Ep.#9 - "Resistance" (22 page)

Major Waddell turned and gestured toward the shuttle, allowing Garrett to pass. The sergeant immediately took his cue from the major and led Garrett safely toward the shuttle and up the back ramp with Major Waddell and Loki close behind. As soon as they were on board, the shuttle’s turbines began to rise in pitch as it prepared to lift off. The six Corinari soldiers guarding the shuttle fell back toward the rear cargo ramp in pairs, keeping their weapons trained on their assigned sections of the perimeter. As soon as the last man was on the ramp, the shuttle began to rise. Once they were a few meters above the ground, the shuttle drifted forward and began to turn to its right as it continued its climb. Thirty seconds later, the shuttle was again ten meters above the level of the plateau, and was accelerating slowly away from Garrett’s men. Then, without warning, the thunderous noise came again and the shuttle disappeared in a blinding flash of blue-white light.

* * *

“Who’s coming back with me?” the sergeant asked as he rested after the first half of his EVA.

“It’s just us three now,” Lieutenant Commander Kovacic said to Luis. “You might as well go next.”

“If it’s all the same to you, sir, I’d rather stay here and help Devyn.”

“You want me to go? What happened to the captain going down with his ship?”

“We’re not going down, sir,” Luis said. “We’re already down. Besides, do you know anything about environmental systems?”

“No. Do you?”

“Well, no, but I knew a bit about electrical systems and some basic computer programming and troubleshooting. That’s gotta be more help to her than supply and logistics. No offense, sir.”

“None taken,” the lieutenant commander said. “It just seems wrong for me to leave with anyone else still here.”

“If we’re going to try to keep someone up here at all times, we’re going to need to get some basic scrubbing capacity going.”

The lieutenant commander leaned in closer to avoid being overheard. “She doesn’t even know if she can fix it, Ensign.”

“We might be stuck on Metis for a long time, sir. We need to try.”

“Sooner or later, the oxygen is going to run out up here.”

“There’s plenty of air left up here for just the two of us,” Luis said.

Lieutenant Commander Kovacic smiled. “For just the two of you, huh?”

“It’s not like that,” Luis insisted. “I meant…”

“Relax, Ensign. I know what you meant,” the lieutenant commander assured him. “You want to stay up here and fiddle with environmental systems with your friend, that’s fine. Just don’t let the air run out on you when you’re not looking.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now help me suit up,” the lieutenant commander ordered, the smile creeping back onto his face. He looked at Luis and raised his eyebrows up and down several times.

“Don’t make me deck my commanding officer, sir,” Luis said under his breath in jest.

* * *

“They’re in the command briefing room, sir,” Sergeant Weatherly reported from the ready room hatch.

“Thank you, Sergeant.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t want to meet him in the hangar bay,” Cameron said as they rose and exited the room.

“I don’t want him to feel he has us at a disadvantage,” Nathan said as they passed through the aft end of the bridge. “If he does, he’ll be more difficult to negotiate with.”

“I didn’t realize you knew so much about the art of negotiation.”

“I grew up in a political family, remember?” Nathan said as they made their way down the corridor. “I knew about negotiations before I knew how to tie my shoes.” Nathan looked at Cameron. “Don’t undermine me in front of our guest, Cam,” he warned, a stern look in his eye.

“I don’t undermine you.”

“The hell you don’t.”

“I don’t,” she said.

“You’ve gotten better. At least you don’t do it in front of the crew anymore,” he said, “but you still have your moments in the briefing room.” Nathan stopped in the middle of the corridor, turning to look directly at her. “This man is a leader, at the very least, of his local cell. If he senses I am not firmly in command, he will see it as a sign of weakness, and he will press to take advantage of that perceived weakness. I know. My father was a master at it.” Nathan turned and continued down the corridor, Cameron and Sergeant Weatherly following close behind.

“I do not undermine you,” Cameron mumbled.

Nathan held up one finger to silence his friend as they entered the command briefing room. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said as he entered the compartment. “Ship’s business.” Nathan approached Garrett, his hand extended in friendship. “You must be Garrett.”

Garrett looked confused. “You are Captain Scott?” He looked at Loki and Major Waddell for confirmation as he shook the captain’s hand. “But you are so young.”

“I get that a lot,” Nathan answered.

Major Waddell nodded his head. “Captain Scott, meet Garrett, leader of the Tanna resistance.”

“It is an honor, sir,” Nathan said. “Shall we get started?”

Nathan moved around to take his usual spot at the head of the conference table.

“I am sorry, Captain. I meant no disrespect,” Garrett said as he took his seat.

Nathan fought back a smile. His own youthful appearance had already put his guest off guard, which offered Nathan his first advantage. “None taken, sir. I am somewhat younger than most of my peers. Events over the last few months have accelerated me through the ranks and into command of this ship.”

“Then, you are not the same man who defeated these Ta’Akar that your men spoke of?”

“No, I was in command of this ship during that campaign, but I assure you, it was a joint effort. I merely stirred the pot a bit.”

Garrett smiled as he eyed Nathan sitting at the opposite end of the table. “I suspect you are being modest, Captain, which is commendable.”

“I understand that you have some concerns,” Nathan began, “about the Alliance in general. Perhaps I can answer your questions.”

“Not concerns, really,” Garrett said. “Doubts might be a better term.”

“I can understand why you might doubt the strength of the Alliance.”

“It is not your strength that I question, Captain,” Garrett said. “I question whether or not your strength is equal to that of the Jung.”

“That is what we are trying to determine,” Nathan said. “Before we can form a campaign strategy, we need to know what we are facing.”

“You have this ship,” Garrett said, “and I have seen at least two smaller ships that can jump between the stars in the blink of one’s eye. Tell me, Captain,” Garrett said as he leaned forward, “can the Aurora jump between the stars as well?”

“Yes, she can,” Nathan answered plainly. “And at much greater ranges.”

“How much greater?”

“That is not germane to this negotiation,” Nathan told him.

“Ah, but I believe it is,” Garrett disagreed. “I’m sure you realize that this ability is perhaps your most formidable weapon against the Jung, as they do not possess such capability.”

“I still don’t see how our jump range is related to this discussion.”

“In order to feel comfortable sharing information about the Jung with your alliance, I must feel confident that you have a chance of succeeding at your goal. Your ‘jump range’, as you put it, is therefore quite important in that determination.”

Nathan glanced at Cameron as he considered Garrett’s words. Then, without hesitation, he answered. “Our maximum safe jump range has yet to be determined, as our scientists are constantly making improvements to the system. However, I can tell you that, currently, we limit our jumps to no more than fifteen light years at a time for safety reasons.”

Garrett smiled. “I was right. You do have a formidable weapon on your hands, Captain.”

“How do you think we defeated the Ta’Akar?” Nathan said, his own wry smile forming.

Garrett laughed. “I knew I would like you.”

“Is that why you insisted on coming to my ship?” Nathan asked. “To see if you liked me?”

“Partly, yes. On Tanna, we believe that, to trust a man, you must first both like and respect that man. Of course, I also wanted to know more about your jump drive, and although I probably could have tricked young Loki into revealing that which I needed to know, I was not convinced he even possessed that information. I also was quite sure I would not be able to extract the information from Major Waddell, as I suspect, unlike Loki, the major has seen his fair share of pain and suffering. You see, Captain, ever since I witnessed Joshua and Loki jump away from our world, I knew that things were about to change. In fact, I have been waiting for your return.”

“Have you?” Nathan wondered.

“I have. And now, here you are, asking for my help once more.”

“Perhaps we should cut to the chase,” Nathan stated coldly, leaning forward in his seat. “What price are you asking for this help?”

“Only the liberation of Tanna from the hands of the Jung.”

“Is that all?”

“It seems a fair price, one little world,” Garrett stated with a shrug.

“It is my understanding that Tanna is well protected. There is a fighter base on one of your moons, and there are considerable facilities on the surface of your world as well, are their not?”

“There are indeed,” Garrett admitted.

“How many men do the Jung have on Tanna?” Major Waddell asked.

“Hundreds at least,” Garrett stated, “sometimes more during rotation of forces or when one of their warships passes through the system.”

“Sir,” Major Waddell began to object.

Nathan held up his hand, cutting off the major. “What makes you think we can’t get the information we seek on our own, without your help?”

“If you could, you would not be asking,” Garrett answered confidently. He also leaned forward, as if to underline his next statement. “I also suspect that the reason you seek the location of Jung propellant stores is because you are in need of that propellant yourself.” Garrett’s smile became broader. “Perhaps even desperately so.”

“An interesting hypothesis,” Nathan said, showing no reaction to Garrett’s assertions. “May I inquire as to how you came to such a conclusion?”

“Simple, really,” Garrett answered. “The Jung forces in the Tanna system should be no match for a ship such as yours. Since you have not already taken the system for yourself, it is reasonable to assume that it is because you lack sufficient propellant to do so.”

“Logical, but you’re overlooking one thing,” Nathan said. “If I
am
out of propellant as you suspect, how would I be able to
take
your system from the Jung? For that matter, why would I
want
to take your system from the Jung?”

“The question of ‘how’ is simple. Although your fighters would suffer considerable losses, they alone could disable the Jung fighter base guarding Tanna, after which you could destroy their ground forces from orbit with little risk to your ship.”

“You still haven’t answered the ‘why’,” Nathan reminded Garrett.

“The ‘why’ is also easy, Captain. The propellant that you seek is in my system. In fact, most of it is produced and stored on Tanna.”

Nathan stared at Garrett for what seemed an eternity to everyone in the room. The leader of the Tanna resistance appeared pleased with himself and his position at the table. “I will need to discuss this with my senior officers,” Nathan finally said. “Meanwhile, may I offer you something to eat?”

“Yes, thank you, that would be much appreciated,” Garrett answered.

“Sergeant, have Garrett escorted to the captain’s mess and have my cook prepare whatever he likes.”

“Yes, sir,” the sergeant answered.

“Feel free to indulge yourself, Garrett.” Nathan told their guest. “We may be
discussing
your proposal for some time.”

“Of course, Captain,” Garrett said, still smiling as he rose to depart.

Nathan waited until Garrett had left the briefing room before speaking. “Well, I didn’t see that one coming.”

“Captain,” Major Waddell began, “we do not have the manpower to conduct a direct assault on the surface of Tanna, not against what could be several hundred men.”

“We may not have to,” Nathan told him.

“Sir, Garrett did say that most of the propellant is stored on the surface,” Cameron reminded him.

“Yes, he did,” Nathan agreed, “but he also said that ships occasionally pass through the system. I’m assuming they do so to refuel, among other things. They must have a refueling depot in orbit or on an asteroid or moon. They wouldn’t ferry it up in shuttles during a refuel; it would take too long.”

“So if we take out that fighter base, we might have a shot at the fuel that’s already at the refueling station, wherever that is,” Cameron said.

“That’s what I was thinking,” Nathan said. “We wouldn’t even need to take on the Jung ground forces.”

“Sir, isn’t that kind of dishonest?” Loki said with a frown.

“I wasn’t suggesting we deceive our guest,” Nathan assured Loki. “I was only thinking of a viable alternative to an all-out attack against what might be a superior force.” Nathan leaned back in his chair. “I suspect I will need to speak further with our guest before I can come to a decision.”

“Shall I have the sergeant bring him back?” Cameron asked.

“No, I’ll give him some time to start eating, then I’ll join him.”

“Shall I come along?” Cameron asked.

“I think it would be better if I handled this alone,” Nathan said. “I need to get him to open up, to trust us. He’s not likely to do that with a room full of officers.”

* * *

“I apologize for keeping you waiting,” Nathan said as he entered the captain’s mess.

“That is quite all right, Captain,” Garrett assured him. “Your cook was just explaining how he prepared this fine cut of meat.” Garrett turned toward the captain’s cook. “What did you call it again?”

“Dollag, sir,” the cook answered.

“Yes, dollag. It has a most interesting flavor, does it not?”

“It’s a bit strong for my taste,” Nathan said as he took his seat at the dining table, “but I’ve gotten used to it.”

“I take it you have been away from your home for some time now,” Garrett said.

“More than four months,” Nathan said.

“Will you be eating as well, sir?” the cook asked the captain.

“Yes, please.”

“You do not mind if I continue eating?” Garret asked.

“No, of course not,” Nathan answered.

“So,” Garrett began as he cut off another piece of dollag, “have you come to a decision, Captain?”

“Not as of yet,” Nathan admitted. “I thought we might discuss the situation further.”

“What is there to discuss?” Garrett asked. “We need help removing the Jung from our world. You need the propellant the Jung have stored on our world. It seems a perfect arrangement, does it not?”