Ep.#14 - "The Weak and the Innocent" (The Frontiers Saga) (30 page)

“Should be the last one on the trail to the right, near the creek,” Gerard said as he led the way.

A minute later, they entered the small cabin. It was tiny, with a large bed in the corner, a wood-burning stone fireplace, a table, and a small kitchenette. It was clean and modestly decorated in a way that spoke of the wilderness around them.

Gerard quickly checked the only other door. “Toilet and sink, no shower,” he noted as he went across the room to check the kitchenette.

“No shower?”

“People on wilderness vacations usually bathe in lakes and rivers,” he explained as he opened the small refrigerator. “Fridge is stocked as well,” he said, pulling out a sealed package of sliced meats and vegetable sticks.

“All I want to do is take off my boots and pass out for a couple days,” Naralena sighed as she sat down at the table.

“You can take them off for a while, if you like,” Gerard said, “but do not go to sleep with them off, as we may need to leave in a hurry.”

“Right,” she said, deciding against removing them at all.

“I would suggest that you eat as much as you can. None of this food will last more than a few hours without refrigeration. They do that on purpose, so that frugal vacationers do not stay a single night and leave with several days worth of supplies.”

“You’d think they would at least have a shower. I mean, they have a toilet, so why not a shower?”

“It’s not exactly a toilet,” Gerard explained. “It’s more like an indoor outhouse.”

“A what?” Naralena asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“A box with a hole for your butt, over a deep hole in the ground.”

“I don’t understand. What happens with your bodily waste after you’re done? Where does it go?”

“It just stays where it fell,” Gerard told her.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope.”

“Doesn’t it smell?”

“They probably service it daily. Probably through a service hatch on the outside,” he explained as he sat down at the table with her and unwrapped the tray of food. “They put a powder over it and then sprinkle some chemical on it. I forget the name of the chemical. It forms a solid layer, trapping the odor.”

“What do they do when the hole gets full?” she wondered, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

“Probably move the cabin and cover up the hole for good,” he told her as he handed her a bottle of cold water.

“So, there’s human waste buried all over this resort?” she said as she took a drink of water.

“Probably all over this valley. This resort has been here for more than a hundred years, and it is along one of the most popular routes in the area.”

Naralena closed her eyes for a second. “Lovely.” She took another drink of water. “We’re only staying here for one night, right?”

* * *

“Thank you all for coming,” Admiral Dumar said as he entered the briefing room on the Karuzara asteroid base in orbit over Earth. “I know you are all quite busy, as are we all.” The admiral took his seat at the head of the conference table as he contin
ued to speak. “Unfortunately, something of grave importance has come up that we need to discuss.”

“What about Captains Nash, Poc, and Roselle?” Cameron wondered, noting their absence.

“Captain Nash is busy training the Tannans on how to operate their new gunships,” Dumar explained. “Roselle is too busy getting the Jar-Benakh up and running, and Captain Poc is why we’re here. Two days ago, we tasked Scout One with updating the state of all Jung assets, starting with those closest to Earth that we have not yet destroyed. The two closest were Delta Pavonis and 82 Eridani. As expected, all Jung assets within the Delta Pavonis system showed signs of increased alert status. Greater number of patrols, and her battle platform and battleship were both executing random course changes.”

“Then they know we’re coming,” Nathan commented.

“It would seem so, yes,” Dumar agreed. “This would be in line with Lieutenant Commander Nash’s recent intelligence about the Jung’s communications network. We have to assume that all Jung assets within thirty to thirty-five light years of Tau Ceti are, at the very least, aware of the new threat the Alliance represents. So the question is, what will they do about it?”

“If the Jung like to attack with overwhelming force, then they’ll send everything they have in the area our way,” Jessica said. “Perhaps to a prearranged staging point within easy striking distance of Sol?”

“Perhaps,” the admiral agreed. “The question is, do the Jung field commanders have protocols that automatically dictate such action, or do they have to wait for orders from higher up, like Jung command? If it’s the latter, then we probably have plenty of time, but if it’s the former…”

“There could already be ships on their way,” Cameron finished for the admiral.

“That has always been a possibility,” Commander Telles added. “The Jung move entire battle groups around like pieces in that board game of yours…
Chess
, I believe you call it… Positioning units in preparation for future actions. Considering the area of their empire and the limitations of their FTL systems, it is a necessity.”

“The commander is correct,” the admiral agreed, “and Captain Poc’s discoveries confirm it. Two days ago, Scout One discovered that the Jung battle group once at 82 Eridani was no longer in that system.” Admiral Dumar paused, noting the concerned looks of everyone in attendance. “That battle group was composed of a battle platform, a battleship, two cruisers, and four frigates. Knowing that the last recon of 82 Eridani was only a few weeks ago, Captain Poc realized that the battle group could not have gotten far. Since there were only two possible destinations of concern, he decided to search along the routes to both Sol and the Tau Ceti system.”

“Gerard said there were rumors of a third battle group heading their way,” Jessica reminded the admiral.

“Indeed, and Captain Poc was aware of that, which is why he chose to start by searching the route between 82 Eridani and Tau Ceti. Since the last recon of the system
was
so recent, he did not expect to have to search very far along that course. Unfortunately, that was not the case. After searching more than halfway along that route, he had still not detected the missing battle group. However, since the distance between 82 Eridani and Tau Ceti is only twelve light years, versus the twenty light year separation between 82 Eridani and Sol, he decided to continue along the route to Tau Ceti, just to be safe. Captain Poc’s thoroughness worked to our advantage, as he discovered a battle group only two week’s travel from the Tau Ceti system.”

“But, that’s impossible,” Cameron argued.

“Not if it was a different battle group,” Nathan added.

“Precisely what Captain Poc concluded, which is why he went back and began searching the route from 82 Eridani to Sol, where he found another battle group, just over two weeks travel from 82 Eridani at twenty times light.”

“But they still won’t reach Sol for nearly a year,” Jessica pointed out.

“But they’ll reach Tau Ceti in two weeks,” the admiral said. “There are two nearly completed Frigates in the Cetian orbital shipyards, and the Jar-Benakh… None of which we can outfit with jump systems and get them out before that battle group arrives.”

“When the Jung arrive in the Tau Ceti system, they will destroy it,” Commander Telles commented.

“Why?” Jessica wondered. “The Cetians didn’t initiate the attacks. They had nothing to do with it.”

“Neither did the people of Kent,” Commander Telles replied. “The Jung drove a battleship full of antimatter into them, just to make a point. Most likely to us… Undoubtedly
not
the Kentarans.”

“Potential assets or not, we have a responsibility to the people of Tau Ceti,” Admiral Dumar insisted.

“Do we even have any antimatter warheads left?” Nathan asked.

“No, but we have a Jung battleship with twenty-two cores on her and, according to Lieutenant Commander Kamenetskiy, she can run on a quarter of that number,
if
she does not use her shields, or her FTL fields.”

“That’s going to take all the bang out of Roselle’s new ship,” Cameron stated.

“Frigates use antimatter reactors, don’t they?” Jessica said. “Since they’re building two of them in the Cetian shipyards, they probably have the ability to produce antimatter cores
in
the Tau Ceti system.”

“Makes sense,” Nathan agreed.

“It didn’t work last time,” Cameron reminded them.

“Because we didn’t have KKVs,” Jessica argued.

“But we’ve only got three of them left,” Nathan added, “and so far, we’ve always needed at least two, and one time
three
KKVs to take down a battle platform. Now we have one headed for Earth, and one headed for Tau Ceti. Which one do we use them on? The one headed for a potential ally that
we
put in harm’s way, or the one headed for our homeworld?”

The room fell silent.

“We may not have to,” Admiral Dumar said, breaking the silence. “Lieutenant Tillardi is confident that his jump KKV prototype will work.”

“We’d still have to manufacture a bunch of them,” Nathan pointed out.

“Yes, but we would have nearly a year to do so,” the admiral said, “enough time to build hundreds of them. We simply cannot, in good conscience, put the people of Tau Ceti at such risk. We must protect that system.”

“Those ships are going to be clustered together, flying in formation instead of spread out all over a system,” Nathan warned. “I’m not sure we can take them all on ourselves.”

“The Celestia will be leaving dry dock in eight days,” the admiral said. “We will wait until then.”

“We may be
leaving
dry dock in eight days, but we won’t have
all
our weapons systems by then,” Cameron reminded him.

“But you
will
be as well-armed as the Aurora, perhaps even better with your mark five plasma cannons,” the admiral pointed out, “
and
you’ll have shields, which means you can go in close and fire repeatedly, while the Aurora must still fight using hit-and-run tactics.
You
can maneuver between them, push them apart, while Captain Nash attacks the ships on the outer perimeter.”

Nathan looked at Cameron. “Looks like you’re going to give your new shields a real workout, Captain.”

* * *

“Thank you for agreeing to speak with us, Commander,” Kata said.

Commander Telles stood at ease, feet shoulder-width apart, his hands clasped behind his back, looking at the camera.

Kata signaled for Karahl to pause recording for a moment. “Commander, are you sure you don’t want
to sit down? Maybe go inside?”

“I prefer to stand,” the commander replied, “and I prefer to be outside.”

“Right. Well, just try to relax.”

“I am relaxed.”

“Of course.” Kata signaled Karahl to turn the porta-cam back on. She waited for him to lift the camera back up onto his shoulder and for the red light to appear before continuing. “How long have you been on Earth, Commander?”

“I arrived fourteen hours ago, at zero two thirty, Earth Mean Time.”

“I meant how long ago did you
first
arrive on Earth?”

“Three hundred and eight days, twenty hours, forty-seven minutes, to be exact.”

“Of course.” Kata sighed. “Where are you from?”

“The city of Primetkin, on the planet Toradon, in the Takar system, in…”

“Yeah, the Pentaurus sector…we know,” Kata finished for him, frustration in her voice. “How about this one? What is your job here?”

“I am the commander of all Ghatazhak forces attached to the Alliance in the Sol sector,” the commander answered.

“And who are the Ghatazhak?”

“An elite fighting force.”

“And how long have you been a Ghatazhak?”

“Seventeen Terran years.”

“You don’t look that old,” Kata commented.

“I am approximately thirty-one Terran years in age. I believe that is approximately thirty-six Koharan years.”

“Then you must have joined when you were quite young.”

“I was accepted into Ghatazhak training at the usual age.”

“And what age was that?”

Commander Telles looked at Kata Mun. “Is this line of questioning normal for such an interview?”

“I’m just trying to get you to open up a little, Commander.”

“You are wasting your time. I do not…
open up
.”

“I’m getting that impression.”

“Perhaps, if you were to inquire about my opinion of the Jung? That
is
the point of these interviews, is it not? To convince your people that the Jung are
not
who they pretend to be?”

“All right, Commander. Share with us your thoughts about the Jung.”

Commander Telles looked at the camera again. “The Jung are a well-trained, well-armed, and well-disciplined military force, with hundreds of ships, and millions of men. They are ruthless and clever in battle, and they are quite unforgiving of those who refuse to bow down to them. As warriors, I respect them. As a civilization, I believe they are a disease that needs to be excised before it spreads into every corner of the galaxy and becomes impossible to remove. If your people are
not
willing to join the Alliance and
fight
the Jung, then your people
deserve
what befalls them.”

Kata stood there, dumbfounded.

Commander Telles looked back at Kata Mun. “Do you have any further questions, Miss Mun?”

“Uh…no.”

“Very well. Good day.”

Kata stood there speechless as she watched him walk away.

“We’re out,” Karahl announced as he shut off the porta-cam.

Kata sighed heavily. “They were
not
kidding.”

“Kidding about what?” Karahl wondered.

“They told me the commander would be a difficult interview.”

“I don’t know, I think you might have gotten a minute or two of usable footage out of him.”

Kata looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

“Okay, maybe ten seconds.”

* * *

After being cleared by the guard, Deliza stepped through the door leading into the next bay of the black lab. Ever since she had started working on the Super Falcon project, she had wanted to see what was happening on the other side of the wall. After days of begging, Admiral Dumar had
finally granted her access.

The space was less than half of what her team occupied, but otherwise was identical in appearance. Polished rock walls and floor, an uneven rocky ceiling covered with arrays of lighting panels laid out in perfect rows. There were rolling tool carts and workstations everywhere, as well as several rolling cranes and powered carts. There were at least fifty men and women working in the bay, with most of the activity focused on one particular apparatus, despite the fact that there appeared to be eight more of the same lined up across the bay.

Deliza approached the long apparatus, around which everything was centered. It was at least twenty-five meters in length, and appeared to have an oval cross-section that was about seven meters wide and five meters in height. The apparatus was separated into five sections, with each section resting on powered lifting carts. Two of the sections had thick canards coming out of all four sides, with thruster ports on all its faces. Its mid-section seemed to be nothing more than simple propellant storage, while its forward-most section, whose cross section was at least a meter larger than the rest of the vessel, appeared to be solid through and through.