“You’re going to have to tell me eventually,” Cameron insisted. “I am your XO, remember?”
“I promise, I’ll fill you in later,” Nathan told her as they entered the command briefing room. Nathan stopped at the doorway, letting Cameron, Jessica, and Abby enter first, Jessica casting a knowing glance at him as she passed.
Tug and Jalea were already sitting on one side of the conference table. Tug had his usual confident yet approachable expression. Jalea’s expression, although as nondescript as usual, hinted at something more. Nathan attributed it to the events in the brig an hour ago.
“Thank you all for coming,” he stated as they made their way around the table. Nathan took his usual place at the head of the table, with Cameron, Jessica, and Abby on his right, Tug and Jalea on his left. Nathan first addressed Tug. “I understand that you and Doctor Sorenson managed to translate your star charts into English and upload them into our navigation system?”
“In a manner of speaking,” Tug said.
“It was a bit complicated at first,” Abby began. “You see, we use a coordinate system with Sol as a zero reference point. The Ta’Akar use their own star as the reference point for their star charts. But most other worlds outside of the Pentaurus cluster use a system that utilizes the galactic center as a reference point.”
“It does sound complicated,” Nathan admitted.
“It might be better to use the more universal of the three,” Cameron added. “Which would be the galactic-centered version.”
“We came to the same conclusion. We got a copy of the galactic charts from the shuttle. But it appears that each chart has at least some information on them the other charts are missing. So we are attempting to use conversion algorithms that will merge the data from all 3 charts into one that is based on the galactic-centered version.”
“Doesn’t that mean we’ll have to relearn our own navigation points?” Cameron asked, not looking forward to the task.
“Well, since we’re new to this region of space, it shouldn’t be that difficult. Besides, it will be more accurate.”
“How so?” Nathan asked. Although he was a trained navigator, it had never been his strongest skill.
“Coordinate systems that use a moving object as a reference point must constantly be recalculated to accommodate the reference point’s movement through space, as it travels out from the galactic center.”
“Stellar drift?”
“Yes. The galactic center does not move, at least not within its own domain. So it provides a relatively fixed point in space from which to calculate the positions of all objects.”
“How long will this take?” Nathan wondered.
“Days, perhaps weeks. Much of our core is still inoperable.”
“We can’t wait that long.”
“Of course not. That’s why we tested the idea by converting only the Pentaurus cluster for now. We now have a galactic-centered star chart for the cluster that is loaded into our navigation system. And thanks to the information contained in the charts from Mister Tugwell’s ship, we also have planetary movements and even common shipping and patrol routes. We can navigate the cluster at will.”
“That’s great,” Nathan exclaimed. He had not liked relying on Jalea’s advice when deciding where to go.
“I am also working on providing details of each system and the worlds within them,” Tug added. “So that you have a basic understanding of the socio-economic and political structures that you might encounter.”
“That will also be very useful,” Nathan said.
“It was at the request of your security chief,” Tug said, tipping his head toward Jessica in acknowledgment.
“Once the conversions are completed, how big an area will it cover?” Nathan asked Abby.
“An area of approximately one hundred light years, Captain. With the Pentaurus cluster roughly at the center.”
“Not quite enough to link up with any of our own navigational charts, though,” Nathan thought aloud, “not even the ones found in the Data Ark.”
“No,” she admitted. “But we are hoping that once the conversion is complete, we might find at least a few stars common on the fringe of both sets, ours and the galactic-centered charts, that will provide us a navigable route home.”
“Then there is hope.”
“Yes. I believe there is.”
Nathan leaned forward in his chair, leaning on the table and clasping his hands together. “So, then. Any ideas where we should go next?”
“If I may,” Cameron asked. Sensing no objections, she pulled out a small drawer built into the table to access controls for the tabletop holographic display system. The room darkened slightly as a three-dimensional holographic representation of the entire Pentaurus cluster, as well as several of the other nearby systems, appeared floating in the air above the table. “Forgive the graphics, as there wasn’t much time to program a proper display. We just used existing elements to represent the objects for now. But at least it gives us a better understanding of the general layout of this region of space.”
“This is the Pentaurus cluster,” she continued, waving her right hand in a circle around the display. There are five stars in the cluster.” Cameron reached up and pointed at a five centimeter, glowing yellow orb floating in the middle of the display. “This is Takar-a G-type star, about three times the size of Sol. It’s planetary system is somewhat similar to our own, with rocky inner planets and a few gas giants farther out. It does, however, have eighteen planets. Seven of them are rocky inner worlds, three of which are hospitable. The rest are a collection of mostly gas giants, as well as a few frozen rocky worlds farther out. Including all the various moons, there are over three hundred objects in the system.”
“Many of the moons orbiting the gas giants are reformed worlds,” Tug added. “I believe at last count there were a total of fifteen bodies in the system that can sustain human life.”
“Impressive,” Nathan admitted.
“Anyway, there are two binary systems nearby. Melbourne, about two light years away, and Taroa about three. Taroa is where we originally entered the cluster and had our first run-in with the Ta’Akar. Taroa’s secondary component, Korak, is the red dwarf with the heavy asteroid belt that we hid in just after that.”
“Yes, I remember it fondly,” Nathan commented.
“Taroa has eleven planets, two of which are inhabited, along with three more reformed moons that are also inhabited. It was on one of those moons that the rebel’s last base was located.”
“It also was a reformed world. It was completed more than three years ago, and was fully developed.”
Nathan noticed the forlorn look on Tug’s face, as well as his use of the past tense. “Was?”
“There were more than three million people living on that small moon. When they refused to reveal our location, the Ta’Akar simply obliterated them from orbit, as a warning to any others that might support us.”
“They glassed the planet?” Jessica asked, shocked.
Tug looked at her for a moment, as he considered the terminology she had used. “Yes. I guess that is as good a term as any. There is undoubtedly little left on the surface.”
After waiting for what seemed like a polite interval, Cameron continued. “Over here,” she said, pointing to another pair of yellow balls orbiting around one another, “we have another binary system called Mellabore. It’s similar in size and type to the Alpha Centauri system near Sol: two G-type stars, the B component smaller than its primary. The primary is called Savoy, and the secondary is called Darvano. Between the two of them, there are about eight inhabited planets and moons.”
“Where are we now?” Nathan asked, looking over the hovering holographic display.
Cameron reached down and pressed a button on the slide-out control drawer, causing the holographic display to zoom out. As it did so, several more stars appeared about the fringe of the display. “We’re about here.” Cameron pressed another button and a small blue triangle appeared next to an amber colored star. “Just outside of the Haven system,” she explained, as she pointed at the amber star. “Just a second.”
Using both hands, Cameron entered several commands into the control pad, pressing the last button as she began to speak again. “As I stated before, we jumped in here, in the Taroa system.” The blue triangle that had appeared next to the amber star representing Haven disappeared, only to re-appear a moment later, overlapping the yellow star representing Taroa. “We then jumped to Korak.” She pushed another button, and the blue triangle repositioned itself overlapping the nearby red dwarf star, a dotted blue line connecting the two stars. “Then we jumped to about the same place we are now, just outside Haven.” Again, the triangle moved, drawing another dotted blue line. “From there we flew into the Haven system at sub-light.” A solid blue line drew itself through the air from its starting point the last few centimeters to the amber star representing Haven. “After that, we did the mini-jump, and then jumped back out to here again.” Finally the blue triangle returned to its position a few centimeters away from the symbol for the Haven star.
“So technically, we’re still outside of Ta’Akar space?” Nathan surmised.
“Actually,” Tug explained, “the Ta’Akar never formally released any of their former worlds from their control. They simply chose to withdraw their forces and cease their governance and taxation. This is one of the reasons that I fully expect them to quickly retake these lost worlds, once they have put their new power source into widespread use.”
“How many worlds are we talking about?” Nathan wondered aloud, noticing that only a few had been added to the display when Cameron had zoomed out.
“This was the area controlled by the Ta’Akar at the start of the rebellion.” Cameron again zoomed out, this time more than twice the distance. At least two dozen more star systems appeared.
“Whoa,” Jessica said under her breath.
“These are the inhabited ones,” Cameron added, pressing another button on the control pad. More than half of the newly added stars in the display suddenly changed to a brilliant lavender. “Eighteen out of the twenty-eight additional systems are inhabited.”
“And many of those have multiple bodies that have been colonized.”
“I had no idea this area of space was so heavily colonized,” Nathan admitted.
“Yes. This area of space is blessed with a great number of bodies that are hospitable by nature, and many more that were easily reformed. It is believed to be one of the main reasons that humans originally settled here.”
“Believed?” Nathan was a bit surprised. “You mean you don’t know?”
“We once did, of course. But remember, Caius has been in power for over one hundred years. During this time, adherence to the Doctrine of Origins required the destruction of all heretic historical documents. As crazy as it sounds, Caius was trying to elevate himself to the level of a God by removing all evidence to the contrary.”
“Kind of takes narcissism to a whole new level, doesn’t he?” Jessica commented.
“Surely, out of all these worlds, someone must possess the truth of how you all came to be out here.”
“There are many,” Jalea interrupted, speaking for the first time since the meeting had begun. “They form an order of sorts, partially spiritual, partially historical. But they maintain documentation of the truth of our origins. This is what Tug refers to when he speaks of the Legend of Origins.”
“Shouldn’t it be called the Truth of Origins?” Nathan suggested.
“Perhaps,” Jalea agreed. “But the Ta’Akar began using the word legend in order to support their claim that the records were no more than fabrications created to further the agenda of the Order. Actually, we had hoped that you would be able to fill in some of the holes in the legend that have been created by the efforts of the Ta’Akar over the decades.”
“Well, as I explained to Tug before, civilization on Earth fell apart because of the plague. Had we not discovered the Data Ark a century ago, we wouldn’t even be back in space yet, let alone a thousand light years from home.”
“Did this Ark contain nothing about the mass exodus from your world?” Jalea asked.
“Only that people fled the core worlds in order to escape the bio-digital plague. We assumed that most of that migration had been to the few fringe worlds that were just being established at the time. We surmised that some expeditions might have struck out on their own, traveling deeper out into space. But early into the plague, the Data Ark was sealed off to protect it. So details about the aftermath are vague at best. The following seven centuries were brutal for the people on Earth. It took more than two hundred years just for the population to start to increase again. There were only a few million people left alive after the plague ran its course.” Nathan sighed. “So, you can see how we would have very little information that might help you. Quite frankly, we were shocked to find out that some of us had traveled out this far.”
Cameron looked around the room, waiting to see if they had finished their discussion. “If we can get back on topic?” Nathan nodded sheepishly. Cameron took his cue and touched the display control pad, zooming in again to show the Pentaurus cluster and a few of the systems on its borders, including their current location just outside of Haven. “Although I still believe that departing the area posthaste would be the most prudent course of action, in line with your orders, sir, Tug and I have discussed the best location in which to conduct repairs and take on more supplies.” Cameron pointed to at the second binary system she had described earlier. “The Mellabore system, or more precisely, the secondary component, Darvano.”
“That’s all the way on the opposite side of the cluster,” Nathan pointed out. “Is it even within our range?”
“Technically, yes,” Abby said. “However, I would prefer that we travel there in two shorter jumps instead of one max-range jump. We have yet to test the drive at its maximum jump range.”
“Other than the thousand light year jump that got us here,” Nathan reminded her. He looked at Tug. “Why Darvano?”
“Several reasons,” Tug started. “First, being so far away, it is not only the last place they would look for you, but it is also the last place that will learn of your existence. Even with the comm-drone system, unless they were to dispatch a dedicated drone, it would take nearly a week for the message to propagate through the system and reach Darvano. Second, the presence of the Order is strong on this world. This usually means that there is considerable support available for our cause. Although if news of our defeat has reached Darvano, then that might no longer be the case.”
“Any other reasons?”
“Yes, and perhaps the most compelling. We have a rather unique facility hiding in the Darvano system. The system has a fairly dense asteroid field. It is heavily mined, using a method whereby the larger asteroids are hollowed out until they are nothing more than an empty shell. Then the shell is sent on a slow intercept trajectory inward where it will be captured by the primary world, Corinair. Once settled into orbit, it is further dismantled into nothing.”
“How does this help us?”
“It takes decades for this process to complete. Therefore there are literally dozens of hollow asteroids scattered throughout the belt, waiting to be de-orbited. And there are hundreds more that have had huge caverns carved out in preparation for an eventual mining station to be placed inside to complete the harvesting. Nearly a decade ago, we prepared one such asteroid to act as a hiding place for a ship even larger than your own. We had hoped to capture such a ship from the Ta’Akar. But that task proved beyond our means, and the effort was abandon. The base, however, remains available. Once inside, your ship would be invisible to all scans. And as far as anyone else knew, it would be just another mining camp operating inside an asteroid.”
“I’m a bit confused, Tug,” Nathan stated. “If this place is such a good hiding place, why didn’t Jalea tell us to go there instead of Korak, or Haven for that matter?” Nathan suspected he already knew the answer. He also suspected that the answer he was about to receive would not be the truth.
“Simple, Captain. Neither she nor Marak knew of its existence. The project had been completed by my cell, under my supervision. The other cells knew of the project, vaguely, but not of its location.”
“Who else knows about this hideout?” Jessica asked.
“My entire cell was killed during our attempt to capture a Ta’Akar warship. I am the only one left alive who knows that this hideout, as you put it, is still available and is located in the Darvano system.”
Nathan wasn’t sure he believed Tug’s explanation. While it did explain a few things, and it lined up nicely with what they already knew about the rebels, it seemed convenient.
“What about patrols?” Jessica asked. “Are there any Ta’Akar ships stationed in the system?”
“The Ta’Akar are down to only about twenty warships. But only three of them are the large capital ships. There were once four of them, until you arrived.” Tug smiled respectfully.
“And the others?” Jessica asked.
“About six of them are the heavier cruisers, like the one that is probably still sitting in the Haven system. The rest are smaller patrol frigates, like the ones you encountered in the Korak system.”
“How are they deployed?”
“The capital ships stay closer in. There are usually two of them in the vicinity of the Takara system, in order to protect the capital. They are normally accompanied by a few of the heavy cruisers as well as several patrol ships. The third will tend to wander amongst the other three systems, making unscheduled visits in order to maintain a visible presence. She generally drags one or two patrol ships along with her. The rest regularly patrol the borders of the cluster, occasionally sticking their noses back into territories that they once directly controlled, just to ensure they are not forgotten.”
“The patrol ships don’t worry me, Captain,” Jessica explained. “But the heavy cruisers are a handful, even if we were at full strength. The capital ships? Forget about it. If we hadn’t jumped in so close to the first one by accident, we wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near it without being vaporized from a hundred-thousand kilometers away.”
“Yeah, and without even breaking a sweat,” Nathan added, remembering the pounding they had taken during their first engagement with the Ta’Akar.
“You are quite correct,” Tug said. “That is exactly why we were never able to capture any of the larger ships. Their reach and their fire rates are too great. We could never get anywhere near them.”
“So you think this base, the one inside the asteroid-this will be a good place for us to hide?”
“Yes, Captain. I do. It was designed to accommodate the repair and retrofitting of spacecraft of at least your size.”
Nathan looked at Cameron. “What do you think, Commander?”
“I’m not crazy about the idea of flying the Aurora into a cave,” she stated emphatically. “What happens if the find us? We’d be sitting ducks inside that rock. How would we even know if anyone were out there when it came time to leave?”
“The base was equipped with external sensors to monitor the area, as well as external communications equipment.”
“They could see that, couldn’t they?” Cameron said. “A rock with sensors and comm-towers on it has got to look suspicious.”
“Unless yours is not the only rock that has such equipment,” Tug pointed out with a smile. “Commander, there are at least a hundred active mining camps located inside such rocks. All of them are similarly equipped. It would look no more suspicious to the Ta’Akar than would the comm-array on your ship.”
“Hiding in plain sight,” Jessica commented. “One of the oldest techniques in the spy game.” She looked at Nathan. “There’s no better way to gather intel than to park your butt right in the middle of the enemy’s backyard.”
“I’m sure you’re right, Jess,” Nathan agreed, “but I have to side with Commander Taylor on this one. The idea of a Ta’Akar ship trolling around the belt while we’re hiding inside an asteroid… well that makes me just a bit nervous.”
“The Ta’Akar ships do not patrol the area in the sense that you mean. When they enter the system, they usually just enter orbit over the most populated world in the system, sit there for a few days, and then depart. These days, they spend more time patrolling the borders of Ta’Akar space than the interiors.”
“What’s the payoff?” Nathan asked. “Other than the cool hideout, what does this system have to offer us?”
“You should be able to find anything you need,” Jalea told him. “Food, medicine, parts, raw materials. You can even hire additional skilled labor if desired, to help you with your repairs. Corinair is not Haven. It is a highly advanced, fully developed, industrialized world with more than a billion inhabitants. There are even small shipyards located within the asteroid belt itself, servicing the smaller ships that ply the belt.”
“I see,” Nathan said, leaning back in his chair. “Then what exactly are you proposing that we do?” The question was directed at Tug. Rather than jousting back and forth, Nathan preferred to let Tug explain his vision of a plan, and then decide how it fit with their own goals.
“I’m not sure I understand, Captain.”
“Assume for a moment that we have agreed to join forces with you to help you defeat the Ta’Akar, in exchange for which you would provide us with a working version of this zero-point energy device. What would your plan be?”
Tug looked at Nathan, then Jalea, then Jessica and Cameron. He had not expected such a question and felt ill-prepared. “Well, from what you’ve told me so far, your ship is not only in need of repair, but its construction is also incomplete. The asteroid base I spoke of would be ideal for this task, as it is already equipped with power generation, living quarters, a medical bay, and even modest fabrication shops. Also, and please take no offense at this, it would appear that your technology is somewhat behind our own. Maybe not in all areas, but in most. We might be able to improve some of your existing systems, or even add some of our technology to them to give you greater capabilities. In fact, if we could capture even one small patrol frigate, we might be able to install many of their systems on board your vessel. Combined with the tactical advantage of your jump drive, we could quickly defeat many of their ships-maybe even strike at the heart of the Ta’Akar capital-cutting off the head of the dragon, so to speak.”
“Whoa, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, there, Tug,” Nathan exclaimed. “Helping you take out a few ships, maybe even capture one or two of them to give you a fighting chance-that’s one thing. Jumping into the middle of the primary system and attacking their leader? That’s quite another.”
“If you want access to the zero-point energy device, that’s where you have to go. To Takara.”
“We’re not interested in helping you over-throw the entire regime, Tug.”
“No one is asking you to do so. But if you want the device, you have to go to Takara. If you wait for them to install it on one of their ships in the hopes of trying to capture that ship, it will be too late.”
Nathan sighed, wondering how they had managed to get in so deeply in such a short period of time. All he had been doing since they had arrived was trying to find a way home.
“Doctor Sorenson,” Nathan asked, “how long would it take us to multi-jump all the way home?”
“Assuming that we restrict ourselves to jumps of eight light years, for safety sake, and that we spend ten hours at each stop to recharge and perform service and diagnostics-about fifty-two days. Throw in down time for maintenance along the way, and I’d revise that estimate to at least two months. And that’s assuming the drive can make that many jumps without any catastrophic failures.”
“And what are the chances that we could significantly reduce the transit time utilizing the zero-point energy device?”
“If it works, then we could be home in a single jump.”
“That’s a pretty big guess, isn’t it?” Cameron challenged.
“No, I don’t believe so,” Abby defended. “Look, we got here in one jump, so we know that it can be done. And the math supports the theory of unlimited range. It’s simply a matter of available power. We use these energy banks because we don’t have the ability to generate that much power all at once. According to the math, a zero-point energy device just might provide the power that we need.” She looked around the room, noticing all the doubting expressions. “At the very least, it could reduce the number of jumps needed to get home to a dozen or so. We could be home in a week.”
“And the Earth would have not only a jump drive, but also a zero-point energy device,” Jessica added. “That sure would help in their defense against the Jung.”
“Yes, it would,” Nathan admitted.
“As would any of our technology that could be added to your ship, Captain,” Tug reminded them.
“Nathan,” Cameron pleaded. “So far, we’ve not been the aggressor, but you’re talking about going on the offensive.”
“I’m not so sure that the Ta’Akar would see it that way,” Nathan said. “After all, we jumped into the middle of the battle and put four torpedoes into a capital ship. I’d call that aggressive.”
“But that was only because we were being fired upon.”
“Maybe so,” he admitted. “But the Earth needs our jump drive to defend herself. And while helping the Karuzari in exchange for technology might not get us home any faster, turning tail and running home may take longer than the Earth can afford to wait. And if that is the case, then a few more days in the Pentaurus cluster won’t change that. And it might even make us better equipped to make that journey home, should we decide to do things your way.”
Jessica looked at Nathan out of the corner of her eye, as she knew what was coming, just as Cameron did.
“Tug, I would like you and Jessica to work out a plan on how we might best achieve both our goals in short order. I’m not saying that I’m committing to the idea, but I would like to see some ideas on the matter before I decide.”
Tug looked at Jalea and then Jessica, before turning his eyes back to Nathan. “As you wish, Captain.”
“Dismissed.”
There was a slight pause before everyone stood and began to make their way out of the room.
“Doctor, a word?” Nathan asked. Abby sat back down as Nathan waited for the room to clear. Satisfied that they were alone, he spoke. “What I’m about to discuss is classified, for our ears only. Is that understood?”
“Of course.”
“You still have the suicide implant?”
“Yes.”
“I need you to rig a booby trap on the jump drive.”
“Excuse me?”
“Something that will not only fry the thing, but also wipe all data from your system’s main frame. Program an authorization code with a thirty second delay to execution. Set it up so that only you or I can activate it. Can that be done?”
“Yes, sir. It shouldn’t be difficult. But why-”
“There’s one more thing I need from you, Abby.” Nathan leaned forward and looked her dead in the eyes. “You are the only person alive who understands this technology. Am I right?”
“Yes, sir. The project was highly compartmentalized for just that reason.”
“That’s what I figured. If one of us scuttles the jump drive, I’m afraid you’ll also have to activate your suicide implant. It’s the only way to ensure that this technology does not fall into the wrong hands.”
Abby stared at Nathan for what seemed like an eternity. She had contemplated the possibility of having to take her own life to protect her world since the day the suicide implant was placed into her tooth. But suddenly, the likelihood of that moment actually coming to be was a distinct possibility. “I understand, sir.” Her answer was more instinctive than cognitive. After another long moment, she spoke again. “My I ask, why now?”
“Let’s just say that I’m not sure who to trust.”
“Do you think we’re walking into a trap?”
“The thought has crossed my mind,” he admitted.
As he walked into the mess hall, Nathan immediately noticed something was different. Not only were there more diners there, but the place was actually clean. The chaos of the last week, combined with a drastic lack of crew, had resulted in an eating environment that had been in dire lack of attention. It wasn’t that the crew were slobs, it was simply that no one had the time.
Apparently, the stranded workers from the harvesting team had the time and had taken it upon themselves to give the room a thorough cleaning after they had finished prepping all the molo. Nearly all of the surviving workers were sitting down to eat, as were nearly a dozen of the crew. In fact, Nathan couldn’t remember the last time he saw so many of his crew in one place, other than in the main treatment room in the Medical section.
The room smelled inviting as well, with the smell of what had to be a molo-based dish of some type wafting from the galley to the left of the mess hall. Nathan made his way over to the service window, nodding at diners as he passed.
“Good evening, Captain,” the Volonese woman said to him from behind the serving counter. “Would you like some stew?”
“Yes, please.” Nathan watched as she dished up a hefty bowl of steaming hot stew. There were big chunks of what he recognized as molo, along with a few other vegetables that Tug had provided. It was all swimming in a dark-brown broth that smelled quite pungent as she handed the bowl to him.
“Kala bread?”
“Huh?”
“Would you like some Kala bread?”
“We have bread?”
“Of course,” she said, a smile on her face. “You can’t have stew without bread,” she told him as she handed him a roll bigger than his fist.
“Thank you,” he said, placing the warm roll on his tray.
“Nathan.” Vladimir stepped up next to him at the service counter. “I heard our guests were cooking something,” he exclaimed as the woman handed him a bowl of stew and a roll. Vladimir took a long sniff of his stew. “Oh, I tell you, after eating the food on Haven, I was not looking forward to eating more escape-pod food.”
Nathan and Vladimir left the service counter and made their way across the room toward an empty table in the corner of the mess hall.
“So, how are the repairs going?” Nathan asked.
“Fine. Not too much was damaged during the last battle. Lost some more rail guns, got some more holes in the outer hull. The inertial dampeners are still not up to full power. But all the main systems are working. Propulsion, power, life support, maneuvering, they are all good.”
“I’d really like to get the torpedo systems working again.”
“Nathan, you only have two torpedoes left. We can manually load them into the two undamaged tubes and fire them manually if need be. There are more important things to work on.”
“Such as?”
“Most of my people are working for Doctor Sorenson, making sure the jump drive is working properly. She is most concerned with the telemetry from the emitters. She claims that having to make jumps without knowing how many emitters are working is giving her gray hairs. The rest are working with Allet to get all rail guns working at better-than-original specifications, thanks to Allet’s improvements.”
“Well, that’s good news, at least. We’re probably going to need them.”
“Why? Where are you taking us now?”
“Someplace called Corinair. It’s on the other side of the Pentaurus cluster.”
Vladimir continued to devour his food at more than twice the rate of Nathan. “What is there?”
“Apparently, they have some sort of rebel base there. And get this, it’s inside an asteroid, no less.”
“Inside?”
“Yeah. According to Tug, we can fly right in and park. They have some kind of repair and refit facility there.”
“Interesting idea,” Vladimir said as he tore off a piece of his roll and popped it into his mouth. “So, you are considering using this facility?”
“Yes. I gotta tell you, though. It makes me a little nervous.”
“Why? Because you have to fly into a cave?”
“No, because it could be a trap.”
“You are being paranoid, Nathan.”
“You trust them?”
“Of course not. But if they wanted to capture the ship, they could’ve done so long ago. This ship is not as secure as everyone seems to think it is.”
“Well, that’s comforting.”
“My point is, I do not believe their intention is a hostile takeover.”
“I hope you’re right. I sure wouldn’t mind fixing the hole in the bow. Flying around with a hole in our hull just doesn’t sit well with me.”
Nathan noticed Tug and Jalea entering the mess hall, along with both of Tug’s daughters. “It’s got to be hard for them,” Nathan commented, gesturing toward Tug and his girls. “Losing their mother and their home all in one day.”
“Deliza seems to be handling it pretty well,” Vladimir said.
“Really?”
“She was following me around engineering, asking me questions for more than an hour. She said she was bored sitting in her cabin. She’s a very smart young lady. And she is much easier to understand than Allet.”
“Maybe you should put her to work.” Nathan said, only half joking.
“I just might,” Vladimir said in between spoonfuls of molo stew. “I can use all the help I can get down there. And who knows, she might teach me some new tricks, yes?”
Nathan had to smile at the image of his larger-than-life Russian friend taking lessons from a demure sixteen year-old girl on how to fix the ship’s systems.
“You know, this molo stew, it is not too bad,” Vladimir commented as he finished the last of his serving, sponging up the remaining broth with his roll.
“That’s good, because we may be eating a lot of it for awhile.”
“More stew, sir?”
“Yes, please,” Vladimir exclaimed, his mouth still full of bread as he leaned back to make room for the Volonese woman. She filled her ladle and deposited its contents into his bowl. Vladimir admired the woman’s ample bosom as she deposited a second scoop into his bowl, then looked at Nathan, his eyebrows bouncing up and down twice in rapid succession as a grin formed on his face. Nathan just shook his head slightly, smiling back. Despite all that had happened to them over the last week, Vladimir hadn’t changed a bit.
“My compliments to the chef,” Vladimir exclaimed. The stew, it is Ochen vkusna.”
“Spaseeba,” the woman answered.
Vladimir’s mouth dropped, as did his spoon. “You’re Russian?” He was as excited as a little boy on his birthday.
“Nyet,” she told him.
“But you speak Russian?”
“I speak many languages,” she stated proudly. “Sadly, though, my Russian is not very good.”
“I will teach you, then,” Vladimir promised. He quickly brushed off his hands on his pants before offering it to her. “I am Vladimir. What is your name?”
“Naralena. My friends call me Nara.”
“Then I may call you Nara?”
“We shall see,” she answered coyly.
“Ah, there is hope,” Vladimir exclaimed victoriously.
“You have an interesting accent, Naralena. Where are you from?”
“Volon, Captain. The same place you pretend your ship is from.” She suddenly dropped her accent and started speaking in what Nathan recognized as perfect Angla. “The accent was more for the benefit of your friend. I can use many accents.”
“That’s an unusual skill.”
“I was a translator before I was sent to Haven.”
“Really? How many languages do you speak?”
“At last count, I believe it was eight.”
Nathan almost choked on his stew. “You speak eight languages?”
“Fluently, yes. But I can also communicate in several others, only not as well.”
“That’s quite impressive.”
“Thank you, Captain. But it is not as impressive as you might think. I was genetically skewed to have a talent for languages.”
“I see. Nevertheless, I am still impressed.”
The woman smiled politely as she left to check on the next table of diners.
Vladimir leaned forward in order to be discreet and smiled. “I think I’m in love.”
“What, again?”
“Captain. Chief.” Josh addressed as he and Loki stepped up to the table, their dinner trays in hand. “Mind if we join you?”
“Not at all, gentlemen. Have a seat.”
“Thought you might like to know, we’ve got one shuttle all checked out and ready to go,” Josh told him as they sat down and prepared to eat. “And between the harvester and the other shuttle, we should have enough used parts to keep the remaining shuttle flying for some time as long as we don’t get shot at too much.”
“We’ll try to keep you out of the line of fire,” Nathan promised. He noticed a confused look on Vladimir’s face. “Didn’t I tell you?” he said to Vladimir. “I hired these guys to be the flight crew for the shuttle. This way, we won’t have to depend on strangers for rides.”
“And they are not strange?” Vladimir said.
“Well, he is,” Loki admitted, pointing at Josh.
Vladimir let out a chortle. “Listen, I’ve flown with you two. Trust me, you’re both insane.”
Both Josh and Loki watched the big Russian’s facial expression cautiously until they were sure he was kidding.
“Did you say that you can use parts from the harvester for the shuttle?” Nathan asked.
“Sure,” Josh answered, as if it were common knowledge.
“They’re both made by the same manufacturer,” Loki explained. “Many of the systems are identical.”
“Makes sense,” Nathan said as he scooped up the last of his stew.
“Captain,” Josh started. “I was wondering something.”
Nathan noticed that Josh looked a little apprehensive, as did Loki. “What is it?” he asked.
“No offense intended, but if this ship is from Earth, and we all originally came from Earth, why is that most of our technology is more advanced than yours?”
Nathan thought for a moment. “Well, you’ve all heard about the Legend of Origin, right?”
“Sure,” Josh said, looking at Loki who nodded as well.
“What does it tell you about what happened on Earth?”
“Just that there was some terrible evil that drove humanity deeper out into the galaxy.”
“Well, that’s a pretty vague description, but fairly accurate.”
“So, what really happened?”
“Well, it happened about a thousand years ago. At that time, there were five more worlds that had been colonized and fully developed. There were also about a dozen or so fringe worlds that had recently been settled. I guess you could say it was similar to the Pentaurus cluster, except a little more spread out, over about 100 light years, actually. But then there was a plague-the Great Bio-Digital Plague. That’s what we call it. This plague started as a computer virus that rapidly spread throughout the various networks on Earth and then eventually out to other worlds.”
“The terrible evil was a computer virus?” Josh asked. “How is a computer virus such a threat?”
“Back then, most people regularly used cybernetic implants to link their brains with computer systems. Through these implants, the digital virus would cause chemical reactions in the brain that would create a biological virus-a sort of super-cancer-that would rapidly reconfigure cells in the body and cause them to grow out of control. The result was rapid disfigurement, both internally and externally. It had a mortality rate of over ninety percent. And once it became biological, it was also contagious. To make matters worse, it constantly transformed itself, making it impossible to combat.”
“Damn,” Loki muttered. “Who would create such a thing?”
“No one ever found out,” Nathan told them. “Once the plague started spreading, everything rapidly fell apart. Economies crumbled. Infrastructure fell apart. Governments collapsed. People went crazy with fear, rioting, looting, killing each other in order to survive. In less than a decade, eighty percent of the population of the Earth and the Core Worlds had either died or left. If it weren’t for a small percentage of the population that seemed to have a natural immunity, the Earth and the Core Worlds would probably still be abandoned.”
“But I still don’t get why our tech is more advanced,” Josh said.
“With so few people left on Earth, there were not enough people to keep things going. Industry quickly ground to a halt, and within a century, the population of Earth became more tribal and agrarian. They were just trying to survive. Within a few generations, technology became nothing more than useless garbage. And since books had all been converted to digital format centuries earlier, there were no records of what once was. Everything was basically forgotten. What little was remembered was passed down through the generations through stories more than anything else.”
“How did you guys rebuild? I mean, obviously you did, or else we wouldn’t be talking right now.”
“Slowly, over many centuries. Most of our technology had to be rediscovered, relearned. We still had some memory of what we had been, but we’d forgotten a lot of the basics. Quite frankly, it was difficult. We lacked the population needed to support rapid industrial and technological advancement. And our health care was also sorely lacking. At the rate we were progressing, it would’ve taken us at least another five hundred years to get back out into deep space.”
“So how did you make the leap?”
“The Data Ark,” Nathan said.
Josh and Loki looked at each other. “The what?”
“A hundred years ago, archaeologists uncovered a massive underground complex in northern Europe. It contained all human history, culture, religion, and science, for as far back as human history had been recorded. With the knowledge contained in the Data Ark we were able to advance our civilization as much as three hundred years in only a century.”
“What about all of us?” Josh asked. “How did we get out here?”
“Well, we’re not really clear on that. It seems that only the very beginning of the plague was recorded in the Data Ark. Once it started getting out of control, the facility was sealed for fear of contamination. But what we have been able to piece together is that there were a lot of last minute expeditions carrying refugees trying to escape the plague. At first, they were trying to seek refuge on fringe worlds that had already been settled. But when the plague started showing up on those worlds as well, they started closing their doors to refugees. So the refugees must’ve gone farther out into the galaxy. There were quite a number of habitable worlds that had been cataloged and scheduled for exploration at the time. But to my knowledge, none of them were this far out. How your people ended up all the way out here is as much a mystery to me as it is to you.”
Josh was deep in thought as he considered what Nathan had just told them. It was an uncharacteristic expression for the young man, whose face was usually quite animated. “But our tech is not that much more advanced than yours,” Josh observed. “I mean, if we’ve had a thousand years to build on while you all were back to pooping in the woods-we should be a lot more advanced.”
“Most of those expeditions left in a hurry,” Nathan told him. “Like I said, the exact details are sketchy, since everything was falling apart as they left. But I would imagine that many expeditions left somewhat woefully equipped. Who knows how much tech, supplies, and equipment your forefathers brought with them? Or how many people were on your expedition as well? Or what happened to your settlements over all those centuries? There’s a lot of reasons that your development could have stalled to some degree. The fact that you have all done as well as you have, and this far away from Earth-that alone is amazing.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Josh agreed. “So who are these Jung I keep hearing your crew talk about?”
Nathan was a bit surprised by the sudden change in topic. “What are they saying?”
“We just overhear things, mostly. People talking about how they need to get back to Earth to help protect it against the Jung.”
Nathan nodded his understanding.
“So who are they then?”
“Gentlemen, I’m going to have to let the Chief here tell you about that. I’ve got to get some rest,” Nathan announced, stretching his arms as he prepared to depart.
“You cannot use our quarters,” Vladimir told him.
“What?” Nathan stopped in mid-stretch. “Why not?”
“It has been commandeered by medical. I’ve moved into Chief Patel’s quarters.” Vladimir shrugged sympathetically. “Sorry, roommie. I guess you’ll have to move into the captain’s quarters.”
“Yeah, I was kind of hoping to avoid that as long as possible,” Nathan admitted as he rose. “Gentlemen, I leave you in the hands of Chief Kamenetskiy.”
Josh and Loki bid the captain goodnight as he departed, a moment later, eagerly turning their chairs to better face Vladimir.
“So what about these Jung?” Josh repeated.
“Well, we do not know much about them,” Vladimir began. “In fact, we only learned of their existence a little over twenty years ago. We had not even gone beyond our own orbit at the time. All that we know, we have learned by monitoring transmissions emanating from other worlds in the core. We know that the Jung have conquered all of the core, except Earth. Alpha Centauri-the closest system to Earth-was the last to fall, not even a month ago.”
“What makes you so sure that they will come to Earth?”
“Well, no one can be sure. But their behavior suggests that their eventual goal is to control all human inhabited worlds.”
“Sounds familiar,” Loki said.
“This ship-and her sister ship, the Celestia-were to be the first ships capable of faster-than-light travel. We were going to try and negotiate a peaceful coexistence with the Jung Dynasty.”
“Do you think that would work?” Loki asked.
“Many people hoped so. But at the same time, we were preparing to defend ourselves against invasion. We already have four battleships patrolling our system. They are very powerful and heavily armed. But they are only sub-light ships, and not even very fast ones.”
“What about your jump drive? Can’t you put them on the other ships as well?”
“Ours is the only one in existence, I’m afraid.”
“Then what the hell are you doing out here?” Josh wondered aloud.
“That is also a long story,” Vladimir sighed.
“We’ve got time,” Loki assured him. By the rate that Josh’s head was nodding up and down, it was obvious that he had the time to listen as well.
Nathan pressed the touch-panel on the wall alongside the hatchway. In response to his touch, the lights in the room began to glow softly, coming up to half intensity a moment later. The room, although spartan, was much bigger than the tiny two-bunk cabin he had shared with Vladimir.
He closed the hatch behind him and took a few steps deeper inside the main room. It wasn’t too big, maybe four meters square. It had a large rectangular view screen running along the back wall over what looked to be a comfortable couch, with a metal coffee table in front of it. The wall directly opposite the couch had another large view screen, presumably for entertainment purposes. To his right, there was a small office area, complete with desk and computer workstation. To his left was the entrance to his private bedroom and bath.
As he slowly walked around the cabin, he couldn’t help but feel like he was intruding on the private chambers of the late Captain Roberts. Rumor was that the captain had spent very little time in his quarters, coming here only for sleep and showers. He had lived in his ready room for the most part. He had only been in command of the Aurora for a few months before he died. And all but the last day had been spent in port. He had never even taken the time to put up a single picture on the wall, or place a memento on the nightstand.
Nathan entered the bedroom, activating the lights in that room as well. The closet was standing open and Nathan could see that his uniforms were already properly hung. No doubt Cameron had seen to it hours ago. His duffel was on the floor of the closet, next to his athletic shoes and extra duty boots.
The bed was large and comfortable, but Nathan couldn’t bring himself to lay on it. Instead, he turned off the lights and returned to the living room. He meandered about the room, imagining Captain Roberts sitting at the desk in the corner, hard at work. Despite the fact that he had spent so little time here, Nathan couldn’t seem to shake his presence.
Nathan made his way to the small kitchenette area tucked in behind the office. He opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, opening it and taking a long drink as he made his way to the couch. He plopped unceremoniously onto the couch, letting out a long sigh before pulling another long drink of water. This morning, he had woken on an alien world and dined on a simple porridge. By lunch he had been under attack by Ta’Akar assault troops. And by dinner, he already had his security chief and the leader of the local rebellion drawing up plans for a surgical strike against a potentate who saw himself as a God. It had been a full day.
Nathan noticed a small black box sitting on the coffee table in front of him. He leaned forward and picked it up. He opened the box and found the bloody captain’s bars that the late Captain Roberts had given him on his death bed. He recalled the Captain’s last words. Get them home, it’s their only hope.
He carefully placed the small box back on the coffee table, leaving the lid open. After taking another drink from his bottle, he stretched out on the couch to rest. So much for an easy assignment, he thought.