Ep.#9 - "Resistance" (26 page)

“Sir,” the lieutenant asked politely, “are we prisoners?”

“No, lieutenant, you are not.” Nathan stepped forward, aware that the eyes and ears of all one hundred of the Ghatazhak warriors were following him. He stood one meter from the naked lieutenant, looking him in the eye. “Lieutenant Telles, you should be aware that the majority of the Aurora’s crew are Corinairan. Many may find your presence objectionable. At the very least, it will come as a shock, as only myself and a few senior officers are aware of your presence aboard this ship. For now, I wish to keep your presence as clandestine as possible.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Do you require anything from us in order to prepare?”

“Space, which you have already provided, access to our equipment, and sustenance,” the lieutenant stated, “lots of sustenance.”

“I shall assign one of my officers, Lieutenant Montgomery of Takara, to see to your needs.”

“Yes, sir.”

Nathan turned and looked at the other men standing awake and naked in their tubes. “Welcome aboard the Aurora, gentlemen.”

* * *

“This is going to be a lot harder than I thought,” Devyn said.

“Why?” Luis asked.

Devyn looked at the maze of conduit and cabling along the wall of the bridge’s environmental systems compartment. “Most of the basic control cabling and gas lines are here, but the major components are all missing. It’s like they were getting ready to fit out the entire system but never got a chance to finish it.”

“Can you fix it?”

She sighed. “Well, the missing control unit isn’t really a problem, as I can connect the sensor trunk with the control systems aft and run it from there. The problem is the lack of a CO2 scrubber or any oxygen-producing systems. I might be able to rig a CO2 scrubber, but I’d probably have to pull parts from aft and bring them up here.”

“But that will only work for so long, right?”

“Yeah, but we do have a few thousand oxygen candles stored aft. I could rig a unit to burn them up here to supplement the system.”

“How long will that give us?”

“I’d have to run the numbers, but off hand, I’d say three months for one person. But that’s
if
I can rig all this stuff up.” Devyn looked at Luis.

Luis sighed. “Keep working. I’ll tell Kovacic.”

* * *

Lieutenant Telles stepped out of the elevator onto the command deck, his platoon sergeant at his side. They were dressed in standard Takaran military uniforms with the unit patch for the Ghatazhak on their shoulders.

Sergeant Weatherly met them at the door. He snapped to attention and offered a salute to the lieutenant as he emerged. “Sir, I’m Sergeant Weatherly. I am to escort you to the command briefing room.”

“Lead the way, Sergeant,” the lieutenant replied in a tone devoid of any emotion.

Sergeant Weatherly was slightly taken aback by the lieutenant’s deadpan response. Without further words, he turned and headed down the corridor, leading them around the corner before he stopped at the entrance to the command briefing room. He gestured to the open hatchway. “The captain is expecting you, sir.”

“Thank you, Sergeant,” the lieutenant replied. He stepped through the hatch without so much as a glance at the sergeant, as did his subordinate.

The lieutenant entered the briefing room, finding the captain and the rest of the Aurora’s command staff sitting at the conference table. “Lieutenant Telles reporting as ordered, sir,” the lieutenant announced as he offered a salute.

Nathan stood and returned the lieutenant’s salute. “As you were, Lieutenant.”

“May I present my platoon sergeant, Sergeant Ochsley.”

“Sergeant,” Nathan began, “Lieutenant, I’d like you to meet my command staff.” Nathan raised his hand to begin pointing out each of his officers.

“That won’t be necessary, Captain,” the lieutenant interrupted. “I am familiar with your command staff. I have studied each of your service records. You are all worthy of commendation. To have accomplished so much with so little training or experience is truly remarkable.”

Nathan was speechless for the moment, unsure of whether or not they had just been insulted, but it had been in the most polite way imaginable. “Of course,” he finally said as he returned to his seat. “Be seated, gentlemen.”

Lieutenant Telles and Sergeant Ochsley took the last remaining seats at the conference table.

Nathan settled into his seat at the head of the conference table, exchanging glances with both Cameron and Vladimir on either side of him.

Lieutenant Telles looked at all the faces at the table as he sat. “Your chief of security, Lieutenant Commander Nash, is not present.”

“She’s currently on assignment.”

“Then she will not be joining us for the assault?”

“Doubtful,” Nathan answered.

“A shame,” the lieutenant said. “I should have liked to have met the one who put an end to the life of Caius.”

“Perhaps later,” Nathan said. “The purpose of this meeting is to discuss possible strategies for the assault on Tanna.”

“Excuse me, Captain,” the lieutenant interrupted. “I am confused.”

Nathan’s eyebrows went up. “How so, Lieutenant?”

“You have awakened the Ghatazhak for this mission, have you not?”

“Yes, we have…”

“Am I correct in my understanding of your tactical goals?”

“And they are?” Nathan asked, wondering if the lieutenant did know.

“To neutralize the fighter base on the fifth moon, to neutralize the two auxiliary fighter support bases on the surface of Tanna, and to capture all available propellant stores, the purpose being to transfer the stores to the Aurora for use in her main propulsion and maneuvering systems.”

“And to drive the Jung from our world,” Garrett added from his place at the table.

Lieutenant Telles looked at Garrett. His gaze was cold and calculating, as if he were measuring the potential threat that the unknown man presented. The look on the lieutenant’s face indicated that he perceived none. “Who are you, sir?” he asked in a curt but professional manner.

“This is Garrett Munras,” Nathan said. “He is one of the leaders of the Tanna resistance.”

“And what role does he play in this mission?”

“He has provided us with intelligence about the Jung forces in the 72 Herculis system.”

“In exchange for…?” the lieutenant asked.

“Freeing my people,” Garrett told him. Garrett looked at the captain, unsure of what was going on.

“A single Ghatazhak platoon cannot free an entire world, Captain.”

“Of course not,” Nathan agreed.

“You will not be asked to do so,” Garrett insisted. He turned to face Nathan. “Captain, all we ask is that you remove the Jung from our skies. Once that has been done, our people shall rise up and retake our world on our own.” He looked at the lieutenant again. “We do not require the assistance of your Ghatazhak.”

Lieutenant Telles ignored Garrett’s remarks, his gaze fixed on Nathan. “Have I properly summarized the mission objectives?”

“Yes, Lieutenant, you have.”

“It is my understanding that the Aurora currently does not have the support of an industrialized world. May I assume the targets are to be neutralized with minimal damage to any potential assets that might be utilized by the Alliance?”

“That would be correct,” Nathan agreed.

Lieutenant Telles stared straight ahead as he considered the information presented. Nathan again exchanged glances with his two friends as he waited for the lieutenant to continue.

“I have studied the performance parameters of your fighters and your jump shuttles. While it is unfortunate that the Falcon is not yet ready to return to service, I believe we can accomplish all tactical objectives without unacceptable losses.”

“Really?” Nathan wondered.

“Shall I?” the lieutenant asked.

“Please, lieutenant,” Nathan said, gesturing for him to continue with a wave of his hand, “the floor is all yours.”

* * *

“I have been properly trained on the use of your portable laser communications unit,” Garrett assured Major Waddell as they walked across the Aurora’s main hangar bay. “I will notify you as soon as my people are ready.”

“Remember the comm-schedule,” the major reminded him.

“I shall, Major,” Garrett assured him as they approached the jump shuttle. He stopped at the bottom of the shuttle’s cargo ramp and turned to face the major. “I must confess. I have my doubts about these Ghatazhak of yours. Your people see them as exceptional warriors, God-like in their very presence. I look at them, and I see only men, nothing more, and arrogant ones at that.”

“Perhaps,” Major Waddell said, “but there is a reason for their arrogance. They know what they are capable of, and more importantly, what
we
are not.”

“Still, only one hundred men to retake an entire planet? I do not see how it is possible.”

“You must trust me on this, Garrett,” the major said. “I have faced them in battle.”

Garrett looked at the scars on the side of the major’s face and neck. “And you survived to bear witness? Then you were victorious?”

“I would not call that battle a victory, no,” the major admitted.

Garrett took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he looked about the massive hangar bay. “It is a fine ship you have, a fine ship indeed.” He looked at the major. “And she has a fine crew,” he added as he extended his hand to the major. “I regret not having seen Joshua while I was here. Tell him I wish him a speedy recovery.”

“I’ll convey your words to him.”

Garrett cocked his head to one side, eyeing the major one last time. “I shall see you again, I think.”

“I hope so, Garrett,” Major Waddell said as he shook Garrett’s hand.

Garrett turned and headed up the ramp of the jump shuttle. Major Waddell took several steps backward as the shuttle’s rear cargo ramp lifted up off the deck, swinging upward and closing over the aft end of the shuttle. The ship rotated slowly, then pulled into the center transfer airlock, disappearing behind the airlock’s massive door.

Major Waddell stared at the massive door for several seconds before departing. “I hope so.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Lieutenant?” the jump shuttle’s crew chief called over the comms.

Lieutenant Telles immediately opened his eyes, his pupils wide in the dimly lit interior of the shuttle’s cargo bay. His gaze was already fixed in the direction of the crew chief’s position.

The crew chief swallowed hard, slightly unnerved by seeing the lieutenant wake so quickly after sitting motionless in the shuttle’s cargo bay for nearly eighteen hours. “It’s time, sir.”

The lieutenant gave a single nod to the crew chief, acknowledging the message as he spoke to the rest of his team. “
Squad, wake,
” he ordered in a calm, relaxed tone.

The crew chief made his way aft as the other nine Ghatazhak sitting along either side of the bay also opened their eyes as if they had been closed for moments instead of the hours they had spent cold-coasting from the jump shuttle’s entry point at the edge of the 72 Herculis system. Each man casually rose from his seat, reached down, and disconnected his life support line from the shuttle, switching to his own internal suit environmental systems. Each Ghatazhak checked the next man’s suit and attached gear, then checked their own weapons. Their pressurized combat suits were painted flat back with no markings. They were bulky and heavily armored, and they had small life-support systems built into the back and chest of the suit. Below the small life-support bulge on their upper back was a larger, detachable, cold-jet maneuvering unit.

“
Thirty seconds,
” the copilot’s voice called over the comms.

“
Stand ready and report,
” The lieutenant ordered.

All the Ghatazhak turned to face the aft end of the shuttle as the first one reported in. “
Two ready…
”

“
Three ready…
”

“
Four ready…
”

“Opening rear hatch,” the crew chief reported as the Ghatazhak finished counting off.

“
Nine ready
,” the last Ghatazhak reported.

“
Flight deck, One. Ready to deploy,
” the lieutenant reported to the copilot.

“
Copy, One,
” the copilot responded. “
Ten seconds. Good luck, gentlemen.
”

The rear cargo hatch settled into its platform position, extending outward from the aft of the shuttle along its fore-and-aft line and exposing the entire aft end of the shuttle’s cargo bay to space. The crew chief could feel his pulse quicken and his respiratory rate increase at the sight of the vast, open space beyond the end of their tiny ship. He turned toward the front of the shuttle from his position beside the cargo hatch and stared at the faces of the men who were about to depart on what seemed an impossibly dangerous mission to him. Through their visors, not one of the Ghatazhak warriors showed the slightest hint of emotion over what they were about to do.

“
Three……two……one……deploy, deploy, deploy,
” the copilot ordered.

In pairs, the ten Ghatazhak warriors, decked out in their black combat pressure suits, ran out of the shuttle, stepping off the end of the cargo ramp and drifting off into space. As each pair left the ramp, they fired tiny bursts of their cold jets to rotate themselves around to face the back of the shuttle so they were facing toward their direction of flight.

The crew chief watched from the cargo hatch as the ten Ghatazhak warriors drifted away from the aft end of the jump shuttle. As they drifted farther and farther, he could see the lieutenant close his eyes again as he put himself back into the same meditative state he had been in for the last eighteen hours.
How the hell do they do that?
the crew chief thought.

Eventually, the crew chief could no longer make out the Ghatazhak drifting aft of them, and he slapped the button with his gloved hand to close the rear cargo hatch. “How long are they gonna coast out there?” he asked the copilot as he turned and headed forward.

“Something like thirty hours, I think,”
the copilot answered over the comms.

“That’s insane.”

“How are we doing back there?”
the pilot interrupted.
“That fifth moon is going to come out from behind the planet in a few minutes, and I don’t want to have to coast another eighteen hours before we jump out of here.”

The crew chief faced aft, seeing the cargo hatch’s status light turn green as he took his seat. “We’re all closed up and ready to jump.”

“
You’re sure they’re far enough away that our jump flash won’t bother them?
” the copilot asked.

“Does anything bother them?” the crew chief said.

“
You know what I mean,
” the copilot responded.

“Lieutenant Telles said as soon as they were no longer visible, we could jump. They’re no longer visible.”

“
Very well. Stand by to jump.
”

* * *

“Of course it is an aggressive plan,” Vladimir agreed from across the dining table in the captain’s mess. “Who are we kidding? It is a crazy plan. Cold-coasting in spacesuits for thirty hours? In suits that are only rated for twenty hours?”

“Lieutenant Telles seemed unconcerned with the risks,” Cameron stated. “He called it ‘an interesting exercise.’”

“These Ghatazhak, there is something wrong with them,” Vladimir argued as he pointed to his head. “I think their programming needs to be debugged.”

“Major Waddell didn’t seem to have any objections to the lieutenant’s plan,” Nathan said, “and he
has
seen them in action.”

“Yeah, and you don’t find it odd that Waddell accepts the presence of the Ghatazhak so easily?” Cameron asked. “Considering what they did to his platoon at Answari, you’d expect him to want to rip their heads off.”

“Maybe that’s why he didn’t object to their plan,” Vladimir said in between bites of his dinner. “He’d rather see them fail miserably.”

“I don’t think so,” Nathan insisted. “The Corinari have the task of backing up the Ghatazhak if needed, and if they need backup, it’s bound to be ugly. If anything, I take Major Waddell’s lack of objection as an encouraging sign… for the chances of a successful mission,
and
as an impressively professional attitude by the major.”

“Phfft,” Vladimir responded. Nathan looked at him sideways. “I still say the Ghatazhak are crazy,” Vladimir insisted.

“I’m not arguing that,” Nathan said. “They may very well be.”

“Personally, I’m more worried about Garrett’s role in this than the Ghatazhak,” Cameron said.

“Why am I not surprised?” Nathan wondered.

“What? You’re not?”

“No, I’m not. He’s got the proper motivation, and frankly, his role is not that difficult,” Nathan insisted, “at least, not during the most critical aspects of the attack.”

“There’s just something about him I don’t trust.”

“You say that about everyone,” Vladimir said.

“Oh, please, like who?” Cameron challenged.

“Marak, Jalea, Tobin, Tug…”

“I was right about the first three!” Cameron argued.

“You didn’t trust the master chief at first!” Nathan reminded her.

“He is correct. You did not,” Vladimir said.

“Okay, I was wrong about the master chief…”

“And Tug,” Nathan said.

“All right, I get your point!” Cameron said. “But Jessica didn’t trust them at first, either… not one of them.”

“It’s her job not to trust anyone,” Vladimir said.

“That’s right,” Nathan agreed. “Face it, Cam. Trust does not come easily for you.”

Cameron didn’t respond verbally. Instead she just made a face at Nathan as she took a bite of her salad.

“Better to harbor unwarranted suspicions than to suffer the consequences of trust improperly placed,” Vladimir said. He took another bite of his food. “Old Russian proverb,” he added, raising his fork to emphasize the point.

“Thank you,” Cameron said.

“Did the jump shuttle make it back?” Nathan asked, changing the subject.

“Yes, about an hour ago,” Cameron answered. “The pilot reported that there were no indications they were detected, and the Ghatazhak deployed exactly as planned.”

Nathan looked at his watch. “So we’ve got another twenty-eight hours and change before we take the ship back into harm’s way again?”

“About that, yes,” Cameron answered.

“Well, I, for one, am happy to be facing battle with a ship that is in perfect condition for once.” Vladimir looked at Nathan. “Just try not to damage her too much this time.”

“For once, I might be able to do so,” Nathan said. “From what Garrett said, there aren’t any planetary defenses on Tanna, just the fighter base on the fifth moon and the two bases on the surface. As long as no Jung warships drop in unexpectedly, we should be okay. I just wish we were going in with a little more propellant than we currently have.”

“All we are doing is a small course correction and deceleration burn,” Vladimir pointed out. “Then we just hang out in orbit while everyone else takes the fight to the Jung.”

“It really just hinges on whether or not the Ghatazhak are as good as everyone says they are,” Cameron said.

“I know one thing,” Nathan said, “Jessica’s going to be sorry she missed this one.”

“Yeah,” Cameron said. There was a moment of silence as they each picked at their dinner. “Do you guys think about her?” Cameron added, breaking the silence.

“I know I do,” Nathan said.

“So do I,” Vladimir agreed solemnly. A small grin appeared on the corner of his mouth. “Although, perhaps not in the same way,” he added in a lecherous tone.

“I knew it,” Cameron said.

“What?” Vladimir responded.

She rolled her eyes. “I knew that without Jessica here to balance things out, the hormone levels in this room would go all testosterone on me.”

“Vladimir,” Nathan scolded in a mocking way, “you’re a command officer talking about another command officer.”

“It was a joke,” Vladimir said, holding up his hands. “Besides, I am not a command officer. I am an engineer pretending to be a command officer, which is something I did not want to be.”

Another moment of silence followed as they dined. Finally, Cameron spoke. “Do you think she’s okay?”

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Nathan said. “By now, she has probably completed her assignment and is working on her tan.”

“I hope you’re right,” Cameron said.

“Me, too,” Vladimir agreed, “about the tan part.”

“Vlad?” Nathan mumbled.

“What?” Vladimir objected, “I was just…”

“Hey!” Cameron warned. “I’m the XO, remember? Don’t make me write you up.”

* * *

Jessica sat quietly, studying her data pad on the patio outside the cover house used by the resistance to hide the entrance to their underground facility.

President Scott came out of the house. “Jessica, they said I’d find you out here.”

Jessica started to rise. “Mister President,” she said as she set down her data pad. Despite the fact that the North American Union no longer existed, in the presence of its former elected leader, she always felt the need to be more formal.

“Don’t get up,” he insisted, moving to take a seat next to her. “I take it you found a suitable hiding place for the comm-unit we provided?”

Jessica pointed at a box sitting upside down on the ground next to the patio.

“Not bad,” the president said. “Any luck?”

“Not yet,” she answered, “but I’ve only been here for five days. The first scheduled contact isn’t until the seventh day.”

“Then why are you out here?” President Scott asked.

“I figured I’d give it a try in case they came back early. Besides, it’s not like I have anything else to do.” Jessica flipped up her collar against the evening chill. “I’m actually impressed that you guys even had a portable laser comm-unit. After all, it’s not exactly standard issue for ground warfare.”

“The EDF was planning for this eventuality for some time,” President Scott said.

“Buckeye?”

“Precisely. After losing two Defender-class ships without so much as a single engagement, we knew we were trying to move too quickly. Admiral Galiardi had always said that no matter how many ships we built, they would be meaningless if the Jung came in force. A well dug in and pre-supplied underground resistance seemed the only viable option.”

“If you didn’t think you could defend the Earth using ships, why did you think a resistance would do the trick?”

“We expected it to take years, perhaps decades. I admit, the plan bet heavily on unforeseeable opportunities: a poorly guarded ordnance depot, the stealing of a ship or two, the local forces relaxing and letting their guard down.”

“How are you going to get them to relax if you keep attacking them?”

“The attacks are part of a much larger subterfuge—at least, that’s what they tell me,” the president said.

“I certainly hope so, because running around blowing up guard posts and attacking comm stations isn’t going to do anything but piss them off.”

“Like I said, the EDF had been working on this plan for many years, long before I became president and probably before you even enlisted. Admiral Galiardi started the project the moment he took command away from Admiral Williams.”

“What ever happened to Admiral Galiardi?” Jessica wondered.

“He went underground just before EDF command in Port-Gentil self-destructed,” the president explained. “That was part of the plan, for the admiral to survive and lead the resistance.”

“And is he?”

“He was,” the president said, “but we lost contact with him more than a week ago. He just went dark. None of the cells have reported any contact with him either. We assumed he had gone into hiding to avoid capture. That’s actually what I came to talk to you about.”

“About what, the admiral?”

“Yes.” President Scott sighed. “One of our deep-cover operatives reported seeing the admiral at a medical facility in Geneva. He was under heavy guard, and he looked to be in bad shape.”

“Bad shape, how?”

“Our operative is still trying to gain access to his medical records, but he suspects that his condition may be the result of interrogation by the Jung.”

“How much can he give up?” Jessica asked.

“More than you can imagine,” the president admitted, “the Aurora’s jump drive, the location of the Celestia, and the fact that she’s carrying the data cores. He may even know the location of many of our underground supply depots.”

“How the hell was that allowed to happen?” Jessica wondered. “No one person should have that much intelligence floating around in their head. Rule number one: compartmentalize all intelligence.”

“Galiardi was the architect of the Earth’s entire defensive strategy,” President Scott said. “He was the only one who knew the entire plan and one of only three people who knew about the jump drive project.”

“Who were the other two?”

“Admiral Yamori and myself.”

“The admiral in charge of special projects? That I can understand, but why you, sir? Weren’t you just a senator back then?”

“I played a key part in the plan. I was to become president of the NAU, which would lead to me becoming the next leader of the United Earth Republic. They wanted the Jung to believe that the EDF lacked the public support they needed to build a strong defense.”