"Wish we could run right in and kill those main guns."
Alex said, "Just so you know, I'm working on a new way to penetrate their networks. I've passed the first layer of security in a simulation, but I'm having difficulty moving through the next. Perhaps Miss Withrow would like to assist?"
Sharvie nodded. "Absolutely. I feel like I've just been sitting around since we got kicked out their network last time."
Harris chuckled. "And what have you actually been doing?"
"Sitting around."
Alex continued, "I do have one other bit of news with regards to the shielding problem with the Denzee superweapon. I just had a thought triggered by a fighting scenario from the Earth archives. It involved a centurion. He wore armor, as would be equivalent to the hardened hull of the Bangor. And he held an external shield out in front of him."
Harris sat forward. "I'm listening."
"In our case this shield would have to withstand a direct hit from that weapon. And as I stated only minutes ago, we have no defense against it's power. However, it would be possible to build an external shield that would be used to absorb the hit, once."
"I thought you just said we couldn't withstand it?"
"Precisely. The shield itself would be a throwaway. An outer hull with the Denzee plating, followed by seven bulkheads. The shield would be destroyed upon impact, but the ship following behind would come out unscathed."
Harris raised his head. "Interesting. And similar to what we're using the Earthers for today. They take the hit and we swoop in for the kill. Only with this there wouldn't be any Earther casualties."
"Precisely."
Tawn said, "And you have a design worked up already?"
"Yes. It would only require a drive and a rudimentary nav system connected to a comm that you could control remotely. An overall simple design and with no need of supporting life. I believe it would be a fast and easy build for Mr. Morgan's teams."
Harris nodded. "Can you connect him on a three-way comm for me?"
"Yes."
Harris rolled his eyes. "Please do."
"Back so soon?" Bannis said with a smile.
"We have a new request. I'm passing you the data for a shield of sorts. We'll fly this in front of our ships to absorb a hit from that superweapon. After that it's a toss and run in. We're calling it the centurion shield."
Bannis opened the data file to a display. "Ingenious. I'll get my team working on this right away. Without having to be manned it greatly simplifies the construction. We should be able to eliminate at least three quarters of the quality testing. I would put something like this at three days for the initial build, followed by two or possibly even a single day after."
"If I wanted a half dozen, what's our timeframe?"
"I would think easily in under a week."
"Make it happen, Mr. Morgan. We might just do some early hunting if this works out."
The comm was closed.
Harris took a seat on a bench. "This option might be a game changer for us. We can attack one of those ships, take that first critical hit to this shield and then follow up with our railgun. If it works as hoped we then go back out, grab another shield and take on another Ratoon."
Tawn said, "I like it. I wouldn't count on it working more than two or three times though. Unless they're complete morons they'll adjust their tactics. But it's an elegant temporary solution."
In the several days that followed, jumps were made to Rumanta, Barrier, Eden, and Kenkov. Word from Bax told of several scout missions by the Denzee to the Kenkov system. All indications pointed toward it being the next target. Harris returned to Midelon after a intel gathering trip to Barrier.
"Video shows four of those hive buildings going up on Barrier. The original building on Rumanta is almost complete. We may only have days before they make their next move. And we located the damaged Ratoons. Looks like repairs are underway at a spacedock of sorts just outside the Rumanta system. We trailed a single ship out to them."
Trish said, "Can't we attack and take them out? They fix those guns and you'll have to take them on again."
Tawn said, "We were discussing that."
Harris nodded. "We think this is a good opportunity for the Earthers to have a nice morale booster. If we allow them to attack, and we set off one of our boson bombs, they'll be able to shred those ships without fear of other Ratoons coming in to stop us."
Gandy grinned. "We finally get to use one of those?"
"Yes. It should give them a couple hours to work their magic. Once it drops away they can jump back to safe space."
Tawn said, "We want the three of you to take the Gooch and monitor from out toward the edge of the field. As it collapses you can move in. We use this exercise to determine how we can further exploit that bomb in the future."
"When do we go?" Gandy asked.
Harris replied, "We have to make another trip to Eden to talk to the emperor first."
The Bangor settled on the tarmac at Fireburg. A five minute walk had Tawn and Harris escorted into Bax's office.
"We're just becoming the best of friends, aren't we?" Bax sarcastically said.
Harris sighed. "As usual. We'd like an audience with the emperor."
"You have news?"
"Possibly, for the emperor."
Bax huffed. "You know how this works, right? I help you, you help me."
Tawn said, "Just open the comm. We both know you don't need your ego fluffed."
The emperor appeared on her wall display. "Mr. Gruberg. Have you reconsidered my offer?"
"No. But I do have another one. This should be simple. We've located the damaged Ratoon ships. They are parked just outside Rumanta space where they're being repaired. Would you be interested in sending in a force to permanently destroy them?"
"I can't risk further losses at this time, Mr. Gruberg. Our numbers are critically low."
"What if we could guarantee that no other Denzee ships would be joining the fight? The damaged Ratoons are currently undefended."
The emperor sat forward. "If that is the case, why are you not taking on this task?"
"We thought it might be a nice morale booster for your people. You finally get to strike and destroy without getting obliterated. Would be your plasma weapons against theirs."
"And how would you guarantee no other Denzee involvement?"
"We have a way. I can give you about two hours of unfettered access to those damaged ships. Are you interested?"
The emperor leaned back as he rubbed his chin. "Such a strike would go a long way toward bolstering my people's resolve. A victory would have merit. What are the further details of this mission?"
"You would jump in the ships you felt you needed. The two hour window would be applied, during which your ships also could not leave. Your fleet works their magic and when the window opens you jump back to safety. What I'm proposing is really that simple. Just make sure you send in enough ships to get the job done. Neither of us want those weapons rejoining the fight."
"Would you be willing to give me an hour to put this together?"
"Take your hour. We'll be here with Miss Rumford."
The emperor gave a nod as the comm closed.
"Why are you doing this?" Bax asked.
"Trust maybe? That and we have a technology we want to try out. This let's us do it in a real-world scenario."
"Why not do this yourself?"
Tawn shook her head. "We don't have the ships at the moment. Remember, Domicile is not involved in this in any way."
"Where do you keep getting these new technologies from?"
Harris grinned. "I'm a genius, didn't you know?"
Bax scoffed. "Fat chance of that. Seriously though. How are you making these advances?"
"We have a good team. We see a problem and we try to solve it. You might try it sometime."
The sarcastic exchanges continued for the full hour.
The emperor's image appeared on the display. "The arrangements have been m
ade. When do we begin?"
Harris said, "Can you have your ships jump all at once when we give the signal?"
"I will make that happen."
Harris nodded. "Good. Expect a comm from us in about fifteen to twenty minutes. It will come through Bax here as usual."
The comm closed. Tawn and Harris made their way back to the Bangor. A run up through the atmosphere was followed by a run to free space. A jump to the Rumanta system followed.
Tawn said, "Nav shows just those damaged Ratoons and a handful of repair vessels."
Harris opened a comm portal to Eden. "Bax. Send the word. We're ready."
Fifty wormholes opened at once. Eighty New Earther cruisers moved through. Harris deployed the boson bomb, setting it off once the Bangor was clear. A comm was opened to the Earther fleet. "You have about two hours. Do your best in there."
A new Earther admiral replied, "Thank you for this opportunity."
"Just keep in mind there are no jumps happening for two hours. Whether you need to or not. Move injured or crippled ships to a safe distance. I'll let you know when a jump can be made. Once that becomes possible you'll want to take immediate advantage of it and leave."
"Understood."
Eighty New Earth cruisers moved in. Heavy plasma fire was exchanged. Broadside exchanges saw forty heavy plasma cannons for the Earthers fire all at once from a cruiser. Sixty lesser plasma bolts were returned from the targeted Ratoon. Explosions followed on both sides.
Tawn said, "Should we be in there giving some help?"
"No one wants to more than me. But I think it's important we let the Earthers have this victory for themselves. They're down two colonies. In another week that might be three. Taking these ships out permanently is a big win for us all."
The hardened Denzee warships held their own for the first hour. However, surface cracks began to appear in their armor after the relentless barrages of plasma fire. The surface cracks widened and were soon fully exploited. Explosions began to rock the ultra tough hulls of the Ratoons.
The Earther cruisers were taking damage of their own, mostly cosmetic or to non-critical systems. That changed for two cruisers as they attempted to pull close to their targeted enemies. A thousand small missiles ripped into the side of a cruiser as it moved within the fifty kilometer range of the close-in defensive weapons.
The heavily damaged cruiser, now lacking a third of the hull plating on it's port side, rammed hard into the Denzee Ratoon. Debris spread and close in plasma rounds from each side ripped into the other. As the damaged cruiser moved away, a second ship moved in to continue the fight.
Tawn said, "See that? Those are breach tubes. They're sending in troops."
"Hmm. They take one of those ships and they have all the tech we've been withholding."
"We didn't think that through very well, did we?"
Harris shook his head. "No, we didn't. Not much we can do about it now."
"What if they get that superweapon and we don't have it?"
Harris stared at his partner with a half frown. "You suggesting we try to take one of those for our own?"
"Don't see how we could. Doubt we could fly that out with a single person."
"What if we just board and get into their computer systems? If we get the data Alex can analyze the design."
"How do we get past those defense missiles?"
Harris glanced up at the nav display. "We could piggyback on the Earthers. They're already aboard three of them. Pick one and I'll dump you on there."
"Me?"
Harris chuckled. "Was your idea. You not up for it?"
Tawn sighed. "Take me in. Hope this is worth it."
"I'll keep a comm open. Enable your helmet cam so I can watch."
The Bangor slid straight into an open docking bay. Tawn exited to fire from handheld masers. Her return fire was accurate and deadly. In less than a minute, the five Denzee crewmen that inhabited the small docking bay were splattered across the deck.
Harris said, "Head for the front. To your right. And watch for Earthers. I count five now entering that section. You have three Denzee in the hall coming up to your left and probably a dozen total in that forward section."
"Got it. And keep that intel coming."
The camera view from Tawn's helmet flipped to a view looking down the hall to her left. Three Denzee were crouched in doorways, looking in the other direction. Tawn passed across the hallway, turning to continue forward.
Harris asked, "Why didn't you take them out?"
"Leave them for the Earthers. You just tell me if they're coming up from behind."
"Two more moving up the left hand hall."
Tawn stopped, looked the situation over and continued.
Harris said, "Earthers are just beginning to come into that parallel hall. The Denzee are positioning for a fight against them. I now show you as clear all the way up. You might sprint if you can. Would like to get you in and out as soon as possible."
Tawn said, "The Earthers have scanners too. They have to know I'm here."
"Might think you're one of their own."
"And what about that big fat ship you're sitting in. They have to see you too."
"They might see the ship but not me. Our stealth gear still prevents that. Signals coming from the inside, including bios, are blocked or muted. They would just see a box made of Denzee armor."
"Good to know. OK. I've reached the forward deck. There's massive damage here. I can see bulkheads pushed in at the ends of the halls in either direction. Room in front of me should be our weapon. You seeing this?"
"I am. Must be a hundred of those generators or whatever they are feeding into that one unit. I'd have to say they are combining outputs to get the beam from that weapon going."
"I'd agree. I have a console. It's enabled. Let me see if I can connect."
Harris turned. "Farker, can you connect to the Denzee console through Tawn's comm link? And if so, can you search the data memories for specifications on that weapon?"
The dog said, "I have a connection and have initiated a search."
Tawn asked, "Who are you talking to?"
Harris said, "I'll tell you when you get back. Wait. I have three bios coming your way. They are small so they must be Denzee. Heading toward you from your right."
Tawn stepped into the hall. Three plasma rounds found their targets.
Farker said, "I've found and copied the complete specifications for the weapon of interest. Would you like me to assist in any other way."
"You sure you have it?"
"Yes."
"Tawn. I grabbed the data from my end. Come back now. And hustle. The Earthers are starting to work their way up our hall from aft."
"On my way."
Harris looked over the latest scan, "Bios are all occupied with that other hall. You should be clear."
"Thirty seconds."
The Biomarine slug hopped up through a freshly opened hatch. As it sealed shut the Bangor lifted from the deck. Seconds later they raced out into open space.
— Chapter 14 —
* * *
Harris nodded. "Good work. We have the data on the weapon."
"Who were you talking to and how'd you get it?" Tawn asked.
"Tapped into that console through your comm once you were connected. Searched out the data in question and loaded it up."
Tawn returned a bewildered look. "You don't have the know how to do that."
"I don't. But my furry little friend does."
"You had the dog hack in and get it?"
"No hacking required. You were already connected. And his search capability for that type of information is far more efficient than our fat Human fingers."
Tawn sat, strapping herself in. "And the voice I heard?"
Harris looked at his partner. "I guess it's time you knew. Farker can talk."
"What?"
"Think about it. It's an AI. It was built by Alex. How tough would it be to add voice to it? We already knew it unde
rstood commands. Right Farker?"
"Yes."
Tawn began to chuckle which soon turned into an uncontrollable laugh. "That is hilarious. So this whole time that dog not only understood us, it understood us."
"It did. And does."
"So why the secret?"
Harris shrugged. "I just thought it might work to our advantage some day. If others besides us think it's just a pet, it might give us an edge. Such as recording and repeating a conversation someone had while around it, not realizing it could understand them."
Tawn glanced over at the robotic dog. "OK. I can get behind that. Does anyone else know?"
Harris scowled. "Bax."
"What? How did she find out?"
"I wasn't clear with my orders for him to not speak to anyone else or to speak when anyone else was around. Don't think she thought much of it though. She hasn't mentioned it but one time since. She told it to the rest of you when I took her to Midelon. I changed the subject and she didn't press."
"And you felt the need to conceal this from me why?"
"The more who know the more likely we are to screw up and let it be known."
Harris turned to his pet. "New orders. You can now speak to Tawn or me, but only when no one else is around. And you will still only bark for others."
The dog returned a single nod.
Tawn chuckled. "That will take some getting used to."
Harris said, "You can look at it like this. It has the same processor and memory as those bots Alex just made for us. It's just a different exterior."
Farker said, "I am an earlier version. Enhancements have been made to the assistants. My abilities are limited."
As the Bangor moved to a safe distance from the Denzee warships, all seventeen exploded at once. The blackness of space was replaced by the ultra-white glow of hydrogen stores detonating as the Denzee Ratoon ships all self-destructed. Fifteen of the eighty New Earth cruisers took heavy damage. Another ten moderate.
A comm came in from the Gooch. "Ten minutes and that field will be gone," Trish said. "You might want to have all ships move in our direction for a jump."
Harris opened a comm to the New Earth fleet admiral. "Sir, you have less than ten minutes before the Denzee will be able to jump to this space. I'm forwarding a destination to you. Move all ships to there as soon as possible, Admiral. You may only have minutes left to do so."
ARMS Eden Lost: (Book 4) Page 12