The colonel growled. "Won't be long before they'll be filling that fleet with crews and fighters. Has Miss Withrow made any progress on breaking into their systems?"
Tawn shook her head. "As of this morning, no. She says her problem is the rate at which she can make access attempts without being detected. She feels if that number is increased the Frizoid will start locking systems down tight. If she can gain access with the current level of security they're running, she believes we could gain access to the entire Frizoid fleet. Alex has moved to the bunker to help her."
As had been predicted, two weeks later, eight hundred troop transport ships arrived. Over the three weeks that followed, the Humans who had been in training were transferred to the fleet. Daily assault drills began. The warcraft would drop into a designated area and lay down a blanket of fire on the ground that would assuredly leave no one alive. The transports would follow soon after, emptying their Human cargoes onto the now barren landscape.
Alex interrupted a meeting of Tawn, Harris, the colonel, and his staff. "We've done it. Or... Sharvie has done it. We've breached the comms of the Frizoid. She thinks we may only be days away from full access."
All eyes turned toward a holo-wall display. An image of Sharvie showed as she typed away at a keyboard. "I have six comm channels coming from the command ship hovering above the capital. Two are maintenance with other ships. Two are to the ground to training camps. One appears to be going to the president's residence. The other is from... this ship's captain to another. Which one would you like to watch?"
The colonel said, "Go with the President's estate."
A split image of a Frizoid officer and a Frizoid diplomat appeared.
The officer spoke: "Sir, I believe we remain vulnerable. Troops should be stationed on every colony in this sector, at least until we have full control and defenses in place."
"Captain Groza, we have full control. There have only been a handful of individuals who resisted. All have been dealt with. The Humans have been strangely cooperative from the beginning. Although... I suppose they don't have much of a choice."
"Our defenses, sir, they are non-existent."
"We have a very capable fleet at the ready, Captain. Do you not have faith it is adequate to hold these Humans in check?"
"I don't fear the Humans, sir. It's the Burrell. For nearly two thousand years both sides agreed to stay out of this sector. Now we are both here."
"Perhaps the Burrell did us a favor. The Human fleet did defeat them. Had they been allowed to grow stronger, the Humans may have threatened our own colonies. As it is, we took this sector without a fight. The Humans are showing to be resourceful and should prove to be good fighters. I'm very optimistic about our future."
"Ground fighters are plentiful, sir. We have no shortage of those. We need new ships and new weapons if we are to make progress with the Burrell. How is it the Humans defeated the Burrell fleet?"
The diplomat leaned in closer to the camera and lowered his voice. "Are you alone?"
"I am."
"The Humans used some type of gamma death-ray. All records of such have been removed. All recordings deleted or erased. We are working to identify by what mechanism it operated. As of this morning we had nothing more than a missile housing identified."
The captain scowled. "Their manufacturing, engineering, and scientific research is sub-par. They must have acquired it from elsewhere. Perhaps the Denzee?"
"The Denzee had no such weapon. And as to the Humans, they remain under the influence of the bogler chemistry. We removed a similarly contaminated animal from our colonies when it was discovered the meat contained a chemical that retarded one's intellectual growth. That meat has been a staple of the Humans for two thousand years. It's surprising they made any scientific progress at all."
Harris pulled back, crossing his arms. "Bogler? Alex? Can you look into that for us? If this is true, we have to stop all use of bogler as a food source."
The colonel nodded as he looked back at the display. "Certainly a curious turn of events."
Alex said, "This explains everything. Many of my colleagues, when we first arrived at Domicile and were introduced to the bogler, seemed stunted in their ability to perform tasks at the levels they had before. There was a lot of forgetting going on. At the time we initially thought it was from the stress of the situation. Everyone was counting on us, the science team, to solve our survival problems. The consumption of bogler meat, we believed, was one of our biggest triumphs."
Alex stood. "Please excuse me. I have work to do."
Attention turned back to the Frizoid conversation.
The captain sighed. "What happens to these Humans once they are in our ships and no longer on the tainted meat?"
"If I recall, our experience showed it took several years for the chemical to fully leave the bodies of the affected. It was never proven, but it was believed the animals originated from Burrell space. The find here almost certainly confirms it."
The conversation continued for another five minutes before the diplomat excused himself and closed the comm. The channel was switched to the conversation between captains, one commanding a ship high above the atmosphere while another hovered just above one of the training camps.
"Have you been to the surface, Micha?"
"I have, but only briefly. The temperatures are moderate and the air tolerable, although it did lack the sweet mustiness of Corella. Perhaps if we built our own colonies here, that would change."
The far captain shook his head. "Surface dwellers. It's a wonder they made it as far as they did as a species."
"Much of what they possess is of older Burrell technology. They claim to have come here from a far star system through a wormhole. How that's possible, I don't know. The wormhole generators they make use of are primitive and tied to two worlds with osmium-iridium cores."
"They have two such planets?"
"Yes. We have not been able to access them. And it seems references to those planets have been purposefully stricken from their records. The Humans questioned have relayed only the stories they've heard. We have a team working on access to those two locations."
"Access?"
"Yes. It seems every time we attempt an approach, we are swept back away from either system."
"That is a technology that would be useful as a defense."
"Yes, but only if you have an osmium-iridium cored planet to power the wormhole generation. Our ships do not have the kind of power required. As a defense, it is only good for that type of planet."
The far captain leaned forward. "Will you be going in this first expedition to the Maufree system?"
"I'm afraid not. My duties are here as a trainer. This planet is believed to have upwards of four hundred million viable soldiers. I'll be here for quite some time. You?"
"I have the honor of directing the initial ship assault. I'll be commanding twenty-two Human destroyers as they crush any defenses before a ground assault."
"Isn't Maufree a minor colony?"
"More of an outpost."
"And we need two million Humans on the ground?"
I'm told it's a military outpost. Just over forty thousand soldiers. If the Humans perform as you claim they should, most will never leave their ships."
"I see. And I suppose we are providing cover for this invasion?"
The far captain shook his head. "Only command. This is to be viewed as a Human invasion. The Burrell will have to send a fleet to counter, weakening their defenses at Zorn."
Micha rubbed his arms on the side of his head, at one point stroking an antenna. "Zorn. The prize of the Hjama sector. A loss there will substantially weaken the Burrell in Hjama."
The far captain, whose tag referred to the name Kloti, returned a grin. "I was on the surface of Zorn twenty cycles ago. It will be good to have it back in the Communion."
"Indeed."
The conversation continued for another ten minutes, mostly personal banter about minor issues at home. The comm
closed with a set of antennae wiggles from each."
Harris said, "We now know the plan. Wish they had spilled the beans on when. Not that there's much we could do."
The colonel stood and began to pace. "What if we hit this Maufree outpost first, clear it out—leave it abandoned just before the fleet arrives?"
Tawn chuckled. "You aren't suggesting we mount an assault, are you? We have a few thousand Banshees. And one transport."
"We could take an outpost with forty thousand Burrell. Just took down two and a half times that on Helm."
"But why would we? Won't that just bring the Burrell sooner? How does that benefit Humans in any way?"
"I don't have an answer for that yet. But I'll work on it."
Harris stood. "We have a thousand gamma missiles sitting at the ready. What if we attack the Frizoid fleet? Might buy us some more time."
Tawn scowled. "Or get people on Domicile killed for retribution. No. When we take action it needs to be decisive. We otherwise lose our ability to surprise them."
"We aren't attacking anyone here." The colonel took his chair. "What we need to do is conduct a raid in Frizoid space. We hit one of their colonies and we freeze them in place. They would have to scuttle their efforts at Maufree and Zorn."
"Our nav map for the Frizoid space is a partial from a two-thousand-year-old Burrell database. Withrow? Any chance of entering their nav systems?"
"I've been trying, sir. No luck so far."
"Try to make it a priority. We need that data."
Harris said, "We have Humans on two of their ships. Any chance we could get word to one of them to comm the data to us?"
"Withrow? Have any of the comm channels had Humans on them?"
"Not to my knowledge. We did just get in, so it could have happened before."
Harris rubbed the back of his neck in thought.
Tawn shook her head. "Uh-oh. Looks like trouble's brewing in the old noggin. I know that look. What are you thinking?"
"We have the interference field backpacks. If I strapped one onto my battlesuit, and you got me close to those ships, and gave me a method of propulsion, I bet I could get aboard one of them."
"And then what?" Tawn chuckled. "You gonna take it over?"
"Maybe. Or maybe I just tap into a console and download the nav maps."
The colonel rubbed his chin. "Hmm."
Tawn turned. "You too?"
"The fleet for the Humans consists of a hundred and eight warships and eight hundred transports. I don't think it to be feasible that we take them all. But we could take most or all of the warships."
"How would we do that?"
"A hundred teams of four. Those ships have yet to staff up. We get aboard and the resistance should be light."
Tawn shook her head. "I bet not. Two of those ships have Humans on them. They aren't gonna be there without a large contingent of guards. And besides, you have a huge logistics problem of even getting in close because you'd have to use the transport for that many men. The Frizoid would spot that tub from probably a million kilometers. With the Bangor, we can safely get to within ten kilometers. Huge difference."
"Then we use the Bangor as a shuttle and park the transport at the million kilometer mark."
"That's ludicrous. We're probably talking fifty trips to get everyone in close. And they still have to traverse the last ten kilometers. That's too many chances of being caught. And capture means interrogation. Not that any of us would willingly give up information, but I'm sure they have chemicals to take care of that. There are probably a thousand things that could go wrong. Harris' idea of grabbing a nav map will be risky enough."
— Chapter 6 —
* * *
The discussion went around the table several times before the idea of a full assault force and theft of the future Human fleet was scrapped. The single raider going in was changed to a team of two. Tawn would be the lookout as Harris attempted the theft. Sharvie would be on the Bangor, guiding the Biomarines as they connected to a console on the Frizoid warship.
Half a day later, Tawn was inspecting her helmet before putting it on. "We must be crazy for doing this. I know having that map could be extremely useful, but I'm not certain it's needed right now."
Sharvie said, "You get into the systems there and it might give us a way into their entire network. I haven't been able to get past their comms."
Harris nodded. "We have the code you gave us to upload. Anything more you want to add to it?"
"Not even certain what I gave you will work. I had to base a number of assumptions on the structure and safeguards of their comm network."
Trish was seated in the pilot's chair. "Thirty second warning. You'll want to move into the airlock now."
Helmets were donned and latched, weapons and supplies given a final check. The Biomarine team of two moved into the airlock. The door slipped shut and the air inside was evacuated. Several seconds later, the outer door opened.
Harris pushed himself out into open space before flipping on his interference pack. Tawn followed. A small thruster jetted each toward the nearest Frizoid craft. It would be a twenty-five minute ride going in.
"You ready to kick some ass if needed, Freely?"
"You just focus on finding a console. I'll watch our backs."
The draw of magnetic boots could be felt as they clamped onto the outer hull of the Frizoid ship. There was no indication of their discovery. A short walk placed the pair at the edge of a docking bay.
As Tawn and Harris stared through the transparent gravity wall that separated the bay from the void of space outside, they took note of the three Frizoid inside. Two bugs were picking over the contents of several cargo boxes. A third sat on a bench by a door leading into the ship.
Harris said, "Now comes the fun part. How do we get inside?"
"We need a distraction."
"I have a pair of timer grenades in my pack. We could place one somewhere on the hull. An explosion might draw them away."
Tawn chuckled. "An explosion might bring the attention of the rest of the fleet."
"OK. Maybe we can damage some piece of external equipment."
"And how would that draw the attention of these three here?"
Harris looked up with a scowl. "Well, that's two suggestions to your zero. You have something better?"
Tawn nodded. "Yep. Follow me."
She slipped through the gravity wall into the now-empty bay.
"Where'd they go?"
Tawn shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care. They left. Maybe they found what they were looking for."
"Let's check that box. See what they might have been after."
Tawn stopped. "Hello? Idiot? They could be coming back. And we need to connect to a console."
Harris looked around. "Nothing in here."
"Then we go out into the hall."
Tawn led the way. A quick glance showed the hallway outside to be empty. Five meters down the hall, another door emptied into a supply room. Again no console was found.
Tawn growled. "We put at least a comm in every compartment. What's wrong with these people?"
Harris chuckled. "For one, they aren't people. They're bugs. Maybe they're dumb bugs."
"Dumb bugs don't travel in starships."
"Could be consoles were left out since these ships are intended for use by Humans."
Squeaky voices outside told of the three Frizoid returning to the bay. Tawn checked the hall before gesturing to Harris to follow. Two additional rooms were searched before a third was found to hold a console. Following Sharvie's instructions, Harris attempted to connect.
"It's not letting me in. Still requires a passcode."
Tawn peered out into the hall from a cracked door as Harris continued his attempts in vain. Another Frizoid entered the hall, coming toward the door at a slow walk as it stared at a device, its mind seemingly occupied.
Harris shook his head. "This is not looking good."
Tawn thrust the door open, grabbed the F
rizoid creature by the neck, and pulled it into the room before it had a chance to react.
She flipped on her translator. "Listen, you're going to access the network for us. Do as you're told and you get to live. Make any move to alert anyone and I snap your neck. Understand?"
"I do."
"Good. Now get your ass to this console and log us in. Refuse or resist, and as I said, your life ends here."
The meter-tall bug moved in front of the interface. The passcode was typed in; the bug was quickly jerked away and its neck snapped. The carcass was lifted and dropped in a corner behind several boxes, out of sight from the door.
Harris chuckled. "Thought you were gonna let him live?"
"Just get the info we want so we can get out of here."
"Yes, ma'am. OK, I have the nav system. And I have the map files… downloaded. And Sharvie's special program... is in. Let me log off and we'll be ready to go."
"Wait... let's think about this. What other systems can you access?"
"Looks like most of them."
"How about the controls for that bay?"
"Just a sec... got them. What are you thinking?"
"I think we stage this dead bug so it looks like it was at this console. Then we open that gravity wall and let those others get sucked out. Then we stroll through and head back to the Bangor. If we're lucky, they'll think this bug spaced them for some reason."
Harris smirked. "That's a stretch. We don't even know if these creatures are vengeful or not."
Tawn shook her head. "Unfortunately, I believe that to be a trait that's universal. You don't think the bugs have that in mind whenever they attack the Burrell?"
"Well, OK, then, Miss Smarty, explain how we get through that door to the bay when the gravity wall gets turned off? You don't think it will automatically seal shut?"
Tawn opened a comm to Sharvie. "We need your help. Use my comm to access the console in front of me."
Another passcode entry appeared, a requirement for comm access.
Tawn leaned in. "This is what he typed before. Let's hope it works."
Several seconds passed before Sharvie spoke. "I'm in. What do you need?"
ARMS For Eternity: (Book 8) Page 5