Ep.#4 - Rebellion (The Frontiers Saga - Part 2: Rogue Castes)

by Ryk Brown

  “Easy, Vlad!” Jessica warned.

  “You, I am not speaking to,” he told her. “In fact, I plan to kill you later, for not telling us he was alive.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Man, this place has changed,” Josh commented as he and Loki made their way across the main hangar bay toward the Seiiki. “Is it just me, or is this bay bigger?”

  “It’s definitely bigger,” Loki agreed. “The Seiiki never would have fit in here before. To be honest, when they cleared us to land, I was thinking, ‘Land where?’”

  “Me too. Then I saw the huge apron around the midship, and the gaping openings on either side, and I figured maybe they knew what they were talking about.”

  “It was still a tight fit, though,” Loki replied.

  “Phffft! Nothing tight about it,” Josh scoffed.

  “Right.”

  Josh and Loki approached the aft end of the Seiiki. The ship was still sitting where they had left her, on the starboard side of the hangar, tucked nose first to the massive door in the starboard bulkhead that said “S2” in big white characters in the middle. Only the door was no longer there. Instead, there was a big, empty transfer airlock, exactly like the one on the portside, through which they had cycled into the main hangar bay.

  “What took you guys so long?” Marcus asked, as he came down the Seiiki’s cargo ramp to meet them, followed by Dalen and Neli.

  “We had to show them how to fly their ship,” Josh bragged.

  “Right,” Dalen replied, knowing Josh’s tendency to exaggerate.

  “No, seriously.”

  “You flew the Aurora,” Dalen said skeptically, still not buying it.

  “We had to show them our anti-pursuit maneuvers and set up the algorithm for them,” Loki explained. “Otherwise, Telles wouldn’t let them near the Glendanon.”

  “Not exactly flyin’ the Aurora,” Dalen remarked, feeling satisfied.

  “No, I had to actually fly it for them,” Josh insisted. “Their helmsman…or should I say, helms-woman,” he added with a lascivious look, “couldn’t pull off the maneuvers manually. So I had to take over.”

  “We had to take over,” Loki corrected, in a futile attempt to put Josh’s ego in check. “And I’m pretty sure she could have pulled the maneuvers off herself, if she’d had a bit more time to figure it out.”

  “So, you’re saying we didn’t save the day?” Josh challenged, turning to look at Loki. “Seriously?”

  “You two flew the Aurora,” Dalen said, this time in disbelief rather than denial.

  “Fine, we saved the day,” Loki acquiesced. “Are you happy now?”

  “No good can come of this,” Marcus grumbled, stepping down off the ramp onto the deck, and turning to head forward under the Seiiki’s left wing-body.

  “Where are you going?” Josh asked.

  “I’m gonna watch the left nacelle,” Marcus replied. “Dalen, you watch the right.”

  “What for?” Josh asked.

  “The deck chief is griping at us to move the ship into the starboard transfer airlock, so he can keep his deck clear.”

  “Then why didn’t you just move it?” Josh wondered.

  “Marcus insisted that we wait for you two.”

  “Why? He knows how to taxi the ship,” Josh said.

  “Honestly, I think he just wanted to show the deck chief that he couldn’t be bossed around,” Neli explained. “For a moment, I thought they were going to call security on him,” Neli added, nodding toward the deck chief standing in front of the P2 airlock door on the other side of the hangar bay.

  “We’d better move it,” Loki said, starting up the ramp.

  “Whoa!” Josh exclaimed, noticing several ships parked along the aft wall of the hangar bay. “What are those?” he wondered as he headed for them.

  “Josh,” Loki said in warning, trying to stop him.

  Josh didn’t even hear him, as he was so enthralled with the ships in front of him. “Hey, Lok!” he called, turning back toward Loki as he walked. “Do you think those are those Reapers they were talking about?”

  “Oh, jeez,” Loki muttered, turning to follow Josh. “How do I know?”

  “Hey,” Josh called out to one of the men near the row of ships. “Are those Reapers?”

  The technician turned to look at Josh, confused. “Huh?”

  “Are you deaf, mate? Are those ships Reapers?” Josh repeated as he moved closer.

  “Josh,” Loki called out after him.

  The technician looked over at his team leader for guidance.

  “Who are you?” the technician’s senior officer asked, moving in from the right.

  On the far side of the hangar, the deck chief noticed Josh and Loki approaching the technician and his senior near the line of ships. He signaled two security officers near the main entrance, then headed across the bay himself.

  “I’m Josh, and this is Loki,” Josh told the senior technician.

  “That supposed to mean something to me?”

  “Well, since we’re the ones who just saved your ass, then yeah,” Josh said irately.

  “Man, your timing stinks,” Loki muttered as he caught up to his friend.

  “I think you’ve got that backwards, mister,” the senior tech responded.

  “Stop where you are!” one of the approaching security guards warned, as both men raised their weapons while they approached.

  Josh and Loki spun around, throwing their hands up, seeing the approaching guards with weapons raised.

  “Whoa!” Josh exclaimed. “What the fuck…”

  “Stand down!” a booming, heavily accented voice commanded from behind the guards.

  The two guards halted their advance. The guard on the left turned to look in the direction of the command, while his partner held his aim fast. “Do as he says,” he told the other guard, as he realized the order had come from the third in command of the ship.

  The two guards lowered their weapons, came to attention, turning to face one another, parting just enough for Josh and Loki to get a clear view of the man who had given the order. There, walking toward them from the main entrance at the forward end of the main hangar bay, was a familiar looking, bear of a man, with a mop of thick brown hair and heart-warming grin.

  “Vlad!” Josh exclaimed excitedly, reaching over and tapping Loki on the chest as if to say, look who’s here.

  Commander Kamenetskiy strolled across the deck, larger than life, the smile on his face growing broader with each approaching step. “My old friends,” he said warmly as he neared. He grabbed Josh and gave him a hug, nearly squishing him in the process, then repeated the same with Loki. “I am so glad to see you both.” He put his arms around each of them, pulling them in close on either side. “I want to thank you both,” he said in low tones. “I understand that Nathan would not be alive without your help.”

  “It was our pleasure,” Josh replied.

  Vladimir laughed. “Especially you, Joshua. I understand you have been with him, so to speak, for five years now?”

  “Something like that, yes.”

  “I have decided not to kill you,” Vladimir explained graciously. “Nor you,” he assured Loki.

  “What?” Josh asked, confused.

  “For not telling us that Nathan was alive. I know that Jessica forbid you to tell. And, I understand that she can be quite intimidating…even to me.”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” Josh replied.

  “What is the problem?” Vladimir wondered, changing the subject.

  “I don’t know,” Josh insisted. “I just asked these guys if these ships were Reapers, and they got all twisted up about it.”

  “Josh,” Loki began to object.

  “Forgive them,”
Vladimir interrupted. “Everyone is a bit wound up these days. These people, they all agreed to disobey orders and follow Captain Taylor here. And without knowing about Nathan, I might add.”

  “No problem,” Loki said. “We understand. And Josh can be a bit, you know…Josh.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Josh demanded.

  “These are indeed Reapers,” Vladimir started, wanting to avoid the irritating exchange between the two friends that he knew was about to follow. He pushed both of them toward the Reapers, walking along with them. “They were developed to replace the Falcons that you two flew so many years ago.”

  “That would explain why they look like a cross between a shuttle and Falcon,” Loki reasoned.

  “Just not as cool-looking as either,” Josh added.

  “What’s their mission profile?” Loki wondered as they got to the front of the nearest Reaper.

  “Who cares,” Josh interrupted. “How do they fly?”

  “More like a Falcon than a shuttle, I’d say,” another man replied from behind them.

  Josh and Loki turned to see a man in a flight suit approach, carrying a flight helmet in one hand and life-support pack in the other.

  “Commander,” the man said to Vladimir, nodding politely.

  “Lieutenant,” Vladimir replied. “Josh, Loki, this is Lieutenant Haddix, one of our Reaper pilots.”

  “Lieutenant,” Loki replied, reaching out to shake the man’s hand.

  The lieutenant put down his gear and took Loki’s hand in greeting. “Jon. Jon Haddix.”

  “Josey?” Josh asked, noting the name on the lieutenant’s helmet.

  “Long story,” the lieutenant replied.

  “These gentlemen used to fly for the Alliance, back in the day,” Vladimir told the lieutenant.

  “Hotdog and Stretch,” Lieutenant Haddix said, nodding. “Heard all about you two back at the academy.”

  Josh’s head grew two sizes in the blink of an eye. “They still tellin’ stories about us?”

  “Mostly as examples about what to not do, in order to stay out of trouble.”

  “That makes a little more sense,” Loki said, holding back a satisfied grin over Josh’s deflating ego.

  “So, you fly these things?” Josh asked.

  “You bet. Best ship a pilot could ask for.”

  “I dunno,” Josh said, turning back to look over the Reaper. “Looks like a glorified shuttle to me.”

  “It can be,” the lieutenant admitted. “Then again, it can be one deadly-ass ship. Just depends on how she’s fitted out.”

  “What’s her mission profile?” Loki asked again.

  “Just about anything. Recon, long range intercept, ground support, troop insertion, SAR… You name it, Reapers can do it.”

  “How is all that possible with this?” Josh challenged.

  “The middle door there is actually a bay that can be swapped out, depending on your mission. Same with the aft bay between the engines.”

  “Nice,” Loki commented.

  “Think I’d rather be in a Falcon,” Josh disagreed. “Or even an Eagle, for that matter.”

  “A Reaper can take on ten Eagles and come out with barely a scratch,” the lieutenant boasted. “But if you’d rather die in an Eagle, looking cool, that’s your choice, I guess.”

  Josh didn’t respond, and instead headed aft, dragging his hand along the Reaper’s folded back port wing.

  The lieutenant remained silent, waiting until Josh disappeared behind the Reaper before speaking. “Sorry about that,” he said to Loki, keeping his voice down. “I just couldn’t help busting your buddy’s chops a bit.”

  “No problem,” Loki replied, a slight smile on his face. “His chops could do with an occasional busting.”

  * * *

  “Medical reports six dead, thirty-two wounded. Twenty of them are expected to return to duty within the day.”

  “What about the missing?” Cameron asked her XO.

  “All but three have been accounted for,” Commander Kaplan replied. “That’s where we lost six, by the way, to sudden decompression. The rest made it to safety zones.”

  Cameron sighed, studying her data pad as she sat at the desk in her ready room. “Who’s missing?”

  “Ensign Sara Dorso, crewman Wilson Lang and specialist Ross Pelter. There is still hope, though.”

  “How so?”

  “There is an escape pod missing from that section,” the commander explained.

  “Do we have a launch confirmation?” Cameron asked.

  “No, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t.”

  “No beacon picked up?”

  “Not at the time, but again…”

  “Very well,” Cameron said. “We’ll consider them MIA until proven otherwise.” She looked over the damage report on her data pad again. “Kamenetskiy says he can get the primary array back up during the next recharge layover, but the hull breaches will have to wait until we reach the Glendanon.”

  “How are we going to fix them there?” Commander Kaplan wondered. “She’s a cargo ship, right?”

  “The Ghatazhak stashed a few fabricators off world prior to the Dusahn attack, along with some raw materials to feed them. General Telles says the Glendanon has a number of empty cargo pods that can be disassembled and used to patch up the hull as well. Between our fabricators and theirs, we should be able to make it work. If not, we’ll just have to fly with holes in our side. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  “I suppose not,” the commander agreed.

  “How long until we reach full charge again?”

  “Secondary banks are already at full charge. Primaries will be ready in a little over an hour. Engineering rigged up a quick and easy manual cross feed switch so that we can use either bank with the secondary array. So we’ll still get enough to get another twenty-nine light years out of the next jump series. After that, if all goes well, the primary array will be back online.”

  “Very well,” Cameron replied.

  “So, did the general give you any idea how much further we’ll have to jump to reach the Glendanon?”

  “All I know is that the rendezvous point is at least one hundred and fifty light years away. So I’d count on at least four more recharge layovers.”

  “So, a full day’s travel, then.”

  “Yup.”

  Commander Kaplan paused for a minute, thinking. Finally, she spoke. “So, is it really him?”

  Cameron sighed again, leaning back in her chair. “I don’t really know,” she admitted. “He sure seems like him. But you heard the story, right?”

  “I listened to the bridge recordings… Twice. Still find it hard to believe. A clone. Never in a million years would I have come up with that. Which reminds me… Why don’t I know about the Nifelmians?”

  “They requested that their true nature not be made public, at least as much as was possible,” Cameron explained. “They were afraid of getting hit with a rash of requests to do exactly what two of their own did with Nathan.”

  “I get that. But you’d think they would be willing to help humanity out a bit. I mean, we’re talking eternal life, here, right?”

  “I’m sure they have their reasons,” Cameron said. “And it is certainly their right.”

  “Still, to be forever twenty-five?”

  “It’s a little more complicated than that, I think.”

  “So, are you going to give him command?”

  “He’s not asking for it,” Cameron replied.

  “But if he did, would you step down?”

  “If I was one hundred percent sure he was Nathan, yes, I would. In a heartbeat. I’ve never met anyone who was as good at thinking on their feet as Nathan Scott. The problem i
s, how do I know it’s him? I mean really him. And I don’t mean physically him, as in the same DNA. I mean, is he still the same man, with all the same capabilities as before?”

  “Well, if he’s not asking to take command, then it doesn’t really matter, does it?”

  “I don’t know that, either,” Cameron admitted. “He’s going to lead the rebellion. Even if he is only acting as a figurehead, sort of a poster boy for recruitment purposes… I really don’t know.”

  “Tough position to be in,” the commander admitted. “Sort of makes me glad I’m just the XO,” she added, as she rose from her seat to depart.

  “Thanks a lot.”

  * * *

  Nathan sat on the edge of his bed in the small, private exam room in the Aurora’s medical complex, his eyes closed. Images randomly appeared in his mind. One image led to another, and then another. Memories of a life that still seemed not his own flooded into his consciousness, as if the spill gates had been opened. He tried to slow them down, to absorb each and every one of them, but he seemed to have little control over the rate at which they appeared. He had considered asking the doctor for something to knock him out, hoping that when he next awoke, all his memories would simply be in place as usual. But after being essentially dead for the last seven years, sleep was the last thing he wanted.

  But he hadn’t really been dead, had he? At least not for the full seven years.

  He remembered his life as Connor Tuplo the same as if he had always been Connor Tuplo. In fact, he had been telling the truth when he told Cameron that he felt more like Connor than Nathan. At least he had at the moment. Now, it was becoming a bit more confusing. As more memories of his life as Nathan Scott were revealed to his conscious mind, he felt Connor slipping away.

  Surprisingly, this saddened him, which was another emotion he hadn’t expected. There were many aspects of Connor’s life that Nathan envied. He had his own ship, with no one to answer to. Free to wander the galaxy, to find his fortunes wherever they might hide. His only responsibility was for the well being of his small, but loyal crew…his family.