by Ryk Brown
“During which your men are stuck guarding mine,” Captain Yofferst pointed out. “Perhaps it would be more efficient for them to return to their families until testing can be completed.”
“It is necessary to keep them under scrutiny until we can be certain of their identities,” General Telles insisted.
“Every man in the Guard has been fitted with a tracking chip. You can track us all using the Dusahn’s own systems.”
“We are aware of this,” Nathan replied.
“They safely removed mine prior to my mission, here,” Commander Andreola told Captain Yofferst.
“General?” Nathan asked, looking to Telles.
“I will need to learn more about this tracking system and verify its capabilities,” the general replied. “However, if adequate, it would free up at least two full squads, as well as remove the logistics of feeding and caring for the Orswellan crews.”
“I’ll get some med-techs down to begin drawing tissue samples for testing,” Nathan promised. “Where is this tracking system located?”
“The Dusahn turned all of our constabulary stations into troop stations,” Commander Andreola explained. “There are tracking systems in each of them.”
“I’m afraid most of them have been destroyed,” General Telles commented.
“The master system is in the capitol building,” Captain Yofferst said. “It may be possible to connect it to the city’s surveillance systems. Perhaps that would suffice?”
“I’ll have my people take a look at it,” Nathan told him. “In the meantime, I was hoping one of you might volunteer to serve as leader of your people, at least in a temporary capacity. It would be better for all concerned to turn control of your world back over to you as soon as possible.”
“I will speak with my fellow captains,” Captain Yofferst assured him.
“I’d like to remain with them,” Commander Andreola told Nathan. “There is much I can tell them about the Karuzari Alliance. I believe I can be of great help in that regard.”
“Good idea,” Nathan agreed.
“I only ask that you allow my daughter to return to her residence. I assure you she is no threat.”
“I think that can be arranged,” Nathan agreed.
“I can see that she gets back to her place safely,” Jessica offered. “I’ve been there before.”
“Very well,” Nathan agreed. “General?” Nathan added as he headed out the door. He exited the room and took several steps further down the corridor before speaking. “I know you don’t like the idea of letting them go, but we need to start off on the right foot with these people. It’s going to be difficult enough for them with your scary-looking troops policing the streets with an iron fist.”
“I am not opposed to the idea of allowing the Orswellan crews to return to their families, but not until after genetic samples have been taken. The commander’s tracking chip was easy enough to remove, after all.”
“Agreed.” Nathan tapped his comm-set. “Aurora, Scott.”
“Aurora, go ahead, sir,” Naralena replied.
“Patch me through to Doctor Caro.”
“One moment.”
“Mind if I take a squad with me, sir?” Jessica asked General Telles.
“A wise precaution,” General Telles agreed.
“Doctor Caro here.”
“Doctor, how long would it take to test a tissue sample to determine whether someone is Dusahn or Orswellan?”
“The Dusahn are a mixture of several human sub-groups,” Doctor Caro explained, “so, proving that someone is Dusahn is impossible, at least not without a broad sampling of the current Dusahn gene pool. However, if we can first collect a few dozen samples of Orswellan DNA, we should be able to identify Orswellan ancestry.”
“How accurate will that be?” Nathan asked.
“The more samples of known Orswellan DNA we can collect, the more accurate we can be. With a few dozen samplings, maybe eighty percent accuracy.”
“And how long will it take to process each sample?” Nathan wondered.
“Minutes,” she replied. “Doctor Chen sent back a marvelous portable DNA tester that Doctor Symyri provided.”
“Very well, prepare teams to collect and process the samples of about fifteen hundred people, and have them report to the Diggers on the main hangar deck.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Aurora, Scott.”
“Yes, Captain,” Naralena replied.
“Doctor Caro is assembling personnel to report to our location. Use both Diggers to bring them down, and tell the Digger crews to pack for a long-term mission on Orswella. They will be attached to the Ghatazhak.”
“Aye, sir.”
“That should do it,” Nathan told General Telles. “The Glendanon will be arriving soon and can provide you with all the support you need. One Gunyoki squadron will also remain in the system, using the Glendanon as their base of operations.”
“That will be very helpful,” the general agreed.
“In the meantime, I strongly suggest you utilize Commander Andreola as the liaison between yourself and the Orswellan people.”
“I agree; the commander appears well-suited for the task.”
Nathan sighed. “I have to admit, this all went a lot better than I expected.”
“There is still much that can go wrong,” the general said.
“Don’t remind me,” Nathan replied as he headed for the exit.
* * *
Tham immediately checked his tactical display the moment he came out of his final jump, in the long series that brought his squadron from Rakuen to Orswella. “Dota One, Maigo One,” he called over comms. “You awake, Tariq?”
“Yeah, I’m awake,” Tariq replied.
“Where’s everyone at?”
“You didn’t hear?”
“We’ve been in a series jump for the last eight hours,” Tham reminded him. “I assume you guys took the system?”
“We did,” Tariq confirmed, “but it cost us.”
Tham’s mood suddenly soured. “How many?”
“Eleven ships, eighteen souls.”
Tham scanned the ID tags on all the Gunyoki fighters showing on his display. “Vol?”
“He’s alive,” Tariq replied. “Injured, but alive.”
“We’ll take the watch for you, my friend. Take your people home.”
“Gladly, just as soon as everyone is refueled.”
“Anything we should know?” Tham asked.
“Only one,” Tariq replied. “Keep your guard up at all times.”
“You think they’ll come back?”
“I have no idea,” Tariq admitted, “but, if they do, you’ll have no warning.”
“If they do return, we’ll make them pay, my friend.”
* * *
Commander Kellen watched as the two Contra ships touched down in the park in front of the Orswellan capitol building. “Those are, without a doubt, the most unattractive vessels I have ever laid eyes upon.”
“I would offer an argument, but…”
General Telles exchanged glances with his second, Commander Kellen, and then headed toward the two ships as their engines spooled down.
“Sort of reminds me of my first barracks nanny,” Commander Kellen decided. “Robust and purpose-built.”
“The only thing that would make them better is if there were ten of them,” the general said.
The forward ramp on the nearest ship deployed, and the crew came walking out.
“Captain,” General Telles greeted.
“General,” the captain replied, pausing to salute his senior. “I’m Angus Hosick, this is my copilot Lieutenant Erskin, and my gunners, Sergeant Dunson and Corporal Trott.”
“Quite the ship,” General Telles said with one eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face.
“She’s not much to look at,” Captain Hosick admitted in his thick Corinairan brogue. “But she can get the job done and take a beating while doing it.”
“What are her armaments?” Commander Kellen wondered.
“She’s got a mark two plasma torpedo cannon on each side that can launch both fore and aft,” Captain Hosick began. “Two manned mark ones with twin-barreled turrets, both on top, one just behind the cockpit where the escape hatch used to be, and one at the back of the cargo bay. Plus, we also added an automated anti-personnel mini-rail gun turret that pops out of the underside of the nose; great for hot LZs. And, of course, countermeasure pods in the back.”
General Telles nodded his approval. “What about her hull? Is it shielded?”
“No shields,” the captain replied. “Her grav-lift systems would screw them up. They’re really beefy. She used to be a cargo ship, after all. But her hull is heavily armored, so, as long as we don’t take a direct hit with a missile, we should be okay. What’s the mission, if I might ask?”
“Quick response, troop relocation, patrols,” General Telles replied.
“So, an air-taxi,” the captain surmised.
“Basically, yes. We’re trying to protect a few million Orswellans, from an unknown number of potential covert Dusahn agents, with only one hundred men. Our hope is to use your ships to move squads from place to place in rapid fashion and to quickly respond to any threats.”
“How hostile is the population?” the leader of the second crew asked as they joined the group. “Busby Orrock,” the second captain introduced himself. “This is Lieutenant Westwood, Sergeant Kinney, and Corporal Pattie.”
“Gentlemen,” the general greeted.
“So far, the population seems happy to be rid of the Dusahn,” Commander Kellen said. “However, we have learned from the locals that there are many Orswellans who were loyal to the Dusahn. Whether or not they will pose a problem has yet to be determined.”
“At the very least, we do not anticipate any truly hot LZs,” General Telles added.
“Good to know,” Captain Orrock said.
“The hours will be long,” General Telles warned. “Because there are only two ships, downtime may be difficult.”
“We’re Corinari, General,” Captain Hosick replied. “We may not have seen action in years, but once a Corinari, forever a Corinari.”
“Understood, Captain,” General Telles replied. “Welcome to Orswella.”
* * *
“How is he doing?” Nathan asked Doctor Caro.
“He was exposed to a considerable amount of gamma radiation. Nanite therapy will take care of it, but he’ll be out of commission for a while. To be honest, at his age, I’m surprised he is doing this well.”
“If he is anything like Master Koku, it will take more than an antimatter event to take him out of action.”
“Well, he may be permanently out of action, at least as a pilot,” Doctor Caro explained. “He has suffered some retinal damage that the nanites may not be able to repair.”
Nathan sighed. “Does he know?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see him?”
“Of course. One of his pilots is in there with him, now.”
“Thank you.”
Nathan pulled back the curtain only to find Tariq standing next to Vol’s bed.
“Captain,” Vol greeted.
“I just came to see how you were doing.”
“I have seen better days, but your physician is taking good care of me. I cannot say that I care for your nanites, though. My insides feel…itchy.”
“You get used to it,” Nathan assured him.
“I should be going,” Tariq said. “We have a long journey ahead of us.”
“Are you sure you don’t want us to give you a lift?” Nathan wondered.
“Thank you, no,” Tariq replied. “Those of us who are still able would prefer to return to Rakuen under our own power.”
“Understandable,” Nathan agreed. “Safe journey.”
“To you, as well,” Tariq replied. “I will see you back home,” he told Vol.
Vol nodded, watching him exit.
“Does he know?” Nathan wondered.
“That my vision has been impaired? I saw no reason to tell him.”
“And if you are unable to return to the cockpit?”
“That day would have come, regardless,” Vol insisted. “Soon, the Gunyoki’s numbers will grow, and I will no longer be able to command them from the cockpit. Perhaps it is best that my vision does not fully recover. It would have been difficult to leave the cockpit for any other reason.”
“You remind me of Master Koku,” Nathan said.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Vol replied, nodding. “I trust all is well on Orswella?”
“It’s getting there,” Nathan assured him. “I am sorry that it took us so long to get back.”
“There is no need to apologize, Captain. I am certain you did what you felt was best for all. You have stepped into an entirely new realm. Protecting two systems, three hundred light years apart, while trying to defeat an enemy an equal distance away would seem an impossibility to anyone else.”
“It does require a different set of logistics, that’s for certain,” Nathan replied.
“Considering you just defended one system against all odds while liberating another, I would say that you have done Master Koku proud.”
Nathan smiled. “I should be going, as well. We are fully charged again, and it’s time we got you home.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Vol replied.
“No, thank you, Commander; you and all your Gunyoki who have given their lives to protect others.”
“There is no better way to die,” Vol insisted.
Nathan nodded his agreement, then turned and left.
* * *
“You look like hell,” Cameron commented as she met Nathan in the corridor outside of the Aurora’s command briefing room.
“It’s been a long day,” Nathan replied with a sigh.
“From what I’ve heard, you pulled off a miracle.”
“More like a series of fortunate events.”
“You’ll have to tell me all about it after the briefing,” Cameron insisted.
“The only thing I’m doing after the briefing is taking a nap.”
“After that, then.”
“Deal,” Nathan agreed, heading into the briefing room.
“Captain on deck!” the guard announced.
“As you were,” Nathan insisted before anyone could stand. “Congratulations on a job well done, everyone,” he began as he and Cameron took their seats. “Never in a million years did I think we could take out four battleships and turnaround a dreadnought.”
“I’m pretty sure the Nighthawks had a lot to do with it,” Jessica commented.
“No doubt,” Nathan agreed, “which leads me to our first topic. Abby, is there any way we can use the grav-lift technology to give our jump missiles the ability to penetrate shields?”
Abby took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “We’re not even certain why they’re able to penetrate shields. Theoretically, they shouldn’t be able to.”
“Are you saying it isn’t possible?”
“No, but until we know why, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to do much of anything.”
“Then that’s your priority,” Nathan told her. “Figure out why the Nighthawks can jump through the Dusahn’s shields.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why can’t we just continue to use the Nighthawks?” Cameron wondered.
“First, they’re not ours to use,” Nathan explained, “and second, Nighthawks have pilots, missiles don’t.”
“Understood,” Jessica replied.
“Deliza, how ha
rd would it be to equip the Gunyoki with grav-lift systems?” Nathan asked, shifting to the next topic.
“We’ll have to figure out how to make space for them, but it shouldn’t be too difficult, from an engineering standpoint. However, the grav-lift systems are controlled by computer algorithms that balance the force exerted by the emitters. Without them, the pilot would not be able to keep the ship level.”
“Then you need to add a control module, as well,” Nathan surmised.
“And figure out how to integrate it into the Gunyoki’s current flight control systems, which, as you know, are quite different from those in a Nighthawk.”
“Or any other ship I’ve ever flown,” Nathan agreed. “Give it your best shot. The lack of ability to operate in the atmosphere, or land on the surface, presents both logistical challenges and tactical limitations, both of which would be resolved with grav-lift systems.”
“We’ll do our best, Captain.”
“Thank you,” Nathan replied, turning to look at Vladimir. “Commander, how long will it take you to install a second long-range jump array?”
“We can begin upgrading the secondary power distribution grid immediately, but we don’t have any more emitters at the moment. We don’t even have spares,” Vladimir explained.
“It will take about a week to fabricate another full set of emitters,” Abby added.
“It will take three weeks just to upgrade the secondary grid,” Vladimir warned, “then another week to install the emitters.”
“Two weeks, then,” Nathan surmised.
“No, four weeks,” Vladimir corrected.
Nathan looked at him. “Two weeks.”
“Yes, sir,” Vladimir replied. “Two weeks.”
“Lieutenant Commander, what’s the current position of the dreadnought?” Nathan asked.
“The dreadnought made its third jump two hours ago,” Lieutenant Commander Shinoda replied. “They are still on course for Takara and are now forty light years from the Rogen system, so two max-range jumps. If they decide to turn back, now, it will take them six hours to get here, more if they want to arrive with enough jump juice for combat. It’s safe to say they are out of quick strike range.”
“The dreadnought, yes, but their gunships and octos could reach us in minutes,” Cameron pointed out.