"Well, I have a new one for you. The emperor is once again at the negotiating table with the Denzee. He's using our last successful attack on them at Gondol to bring them back to the table. The Denzee have successfully seeded their crop on Gondol and it's growing like mad. There's only one big problem. The plant that's growing is highly toxic to Humans."
"If ingested?"
"No, if ground into a fine powder and dumped into the atmosphere. Alex thinks it could kill an entire planet and make it uninhabitable by Humans for up to a thousand years. The amount growing at Gondol would be enough to take out Domicile."
"Is anything being done about this? How long do we have?"
"Four months. We have Alex looking into a herbicide. But how we manufacture and deliver it in that time frame across an entire planet, I don't know. At the moment we're contemplating a raid on Jellon. Would be seven-hundred-odd Ratoons against our hundred-plus Banshees. I don't know that I like the odds."
"If there's anything we can do, we'll do it."
"Put a bug in the ear of your DDI contact. Pass on the Gondol information as well as the deal-making. The Earthers may not be the ones delivering that toxin, but they will be supportive of it."
"Consider it done. Oh, and we've managed to locate Mr. Morgan. We can extricate him if you want. He's currently being held without warrant in an out-of-the-way location where his friends don't know to look. If you want him brought out, we can do it."
"Make it happen, Colonel. We owe him that."
"Again, consider it done. And comm me back without the long break next time. You had us worried."
Harris chuckled. "We were stuck underground on Gondol for that time. Remind me to tell you about it someday. Just one more war story from my bag of collections."
"We certainly have enough of those already."
"That we do, Colonel. Will be in contact soon."
— Chapter 11 —
* * *
Harris walked into the main bunker room as Tawn and Trish were mulling over a display of Jellon and the surrounding space.
"Anything yet of value?" Harris asked.
Tawn shook her head. "They're parked in three groups, which is good, but we have no way of isolating any of those groups. We deploy a boson and any group is only twenty minutes away. Our best target would be this one, a hundred eighty-six Ratoons. We can't do a lot of damage to that size of fleet in ten or fifteen minutes. We still risk having the random shots picking us off as we run."
"So we need to lure one of those groups away. Maybe to Gondol?"
"How? What do we have that will make them go?"
Alex said, "I believe I have a herbicide mix that will kill or at a minimum stunt the growth of those plants. We don't, however, have the materials or the manufacturing capability required to put it into a deliverable form."
"What do we need for that?" Harris asked.
A list showed on the display. "These ingredients, mixed to the proper proportions, heated, precipitated out, dried, and ground to a fine powder for delivery. Aerial spraying would be the desired delivery mechanism."
"We could certainly rig up sprayers of some sort to our Banshee fleet for delivery, but I don't know where we'd find the quantities of ingredients you're displaying. Is that twelve million tonnes?"
"It is."
"That's a problem. We need to look for a better solution."
Trish said, "Maybe we draw them out by pretending to spray. Rig up the Banshees to spray water or something. We just have to get them to think we're destroying that crop."
Tawn nodded. "We could plant a seed with the emperor to that effect. Tell him we have a herbicide and will be spraying that whole planet with twenty ships. That should bring out a sufficient force to try to stop us. We have the rest of the fleet lying in wait."
"That's a possibility," Harris replied. "And we could deploy a boson at both ends. Wait until enough ships leave Jellon and drop one there. And then another to freeze them at Gondol. The emperor would be all over passing that message on. This toxin could be the mechanism that wipes out Domicile for him. Although I bet he has his own people working up a herbicide as a contingency. He wouldn't want that used on his own people next."
"So we need to rig up some sprayers. Alex, you think you could come up with a design we can build twenty of in the next few days?"
An image appeared on the display. "It is a drop-tank design. If hostilities begin, the tank may be jettisoned. It holds five thousand liters of liquid. A simple valve and dispersion bar will handle delivery. We have the materials at hand. Would you like the workers to begin construction?"
"Absolutely. Do you have an estimated time to complete?"
"Thirty-three hours."
Harris patted Tawn and Trish on the shoulders. "Thirty-three hours from now we try to lure in a Denzee force."
"When do you want to tell the emperor?" Tawn asked.
"No sooner than an hour before we go. I don't want them to have time to think about their response."
Later that afternoon, a comm was placed to the colonel. "Status on Mr. Morgan?"
"We have him. I'm sending coordinates for a pick-up. Word is already buzzing that the pacifists are livid he got away. He's become somewhat of a popular figurehead with the people since the Beckland invasion. The politicos are pushing to further dismantle our military, and the people are getting uneasy."
Harris thought for a moment. "Hmm, so he would make a good public spokesman for the cause. What if we put together an interview with him talking about Gondol and the danger to Domicile? You think we could get that on the airwaves?"
"We could. Wouldn’t be welcome by those in charge, but it would be a good gauge as to whether or not the people are fed up with the current leadership. The presidential election is eight months away. This could be a big blow to their effort to maintain their agenda."
The conversation continued for several minutes. Harris let out in the Bangor, picking up Bannis Morgan fifteen minutes later.
"Glad to have you back, Mr. Morgan."
"Glad to be back. Was going stir-crazy in that house they had me confined in. No windows and no news feeds from the outside. There was a lot of activity surrounding my release, some physical. Don't think anyone was hurt, but the agents in charge will not be treated kindly."
Harris gave a full explanation of the recent happenings, the situation at Gondol, with the Denzee, and the plans to make use of him. The former business titan wholeheartedly agreed to the suggested method to rally the people of Domicile to the cause.
As they landed, Trish was waiting with a hug. "Happy to see you back. Miss Rumford has taken over production for the most part, and the two of us don't see eye to eye much. Please tell me you plan on taking that back?"
"We'll have to see. Wouldn't mind getting in a meal first, before I get started."
Another face appeared in the doorway. Trish stepped back.
"Oh, this is one of my assistants, Garvis Frohm. He was a new hire who showed a bit too much loyalty, so they locked him up with me. He'll be joining us."
Trish blushed as she looked up at the deep blue eyes and chiseled face of the newest team member. "Hello."
Garvis nodded with a smile. "Hello."
As they entered the supply hut, an image of Alex popped up on the display wall. "Welcome back, Bannis."
"Glad to be back."
Bax walked in behind them. "Well, your suspicions were right. The Earthers did make further Banshee alterations while we were gone. I don't have them figured out yet, but I will. I know Morgan. Who's this?"
Bannis turned. "Garvis Frohm, my assistant. So you finally decided to join the right team?"
"I was on the right team. It just didn't always appear that way. Anyway, the emperor is definitely up to something with those changes. Maybe he hopes to take control of those ships in the future or something. I'll figure it out."
Harris said, "Use Alex as much as you can for analysis. He's good at exploring potential reasons for a design."<
br />
Trish gestured toward a chair. "Garvis, where on Domicile are you from? And can I get you an MRE and a beverage?"
Garvis smiled. "Yes, please. And I'm from Tor Angeles. Born and raised there. Just graduated from the Institute of Mechanical Studies last year before landing the assistant job with Mr. Morgan. I know we're on an outer colony, but which one?"
"Midelon."
"Wait, that's the system no one can get to? How'd we—"
Harris held up a hand. "You'll get the full explanation. I'm sure Miss Boleman will enjoy telling you all about it."
Trish nodded, doing her best to conceal a grin.
Harris grabbed a meal and sat at a table with Tawn and Bannis. "Didn't get a chance to tell you much about the Earther and Denzee situation. We managed to get the emperor to build Banshee hulls again. This time he's been delivering, although I believe that's about to change. He's once again negotiating with the enemy."
Tawn said, "We think he wants those toxins used on Domicile. That would allow him to take charge of all the colonies here."
"And what happens to the Earthers in that scenario?"
Harris sat back in his chair. "We believe he has to have a contingency plan. He won't have interest in them bringing that toxin anywhere near New Earth. Alex has the design for a herbicide that will destroy that crop at Gondol, but we have no way of making it in the quantity needed to be effective. For some of the ingredients, we’d need millions of tonnes. We have no suppliers."
"You mentioned getting hulls from New Earth, and that might change. Why?"
"If the emperor makes his deal with the Denzee, the next shipment won't be delivered. We don't have enough now to take on that fleet, so we're still banking heavily on the divide and conquer strategy. At the moment, we're building spray tanks to attach to our Banshees. We're hoping to lure a smaller fleet to Gondol to prevent us from spraying anything. If that happens, we attack."
"Still no way to attack Jellon?"
Tawn shook her head. "That fleet is too big. And growing. If we manage to cut it in half while maintaining our numbers, we might just have a shot at taking them out. We're a long way from that at the moment."
After their meal, Bannis was escorted to a room inside the bunker where a public service message about the Denzee toxin was recorded and edited. The final product was a polished video that contained a stern warning about the Denzee, their motives, and the potential catastrophe the planet Gondol would currently enable. The public was urged to contact their government representatives to let them know the crop should be destroyed.
Harris crossed his arms as he watched for the third time. "I like it. Forceful and easily understood. I don't think it could be talked about in a more convincing manner. You sure you haven't done this before?"
"I had plenty of practice with recorded board meetings. How will you be getting this broadcast?"
"Our DDI contact says he can get it done."
Bannis wrote down a name. "Here, have him contact this person before he distributes. She'll be able to help with doubling the initial audience. There won't be a news channel that won't be running that video continuously. The president will not be having a good day when this airs."
The following day, the last of the spray tanks were installed and tested. Five thousand liters of water was pumped aboard and dispersed into the air. Analysis showed an altitude of two kilometers above the surface would yield the most even results. When they were ready, Harris placed a comm to the emperor from aboard the Bangor as it floated in Jellon space.
"I wanted to alert you to what we're about to do. We have a herbicide ready for the Denzee plants on Gondol. We expect to commence spraying in the next few hours. If you haven't signed your deal, you may want to leave Jellon."
"What? I must ask that you not do this. We are close to a new peace accord. This will negate all we've worked for. Without that food source, the Denzee will be stuck here in our space."
"I think we both know this isn't being grown for food. In fact, from the information we have, that crop isn't even what their queens claim to feed on. It only has one good purpose, and that's to kill Humans. In a few hours’ time, we'll have taken that option away."
"Why would you tell me this?"
"We need those Banshee hulls. If the Denzee do away with you because of our action at Gondol, I don't think we'd be getting that next shipment."
The emperor scowled. "Why is it you are continuously frustrating my plans? Allow me to properly manage the Denzee and they will no longer be a threat to us. Continue to meddle in my affairs and you'll be dooming us all."
Harris chuckled. "You never cease to amaze me with your backward logic, Mervin. Make plans to best secure yourself. We're cleansing Gondol of that poison."
He closed the comm.
Harris turned to the others. "That went well. I think we can expect a Denzee force will be heading to Gondol any moment."
Tawn pointed. "And there they go. Count is a hundred twelve ships. Perfect."
Gandy said, "Bomb is deployed. Detonate when you're ready."
"Let's see if we can time this for maximum effect," Harris replied.
As the final third of the Denzee attack fleet approached the wormholes, Harris pressed the button to detonate. Sixteen ships were cut in half or severely damaged as the wormholes closed. A run was then made toward free space.
Just over an hour passed before the Bangor emerged from the collapsing negated field. A jump was made to the Gondol system with high expectations of a victory. Instead, eighty-four Ratoons were sitting in high orbit around the planet. Micro-debris fields could be counted in the surrounding space.
Tawn shook her head. "Something bad happened here. Where are our ships?"
A second jump placed the ship in Midelon space, where a comm was opened.
Gandy popped onto the display. "I guess you saw what happened."
Tawn replied, "We don't know anything. What's going on?"
Bax cut in. "Our friend used his safeguard on most of the hulls in our fleet. They all lost their inertial dampeners as they closed to engage. The bots flying them all self-destructed before any could be taken. We lost thirty of our own before they could pull out. Our Banshee fleet now consists of forty-four Banshees and the Hailstorm. Our remaining Legion was one of the casualties."
"We counted eighty Ratoons still there. Ninety-six came through."
"We did manage to kill off those sixteen. I hope you have a plan B ready to stop that plant growth on Gondol."
Harris gestured toward Bannis. "Best we have is his video airing back on Domicile. Any word on if that went up?"
Alex came up on a split display. "I took the liberty of contacting the colonel. The video will be live on the news feeds within the hour. His contact reported high interest to immediately air the message in its entirety by a majority of the networks. His remarks were that it was a controversial message, and controversy sells."
Bax said, "I still doubt you'll see any action from the president other than organizing committees to discuss the issue. I wish I was there. I could coordinate the delivery of the supplies we need for that herbicide."
Tawn crossed her arms. "You really think you could pull that off? You can't be seen in public any more than we can."
"Getting things accomplished is what I do. Get me a comm to that planet and I'll work getting us what we need. Obviously I can't guarantee a satisfactory result, but I guarantee I'll make a satisfactory effort."
Tawn chuckled. "You don't have to sell us so hard. We know what you're capable of. Harris? What do you think? Do we turn her loose on Domicile? Maybe she can work getting us the supplies we need and at the same time take on a campaign to influence the public toward our way of thinking."
"We don't have any resources there for her to make use of. The colonel's DDI contact has already been stretched. We can't keep calling on him to get things done."
Alex said, "Indeed you cannot. In my conversation with the colonel, he mentioned that his contact
was no longer available. It may be he was exposed during the extrication of Mr. Morgan."
"Wow." Harris frowned. "If so, that's a huge loss. He was virtually our only connection on Domicile. We've tried repeatedly to contact Fritz Romero, but he seems to have dropped off the grid."
Trish said, "We have mine and Sharvie's families. And Sharvie's friends."
"I wouldn't want to involve them, especially not your families. The friends... might be good for gathering info, but I wouldn't task them with anything. There’s too much at stake on both sides of the equation."
Bax said, "Really, I can handle this. Give me something substantial to dig into. You won't be sorry with the results."
Tawn slowly shook her head. "You're too recognizable. You stand out."
"Have you ever seen me as a blonde or brunette? I can blend in if needed. It's hard to make oneself so attractive. It's relatively easy to go the other way."
"Hmm. I don't know whether to take that as confidence or self-centeredness."
"Take it as a little of both."
Alex said, "I can confirm the video of Mr. Morgan is now being seen on all the major broadcast markets. The secondary channels are already growing active. It appears to be the current leading topic of discussion on the social networks."
Bax leaned in. "You want to add momentum to this, I suggest you take me off my leash."
Harris nodded. "We'll give you a week. You cause us any problems and we'll be sure to turn you over to the DDI."
Bax grinned. "Consider this mission already a success."
The Bangor landed in the grass beside the bunker. Tawn was standing there waiting. Twenty minutes later saw a rendezvous with a ship the colonel had sent out. Baxter Rumford was on her way home to Domicile.
— Chapter 12 —
* * *
Harris turned up a beverage before sampling a bogler and vegetable stew that had been freshly concocted by Gandy.
"Well?"
Harris tilted his head to one side. "Not bad. Could use a little pepper."
ARMS Domers Unite: (Book 6) Page 10
