Ep.#14 - "The Weak and the Innocent" (The Frontiers Saga) (15 page)

“There’s no way that’s true,” Karahl protested. “I’m pretty sure someone would have noticed.”

“From what Gerard told me, it’s only supposed to happen when the host is alone. And it doesn’t happen to everyone. Usually only when the host is regularly privy to intelligence that the Jung would find useful. That’s when the nanites start replicating in order to take control of the host. That’s when they turn them into operatives. The hosts don’t even know that they
are
operatives. Everyone else just uploads when they walk through what they think are just security checkpoint scanners.”

“The Jung have them everywhere,” Kata explained. “They’re literally on every block. They can activate at any time, and when they do, you’re required to go through them if you’re walking by. If you don’t, you’ll get arrested. They believe that the randomness of such security screenings prevents people from carrying contraband items, like weapons and illegal substances.”

“For all we know, they do scan the Koharans for such items,” Jessica said. “They’re just uploading any data the Koharans’ nanites have obtained since their last scan at the same time. Jesus, it’s hard to imagine a better intelligence gathering system, assuming they have really good algorithms to sort through all that intel.”

Kata shook her head in astonishment. “This is exactly what I’m talking about. This is the kind of thing that has me confused. All this time, I thought the nanites were just keeping us healthy.”

“Not to defend the Jung,” the admiral said, “but they probably do just that. It’s just not the only thing they do.”

“There are people on my world who are convinced the Jung are trying to destroy us. Slowly, over time. They claim that birthrates are down and, despite improved general health, the average lifespan has become shorter. But people argue that we do more, take more risks, push the limits, and that more people are killed in accidents than ever before.”

“And the Jung nanites don’t help with that?” Dumar wondered.

“No, they don’t.”

“What else have the Jung supposedly done for your people?” the admiral asked.

“Well, for starters, they reconnected all three worlds in the Tau Ceti system.”

“Then you were not back in space before the Jung arrived?”

“No, just like you, the plague set us back for centuries. We
knew
the other worlds were out there, even after the plague nearly wiped us out. At least, we assumed that if some of us had survived on Kohara, then it was likely that some had survived on Stennis and Sorenson as well. Eventually, once the electricity was flowing again, we were able to send messages between our worlds, but that was about it. The Jung gave us back our technology. They brought us forward several hundred years in only a few decades.”

“But they didn’t give you interstellar travel?” Jessica noticed.

“No,” Kata admitted. “They told us there were many worlds still infected, and they would not allow anyone to travel between worlds without being carefully scrutinized to ensure the plague never spread in such a way ever again. And why would we argue that? The bio-digital plague died out on our worlds over eight hundred years ago. And with three worlds in our own system, we have little need to travel to the stars, as the population of all three worlds combined is still only a few billion.”

“You say they
gave
you space travel…” Dumar began.

“They got us back into space, but they didn’t
give
us space travel,” Kata corrected. “Sure, they helped us build an orbital shipyard, and taught us how to build ships capable of interplanetary travel, so that all three of our worlds would be connected again. But the only space travel they gave us was what they allowed. Even within our own system, they still controlled every flight. Sure, we had plenty of Koharan pilots flying cargo and passengers between the Cetian worlds, but it was always under the supervision of the Jung. The thing is, no one really minded. Life was a lot better. The economies of all three worlds prospered like never before, and the standard of living improved.”

“These dissidents,” Jessica wondered, “the ones that raised concerns about the real motives of the Jung occupation, what happened to them?”

“Oh, they’re still out there,” Kata assured her. “They mostly spread their propaganda anonymously, through the nets, to avoid prosecution. The CLA loves them, as they help make young men ripe for recruitment.”

“CLA?” Dumar echoed, unfamiliar with the term.

“Cetian Liberation Army,” Jessica clarified.

“Hardly an army,” Kata corrected her. “More like a bunch of loosely affiliated gangs. However, in retrospect, that may have been what the Jung wanted us to believe all along.” Kata sighed. “You see what I mean about it being confusing?”

“And what did they tell you about the Earth?” Admiral Dumar asked.

Kata quickly turned to look at the admiral, hit by a realization. “You’re not from here, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

“I guess that shouldn’t surprise me,” Kata said, shaking her head. “They told
us
that the Earth had been the source of the bio-digital plague, which of course was something we had always assumed to begin with. They said you found an ancient digital repository of knowledge, and used that repository to regain your technology, to get back out into space considerably sooner than you should have. They also claimed that the bio-digital virus was lurking within that repository, that it had re-infected the Earth, and that you were trying to get away from the source of the infection. They said they had managed to quarantine your world, but then you invented a new interstellar propulsion system using knowledge from this repository. They claim they were
forced
to attack the Earth in an attempt to sterilize it once and for all… for the benefit of
all
humans
throughout
the core,
and beyond
.”

“How noble of them,” Admiral Dumar muttered.

“I gather their claims are not accurate?” Kata guessed.

“Let’s see,” Jessica began, “the thing about us finding a repository of knowledge was true. After that, they pretty much threw the truth out the window.”

* * *

“Ensign Hayes! Ensign Sheehan!” Jessica shouted above the din of the lift engines that filled the air o
f the busy Porto Santo airbase. Her smile nearly stretched from ear to ear as she approached the two young men.

Both men turned their heads in response.

“Jess!” Josh greeted her excitedly. He instinctively started to reach out as if to give her a hug, then stopped as he remembered he was no longer a civilian. “Sir,” he replied smartly, coming to attention along with Loki. They both raised their hands to their brow in standard salute.

Jessica returned their salutes in lackadaisical fashion as she approached, her expression mocking their seriousness. “Ensigns.” Her smile broadened again. “Come here,” she added, extending her arms to hug them both. “Managed to get through another one, did you?” she said as she embraced her two favorite pilots. “And came out as ensigns, no less,” she added as she pulled away and looked them over. “Not bad.”

“Not bad?” Josh chided. “It was a bitch!”

“Hey, stop whining. It took the rest of us four years.”

“It’s great to see you back safe,” Loki said. He looked down for a moment, his voice lowering to a solemn tone. “We heard about Weatherly. Sucks.”

“The sergeant died a hero,” Jessica said firmly. “He stayed behind to make sure the Jung didn’t get their hands on a jump drive.”

“Where’s Naralena?” Josh wondered.

“She’s still down on the surface,” Jessica said.

“Of Kohara?” Josh exclaimed. “That place is crawling with Jung…”

“I heard. She’s safe though. I left her with an underground group run by an EDF spec-ops who’s been undercover on Kohara for decades. I’m on my way to talk to Telles about getting her out.”

“The sooner the better,” Loki insisted.

“But first, I’ve got new orders for you two.” Jessica turned back and gestured for Kata and Karahl, both of whom had been hanging back a few meters, to approach. “Boys, this is Kata Mun and Karahl Essa. Kata, Karahl, this is Ensign Josh Hayes, and this is Ensign Loki Sheehan, and they are, without a doubt, my two favorite pilots.”

Josh and Loki exchanged greetings with Kata and Karahl as Jessica continued to speak.

“Kata is a journalist from Kohara, and Karahl is her videographer. Admiral Dumar has authorized them to conduct interviews and record video of pretty much anything they want.”

“Anything?”

“Well, anything that isn’t classified,” Jessica corrected. “Don’t worry, we’ll be screening all their footage before releasing it.”

“What are they going to do with these interviews?” Loki wondered.

“Well, the Jung have been spreading rumors among the Cetian people that we’re all a bunch of whacked out, disease-infested killers trying to spread the bio-digital plague all over the galaxy, and that the Jung have just been trying to keep us quarantined to our own little world in order to protect all of humanity. Damn fine people, those Jung, aren’t they?”

Both Josh and Loki looked confused.

“The admiral wants to show the Cetian people the truth,” Jessica explained. “All of it, and as unfiltered as possible.”

“I’m pretty sure the admiral wasn’t talking about us,” Josh insisted.

“Why not?” Kata asked. “You both look like fine young officers.”

Josh snickered. “She got the young part correct.”

“If she wants to interview the two of you, you will cooperate, understood?” Jessica cautioned.

“Yes, sir,” they both replied.

Loki looked at Jessica. “Those are our orders?” he asked, one eyebrow raised. “To let Miss Mun interview us?”

“Not exactly,” Jessica began.

Josh’s eyes closed and his head drooped down. “Oh, no.” He looked back up at Jessica, his face pleading. “Come on, Jess. Why do we always have to play chauffeurs?”

“Because you two are such wonderful guys,” Jessica teased. “Besides, look around. It’s not like we’ve got a lot of pilots to spare these days.”

“But we’re Falcon pilots, Jess,” Josh argued. “We fly combat missions, remember?”

“Well, there’s not going to be any combat for a few weeks now, is there? Would you rather be doing eighteen-hour recon cold coasts? Because that’s going to be what’s filling the mission boards for the next few weeks.”

Josh’s eyes widened. “Oh, we’d love to fly Miss Mun and Mister Essa around, sir. I can’t think of
anything
I’d rather do.”

Loki looked off to the side, then at Kata and Karahl, feigning a smile.

“Look, checkout a utility jump shuttle and find yourself a crew chief to go along. You’ll also be taking a couple of Corinari along as security, just in case.”

“Just in case of what?” Josh wondered.

“Then we’re all set.” Jessica ignored him and turned to Kata and Karahl. “If you two will follow Ensign Sheehan, he’ll show you around a bit while they’re waiting for a shuttle to be assigned to them.”

“Thank you,” Kata replied.

“If you’d both just follow me,” Loki said, turning to lead them across the hangar bay.

Josh rolled his eyes. “I guess there’s worse duty.” He turned to follow Loki, but Jessica grabbed his arm to stop him.

“Hey, Josh, did they teach you how to use that sidearm, or did they just teach you how to zip up your jump suit and shine your boots?”

Josh looked at her, his brow furrowed. “Uh, yeah, they taught us how to fire a pistol. Why?”

“Good. Listen,” she began, stepping in close so that no one else could hear. “If either one them suddenly go catatonic on you, just shoot them in the head, got it?”

“What? What the hell does catatonic mean?”

“You know, eyes roll back in their heads, staring at the wall. You know, like zombies.”

“Zombies?”

“Zombies. If they do that, kill them.” Jessica turned away, fighting back a smile.

Josh looked confused for a moment before it dawned on him. “Ah, you’re joking, right? Sir? You
are
joking, aren’t you? Jess?” Josh sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “Of course she’s joking,” he reassured himself as he turned to follow Loki. After a few steps, he turned around and continued walking backwards as he watched Jessica walk away without looking back. “She has to be joking,” he muttered as he turned back around and continued walking.

* * *

Nathan entered the Karuzara’s conference hall with Vladimir and Jessica, pausing inside the doorway to look around the room. The senior-m
ost members of the Alliance’s three remaining ships were present, each of them clustered in their own little groups. In addition, leaders from the different operating groups on Porto Santo were in attendance. In total, there were more than twenty people waiting patiently in a room designed to hold five times that number. The relatively low attendance was disheartening.

Nathan spotted plenty of empty seats to the right of Cameron and the Celestia’s senior officers, all of whom appeared more comfortable in their surroundings than most of the others in attendance. They had been living and working on the Karuzara for more than a month and today’s meeting represented a welcome break from the never-ending grind of trying to repair and upgrade their battered ship.

Nathan and his group moved into the room, making their way along the outside aisle and then in between rows. “Captain Taylor,” Nathan greeted as he took a seat next to Cameron. “Commander,” Nathan added, nodding at Cameron’s XO, Commander Kovacic on her left.

“Good to see you all,” Cameron replied. “How long have you been back?”

“A few hours,” Nathan commented as he settled into his seat. “Had a long after-action debrief.”

“I heard it was a rough battle. I heard you came out relatively unscathed, though.”

“For once,” Nathan said. “Unfortunately, others weren’t so lucky.”

“I heard about Tug,” Cameron said, her tone becoming sympathetic. “I’m sorry, Nathan. I know how close you two were.”

“Thanks.”

Cameron leaned forward, looking past Nathan to Jessica. “Good to see you made it home, Jessica. How’s Robert?”

“He’s still out of it, but he’ll recover. Probably killed a few thousand brain cells, so he’ll be dumber than before…” Jessica stopped as Admiral Dumar entered the room and the murmurs began to fade.

The admiral walked up to the podium and paused to look out at the faces of his people. He had seen most of them less than an hour ago in the after-action debriefing. Others he either saw occasionally in passing, or on his frequent visits to the various facilities on Porto Santo Island. “First, I’d like to thank everyone who had to suffer through that rather agonizing debriefing. I know from experience that one of the hardest things to do, next to battle, is having to talk about it afterwards and listen to others critique your actions. But it is how we learn, from both our own mistakes and from the mistakes of others. My summaries and opinions of the Battle of Tau Ceti will be available for all command personnel by the end of the day. I strongly suggest that everyone, whether you participated in the action or not, read them.”

The admiral took a moment to let his words sink in before continuing. “As you all know, we lost a lot of good people yesterday, not only in the Sol sector, but in the Pentaurus sector as well. We lost a lot of good ships as well. For those of you from the Pentaurus sector, you should know that yesterday, a rebellion occurred in the Takar system. A handful of noble houses, with the assistance of members of the Ybaran Legions, overthrew and unseated House Ta’Akar as the leading family of Takara. In the process, they executed Casimir Ta’Akar. His eldest daughter, Deliza Ta’Akar, along with Yanni Hiller and the original data cores from Earth, escaped with the help of Captain Suvan Navarro and the Avendahl. They are all currently in the Darvano system. The loss of civilian lives on Takara was minimal, however the loss of military lives and equipment was substantial. Furthermore, the impact these events will have on Alliance efforts in the Sol sector have yet to be fully determined. However, it is safe to assume that the effects will be substantial. Going forward, we must assume that no further military assistance will come from the Pentaurus cluster, at least until such time as a new order has been established. Until that time, I suspect the Avendahl will be forced to remain in the Pentaurus sector in order to protect the Darvano and Savoy systems against potential expansion attempts by the noble houses of Takara.”