Ep.#14 - "The Weak and the Innocent" (The Frontiers Saga) (21 page)

“Not in it, but nearby.”

“So how far away is it?”

“About a thousand light years.”

Gerard looked even more surprised. Then he cocked his head to one side, squinting. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

Naralena said nothing, only shaking her head.

“Jesus, how far can that jump drive take people?”

“It wasn’t a quick journey,” she assured him. “It takes more than a month for larger ships like the Aurora. But we have smaller ships that can make it in a few days. Jump-enabled comm-drones can make it in a few hours.”

“Incredible,” he muttered. After a moment of contemplation, he continued. “So, you’re a well-to-do, well educated young lady from the planet Volon,” he said as he choked down a piece of his biscuit. “What is your specialty?”

“My specialty?”

“What did you study in school? What career did you train for?”

“Languages. I was trained to speak many different languages.”

“Really, I speak a few myself, I’m proud to say. English, Spanish, a little Russian, and obviously Jung, Cetian, and Koharan, which admittedly isn’t that different from Cetian. How many languages do you speak?”

“At last count, thirty-seven.”

Gerard’s mouth hung open, a wad of half-chewed stale biscuit still visible on his tongue.

“You might want to close your mouth… You’ve still got a hunk of…”

Gerard closed his mouth and swallowed, nearly choking on the piece of biscuit. “Thirty-seven, huh?” he said, trying not to appear to shocked. “That’s impress… How the hell does anyone learn to speak thirty-seven languages?” he blurted out.

“I was genetically skewed in vitro,” she told him.

“You mean, they gave you the ability to speak thirty-seven languages, genetically? They can do that?”

“On Volon, they can genetically enhance traits that an embryo already possesses,” Naralena explained.

“How do they know?”

“There are tests that are conducted just after conception. But it just means that whatever natural linguistic abilities I had were increased. It’s not like I was born speaking all those languages.”

“Well, I figured that,” Gerard said. “Do they do that with every embryo?”

“No, it’s an elective procedure, and it’s quite expensive. Very few can afford it.”

“Then I was right, your parents were wealthy.”

“They were not poor, but they were also not wealthy enough to afford the procedure outright. They had to take out loans to pay for it. They made payments on the loans for my entire life.”

“If they couldn’t afford it, why did they do it?”

“Only a select few get to attend institutions of higher learning,” she explained. “Most go to trade schools, get decent jobs, then spend their lives working and living check to check. My parents wanted better for me. Skewing my genes insured that I would get into a university and that I would have a chance for a better life.”

“Then how did you end up in the Alliance, and a thousand light years from home?” Gerard wondered.

“My father was in an accident at work. After that, they could no longer afford to make the payments. They were going to indenture my mother…”

“Indenture? You mean, like a slave or something?”

“On many of the worlds in and around the Pentaurus cluster, failure to pay a debt is punishable by indentured servitude. Once convicted, the creditor has the right to sell the debtor sentence to whomever they choose in order to recover the debt. They couldn’t take my father, as he was disabled and could not fetch an adequate price to cover their bad debt. They were going to send my mother to work for the ring miners in the Haven system. I couldn’t let that happen. I was young and healthy. She was not. She might not have survived.”

“How long were you required to serve as a slave?”

“Five years. Early into my second year, the Aurora came to Haven. One thing led to another, and here I am, a thousand light years from home, hiding out in a lakeside cabin with three men I hardly know.”

“So what happened with your debt?” Gerard wondered. He had long since stopped eating, enthralled by her tale. “I mean, if you left before they got their monies worth… They didn’t come after your parents, did they?”

“They would have,” Naralena admitted, “but after the Alliance formed and overthrew the Ta’Akar empire, Tug… I mean, Casimir, he paid my parent’s debt. He even got my father treatment. Last I heard from them, they were doing quite well.”

“Damn,” Gerard exclaimed. “That’s quite a story.” He watched her a moment as she suffered through another piece of over-salted meat. “It was all true, right? You weren’t pulling my leg, were you?”

“Nope. It’s all true.”

“So, what do you do for the Alliance?”

“Since I spoke pretty much every language in the area, Captain Scott asked me to be his communications officer. I’ve been doing that for about a year and a half now.”

“Then how did you end up on a covert mission on an enemy held world?”

“Jessica wasn’t getting the hang of Jung quickly enough. Her Koharan and Cetian were passable, but…”

“So they sent you to do the talking if any Jung asked you questions,” Gerard surmised.

“That’s about it.”

“Man, and I thought
my
life was strange.”

* * *

“We have confirmed Lieutenant Commander Nash’s intelligence about the capabilities of the Jung nanites,” Doctor Galloway told the admiral over the video comm-screen. “They appear to be
simple sensory monitoring devices, designed to monitor and record visual and audio inputs from the host.”

“How is that possible?” the admiral wondered from his office on the Karuzara. “Wouldn’t they need an enormous amount of data storage capabilities?”

“One would think, yes. We’re not quite sure, to be honest, but the prevailing theory is that only a small percentage of the nanites are used for sensory monitoring, while the rest are used for storage. Others are used to act as a sort of ‘hive mind’, a distributed intelligence capable of analyzing the data and deciding what should be kept for later transmission and what can be discarded.”

“How did you figure all of this out, Doctor?” The admiral leaned forward in his seat, curious about the doctor’s findings.

“Well, a lot of it is still guesswork, I’m afraid. To be honest, without the descriptions from Lieutenant Commander Nash and the Koharan reporter, we’d probably still be rather clueless at this point.”

“Can we do anything about them?” the admiral asked.

“Not yet. However, it should be relatively simple to create a method to screen everyone for the presence of Jung nanites.”

“You can distinguish them from Corinairan nanites?”

“Oh, quite easily, yes,” Doctor Galloway assured him. “Our nanites are made of synthetic materials, while the Jung nanites are made from materials found in the human body, or in the food that humans normally consume. That’s why ours require booster dosages, or dosages based on the amount of treatment needed. The Jung nanites are able to replicate using raw materials found in situ. In fact, we believe that Mister Bowden’s description of their function is likely quite accurate. Once the Jung have identified a host that is likely to be privy to desired intelligence, they can command the target host’s nanites to start replicating in order to increase their capabilities as an unknowing operative.”

“So you believe that the host has no idea they are acting as an agent for the Jung?” the admiral asked.

“That would have to be the case,” she told him. “The human psyche is very powerful. If the host was aware that they were being forced to do things against their own ethics and beliefs, they would not make very effective operatives.”

“Can we make use of these nanites, maybe somehow take control of them?” the admiral asked.

“Highly doubtful, sir. Their control codes are undoubtedly encrypted, and we don’t even know yet how they communicate with their controllers. Maybe, in a few years…”

“Can you at least neutralize them?”

The doctor shook her head. “Not without harming the host… Not yet. But we should be able to come up with something without having to crack their control codes. At the very least, we could command our own nanites to go after and destroy the Jung nanites, but that would most likely only work on those individuals with low numbers of Jung nanites within them.”

“Well, that’s better than nothing,” the admiral admitted. “Get me a way to detect them as soon as you can, Doctor. Something that is portable, easy to use, and that we can utilize everywhere.”

“Yes, sir.”

Admiral Dumar pressed the button to end the video communication link. He leaned back in his chair and sighed as he rubbed his temples.
Now I’ve got two battlefronts,
he thought.
Outer space
and
inner space.

* * *

Deliza and Yanni peered out the window of the limousine as it rolled across the Aitkenna spaceport tarmac, heading for Captain Navarro’s private shuttle.

“That’s his private shuttle?” Yanni gasped in
astonishment. “It’s huge! It’s more like a space yacht or something! How much money does a captain make around here?”

“Remember, the Avendahl
belongs
to House Navarro,” Deliza explained, unfazed by the size of the ship. “Compared to the cost of the Avendahl, this ship is nothing.”

“Come on, Deliza, it’s a space yacht, for cryin’ out loud.”

Deliza smiled. “Okay, it’s a space yacht. I admit it. It’s huge, it’s expensive, and it’s probably incredibly ostentatious inside. But remember, these ships were all built during the reign of Caius. Such displays of wealth and power were encouraged among the nobles. It made them more dependent on the empire and it spoiled them to no end, so that they would never want to return to their previous, less extravagant lifestyles.”

“Oh, stop it,” Yanni said. “Stop trying to be a princess and just admit that you’re excited to go on a space yacht.”

Deliza tried to maintain a dignified composure, but quickly failed as the car came to a stop. “Okay, it’s a space yacht!” she exclaimed, no longer able to contain her excitement. She quickly regained her composure as a guard came and opened her door for her from the outside. She took his hand and stepped up out of the limousine. Yanni climbed out of the vehicle after her, trying unsuccessfully to hide the smile on his face as he took in the entire length of the ship.

“Miss Ta’Akar, Mister Hiller,” Captain Navarro greeted them both as he approached. “Welcome to my personal pride and joy, the Mirai,” he announced, sweeping his arm in grand fashion in a wide arc toward the ship.

“After your eldest?” Deliza asked.

“Indeed.”

“A touching gesture by a father,” she approved.

“I’d like to introduce your crew,” Captain Navarro began. “First, we have Lieutenant Chandler, the pilot and ship’s commanding officer.”

“Pleasure, ma’am,” the lieutenant said, nodding respectfully.

“This is the copilot, and engineer, Ensign Nambianno,” Captain Navarro continued as he headed down the line. “Sergeant Isan, the ship’s chief steward, Sergeant Liamo, the ship’s cook, and finally Sergeant Annakeros, the assistant steward.”

“It takes five people to operate this ship?” Yanni asked in disbelief.

“It can be flown by a single pilot,” Captain Navarro explained, “but it takes a full crew to operate and care for her properly.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” Deliza told the crew. “We’ll try not to be too much trouble during our long journey.”

“I assure you, they will take good care of you, wherever you may choose to travel,” Captain Navarro promised.

“Excuse me?” Yanni said.

“We’re going to Sol,” Deliza reminded the captain.

“Yes, I know,” Captain Navarro replied. “However, to ensure your safety, I have instructed the crew of the Mirai to remain near you at all times, in case you need transportation in a hurry.”

“Captain, that won’t be necessary,” Deliza argued.

“On the contrary, it is quite necessary. I made a promise to your father just before his death, a promise to see to your safety, and I intend to keep that promise to the best of my ability. As long as you are away from the Pentaurus cluster and out of my sphere of influence, this ship
is
the best of my ability.”

Deliza took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. She turned to Captain Navarro. “I am humbled by your gracious offer, Captain. My father’s instincts about you were correct. You are an honorable man,” she added, placing her hand on his upper arm.

“My great grandfather once told me that all anyone truly owns is their reputation, and that nothing speaks of one’s reputation than one’s own deeds.” Captain Navarro looked at the Mirai fondly. “I shall miss her,” he admitted. He looked back at Deliza. “But she now has a more worthy mission than hauling a spoiled captain and his family around on vacation.”

“Would you like to show us around?” Deliza asked.

“Would that I could,” the captain replied. “Unfortunately, I have pressing business to which I must attend.” He bowed his head to them both before departing. “Until we meet again.”

Deliza nodded respectfully as Captain Navarro turned and walked away, headed for one of the Avendahl’s nearby combat jumpers. She turned and looked at the Mirai’s crew. “I trust we can depart shortly?”

“Once Mister Hiller has inspected the cargo, yes,” the lieutenant confirmed.

“If you will follow me, ma’am, I will help you both find your way aboard and show you around the ship,” Sergeant Isan offered.

“Lead the way, Sergeant,” Yanni replied, excited to see the ship up close.

The rest of the Mirai’s crew turned and headed toward the boarding ramp, taking care not to walk on the long, red carpet laid out for the guests. Sergeant Isan paused long enough for the crew to get a head start, and to make sure that the ground crew was taking care of their guests’ modest luggage. He smiled at Deliza and Yanni, then turned and headed toward the ship as well, also walking alongside the carpet.

They followed the sergeant up the boarding ramp steps to the passenger hatch in the middle of the Mirai’s port side. As they entered the ship, the sergeant took their coats, handing them to his assistant to carefully store for the journey. He gestured aft. “After you.”

Deliza turned and headed down the short central corridor, past several storage lockers, as well as a steep staircase that led below decks. She stepped over the raised threshold of the next hatch and entered the ship’s main salon. It was spacious and luxurious, with an abnormally high ceiling at the forward end that angled upward as it continued aft. There were large windows on all sides, as well as several more overhead. At the aft end was a balcony that over looked the entire cabin, with a stairwell at each end. Through a set of double doors at the center of the balcony, Deliza could see into the spacious master suite.

The main salon was well furnished, but not overly done, which surprised Deliza. She had seen pictures of far more ornate ships used by the nobles of Takara, and the fact that this one was more understated reaffirmed her opinion of the leader of House Navarro.

“My God,” Yanni said under his breath.