The coordinates I sent you, they'll be expecting a pick-up in about fifteen minutes."
"Thanks, Colonel. We'll be there."
The Bangor zipped up through the sky and out into the blackness of space. A short ride saw a wormhole opened to the coordinates given by the colonel's contact. The Bangor pulled alongside a rented shuttle and the docking collar was extended.
The airlock door opened with a puff.
Harris said, "Hello, Red."
Baxter Rumford stepped through. "Hello, morons."
— Chapter 2 —
* * *
Tawn said, "We have a mission to stop the Earthers and Denzee. You know the Earthers and how they work. We'll want to hit mines, or transports, or even ship factories. And for that we need your help. So start spewing the advice."
Bax stared at the two Biomarines for several seconds. "Not wasting any time on a greeting or showing the new girl around, I see."
Harris crossed his arms. "Opinions. Or we send you back."
"OK. Looks like you two are all business. Show me what you know."
The next half hour was used to fill in the newest team member on exactly how the new war had progressed, ending with details of the loss of the Clark colony.
Bax stared at the data on the wall display. "This is a mess. How many ships do we have?"
"Eleven," Harris said. "One is manned, the Bangor, the others are automated."
Idiot and Boomer walked into the supply hut.
Bax turned. "Whoa. These are your AIs? Don't look very intelligent."
Tawn sighed. "Probably smarter than us."
"Not hard to do." Bax smirked. "So tell me about our ships’ capabilities? What advantages do we have? What's at our disposal?"
"We have all the same tech as the Earther fleet, but with the addition of railguns."
Harris said, "We also have another weapon of sorts available to use."
Tawn gave an uneasy look. "Not sure we should give out any info on that."
"I'll just talk about the results, which she has already seen."
Bax asked, "That would be the anti-wormhole device or whatever it is, right? If we have things like that available, I need to know about it."
Tawn sighed. "Yes, we can negate the use of wormholes in an area for about two hours. The field starts wide, going out about a quarter–light-year in every direction, and slowly shrinks in to a point before disappearing. It lets us conduct a raid without the threat of other ships jumping in. We have about two hours to deal with whatever is there."
"Fascinating. And how is it you came upon this technology?"
Harris looked at Tawn. "She can't be here without knowing. She's gonna find out sooner or later."
Tawn looked down at the floor, shaking her head. "I know we'll probably regret this, but I guess you'll need to know if we want the most out of you. This facility, it houses a very powerful AI. It created these bots for us to use. It came up with the boson bomb, which is how we stop the wormhole jumps. In fact, this facility is the reason we can create wormholes at all. It generates a field that envelops the space we are able to travel in. Alex, show yourself."
The wall display changed to an image of the AI. "Hello, Baxter. Welcome to Midelon."
"Uh, hello?"
Harris shook his head. "So you're on a first name basis with the newbie?"
"You brought her here, Harris. And you told her of my existence and of the purpose of this facility. Should I not have a minimum level of trust in her? Is she not a friend?"
Bax grinned. "Yeah, am I not a friend?"
"Alex," Harris said, "this woman is about the last Human you should trust. She's always looking for a way to take advantage of the situation."
"Isn't that a sign of intelligence, Harris?"
Bax smirked.
"It is, unless that individual uses that advantage to the detriment of others. Not other enemies, but other innocent people. She's murdered people, you know."
Bax protested. "I never murdered anyone."
"Well, you at a minimum either allowed it or ordered it."
"I've defended myself. And I've passed on orders that others gave, but not once have I murdered anyone or given the order for that to happen."
Tawn stepped in. "OK, let's focus on the task at hand. Alex, Bax is here to advise us on how to rein in the Earthers. She should know where to hit them and how. We need that info if we're to have any effect on the current situation. Let's focus on getting her knowledge and opinions and forming up a strategy."
"Very well, Tawn. And might I add that you have just earned your invitation to the next level."
"Good. When can we go through?"
"I'm afraid some of the others aren't yet ready. Trish and Gandy have not met the requirements to proceed. Nor has Bannis. And Bax has yet to begin."
Harris held up a hand. "Whoa, she hasn't been in the bunker at all. Does she have to be counted if she hasn't even started?"
Alex smiled. "You would be correct. I presumed she was to be invited. Having not yet begun the process, she may be excluded until such time she begins."
"Excluded from what?" Bax asked.
Harris shook his head. "Excluded from it-doesn't-matter. And we can't talk about it further without including you. So problem solved."
Tawn said. "This means we need to spring Bannis as well, or we're stuck."
"Stuck where?" Bax asked.
"Doesn't concern you. But what does concern you is telling us about the Earthers and their habits. What standard practices can we take advantage of? What vulnerabilities do they have? Keep in mind, we aren't looking to kill them. We just want to stop them from continued attacks on Domicile space."
Bax sighed. "You wanted help. I'm here. I would like cooperation though."
"You'll get all the cooperation you need to assist us with the Earthers. Give us your thoughts on what vulnerabilities they might have."
Bax glanced at a table and chair. "May I sit?"
"Please."
Harris grabbed a chair, spinning it around to face away from her as he sat on it backwards. "Let's start with transports. Where would it be best to hit those?"
"Obviously on the way out when they're full. You take out the ship and the payload. But I might take it a bit further. The ore, even though processed at Eden, still requires a substantial finishing process. That's all done at one facility, and that facility is not beside the shipyards. It's off by itself. If we took that place down, it would halt all production for several months. That's probably their biggest weak point."
"Can we assume it's heavily guarded?" Tawn asked.
Bax shook her head. "Not right now it isn't. Most of the fleet is parked at New Earth because they don't trust the Denzee. The main ship factories are right there also. I wanted the processing moved there too, but I was overruled. The facility is in the Lahore system. That was their big titanium producer before it ran dry. You'll probably find a half-dozen destroyers parked there, and no Denzee ships. At least that's the way I left it."
Harris nodded. "Interesting. Alex? Can you work up a scan of the Lahore colony?"
"I just rechecked recent data and found no trace of such a facility. Is it new?"
"Not at the colony," Bax replied. "It's in orbit around a moon of the sixth planet. Big jump from the main colony there. Widen your scan or narrow it to that planet and it should show."
"Scan is complete. Pushing an image to the display. It would appear they now have eight destroyers and sixteen transports parked at the facility."
Bax nodded. "That would be it. And with that scan you can probably expect more ships there before you arrive. They have decent wormhole detectors."
Harris said, "Then all we have to do is perform random scans around their colonies. They can't afford to protect them all. Alex, please do that for us."
Tawn looked over the image on the display. "I'd say we have our first target. If this gives us two months without an Earther threat, it sounds well worth any risk. We could go i
n with a boson and clean that place out."
Alex said, "I've just done a scan of Eden. There are two fully laden transports that have just lifted off. This may be an opportune time for a strike, jumping in with the boson bomb just after their arrival."
Harris stood. "No time like the present."
Bax scowled. "That's it? That's your level of planning for a raid?"
"We've done this a few times now," Tawn replied. "It really is that easy. Especially if only eight Earther ships are parked there."
Harris gestured toward the door. "Come on. You can see how the pros do it."
Fifteen minutes later, the small fleet entered free space in the outer section of the Lahore system. A boson bomb was deployed and detonated. A run in saw the eight Earther warships quickly disabled. Crews on both the destroyers and the transports were given the opportunity to leave in shuttles before the ships were destroyed. At the processing facility itself, workers were allowed to board an empty ore freighter that was then sent in the direction of the Lahore colony.
Tawn said, "That's the last of them. We have forty-five minutes to shred this place."
Bax sat back in her chair. "What a powerful, powerful weapon. You can jump in and freeze the battlespace. Unless you already have the resources sitting there, you can't defend against an enemy."
"Which is why you are never to talk about this device," Tawn said. "It's too powerful to be in the hands of any government. And when this war is over, it will remain in the hands of this team and this team only."
"I actually agree with you. If this secret got out, it would be utter chaos. Every person with a pirate fancy would make use of it. Freeze a ship in place and rob them before help can arrive."
Harris looked over at Tawn. "That facility is bio free. Do your worst."
The Bangor and the automated ships began shredding the space-borne ore processing plant. When complete, all but one of the ore freighters were eviscerated. The full freighter was boarded and piloted back to free space and through a wormhole to Midelon.
Bax asked, "And what are we gonna do with a shipload of titanium ore?"
Harris replied, "Hold it for a possible future need. Could be we use it as a bargaining chip with the Earthers at some point."
"There was enough ore there to fill four or five of those freighters. Why didn't we do that and bring them through as well?"
"We didn't have the pilots or the time. That negation field would have been gone in about ten minutes."
Bax said, "The emperor won't be happy with this development."
"He should never have sided against other Humans."
"So what do we do next?"
"You tell us. Where are the Earthers most vulnerable after the processing?"
Bax looked off in the distance as she thought. "That would have to be shipping. You want to bring them to their knees, they're probably just entering a phase of food shortages due to the loss of Barrier. They're heavily reliant on two of their remaining colonies for food. The population on New Earth consumes more than it grows or raises. I tried to convince the emperor to change that, but he was insistent on spreading that responsibility to the other colonies. They'll be paying for that mistake now."
Tawn winced. "Not sure I want to go the food route. We're not looking to starve out the common citizens. We just want to stop Earther aggression."
"You make food scarce and the pressure will be on to oust the emperor. If he can't feed his people, the plots against him will come from every direction at once."
Later that day a comm was opened to the Retreat.
"Colonel," said Harris, "we just shut down their titanium processing. Bax thinks it will take them at least two months to bring it back online. Any word coming out of the DDI about the president and his problems?"
"There was a meeting with the Denzee and Earther diplomats this morning. And I just got word they have both returned for another. Probably just heard about the factory you destroyed."
Bax cut in: "I hope this doesn't backfire on us. The Earthers are now weak. The Denzee could easily switch sides again."
"How is that a backfire?" Harris asked.
"Because it means another realignment of the powers. If you haven't noticed, every time that happens, both sides come out weaker. I think the Denzee are having a field day with us. Every deal they make is an even better deal for the Denzee. Those little rats keep playing us off each other and soon there won't be any Humans left to fight for."
Tawn said, "This tells me it's time we figured out how to hit the Denzee at Jellon. That's where they're becoming more powerful every day. We take out their ship production and it puts Humans back in control."
The colonel nodded. "I have to believe she's right. It's time we focused our efforts on the Denzee. At least for the next few months."
Harris asked, "Has there been any progress on the Domicile shipbuilding efforts?"
"I managed a brief comm with Mr. Morgan this morning. He's doing all he can, but every effort seems to be met with one group or another trying to grab power or control. He said it's almost impossible to get a deal signed with anyone as the president's cronies all want a piece of any contract. Every time they sign a new deal with the Denzee, it basically brings any progress to a halt. After our short discussion, I almost fear for his sanity."
The colonel raised a finger. "Almost forgot. Not a sign of any dysprosium here. My source on Domicile thinks he can get three to four kilograms without raising any flags."
Tawn said, "Only enough for another two bombs, but we'll take it."
"Get it out to the Retreat, Colonel. We'll figure out how to get it from there."
"My source said there are several kilotons available for purchase, but it's a restricted material, so permits have to be pulled for a sale."
"So we need a third party to purchase it. Alex, can you give me a list of items that might make use of dysprosium?"
"It can be used in powerful magnets for electric motors and in halide lamps, among other uses."
"Motors... who's a big motor manufacturer on Domicile?"
"I show the Zesee Corporation and Smyth Electrical as the largest manufacturers. Zesee shows Hosh-Morgan as a client. Perhaps Bannis can obtain a larger quantity for us."
Harris said, "Colonel, we need you to get in touch with Mr. Morgan and make that happen. We need that material."
"Will see what I can do."
The comm ended. Harris stood and headed for the door.
Tawn asked, "Going for a run?"
"Today's the day to break fifteen."
Bax stood. "You run?"
"We have a 5K track set up. Keeps us in shape."
"Mind if I tag along?"
Harris chuckled. "You don't look like much of a runner. We're talking a serious pace here. Sure you can make it that far?"
"You see these long legs? They will crush those little stumps you're running on. You may have been bred for war, but my people were bred for running."
Harris jogged toward the track with Bax at his heels.
Tawn brought up the rear. "This should be fun."
Harris said, "I plan on breaking fifteen minutes today."
Bax nodded as she sprinted ahead. "OK. Just try to keep up."
Tawn huffed and slowed to her normal pace as the other two raced away. Baxter Rumford, although not muscular, moved with the grace of a gazelle. Her stride covered almost 50 percent more ground with each step than that of her Biomarine competitor. Her gait was a lope compared to his fast-moving run. The racers soon disappeared over a hill.
Tawn caught up to them a short time later. Harris was lying on his back in the grass, trying to catch his breath. Bax was walking to the supply hut for a beverage.
Tawn stopped by Harris. "What happened?"
"She beat me by fifteen seconds. And hardly looks winded. I think my heart's about to jump out of my chest. Managed fourteen fifty-eight."
Tawn chuckled. "So Red's a runner. Who would've thought? She's built for it, but I would
n't have picked her for one to exercise. And I don't care how natural you are, you can't run that kind of time without being in practice."
Harris slowly sat up, still breathing heavily. "She's a hard one to figure out."
Tawn held out a hand. "Well, let's go ahead and get you in there so she can get her gloating over with."
Harris was pulled to his feet. As the duo walked into the supply hut, Bax was seated at one of the tables with a drink.
She turned. "So… Jellon. What are we planning?"
Harris said, "You aren't gonna take a victory lap around the building just to show off?"
"Are we having some type of competition?"
Harris grabbed a beverage and sat. "How often do you run?"
"Twice a day. Helps relieve stress. Haven't missed a day in three years now. As I told you before, running is in my genes. Both of my parents were Olympians."
Tawn sat beside them. "At least you know who you came from."
Bax stared at the two Biomarines. "If I were fighting a war right now I'd trade this body for one of yours. This is not the frame of a warrior."
"We are fighting a war."
"A war as in hand-to-hand combat type war. If we're fighting from ships, then I'll keep what I've got. All I'm trying to say is that each of us have our pluses and minuses. Don't be ashamed of who you are."
Tawn chuckled. "I think you've totally misread us. We love who we are. I could break every bone in your body if I felt the need to. I like having that kind of power."
Harris said, "I wouldn't have minded a few more refined features in the looks department."
"You mean like your fashion-forward robot over there?" Bax laughed. "I know you said his appearance is a fusion of top movie stars, but I'm thinking the result would probably place him more as a butler in a side role than a lead actor."
Tawn chuckled. "Butler. I kind of like that better than Idiot."
"That coming from a woman whose sidekick looks like an overgrown washing machine," Bax said.
Harris stared briefly at the two women. "I just realized we all have the same smartass sense of humor and a thick skin. Might be why we haven't killed each other yet."
ARMS Domers Unite: (Book 6) Page 2