Frontiers Saga 12: Rise of the Alliance (8 page)

Commander Dumar nodded agreement as Mister Bryant verbally counted down the last few seconds.

“Two……one……jump!”

There was no jump flash on Karuzara, at least not in the control room. All external cameras were shut down during the jump, as there was no need to visually witness the blinding, blue-white flash of light, especially one large enough to jump the entire Karuzara asteroid. Their only indication that the jump had taken place as scheduled was the momentary spike in the power levels to the jump emitter arrays that encircled the massive hunk of rock that drifted through space.

“Jump complete,” Mister Bryant announced. “Verify position.”

“Raising the arrays,” the navigation controller responded.

“Emitters at zero energy,” the array controller reported.

“Energy banks also at zero,” the next controller added.

“Reactors normal.”

“All systems appear to be nominal,” Mister Bryant stated as he turned toward the commander.

“Position verified. Less than four hundred kilometer variance.”

“In what direction?” Commander Dumar demanded.

“Range only,” the controller responded. “We came out of the jump three hundred ninety-eight kilometers short. We are still on course and speed.”

“How will that affect our route?”

“We have buffers built into our route in the form of pauses between jumps,” Mister Bryant assured the commander. “At the speed we are traveling, three hundred ninety-eight kilometers passes in the blink of an eye.”

“Triple-check our timings,” Commander Dumar ordered, “and find out why we came out short to begin with.”

“Better short than long, sir,” Mister Bryant said under his breath so that only he and the commander could hear.

“We still have many jumps ahead of us, Mister Bryant. If we continue to come up short, we will consume those buffer pauses more quickly than you might imagine.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Contact!” the sensor operator announced. “It’s the four zero two. They’ve caught up with us.”

“Message coming in,” the comm officer reported. “Command eyes only.”

“Send it to my pad,” Commander Dumar ordered.

“Yes sir.”

Commander Dumar looked at his data pad as the encrypted message appeared on his screen. He placed his thumb on the screen. A moment later the message decrypted before his eyes, the meaningless jumble of letters, numbers, and symbols morphing into a coherent message. He smiled.

“Good news?” Mister Bryant inquired.

“It seems Prince Casimir is finally putting the nobles in their place.”

“If by
their place
you mean a prison cell, then that
is
good news,” Mister Bryant agreed.

“I said
good news
, Mister Bryant,” Commander Dumar said as he turned to head to his office, “not
wonderful
.”

* * *

General Bacca’s head still ached from the effects of the sleep chamber. It had taken
more than four months for his personal FTL ship to reach the Alpha Centauri system. It was not the longest amount of time he had spent in cryo-sleep, but it left him feeling not himself nonetheless.

He marched down the corridor toward the battle platform’s command center, escorted by four of the platform’s security guards as well as his own personal aide. They entered the observation mezzanine that ran along the back side of the massive control room. Rows of consoles filled the room below as hundreds of technicians and their supervisory officers monitored every facet of the platform’s operations. It was truly a fortress in space, one that could be moved wherever it was needed. They were the most powerful weapons system that the Jung Empire had ever built, each of them taking decades to construct. It was all part of the empire’s thousand-year plan of galactic dominance, of which they were only a few centuries into.

“General Bacca,” the admiral greeted as he entered the observation deck to join the general. “I see you escaped the liberation of Earth unharmed?”

General Bacca looked sternly at the admiral. “Some of us are burdened with greater responsibility than simply fighting to our death in the name of the empire.”

“Of course,” the admiral acquiesced. “I take it you bear important information?”

“Your clearance level?”

“I am the commander of a battle platform, my dear General. What do you think my clearance level should be?”

“Your clearance level,” the general repeated sternly.

The admiral held up his hand to summon his aide, who stepped forth with the admiral’s clearance card.

General Bacca took the admiral’s card and inserted it into his data pad. His eyebrow raised, and he handed the card back to the admiral’s aide, all without showing the slightest hint of emotion. “As we feared, the Superluminal Transition System is no longer in development. In fact, it has been in use for nearly a Terran year.”

“How many ships are equipped with this system?” the admiral wondered.

“As far as we know, only one… The Aurora.”

“I thought the Aurora was destroyed, by your own trap, was it not?”

“Her destruction was never verified,” General Bacca admitted. “There was even evidence that she escaped the trap at the very moment it was sprung.”

“Why is it we are only hearing of this now?” the admiral challenged.

“The evidence was inconclusive at best.”

“You are saying that one ship was able to liberate the Earth? That one ship destroyed your entire fleet?”

“One ship equipped with the STS,” Bacca reminded him.

“But still, one ship. General, I find it difficult to believe that a single ship, no matter how quickly it may be able to jump about space, could defeat so many Jung ships all by herself.”

“Her captain was most clever in his tactics, and most bold.”

“I have read the dossier on Captain Roberts. He appeared a good and able captain, but by no means a brilliant tactician.”

“Captain Roberts no longer commands the Aurora. She is commanded by Captain Nathan Scott.”

“The son of the politician?” the admiral laughed. “He was nothing more than an ensign less than a year ago.”

“Rank does not create aptitude, Admiral. One either has it, or they do not. Believe me, this young captain has it.”

“Wasn’t his older brother your spy?”

“Your clearance is indeed high, Admiral,” General Bacca stated. “I’m afraid you are correct. His brother Eli was the one who provided us with the timing and location of the Aurora’s first test of the STS, as well as other critical intelligence. In fact, without him, we could not have captured the Earth to begin with.” General Bacca sighed. “I suspect, however, that he may have been somewhat duplicitous.”

“As spies often are.”

The admiral appeared unconcerned, which worried General Bacca.

“No matter, General,” the admiral boasted. “The Ton-Tori will deal with the Aurora, and will take back the Earth as well.”

“The Ton-Tori? She has gone to Earth?” General Bacca was genuinely surprised by the admiral’s statement. “But what of the reinforcement fleet?”

“It is too early for us to have received word,” the admiral admitted. “However, if this ship is as formidable as you claim, they have likely fallen to her guns as well. Again, it is of no matter. There is no way that a single ship can destroy a battle platform.”

General Bacca looked at the admiral. The elderly man seemed quite confident, as he should. The battle platforms were more than twenty kilometers in diameter and nearly as tall at their central sections. They boasted more than one hundred guns, each of them more massive than those carried by the largest Jung battleships. They were heavily armed and shielded, combat-ready space stations, complete with enclosed ship docks that could hold half a dozen frigates and even a few cruisers if need be. Yet the achievements of Captain Scott defied belief as well, which was what worried the general. “Admiral, every ship has its weakness, even one as powerful as this battle platform. One most only find it.”

“Then I wish your good captain luck,” the admiral laughed. “General, our shields are capable of protecting us against impact by the most massive of projectiles. Our own rail guns could not penetrate our multi-layered shields. You have nothing to worry about. If the Aurora and her captain are foolish enough to attack one of our battle platforms, they will quickly realize the folly of their efforts and run away—or better yet, stay and be destroyed.”

General Bacca sighed. “You say the Ton-Tori is already on her way to Earth?”

“In fact, she may have already arrived. There is really no way for us to know if she made the entire journey at top speed. I imagine we shall hear of her victory soon enough, however.”

General Bacca looked out across the control room below. It was indeed the largest such room he had ever seen, as was the platform itself. It was his first time aboard such a platform, and it was indeed as impressive as he had heard. They had flown past two frigates parked within one of the platform’s three massive docks during their arrival. The very size of the platform alone could scare away a single ship, even the Aurora.

General Bacca sighed. “I hope you are correct, Admiral.”

“I promise you, my dear General, you have nothing to fear.”

* * *

“Report,” Nathan requested as he stepped out of his ready room and onto the Aurora’s bridge.

“It’s
a Takaran comm-drone, Captain,” Mister Navashee said. “A jump-enabled comm-drone. It jumped into high orbit twenty seconds ago.”

“Orbit? You mean, a stable orbit?”

“No, sir. It’s a rapidly deteriorating orbit. It will require a burn to stabilize.”

“Incoming message,” Naralena reported. “It’s from the comm-drone, sir. It’s video.”

“Classification?”

“None.”

“Put it up,” Nathan ordered.

A video window appeared on the main view screen, revealing Commander Dumar standing on the observation deck of the Karuzara asteroid’s control center. “
Greetings, Captain Scott. I am happy to report that with the safe arrival of this comm-drone, we now have daily communications between the Karuzara asteroid and the Sol system. This is thanks largely in part to the navigational data collected by Lieutenant Montgomery’s advanced jump shuttle’s journey back to Takara, as well as the data collected by the four zero two on its way both to and from Sol.
”

Nathan struggled to maintain his composure as he listened to the commander’s message, a smile threatening to form at the edges of his mouth.

“
As you know, Prince Casimir, in a surprising bit of astro-navigation expertise, devised a route by which we are able to jump the Karuzara all the way to Sol. I am pleased to report that the journey thus far has gone without incident. Should it continue to do so, we should arrive in the Sol system in approximately eighty Terran days. While en route, we shall continue to fabricate anything that you feel would most benefit your efforts to rebuild and defend the birthplace of all humankind. You should also know that despite the objections of the Takaran Security Council, Prince Casimir has secured an additional one thousand Ghatazhak operatives for your use. To this end, we have modified our production schedule to concentrate on the production of jump-enabled, medium-sized cargo ships called boxcars that are capable of landing on the surface of your world.
”

“Call Lieutenant Telles to my ready room,” Nathan told his comm officer as the commander continued to speak.

“
As we continue to produce jump-enabled comm-drones, and as we grow closer to the Sol system, the frequency of our communications shall increase. We are establishing similar communication links with both Takara and Corinair as well. Hopefully, this will make it easier for us to respond to your needs as we make our way across the stars. I look forward to hearing from you, Captain. Commander Dumar of the Karuzara… out.
”

Nathan could no longer control his smile. “Damn!” he exclaimed as he turned aft to face Naralena. “Play that for Lieutenant Telles when he gets here,” he ordered as he headed aft. “Meanwhile, get me President Scott and put him through to my ready room.”

* * *

Maxwell Dumar sat in his office, looking out over the cavernous interior of the Karuzara asteroid. It had c
ome a long way since Redmond Tugwell had first returned with the lost Aurora and her naive young captain so many months ago. Now the cavern was sealed and pressurized, allowing workers to float about in normal attire. Transport rails lined the walls, allowing motorized carts with long articulated arms to reach nearly every square meter within the bay. Fabrication bays that opened directly into the cavern sat waiting for ships for which to produce parts. Machinery, electronic, and casting shops lined the deeper corridors. The Karuzara asteroid was a veritable shipyard jumping its way across the galaxy. In a mere seventy-seven days, that cavern on the other side of his window would be filled with two Terran, Explorer-class starships, both equipped with jump drives. His people would rebuild them. His people would upgrade them. His people would turn them into the mighty warships they so desperately needed to be.

“Excuse me, Commander,” Mister Bryant called from the office door.

“Yes?”

“Fabrication reports they have completed the production run of the next twenty mini-jump drives. Shall we begin installing them into the remaining four zero twos?”

Dumar stared out the window once more. This time, his eyes drifted to one of the many hangar bays that had been carved into the sides of the cavern. In one of them, he could see the aft ends of a dozen personnel shuttles that had been graciously donated by the Corinairans. “I think not.”

“Sir?”

“Prince Casimir is sending one thousand Ghatazhak to Earth to help restore order. They will need the ability to rapidly move about the planet. We shall give them that capability by installing the first twelve mini-jump drives in the Corinairan personnel shuttles in bay eight.”

“Commander, those are civilian grade shuttles. They were not designed for combat.”

“Look at this,” Commander Dumar said as he called up a file on his data pad. He handed it to Mister Bryant.