"Good for them."
Trish and Garvis came up with smiles. Tawn and Harris distributed hugs.
Harris patted Garvis on the back. "You gonna keep this little lady in line?"
Garvis politely nodded as Trish put an iron grip on his hand. "If you want to call it that."
Trish leaned in. "I push him around hard, but he does keep me in line. Otherwise I have a tendency to go off on people. A bad habit I picked up over the last few years."
Harris grinned. "You don't say?"
Tawn smiled. "We're extremely happy for the two of you. I know it's not the best time to ask this with the move coming, but what are your plans for Earth?"
Garvis replied, "Actually, we wanted to talk to you about that. Trish filled me in on your plans to explore and... if you'd have us, we'd love to come along."
"Really? With us?"
Trish shrugged. "What can we say? We like the excitement."
Gandy and Sharvie showed up next.
"So you finally got her to commit," said Harris. A sharp elbow from Tawn came with a scowl.
"What was that for?"
Sharvie giggled. "It's OK. He was just being honest."
Gandy stepped forward. "We were talking it over… and we want to come on your adventure too."
Harris chuckled. "Looks like the old gang is getting back together."
Tawn took hold of his upper arm. "All are welcome. But before you commit, know this is at least a year from now. There's a lot that can change in a year. So don't confine yourselves to just this for your future plans."
The reception went into the wee hours of the night before Tawn and Harris returned Alex to where his new lab was being constructed.
"Unless you're in a hurry to leave, come on in."
Harris nodded as he looked around. "This used to be a clothing shop, didn't it?"
"‘Rubella's Smockery’ or something of the sort."
Harris chuckled. "I think Tawn used to get all her smocks here."
"Never had a smock. Although that's something you scientists might wear."
Alex smiled. "Have had many a smock in my day. And back to the lab if we could. This area will be a mini science showcase of sorts. Its purpose will be to inspire our youth to get into the sciences. Back here will be a break area and meeting rooms. And this section will be divided into one large lab with a machine shop for prototyping, and three smaller labs for special projects."
"You planning on having employees?"
"Research assistants, yes. The President has given me a budget to work with and I'll be selecting high-caliber students from our universities. I really am looking forward to having this up and running. At the moment, I'm confined to a single lab where I'm continuing the work on our hop-drives."
Harris nodded. "Exciting stuff, Doc."
Tawn said, "With all the volunteers for our explorer ship today, I was kind of hoping you'd throw your hat in the ring. We could use a chief scientist."
"Earth could use a chief scientist, Miss Freely. I'm afraid my commitment will be there."
"I was afraid of that, but I thought I'd ask anyway. If things change, you can count on that being an open offer."
"I appreciate the consideration."
Farker approached with a wiggly nub and an unusual grin.
Harris stooped for a pet. "How are you, boy?"
"I'm good. Alex is a good companion. Keeps me out of trouble."
Harris chuckled. "Still cracks me up that you can talk. We miss having you on the Bangor. You could always be counted on to get us out of a jam. And that goes all the way back to Eden, where you saved us with the water while getting shot at and your fur burned off."
"Those were good times, were they not?"
Tawn smirked. "I don't recall that being all that good. Harris got scorched and the three of us barely made it out of there alive."
"One for the history books."
Alex gave an uneasy smile. "I just updated his algorithms to get him using and understanding clichés and such. Still requires a few tweaks."
After returning to the surface, the pair decided on a buffet for dinner. As they entered the establishment, a one-armed man was sitting with a woman near the buffet. As Harris walked past, a hand reached out and grabbed him.
Harris turned and stared for several seconds. "Clovis?"
"Listen, I know we had our differences. And now knowing what the two of you have done for us all, I just wanted to say thanks."
Tawn stopped. "What?"
"Miss Freely, I just want the two of you to know that I've put the past behind me. If you two hadn't torn off my arm, I'd have never met Dolores. She's turned my life around. We got married three months ago and I'm now a legitimate businessman. Again, I can't thank you enough for all you've done... for me, and for everyone."
Harris nodded with a pursed smile as Tawn continued walking with a stunned look on her face.
Tawn grabbed a plate. "You believing that?"
"Would have never made that call."
Tawn glanced back. "He looks happy. One arm and all."
Harris chuckled.
"What?"
"I was just thinking about when I got shown that arm. I was like wow. I was sure he would come after us, guns blazing, after that, but he just kind of faded away."
Tawn tilted her head to one side as she stared at the newlyweds. "At least now we know why."
"Strangely, as much as I despised that man, I'm kind of happy for him. Not often you get to see someone like that change for the good."
Tawn loaded her plate with salad and an assortment of vegetables. Light dressing topped off the meal, along with a flavored water. Harris stacked three plates with bogler ribs, sitting across from her at a small table.
"Bogler? I thought they did away with that. You looking to get dumb tonight?"
Harris laughed. "It's a habit I haven't been able to kick yet. I had to look this place up. It's one of only two in town who still serve it."
Harris stripped half the meat off one rib with his teeth, the sauce dripping from one corner of his mouth as his eyes rolled back, displaying his pleasure. "Oh, that is so good. First time outside an MRE in ages." Another big bite followed, then another.
Tawn looked down at her salad with dismay as she chased an olive around with her fork. "What the heck, I deserve it." The salad was pushed to the side as she stood and hurried back to the buffet line. Upon her return, the flavored water was traded for a premium beverage.
When the feast had ended, the Biomarines were stuffed and the diners at the surrounding tables disgusted. Harris wiped several splatters from Tawn’s supper off his civilian jacket before going on to towel most of his face. After cleaning up in the restrooms, Harris stopped at their table and called for a manager.
"What are you doing?" Tawn asked.
"Watch and learn."
A manager arrived. "You requested assistance? Was everything to your satisfaction?"
Harris pulled out his Sheriff's Cleaners badge, quickly flashing it at the manager. "DDI. Comp that meal for us, would you?"
The manager nodded. "Certainly, we're always happy to serve those who serve us."
The manager bowed politely, released the credits in Harris' account, and then walked off to take care of other business.
For the second time that night, Tawnish Freely stood with her jaw dropped. "You did not just pull that."
"Gotta take them where you can get them."
As they left Tawn walked in stunned and partially embarrassed silence. Harris turned and winked at the manager.
— Chapter 22 —
* * *
Two months of quiet turned into three and then four. Habitats on Earth were ready for the first five million Humans. The first farms were producing and the first penned livestock giving birth. The Human workers who had moved out to oversee construction and food now numbered close to a hundred thousand. All projects pointed toward a readiness to begin the moves in earnest come the scheduled six month
goal.
Up on Chicago Port Station, the Crissen shielding was complete. More than a hundred high-power laser cannons had been added to her hull. Alex's lab had been fully moved and his machine shop was receiving daily shipments of both equipment and materials. Farker stayed happily curled up beside his feet, throwing out the occasional odd question in order to break the silence.
Down on Domicile, everything was geared toward supporting the production of bots, Banshees, and gamma missiles. Only that month had the first shipyard been converted for making transports. The all-important gamma missiles had reached nearly seventy thousand in number. The goal of a hundred thousand was within reach.
Harris checked his weight with the scanner on his arm pad. "Hmm. One-oh-nine. Finally gained a few kilos."
Tawn glanced at his backside. "And I see where they went. What's the muscle mass say?"
Harris sighed. "Still down 1 percent. I'm starting to think that old measurement was wrong."
Tawn chuckled. "Wasn't wrong. The scanners are accurate."
"Well, what's yours say?"
Tawn punched up the commands. "Hmm, back to even."
Harris scowled. "Now I know it's wrong. You’re still down a few kilos. What are you, one-oh-five still?"
"One-oh-two, thank you. While you've been busting the rib plates, I've forced myself back on the salads and veggies. And I’ll tell you what, I can tell the difference now. I'm quicker, a bit more flexible. I'm alert. And you? You're just five kilos up and dumber from bogler."
"Now you're just hurting my feelings."
Tawn chuckled. "Good one."
"What's on the agenda for the day?"
"Status briefing with the President. A fly-out to check on the colonel's move. I can't believe they have that entire first dome transferred already. Second one is supposedly half taken down. You believe that? After that, we come back for a stop to see Alex, and then for a sit-down with Mr. Morgan."
"So our normal day?"
"Pretty much."
Harris looked over. "What are you eating there? Looks like a block of some rubbery butter."
"It's tofu. Comes from soy."
"What's it taste like?"
"Nothing you'd want to eat. You thinking of trimming off a few kilos again? If so, this stuff will do it. Good protein, but you won't be coming back for seconds. I'm half surprised they didn't try to force-feed us this stuff back in our service days."
"Surest way to kill morale is to mess with a Bio's food."
"I would agree with that."
"Say, do you remember when they introduced the bogler jerky?"
Tawn stopped eating. "Big buildup about how it's lightweight and packed with nutrition? Supposed to last forever?"
"Yeah, and then it tasted like dirt. Our sergeant hoarded a couple cases after they took it all back. If you screwed up, you had to eat a stick in front of your squad... or the whole platoon. Stuff was horrid."
"You ever have to do that?"
Harris chuckled. "About a half dozen times. I was a slow learner back then. Couple times it was just as a manly challenge from a squadmate."
"You screwed up on purpose?"
"Nothing harmful, but I wasn't gonna have my manhood challenged. Looking back now, it was of course all idiotic. All I had to do was to deny the challenge and it would have been over."
Tawn nodded. "I remember those days. You'd do just about anything not to be the butt of a joke. Most of the time, what you did would make you exactly that. Yeah, we weren't very bright back then. We used to think wisdom was overrated."
"Was certainly a simpler life. You were given a mission and that was your entire focus until it was done."
"And your world was small. You, then your squad, and sometimes the whole platoon. There were no grand plans to be discussed or production counts to be coordinated. It was all ‘Here, go do this,’ or nothing at all."
"The nothing was the worst. I remember sitting on a transport for six weeks waiting for deployment. Seven of us in a room not much bigger than this. There was more than one scuffle from getting on each others’ nerves."
"Yeah, close quarters with nothing to do was rock bottom for morale."
Harris asked, "You catch much of Domicile's broadcast news lately?"
"Some."
"I'm a bit surprised at how calm everyone seems to be. Very little mention of unrest from the regulars. I would have thought we'd have hordes that had no interest in moving."
"They got a taste of what it means to be owned by someone with the Frizoid conscription. That was probably enough to open most people's eyes to how important our freedom is."
Harris sat back. "I'm proud of how we've handled all this as a people. Other than that idiot Emperor Mervin and the Great War, I think we've done a good job of having each others’ backs."
Tawn chuckled. "You mean like the warrants for our arrest and being outlawed from here? I think it's us who've had everyone's backs."
Harris gestured toward the door. "The colonel, Mr. Morgan, the Bolemans, even the President… we've had support when we most needed it."
A comm came in from Alex: "I've done it! The simulations work!"
An excited Farker farked in the background.
Harris held up a hand. "Hold on, slow down. What works?"
"I believe we can double the speed of the hop-drive. My formulas, the simulations, they say it can be done."
"So what's our next move?"
"We build a prototype. Any interest in bringing in the Bangor for a refit?"
"To the station?"
"Yes, the work can be performed by my team of bots."
Tawn pushed her finished breakfast plate to the side. "We don't have anything going right now. Perfect time for it."
Harris nodded. "Doc, we'll be right up. I would ask that whatever you do, you have a plan in place to undo it in case the Frizoid show. We're gonna need our ship."
"The refit should take four to five hours. A removal and return to your prior system should take the same."
"We can live with that. We’ll be right up."
A short trip had the Bangor landing in the docking bay. Out of habit, Harris taxied to their old slot to park. A walk out to the promenade had them turning into the lab complex of Alexander Gaerten.
"Is the ship here?"
"Out in the bay. Can't miss her."
"How long before you're ready to tear into her?" Tawn asked.
A dozen bots carrying various tools and cutters streamed by. "That's the team right there. Two and a half hours for removal, ninety minutes to install. Possibly a full hour to align and do a power test."
"And after that?"
"After that, we take her out for a spin."
Harris asked, "A spin?"
Alex smirked. "I guess that reference would have little meaning here. Forgive me, I sometimes still speak the language of two thousand years ago Earth. Our primary mode of transport at the time was wheeled vehicles. Taking her for a spin references the spinning wheels on the vehicle."
"We have wheeled vehicles now. Never heard that one."
"As I said, it was common two thousand years ago on Earth. Shall we continue?"
Tawn chuckled. "Don't mind him, Doc. He's still eating bogler."
"You do know that has proven intelligence repercussions, don't you?"
"I do. Guess I can't help myself sometimes. Maybe this is a good reminder for me to stop."
Alex waved them forward to follow the bot team. "Bogler. An ingenious way for the Burrell to enslave the Human species."
"Enslave?"
"Yes. From data we've captured, it was discovered that enslavement was their intent. Dumb us down, keep us physically strong, turn us into workers they could exploit. I suppose we should thank the Frizoid for disrupting that. Their attack on this space back in the early years prevented the Burrell from enacting that control."
Tawn scowled. "So they really were scum from the start. The whole gamma destruction of Earth was probably also a put-on."
"That calamity was an accident, as they said. We were the unlucky victims. It was their politicians at the time who felt we could be useful to their empire as workers. The rest is history."
"Why not just take us to one of their planets, then? I'd think we'd have been much easier to manage there."
"Not true. The ships contained our best and brightest. We were motivated to live and with that to remain free. The influence of the bogler took several generations to set in. The Burrells’ intent was to use New Earth and Domicile as breeding grounds for these strong and adaptable Human workers. Idiot and I have extensively researched the reasons behind all of this. Except for the Frizoid intrusion, their plan had a very high likelihood of proving a success."
"And why didn't the Frizoid stay after their raid?"
"As has been discussed before, a truce signed by the Frizoid and Burrell at the time restricted either from coming to this space. The truce was in force for centuries. It's likely we were forgotten, or perhaps assumed dead. Regardless, we are where we are."
"And we want to get out, so tell us about this upgrade."
The group walked into the bay, where the bots were already at work. Sparks flew where hull plates were being cut away. Harris grimaced at the sight of his baby being opened up and her innards exposed.
Alex gestured toward the back of the ship. "Our focusing gear was added back there. That gear will be removed and new devices installed. The focusing of the time-space field will now happen in two phases. The pre-phase cleans the signal of anomalies that hinder efficiency. The second phase is our enhanced focuser. With the removal of the noise from the first phase, the focusing algorithm should produce an even more refined beam, if you will."
Tawn asked, "And this will give us double the speed?"
"Triple the jump distance. Possibly more. We are still limited by the amount of time it takes to instantiate the wormhole as to what our overall speed will be. If we eliminate jumps from our route, the end speed with which we traverse a certain space will indeed be faster. The end result for the Bangor should be at least a doubling of her prior average speed."
Tawn nodded. "That's fifty-six thousand times the speed of light."
ARMS For Eternity: (Book 8) Page 20