Harris asked, “What is it exactly you would want us to do… Dirk?”
The admiral sat back at his desk. “We want the two of you to set up a supply business out there. All legit, but backed by yours truly. From that supply network you’ll gather intel, and possibly be called upon to perform various missions.”
“Various missions?”
The admiral nodded. “You know what I mean. Missions. As in anything we ask. It will be dangerous. And you won’t have many friends back here. The media has already begun vilifying you on the daily news feeds over this whole Eden affair. You can expect that to continue. And the more of a villain you are, the more legit your creds will be out in the truce worlds.
“The two of you will be greedy loners who are seen as doing business with both sides. Shouldn’t be a difficult cover seeing as how that’s exactly what you’ve been doing here.”
Harris protested. “Now hold on… Dirk. We weren’t doing that purposefully.”
The admiral laughed. “Are you saying you’re an idiot? A fool? Easily duped?”
Harris sat back. “Well… no. I wouldn’t say that. Just unlucky, I guess.”
The admiral winked. “Unlucky. Precisely why we want you out there. The two of you manage to get yourselves in the thick of it without managing to get yourselves killed. That’s the kind of agents we need. Agents that will get results and return hard intel.”
The admiral pressed a button on his desk. “Send in Miss Freely.”
The door opened and Tawn strutted in.
The admiral grinned. “Agent Freely. We’re attempting to recruit Mr. Gruberg into our operation. Your first mission is to convince him it’s the right thing to do.”
Tawn sat with a smile and a snort. “This is great. DDI agents. Who’d have thought?”
Harris shook his head. “Not me.”
Tawn grabbed his forearm as she looked at his face. “You can’t tell me you’re thinking of not doing this.”
“Tell me why I should.”
Tawn raised a finger. “Unlimited account credits.”
A second finger was raised. “You can stay at any luxury hotel you want while here. And eat what you want.”
A third finger popped up. “A get out of jail free card.”
She raised a fourth finger. “You’d be doing a great service for your homeworld.”
A thumb was held up. “The admiral has promised to help us track down Baxter Rumford. And I was having the thought of seeing to it that her mining investments go south. But that’s just my own personal motivation.”
Harris scratched the back of his head. “And what about our first mates? Where does that leave them?”
The admiral tapped his fingers on his desk. “You can use them if you like. Or we can assign you first mates from our freelance pool. What do you say?”
Harris replied, “I’m thinking.”
Dirk Warmoth brought an image up on his desk display, flipping it around. “The Bangor. A fine ship. And one that has surprised us with its survivability. We’d like to bring her in for a few upgrades.
“Those railguns are about a third as powerful as the final models were before they were retired. You virtually have no electronic shielding against plasma weapons. And your sensor tech is far behind what we have available.”
“Any way to squeeze a plasma cannon on there?”
The admiral frowned. “I’m afraid not. Not one with any significant power anyway. You saw what you did to that Earther destroyer at Eden. The updated railguns will do worse. And we have a few stealthy techs we can apply that will let you sit at a distance and spy without detection. In fact, that ship design, with these upgrades, is being evaluated as a new agent vessel.”
Harris shrugged. “Sure. I’ll do it.”
Tawn grinned.
Harris said, “What else do I have to do now that my partner has become a DDI agent?”
Tawn stood, shoving her fist in the air. “Yes! Where do I get my badge?”
The admiral shook his head. “There won’t be any badge, Miss Freely. In fact, contact with any DDI personnel or any mention of DDI is a show stopper. You’ll have contracted handlers that will make contact with orders. Other contacts will return information or log requests. And they will only answer to me. You will have no direct connection to the DDI itself. And your visit here today will be nonexistent come tomorrow.”
Harris winced. “That makes me a bit uncomfortable, Dirk.”
The admiral sighed. “That’s the only way this works. You’ll be causing trouble out in the truce worlds. Our government can’t be connected to that. You’ll essentially be freelancers out there doing whatever it is you decide you want to do, with my slant on the intended results, of course.”
Tawn squeezed his forearm. “Come on, stump. We were made for this assignment. And we get a shot at taking down that red witch.”
Harris looked at the admiral. “Trish and Gandy Boleman… how do we do this and keep them safe? I’m assuming they can’t be in the know about this arrangement?”
“Keeping them safe and alive will be your responsibility if you chose to have them aboard.”
Harris took a deep breath. “And if we keep our crews, how exactly do we explain the new equipment we have aboard?”
The admiral once again shifted his cigar. “You have millions of credits in your accounts. Not too tough to figure out. Just tell them you went on a buying spree for the newest tech because the truce worlds are getting dangerous. And you see those worlds as a great business opportunity. Something to help grow and build your tiny empire.”
Harris looked at a smiling Tawn. “I guess we’re in, then. Where do we sign?”
The admiral shook his head. “Nothing necessary but your word. And I will add this before you go, this is not an on-and-off type deal. You walk out that door and you’re in it for the long haul. Once I get this ball rolling, there’s no easy out or turning back. We go so long as the truce worlds are an issue. I’ll need that one final yes before you go.”
Each returned a simple nod.
The admiral stood with his hand out for a shake. “Patriots, both of you. Our citizens may not know of your individual sacrifices, but they’ll know they were made by someone. You’ll be contacted by your first handler shortly.”
As they turned for the door, the admiral held up a finger. “One more thing. You jumped through a wormhole to the planet Midelon. You been there before?”
Harris shook his head. “I was just trying to get away. Thought I was jumping to the Rabid system. Something special about Midelon?”
The admiral stood with his hands on his hips. “Yes. We’ve never been able to jump there before. Every attempt we’ve made resulted in the wormhole not opening. And the probes and ships we’ve sent in at normal speeds, they came back after about a week. The logs and the crews showed a wormhole opening in front of them that sent them back. We’ve not once been able to get near that place until that chase with you.”
Harris replied, “That’s strange. Could it be where we jumped from or our speed or something?”
The admiral looked on suspiciously. “I’m told you headed for a moon instead of the planet itself. Why?”
Harris chuckled. “Was just trying to get away. Thought I might be able to slingshot around that moon or something. The pilot of that cruiser should get a medal. He stuck right with me through every turn.”
The admiral stood, looking for a nervous reaction of any kind. “Yeah, well, probably had a lock on you with the auto-nav enabled.”
Harris rolled his eyes. “Hadn’t occurred to me.”
The slug and the stump made their way out of the office.
The admiral followed them to the doorway. “Jonas, no calls this afternoon. I’ll be busy.”
The aide replied, “Yes, sir. Ma’am, sir, if you follow me I’ll lead you back to the elevator.”
***
Tawn and Harris stepped up into the cabin of the Bangor.
Gandy smiled. “They le
t you go!”
Tawn nodded. “All charges dropped. We’re in the clear. Free to do whatever we want.”
“This is exciting.” Gandy replied. “What do we do now?”
Harris said, “We’ve been talking. We think there’s an opportunity to build a supply business in the truce worlds. They’ve been getting a lot of settlers. And we’ll be out from under the thumb of the DDI.”
Gandy returned a confused look. “I thought you just said we’re in the clear?”
Tawn nodded. “We are. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t being watched. Out there we can just be people.”
Trish asked, “Aren’t the truce worlds dangerous? What about the Retreat?”
Harris grinned. “Bigger risk, bigger reward. We’ll still be servicing the Retreat. Think of this as an expansion. And the colonists out there will be willing to pay a premium. We’ve already decided that’s where we’re going. You two in or you out?”
“Are we getting a replacement for the Kingfisher?”
Tawn replied, “Not yet. But we will.”
Harris said, “I’m expecting a mechanic that specializes in high-end upgrades to be visiting in the next day or two. I’ve ordered parts for the Bangor that will take her up a notch or two. Again, I ask, you two in or out? Will be all four us on the Bangor until we get established.”
Gandy raised his hand. “Count me in.”
Trish sighed. “I’ve got more credits to my name than I’ve ever had, and now I’m heading to the truce colonies… sure, why not.”
Tawn patted her on the back. “Hey, if it works out and we start making a killing, the two of you are gonna do well. I’ll see to it even if he won’t.”
Harris laughed. “You trying to make me the bad guy? I tell you what. For every million credits I make, I’ll cut each of you in for 5 percent.”
Harris sat on one of the benches with a smile. “Can’t say I ever imagined doing business out in the truce worlds. I’m apprehensive and excited at the same time.”
Tawn added, “We plan on going after Baxter Rumford wherever we can. She’ll be wanting to do business on Eden. We’ll be there to see to it she fails. I think our lives are about to change… again.”
Harris said, “I do have one thing to ask of you two, though.”
Trish broke the silence after a long pause. “Well?”
“Are you hungry?”
Trish chuckled. “Why did I know that was coming.”
The foursome hopped out onto the deck with Farker following close behind. The truce worlds would come soon enough. This day… the Emporium Buffet was about to be raided.
~~~~~
What’s Next
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Stephen
(Turn the page)
(Preview)
ARMS
(Vol. 2)
Harris’ Revenge
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Trish and Gandy were given six weeks off, paid, as the Bangor was taken away for her upgrades. The two caught shuttles back to Domicile to visit family and flaunt some of their newfound credits.
Tawn and Harris spent several weeks of the downtime with their first DDI contact. The meetings were all about the organization of the supply business, analysis of the truce colony needs, and where they should establish supply routes. The colonies of Eden and an Earther colony on Jebwa would be the highest priorities. Their first order of business was to make contact with a list of suppliers on Domicile.
Harris belched as he emerged from an all-you-can eat diner in Juniper City. A manufacturer of nuts, bolts, washers and other fasteners was eager to do business with the partners.
Tawn asked, “Who’s next?”
“Metal fabrication machines. There’s a company here that makes a complete shop setup to turn out steel bars that can be formed to whatever shape is needed. They take raw materials through smelting all the way to finished product. If you have the ores, they can produce enough steel in a year to build out a standard fifty thousand settler colony.”
“I saw another ad for a colony company this morning,” Tawn replied. “They’re offering transportation, housing for a year, and a job if you move out to their settlements. No education or experience required.”
Harris nodded. “They’re following what New Earth is offering settlers. This is a race for having colonies that favor one side or the other.”
Tawn sighed. “And what are the chances these colonists will get along with each other and the whole plan backfires?”
Harris laughed. “No way. Will take a couple generations before loyalties are no longer strongly tied to where they came from. This will all come to a head long before that. And that first well on Eden will be complete and functional, probably in a few weeks. By the time we get the Bangor back, the New Earth colonists could be streaming in there.”
Tawn stopped in front of the next building. “Life sure has its twists and turns. A slug and a stump… first gun runners and now spies. I have to wonder what comes next.”
Harris shook his head as he chuckled. “Probably fugitives.”
***
The hull of the Bangor was chrome in color and texture. A multitude of small protruding additions had been added to her exterior.
Tawn remarked, “For a box, she doesn’t look half bad.”
Harris frowned. “Gonna draw attention looking like that.”
The mechanic handler stood behind them. “The skin is active. It can be changed to whatever color or simulated texture you desire. You can add numbers or company logos or whatever you like, all electronically. You enter a pattern, press a button and the ship is covered with it. You should have several exterior images already entered for you to select from.”
The mechanic began to walk the outside as he talked. “Those antennae gather electronic emissions, sending out canceling signals to anything they find when turned on. On planet, the best sensors out there will have to be within a half kilometer to detect you. Out in space that jumps up to fifty kilometers.”
He stopped at one of a number of small boxes dotting the hull. “These are your new plasma absorbers. They wrap the ship in an ion field and they’ll knock a full power plasma round down by about half. Given your hull thickness, you should be able to handle a dozen rounds without taking major damage. That’s not a foolproof system, by the way, just estimates.”
The hatch was opened. “The active surface can also be used as camouflage. You have a selection that will mimic your surroundings. Not perfect, but it will make you much harder to see.”
The mechanic stepped up into the cabin. “Your bunkroom has been updated to hold the four of you. As requested, mil-grade mattresses were installed. Most of the cabin, except for your benches, was left untouched. In the cockpit you’ll find most of the modifications.”
The mechanic pointed. “Displays have been upgraded to the latest hi-res units. Your ship’s computer as well, including a redundant unit buried back in the bunkroom. There’s also a virtual console back there where the entire ship can be controlled from if necessary. You also have copies of the latest nav-maps, and your sensor displays are now state-of-the-art.”
The mechanic stopped. “Who’s responsible for the auto-feeder on the railgun?”
Harris replied, “That would be my first mate, Trish.”
The mechanic smiled. “Nice work. We only changed a few of the
mountings. Both rails are now active. I saw a practice firing. You get within a couple kilometers of any ship and you can open her up. We don’t have armor thick enough on anything in the fleet to stop even one of those rounds. New Earth will be the same.”
Harris chuckled. “Yeah, who wants to be within a few kilometers of one of those warship monsters?”
The mechanic shook his head. “That’s in atmosphere. In space it’s more like the fifty to a hundred kilometer range. Depends on the reaction time of the ship or her pilot. Anything over that distance and we’re getting in the seconds range for reactions.”
“When can we take it out?”
The mechanic headed to the hatch. “It’s yours. Oh, and I have a bracelet for each of you. Press this button if you’re in comm range and the ship will come to you. When it arrives, press it again and the hatch will open. If your second attempt is a press and hold, the cabin will evacuate and the airlock will open instead.”
Tawn nodded. “That could come in handy. Could have used that our first time on Eden.”
The mechanic replied as he hopped out onto the tarmac where the ship sat. “It’s an untested feature, so you’ll want to get in a few practice runs to see how well it works… or doesn’t. I’d suggest your first move before taking off should be to set the outer skin color. Try out the samples and see what you like.”
The mechanic hopped out and began to walk away.
Harris called after him, “Where do we bring it for problems or repairs?”
The man yelled back as he continued to walk: “Don’t care! You’re on your own from here on out!”
The mechanic disappeared behind another ship on the tarmac.
Tawn moved to the cockpit. “I guess that’s it, then. We begin here and now. Hello, fellow spy.”
Harris shook his head as he moved to the hatch and hopped out to look at the exterior. “Are you a slug or a nerd? Pick us a color scheme and I’ll tell you what works.”
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