Frontiers Saga 12: Rise of the Alliance (7 page)

“Did you hear me, father?” Deliza inquired from the other end of the dining table.

Casimir snapped out of his thoughts. “Apologies, Deliza. My mind drifted for a moment.”

“I was saying that the data copy is ahead of schedule,” she repeated for him.

“That is good news,” Casimir commended.

“Your daughter has been of great assistance,” Yanni added. “She has a unique ability to understand ancient Earth algorithms. Most of the senior computer programmers of Takara seem unable to understand them.”

“It’s because they are too stuck in their ways,” Deliza explained. “They look at code from a static perspective, one formed by years of rigid thinking and processes.”

“Yes,” Casimir agreed, “my oldest daughter has never been accused of ‘rigid’ thinking.”

“There is a wealth of technological information within those cores, Father,” Deliza said. “Things that we have only dreamed of in theory. Once we have completed the translations, we could literally feed specifications into our fabricators and begin producing much of what is described.”

“I thought we were more advanced than the Terrans?” Casimir wondered.

“More so than the Terrans of today, yes,” Deliza explained, “but not those from before the great plague.”

“Our people left the core worlds during the initial onset of the great plague, Deliza. How is it that we did not already have this information in our own data banks?”

“As I understand it, much of the technology was either classified by various governments, or was under patents at the time of the plague,” Yanni explained. “Even the Terrans of today do not have access to those files, as they are all encrypted.”

“Luckily, our security and encryption systems are far more advanced,” Deliza added. “It has been easy to bypass the security algorithms and access the protected files.”

“So, all the technologies are more advanced than ours?”

“Not all, but many,” Deliza stated. “Anything that was open knowledge at the time of the plague our founders brought with them and have further developed over the centuries. Even some of the classified technologies of old Earth are now obsolete to us, as they have already been developed by Takaran scientists.”

“What about military technologies?” Casimir asked. “Weapons, space propulsion systems, shields… Surely if they were able to develop the jump drive…”

“The jump drive was an accident,” Deliza interrupted. “They didn’t even know they had discovered it at the time. They were trying to develop multi-layered shielding to reduce the wear imposed on the hulls of ships traveling faster than light in the hopes of prolonging their time between overhauls. A reactor accident occurred during a prototype test flight. It caused the outer shield to collapse, and at the same moment that the outer shield made contact with the inner shield, the reactor dumped a tremendous amount of energy into the emitter arrays. The micro-jump that it caused was considered to be a sensor anomaly at the time. It wasn’t until Abby’s father, Doctor Karlsen, discovered the inconsistency in the telemetry data from the test a thousand years earlier that the jump drive was even theorized. Even then, it took another twenty years to develop. Had it not been for the Jung threat, he probably would never have received funding. It was that far beyond anything the current people of Earth had ever dreamed possible.”

“You did not learn of this from the Ark,” Casimir said.

“I asked Abby many questions during my time on the Aurora,” Deliza admitted sheepishly.

“Of that I have no doubt.”

A tall man in military uniform entered the dining room from behind Deliza. Casimir immediately noticed the officer and gestured for him to approach.

“Forgive the intrusion, sir,” the officer begged as he approached. “I thought this of sufficient urgency,” he added as he handed the small tablet to the prince.

Casimir looked over the tablet, his brow furrowing, obvious concern on his face. “They have landed?” he asked the officer.

“Yes, sir. They will clear medical shortly.”

“Bring them to my office once they do,” Casimir ordered as he handed the tablet back to the officer. “I wish to speak with them directly.”

“Yes, sir,” the officer answered as he took the tablet and stepped back to depart.

Deliza and Yanni both watched the officer depart, then looked at one another.

“Something wrong?” Deliza asked.

“It seems we have received an update from the Aurora.”

Deliza became concerned. “How are they? Is everything alright? Did they manage to escape with the Celestia?”

“It seems that things have become more complicated than expected,” Casimir said as he patted his lips with his napkin. “I’m afraid I must cut our dinner short,” he added as he rose. “I trust you will see to Nalaya?”

“Of course, Father.”

“Thank you for joining us, Yanni,” Casimir said.

“It was my pleasure, sir. Thank you for inviting me.”

“I trust you will keep me informed of your progress?”

“Of course,” Yanni promised.

“Please, all of you, take your time and finish your meal,” Casimir insisted as he headed for the exit. “We shall do this again soon.”

* * *

“
I have the president on comms now, sir,
” Naralena said over the int
ercom.

“Put him on my viewer, please,” Nathan instructed. The view screen on the wall of his ready room came to life, revealing President Scott of the North American Union. Nathan felt his heart sink. It had been only a few days since he had last spoken with his father, but he appeared to have aged a decade within that time. His eyes were sunken with dark bags, his hair disheveled, his shirt stained with more than a single day of wear. He swallowed hard. “Sir?”

“
Nathan,
” his father said, turning toward the camera to look directly at him. He turned away again, speaking to someone off camera. “
Tell them I will speak to them shortly.
” He turned his attention back to the camera. “
How are you?
”

“I should be asking you that question,” Nathan answered. “Have you gotten any sleep lately?”

“
Not enough, I’m sure. Your sister nags me incessantly on the very same subject.
”

“I was wondering if you had found the time to prepare a list of the resources the Earth needs to help with its recovery?”

“
List?
” His father laughed. “
A list would be a waste of time. It would be easier to just say ‘everything’.
”

“That bad?”

“
No.
” His father hung his head down for a moment. “
I suppose if your mother were still alive, she would tell me it could have been worse, although at this point it is difficult to imagine how.
” He looked back up at the camera as he continued to speak. “
We have the means to rebuild, we even have the resources. What we lack is unity. There is so much chaos… even more so than before, if you can imagine that. The Jung have crippled most of our major infrastructure. People are flocking to those cities whose infrastructures still operate, but in doing so they will only cause them to overload and collapse. Some cities have begun turning away refugees, even shooting them down in the streets in order to continue to provide for their own. Panic is the only common denominator at the moment. It is everywhere. I have given up on trying to convince the masses otherwise. Food, water, shelter… we can only worry about the absolute basics right now. Medical care only exists in pockets… mostly in the major cities that were lucky enough to escape both direct attack and the effects of the fallout. Sewage? Sanitation? They no longer exists in most places, certainly not in Winnipeg. We are lucky enough to have power, but that is being taxed to its limits as well.
” The president’s head hung down again. “
The worst thing is the smell. The smell of death lingers everywhere.
” He raised his head once more as he continued. “
Every major population center has set up massive pits outside of the cities in which to burn the dead, but the smell always finds its way back into the city itself.
”

“Do we have any idea how many died?” Nathan wondered.

“
Does it matter?”
his father said. “
Certainly in the millions. We’ll probably never know for sure.
”

Nathan felt he could hear a million tears in his father’s sigh. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“Yes. Just don’t let them hit us again.
”

“That was my plan.”

“
You asked what we needed most, Nathan? We need order. I would declare martial law in a heartbeat, but I have no forces with which to do so. No one does. Those with guns are taking the streets… mostly to take what they need from those who cannot defend what they have. The killing did not stop when you defeated those ships in orbit. It just changed hands.”

“I have asked for more Ghatazhak,” Nathan told him. “However, I’m not sure how the people of Earth will feel about having them roaming the streets of Earth after the evacuation facility massacre.”

“
Better than the armed thugs that are killing them now.”

“Perhaps,” Nathan answered. He looked at his father’s weary face. “Please, father, do as Miri asks. Get some rest. You are no good to the people of Earth without a clear head.”

“
Perhaps,
” his father answered with a wry smile. “
Perhaps.
”

* * *

“In light of the recent news from Earth, I beg you all to reconsider your tim
eline,” Casimir pleaded. He scanned the faces of the members of the Takaran Security Council, none of which showed the slightest hint of emotion. Decades of anti-aging serum and the protection of Caius had lulled them all into a sense of invulnerability that he was finding impossible to overcome.

“Much of Answari itself still lies in ruins,” Lord Dahra said, “and yet you still ask your people to send their resources across the galaxy.”

“I ask them to honor those who put themselves, and the well-being of their own world, behind that of Takara and the rest of the Pentaurus cluster,” Casimir explained. “I ask them to honor those who gave their very lives in the defeat of Caius…”

“You have already sent an entire asteroid and a fleet of ancient interceptors toward Sol, my prince,” Lord Dahra interrupted. The nobleman’s eyebrow shot up. “Did you honestly think we were not aware?”

“I have committed no infraction,” Casimir proclaimed with confidence. “Those efforts were funded by my family’s personal assets, and not those of the people of Takara.”

“And those assets are rapidly dwindling in size, my prince,” Lord Dahra warned. “Is it worth putting your own house at risk?”

“Unlike many of you, the claim to my house is by blood, not wealth,” Casimir reminded them.

“True,” Lord Dahra agreed, “but such claims are defended and maintained by wealth… wealth of which you have precious little remaining.”

“And power as well,” Prince Casimir corrected.

“Pardon?”

“My house is not only protected by the wealth of which I have spent, but it is also protected by power.”

“And what is this power of which you speak?” Lord Dahra challenged.

“The Ghatazhak,” Prince Casimir stated coldly.

Lord Dahra laughed, albeit uncomfortably, a condition which did not go unnoticed by Prince Casimir. “The Ghatazhak belong to the people of Takara, my good prince.”

“Incorrect. The Ghatazhak were the personal army of my deceased brother, derived from the personal guard of our father before us. They were funded by accounts belonging to the house of Takar.”

“Whose funds came from taxes collected from the citizens of Takara,” Lord Dahra countered.

“It matters not where such payment came from,” Casimir insisted, “it matters only whose name they are under, and that name is Takar. Casimir Takar, to be exact.”

“You risk walking a very fine line, my prince,” Lord Dahra snarled, leaning forward to emphasize his point. “A very fine line, indeed.” The leader of the Parliamentary Security Council leaned back in his chair again to show he was unmoved by Prince Casimir’s threats. “Do you believe that the people of Takara will sit still while you confiscate their greatest defense?”

“Defense against what?” Casimir wondered aloud. “You have the Avendahl. There is not a ship within one hundred light years that can stand up to her.”

“The Ghatazhak are sworn to protect the people of Takara!” Lord Dahra demanded.

For the first time, Lord Dahra let his emotions show. Prince Casimir smiled. “Again, you are incorrect, Lord Dahra. The programming of the Ghatazhak begins with the protection of the house of Takar, not the people of Takara.”

“Their programming can be changed.”

“Not without consent of the leader of the house of Takar, and that is me,” Casimir said with a smile.

Lord Dahra leaned over to his aide to exchange information. After a few moments, he straightened back up to speak. “You have spent the majority of your holdings, and now you intend to commit your personal security forces to a war a thousand light years away. It seems a curiously unsafe position in which to place oneself,” Lord Dahra warned.

Casimir stood slowly, straightening his tunic before speaking. “Careful who you threaten, Lord Dahra, or the first target assigned the Ghatazhak upon awakening may be your rather pompous backside.” Casimir smiled, looking at the other noblemen gathered around the chamber. “Good day, gentlemen.”

* * *

“Twenty seconds to completion of gravity assist maneuver,” Mister Bryant reporte
d. “All systems show ready to jump.”

“Very well, Mister Bryant,” Commander Dumar answered. “You are clear to jump on schedule.”

“Sensor contact!” one of the operators announced. “It’s a four zero two.”

“Comm contact with the four zero two,” the comm officer reported. “Flash traffic from Prince Casimir.”

“Give him our arrival coordinates and tell him to meet us on the other side,” Mister Bryant ordered as he glanced at the clock. “Ten seconds to jump.” He turned to Commander Dumar. “Can’t very well delay our jump, now can we.”