A Show of Force (6 page)

“Perhaps,” Casimir replied. “However, my father once told me that a man motivated by fear is far more unpredictable than one motivated by greed.”

* * *

Nathan stood at the forward end of the Aurora’s main hangar bay as the combat shuttle rolled to a stop and opened its main port-side door. Five Ghatazhak soldiers in full combat armor stepped down from the shuttle and promptly stepped aside to make room for Admiral Dumar to disembark.

The admiral stepped down from the combat shuttle and glanced around the bay, spotting Nathan near the main entrance along the forward bulkhead.

Nathan stiffened, and raised his hand in salute at the presence of his commanding officer.

Dumar walked up to Nathan, returning the salute, and then offering his hand. “I suppose it is necessary to maintain protocol,” he said as they shook hands.

“Especially in the early days of the Alliance,” Nathan replied. “The commander’s shuttle is coming in now,” he added, pointing to the second combat jump shuttle rolling toward them from the far end of the massive hangar bay.

Admiral Dumar turned aft to see the combat shuttle rolling toward them. “The liberation of 61 Cygni went quite well.”

“It could have gone better,” Nathan admitted. “I agree with Commander Telles’s assessment that it was a mistake to attempt to capture the Jung base, rather than destroying it from orbit from the start.”

“We did not know if their base had shields,” the admiral reminded him. “If it had, we might well have lost the opportunity for a surprise attack. The Aurora had to deal with the cruisers first. There was no way around that fact. Besides, the delay probably allowed the civilians nearest the base to move to safe distances prior to the orbital strike.”

“The KIA count is up to one hundred and thirty-two Ghatazhak,” Nathan reported, “Another hundred and seventy-four will be combat ineffective for several weeks while nanites repair their injuries.”

“And civilian losses?”

“Just over two thousand confirmed, with another three hundred or so still unaccounted for.”

“It has raised since yesterday,” the admiral said, his eyebrow rising.

“Yes, but it has leveled off somewhat over the last few hours. Sensor teams are convinced that the rubble around the outside of the Jung base is free of bodies. However, it will take some time to clean up the rubble of the Jung base and dispose of the bodies. I suspect we will find additional Coporan casualties among the Jung dead as well.”

“Still, had we simply attacked all targets from orbit, the collateral damage would have been significantly higher,” the admiral insisted. “In addition, I believe the sight of the Ghatazhak in action had great psychological impact on the people of Copora as well. It is necessary for their leaders to see a strong Alliance, if we expect them to join in our fight against the Jung.”

“Which is why you came to meet with them in person, is it not?”

Dumar turned to look at Nathan, a slight smile on his face. “No offense, Captain, but you still look a bit young to be in command of a warship such as this, let alone the entire Alliance.”

“None taken, sir,” Nathan replied.

The second combat shuttle pulled up and parked next to the first, its side door sliding open as well. Four fully armored Ghatazhak soldiers stepped out, followed by Commander Telles and an elderly gentleman in Coporan civilian attire.

The commander and the Coporan man walked up to Admiral Dumar and Captain Scott. Commander Telles stepped to one side, allowing the Coporan to face the admiral and the captain directly.

“Minister Abrahms, allow me to introduce Admiral Travon Dumar, commander of the Alliance forces in the Sol sector, and Captain Nathan Scott, commanding officer of the Aurora. Admiral, Captain, may I present Mister Arturi Abrahms, Minister of Copora.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Minister Abrahms,” Admiral Dumar said, extending his hand in friendship.

“Am I a prisoner?” the minister inquired, without offering his hand in return.

“No sir, you are free to leave, if you so choose.”

“Then, if I so choose, you will return me to Copora?”

“Indeed we shall,” Admiral Dumar replied.

“And, if I so choose, you will remove your forces from the surface of my world, as well as from the 61 Cygni system?”

“If you so choose, yes. However, I would strongly urge you to hear what we have to say before you make any such decisions, as the continued survival of your world is quite likely to depend upon the decisions that you make this day.”

The minister looked into the eyes of both the admiral and the captain standing before him. He then looked at Commander Telles. “I wish to return to Copora,” he declared, looking at the admiral again.

“You are sure about that?” the admiral wondered, appearing somewhat surprised by the minister’s request.

“Quite sure,” he replied with determination.

Admiral Dumar sighed. “Very well.” The admiral looked at Commander Telles. “Commander, deliver the minister back to Gastien as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, sir,” Commander Telles replied, saluting.

The minister looked unsure. “I also wish you to remove all troops from the surface.”

“As you wish. Just as soon as Commander Telles is satisfied that all Jung personnel have been killed or captured.”

Minister Abrahms looked at the admiral, suspicion in his eyes. “And after that, your ships shall leave our system?”

“The Aurora is the only ship currently in your system,” the admiral promised. “It shall depart after the last of the Ghatazhak have returned from Copora. You have my word.”

“Minister?” Commander Telles said, gesturing toward their combat jumper, which was already beginning to restart its engines for departure.

The minister looked at Commander Telles, then at the shuttle as its engines began to spin up. He turned as if to head back to the shuttle, but hesitated. He turned back to face the admiral once again. “Perhaps, since I am already here, I will listen to what you have to say, as I am quite sure that the people of Copora will want some answers as to why their world was invaded yet again.”

“We would be more than happy to provide you with those answers, and much more,” Admiral Dumar promised.

“Very well, I shall stay… for now,” the minister declared.

“Excellent,” the admiral replied. “If you’ll follow these men, they will escort you to the command briefing room. We shall join you there shortly.”

They watched as two of the Ghatazhak soldiers escorted the minister out of the main hangar bay.

“Are they all like him?” Nathan asked Commander Telles.

“If you mean pompous and indecisive, then no,” the commander replied. “Those characteristics appear to be unique to Mister Abrahms.”

“Are you sure he is their leader?” Admiral Dumar asked.

“He is the only one who answered our broadcast,” the commander replied. “Only time will tell.”

* * *

A flock of large, reddish-brown birds cruised lazily over the canyon floor. Towering, rocky slopes on either side funneled the winds through the narrow portions of the canyons ahead, providing a consistent breeze that the massive predators used to hover nearly effortlessly as they scanned the surface for their next meal.

The bird leading the flock dipped its beak slightly downward and to the left, spotting a large, furry creature on the surface below, moving slowly as it made its way through the brush. The bird watched as it hovered in the breeze, waiting for the right moment.

The large, furry creature reached a clearing, paused, looked about, and then started to scurry across the open land, trying to get to the brush on the far side as quickly as possible. However, it failed to look upward.

The bird dipped its head down sharply as it pulled its wings back, decreasing its massive, two-meter-wide wingspan to less than a meter as it dove toward the surface. The other birds quickly followed, diving toward the furry creature running across the open ground below them.

The lead bird screamed out as if sounding a battle cry, spreading its wings wide again and dropping its tail as it spread its massive talons. It struck quickly, digging its talons into the back of the furry creature’s neck, ripping at its skin and tearing it open.

The large, furry creature roared out in pain as blood spurt from the back of its neck. The lead bird let go, flapping its wings to climb away and make room for the next attacker. The furry creature rolled over on its back, bringing its own claws between it and the next attacker, slashing across the second bird’s chest and tearing it open. The second bird fell to the side, flopping about on the ground as it bled out.

More birds swooped down, tearing at the furry creature with their sharp talons. The creature continued to defend itself, but there were too many of them. It was only a matter of time until…

A flash of blue-white light washed over the canyon, followed immediately by a thunderous clap. A shock wave of displaced air washed over the land, disturbing the usual wind patterns and sending the attacking birds scattering in all directions. The large, furry creature took advantage of the sudden disturbance in the birds’ attack and ran with all its strength toward the brush on the other side of the clearing.

A high-pitched whine of engines echoed against the rocky walls, as the furry creature disappeared into the brush. A combat jump shuttle roared in, coming to a hover only two meters above the ground. Its side doors opened, and three Ghatazhak troops jumped out of each side, hitting the ground running. The shuttle immediately began to climb, pointing its nose upward and disappearing in another blue-white flash of light.

The Ghatazhak troops reached the same brush where the large furry creature had disappeared only moments ago, taking cover in the thick brush while they scanned the area for any signs of Jung troops.

Lieutenant Kellen scanned the area, his eyes watching the tactical readouts on the inside of his combat helmet visor. Satisfied that they had made it to the ground undetected, he signaled his master sergeant to come to him. As the master sergeant approached, the lieutenant raised his visor, deactivating the displays. “Confirmations?”

“Yes, sir. All four teams are down clean, and jumpers are away.”

“Very well. Everyone shut down, dig in, and rest up. We wait for nightfall before we move out. We have a long way to go to reach the recon point.”

* * *

Nathan, Admiral Dumar, and Commander Telles crested the top of the ramp, stepping into the main intersection at the center of the Aurora’s command deck.

Lieutenant Commander Nash stepped out from the security office door at the corner of the intersection. “Sirs,” she said, calling their attention, “if I might speak with you a moment?”

“Which one of us?” Nathan wondered.

“All three of you, I guess.” Jessica looked at the admiral, remembered the memo on protocol, and saluted. “Admiral, sir.”

“A pleasure to see you again, Lieutenant Commander,” the admiral replied as he returned her salute.

Jessica turned next to Commander Telles, saluting him as well. “Commander.”

“I trust preparations for your upcoming mission are going well?” the admiral asked.

“That’s what I wanted to speak with you about,” Jessica told them as she led them into the security office. “Give us the room for a minute,” she ordered her staff as they entered. Jessica waited a moment for the three security officers to leave the compartment and close the door behind them before she continued. “I may need more time to prepare.”

“What seems to be the problem?” Admiral Dumar asked.

“Jung is a pain in the ass to pick up. The rules don’t make sense, it has strange, varying patterns of verb conjugation, and some of the consonant pairings are really difficult to pronounce.”

“We don’t really have more time,” Nathan reminded her. “We’ve only got six weeks before that comm-probe reaches Tau Ceti. We need intel well before then.”

“With three inhabited worlds, the Tau Ceti system will be difficult to liberate,” Commander Telles added. “The fact that the Jung have been there for several decades will present additional challenges. If any EDF operatives are still alive on those worlds, we will need any intelligence they may have gathered.”

“Yeah, I know all that,” Jessica replied.

“Surely, there are plenty of people within the Tau Ceti system who do not speak perfect Jung,” Admiral Dumar pointed out.

“Yes, that is true. The people still speak their original languages in addition to Jung. However, improperly spoken Jung at an inopportune moment could seriously jeopardize the mission, if not the Alliance itself,” Jessica explained.

“Good point,” Nathan agreed. “So, the lessons aren’t going as well as expected?”

“Don’t get me wrong, Captain,” Jessica said. “Naralena speaks Jung like a native, but remember, she’s genetically skewed for languages. I’m not.”

“I thought you spoke three languages?” Nathan said.

“Four, actually, but none of them are like Jung. It makes some of the old Earth Middle Eastern languages look easy. It’s like a mixture of every difficult language that ever existed. I don’t know how the hell Naralena picked it up so quickly, even with her good genes.”

“Perhaps you should take her with you?” Admiral Dumar said.

“Naralena?” Nathan said, surprised by the admiral’s suggestion.

“You’re kidding, right?” Jessica added. “She’s a comm officer… One who never even went through basic training.”

“Volon is not a timid world,” Admiral Dumar stated. “If she grew up there, she has seen her fair share of violence.”

“Seeing violence, and actually committing acts of violence are not the same thing,” Jessica insisted.

“Volonese culture teaches basic self-defense from an early age,” Commander Telles said. “Much of the Ghatazhak hand-to-hand combat techniques derive from traditional Volonese martial arts.”

“I’d prefer that it didn’t come down to hand-to-hand,” Jessica said. “I’d be happier if she knew how to shoot a gun.”

“Perhaps she does?” Admiral Dumar said. “Being from Volon, it would not be a surprise.”

“Even if she’s a crack shot and can kick ass like a ninja, she knows nothing about covert operations,” Jessica reminded them.

“However, you do,” the admiral stated. “I assume that you will at least be able to understand spoken Jung by the time you depart?”

“I expect so, yes.”

“Then simply let Naralena do the talking,” Admiral Dumar suggested. “I imagine, given that not everyone in the Tau Ceti system speaks Jung, that it would not appear suspicious if only one of you spoke it fluently.”

Jessica sighed, obviously not comfortable with the idea. “If I have to babysit Naralena, that increases the risk.”

“Or decreases, depending on how you look at it,” the admiral said. “After all, her Jung would be far less likely to raise suspicion. You said so yourself.”

“Perhaps you should take a third operative with you?” Commander Telles suggested. “Someone that you know has the skills to defend your party… A Ghatazhak, perhaps?”