"How do you know so much?"
"My agents on Domicile assisted Miss Rumford with her success, such as the freighters used for delivery to Midelon. Who do you think purchased them and approved their last minute lease? You're help in delivery of the fertilizer to Gondol is much appreciated, Mr. Gruberg."
"We were tricked into that. You're going into this knowingly. And as I said, New Earth will be next."
"Ah, Mr. Gruberg… do you think I would allow that to happen to my own people?"
"If you have a way to stop this, you need to take that action now. Look, together we can beat these Denzee and send them packing back to where they came from. You already have control of the truce worlds. You’re really OK with killing off the Domers in order to take control?"
"It would save me the trouble of having to reeducate them all."
"And it would leave Domicile uninhabitable for a thousand years."
The emperor held up a finger. "It would, unless you had a method to neutralize the substance in question. You see, Mr. Gruberg, it pays to plan ahead. And as to Gondol, once this first harvest is complete, there won't be another."
The emperor grinned. "This plan will succeed, Mr. Gruberg."
"And if it doesn't?"
"It will. I have contingencies for contingencies. You've been outmaneuvered this time. Your attempts at meddling will only harm you further. Goodbye, Mr. Gruberg. Enjoy your life of solitude on Midelon. Bwahahaha—"
The comm closed.
"What an ass," Tawn said. "I’ll be glad when he's dethroned."
A comm was opened to Baxter Rumford.
"What's happened now?"
Harris sighed. "Earther agents have been working you to ensure that cargo was delivered."
"I'm aware of that. They're easily spotted, you know. The freighters were purchased by one of their companies, which is why I knew we wouldn't get use of them again."
"According to the emperor, we only got use of them because he made that happen."
"That's possible. I guess you should have checked the contents of that list before sending in those sprayers."
"I had no way of knowing to do that."
"As I had no way of knowing the Earthers had purchased those freighters until after the fact."
"Not blaming you here. Just wanted to inform you that the Earthers were all in your business there."
"Most of it I knew about. As I said, they're easy to spot. And I was happy to have the help. You have anything else for discussion?"
"Just giving you the heads-up. Oh, and I have a recording of my last comm with the emperor if you think you can make use of it. He admits to what he's doing and planning. Admits to knowing we were spraying fertilizer too."
"Can't use it. Makes us look like fools. That won't rally anyone to our cause."
Bax leaned into the camera. "Look, we both got played. It happens. Lamenting that doesn't solve our current problem. I suggest you put your thoughts toward fixing this, as we don't have much time left. I'll do what I can here to turn up the heat, but at the moment I'd say we're losing this fight."
The comm closed from the other end.
"She's not one for chit-chat, is she," said Tawn.
Harris glanced over at the Bangor. "I have a mind to take that ship straight to the palace and level that place. The Earthers don't have anything that can stop me."
"Would be fun, but I don't think it solves any of our problems."
After listening at the door, Gandy came out of the hut. "Is there anything we can do?"
The next five weeks flew past without the team having options to stop or delay the growth of the Denzee plants. The surface of Gondol was covered with bright red leaves and yellow flowers, the reflecting light giving the atmosphere a pinkish hue. On Domicile, the pacifists continued to push their agenda. Orders had just come down to park a third of the fleet and to push the active crews and support personnel into the reserves for potential release from their military obligations.
At the Retreat, a petition was filed asking the Senate to consider a plea for secession. A vote was taken, with a unanimous result, far outpacing the threshold set up for the possibility of such actions. Bax had overseen propaganda campaigns for the colonel, leaving most of the Senate in favor. The President was keen on removing the warriors from his citizenry.
On the fourth day of the seventh standard month, an agreement was signed and ratified. The Rabid system, its planets and colonists, was on a path to no longer be a part of the Domicile Free Worlds. With a declarative degree from the colonel, the Retreat would be made the capital of the Indie Empire.
At Gondol, Tawn and Harris sat in the cockpit of the Bangor, watching the procession of Denzee Dulons that had come in to do the harvest.
"I can't believe we're just sitting here while this is happening."
"I'm not in favor of suicide, so there's not much we can do."
"In a week, they'll have enough of that processed to wipe out Domicile."
"Or the Retreat, as far as that goes. They have nothing there that can stop the dispersal of that toxin. All the Denzee have to do is get it in the atmosphere. The winds will do the rest."
Harris said, "Clip out this recording to send to Bax. Maybe it will light a fire under the Senate. As much as the pacifists want to deny this is happening, they know it is. They have to be getting scared as well. At the moment, their only defense is relying on the good faith of the Denzee."
Tawn sighed. "There goes the first shipment."
"Our whole lives have been dedicated to the protection of our world and our people. Now we sit, unable to act, as we watch a growing storm that will wipe us all out. Seems a grave injustice after all we've given."
"We aren't dead yet. Something will break our way. Always does."
After the first dozen Dulons had departed Gondol with the toxic harvest, the Bangor made a flight to the Retreat. Once settled on the tarmac at building one, Tawn and Harris walked to the colonel's office.
Harris plopped in a chair. Tawn sat beside him. "That toxin will be ready in a week. We have no way to stop it."
"That's not fully true."
"We have the Bangor, the Hailstorm, and forty-four Banshees that we're not even sure will fight with us. They're under the primary control of the AI, which I now think has its own agenda. So really just the two ships. We could possibly catch one or two of those Dulons and destroy them, but the Denzee would put a hundred ships around them after that. And we can't get near Jellon where they'll be doing the processing. How is it not true?"
"I've been working with friends in the fleet. Our admiralty, almost to a person, is ready to defend Domicile should word of an attack come. This is outside of the orders they've been given by the President. They have action plans in place for this scenario."
Harris half scowled. "The Denzee could send in five hundred Ratoons without blinking. We can't stop that."
"I'll let you in on a secret. Your boson bomb, it's been compromised. I won't tell you how, just that it has. And it's been modified. One bomb will negate the boson field out to a half light-year. And it functions for almost a full week. We have more than a hundred being manufactured. If necessary, we'll deaden the space around Domicile to wormhole travel indefinitely."
"You grabbed our boson?"
"Not me specifically. Just know that the design was taken. And it's not known to our government or our military, just a special group of scientists who are allied with us and determined to protect Domicile."
Harris sat back. "Only two people would have had a chance to access that. Baxter Rumford and Bannis Morgan."
"I won't say who, or if it was even them. Doesn't matter either way."
"It matters to us as to who we can trust," said Tawn.
"We're talking the death of our entire populace, Miss Freely. I can't say your sense of trust or hurt over this intrusion holds much water. We do have priorities that take precedent."
"Sorry, Colonel. It's just kind of a shock to us that it was do
ne. If this gives us a way to protect Domicile, we're all for it."
Harris asked, "When will the first of these bombs roll off the line? And have you run any tests? We've had a couple that didn't function as designed."
"Only simulations. Our team is confident they will work."
Tawn said, "We saw the Senate voted and the President signed your freedom agreement. When we saw there were no more DDI ships in orbit, we came on in."
"They left yesterday, after the vote. Frankly, I'm still stunned they went our way."
Tawn chuckled. "Probably because they know in fifty years or so we'll all be dead. They can waltz in then and take everything we've built."
"True. But until that happens it's fully ours to control. And I've taken initiative to purchase all the science and manufacturing gear I could find. It's all being sold on Domicile for a tiny fraction of its worth. We're using a war chest we developed while things were going our way, distributing it across thousands of accounts so as to not raise suspicion. When the President seized our funds, these went undetected and remained."
"Have you asked for your other monies back? The ones confiscated when they raided those ship factories?"
"We applied for their reinstatement, but were told they were confiscated in lieu of fines at the time, so they won't be released. It would have been helpful, but we have an adequate bankroll at the moment."
"All this equipment you're purchasing, who's gonna run it?"
"We're also enlisting contractors for the training of our own people. I know that will be a difficult task, but we can manage. And again, given the current job situation on Domicile, those experts are being had for a fraction of what they would normally charge. Work on Domicile is getting scarcer by the day."
Harris sat forward. "Any chance you can give us the boson designs you have? We could use the longer lasting field."
"Not a chance. If you want it, you'll have to steal it."
"I just thought—"
The colonel grinned as he held up a hand. "Relax, the designs are yours. How are you set for materials?"
"OK for the next few dozen. Why, can you get us supplies now?"
"I can. And I ask because the new design uses about fifteen times the dysprosium as your original. And efforts are underway to make an even bigger one. So if you want to build more, you'll need a bigger supply of materials. And we're in the position to help now."
The discussion continued for another twenty minutes before the new boson bomb specs were transferred. Tawn followed Harris back to the Bangor.
"I can't believe they were able to swipe that. Had to be Bax," Harris said.
"I don't know, I could see Mr. Morgan taking things into his own hands if he thought it was necessary. Either way, I'm sure we'll find out who did it. In the end, will we do anything about it? Setting off one of those bombs could buy us at least six months."
"Six months?"
"Yeah. It’d take the Denzee about that length of time to transit a half light-year on standard drives."
"Hmm. Didn't think about that. I did have one other thought of how we could prevent it."
"How's that?"
"We take out the boson generator at Midelon. Shut down that field for all wormhole jumps and it would take the Denzee about four thousand years to reach Domicile."
"I guess that's still an option if all else fails."
— Chapter 16 —
* * *
Alex shook his head. "I'm telling you, building this will take us at least four days without the help of the bots."
Harris scowled. "I'm just not comfortable including them anymore. I don't think they can be trusted."
Tawn said, "If the AI is somehow working for itself or the Denzee, it doesn't matter. It already has the boson bomb design. That's who came up with it, remember?"
"It does matter. This is new and I want to keep it safe. By our estimates we have five days before the Denzee will be ready with the toxin. It’ll take us four days to put one of these together. Let's get started so we at least have the option. I don't know about you, but this is untested. I'd like to know that it's working before we have to use it for real."
"You're taking a big chance."
"The colonel already has bombs coming off the production line. We have a backup plan. And there's always the option of taking this place down."
"What?" Alex asked. "You'd knock out all travel? You do realize we would end up dying on this planet, right? Without wormhole travel there is no flying between the stars. The distances and the logistics of a voyage become too great."
"The Denzee are doing it," Harris replied. "Or I should say 'have done it.'"
"Yes, and by our estimates it took them nineteen years to make that journey. And it likely took them years to build the fleet that supported that effort. I wouldn't be quick to shut down that field."
Harris put his hand on Alex's shoulder. "We're talking last resort here, Doc. Nobody wants it. But if it preserves life on Domicile, I'm willing to make the sacrifice to make it happen."
Tawn nodded. "Me too. We already have plans to move the others back to Domicile. You could go with them. No need for everyone to be trapped here."
"Doesn't make a difference to me. Everyone I know has been dead for almost two thousand years. I spent twenty years in this facility before going in stasis, so staying here doesn't concern me one way or the other."
The days that followed saw a team focused on building a larger boson bomb. No longer would it be movable by a single person. Harris would not be sliding it across the deck into the airlock and out into space. A wheeled trolley was constructed and attached before an attempt was made to load it on the Bangor.
Harris stood at the hatch. "How'd we mess that up? No way it's gonna fit. And we can't disassemble it."
Tawn stood staring, her hands on her hips. "We need to collect the colonel and the Hailstorm. He'll have to be the deliverer for us."
Harris rubbed his forehead. "Trish, any way to widen that hatch?"
"I could cut away here and here, but not without weakening the structural integrity. And that hatch is a precision fit. Might not get a good seal if it was cut into. Not saying we'd leak air or anything, it just wouldn't be able to take the pounding it currently can."
Harris sighed. "I guess we comm the colonel."
Alex said, "I assumed the ship would accommodate the design I was given. Even so, had I needed to make alterations, we wouldn't have the device we have sitting there."
An alert came in from the AI. "I thought you might want to know, the Denzee appear to be forming up a substantial fleet for possible movement elsewhere. A dozen Dulons have already come up from the surface at Jellon."
A comm was opened to the Retreat. "Colonel, it looks like the Denzee may be getting ready to move. We have one of the larger bombs at the ready here, but we need the Hailstorm to deliver it."
"We've been monitoring their space as well. We have a bomb ready here and at Domicile."
"I'm sending coordinates for a meetup. We'll escort you back here for a pick-up of ours. I'm of the opinion we should take it to Jellon and set it off there. That would serve to keep them in place and would tell us if this design actually works."
"We could use the extra manufacturing time. With an extra week we'd be able to protect each of the colonies."
"Get your crew together. We'll meet you at the coordinates I've sent in about ten or fifteen minutes."
The comm closed.
Harris said, "The rest of you stay here and guard this thing from the AI."
Tawn stepped forward. "Maybe I should stay here with them?"
"Good idea. I'll take Farker. Should be back in twenty."
The Bangor shot up through the sky as a fireball. Shortly after, the Hailstorm and her crew were following Harris down to the surface. The ramp lowered and the bomb was pushed up into the hold.
The ship's captain looked at the time on his arm pad. "Give us fifteen minutes and you can test for its detonation. We'll be s
etting the timer to five minutes after deployment. If you need us, we'll be jumping back through to the Retreat just before it goes off."
An alert came in from the AI. "The Denzee force is moving toward free space. In all, two hundred forty-seven Ratoons are escorting a hundred twelve Dulons. I would assume this is the force set to deliver the toxins."
Harris opened a comm to the emperor. "I implore you to call them back. Don't do this."
"It's not of my doing, Mr. Gruberg. If the Denzee do indeed annihilate the Domers, I'll see to it they aren't able to harm any others, but I can't act before they take action without declaring war."
"This will come back to haunt you. I just hope you're ready to deal with the consequences."
"As I said, I'm prepared to take the necessary steps to protect my people."
Tawn opened a comm to Domicile. "Bax, you'll want to be leaving if you're gonna leave. The Denzee are on the move."
"Hold on. Comm me at the Retreat."
The comm closed.
Seconds later, a new channel was opened through a comm wormhole in Retreat space.
Bax shook her head. "Too late. One of your bombs was just set off about five hundred kilometers from Chicago Port Station. Wormhole travel to and from there, for the time being anyway, is no long an option."
"They detonated already?"
"They just did. And I can confirm it worked, because I can no longer open a wormhole there."
Harris looked back at the image of the emperor. "You hear that? Domicile is no longer in danger. Wormhole travel to and from there will be restricted for at least a week."
A comm came in from the Hailstorm, with a split screen to the colonel at the Retreat. "Gruberg, just letting you know we've taken the initiative and secured Domicile. I've asked our team at Jellon to hold on the deployment as it's no longer needed."
"We just got confirmation as well, Colonel."
The captain of the Hailstorm cut in. "Sir, we have wormholes opening. The Denzee are jumping. And the target is... New Earth."
An aid whispered into the emperor's ear.
ARMS Domers Unite: (Book 6) Page 14
