Ep.#1 - "Escalation" (The Frontiers Saga: Rogue Castes) (14 page)

CHAPTER FIVE

Loki stared out the window of the Gha
tazhak’s flight opera
tions office. On the apron sat the corporate jump shuttle he had flown for the last five years, its port side torn open by weapons fire.

It had been so long since he’d been fired upon in such a way. It seemed a lifetime ago. Yet, back then, it had been a fairly regular occurrence. Now, after so much time had passed, he failed to understand how he managed to get through it all. Even now, only a few hours after they had escaped, his hands still trembled at the thought of what might have happened. His wife. His child. They were all that mattered to him now. He would gladly live under Jung rule if it meant his family would be safe.

His perspective on the war he had been a part of so long ago had changed today. He viewed the war differently than he had as a single young man with no one depending on him other than those who fought by his side. It had simply been him and Josh, together in the cockpit of that Falcon, challenging death at every turn and every jump… And winning. But now…little Ailsa. His little angel. The thought of her growing up without a father…

“How are you doing?” Deliza asked as she entered the office.

Loki wiped his eyes. “I’m okay… I guess.”

“Yeah, me too,” Deliza replied, handing him a cup of tea. “Try not to worry. They’ll figure out a way to get them off of Corinair.”

“I keep telling myself that,” Loki began quietly. He stopped mid sentence, unable to verbalize his next thought for fear he would break down. He looked at Deliza. “You’re not worried?”

“Of course I am,” Deliza assured him.

“You don’t look it.”

“That’s my father’s influence,” she said, sitting down in the chair next to Loki. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly in a long sigh. “He always believed that worrying was a waste of time. He used to tell me, ‘If there is something you can do about it, do it. If not, worrying about it isn’t going to help. It’s just needless suffering. Not only for yourself, but for those around you. And it certainly isn’t helping those you might worry about.’”

Loki smiled. “Yeah, that sounds like Tug. Not Casimir, mind you, but Tug.”

“Yeah, I think I liked him better as Tug myself,” Deliza said.

Loki looked out the window again, watching as several Ghatazhak technicians removed the body from the damaged cabin of their shuttle. “Did she have any family?” he asked, wanting to get his mind off his own problems.

“Biarra? A brother, I think. Her parents were killed when she was young, back when the Yamaro attacked Corinair.”

“I remember that day,” Loki said. “We were still flying the Aurora, then.” He turned and looked at her. “You were there. You and your sister, and your father.”

“Yes, we were.” Deliza smiled bashfully. “I had a bit of a crush on you back then, you know.”

Loki looked surprised. “Really?”

“Who wouldn’t? A dashing young pilot, one who saved our lives.”

“Yeah, I was kind of smitten with you as well, I have to admit. I just never really had the nerve to say anything.”

“Why not?” Deliza wondered.

“You were so smart, and your father was there, and I was trying to learn how to fly the Aurora… There just wasn’t the time, really. Not with all that was going on. Besides, I was never very good with girls.”

“You seemed to sweep Lael off her feet without any problem,” Deliza grinned.

“Lael was easy.”

“What?”

“I mean it was easy
with
her. She was so easy to talk to. I always felt so relaxed around her. We just hit it off without any effort. Simple, honest, and direct. It’s like I couldn’t say anything wrong with her. Even if I accidentally insulted her, it would just bounce off her like I had never said it.”

“That’s one of the reasons I hired her,” Deliza said. “Because she’s so honest and direct. It saves a lot of time when you don’t have to dance around a person’s sensitivities. That, and because she is so damned organized that it’s frightening.”

“Yes, she is,” Loki agreed. “And yes it is.”

Deliza looked out the window as well. “Do you think it will fly again?”

“Probably,” Loki replied. “The damage is mostly to the hull itself. All the systems are in the ventral box truss that runs under the deck. If we can get some scrap metal, we can probably just weld it in place to cover the hull, and the cabin will likely hold pressure just fine.” Loki smiled. He knew that Deliza was trying to get him to focus on something else.

“Good. Once we fix her up, you, me, Yanni, Lael, and Ailsa, will all load up and get as far away from the Pentaurus sector as possible.”

“To where?”

“I don’t know. Maybe back to Earth?”

“We don’t have the range to get to Earth,” Loki said. “We barely had enough energy to get here.”

“We’ll just have to get a better power plant, then. Maybe a mini-ZPED?”

“Where are we going to get a mini-ZPED, Deliza?”

“I’ve got money, remember?”

“Isn’t it all on Corinair?” Loki argued. “The Jung, remember?”

“No one keeps all their wealth in one spot, Loki,” Deliza said dismissively.

“I wouldn’t know,” Loki said with a wry smile. “I’m just a corporate shuttle pilot, remember?”

“Maybe, but I think I need to give you a raise after today.”

“Or at least combat pay,” Loki joked.

* * *

Captain Tuplo walked up the Seiiki’s cargo ramp, a scowl on his face.

“Things went well
, I take it?” Marcus greeted him from the top of the ramp.

“Could’ve gone worse, I suppose.”

“How much are we left with?”

“Before or after the repairs?” the captain asked as he topped the ramp. He looked at Dalen, who was climbing out of the port crawlway hatch. “How bad?”

“We lost all the shield emitters on the port side, and the main port power bus is pretty much fried as well.”

“Can we fly on the secondaries?” the captain asked.

“We can, but why would we?” Dalen wondered.

“I got us another run.”

“Cap’n,” Marcus interrupted, “maybe we should stay here a few days… Wait and see how things shake out in the cluster?”

“We can’t afford the port fees here,” Captain Tuplo explained. “Between the emitters, the power bus, and that hole in the hull, we’ll be out of money in just one day here. Besides, we need the extra money if we’re going to make repairs.”

“Cap, I haven’t even looked at the starboard side, yet,” Dalen warned.

“Assuming the starboard side is no worse off than the port, can we make it to Haven as we are?”

“Fuck, not Haven
again
,” Marcus groaned.

“What the hell is it with you and Haven?” Dalen asked Marcus.

“Can we make it or not?” the captain asked again in a more demanding tone.

“Assuming the starboard side is good, then yes. But would you mind if I looked around in there as well before we take off?”

“Make it quick,” the captain ordered as he headed forward. “Cargo is on its way.”

“You took a run without knowing if we could get off the ground safely?” Dalen exclaimed, shocked at the captain’s recklessness.

“Everyone’s in a panic,” the captain said. “They’re afraid to move any cargo for fear the Jung will take it and their insurance won’t cover the loss. If I hadn’t taken the run, this ship would be impounded in a few days and we’d all be on the streets.” Captain Tuplo reached the top of the forward ladder, then turned back to face Dalen and Marcus. “Besides, I have faith in your mechanical skills, Dalen.”

Marcus and Dalen watched as the captain disappeared through the forward hatch into the passenger compartment. A horn beeped from outside, and they both turned around to see a cargo hauler backing up to their cargo ramp.

“You best get your ass in the starboard crawlway, boy.”

“Yeah,” Dalen sighed. “Just don’t load that shit in front of the hatch and block me in.”

Marcus smiled. The thought had crossed his mind.

* * *

“
Mister President,
” Admiral Galiardi greeted over the secure vid-link to President Scott’s office.

“A
dmiral.”

“
I’m afraid matters have gotten worse, sir,
” the admiral began. “
Although the Aurora was able to turn away the ships bound for Mu Cassiopeiae, both the Tanna and the Belem were forced to return fire and destroy the targets.
”

“How many Jung ships were destroyed?”

“
Two in total,
” the admiral replied. “
One cruiser, and one frigate.
”

President Scott sighed. “How many men?”

“
Two to three hundred, combined. Furthermore, we’ve detected ships approaching the Alpha Centauri system.
”

“How many?”

“
A battleship, a cruiser, and four frigates,
” the admiral answered. “
We’ve dispatched the Cape Town to the Alpha Centauri system…
”

“I thought the Cape Town was still in trials?” the president interrupted. “Is she ready for action?”

“
No, sir, she is not. She is armed and can defend herself, and we needed to get some presence in the system. The Aurora is on her way there as well, but will not get there for fourteen hours. The Cape Town has been ordered to shadow the Jung ships and remain out of range until the Aurora arrives. We’re also moving the Cayene, the Bristol, and the Nagoya to the Alpha Centauri system as well, in case the Jung decide to stand and fight.
”

“Do you really think they will do so?”

“
At least two of their ships have chosen to do so thus far,
” the admiral reminded him. “
It’s possible that those other encounters were meant to pull our forces away from Sol, in order to get another force through our defenses. Although, I would expect the force headed for us to be much larger.
”

“How the hell did they get so deep into our territory without being detected?” the president asked.

“
If you run the numbers based on known Jung FTL speeds for both ships and comm-drones, it is possible for all of these ships to have been launched after our initial attack on the Jung homeworld, and still have enough time to carefully sneak their way around our patrols. It would take an incredibly well planned, and well coordinated effort on the part of the Jung, but it is possible.
”

President Scott closed his eyes a moment, rubbing his face. They had accomplished so much over the last seven years. They had brought the Earth back from the brink of another dark age, one that would have rivaled the great bio-digital plague of the twenty-fifth century that had swept over the entire core and sent millions fleeing to the stars. They had finally built up their defenses to the point where they had begun to feel safe again. And now, the Jung were at their doorstep once more. Again, the Jung were threatening to destroy not only Earth, but all of the Alliance worlds. “Recommendations?” the president asked, dreading the admiral’s response.

“
I recommend we move to defense condition two,
” the admiral replied without hesitation.

“Daily strike cycles.” The president sighed again. “Are you sure that’s wise? I mean, if even one of those ships fails to receive a launch cancellation order…”

“
That is the way the system was designed, Mister President,
” the admiral reminded him. “
And we do use three jump comm-drones for every cancellation order.
”

“I know,” the president said. “Very well, Admiral.”

“
I need to hear the words, Mister President,
” the admiral prompted him.

President Scott straightened up, looking directly at the vid-link screen. “I authorize defense condition two.”

“
Authorization code?
”

“One bravo, seven five four, foxtrot alpha, two zero one seven nine, lima tango.”

Admiral Galiardi looked toward someone off screen for a moment, then turned back to the camera. “
Authorization code confirmed. All Alliance forces are now at defense condition two, Mister President.
”

“Thank you, Admiral,” the president replied. He switched off the vid-link. “Thank you for taking us one step closer to annihilation,” the president added darkly after the link ended and the view screen turned off.

“Don’t look at it that way,” his daughter said, stepping forward from the side of the room where she had stood to remain out of the vid-link’s view. “It’s just another layer of assurance.”

“It won’t change anything,” the president said, “especially since the Jung don’t even know about the change.” He turned to look at Miri. “At some point, we’re going to have to meet with Ambassador Delhay.”

“To what end?” Miri wondered. “You know he’ll deny any knowledge of those ships.”

“Perhaps we should try to open up direct lines of communication with the Jung homeworld.”

“The cease-fire dictates that all communications between the Alliance and the Jung must be through the Jung ambassador…”

“Who will no doubt resist such direct contact as it reduces the power of his position,” the president added.

“We must honor that agreement,” Miri reminded her father.

“They have violated our space and fired upon our ships,” the president replied. “If they are not going to honor that agreement, then why should we?”

“Because Nathan died to give us a
chance
for peace,” Miri replied. “It is up to us to maintain it. If we do not, then my brother…your son, will have died in vain.”

* * *

Travon Dumar sat in his living room with his wife. They both had their eyes glued to the view screen on the wall. Th
e invaders had already shut down Corinairan news. Luckily, the planetary network itself was nearly impossible to turn off. It had too many redundancies, including satellite and radio segments. Short of setting off a series of strategically placed, electromagnetic pulses, it would be operational for at least a few days, if not longer.

Now, all they could see were random recordings from personal comm-units, uploaded by Corinairans from all over the planet. They were usually of poor quality, and were shaky and without any narrative to give any context as to what was going on. Occasionally, they would find one in which the operator would actually describe the events they were recording.