"Absolutely I'd like. Do it now before we jump as I don't want to be opening wormholes once we're in detection range. Any special instructions for hacking in?"
"They are included with the app."
"Got it. Thanks."
A jump was made to the New Earth system, coming in outside of normally detectable range. A run toward the planet had the Bangor sitting at five thousand kilometers’ distance.
Harris said, "So long as we're not parked directly in front of a star on someone's sensor, we should be good."
"Firing up the app. Signal has been identified. Connecting... and we have a live feed from the Burrell command ship to the Fargo."
Baxter Rumford's face filled the right side of the display. Three Burrell officers were seated on the left.
"Why should we trust you?"
"I'll admit to maybe being a bit too aggressive with your earlier fleet, but it was your ships who took the first shots." Bax waved her hand. "But that's all in the past. Let's talk about the present and the future."
The Burrell seated in the center seat replied, "As the commanding officer of this fleet, I am authorized to handle the situation in any manner I see fit. If my goals don't align with those of the empire, I'll receive my just reward at that time. I will grant you this opportunity to negotiate a surrender."
Bax smiled. "Perfect. Here is what I'm proposing. Currently there are two Human forces at work in this sector. The Maxter Empire, which you are dealing with here and now, and the Domicile Free worlds. This is the bulk of the Humans in this sector, and aside from having technology that currently keeps my fleet from attacking their world, they have a small fleet of a few thousand not-very-powerful ships.
"What I'm proposing is that you travel to Domicile and force their surrender to the Maxter Empire, and I in turn pledge to surrender to the Burrell, with conditions."
"I'm listening."
"This sector will become uncontested Burrell space, governed by the Maxter Empire. Keep in mind, we are on the edge of Frizoid space as well. Allow me to govern this space for you and I will make it my primary mission to defend it against the Frizoid, freeing up your resources to be used on other fronts against our common enemy."
The Burrell admiral stared into the comm for several seconds.
Bax added, "Look, I'm offering a surrender with the benefit of you having a ready fleet here to defend this space from the Frizoid. This would be a win for both our peoples. We become your subjects and under your guidance, and in return we defend this space."
Harris sighed. "She truly is the devil. Just made an agreement with her own people a few days ago, and she's already selling us out."
"It is an interesting offer, Empress. Allow me a short time to discuss this with my staff."
"Take your time, Admiral. I look forward to your decision."
One side of the comm went black.
Bax shook her head. "Idiots, give me this and I'll be crushing your fleets in six months."
The comm closed.
Tawn chuckled. "She puts on a good act."
"The admiral didn't seem too impressed. Even though outnumbered, I'm sure he knows he has the superior force."
"She's playing a dangerous game with all our lives."
"It's all a means to an end, where she controls this sector."
The admiral returned several minutes later. "I've hashed over your offer and we accept. We will force the surrender of Domicile and the free colonies to you, and in return you surrender to us, remaining in control to govern this Human province."
Bax grinned. "Perfect. And I would ask you wait a few hours before you go in. I don't want this to look like it was something I planned. Some of the Humans I know would be quite unhappy. And, Admiral, you will not be sorry. I'll wait for your news at Gondol."
Harris turned the Bangor away. When wormhole detection range had been passed, a jump was made to the edge of negated space at Domicile. Thirty minutes later they were setting down at the presidential estate.
Harris was met at the door. "We only have minutes, Mr. President. The Burrell are coming. Baxter Rumford has just made a deal where you'll surrender to her and she will then surrender to the Burrell, taking over as their provincial governor. I'd offer another option but I don't have any. The force that's coming is far too large for you to fight. I'll head out to Gondol and have your destroyers there come home."
"Thank you for the heads up, Mr. Gruberg. We'll deal with this when the Burrell arrive. Please make haste to Gondol."
The Bangor lifted and shot up through the sky as a fireball. After arriving in the Gondol system, the Domicile destroyers were notified of the President's order for them to return.
Tawn said, "When we hacked into the Burrell's comm back there at New Earth, we got Bax's channel ID. I'm initiating a crack of her comm right now."
"We'll have to give Sharvie and her team a reward for making that hack possible. We'd otherwise be flying blind as to what's happening out here. Wait... I have a connection."
An image of Baxter showed on one side of the display. An image of former President Croft showed on the other.
Bax said, "We've had a few minor setbacks, but nothing we can't handle. The Burrell are heading to Domicile to demand their surrender to me... us. When done, they'll be coming back here for our surrender to them."
"What?"
Bax held up a hand. "It's only for show. They'll be making me the provincial governor, and in return I'll be protecting this space from the Frizoid."
"This isn't what we talked about."
"It's not, but the result will be the same. When we have control of Domicile and her resources, we'll build a fleet like this galaxy has never seen. I'll then be heading back to Midelon to get those processor stations running full bore. Other than building ships for us, the Domers won't have to lift a finger. They'll have easy jobs, food, and money, and they won't have to fight. The bots will do that for us."
"I don't know that I like this unilateral decision making."
"Sorry, but sometimes decisions have to be made on the fly. This is gonna work for us, I just know it. What I need you to do for us now is to send that Burrell ship to Domicile. I want a report of the happenings. Have the bot team jack into their comms. I want to see the video of the surrender."
Croft turned away for almost a minute, before looking back into the comm. "The ship is on its way."
Bax grinned. "We may be an hour away from the Maxter Empire taking full control. New Earth and her colonies, the truce worlds, and the big prize, Domicile. I can't believe we're pulling this off finally. All that planning... getting Eden involved... setting up the emperor with that toxin... how’s that reagent coming?"
"The bot said it will be ready tomorrow. It’ll take several months to produce the quantity needed, but in six months New Earth will be as habitable as ever. I have to hand it to you, Bax, you said it could be done and here we are. What of Midelon?"
"What of it? We only need to convert the drives on a handful of ships and Midelon will be ours. And those morons... we won't be needing them for anything more, though I do have to give them credit for being survivors. I almost want to keep them around just so they can see how powerful we will become."
"The Frizoid alliance was a stroke of genius."
Bax scowled. "I told you never to mention that. They capture one of those bots and look at its logs and this blows up on us."
Tawn sat forward. "That little witch. Who hasn't she made a deal with?"
Croft crossed his arms. "All bots who can hear this, scrub your logs immediately."
A handful of chimes told of the tasks completing.
Croft smiled. "Problem solved."
"Scrub your comm log while you're at it. I'll do the same here."
Tawn chuckled. "Should I scrub our comm log?"
Harris crossed his arms. "What if the President could manage the same deal with the Burrell? That he becomes the provincial governor for the Burrell. Meanwhile, we work on building a force th
at can truly defend humanity."
"And just how are we gonna pull that off? The Burrell are probably arriving at Domicile already, or will be any minute. And why would they listen to us?"
Harris smacked his armrest. "They will listen to us because we have a recording of Bax admitting she has a secret alliance with the Frizoid. Domicile surrenders with the same deal she had, and the Burrell and Bax fight it out. This is perfect. If Bax somehow wins, she is significantly weakened, with no way to replenish her bots. If the Burrell win, we're rid of Bax and we begin our clandestine efforts to be rid of the Burrell. With such a loss as will be coming, I think the Burrell will jump at the chance to have this sector under their control, and docile."
The Bangor was turned and a direction set that would take them back to Domicile. The nav display showed only normal orbital activity of the Domer fleet.
Tawn asked, "You think they've already surrendered?"
"They haven't been here yet."
A comm was opened down to the surface. "Mr. President, I have more news. When the Burrell arrive, you will surrender directly to them, but instead of falling under control of the Maxter Empire, you'll offer to be the provincial governor yourself. If they accept, my team will continue to work in secret to build a fleet that will win our freedom."
"Why would they take my offer over hers? She has a substantial fleet they will have to fight."
Harris grinned. "Because we have a video log of her from just minutes ago where she admits to already having a secret alliance with the Frizoid. When she did that, or how, I haven't a clue, but in her mind it's already done. I'm sending you the file now."
"Received."
"I included a copy of her conversation with the Burrell. Watch it. It might give you an edge while you negotiate your surrender."
"Thank you for your efforts, Mr. Gruberg. You're a true patriot."
"Yeah, well, I'm a Human first. Oh, one last thing. Bax has one of the captured Burrell repair ships coming this way to spy on the proceedings. If you spot it and the Burrell don't, just ignore it. I want her to know this deal went bad."
The comm closed as the Bangor turned back to free space.
Tawn asked, "Where to now, genius?"
"Was that sarcastic or complimentary?"
"The second."
"Back to Gondol. I want to be there watching when that smug look comes off her face. This will be epic."
"It's surreal. The great manipulator is being manipulated. And we get to see it."
"Not just see it, we're the ones who made it happen."
"Mr. Gruberg, I have to give you full credit here."
"Miss Freely, I couldn't have managed without my partner and her ever so eloquent and timely thoughts."
"I thank you, sir."
Harris chuckled. "I hope this isn't leading into a hug or something."
Tawn smiled. "Wouldn't dream of spoiling the moment like that."
The Bangor slowed to a stop. Tawn monitored the comms as Harris propped a boot up on the corner of his console.
"Trish would be all over you about now for scuffing the corner of her console."
"She would. I kind of miss that sharp voice at times. She wouldn't put up with anything she thought somehow marred this ship."
"Both of them were good first mates."
Harris chuckled.
"What's so funny."
"Was just thinking about the Kingflusher."
"Fisher. And what's so funny about it?"
"You finally got your own ship and what'd it last you? A month?"
"More than that. And I don't see how that's so funny. I liked that ship."
"It's funny when you put it in the context of everything that's happened. Come on, slug gets rich and buys her own ship, only to have it shot down by an Earther destroyer? Come on, that's funny."
Tawn sighed. "Funny because it wasn't yours."
"And you should have seen Gandy's face when I landed for a pick-up. I thought he was gonna wet himself... wait."
"What are you doing?"
"Pulling up the log from that day. Here it is. And here's Gandy on the external cam, and then the cabin cam as he came through the hatch."
An image popped up on the display before them. A roil of dust nearly knocked him over as the Bangor came fast to the ground. The young Human took four steps before diving hard onto the deck plating of the Bangor's cabin. His eyes were squished shut and his face contorted as he slid across the deck.
Harris froze it in mid frame. "Doesn't that look like someone who’s urinating?"
"It does, but my guess would be he had dust in his eyes. That had to be a bit nerve-racking for a regular to have been shot down by a destroyer. I'd say he did well to make it to the ground."
"Dust was his excuse too. I'm sure it was, but it didn't stop me from playing that clip back to him about a dozen times afterward. That was a good time."
"For you maybe. No wonder the kid has low confidence. He just escaped death and there you are kicking him in the groin."
"It's called toughening him up. And he came out OK. Not scared anymore, except when he looks at Sharvie. He loses all semblance of being a man when that happens."
"He's fearful of making the wrong move. Her indecisiveness over what she wants there hasn't helped. It'll probably work out in the end though."
"Maybe when they both reach seventy."
"You ever have someone you were hot after? Other than Bax I mean." Tawn chuckled.
"I'll admit she's pleasing on the eye. But she opens that mouth and the venom that comes out is the last thing any man would want. Except Croft. But he's suspect as being Human anyway."
Tawn sat up. "Wait, I have that Burrell repair ship coming in. This might be where it gets good."
— Chapter 14 —
* * *
A comm was opened to the Fargo from the repair ship. Tawn tapped into the feed. One side of the display showed an anxious Baxter Rumford, while the other showed a stolen bot.
"What do you have for me?"
"Domicile has surrendered."
"Perfect."
"The surrender was to the Burrell. Not as you agreed to."
"What?"
"The president of Domicile made an agreement with the Burrell to surrender directly to their empire. In return, the president will be made provincial governor over this sector."
"What? They can't do that! Why would they choose him over me? I have a powerful fleet!"
"There was talk of you having an alliance with the Frizoid."
Bax's face was ready to explode. A comm was opened to the Retreat.
"Is it done?"
"No, it's not done, you moron. Who'd you tell about the alliance?"
"Tell? I have no one to tell. I'm surrounded by these automated atrocities."
Bax scowled. "They must have the place bugged or something. Regardless, the Burrell found out. You’d best be on high alert there. They'll be coming for us."
"Then we'll meet them on the field of battle and crush them."
"Shut up. We'll be lucky to survive this day."
Hundreds of wormholes opened to the far right of the Bangor. The Burrell fleet began coming through. A boson bomb was waiting, cutting nearly forty ships in half as their wormholes collapsed around them. Just over six hundred had made the jump before the negation field blocked the rest.
Harris nodded. "Smart move. I might have let a few more in, but that was well executed."
Croft said, "What's happening?"
"We're going to war. Now shut up and prepare to be attacked. Banshees! Come in single file behind that reflective surface!"
Tawn said, "She's adapted. If those work, she might just have a chance."
Thousands of Banshee fighters raced into the space surrounding the Burrell. Lasers fired and were reflected by a number of highly polished plasma reflectors. As the banshees came within firing range, they split off from the mirrored shields, sending thousands of high-energy tungsten rounds into the opposing warships
. Some armor held, other sections crumpled inward, exposing decks and crew to the cold void of space.
"Wave two! Launch!"
A second stream of Banshees sped into the fray, again protected by the newly constructed reflector units.
The Burrell ships lit up with bright flashes as they fired, invisible beams racing out in a multitude of directions, seeking the small and elusive Banshees that whipped in and about the large warships like a swarm of hornets attacking a bear that had disturbed their nest. Several dozen of the Burrell ships succumbed to the swarm in the first minute of the battle.
Bax again yelled out. "Wave three! Launch!"
Tawn said, "Wow, I think she might actually be winning. This is insane madness."
Harris pushed the throttle to full as he moved the Bangor away from the fight. "We just took a brush-hit from one of those lasers. Hull temp went up to 60 percent of rated."
"How far back do we need to go?"
"As far as we can while maintaining surveillance of this fight."
"Duh. Will that distance be adequate?"
"I guess we'll find out."
"You sure know how to make someone feel comfortable."
Harris opened a comm to Midelon. "Alex, just informing you of the situation. Domicile surrendered to the Burrell a short while ago, double-crossing Bax and destroying her grand plans. They've now sent ships to Gondol, where her fleet is waiting. She set off a boson after about six hundred ships came through and is in a fierce fight with them right now."
"Are you involved?"
Gandy walked into the room.
"We're watching from afar. One of her new tactics is a single ship pushing around a reflective shield. Looks to be fairly effective against the lasers, allowing Banshees to get in close. I'd say she's almost running even as far as casualties go. Not good news for the Burrell. I'm sending the scan data we have on those reflectors. See if Idiot can work up a design for us that will allow us to get in close if needed."
"I hope you realize the interference generator you have on the Bangor now, along with the ultra black skin, will allow you to get in close. Easily within firing range without being detected."
"True, but we're a single ship."
ARMS Helm's End: (Book 7) Page 12