Ep.#1 - "Escalation" (The Frontiers Saga: Rogue Castes) (16 page)

“What does it say?”

Doran looked at the message. “‘Ardum 12345.34512’” Doran thought for a minute. “Of course!” he exclaimed a moment later. “It’s Dumar! And his niece Jessica, on a different, less crowded exchange… He’s talking about Jessica Nash. She must have made contact with him. But how did she know…”

“Deliza must have gone to her for help!” Yanni realized.

“Then Loki is alright?” Lael asked.

“He must be,” Doran replied. “The Sherma system is more than one hundred light years away. It is doubtful they would already know about the invasion. Even less likely that Jessica would come all this way so quickly, unless Deliza asked her to.” His comm-unit made another alert tone. “There’s more. An encryption algorithm ID. Old Alliance encryption, and a starting value.”

“What’s the value?” Yanni asked.

“The date of my brother Kyle’s death.”

“How can we be sure it is really Dumar?” Yanni questioned. “It could be the Jung, trying to lure us out into the open.”

“Doubtful,” Doran argued, as he programmed his phone to decrypt the next message. “It is too soon, and we are very low value targets to them, if anything. Besides, very few people would even know I had a brother, let alone when he died. It’s Dumar. I am sure of it.” His comm-unit played the alert tone yet again.

“What does he say?”

“One moment while the message decrypts.” After several long seconds, he finally spoke. “It is an address to rendezvous. He intends to smuggle us all out of the city and hide us until we can be extricated by the Ghatazhak.”

“Hide us? Where?”

“He has a small resort on Lake Macumby.”

“I never heard of Lake Macumby,” Yanni admitted.

“It is about two hundred kilometers southwest of the city. Very secluded, and a long and difficult drive. It is not well known. His business is all word of mouth. Mostly for hunters and fisherman. It is closed this time of year due to the cold at that altitude.”

“When are we to rendezvous?” Lael asked.

“Not until tomorrow.”

“I’m ready to go now,” Doctor Megel insisted.

“He needs time to drive down into the city.”

“Where are we to meet?” Yanni asked.

“At a small market a few minutes walk from here.” Doran began typing a return message into his comm-unit.

“What are you doing?” Yanni asked.

“Answering him.”

“There’s no way the Jung can trace these things, can they?” Doctor Sato asked worriedly.

“Of course they can,” Doran replied.

It was not the answer they were hoping for.

“But I am sure the admiral took precautions by routing the signal through multiple exchanges,” Doran continued. “Besides, it is unlikely the Jung will be taking such measures at this point.”

“What about the message you are sending?” Doctor Megel wondered.

“The message will take the same path back. It is the way it is designed,” Doran explained.

“To decrease the workload on the routing servers,” Yanni realized.

Doran looked at Yanni with surprise.

“I used to work in IT back on Earth, remember?”

* * *

“Admiral, Cobra One Nine Five has detected a Jung battleship just this side of Arae.”

“Another battleship?” the admiral replied. “So that’s two now. Two Jung battleships within Alli
ance space.”

“Yes, sir,” Commander Macklay confirmed. “One near Alpha Centauri B, and one near 41 Arae.”

“No escorts?”

“In the Arae system? No, sir.”

Admiral Galiardi grimaced. This was the fifth instance of Jung ships inside Alliance space on this day alone. Granted, most of the sightings had been near systems located at the outskirts of Alliance space. However, the ships detected near the Alpha Centauri system would have to be in transit for at least eighteen months to reach the Centauri system.
A year and a half in Alliance space, all without being detected.
That thought alone was unsettling.

But why now?
And why all at once?

“There has to be a reason for this, Admiral,” the commander insisted.

“Yes, but what? Are they testing our response? There are much less risky ways to do that than showing themselves
thirty light years
inside our borders. Such a thing makes no tactical sense whatsoever. If you can get that deep inside enemy territory without being detected, then you can get deeper. Hell, you can get anywhere you want. Why not just sneak all your ships in at once, and then attack?”

“Because they know we’d wipe their homeworld out with our super KKVs,” the commander replied.

“Exactly,” the admiral agreed. “But that is also a good enough reason
not
to reveal their ships so deep inside our borders. Like I said, it makes no sense.”

“Maybe they just want to show us that they can strike whenever and wherever they wish?”

“To what end?”

“To gain leverage at the negotiating table, maybe?” the commander suggested. “To force a better arrangement?”

“I don’t think so.” Admiral Galiardi shook his head. “No, there is more to it than any of that. There’s something missing. Something that we’re not seeing, here.”

“Do you wish to dispatch ships to intercept the battleship near 41 Arae?” the commander asked.

Admiral Galiardi sighed. “Not yet. If they are testing our response, then it does us no good to jump every time they appear. And if this
is
an attempt to draw our forces away from Earth, then we’d best not take the bait. Besides, that ship is no threat to any Alliance worlds at this point. Have Cobra One Nine Five continue tracking. If the target turns back toward Arae, then we’ll jump a few destroyers out there to deal with it.”

CHAPTER SIX

“Well, it looks like we may be here for more than a single night,” Captain Tuplo reported as he entered the Seiiki’s galley.

Marcus leaned forward over the table, his head dropping in disap
pointment.

“No runs?” Josh assumed.

Captain Tuplo poured himself a cup of coffee. “Nothing is moving. No passengers, no cargo, nothing. Everyone is afraid the Jung are going to confiscate their cargo
and
their ships, never mind what might happen to passengers and crew.”

“I don’t get it. Why would the Jung give a damn about little ships like us?” Dalen wondered.

“Control,” Josh replied. “Confiscate all the jump ships, and they’ll have complete control over all movement of goods and people. That’s what they did in the Sol sector, except it was FTL ships. A hundred credits says they don’t bat an eye at sublight ships, or even FTL-only ships.”

“You could be right,” Captain Tuplo agreed, taking a sip of his coffee, “but I wouldn’t want to chance it.”

“But surely that’s not everywhere,” Neli commented as she moved the pot of stew she had prepared for their evening meal from the stove to the table.

“From what I hear, nothing is moving in or out of the cluster,” the captain replied. “Although, I did hear a rumor that some of the lesser Pentaurus worlds don’t always have a Jung ship present.”

“You think they’re jumping around the outer worlds with just one or two ships?”

“Makes sense,” Captain Tuplo agreed. “It had to take quite a few ships to take down both the Takaran fleet
and
the Avendahl, at the same time. I imagine they’re keeping the bulk of their fleet in the main Pentaurus worlds until they are completely secured. After that, they’ll probably spread them out more evenly.”

“How many ships do they have?” Josh wondered.

“No one really knows for sure,” the captain said. “I’ve heard reports ranging from six to twenty. Best I can tell, no one has seen more than six Jung ships together at once, though. And according to reports, they are jumping around like crazy. Problem is you only see them jump in or out, not both. And nobody hangs around long enough to ID each ship, that’s for damn sure.”

“Anyone have a guess at how long it’s going to take for things to shake out?” Dalen wondered.

“I told you not to bring us here,” Marcus groaned, his head still buried in his arms on the table.

“Once we get the ship fixed, we’ll probably move further out. Start taking runs around the outer edges of the sector, possibly even outside the sector,” the captain said.

“There ain’t shit outside the sector,” Marcus reminded him, his face finally coming up from the table. “Leastways not nearby.”

“True enough,” the captain agreed. “We’ll have to jump a few hundred light years, most likely. Maybe more.”

“We’d better get more weapons, then,” Josh warned.

“Well, we’re on the right world for
that
at least,” the captain admitted. “You can buy them on the streets, here on Haven.”

“There’s a reason for that,” Marcus grumbled.

“Now might be a good time to start thinking about adding some sort of defensive ship-to-ship weapons, Cap’n,” Dalen suggested.

“How do you figure?”

“We’ve already got a hole in the top of the hull, just inboard of the port nacelle. And it’s right above the main power line. All I’d have to do is clean up the hole a bit, and we could mount a small plasma turret up there.”

“We’d need a targeting system to control it,” Josh reminded Dalen.

“Plasma turrets ain’t cheap,” Marcus said.

“Neither are targeting systems, I imagine,” the captain added. “Let’s just concentrate on fixing what we’ve got for now. Speaking of which, how long is it going to take?”

“Starboard side was good,” Dalen replied, “so it shouldn’t take more than a day, assuming we get the parts quick enough.”

“Shouldn’t be any problem getting parts,” Josh said. “Haven’s a fucking junkyard.”

“Give me a list and Josh and I will find what you need after dinner.”

“You got it, Cap’n,” Dalen replied as he scooped another serving of stew into his bowl. “I’ll get started pulling the damaged parts tonight.”

“I’d appreciate that,” the captain said. “Haven’s port fees may be the cheapest around, but they’re still fees, and they’ll add up quick. Besides, if we
are
going to move further out, we’re going to need the extra credits to buy supplies and such to make it through until we find work. We’ve got no idea if the worlds further out will accept Pentaurus credits. I want to be flush with food, water, propellant, and spare parts,
before
we leave the sector.”

“Assuming that we
do
have to leave the sector,” Neli pointed out.

“Oh, we do,” Josh insisted.

“Maybe the Jung are only interested in the cluster worlds,” Neli suggested hopefully.

“She could be right,” Captain Tuplo said. “Outside of the PC, no one else has much industrial capacity. Maybe the Jung will be satisfied with just the cluster.”

“No, they won’t,” Josh said confidently.

“He’s right,” Marcus sighed. “As soon as they secure the core PC systems, they’ll secure the fringe worlds. Then the ones outside the PC. Hell, for all we know, they’ve been conquering worlds all the way from the Sol sector to here, and spreading out in all directions to boot.”

“It’s what they do,” Josh added.

“I hope you’re wrong,” Captain Tuplo said, “because if you’re right, it won’t matter how far out we go. Sooner or later, the Jung will catch up to us.”

* * *

“Jump complete,” the Lieutenant announced as the shuttle windows cleared.

“Scanning all channels,” Jessica replied.

“Four contacts,” the Lieutenant added, “twenty thousand kilometers; tracking left to right.”

“Are they turning toward us
?”

“Negative,” the lieutenant responded, “targets are maintaining course and speed.”

“This sucks!” Sergeant Torwell complained, sitting in the gunner’s chair hanging from the ceiling of the jump shuttle’s utility compartment.

“Shut up, Torwell,” Jessica instructed as she monitored her long-range communications console.

“Four more contacts!” the Lieutenant warned, his voice apprehensive. “Bearing one five seven, twenty-five degrees up relative. The third group is bearing two one five, sixty degrees down, relative.”

“If they’re not coming toward us, I don’t give a shit,” Jessica informed him.

“Just hurry up and get the message, so we can get the hell out of here,” the sergeant whined.

“Shut up, Torwell!” Commander Kainan ordered.

“Jump flash!” the Lieutenant interrupted. “Dead ahead! Thousand kilometers and closing fast. Sensor profile indicates a Jung gunship.”

“It’s message plus thirty, already!” the Sergeant moaned. “Has he replied, or not?”

“I swear to God, Torwell! If you don’t shut your yap…”

“Incoming message!” Jessica announced, interrupting them.

“Thank God,” the Sergeant exclaimed.

Jessica studied the incoming signal for a moment, waiting for an ID code.

“Who else would it be from,” the Lieutenant said.

“What does he say?” the Sergeant wondered.

“Hold your horses,” Jessica replied, “I still have to decrypt it.”

“One-fifty and closing,” the Lieutenant warned.

“Just a few more seconds,” Jessica begged, “I’ve almost got it.”

“The gunship will have range on us in fifteen seconds,” Lieutenant Latfee reminded her.

“Ready the escape jump,” the commander ordered.

“Already done,” the lieutenant assured him. “Five seconds…”

“I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” Jessica shouted.

“Jumping!”

The jump shuttle’s windows instantly turned opaque as the ship disappeared in a blinding flash of blue-white light. “Please, tell me that was Dumar,” the Sergeant said nervously, as the turret bubble surrounding him cleared again.

“Jesus, Torwell,” Jessica sneered, “you should stay away from recon work. You don’t have the nerves for it.”

“Were you under the impression that I volunteered for this mission?” the Sergeant replied dryly.

“Well, was it?” the Lieutenant wondered as well.

“Yup,” Jessica replied, “it’s from Dumar.”

After several seconds of silence, the lieutenant and the commander turned and looked aft of the cockpit. At the same time, Sergeant Torwell rotated his gun turret around and peered downward between his feet at Jessica.

“Well?” the Sergeant asked again.

“He made contact with Montrose,” Jessica told them. “Yanni, Lael, the baby, Sato and Megel… They’re all safe, for now.”

“Is that it?” the sergeant wondered. “We risked our asses for that?”

“There’s more,” Jessica replied, as she swung the comm console to the side and leaned back in her seat. “Just get us the hell back to Burgess for now.”

“Well, I hope Dumar’s got some idea how to rescue them,” the commander said as he turned back around in his seat, “because this place is crawling with Jung.”

* * *

“
The sudden, unexpected arrival of Ambassador Delhay at the presidential compound here in Winnipeg has many speculating that his visit is somehow connected with the sudden deployment of the Aurora, the Cape Town, and several other Alliance ships. Whil
e President Scott’s press secretary insists there is no connection, and that such impromptu meetings are common, it is rare for the ambassador to leave the Jung Embassy compound, especially after last year’s attempt on his life, and the lives of his family.
”

“Well, it didn’t take long for them to put that together,” Miri said, as she picked up the remote from the president’s desk and turned off the view screen.

“I will never understand how the press manages to keep tabs on the position of all our ships,” the president said, shaking his head.

“All it takes are a few well-placed telescopes and the jump-comm-net.”

“Ah, yes,” the president sighed, “the double-edged sword of near real-time interstellar communication.”

“Mister President,” the guard standing just inside his office door called. “The ambassador is on his way up.”

“Thank you.” the president turned to look at his daughter. “How do I look? Hopefully not as tired as I feel.”

Miri straightened his tie and smoothed out the wrinkles in his suit jacket. “You look fine,” she assured him. “With just the appropriate amount of concern on your face.”

“I’m getting way too old for this.”

“You’re only as old as you feel,” Miri reminded him.

“Today, I feel about a hundred and forty.”

“The ambassador is in the outer office,” the guard updated him.

President Scott took a deep breath, letting it out slowly in an attempt to put himself in a new frame of mind. He moved out from behind his desk and into the middle of the room, readying himself to greet the ambassador.

A moment later, the main doors to his office swung open. Two more guards moved just inside the doors as Ambassador Delhay entered the president’s office.

“Mister Ambassador,” President Scott greeted with a smile, his hand extended.

“Mister President,” the ambassador replied, smiling back. He reached out and took the president’s hand in the customary gesture of friendship. “It is a pleasure to see you once again. I am pleased to see that you’re in good health, despite the rumors often perpetuated by your news media.”

“I may be old, but I’m not dead yet,” the president replied with a light chuckle. “I hope you are also doing well?”

“Indeed, I am. Life on Earth seems to agree with me.”

“And your family? I assume they are also doing well?” the president asked, attempting to keep the small talk going while the others cleared the room. “Please,” he added, gesturing toward the sitting area.

“Yes, yes, they are all quite well, thank you,” the ambassador replied, taking his seat opposite the president, on the other side of the small sitting table. He was well aware of the required choreography of such meetings. While the effectiveness of their conversations required complete privacy, the president’s guards would be watching the ambassador’s every move. Once the customary handshake had been completed and the ambassador had taken his seat, he would no longer be able to approach the president without being immediately overrun by guards bursting through the doors. “I was quite surprised by your request to meet. I do hope the purpose of this meeting is nothing dire.”

President Scott paused a moment, waiting for the last guard to exit and close the soundproof doors behind him. Once he was satisfied the room was secure, he spoke. “I’m going to get straight to the point Mister Ambassador. There have been four separate sightings of Jung ships on this day alone. Near the Mu Cassiopeiae system, the 82 Eridani system, the 41 Arae system, and even more troubling, near the Alpha Centauri B system. As you know, these encroachments upon Alliance space constitute serious violations of the cease-fire agreement, and represent a great threat to the ongoing peace that both our peoples have shared for the last seven years, and hope to continue sharing long into the future.” The president paused a moment, studying the reaction of the ambassador.

“Are you sure that your detections were accurate?” the ambassador asked without missing a beat. “It is not uncommon for…”

“Two Jung cruisers near the Mu Cassiopeiae system,” the president said, interrupting him, “a cruiser and two frigates near 82 Eridani, and a battleship each in the 41 Arae and Alpha Centauri B systems.”

Concern began to creep into the ambassador’s expression. “You are saying that these detections were indeed confirmed.”

“Not only were they confirmed,” the president replied, “but in three cases these
detections
were engaged, and at least two of them were destroyed by our warships. So, Mister Ambassador, you can understand the nature of my concern.”

Ambassador Delhay fought to preserve his neutral facial expression. After a moment, the look of mild concern that had spread across his face moments ago disappeared altogether. “Mister President, I can assure you that I have no knowledge of the positions of our warships. Furthermore, I am unaware of any such purposeful incursions on the part of my government into Alliance space. I can further assure you that the Jung Empire respects the cease-fire it currently enjoys with the Alliance and has no desire to see it come to an end.”