Ep.#15 - "That Which Other Men Cannot Do" (The Frontiers Saga) (39 page)

“How are we to get there?” one of the young men asked. “They are so far away.”

“They are not,” Brill corrected. “It took me less than an hour to get to Earth.”

“We must get aboard one of those shuttles,” Captain Dubnyk insisted. He took a breath, summoning all the strength left in his tired old body. “Brill, take Tahri and secure a vehicle. Bring it here. Kino and Elaz, gather up all our weapons. Ranin, Oray, and Toma, gather food and water. Fill several packs. Nothing perishable. Fayla, gather all our credits.”

“All of them?” Fayla asked.

“Yes, all of them. Put them all in a heavy leather satchel, but fill the bottom with a blanket, first, to make it appear to be more. Everyone, move quickly. We must get off this world, no matter what the cost.”

The young men left, heading for their respective tasks. Captain Dubnyk turned to Fayla, who was still standing there, trembling. “Do not be afraid, Fayla,” he consoled. “You have seven strong young men to protect you.” Captain Dubnyk smiled. “And one wise old one.”

Fayla nodded in agreement.

“Now, go and put on something flattering. A pretty young woman serving as a distraction is a very powerful negotiating tactic.”

* * *

Jessica climbed into the ground vehicle sitting in the Mirai’s cargo hold as the ship’s aft cargo doors opened and her loading ramp deployed.

“This is the power,” Sergeant Annakeros explained, pointing at the vehicle’s console. “Forward, reverse. Pull this card, and the system locks out so no one can steal it. Got it?”

“I got it,” Jessica assured him.

“Sergeant!” Ensign Nambianno called from the port catwalk landing. He tossed a rolled-up gun belt down to the sergeant.

Sergeant Annakeros caught the gun and handed it to Jessica. “You might need this,” he said. “Things are getting pretty crazy out there.”

“We’re on a secure installation,” Jessica reminded him as she donned the gun belt and checked the weapon.

“A secure installation full of panicked workers.”

“Good point,” Jessica replied.

“I thought you were a security officer.”

Jessica sneered at him, then activated the vehicle’s power and drove out of the bay and down the ramp.

“
I’ve reached Doctor Sorenson’s assistant,
” Sergeant Isan said over Jessica’s comm-set. “
Her family is already here. They are loading them, and about twenty of their top engineers and family members, into several vehicles.
”

“How many?” Jessica asked.

“
About seventy people, give or take.
”

“Can we carry that many?” Jessica asked as she raced across the tarmac.

“
The lieutenant says the weight is not an issue. However, space may be a problem.
”

“It’s a short trip back to Sol,” Jessica said, “and we can leave this vehicle behind and stuff some of them in the cargo bay, if necessary. Where the hell am I going?”

“
Building seven, at the far end of the complex,
” the sergeant replied. “
I am sending directions to your navigation system.
”

Jessica glanced down at her console, just as a map of the complex appeared, complete with a blue line indicating the recommended route. “I’ve got it.”

“
Lieutenant Commander,
” the Mirai’s copilot interrupted over the comms. “
Message from Falcon One. The Jung have arrived. Edge of the system, about seventy light hours out. One battleship, four cruisers, and six frigates.
”

“How long until they get here?” Jessica asked, as she swerved to avoid another vehicle headed toward one of the many shuttles that were loading personnel for evacuation.

“
At current speed, several days, but once they have assessed the situation, they will undoubtedly go back into FTL in order to transit the system more quickly.
”

“I meant how long at FTL, Ensign,” Jessica chastised.

“
Sorry, sir. One moment.
”

Another vehicle, loaded with evacuees, pulled out from behind a building without warning. Jessica slammed on the brakes, bringing her vehicle to an abrupt stop less than a meter from the other vehicle, barely avoiding a collision. “Watch where you’re going, asshole!”

“
By FTL, best speed would put them within striking range of Tanna in just under four hours.
”

“Damn it!” Jessica swore. “Let’s hope they’re not in a hurry.”

“
Sir, I should point out that from their current position, they have not yet witnessed the fate of their scout ships. However, based on the location where those ships were intercepted and destroyed by Tannan gunships, they will know soon enough. When they do…
”

“They’ll hightail it to Tanna and start an all-out attack,” Jessica finished for him. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.” She started her vehicle moving again, accelerating quickly as she passed between the rows of buildings. “I’m almost there. I’ll let you know when we are headed back.”

* * *

“Why must we go so far?” Tahri asked as they continued walking down the street. “There were plenty of vehicles closer to home.”

“Better that we do this further from home,” Brill explained. “It will take time to get home, load everyone, and get out of the area. We cannot risk someone tracking us back to the captain’s residence before we make our escape.” Brill stopped at the intersection. Vehicles were moving in every direction as people rushed about, trying to prepare themselves for the impending attack. “Look at them; they are all fools,” Brill said disdainfully. He pointed at a man and his son trying to load an antique chair into the back of their vehicle. “Look at those two. They are loading furniture.
Furniture
, of all things!” Brill scanned the chaos and made up his mind. “That is the one we shall take.”

“Brill, wait,” Tahri begged. “I am not sure about this. Maybe we should look for one that is not already in use?”

“That one is large enough for all of us,” Brill insisted. “That is the one,” he repeated, heading off across the street.

“Brill, wait!” Tahri begged, following him.

Brill continued walking toward the vehicle. “Step away from the vehicle!” he instructed as he approached.

The man loading the vehicle looked at him, confused. He noticed the look of determination on Brill’s face, and his confusion turned to suspicion. “Go inside,” he told his son. “Get my gun.”

Brill continued toward the vehicle, with Tahri running to catch up to him.

“What did you say?” the man asked Brill, pretending not to have understood him.

“I am taking this vehicle.”

“What?”

“You heard me,” Brill replied as he approached.

“Look, I don’t know who you are, or what you think you’re doing…”

Brill walked up and punched the man in the face without warning. The man fell backwards onto the ground, clutching his nose. Brill was on top of him in seconds, digging into his pockets for the vehicle’s activation chip. The man struggled, trying to fend him off, but Brill struck him again.

“Get away from him!” a young voice shouted from the doorway to the home.

Brill looked up and spotted the boy, standing in the doorway, pointing his father’s gun at Brill. Brill let go of the man and rolled to his right, ducking behind the door of the vehicle as the child fired. A needle-like beam of energy struck the ground near them, barely missing the boy’s father. A moment later, Brill had his own weapon drawn. He stood up from behind the vehicle’s door and fired, his own energy beam striking the child in his leg and dropping him to the ground.

The boy’s father scrambled to his feet and charged Brill, but to no avail. Brill shot him in the chest, point blank, killing him instantly. He pushed the man’s body away from him, letting it fall back to the ground.

He heard a woman’s scream. By the fallen boy’s side was the boy’s mother. She had seen her husband’s death at the hands of Brill, and she was taking the gun from her son’s hand. Brill shot several times around her, trying to force her back inside. He did not wish to kill anyone if it was not required.

A shot rang out from behind Brill. He turned his head, and saw Tahri standing at the back of the vehicle, his weapon raised in front of him, a horrified look on his face. Brill turned back toward the house and noticed the woman lying in the doorway. She was not moving.

Brill turned back to Tahri. “Get in the vehicle!” he ordered as he pulled the old chair out of the side door and tossed it onto the ground next to the dead man’s body. “Quickly!” he added, noticing neighbors coming out of their houses to investigate.

Tahri quickly got into the front passenger seat, as Brill inserted the activation chip and started the vehicle. As they backed out of the driveway and sped off down the street, Tahri looked behind them. The dead man’s neighbors were running out of their houses. Some of them were running to aid the victims, while others were running toward the fleeing vehicle, guns in hand. “They have guns!” he warned. “You must turn!”

Brill turned the steering wheel hard, sending the vehicle careening around the next corner, as several energy weapon blasts struck the pavement behind them.

“Oh, my God!” Tahri exclaimed, panicking. “What have we done, Brill? What have we done?”

“We did what we had to do to survive!” Brill insisted as he drove the vehicle down the street as fast as it would travel.

“We will be arrested, and executed!” Tahri exclaimed.

“We will not!” Brill insisted. “Do you really think Tannan security has time to hunt us down? To execute us? They will be getting on those shuttles as well!”

“We just killed two people! Maybe three!”

“They would have died anyway!” Brill yelled back. “They were loading furniture, Tahri! They weren’t going to try to get on a shuttle, they were going to hide in the mountains with the rest of the fools!”

“But we killed innocent people!” Tahri reminded Brill. “That is a sin against our people!”

“Our people are waiting for us back at the captain’s residence!” Brill insisted.

“I don’t think I’m cut out for this, Brill,” Tahri realized, his voice growing quiet.

Brill slammed on the brakes, bringing the vehicle to an abrupt stop.

“What are you doing?” Tahri said in confusion, glancing back to see if anyone was following them.

Brill looked at Tahri. “Decide now, Tahri.”

“Decide what?”

“If you are not strong enough, better you get out now. I do not want to have to kill you later.”

Tahri stared at Brill. The young man’s eyes were steely and confident, and he had no doubt that Brill could kill him if the situation required. “Drive,” Tahri finally replied.

“Are you sure?”

Tahri quickly raised his weapon, putting its muzzle to his friend’s head. “I don’t want to kill you either, Brill…so drive.”

Brill smiled, then pressed the accelerator again.

* * *

Captain Nash stood in the Cobra command center, his arms crossed.

“They are still too far out to know what has happened to their scout ships,” Commander Rano reminded him.

“They already know that this system is no longer under Jung control,” Captain Nash insisted.

“We do not know that. It could just be another Jung fleet stopping for propellant on their way out of the sector. We are long overdue for such a visit.”

“They would have scanned the system from at least a light year out,” Captain Nash replied. “That’s what I would do. Besides, if our gunships can detect them, then they can detect us. They know we are here, and they know we are armed.”

“Then they also know that they have the advantage,” the commander added.

“Not necessarily,” Captain Nash disagreed. “They do
not
know how many gunships we have, and they do
not
know if we have any other ships… Larger ships.”

“It matters not to them,” Commander Rano said. “They will attack, of that we can be sure.”

“Agreed. The question is, when?”

“We must press the attack now, before they get close. Once they are within striking range, they will destroy our world.”

“They didn’t last time,” Captain Nash pointed out. “Perhaps this system and its propellant refineries are too important to them?”

“They can build new ones, even in the radioactive desolation that remains
after
destroying everything on the surface,” Commander Rano said emphatically. “They do not care, one way or the other.”

Captain Nash sighed. “Thirty gunships, against eleven warships.”

“We have killed Jung ships before,” Commander Rano reminded him. “The frigates will not be difficult…”

“We had surprise on our side, Commander,” Captain Nash pointed out. “Those ships will be at full alert. Shields up and weapons hot. And those frigates that you believe to be so easy to kill? They will not hold a steady course and allow you to pick them off, one by one. They will go to FTL, launch missiles, then go to FTL again. They will continue to do so until the fighters from that battleship have lessened our numbers. We may destroy the frigates, eventually. We may even kill a few of the cruisers. But make no mistake, our losses will be heavy. We may even lose all our ships. And that battleship will still be there.”

“What else are we to do, Robert?”

Captain Nash looked at his friend. “Nothing,” he finally replied. “There is nothing we can do, but fight, and die. If we’re lucky, we might be able to hold them at bay until help arrives. At the very least, Tanna won’t roll over and die without putting up a fight.”

* * *

Nathan sat in his dimly lit ready room, pretending to read reports. He had never experienced time passing so slowly. The Aurora and the Celestia had been sitting at the recharge layover point for half an hour, but it felt like much longer.

It had been enough time to verify his navigator’s calculations. But five hours was still an incredibly long time to wait, considering what was going on in the 72 Herculis system at the moment.

“
Captain, Comms,
” Naralena called over the desk intercom.

Nathan pressed the intercom button. “Go ahead.”

“
Message from Cobra command. Jung fleet detected at thirteen thirty-four, Tannan mean time, approximately seventy light hours out. One battleship, four cruisers, and six frigates. Earliest estimated arrival is seventeen fifteen, Tannan mean time. Captain Nash intends to attack immediately, although he expects that the Jung will go back to FTL for the rest of the journey to Tanna.
”

“That’s just under four hours,” Nathan realized. “We’re not going to make it in time.”

There was a long silence.

“
Orders, sir?
”

“None,” Nathan replied. “Just pass the message on to the Celestia.”

“
Aye, sir.
”

Nathan sighed, then pressed his intercom button again. “Cheng, Captain.”

“
Go ahead, Captain,
” Vladimir replied over the intercom.

“I don’t suppose there is any way we can speed up the recharge even further, is there?”

“
If there was, I would already be doing it.
”

“What about running the reactors at more than one hundred percent? We did it before…took them to one-twenty, remember?”