“Nuclear bombs?” Jerome asked in astonishment.
“Radiation?” Cammarry asked with a trembling voice.
“Yes, I am studying their design and….” Sandie was interrupted.
SB Louis Le Prince’s voice came again. “Colonel Harrison is waiting.”
Jerome stepped to the hatch and opened it. Alizon stood up and took Cammarry’s hand as she followed Jerome. The hanger bay had a slight acrid smell. Alizon wrinkled his nose as he breathed in the recycled air.
In the normal light, the missiles still looked aggressive and menacing. Looking away from the missiles, they walked across the bay and saw several people standing in the observation deck. The pressure door opened, and Colonel Harrison greeted them. He was wearing the khaki uniform, open at the neck, buttons down the front. Crisply pressed, diagonal pockets, were on the breast. A web-style belt was around his waist with a single pouch, and side arm in a covered holster. The only sign of rank was a single black icon on his collar’s tab.
“Welcome to Zeta,” He extended out his right hand in an ancient gesture of salutation. That was when they noted a small and subtle bracelet around his wrist. It was almost flesh colored, but mechanical. As he smiled, a small gap was visible between his front teeth.
Alizon was first to shake his hand, still holding onto Cammarry’s with his other hand. “I am Alizon, son of Alice.”
Colonel Harrison met his eyes and lingered in eye contact for a moment. “Oh yes, a farmer by trade. A noble and honorable occupation.” He slapped Alizon on the shoulder in a good natured manner. “It will be great when this trouble is over and people can return to the soil. Welcome.”
Alizon only nodded.
“You are Cammarry,” Colonel Harrison stated and extended his hand. Cammarry took it. They met eyes, and Colonel Harrison’s smile dropped. “You my dear woman, have seen combat. I am your brother in that regard. Well met. Together we will defeat the enemy.” He gave her hand another shake, and then covered it with his other hand as well. “Thank you for your service to the Conestoga.”
Alizon had placed his hand in the small of Cammarry’s back as a way of reassurance. She was uncomfortable with all the touching, but replied in a strong voice. “Just so long as you are not sacrificing people in some ghastly experiments to cause some bizarre metamorphosis to fit this planet.”
“No, ma’am, we will never do that. Not under my watch. No way, no how. It is this planet that needs to change, not us human beings.” He turned to Jerome.
“You are Jerome.” They shook hands. “I see you also are a veteran of combat. The look never leaves the eyes, not to those with eyes to see, and senses to know. Welcome!”
Jerome tried to peer into Colonel Harrison’s intense brown eyes. “The eyes are windows to the soul, or so the old sayings go. We are here now, and I see you have some missiles in this hanger bay. What is that about?”
Colonel Harrison smiled again, this time without revealing his teeth. The smile did wrinkle the corners of his eyes and struck Jerome as genuine. “I like a soldier who gets right to the point. That is a valuable trait.” He turned to a woman next to him. “This is Adjutant Caley. She is second-in-command here.”
“Welcome,” Adjutant Caley said and nodded to each one. She had neatly trimmed and short, dark-brown hair, a fair complexion, petite and athletic figure, and blue eyes. Jerome thought she looked about his own age, but it was hard to tell. She wore a uniform identical to Colonel Harrison with the exception of a different icon, or symbol on her collar. She too had a small and nondescript bracelet on her wrist. “Sir, the briefing room is ready with appetizers and all the information you requested.” Jerome noted that her web belt also had a weapon in a holster, and her holster showed a rubbing from where the weapon had been removed quickly and repeatedly. Jerome felt like this woman, small in frame though she was, might be the deadliest person he had ever met. She had a controlled passion about her that reminded him of both Monika and Jenna, and strangely enough, Jerome also thought of the adventurer Jamie from back in Dome 17.
“Fine, shall we go and have our face-to-face meeting? I only wish your Captain could have met us here. I understand she is quite busy with the needs of the orbiting platform. Very important work that.” Colonel Harrison walked off, and the three people followed him. Adjutant Caley brought up the rear.
The bulkhead door sealed behind them as they left the hanger bay, and crossed the hall to a conference room.
Inside, two male attendants were setting out platters of sandwiches, fruits, raw vegetables and other foods. They snapped to attention as Colonel Harrison and Adjutant Caley entered the room. Colonel Harrison ignored them, but Adjutant Caley briefly stated, “You are dismissed.”
The attendants, both were dressed in the khaki uniforms, but without any collar marking briskly turned and left.
“Please be seated. We have a lot to discuss, and I thought food would be a welcome item for you after your journey here,” Colonel Harrison stated. “We really were surprised to find other survivors from the Conestoga. But allies are welcome!”
“We could eat food anywhere,” Cammarry said. “Why make us come here?”
“Because long-distance communication might be intercepted by the Pinheads. Your artificial intelligence system Sandie, gave us the information on the phenomena you call gravity sink holes, and how the habitats are in danger. That is confirmed by our own readings,” Colonel Harrison stated. “Sit down and let me explain.”
Except for Adjutant Caley they all sat down. The Adjutant stood in the corner watching everything.
Colonel Harrison stated, “We have a plan which we have expedited thanks to your confirmations. The Pinheads are causing these attacks on Zeta, and the other habitats.”
“I knew the Crocks were causing this,” Jerome replied. His face was grim but with a look of vindication. “So is that why you have the blackened area around Zeta here? You have found a way to keep the Crocks away?”
“Crocks? Yes, I see, your name for them. To an extent we have kept them away and fended off all attacks and approaches. My apologies on firing on your probe when we did. I called it off as soon as we recognized it was permalloy. That is one substance these Pinheads do not make. As to the plan, it is simple. Remove the Pinheads and you remove the danger. We have been planning this for some time, and are on the verge of implementing our plan. It is fortunate you contacted us when you did.”
Sandie spoke quietly but insistently to Jerome and Cammarry. “Ask him what proof he has that the Crocks are causing the gravity sink holes.”
“Colonel Harrison?” Jerome began, “You said you have fended them off to an extent, but how will that prevent the failures of the habitats?”
“Quite right, fending off is not winning the war. To save Zeta, the Pinheads must be eliminated. Not just from this area, but from this planet. Your information proves to me that they are causing these attacks everywhere that the Conestoga made planet-fall. Therefore, none of us will be safe until the enemy is eliminated.” He steepled his fingers together.
The plates of food went untouched.
Jerome, Cammarry, and especially Alizon sat in stunned silence as the implications of Colonel Harrison’s statement sank into their minds.
“The Crock have told us to leave on several occasions,” Jerome began, but Colonel Harrison interrupted.
“Their ‘You leave now’ threats? Yes, we have seen them also. More proof they seek us harm.”
Jerome tried to make his point again, “Sandie and the Conestoga’s lattice of compeers confirms that the habitats on the surface are in danger and have a limited amount of time. But you say, if the Crocks are removed, the danger is shut off, thwarted, eliminated? How can…”
“That is correct.” Colonel Harrison sat back and looked at his three guests. “We have been fighting this enemy for a long time.”
“Excuse me, I know nothing of these creatures of which you speak, and I know very little of the ways of machines and technolog
y, being from the Neb Old Order, but on my farm I seek for a proper balance between the crops and the pests. For example, rabbits are a scourge to my vegetables, but if I were to remove all of them, the food chain would be broken, and the foxes, the coyotes, and other predators would have limited food. They would feed on other things, like livestock, and perhaps people, and the end result would be worse than the initial problem.”
Colonel Harrison gave him a slight smile. “That is a great point, my dear farmer. Yes, it is. We have taken those factors into account in our solution. Adjutant Caley, will you please brief these people on Operation Cleansing Fire.”
“Yes, sir!” The Adjutant touched a button on the side wall and a display illuminated.
A Crock appeared on the screen. It was an anatomical rendering, in minute detail, with labels, and names for all the parts.
“This is a typical Pinhead. We have studied them extensively since they made the incursion into Hanger Bay Riley 12. That incursion was repelled, but with a loss of human life as well as damage to Zeta. Gravity sink hole damage, to use your parlance. That was our first experience with their gravity sink holes.”
The display shifted. On it was one of the metallic vehicles that Jerome and Cammarry had seen before. It had the double dual treads.
“That is their main assault vehicle. Using those they pried open the hanger bay doors, sealed a tunnel to that section, and then penetrated into Riley 12. They actually breached partially through the habitat’s shell and into the biological preserve. Five of those gravity sink holes were noted near those attacking vehicles. The vehicles were repelled by security automacubes, but we also rushed into delivery our military-grade automacubes. After the Pinhead tanks were destroyed, all traces of these vehicles and the Pinhead’s bodies were expelled from Zeta back into the tunnel they had affixed to our hull. The hanger bay doors were repaired, and that bay has been sealed since. We then pursued them via military-grade automacubes out of Zeta. Our landing struts allow use to gain access to the ground for the military-grade automacubes. There are airlocks on each end of the struts, and those unmanned military-grade automacubes have been patrolling our perimeter ever since. Our shuttle fleet was depleted in runs against the Pinhead positions.”
“Depleted?” Cammarry asked. “You have no shuttles?”
“All our aeronautical efforts have gone into Operation Cleansing Fire,” Colonel Harrison added. “Adjutant, please continue.”
Adjutant Caley pressed the button again, and another scene was shown.
“These are the core of Operation Cleansing Fire, our Vindicator Missiles.” Adjutant Caley smiled.
“The missiles in the hanger bay,” Cammarry answered.
“Not just in Riley 01 where your shuttle arrived, but in every functional hanger bay. We have fifty of our Vindicator Missiles in place. We are just finishing the loading of the warheads,” Adjutant Caley answered.
“What kind of warhead?” Jerome asked.
Cammarry had crossed her arms over her breast and leaned back in the chair.
Alizon was trying to follow the conversation, but much of the technical ideas were foreign to him. However, he did accurately read the unspoken conversation in the room. Cammarry’s body language showed irritation and anxiety. Colonel Harrison and Adjutant Caley were confident to the point of being prideful. Jerome was wary with an undertone of fear.
“Each Vindicator Missile carries a salted fission warhead. We have studied the Pinhead’s physiology. We have not taken any into captivity for very long, they die shortly after capture by the automacubes, but we know how their physical systems work. Sodium-24 is idea for the biological considerations of Operation Cleansing Fire. Sodium-24 is a radioactive isotope taken up by these animals as a sort of nutrition. It is an ideal method as every life form on Zalia has a similar predilection to Sodium-24.”
She looked at Jerome and Cammarry, and then over to Colonel Harrison. He nodded for her to continue. “The ground-penetrating capability of the Vindicator Missile is fairly limited. Our scenario tests show ground penetration of only ten meters in the hardest of Zalian soil, and forty meters in the softest. This assumes a trajectory from Zeta to an altitude of five-thousand meters, then direct targeting into the ground at maximum velocity. They are set for a delayed detonation. By burying itself into the ground before detonation, the Vindicator Missile provides a much higher proportion of the explosive energy to be transferred to ground pulverization and irradiation. Even at the low end of our estimations, the nuclear blast will blow out a huge crater of radioactive material, creating a lethal radiation field over a large area.”
“Radiation?” Cammarry asked. “Like in the 90-Hour War?”
Adjutant Caley looked puzzled. She glanced over at Colonel Harrison.
“Ah, I see your concern,” Colonel Harrison stated smoothly. “The 90-Hour War did not have the habitats like we do. Zeta, as well as all the other habitats, have permalloy hulls designed to prevent cosmic radiation, and we are sufficiently shielded. The warheads enhanced radiological aspects allow for smaller blast levels, and greater lethality to Zalian life. There is no danger to the settlers of Zalia.”
“Settlers?” Jerome asked.
Colonel Harrison nodded to Adjutant Caley. She then continued. “Yes, the settlers in Zeta, and now we also know from you of the other habitats, will be protected by their hulls. The Vindicator Missiles will be targeted at strategically located sites around Zalia to provide for the best possible spread of the radiological fallout. Your AI Sandie shared the locations for the habitats, so we were able to adjust the targeting locations to avoid any direct blast effects on any of the remaining habitats. After synchronized detonation, with the Pinhead’s natural affinity for Sodium-24, which will be quickly absorbed into each organism, we estimate global coverage in a little under nine Zalian days. In basic terms, these salted fission bombs were made using metallic elements around the neutron reflector between the fissionable core and the explosive layer. We estimate that after global coverage Zalia will be barren of its indigenous life.”
“But covered by radiation?” Cammarry asked.
“That is correct,” Colonel Harrison replied. “Thus we will finish our quest in the Conestoga awaiting the radioactive levels to drop to where real terraforming can begin. We estimate that to be one hundred fifteen years. Our habitats are designed for longer than that length of time. We estimate another hundred years of terraforming before the first settlers can leave the habitats. Our people are also looking at methods of altering the gravity of Zalia, to make it closer to earth’s.”
Cammarry was shaking a bit as she heard the plan.
“Whenever a thing is done for the first time, it releases a little demon,” Jerome was about to say more, but Sandie sent a small shock to his ear. He reached up to the com-link.
Sandie was insistent. She forcefully spoke into each com-link, “Jerome and Cammarry do not argue with these people. I must get you out of there, immediately. You are in grave danger.”
“Colonel Harrison,” Jerome said. “Adjutant Caley, this is a bold plan. I can see how it will eliminate the Crocks. Forgive my earlier remark. I was thinking how this day may go down in history and become the stuff of myths and legends.”
“Yes, eliminate the Pinheads, and the threat is gone. Then we can all be like your friend the farmer. We can till the soil of Zeta and live out our lives inside here as our ancestors intended. Then when Zalia cools off, our descendants and those in suspended animation will terraform and begin a new world out of the ashes of the past. As to myth, I concur. I suggest they consider naming the first city here, Phoenix. Named after the fabled bird that rises from the fires.”
“With all due respect sir,” Adjutant Caley said. “The first city here must be named Harrisonburg.”
Colonel Harrison just shrugged his shoulders.
Cammarry had recovered some of her composer. “May I link in our AI Sandie as a storage system for more details on all of Operation Cleansing Fire? I am
sure our Captain will need that. There are many considerations to be understood from the vantage point of the needle ship which is in orbit. As you said, the long-distance communication is unsecured, and we do not want the enemy to learn of this plan. Sandie can store the information far more reliably than my memory, and that will ensure accuracy when I report to Captain Eris.”
“An excellent idea,” Colonel Harrison answered. “Your system can interface with SB Louis Le Prince, and gain all the needed information. Our systems are state-of-the-art, so I hope yours is not overwhelmed. Adjutant, Caley, show her where to make the interface.”
Cammarry pulled out a cable from her com-link. She looked around.
“There is an access port here by the display,” Adjutant Caley stated and pointed.
As Cammarry inserted the cable into the port, Sandie was ready.
Sandie made a small link to SB Louis Le Prince. That system attempted a slow and crude assimilation of Sandie. Instead of just brushing it aside, or avoiding it all together, Sandie put up a mocked subroutine which was slightly slower than SB Louis Le Prince, and added a copy of Jerome’s favorite literary works so that there was a body of data for SB Louis Le Prince to harvest.
The Colony Ship Conestoga : The Complete Series: All Eight Books Page 201