Ep.#14 - "The Weak and the Innocent" (The Frontiers Saga) Read Free Page A

Three. I think they’re pulling her in closer.”
    “They had grappling lines on her before they went to FTL,” the commander said.
    “They’re trying to secure her, pull her in against their hull,” Captain Roselle realized.
    “Why?”
    “Would you want to be in FTL while towing another ship alongside by a few cables?” Captain Roselle asked.
    “You think they are trying to secure her alongside, so they can accelerate and go back into FTL?”
    “Either that, or board her.”
    “Or both,” the commander added.
    “Comms, send a message to the Aurora. Position and situation. Use a comm-drone.”
    “ We’ve only got one left, ” the communications officer warned.
    “Then let the Aurora know it’s our last drone.”
    “ Aye, sir. ”
    “They’ll see the comm-drone’s jump flash,” the commander warned.
    “Not for fourteen minutes, they won’t.”
    * * *
    “About time,” Jessica said as Kata and her porta-cam operator, Karahl, came out of the emergency department at the medical center on Porto Santo.
    “That was the most complete physical I’ve ever had,” Kata groaned. “Some of the equipment they used I have never even seen before.”
    “Neither had I,” Jessica admitted. “The Corinairans are far more advanced than us.” She looked at the red light on the porta-cam slung under Karahl’s arm.
    Karahl caught Jessica’s notice of his porta-cam. “Is it all right?”
    “Sure, as long as we get to review your footage before you broadcast,” Jessica replied. “For security reasons.”
    “Of course.”
    “These Corinairans, they’re from the Pentaurus cluster?”
    “Yes. Corinair is a world in the Darvano system.”
    “And the Takarans? They’re also from the Pentaurus cluster?”
    “Yup, but from the Takar system.”
    “And this cluster is a thousand light years away?”
    “Nine hundred and something,” Jessica replied.
    Kata shook her head in awe. “Hard to believe. It was amazing to just jump from Kohara to here, but a thousand light years?”
    “You get used to it,” Jessica told her. “To be honest, the jump drive sort of redefines how you see the galaxy. Before, nearly everything was too far away to be of concern. Now, everything is reachable. It’s just a matter of logistics.”
    “Where I come from, only the wealthy can travel between planets. Only the Jung travel between the stars.”
    “Yeah, well, all of that is about to change. Once we defeat the Jung, we’ll be able to reconnect all the core worlds in a way like never before.”
    “Because of the jump drive?”
    “Exactly.”
    Kata glanced out the windows that looked out over the spaceport, with the ocean behind it in the distance. “Why is your base here, on this island? Does Earth have any large continents, or is it all islands?”
    “Most of the main continents were targeted by the Jung during their initial invasion, and on their way out, when we liberated our world,” Jessica explained. “At the time, there were fallout concerns. Besides, the major nations of Earth are still in a state of semi-controlled chaos. It’s only been six months since the last time the Jung attacked Earth. Porto Santo was conveniently located and had not been touched by the initial attacks. In the middle of the ocean, it is separated from the chaos taking place throughout the rest of our world.”
    “The Jung led us to believe that your people were violating the quarantine they placed on you to protect everyone else in the core… That they had no choice but to engage your ships as they attempted escape. They said that your new faster-than-light propulsion system made you an even bigger threat, and because of that, they had no choice but to attempt to eradicate all Terrans.”
    “What, like a bunch of insects, or something?” Jessica asked.
    “Pretty much, yes.”
    Jessica laughed. “I have to admit, that’s some pretty creative propaganda they’ve got going.” She looked at Kata. “Is it working? Do your people