The servant followed me closely as I walked quickly back to the room. When I entered, I went immediately to the closet that held my battle suit. It was on the hanger where I had left it. I excused the servant and closed the door. My panic attack slowly subsided.
The clothing provided by the Duke was ultracomfortable, but I feared the loss of our suit technology to a species I did not yet fully trust. I changed back into the battle suit and attempted to raise the others on the comm. There was no answer.
I opened the door to my room to find Bachmin still standing by to attend to my needs.
I spoke. “Do you think you could take me to where the others of my group are, Bachmin? I would like to discuss a few things with them.”
Bachmin replied, “Yes, Sir, please follow me. Your associates are three decks below in the general guest quarters. I take it you are enjoying your stay? Has the service met your needs?”
I replied, “The service has been excellent, Bachmin; thank you for making it so. So far everyone has been pleasant.”
When we arrived at the guest quarters, I released Bachmin from his escort duty and knocked on Frost’s door. She answered wearing a slinky outfit. Two Veshan males were relaxing on a set of large pillows that were arranged for seating on the floor.
I looked at Frost. “Really? In every port, I see.”
Frost replied, “A girl’s gotta let go when she can, Mr. Grange. When you spend months on end in space, these are some of the moments you live for. Come on in and join us!”
I replied, “I don’t think so, Frost. I need to speak with all of you. I would ask that you put your battle suit back on and meet me out here in the hallway.”
I proceeded to knock on the others’ doors, and my four squads were soon out in the hallway, grumbling about my interrupting their leisure time.
I spoke. “OK, we need to tighten up our presence here. I want each of you in your suits at all times. Let’s not forget that this is some of our most prized technology right now, and while the Veshans are being extremely nice and polite, we don’t fully know them. Guard our secrets with your life, if need be. Another thing I would like to add, and I am guilty of this, we are telling them too much too soon. If they are asking prying questions, give them useless information. You can tell them how you gained ten pounds, or that when you brush your teeth you go from left to right and not up and down. I get the feeling we are being worked here.”
Frost raised her hand. “Sir, does that mean I have to give up my two friends in there? I’ve kind of grown fond of them.”
I replied, “Frost, you can keep ’em if you want. Just watch what you say to them and keep that suit safe, and please, whatever you do, don’t ever tell me what’s going on in there, because I don’t want to know!”
I turned to the rest of the Marines. “I want those suits on so we can stay in constant communication with one another. If anyone asks why you are back in the suits… tell them you need the gravity compensators to keep you from becoming nauseous. I used the nausea trick to leave a meeting earlier, and they seemed to buy it. And if you have anything to say to each other that you think we may want to keep private, please use your arm pad to send a message. I’m fairly certain they can’t tap into our comm at this time.”
York spoke. “Is there anything in particular that makes you suspect them, Mr. Grange?”
I thought for a moment. “I can’t put my finger on it, York. Maybe this is all legit. Or, maybe we are being catered to for a reason. I haven’t figured that out yet. Either way, I would rather us not give much up if we don’t have to. When things come too easy, it makes me nervous.”
The following few days were peaceful and pleasant as we barreled along through space towards the Colossun capital. As I sat in a lounge area with one of my Marines, Corporal Everett Keith, he brought something to my attention. “Sir, I don’t know if you noticed, but this fleet has quadrupled in size over the past few days. The sensors in our arm pads can pick up anomalies in the surrounding space, and I have mine tuned to identify individual ships. This fleet now has almost a hundred ships in it, Sir, and they are all big.”
I decided to take a stroll to the bridge to find the Duke. He was seated in his royal chair.
The Duke spoke as I came into the room. “Ah, Mr. Grange. I was just about to send for you. Please come and have a seat. We are entering the space around Colos and will be dropping sub-light any moment. I would like for you to see our capital planet in all its glory!”
I replied, “Thank you, Duke. I would very much like that.”
As I sat down, the command was given and a tiny dot appeared on the view-screen. As the dot quickly grew into a planet, the Duke waved his hand in a swirl. “I present to you, Mr. Grange, Colos, our source of strength. From that planet to the nine Verna and out to the stars beyond go our laws, practices, and beliefs!”
The planet quickly came into full view on the screen as the Durgen decelerated from light speed. It was a planet covered in buildings that were mostly white in color. There was no visible green of vegetation or blue of water, only structures.
The Duke spoke. “Take note of the blue spire, Mr. Grange. That is my great-uncle Rasmuth’s palace. It is like no other structure in the entire Empire.”
I replied, “Are we heading there?”
The Duke spoke. “I am afraid not, Mr. Grange. I must stop and give a report, after which we will proceed to the Verna, as I had stated earlier.”
As the Duke left to care for his duties, I was joined on the bridge by Corporal Keith. “Wow, this is some control room. I do like the resolution of that screen, Sir.”
I replied, “That is a giant window, Corporal. We are looking at Colos, their capital planet.”
The Corporal held up his arm pad. “Hmm. I hate to burst your bubble, Sir, but that is a screen. See, here on my arm pad, it has a 150 Hz refresh rate. I’m a bit of a tech junkie, Sir. Anything techy gets me all worked up.”
The Corporal looked around. “Looks like all of their console monitors are 150 Hz. I can force a flicker if I zoom in with my camera on those consoles. Here, that one says… huh.”
I looked at the Corporal. “Is there something wrong, Mr. Keith?”
Corporal Keith replied, “That nav console over there, Sir. It says we are traveling at 180 SOL. And I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before, but my sensors are not showing a planet out there. Just those other hundred or so ships.”
I placed my hand on the Corporal’s shoulder. “I was afraid of something like this. Just keep smiling and nodding as I talk. The Duke is taking us somewhere, and he wants information out of us before he gets there. That little talk I had with everyone earlier—it looks like my suspicions are correct. Send out a text for everyone to continue to act as they have been, but to be wary of our so-called friends.”
The Corporal spoke as he poked the keypad on his arm pad. “You know, Sir, when the Duke first showed us one of his Grids, I snapped an image of it. I was a little overwhelmed by the thought of another Grid being out there, but a little voice in my head kept telling me something wasn’t right. Look at this image, Sir; what do you see?”
I looked and replied, “I see an identical Grid, only it’s goldish in color.”
The Corporal zoomed in on a section of the image. “And tell me what you see now, Sir.”
I looked for several seconds before the Corporal’s discovery jumped out at me. “No way!”
The Corporal replied, “Yes, Sir. That is nothing more than a colored image of our Grid. That little gash right there was from the eighteenth Milgari, Sir, when they rammed that ship past the guns and collided with us as we were starting to jump.”
I shook my head. “That means they know exactly where the Grid is.”
I looked back at the nav console that was thirty meters across the room. “Can you zoom in on any of those consoles? Maybe you can get a heading.”
The Corporal replied, “Hang on, Sir. I have an image, but I will have to correlate that to
our star charts to know where we are going.”
I looked at the Corporal. “You weren’t kidding about loving the tech, were you?”
The Corporal grinned. “It comes in handy occasionally, Sir, when it’s not driving off the ladies. Hold on, I have the data… we are heading towards the Grid. I would estimate we will be there sometime tomorrow.”
I gestured to the Corporal to follow and slowly walked off the bridge. As we entered the hall, I flipped on my comm.
I spoke. “Frost. Are you there?”
Several seconds passed. “Yes, Sir?”
I continued, “I’m sending you a text.”
See if your two friends can take you on a tour of the docking bays. I want to know the layouts and what ships they have sitting in there. Let your friends think it is a big turn-on or something. Take your time, as we may want to be looking for a way off this boat. When you think you have something to talk about, send me a message back.
After Frost replied, I switched comms to Sergeant York. “Miss York. Meet us out in the hall for a stroll, if you would. We will be there in a moment.”
York replied, “I’ll be waiting, Sir.”
The elevator quickly dropped the three levels to the guest-quarters area. Diane York was standing in the hallway by her door.
York spoke. “What’s so urgent, Sir?”
I winked and gestured for her to not ask questions. “Oh, we just saw the capital planet of the Colossuns. I thought you might want to hear about it.”
As we walked and talked, the Corporal was sending out his warning message to the others. I prattled on and on about what a wonderful place Colos looked to be.
When we had reached the end of the hall, I received a text from the Corporal.
Sir, I am picking up a large object, Sir, something that is planet size. I’m also picking up one of our signals. We are in orbit around Ponik, Sir. I’m certain of it.
I’m letting our guys down there know the situation as much as I can, Sir. I’ve told them they can talk to us if they like, but we will only be responding with text. I’ll have them forward the info on to the Grid also, Sir.
I spoke. “How would everyone like a tour of the ship? I know we have seen some of it. But I would like to see all of it. Seeing the architecture alone will be worth the effort. Let’s head back to the bridge and see if the Duke can arrange it for us.”
As we walked the hall towards the bridge, two sentinel guards stepped in front of us.
I spoke. “Excuse us, please; we would like to see the Duke.”
One of the sentinels spoke. “I am sorry, Sir. The bridge is temporarily off limits for guests. The Duke has left word for you to please return to your quarters. He will join you when he is able. You are all invited to a banquet dinner this evening. The Duke has planned a celebration.”
I nodded as we turned to walk back towards my stateroom.
I sent a text to the others.
I bet they are going to be celebrating the liberation of Ponik and the elimination of the Grell. Corporal, send word to our men down there. They should expect a fight.
As we stepped into my room, York grabbed my arm and spoke quietly. “Sir. I think I can take down those two guards at the bridge.”
I quietly replied, “And just what exactly are you going to do with two guns, York? There are probably five thousand of those sentinels on this ship. You can’t possibly fight them all!”
York spoke. “Sir, if those sentinel weapons are pulsers, these hybrid suits should keep us relatively safe. We may get knocked around a bit, but I have a plan.”
I replied, “Well, I’m sure you are going to tell me even if I don’t want to hear it, so go ahead.”
York cleared her throat. “OK, I think we can take a heavy hit from those pulsers if we dial up the gravity resistance on our suits. When you first arrived back at the Grid from Ponik, I decided I’d better school myself on pulsers if we were going to have to fight against them. What I came up with was a theory that the grav settings on these suits could really be an asset when fighting against them, Sir. I did a few experiments in the weapons lab, and a 50 percent increase in gravity actually takes down their effectiveness by about 80 percent. Those are hits we should be able to live with.”
I replied, “That level of gravity is going to take a physical toll on us, York; we would be worn out in no time.”
York nodded. “You are right, Sir. So, I went a little further and programmed the sensors on my suit to react to an incoming pulse. Just before the pulse hits, the gravity setting goes up, and just after impact, it drops back down. I can forward it on to the others if you like, Sir.”
I shook my head. “Well, York, I don’t think I fully buy into the Colonel’s theory that I am the luckiest man alive anymore.”
York replied, “Why is that, Sir?”
I slapped her gently on the back. “I’m only lucky in that I seem to have the right people around me at the right time. Of course, I’m saying that while we are sitting on a hostile ship that is about to attack our brethren. I’m not feeling lucky right now.”
York replied, “Sir, just signal Frost and Rodriguez to get up here. Between the three of us, we will gut this ship from the inside out. And when we get to the Duke, I am going to take off my helmet and pull out every one of those squiggly white tendrils on his head with my bare teeth.”
I looked at York. “I have no doubt you will, York. But, if we can get to the Duke, we will want to keep him alive. This stateroom is big enough for all of us to hang out. I think we ask everyone in here and start to plan for whatever action it is that we are going to decide to take.”
York replied, “I like the way you think, Sir.”
Chapter 17
The entire afternoon was spent on idle chatter mixed in with extensive texting. If the Colossuns were watching or listening, they would have a difficult time determining exactly what we were doing. Rodriguez had come up with the idea for us to make it seem as though we were playing a trivia game to pass the time. Instead, we had planned out a strategy to take the Duke at his supposed celebratory dinner. I just hoped our Marines on Ponik could last that long. We had not heard from them for hours, as our comm was somehow being disrupted.
That evening there was a knock on the door. It was Bachmin. “Sir, guests, you are invited to the Grand Ballroom for pre-dinner drinks, and then to a feast in celebration of an upcoming announcement by the Duke. If you would follow me when you are ready, I will take your party… to the party.”
I replied, “We will be out in a moment, Bachmin, and thank you!”
I turned back to the others. “When you hear the term ‘red velvet,’ you all know what to do. Let’s go have a little party with the Duke. And Marines, let’s watch that drinking, shall we? I want you all sharp out there!”
The Corporal replied as we stood to walk towards the door, “Get a few drinks in ‘em, Sir, and you will see them at their sharpest!”
The ballroom was filled with large white columns lining the outer walls, with oval paintings of the Duke situated between each pair. There was a large amount of plant fare, flowers, ornamental shrubs, and water features. My favorite was a large aquarium underneath the transparent floor. The sea creatures it held, however, were not ones that you would want to swim with. The entire ballroom spoke of the privileged life the Duke led.
The Duke entered the room. “Welcome, all, to the grand celebration of our triumph! The planet Ponik is once again under our control, and the mines will again be producing ore for the Empire. Let us be thankful to the King for his wise decisions regarding this issue.”
The Duke then turned and came to us. “Mr. Grange, I hope our blocking of comm channels to your people on the planet has not been too unsettling for you. We had sensitive business to attend to and could not risk outside interference in these most crucial of matters.”
I replied, “When can I talk to my people again, Duke? You haven’t left us much room to trust you or your intentions.”
The Duke smiled and replied, “My apologies, Mr. Grange, but I’m sure you understand that the priorities of the Empire come first, especially given the fact that we are in Empire space. It is we who do not have much room for trust, Mr. Grange. You, after all, are the invaders.”
I could hear Frost whispering behind me. “Just say it, Sir, and I will punch a hole in his face that you could drive a ship through.”
I held my hand out with the palm facing Sergeant Frost. “Well, Duke, can we talk to our people?”
The Duke smiled a pursed smile. “Indeed you can, Mr. Grange.”
The Duke pressed a button on the bracelet on his right arm. “Please restore the Human’s communications.”
In an instant I could hear a tone telling me the comm channels were clear. I asked the Duke to excuse me for a moment while I brought the Marines on Ponik up on my comm.
I spoke. “This is Don Grange; how are we doing down there?”
Several seconds of silence passed before a response came. Screaming and wailing could be heard in the background.
A voice replied, “This is Major Evverds, Mr. Grange. Everything is good down here. It seems the Grell have been given word that they are going home. It’s all kind of confusing, but they seem pretty happy about it, Sir.”
I looked up to a smiling Duke. “I see by your expression that you have news from your Marines. I also see a reflection of confusion in your eyes. Allow me to explain. The King, in his infinite wisdom, decided the Grell had served out their sentence to a degree that he found acceptable. They have been given their freedom, Mr. Grange. When their fleet arrives at Ponik, including Gurt Station, they will be allowed to board with enough provisions to make their journey back across the expanse. Perhaps in some distant future they can become a voluntary member of the Empire.”
The Duke had outmaneuvered us. We had come to his party expecting a war and were instead greeted with a gesture of goodwill. I wasn’t sure if I was happy for the Grell or disturbed that the Colossuns could jam our unjammable comms. I thanked the Duke and sent him on his way to boast to his cohorts about their accomplishment.
AMP Colossus Page 17