Ryk Brown - Ep.#6 - Head of the Dragon

Chapter One

Captain, Jessica called as she entered the captains ready room at the rear of the bridge. Mister Dumar has some concerns that I think we should consider, she continued without waiting for permission to enter.

Captain Nathan Scott was accustomed to his security chiefs abrupt demeanor. She took everything head on without hesitation, which was one of the qualities that made her so adept at her new position. In addition, she had become a trusted friend, as had everyone else currently in the ready room with him, everyone except Mister Dumar. There were still some lingering doubts in Nathans mind about the Corinairan commodities consultant turned intelligence analystespecially after learning that he was actually some sort of Karuzari deep cover agent. Mister Dumar appeared to have the unwavering trust of Tug, the leader of the Karuzari. However, until Nathan learned more about Travon Dumar, he felt unsure about how best to deal with the man.

Nathan glanced at Tug who had taken a seat on the couch. Still dressed in the lower portion of his flight suit, he appeared nearly as emotionally drained from the events of the last few hours as Nathan did. His first officer had already taken on an air of suspicion, presumably in regards to Mister Dumar as well. Nathan expected such reactions from Commander Taylor, as it was in her nature to question and analyze everything. He was somewhat surprised that Jessica seemed so willing to put her faith in Mister Dumar, as it was in her nature to distrust everyone.

Under normal circumstances, Nathan knew he should cut the Lieutenant Commander short for barging into his ready room. The situation, however, was still fluid, and time was short. In fact, Nathans hands were still shaking slightly as the adrenaline from the monumental battle they had just concluded continued to fade from his body. Nathan offered no encouragement to his security chief or her analyst, knowing she would continue without his permission. He simply leaned back in his chairhis eyes on Mister Dumarand waited for them to speak.

Jessica noticed the annoyed look on her captains face. Sorry, sir, but this really is important, she promised.

Then lets hear it, Nathan stated.

We must board the Loranoi immediately, Jessica pronounced.

And why is that? Nathan wondered aloud. She is currently not a threat to anyone. Her main power is down, and most of her emitters are damaged, which means she has neither shields nor FTL, let alone weapons. Hell, she barely has life support.

If I may, Captain, Mister Dumar interjected. He waited for Nathan to nod his approval before continuing. You are correct; the Loranoi is not a direct threat at the moment. But think as her captain for a moment. He is dead in space and blind. At this point, he must assume the Wallach has either quelled the uprising and will be coming to her rescue, or she has been similarly disabled or destroyed. If the Loranois captain decides it is the latter, he will seek to escape in the Loranois command lifeboat.

Im still not seeing the problem, Nathan insisted, growing impatient.

The Loranoi is of the newer line of warships, Captain, Mister Dumar continued. Her command lifeboat is more than just an escape pod. It is basically a small FTL ship.

They have an FTL lifeboat? Cameron asked in disbelief.

Yes, they do.

We found no such lifeboats on the Yamaro, Nathan challenged.

The Yamaro is of an older design, Mister Dumar explained. Previously, only the battleships had command lifeboats. It was considered a privilege of rank. However, as the Karuzari became a bigger threat to the empire, it became necessary to include a command lifeboat on all warships in order to secure the loyalty of the nobles that were facing even greater risks in their service of the empire.

I suspect it was also less expensive than giving them greater compensation, Tug added.

Indeed, Mister Dumar agreed. He looked back at Captain Scott, who still didnt appear to comprehend the urgency of the situation. Captain, the comm-drone that the Loranoi sent at the start of the battle contained little useful information. It was probably little more than an announcement that the Darvano system had declared its succession from the empire and that they were going to battle. Even if they had transmitted their action telemetry to that point, they would have seen only a few jumps on your partenough for the TaAkar to recognize the jump drives existence, but not enough to determine its true capabilities, let alone your battle tactics. If the Loranois captain and his command staff escape and make it back to Takara, the entire imperial fleet will soon know of your tactics and will be prepared to counter them.

I see your point, Nathan conceded, but Im not sure I want to risk a boarding party just yet. Couldnt we just park some fighters around her and intercept her command lifeboat if they launch it?

Put yourself in her captains shoes, Mister Dumar continued. After seeing what the Aurora is capable of, you would take measures to avoid capture.

Like going FTL immediately after launch, Jessica interrupted.

And taking a different route home, Cameron added, maybe even doing multiple FTL hops, just to cover your tracks.

Nathan sighed. We should have cracked that ship wide open when we had the chance.

No, Mister Dumar insisted, that ship has only been on patrol for a few months, which means her command staff probably has firsthand knowledge of the current state of the Empire. And if her captain is well connected within the TaAkar nobility

He could know even more, Tug interrupted, fleet strength, ship positions, maybe even the ZPED upgrade schedules.

Wouldnt that information be compartmentalized? Jessica asked.

Yes, but you would be surprised at how much the upper levels of nobility discuss such things, Mister Dumar insisted. Its a matter of pride with them, as if knowing something the other does not proves you are of higher status. Mister Dumar shook his head. They are an arrogant bunch, both intelligent and ignorant at the same time.

Nathan considered Mister Dumars words, as well as those of everyone else in the room. He remembered the last time the Aurora had sent a boarding party to an enemy ship. That had been just outside of the Sol system after doing their first test jump out from the orbit of Jupiter. After destroying the first Jung gunship, Captain Roberts had severely crippled the second gunship. He had then decided to board the disabled ship. That had not turned out well, as the crew of that gunship had purposefully overloaded their anti-matter reactor in a desperate effort to destroy the Aurora along with their own ship. That explosion had led to their super-jump all the way to the Pentaurus cluster, over a thousand light years away from Earth.

That had been several months ago, but the moment still haunted him. He had been at the helm at the time and had always wondered if he had made some small error, or if some tiny delay on his part had made the difference that had hurled them so far from home. The idea that the Jung might have been tipped off about the jump testan idea that had only come to him lateralso haunted him.

Nathan contemplated their situation. They had suffered considerable damage during the battle to defend the Darvano system, but they were still space-worthy and ready to fight. Unfortunately, the Darvano systems primary planet, Corinair, had been bombarded once again, and they had lost all contact with Corinari Military Command. He had no doubt that the situation on Corinair was once again chaotic and that soon the crew of the Aurora would need to do what they could to help. At the very least, they needed to reestablish contact with their new allies.

As much as he didnt like the idea of a risky boarding action, he agreed it had to be done. Any idea how were going to get on board? he asked Jessica.