Ep.#1 - "Escalation" (The Frontiers Saga: Rogue Castes) (8 page)

“All in due time.”

“Why?” Deliza wondered.

“If she’s got twenty to thirty jump fighters on board, she’s a formidable weapon,” Jessica explained, “and a mobile one.”

“We need to know his intentions,” General Telles added.

“I know Captain Gullen well,” Deliza told them. “He has family on Corinair. I am friends with his daughter, Sori.”

“Do you have any idea where he may have been headed?”

“No, but I am sure his intentions were honorable. He is a good man,” Deliza insisted.

“You’re planning on fighting them, aren’t you?” Loki realized.

“You sound surprised,” General Telles said.

“Well, yeah,” Loki replied. “They’ve got battleships, General. Battleships with jump drives, no less. And you’ve got what, a few hundred men, and
maybe
an old jump freighter with a couple dozen jump fighters stranded on her decks?”

“Not a few hundred
men
,” General Telles corrected. “A few hundred Ghatazhak. There is a difference.”

“Of course, but…”

“We will recon the Pentaurus cluster, then we will send word to Sol,” General Telles explained. “The Alliance will send ships, and we will drive the Jung from this sector, just as we did from the Sol sector. Meanwhile, we should be prepared to harass the Jung as much as possible, prevent them from getting a firm foothold in the Pentaurus cluster. For if they do, they will undoubtedly spread throughout the entire sector, and beyond.”

* * *

“You asked for more ships, we approved the construction of more ships,” President Scott said irately. “You asked for better jump drives, so we developed better jump drives. You asked for better we
apons, so we developed better weapons. Now you ask for more super KKVs, even though you have how many? Fifty?”

“Fifty-seven,” Admiral Galiardi replied.

“On how many platforms?”

“Twelve.”

“It seems to me, Admiral, that you already have the ability to destroy the Jung Empire’s entire industrial capacity with a single command,” the president continued. “I fail to see how adding more super KKVs strengthens our position.”

“The Jung still have more than a hundred ships,” Admiral Galiardi explained, “not including the six battle platforms currently protecting the Jung homeworld. And that number only represents the ships we have confirmed
within
the Jung sector. We have yet to determine the extent of their expansion efforts. There could very well be hundreds more out there. Perhaps even thousands.”

“Don’t you think you’re overestimating the size of their forces just a bit, Admiral?” President Scott suggested.

“Better to overestimate an enemy’s capabilities, than to underestimate them. The consequences are far less severe.”

“And exactly how many more super KKVs would you propose we build?”

“I think you misunderstand me, Mister President,” the admiral corrected. “I am not proposing a finite number of these weapons. I am proposing that we continue to build them, as quickly as possible.”

The president’s eyebrow rose. “Until when? To what end?”

“Until the Jung realize they cannot beat us.”

“They cannot beat us now, Admiral,” the president argued. “Not without suffering irreparable damages.”

“Short of complete annihilation, there is no such thing.”

President Scott took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Of course, the Jung will do the same. For every super KKV we build, they will build another ship. For every method we come up with to destroy their assets, they will eventually come up with a way to counter. It will not end. We will either be buried under all our weapons, or we shall be destroyed by them.” President Scott shook his head. “I’m afraid either end is unacceptable. I cannot endorse such a plan, Admiral.”

“If the leaders of the worlds we are sworn to protect will not give us the tools we need to do so…”

“Six years ago, you stood before me with a plan,” the president interrupted. “A plan to protect the entire sector from Jung attack. A plan you swore would all but guarantee that the Jung would not attack any Alliance member worlds. We approved that plan, Admiral.
I
approved that plan, not so much because I believed in you, but because I did not want my son’s sacrifice to be in vain.”

“And because I had the support of the people of Earth,” Admiral Galiardi corrected, “and you did not wish to empower me further by opposing me.”

“I recommissioned you, Admiral,” President Scott reminded him as he rose from his chair. “Let us not forget that.” The president nodded at his aide, who signaled the guard at the door to open it, an open suggestion to the admiral that the meeting had ended.

“You are not the sole deciding vote in this Alliance, Mister President,” the admiral said smugly as he too rose from his seat. “Let us not forget
that
.”

“We have spent the last seven years protecting a fragile cease-fire. I shall not bet against that which my son gave his life to create.” The president nodded to the general. “Good day, Admiral.” President Scott turned his back to the admiral and walked back across his office toward his desk, paying no attention as the admiral exited the room.

“You know, building super KKVs is not the same thing as deploying them,” Miri reminded her father as she entered the room.

President Scott shot her a stern look, then turned to watch the admiral exit, the doors closing behind him.

“Relax, father, I activated the sound wall on my way in.”

“It may not be the same thing, but it is the next step. As long as the weapons do not
exist
, they cannot
be
deployed.”

“I’m not disagreeing with you,” Miri insisted. “However, you could have been more diplomatic about it.”

“The admiral needs to know that he cannot waltz into my office and bully me into granting him every weapon his black heart desires.”

“I don’t like the man any more than you do, father, but his interests are the same as yours.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” the president said as he took his seat behind his desk.

“You both want peace,” Miranda reminded him.

“Except he wants it at the barrel of a gun, rather than by mutual cooperation and understanding. Peace cannot be forced upon a people. They must
want
it.”

“Most would argue that the Jung have no use for peace,” Miri replied, “and that their so-called
negotiations
are nothing more than a stalling tactic to allow them to develop their own jump drive. After seven years of such negotiations, I’m finding it hard to reject that notion.”

President Scott sighed. “I know how you feel,” he admitted, “but we cannot give up hope.”

“I know,” she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. “I know. I miss him too.”

* * *

Doran Montrose burst through the back door to his home, the others hot on his heels.

Terris suddenly appeared in the doorway from the living room. “What…” She spotted her husband and ran to him. “What is it,
Doran? What’s happening?”

“Everyone, into the living room, away from the doors and windows,” Doran ordered.

“What is going on out there?” his wife demanded to know. “I heard reports of an invasion on the…”

“Not now, Terris,” Doran insisted as he herded everyone into the living room. “We need clothing for everyone.”

“What? Why?”

“Where are Nora and Dunner?”

“They are here…”

“Father!”

Doran embraced his daughter as she entered from the other room, followed by her younger brother. “Thank God you’re both safe. Nora, see if you can find a change of clothing for Lael and Doctor Sato. Dunner, help Yanni and Doctor Megel find something to wear from my closet.”

“What is going on?” Nora asked.

“Please, just do as I ask.”

“Where did you get those weapons?” Doran’s wife demanded.

“The weapons, of course.” Doran looked at the others. “All your weapons are powered down, are they not?”

Yanni checked his energy rifle. “Yes.”

“Give them all to me. I have a place to hide them, one that will shield them from detection.”

The others placed their weapons on the couch as instructed.

“What are we going to do?” Yanni asked.

“You two are husband and wife,” Doran said, pointing at Yanni and Lael. “Lael, you are a friend of my daughter’s, visiting town with your husband and new child. Doctors, you two are my relatives from Federborough province. You are in town for the spring festival tomorrow. Understood?”

“Doran, please,” his wife begged.

“It is important that everyone has the same story!” Doran insisted.

“Doran, you’re scaring me.”

Doran grabbed his wife by the shoulders. “It’s the Jung, Terris. They have come.”

Terris looked at her husband’s eyes. She had not seen such fear in them for many years. “But, the Avendahl…”

“The Avendahl has been destroyed,” Doran told her. “Darvano now belongs to the Jung.”

Terris Montrose tried to fight back her tears as she clutched her husband. “What are we to do, Doran?”

“I don’t know, yet,” he told her as he held her tight. “But I will think of something. I promise.”

* * *

“Kind of tight in here, isn’t it,” Captain Tuplo commented as he entered the Seiiki’s cargo bay.

“That’s what happens when you overbook your cargo,” Marcus grumbled.

“A full ship is a happy ship,” the captain replie
d as he ascended the port ladder.

Dalen came out onto the port landing, in front of the captain.

“I know,” the captain said, holding up one hand as he stepped off the ladder onto the landing. “But we’re full up. There’s no room to shift cargo around.”

“So what do we do if there’s a problem and I need to get to the crawl spaces while underway?”

“I don’t know, crack the back door and float some cargo outside temporarily?”

“Not funny.”

“Relax, Dalen,” Captain Tuplo told him. “This is a jump ship, and our next stop is Rama. Three hops at the most. I’m sure nothing will happen during the
grueling
, thirty-minute flight. After all, you take such wonderful care of all our systems, what could go wrong?”

Captain Tuplo didn’t wait for Dalen to respond, moving quickly through the hatch on his way forward. By now, Neli had seated everyone, so the corridor past the boarding hatch leading to the cockpit would be free of passengers. Captain Tuplo didn’t mind conversing with the various workers at the spaceports, but the passengers…they were always full of questions about what it was like to jump, or how the jump drive worked. For so many, the whole idea of traveling between star systems in a matter of minutes versus months was difficult to believe. Even those who had done so several times still had a hard time wrapping their minds around the concept.

Captain Tuplo entered the forward portion of the ship and moved quickly past the forward passenger cabin. “How are we doing?” he asked Neli as he passed the galley.

“Full house, Cap’n. All of them belted in and ready to go.”

“Excellent. We should be lifting off straight away.”

The captain turned the corner inward and ascended the steps to the cockpit, ducking as he entered the cramped space. He slipped past the engineering station and in between the seats, sliding down into the left seat as usual. “How are we looking, Josh?” the captain asked as he donned his comm-set.

“All systems are good. Preflight is complete, and we’re ready to taxi.”

“Ladila Ground, Seiiki, ready for roll back,” the captain called over the comms.

“
Seiiki, Ladila Ground. Stand by.
”

“Did you see the girls in four A and B?” Josh asked.

“You know I never look in the passenger cabins, Josh.”

“Yeah, well, you should this time. Trust me. I may have to go back there and stroll through in between jumps, if you know what I mean.”

“It’s a short flight, Josh.”

“You could take a few minutes in between jumps, you know. Help a guy out, and all.”

“The sooner we finish this circuit and get back to Palee, the sooner we get paid,” Captain Tuplo reminded him.

“
Seiiki, Ladila Ground. Cleared for roll back to pad four.
”

“Seiiki is cleared to roll back to pad four,” the captain replied. “You want to do the honors?”

“Oh boy, can I?” Josh replied sarcastically. He reached out and pushed the execute button, and the ship began to roll backward away from the terminal, controlled by the auto-taxi system required by the busier ports. “Why did you even install this thing?” he wondered as he sat idly, watching the exterior camera display.

“Hey, that
thing
opened up a lot of new routes for us, Josh, and you know it.”

“Maybe, but between the auto-taxi, the auto-flight, and the auto-jump sequencer, all I ever do is push buttons.”

“That’s what commercial pilots do, Josh,” the captain reminded him.

“It was more fun back
before
everyone had jump drives and automatic everything. Back when I got to actually
fly
the ship, instead of giving the computer permission to fly it.”

“Don’t worry, Josh. In a few more years, we’ll have the money we need to complete our overhaul and head deeper out into space. Out where most people haven’t even
heard
of a jump drive, let alone auto-flight systems.”

“You’ve been saying that for the last two years, Cap’n.”

Captain Tuplo switched comm frequencies. “Ladila Control, Seiiki. Ready for departure on pad four.” Captain Tuplo looked outside, scanning both the ground and the skies above. “I promise, Josh, the next time we do a cargo-only run from a world without a controlled spaceport, I’ll let you hand fly both the landing and departure.”

“
Seiiki, Ladila Control. Cleared for liftoff on pad four. One departure, fly heading two five four and climb to the Boraliese sector for jump out.
”

“Ladila Control, Seiiki. Lifting off on pad four, on course two five four to Boraliese to jump out.”

“
Safe flight, Seiiki,
” the controller replied.

“Take us to Rama, Josh.”

Josh pressed the execute button on the auto-flight system. The engines fired, and the thrust slowly increased until the Seiiki rose off the pad and climbed slowly upward. A few seconds later, the auto-flight systems began to angle the ship’s main thrust nozzles downward, causing the ship to move forward, climbing upwards. Once they had cleared the terminal area and reached a high enough altitude, the ship accelerated rapidly, and her nose began to pitch up, her engines going to full power. The ship moved quickly through the broken layer of puffy, white clouds as it entered a slow, constant-rate turn to port onto its assigned departure heading. The climb out went like clockwork, just as it always did when the auto-flight computers controlled the ship. Once again, Josh was relegated to being a well-trained spectator.

“Approaching Boraliese sector,” Captain Tuplo reported.

“Verifying jump sequence,” Josh replied. “Sequencing for Rama is good. Jumping in five seconds……three…”

“
Attention all departing ships,
” the Ladila controller called over the comms.

“Two…”

“
We have an alert…
”

“One…”