by Ryk Brown
“You have the remote detonator?”
“Yes, why?” Loki asked, his color pale as ever.
“I’ll challenge them and try to drive them back. If I’m lucky, I can push them back down the trail enough, so that you can jump in, fire up the ship, and get the fuck outta here.”
“No way, Josh,” Loki objected in hushed tones. “We go together or not at all.”
“I don’t have time to argue with you, Loki. When I open fire, you get your ass in that cockpit and get out of here. That’s an order!”
“Since when do you give the orders?”
“I’m the pilot. The pilot is in charge of the ship. Just promise me that if you don’t make it, you’ll blow the ship, them, us, and this whole fucking mountain to shit.” Josh didn’t wait for an answer, scrambling back to the port side of the ship and taking aim.
“Wait,” Loki called after him.
Josh got to his feet in a crouch, then quickly stood up and took a step out to his left so that he could take aim over the port wing-body. “Stay where you are!” he warned as he flipped the arming switch on his energy weapon. The man on the left froze as Josh’s pistol emitted an ascending whine, its systems quickly charging to fire. The man on the right tried to step farther over to put the Falcon’s body between him and the charging weapon, but Josh spotted him and swung his weapon to the right while he took another step to his left to get a better angle on the second man. “Ack! You, too, asshole!” Josh could feel his body quivering, and he fought to keep his gun hand from shaking. Never in his life had he pointed a charged weapon at anyone, especially at men who were armed and well-trained. “Drop your weapons, now, or I burn you both!”
The third and fourth men, both of which had only barely shown their heads when Josh stepped out, had already taken cover, presumably moving back down the trail. It was just Josh and the two men pointing weapons at him, in a wet, shadowy cave on an alien world.
“If there is a Jung ship in range, your weapon will surely alert them to your location.”
Josh looked around for the source of the voice, as neither of the two men he was threatening to shoot had spoken.
“Especially if you fire it,” the voice added.
“Show yourself!” Josh ordered, his voice slightly cracking despite his best effort to sound as menacing as possible. A moment later, another head ascended from the floor line of the cave, and another man came walking slowly and confidently up the trail and into the cave between the first two men. The man had a neatly trimmed beard and long, dark hair tied back in a ponytail. He wore heavy clothing with splotches of colors that matched the trees and the mountains themselves, just like the other two men. However, he was not holding a weapon. He wore one on his hip, and Josh thought he had one slung over his shoulder so that it hung on his back. “That’s far enough!” Josh warned.
“If you fire that weapon, you will bring your enemy to you in seconds. That is why we do not use energy weapons. They may have picked up the energy signature as your weapon charged already. Perhaps you would consider turning it off.”
“Not a chance,” Josh warned.
“Then we will take our leave,” the man stated calmly. “If you wish to sacrifice yourself needlessly, that is your right. But it is our right not to go into the afterlife along with you.” The man signaled with one hand for the first two men to withdraw, making a distinct clicking noise to alert them to his command gesture. The two men walked quickly backwards, staying on either side of the leader with their weapons still trained on Josh.
“Good luck,” the man stated as he turned to walk away, demonstrating his confidence that he would not be shot in the back.
“Wait!” Josh called after him. “Who are you?”
The man stopped, turning back around. “I am not Jung, if that is what concerns you.”
“That, and other things,” Josh told him. “Why are you here?”
“The Jung tried to kill you, so it is a reasonable assumption that we are on the same side. The enemy of my enemy and all that.”
“What?” Josh asked, unfamiliar with the expression.
“If you wish me to remain any longer, you must turn off your weapon.”
“Okay, okay,” Josh agreed. He glanced down at Loki to his right still hiding with his own weapon aimed under the other side of the ship. Loki shook his head back and forth violently. Josh switched off his weapon, its indicator light going dark as he pointed it up at the cave’s low ceiling to show the status light to the man. “It’s off!”
The man turned to the others and barked several orders, after which they disappeared back down the trail.
“Where are they going?” Josh asked.
“I told them to secure the perimeter and to contact the party we have monitoring the crash site. If the Jung picked up the energy signature of your weapon and are moving in, I would like to know.”
“So who are you?”
“We are residents of this world, residents who oppose the Jung occupation.”
“You’re resistance fighters?”
“We prefer to call ourselves freedom fighters.”
“Fuck me,” Josh declared. “You’re Karuzari!”
“I’m not familiar with this term. Perhaps you and your friend would like to come out and explain it to me.” The man smiled, revealing a mouthful of dirty, fragmented teeth. It was not a pleasant sight, but there was something about the man’s relaxed manner that made Josh want to trust him.
Josh turned to Loki. “Loki?”
Loki stood up slowly, waving at the man. The man waved back, again smiling.
“Where we come from, Karuzari means ‘freedom fighter,’” Josh explained as he walked around the port side of the Falcon.
“On this world, Karuzara is the name of a very fast transport vehicle. They are very expensive; hence, not many are seen around these parts.” The man extended his hand to Josh as he approached. “I am called Garrett.”
Josh shook his hand. “Josh. That’s Loki.”
“Loki?” Garrett stated with surprise. “You carry the name of one of our most ancient gods.”
Loki’s eyebrows went up. “I had no idea.”
“How did you know there were two of us?” Josh wondered.
Garrett pointed at the Falcon’s cockpit. “Two seats.”
“How did you know we were here?” Loki asked.
“We did not,” Garrett admitted. “We come to this cave often to hide. The light shining on the mist from outside makes it nearly impossible for the Jung to see inside the cave unless they are at the perfect angle, which changes constantly as the sun moves across the sky. However, we can see out through the mist quite well. It makes for a good observation point.” Garrett looked the Falcon over, moving to the port side for a better view. “I am amazed you found this cave, let alone managed to park your spacecraft inside it.” He looked at Josh and Loki. “I am assuming you meant to do so.”
“Of course,” Josh answered.
“Interesting. You are either bold or crazy,” Garrett laughed. “How did you discover the cave’s location?”
“I spotted it as we came out of the waterfall,” Josh explained.
Garrett turned back to face Josh, a look of surprise on his face. “You flew through the waterfall?” Garrett laughed. “You are crazy. You are lucky only water fell upon you. This time of year, the river is very powerful. It carries away trees, rocks, livestock. You are lucky indeed.” Garrett continued examining the Falcon. “I have never seen such a spacecraft. You must not be from a Jung-occupied world, for they surely would have copied its design.” Garrett shook his head in approval. “It has a very purposeful look to its design.”
“We like her,” Josh said.
“So where are you from, Josh and Loki, and why have you come to our world?”
Loki opened his mouth to answer, but Josh beat him to it. “We are part of a great alliance who have come to rid this sector of the Jung threat,” Josh said.
Loki looked at Josh lik
e he was crazy.
“A great alliance, huh?” Garrett challenged, noticing the look on Loki’s face. “And who are the members of this alliance?”
“Three great and powerful worlds,” Josh boasted. “The Takarans, the Corinari, and the Terrans.”
Garrett did not recognize the first two names, but he recognized the third. “Terrans? You mean the people of Earth?”
“Yes.”
“But the Earth is long dead. It has been for a thousand years. It was destroyed by the great plague. It remains infected to this day. That is why it is off-limits.” Garrett eyed the two of them, his hand slowly moving down toward his holstered weapon. “Have you been to Earth?”
“No,” Loki interrupted, noticing Garrett’s sudden apprehension. “We are on our way there now to join forces with those of the Earth. They are expecting us soon.”
“Garrett,” Josh began, “the Earth was nearly destroyed. Those that survived did so because they had a natural immunity to the disease. But the disease itself died away centuries ago.”
“Then why have we not heard of them until now?”
“Their population was decimated, their civilization ruined. They spent centuries in darkness and despair as they struggled to survive in the aftermath of the collapse.”
“Josh,” Loki mumbled, “I don’t think you’re supposed to be telling them all of this.”
“If they are against the Jung, then they are our friends. They should know that help is on the way.”
“And the people of Earth, they are back in space?”
“They have only just returned to space in the last twenty years,” Josh explained. “When they learned of the Jung, they immediately began building their fleet, and reached out to contact the lost colonies of Earth to ask for assistance.”
“And you are from one of those colonies?” Garrett asked.
“Yes, we are from Takara. Our ancestors escaped the plague and set out to start a new civilization in the hopes of ensuring the survival of humanity.”
Loki rolled his eyes as Josh spun his story.
“Then the people of Earth are very powerful?”
“Yes, but alone they are no match for the forces of the Jung. But our people have many advanced technologies that can help them, and you.”
Garrett eyed them with suspicion. “If what you say is true, then it is wonderful news, yet it does not explain why you are here and in a single ship.”
“Our forces are conducting reconnaissance of every system in the Sol sector to determine the location and strength of all Jung forces. Unfortunately, we were discovered and engaged before we could make our escape.”
“But if your technology is superior to that of the Jung…”
“We are under orders not to reveal our identity or the capabilities of our technology to the Jung,” Loki added, joining in on the charade. “We shouldn’t even have revealed this to you,” he added, casting a disapproving look at Josh.
“Then the crash site,” Garrett realized, “it was a ruse?”
“We dumped everything we could to make it look like debris from our spacecraft.”
“A clever deception, but it will not hold for long,” Garrett told them. “What the Jung lack in intelligence they make up for with technology stolen from those they conquer. They will discover the truth, and the search will begin in earnest.”
“How long do you think we have?” Loki asked.
“If you wish to keep your secrets safe from the Jung, you should destroy your ship and depart immediately.”
“No, you don’t understand,” Josh told him. “We need to get the information we have gathered back to our leaders. They do not even know that there are people such as yourselves fighting against the Jung on their own. They need to know.”
Garrett looked at the Falcon again. “But your ship, it is damaged.”
“We still believe it will get us home,” Josh stated confidently.
“Can you be sure of that?”
“No, we cannot, not until we try.”
“And if you fail?”
“Then we will destroy our ship and ourselves with it.”
Garrett looked at Josh, studying his face. “Bold words from one so young. How can I be sure that you speak the truth? How can I be sure that anything you have said to me this day is true?”
“You can’t,” Josh admitted. “But what have you got to lose by trusting us?”
“Your ship and all its technology,” Garrett told him. “Do not for a moment believe that because I hide in the woods and maintain a disheveled appearance that I am technologically illiterate. I could kill you both in an instant without making a sound. In no time, I could figure out how to operate your ship…”
“And do what with it?” Loki interrupted. “Attack them on your own? One ship will not defeat the Jung. If you are as smart as you claim, you surely know that. Do you have the resources to take it apart, copy it, and build hundreds more? What about training the pilots? The ground crews?”
“It takes more to fight a war than weapons,” Josh added. “It takes allies.”
Garrett looked down, seeing that Josh had extended his hand in a symbolic gesture of friendship. “Your great worlds would ally themselves with a scraggily-toothed woodsman?”
“If he is an enemy of the Jung, yes,” Josh said, casting his own smile back at the man.
Garrett reached out and took Josh’s hand, shaking it and smiling. “Very well, young Joshua. However, if you are deceiving me, it would be safer that we do not cross paths again.”
“A fair warning,” Josh said, trying to hide his nervousness.
“How long until you are ready to depart?” Garrett asked.
Josh looked at Loki.
Loki looked at his watch. “The Aurora jumps in about an hour. The sooner the better.”
“How do you measure time?” Garrett asked.
Josh removed his own wristwatch and handed it to the man. “By the time this says nineteen hundred, we need to be gone. If not, we may never make it back to our ship.”
Garrett nodded. “We have similar devices,” he said, pulling his own timepiece from his jacket pocket. He held his timepiece face to face with Josh’s wristwatch for a few seconds until it beeped at him. “I have synchronized one of my time channels with your own,” he explained, handing Josh’s wristwatch back to him.
“Keep it,” Josh said. “If and when we make contact again, show them that watch to prove you can be trusted.”
Garrett nodded, placing both devices back into his jacket. “How can we help?”
“We need a few minutes to fire up our ship in order to launch. I assume that when we do so, the Jung out there will detect us.”
“Indeed they will.”
“Then that’s what we need help with.”
Garrett thought on the problem for a moment. “We must draw them away from this valley, the farther the better. Their fighters are very fast. If they are within a hundred kilometers of you, they will pounce within minutes.” Garrett continued thinking.
“We need a diversion,” Loki stated.
“I can contact one of our cells in the next valley. If they can convince the Jung that you are there, that may be enough to pull their fighters away from here. Will that be enough?”
“I think so…”
“No,” Josh said, interrupting Loki. “There can be no one within eyesight of our departure. We cannot allow the Jung to witness the nature of our propulsion technology. That is why we were unable to escape in the first place; we needed to be out of sight.”
“This technology you speak of must be impressive,” Garrett decided.
“It is; believe me.”
“I will attempt to coordinate an attack against the ground forces investigating the crash site once the fighters have departed the area. They are mostly technicians and captured scientists. They will not present much of a fight.”
“How will we know when it is safe for us to launch?”
Garrett looked at J
osh’s weapon. “What color does your weapon fire?”
“Uh, red.” Josh looked at Loki. “Right?”
“Yeah, red.”
“Give me your weapon,” Garrett ordered Josh. “The Jung weapons are orange,” Garrett explained as Josh handed him his sidearm. “When it is time, I will fire three shots in the air.” Garrett pulled a knife from a sheath attached to his belt and handed it butt first to Josh. “Take this knife. It has been handed down through my family, from father to son, for generations. Anyone from your Alliance who wishes to prove themselves trustworthy need only present this knife. Any one of us will understand its significance.”
“Uh, okay,” Josh said, examining the knife. “Thanks.”
“Good luck to you both,” Garrett stated as he turned and headed back down the path in a jog, barking orders at his men outside as he departed.
“Garrett!” Loki called after him. Garrett stopped and turned back around. “Tell your men not to look toward the cave during the attack.”
“Why?”
“Our propulsion system is very bright. Looking directly at it could blind you for several seconds.”
Garrett cocked his head, smiling in amazement as he turned slowly back around and continued down the path.
Josh watched them go for nearly a minute before he turned back to Loki. “Fuck me. I can’t believe that worked.”
“The captain’s never going to believe this,” Loki declared as he turned and headed back to finish his work on the flooded turbine.
“Damn! This beats the hell outta jump-recharge-jump!” Josh declared.
* * *
“Captain, Comms,” Naralena called across the intercom on Nathan’s desk. He stared at the intercom, not wanting to answer. Ten seconds later, the call repeated. “Captain, Comms.” Nathan continued to stall as if not answering would make everything better. Five more seconds passed, then seven, then nine. His hand instinctively shot out and tapped the comm-button. “Go ahead.”
