The girl took a deep breath. “Favia… of the Higatheps of Jore.”
Mace said, “Favia, a pretty name.”
She replied, “A strong name. Pretty is for toddlers who don’t know any better.”
Mace nodded. “My apologies.”
Mace looked at Jeff. “Can we breathe the air in here?”
Jeff replied, “A nitrogen oxygen mix. Yes. At 20 percent oxygen it’s close to ours. But—”
Before Jeff could complete his sentence Mace had the snaps on his helmet undone and was pulling it off.
Mace squished up his face. “Ugh. A bit too heavy in chlorine. Starting to burn my eyes a little.”
Jeff nodded. “Was just going to say, a little high in chlorine for us.”
Gnaga said, “Yes, I was just looking over their atmospheric requirements. The chlorine level matches their home world but is not necessary. I can adjust it down, if you like. Will take several minutes to refresh this room, but it will be tolerable by each of us then.”
Mace nodded as he pulled his helmet back on. “Do it. Please.”
As the levels equalized, Mace again removed his helmet. “Better. Smells like the swimming pool at the Y. At least what the Y used to smell like.”
Favia asked, “Who are you?”
Mace smiled. “We’re Humans. We came to this planet to mine the diamonds. We come from a planet forty light-years from here. We need the diamonds to help build the defenses of our planet. There are hostiles out there who want to kill or enslave us.”
Favia squinted. “Was it the Kolikans? My father didn’t trust them.”
Gnaga said, “Give me a minute and I can look them up for you.”
Mace shook his head. “Not necessary. Favia, what can you tell us about that emergency pod? Was that supposed to take you home?”
She nodded. “My uncle was working to repair the wormhole device when they put me in the pod. That is the last I remember. He assured me everything would be OK, that they could fix hydroponics and the generator.”
Mace half smiled. “Probably just trying to spare you from the anxiety. Every indication we have is that they knew they were doomed. You said Xavien was your uncle. What other family was aboard?”
Favia replied, “My mother, father, and older sister. My uncle and his son, Clavia.”
“Were there twelve of you total, counting the four Rifrads?”
Favia nodded. “The two other crewmen were Delia and Gorngh, of the house of Ladee, also of Jore.”
Jasper said, “That accounts for all the bodies we found.”
Favia looked up with pouty eyes. “May I see them?”
Mace slowly shook his head. “Better that you don’t. They were all mummified like your uncle. You should keep the images of them being alive in your head instead.”
Jeff asked, “What can you tell us about the wormhole device?”
Favia shrugged. “I don’t know anything about it. That was my uncle. He knew. And my father knew some of it.”
Jeff replied, “Where on the ship was it located? Can you tell us that?”
Favia pointed down. “It was in the cargo bay.”
Jeff frowned. “So much for repairing it. I think we should just jump her over to the rift and send her through. We can put her back in stasis for her final leg.”
Gnaga said, “I’m afraid that is not possible. The solution in that chamber was for a one-time use. If we take her home, we will have to take her all the way home.”
Mace said, “I vote we give it a try. We’ll jump over to the rift, scan the other side for any problems, and then go through. From there we can jump to her home planet and signal someone to come get her.”
Jasper said, “Not happening.”
Mace replied, “Why?”
Jasper shook his head. “Well, A, it’s a bad idea. And B, it’s a bad idea. They might be fourteen thousand years ahead of us in tech. And they might be hostile. And C, they might be hostile.”
Mace chuckled. “I suppose your answer for D is the same… hostile?”
Jasper nodded. “It is.”
Mace rubbed his temples. “We have to meet up with Mr. Kontin to deliver that diamond tomorrow. Looks like we’ll have to take her with us.”
Mace looked down at the Hoorka, huddled up in a ball on the floor. “Look, we can’t leave you here. This ship isn’t safe and you have no food. You’ll have to go with us until we can figure out how to get you home.”
Jasper said, “You know her people aren’t there anymore. I mean her family. And for all we know, her people too. Fourteen thousand years… could have been wiped out between then and now.”
Mace scowled. “You aren’t really helping, you know.”
Jasper looked at the shaking girl. “Hmm. Sorry. Being sensitive isn’t one of my strong suits. I’ll shut up now.”
A comm was placed up to the Revelation. A new battlesuit was ordered for Mace and a maintenance suit for Favia. Two hours later, the suits were delivered, put on, and the five returned to the Targarian Muhatha.
As they walked the halls outside of the docking bay, Favia commented. “The ceilings, why are they so low?”
Jasper replied, “This ship belonged to all the little flounder-heads you see running around. I took it. I’m their king now.”
Mace said, “They were plotting against our world. Mr. Collins got aboard this ship and managed to take over their whole kingdom. He’s now their king, and they apparently love him.”
Jasper grinned. “They do. I treat them well and they do whatever I say.”
A wormhole jump was made back to WarStation 56. Leonis Kontin arrived in a small transport vessel, one just large enough to carry the load of raw diamond. He departed after the exchange, heading home to get the Knuttin Corporation back on firm footing. Mace Hardy and Jasper Collins were now 24 percent owners of a company they could not see or control. It was an investment of principle, and one they hoped would pay future dividends.
With the exchange complete, a wormhole jump was made to the location of the rift that Favia’s people had come through. The rift was gone, vanished like so many of the temporary rifts before it.
Mace stroked his beard. “They tell us those form and last anywhere from a few years to many centuries. Jasper, this ship can make that jump, right? Eight thousand light-years?”
Jasper nodded. “It can, but we can’t. Our gatrellium store is down to about a third. And a jump that far into a system we don’t know anything about… I’m not willing to risk my people for that. I’d like to send her home too, just not by risking my own life. You want to send her back, you’ll have to figure something else out.”
Mace, Jeff, and Gnaga, along with the new addition, Favia, were dropped back at Earth. Jasper left to attend to business on his worlds. A new meeting with Leonis Kontin wasn’t scheduled to happen for another three months. In the meantime, Humans pushed to continue their fight for self-reliance.
Co-op farms were popping up everywhere. Trade between communities was growing. And in what was considered a major accomplishment, a new semiconductor factory was brought online. With the help of Targarian scientists, this time the product would no longer be vulnerable to the massive EMP blast that had shut down most of the world’s transportation. Shortly after, the first resurrected automobiles were back on the roads.
Mace met Johnny on the porch of the gift shop. “Glad to have that foundation finally in.”
Johnny replied, “You really think this is gonna work? A school for advanced science? Can’t people get that knowledge from the Mawga virtual environments in the community centers?”
Mace nodded. “Some of it, yes. Jeff thinks they need the addition of the practical side of it, actually doing it in the real world. If this lab works, he’ll build a scaled-up version near D.C. After that, it would go worldwide.”
Johnny said, “I guess if you want to rebuild, you need engineers and scientists. You think we’ll ever get back to what we had?”
Mace frowned. “Pro
bably not in our lifetimes. Too much has changed. And think about it—construction-wise, we couldn’t even build a ship right now. When we get our industries to the point of being able to do that, to both design and build a spaceship, we’ll be well on our way to that utopia we all want. By the way, I saw Zax and Fina yesterday. They’re both getting big. That is some insane growth.”
Johnny nodded. “And then some. Jeff compared it to some of the animals we have here on Earth. Take a dog or a bear. They reach maturity after a couple years. Not that those kids are growing that fast, but it is accelerated. Jeff is wondering if that won’t also lead to an accelerated lifespan. You know, instead of living eighty years, they would only make it forty.”
Mace winced. “Let’s hope that’s not the case.”
Johnny laughed to himself.
“What?”
“You. You’ve changed. You’re bigger somehow. And I don’t mean size-wise. I mean bigger in life. You… and Jasper too. You’ve both really stepped up. I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m proud to know you.”
Mace half smiled. “Well, if you’re looking for any consolation, you and Jane built this. Without your help, I’d probably have gotten us all killed a hundred times by now.”
Johnny laughed. “Probably. But this is our reality. Stark is gone, Jasper’s running the Targarians, and the rest of the Galactic Union has been put back in their box. I’d say you have things running nicely now.”
Mace frowned. “We still have one big worry. The Karthians. They’ll be back. And we aren’t prepared to take them on.”
“That’s initially a Galactic Union issue. We have time before they would ever reach Earth.”
Three months passed quickly. A trip to WarStation 56 saw a cargo hauler delivered with another twelve thousand domain reflectors. The buildout of Earth’s defenses would soon be complete. The excess reflectors were immediately turned over to Jasper for use at Divinia. The Human position again grew stronger.
With Jeff’s lab finished, his first efforts were to assemble a team of renowned scientists and engineers. The world was scoured for those who had survived. A shuttle was dispatched, and the remaining brilliant minds of Earth were assembled. The first order of business was the study of gatrellium and its use with wormholes. Frequent visits were made by Jasper’s Targarians, contributing all the knowledge they had on the subjects under study.
With time on his hands, Johnny managed the construction of a warehouse across the street from the cave. It was turned into a small armory and weapons range. Assault rifles, plasma rifles, and the newest addition, concussion guns, were tested and refined. The newest weapon was quickly becoming Johnny’s favorite.
Mace walked into the warehouse, where he was greeted by Derwood.
Johnny tossed him a weapon and gestured with his hand. “Come with me.”
“This the concussion pistol you’ve been working on?”
Johnny nodded. “It is. It’s a little bulky still, but we’re working on it. Go ahead: over there, nail that target with it.”
Mace took careful aim. The trigger was gently squeezed and the pistol bucked. The concussion round it expelled struck a set of water barrels ten meters to the left.
Mace looked up. “Wait. Did that just curve?”
Johnny grinned. “Yep. See that dial on the left side… it controls the rate of curve. It has limits, but you could stand back at twenty meters and curve a shot around a corner. Of course you have to have the room to do that, as the arc is constant. Bet you could have used that when clearing houses in the Mideast.”
Mace frowned. “Not with that kind of arc. I mean sure, on occasion, but our bigger issue was coming into a room or turning down a narrow hall. Still, I could see where it would have its advantages.”
Johnny gestured toward the target. “Spin that dial straight up. And then spin the one on the other side all the way counter-clockwise. Give it another shot.”
Mace did as instructed, took aim and pulled the trigger. The pistol returned a lesser click, followed by what looked like a small bubble emerging from the gun’s tip. The bubble took eight seconds to travel to the target ten meters away.
Mace lowered the gun. “Now that is insane.”
Again Johnny grinned. “You could fire this weapon down a hall and then run past that bubble as it moves along.”
Mace replied, “That’s just crazy.”
Johnny nodded. “It’s got limitations too, though. That ten-meter stretch is reaching the limit of how long that round holds together. It stays intact for about ten seconds and then dissipates over a two second period. As it comes apart, it’s no longer lethal, but it will knock you on your ass.”
Mace asked, “With the dial turned the other way, what’s the velocity?”
Johnny frowned. “About a quarter the speed of one of those AR-15 bullets. Which is about half the speed of a plasma round.”
“How does it work, exactly?”
Johnny shrugged. “Something to do with a gravity wave that’s folded in on itself about a million times. Takes about twelve seconds to unravel in the air. Unravels immediately if it comes in contact with anything. Then it’s a single point of pressure that rapidly expands outward.”
Mace looked over the pistol. “What’s it do in space?”
Johnny chuckled. “Haven’t a clue. And if you’re gonna ask me how it’s made, I can’t tell you. I pulled the guts for that out of one of those tubes Jasper gave us. I’m actually surprised I was able to squeeze it into that pistol size.”
Mace moved his hand up, down, back and forth. “Not bad balance. And even though bulky, it’s light. Could hold this up just as long as I could any .40 cal.”
“If I can slenderize it a bit, it would make a good sidearm for us to carry.”
Mace asked, “How’s it do against a battlesuit?”
Johnny pointed toward the other end of his range. “Doesn’t penetrate, but it leaves one heckuva dent. Definitely lethal. Oh, and you can adjust the magnitude with this dial.”
Mace laughed. “Magnitude?”
Johnny tilted his head. “Power? Yeah, power sounds better. You can dial it down to where if feels more like a punch if you want it non-lethal.”
Mace took aim at the target in front of him and squeezed off another slow round. “That is just bizarre. How many rounds does it shoot?”
Johnny took the weapon back, popped open the grip and pulled out a small nano-reactor and reservoir. “This little puppy makes it all happen. The best I can tell, you can get thousands of full power shots from it. Jordan and Fatso have been working with me on how to refill it. At the moment, it’s a closed system.”
“How rapidly can it be fired?”
Johnny gestured toward the target. “Try it out.”
Mace aimed and squeezed the trigger rapidly. Eight gravity bubbles emerged in close succession, slowly traveling across the space between the Army Ranger and the target. In rapid succession, each bubble made contact and expanded.
Mace looked down at the pistol and smiled. “I’m sure I could make use of that if needed. If you can bring down the width like you’re talking about, I’d carry one of those in a heartbeat.”
Johnny grinned. “Coming from the boss, I’ll take that as the highest of praise.”
Fatso Geerok walked over. “Mr. Hardy? What do you think?”
“I like it.”
Fatso nodded. “I know you Humans like your firearms, but I think that weapon is going to replace them.”
Mace handed the pistol back to Johnny. “Maybe. Our weapons still have a few advantages, but I could see this as a possible replacement. Increase the velocity to match my AR and I’ll happily trade it in.”
Mace looked around. “Any of you had lunch yet?”
“I’m famished,” Fatso replied.
Mace pointed. “I’m heading over to Ronceverte. Anyone interested?”
Fatso asked, “Human food?”
Mace nodded. “Jenny put together a barbecue. Has a cou
ple chickens cooking, if anyone’s interested.”
Fatso raised a hand. “I’ll go. Your barbecue is delicious. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to eat a nutrition bar again.”
Mace replied, “If we have to go back out, the nutrient bars will be all we have.”
Fatso grinned. “Then I shall willingly stay behind.”
Chapter 11
*
Jenny stood over a grill. “Sorry for the electric, but propane or charcoal are almost impossible to find. And given that we don’t have jobs, we don’t really have any goods to trade. The chicken will taste the same, though. You have my guarantee. And for Favia we have an assortment of veggies.”
Jasper came over the comm. “A barbecue without me?”
Johnny laughed. “No invite for the king?”
Jenny replied, “We just put it on. You’re free to join in.”
Johnny held his arm pad camera up so Jasper could see the grill.
Jasper licked his lips. “Be right there.”
A Targarian officer walked up to Jasper, whispering to him.
Jasper scowled before looking at the camera. “I’m afraid duty calls. Word is a Karthian scout ship was spotted near Harkoza. It’s not my territory, but I want to know if they’re coming back.”
Mace let out a sigh. “Jump here first. I’ll join you.”
Jenny frowned. “You giving up on my chicken?”
Mace shook his head. “Save me some for later. If the Karthians are coming, we’ll want to get on top of any planning. The rest of you enjoy the day, though. They aren’t attacking yet.”
The Revelation settled in the sky above Ronceverte. A shuttle was soon on the ground to collect Mace. Minutes later, a jump through another wormhole had the Targarian warship in the Harkoza system.
A hail came over the comm to the Revelation. “This is Sarkesian space. State your reason for this intrusion.”
“This is King Collins. We got word a Karthian scout-ship was spotted.”
The Dellus officer on the comm replied, “You have been misinformed.”
Jasper leaned forward. “Listen, you little toad, put your commander on or I’ll personally come over there and slap you into tomorrow.”
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