Ep.#9 - "Resistance" (7 page)

Synda looked the chips over as Jessica held her hand out and shined her light on the chips. “Uh, not much really.”

Jessica looked at Synda, her head cocked to one side and an accusatory look in her eyes. “You’re going to have to learn to lie better if you’re going to survive on your own, young lady. How much are they really worth?”

“They’re credit chips,” Synda admitted.

“What are they worth?”

“One hundred credits each.”

“What’s a credit worth in NAU currency?” Jessica wondered.

Synda furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes. “The same. They just replaced all the currency on the planet with their own credit chips. How could you not know that?”

Jessica moved over to the corner of the room and pulled up the loose board. She extracted a can of beans and a candy bar.

“You already took my gun and my knife,” Synda said. “Now you’re going to eat my food as well?”

“You hungry?” Jessica asked, ignoring her previous statement.

“I’ve been standing in knee-deep water for eight hours,” Synda said. “Of course I’m hungry.”

Jessica rolled the can of beans across the floor, then slid a candy bar over to Synda as well. Then she removed another can of beans and a candy bar for herself.

Synda watched as Jessica pulled one of the Jung credit chips back out of her pocket and tossed it over to her. Synda caught the chip, a look of astonishment on her face. “The gun is worth a lot more than one-hundred credits.”

“It’s not for the gun. It’s for the food.”

“You’re paying me one hundred credits for a can of beans and a candy bar?” Synda couldn’t believe it.

“Consider it payment for one night’s accommodations in your fine establishment,” Jessica said as she used the knife she had taken from the old man to open the cans of beans, starting with Synda’s.

“Right.”

“I can take the chip back, if you prefer.”

“No, I’m good with it,” Synda assured her as she started scooping up the beans with her fingers and shoveling them into her mouth.

Jessica sat down on the floor a couple meters away from Synda, facing the large window that overlooked the dirt road. She tipped the can of beans up and poured some into her mouth, savoring the sweetness of the familiar tastes of pork, maple, and brown sugar. “Oh, man, that is so good.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Synda watched as Jessica poured another helping into her mouth. “Been a while since you’ve eaten?”

“Anything familiar, yes.”

“You said you’ve been traveling,” Synda said. “From where?”

“Let’s just say I’ve been a very long way from home for a long time.”

“Where were you? New Britain?”

“Farther,” Jessica said as she chewed.

“Asia?”

“Something like that,” Jessica lied. She needed to bond with the girl in order to extract information from her, but she didn’t want to reveal too much in the process.

“How long?”

“Nearly five months now,” Jessica said as she raised her can one last time to devour the last of its contents.

“So you weren’t even on the continent when they attacked?”

“Nope.”

“So, when did you get back?” Synda asked.

“You ask a lot of questions, don’t you?”

“I don’t get to talk to very many people these days.”

“Where are your parents?” Jessica asked as she wiped her mouth.

“They died about five years ago in a shuttle crash.”

“How did you survive on your own?”

“I was old enough to take care of myself at the time,” Synda said.

“What were you then, like ten?”

“I was seventeen at the time.”

“So you’re twenty-two now?” Jessica asked, finding it hard to believe.

“Twenty-three in a couple weeks.”

“Huh. I would’ve guessed you were about fourteen by the size of you.”

Synda rolled her eyes again. “That’s what the guy at the recruiter’s office said. I had to pay for age verification testing before I could apply.”

“Apply for what?” Jessica asked.

“Fleet.”

“EDF?”

“That’s the one,” Synda said. “But they turned me down all three times.”

“Too small?”

“Yeah. It really pissed me off, too. I had been training in the gym for years to get in shape. It didn’t seem right, being turned down without even being given a chance to prove myself.”

“They probably have the minimums for a reason, you know,” Jessica said.

Synda looked down at the floor. “Yeah. I’ve come to realize that now. Guess I’m better off though,” she continued, looking up again. “If they had accepted me, I’d probably be dead now like the rest of them.”

“EDF got hit pretty hard, huh?”

“From what I hear, the Jung hit every EDF installation at the same time. Then they started picking off the national militias. Those that didn’t get killed right away surrendered pretty quickly.”

“Yeah, I heard the same thing,” Jessica said, remembering the data she had spent weeks poring over during the Aurora’s cold-coast toward Earth.

Jessica watched Synda as she finished her candy bar. The girl was small, and her body definitely showed signs of malnutrition, but she had an inner strength about her. “Listen, I need to get into the city tomorrow. I need to find someone.”

“Who?”

“Don’t worry about who. Do you know how to get into Winnipeg without being noticed by the Jung?”

“Sure,” Synda said. “I just don’t use them, because they’re all through bad areas of the city. Too many jerks and perverts.”

“I’m not worried about the jerks and perverts,” Jessica said. “I can handle them. I’m just looking to avoid the Jung. Do you know Winnipeg very well?”

“I’ve lived there for four years now—well, not counting the last two and a half months.”

“Then you can show me around? Act as a guide?”

“Sure, but why would I want to do that?”

“You said you don’t go into the city because it isn’t safe for a girl your size. The jerks and perverts, remember?”

“Yeah,” Synda said. “And these don’t help matters.” She pointed at her breasts.

“Yeah, I’m sure they don’t. Try taping them down and wearing extra shirts. You can bunch your hair up and wear a cap or something. That way they won’t notice you from far away.”

“I tried the cap, but I never thought of taping down the girls.”

“Trust me. It will help.” Jessica looked at Synda. “A lot.”

“Do I get my knife back?”

“In the morning,” Jessica promised.

“What about my gun?”

“We’re tossing it in the river.”

“I thought you were kidding about that.”

“It ain’t worth keeping. If you had pulled the trigger, the Jung would’ve detected the energy discharge and been on you in minutes. I wouldn’t be surprised if they could track the weapon even when it’s just powered on.”

“Okay, I guess we are ditching it. But if I take you into the city, what’s in it for me?”

Jessica thought for a moment. “I’ll take you shopping.”

“Shopping for what?”

“For the stuff you need to head north.” Jessica smiled. “I still got a few one-hundred credit chips left.”

“The stuff I need is going to use up most of your credits,” Synda warned. “Are you sure you can afford it?”

“I don’t plan on hanging around much longer,” Jessica told her as she snuggled into the corner again to get more sleep. “We still have about four hours until daylight. I suggest you get some rest.”

“You’re going to go to sleep here, in the same room as me?” Synda wondered. “How do you know I won’t kill you in your sleep and just take your credits, my knife, and my gun?”

“The credits aren’t worth anything if you can’t get into the city to spend them,” Jessica told her. “Even if you managed to get in, you’d never make it out again with all that stuff. You need me as much as I need you, perhaps even more so.” Jessica closed her eyes. “Besides, I’m a light sleeper. And with your wet, squishy shoes and all that nylon you’re wearing, I’d hear you coming before you moved an inch.” Jessica opened her eyes again. “Synda, you seem like a smart girl—a little naive, perhaps, but not stupid. I’m the best bet you have right now. Play your cards right, and you’ll be on your way north with everything you need.” Jessica closed her eyes again. “Or I can tie you up for the night, if you prefer.”

* * *

“Cheng,” Nathan greeted Vladimir as he approached the jump shuttle on the forward port elevator pad in the Aurora’s main hangar bay. Vladimir turned around, and Nathan saw the bags under his chief engineer’s eyes and the fatigue in his expression. “You look like crap.”

“I haven’t slept much lately,” Vladimir admitted. “Too many things to fix. If it was not for stims, this shuttle would not be ready to fly.”

“Stop trying to do everything yourself, Vlad,” Nathan told him. “You’ve got plenty of qualified people working for you. Let them fix things for a change. If you keep up this pace, you won’t last much longer.”

“You are correct, of course. Just hurry up and liberate Earth, please. I need a vacation—someplace tropical, I think.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he told his friend as Vladimir departed. “And lay off the stims,” Nathan told him. “That’s an order.”

Nathan turned back toward the shuttle as Loki made his way up the shuttle’s boarding ramp with two Corinari technicians pulling the carts carrying their space-jump suits behind them. Major Waddell was the last one heading up the ramp.

“Major!” Nathan called out.

Major Waddell turned around and spotted the captain. “Sir?”

“May I speak to you a moment?” Nathan asked.

“Of course, Captain.”

Nathan led the major a few steps to the side, away from the others. “Major, I need to make you aware of a few things, things that I felt it best not to burden Mister Sheehan with.” Nathan stopped and turned to face Major Waddell, looking him straight in the eyes. “The Jung are already aware that we have a jump drive—at least, the ones in the vicinity of Earth are. Whether or not their leaders know for sure is impossible to determine. We don’t even know where the Jung homeworld is, so we have no idea how long it will take word of our return to travel from Earth to Jung command. But that is not so much what I am concerned about. What I am sure the Jung do not know is that we have allies in the Pentaurus cluster and that those allies now have jump drive capabilities, as well as technologies that, at the very least, rival if not surpass those of the Jung. It is imperative that the Jung do not discover this information. If they did, it would put your world, as well as all the worlds of the Pentaurus cluster, in grave danger.”

“Captain, I can assure you that I am well trained in resistance against torture…”

“I’m sure you are, Major,” Nathan interrupted, “but we do not know what methods the Jung have available to them for information extraction. The safest approach would be to assume they are able to retrieve information without difficulty. Furthermore, although you may be able to resist torture, I’m not so sure about Mister Sheehan’s resolve. He is a good man, but he does not have your training.” Nathan looked at the major again. “You understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes, sir,” the major said. “However, according to protocol, I’m afraid I must respectfully ask you to explicitly state your orders for me at this time.”

Nathan took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Very well, Major. If you believe that capture of yourself, Mister Sheehan, or anyone else who possesses knowledge of the jump drive or the Pentaurus cluster is imminent, you are ordered to terminate the lives of those people rather than allow such capture. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

“For what?”

“For taking the time to come here and give me the order directly, Captain. I would’ve done it anyway, as I know what is at stake. I’ve been doing this a long time, remember? But it is good to know that my commanding officer has the backbone to issue such an order, sir.”

Nathan eyed the major suspiciously. “Are you trying to make a point, Major?”

“No, sir.” Major Waddell smiled. “Just doing my job, sir.” The major snapped to attention and saluted his captain.

“Good luck, Major,” Nathan said as he returned the salute.

“Thank you, sir.”

* * *

“How long of a burn are we talking about?” Lieutenant Commander Kovacic asked, scratching at his beard. They had all given up shaving over six weeks ago, yet the thickening growth on his face still felt uncomfortable to him.

“That’s the thing,” Luis said from his chair at the Celestia’s helm, “the longer the burn, the less thrust is needed, therefore the lower the reactors can be run. That means that the amount of heat and radiation we generate will be lower, reducing the risk of detection. But it also means that we’ll be
detectable
for a greater period of time.”

“And if we burn hotter and shorter, we’ll be easier to spot but for a shorter period of time,” the lieutenant commander surmised.

“Precisely.”

“Tough choice,” the lieutenant commander said. “Hot and quick and hope they’re looking the other way, or low and slow and hope they’re not looking very closely.” He rubbed his whiskers again. “Don’t suppose there’s a third option.”

“Not that I can think of.”

“What if we tried a combination of the two?” Ensign Schenker suggested. “Wait until the last moment and do a short-duration, low-power deceleration burn, just enough to get us into a high orbit around Jupiter. Once we pass behind the planet, out of sight line with Earth, we go to full power, decelerate hard, and drop down into a lower orbit to rendezvous with Metis. Would that work?”

“I don’t know,” Luis admitted as he started entering the parameters into the helm’s flight computer. He watched as the results began to show on his displays. “It’s possible, but we’re going to have to go to full power pretty fast. Without full inertial dampeners, it won’t be a fun ride.”

“How long would we have to prepare?”

“We’d have to start the low-power burn in about twenty minutes. The high-power burn would come an hour later.”

“So we’d have just over an hour to try to secure everything, so we don’t have stuff flying across compartments and slamming into the forward bulkheads.”

“There’s one other problem, sir,” Luis said. “If we were doing a longer approach burn, one that would settle us into the same relative orbit as Metis, we’d have nearly two hours to rendezvous and set down. Using a combination approach, we’ll be using most of that time to decelerate. It’s going to make the landing on Metis that much more difficult. If we overshoot, we may not make it down before we come back around to the visible side.”

“Does that matter?” Lieutenant Commander Kovacic asked.

“It shouldn’t,” Ensign Schenker said. “We’d have to be running pretty hot to be noticed against Jupiter. The problem is, we don’t know exactly
how
good the Jung sensors are.”