A Line in the Sand

by Ryk Brown

  “Our fleet will be within striking distance in days,” Kor-Dom Borrol reminded them. “Might it not be better to wait until they arrive? Perhaps the threat of immediate annihilation, combined with Miss Scott-Thornton’s legal claims to the presidency, will be enough to sway your people and force the admiral’s resignation.”

  “More likely it will be seen as a Jung plot to overthrow the Sol Alliance,” Jessica commented.

  Nathan glanced around the conference table in the Aurora’s command briefing room, wondering if it had been a mistake to bring the kor-dom into the pre-mission briefing. “As fantastic as it seems, this is our best option,” he insisted. “And the pending arrival of your fleet leaves us no time to cultivate alternatives.”

  This time, it was the kor-dom who nodded concession. “Nevertheless, your entire operation depends on predicted reactions by Admiral Galiardi and his forces. This is, by far, your most dangerous gamble.”

  “Not the seventy-two men jumping several light years in nothing but spacesuits?” Jessica commented.

  Kor-Dom Borrol ignored Jessica’s sarcasm, having already learned of her personality despite the brevity of his association with her.

  “War is nothing more than a string of gambles,” General Telles stated. “Each a bet that the gains will be worth the cost. The key to victory is not only in the daring of the bet but also in the careful calculation of its risks. This is where the Ghatazhak excel.”

  “I take it you are trying to tell me that you believe this plan will work?” Kor-Dom Borrol surmised.

  “I would not be betting the lives of my men on it if I did not.”

  Kor-Dom Borrol sighed, turning to Miri next. “You have been silent since this briefing began, Miss Scott-Thornton. Have you no opinions on the matter?”

  “I trust these people,” she replied. “If for no other reason than the fact that they have repeatedly risked their own lives to protect us all…even when it is against ourselves.”

  “You will be risking your life as well,” Kor-Dom Borrol reminded her. “As well as the futures of your children.”

  “I do not need you to remind me of those facts,” Miri snapped back. She had only met the Jung leader an hour ago and did not yet see why her younger brother trusted him.

  “Forgive me,” the kor-dom apologized. “I only meant to point out that, should the reactions of the admiral and his forces not be as expected, your life will likely be at greater risk than anyone. You and your brother, after all, pose a real threat to his power.”

  “Assuming power is what he is after,” Nathan stated.

  “All humans seek power,” Kor-Dom Borrol noted. “It is in our genetic code. It is what ensures our survival.”

  “Not everyone wants power,” Miri disagreed.

  “Your mistake is in the understanding of what is meant by power,” Kor-Dom explained. “At its core, it means control, of which there are many levels. Control over one’s home, one’s environment, one’s life, one’s world. There is control over the individual, over the members of one’s family or tribe, and so on up the ladder. The question is, what level of power does Admiral Galiardi seek? If it is simply to protect his people’s future, releasing control to someone who can better assure that future would be acceptable to him, provided he believes that you can deliver. However, if the admiral’s goal is to remodel the Terran Empire into something he believes to be more promising, things might become…complicated. Unfortunately, based on the intel provided me, I can only assume the latter.”

  “Respectfully, Kor-Dom, the mistake you are making is that you are betting on the reaction of one,” Nathan explained. “We are betting on the reactions of many, and that those reactions will carry more weight than that of the one. This is what makes a society free. The fact that the many can overcome the one, no matter how powerful the one may be. It is not something that exists in charters or constitutions, for it is far more than words. It is a belief within each of us. A belief that, no matter how restrictive our leaders may become, we still hold control of our own destiny. Even the act of acquiescing to the control of others is a choice that affects one’s destiny. So you see, we’re not betting on Galiardi, we’re betting on the people of Earth.”

  “So you’re betting on billions of unknowns,” the kor-dom surmised.

  “No, we’re betting on the results of thousands of years of human history,” Nathan insisted. “A history where one thing has always remained consistent: that people do not want to be told what to do, what to think, or what to believe.”

  “I hope you are correct,” Kor-Dom Borrol stated. “For the sake of both our worlds.”

  “Well, if I’m wrong, half the galactic human population dies, and something else rises from its ashes,” Nathan concluded.

  “You just described the Tonba-Hon-Venar,” Kor-Dom Borrol noted with a wry smile. “The only difference is that it would be the result of a loss, rather than of a victory.”

  “Well, now you’re just being insulting,” Jessica commented.

  Kor-Dom Borrol’s smile broadened. Despite all that was at stake, he was beginning to like these people. “And where will I be during all of this?” he questioned, turning back to Nathan.

  “Aboard the Mystic Empress,” Nathan replied. “It is the only ship in the fleet that will not be in harm’s way.”

  “I am not to take the same risk as the rest of you?” the kor-dom wondered. “That hardly seems fair.”

  “I appreciate your sentiments, Kor-Dom,” Nathan assured him. “However, you are the only one who can stop the Tonba-Hon-Venar. You must be protected at all costs.”

  Kor-Dom Borrol silently nodded his understanding.

  “Want to trade places?” Jessica asked.

  Again, Kor-Dom Borrol found himself amused.

  * * *

  Kor-Dom Borrol stood beside the Aurora’s tactical station, gazing out the semi-spherical view screen that wrapped around the front half of the bridge. “An interesting display,” he commented. “I imagine it impresses visitors; however, I fail to see much use for it beyond that.”

  “I’ve always wondered about the logic behind it myself,” Nathan admitted.

  “I must admit, I never expected to set foot on this ship, let alone on her bridge.” The kor-dom turned to face Nathan, who was standing to his left. “I do appreciate the opportunity to witness this jump first-hand.”

  “I just thought you might like a demonstration of the technology which will hopefully transform your empire.”

  “I imagine Lieutenant Commander Nash did not agree with your decision.”

  “She rarely does,” Nathan replied.

  “Flight reports all Nighthawks and Gunyoki from Corinair are on board,” Ensign Keller reported from the comm-station at the back of the bridge.

  “Very well,” Cameron replied from the command chair. “Signal the Glendanon that they’re clear to jump.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “Mister Dorsay?” Cameron inquired.

  “Single jump to the rally point is ready, Captain. One minute to the jump point.”

  “Very well,” Cameron replied. “Execute jump as planned.”

  “Aye, sir,” the navigator replied. “Fifty seconds to jump.”

  Kor-Dom Borrol leaned in closer to Nathan, keeping his voice low. “You are not in command of this vessel?”

  “Technically, Captain Taylor is the Aurora’s commanding officer. My responsibilities are a bit difficult to categorize. I believe Lieutenant Commander Nash refers to me as a rogue admiral who thinks he’s a front-line officer.”

  “Then you do not lead your forces from the Aurora?”

  “I never much cared for that,” Nathan admitted. “This time around, I decided to be a bit more involved.”

  “Is that not risky?”

  “How do I ask others to take risks if I am not willing to tak
e them myself?”

  “Is that not the job of a leader?”

  “Sharing that risk not only makes me more comfortable sending others into harm’s way, but it also makes those I send more willing to accept that risk since they know I am willing to take it as well.”

  “Ten seconds to jump,” Ensign Dorsay reported.

  “Glendanon has jumped,” Kaylah reported from the sensor station.

  Kor-Dom Borrol mentally braced himself, uncertain of what to expect.

  “Jumping in three……two……one…”

  Kor-Dom Borrol watched the view screen as blue-white light spilled out from the emitters along the bow of the Aurora. In less than a second, the glow covered the hull, then quickly brightened into a flash that illuminated the interior of the bridge for a split second, despite the view screen’s attempt to subdue its brilliance.

  The view of Corinair was immediately replaced with a completely different set of stars, some of which seemed awfully large.

  “Jump complete,” the navigator reported.

  “Multiple contacts,” Kaylah added. “It’s our fleet.”

  Nathan pointed to the right, slightly high, causing Kor-Dom Borrol to turn his head in the indicated direction. Just above them and to starboard, the front half of the Glendanon loomed nearby, having jumped to the same location only a few seconds before them.

  Kor-Dom Borrol shook his head in disbelief. “Incredible.”

  “Are all ships present?” Cameron asked her sensor officer.

  “Thirty contacts,” Kaylah confirmed. “All ships are present and accounted for.”

  “All your ships have such range?” the kor-dom wondered, surprised.

  “Only the Aurora and the Glendanon,” Nathan explained. “The other ships departed a few days ago and had to make a series of jumps with multiple recharge layovers along the way.”

  “Take us to the point position in the fleet formation,” Cameron instructed her helmsman.

  “Aye, sir,” Ensign Tala acknowledged.

  “Message from the Mystic Empress,” Ensign Keller reported. “They have launched a shuttle to retrieve the kor-dom. ETA is fifteen minutes.”

  “Well, Kor-Dom,” Nathan said. “I guess it’s time I went to work. I’ll see you in about five hours.”

  “I truly hope so, Captain,” the kor-dom replied. He bowed his head in respect, then turned and headed off, his Ghatazhak escorts in tow.

  “Good luck to you, Captain,” Preto Soray stated, also bowing, before following the kor-dom.

  Cameron rose from the command chair and walked over to stand beside Nathan as the kor-dom’s party left the bridge. “That was surreal.”

  “It’s not like you to understate things,” Nathan quipped.

  “Are you sure it was a good idea?”

  “Just reminding him of what his empire has to gain in this arrangement.”

  “Do you really think he doesn’t know?”

  “Of course not,” Nathan agreed. “But it’s hard to fully comprehend the magnitude of the jump drive’s capabilities without witnessing it for yourself.”

  “I noticed you made sure he was gone before we pulled in alongside the fleet,” Cameron added.

  “Yeah, better he doesn’t see how rag-tag we truly are,” Nathan chuckled. “Which reminds me, make sure we pull up close to the Mystic before his shuttle launches. It’s got windows.”

  “I’ll make sure his pilot knows to keep the kor-dom’s eyes off the fleet,” Cameron promised.

  Nathan took a deep breath and sighed. “Well, I’ve got a ship full of Ghatazhak who are just dying to be set adrift in space.”

  “Good luck,” Cameron wished.

  “To all of us,” Nathan replied as he turned to depart. “We’re going to need it.”

  * * *

  “On course and speed for the first deployment,” Loki announced over the intercom speakers in the Voss’s aft cargo bay. “One minute to deployment.”

  “Team One!” Lieutenant Brons barked from his position near the aft end of the bay full of Ghatazhak. “Prepare to deploy.”

  “How did we end up being first out?” Corporal Moskol complained as he closed his mark two CAPS helmet visor and picked up the auxiliary power pack tethered to his back.

  “At least you’ll have time for a nap,” the lieutenant joked.

  “A three-hour coast is more than a nap,” the corporal replied as he and the rest of their team walked through the aft pressure shield and out onto the ramp.

  “How are we looking, Loki?” Nathan asked over the intercom.

  “AI has us on track for insertion point one, at a slow crawl. We couldn’t be more perfectly aligned if we tried.”

  “The AI is flying the ship?” Miri asked, in awe of all that was happening.

  “It can do it far more accurately than a human pilot,” Nathan explained, “even Josh.”

  “I heard that,” Josh stated over the intercom.

  The six Ghatazhak walked out onto the ramp, spreading out into an evenly spaced formation, each of them setting their auxiliary power packs down behind them.

  “Twenty seconds,” Loki updated.

  “How do they do it?” Miri wondered. “How do they just walk out there knowing the danger they are putting themselves into?”

  “They are well trained,” Nathan explained.

  “How does that help?”

  “Each of them knows what to do in every possible scenario.”

  “Ramp gravity off in three…”

  “They also know that their comrades know what to do, same as them.”

  “Two…”

  “It breeds the confidence that the risks they face have been reduced as much as humanly possible,” Nathan continued.

  “One…”

  “Still,” Miri added, shaking her head.

  “Ramp gravity off,” Loki reported.

  The six Ghatazhak standing on the ramp outside the cargo door stood perfectly still, avoiding anything that might alter their trajectory. The mark two combat suits carried limited maneuvering thrust. At this distance, even a millimeter of course change could result in being hundreds of miles off target when they came out of their jump.

  “It is hard to understand if you haven’t been through similar training,” Nathan told her. “I’ve had combat training, and they still impress the hell out of me.”

  “Thrusting down and away,” Josh announced.

  The Voss’s thrusters fired briefly, and the six Ghatazhak began to float up and slightly away from the ramp.

  Miri watched in fascination as the six men continued to drift away from the ship, their tethered power packs trailing behind them. “How long do they have to drift out there?”

  “Coast,” Nathan corrected. “Drift implies that they are not on any particular course, just a random heading.”

  Miri cast a sidelong glance at her younger brother.

  “Just over three hours,” he explained. “The second group will coast about two hours, and the third group for about an hour.”

  “Why can’t we just deploy them more closely together?” Miri wondered. “That way, they wouldn’t have to coast for so long.”

  “It takes time to get the ship onto the proper course and speed for each insertion trajectory,” Nathan explained. “We could probably narrow the timing down a bit, but there are always unexpected variables to deal with, especially when deploying twelve teams.”

  “So better not to rush it,” Miri surmised as the first team disappeared from sight.

  “The first team is deployed,” Loki reported. “Maneuvering onto course and speed to jump to the next insertion waypoint.”

  “One down, two to go,” Nathan said, turning to head back to the common room.

  “Where are you going?” Miri wondered.

  “
To get something to eat,” Nathan replied.

  “What about the rest of them?” she asked, gesturing toward the other twelve Ghatazhak still sitting about the bay.

  “They know where the food is,” Nathan replied as he disappeared through the forward hatch.

  * * *

  Four busses stood in a well-lit parking lot as lines of people waiting to board began to form. Organizers made their way down the sparse lines, taking names and account numbers through which to pay those who completed their tasks this night.

  A vehicle pulled up next to the assembled leaders of the gathering, and two men climbed out. The leader of the group did not recognize the two men and looked on them with suspicion. “The lines are over there,” he told the two men.

  “Tento Nori,” one of the two men stated.

  The leader of the gathering became even more suspicious. “Allon Nori,” he stated, providing the agreed-upon response.

  “Garret Natta?” the approaching man asked.

  “And you are?”

  “Aleksi Rusayev,” he replied, offering his hand.

  “Aleksi?” Garret replied in disbelief. “Should you be here?”

  “This is precisely where I should be,” Aleksi assured him. “Not much of a turn-out,” he said, looking about.

  “It is still early,” Garret defended. “I assure you; we have a high reservation count. The buses should be filled.”

  “The Winnipeg Wolves?” he asked, noticing the banners, and how many people in the lines were wearing team jackets and t-shirts.

  “The Wolves have a playoff game in Minneapolis tomorrow night. It makes for a pretty good cover, don’t you think?”

  “Won’t the authorities become suspicious when the buses do not go toward Minneapolis?” Aleksi wondered.

  “The route to Minneapolis takes us within one kilometer of the Winnipeg net-hub,” Garret explained.

  “What about the capitol complex?” Aleksi asked.

  “We have two more groups forming to the northeast and northwest, both of which will travel a route that takes them near the complex. We even bought several thousand tickets to the game to make our cover story look legit.” Garret looked guilty. “I hope you don’t mind, as they were not cheap.”