Ep.#4 - "Freedom's Dawn" (The Frontiers Saga) (16 page)

“You can do that?” Enrique asked.

“As I explained, those of us with special skills are granted officer’s rank, despite our lack of ‘noble’ blood, so that we may serve on the upper levels.”

“So what was in the message,” Enrique asked, “the one you cracked?”

“There was a message from the local military intelligence officer on Corinair to Command on Takara-specifically to the commander of fleet intelligence in the royal compound itself. It piqued the captain’s interest.”

“What was in the message?”

“An informant on Corinair had told the local officer about your ship, that it was hiding in the Darvano system.”

“Did the message say where we were hiding?”

“No, just that your ship was hiding somewhere in the system. After that, the captain ordered us to change course and head here. We were little more than half a day away at top speed. And the captain had the reactors running at one hundred and ten percent the entire journey here.”

“So he wasn’t ordered here,” Enrique surmised.

“No, he was not,” Ensign Willard confirmed. “I believe he acted of his own accord, in order to secure glory for himself and his family name. You see, the de Winter name has been quite legendary in regards to military service… until the captain had his turn.”

“So he hasn’t done well for himself.”

“His performance has been less than stellar, yes. But in this case, I believe he acted outside of his authority.”

“How do you mean?” Enrique asked. “It seems to make perfect sense. If he had waited, we might have been long gone by the time another ship was sent to investigate.”

“True, and that was the captain’s logic as well. But recent reductions in resources have necessitated certain restrictions on the rules of engagement. Specifically, captains are not permitted to engage enemy ship of equal or superior strength until properly reinforced.”

“They don’t want to risk losing another ship.”

“Correct,” Ensign Willard confirmed. “But Captain de Winter deemed your ship an inferior vessel.” The ensign smiled. “An obvious misjudgment on his part.”

* * *

“And how do you propose we defend ourselves against an enemy as powerful as the Ta’Akar?” the Prime Minister’s aide asked. “We have no fleet,” he reiterated.

“Then we’ll just have to get one,” Nathan said.

“And how do you propose we do that?”

“You have ships, don’t you?”

“Yes, but they are not warships,” the aide protested, “they are civilian cargo ships, and passenger ships. And they are only capable of interplanetary travel, due to restrictions in place since our surrender to the Ta’Akar decades ago.”

“We can arm them using the rail gun turrets from the Yamaro,” Nathan suggested, “maybe even rig some missile launchers to give them greater striking range.”

“Captain, you are dreaming if you think we can take on the Ta’Akar using modified cargo ships. We need
real
warships, with
real
weapons and shields, and with the capability of travelling faster than light.”

Nathan looked at Tug, remembering the stories he had told him about their failed efforts to capture larger ships in the past. He remembered that they had been unable to get in close enough to board them because of their shields. Such was not the case with the Aurora and her jump drive.

“Then we steal them,” Nathan announced, “from your enemy.”

“You are proposing that we steal a Ta’Akar warship,” the aide said in disbelief. “Are you crazy?”

A small grin began to form on Nathan’s face. “I’m proposing we steal several.”

“Apologies, Captain, but you are quite mad.”

“Who’s quite mad?” Jessica asked as she was escorted back into the room, passing the Prime Minister and his aide on her way back over to Nathan and the others.

“Your captain, here. That’s who.”

“Oh, without a doubt,” she quipped.

“Did you make contact?” Nathan asked.

“Yes sir. Vlad’s all up to date.”

“And the shuttle? Did they make it back safely?”

“More or less,” she told him.

Nathan looked at her quizzically.

“I’ll tell you later,” she said under her breath. “After we finish talking about how
mad
you are.”

“It is possible,” Tug interjected, already seeing where the captain was headed with his idea. “You’ve already proven that you can jump within the shield perimeter of a warship, as long as that shield is extended far enough. It would just be a matter of more precise targeting, so as to disable the ship without causing more damage than we can repair, as I suspect is the case with the Yamaro.”

“Yeah, well, it was our first jump attack. I promise we’ll do better next time.”

“We would have to act quickly,” Tug advised, still deep in thought. “You will only get one or two more opportunities before the Ta’Akar begin running with their shields pulled in tight. It would be best to target single ships running alone, instead of groups so there is no one to witness and report your tactics.”

“You guys are forgetting one thing,” Jessica warned. “The other guys shoot back, remember? We took a bit of a pounding ourselves. And we don’t have shields. Hell, we don’t even have torpedoes or missiles for that matter. And we’re just about out of ammo for the rail guns.”

“Basic slugs for your rail guns should be easy enough to manufacture,” Tug theorized, “especially for an industrialized world like Corinair—”

“Excuse me,” the Prime Minister’s aide interrupted. “Are you seriously proposing to capture one or more Takaran warships?”

“Yes sir, we are,” Tug told him confidently.

The Prime Minister’s aide looked to Nathan, a look of utter bewilderment painted across his face.

“But we will need your help,” Nathan added.

The aide began translating Nathan’s proposal to the Prime Minister, whose face quickly showed a similar expression.

“Captain,” Tug whispered, moving closer, “the Yamaro will have many technologies that could be adapted to your vessel. It may take weeks, possibly even months, but if we had an army of technicians—”

“Start with her shields,” Jessica insisted, “and then her energy weapons.”

“And she might have more fighters on board, or other tactical ships,” Nathan said.

The Prime Minister’s aide finished his conversation with his superior and returned his attention to Nathan and the others. “Captain, while we appreciate your willingness to fight to protect us, as well as your ingenuity, we still fail to see how you can hope to achieve such a stunning victory over so powerful an enemy. You are but one ship, after all. And even if you are able to capture a few Takaran ships, there are still dozens of them left. They will eventually find you and destroy you; of this you can be sure.”

“We have one asset that you are not considering, sir; that is time.” Nathan stepped forward, separating himself from the others for dramatic purposes, moving a step closer to the Prime Minister and his aides. “Our jump drive allows us to navigate anywhere within ten light years in the blink of an eye. That is a tactical advantage of immeasurable proportions. The key is to use this advantage to act quickly and decisively, before the enemy realizes who and what they are fighting. By the time they do, we’ll already be invading their home world, long before they have a chance to circle the wagons.”

“Circle the wagons?” the aide wondered.

“It’s an expression from old Earth history,” he explained. “It refers to quickly mounting a defense.”

The aide had been translating Nathan’s words on the fly, and the Prime Minister was shaking his head in disagreement as he voiced his concerns to his aide.

“What you are proposing would only serve to seal our fate,” the aide translated for Nathan. “They will come, and in overwhelming numbers, such that you could not possibly hope to defend yourself. When they do, you will use your
jump drive
to disappear. And where will that leave us?”

“Their numbers are not as many as you might believe, Prime Minister,” Tug insisted. “The Karuzari have been whittling away at their forces for decades. Their losses have forced them to abandon their outer worlds in order to maintain control of their primary worlds in the Pentaurus cluster.”

“The Karuzari have been destroyed,” the aide argued. “We all saw the images of the attack on Taroa. Their destruction was complete.”

“No it was not,” Nathan disagreed. “We were there, and we witnessed the escape of several ships. Perhaps dozens of Karuzari escaped.”

“Dozens of Karuzari does not make an army, Captain.”

“But it is a start. And you could add hundreds if not thousands to their numbers.”

“You want the Corinari to join forces with the Karuzari.” The aide laughed at the idea. “I was correct the first time, Captain. You are mad. No, we will stand down and take our chances.”

“Stand down and take your chances?” Jessica said. “And you’re calling him mad?”

“If you stand down, the Ta’Akar will roll over you without blinking and eye,” Tug insisted. “They will glass this planet from orbit and then use their reformation technologies to clean up the radiation and make it habitable again in relatively short order. Then they will have this world as their own. In only a few decades, the Corinari will be a long forgotten joke.”

“What you people propose is insane! You speak of invasion of the Takaran home world, yet you admittedly cannot even defend this one world should they come in force. What other choice do we have?” the aide pleaded.

“You have the choice to stand up and fight for your freedom!” Nathan yelled back in protest.

“And die in the process!” the aide countered.

Nathan threw up his hands in frustration as he turned around and walked back to where Jessica was standing.

“You will die if you do not,” Tug stated, picking up the debate on behalf of Nathan. “Of this I am quite certain. Just as I am certain that giving up and dying is not the true way of the Corinari.”

The aide looked at Tug, confusion on his face.

“Yes, I know all about your people,” Tug continued, “about your pride and your history. You were once a proud, thriving civilization. Your original settlement was founded from meager stock and supplies, and in less than a millennia you grew from a few hundred to a few
billion
. But when the Ta’Akar threatened you with overwhelming force, you were so afraid that you would lose everything you
had
that you gave up everything you
were
. I understand that; honestly I do. You chose life over death. But make no mistake, sir; that is not the choice you are given on this day. Today your choice is death with honor, or death in shame.”

There was a silence. There was obvious anger in the aide’s eyes. Despite his objections to resistance, he did not care for Tug’s characterization of his people.

Jalea took advantage of the silence. “Na-Tan is here now, and he has brought you this wondrous tactical advantage. He and his people are even willing to pledge their lives in the defense of your world. An opportunity such as this shall not come again. A legend comes true but once.”

“If the Ta’Akar are allowed to complete their new power source, they will be unstoppable,” Tug added.

“You ask too much of us,” the aide pleaded in desperation.

“Tell him,” Tug insisted. “Tell your leader what we said.”

* * *

The black transport airship came in low over the fence line at the Aitkenna spaceport. It flew a careful course just high enough over the parked spacecraft and hangars so as not to disturb anyone on the ground with their rotor wash. Despite the number of ships that had fled the planet before the bombardment, the spaceport was still bustling with activity as people came and went. Some were on their way to Aitkenna to help with the relief efforts. Others were trying to escape the chaos to locations less affected by the orbital attacks.

The airship turned slightly to port to angle itself toward the medevac shuttle that was idling on the tarmac only one hundred meters away. As it grew closer, the airship turned back to starboard while it continued to travel toward the medevac shuttle, sliding sideways to port. As it closed the last twenty meters, it dropped down, flared slightly, and settled gently on the tarmac not ten meters from the medevac shuttle.

The side door to the airship slid open as the airship’s rotors changed their pitch to a neutral position, ending the downward wash without shutting down her engines. Chief Montrose hopped down from the airship and then turned around to help the two women, Doctor Galloway and Nurse Brymer, down from the ship. The medical technician came out next, followed by Doctor Pantor.

“Thank you, Chief,” the doctor said as he shook the chief’s hand.

“You take good care of those people, Doc,” the chief said. “I have a feeling they’re not done taking care of us yet.”

Doctor Pantor nodded his understanding as he backed away from the airship. As he turned and followed his team to the medevac shuttle, he wondered exactly what the chief had meant.

As they reached the bottom of the medevac’s loading ramp, the airship that had delivered them began to lift off the ground. It rose quickly, rotating as it climbed. Doctor Pantor stopped at the bottom of the ramp and watched the airship. He could see the chief sliding the door closed as the airship rotated and sped away into the night. He wondered how long that crew had been flying today, and how much longer they would continue to fly before they would succumb to exhaustion. He had heard the stories about the dedication of the Corinari, of the long hours of training they endured in an effort to be ready to defend their world. However, in his lifetime, he had never known them to be called into action. The chaos of this day was the closest they had probably come. He knew that all but the oldest of the Corinari had served in the Ta’Akar military in their youth. Perhaps such a life was all most of them knew by the time they returned. He had been spared such a life. As the son of a prominent public servant and a candidate for medical training, he had avoided Takaran service. At times, he had felt guilty, but his world needed physicians, and medical training took more than a decade. Had he been required to serve prior to attending medical school, his career as a physician would have been drastically shortened. That had always been the argument that had worked with the Ta’Akar, and that was the argument that had eased his guilt as well.