were more than ready to depart the dirty, industrial part of the capital city.
“We must go to the market and purchase supplies,” Tug announced.
“Perhaps it would be more efficient if we were to separate. You go to the market and procure the supplies the captain requested. I will secure us lodging for the night and place discreet ads on the net that only our friends will recognize. This will provide additional time for them to contact us.”
Tug did not like the idea of separating. Not only was the capital city a large and heavily populated city, it also had its dangerous side. He had no doubt that Jalea could handle herself and would not take any undue risks, but he was yet unsure how much he could trust her. Jalea had normally been a master at self-control and emotional discipline, despite some of the more passionate moments they had shared in the distant past, long before his third marriage to Ranni. But her recent behavior, including her sudden violent outburst in the Aurora’s interrogation room, had him a bit concerned-not only for her well being, but also as to her true intentions.
“Are you sure?” He did not want to come right out and announce his misgivings. “There is yet sufficient time.”
“I will be fine,” she assured him. “It is not my first time on this world. Besides, I wish to seek counsel from a member of the Order.”
“You still cling to such superstitions, even in the light of our new reality?”
“It still provides me strength,” she told him. “Do not judge-”
“Of course. But we must first purchase comm-units,” he insisted, “so that we may stay in contact.”
“I have already taken the liberty,” she informed him, pulling one of the local comm-units from her shoulder bag.
Tug tried unsuccessfully to hide his surprise. “How did you pay for these?” he asked, worried that she might have left a financial marker that a watchful Ta’Akar intelligence operative might notice.
“Do not concern yourself. I used standard universal credits. And I reprogrammed my ident-chip prior to departure, as I am sure you did as well.” Jalea smiled to reassure him. “You forget that I am not new to subterfuge. I also purchased a pair of interplanetary comm-units and gave one to the Havenite in case we need to communicate with him later. We can also list one of the numbers as the contact in our advertisement, in case one of our friends tries to contact us after we return to the ship.”
“Ah, Jalea. You have always been good at thinking on your feet,” he commended.
“You trained me well,” she told him, touching his arm. “Call me once you have secured our cargo at the spaceport and I will let you know of our lodging arrangements.”
Tug watched her walk away. She seemed as normal as ever, but there was still something about her demeanor that bothered him. But there was little he could do about it at the moment, and he had business to conclude before the day ended on Corinair.
Nathan sat in his ready room behind his desk, skimming through video footage on the large view screen on the forward bulkhead over the couch.
“Captain?” Cameron asked as she stuck her head in the open hatchway.
“How many times do I have to tell you, Cam?”
“Sorry, Nathan.” She stepped over the hatchway threshold into the ready room, looking at the images on the view screen as she approached his desk. “What are you doing?”
“Skimming through video recordings from Corinair.”
“What for?”
“Just marking anything that looks important enough to warrant the time of our only translator.”
“You don’t have anything better to do?”
“Not really. Apparently, being in command of a broken down starship with a skeleton crew hiding out inside an asteroid doesn’t require much effort” he joked. “Besides, our sig-int team can use the help.”
“Okay.”
“You know,” he said, as he stopped to make a note of the file and location of the current finding, “you can actually learn a lot about a civilization by watching this stuff.”
“But you don’t even understand what they’re saying,” Cameron pointed out.
“Hell, I don’t even have the sound on. But the images themselves tell you a lot. Like I can already tell that Tug and Jalea’s claims about the brutality of the regime of Caius are not exaggerations.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“You’re telling me. I was hoping they were just blowing smoke up our butts. It would’ve made it a lot easier to jump the hell out of here after we got ourselves patched up.”
“What?” Cameron was confused.
“You didn’t really think I wanted to stick around and fight someone else’s war, did you?”
“Well, actually, I guess I did.”
“Jesus, Cam. Do you really think I’m that stupid?”
“Do you really want me to answer that?”
“Look, don’t get me wrong. If it turns out to be better for the Earth for us to stay here and help these people with their little rebellion, then that’s what we’ll do. But until I’m one hundred percent convinced of that, my plan is to start jumping home just as soon as the time is right.”
“But after that meeting, I was sure that you-”
“That was a negotiation, Cam. And all negotiations are basically just staged performances. That’s something I learned from my father. The best way to motivate someone to do what you want them to do is to make them think they have a chance of getting what they want.”
“It seems a bit dishonest.”
“There’s nothing dishonest about it, unless you never have any intention of giving them what they want, which in this instance is not the case. That decision is yet to be rendered. I’m simply allowing them to believe that I’m more inclined to help them than not.”
“I had no idea you could be this devious,” she admitted.
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“I’m not disappointed. Relieved, yes, but not disappointed.”
Nathan continued skipping through the images on the view screen. “So why did you come by?”
“Oh, yes. I wanted to let you know that Vladimir finally got the boarding tube to mate up and seal properly. We now have a direct pressurized passageway to the rebel base.”
“Well that’s good news.”
“Yeah. I’ve already got two teams exploring the facility. We should have a better idea of its capabilities within a few hours.”
“Great work.”
“Thanks,” she said as she rose to exit.
“Hey, how are Josh and Loki doing in the flight simulator?”
“Better than I expected,” she admitted. “Loki is actually a pretty good navigator as well. Josh, on the other hand… Well, if he can learn to take his hand off the stick once in awhile, he might make an adequate pilot someday. And I emphasize the word someday.” Cameron turned to exit, when a thought suddenly occurred to her. “Wait a minute. Before, when you were saying that you didn’t want to stay and fight someone else’s war, were you saying that just to make me believe that you were actually on my side?”
“Dismissed, Commander,” Nathan ordered with a smile. It was rare that he got the last word with his XO in private.
Jalea walked the crowded pedestrian paths that ran between the tall buildings of the downtown quarter of the city. As she had been taught, she regularly found ways to check behind her for any undue attention without being obvious about her intent. Looking perfectly innocent when one was far from it was a skill that required very little effort. One only had to pretend that one was innocent of any ill-intent, and one’s actions would belie that belief to all onlookers. It was a common adage among the Karuzari that had served her well for many years.
Although fully trained in the art of combat, Jalea had spent most of her time with the Karuzari as an intelligence operative. So much so that she felt she was able to blend in to just about any situation, and to seek out any advantage available at a moment’s notice. More than once, her talents had not only saved her own life, but had
