I stood and gestured towards the chair I had risen from. “Have a seat over here, Corporal, and let these two get you connected to our new comm system. York, fix him up.”
I moved to another chair and sat as the four of us got into a long discussion. I looked down and noticed a little pudge forming around my otherwise firm gut. The Duke’s food was rich, and with a lack of exercise, I had begun to put on an extra pound or two. It was decided that we could compensate by setting the gravity resistance on our suits to slightly heavy.
We also began a regimen of daily walks around the ship. Oddly enough, the Duke did not seem to care. I was quizzed by the Duke about the scarfs we had begun to wear around our mouths. It was our attempt to hide the fact that we were talking over the makeshift comm as we walked. I made up a lame story of it being the month of Abutan and how the scarfs were a Human ritual that we practiced for that month. He found it odd, but other species had always had odd behaviors. So the scarfs were allowed to be worn.
Over the course of several days, Corporal Keith had been messing with his arm pad sensors as we walked.
The Corporal spoke. “Sir, I think I have identified the source of the comm jammers. As we have moved around the ship, I have been checking signal strengths. I’ve identified six nodes on the ship that are emitting the FTL frequencies that we use.”
I replied, “Are the nodes accessible? Could they be disabled?”
The Corporal thought and replied, “I believe they could be, Sir. They are in open hallways that we pass every day. I don’t think we could knock them off the wall or anything, as they would know immediately that we had done that. But, I think I might have the materials that would allow me to fashion a shield, a cover, that would knock that jammer signal down by 95 percent or so. Unless they notice the cover, they would never know the jammer wasn’t working. The materials in our rooms are the same as in the halls. We just need to find the proper density of metal for a screen, so all I really need is something to bond it to the wall.”
I gave the Corporal the go-ahead to work on his boxes.
The following day, as part of my morning ritual, I made my way up to the bridge to chat with the Duke.
I spoke as I walked into the room. “Any sign of the Verna yet? We must be getting close.”
The Duke replied, “As every morning with you, Mr. Grange, we are moving closer each day. I’m sorry for the delay, but we had to take a slight detour due to conditions beyond our control. Space is a big place and often filled with hazards. There is no sense in risking our lives to save a single day. As always, I will let you know when we arrive.”
I spoke as I sat in the guest chair that had been constructed next to him. “So, Duke, what did you do as a child? I mean, for Colossuns, were there sports? Games? How did you keep yourselves occupied?”
The Duke rested his right elbow on the armrest and placed his chin on his right fist. “Hmm. That was such a long time ago, Mr. Grange. How long is the expected life of a Human?”
I replied, “Well, if you include the wars we have been in, we average about sixty-four years. If you exclude, that number jumps up into the nineties. How about Colossuns?”
The Duke thought and replied, “I cannot include wars, as we have been largely at peace for centuries. Of the wars we have had, we made use of our sentinels to do the fighting for us. It is much less for commoners, but I have been at my current stage of life for nearly three hundred of your years.”
I sat back with a slightly stunned look. “Three hundred years is a long time. How do you manage that?”
The Duke looked forward towards the view-screen as he spoke. “I suppose it is a mix of our advanced medical technology, our physiology, and perhaps our diet. I never really thought about it, Mr. Grange. At three hundred, I am merely middle aged for a royal. Humans would be more in line with our commoners.”
I replied, “Wow, three hundred. I suppose a good portion of that was on Colos?”
The Duke smirked. “Hmm. Colos. I left Colos when I was fourteen, Mr. Grange. I have done the King’s bidding on this ship ever since. I do have the occasional visit home, but there is much work to be done in keeping an empire running. My father and my brothers have been shipbound for most of their lives. It is a good life, Mr. Grange. We eat well, we have comfortable quarters, and we visit many planets as dignitaries, where we are treated as such.”
I spoke. “You mentioned war. Is that trouble from outside of the Empire or skirmishes like the Grell rebellion?”
The Duke replied, “We have had the occasional rebellion, yes. It seems that sentient beings have a propensity to want to govern themselves on occasion. It is usually attached to some misguided greed or overreaching ideal. The people of the Empire are well cared for, Mr. Grange. Most rebellions don’t have a large following. You indicated war as an issue with your people. Enlighten me.”
I spent the next few hours giving the Duke a detailed history of our dealings with the Milgari. I again mentioned that we had only recently defeated them before jumping to the Colossun sector. I neglected to outline my part in the war effort, or the weapons and methods that we had used against our enemy.
When I left the bridge for lunch with my squads, I somehow felt less threatened by the Duke. I remained suspicious, but being able to just sit and talk about anything was a foundation block for building trust. As I walked to the cafeteria, I wondered if the first block of that foundation had just been laid.
As I sat having lunch with the others, I turned to Corporal Keith for progress on his boxes. “Have you come up with any ideas for a bonding agent?”
The Corporal replied, “I have, Sir.”
I sat looking at the Corporal for several seconds as I chewed my food. “Well? What did you come up with?”
The Corporal smiled and replied, “You are eating it, Sir. I had that sauce yesterday and managed to get a drop on my battle suit. It nearly took a chisel to get it off after it had dried for an hour. I plan on doing a test with it this afternoon. If it looks good, the boxes will be ready to go.”
I looked down at my empty fork and then my plate. “So, what you are saying is that I am eating paste?”
I shrugged and continued, “Oh well, at least it has a good flavor to it. Which for some reason reminds me, I was talking to the Duke this morning, and he says he is over three hundred years old, and middle aged.”
Frost spoke. “Ah, oh great. That means those two young Colossuns I’ve been chumming around with are not young; they are nothing but old men that look young.”
I shook my head in disgust, but had to laugh. “No, you are OK, Frost. Only the royals have those life spans. The common Colossun is just like us.”
After finishing our meals, we walked back to the Corporal’s room. He picked up a sample box, coated the edge with the sauce, and held it against the wall. He pulled out his ion blaster, set it to a minimal setting, and used the flow of ionized particles to heat and dry the sauce.
The Corporal then stood back from the box. “I think we have a winner, Sir. Let me give it a bump and see how she holds up.”
The Corporal smacked the side of the box with his open hand. It didn’t move. “I think we are ready, Sir.”
I replied, “So, how do we get those boxes to the nodes and cover them without being seen? There are cameras in every hall.”
Rodriguez spoke. “We are one step ahead of you, Sir. We take the box like this, flip it over, and wear it as a hat, or helmet, or whatever you want to call it.”
I replied, “Well, that is just going to look stupid. Who is going to believe that?”
Rodriguez smiled. “Sir, we are already wearing scarfs for a month. I think the festival of Abutan can have a few more quirky rituals before they call a foul.”
I spoke. “So, we walk out with hats and come back with none. There is nothing suspicious about that?”
Rodriguez shook her head. “I told you, Sir, we are one step ahead. Lift up the hat. The real box is inside. Take it out, stick it to the wa
ll, keep the hat on. Our only problem at the moment is those cameras, and we have an idea of how to deal with that.”
Rodriguez stood and began to gyrate. “When we get to each node, we start performing some whack-job dance. In the middle of it, York will cover the camera while Keith glues on a box. If they come out complaining, we just say that it’s part of the dance, that it’s private, that we don’t like to be watched or recorded. Yes, it’s lame, but it’s one of those things that will work because it is so lame. The Duke will think we are idiots. If they catch on, they are just going to take the boxes away, Sir. They are keeping us alive for a reason. I think this ridiculous plan is worth the risk, Sir, and we are ready to implement it whenever you are.”
Half an hour later, the first two boxes were in place. During the installation of the third box, two Colossun sentinels approached our position. As Rodriguez had indicated, we acted like idiots and they passed us by. Over the next hour, the remaining jammer covers were put in place and our comms were restored.
The following morning, I sat with the Duke on the bridge. “I have a question for you, Duke. We are on your ship, and yet you allow us to keep our weapons. I was just wondering why.”
The Duke replied, “Mr. Grange, you are my guests. What kind of host would I be if I took those from you?”
I raised my eyebrows. “A cautious one? I mean, what is to stop me from pulling this blaster and opening a hole in your chest right now?”
The Duke sighed. “It should be obvious, Mr. Grange. You are not a threat to me. You do not seek to assassinate me, as you know that would lead to your own death. It is a simple calculation on my part. You wanted to build trust. I am attempting to do so. If we are to be on friendly terms, I can hardly restrict or confine you.”
I replied, “Well, if it’s OK with you, then it’s OK with me. Now for the question of the day… are we nearing the Verna?”
The Duke gave his standard response, after which we once again engaged in general conversation. By the time I left, I again had the feeling that the Duke was not all bad. He was a smooth talker and a charmer. However, I could still not shake the feeling that I was being worked.
When I returned to my quarters, Corporal Keith came over the comm. “Sir, we received a transmission from the Granger while you were with the Duke. The other ships from this convoy— after turning back, they caught up to and slaughtered the Grell. They caught them as they made their way into the gap in those old ships. The Granger arrived too late to follow us, so they tagged along behind the Grell for a while and were witness to the deed. The Duke had no intention of letting the Grell go, Sir.”
The Corporal continued, “And we have another issue. The Granger sent that message nine hours ago. If we had been traveling away from Ponik for all those days, we would not have received a message nine hours later. We are still close to the Granger and Ponik, Sir. We can only guess that we have been going in circles.”
I replied, “Corporal, we have been looking at our sensors, and they have us deep into Empire space. Is there any way to check to see if the Duke is somehow putting out a false location? If so, see if you can somehow filter it out.”
The Corporal thought for a moment and replied, “I think I have an idea of just how to tell, Sir. I will check it out and let you know what I come up with.”
I replied, “Thanks, Corporal. I will have to stew on figuring out our next move now. Give me another call should anything change.”
I began to pace my room. We were trapped on a ship with several thousand enemy android warriors. We were flying through space to a destination unknown. We had our weapons, but I wondered why we had been allowed to keep them. The Duke seemed like a friendly guy, but the slaughter of the Grell made him anything but friendly. If I had ever been in need of Frig and his counter wisdom, this would be the time.
Chapter 19
Corporal Keith knocked on the door. “Sir, I have news.”
I opened it and gestured for him to come in. “What do we have?”
The Corporal replied, “I was having trouble locking onto the nav signal they have been broadcasting. They keep moving the base frequency on me, and without a lock I can’t set up a reliable filter. So, I came up with an alternative.”
The Corporal hesitated with a smile, so I had to ask, “Well, tell me what you have.”
The Corporal lifted his arm pad so I could see the display. “I’ve been analyzing their comms and noticed a weakness in the encryption around one of their maintenance systems, Sir. It is an oxygenator, and it looks to have been added on, as it doesn’t appear to function like most of the other gear. Who knows where they got it, but it left us a big, gaping security hole. From there, I went straight for their personnel system, and once in, I moved over to the nav system. I have two things that I found interesting, Sir. The first is that we remain close to Ponik, and the second is that we are actually absurdly close to the Grid, Sir.”
I interrupted. “The Grid? How close are we talking?”
The Corporal replied, “We are too close, Sir. If we had our nav sensors, we would be able to see the Grid. Even though this ship is big, it is still beyond the capabilities of the Grid’s sensors. Since the station we saw was the actual Grid, Sir, I would say they know where it is. I would bet our next visit will be to the Grid, Sir. They may only be waiting on the rest of those ships.”
I spoke. “So, now we will be fighting for the Grid again; this is just great. When are we going to catch a break, Corporal?”
The Corporal replied, “Well, Sir, I think we have. From the nav system, I was able to worm my way into the security system. From there, I have access to anywhere on the ship. Want to see their weapons arrays, Sir?”
The Corporal held up his arm pad. The Duke’s ship had twenty-six giant pulse cannons, two rail guns, and hundreds of standard pulse cannons for close-in support. In addition, the fighter bays held forty-two Colossun attack fighters that carried a tranche of sixteen gravity pulse missiles and two standard pulse cannons.
Our weapons on the Grid were superior, but without a fleet of ships to open up our ability to acquire resources, we were left with few options. The Grid could not move without refueling, and we would eventually run out of power from fusing what little hydrogen we had. The last count I had received was for fifteen months of hydrogen remaining. A single harvester could almost sustain our hydrogen use, but not if the Colossuns owned the space surrounding us.
The Corporal continued, “While in the nav system, I came across their star charts, Sir. If we could somehow get that to the Grid, it would be a big score for intel.”
I spoke. “When you were in the weapons system—is there any way to fire their weapons? I mean, aim and fire? We have three other Colossun ships riding with us. What are the chances that a few broadsides could take them out?”
Corporal Keith thought and then replied, “I don’t know, Sir; that might be a complex task to try to achieve from an arm pad. I might be able to take control of a single gun, but enough to take out three other ships? I would need all of those cannons and the rail guns for something like that.”
I reached out and grabbed the Corporal by the arm. “We have forty soldiers on this boat, Corporal. Is it at least conceivable that we could control forty weapons if needed?”
The Corporal shook his head. “I don’t know, Sir; again, that is a complex operation you are talking about. It would take some intense planning. We would have to know the weak points of those ships: where are they vulnerable to these types of weapons? And they would have to be moved into a position where we could fire at all of them at once. And then what, Sir? They still have this ship.”
I replied with a smile, “Well then, we just have to take this ship from their control.”
The Corporal sat back in his chair. “Sir, I’m usually a positive person, but this just seems entirely unrealistic. For all we know, they may already know that their systems have been violated. They could just be waiting to see what we try to do.”
; I spoke. “No, I don’t think so, Corporal. I think the Duke is smart, but I don’t think the rest of his people are paid to think. When you have a monarchy this powerful, typically only the people in power have the smarts. Everyone else is educated just enough for them to do their jobs. The other smart ones all get sent off to do research, or they get stuffed away somewhere else where they can do no harm. I have no doubt that this crew is loyal to the Duke, but I doubt they are able to think for themselves much beyond keeping themselves fed.”
The Corporal replied, “Sir, we have security officers on all of our ships that constantly scan the systems for this type of an intrusion. Why wouldn’t the Colossuns have the same?”
I spoke. “Because the Colossuns are not us. We are suspicious of our own people. I don’t think the Colossuns have that issue. If Humans get caught in some type of tampering scheme, they are arrested, tried, and if found guilty, sentenced to prison. That in itself is a deterrent for most of us, but not all. With the Colossuns, there is no trial, just execution. That is a deterrent for all. Let’s go down to York’s room and see if we can plan any of this out. Even if it is a long shot and even if we get caught, we can’t just sit and do nothing.”
We rose, and the Corporal followed me out of the room. I was startled to find the Duke standing in the hallway.
The Duke spoke. “Come with me, Mr. Grange. I want to show you something.”
Four Colossun sentinels followed behind us. I could only guess that the Duke had been listening in on our private conversation. We were caught. I kept my hand close to my blaster.
I spoke. “Does the Corporal need to come with us, Duke? He has other things he can attend to.”
The Duke looked at me inquisitively. “Other things, Mr. Grange? I won’t ask what things those might be, as that is possibly your private business. But I think the Corporal will find this interesting as well. Stay with us, Corporal. Have a view from our bridge. Not many have a chance to see it!”
As we walked, the Duke seemed as calm and collected as ever. I struggled with the fact that he might not be onto our new plan. He was often one step ahead of us. I began to wonder if we had somehow passed him by.
AMP Colossus Page 19