Retreat and Adapt

by Thomas DePrima

"A million? From the chairman of the Raider Lower Council?"

  "Raider Lower Council? What's that? I'm just the Deputy-Comptroller of MedZip Electronics."

  The visitor chuckled again. "Who do you think you're dealing with?"

  "I don't know who I'm dealing with, but I have nothing to do with the Raiders."

  "Have it your way, Arthur." As he aimed the pistol at Strauss's chest, the intruder said, "Any last words for posterity?"

  "Wait a minute. Hold on. I can make it more."

  "How much more?"

  "Ten million. It's the best I can do."

  "You probably steal that much every month from the Raider coffers."

  "I tell you I have nothing to do with the Raiders. The ten million is my entire stock portfolio. It's all I've got. It's yours. Just let me live. Please."

  "And how long would I live if I did? A day? Two days?"

  "I don't even know who you are."

  "True," the stranger said, reaching for the scarf that concealed his face. "But you should know who your executioner is."

  "No wait." Strauss said. "I don't want to know. This way you won't have to kill me. I can get you the ten million and I'll never know who you are, so I can't seek revenge."

  "Arthur, Arthur, Arthur. You must think me a fool. If I left without killing you, you'd have a dozen people waiting for me at a later rendezvous where you would ostensibly hand over the money."

  "No, I swear. It will be just between you and me."

  Well, I couldn't make a deal like that without you knowing who you were dealing with."

  The intruder reached up and pulled down the scarf, revealing his features. Strauss's jaw nearly hit the floor.

  "I don’t understand," Strauss said. "You look like me."

  "Wrong. I am you."

  "What?"

  "This has been almost as much fun as when I faced Christa Carver."

  "Carver?"

  "Yes, don't you remember? You threatened to kill me for doing that."

  "Ravenau? But you're dead."

  "Not quite. The body you found was an earlier experiment that used the same DNA Manipulation formula I later used. Of course, the process had been perfected by the time I used it on myself. I saved the body on a whim, and it came in handy when I had to disappear before you had me killed."

  "I— I— wasn't going to have you killed. I decided that you could be useful."

  "Nice try, but we both know better."

  "No— No— I mean it. If I wanted you dead, I would have done it right after you turned over the formulas. I wasn't going to kill you."

  "Oh, right. You were going to wipe my mind and ship me off to one of the resorts."

  "No, I wasn't. I believed you were still important to us. You had brought us formulas worth hundreds of trillions of credits. I was going to find a new project for you."

  "Nice try, but I don't believe you," Foster said.

  "What did you hope to accomplish by making yourself look like me? Once I'm dead, all my IDs will be canceled and you'll never even get inside the building again."

  "That's only if they know you're dead."

  "So that's why you took my identity. You think you can just step into my spot? It won't work Ravenau."

  "No? Why not?"

  "You've been gone too long. You're out of the loop. You can't just step into my shoes without everyone with whom you'll have contact knowing something is wrong. You'll be discovered the first day. You should take the money I've offered you."

  Foster pulled the trigger on the pistol and swept it across the area where Strauss's heart would be, if he had one. The pulse only lasted a second. Strauss clutched his chest and looked at Foster as if he couldn't believe Foster had fired. Or perhaps he simply couldn't believe he was going to die in a few seconds because his heart had stopped functioning. He fell to his knees first, and then fell flat on his face. The laser had cauterized the wound as it destroyed the heart, so there was no blood.

  "Don't worry about me, Arthur. I'm a quick study. I'll pick up what I need to know and fake the rest."

  Now that the deed was done, it was time to relax a little before cleaning up. Foster, who would now be known as Arthur Stephen Strauss, stepped over the corpse, walked to the wine closet, and selected a favorite vintage from among an impressive selection of chilled bottles. As he took a seat in the living room, he said, "Computer, cancel routine FOSTER637981." When the computer responded that the routine was canceled, he had the computer dim the lights in the room and open the draperies. As he enjoyed the spectacle of the city lights through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, he sipped at his wine.

  After draining the last drop of wine from the glass, the new Arthur Strauss walked to where the old Arthur Strauss was still lying and picked up the body to carry it to the bathroom. He was glad he had the strength of this new body because as Ravenau he never could have lifted Strauss.

  Strauss dumped the body into the bathtub and was about to begin filling the tub with water but then remembered he hadn't gone through Strauss's pockets. He carefully removed the clothes from the body, then let the tub fill as he carried the personal items he'd found into the bedroom.

  Five minutes later he returned to the bathroom and turned off the water. He took a step back from the tub and tossed in a small water-soluble packet. Turning, he exited the room and closed the door. In the morning, there would be little left of the corpse.

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ~ November 30th, 2287 ~

  "Welcome to the new home of Space Command's Supreme Headquarters," Admiral Holt said to Jenetta as she stepped out of the shuttle and walked down the ramp. Her jumakas were at her sides as always when outside the palace or the R2HQ Admiralty Board Hall, or when in the fighter reserved for her personal use.

  "Thank you, Brian." Looking around, she added, "There's not much to see."

  "Not above ground— yet. Like the island where the Quesann Space Command base is built, this island has a core of incredibly dense rock. We've sunk shafts to a hundred meters and constructed a complete underground complex capable of protecting five thousand military and civilian personnel for three months in the event of an attack on the above-ground complex."

  "That's barely enough for SHQ. What about the GA Senate?"

  "We've sunk shafts for their own underground secure complex, but we're still in the process of excavating the areas below ground. Once the excavation is complete, the entire complex will be protected with pre-stressed plasticrete wall panels. I estimate two months before we'll be ready to begin construction of the above-ground complex there. Shall we tour the SHQ below-ground complex?"

  "Let's go."

  A couple of hours later as the two admirals rode the lift to the surface, Jenetta said, "You're doing an excellent job, Brian. I'm so grateful that you chose to join us here. With you in charge of this project, I haven't had to worry that it wasn't being managed properly."

  "I'm doing my best. And I've been loving every minute of it. If I can lift part of the burden from your shoulders, I'm happy to do it."

  "I do appreciate it. This region has known almost nothing except war since the day I first entered it. We've barely had time to breathe between new enemies seeking to kick us out. Sometimes it seems like they're lined up somewhere just waiting for their chance to take us down."

  "I think you've pared that waiting list down to near zero."

  "I wish that were true. I learned a few days ago that the Uthlaro are building a new fleet to take us on again."

  "No! Where? Did one of our patrols find them?"

  "We owe it to some good intelligence work on the part of SCI. The new shipyard is a hundred parsecs outside our Region Three border."

  "That race is never going to accept the loss of their empire. I'm beginning to wonder if we're going to have to exercise the final solution."

  "That's one of the decisions I've been wrestling with. It's not one that any person should ever have to make, but as the Military Gover
nor in a lawless territory, I do have the authority to order it."

  "You've given the Uthlaro every opportunity to become a peaceful member of the GA. If they won't stop coming at us, you'll have no choice. That was the reason for practically destroying the Milori home world. We knew Maxxiloth would never stop coming at us every time he was able to rebuild his forces. It was only when you made the decision to destroy the planet's infrastructure that the people finally brought down Maxxiloth in the interest of peace. When the Uthlaro people reach that same point, they'll do what has to be done and stop supporting their leaders."

  "I'm not so sure. The Uthlaro military personnel were the most fanatical military we've fought. We learned that they would never give in while a single breath remained in their body, so we finally stopped trying to take prisoners. If the general populace is as fanatical, they won't stop supporting their political leaders while they live. We might have to decimate the population to get them to stop fighting us, but genocide is not an acceptable option. Isolating them on their planet would be a far better alternative if they refuse to cooperate and live in peace. Isolation means they will not be permitted to travel outside their planet's sensible atmosphere, and absolutely no trade with outside civilizations will be permitted. No one leaves and no one enters. This would not be like the arrangement we have with planets that don't wish to become a participating member of the GA. Those planets are barred from trading with GA member planets but are allowed freedom to leave their planet and trade with other non-member worlds as long as they obey the laws of the GA."

  "Do you really think it'll come to that?"

  "I hope not, but it's not looking good. That they began building this secret base in order to produce military ships so soon after they surrendered unconditionally doesn't bode well. Did they really think we wouldn't find out?"

  "Perhaps they didn't think."

  "How can business people who were able to build an empire the size of theirs be so obtuse?"

  "Perhaps it was simply that fanatical loyalty and total lack of competition that allowed them to build that empire. When a person in power has no opposition to their programs or proposals, they can get reckless. They have never experienced failure before and so haven't learned the lessons that usually accompany that outcome."

  "Yes, perhaps. Anyway, I'm not going to worry about it right now. Until the Denubbewa are either gone or defeated, almost all my attention is focused on them."

  * * *

  "We're ready to begin testing the new bombing procedure with the Tigris and the Ohio, Admiral," Captain DeWitt said as she and Jenetta walked the hull of the scout-destroyer Purus. The ship was one of the six newest vessels to arrive in Region Two and was currently being fitted with one hundred Dakinium bomb cradles. Engineers were working around the clock to cut holes and install the devices in the hull.

  Jenetta had decided to go all the way after Captain DeWitt had enthusiastically embraced the new bombing procedure. She had authorized installation work on nine additional scout-destroyers. That would exhaust most of the cradles authorized and supplied by SHQ. Only the devices intended as backups for defective or damaged cradles remained. So far, all installed cradles were found to have been machined perfectly, so none of the backup units had yet been used.

  The Purus and the eight other newly designated bombing vessels were ensconced inside the transport ship Winston where the entire hold could be pressurized while maintaining a zero gravity environment safe from radiation and temperatures beyond that of human tolerances. Exterior work on the Tigris had been completed long ago, and it was not necessary to house it inside the large ship.

  "Excellent, Barbara."

  "My people are really excited about the testing phase. Our simulations have indicated that we have a good shot at accomplishing what most of them secretly believed was impossible after the dismal results with the DeTect work."

  "When do you expect your first test to begin?"

  "My people are aboard the two vessels already, completing the final calibration tests. We'll perform our first test run tomorrow at the start of the first watch. I want everyone rested and alert, assuming they can sleep tonight. They know how important this effort is. A few are feeling nervous and all are very excited."

  "I look forward to hearing your report after the test."

  * * *

  "Speak to me, Ernesto," Barbara DeWitt said to her second in command aboard the Ohio.

  Commander Ernesto Villanova stopped what he was doing and turned towards the monitor. "We think we've narrowed down the problem a bit. The tactical console interface tests fine, but we're not getting a signal at the weapons computer, so it isn't sending a signal to the Tigris to release the dummy bomb. I've had people crawling through the access tunnels searching for the signal interruption problem, and I think we have the area identified. It's probably a break in a fiber optic wiring couple. It might be a cracked strand or perhaps just a loose fitting, either of which can be responsible for intermittent contact. Everything checked out when testing, so it should be just a matter of fixing this problem. The thing we have to worry about is thinking we've found the problem when the contact is suddenly restored from moving something, only to discover that the problem wasn't fixed. So we have to go slowly and make sure we really have found the real problem."

  "How long?"

  "I'm sorry, Captain, but I have no idea how long it will take to find the exact problem even though we know approximately where it's occurring. We could find it a minute from now, or it may not be found until tomorrow. It's like trying to find a flea on a collie. But at least it isn't moving around."

  Captain DeWitt took a deep breath and exhaled it quickly, showing her exasperation. "Okay, Ernesto, keep at it."

  Three hours and sixteen minutes later, Commander Villanova contacted Captain DeWitt. "We found a bad coupling connection in access tunnel 26LRV81P, and connection has been restored. We're hoping this is the only problem."

  "Good work, Ernesto. Are you ready for another run at the target?"

  "We're go from here, Captain."

  "Okay, Ernesto. I'm going to contact the Captain."

  "Aye, Captain. Villanova out."

  "DeWitt out."

  "We're ready to commence the run, Captain," Commander Katherine Jameson said to Captain DeWitt from her command chair.

  "We're ready at tactical, Captain. We want to perform this test as if it's the real thing, so proceed whenever you and Captain Wilder decide to go."

  Commander Jameson looked down at the monitor by her left hand where an image of Commander Dillon Wilder stared back at her. "We're ready here, Dillon. Our envelope is built."

  "Roger, Katherine. Our envelope is built and telemetry is active. Take us for a ride."

  Telemetry between the two ships would flow constantly as the helmsman aboard the Ohio dually provided all propulsion and course information for both the Ohio and the Tigris. Although the Tigris was functioning as a remotely operated vessel, either Commander Jameson or Commander Wilder could break the connection at any time and the Tigris would again regain full control over its movement.

  Captain DeWitt sat in one of the tactical officer chairs outside the three-quarters-circular tactical console on the bridge of the Ohio. From there, she could see the same images that the lead tactical officer was seeing on his monitors inside the console ring as he prepared to drop the bomb.

  The Ohio began its run when Captain Jameson looked towards the helmsman and said, "Attack." Since the envelope was already built, the ship was almost instantly at Light-9793.48, as was the Tigris. As the Ohio reached a point estimated to be fifteen seconds from the target, the tactical officer turned over firing control to the weapons computer. After that all he did was simply sit back and watch.

  When the weapons system indicated that the bomb had been dropped by the trailing Tigris, Captain Jameson said, "All stop." To Captain DeWitt she said, "Should we maintain or cancel our envelope?"

  "Maintain it, Captain, while I learn
how the test went." Turning to the monitor in front of her where the image of Commander Villanova appeared, she said, "Speak to me, Ernesto. How did we do?"

  "I can confirm that the bomb dropped, Captain. We're waiting now for the triangulation information to see how close we came. Ah, here it is now, Captain. The dummy bomb is sitting approximately fifty-two thousand, eight hundred fifty kilometers from the target."

  "Before or after?"

  "After. It dropped about eighteen nanoseconds late."

  "Well, that won’t get the job done, but it's a lot better than the last test we performed. Rather than run another test, let's get together and review all the telemetry data."

  "Wouldn't it just be better to tweak the timing by eighteen nanoseconds and try again today, Captain?"

  "No, I don't think so. We've run so many simulations that we should have done better than eighteen nanoseconds. There must be something we missed or miscalculated. I'll have Captain Wilder bring you here so we can work on this aboard the Ohio. DeWitt out."

  "Villanova out."

  "Captain, would you ask Captain Wilder to join us at this location and ferry my officers over to the Ohio? And we can cancel the envelope. We'll be working on our calculations for a while. Thank you."

  While Commander Jameson relayed the instructions to the Tigris, Captain DeWitt headed to the conference room where her equipment was set up.

  "We're still missing something," Captain DeWitt said to her senior staff after they had been at it for hours.

  "We've covered everything, ma'am," Commander Villanova said. "Our calculations were perfect, and the timing of the drop was perfect. But the dummy bomb dropped almost fifty-three thousand kilometers from the target."

  "If we had everything perfect, the bomb would be inside the target container. We're missing something."

  "Why not just subtract eighteen nanoseconds and try the drop again."

  "If we can't find the real problem we'll have to try that, but it sidesteps the calculations. I hate it when things disagree with the numbers."

  "We can sit here for days and never find anything."