“Captain,” Tug whispered, moving closer, “the Yamaro will have many technologies that could be adapted to your vessel. It may take weeks, possibly even months, but if we had an army of technicians—”

  “Start with her shields,” Jessica insisted, “and then her energy weapons.”

  “And she might have more fighters on board, or other tactical ships,” Nathan said.

  The Prime Minister’s aide finished his conversation with his superior and returned his attention to Nathan and the others. “Captain, while we appreciate your willingness to fight to protect us, as well as your ingenuity, we still fail to see how you can hope to achieve such a stunning victory over so powerful an enemy. You are but one ship, after all. And even if you are able to capture a few Takaran ships, there are still dozens of them left. They will eventually find you and destroy you; of this you can be sure.”

  “We have one asset that you are not considering, sir; that is time.” Nathan stepped forward, separating himself from the others for dramatic purposes, moving a step closer to the Prime Minister and his aides. “Our jump drive allows us to navigate anywhere within ten light years in the blink of an eye. That is a tactical advantage of immeasurable proportions. The key is to use this advantage to act quickly and decisively, before the enemy realizes who and what they are fighting. By the time they do, we’ll already be invading their home world, long before they have a chance to circle the wagons.”

  “Circle the wagons?” the aide wondered.

  “It’s an expression from old Earth history,” he explained. “It refers to quickly mounting a defense.”

  The aide had been translating Nathan’s words on the fly, and the Prime Minister was shaking his head in disagreement as he voiced his concerns to his aide.

  “What you are proposing would only serve to seal our fate,” the aide translated for Nathan. “They will come, and in overwhelming numbers, such that you could not possibly hope to defend yourself. When they do, you will use your jump drive to disappear. And where will that leave us?”

  “Their numbers are not as many as you might believe, Prime Minister,” Tug insisted. “The Karuzari have been whittling away at their forces for decades. Their losses have forced them to abandon their outer worlds in order to maintain control of their primary worlds in the Pentaurus cluster.”

  “The Karuzari have been destroyed,” the aide argued. “We all saw the images of the attack on Taroa. Their destruction was complete.”

  “No it was not,” Nathan disagreed. “We were there, and we witnessed the escape of several ships. Perhaps dozens of Karuzari escaped.”

  “Dozens of Karuzari does not make an army, Captain.”

  “But it is a start. And you could add hundreds if not thousands to their numbers.”

  “You want the Corinari to join forces with the Karuzari.” The aide laughed at the idea. “I was correct the first time, Captain. You are mad. No, we will stand down and take our chances.”

  “Stand down and take your chances?” Jessica said. “And you’re calling him mad?”

  “If you stand down, the Ta’Akar will roll over you without blinking and eye,” Tug insisted. “They will glass this planet from orbit and then use their reformation technologies to clean up the radiation and make it habitable again in relatively short order. Then they will have this world as their own. In only a few decades, the Corinari will be a long forgotten joke.”

  “What you people propose is insane! You speak of invasion of the Takaran home world, yet you admittedly cannot even defend this one world should they come in force. What other choice do we have?” the aide pleaded.

  “You have the choice to stand up and fight for your freedom!” Nathan yelled back in protest.

  “And die in the process!” the aide countered.

  Nathan threw up his hands in frustration as he turned around and walked back to where Jessica was standing.

  “You will die if you do not,” Tug stated, picking up the debate on behalf of Nathan. “Of this I am quite certain. Just as I am certain that giving up and dying is not the true way of the Corinari.”

  The aide looked at Tug, confusion on his face.

  “Yes, I know all about your people,” Tug continued, “about your pride and your history. You were once a proud, thriving civilization. Your original settlement was founded from meager stock and supplies, and in less than a millennia you grew from a few hundred to a few billion. But when the Ta’Akar threatened you with overwhelming force, you were so afraid that you would lose everything you had that you gave up everything you were. I understand that; honestly I do. You chose life over death. But make no mistake, sir; that is not the choice you are given on this day. Today your choice is death with honor, or death in shame.”

  There was a silence. There was obvious anger in the aide’s eyes. Despite his objections to resistance, he did not care for Tug’s characterization of his people.

  Jalea took advantage of the silence. “Na-Tan is here now, and he has brought you this wondrous tactical advantage. He and his people are even willing to pledge their lives in the defense of your world. An opportunity such as this shall not come again. A legend comes true but once.”

  “If the Ta’Akar are allowed to complete their new power source, they will be unstoppable,” Tug added.

  “You ask too much of us,” the aide pleaded in desperation.

  “Tell him,” Tug insisted. “Tell your leader what we said.”

  * * *

  The black transport airship came in low over the fence line at the Aitkenna spaceport. It flew a careful course just high enough over the parked spacecraft and hangars so as not to disturb anyone on the ground with their rotor wash. Despite the number of ships that had fled the planet before the bombardment, the spaceport was still bustling with activity as people came and went. Some were on their way to Aitkenna to help with the relief efforts. Others were trying to escape the chaos to locations less affected by the orbital attacks.

  The airship turned slightly to port to angle itself toward the medevac shuttle that was idling on the tarmac only one hundred meters away. As it grew closer, the airship turned back to starboard while it continued to travel toward the medevac shuttle, sliding sideways to port. As it closed the last twenty meters, it dropped down, flared slightly, and settled gently on the tarmac not ten meters from the medevac shuttle.

  The side door to the airship slid open as the airship’s rotors changed their pitch to a neutral position, ending the downward wash without shutting down her engines. Chief Montrose hopped down from the airship and then turned around to help the two women, Doctor Galloway and Nurse Brymer, down from the ship. The medical technician came out next, followed by Doctor Pantor.

  “Thank you, Chief,” the doctor said as he shook the chief’s hand.

  “You take good care of those people, Doc,” the chief said. “I have a feeling they’re not done taking care of us yet.”

  Doctor Pantor nodded his understanding as he backed away from the airship. As he turned and followed his team to the medevac shuttle, he wondered exactly what the chief had meant.

  As they reached the bottom of the medevac’s loading ramp, the airship that had delivered them began to lift off the ground. It rose quickly, rotating as it climbed. Doctor Pantor stopped at the bottom of the ramp and watched the airship. He could see the chief sliding the door closed as the airship rotated and sped away into the night. He wondered how long that crew had been flying today, and how much longer they would continue to fly before they would succumb to exhaustion. He had heard the stories about the dedication of the Corinari, of the long hours of training they endured in an effort to be ready to defend their world. However, in his lifetime, he had never known them to be called into action. The chaos of this day was the closest they had probably come. He knew that all but the oldest of the Corinari had served in the Ta’Akar military in their youth. Perhaps such a life was all most of them knew by the time they returned. He had been spared such a life. As the son of a prominent public servant and a candidate for medical training, he had avoided Takaran service. At times, he had felt guilty, but his world needed physicians, and medical training took more than a decade. Had he been required to serve prior to attending medical school, his career as a physician would have been drastically shortened. That had always been the argument that had worked with the Ta’Akar, and that was the argument that had eased his guilt as well.

  As he headed up the ramp, the view of the back of the medevac shuttle was not what he expected. All the usual equipment was there, along with his three teammates that had gone up the ramp before him. However, the shuttle was packed with Corinari troops, all dressed in combat armor and heavily armed. Including the two guards that followed him up the ramp, there appeared to be more than a dozen men on board. Sixteen he counted as he took his seat next to Doctor Galloway, and it appeared there were two more up in the cockpit with the pilots.

  “Are we on the right shuttle?” he asked the crew chief. “The one headed up to the Earth ship?”

  “Yes sir,” the chief added nervously.

  The doctor was surprised to see the chief so uncomfortable. He had flown missions with him before, and he always seemed like such a relaxed sort. He assumed it was because they were flying with a ship full of armed troops. It was certainly enough to make him nervous.

  The loading ramp at the back of the shuttle rose slowly up into the rear of the ship, the outer doors closing over the outside of the ramp once it had fully retracted up into the tail of the shuttle. The whine of the idling engines began to increase as the ship prepared to lift off and begin its journey to rendezvous with the Earth ship in orbit.

  “What’s with all the troops, chief?” the doctor asked, hoping that a little idle chitchat would ease the chief’s obvious tension.

  “We’re just hitching a ride up, Doc,” one of the troops informed him.

  The trooper that spoke appeared to be younger and fitter than most of the others. In fact, the doctor noticed that the majority of the troops seemed a bit old to be serving as basic foot soldiers. However, most members of the Corinari served for life, so it stood to reason that there had to be some older men still mixed in with the lower ranks.

  The trooper that had spoke noticed the puzzled look on the doctor’s face, and offered further explanation. “We’re going to transfer over to the Yamaro once you’ve been delivered to the Aurora. There’s a few hundred Takarans on that ship that are gonna need to be transferred to the surface. We’re just going up to provide security.”

  “I see,” the doctor said, nodding slowly as the shuttle lifted off the tarmac, her engines screaming outside. He turned and looked at Doctor Galloway. “Well I feel safer. How about you?”

  * * *

  Nathan and the others watched as the aide translated their words to the Prime Minister of Corinair. Nathan wondered what was going through the mind of this man. He had the future of his entire world on his shoulders. Nathan had been a student of history, studying the events of the past, most of which had been buried for a thousand years back on Earth. Until this moment, he had never thought that he would witness history in the making. The decision this man made today would become either the greatest moment in Corinairan history, or the beginning of its doom.

  It was an amazing metamorphosis to witness. Over the last hour, this elderly public servant’s expression had been one of despair and hopelessness. Over a time span of less than a minute, however, he had changed. Gone was the look of anguish, gone was the despondent expression. It had quickly been replaced with a look of courage, a look of honor. It was a look of hope.

  The Prime Minister said something to his aide, something that his aide was surprised to hear. So surprised, in fact, that the aide even questioned the Prime Minister-something that the leader did not appreciate and he made sure that his subordinate understood his incongruity.

  Nathan had a feeling that Tug’s words had changed the mind of the de facto Corinairan leader, for Tug’s demeanor suddenly changed as did Jalea’s. They both spoke the Corinairan language and had already understood what the Prime Minister had told his aide.

  The aide turned his attention back to Nathan. “The Prime Minister of Corinair would like to know what we can do to aide you in our defense.”

  Nathan finally felt like there was a chance, not only for the people of Corinair, but for himself, his ship, and his crew. With the help of the Corinairans, they actually had a chance to defeat the Ta’Akar and obtain the zero-point energy device. With it, they also had a good chance of getting back to Earth in time to help defend her against invasion by the Jung.

  “We need people,” Nathan began, “technicians, engineers, troops, munitions, ships, supplies… Hell, we need a crew.” Nathan took a breath, realizing that he was rambling. “What we need more than anything right now, is help repairing and rearming our ship. The sooner the better, as we have no idea how long we have until the Ta’Akar will send another ship to investigate the disappearance of the Yamaro.”

  “The Prime Minister could not commit to such an action,” the aide explained. “Only the president can make such a decision, and even then only with the backing of the council of representatives.”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but you are mistaken,” Tug argued. “The Prime Minister is currently the most senior government official known to still be alive on all of Corinair. He does have the power to declare a state of war, after which he would have full and unrestricted decision making powers.”

  “But we are not at war,” the aide defended. “Technically, we have only been punished by our rulers for our open defiance of the Doctrine.”

  “Funny, it looks like a war to me,” Jessica chimed in.

  “We have yet to verify that the Prime Minister is the most senior member left—”

  “Then perhaps that is a good place to start,” Nathan interrupted, not wanting to waste any time.

  The aide quickly translated Tug’s words, to which the Prime Minister nodded agreement as he spoke.

  “The Prime Minister admits that your knowledge Corinairan law is quite impressive. It appears you have chosen your guides quite well, Captain. However, it will take time to invoke the official state of war, no matter how quickly we work. And our current crisis requires all of our resources. It will be days, maybe even weeks before we can offer you any significant assistance.”

  “We may not have that long,” Nathan objected.

  “It will take the Ta’Akar some time to realize that something is amiss with the Yamaro, and even longer for a ship to arrive to investigate. Your guide said so himself.”

  “That is true. But we have no idea how long the repairs might take.”

  “We will do what we can, when we can,” the aide insisted.

  “But sir—”

  “Captain, please. At least allow us to stop our capital city from burning to the ground. We have riots in the streets and half the people are calling for the heads of our leaders. We have problems right here, right now, and deal with them we must; or come morning there may not be a government left to help you.”

  Again the aide conferred with his leader, leaving Nathan feeling a bit frustrated at the inaction of the Corinairans.

  “Talk about denial,” Jessica whispered.

  “He just doesn’t get it,” Nathan mumbled.

  “Captain,” Jalea began, “these people haven’t fought a war in over thirty years. You cannot expect them to suddenly pick up the guns and fall into line behind you.”

  “She is right,” Tug said. “The Corinairans are quite rigid in their governmental procedures. They will follow the letter of their laws right up until the end.”

  * * *

  “Aurora, Aurora. This is Corinairan Medevac Shuttle one four seven, requesting permission to approach for landing.”

  “Medevac Shuttle one four seven, this is the Aurora. You are cleared for landing. Approach from astern and well above our longitudinal axis. Begin your descent once you have cleared our stern thrust ports. Upon landing, use transfer bay one for entry.”

  The pilot looked a bit confused by the instructions. “Understood, Aurora. Requesting auto-landing frequency for AFCS approach.”

  “Uh, Shuttle one four seven, you are instructed to land manually. Repeat, manual landing. No auto-landing system is available.”

  The pilot of the medevac shuttle looked at his copilot. “Manual landing?”

  “Maybe their auto-flight systems were damaged in battle?” the copilot said.

  “What’s the problem?” Captain de Winter asked.

  “They want us to land manually,” the pilot explained.

  “Then do it,” de Winter insisted. “You do know how to land this ship manually, do you not?”

  “Of course,” the pilot assured him. “I just haven’t had to do it in some time, except in practice simulations.”

  The pilot turned his attention back to the comm system. “Aurora, Shuttle one four seven. Understood. Beginning approach for manual landing. Will enter through transfer bay one.”

  Captain de Winter left the cockpit and made his way back to the cargo area. He surveyed the passengers. “Well, this is a bit of a wrinkle.” He turned to Andre, who had followed him from the cockpit. “They sent two women.”

  “So?” Andre asked.

  “I was planning on having us change clothing with the medical team. That would get us deeper into the ship without raising suspicion.”

  “Did it ever occur to you that the Corinairans would probably send a security team with their medical staff? I mean, they are sending them into a ship full of strangers, right?”

  “Good point,” de Winter agreed. He looked at the two men. “You two, remove your clothing.”

  “What?” Doctor Pantor objected. “We’ll do nothing of the sort!”

  Captain de Winter turned to Andre. “Can you kill them without mussing up their medical attire?”

  “With pleasure,” Andre said, taking a step forward.

  “All right, all right!” Doctor Pantor agreed.

  Minutes later, the two men had removed their medical uniforms and were standing in their underwear.

 

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