by Ryk Brown
“Course and jump are plotted and ready, sir,” Loki announced.
“Very well, break orbit and take us to Rakeun,” Nathan ordered.
“Breaking orbit,” Josh reported from the helm.
Nathan turned to Cameron, who was standing next to the tactical station. “I’m still not used to this.”
“Used to what?” Cameron wondered.
“These long-range jumps. I mean, I don’t even have time to sit down.”
“Progress.”
“A decade ago, I was expecting an outer-rim patrol of the Sol system aboard the Reliant to keep me away from home for two years. Now we’re routinely jumping six hundred light years in the blink of an eye.”
“Soon to be a thousand light years,” Cameron reminded him.
“Did you even wonder if connecting all the various societies of humanity is actually a good thing?” Nathan asked.
“I’m afraid that’s a bit outside my area of expertise,” Cameron admitted.
“In the late twenty-first century, when the first transatlantic hyperloop route opened, many predicted an acceleration in the dilution of regional societies, warning that, within a few hundred years, the cities of Earth would be indistinguishable from one another, apart from their geographical and environmental differences.”
“But that never came true,” Cameron reminded him.
“It depends on your point of view,” Nathan insisted. “It’s true that each major continent retained most of its character. However, regions served heavily by hyperloop systems, like Europe and North America, lost much of their cultural distinction. Later historians believed that this homogenization was what led to the collapse of the United States and the European Union in the twenty-second century.”
“On course and speed for Rakeun,” Josh announced.
“Execute the jump,” Nathan ordered.
“Jumping in five…” Loki began.
“But the collapse of the US led to the formation of the first North American Union, which was superior to its predecessor,” Cameron argued.
“Jump complete,” Loki announced, as the jump flash subsided.
“Standard orbit, Mister Hayes,” Nathan instructed.
“Standard orbit, aye.”
Nathan looked at Cameron, surprised. “I didn’t realize you were a history buff.”
“I’m not. In fact, it’s one of the few things I remember from my geo-political history modules from college,” Cameron admitted. “I don’t think interstellar connectivity is quite the same thing. By the end of the twenty-first century, most of the problems of Earth had been solved. Crime, hunger, disease, poverty, all of them were practically nonexistent. I think a better comparison would be the invention of the airplane, or the internet.”
“Good point,” Nathan agreed.
“Standard orbit established,” Josh reported.
“I’ll get started on the missiles,” Cameron stated.
“Mister Sheehan, care to pilot a shuttle to the Mystic Empress…just to get your hands on a flight stick again?”
Loki smiled, “I’d love to, sir.”
* * *
Nathan entered the Mystic’s main engineering department, pausing to look around.
“Can I help you, sir?” a young crewman offered.
“I’m looking for the chief of the boat,” Nathan told him.
“Chief Montrose? He’s in the next compartment, through hatch A-twelve, over there.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re Captain Scott, aren’t you?” the crewman suddenly realized.
“Yes, I am.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, sir,” the crewman said, suddenly snapping to attention and saluting.
“What’s your name, son?” Nathan asked, returning the young man’s salute.
“Engineering mate Amzi Calo,” the young man replied, proud that such a legend had asked his name.
“Amzi. I don’t recognize the origin of that first name.”
“It’s Volonese.”
“Really? I didn’t realize we had any Volonese serving in the flight, other than my chief communications officer.”
“You have a Volonese communications officer…on the Aurora?”
“We do,” Nathan replied. “In fact, she’s been with us since the beginning. How’d you end up on the Mystic?”
“I’ve been serving on the Mystic for nearly a year, now,” Amzi explained. “I got hired through my uncle’s friend, who knew the XO at the time. It took every penny I had to book passage from Volon to Takara to report for duty.”
“I see. Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Mister Calo,” Nathan said, turning to head for the hatch.
“The pleasure was all mine, Captain!” Amzi called after the captain as he departed. “Chirtven,” he cursed to himself in his native tongue. “Nathan Scott, vin tova insya!”
Nathan continued through the hatch, stepping into the next compartment. There, he caught sight of Doran Montrose talking to another technician.
Doran spotted Nathan almost immediately, dismissing the technician and heading for the captain. “Captain Scott,” he greeted as he approached. “What brings you to the bowels of the Mystic?”
Nathan reached out to shake Doran’s hand. “I was looking for you, Mister Montrose.”
“Don’t tell me you need me back on the Aurora? Last I heard, Chief Dory was doing great.”
“He is,” Nathan assured him. “Actually, I was hoping you’d be interested in a different assignment.”
“I don’t know,” Doran said. “I’ve got a pretty sweet deal going on here. Home with the family every night, no one shooting at me, and Commander Kaplan pretty much gives me the run of the place.” He looked at Nathan, reading the hesitation on his face. “Something tells me this assignment you have in mind isn’t going to make my wife happy.”
“Likely not,” Nathan admitted. He looked around, checking that no one was within earshot. “I need someone to train the Corinari, getting them back into top form.”
“What for?”
“A mission,” Nathan replied.
“I figured that,” Doran replied. “What kind of mission?”
“A dangerous one,” Nathan admitted.
This time, it was Chief Montrose who looked around to see if they were alone. “Follow me,” he told Nathan, heading for another hatch. They stepped through the hatch into a small storage compartment, and the chief closed the hatch behind them. “What’s the mission?”
“This is ‘need-to-know,’” Nathan told him, “and no one needs to know until we’re certain we have a good chance of pulling it off.”
“Pulling what off?” Chief Montrose asked.
“The liberation of Corinair,” Nathan replied.
The chief was quiet for a moment. “You’re right, she’s not going to like it.”
“I’ll understand if you don’t want to take the assignment.”
“It depends.”
“On what?” Nathan wondered.
“Am I just training them, or am I going to lead them?”
“I was hoping you’d lead them as well,” Nathan admitted.
“Oh, she’s really not going to like it,” the chief chuckled. He looked at Nathan, a grin on his face. “I’m your man, Captain.”
* * *
“How did it go?” Cameron asked, following Nathan into his ready room.
“Montrose is on board,” Nathan replied as he moved around his desk to sit.
“Did you speak to Commander Kaplan as well?”
“Before I spoke to the chief,” Nathan assured her. “She gave me her blessing.” Nathan plopped down in his chair, sighing. “So, now we’ve got commanders for both the air and ground forces.”
“You don’t think we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves?
” Cameron questioned, taking the seat across from Nathan. “We still have to win the simulation.”
“Nothing is going to happen until after the contest is over,” Nathan assured her. “I’m just lining up the players, that’s all.”
“Yeah, but if we don’t win, this is all going to fall through,” Cameron pointed out.
“Don’t be so pessimistic,” Nathan urged. “We’ve got shield-penetrating jump missiles now. If SilTek wins, we’ll just have to take the Dusahn down one ship at a time.”
“That advantage might disappear at any moment,” Cameron said. “Eventually the Dusahn will figure out a way to counter our missiles. The longer it takes us to defeat them, the more likely they are to become undefeatable. You said so yourself. It was your reason for wanting to strike now rather than later.”
“Now you’re getting it,” Nathan exclaimed with relief.
“Getting what?”
“Why I made the bet with SilTek,” Nathan explained.
“I’m still not following you.”
“If we don’t get the tech we need, and get it within the next month or two, the Dusahn will become unbeatable. They’ll fortify their defenses, beef up their shields, maybe even convert some cargo ships into warships. Hell, all they’d really have to do to knock us out for good is fling a few large asteroids our way. You take out Rakuen, Neramese, and Orswella, and we’re back to being a ragtag fleet on the run, barely scratching out an existence. That’s why I made the bet. If we win, we get everything we need, and we end this once and for all. If we lose, the Dusahn are the ones who win.”
“You’d think SilTek would just give us what we need,” Cameron said. “It makes no sense not to.”
“Corporations don’t think that way, Cam,” Nathan insisted. “To them, it’s all about profit. Alliance or Dusahn Empire; they’ll make money either way.”
Cameron sighed. “I suppose you’re right,” she admitted as she stood. “You still want to jump to Orswella?”
“Yes,” Nathan replied. “I want to talk about this with General Telles, and I think it’s a good idea for the Aurora to make periodic appearances in the Orswella system.”
“I’ll tell Loki to jump us,” Cameron said, turning to exit.
“Actually, I left Loki on the Mystic,” Nathan told her. “I figured he could use a little time with his daughter. I told him we’d pick him up in a few hours, before we jumped to the Tremen system.”
“That was considerate of you.”
“Well, Loki never asks for anything,” Nathan replied, “Besides, I’m a softy inside.”
“Right,” Cameron replied. “I’ll try to remember that.”
* * *
Nathan stared out the port window of his shuttle as the auto-flight system brought it in low over Orswella’s central district. For the most part, the city appeared normal, other than the few districts that had either been ravaged by orbital bombardment, or by Dusahn covert operatives.
The shuttle slowed, descending smoothly toward the small landing pad outside the city center. The Ranni shuttles had superb auto-flight systems, capable of just about anything. Nathan pondered how much better the auto-flight systems might be if they were paired with SilTek AIs. If that ever happened, the job of a pilot might become intolerably boring for poor Josh, who had a definite dislike for automated piloting systems.
The shuttle settled down to land, spinning down its engines the moment its landing gear touched the pad. Nathan initiated the automated shutdown sequence, watching his displays to ensure the shutdown was taking place before unbuckling his restraints and climbing out of the cockpit. He moved aft, past the bulkhead which separated the cockpit from the passenger cabin, and activated the hatch controls.
The hatch opened, revealing General Telles standing a few meters from the shuttle. Nathan climbed down and headed for him.
“Good morning, Captain,” the general greeted.
“It’s morning here?” Nathan wondered. “I didn’t even consider the local time.”
“A lot on your mind, I take it,” the general surmised, falling in alongside Nathan as the two of them headed toward the building.
“A wants B, B wants C, even though B hates C, C will if B will, now B wants D as well… It’s enough to make you crazy. All I want is some tech that we can’t afford, but in order to get it, I have to negotiate with half the galaxy, as well as take part in another goddamned sim, to prove myself yet again.”
“You might consider taking a few days off to clear your head,” the general suggested.
Nathan looked at him. “You’re kidding, right?”
The general said nothing as he held open the door to the lobby.
“I’ll take one when you take one,” Nathan countered as he entered. “Who are we meeting with?”
“The new prime minister of Orswella.”
“He’s already in office?” Nathan wondered. “It’s only been two days.”
“Three,” the general replied. “He started the day he was appointed.”
“I guess he welcomes the position.”
“More like he’s trying to fulfill his responsibility,” the general corrected. “Orswellans don’t seek office, the office finds them. When it does, they do not ignore its call.”
“Interesting,” Nathan commented, as they entered the lobby to the prime minister’s office.
“The prime minister is waiting for you, General,” the man at the desk announced, standing to open the door for them.
General Telles and Captain Scott strode into Prime Minister Andreola’s office, walking straight up to his desk as Stethan rose to greet them.
“Welcome, Captain; General,” the prime minister greeted.
“Congratulations on your appointment,” Nathan replied.
“Thank you,” Stethan replied.
“I hope it isn’t too overwhelming.”
“It has been…challenging…” Stethan commented, taking his seat again. “What can I do for you, Captain?”
“I have a favor to ask of you,” Nathan explained.
“Anything,” Stethan assured him. “We owe you a debt that can never be repaid.”
“You might want to hear what the favor is, before you say that,” Nathan warned. “Is this room secure?”
“We swept it an hour ago,” General Telles assured Nathan.
“What I am about to tell you cannot be discussed with anyone outside of this room,” Nathan insisted.
“Of course,” Stethan agreed.
“I may need to pull the Corinari from your world sooner than expected.”
Stethan looked concerned. “How soon?”
“A few weeks, a month at the most.”
“We should be able to eliminate the last of the Dusahn operatives by then,” General Telles added, hoping to ease the prime minister’s concerns.
“Will they be returning?” Stethan wondered.
“Probably not,” Nathan replied. “I will need to pull the Ghatazhak at that time, as well.”
Stethan sighed, leaning back in his chair, thinking. “If, as you say, the Dusahn operatives are dealt with by the time your forces leave, we should be able to handle internal security on our own. We will have to step up our recruitment and training schedules, though.”
“We will help you prepare as much as we can,” Nathan promised. “However, the Corinari will need time to train for their new mission as well, so their availability will be limited.”
“And the protection of our system?” Stethan wondered.
“That will not change,” Nathan assured him. “We will be stationing fifty Gunyoki fighters, designed to operate from surface bases, as well as eight Orochi missile gunships, six of which we would like your people to crew.
Stethan looked intrigued. “I see. I don’t suppose you’re able to tell me what the Corinari’s new mi
ssion will be?”
“I am not,” Nathan replied. “It is critical that their departure appears to be by your request, not ours. Despite the general’s assurances, there is still the possibility that Dusahn operatives, tasked with intelligence-gathering only, will still be in your midst. They may even have the ability to send information back to the Dusahn.”
“Then, you do not want them to suspect that you plan on deploying the Corinari elsewhere,” Stethan surmised.
“Correct.”
“I do not think that will be difficult,” Stethan told him. “Many people have already complained about the presence of Alliance forces on Orswella. They feel we have only swapped conquerors. Of course, I know better. Nevertheless, it will help my leadership position to make the withdrawal of alliance forces appear to be at my request.”
“That is good to hear,” Nathan told him.
“I will speak to the Guard officers, and see about putting crews together for the Orochi,” Stethan said. “How much time do we have to assemble them?”
“A couple of weeks, at most,” Nathan replied. “I will get you the crew specifications before we depart,” he added as he stood. “I apologize for the brevity, but I have much to do, and very little time.”
“I know the feeling,” Stethan assured him, also rising. “Whatever it is you are planning, Captain, I wish you the best of luck.”
“Thank you,” Nathan replied, turning to exit.
General Telles nodded respectfully to the prime minister, turning to follow Nathan out of the room.
The two men walked in silence until they were outside and headed for Nathan’s shuttle.
“Are you certain you can rid this world of the Dusahn saboteurs in time?” Nathan asked.
“Nothing is certain,” the general replied.
“Except death and taxes,” Nathan said. “An old Earth expression.”
“Ironic, coming from a man who has escaped both.”
Nathan stopped a few meters short of his shuttle, turning to look at the general, a wry smile on his face. “There’s that Ghatazhak humor, again.”
“Where is your pilot?” the general asked, noticing the empty cockpit windows.
“I flew myself down,” Nathan replied, “or should I say, the auto-flight system flew me down. We’re a little shorthanded these days. Besides, I enjoy a bit of piloting now and then, even if it’s mostly just pushing buttons.”
