Pran said, “I can only guess they are being done away with. They are questioning to find anyone with military ties. Already, many of those people are being separated from their families.”
Mace replied, “They are definitely planning for the long term. Have they given you any expectations as to their intentions? Slaves? Workers? Just a lower class of citizen?”
Pran sighed. “They have given no indication, Mr. Hardy. And we have no spies from their territories that can tell us anything about them. Other than fights on the battlefield, the Dedrus are an unknown.”
Mace stood. “Do you have the coordinates to their nearest colony? I could pay them a visit.”
The Hoorka admiral lifted his arm pad. “I’m passing you what we know. I’m certain they will be coming to collect our comm devices in the near future. Without communications, any type of uprising will be unthinkable.”
The information was taken back to the shuttle. A short run up into space had a wormhole opened to the nearest known Dedrus colony. As Jenny piloted the shuttle within sensor range, it became apparent the colony was no more.
Mace said, “Last info the Hoorka had says this colony was ten to twenty million people in size. It looks scorched.”
Jenny replied, “Give me a sec and we can scan for bios.”
Mace shook his head. “I can tell you now there aren’t any bios down there.”
“Not true. I count five… and a small ship.”
“Take us in. Are they Dedrus?”
The shuttle dropped slowly through the atmosphere as to not attract attention. Jenny brought it to a stop only a kilometer above where the small ship was parked.
“They look just like those who invaded, only not uniformed. See that table and those boxes? Instruments. They are studying something.”
Mace said, “Put us on the ground. I’m going aboard their ship.”
“Why?”
Mace smiled. “They have to have starmaps of their territories. I want those. We need those.”
Jenny nodded. “I’ll set us just on the other side of that hill. You know the drill for coming back. Rap on the hull, and if all looks clear I’ll let you in.”
Mace hopped down onto the charred, rocky soil of the surface. A short jog had him standing just behind four Dedrus citizens, likely scientists. A ten meter walk had him ascending the ramp into their ship. The fifth bio lay on a bunk in the cabin, asleep.
Five minutes of fumbling with controls later, he had a starmap showing on a console. Mace zoomed in and scrolled around. The Dedrus empire covered more than two hundred star systems, listing three hundred twenty-two colonies. The territories covered three times the space of the UF, Hoorka, Karthians, and Galactic Union combined.
When the nav map recording had come to an end, Mace turned to review the remainder of the cockpit. As he studied his surroundings he was suddenly bumped in the back. The sleeping crewman had awakened. Before he could react, the now curious crewman began reaching out, touching his unseen torso. A compressed wave of energy from Mace’s thunder glove sent the crewman flying back and away, slamming his body into a far wall before it slumped to the floor.
Five quick steps got him to the top of the ramp. As the other Dedrus crewmen moved to check what the noise was about, they were met with multiple rounds from Mace’s thunder glove. Before any signals could be sent or any alarm sounded, the enemy crew was dead.
Mace opened a comm. “We had an incident. I had to take them out. Go up and open a wormhole comm back to Gellos. Tell Jasper to bring the Organ Cave. We’re loading this ship up and taking it with us. Including the bodies. As far as the Dedrus will know, they all disappeared.”
“On my way. What happened?”
“One of them made contact and I had no way of moving away from him. I blasted him and his buddies came running. We can’t risk the Dedrus knowing we’re out there. They’ll ask questions and the UF will turn over whatever mechanism they used to detect us. That might happen anyway, but we shouldn’t force it.”
A comm was opened and Jasper Collins was on his way. The research ship was loaded into an empty docking bay and the Organ Cave departed.
Jenny stood on the planet’s surface looking around. “What do you think happened here?”
“Not sure. Everything got scorched. Was that from an attack or from a natural phenomenon?”
Jenny gestured toward the shuttle ramp. “Well, let’s get back and see. That ship and her logs should give us a clue.”
The shuttle landed back at Gellos. Johnny was waiting as the ramp lowered.
“Heard you got in a firefight.”
Mace shook his head. “No, just me shooting. They never had a chance. One discovered me. I took care of him and his buddies came to see what was going on. I took them out before any other shots were fired or comms opened.”
Johnny nodded. “What’d you find?”
“That colony was destroyed, the whole planet scorched. Or at least it looks that way. The atmosphere showed no indication of such. We have their research ship. Maybe the logs will show us.”
“Starmaps?”
Mace nodded. “Yep. How’s the ammo designs coming?”
Johnny smiled. “Good. We have the casings and slugs mapped. The Targarians are building a machine. Should be the first of many. One line will stamp slugs while the other does cartridge shells. They’re already working on a section that will stuff the load and shove in the slug. They say that one machine will be able to produce ten thousand rounds a day if its hoppers are kept fed. With a dozen of those running we’d be able to conduct a decent sized war.”
“How’s Jane doing with her AR’s?”
“They already have 3D models of all the parts. Starting to build the stamps and presses to produce them. She says they’re confident that within a month we can be producing ten thousand units a day.”
“A day? I thought we were talking more like a month for that?”
Johnny shrugged. “I guess Jasper was right. They’re good at all things mechanical. She also said they thought they could double than number two weeks after, and again two weeks after that.”
Mace half smiled. “At that rate we’ll be able to outfit Stark’s whole army in about two months. That’s great news.”
Jeff approached, gesturing toward the Royal Fortune. She’s ready for testing. I did a thorough investigation of the hull. You should be clear to jump with her. And I have to say I’m eager to get the data back from the upgrades Roge and Zax performed. That data may help to clear up a few of our issues.”
Jenny walked down the ramp.
Mace turned. “Ready for another run?”
Jenny turned back toward the cabin. “OK.”
Mace laughed. “Not in there. The Fortune. Doc says she’s ready to roll.”
“Mind if I tag along?” asked Johnny. “The Targs don’t need me until we start mixing the loads for testing.”
Mace gestured. “Sure, come on. I think we make a few hops to see that she performs OK and then maybe make a jump to another Dedrus colony for more intel.”
Johnny opened a comm to Jane: “Hey, I’m going on a beer run with Mace. Be back in a bit.”
Jane offered a confused look. “Beer run?”
Johnny shook his head. “Nobody gets my jokes anymore. We’re heading out to test the Royal Fortune. She’s up and running again. If all looks good, we’ll make a swing out to Dedrus territory to gather more info on them. I’ll be back when that’s done.”
Jane nodded. “OK. Well, if you happen to come in contact with any Dedrus, please don’t tell them any of your jokes. They already don’t seem to like us.”
Johnny chuckled. “When did you become so harsh? Is the old man there with you? You trying to impress him?”
Jane smiled. “Nope… it’s all you. See you when you get back.”
Jenny laughed as they walked. “Somebody has your number.”
Johnny smiled. “That somebody has had my number for a long time. And I hope it stays that way
.”
Three local portal jumps were made. Other than a slight increase in circuit temperature, all other monitored parameters returned green. A fourth jump was made to a colony on the starmap Mace had recorded.
Mace said, “Dedrus data says this is a major colony. Six hundred million people.”
Jenny replied, “We have what looks like a ship factory and a spaceport. Twenty-seven warships parked nearby. A couple dozen freighters heading off in different directions. Multitudes of smaller ships.”
Mace nodded. “Take us into orbit and scan for bios. I want to know if the numbers match to what we found on that research ship.”
Johnny said, “Should we scout that shipyard? Might be we’ll want to blow it just like the others.”
“Let’s just observe for a bit. If the bio numbers check out, the info we grabbed from the research vessel should be accurate. We now have the ID of that shipyard. If it shows in the database, we’ll be able to locate any others like it.”
Johnny looked over Mace’s shoulder at the data coming in. “This is what I like. Being in the game. We’re actually trying to do something other than just survive.”
Jenny smiled. “Surviving might not be sexy, but it’s a heckuva lot better than dying.”
A full orbit of the globe was conducted. The number of bios matched within a few thousand. A flight was taken close to the shipyard. The sensors gathered the maximum resolution of the available passive data. A short run had the shuttle out of sensor range. A micro-wormhole was opened and the ship passed through to Gellos.
Jeff Moskowitz was waiting as the ramp lowered. “I just downloaded the data. Excellent! This should be a tremendous help.”
Mace said, “We did get a warning after our third jump in a row. Looked like some kind of temperature warning. Wasn’t in the red so I wasn’t too worried.”
Jeff nodded. “Yes, I saw that. I’ll have Roge look into it. What did you see at the Dedrus colony?”
“It was sizable. Maybe six hundred million? The numbers matched the data from the research ship.”
Jeff pointed. “Excellent. As you can see, we brought it inside.”
“I was actually wondering if it was safe to bring here at all. What kind of signals does that thing give off?”
“Minimal. We have no worries from inside this space. This entire complex has the gatrellium copper paint. We’ve conducted every test we know how from outside and received no indication that this operation was down here. We’re safe.”
Jeff looked over at the small ship. “Jasper’s engineers are poring over it as we speak, looking for anything new or anything we might be able to exploit on the Dedrus warships.”
Mace crossed his arms. “Any luck?”
Jeff shook his head. “Only the starmaps so far. Which tell us the location of every shipyard they have. Nearly a hundred smaller yards.”
Mace thought for a moment before asking. “Do they use similar reactors for power?”
“No,” replied Jeff. “They have a more compact design and they are sealed. I don’t think the tactic of making them critical will work. We don’t have access to the inner workings. I’ll have a better evaluation for you in a few days. At best, we could knock out their power until they were replaced. Now… I should be getting back to my work. If you could excuse me…”
Mace nodded. “Thanks for all you do, Doc. And get that wormhole device working. We need it now more than ever.”
Jenny placed her hand on Mace’s shoulder. “What’s next, Chief? You up for some lunch?”
Mace smirked. “You reading my thoughts?”
Jenny smiled as she took his arm. “Nope. My stomach is growling and we’ve been together all morning. Just thought you might be hungry.”
Mace nodded. “I am. You buying?”
Johnny walked up behind them. “You aren’t going on a picnic, are you?”
Mace laughed. “Why? You planning on ruining it?”
Johnny frowned. “Wasn’t my fault before. Anyway… I’m hungry and I’d rather not eat alone.”
The trio walked into the dining facility. Tres Dowda was standing over a table covered with red fruit.
Johnny asked, “What’s this?”
“It’s a local fruit. Kind of a small peachy apple.”
“They ready to eat?”
“Have one.”
Johnny picked up a sample. “Not much bigger than a golf ball. Closer to a plum than a peach or apple.”
Tres said, “I was referring to the taste.”
Johnny took a bite. “Juicy. Not bad… whoa… that’s hot!”
Tres placed a small sign on the front of the table. It read “Spicy… beware!”
Johnny walked quickly to a beverage dispenser, turning up a glass as soon as it was filled.
Teary eyed, he turned back toward the others. “That burns!”
Jasper walked in behind them. “Aw… look at the big crybaby.”
Johnny pointed. “You tried one?”
Jasper scowled. “I don’t fear heat.”
Johnny opened his eyes wide, blinking them several times. “Whew. You should fear that. Tell you what… you eat one and I’ll have another.”
Jenny half laughed. “You just said it burned.”
Johnny nodded. “It did. It does. Doesn’t mean I don’t like it.”
Jasper picked up the small red fruit and defiantly took a bite. Despite his best effort to not react, his forehead began to sweat and the tears began to flow.
Jenny stepped up to the table. “Mace, you gonna give it a try if I do?”
Mace shook his head. “No. Call me a baby or a wimp or whatever you want. Me and hot don’t mix.”
Jenny soon joined the watery eyes group. When each had consumed their hot fruit, they settled at a table with beverages and nutrient bars. Jokes were made and laughs were had. It was a rare moment of levity in a galaxy condemned to subservience.
Chapter 10
*
The following morning on Promexa, the tribunal was organized and the defendants brought before them. Each accused argued their case, with Keona and Blogue denying any undue actions. The impostor queen was brought forward. Her testimony was a repeat of Keona and Blogue’s. Her claim of involvement was to be a standin for the queen for smaller media events where all she had to do was appear and wave. Twice Favia had to have her restraints tightened. By the end of the testimonies, it was obvious the tribunal members would elect to convict the lot of them.
Standing invisible, with his hand on Mace’s shoulder, Johnny said, “We have to pull them out of this.”
The leader of the tribunal stood. “It is the judgment of this panel that Queen Favia of the Hoorka Dominion, and her war council, numbering a dozen members, and the actress named Ceola, along with the five provincial governors, are guilty of violating the Melican Treaty and of plotting to attack the Dedrus Empire of King Solololomi. Also included in this judgment is a verdict of guilty in absentia of Malcom Stark, King of the Humans. It is the determination of this panel that said guilty parties be executed upon transmission to and acceptance of this judgment by the king.”
An officer of the court stood. “The request has been delivered and accepted. The execution may proceed.”
Mace whispered, “Go into the hallway behind us. When you hear noise coming from this room, clear the hall going out to where Jenny’s parked. We’ll be coming behind you at a run.”
Johnny moved into the hall. Four guards stood at the door to the tribunal chambers; another two stood at the exit from the building. Johnny took aim, awaiting the signal.
Inside, Mace moved into position for action against the guards. The members of the tribunal left the room. The guards began to gather the prisoners for their execution walk.
Favia was lined up behind Keona. “You have cost us all our lives and our people their freedom.”
Keona replied, “Do you think the Dedrus came because of a simple plot? That was merely their excuse. They have been preparing for this raid f
or some time. You and the other fools on this council were just too blind to see it. I took action. My only shame is in not having taken it soon enough.”
Favia said, “Did you have evidence they were massing for an attack?”
Keona huffed. “No. But as we see… they were. My actions were justified.”
Favia scowled. “You’re actions were nothing more than selfish. It’s you that has gotten us killed.”
Keona turned with a wry smile. “I would suggest you make arrangements to flee. In about thirty seconds I will be liberated. You were always a poor excuse for a queen. And your advisors are fools.”
Seconds later a far door burst open. The guards were quickly eliminated and the conspirator leader freed.
Admiral Blogue held up his bindings. “Halfus? Am I not going with you?”
Keona laughed as his own bindings were cut away. “You continue to be a fool, Blogue. Why would I take such an idiot with me. You offer no further value.”
The small group of attackers hustled out the door they had come in through, taking Halfus Keona with them. Mace reached out with a blade, cutting the bindings on Favia’s hands, and then was doing the same for the others as the guards from the hallway entered the room.
Johnny unloaded on them from behind with his thunder glove and all four were vaulted into the air, slamming against a far wall.
Mace said, “Hit those other two guards. We’ll be right behind you.”
Two thuds could be heard from the far end of the hall as Mace pushed Favia forward. “We’re getting you all out. You need to run.”
Favia commanded, “Run! If you want to live, do just as I say!”
Mace stayed at the door to the tribunal room as Johnny and Favia led the others out to a waiting shuttle. He fired two rounds at the first guards to arrive, knocking them backward out into a hallway for any others approaching to see. He turned and sprinted the length of the hall, emerging seconds later and running up the ramp as it began to close. The invisible shuttle lifted up through the atmosphere.
Mace turned off his holo-projector. “Jenny? Was there another shuttle? Did anyone come outside?”
Jenny nodded. “Through those doors at the other end of the building. And guess what… they ran up into thin air and vanished. Someone else is using the projector tech.”
HADRON Emergent Page 10
