by Ryk Brown
“I have never understood why some pilots are so averse to automated flight systems,” the general commented. “They are safer and more efficient, after all.”
“If you ever flew a stick and rudder bird, you’d understand,” Nathan assured him. “If I ever get my hands back on my grandfather’s airplane, I’ll show you what I’m talking about.”
“I look forward to it.”
“I’m going to want you back in the Rogen system in about a week, you know. There’s a lot of planning to do.”
“I’ll be there,” General Telles promised. “How do you say…with balls on?”
Nathan smiled. “There it is again,” he said, turning to climb up into his shuttle.
* * *
“Captain on the bridge,” the guard at the entrance barked as Nathan entered.
Nathan paused a moment, looking at the Ghatazhak guard. “You guys don’t compare notes, do you?”
“I don’t know what you mean, sir,” the guard replied.
Nathan studied him a bit longer, trying to discern of the man was hiding a grin under that stoic, Ghatazhak expression. Never play poker with a Ghatazhak, he thought to himself as he continued onto the bridge. “How are we looking?” he asked Cameron, pausing at the corner of the comms station.
“Fully charged and ready to jump,” Cameron replied.
“Any word from our numerous potential allies?” he asked Naralena.
“Negative. Just the usual status updates from Rogen command.”
“Very well,” Nathan replied, moving toward the command chair at the center of the bridge. “Good to have you back, Mister Sheehan,” he said to Loki as he took the command chair. “How’s your daughter?”
“She’s well, sir, thank you,” Loki replied. “Jump to Tremen is ready.”
“Not too close, I hope. We don’t need another armed confrontation like we had with the Ahka.”
“We’ll be entering on the outskirts of the system,” Loki assured him.
“That’s a little far, don’t you think?”
“That was my idea,” Cameron told him. “I figured it would be better to take a peek before setting off any alarms.”
“Test the water, so to speak?” Nathan surmised.
“Something like that.”
“Sounds good,” Nathan agreed. “Let’s go meet the Tremen, Mister Hayes.”
“Breaking orbit,” Josh announced.
“I recommend we set general quarters,” Jessica suggested, “just in case the Tremen still hold a grudge.”
Nathan thought for a moment before replying. “Make it condition one, no shields. I don’t want to appear threatening.”
“Condition one, aye,” Jessica replied.
The alert klaxon sounded once, and the bridge trim lighting switched to orange, signifying their new readiness condition.
“Attention all decks,” Naralena called over the ship-wide intercom system. “Set condition one, set condition one.”
Nathan watched the main view screen as the image of Orswella slipped downward, disappearing from view as the Aurora accelerated and pulled away from the planet. In the background, he could hear the various departments reporting their readiness state to Naralena as the Aurora’s crew prepared the ship for unsafe conditions.
“Leaving orbit,” Josh reported. “Turning to jump heading.”
“So, what do you think the Tremen are going to demand?” Cameron wondered.
Nathan sighed. “I guess we’ll find out.”
“On course and speed for jump,” Josh announced.
“All decks report condition one,” Naralena added.
“Execute your jump, Mister Sheehan,” Nathan instructed.
“Jumping to the Tremen system,” Loki replied.
A few seconds later, the blue-white jump flash filled the semi-spherical main view screen that wrapped around the front half of the Aurora’s bridge, translating into the bridge for a brief moment.
“Jump complete,” Loki reported as the jump flash faded. “Verifying position.”
“Threat board is clear,” Jessica reported.
“Position verified,” Loki added. “We are on the outskirts of the Tremen system, approximately four point five billion kilometers from its star.”
“Scanning the system,” Kaylah reported from the sensor station.
“Comms, prepare a comm drone, stealth transit, wait for response,” Nathan instructed. “Tell them we come in peace and wish to speak with their leaders to establish diplomatic relations. We will hold position and await their response.”
“Preparing comm drone,” Naralena acknowledged.
“I’m detecting seven planets,” Kaylah announced, “The fifth planet is habitable, although they probably don’t spend much time outside. About twice Earth’s mass, very thick atmosphere with only traces of oxygen. You could breathe it, but not for long. Mean surface temp of sixty-five Celsius.”
“Toasty,” Nathan commented. “How big of a civilization are we talking about?”
“I’m detecting several large ships in orbit, but I’m unable to determine their type. Also, a large orbital platform; probably a spaceport of some sort. There are several ships nearby. I’m also detecting numerous large thermal signatures on the surface; patterns of heat distribution are too uniform to be naturally occurring-probably their cities. Based on their size, I’d say under fifty thousand per. I count fifteen of them so far.”
“Comm drone is ready, Captain,” Naralena reported.
“Transferring coordinates of the fifth planet to the comm-drone,” Kaylah reported.
“Launch when ready,” Nathan ordered.
“Comm-drone has coordinates. Comm-drone is away,” Naralena reported.
“Comm-drone has jumped,” Kaylah added.
“Let’s keep our eyes open, people. We just announced our presence in their system, and it won’t take them long to figure out where we are.”
“If the last Tremen ship we dealt with is any indication of their level of military technology, we should be fine,” Jessica reminded him.
“I’d prefer not to underestimate them,” Nathan insisted. “In fact, keep a short escape jump in the queue, just in case.”
“I always do,” Loki assured him.
“And don’t let anyone block our jump line, Josh,” Nathan added.
“No problem,” Josh replied confidently.
“What are you planning on saying to them?” Cameron wondered.
“I haven’t really given it much thought,” Nathan admitted. “Probably something along the lines of ‘we don’t want conflict, but we will defend our allies.’”
“Are you going to invite them to join as well?”
“It depends on how they respond, I suppose. The Casbons want them to join, but only because they don’t want to worry about the Tremen attacking them again.”
“Then you don’t want them to join,” Cameron surmised.
“Not really,” Nathan admitted. “At least not right now. We’ve got our hands full as it is. Even if we convince SilTek to join, we’re still going to be covering five systems over eight hundred light years. Even after we finish our next batch of jump-drive upgrades, that’s still pushing the limits of our operational range. The Tremen would push that distance to our max single-jump range, which means we wouldn’t be able to respond to a call for help without putting at least one member system at risk.”
“The Dusahn don’t have anywhere near the range we do,” Cameron reminded him. “The likelihood of a surprise attack is pretty slim, especially if we keep a close eye on their ship movements within the Pentaurus sector.”
“Easier said than done,” Nathan pointed out. “I’d be more willing to bring the Tremen on as allies if we had SilTek’s detection and defense systems protecting the Rogen and Orswellan systems.”
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br /> “New contact,” Kaylah reported. “Jump flash. It’s our comm drone.”
“That was quick,” Cameron commented.
“Incoming message from our comm drone,” Naralena announced. “Message is from the Tremen. Message reads: ‘Depart our system, or face the wrath of the Tremen.’”
“Well, that’s not a good start,” Nathan said. He looked to Cameron. “Any ideas?”
“I say we leave,” Cameron replied. “Like you said, we’ve got enough on our hands.”
“Seems a waste to come all the way here, send a single message, and then leave. We could’ve done that without leaving the Rogen system.” After thinking for a moment, Nathan said, “Let’s send another message,” he decided. “Message reads: ‘We regret destroying your ship, but issued fair warning, and your ship continued to attack. We had no choice but to defend ourselves, and our ally. We would like to avoid future conflict by establishing diplomatic relations that might benefit both parties.’ Message complete, send when ready.”
“Message sent. Comm-drone is returning to Tremen,” Naralena reported.
“Apologize for defending ourselves?” Jessica asked, obviously disagreeing with him.
“Politics is the fine art of bullshitting,” Nathan replied. “The trick is to not believe your own BS.”
“Comm drone has jumped,” Kaylah reported.
“That’s why I’m not a politician,” Cameron stated.
“That’s why I was trying to get away from it ten years ago,” Nathan chuckled. “Look where that got me.”
“New contacts,” Kaylah reported, her tone a bit more urgent. “Three of them. Two hundred kilometers, dead ahead. They’re decelerating, but closing.”
“They’re armed,” Jessica warned. “Rail guns, laser cannons, and forward torpedo tubes. No shields. Similar design to the one that attacked the Casbon.”
“They must’ve departed as soon as their world received the first message,” Cameron insisted. “They obviously know how to trace a jump path.”
“Comms, broadcast the last message on all channels and frequencies,” Nathan instructed.
“Targets are opening outer torpedo tube doors,” Jessica warned.
“Energy build-ups deep within all three ships,” Kaylah added.
“General quarters,” Nathan ordered.
“General quarters, aye,” Naralena replied, as the klaxon sounded and the trim lighting turned red.
“Shields up,” Jessica announced, “all weapons charging.”
“Don’t lock onto anyone yet,” Nathan instructed. “We need to appear totally defensive.”
“Auto-targeting system is on hold,” Jessica confirmed.
“Hot mic,” Nathan ordered. “All frequencies and channels.”
“You’re patched in,” Naralena replied.
“This is Nathan Scott, captain of the Karuzari Alliance ship Aurora. We come in peace, but we will defend ourselves if attacked.”
“All decks report general quarters,” Naralena announced.
“We only wish to discuss a cease-fire between your world and our alliance, and to open diplomatic relations so that we may avoid any future conflicts.”
“They’ve locked all their weapons on us,” Jessica warned.
“Targets are still closing,” Kaylah added.
“Adjusting course to maintain clear jump line,” Josh announced.
“Incoming transmission,” Naralena reported. “Putting it up.”
“Aurora,” an angry, heavily accented voice called over the loudspeaker. “You destroyed a ship of the Tremen, and are therefore an enemy of the people, as are all of your allies. Your intrusion into our space is an act of war. Power down your weapons and prepare to be boarded.”
“Oh, that’s so not going to happen,” Jessica muttered.
“You will surrender your ship as compensation, or you will be destroyed.”
“You attacked the Casbon, one of our allies. This ship only defended itself, as you are doing now,” Nathan replied over comms. “We have no interest in continued conflict, but we will not surrender this ship, nor pay any compensation for your losses.”
“Surrender, or be destroyed.”
“Transmission has ceased,” Naralena reported.
“Targets are firing,” Kaylah reported urgently.
The ship rocked, the view screen lighting up with flashes of red-orange as plasma torpedoes impacted the Aurora’s forward shields.
“Shields are holding,” Jessica reported. “Only a two percent drop in our forward shields.”
“Am I still hot?” Nathan asked Naralena.
“Aye, sir.”
“Tremen warships, we came in peace, and will leave in peace. However, be forewarned that further attacks against the Casbon, or any of our other allies, will not be tolerated.” Nathan signaled Naralena to close the channel with a slash of his hand.
“Transmission ended,” she acknowledged.
“They’re trying to block our jump line,” Josh warned. “I’m having to constantly alter course to keep our exit open.”
“They’re firing again,” Kaylah reported.
“Are we going to return fire?” Jessica wondered as the ship rocked with the second round of torpedo impacts.
“Helm, hard to starboard, mains to full,” Nathan ordered. “Jess, target the right-most ship’s forward torpedo ports and starboard weapons and fire when ready.”
“Targeting contact three,” Jessica replied as the ship began its turn to starboard. “Torpedo ports and starboard guns.”
“Hard to starboard, mains to full,” Josh acknowledged as the ship accelerated.
“Firing port plasma turrets and rail guns,” Jessica announced.
Nathan quickly switched the view screen controls to the port cameras and zoomed in, just in time to see their weapons tearing into the nearest Tremen warship as it struggled to turn fast enough to keep its forward torpedo tubes on the Aurora as she accelerated. Explosions under their nose demolished the target’s forward torpedo ports, as rail gun slugs disintegrated the target’s starboard gun turrets.”
Nathan watched the view screen as they slipped past the damaged Tremen ship.
“Contact Three has lost all forward torpedo tubes, and all starboard guns,” Kaylah reported. “Multiple hull breaches with explosive decompression on several decks.”
“Cease fire,” Nathan instructed.
“Holding fire,” Jessica replied.
“Jump us clear, Mister Sheehan,” he added.
“Jumping,” Loki replied, as the jump flash washed over them.
Nathan sighed. “Well, that didn’t go the way I’d hoped.”
“Was it really necessary to fire on them?” Cameron wondered.
“If you have to walk away from a fight, make sure the opponent you leave behind knows you just did them a favor,” Nathan explained.
“More politics?”
“Combat is just another form of politics,” Nathan replied. “Just one that you try to use as a last resort. Mister Sheehan, plot a jump to Casbon.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Casbon?” Cameron asked.
“I’m tired of trying to meet all their demands,” Nathan stated. “They need to make up their minds.”
* * *
“That is a surprisingly unreasonable position,” Council Member Garon stated in disbelief.
“Not as surprising as you might think,” Nathan told her. “What is surprising is just how many worlds believe they have the right to do whatever they want to achieve their goals.”
“You have seen this type of behavior before,” the council member surmised.
“Yes. It usually begins with survival, but eventually, the tendency becomes ingrained in a society. This behavior is both the strength and the weakness of humanity.”
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A look of disapproval came over the council member’s face. “Then you think we are wrong to embrace pacifism.”
“Pacifism, while a noble ideal, is not practical in its purest definition. A society can embrace peace, and avoid violent conflict at all costs…except one: the loss of its own people. The phrase ‘the strong survive’ is accurate. Even a pacifist society must take a stand when it comes to the protection of its own people, which is precisely what you have done by purchasing fighters. You also authorized my forces to conduct a strike against the Ahka, for the purpose of disabling their ability to prey upon your people. That is not the act of a truly pacifist society, but rather one of a peace-loving society struggling to remain that way. It takes incredible strength to resist the urge to seek retribution. That is the type of pacifism that can and should survive, and that is what you have become.”
Council Member Garon thought for a moment. “The council has had this same debate countless times in recent years. The conclusion is always the same. We abhor violent confrontation, but continuing to allow ourselves to be preyed upon, and expecting to survive, is naïve…as you stated. It is this realization that led us to seek out a defense. However, most find just the presence of our fighters abhorrent. People discuss leaving Casbon because of them. Our world was originally colonized by those seeking to escape cultures of violence. Now, we find ourselves taking the first steps toward becoming exactly what we had hoped to escape.”
“Like any other technology, the jump drive is a double-edged sword. Our alliance hopes to promote its good edge, while protecting all against its bad one.”
“Which is one of the reasons that the Council of Casbon has decided to join your alliance.”
Nathan’s eyebrows shot up. “You have?”
“We have.”
“When did this happen?”
“After your first appearance to discuss the matter before the council,” the council member replied. “The Ahka agreement to join was all that was needed to assuage the concerns of the opposition.”
“I see.” Nathan took a breath. “You said ‘one’ of the reasons. What was the other?”
