Ep.#5 - "Rise of the Corinari" (17 page)

Luckily, there were to be no speeches. The ceremony itself was kept relatively simple, despite all the tedium in its preparation. Each representative from the major nations of Corinair, as well as the lesser worlds within the Darvano system, stepped up to sign the document. As leader of the smallest and newest nation in the Darvano system, Tug was the last to sign. The Prime Minister was next, and finally Nathan himself signed the document, thus ending the ceremony. The announcement that the Earth-Darvano Alliance was now official raised applause from the crowds both inside and out.

It had taken more than two hours for all the dignitaries to arrive in addition to the hours of preparation that must have gone on prior. All for a ceremony that lasted less than thirty minutes. Nathan understood the purpose of the ceremony itself, as well as the positive effect the telecast might have on the people of the Darvano system. This had to be their most desperate time since the Ta’Akar first invaded their system over thirty years ago. Still, he found it all distasteful in the same way he had been irritated by all the ‘fluff’ around his father’s many political campaigns. Only this time it was worse as he was no longer a spectator on the sidelines, he was center stage.

Eventually, it ended and the broadcast digi-cams shut down. The crowds outside began to disperse and the millions of people who had watched the ceremony through the system-wide communications network went back to the demands of their daily lives. Unfortunately for Nathan, the reception would last longer than the signing ceremony itself.

* * *

After an endless stream of handshakes and brief exchanges of translated pleasantries, Nathan finally found himself able to relax somewhat. After a few moments of searching, he spotted Cameron sitting at a side table with Chief Montrose. The chief had spent a lot of time with Commander Taylor over the last two weeks as they had interviewed thousands of Corinairan volunteers applying to serve on the Aurora. As Nathan’s presence had been required on the greeting line, the chief had taken it upon himself to attend to the commander’s needs out of concern that she might over exert herself. Although she was making considerable progress in her recovery, her former drive and energy had still not returned.

“Chief,” Nathan said as he took a seat at the table, “how is the family?”

“Fine, sir,” Chief Montrose answered. “Deliza is very good. She is helping in the house and helping children with lessons.”

“Lessons?” Nathan wondered.

“The neighborhood school was destroyed,” Cameron explained. “A few of the parents started up their own little school in one of the larger homes. Deliza helps to teach the little ones.”

“I had forgotten that Tug’s daughters were staying with you and your family,” Nathan told the chief.

“Not for much longer,” the chief told him. “Soon she will join her father on Karuzara.”

“Really?” Nathan wondered, somewhat surprised by the news.

“She’s too smart to keep tucked away in some makeshift school,” Cameron insisted. “She thinks she will be more useful on Karuzara helping with programming.”

“She just might at that,” Nathan agreed. “But what about his youngest daughter?”

“Nalaya? She will stay. She gets along very well with our girls,” the chief explained. “Inside of rock in space is not place for little girl.”

“You may be right, Chief,” Nathan admitted. “You know, your Angla is getting better.”

“Commander Taylor is most helpful with this,” Chief Montrose explained. “She is always to be correcting me when I make mistakes.”

“I’m sure she is,” Nathan mused.

“Speaking of always to be corrected,” the chief said, trying to make a joke as he looked at his watch, “it is time that I got home to my wife.” The chief rose from his seat. “If you will excuse me, sirs?”

“Thank you, Chief,” Cameron said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Nathan waited for the chief to leave before speaking. “He’s a good man.”

“Yes, he is,” Cameron agreed. “And he really believes in what we’re doing.”

“What about you?” Nathan asked. “Do you believe in what we’re doing?”

“It’s not as cut-and-dried as you think it is, Nathan. I still think we should have headed back for Earth the moment we got the jump drive back online back in the Korak system. We could have been halfway home by now.”

“More like a quarter,” Nathan joked. Cameron obviously wasn’t laughing. “Okay, one-third maybe, but not half.”

“You understand my point, Nathan. We didn’t need to get involved in all of this.”

“I was only trying to keep us alive,” Nathan defended, “so that we
could
get home.”

“I’ll go along with that,” Cameron agreed, “right up until you decided to take on the Yamaro.”

“I couldn’t let them destroy an entire world, Cam…”

“You don’t know that they would have,” she interrupted. “Besides, you were ignoring Captain Roberts’ last orders and seriously jeopardizing our primary mission…”

“I was only doing what I thought was the right thing.”

“And you almost got me…” Cameron paused, correcting herself, “…got
us
killed.”

Nathan could sense that the conversation was escalating and decided to back down for the moment. The reception for the signing of the Alliance treaty was not the place for this particular line of discussion. As the duly appointed captain of the Aurora, Nathan was not required to defend his actions to his executive officer, only to his superiors. He did, however, feel compelled to explain his reasons to his friend.

“However,” Cameron continued, “in regards to this treaty, I’ve decided that I support your decision.”

“Really?” Nathan wondered, not quite believing what he was hearing.

Cameron looked at him for a moment. “Are you really that surprised?”

“Actually, yes,” he admitted. “May I ask why?”

“Well first, because you
do
have the authority according to regulations. Therefore, I don’t have sufficient grounds to relieve you of command.”

“Thanks, I feel so much better…”

“And second,” she interrupted, “because I believe that allying with the Corinari and the Karuzari, and defeating the Ta’Akar, offers us the best chance of getting back to Earth and successfully defending her against the Jung.”

Nathan leaned back in his chair, stunned at her sudden change of heart. “Wait, is this a trick? Is this one of those reverse-psychology things?”

“Just promise me you’ll be smart about this,” she said, looking deadly serious.

“What do you mean, Cam?”

“Promise me that we’ll get this over with quickly. We can’t afford to be sucked into a long, drawn-out campaign here. The Earth needs us. Our people need us back there defending
them
, not out here playing cat and mouse with some other evil empire. Yes, it would be great if we picked up some advanced tech along the way, but they need our jump drive more than any cool tech the Ta’Akar might have.”

“I understand all of that, Cam. Really I do,” Nathan assured her.

“Promise me, no long campaigns,” she declared, staring him in the eyes. “We get in, get it done, and get out.”

“I promise,” Nathan told her. “We jump in, slap a few people around, and jump out again.” Nathan flashed his get-out-of-trouble smile again. Try as she might to resist, his stupid grin made her smile as well.

“Who are you planning to slap?” Tug asked as he and Jalea joined them.

“Caius,” Nathan joked.

“That would be worth seeing,” Tug mused as he took a seat. He looked over at Cameron, who appeared a bit pale. “Are you feeling all right, Commander?”

“Just a little tired, I guess,” she admitted. “It has been a long day.”

“Would you like me to send for the chief to see you back?”

“No, he’s already on his way home. I’ll have Sergeant Weatherly arrange an escort.”

“Nonsense,” Tug insisted, rising from his seat. “I’ll see you back myself.”

“What about Jalea?” Cameron asked.

“I’m quite capable of finding my own way back,” Jalea calmly stated.

“I will meet you at the shuttle later,” Tug told Jalea as he offered his arm to Cameron, helping her up from her seat.

“Sergeant,” Nathan called as he rose. Sergeant Weatherly nodded to his captain from his post nearby, signaling to one of his Corinari subordinates to arrange transportation for Tug and Commander Taylor.

“Get some rest, Cam,” Nathan urged.

“Commander,” Jalea bid in parting as Tug led Cameron away, two of the captain’s security detail in tow.

“Captain Scott,” Mister Briden called out as he approached, along with the Prime Minister of Corinair, “the Prime Minister was most impressed with your mission report.”

“Thank the Prime Minister, Mister Briden,” Nathan accepted graciously, “but it is not I that he should be impressed with, but rather with Mister Tugwell of the Karuzari. Were it not for his bravery and piloting skills, the mission might have had an entirely different outcome.”

“Perhaps,” Mister Briden agreed. “However, as the burden of responsibility rests upon the leader’s shoulders, so do the fortunes of success.”

“Yes, but I believe in giving credit where credit is due,” Nathan countered.

“Yes, of course, Captain. I did not mean to belittle Mister Tugwell’s contribution. It was indeed most spectacular. The Karuzari are nothing if not brave. However, the people came tonight to witness Na-Tan signing the treaty, not the Karuzari.”

“Some might feel otherwise,” Jalea protested politely, “and their numbers might be more than you realize.”

“Perhaps,” Mister Briden proclaimed, wishing to avoid any confrontation. “I was merely pointing out that there is great political advantage in associating with a legend.”

“Are you speaking for yourself, or for the Prime Minister, Mister Briden?” Nathan asked.

“I assure you, Captain, I am speaking for the Prime Minister. As you pointed out in an earlier meeting, it is not my place to comment otherwise.”

There was a sinister smile behind Mister Briden’s politically correct expression that made the hairs on the back of Nathan’s neck stand up.

“If you’ll excuse us, Captain, Miss Torren, the Prime Minister has other guests to visit before the night is over.”

“Of course,” Nathan nodded to the Prime Minister, purposefully forgetting to bid Mister Briden a polite farewell.

Nathan waited long enough for the Prime Minister and Mister Briden to get out of earshot before speaking. “He doesn’t like the Karuzari much, does he?” he said, stating the obvious.

“The feeling is mutual, I assure you,” Jalea answered as she took two drinks from a nearby tray and handed one to Nathan. “So, Captain,” she continued as she turned and started making her way across the crowded lobby floor, “how does it feel to be a legend?”

“I am no legend,” Nathan protested. “You know that as much as anyone.”

“But you do use the leverage provided by your notoriety to your advantage, do you not?”

“Not by design.”

“I see. You find the idea so distasteful?”

“Yes, very much so,” Nathan insisted.

“More distasteful than not accomplishing your goals?” she challenged.

“My goals?” Nathan wondered.

“Of returning to Earth and defending your world against its own enemies,” Jalea reminded.

Nathan finished his drink, using the distraction as a means to avoid answering Jalea’s question. The drink was fruity and sweet, with a slightly bitter aftertaste. It reminded him of the strawberry flavored spirits his sister Miri always served at dinner parties. He wondered if it had the same effects as he followed Jalea through the crowd.

“As distasteful as I find the whole Na-Tan hype, I do recognize its usefulness to our cause,” Nathan admitted. “To deny its value would be irresponsible on my part.”

“Spoken like a true leader.” Jalea smiled as she reached the exit, stopping to look around the room. The crowd had thinned out somewhat and the evening’s events appeared to be winding down. Aitkenna as well as many other cities across Corinair were still in a state of chaos and disrepair, and most of the dignitaries in attendance had already departed to return to their endless responsibilities. “I believe we should be heading back to the spaceport, Captain. There is much to do back on Karuzara.”

“Yes, of course,” Nathan agreed, signaling the sergeant.

* * *

Tug had never spent much time with Cameron in the past, and he had never known her to be terribly talkative. However, she had said little during the ride back to the hospital thus far, which seemed odd even for her. He knew she was tired, as she was still expected to be in recovery and rehabilitation for several weeks, but there was more to it than just physical exhaustion, there was something bothering her.

“You are worried about him,” Tug said, taking a shot in the dark.

“I’m worried about a lot of things,” Cameron defended.

“As are we all,” Tug agreed. “But you are mostly concerned with your captain.”

“Well shouldn’t I be? You saw him.”

“To what do you refer?” Tug asked.

“His attitude… the whole ‘gonna jump in and slap Caius around’ bit.”

“I do believe he was speaking in jest, Commander.”

“Who jokes about slapping about the leader of an interstellar empire?” Cameron insisted.

“It is his way,” Tug assured her. “He tends to diffuse stressful situations with humor or sarcasm.”

“It was a reception,” Cameron insisted. “How stressful could it be?”

“He has just promised to commit his ship and his crew to a battle that he may not survive. He also promised to commit his world to join forces with others in common defense. Even if he survives the events in this part of the galaxy, something worse may await him when you return to Earth.” Tug laughed in exasperation. “Trust me, Commander; it is an extremely stressful time for Captain Scott.”

Cameron turned to stare out the window again, watching the remains of the city pass by as they made their way down the main transportation corridor. “Captain Scott,” she mumbled. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that.”

“Why is that?” Tug wondered aloud.

“If you had read his background files, you’d understand,” she assured him.