Ep.#14 - A Line in the Sand (The Frontiers Saga - Part 2: Rogue Castes)

by Ryk Brown

  “You want us to run it like a business?” Jessica realized.

  “That’s precisely what it is,” Miss Batista stated firmly. “It’s time you realized this.”

  Nathan took a breath, letting it out slowly as he contemplated her recommendations. “Point taken,” he finally admitted. “I don’t suppose now would be a good time to ask for one more favor?”

  “You may always ask, Captain,” Miss Batista graciously replied.

  “This favor is more of Miss Bindi than of SilTek,” Nathan began.

  “You wish to have my son on your crew,” Miss Bindi concluded.

  “How did you know?” Nathan wondered.

  “He couldn’t stop talking about you and your alliance, and about what you planned to do with an XK,” Miss Bindi explained.

  “Then you’ll let him come with us?” Nathan asked. “We could certainly use his expertise.”

  “Can you assure me of his safety?”

  Nathan sighed. “I’m afraid I can’t. It’s not that I plan on taking the ship into harm’s way, but space travel is inherently dangerous. There are simply too many variables beyond my control for me to make such assurances.”

  “Thank you for your honesty, Captain,” Miss Bindi replied. “Unfortunately, I may not have a say in the matter. Dylan will be of legal age in a few months, at which point I will not legally be able to stop him. In fact, his original intention was to attend flight training and serve in our own defense forces. If I prohibit him from going with you now, he will undoubtedly resent me for doing so for years to come.”

  “I can promise you that I will do everything within my power to protect his life, just as I do for all those whom I command.”

  “And perhaps a little extra, I would hope.”

  “Dylan’s a good kid, and I see a lot of potential in him. I promise he will have plenty of supervision.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Then we have reached an agreement?” Miss Batista wondered.

  “I don’t believe you’re leaving me much choice,” Nathan complained.

  “It’s called a strong negotiating position,” she told him, her voice dripping with satisfaction.

  * * *

  “I hope you’re right about all this,” Jessica muttered under her breath as they exited the lobby of Miss Batista’s office. “Fielding twelve ships and crews for diplomatic missions is not exactly a high priority right now.”

  “She’s right, Jess,” Nathan replied. “The only way we’re going to contain the Dusahn is by getting every world within their practical jump range to become part of our alliance against them. Assuming I don’t kick his ass before then.”

  “Now I know you’re hallucinating,” Jessica joked. “I’m just not sure that it’s wise to spend what little winnings we have left on a dozen ships that won’t help us defeat the Dusahn in battle. Especially now that we have to defend Corinair as well.”

  “We have to think long-term, Jess. Getting those ships and building up our alliance, especially in the Pentaurus sector, will keep the Dusahn from expanding at least long enough for me to train to the point of having a chance at beating him in a fight. If we play our cards right, I may not need to fight him.”

  “How do you figure?” Jessica questioned as they exited the building and headed for their vehicle waiting nearby.

  “Put enough strain on their economy, and the Takarans will bring him down from the inside.”

  “He can still blow up the planet,” Jessica reminded him.

  “Yes, he can,” Nathan agreed as they climbed into the vehicle. “Soroso shipyards, pad eighteen,” he told the vehicle’s AI.

  “Soroso shipyards, pad eighteen,” the AI confirmed. “Estimated travel time is twenty-seven minutes. The vehicle will depart once all occupants have fastened their seatbelts.”

  “I don’t think you can count on that happening any time soon,” Jessica argued as she fastened her seatbelt. “I’m pretty sure Caius was way worse than old Griogair Dusahn.”

  “I’m not saying it will happen overnight. It could take years, even decades,” Nathan replied as the vehicle rose off the ground and began its climb-out. “And if it never happens, then it will be because the Takarans are happy living under Dusahn control. I’m fine with that as long as the Dusahn aren’t holding them hostage.”

  “Then you’d give up? You’d let the Dusahn Empire continue to exist, despite what they’ve done?”

  “Containment may be our only option,” Nathan pointed out.

  Jessica thought for a moment, looking out at the massive corporate campus as it fell away from them. “You don’t really believe that, do you?” she asked. “That we’ll have to just live with the existence of the Dusahn Empire?”

  “I sure as hell hope not,” Nathan replied. “But I’m not going to continue to wage war if the end result will be the complete destruction of Takara or worse. Sometimes, diplomacy is a better solution than violence.”

  “Ironic, coming from the guy who was once trying to escape diplomacy.”

  “Trust me, the irony hasn’t gone unnoticed,” Nathan assured her.

  * * *

  “And you enlisted to get away from politics and responsibility,” Miri chuckled as she picked at her dinner.

  “Yeah, didn’t quite work out as well as I’d hoped,” Nathan admitted.

  “How are you going to staff twelve ships?” Miri wondered. “It can’t just be anyone. It has to be the right people, especially the captain. He or she will be representing your alliance.”

  “Cam, Robert, and Gil to start.”

  “Cameron and Robert, I can see, but Gil? He’s a bit gruff, don’t you think?”

  “Trust me, he knows how to turn it on and off at will.”

  “Well, that’s four ships, not twelve.”

  “It’s a start,” Nathan argued. “Besides, it’s going to take time to get the ships properly upgraded.”

  “What all do you have to do to them?” Miri wondered.

  Nathan pushed his empty plate away, leaning forward, elbows on the table. “Shields and sensors need to be upgraded, weapons need to be added, launch and recovery systems for jump comm drones need to be installed, and of course, all their jump drives need to be upgraded to the long-range variant, which requires changing their reactors to mini-ZPEDs, which we don’t have a lot of at the moment.”

  “How long is all of that going to take?”

  “I had a long conversation with one of SilTek’s engineers a couple of hours ago. He estimated a month, assuming he can get a full crew assigned to the project.”

  “For all twelve ships?”

  “Oh God, no,” Nathan corrected. “That’s per ship. Considering that SilTek is not charging us for the refits, I can’t really ask them to dedicate more droid power.”

  “I don’t see how you could possibly find the time to adequately train for this.”

  “According to Jessica, it’s impossible,” Nathan replied. “But I don’t even know if the idea is viable at this point. I still have to go to Earth and talk to Gerard Bowden. Even if it is viable, I’d still need help from the Jung, which is the last thing I want to do at the moment.”

  “Doesn’t sound like you have any good options at this point.”

  “The only truly viable option at this point seems to be finding a way to force the Dusahn to behave and be happy with their own little empire,” Nathan admitted as he took another bite of his dinner. “Not exactly an option I’m crazy about.”

  Miri continued picking at her food, not saying much.

  “Not hungry?” Nathan wondered.

  “Just tired, I suppose. PT wipes me out.”

  “How’s that going?”

  “Well. I’m up to a mile on the treadmill. I’m not going to be setting any speed records anytime soon, but that’s the farthest I’ve been a
ble to walk in one outing since I woke up.”

  “Baby steps, I suppose.”

  “That I can do.”

  Nathan studied her for a moment. “Something else is bothering you,” he decided. “Spill.”

  Miri sighed. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Look what it’s cost you. Look what it’s cost us. Our entire family. Is it really worth it? Even if you’re successful, how much more is it going to cost you?”

  “Where is this coming from?” Nathan wondered.

  “Haven’t you ever thought about just walking away from it all? Settling down, getting married, having some kids, and just letting the rest of the galaxy do what it’s going to do. Surely the thought has crossed your mind once or twice.”

  “I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t,” Nathan admitted. “Hell, I almost did when I first learned who I really was. I was on my way out of the Pentaurus sector, headed as far away from the Dusahn as possible.”

  “That would be more in line with the Nathan I grew up with.”

  “That would be more in line with the Nathan who was executed by the Jung,” Nathan admitted.

  “What are you saying?” Miri wondered. “You wanted to die?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. It was all very overwhelming at the time.”

  “You appeared to be handling it just fine back then.”

  “Appeared being the keyword. Inside, it was killing me. The thought of endless conflict with the Jung was more than I could handle. Remember, I went to space to escape responsibility, not find more of it. I suppose, in a way, surrendering to the Jung was my way of not only solving a seemingly unsolvable problem, but also escaping responsibility once and for all.”

  “Then why did you come back this time?” Miri wondered. “No one would have blamed you if you hadn’t.”

  “I don’t know,” Nathan told her. “Something inside me just changed. Like turning on a light. One minute I’m flying away from the responsibility, and the next I’m flying toward it. Maybe it was guilt. Maybe it was me wanting to find out who I really was. Or maybe I was finally accepting my true fate.”

  “Which is?”

  “To follow in our father’s footsteps, by always doing the right thing.”

  Miri pushed her plate aside, thinking. “How do you know if what you’re doing is the right thing?”

  “You don’t, not really. You just do what feels right and hope that in the end, it is right.”

  “So, you don’t even think about it first?”

  “I used to,” Nathan admitted. “Hell, the first time around, I over-thought everything. I agonized over every decision. A lot of times, I had no time to think things through, and then I would second-guess myself for days or weeks afterward, which didn’t help.”

  “What about now?” she asked.

  “This time is different,” Nathan told her. “I had five years as Connor Tuplo. During that time, I didn’t have the weight of the galaxy on my shoulders, just my ship and my crew. I learned to trust myself, to trust my instincts. More importantly, I learned to live with my mistakes and learn from them, rather than letting them torture me. It helped that I wasn’t being held to such high standards. I was surrounded by people who made mistakes and forgave me for mine. My mistakes didn’t cost lives, just credits, mostly. I got a chance to walk before running. But that was only part of it. The rest came when I was transferred from my old body into this one.”

  “What do you mean?” Miri wondered, growing more curious.

  “Everything works better in this body. I think more clearly and more quickly. I’m more confident. I learn much faster. I can see all the angles and calculate all the possible outcomes in a fraction of a second. Half the time, I don’t even realize I’m doing it. I just suddenly have the answer. I’m even better physically. Faster, stronger, better hand-eye coordination, better proprioception, better awareness. Everything, better.”

  “Is that normal for a clone?”

  “Not according to Doctor Sato,” Nathan explained. “Normally, the cloning process improves the subject’s ability to take the upload of their consciousness without any memory loss. But this is accomplished over generations. Doctor Sato was trying to do this over a small number of clones. This body is the fifth copy, but only the second one to receive my consciousness. Clones two, three, and four never gained consciousness. She thinks that may have something to do with it, but she has no evidence to support that hypothesis. Now that Corinair is liberated, she can rebuild her original lab and continue her experiments.”

  “She’s going to make more of you?”

  “No, I’ve had enough body-jumping for one lifetime. This is the body I plan to stay in.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Moving quickly, Cameron entered the bridge, responding to the ship-wide call to general quarters. “Report,” she barked as she passed the comms station.

  “Missile attack,” her tactical officer replied. “Twelve missiles jumped in about one hundred clicks out. Aurora automatically activated our point-defenses and sounded general quarters.”

  The warning alarms suddenly ceased.

  “I take it none of them got through,” Cameron surmised.

  “All departments report general quarters,” Naralena announced from the comms station.

  “Sensors?” Cameron asked.

  “Nothing but local traffic,” Kaylah assured her.

  “Threat board is clear,” the tactical officer added.

  “Just the one wave?” Cameron wondered.

  “Apparently.”

  Cameron thought for a moment. “Remain at general quarters for now,” she finally instructed.

  “That was easy enough,” the tactical officer commented.

  “That attack was not meant to do any damage,” Cameron insisted. “Not from one hundred clicks out. They’re just trying to keep us guessing.”

  * * *

  Nathan watched as the lead engineer studied the list of modification requests Nathan had given him. Flanking the man were two engineering androids, both staring straight ahead in a slightly unnatural fashion.

  “This is an extensive list,” the lead engineer stated as he read. “I’m not sure all of this is even feasible.”

  Dylan shifted uneasily as he stood next to Nathan and Marcus, obviously wanting to object to the engineer’s assessment, forcing Nathan to make a discrete gesture to quiet the young man.

  “Perhaps your androids would like a copy of the list?” Nathan suggested.

  The engineer cast a disapproving glance at Nathan before continuing. “I have a prosthetic eye that allows my engineering droids to see everything I see.”

  “Your wife must love that,” Marcus joked, sparking a second look of disapproval.

  “It is impossible to give the XKs the same single-jump range as the Aurora,” the engineer decided. “Her reactors could never create the needed power. Nor is there sufficient space within the engineering nacelles for the additional energy banks. The best single-jump range we can hope for is one hundred light years, and even that will be a stretch.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Dylan blurted, unable to contain himself any longer. “Put the energy banks in one of the cargo bays, or place them outside on the hull.”

  “That is not an acceptable solution,” the lead engineer insisted.

  Nathan studied the engineer’s face for a moment, checking that he was actually human. “Why not?”

  “All engineering systems must be contained within the engineering nacelles for safety reasons.”

  “Why?” Nathan asked again.

  The lead engineer cocked his head to one side, a confused look on his face. “Standard design protocols dictate safety standards. The engineering nacelles are able to be jettisoned in the event of catastrophic failure, protecting the rest
of the ship from destruction.”

  “I’m willing to take that risk,” Nathan told him.

  “I am not.”

  Nathan looked at the man crossly. “It was my understanding that you and your team would be working under my direction.”

  “That is true, but…”

  “No buts,” Nathan interrupted. “Figure out a way to get me a single-jump range of five hundred light years.”

  “Even if we put all the energy banks on the exterior of the ship—which I am vehemently opposed to doing—the mini-ZPEDs would never be able to generate the necessary levels of single-burst energy required for such a jump.”

  “Then we need to install bigger ZPEDs,” Marcus suggested. “Did you ever think of that?”

  “You said you wanted the first ship ready in two weeks,” the engineer reminded him. “It is my understanding that you do not possess such devices, meaning they would have to be reverse-engineered from an existing unit, and then sized up appropriately. In addition, their overall structure would most likely require modifications in order to fit inside an XK’s engineering nacelle. Once all of this is accomplished, the units would require extensive validation testing before installation, as well as equally extensive flight testing.”

  “How about we just build them, shove them in there, and give ‘em a whirl,” Marcus suggested.

  The SilTek engineer looked at Marcus a moment, his brow furrowed. “Give ‘em a whirl?”

  “I believe he is suggesting that we skip the validation testing and go straight to flight tests,” Nathan explained.

  “That would be incredibly risky,” the engineer warned.

  “I’m willing to take that risk as well,” Nathan assured him.

  “Again, I am not.”

  “Why am I not surprised,” Jessica opined, also unable to contain herself.

  “Good thing for us that it isn’t your decision,” Nathan stated. “Now, I suggest you and your people get started. You have a lot of work to do.”