Read Ep.#5 - "Rise of the Corinari" Online
Authors: Ryk Brown
Tug wondered if pieces of the Wallach might be found thousands of light years away some time in the distant future. He wondered what the finders of such objects would think. Would they figure out what it was, where it came from, and how it was destroyed? Would they even know of the battle that took place here this day? If so, would they display their artifact in some private collection, or in a museum on some distant world?
His thoughts were interrupted by his helmet comm. “
Tug, Aurora. Do you copy?
” It was Naralena.
“Aurora, go for Tug,” he answered.
“
Tug, Aurora. Hold one.
”
Tug continued to watch his monitor as pieces of the Wallach began to burn up on the Corinairan atmosphere.
It must have been an incredible sight for them to behold,
he thought.
“
Tug, Nathan. How does it look?
”
Tug laughed. “Glorious, my friend. Glorious.”
* * *
Nathan entered his ready room, thankful to finally have a moment alone. The bridge, in fact the entire ship, had been awash with congratulatory handshakes and pats on the back. He had thanked his bridge crew for their excellent work, and had waited for all his surviving fighters to be recovered before he set a course back to Karuzara. There were repairs to be made, and wounded to be tended. Unfortunately, Tug had been right; there were new dead to be buried.
He sat alone in his chair, his hands quivering, the adrenaline of the engagement still coursing through his veins. It would wear off soon—he was sure of this—and then he might finally sleep, from pure exhaustion if nothing else. It would not be from peace of mind, of that he could be sure. Although the losses among his crew had been few, thousands had surely died on Corinair. The Wallach had been allowed to make nearly a full orbit around the planet, bombarding the Corinairans with a near constant rain from her energy pulse cannons. It had been a difficult decision to wait to take their shot, but he had been left with no other choice. The risk of cracking the planet in half was too great. It had been better to sacrifice thousands to protect millions. At least that was what he would continue to tell himself.
The door buzzer sounded, breaking him from his guilt. He grasped his hands together to stop the quivering and tried as best he could to compose himself. “Enter,” he called out.
The hatch opened and Cameron stepped into the room, closing the hatch behind her. “You look like hell,” she commented upon seeing him.
“I feel like hell,” he admitted. “It’s probably just the adrenaline rush wearing off.”
“You should be pleased with yourself right about now,” she encouraged.
“I don’t think so, Cam. I just allowed thousands of people to die on Corinair,” he stated in hushed tones.
“But you saved millions by doing so.”
“Did I save them,” Nathan wondered, “or did I just postpone their deaths another day?”
“You can’t look at it that way, Nathan, not if you expect to live with yourself in the end.”
“Perhaps.” Nathan leaned back in his chair, taking in a deep breath and changing the subject. “How many of our own did we lose?”
“Twelve dead, forty-seven injured, fourteen of them are serious.”
“How many pilots?”
“Four did not return.”
The hatch opened again, slowly, and Tug peeked inside. “Captain?”
“Tug, come in,” Nathan said.
“Commander,” Tug added, noticing Cameron as he entered.
“Nice work,” Nathan congratulated.
“To you as well,” Tug returned. “Your crew performed admirably.”
“Yes, they surely did,” Nathan agreed. “By the way, in all the excitement, I forgot to ask you about the drone. Did you manage to catch it?”
“No, I did not,” Tug admitted, his expression falling. “But I am afraid I have even more troubling news to report.”
“What is it?” Nathan asked, noticing the dour expression on the face of his friend and mentor.
“I’m afraid Mister Dumar was correct in his conclusions, Nathan. That drone was traveling at well over five hundred times the speed of light. It will only take three days for it to reach Takara.”
“Then it’s true,” Nathan said, his expression falling as well. “They’ve already started implementing the zero-point energy device.”
“Yes. If we do not act quickly, soon it will be too late.”
“Then we have to attack immediately,” Cameron stated emphatically.
Both Nathan and Tug looked at Cameron with surprise. From the beginning, she had been against their involvement in the affairs of the Pentaurus cluster. She had never made any illusions to the contrary. Her sudden and enthusiastic endorsement was all Nathan needed.
“We will, Commander. We will.”
Thank you for reading this story.
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COMING SOON
“THE HEAD OF THE DRAGON”
Episode #6
of
The Frontiers Saga
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Table of Contents
Ch. 2: Repairs and Negotiations
Ch. 4: The Alliance is Official
Ch. 7: Masquerading as the Yamaro
Ch. 9: Preparing for a New Threat