“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” someone shouted.
“You don’t. I can show you vids of the attacks, and of the glassing of Ybara. Vids by the news agencies of your own worlds, in fact. But such vids are easily forged and would prove nothing. The only way you can know for sure, is to return to your homeworld and see for yourself. But if you do, you will be giving up your one chance to make a difference, your one chance to stand up and fight, and quite possibly, your one chance to be free.”
Nathan stood there a moment, looking down at all their faces. Men, women, young and old alike, stared back at him, and at each other, no doubt wondering who would stay, and who would run away.
“This ship will depart shortly to rendezvous with the Aurora and the fleet.”
More murmurs rose from the crowd at the name of the Aurora.
“Those who wish to join us, report to your cabins, and you will be contacted en route. Those who wish to return to your homeworlds, report to the midship escape pods.”
Nathan felt like there was more to say. He felt as if he should offer them something more inspirational, or say a blessing by whatever god they worshiped. But the truth was, he had little else to say. The facts, such as they were, had been laid out in enough detail for anyone to decide for themselves what they wanted to do with their lives from this point forward.
He only hoped that enough of them would choose to stay.
* * *
“You asked to see me?” Nathan said to Jessica, as he entered the Mystic’s security office. When he stepped inside, he noticed a young man sitting in the corner of the office.
“Nathan Scott, this is Terig Espan,” Jessica introduced him. “He and his wife were the ones on the bridge during the takedown. Sigmund threatened to kill them if Captain Rainey didn’t unlock the jump drive.”
“I had no idea,” Nathan replied. “Are you alright? How is your wife?”
“I am fine, thank you. We are both fine. She is sleeping in our cabin,” Terig explained. “The doctor gave her a sedative. She will be asleep for hours.”
“What can I do for you?” Nathan asked in as sincere a tone as he could manage.
“Actually, I thought I might be able to do something for you,” Terig said.
Nathan took a seat on the edge of the desk, listening.
“I work for House Mahtize, on Takara. I am a communications security specialist, for their residence in Answari, the capital city.”
“Yes, I’m familiar with Answari,” Nathan replied.
“Yes, I’m sure you are.”
“How might you be of help to us?”
“Lord Mahtize is the chair of the council of nobles. If the Dusahn have taken control of Takara, they will need the nobles to keep the economies and industries of the Pentaurus cluster running smoothly. They will need Lord Mahtize.”
Nathan looked at Jessica.
“He would hear every communication that took place,” Jessica said.
“Part of my job is to maintain the digital recordings of all communications, even those that are face-to-face. Lord Mahtize records everything, even private conversations, then has them transcribed as well. It all goes through my department.”
“He could be a great source of intel,” Jessica surmised.
Nathan looked at Terig. “Do you realize the risk you’d be taking?”
“I believe so, yes.”
“I’m not sure you do. The man who threatened to kill you? Siggy? He’s a puppy compared to the Dusahn.”
“A puppy?” Terig wondered, unfamiliar with the word.
“If they discover that you’re a spy, they will torture you, and extract information from your mind using nanites. And then, when they are certain you have nothing left to give, they will either kill you outright, or send you somewhere to live out what’s left of your life as slave labor. And your wife? She will likely become someone’s personal slave, if you get my drift.”
“Nathan, don’t you think you’re pouring it on a bit thick?” Jessica objected.
“No, I don’t,” Nathan argued. “If anything, I’m holding back.” He looked at Terig again. “I appreciate what you are offering, Mister Espan, and I agree with Lieutenant Nash here. You would certainly be a valuable source of information. I just want you to be well aware of the risks you are taking. Such activity is highly dangerous for trained special operatives. For someone like you, it is practically suicide.”
“I want to help,” Terig pleaded. “I am not a soldier. I’ve never even held a gun. But I know these systems. I know how to hide data, and how to conceal that the data has been copied, or transmitted. I believe I am what your people call, ‘a hacker?’”
“Actually, we call them digi-spooks,” Jessica corrected.
“Yes, yes. That’s me. A digi-spook.”
“How does your wife feel about this?”
“I have not told her.”
“Well, at least you got that part right,” Jessica commented.
“Are you okay with not telling her?” Nathan asked. “I mean, never telling her; not even if we win. The three of us would be the only ones who would ever know what you were doing… Ever.”
“I’m okay with that. Believe me, I can do this,” Terig insisted. “Please, let me. I really want to help.”
Nathan looked at Jessica. “What do you think?”
“Well, it sounds li
ke he has the smarts for it,” Jessica said. “And since this ship left before the invasion, it’s highly unlikely that he’s a Dusahn spy.”
“But not certain,” Nathan commented.
“How could I possibly be a Dusahn spy?” Terig protested. “I had never even heard of them until your speech.”
“There will be little time to train you,” Nathan warned. “We’re jumping in less than an hour.”
“All he really needs to know at this point is what kind of info we’re looking for, and how to relay the data to us,” Jessica explained. “I can teach him that in less than an hour.”
“I am a fast learner,” Terig assured them.
Nathan sighed, still looking at the young man. “Why do you want to do this, Terig?”
“Like I said, I want to help. This is how I can help the best.”
“Very well,” Nathan said. “We’ll see how it goes.” Nathan reached out to shake the young man’s hand. “It’s a brave thing you’re volunteering to do, Mister Espan. Brave, and stupid, but that’s usually how it works.”
“Thank you,” Terig replied, shaking Nathan’s hand. “I think.”
* * *
Nathan climbed up the ladder into the Seiiki’s cockpit. As expected, Vladimir was sitting at the auxiliary station, and Josh and Loki were in the pilot and copilot stations. “We ready to break hard dock?” he asked as he stepped up behind them.
“The Mystic has already given us the green light,” Loki reported. “Captain Rainey is on the line for you now.”
Nathan tapped his comm-set. “Captain Rainey, Captain Scott. How are you doing?”
“Our jump drive is up and ready, Captain.”
“I trust you won’t have any trouble with Mister Sheehan’s algorithm?” Nathan asked.
“I don’t expect so,” Captain Rainey replied over the comms. “He explained it quite well to our pilots. We should catch up to the fleet in just under thirty-two Takaran hours.”
“I wish I could ride home with you, Captain,” Nathan said. “But I’m afraid I have another assignment waiting for me.”
“I understand,” Captain Rainey replied. “I’ll keep a seat open at my table for you, whenever you’ve got the time.”
“Thank you, Captain. I look forward to it.”
“Thank you,” Captain Rainey said emphatically. “For everything…especially the escorts.”
“My pleasure.”
“Oh, and Captain Scott, I thought you might like to know that none of my crew chose to depart, and only fifteen of the passengers opted to return home.”
“That’s good to hear, Captain. Safe travels. Seiiki, out.” Nathan turned to see Jessica coming up the ladder behind him, and stepped to the side to make room for her in the cramped confines of the Seiiki’s cockpit.
“We may need a bigger cockpit,” Vladimir said, as Jessica squeezed in between him and Nathan.
“Or a bigger ship,” Jessica suggested.
“Take us back to the Aurora, Josh,” Nathan instructed, smiling. “We’ve got a lot more work to do.”
Thank you for reading this story.
(A review would be greatly appreciated!)
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Episode 5
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The Frontiers Saga:
Rogue Castes
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