“That’s all right,” Nathan assured him. “We’ll get to that. But before we do, I’d like to know more about this power source you spoke of.”
“The Royal Institute of Sciences on Takara conducts all manner of research under grants by the royal family. They claim to have created a working prototype of a zero-point reactor. The prototype itself, although reported to be a bit unstable, is capable of generating massive amounts of nearly limitless energy. They are reported to be working on a more reliable production model. Once completed, they will begin refitting existing ships. The ships will be faster, more powerful, and will have much better shielding than before. And their energy weapons will also be significantly enhanced. In a word, they will be unstoppable. And as you can surely imagine, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I believe that if they are allowed to complete its development, they will once again expand beyond the Pentaurus cluster, and will eventually dominate most, if not all of the galaxy.”
“That seems like a rather far-fetched prediction,” Nathan said.
“Captain, for a civilization to rapidly expand, it requires three key elements-infrastructure, resources, and energy. The Ta’Akar have the first two, and are about to have the third, in abundance I might add.”
“There’s one more element required,” Nathan told him. “Desire.”
“Oh, Caius has the desire, Captain.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“You must trust me on this, Captain. Of this I am quite certain.”
Tug’s assertions only made Nathan more curious. This man had led a rebellion against Caius for more than two decades-maybe longer, as Nathan had no idea how their years translated into Earth years. But there was quite a bit of emotion evident in his assertion, and it made him wonder if it was simply the result of so many years of fighting, or if there was something deeper to his convictions.
After a brief pause, Nathan continued. “I feel it only fair to warn you that we have not yet decided what our best course of action might be. Some of us feel we should immediately leave the area and begin the long process of jumping our way back home. Others speculate that this new power source might get us home much faster.”
Tug considered Nathan’s words before asking his question. “And on which side of this debate do you reside?”
Tug’s diplomatic skills had not gone unnoticed by Nathan. The man who had once presented himself as a simple farmer was not a stranger to the delicacies of negotiations. Nathan had spent many mind-numbing hours witnessing such exchanges during summer internships with his father, the senator. He could recognize a skilled orator when he heard one.
“I believe we have insufficient information on which to base such a decision. However, as long as our individual goals remain compatible, I am not opposed to working together to our mutual benefit.”
“What additional information do you require?”
“No offense, Tug, but we need to independently confirm your claims about this zero-point reactor.”
“That should not be difficult, Captain. As I explained before, although the research facility is highly secure, information about its progress has been freely available, as a panacea for the masses. There are news broadcasts about its progress on at least a weekly basis throughout the cluster.”
“We’ll also need to know more about Ta’Akar forces.”
Now there was an obvious emotional response from Jalea. “Then you’ll join us?”
“Let’s just say that I have not dismissed the idea just yet.”
“We will provide all that we know, Captain,” Tug added.
“Thank you. In the meantime, I have other business to attend. So if you wouldn’t mind discussing these matters with my security chief, it would be greatly appreciated.”
“Of course not, Captain. We have recently become good friends,” Tug said with a smile.
CHAPTER 2
The medical department was once again in shambles. Although not as bad as before, the sense of order that Doctor Chen and her staff of mostly volunteers had establish was strained to the point of breaking. To accommodate the influx of additional casualties resulting from the battle in the hangar bay, the young doctor had been forced to move most of her still recuperating patients into nearby quarters that had been converted into makeshift hospital rooms.
The battle was nearly three hours past by now, and though the situation appeared to be under control, the main treatment area was again in a state of disrepair. The initial chaos that had immediately followed the battle was under control, and Doctor Chen had done what she could for the wounded. Now, as before, it was mostly a waiting game to see how many of them would survive.
As Nathan walked through the treatment area, the first thing that struck him was that most of the wounded were not his crew. They were the workers that had been hired to harvest the rings to maintain their cover. In fact, of the eight patients currently being treated, six of them were workers from Haven. Nathan was suddenly struck with a sense of guilt. These people had been wounded-many of them had died-because of his decision to bring the Aurora to Haven. True, he had been following the advice of Tobin and Jalea. But in the end, it was all his responsibility, and he had to wonder: was it worth it? Furthermore, did he even have the right to make that decision? These were not members of his crew, after all. These were civilians, and not even of his own world.
He braced himself as he made his way through the treatment area, expecting to be overcome with nausea just as before, but it didn’t come. That’s when he realized that, while he felt guilty for what had happened to them, he didn’t feel responsible for their deaths. He hadn’t known that he was putting them into harm’s way. Tobin knew; it was he who was responsible for the fate that befell them. Suddenly, Nathan was no longer troubled by Jalea’s execution of the skinny little shit-as Jessica had referred to him.
He reached the utility room on the far side of the treatment area, half expecting to find Doctor Chen sitting in the corner nibbling on dried fruit and nuts as usual. But the room was empty-a mess, but empty.
“Captain?” A woman’s voice came from behind. Nathan turned to see a familiar face. She was a good four or five years younger than him, with short brown hair and hazel eyes. She looked tired, but determined. But as the young woman approached, he couldn’t quite remember where he knew her from. She wasn’t a member of his crew-or at least she wasn’t wearing a uniform. Then he noticed the partially healed scar on her forehead, and he remembered. He had helped her in the corridor after the battle with the first Ta’Akar ship on his way to see Captain Roberts right before he died. She had been injured herself, the gash on her forehead, and had been trying to help a badly injured man more than twice her size, despite her weakened state. And he had seen her later, running around the treatment area with a data pad, taking treatment notes for Doctor Chen.
“Yes?” Nathan answered as the woman approached.
“You probably don’t remember me,” she started.
“The corridor,” he said. “You were helping an injured man to medical. You called for help. Yes, I remember.”
“That’s right,” she said, surprised that he remembered her. “My name’s Cassandra. Cassandra Evans,” she told him, holding out her hand.
“Nathan Scott,” he said as he shook her hand. “You’re on the jump drive project, right?”
“The what?”
“Oh, sorry. The superluminal transition something.”
“Yeah, I guess jump drive is easier to say.”
“What are you doing in medical?”
“I’ve been helping out Doctor Chen. My job on the project was to study how the jump drive might affect human physiology. But with all that’s happened, it made more sense for me to help out here for now.”
“That’s good of you. I’m sure Doctor Chen appreciates it.” Nathan looked around for the doctor. “Where is the doctor?”