military buildup that he and so many others feared would provoke the Jung Dynasty into a preemptive invasion of Earth.
“When did the Doctrine of Origins begin?” Jessica asked.
“Not until after the Ta’Akar had also taken control of the systems surrounding the Pentaurus cluster. That’s when Caius Ta’Akar declared himself lord and ruler of all worlds.”
“That’s a bit narcissistic,” Jessica mumbled. “And no one tried to stop him?”
“Not at first. The Doctrine was so brutally enforced that no one dared defy it for fear of execution. Entire cities were leveled from space as a show of intolerance. It was a time of great madness and despair.”
“But the rebellion, these people refuse to follow the doctrine?” Nathan asked.
“The rebellion is not so much about refusing to believe in the Doctrine of Origins, Captain. No one really cares where we came from. The rebellion is about not being forced to believe the ramblings of a self-appointed potentate. The Ta’Akar have managed to paint the rebels as a group of fundamentalist terrorists in the eyes of the public. But do not be fooled. The rebellion is about freedom-nothing more, nothing less. The Legends of Origin versus the Doctrine-that’s really just a symbol of injustice and oppression.”
Nathan paused a moment before speaking. Being a student of history, he found the tale fascinating. His current concern, however, was how it affected his people, his ship, and more importantly, his world. “That’s an interesting tale, Mister Tugwell. But you still haven’t answered my question. If we were from Earth, what would it mean to you?”
“To me personally? Nothing. It would be an interesting revelation, to say the least. I mean, to have something that has heretofore been considered only a legend proven to be true?” Tug contemplated the idea for a moment. “On second thought,” Tug nodded, “I guess that might have a profound impact on me personally. But as for what impact it might have on others? That’s also a complicated question, Captain.”
Tug leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table, bringing himself closer to the others as if to emphasize his words. “But if you were from Earth, and the Ta’Akar knew this, then your lives would be in grave danger.”
Nathan sensed the seriousness in Tug’s voice. “Why? How are we a threat to them?”
His slip did not go unnoticed by Tug, whose eyes widened at the inadvertent confirmation, causing him to exclaim something in his own tongue. Nathan immediately realized he had let the cat out of the bag, as did Jessica.
“Then you are from Earth?” Tug exclaimed. “Captain, Caius will see you as a direct threat to his sovereignty. Do you not see? You are proof that his doctrine is nothing but lies. When word of your arrival spreads-and trust me, Captain, it will-the people will rise up once more. It will be the end of Caius and his regime!”
“Or a fucking slaughter!” Jessica interrupted.
“Jess!”
“No! Nathan, you heard him before. They glassed cities from space just to make a point. Whattaya think they’ll do over this? Whattaya think they’ll do to us?”
“They will not harm your ship,” Jalea insisted.
“Bullshit! They’ll frag us good and leave no traces.”
“It is highly probable that they already know of your jump drive technology,” Jalea explained, “in which case they will want to capture your ship in one piece.”
“What is this jump drive?” Tug asked. Jalea began explaining to Tug in their native tongue, but before she got more than a few words out, Jessica jumped to her feet, her side arm out and pointed at Jalea’s head.
“You need to shut the fuck up, right now!” Jessica commanded.
“Whoa! Jess!” Nathan said, his hands coming up in surrender. She wasn’t pointing her weapon at him, but it was right in front of his face at the moment. “What the hell are you doing?”
“She’s telling him about the jump drive, Nathan!”
Suddenly, there was a high-pitched whining sound coming from the kitchen door. Jessica glanced to her left and saw Tug’s wife, Ranni, standing in the doorway with an energy weapon pointed at Jessica’s head, ready to fire.
Jessica turned her weapon a few inches to the left, training it on Tug instead of Jalea. “This weapon here, this one’s not exactly standard issue,” Jessica explained calmly, more for Ranni’s benefit than anyone else’s. “I adjusted the sensitivity on the trigger myself. It takes only the slightest pull to fire.” Jessica turned her gaze directly to Tug’s eyes, her own eyes narrowing into slits conveying the sense that she was ready for action. “When she shoots me, you’d better hope I don’t flinch.”
For several long seconds, everyone was silent, as each thought about their options. Finally, Nathan spoke. “All right,” he started in a low and calm voice. “Everyone needs to just relax, and take a deep breath.” Nathan looked at Jessica. “Tell me what’s wrong, Jess?”
“The little rebel princess here needs to stop blabbin’ about things that aren’t her business,” Jessica explained.
“Okay, that makes sense, I guess.”
“I apologize if I misspoke, Captain,” Jalea said.
“Apology accepted,” Nathan responded, holding up his hand to signal Jalea that it was not a good time for her to speak. “Now, how about we all just lower our weapons, and talk this out like civilized adults, okay?” Nathan looked at Jessica. “Is that okay with you, Jess?”
“I will if she will,” Jessica said.
Nathan looked at Tug. “Will she, Tug?”
Tug looked to his wife, nodding for her to comply. She began to slowly lower her weapon, switching it off as it came down. Jessica heard the sound of Ranni’s weapon charge winding down and began lowering her own weapon as well. Once her weapon was back in its holster under her cloak, Tug spoke up.
“I think I should tell you something, Captain. I am holding a weapon under the table, which I will now place on the table for all to see.” Tug moved his hand slowly, revealing a small energy weapon that he held between his thumb and forefinger, dangling it in a position that was as non-threatening as possible. He placed the weapon on the table in front of him. “In the interests of good will,” he said with a smile. “I apologize, Captain. But we live far from the city, and we do not know you or your people very well.”
“No problem,” Nathan promised. “I understand your precautions. Now, shall we all sit and resume our discussion?” Nathan began to sit down, Jessica following his lead.
“Stand down,” Jessica announced over her comm-set. Nathan looked quizzically at Jessica, whose eyes glanced over at the window behind Tug. Outside the window, standing on the dark front porch was Vladimir. In his right hand he held his close-quarters weapon and had it pointed through the window at Tug and his wife. In his left hand was his handgun, which was raised and trained on someone Nathan could not see. He could only assume it was Danik. Vladimir winked at them as he lowered his weapons. The sight was a little unnerving to Nathan, as until now he had never seen his friend and cabin-mate as anything but a gregarious, fun-loving guy who was great at keeping their ship running. After shaking the sight off, Nathan looked back at Jessica.
“Oops,” she said sheepishly. “Must’ve left my mic open.”
“Captain,” Tug began. “Perhaps it would be best if we were just honest with each other. This dancing around, trying to gain a superior position is getting tiresome. Do you not agree?”
“Yes, I do,” Nathan admitted.
“Nathan,” Jessica started, “if you’re going-”
“Don’t make me pull rank on you, Jess,” he warned. Nathan looked at her sternly, before turning back to face Tug. “Yes, Tug, we are from Earth. But we’re here by accident. We were testing an experimental faster-than-light propulsion system that we call a jump drive. With this, we can jump as far as ten light years, in the blink of an eye.”
Tug looked at him in disbelief. “But Captain, Earth is much farther than-”
“Yes, it is. A lot farther. But something happened. We were attacked by some Jung ships, and there was an anti-matter explosion just as we jumped away. To make a long story short, we ended up in the Pentaurus cluster. And from what we’ve learned so far, it appears we jumped right into the middle of the rebellion’s last stand.”
Tug looked at Nathan, his mouth agape. He looked at Jalea next, hoping for some indication that it was all a joke. “It was you,” Tug whispered to himself. “We heard that someone had intervened, allowing a few to escape capture. That was you?” He looked at Jalea again, who nodded. “Oh, Captain, you are definitely in danger. The rumors are that a mysterious ship simply appeared in the middle of the battle, destroyed a Ta’Akar capital ship, and
