Ep.#15 - "That Which Other Men Cannot Do" (The Frontiers Saga) (59 page)

“As you wish.” The general looked at Naralena. “Should I just start talking?”

“Whenever you are ready,” she replied.

General Bacca began speaking Jung in an authoritative tone. He spoke for at least thirty seconds before finishing.

Nathan looked at Naralena for a translation.

“He said, ‘This is General Bacca, commander of the sixth brigade of the Mogan caste.’ He then gave an authentication code, followed by, ‘Hold your fire, this is not an attack. The people of Earth wish to speak to the caste leaders, to discuss terms of surrender.’ Then he repeats the last part about not firing and wanting to speak to the caste leaders.”

“Who said anything about surrendering?” Nathan wondered.

“I didn’t say
who
was surrendering,” General Bacca pointed out.

“I’m pretty sure they’re going to assume that
we’re
the ones offering to surrender,” Nathan replied.

“Let them,” the general insisted. “It’s the only way you’re going to get them to talk to you. You have to remember,
every
Jung citizen on Nor-Patri will hear this broadcast.”

“Everyone on Nor-Patri uses radio transceivers?” Naralena asked.

“Alright, not everyone, but there will be at least a few, and within seconds, the message will be repeated digitally around Nor-Patri, through the sat-net. Using the word
surrender
will help the caste leaders save face. Trust me, Captain, it is the
only
way you will get to speak with them.”

“
They
sent an invitation to discuss a cease-fire to
us
, remember?”
Nathan said.

“That invitation was sent over two hundred and fifty days ago, Captain,
before
you attacked their system,” the general pointed out. “Trust me, this is the only way. Otherwise, you might as well push me out the airlock now, because you’re just wasting both our time.”

Nathan sat in his chair, thinking.

“The message will still take time to send,” Naralena warned.

“Bring us back around, Mister Chiles,” Nathan ordered.

“Coming about, aye.”

“What was our time in the system?” Nathan asked.

Mister Riley looked at his console. “Thirty-two seconds the first time, twenty-five the second.”

“And right now, every ship is on full alert, their weapons are hot, and they are actively scanning every square meter of that system,” Jessica explained. “If you let me use the point-defenses, I can give us the time we need to send the full message.”

Nathan looked at General Bacca for direction, despite the fact that the very idea of consulting with the man on anything, short of how best to execute him, was sickening.

“At this point, I don’t think it really matters one way or the other,” the general admitted. “Just as long as you don’t shoot directly at any other ship,” he added, looking right at Jessica.

“I’ll try to control myself,” she replied dryly.

“Very well,” Nathan said. “Spin up our point-defenses, but leave our shields down for now.”

“Turn complete,” Mister Chiles reported.

“I’ve plotted a jump to a spot that will give us at least forty seconds,” Mister Riley said, “assuming they don’t anticipate our jump and shoot before we get there.”

“Very well. Jump us back in.”

“Jumping in three……two……one……jumping.”

General Bacca stared at the main view screen as the jump flash washed over the bridge, enjoying every moment of it.

“Jump complete.”

“Transmitting new message, analog format via radio transceivers,” Naralena announced.

“Multiple contacts. One cruiser and three frigates within firing range,” Mister Navashee reported. “Two more cruisers and a battleship will be in firing range in thirty seconds. The near cruiser and frigates are launching missiles. Eighteen inbound. First impact in thirty seconds.”

“Firing point-defenses,” Jessica announced. “One down, two, three…”

“Twenty seconds in system,” Mister Riley reported.

“The message has played once in its entirety,” Naralena added.

“Twelve down, thirteen, fourteen…” Jessica continued reporting as the Aurora’s point-defenses destroyed the incoming missiles, one by one.

“The cruiser is firing another wave of twelve missiles,” Mister Navashee warned. “She’s firing rail guns as well. First impacts in twenty-four seconds.”

“That’s eighteen,” Jessica reported. “Concentrating on the second wave now.”

“Forty seconds in system,” Mister Riley reported.

“The other ships are in firing range,” Mister Navashee warned. “The battleship is launching missiles. Forty-eight inbound, Captain. Impact in thirty seconds.”

“The message has played twice now, sir,” Naralena reported.

“Eight down, nine down, ten down…”

“The additional frigates have also launched missiles,” Mister Navashee warned. “Those impacts will be in twenty-eight seconds.”

“Second group of incoming destroyed,” Jessica announced. “Targeting the third group of forty-eight, but it’s going to be close, sir.”

“One minute in system,” Mister Riley reported.

“Incoming message, from the Jung battleship,” Naralena said. She immediately put it on the loudspeaker. The Jung officer spoke in his native tongue, and he did not sound happy.

“What did he say?” Nathan asked after the officer finished speaking.

“Not the response we were looking for, sir,” Naralena replied.

“She’s correct, Captain,” General Bacca confirmed. He leaned forward slightly to look around the Ghatazhak soldier to his right, trying to make eye contact with Naralena. “Your Jung is quite good, my dear.”

“I’m not sure I’m going to be able to intercept all of these missiles, Captain,” Jessica warned, her voice sounding tense.

“Get us out of here, Mister Riley,” Nathan instructed.

“Aye, sir,” the navigator replied.

Nathan turned back around to face Jessica and General Bacca, as the jump flash washed over them.

“Jump complete.”

“Why didn’t it work
that
time?” Nathan wondered. “I’m pretty sure they heard us.”

“Oh, yes, they heard you,” General Bacca agreed. “I just think they didn’t
believe
you.”

“Why would we lie?” Nathan wondered. “What could we possibly have to gain?”

“Think like the captain of a Jung ship,” General Bacca suggested. “Your job is to keep any and all enemy ships as far away from Nor-Patri as possible. Failure to do so would likely result in disgrace, imprisonment, or even execution. In fact, I would not be surprised if most of the men commanding the ships you just encountered were first officers a week ago, if you get my meaning.”

“They think we’re lying to try to get past them…to attack Nor-Patri,” Jessica surmised.

“We don’t need to lie to them to get past them,” Nathan reminded her. “We can
jump
past them anytime we’d like.”

“They are brand new captains, recently promoted due to the failures of their previous commanding officers. They don’t even understand what a jump drive is,” General Bacca explained.

“Then what do we do to convince them?” Nathan wondered.

“You already answered your own question, Captain,” General Bacca said. “You jump past them.”

“To where?”

“To Nor-Patri,” General Bacca told him. “In orbit, directly over the senate chambers. Then your message will go directly to the caste leaders.”

“What about surface defenses?” Jessica wondered. “They had them on plenty of other Jung worlds. They’re bound to have a ton of them here.”

“Surprisingly, they do not,” General Bacca admitted. “No one expected an enemy would develop something like a jump drive. Their massive number of ships was their primary defense.”

“But you said the Jung knew about the jump drive project when it first started,” Jessica said in an accusatory tone. “That was twelve years ago. Why didn’t they start building them then?”

“At first, no one believed it possible. Later, when it appeared not only possible, but likely, they chose not to do so for fear of creating public doubt in our own military might,” the general explained.

“Jesus,” Nathan exclaimed in frustration. “Everywhere you go, politics is the same old bullshit.”

“If you jump in directly over the senate, you will have plenty of time to transmit your message and get a response,” General Bacca insisted.

“He’s right, Captain,” Mister Navashee confirmed. “Their ships are spread across the system, and in random patterns. The only common denominator is that they are
all
at least two hundred million kilometers away from Nor-Patri. When we jump in, it will take at least ten seconds for those ships to even see us, let alone change course and come back to engage. We’d have at least a few minutes.”

“Unless they go to FTL to get back,” Nathan pointed out.

“It is forbidden to come out of FTL any closer than one hundred million kilometers to Nor-Patri,” General Bacca told them. “It has been a standing order for as long as anyone can remember. There is simply too much traffic near the homeworld.”

“Even if they think their beloved senate and all their caste leaders are under attack?” Nathan challenged.

“Like I said, none of them were captains a week ago,” the general reminded him. “However, I suppose you have a point. Although unlikely, it
is
possible.”

“It sounds like something you’d do,” Jessica said, one eyebrow raised.

Nathan sighed again. “Can you jump us in over the senate?” he asked his navigator.

“If someone shows me where it is, sure.”

Nathan looked at Jessica. “Do we even have a map of Nor-Patri?”

“Between the first recon and scans taken during the attack, we were able to piece one together,” Jessica replied.

“General?” Nathan asked.

“Of course.”

“Jess?”

“Coming up,” Jessica replied. A moment later, a rough map of Nor-Patri’s landmasses was on the clear view screen panel protruding from the middle of the back of Jessica’s tactical console. General Bacca moved in closer, coming to stand next to Jessica, as he studied the image.

“Not entirely accurate, but close enough, I suppose,” the general said. “There,” he added, pointing at the display. “The senate chambers are there, at the confluence of those three rivers. Arrive anywhere within line-of-sight of that river junction, and the caste leaders will hear your message, I am sure of it.”

“Very well,” Nathan said. “Bring us back around and prepare to jump to orbit, over that river intersection.”

“Aye, sir,” Mister Riley acknowledged.

“No one is ever going to believe this,” Jessica muttered.

“Hell,
I
don’t believe it,” Nathan said.

“How do you think I feel?” General Bacca said, stepping back to his spot near the entrance to the captain’s ready room.

“Turn complete,” Mister Chiles reported.

“Jump to Nor-Patri orbit, directly over the senate chambers, plotted and ready,” Mister Riley advised.

Nathan sighed again. “Jump us in.”

“Jumping in three……two……one……jumping.”

“If this doesn’t work, someone’s going out an airlock,” Nathan muttered as the jump flash washed over them once more.

“Jump complete.”

“Transmitting message, analog form, over radio transceivers,” Naralena reported.

“No ships within firing range,” Mister Navashee announced.

“Are we in the right place?” Nathan asked, looking at Nor-Patri on the main view screen.

“That intersection of three rivers is coming up now,” Mister Navashee confirmed.

“Nicely done, Mister Riley,” Nathan congratulated.

“The entire message has been transmitted,” Naralena announced.

“Keep playing it until we get a response,” Nathan ordered.

“Aye, sir.”

“Captain,” Mister Navashee said, concern in his voice. “Something is not right.”

“What
something
?” Nathan asked.

“The planet surface,” the sensor operator explained. “There’s a
lot
more damage than there should be.”

“We attacked the surface as well, remember?”

“We attacked infrastructure, communications, power generation, defenses,” Mister Navashee pointed out. “I’m detecting
massive
amounts of damage. Impact craters the size of…” Mister Navashee turned to look at Nathan. “Sir, I think pieces of that ring station fell onto Nor-Patri. Maybe even pieces of Zhu-Anok itself.”

“That’s impossible,” Nathan insisted. “The attack angle should have taken the debris
away
from the planet.”

“I understand that, sir. But there
are
impact craters on the surface of Nor-Patri,” Mister Navashee insisted. “Dozens of them, in fact.”

Nathan rose from his seat, staring at the Jung homeworld rotating slowly beneath them, noticing large dark areas of the surface that he did not remember being there before. Indeed, there were dozens of them. “Magnify,” he ordered.

“If the force of the impact was enough,
some
debris
could
have been pushed toward the planet,” Mister Navashee theorized. “There’s still a lot of what looks like debris, from both the ring station
and
Zhu-Anok, in orbit around the planet.”

When the main view screen refocused, Nathan could see the destruction more clearly. Gigantic areas of the planet-wide cityscape had been wiped clean as if nothing had even been there. On the edges of the craters, he could see the remains of buildings, roadways, tramways…all of them ripped apart by shockwaves.

He thought about the glassing of Tanna. The captains of those ships probably had a similar view of the planet as they were bombarding it. Until this very moment, Nathan had wanted nothing more than to do the same thing to this world, to scorch its surface, and to make it forever uninhabitable. But now, even though he was looking at only a fraction of the damage that had been done to Tanna…it sickened him.

What have we done
? he asked himself.

“Captain,” Naralena called, pulling Nathan’s attention away from the devastation on the view screen. “I’m receiving a message from the caste senate.” Naralena closed her eyes, listening intently. “They have agreed to speak with us, but only by vid-link.”

“Are they going to order their ships to stand down?” Nathan asked.

“Yes, they claim to be sending that order now. However, they suggest that we raise our shields and keep them up, for they cannot guarantee that the commanders of their ships will comply.”

Nathan continuing staring at the main view screen in disbelief.

“I would do as they suggest, Captain,” General Bacca said, his voice seething with anger from what he too was witnessing on the view screen. “Especially considering what you have done to our world.”

“Yes, of course,” Nathan replied. He looked at Jessica. “Raise our shields.”

“
Finally,
” Jessica exclaimed. “All shields are coming up.”

“Four ships inbound,” Mister Navashee warned. “Two cruisers and two frigates.”

“How long until we can talk with the caste leaders?” Nathan wondered.

“They should all be in session,” General Bacca said. “I would expect they have been in session nonstop since your attack a week ago.”

“I’m getting another message, Captain,” Naralena reported. “A hail, from the senate communications officer. They are requesting a vid-link.”