ARMS Domers Unite: (Book 6)

by Stephen Arseneault

  Harris chuckled. "Not happening, Captain. We have things to learn about the Hoya and these two are going to be filling us in. Once we have everything we need from them, perhaps then we'll turn them over."

  "Very well. That statement will be filed in my report with the rest of our conversation."

  Harris leaned toward the comm camera. "Captain, this isn't some police action where everyone is supposed be politely following the same laws. This is a belligerent alien species that won't hesitate to wipe out whoever or whatever is in its path. They aren't looking for diplomatic solutions."

  "Have you spoken with anyone from their diplomatic corps?"

  "Well... no."

  "Then your statement has no foundation. Now, I will ask again that you hand over the Hoya captives."

  Harris shook his head. "Not in this life, Captain. There's too much at stake. Remember what I told you about the wormhole tech. Under no circumstance can you allow them access to that technology. Make the necessary preparations to make sure it can't fall into their hands. It would mean the end of us all."

  "You worry about your people and technology, Mr. Gruberg. I'll worry about ours."

  The comm closed.

  Tawn took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Wow, he's gonna walk them right into it. And with Domicile's blessing."

  "Let's get these two back to Midelon. B27, shadow the Clarrette and keep us informed of her actions. If forced away, just return to Midelon."

  "Affirmative."

  The Bangor settled in the grass outside the bunker. Alex and Gandy were waiting to take possession of the captives.

  Harris said, "Have the AI join you in questioning them."

  Harris turned immediately for the supply hut.

  "Where you going?" Tawn asked.

  "To eat. In case you forgot, we lost our meals."

  "I lost my meal. You dumped yours."

  "Only because you sabotaged it with that nasty sour veggie thing."

  "I never said it was me."

  Harris returned a glare.

  "OK, I guess it would have to be me. Worked out though. Had I just dumped my meal you'd have been chowing down on yours and laughing. So I saved myself from that."

  Harris pulled an MRE from the stack. "Ribs, perfect. What you want?"

  Tawn sighed. "Same."

  — Chapter 21 —

  * * *

  Tawn was the first to finish her meal, sitting back in her chair. "That hit the spot."

  Harris downed the last of a rib. "I think I'm back to never tiring of that meal."

  "You look like you've managed to keep the weight off. What you weigh in at now?"

  "One-oh-five. And I'm happy with that. You?"

  Tawn frowned. "One-sixteen."

  "Way down from where you were."

  "True. But not what I was shooting for. I guess I'll have to do the crash eating diet like you did if I'm to lose the rest."

  "Wasn't bad."

  Tawn chuckled. "Says you now. You certainly complained about it enough on the way down."

  "Yeah, but that's all behind us now. You up for a run?"

  "Right now? Shouldn't we be checking on our new guests?"

  "I think we can spare fifteen minutes."

  "You gonna try to break that mark?"

  "Not on a full stomach. Maybe later today."

  "Good. Then I'm in."

  The jog came in at a leisurely seventeen minutes. The duo walked into the outermost room of the bunker, where the interrogation was taking place.

  "What'd you find out?" Harris asked.

  Alex shook his head. "Not much more than you already provided. These two are low level maintenance workers. They aren't informed on any big plans. And they've been isolated on that ship for the equivalent of six months now, only receiving orders from their commander, which is always 'keep things running.'"

  Tawn pulled Alex to the side. "I think they might be snowballing us."

  "Snowballing? You mean slow rolling us?"

  "Whatever. I say that because of the designations on their uniforms. A green and a blue. That's midpoint to one step higher if their ranking system is to be believed."

  Harris nodded. "I would have to agree. Do the Denzee archives mention that at all?"

  "One moment."

  Alex spoke into his comm, nodding repeatedly as the AI replied over his helmet.

  "It seems the blue rank is mid-level, akin to a lieutenant or captain as an officer. The Denzee files suggested the red, orange, and yellow ranks to be enlisted, with green being the equivalent of a chief or a master sergeant. Blue, indigo, violet, are officers, with black being a command officer such as an admiral or commodore. Those four blue dots would probably put him on the captain end of the ranking, which would mean that was his ship to command."

  Harris crossed his arms. "That's kind of what I thought. And they're both she's. At least in the Hoya way of seeing things."

  "Hmm. Interesting. Does the male show different features?"

  Harris shrugged. "Don't know if we saw one. I assumed they were all male until they told us differently."

  Harris walked over to the table where the Hoya were seated. "What distinguishes a male from a female in your species?"

  "Outwardly? The ridges over their eyes. Hideous. Notice how our foreheads are smooth?"

  "I hadn't really, but OK."

  Alex asked, "Can I assume you have different parts down below? Do you carry your young through a gestation period?"

  "Seven months’ equivalent. Is there reasoning behind this line of questioning?"

  Harris stepped up. "Not really. Other than getting a full picture of who we're dealing with. Tell us about your fight with the Denzee. Why were you chasing them?"

  "The Denzee were a foul species. They nearly drove us to extinction, first destroying our homeworld, and then several colonies. We escaped, rebuilt our lives, built our fleet, and returned. The war that just ended began over three hundred of your years ago. Our offensive has been active for thirty-seven years."

  "Sounds similar to us," said Tawn. "Only we were fighting ourselves."

  "I don't understand."

  "We've had two factions running for the last two thousand years. Our faction fought the other for most of that time. Neither gained advantage until the Denzee showed up. Both sides made deals with them before they killed off one of us."

  Harris put his hand on Tawn's shoulder. Let's stick to their history and not ours."

  Harris took a seat at the table, facing the Hoya females. "You have names?"

  The blue replied, "I am Gehannel. This is Freami. And you?"

  "Harris."

  "You have a beautiful forehead, Harris. Are you the female of this species?"

  Tawn laughed.

  Harris turned. "You certain you want to be laughing at that?"

  He turned back to face the captives. "Tell us more about your war with the Denzee."

  "It would appear we have a few similarities. Our species was divided when this all began as well. When the Denzee first arrived, they seemed eager to trade technologies. As it turned out, their intent was to have each of us fight with the other while they supplied the weapons. This continued for decades before the plot was uncovered and they attacked."

  "That would be the destruction of your homeworld?"

  "Yes."

  Tawn asked. "Did both factions live on this same world?"

  "Yes. Each had expanded outward to have two additional colonies. The Bredda, our opposition, was wiped out when their colonies were overrun. The Kara, our people, fled to the stars before our colonies were reached."

  "You must have settled somewhere in order to rebuild."

  "We were found by the Frizoid, a benevolent species that took us in and built the fleet we now have."

  "And what did you give them in return?"

  "Our allegiance. We are subjects of the Frizoid Communion. As you will be unless you resist us."

  Harris scowled. "Always seems to be someone
behind the curtain pulling the strings. These Frizoids, they armed you and sent you after the Denzee. I'm guessing any territories you conquered are now considered part of their empire?"

  "The Communion, yes. They have given us the means to destroy our enemy, who is their enemy. And for that we will continue to fight for their expansion."

  Tawn said, "What if we could offer you asylum? Worlds of your own to settle? No more wars?"

  "The Frizoid would come after us. They have the means. They have the armies and the fleets. Their star systems number near four thousand, their major colonies more than a hundred worlds. Their reach spans a hundred light years across, growing by more than a hundred systems every year."

  "They must have an immense fleet."

  "Their fleet consists of subject species. Only a handful of Frizi are located with each fleet. Commandant Rieg controls the 41st Fleet of the Hoya."

  "How many Hoya are there?"

  "Close to three million now."

  "And all located with this fleet?"

  "Yes."

  Harris said, "You seem awful free with all this information."

  "I have only told what I know. The Frizoid will rule this sector of the galaxy. Perhaps if you joined us as a sister species, you would all be spared."

  "And sent off to fight someone else's wars? No thanks. We fight for our own."

  Alex leaned in. "Let's suppose we wanted to talk peace with someone. Who would that be?"

  "Surrender is made to the high council. You will kneel before Rieg and pledge your allegiance to the Communion. Do this and your people will all be spared, fleets constructed, and missions given."

  Harris asked, "And what happens when you run out of worlds to conquer?"

  "We will be given a world of our own to settle, where our people will live in peace as Frizoid subjects."

  Harris pulled Tawn aside. "I think we need to go back to the Clarrette and fill the captain in on what he's heading for. There is no negotiation for a peaceful coexistence."

  "I agree." A comm was opened. "AI, what analysis can you give us between the data we captured and what the Hoya captives have said?"

  "There would appear to be no compromise or negotiation in their position. Surrender or be killed."

  "That's what we gathered. Anything in their data of interest? Maybe the makeup of that interference signal? How's that work?"

  "I do not have sufficient information to draw any conclusions. The sensors each appears to have received an overwhelming signal. The energy required to do such over those distances would be astronomical. We may be dealing with an as yet to be understood phenomenon."

  Harris chuckled. "As yet to be understood. Right. That really helps."

  Harris turned for the door. "Let's go, less-attractive forehead."

  Tawn reached up, rubbing just above her brows as she walked. "Wonder what she found attractive about yours?"

  "Probably the same thing all the ladies do. It's beautiful."

  Tawn rolled her eyes. "Now you're just trying to make me throw up."

  A jump to the Jellon system showed the Clarrette had already gone.

  "This isn't good."

  Harris opened a comm to the AI. "Has there been any sighting of the Hoya fleets? The one that left here or the other one?"

  "I am sorry, Harris. The sweeps I've conducted have not returned data. And B27 has returned after being driven off."

  Tawn asked, "If the sensors are being overwhelmed with signal, could you tell the difference between that and no signal?"

  "One moment... I am sorry, Tawn, that analysis will take some time."

  "Please do it. And make it a priority task. If we know when we're being blocked, we probably know where their fleet is."

  "Understood. An analysis is underway."

  Tawn rubbed her hands together as she stared at the nav display in front of her. "We should have left a probe sitting out here where we could have recorded their jump."

  "What systems are in proximity to this one? And how far?"

  "Let's see... Blewitz and Viochan are the closest. Blewitz is two months and Viochan four."

  "Blewitz it is, then."

  A jump placed the Bangor in the system of target.

  Harris shook his head. "Nothing."

  Tawn snickered. "Looks like you Blewitz."

  "Really? You consider that comedy?"

  "Aw, come on, that was made for us. Besides, who would name a colony that? Besides Earthers I mean."

  "Look it up. Probably in the nav data for that colony."

  Tawn searched through several screens of data. "Here it is. Huh… Anthony Blewitz."

  "Everybody's got a name. Yours is Freely."

  "And yours is Goober."

  A jump was made to Viochan.

  "Goober? Really? I thought that one had been put to rest when Bax finally grew up."

  "Consider it unrested."

  "Wait. I have the Clarrette. And that's a Hoya ship. This is bad."

  "At least it's only one ship."

  "Yeah, but if they've taken over the Clarrette, we're in big trouble."

  Harris pushed the throttle forward.

  Tawn asked, "What are you doing?"

  "I'm taking us in. If they fire on us, we know what the situation is."

  Tawn reached over, pulling the throttle back.

  "What are you doing?"

  "I'm saving our asses by using the comm instead. Hail the captain of the Clarrette. Let's see if he's in trouble before we go barging in."

  "I guess that will work too."

  Tawn opened the comm. "Clarrette, this is the Bangor. Please respond."

  The comm was silent for several seconds.

  "Clarrette… this is the Bangor. Please respond."

  Harris shook his head. "Nothing. We're going in."

  Harris pushed the throttle forward.

  "And just what are we planning to do?"

  "We'll figure it out when we get there."

  "Bangor, this is the Clarrette. Please hold your position."

  Tawn pulled the throttle back.

  Harris gave a perturbed look. "Stop doing that."

  "That was obviously a calm reply. No emergency. Let's wait until we get a better idea of exactly what's transpiring here before we barge in with our guns blazing."

  "Fine. But when this goes bad, I'll be telling you I told you so."

  "I look forward to it."

  Several minutes passed with no sign of activity before the two warships moved closer together.

  Harris sat up. "What are they doing? Those are docking tubes. This is bad. Very bad."

  Tawn chuckled. "Relax, it's called diplomacy. They're talking."

  "They can talk over the comm. That captain has no business connecting with an alien warship. Too much is at stake."

  Harris reached over, attempting to establish a comm. The hail went unanswered.

  Tawn shook her head. "They aren't gonna reply when they're in the middle of a negotiation."

  "Didn't you hear the other Hoya? The only negotiation is surrender or die. I don't see a surrender coming from this."

  Harris opened a comm wormhole to Midelon. "Send through all Banshee fighters to this location."

  "What are you doing?"

  "Taking action. We can't let that jump tech fall into their hands."

  "This will be seen as a hostile act."

  "They're in a warship in our space. It's already a hostile act."

  Several minutes more passed before more activity was seen.

  Tawn said, "I have bay doors opening on the side of the Clarrette."

  "I'm not showing any ship movement, or even any drive generators running."

  Harris tapped away at keys on his console.

  "What are you doing now?"

  "Running a bioscan. I want to know where our people are on that ship."

  The scan completed and data filled the display. "I knew it!"

  Tawn looked over the data with a scowl. "The whole crew is gath
ered in the docking bay. The bios on the bridge are all Hoya."

  A dozen wormholes opened behind the Bangor with a small fleet of Banshees coming through.

  Harris pointed at the display. Tell me they're not... crap! All Banshees attack the Clarrette. We can't allow that ship to be taken by the Hoya!"

  "Wow. What is it with these species and spacing people?"

  "That moron captain just got all hundred twenty-eight of his crew killed."

  "He was just following orders."

  The Hoya ship turned to flee with its captured cargo. Initial movement was slow, allowing the Banshees to reach firing range. A storm of highvelocity tungsten rounds closed on the Clarrette as the Hoya ship returned fire. The aft plating was shredded, exposing the rear decks to the barrage that followed. Bit by bit, the Clarrette was eviscerated.

  Six Banshees saw their end before they turned their wrath on the Hoya. As the warship accelerated, tungsten rounds from several dozen Banshees impacted the rear nacelles, causing severe damage and slowing the acceleration.

  A second barrage knocked the Hoya drives offline. The warship ceased to accelerate, focusing efforts on its defense. One by one the rail cannons of the Hoya ship were destroyed or made inoperative. Harris ordered a halt to any further assault, calling in the Hailstorm with two dozen armed bots.

  During the deck to deck fight, three bots were lost. The Hoya commander was taken out as she attempted to arm the self-destruct. The Bangor landed in a docking bay.

  Harris hopped out and two bots stepped up beside him for an escort. "You can stand down. Bioscan shows all decks are clear. Take me to the bridge."

  The Bangor lifted, moving back out into space.

  Tawn said, "We're clear. Nav is showing nothing."

  "Order the Hailstorm around for a push. Take the Bangor out front and open us a wormhole to Midelon space. We're taking this ship out of here."

  — Chapter 22 —

  * * *

  A shuttle delivered the colonel to the captured Hoya warship. "Nice work, Gruberg. And you said only three bots were lost?"

  "Plus the six Banshees. I was surprised we were able to do the damage we were."

  A comm came in from the AI. "I've cross-referenced this vessel with the other known Hoya warships. It is not a frontline fighter. It appears to be an older model with less armor, which may be why we were as successful as we were. The mainline and frontline warships are shown to have armor of almost twice the thickness, with better protection for their drives and rail cannons."