Ep.#8 - Sanctuary (The Frontiers Saga - Part 2: Rogue Castes) Read online

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The Frontiers Saga Part 2: Rogue Castes

  Episode #8: Sanctuary

  Copyright © 2018 by Ryk Brown All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Nathan stood at the window, staring at the man being interrogated by General Telles and Lieutenant Siddens. In three days, the young marine’s story had yet to change. Every detail had matched against previous sessions. Physical and emotional pressures had yielded no deviations. Not even the Ghatazhak’s mental trickery, impressive as it was, caused the sergeant to deviate from his recounting of the days around the assassination of Nathan’s family and the seizing of power by Admiral Michael Galiardi.

  Nevertheless, Nathan stood there, sometimes for hours on end, staring at the sergeant’s face, on occasion locking eyes with him. There was guilt in the young man’s eyes, of that there was no doubt, just as there was anger in Nathan’s. Had it not been for his responsibilities as captain of the Aurora and leader of the Karuzari rebellion, Nathan would have stood there, unmoving, for every minute of every single interrogation.

  “The latest signals intelligence from Sol are in,” Jessica told him as she entered the observation room. She waited for a response but was not surprised when none came. “So far, his story lines up with what we’re picking up from the news nets,” she continued. “The entire Sol sector is under martial law right now, and Galiardi has launched a preemptive, jump-KKV strike against the Jung’s battle platforms.”

  “How many?” Nathan asked, his eyes still locked on Krispin.

  “I’m sure he targeted all of them,” Jessica replied.

  “How many did he destroy?” Nathan added.

  “We don’t know for sure,” Jessica admitted. “From the news, it sounds like they destroyed all that were targeted, but we have no way to confirm that yet. Not without sending one of our own recon ships back to check for ourselves.”

  “We wouldn’t know where to look,” Nathan commented, his gaze unwavering.

  “No, we wouldn’t.” Jessica stood silent for a moment, standing beside her friend, watching, as well. “How is Miri?” she asked, hoping to distract his focus from the interrogation.

  “Stable; no change,” he replied in a surprisingly unemotional fashion.

  “Have you decided whether or not to wake her children?”

  “Not until we have a more definite prognosis,” Nathan replied. “No need to put them through such agony.”

  “They might be stronger than you think,” Jessica said. “They are Scotts, after all.”

  Nathan finally took his eyes off Krispin, looking at Jessica. “They just lost everyone they care about, short of their mother, whom they still might lose.” He sighed, his eyes returning to the sergeant. “They would feel lost and abandoned, with no world to call home.”

  “They would have you.”

  “An uncle they thought long dead,” Nathan commented. “One who hasn’t the time to care for them.”

  “My parents would gladly care for them,” Jessica assured him.

  “I appreciate your concern, Jess, but I’ve made my decision. They stay in stasis for the time being.”

  Jessica said nothing, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “What are we going to do?” she finally asked.

  “About what?”

  “About Earth.”

  “Nothing we can do,” Nathan replied. “We have our own war to fight.”

  “But Galiardi is starting a war, Nathan,” she reminded him. “One that he may not win.”

  For the first time since Nathan had entered the observation room hours earlier, he turned his entire body away from the window. Nathan had a look in his eyes that Jessica had never seen before. “Michael Galiardi will answer for his actions,” he declared in a confident tone, “and he will answer to me.”

  Jessica said nothing as her captain turned and left the compartment.

  ***

  “It will take time, but we can convert the Jundalee transfer station into a shipyard,” General Erron suggested.

  “How much time?” Lord Dusahn asked, looking unhappy, as usual.

  “Several months, at least,” the general replied. “And it will only accommodate two vessels.”

  “It will take years to get another ship built under the current circumstances,” General Gorray pointed out. “The Jundalee will be nothing more than a repair station, no matter how much we do to it. We must build a new facility, one equipped to build dreadnought-class battleships.”

  “That will take years,” General Pol argued, “and that’s just to get the station online, let alone building the first ship.”

  “We must do both, simultaneously,” General Hesson insisted. “We have built ships without assembly facilities before, using troop carriers as staging platforms.”

  “We need those ships in order to move our legions to where they are needed,” General Erron countered.

  “Use captured cargo ships,” Lord Dusahn ordered.

  “Those ships are needed to maintain the flow of goods between worlds and sustain the economies of all the worlds in the cluster,” General Hesson reminded his leader.

  “We will find others to take their place,” Lord Dusahn said. “Have our forces move beyond the cluster and commandeer anything large enough to help.”

  “We will be spreading our forces too thin, my lord,” General Hesson warned.

  “Have our gunships harass the Rogen system,” Lord Dusahn instructed. “That will keep the Aurora busy defending their would-be allies while we take what we need from others. This is the way of the Jung and the way of the Dusahn.” Lord Dusahn turned to look out the windows at the gardens in the courtyard below, as he often did when thinking. After a moment, he spoke. “Something on your mind?”

  “Permission to speak freely, my lord?” General Hesson inquired.

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “It is my duty to offer advice, my lord.”

  Lord Dusahn sighed. “Do not dance with me, Hesson. I have not the patience.”

  “Your efforts to win the hearts and minds of the people of the Pentaurus cluster, while both noble and logical, have failed.”

  Lord Dusahn turned to glare at his subordinate.

  “If only because of the loss of the Teyentah and the shipyards,” the general wisely added. “Losing the Teyentah would have been bad enough, but losing both…”

  “The people whisper about the Karuzari and this Na-Tan behind our backs,” Lord Dusahn mutter
ed in disgust. “One damned ship. One.”

  “The people now question our strength,” the general warned.

  Lord Dusahn sighed. “These people were once a proud empire,” he said.

  “Because they had a strong leader,” General Hesson commented. “One who was not afraid to be ruthless, when needed.”

  “Are you questioning my own strength?” Lord Dusahn wondered, one eyebrow raised.

  “Never, my lord. I only wish to remind you that, sometimes, brute strength is all that matters.”

  “You wish me to glass another world,” Lord Dusahn realized.

  “The destruction of Ybara was a brutal, yet, tactically brilliant move, my lord. Because of it, all of Takara fell in line, as did every other world in the cluster. Perhaps it is time to demonstrate your resolve to those outside the cluster. Specifically, those who dare challenge the Dusahn Empire.”

  “A moment ago, you warned against spreading our forces too thin,” Lord Dusahn questioned. “Now you advise me to send the bulk of our fleet three sectors away?”

  “Not the bulk of our fleet,” General Hesson corrected. “Send our forces from Orswella to deal with the Rogen system.”

  Lord Dusahn dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. “The bulk of our forces in Orswella are made up of Dennigan and Orswellan vessels. Their jump range is limited, and it will take weeks for them to reach us. Besides, there are but three Dusahn ships among them. What message will that send to the people of Takara?”

  “The Dennigan and Orswellan ships are controlled by us, my lord.”

  “They don’t know that,” Lord Dusahn argued. “To them, it will appear as if we called for help from our allies.”

  “Then bring them here and have the Dennigan and Orswellan ships lie in wait just outside the system, while our three ships maintain a visible presence within the Takar and Darvano systems.”

  Lord Dusahn tapped his chin repeatedly, intrigued by the idea. “And what of the Orswellan shipyards? We cannot afford to lose them, as well.”

  “Leave one of the Dennigan heavy cruisers behind to keep the Orswellans in line.”

  Lord Dusahn paced the length of his office, contemplating his advisor’s suggestions. “If we play this correctly, we could set up an ambush,” he finally said.

  “My lord?”

  “Surely, the Karuzari have tallied our forces by now.”

  “They would be foolish not to,” General Hesson agreed. “And we have spotted their recon drones, on numerous occasions, popping in and out of the systems we control in the cluster.”

  “But they do not know of our ships in the Orswella system,” Lord Dusahn explained. “If they believe we are moving the bulk of our fleet to destroy the Rogen system, say, as retribution for their attack on Takara, they may be tempted to attack Takara, yet again.”

  “If they believe all our ships are away, what in the Takara system would be an important enough target for them to leave their allies undefended?” General Hesson wondered.

  Lord Dusahn smiled. “Me.”

  ***

  Josh lay on his back under the systems console on the Seiiki’s bridge, his hands buried in the wiring above him. “It’s gotta be hard, though. I mean, cheese and crackers, his whole family.”

  “Did you just say cheese and crackers?” Loki wondered.

  “Yup.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m trying to cut down on my swearing.”

  “Again, why?”

  “You heard Kaylah’s back, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, she never liked how much I swear.”

  “I always did like her,” Loki commented wryly. “Never did understand what she saw in you, though.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Listen, I’m all for you cleaning up your language, especially since I have a child now, but why cheese and crackers?”

  “I heard it in some old, Earth movie the other day.”

  “Movie?”

  “That’s what they called vid-plays on Earth a thousand years ago. The Aurora’s entertainment database has millions of them. Some of them are even only 2D! Can you imagine that?”

  “But cheese and crackers?” Loki wondered, his face cringing. “Surely there’s something better than that.”

  “Fudge nuggets?” Josh suggested. “Son of a mother trucker? Pluck it? Shitake mushrooms? There’s a million of them.”

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I’d prefer that you just continued swearing, to be honest.”

  Josh stopped working, surprised. “You don’t want me to better myself?”

  “I’m all for you bettering yourself, Josh,” Loki insisted, “but have you even spoken with Kaylah yet? Is she even interested in getting back together with you?”

  “Why wouldn’t she be?” Josh wondered, continuing his work.

  “Like I said, I never figured out why she began dating you in the first place. Look, if you want to clean up your foul mouth, I don’t think replacing the questionable words with ones that sound similar is the right way to go about it.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you’re not really changing anything,” Loki insisted.

  “Sure, I am,” Josh argued. “I’m not swearing.”

  “Not technically, but anyone with half a brain will figure out what you really mean, and isn’t that the same thing?”

  “I gotta start somewhere, don’t I?” Josh said. “Now, get the yuck back to work, will ya?”

  “You see, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. It’s obvious you mean ‘fuck’.”

  “Watch your mouth, Lok,” Josh laughed.

  Loki sighed. “Why do I even bother?”

  “Like I was saying, it’s gotta be hard on him,” Josh said, continuing with their original topic.

  “Nathan’s a strong man,” Loki insisted. “He can handle it.”

  “He’s not as strong as you think,” Josh insisted. “I’ve seen him lose it…on more than one occasion, I might add. And now, he’s got Connor’s memories in there, as well, and all the pressure of leadership. Egad, I’d hate to be in his shoes.”

  “You really need to stop now, Josh,” Loki insisted. “Please…for me.”

  “For you,” Josh replied. “Fuck.”

  “Thank you.”

  ***

  After activating the door buzzer three times, General Telles decided to grant himself access to Captain Scott’s quarters. “Captain?” he called as he cautiously pushed the door open.

  The room was dimly lit and had not been cleaned in several days. The captain’s uniform jacket lay on the chair to the right, and there were several dirty dishes on the table near the kitchenette area.

  As he continued to swing the door open, he spotted Nathan sitting on the couch. “Captain,” he said, stepping into the room, and closing the door behind him. “I apologize for the intrusion, but you were not answering your hails,” he explained as he moved into the room. The general picked up the captain’s jacket, draping it across the back of the chair as he sat. “As captain of the ship, one would expect you to answer.”

  “If they had been important, I would have,” Nathan replied.

  “If you do not answer them, how would you know if they were important or not?”

  “When it’s important, red lights tend to turn on, and warning klaxons usually go off,” Nathan remarked, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Kind of hard to miss, really.”

  “A ship needs a captain,” General Telles stated. “Just as a cause needs a leader.”

  Nathan glared at him. “Even a leader needs a break now and then.”

  “True enough,” General Telles agreed. “And admittedly, you deserve some time to yourself more than
anyone. Unfortunately, as the leader of this resistance, you do not have the luxury of refusing to answer when those whom you lead call on you for that very leadership.”

  “I never wanted to lead.”

  “Neither did I,” General Telles admitted.

  Nathan’s glare turned to disbelief.

  “It is true. When I joined, I only wanted to be the best Ghatazhak possible.”

  “Then why do you lead?”

  “Because it is what I am good at,” General Telles explained. “Same as you.” The general paused a moment. “Albeit, somewhat better.”

  Nathan pointed at the general, who was already breaking a smile. “Ghatazhak humor.” He smiled himself. “It still catches me off guard.”

  “Humor is often necessary to prepare someone for words they do not wish to hear.”

  Nathan’s smile faded. “Are you going to tell me to cowboy up?”

  General Telles’s eyebrow raised slightly. “I am unfamiliar with that expression.”

  “It means ‘toughen up’,” Nathan explained.

  “I see. Then, yes.”

  Nathan leaned his head back against the couch, sighing.

  “This brooding demeanor of yours, while understandable, is having a negative effect on the morale of your officers and crew,” the general warned. “If not arrested, in time, it will affect the entire fleet.”

  “You think I like feeling this way?” Nathan said.

  General Telles looked down a moment, then back up at Nathan. “I am sorry for your loss, Nathan. I truly am. I wish you could be afforded the time to grieve properly. Unfortunately, that is not the case. War often does not allow time for those involved to lick their wounds and recover. It is an ongoing assault against our physical and emotional state. Those who survive do so by putting their pain and suffering aside and doing what is needed. Those who are victorious understand this and use it to their advantage.”

  Nathan picked his head up and looked at the general. “Are you suggesting that we attack?”