Harris slid back out. “I can see why. How many more are we replacing?”
The tech replied, “Just finished the last one. We’ll run a few tests to check field strengths. If it all checks out we should be releasing her in about a half hour.”
Harris looked up at Tawn.
Tawn shook her head. “You don’t even have to ask. I can see it in your face. I’ll tell the repair crew chief he can find us in the cafeteria if he has any issues.”
The meal ended and the duo were soon finishing up the escort of the freighter. This time it was filled with personnel. The first dome had surpassed its maximum capacity, with a third of the new arrivals having to double bunk as they were assigned to differing shifts. The pay was good, the supervision just, and the work plentiful. Few complaints came in from any of the crews.
Over at the Rumford Mine, they remained confounded as to the difficulties they were having with the new well. Every set of test numbers returned a different value. A dozen theories as to what was happening had been put forth, with no ideas as to a proper solution. Two well placed Domer spies were returning direct information about what was to be tried and when. The colonel’s team at the alternate wellhead saw to it that every attempt at a remedy was a failure.
A similar side-well was under construction at the colony of Dove. The engineers hoped to have it up and running in two days. When operational, the offer of the Jebwa colony would be presented.
On Jebwa, Fritz Romero’s teams were nearing completion of their refurb efforts. The well was again flowing and power had been restored. The colony would soon only be in need of residents.
Tawn sat back in her chair, propping her feet up on the console.
Harris said, “Trish used to do that.”
“You miss her, don’t you?”
Harris huffed. “Not that. Please take your feet off. You’ll end up wearing off the paint.”
Tawn yawned as she looked over at Farker. “The pooch has been awful quiet for the last day or two. I wonder if he took damage in that crash landing.”
“It wasn’t a crash landing, it was a controlled landing. We came in hot, but damage was minimal.”
Tawn laughed. “Controlled, yeah, right. We’re lucky we walked away from that. Seriously, though, it might be time to take him back to Midelon. He seems to come out from there all refreshed. Maybe he’s in need of a fix.”
Harris shook his head. “Or maybe he’s just tired of hearing you drone on and on.”
Tawn smirked. “No, that’s not it. My conversation is stimulating. If it were that boring you’d have fallen asleep already. Speaking of that, what was your longest period without sleep while in the service?”
Harris half frowned. “That would be the Helm Engagement. Only had a handful of cat-naps during that whole affair. Our major ordered us all to take them. For several days we had a fifteen minute nap once every two hours. She set up an alert if there was any Earther activity. How about you?”
“That would be forty-one hours straight. During boot camp.”
Harris laughed. “You can’t count the rousting they gave us there. We all had to do that.”
“Well, that was my longest. I don’t think I had any fights that lasted that long. Besides, I’m one of those people who can sleep anywhere. Give me two minutes back in one of those bunks and I could be snoozing. Anyway, about the dog…”
Harris glanced over his shoulder. “Next freighter won’t be coming in for eight hours. We can make a jump over once this one’s on the ground.”
“How many total people does this give us?”
“Fifty-eight hundred. Fritz has another fifteen hundred lined up for transport out here when that second dome is fully operational. He thinks we may have it fully staffed in three weeks’ time.”
Tawn shook her head. “Crazy how fast this is all moving.”
Harris smirked. “What’s crazy is that you and I started all this with our gun running. If it hadn’t been for the red witch, we might still be struggling to feed ourselves.”
Tawn chuckled. “Now, for you at least, you struggle to not feed yourself. I bet you’ve added twenty kilos since we first met.”
Harris smiled. “That’s been twenty kilos of happy eating. If this keeps going the way it has been, I just might add another twenty just for the fun of it.”
Tawn scowled at the thought. “Let’s not. I’d rather not get into a firefight with an out-of-breath chubber as my backup.”
“Think of it as more of me to fight alongside.”
The freighter was soon on the ground. The Bangor was turned to the sky. After short ride, a jump was made to Midelon. Farker hopped around the hatch excitedly as the ship settled on the grass outside the bunker door.
Harris said, “You should follow me over. See if it lets you in at the same time.”
“That mean I have to run and dive?”
Harris powered down the ship as he stood. “We’re about to find out.”
Farker sprinted when the hatch opened. Tawn and Harris jumped out behind, rushing to make the door as it opened for the dog. Tawn moved a full step ahead, diving through a closing door as Harris skidded and slammed into it, bouncing off and falling back onto the ground in a daze.
Seconds later, Tawn could be heard yelling through the door. “You OK out there?”
Harris took a moment to clear his head. “I think I might need a few of my ion boxes replaced.”
Tawn laughed. “I’ll take that as you made it. I see the table and chair you were talking about. Should I have a sit and see what it does?”
Harris replied as he stood, brushing himself off: “Sure. Have at it.”
A voice, seemingly from the top of the door, gave a greeting. “Good afternoon, Harris. Welcome back.”
The husky Biomarine staggered through as the door opened. “My own access. That would have been nice to know.”
Tawn sat in the chair. “So how does this thing work?”
“Turn to face the table and it should come on.”
A light shone down on the table. A hologram image of Alexander Gaerten’s face appeared just in front of Tawn.
“Hello. I am Doctor Alexander Gaerten. I designed the facility you now occupy. Welcome. I hope your journey here was pleasant.”
Tawn chuckled. “Mine was. Harris over there is having a tough time of it though.”
“Yes. There is no further need for Mr. Gruberg to rush for the door. If we become friends, it will be the same for you.”
Tawn nodded. “Great. I like you already, Doc. Ask me whatever you want.”
A series of questions followed, with Tawn becoming increasingly annoyed with each new quiz. “This guy was a smartass.”
Harris shook his head. “You know it is listening to everything you say, right? That the way you talk to your friends?”
“That’s the way I talk to you.”
The hologram asked, “Harris, would you consider Miss Freely a friend?”
Harris crossed his arms. “Well…”
Tawn turned. “Really? This is serious. I might need access to save your ass one day. Tell him I’m your friend.”
Harris replied, “Yes, I guess she’s my friend. My insecure friend.”
“I am about as far from insecure as you can get. All that psychological training saw to that. Now, tell him we’re friends before I get up and crack you upside that fat head.”
Harris nodded. “OK, she’s my friend. My belligerent friend.”
The simulation smiled. “Then she is a friend of mine. Tawn, from this moment forward, you have been granted access to this room.”
“Welcome to the club,” said Harris. “What we have to figure out now is how to get beyond that next door. Seems Farker is a better friend than we are.”
“The robotic canine, Archibald, whom you refer to as Farker, is a part of this facility. If and when either of you are deemed trustworthy, you will be granted elevated access as well.”
The second door opened. Farker pushed an
additional chair into the main room before scampering back as the door closed.
“Harris, if you would care to place the chair in front of the table and have a seat, we can continue.”
Harris complied. The questions continued in an alternating fashion for three hours before the hologram closed its eyes.
Harris asked, “Uh, what just happened?”
The voice of the doctor replied, “The answers to the block of questions you have just submitted are under review. When an answer is ready, you will be instructed in how to proceed. If the responses are found to be unacceptable, you will be expelled from the room and granted no further access.”
Harris stood.
Tawn asked, “Where you going?”
Harris pointed at the door. “Back out to the Bangor for a cat-nap. Ever since you brought that up I can’t get it off my mind. Now I need one.”
Tawn smiled. “Wouldn’t have anything to do with slamming into that door earlier, would it?”
Harris walked toward the exit, the door opened before him. “It might. I do have a bit of a headache coming on.”
“Maybe we’ll have to get you checked out when we get back. You make an awful racket when you run into stuff like that. The air being forced from your lungs kind of made this sort of plegh sound. Actually, you made quite the thud too. Probably all that extra weight.”
“Really? You’re going there again? Trying to give me a complex.”
Tawn laughed as she stood. “Yeah. If only I could. How many mental slugs and stumps do you know?”
Harris glanced back as he walked. “Where you going?”
“A nap sounds good.”
Harris pointed back at the second door. “Yeah, well, how about you wait in here for Farker. I’ll lock down the ship before I grab a wink.”
Tawn rolled her eyes. “Dog duty. OK, guess I’ll hang out here.”
Two hours passed before the door opened and the robotic pet again emerged. Tawn followed it out to the Bangor, where a snoring Harris was fast asleep.
Tawn shoved her partner. “Hey, Tubby. Wake up.”
Harris rubbed his eyes as he slowly sat up. “That was a fast fifteen minutes.”
Tawn laughed. “It’s been two hours. That was more of a bear-nap than a cat-nap.”
“Two hours? Guess I needed the rest. Anything else happen? Any good questions from the hologram?”
Tawn shook her head. “Hologram was silent with its eyes closed the whole time.”
“Yeah, it will do that to you. You have to prompt it to start responding again. It can carry on a conversation while it’s churning away on those responses.”
Tawn looked on in disgust. “Why didn’t you mention that before? I just sat in there for two hours picking my nose.”
Harris chuckled. “Thanks for the image. Are we ready to head back?”
“I guess. Dog seems happy again. Don’t know what they’re feeding him in there, but I could use some of it.”
Harris shook his head. “Always thinking about food, aren’t you.”
The Bangor turned into a fireball as it rose through the Midelon sky.
Chapter 14
_______________________
Another two days were spent on escort duty before Tawn and Harris settled in the colonel’s office for their daily briefing.
The colonel brought an image up on the wall display.
“The operation at Dove is underway. They saw their first drop in water availability this morning. The complex has a half million liter storage tank buried somewhere in the middle of those buildings. With a total shutoff of the well, we estimate it will take five days to empty it.”
“They give any reaction to the loss?” Tawn asked. “Even if it was temporary?”
“Our man said there was two mentions of it in the council chamber. No one cared. We’re planning a complete shutdown sometime in the next hour. I expect this time tomorrow the chamber will be all abuzz.”
“Fritz have anything to say about Jebwa?”
“He did. It’s ready to support the first arrivals. Having the capability to support all twenty thousand of the Dove colonists is expected in the next few days. The timing couldn’t be better.”
If you need to sweeten the pot, we might offer food support for three months. That would allow the first of their farms and greenhouses to start producing.”
The colonel shook his head. “I think the pot is sweet enough. As that water tank dries out, they’ll start to see the light.”
Harris rubbed the back of his neck. “We’re playing dirty on this one. Fair, but dirty. What’s the news over at the Rumford Mine?”
“They brought in a specialist from New Earth. So far she’s scratching her head. We keep changing the flow. Sometimes going all the way full, but never enough for them to use in the mining process.”
Tawn grinned. “Bax has to be going nuts.”
The colonel said, “Our spies say she has been quiet throughout all this. I think the Earthers are running things over there. She’s just a figurehead.”
The briefing continued for an hour before Harris stood. “Since we have a little time to the next escort, we’re hopping back to Domicile to check on the new ships. Anything there you need us to expedite?”
“We’re expecting a big magnesium shipment. Our stockpile is running low and our suppliers have failed to deliver twice now. If we run out, our titanium processing comes to a screeching halt. You might take a moment to check in with them. Hopefully the politicians haven’t gotten wise to our resource purchases. They would shut those down in an instant.”
Harris half scowled. “Almost feels like we’re working against ourselves sometimes. I’ll be glad when this planet has been mined out.”
“That won’t be for another ten years,” said the colonel. “And only if we get full control.”
***
Harris followed Tawn into the warehouse on Domicile. “What’s your bet on their progress?”
Tawn replied, “I’m guessing two more weeks.”
Two shiny Banshees sat on the middle of the warehouse floor. Gandy came over with a grin. “Perfect timing! We’re taking them out in about an hour. How’s the Rage doing?”
Harris winced. “Yeah, we had a few issues.”
Trish walked up. “Was the nav system, right? Was giving us fits for a couple days. Kept rebooting.”
Harris shook his head. “First it was the wormhole generator. Wouldn’t kick in. I had her follow me through behind the Bangor.”
“Why didn’t you just bring it back?”
“I wanted to get it onstation. We don’t need to jump for escort duty. Besides, there was more…”
Tawn said, “I tried out the railgun. Fired a few manual rounds and then tried an auto burst. The feeder jammed up.”
Trish sighed. “I’m sorry. That must have been my fault. I hurried that through, knowing it needed more time on the test bench. I’ve had the new feeders available to do that. It shouldn’t be a problem with these two.”
Harris was silent for several seconds. “Then there was an incident.”
Gandy tilted his head. “An incident? Did you crash it?”
Harris chuckled. “No. Tawn let an Earther steal it and we had to shoot it down.”
Tawn protested: “Now wait a minute. I didn’t let anyone steal it.”
Harris smirked. “OK, who would you say gave it over to the Earther spy?”
Tawn sighed. “I did. I thought the colonel had sent him to meet me.”
Gandy stood with his mouth open. “You let someone steal the Rage?”
Harris grinned. “And then she shot it down.”
Tawn returned an angry look. “You think this is funny?”
Harris nodded. “Didn’t at the time. Seems kind of funny now.”
“What happened?” asked Trish.
Harris replied, “The guy was waiting in the docking bay when she arrived. She left the cockpit open for him to hop right in when she landed. He headed for orbit and th
en figured out he couldn’t jump because of the wormhole generator. We pursued him, got in a short firefight.
“He headed back toward Fireburg with the intention of destroying the dome. We followed, his gun jammed, so he decided he was just gonna ram it. I got us close enough and Tawn shot his wing off. The debris landed about a half kilometer from the dome. The colonel’s men came out and cleaned it up.”
Tawn added. “And he crashed us into a dune with his crappy flying.”
Harris laughed. “More like I saved our lives with my superior flying and instincts.”
Tawn waved him off. “Call it what you want. Long story short is we had to kill the Rage. How are these two coming along?”
Gandy crossed his arms. “Can’t believe I only got to fly her once.”
Trish took a moment to collect her thoughts. “Both are ready for their initial test flights. This closer one is named the Regal. The far one is the Radica. Both have an improved inertial dampener courtesy of Mr. Morgan. You should be able to take a direct plasma round without it rattling your teeth out. The drives are also the first two off the production line, where the one in the Rage was a prototype.”
Gandy said, “We’ll do a thorough check of the railgun and the wormhole generator this time.”
Harris said, “We need some type of lockout mechanism for them too. Either a passcode to fly them or a code we can send over the general comm that will disable a drive and a gun, or something similar. And we’ll want this as both a software option and a hardware option.
“Somewhere in that hull you need to hide away a hard switch that we can use to shut things down remotely. For the software side we can ask Mr. Morgan to provide us the expertise for that, since his company builds the computer system. Until at least one of those is in place, we won’t be taking these back with us. But we do need this done as soon as possible. Our freighter flights should be picking up soon.”
Trish nodded. “We’ll make it happen.”
The young mechanic grabbed her brother by the arm. “Come on. We’ve got work to finish.”
Tawn and Harris followed the twins with conversation as they saw to their remaining tasks. The Regal and the Radica were taxied out. Two fireballs raced against the evening sky as the Banshees were put through their paces. The wormhole generators were used to make jumps into empty space. The railguns were tested repeatedly. The Bolemans returned to the ground, taxiing into the warehouse two hours later.
ARMS Harris' Revenge Page 13