by Ryk Brown
“Firing one and three,” Mister Randeen announced as he pressed the firing button on the tactical console.
Nathan let out a long breath as the red light of the departing plasma bolts washed over the bridge.
“Direct hits,” Mister Randeen reported a moment later.
Nathan looked at Mister Navashee on his left.
“Target destroyed, sir. Her missiles are still inbound. Ten seconds to impact.”
“Escape jump, Mister Riley,” Nathan ordered calmly. “Take us beyond the range of the incoming missiles.”
“Jumping.”
“What about the other frigate?” Mister Randeen asked as the jump flashed washed over the bridge.
“What’s our range to Earth?” Nathan asked.
“About five light minutes, sir,” Mister Riley answered.
“They’re almost there,” Nathan said. “We’d have to engage them too close to that battleship. Better we go cold and make repairs while we wait to see what their next move is.” Nathan stood. “Change course and put us into a solar orbit, Mister Riley. Maintain our distance and position relative to Earth for now, and keep our cold side to them.”
“Aye, sir.”
Nathan turned and headed toward the back of the bridge. “Maintain general quarters and passive threat detection,” he ordered as he walked toward his ready room. “Zero emissions. They’ll be less likely to venture out again if they don’t know where we are.”
“Yes, sir,” Mister Randeen acknowledged.
“You have the conn,” Nathan told his tactical officer as he disappeared into his ready room.
* * *
General Bacca’s expression soured greatly as his aide spoke to him. He looked at the various status displays about the command center and grimaced. Finally, he turned toward Eli, his expression still dour.
Despite the fact that Eli took pleasure in General Bacca’s failures, his better judgment prevented him from commenting on the general’s expression. “You do not look happy, General,” he said, attempting to sound as sympathetic as possible.
“It appears my suspicions were correct after all,” the general explained. “The Aurora’s jump drive is fully operational.” The general sighed forcefully, after which a single eyebrow shot up. “Unfortunately, it cost us two more ships to determine this.”
“I blame myself, General,” Eli said, trying to be gracious. “Had it not been for my consistent urging to attack, you might have exercised greater caution.”
The general cast an eye at the governor. “Perhaps,” he mumbled. He turned to face Eli. “However, my decisions are my own, as are the consequences of those decisions.”
“What do we do now?” Eli wondered. “I don’t suppose we can just sit and wait for reinforcements to arrive.”
“For once, we agree, Governor.” The general took a breath and straightened up. “The Aurora will continue her hit-and-run tactics until we have nothing left but a single battleship with which to hold the Earth.”
“Perhaps, but surely the Aurora is no match for your battleship, General.”
“No, she is not,” the general agreed, “but if given enough time, they may be able to turn the Celestia into an effective weapon as well. Then they might indeed be a match. I cannot allow that to happen.”
“What do you propose?” Eli asked, fearing the answer.
“If the Aurora has allied herself with an advanced spacefaring civilization, one that is willing to provide advanced weaponry, then the threat to the empire is far more serious than a single jump-capable warship. The empire needs the jump drive technology. We must force the captain of the Aurora to willingly surrender his ship. We can deal with the Celestia at our leisure.”
“Seriously?” Eli asked. “The man has already destroyed more than half our fleet. How could you possibly convince him to surrender?”
“By leaving him no reasonable alternative,” the general answered, a wry smile on his face.
* * *
Lieutenant Telles entered the pilot’s gear room, finding Josh and Loki sitting on a bench and talking with Major Prechitt. They were still wearing their flight pressure suits, but their helmets were off and nowhere in sight.
“You have to put it behind you,” Major Prechitt told them. “You were following orders. You both know what would happen if the Jung got their hands on a jump drive.”
“That doesn’t help much,” Loki mumbled.
“It should,” Lieutenant Telles said, joining the discussion. “If the Jung obtain jump drive technology, they will use it to expand their empire exponentially—not just to the core or the fringe, but to the entire galaxy. Corinair, Takara, Haven, Palee, Doonkurnten: every human civilization will eventually fall.”
“Don’t you think you’re exaggerating a bit?” Josh said.
“Not at all,” the lieutenant argued. “I have seen them in action. I have studied what little intelligence the Terrans have on the Jung Empire. They may not be as technologically advanced as we are, but they do not need to be. They have numbers, and with each new world they conquer, their numbers grow and their power increases. With a jump drive, they would become unstoppable.”
Josh looked away from the lieutenant in disdain.
“Do not look away from me!” the lieutenant barked, causing Josh to snap his gaze back in the lieutenant’s direction. “Do you think for a moment any of the men on the surface would have hesitated to kill either of you were they in your place? Do not dishonor them by thinking only of yourselves! You are men of war, whether you like it or not. Be such men.”
“All right, we got it,” Josh insisted. “Relax.”
“The captain wants you to return to Earth, to try to make contact with any survivors,” Major Prechitt told them. “Are you up for it, or do you want me to assign another flight team?”
“We can handle it, sir,” Loki said.
“Good,” the major said, “because I cannot spare any pilots at the moment.”
“The captain has asked me to determine a way to retrieve our people from the surface of Earth,” Lieutenant Telles announced. “To do so, I will need information. Recount for me every detail of your last flight. Leave nothing out.”
* * *
“Captain, Comms,” Naralena called over the intercom in the captain’s ready room.
Nathan reached over and pressed the button. “Go ahead.”
“Incoming message, sir.”
“From whom?”
“The message is from a General Bacca. He claims to be the Jung military commander on Earth.”
“I’ll be right there,” Nathan stated. He turned off the intercom and stood, making his way to the exit.
Nathan stepped through the hatch onto the bridge, crossing in front of Naralena at the comm station. “What does the general have to say?”
“He is demanding our surrender.”
“What?”
“Message reads, ‘You are in direct violation of the surrender agreed upon by the Earth Defense Force under the authority of the United Earth Republic dated ninety-seven Earth days ago. Continued hostilities shall constitute an act of war and shall result in the immediate nuclear bombardment of the Earth’s major population centers. Rest assured such action shall be swift and severe. You have one Earth hour to comply.’ End of message.” Naralena looked into her captain’s eyes. She had seen those eyes in times of both triumph and despair, and even in times of confusion and uncertainty. Now, she saw what she could only define as panic. He stared right at her, unwilling to turn away, unwilling to look the rest of his crew in their eyes, for fear they might see the same panic that his communications officer now beheld. “Sir?” she asked softly. “What are we going to do?”
Nathan swallowed hard as he attempted to regain his composure. He sighed, then
looked Naralena in the eyes and spoke. “One thing’s for damned sure; we’re not surrendering.”
For a brief moment, Naralena thought she saw a smile on the corner of her captain’s mouth.
Nathan turned and faced forward. “Respond as follows,” he said as he moved forward to his command chair. He stopped next to his chair and looked back at Naralena. “Look the part, and they will feel the conviction of your words.”
“Sir?” Mister Randeen asked, a confused look on his face.
“Something my father always said,” Nathan explained as he took his seat in the command chair. “Video message,” he ordered.
“Ready to transmit,” Naralena reported.
“This is Captain Nathan Scott of the United Earth Ship Aurora. You have committed unwarranted acts of aggression against the people of the United Earth Republic, a body that we have sworn to protect, and protect them we shall. You are to immediately begin a peaceful and orderly withdrawal of all Jung forces from the Earth and the entire Sol system. Failure to do so will result in a state of war between our peoples, forcing us to engage in the immediate and systematic destruction of all Jung forces on Earth, within the Sol system, and anywhere else they may be encountered.” Nathan leaned forward slightly as if to emphasize a point. “Do not test me, General. You have yet to witness this ship’s full destructive potential. You have one Earth hour.” Nathan held up his hand to signal Naralena.
“Transmission sent.”
Nathan leaned back in his command chair. “Comms, contact flight ops. I have a message for the Falcon to deliver to the Celestia.”
* * *
“They’re putting troops on the ground,” Sergeant Tonkton said as he watched through his handheld visual scanner.
“How many?” Jessica wondered as she checked her shoulder wound.
“At least six from each,” he answered.
“How many shuttles?”
“I’ve counted four so far. North, south, east, and west.”
“So they’re trying to surround us.”
“Sure looks that way. The shuttles aren’t staying to fly cover either.”
“Which means they’re going back for another load of ground troops, doesn’t it?”
“Safe enough bet,” the sergeant agreed. “Besides, they have fighters buzzing around a few thousand meters up already.”
“I guess they don’t want anyone jumping in and rescuing us,” Jessica said. She winced in pain. “Joke’s on them, huh? We don’t have any more jump shuttles.”
“Maybe they can send down some Talons to take out the air cover, then send in a combat shuttle to pick us up.”
“No way,” Jessica said. “The captain can’t risk the losses. Not for the four of us. I’m afraid we’re on our own.”
“Against twenty-four Jung and air cover?” The sergeant returned his visual scanner to his vest pocket. “That won’t take long.” The sergeant tapped his comm-set. “Nutara, Mechky, fall back to me.”
“You got a plan, Sarge?” Jessica asked.
“I don’t know that I’d call it a plan,” the sergeant admitted as his men approached from opposite directions. “Take a knee,” he told his men. The three of them put a knee to the ground, all gathered around Jessica who was resting against a tree. Nutara and Mechky continued to scan the woods around them as the sergeant spoke.
“They’ve only given us one break in our favor,” he explained. “They put their troops down too far apart, leaving gaps in their perimeter. I don’t know why they didn’t put them in closer, as it would have solved the gap problem. Maybe they’re not sure about our numbers or the range or strength of our weapons… Don’t know. Don’t care. Our best chance right now is to split up into two, try to penetrate their lines, and maybe pull them in different directions before reinforcements arrive.”
“How long?” Mechky asked.
“I figure ten minutes, tops,” the sergeant said. “If you make it through, head to the river and ride it to the bay. If you can find a place in the city to hide, you might have a chance.”
“And if they never come back for us?” Nutara wondered.
“Pretend to be a local, find yourself a pretty young lady, and start a family,” the sergeant joked.
“Works for me,” Nutara answered.
“Low-band, encrypted, short transmissions. Keep in touch until you can’t.” The sergeant reached out and shook Nutara’s hand. “Good luck to you, Landon.”
“You, too, Sarge.”
“Ossie,” the sergeant said as he shook Mechky’s hand as well.
The two men moved away quietly, disappearing into the moonlit woods. The sergeant turned to Jessica. “Lieutenant Commander?”
“Call me Jess,” she told him. “What’s your name?”
The sergeant paused, then said, “Just call me Sarge.”
“Come on; I can make it an order, you know.”
The sergeant rolled his eyes. “Tunni, all right? My first name is Tunni.”
“Tunni Tonkton?” Jessica giggled. “Seriously?”
“Yes, I know. Little Tunni Tonkton, pretty as can be,” the sergeant sang. “I’ve heard it all before.”
“What are you talking about?” she said, suppressing another giggle.
“It’s a Corinairan children’s song,” the sergeant explained. “It was the scourge of my childhood.” He looked around quickly. “Are you ready?”
“Sure, Tunni,” she said with a grin, “lead the way.”
* * *
“Contact on passive!” Ensign Schenker announced from the Celestia’s sensor station. “Jump flash!”
“Is it the Aurora?” Cameron asked.
“No, sir, too small.”
“Incoming transmission,” Ensign Souza reported. “It’s the Falcon, sir.”
“Put them on,” Cameron ordered.
“Celestia, Falcon. Do you copy?”
“Falcon, Celestia Actual. Go ahead Mister Sheehan.”
“Sir, Captain Scott wanted us to bring you a copy of the Aurora’s event logs and update you on the situation. I’m transmitting the logs now.”
“I’m receiving them, sir,” Ensign Souza acknowledged.
“Go ahead, Loki,” Cameron told him over the comms.
“Jumper One was lost trying to extract Lieutenant Commander Nash. We’re about to jump back to Earth to try to make contact, see if anyone survived. The Aurora took out another cruiser and frigate. Now the Jung are threatening to attack cities if the captain doesn’t surrender both the Aurora and the Celestia in one hour. Well, more like thirty minutes now.”
“Understood,” Cameron answered. “Any orders for us?”
“No, sir. Captain says to stick with the plan, and you’re cleared to make your turn now that there are no Jung ships this side of Jupiter.”
“Any idea what the captain plans to do?” Cameron asked.
“He ordered the Jung to withdraw, or else.”
“Of course he did,” Cameron said to herself. “Very well,” she told Loki. “Good luck. Actual out.”
“Falcon out.”
Cameron sighed. She could feel the eyes of almost everyone on the bridge as they looked at her.
“Falcon has jumped away,” Ensign Schenker reported.
Luis looked at Cameron, then at Lieutenant Commander Kovacic. “What do you think he’s going to do, sir?”
“There’s no way he’s going to surrender,” Cameron said. “If Captain Scott thinks the Jung aren’t bluffing, he will attack.”
“Against a battleship?” Luis wondered. “Does he even stand a chance?”
“Not really, no,” Cameron admitted, “which means we’ll be the last hope for Earth.”
Something in Cameron’s stomach suddenly knotted
up.
* * *
“Do not test me, General. You have yet to witness this ship’s full destructive potential. You have one Earth hour.”
Eli stood staring at the view screen, his mouth agape in total shock.
“Any relation?” General Bacca asked. His voice drizzled with sarcastic undertones.
Eli turned toward the general. “I cannot believe this.”
“I take it you were not aware that your brother was in command of the Aurora.”
“Of course not,” Eli protested.
For once, General Bacca believed the governor to be in earnest. “You were aware that he was a member of her crew, were you not?”
“Of course I was, as were you. We thought he had died when your ships first ambushed the Aurora months ago. I mean, when the Aurora turned up again, it did occur to me that he might still be alive, but captain? He was thirty-second in his graduating class at the academy. He didn’t even make the top one percent. He had been assigned to the Reliant as a third shift pilot in training.”
“Yet he somehow ended up on the newest ship in the fleet,” the general added. “Curious, don’t you think?”
“My father requested he be transferred to a safer assignment. I put the call in myself. Believe me; we were all surprised when he ended up on the Aurora. But captain?” Eli laughed.
“I fail to see the humor in this,” the general commented.
“General, don’t you see? This is great news! Nathan’s been a screw up his entire life! He’s been luckier than hell—that’s true—but he has no sense of responsibility, no sense of duty or honor. He’s a spoiled, selfish little boy that was babied by his mother and sisters…”
“Odd statement coming from one who betrayed his own people,” the general said, one eyebrow raised.
“I only betrayed a corrupt world government that was using the knowledge in the Ark to increase the wealth of its corporate supporters. My people are better off without them.”
“I still fail to see how this works to our advantage.”
