Harris chuckled. "You? You're total experience with firearms is a single run through an alley simulator. Don't think you're quite ready for this. Lots of decisions that are made on the fly during a raid like this."
Boomer stepped up behind Tawn. "I would agree with Idiot. This is an ideal training mission for us. The scans show the bios to be workers and not warriors. We have an understanding of how they fight from your prior recordings. Allow us to clear the building. It will leave you here in the ship, ready to move should a Denzee fleet arrive."
Tawn half smiled as she nodded. "She does have a point."
Idiot said, "We could also bring you captives. Would it not be desirable to interrogate these Denzee?"
"He's got a good point too."
Harris replied, "We attempted interrogation before. They gave up nothing. Getting information from an alien species is not our purview."
Tawn chuckled. "Then we take them back for the colonel's team to deal with. Besides, don't you want to see how your bot performs? You aren't scared Boomer will show him up are you?"
Harris rolled his eyes. "Fine. We send in the bots. You two will be streaming your video feeds back here to the ship. We'll be watching so we can evaluate your performances."
Idiot nodded as a comm request came into the display. Tawn accepted the request and a small window appeared on the display. A feed from Idiot's camera popped into view. Seconds later a similar view showed from the bot named Boomer.
The ship dropped the final kilometer, coming to rest only meters from the obvious entrance to the Denzee building. The hatch opened.
Harris gestured for the bots to move. "Keep yourselves safe. We don't want to have to come in there to clean up your scattered parts."
The bots hopped to the ground and disappeared into the building, their video feeds the only evidence of their existence.
Harris shook his head. "Can't believe we're doing this. They are way too valuable to be risking."
"How you figure?"
"They have recordings about Midelon, about us, about the Denzee. They're a treasure-trove of intel on our whole operation. Ship construction and all."
"I guess there is that. But we're right here. And I know you're curious as to what they can do. I know I am."
Harris looked at the display. "Wait. Where are their rifles?"
Harris connected to the comms. "Where are your rifles?"
Idiot replied, "Not necessary. We wish to remain silent."
"What do you mean not necessary?"
The bots slipped in behind two Denzee workers. As if in a synchronized motion, they both charged forward, violently smashing their fists down, ending the Denzee lives in an instant. Further down the hall three unlucky aliens walked into the same hallway. Before a cry of alarm could be raised, each had taken their last breath.
The bots moved swiftly and surely through the building, silently delivering their message of death before coming upon the final two bios in a back room. The workers were disarmed, subdued, and brought back to the Bangor. The four floors of the Denzee building had been cleared in just over three minutes, without a plasma bolt being fired.
The hatch was opened and the bots stepped up into the cabin with their captives.
Harris shook his head. "That was almost scary. Sorry I doubted the two of you."
Tawn said, "We should go check the building. See if we can figure out what they're up to."
Harris turned. "You bots stay here. If you get an alert on that nav you call us back that instant. We're going in."
Tawn followed Harris through the entryway into the building.
"Why you have the Fox out? Scans don't show any bios left in here."
"We just sent two bots in to clear this place. What if the Denzee have bots? Those don't show on scans."
"Fair enough."
The first several rooms they encountered were in use for storage. Crates were checked and found to contain various materials that had been used in the construction of the building. Wiring, lights, and plumbing fixtures were among the stock.
Tawn said, "The bots went into one room with a large table in the center. Two of them were looking over something on that table before they got their heads smashed. Would like to know what that was.
Harris gestured. "Lead the way."
Two doorways down the hall found the room in question. A diagram was spread out on the table.
Harris looked over the details. "I'd say that was the beginnings of the master plan for this planet. This is the mountain range we're sitting on. The structure on the drawing envelopes it. I have to wonder why they don't want to flatten this place and fill in a bunch of that mess out there. Could have three times the dry land they have now."
Tawn chuckled. "Maybe you could leave them a note about your designs? They might be so grateful for your suggestion that they decide on peace."
Harris shook his head. "You see, that's the big difference between you and me, Freely. I'm always taking the long view, looking for solutions. Meanwhile you're just looking to be a smartass."
Tawn smirked. "Hmm. Like I'm buying that load."
"It did sound good though, didn't it?"
The investigation of the building continued. Most rooms contained boxes of furniture or office materials. The consensus was the structure was for engineering use as the Denzee worked to design a new colony for Gondol.
Further searching had the Biomarine duo standing in a hall on the fourth floor.
"Not really a lot of interest here," Tawn said. "And just from our encounters I'd have to say the Denzee are a boring people."
"They're expansionists. That's what they live for. More queens, more territory."
"You have to wonder how they made it to the stars. I mean, where's the wondering, the deep contemplation that brings about the big scientific advances?"
"You're just looking at the workers here. They have their engineers and science drones. Those might be very different beings. Besides, over the course of a few thousand years, incremental developments tell us that big things can happen. Take Earth. Humans went from horses and wagons to space travel in just a few hundred years. Who knows how long the Denzee have been at this."
Idiot came over the comm. "We have a Denzee Ratoon approaching."
Harris nodded. "On our way. If they just came through a wormhole we should have ten minutes to slip away."
"Sorry sir, they didn't come through a wormhole. That ship just showed on the horizon. It was down here on the planet's surface."
Harris bolted for the stairs with Tawn at his heels. Three flights were traversed before a sprint was made for the entrance and the ship. As they reached the doorway going out, the Bangor was lifting into the air.
Harris yelled, "What are you doing? Get back here!"
Idiot replied, "Sorry, sir. There is no time."
Harris looked out to the approaching ship. The lights on its exterior dimmed. The disc weapon on its front facing section glowed blue-white.
The Bangor zipped up, rolling over and ducking behind the mountain on which Tawn and Harris were standing. Two kilometers away the rock that made up a sheer cliff face glowed red from the delivered heat of the weapon. A huge section of the cliff, nearly half a kilometer long, melted, sliding down toward the bog below. Seconds later, plumes of steam rose into the sky where the superheated rock met with the water of the bog.
The Bangor popped up, delivering a handful of tungsten rounds to the port side of the warship as her captain turned her away.
Harris said, "Can't believe they stole my ship. And they're fighting the Denzee with it."
Tawn half scowled. "Not a bad first move. Preserved a shield by using that rock.
A comm came in from Boomer. "I would advise that you move into that structure."
Harris said, "Bring my ship back!"
Idiot replied, "It is not safe. The Denzee have just launched two troop transports. One moment... one of those is down. We do not have a shot at the other. It is coming your way wi
th just over three hundred bios aboard. The height of the bios match that of the Denzee warriors."
Tawn said, "I see it. Coming across the bog. Looks like we're going inside."
Harris growled. "You only brought your Fox. Nice going."
"It'll do."
"It'll have to."
Harris knelt in the doorway of the Denzee building, taking careful aim at the transport shuttle as it settled on a flat area two hundred meters away. As the bulkhead door on the side of the transport opened and a ramp lowered, Denzee warriors began to pour out.
Harris opened up with his Saxon, sending round after round of plasma into the troops as they streamed out. Tawn followed with her Fox-40, picking off individual warriors as they spread out from the ramp.
"This isn't gonna hold," Harris said as the first return fire came their way."
Tawn pulled at his shoulder. "Come on, we'll have to hold them off from inside."
Harris moved back to just inside the doorway where he laid out flat on the ground.
Tawn said, "And close up that faceshield you moron."
Harris winced at the thought of forgetting the key protection. As the shield closed a Denzee bolt impact the gravel in front of him, sending a spray of hot sand and rock directly into his face.
"Thanks for that. Just saved me from a world of hurt."
"Just keep popping that ramp. They aren't all out yet. And shift closer to that wall, you're too exposed out there."
Harris chuckled as he repeatedly pulled the trigger. "What? Are you my mother?"
Several rounds from the Denzee blasted the walls of the doorway, forcing Harris to crawl backwards on his elbows as he continued to fire.
"Where do they keep coming from? They got a portal inside that thing?"
"Idiot said over three hundred. We have to be getting close to that now. That's a huge pile of bodies you have stacking up there."
Harris nodded. "Big enough for them to start using as cover."
"Idiot?" Harris yelled, "Tell us what's happening!"
"We're maneuvering for a shot. We've had to expend the first of our shields."
"Well things are getting hot down here. We have a couple hundred warriors working their way toward us. Get your ass back here and pick us up. We're trapped in the entrance to the building."
"We will be there as soon as possible. Six pellets have impacted the area in and around that forward weapon. It remains functional."
Harris and Tawn ducked behind a corner as a dozen Denzee plasma bolts impacted the hallway just in front and behind them. Repeated blasts were returned, taking out a squad of six who were attempting to charge across the ground toward the building.
Tawn said, "We can't hold out much longer. There are too many of them. They all charge at once and we get overrun."
Harris rolled out into the middle of the hall floor, firing a dozen rounds before continuing his roll to a doorway on the other side.
Tawn shook her head. "You've done that twice now. Don't you think you're pushing your luck?"
Harris chuckled as he squeezed off several more rounds. "Sometimes you have to make your own luck. I'd like to survive this."
Tawn fired three precision shots, taking out three Denzee warriors as they stood to rush forward. Harris rolled back, again taking out several combatants before completing his roll to the other side.
Tawn shook her head. "Now you're just being idiotic."
Harris smirked. "Exactly. Who would predict that move? No one. So I took it."
Idiot and Boomer navigated the ship behind the cover of the mountain range, settling on a mild slope and shutting down the Bangor's systems. They were rewarded only seconds later as the Ratoon slipped over the mountain ridge to be almost directly in front of them. The bots powered up the systems, rising from the ground as the lights on the warship dimmed.
Four tungsten pellets found their way to the surface of the disc as it began to get the first glimmers of its blue-white glow. The disc went black and was followed by explosions of debris shooting out from either side, taking off a third of the face of the craft as the power projected to the disc looked for a place to dissipate.
Idiot said, "The warship has been defeated. However, a half dozen wormholes just opened in free space."
"Get us out of here!" Harris yelled.
The Bangor lifted up and over the mountains, racing forward as Boomer placed a single low power pellet into the back of the building. A back wall exploded, sending shrapnel down the main hall, just missing the Biomarines as they hovered in a doorway.
"Take the back exit. We will be there momentarily."
The ground in front of the building rocked as a half dozen rounds dug deep craters into the rocky landscape. The Denzee warriors were quickly silenced and their transport destroyed. The Bangor landed, collecting Tawn and Harris.
As the small craft lifted it was spun around to face the Denzee building. Three hypervelocity tungsten pellets crashed into the foundation, sending ruble sliding and tumbling down the mountain face.
The Bangor turned and blasted up through the atmosphere as a fireball. Ten minutes later, after outrunning the approaching ships, they entered free space. A jump to the Retreat followed.
— Chapter 23 —
* * *
Harris sat on one of the benches. "I can't say I was all too happy with you leaving us on the ground back there."
Idiot replied, "We evaluated the situation and made what we thought to be the best decision. I apologize for your discomfort."
Harris chuckled. "Discomfort? That what you call it?"
Boomer turned. "Given the outcome it would appear our decision was correct. No loss of life or assets."
Harris held up his elbows. "What are you talking about? Look. All that rolling around I had to do to stay alive, it scratched up my suit." The grin on his face told of his true feelings.
Tawn said, "Just for future reference, your primary missions going forward will be to keep us alive. If you have to sacrifice yourselves to do so, then so be it."
"Those are our current directives. Can you suggest how we might have followed a different path and received the same outcome?"
Harris said, "Forget it. What you did was fine. We would have liked to have known it was coming, so next time we'd know what to expect."
Harris opened a comm to the colonel. "We paid a visit to Gondol. We have a couple prisoners for you to interrogate. When finished, you can turn them over to the DDI or space them if you like. We don't much care."
"Bring them down and we'll see what we can pull out of them."
Tawn said, "The Denzee had a building already constructed. We went inside and found they had plans for a complete colony. There's a mountain range that runs along the equator. Drawing showed large sections being leveled to provide a building area. Looks like a full colony is planned."
The colonel replied, "We have scouting reports from two other systems where the Denzee have been seen. Both have planets on the low end of the habitability scale. Both now have buildings similar to what you saw at Gondol."
Harris sighed. "They're spreading. And not just to the Earther worlds. Is the DDI aware of what you just stated?"
"They are, and our politicians are saying it's not an issue because we don't claim those worlds anyway."
Tawn scowled. "Gonna be too late by the time those morons figure it out. Forget the Denzee, we'll be lucky if we survive our own government."
"Colonel," Harris said, "you've been using the fact that we're popular back home as a tool for keeping the Biomarines happy. What would happen if Tawn and me were to do a series of video announcements describing the approaching threat and giving our opinions as to what should be done to stop it?"
"Hmm. I suppose that might help, if done correctly. I'll have to consult with my staff as to whether or not they believe that to be a wise move. And the two of you should know the politicians would be extremely unhappy with you meddling in their affairs. Popular can easily be turned into warmon
ger, rebel, and of course criminal behavior if they so desire. Remember, as politicians they are masters at manipulating opinions."
Tawn shrugged. "We really don't care what the price with them is. We only care about the result. Kick it around and if you think it's worthwhile we'll be happy to commit to it."
"Any luck with finding the Denzee repair docks?" Harris asked.
"No hits so far. If they're resupplying it they aren't doing so from that main fleet. What we need to do is disable one of those Ratoons and then follow it back to wherever they're doing this."
"We'd be happy to do that once we get another shield. I'm not comfortable going in with only one anymore."
The colonel nodded. "Three coming out in the next few days. Give us another week and we may be able to join you in the Hailstorm."
A comm came in from Baxter Rumford. "Gruberg. Glad I caught you. The Denzee have moved on to assault Pache V. Fifteen million citizens. The emperor has again committed his entire fleet. We really need your help if you're able. The Denzee only brought fourteen of the Ratoon ships this time. I think with our change in tactics last time we were finally able to inflict some damage. Costly to us, but results we haven't been able to get before."
Idiot said, "We could effectively fly that mission, sir."
Harris scowled. "Not happening."
He turned to face Tawn. "We have one shield. Might be good for taking out a couple of those Ratoons if we have their help."
"I'd rather make the effort than just sit here. Anything we can do to slow them down between now and when the colonel is back would be a plus."
Harris looked back at the comm. "We'll be out there shortly."
"Make it fast. People are already dying."
The comm closed.
"I guess we have work to do, Colonel. Will check back in on the back side of it. And if the rest of our team comms you, let them know what we're doing and tell them to hang tight."
The Bangor lifted from the tarmac and was soon jumping through a wormhole to Pache V space.
As the ship came within nav sensor range, Harris said, "Notice anything different?"
ARMS Eden Lost: (Book 4) Page 20