by Ryk Brown
Nathan stared at Lieutenant Telles in disbelief.
The lieutenant squinted his eyes, unsure of the cause of the captain’s confusion. “Is something wrong?”
“This is the first time you sat down in this room,” Nathan explained, an eyebrow raised and a grin forming on his face. “I stopped inviting you to sit long ago, and now…”
“I can stand, if you prefer?”
“No, no, no, it’s quite all right. I actually prefer that you sit. I’m just a little stunned, that’s all.”
“Perhaps I am becoming accustomed to the less than formal command style that exists aboard this vessel.”
“That’s good.”
“Still, it is a shame that we were not able to utilize the resources of that platform. They were surely significant.”
“The risk was too great,” Nathan said. “It is far less complicated this way.”
“Then you do not feel any remorse for taking their lives.”
“They attacked us, Lieutenant… without provocation and in the end without mercy. They have killed millions of my people, and decimated my world. They got what they deserved.”
Lieutenant Telles cocked his head to one side. “Vengeance, Captain?”
“Perhaps.”
“A dangerous emotion, to be sure.”
“Perhaps,” Nathan admitted. “Perhaps it is much like fear,” he added, “a tool… effective when used properly.”
“Perhaps,” the lieutenant agreed.
“Captain?” Major Prechitt called from the entrance.
“Major,” Nathan answered as both he and Lieutenant Telles stood.
“Captain, Lieutenant, I’d like to present Major Galen McCullum of the Corinari, leader of the flight of four zero twos. Major, Captain Nathan Scott of the Earth Defense Force, and Lieutenant Lucius Telles of the Ghatazhak.”
“A pleasure to meet you sir,” Major McCullum said as he shook the captain’s hand. He turned to Lieutenant Telles to greet him as well. “Lieutenant, I must say, I never expected to be shaking the hand of a Ghatazhak. From what I have heard, I am honored to meet you as well.”
“The honor is mine, sir,” Lieutenant Telles answered.
“I cannot tell you how happy we all are to see you, Major,” Nathan exclaimed as he sat down again. “Please, gentlemen, sit.”
“I’m not sure you want us to, Captain,” Major McCullum said. “I’ve been in that cockpit for nearly three days.”
Nathan gestured for him to sit. “Please, get comfortable. I want to hear all about it. What is going on back in the Pentaurus cluster, on Corinair and Takara? What assistance is the Alliance able to send? I assume that the Data Ark cores arrived safely?”
“I’m afraid that I don’t have such answers for you, Captain. My men and I were only recently hired by Commander Dumar to pilot the first batch of four zero twos back to Earth. To be honest, we hadn’t expected to arrive in the middle of a fight, especially against a ship of such enormity.”
“Yes, the Jung seem to like extremely large vessels,” Nathan said.
“We were under the assumption that the Jung reinforcements were still a month or two away,” the major explained.
“Yes,” Nathan said, “that’s what we thought when we sent word back to Takara. A lot has happened since then, and we have realized that much of our intelligence about the Jung was incorrect.”
“Perhaps we can be of help. Our ships are quite well equipped for reconnaissance work.”
“Rest assured, Major, we will utilize them.” Nathan cocked his head in thought. “You said the first group. Are there more Falcons coming?”
“Ah yes, Falcons. I have heard of this Earth creature. An appropriate name for the four zero two. Indeed, Captain. Commander Dumar has acquired nearly one hundred of them, in various stages of disrepair. He believes he can get at least another twenty of them working in short order. The rest will require more extensive repairs that require the fabrication of, in some cases, entire sections of the fuselage. Rest assured, however, that he and his crews are working on them with all due haste.”
“What else might we expect in the way of assistance?” Nathan asked.
“I’m afraid that I don’t know all the details to that, either,” the major confessed. “However, I was instructed to give you this,” he added as he pulled a small, metallic case out of his flight suit pocket. “Each of us was given one of them and instructed to turn it over to you upon our arrival. I am told to instruct you to view the file in private so that you can decide for yourself what information should be shared with your subordinates.”
“Have any of you seen what is on the file?” Nathan wondered.
“No, sir,” the major assured him. “For security reasons, Prince Casimir had the containers keyed to your bio-signature. If anyone else tries to open any of the containers, the contents will disintegrate in seconds.”
“I can’t wait,” Nathan said as he took the container from the major.
“Captain,” Major Prechitt began, “might I suggest that we create a second air wing, one for the Falcons, and put Major McCullum in charge of that wing.”
“Are you comfortable with that?” Nathan asked Major Prechitt.
“I’ve known the major for many years, Captain. We have served together on several occasions, and I have the utmost confidence in his abilities.”
“And you, Major?” Nathan asked, this time looking at Major McCullum.
“That would be fine, sir. However, there is the matter of what entity myself and my men are to be attached. We all gave up our commissions in the Corinari in order to join Commander Dumar’s expedition. Technically, I have no rank over the other pilots in my flight.”
“Yet they still followed your command in battle,” Nathan commented.
“Which is why I chose him to lead the new air wing, assuming you approve of its formation,” Major Prechitt added.
“Of course, of course,” Nathan agreed. “I’d be happy to have you command the Falcon air wing, Major McCullum.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
“As to your rank, for now, you and your men will be attached to the Aurora, as members of my crew. We’re still working on what military entity we are going to be from this point forward. A few technicalities in Earth law to straighten out yet. However, for expediency’s sake, I suggest that you and your men retain whatever ranks you had as members of the Corinari, at least until we decide what to do.”
“That would suit us fine, sir,” Major McCullum agreed. “We can start the reconnaissance flights as soon as you like.”
“It might be best if you and your men took a day off, Major,” Nathan suggested. “You did just finish a three-day flight. Better you get some rest, get acclimated to your new surroundings, get settled into your new quarters. Besides, I’d like to start with a thorough sweep of our own system before I send your ships out on interstellar recon.”
“As you wish, sir.”
“Come,” Major Prechitt said to Major McCullum. “I’ll show you around.”
“It was a pleasure meeting you both,” Major McCullum said as they turned to exit.
“The pleasure was mine,” Nathan answered.
“Hey, what was it that your flight instructor used to call you?” Major Prechitt asked Major McCullum as they headed for the exit.
“Why?”
“You need a call sign.”
“What’s a call sign?” Major McCullum wondered.
“Old Earth pilot tradition,” Major Prechitt explained as they disappeared through the hatch.
“I expect you will want to view that file without delay,” Lieutenant Telles said as he turned to exit as well. “I’ll let the good sergeant know that you do not wish to be disturbed.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Nathan sat down as the lieutenant pulled the hatch closed behind him. He looked at the container in his hand. It was slightly scuffed, and had body oils and fingerprints on the shiny silver case. The case was rectangular, a little less in len
gth than his palm and fingers. He pressed the release, and the case opened. Inside was another device about the size and shape of his thumb. At one end it had what looked like a holo-emitter similar to the ones in the conference table in the Aurora’s command briefing room. He looked inside the case again. There was a small note that read, ‘place on floor and activate.’ Nathan followed the instructions, coming out from behind his desk and placing the device on the floor in the middle of his ready room. He pressed the one and only button on the device and stepped back. Seconds later, the image of Prince Casimir of Takara appeared before him, full size and looking every bit as real as the men who had just stood in that same spot moments ago. However, he was not moving.
Nathan examined the image for several seconds, fighting the urge to pass his hand through it. He waited for several seconds, looking right and left, wondering when the image was going to speak. “Are you going to say something?”
“Ah, Nathan, it is good to see you, so to speak,” Prince Casimir began.
Nathan’s head jerked back in surprise, not expecting the image to react to his voice. “Tug?”
“I wish I could be there in person,” the image of Prince Casimir continued, paying no attention to Nathan, “to fight side by side once again. I still believe that my people, the people of the Pentaurus sector, and I, all owe you and your crew more than we can ever repay. Unfortunately, times are difficult in the cluster. We are under great pressure to protect the worlds that the empire had stripped of their own defenses against raiders and pirates from outside the region. With only a few warships left, and even fewer of them equipped with jump drives, the task is difficult. The Avendahl is forced to jump regularly from system to system in order to maintain enough of a presence to discourage such attacks. Furthermore, the nobles that make up the new Takaran Parliament are less than pleased with the challenging new economic environment in which their own profits are no longer guaranteed. They are uncomfortable with the idea of funneling precious resources away from Takara toward Earth, for fear of being left with too little to fill their own coffers.” Prince Casimir looked down at the floor and sighed, then looked up again. “It is of my own doing, I suppose. Had I not moved so hastily and broken up the empire, the nobles might have been more cooperative. I am quite sure that their reluctance is driven more by their desire to punish me than to protect themselves. If they truly wished to protect themselves, they would pick up a weapon and join the fight. I truly regret that in my haste to prove to the families of all the fallen Karuzari that their sacrifices were not in vain, that I have now put the welfare of those that gave us our freedom at risk. Unfortunately, freedom for all worlds was the only end game that made sense, and to accomplish that goal, I had to step down as the sole leader of the Takar system. For the difficulties that this decision has caused you, I offer my sincerest apologies. Furthermore, I swear to you that I will do everything within my power to support you and your efforts to not only free your world, but also to rid the galaxy of the Jung threat.”
Casimir’s image appeared to turn and walk several steps to the left, although his image remained in the same position within the captain’s ready room. He stopped beside a large view screen that came to life as he came beside it. “Despite the restrictions placed upon me by the Takaran Parliament, I have devised a way to provide support for you and your cause. My old friend, Maxwell Dumar, has resigned his commission in the Takaran military. As per Takaran custom, he has been given a substantial retirement in the form of a lump sum payment. In addition, I have liquidated the majority of my family’s holdings in order to provide him with additional funding. I have also convinced the Corinairan government to return the Karuzara asteroid base to the Karuzari Nation, which, according to the Alliance treaty, still existed. Maxwell Dumar is now the president of the Karuzari Nation, and is the commander of the Karuzara asteroid base. He has purchased many four zero two deep space interceptors from the Palee spacecraft scrap yards, as well as a few dozen of the old interplanetary utility freighters commonly known as ‘boxcars’. If you are watching this recording, then you already know of the first group of twenty four zero twos. I promise, many more are soon to follow. The plan is this…” Prince Casimir pointed to the image on the view screen next to him. “This is the Darvano system. I have determined that in just over two months, a window of opportunity will appear that will not come about again for quite some time.” The image of the Darvano system began to shrink as Casimir continued to speak. “At that point in time, the Karuzara asteroid’s orbit around the Darvano star will put it on the perfect trajectory for the Palamor system, just over forty-seven light years away. The plan is to install a massive emitter array around the Karuzara asteroid and jump her, in ten light year increments, to the Palamor system. There, she will intercept the orbit of one of Palamor’s super massive gas giants and use it to alter the Karuzara asteroid’s trajectory onto a course for its next gravity assist maneuver in the Jenalaya system, one hundred and twenty-six light years away.” Casimir turned to face the camera again. “You see, Captain, I intend, through a series of carefully plotted jumps and gravity assist maneuvers, to bring the asteroid base, with all of its considerable resources, directly to you. It should provide you with a substantial base of operations. Furthermore, Commander Dumar has acquired additional resources in the form of consumables, medical supplies, and personnel of all disciplines—the majority of which are from Corinair, I might add—to both staff the asteroid base and supplement your own crews as well. Assuming that our rather ambitious plan to jump the Karuzara asteroid base all the way to Sol succeeds, it should provide all the resources needed to survive until such time as I can send more substantial aid, hopefully in the form of jump-equipped warships.”
The view screen went dark and Prince Casimir moved back to his right, as if returning to the point in the room at which he had started his message. “Stored on the data bank of this device are detailed reports, personnel rosters, resource inventories, fabrication capabilities, and time frames. This should help you to understand exactly what the Karuzara facility is capable of so that you can plan how best to utilize it. I urge you to include Commander Dumar in your planning, as he is most skilled in matters of combat strategy and intelligence. More importantly, besides yourself, he is the one person in this universe that I trust completely. He is, for all intents and purposes, an extension of myself, speaking and acting on my behalf, with full authority.”
Casimir took in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. “I do so wish I was there with you now, Nathan. Soon, using the technology used in the enhanced jump shuttle that brought the data cores to Takara, we shall create a network of jump-equipped comm drones that will give us near real-time communications capabilities. Until then, I wish you the best of luck. Just hold on a little longer, Captain. Help is on the way.”
The hologram faded away, and the device shut off. Nathan, who had been leaning against the front of his desk during Casimir’s speech, stepped forward and picked up the device and looked at it. He smiled, then moved back behind his desk and activated the intercom. “Comms, get me President Scott at NAU Command.”
* * *
“Jump complete,” Mister Bryant reported.
Commander Dumar looked up at the massive view screen that covered the front bulkhead of the Karuzara’s main control room. The screen had gone black as it waited for new sensor input from which to redraw its map representing the asteroid’s current position.
“Position report!” Mister Bryant ordered.
“Arrays are coming up now!” the navigation controller answered.
“Emitters at zero energy,” the array controller reported.
“Energy banks also show zero,” the next controller added.
“Reactors are normal,” the power systems controller followed.
“All stations appear normal, sir,” Mister Bryant reported. “Sensors are coming online now.”
Dumar watched as the main view screen began to display computer-generate
d images as data from the asteroid’s many sensor arrays began to pour into the navigational computers. First, an icon representing the star Palamor, then the super massive gas giant they were rapidly approaching. One by one, symbols for the rest of the planets in the system began to appear.
“Position verified,” the navigation controller announced. “On course for counter orbit around Palomar Three. Expect gravity assist maneuver to begin in three hours and forty-seven minutes.”
“We’re right on course,” Mister Bryant said with obvious satisfaction.
“That was only our fifth jump, Mister Bryant,” Commander Dumar said. “We still have one hundred and eight jumps to go.”
“Yes, sir.”
“How long until the scout ship is ready to launch?”
“Two more days, I believe.”
“We’ll be well beyond Takaran charted space by then,” Dumar said. “I’d feel a lot more comfortable if we had someone clearing our arrival points before we jump into them. I don’t want to discover another budding singularity like the Aurora did.”
“No sir,” Mister Bryant agreed. “That would definitely ruin our day. Still, you have to admit, it’s starting to look like this crazy plan might actually work.”
“Perhaps,” Dumar said, “but I’ll be more confident after we get the maneuvering systems installed and working.”
“Mister Delaney assures me that his crews will complete the task on schedule,” Mister Bryant told the commander, “and his opinion is certainly a well-qualified one.”
“His experience is in fitting asteroids with single-use deceleration thrusters for the purpose of transferring them to orbits around Corinair. This is quite a different task altogether.”
“I have faith in the old man,” Mister Bryant stated with confidence.