Mace chuckled. “Sounds like our governments have a lot in common.”
The shuttle slowed, entering a narrow but deep valley. At the end of the valley a cliff overhang shielded the mouth of a large cave from above. Jenny carefully guided the shuttle through the opening.
“A little narrow, but not bad. We won’t be fitting anything more than a shuttle through that. I suppose that flat area down there is the tarmac.”
The shuttle settled on the cave floor. The ramp lowered and the four passengers walked down, stepping onto the hard stone floor.
Mace pointed. “Looks like a pathway goes up through there.”
Jenny followed the others. “You could easily fit half a dozen shuttles in here. But even if you widened that gap coming in, it’s not long enough for anything bigger.”
After rounding a corner, the group came to a blast door. Mace pulled and the door opened. Beyond was a large atrium going up eight stories. Railed walkways lined each floor and rooms occupied the other side, dotted with the occasional hallway leading away from the center.
Jenny nodded. “Not bad. They had it fixed up pretty nice in here.”
Mace took in a full view. “I think this is the spot. We���ll get back to Alpha and begin our move immediately.”
Jenny replied, “Might be nice to also be on a planet that has a breathable atmosphere. Alpha always left me a little uneasy.”
Frado said, “Had I known this was here, I would have opened a colony just after we acquired it. This would have made for an excellent founding community. It appears to have both power and water.”
Mace turned back toward the shuttle. “OK, let’s go. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Chapter 27
*
With the capture of Jeff Moskowitz and the rest of the science and engineering team, it was decided the Alpha Centauri site was too exposed. Jasper Collins provided worker teams and several freighters. Everything, including wall panels, piping, environmental systems, and all other non-native materials were stripped out and moved to the new base on Gellos. The Gellos site offered three times the interior room. The Targarian workers made short work of all necessary conversions.
Mace stood next to Johnny, watching as a crew finished the room that was to be his new quarters. “Not bad. The holo-display of a window is a nice touch. Makes the room a lot brighter.”
Johnny said, “Have you had the chance to tour around the planet yet? If we were looking for a new home for Humans, I think this might be a good fit.”
Mace replied, “Was talking this over with Jenny. She brought up the fact that we need a lot more than a visually appealing planet to survive. Are the plants and animals toxic? Can we grow food? And what about your beer? Could it be made?”
Johnny chuckled. “Beer is a must. The plants and animals we can deal with. Are there diseases we have no immunity to? Viruses? What about the levels of radiation from that sun?”
Mace frowned. “Sounds like we’re trying to talk ourselves out of the possibility of staying here. What if we’re unable to wrest control of Earth from the United Front?”
Johnny added, “Or Stark for that matter. What if that goon is left in charge? How long before everything we do is geared toward expansion? He fancies an empire.”
Mace said, “Stark is one man. He can be dealt with.”
Jane joined them. “You move in today?”
Mace nodded. “Doesn’t much matter, though. I’m never gonna be here.”
Jane placed her hand on his shoulder. “Speaking of that… Jasper sent me to find you. He wants a meet-up in the new conference room.”
Johnny asked, “Why didn’t he just comm us?”
Jane smiled. “That was my idea. I need the exercise. The techs think my balance will improve as I do more walking. I plan on going out into the valley this afternoon. Looked like there were a few trails out there.”
Johnny said, “Those would be animal trails. We don’t know what this planet has in regard to that. Going for a nature walk might not be such a good idea until we actually know what the nature around here is.”
The trio entered the conference room. Jordan Crawford, Liam Hobbs, and Hans Mueller were waiting with Jasper Collins.
Jasper said, “Good. You’re here. I’ve been thinking of making a move from Hardy. I’ve asked my design team to take a look at what we could do here versus our planned expansion there. I don’t like Stark knowing we have people there. If he attacks, he gets all that gatrellium as well.”
Johnny said, “You want to build a storage facility here?”
Jasper replied, “Not just storage facility. I want to move my people here. I want to gut that place and build this one out, and soon. If Stark and the UF are successful against the Karthians, he’s gonna come looking for us. He knows about our use of the projectors. And he has Doc and the others, so it’s only a matter of time before he knows about the copper infused gatrellium paint. All he really has to do is look at the inside of that cave to figure that one out.”
Mace asked, “If you decide to make the move, how long do you think it will take?”
Jasper half shrugged. “Three to four weeks maybe. Half that if we don’t strip out the infrastructure.”
Mace said, “I think you should order the move. The Hoorka have claim on that planet. While Favia is on our side, the rest of her ruling council isn’t. They find your people on their planet and at a minimum they’d confiscate everything you have there, including ships.”
Johnny said, “If you need help, we’ll pitch in. I know that’s not much of a difference when it comes to moving your millions, but it’s an offer.”
“Thank you, but we can manage. I just needed a little nudge to make that decision. I’ll get the planning underway immediately.”
Mace said, “The hollow cavern behind this place should work for gatrellium storage. We can paint the walls of this entire place if needed.”
Jane nodded. “Oh, it’s needed. Until we have an empire and a five thousand ship fleet that can protect us, we need to stay hidden. I think there are a lot of precautions we should be taking that we don’t. For instance… we should never make direct jumps to this planet. Jump elsewhere, make sure you aren’t followed, and then jump here.
“And when we go on any of these raids… we need more than just an alternate pick-up time should we miss one. We should have an extraction team ready to go should there be an issue. When Mace and Jenny got discovered by Mr. Knuttin, we should have had a team ready to get them out should they be unable to escape on their own. We take too many chances.
“This concussion I’m trying to get over… our plan was to make our way out to the hull to wait for a pick-up. Really? Looking back, that was an asinine plan. And the single jump from Earth to expel the UF crews from their ships… another blunder.”
“You sure are wound up this morning,” said Johnny.
“Just getting tired of the sloppy mistakes. We’re better than this. Smarter than this.”
Mace said, “I think those are excellent suggestions. And since you brought that up, I want to put you in charge of making those things happen. Our focus for the moment will be on moving the Targarians. Once we have that well underway, start holding meetings about our security, our methods, and anything related to how we could better protect ourselves.”
Jane nodded. “I’ll happily take that on.”
Mace looked around at the inhabitants of the room. “Look at us. We were just common people. And yet we’ve managed to stave off whole empires. We’ve fought in wars with thousands of ships. We���ve stormed ships, captured ships. We discovered technologies that have allowed us to survive wars that have wiped out entire species.
“Well… we’re not common anymore. We’re fighters. We’re survivors. We’re rebels and victors. I would venture to say that mankind has never seen a group like ours. The things we���ve done are nothing short of remarkable and astounding. When this is all over, they should build gigantic monument
s to each of you. You’re each deserving of nothing less.”
Johnny chuckled. “Are you done pumping us up? We have work to do, you know.”
“I know. I just wanted to let everyone know how I feel.”
“Would it help if we all held hands and sang Kumbaya?”
Mace shrugged. “It might.”
The group dispersed… each with assigned tasks to complete.
The moves from Hardy and Alpha Centauri both went smoothly. The new facility had its encumbrances, but those would be overcome given time.
Three weeks had passed since the initial move was begun.
Mace stood in a newly-commissioned command center. Targarian crews manned a dozen consoles that would be used to consolidate and make use of data feeds coming in from scout ships. News of the UF-Karthian war came through a set of three such consoles.
Mace and Johnny stood looking at one of the feeds.
Johnny said, “So that’s it, then. Terrex is now under the control of the UF. The Karthians lost a third of their ships defending it.”
“I wonder if they are giving Stark the control he asked for?”
One of the Targarians at a nearby console turned. “Mr. Hardy, we have activity at the Alpha site. Two dozen UF warships just showed up and are taking up orbit. One is heading down to the surface at the exact location of our prior base.”
Mace asked, “Can you detect the bio signatures on those ships?”
“One moment… yes.”
“Are they Human size occupants or smaller?”
“Humans.”
“We have our answer. Stark has his own fleet.”
Mace asked the crewman: “Do we know where the Karthians retreated to?”
“A planet called Operassa. We should be moving our scouts from Terrex to there one at an time. It’s expected to be the target of the next UF attack.”
Johnny said, “The UF lost three hundred fifty ships of their own. I have to believe this next planet is less well defended than Terrex. When the UF move on it, it won’t last long.”
Johnny turned. “Hey, when do we get back to taking out UF ships?”
Mace frowned. “Because of the move we haven’t even been able to convert the first dreadnought to stealth. Jasper says his crews are mastering the ships quickly. I’d like to get some of those backing us up first.”
Johnny winced. “I don’t know. Are we wasting valuable time? We have a hundred shuttles and crews that are stealth. I would think it in our best interest to knock their force down as much as we can.”
Mace replied, “Jasper and the others think we should let the UF beat down the Karthians further first. We don’t want them coming after Earth before we can defend it. The UF might be using us right now, but they’re also protecting us. Besides, we have a lot of work to do here first. We have to build the medical facilities before we jump back into conflict, and we need a science lab. Jasper wants his people to recreate everything Doc had. Even with the designs in hand, that effort will take months.”
“So we’re in a holding pattern?”
Mace nodded. “Of sorts.”
A Targarian manning a console with a data feed coming from Terrex turned. “Mr. Hardy, we have a comm request going out on the general comm from Malcom Stark. He says he knows we’re listening and he wants to talk.”
Mace looked at his friend. “What do you think?”
Johnny replied, “Can’t hurt to listen. If they approach the shuttle, we can have it move away.”
Mace said, “Patch him through on a secured comm. Send it to the conference room.”
Johnny followed as the two men moved from the command center into the adjacent room.
An image of Malcom Stark floated on the holo-wall. “So you decided to move. Smart.”
“Not smart enough. We should have done so before you grabbed Mr. Moskowitz.”
Stark frowned. “Yes… about him. It seems his research is not quite ready for field testing. There are a number of problems with it that may prevent it from working at all.”
Mace nodded. “That’s why we left him there on Earth. He felt he was close to solving some of those, and moving his lab would have set him back another few months. I’m guessing you moved his lab?”
Stark nodded. “We did.”
Mace shook his head. “Too bad. We have a copy of his data, but we have a bit of a talent deficit at the moment.”
“Perhaps we could cooperate on this effort?”
Mace chuckled. “I don’t see that happening. We have no interest in interacting with you or your cronies. You’ve crossed the line too many times.”
Stark scowled. “I’ve kept our people safe. Are the Kohamians watching over us? Yes. They are also protecting us from harm. And when the Karthian menace is gone, my efforts will be focused on making Earth a free planet. After that, if we choose to join an empire, then that’s for the people to decide.”
Mace sighed. “I doubt you’re letting the people decide anything. You’re making deals based on your own notions and instincts. Those notions are only what you consider to be important. I doubt you’ve taken any polls of the people since you rose to power.”
“The clear fact is, Mr. Hardy, the people are following Malcolm Stark. They voted to make me king. They gave me permission to reign over them. With that level of trust and commitment, there are no needs for polls. I rule because I was asked to rule.”
“I give you credit for being able to manipulate people,” said Mace. “You are quite good at that. As to your friends the Kohamians, we’ll be taking care of them soon enough. After that, it’s just going to be you and us. And we think we have the better plan.”
Stark laughed. “The better plan? And what would that plan be? Get rid of Stark? What are your plans for housing, for education, for transportation, for trade? How will you protect Earth from other hostile species, of which there are probably many? How will the people be fed? And what of medical care? Do you have plans for all those things? We do. And they are being implemented today. So tell me, Mr. Hardy… what are your plans?”
Mace was silent for several seconds. “You opened a comm to us… there must be a reason. What do you want?”
Stark said, “Gatrellium. The UF is in short supply. Our spies have been unable to locate the locations from which the Karthians derive their supplies. Give me a small supply and the Karthians will be finished. I am even willing to trade for it.”
Mace asked, “What is it you have that we would want?”
“The good doctor and his associates, of course. The moving wormhole is likely years of research away, if even at all possible. We don’t have years to wait on it, and the longer the UF forces remain on Earth the more ingrained they become. Help me to rid us of the Karthians and I will return your people. And I will pledge to leave you alone as well.”
“How much of it do you need? Give me a number.”
Johnny cut in. “You aren’t actually making a deal with him, are you?”
“We need the doc and the others. Not just for the wormhole weapon, but for practically everything else we do. They will burn through anything we give them in short order. My guess is they haven’t moved forward with their attacks because they don’t have the gatrellium they need. Remember, their ships are burning huge amounts for transportation. They haven’t figured out how the gatrellium coating solves that problem.”
Stark said, “Two hundred tons.”
Mace laughed. “I can give you fifty.”
Stark huffed. “Fifty tons will hardly move us to the next planet.”
Mace replied, “Fifty tons should be plenty. If not, then you’re wasting it. Fifty is the deal.”
Stark scowled. “One hundred. And we leave the colony at Hardy alone as well.”
Mace shook his head. “The only deal you have is for fifty. And you return the doc and his team and then leave us all alone.”
Stark frowned. “The UF is desperate, making me desperate to move. I will do the deal at fifty tons.”
&
nbsp; “Is the cave complex still operational?”
Stark nodded. “We left it as it was. The Kohamians don’t know of its existence.”
Mace smiled. “Good. Have Doc and his team, and I mean all of them, ready and waiting at the cave in one hour. Can you do that?”
“You’ll be bringing the gatrellium with you in some stealth freighter, I suppose?”
“You don’t have to worry about that, just know that you will get it. We have it, you want it. Deliver our people and we’ll deliver the gatrellium. If you try to pull anything slick, the deal is off. We have zero tolerance for any shenanigans. Just a free and fair exchange.”
Stark was silent for several seconds. “Your people will be there, Mr. Hardy. See to it that our gatrellium is as well.”
Johnny said, “Fifty tons? We got out of that cheap. You want me to get a transport ready?”
Mace shook his head. “Nope. The gatrellium is already there. Hidden in the back of the cave. They evidently didn’t check it for a holo-wall. Unfortunately they will get the rest of our supplies there with it.”
Johnny said, “We have plenty of everything we need.”
Mace replied, “Not really. The Targarians only have six months��� worth of food. Our stockpile will feed us for another year, but I still consider that thin. Jasper’s people are working on some processing plants to make more nutrient bars, but we need raw supplies to process. They’ll be starting up a number of farms in the coming weeks but we don’t want to be left short on something so vital. We could have used our stockpile from the cave.”
Johnny chuckled. “Should have thought about that before you negotiated it away.”
Mace turned toward the door.
Johnny asked, “Where you going now?”
“To fill Jenny in on the deal. She’ll be our pilot.”
The shuttle was prepped and a jump made to Earth space. The Royal Fortune settled in the field by the cave with three minutes remaining for the deadline. Exactly at the one hour mark, twenty-nine scientists, engineers, and their family members walked out of the front of Jeff’s lab. Stark followed with them. The ramp lowered.
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