Frontiers Saga 12: Rise of the Alliance (6 page)

“But we have already witnessed the contrary,” Nathan argued. “In fact, three separate commanders have ordered the all-out bombardment of the planet.”

“Have they?” the lieutenant asked. “Or do we just perceive it as such?”

“Frankly, I don’t really care,” Nathan answered. “Our job is to see that they don’t get another chance, one way or the other.” Nathan looked around the room briefly. “To that end, I have decided that we must attack the battle platform currently in the Alpha Centauri system.”

“Captain,” Vladimir objected, “we are in no shape to go on the attack…”

“We have damage, yes,” Nathan agreed, “but we’re still eighty percent battle effective, and the Celestia is seventy percent battle effective. And now we have the additional Falcons as well.”

“But why so quickly?” Cameron wondered.

“Major,” Nathan said, signaling Major Prechitt.

Major Prechitt picked up the remote from the conference table and activated one of the large view screens on the wall of the compartment. “While reviewing the sensor logs from the four zero twos during their engagement with the battle platform over Earth, we discovered these images.” He pressed another button on the remote, causing computer-enhanced sensor images of the Jung comm-drone to appear. “We’re pretty sure that it’s a Jung comm-drone. It went to FTL shortly after these images were captured. Its course indicated a destination of the Alpha Centauri system.”

“How fast was it going when it went to FTL?” Cameron asked.

“At least half light,” the major answered.

“The fastest we’ve seen the Jung FTL drives travel is twenty times light,” Nathan said.

“Since the Jung linear FTL systems appear to be comparable to those of the Ta’Akar, it might be best to assume a similar capability,” Lieutenant Telles suggested.

“My thoughts as well,” Nathan agreed. “That’s why we need to attack within sixteen days.”

Vladimir groaned and lowered his head. “I see very little sleep in my immediate future.”

“You’re assuming their comm-drones can travel one hundred times light, just like the Takaran comm-drones,” Cameron said.

“Precisely,” Nathan agreed, “and when that drone reaches the Centauri battle platform, they’ll know how we defeated the first battle platform.”

“And they’ll develop a defense against our tactics,” Cameron finished for him.

“Which is why we need to destroy that battle platform before the drone arrives.”

“What will the comm-drone do if there is no one in the Centauri system to receive the message?” Jessica wondered.

“Under such circumstances, a Takaran comm-drone would either continue on toward the closest appropriate destination, or to military command in the Takar system,” Lieutenant Telles said. “It would be reasonable to assume that the Jung comm-drones would be programmed in similar fashion.”

“Which is why I propose that after we destroy the Centauri battle platform, we systematically seek out and destroy all Jung military assets within twenty light years of Earth,” Nathan added.

“You’re declaring war?” Doctor Chen asked, somewhat surprised.

“The Jung already declared war,” Nathan said, “that much is obvious. I am simply responding in kind.”

“Why twenty light years?” Lieutenant Commander Kovacic asked.

“For now, we’re operating under the assumption that twenty light is their maximum FTL speed,” Nathan explained. “If we clear out a twenty light year sphere of space around Sol, that will buy the Earth at least one year to recover before the next attack.”

“The more likely result will be several years,” Lieutenant Telles corrected, “when you consider the additional time it will take for word of the destruction of those assets to reach Jung command, and for the responding ships to be dispatched and finally reach your world.”

“That could take decades,” Cameron realized.

“Doubtful,” Nathan disagreed.

“Agreed,” Lieutenant Telles said. “For the Jung to effectively rule over an area as large as the Sol sector, they would have to empower local commanders to make decisions without consulting Jung command. In addition, we may find far more Jung assets within that twenty light year sphere than one might imagine. If what Lieutenant Commander Nash said about spies on Earth is correct, the Jung have been planning the takeover of Earth since long before any of us were born. Possibly before any of our parents were born.”

“Then you agree that we must clear all Jung assets from the immediate area of Earth,” Nathan said, looking directly at the lieutenant.

“At the very least,” Lieutenant Telles agreed, “however, I would not stop at twenty light years, Captain.”

“Do not worry, Lieutenant,” Nathan answered. “I don’t intend to.”

* * *

“Captain?” Josh c
alled from the entrance to the captain’s ready room.

“Josh,” Nathan called, looking up from his desktop view screen, “Loki, or should I say, Ensigns Hayes and Sheehan?”

“Not yet, sir,” Loki answered, “and thank you for that, by the way.”

“No thanks required, gentlemen. You two have certainly earned the positions. How was your trip to Tanna?”

“No problems,” Josh insisted.

“It went well, sir,” Loki added, knowing that the captain wanted more information than his friend had offered. “In fact, we were met by Doctor Sorenson.”

“Yeah, was she ever happy to see us. Hugged us and all.”

“I think it was more that seeing us meant that we, I mean, the Aurora, and probably the Earth as well, had not been destroyed,” Loki elaborated. “We spent a couple of hours filling her in on all that’s happened in the last four days. Apparently, ever since the evacuations stopped, no one knew whether or not the Earth had been destroyed.”

“She said it was the worst four days of her life,” Josh added.

“I’ll bet,” Nathan agreed. “What about the evacuees? Are they doing all right?”

“As far as I could tell,” Loki answered. “I mean, they’re mostly living in tents and such, using public showers, latrines, mess halls… it’s like a military encampment there. It is in a nice area, though. Next to a river and a small lake, about fifty kilometers outside of the city.”

“Did you meet with the Tannan leaders?” Nathan asked.

“Eventually, yes,” Loki continued. “We had to wait for a security detail to come out and escort us into the city.”

“We even had to go through a medical screening,” Josh said with obvious distaste. “Loads of fun, that was.”

“They’ve been keeping the Terran population separate from the Tannans,” Loki explained, “at least for the time being. Even the Tannan security forces assigned to keep an eye on the Terran camps are being kept from the main Tannan population. They’re awfully nervous about it.”

“Understandably,” Nathan commented, “but you were able to speak with them? The leaders?”

“Yes, sir. Right after we cleared medical. Even then, they made us wear masks,” Loki explained. “We delivered your request, as well as the briefing about what happened during the engagement with the Jung battle platform, according to the outline you gave us.”

“They were amazed that we weren’t all wiped out,” Josh added.

“He’s not exaggerating, Captain,” Loki agreed. “At first, I thought they didn’t believe us.”

“I’m still not sure they do,” Josh added.

“They got excited when we told them about the help arriving from the Pentaurus cluster,” Loki said.

“That’s exactly what I had hoped,” Nathan said. “I don’t suppose they gave you any idea of how much they might be able to help us out?”

“No, sir,” Loki answered. “They said they needed to hold some meetings to discuss the situation. They asked us to return tomorrow.”

Nathan rubbed his chin. “I guess that’s to be expected.”

“Why wouldn’t they help us?” Josh wondered. “I mean, it’s either us or the Jung, and I’m pretty sure the Jung would just erase them all.”

“It’s not always that simple,” Nathan told him. “People, especially political leaders, have to balance long-term goals against the immediate needs of their people. The two don’t always agree.”

“In this case, I’m pretty sure it’s either fight with us now or die an ugly death later,” Josh insisted.

“You left out the third possibility, Josh,” Nathan said. “Both of the above.”

* * *

Deckhands, technicians, and general st
affers alike all crowded into the Karuzara’s number four hangar bay. Word of the return of one of their four zero twos had spread throughout the asteroid base with alarming speed. The arriving interceptor could barely make it out of the transfer airlock without running over someone.

The spacecraft rolled to a stop, its canopy opening. The pilot waved a single time at the crowd of people packed into the bay. The ground crew rolled the boarding ladder up to the side of the ship and climbed up to assist the flight crew as the ship’s systems powered down to rest.

“Welcome home, sir!” an eager flight technician greeted as he took the pilot’s helmet from him. “Did you make it? Did you make it back to Earth? Did you find the Aurora?”

“Hold on,” the pilot exclaimed as he climbed out of the cockpit.

“I don’t think they can wait, sir.”

The pilot stood at the top of the ladder, looking out at the crowd of people. “We made contact with the Aurora! She is alive and well, as is the Earth!”

The crowd erupted in cheer.

“More or less,” the copilot said to the flight technician as he climbed out of the back seat.

“We need to speak with Commander Dumar immediately,” the pilot told the flight technician.

“Yes, sir.”

“Get this ship ready to depart,” the copilot added. “We takeoff as soon as we finish with the commander.”

* * *

“They agreed to provide whatever assistanc
e they could,” Loki said as he, Josh, and Abby walked across the hard-packed ground toward their Falcon jump-fighter.

“That’s not surprising,” Abby said. “The Tannans may be keeping us separate from the main population, but they have been providing us with whatever we need. They are good people.”

“I think they just want to be sure the Alliance will be here to protect them when the Jung return,” Josh said.

“Can you blame them?” Loki asked.

“You know, many of the refugees are already talking about returning to Earth,” Abby told them.

“If they saw the videos streaming up from the surface, they wouldn’t be,” Josh commented. “The place is messed up right now. Makes Haven look like paradise.”

“Surely it’s not that bad
everywhere
,” Abby commented.

“It’s not,” Loki insisted. “He’s exaggerating, as usual.”

“The hell I am.”

“A lot of it has been turned into wasteland,” Loki admitted, “but many large cities remain untouched by the fallout.”

“Until the winds shift,” Josh added.

“
If
the winds shift,” Loki corrected. “Still, though, the unaffected cities are rapidly turning into chaos themselves as refugees from the devastated areas migrate to them.”

“Seriously, Doc, you should tell anyone who says they want to go home to wait awhile,” Josh said.

“That much he
is
right about,” Loki agreed.

“It won’t be easy,” Abby told them. “People want to go home. They want to help rebuild their world.”

“Then tell them to stay here and help the Tannans gather resources to send back to Earth. No need to put more people on a world that can’t even support the ones already there.”

“We’re only talking about a few thousand people at the most,” Abby said.

“I’ll let the captain know,” Loki told her, “but I wouldn’t count on anything soon. He has enough to think about these days… Like how to get Tannan aid back to Earth. Besides, he still has to deal with the battle platform in the Centauri system.”

“Of course.” Abby stopped. “Well, I guess I’ll see you guys sometime.”

“We’ll be back,” Josh told her.

“The Tannan leaders asked us to bring them a list of resources the Earth needs most.”

“And we seem to be the captain’s favorite messengers,” Josh added as he climbed up the steps in the side of their Falcon’s nose.

Loki rolled his eyes and smiled, then he too turned to climb up into the back seat of the jump ship’s cockpit.

“Be safe.”

“You’re forgetting who my pilot is,” Loki said as he took his seat.

“Hey, I’m Mister Safety, I am.” Josh waved at Abby. “See you later, Doc.”

Abby turned and walked away as the Falcon’s turbines began to spin up. Once she had reached a safe distance, she turned back around to watch the ship lift off. The Falcon’s canopy closed, sealing her flight crew inside the nose of the jump ship, just as its engines began to increase in intensity and pitch. Dust swirled about, forcing Abby to look away as the Falcon began to rise off the packed dirt landing pad. It ascended slowly, rotating to starboard and drifting away from her until it finally pitched its nose upward and began to accelerate into the sky. Within seconds, the ship was nearly too small for Abby to see. Finally, it disappeared in a flash of white light barely visible against the pale lavender evening skies of Tanna. Her eyes fell back down to the ground as she remembered the words of her father just before their first jump test. If only he knew just how much his invention had already changed everything… even the lives of his own family.

* * *

Prince Casimir sat back as the attendant refilled his glass.
He looked across the table at his daughters, both impeccably dressed with their hair perfectly coiffed. It had been more than half a Takaran year since he had brought them both to their true home. His oldest, Deliza, had made the transition with ease, taking advantage of the technical and educational opportunities her new home had offered. His youngest, however, Nalaya, was having a more difficult time. She had grown quite attached to the Montrose family back on Corinair, despite the relatively brief time she had spent with them. She had grown somewhat more introverted than before. The loss of her mother, and all that she had known on Haven, had been much for a child of such a young age to endure. She said little these days, speaking only when spoken to, and even then saying only what was required of her. Casimir knew it would take time. He missed the carefree little girl she had once been, covered with dust, playing in the molo patches on their farm on Haven.