Ep.#14 - A Line in the Sand (The Frontiers Saga - Part 2: Rogue Castes)

by Ryk Brown

  “It didn’t bother me,” Nathan said, “but I’ll talk to Vlad about quieting things down once everything else is working properly.” Nathan turned his attention to Josh, as he too entered the room. “How are we doing?”

  “We’re about halfway there,” Josh replied. “In recharge layover right now.”

  “How long until we reach Sol?”

  “Around zero three hundred tomorrow, ship time,” Josh replied, heading for the galley on the starboard side of the common room.

  “How’s that work for us?” Nathan asked Jessica.

  Jessica picked up her data pad, tapping it several times. “That will be around eighteen hundred local time at our insertion point. Sunset this time of year on the west coast is around eighteen thirty, so by the time we reach our egress point, it should be dark enough outside to come out of the water without being noticed.”

  “Are we certain this Bowden guy is still living in that area?” Kit wondered.

  “According to Cam, he’s been stuck in sig-int analysis ever since Galiardi took over,” Jessica explained. That unit has been stationed in Monterey since before any of us were born, so there’s no reason to believe they’ve moved it recently.”

  “That’s pretty weak,” Kit commented.

  “That’s the best we’ve got,” Nathan replied.

  “How are we going to track this guy down?” Specialist Brill inquired.

  “That’s why Kit’s going with us,” Jessica said.

  “I am?” Kit said.

  “Think you can hack an EDF base personnel database?”

  “As long as I’ve got a connection,” Kit assured her.

  “Everything is wireless there, so that should be easy enough,” Jessica explained. “We just have to pick up a few comm-units once we get there.”

  “How long will it take you to hack that database?” Nathan asked Kit.

  “A few minutes, tops,” Kit replied confidently.

  “I could do it faster,” Specialist Deeks bragged.

  “Bullshit,” Kit objected.

  “You look too young,” Jessica told Deeks. “We’re posing as two couples, and Kit is going to pose as Naralena’s husband. An age mismatch might attract extra attention.”

  “Seriously?” Deeks asked.

  “It would make us easier to pick out of a crowd,” Jessica explained.

  “Is that really a concern?” Kit wondered.

  “Even with longer hair and a few days’ growth, Nathan is still recognizable,” Jessica insisted.

  “Even after seven years?”

  “We have to assume that Galiardi knows I’m alive,” Nathan stated.

  “We also have to assume that he knows he came back for Abby,” Jessica added. “EDF security, and possibly local law enforcement, will have his likeness on the watch list.”

  “No disrespect, sir, but maybe you should sit this one out,” Kit suggested.

  “Some things I have to do myself,” Nathan insisted.

  “I brought Earth civvies for everyone, so we shouldn’t look out of place,” Jessica said. “But the water is cold there, and our suits don’t provide a lot of thermal protection. So we don’t want to be in the water for long.”

  “Then you’d better get us in close,” Nathan said.

  “I’ll start prepping the gear,” Kit decided, rising to exit.

  “I’ll help,” Deeks added, following his cohort out.

  Nathan stared at Josh.

  “What?” Josh wondered as he chewed his food. He looked over at Jessica, and then back to Nathan, before getting the hint. “I think I’ll finish this on the bridge,” he announced as he made a hasty exit back the way he had come.

  As soon as Josh left, Nathan turned to speak.

  “She’ll be fine,” Jessica assured him before he could ask.

  “Are you certain?” Nathan asked. “She didn’t look too enthusiastic about the idea when I asked.”

  “Yeah, well, losing Weatherly shook her up. In fact, the entire Kohara mission did a number on her. I think that’s why she decided to go back to Volon instead of staying on Earth with Bowden. She needed time to forget, and Gerard was a constant reminder of that mission.”

  “Then perhaps I am asking too much of her.”

  “Maybe, but she needs to do this,” Jessica insisted. “It’s the only way she’s going to put it all behind her. Besides, we have no idea where Bowden’s loyalties truly lie. Naralena may be what pulls him to our side.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Nathan replied as he rose, “about both her strength and her effect on Gerard.”

  “I guess we’ll see.”

  * * *

  Nathan stood in front of the jump sub, examining it closely. “This is the newer version, right?”

  “Da,” Vladimir replied. “Fully automated, pre-programmed, with multi-rendezvous points. All you have to do is select your pickup point and press the button.”

  “And it has remote recall, just like the others?” Jessica asked.

  “Of course,” Vladimir assured them. “That too has been improved. The system has a tethered, passive comm-buoy that listens to Earth-Net, so you can send it instructions from anywhere on Earth and tell it to go wherever you wish. It even has an underwater travel range of ten thousand kilometers, so there’s a lot more versatility for escape.”

  “Let’s hope we don’t need it,” Nathan said.

  “It seems smaller,” Jessica decided.

  “This is the four-person version,” Vladimir explained. “There are six and eight-seat versions as well, but this size is the only one that we already had a launch and recovery system for.”

  Jessica climbed up on the side of the jump sub, searching its topside. “There’s no hatch.”

  Vladimir opened a small panel on the port side, just below the canopy, and touched a button. The long canopy split in half, the front sliding forward along its rails while the back half slid aft. “Much better, yes?”

  “That will make ingress and egress much faster,” Jessica agreed, hopping back down to the deck.

  “I hated that little hatch,” Naralena stated.

  “Ready?” Nathan asked Naralena.

  “Not really, but what the hell,” she replied, picking up her bag and climbing into one of the two back seats in the jump sub.

  Kit was next, climbing up the side of the jump sub, bag in hand, and dropping into the seat next to Naralena.

  “Ladies first,” Nathan said, gesturing for Jessica to go ahead of him. As she climbed into the sub, he turned to Vladimir. “You’re sure this apparatus will work? Our course and speed must be exact.”

  “Nathan, please; do not insult me,” Vladimir insisted.

  “Sorry,” Nathan apologized, picking up his bag and climbing aboard to join the others.

  “Jump point in one minute,” Loki’s voice announced over the loudspeaker in the Voss’s aft utility bay.

  By the time Nathan had taken his seat, Jessica had already spun up the jump sub’s systems and was using the shared console to run a quick systems check.

  “Shaslivovo puti,” Vladimir said as he activated the controls to close the cockpit.

  “What did he say?” Kit wondered.

  “He was wishing us a safe journey,” Naralena assured him.

  The cockpit darkened as the canopy slid over them, with soft interior lighting snapping on once the two halves met. There was a series of clicks as the halves latched, followed by a hiss of air as the jump sub adjusted its internal pressure in preparation for launch.

  Nathan felt his ears pop as his own internal pressure equalized.

  “Everything’s good to go,” Jessica reported.

  “Jump point in twenty seconds,” Loki reported over the jump subs comm-speaker.

  “We’re ready to go here,” Jessica repor
ted over comms.

  “Fair winds and following seas,” Loki added.

  “What?” Kit asked from the back seat.

  “It’s an old sailor’s phrase to wish people an easy and safe journey,” Nathan explained.

  “Why don’t you people just speak plainly?” Kit wondered. “It would be more efficient.”

  “But not as colorful,” Jessica commented.

  “Entering the groove,” Josh reported over comms.

  “Rear hatch is open, deploying jump sub,” Loki added.

  Nathan felt the sub vibrate slightly as its mounting system telescoped out the back end of the Voss in preparation for release.

  “Full deployment in thirty seconds,” Loki stated. “On course and speed for insertion jump.”

  “Although I’d hardly call our current rate ‘speed,’” Josh added. “Marcus can run faster than this.”

  “Don’t push your luck, kid,” Marcus grumbled.

  “You’re clear to release,” Loki announced.

  Jessica pushed a button on the center console, and the status indicator light for the docking clamps turned red. “Jump sub is free-floating,” she announced.

  “Translating up and forward, relative,” Josh reported over comms.

  Nathan peered out through the forward canopy as the Voss fired small puffs of thrust from her translation thrusters, beginning her maneuver. The ship drifted up and away from them, its following thruster blasts increasing in duration to hasten their separation.

  “We’re right in the middle of the pipe, slow glide,” Jessica reported. “Should be an easy insertion.”

  “Another improvement?” Nathan wondered.

  “Yeah, they increased the amount of jump juice storage, so that we could jump at much slower speeds,” Jessica reported.

  “Thank God,” Naralena said, remembering their previous insertion from years ago.

  “Good sep,” Loki reported. “You’re clear to jump.”

  “See you soon,” Jessica replied, looking to Nathan for a signal.

  “Let’s do it.”

  “Brace yourselves,” Jessica warned, just before she pressed the jump button.

  The jump sub’s canopy turned opaque, and a split second later, there was a severe thud, as if they had hit a brick wall. All four of them were thrown forward against their shoulder restraints for a moment as the tiny sub found itself deep in Earth’s Pacific Ocean.

  “I thought you said it would be a smooth insertion,” Kit complained.

  “I said it would be easy, not smooth,” Jessica replied. “Scope is clear,” she reported. “We’re about twenty clicks off the coast, about two hundred meters deep, on course for Seal Beach. We should get there in about an hour.”

  “How far will we have to swim?” Naralena asked nervously.

  “About one hundred meters,” Jessica promised.

  “Won’t the water be too shallow that close to shore to hide the sub?” Nathan wondered.

  “Once we’re out, the sub will head out to deeper waters and wait for our signal to return,” Jessica explained. “Like I said, this water is cold, and these skin-suits won’t keep us from freezing our asses off for more than ten minutes.”

  “I don’t suppose you’ve checked the tides?” Nathan wondered.

  Jessica just looked at him.

  “Sorry, just asking.”

  * * *

  Gentle waves washed across the narrow strip of beach at regular intervals. On the path, a few meters further up the slope from the beach, an old man walked his dog as the occasional lighted vehicle made its way past along the meandering, coastal roadway.

  The man’s dog, normally eager to move forward, suddenly stopped and began barking as a shadowy figure emerged from the water about ten meters out from the beach.

  “What the…” the old man began, squinting to see the figure more clearly. Another silhouette appeared, followed by two more. “Quiet down, girl!” he commanded his animal. “Shush!”

  The dog heeded his master’s commands, restricting herself to the occasional growl as the four people walked up out of the water onto the narrow beach.

  “A little late for diving,” the old man called out to the strangers.

  “I guess we lost track of time,” Nathan lied.

  “You’re lucky you found your way out.”

  “It’s our first time,” Nathan added.

  “I’ve never seen dive suits like that,” the old man said. “They keep you warm?”

  “Not warm enough,” Jessica replied.

  The old man shook his head and muttered to himself as he continued his walk. “Stupid tourists.”

  Jessica removed her pack, dropping it onto the beach before her, and quickly began peeling off her dive suit.

  “Probably could’ve picked a more remote spot,” Kit commented as he removed his suit. “Maybe one without a walking path right next to it.”

  “There are trails along this entire bay,” Jessica explained. “This beach was the only one that doesn’t have its own parking lot.”

  “Maybe we should’ve landed later,” Kit suggested.

  “Then we’d have to find a place to stay for the night and kill an entire day,” Nathan commented as he pulled on a pair of dry pants he had pulled from his pack.

  “Might have been fun, you know, being a tourist and all,” Kit joked.

  “Easy for you to say,” Jessica replied as she donned a dry shirt. “You’re not on Galiardi’s most-wanted list.”

  “What do we do with our packs?” Naralena asked as she put on her jacket. “Won’t it look suspicious, all of us carrying the same pack?”

  Kit picked up his bag to demonstrate for Naralena. “Grab here, squeeze, toss,” he explained, after which he squeezed a small square patch on his bag, then tossed the bag out into the surf. There was a small, nearly imperceptible flash of light, followed by a puff of smoke, and the bag disappeared beneath the gentle waves.

  “In five minutes, there won’t be enough left to be reassembled,” Kit added.

  “What’s left will be carried out to sea by the outgoing tides,” Jessica added.

  “Who comes up with this stuff?” Naralena wondered as she squeezed her pack and then tossed it into the water.

  “Ironically enough, they’re EDF spec-ops issue,” Jessica replied as she too flung her pack into the waves. “We need to get moving, before anyone else sees us.”

  “What’s the plan?” Nathan asked, donning his cap and pulling the brim down low.

  “The trail will take us to the waterfront,” Jessica said, pointing down the trail to her left. “There will be hundreds of tourists milling about, so we’ll blend right in.” She grabbed Nathan by the hand and started leading him off the beach toward the trail. “We’re just two couples, here on vacation, out for an evening stroll along the coast.”

  “Ma’am,” Kit said, offering his hand to Naralena.

  “I’m supposed to be your wife, not your mother,” Naralena reminded him, hooking her arm under his as they followed Nathan and Jessica up to the trail.

  * * *

  “Is this really what your people consider fun?” Kit wondered as they walked along the shop-lined streets of the waterfront. “There’s nothing here but merchants selling the same, useless crap.”

  “There’s more variety layered in here than you think,” Jessica told him.

  “Maybe, but it’s still just shopping. That’s not my idea of a vacation.”

  “What’s your idea of a vacation?” Nathan wondered as they made their way through the crowds.

  “I don’t know,” Kit admitted. “I’ve never really had one.”

  “I’m betting it would involve booze and women,” Jessica joked.

  “That would be a good start,” Kit agreed.

  “Wait here,” Jess
ica told them before disappearing into one of the shops.

  “What is she doing?” Naralena wondered.

  “Blending in,” Nathan surmised.

  “Is this what you usually did on vacation?” Kit asked Nathan.

  “It’s been a while,” Nathan admitted. “But as I remember, it was more in line with your idea of a vacation.”

  “On Volon, a vacation means relaxing at a resort where everything is done for you, and you get a chance to heal your body and mind from the rigors of daily life.”

  “So you basically do nothing?” Kit wondered. “Sounds boring.”

  “Sometimes doing nothing is the best medicine,” Naralena insisted.

  “I could go for doing nothing for a while,” Nathan agreed.

  “I think I’d rather have the booze and women,” Kit joked.

  Jessica came back out of the shop, several bags in hand.

  “A shopping spree? Now?” Nathan asked.

  Jessica pulled the cap off of Nathan’s head and tossed it into a nearby trash can, then pulled a new cap out of one of her bags. “Gotta look the part.”

  Nathan pulled the tag off and donned the cap, pulling it down low as before.

  “A jacket for you,” Jessica continued, handing Kit a blue, lightweight jacket with ‘Monterey’ emblazoned across the back. “A sweater for you,” she said next, handing the garment to Naralena. “And a T-shirt for me,” she finished, pulling her new top on over her current one. “Now we look like tourists.”

  “I thought you were getting comms,” Kit commented as he donned his new jacket.

  “I did,” Jessica said, tossing one to Kit. “Get busy.”

  “What else do you have in there?” Nathan asked, noticing that her bags were not yet empty.

  “Comms for everyone, some big, ugly shoulder bags for Naralena and me, and ID lanyards for everyone.

  “ID lanyards?” Nathan wondered.

  “Look around; all the tourists are wearing them,” Jessica replied. “The clerk said that they make it a lot easier when security asks for your ID and travel card.”

  “They’re checking peoples IDs now?” Nathan commented.

  “Apparently they’ve been doing it ever since Galiardi imposed global martial law, in response to your family’s assassination.”