Harris slowly shook his head. “How can we? This is still a New Earth versus Domicile issue. These Earthers are only here because of their government wanting influence out here. If we help we are also helping the NE.
“And I’m starting to think those news reports were planted by the DDI or something, with a purpose to influence opinion back there. Might be they’re trying to stir up more pacifists to move out here. This complicates things.”
“How you figure?” Tawn asked.
“I figure because we have both worlds poking their noses in, and it’s the people here who are paying for it. If word spreads among our colonies that the New Earthers are trying to colonize the truce planets… support for our colonizing them first would go wild. There are no restrictions on private entities meddling.”
Tawn said, “This is an impossible situation. One for which there is no action we can take to make anything different. We can’t control or influence what our government or that of NE does. I have to say I think the pacifists here have it right. If they allow water here, this colony burgeons and they lose control of the planet. If that happens out here it could be another trigger for renewed war.”
Harris winced. “New Earth doesn’t have the ship fleet to fight that war. They lack titanium.”
Tawn replied, “How about this, we scan this planet and the other truce worlds for titanium. If the deposits are weak we can at least put that rumor to bed.”
Harris crossed his arms. “Where is it we crossed the line from being traders to trying to solve all man’s problems? We came out here to check on plasma weapons. It looks like there aren’t any here. Maybe it’s time we head back and get on with our own business.”
Commotion filled the hallway outside the room as word of the damaged condenser spread. Aside from the water purchases, it was a primary water source as part of the recycling system each settler maintained.
Harris stood in the doorway looking down the hall at several settlers who were riled up and arguing. Gandy stood just behind.
Harris turned back. “I’m calling our ride back out here. We don’t need to be in the middle of this.”
Gandy tapped him on the shoulder. “That guy said they didn’t have weapons… I just saw a plasma rifle walk by.”
Tawn asked, “You sure?”
Gandy nodded as he stepped back from the door with his hands raised. “I’m sure.”
Daniel Falburn walked into the doorway with his weapon raised. “So new people show up and our equipment is damaged. I don’t suppose the four of you had anything to do with that.”
Harris replied. “We just got here. We don’t have a beef with anyone on this planet.”
Daniel pointed his plasma rifle at Harris. “A slug and a stump show up asking about titanium. Am I supposed to think that’s a coincidence? Kind of stupid of the Domers to send you out here.”
Tawn stood. “Hey, we’re on your side. The Domers screwed us. Built us for war and then there’s no war. The rest of them hate us. That plasma rifle… how you think it got out here? That’s a repeater. Military issue. Look at the stock. If the serial number begins with an M5, it’s one we sold on Bella III that was then transferred to here.”
Daniel scowled as he turned the weapon down to check on Tawn’s revelation. “Doesn’t prove a thi—”
The flying chair impacted the New Earth settler before he had a chance to react. In a flash of insane speed, Tawn Freely was across the room, stripping the unsuspecting commissioner of his weapon. Two plasma rounds found their way into the chests of a pair of settlers that were moving down their way. A hard punch saw Daniel Falburn knocked cold. Tawn dragged him into the room.
Harris shook his head. “No going back from that.”
Gandy and Trish stood staring with their mouths open.
Tawn replied, “He wasn’t planning a welcome party for us.”
A plasma round charged down the hall outside the door, striking a wall at the end.
Tawn checked the charger on her weapon. “This one only has thirteen rounds left. If we’re to live, we need more weapons. That means going out in this hall and taking them, or heading back to our ships. We go down that way to get outside. I don’t fancy the blast furnace out there with no water supply.”
Harris asked, “What do you see?”
Tawn glanced down the hall, pulling her head back as another plasma round skimmed past. “At least two. Cowered around the corners. Only saw one rifle exposed.”
Harris turned to look around the room. “We can’t stay here. They’ll be coming through that outside door any minute. We can’t defend both doors.”
Tawn aimed her weapon at Gandy.
“What’d I do? What’s happening?”
Tawn gestured with the rifle. “You move you ass away from that wall unless you want to be knocked through it.”
Gandy hurried over to behind her. A plasma round entered the hollow wall construction, exploding backward, leaving a two meter hole that could be walked through.
Tawn moved forward toward the new exit. “Let’s go. Two more walls and we’ve got the angle on those shooters.”
Another blast had the foursome walking into a new room. Before hitting the last wall, the Biomarine briefly stepped into the hallway, unleashing another round at the corner before returning to the current mission. A final round saw a wide hole opened into the cross-hall.
Tawn looked at Harris. “Which one you want?”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I’m suggesting you stick your head out one door to draw fire while I pop out the other and put an end to this.”
Harris chuckled at the suggestion. “So I’m bait?”
“You have a problem with that?”
Harris grinned. “No. Just wanted to be clear.”
Positions were taken and a nod exchanged. The stump made the first move, charging into the hall, pushing off the far wall and falling to roll backward into the door he had come from. As the Earther’s attention was grabbed, Tawn Freely slid into the hallway through the blast hole, unleashing three rounds into the startled inhabitants standing before her. All three exploded, coating the walls, floor and ceiling with their blood and guts.
Tawn walked up to the remains of the first victim, removing a Fox-40 from a hand on the end of a severed arm. Harris was quickly beside her, pulling a plasma rifle from the body parts and fluids of the second victim.
Tawn gestured to a terrified Gandy. “Get that other weapon.”
Trish pushed him aside to dig through the pile of exploded meat that had once been a human. “Got it. Ew.”
Tawn turned to Gandy. “You ever fired a repeater?”
A still stunned Gandy slowly shook his head. “No.”
“Let me dumb it down for you. You aim this end, you pull the trigger. It shoots. Got that?”
Gandy nodded. “I got it.”
As he reached for the weapon, Tawn pulled it back. “Hold on. We have about six full power shots left in this charge. I’m dialing you down to a quarter power. Should push you up to a couple dozen. Not as deadly, but they should do the job. Now, I need the two of you to go back and retrieve our friend Daniel. Smack him around, wake him up. Bring him here.”
Harris said, “We’re flying blind in here. Would be nice to know the layout.”
Tawn flipped her head back toward the others. “That’s why they’re bring the Earther up here. He’s gonna tell us where we need to go.”
A groggy Daniel Falburn was soon standing behind them.
Harris asked, “Tell us the layout of this building. And if you lie don’t think I won’t hesitate to fill you with plasma. You’re only useful to us for your knowledge. You cooperate and we might just let you out of here alive.”
Daniel wiped the blood from below his nose with his sleeve. “These two halls fold back around into each other with a layout the same as on this end of the building coming after.”
“And what’s behind this wall?” Tawn asked.
“That
would be the fusion reactor we use to keep these buildings cool. The ceilings are lined with thermoelectric cooling panels. Please don’t blast through that wall. You take out that reactor and this building as well as the others will be an oven in about a half hour. That reactor powers this entire complex.”
Harris stepped in, taking the Earther by the neck. “What kind of vehicles you have out here?”
Daniel slowly shook his head. “We don’t. Only the pacies have transpo. Another way they keep us in our box.”
“How’d the Fletchers or whoever it was your friends mentioned… how’d they get here?”
Daniel frowned. “Walked two kilometers under a sunshield. Which is why they were practically dead when they arrived.”
Tawn stepped close. “How many of you are there in this building? And how’s it connected to the others?”
Daniel pointed. “Around that corner is a door leading down to the tunnels. But look, just call your people and have them come pick you up. Leave us be. We don’t care about the titanium. We were forced to come here and told to look for it. The pacies have mostly kept us pinned in.”
“You saying you don’t know where the titanium is?”
Daniel again wiped his nose. “We don’t even know if there is any. We came here to look, but we’ve been under their thumb since we got here. No weapons, no vehicles, and no water.”
Tawn looked down at her hand. “No weapons? Then what am I holding?”
“Those showed up outside the compound three weeks ago. The pacies claimed we were smuggling water. We had nothing to do with it, they just showed up. And before you ask, yes, we were happy to have them.”
Harris said, “So the reports of pacifists dying were true.”
Daniel shook his head. “We don’t know who they were. Only that they were attacking our compound and they were armed. We fought back, they lost, we took their weapons. Can’t say for certain if they were pacies or not, but they attacked. The bodies are stored down in our morgue. The pacies wouldn’t come to claim them.”
Tawn looked up at Gandy and Trish. “Keep an eye on this one. We’re gonna circle this building.”
Harris asked, “How many exits in this building?”
“Two. One at each end. Three if you count the stairs going down.”
“Tawn, when you get to the exterior door, see if you can block it off.”
Daniel said, “You’ll find a slide bar on each of those. They lock from the inside.”
The building was cleared with an additional six inhabitants being captured and confined. The exterior doors were sealed and locked with the slides. The Biomarines returned to the door leading down to the tunnels below.
Tawn sighed. “We open that door and we’re likely to have a mess on our hands.”
Harris chuckled, “Not sure what you call that back there in the hall then. Give it a few more hours and it’s gonna begin to ripen up in here. I’ve tried opening a comm to the pacies, they keep rejecting me. I have to wonder if they think we’re out here taking care of business for them.”
Tawn shook her head. “I don’t think so. They seemed adamant about no violence. Most likely this is part of their just don’t respond campaign. They know what we are and our presence has to irk them to no end.”
Harris glanced back down the hall. I’m guessing at least some of them are waiting behind that door. What do you say we give them something to think about. A few of those body parts tossed down may work in our favor.”
Tawn grimaced. “That’s pretty gruesome… I like it.”
Harris took a step toward the remains. “Hang on. I’d like to talk to Daniel again. He was some sort of commissioner. Maybe we can negotiate our way out of this.”
“Have at it.”
The seven captured Earthers lay huddled in a corner. Trish and Gandy sat in chairs with their weapons trained on the group.
Harris walked in, grabbing Daniel by the arm and pulling him to his feet. “You’re coming with me. I have a few demands I want to deliver to your people.”
Harris released his arm when they reached the door heading down. “You’re gonna poke your head in there and tell them to lay down their arms.”
Daniel replied, “Why would they comply?”
Tawn said, “Because you’re the commissioner. That has to hold some sway. And because you want to keep them alive. So you’re gonna tell them to stack all their arms at the bottom of those steps. We’re gonna collect them. And then we’re gonna figure out a way off this planet. After that you people can settle your arguments as you will.”
Daniel looked at the time on his wristband. “You’re too late.”
Chapter 21
_______________________
Harris asked. “Too late for what?”
“Too late to save the pacies. Two days ago we received another drop of mystery equipment in a large container. Once brought inside and opened, we found it contained biosuits. We tested them for a day and determined our people could last a full week out there in the heat. A force of more than two hundred left for the pacie colony just after you arrived.
“By tomorrow they’ll be descending on that colony. Without transports, or one of those suits, you have no way to make it there to stop them. Tomorrow the colony of Eden becomes an unofficial New Earth colony.
“And the reason they aren’t responding to comms is because our operatives took them down. No calls for help will be going out today. Probably best that you just turn yourselves over to me. I’ll see to it you’re treated fairly.”
Harris turned a half frown toward Tawn. “You know what this means?”
Tawn nodded. “We have to go out there to stop them.”
Daniel huffed. “Outside these walls is death. You heard what the twenty minute walk did to our two people this morning.”
Tawn replied, “Well we’re not your people. Show us these sunshields your people used. And we’re gonna need a supply of water and a half dozen of your people to carry it.”
Daniel returned an angered look. “You can’t be serious. You take anyone out there with you and they’re dead.”
Harris shook his head. They’ll have excess water and sunshields. We’ll only be dragging them along for another forty-five minutes. Your sun will start setting about then. I’d have to believe the temperature moderates at night.”
Daniel scowled. “None of us can make it out there for forty-five minutes. Wait the forty-five and I’ll help carry.”
Harris patted the Earther on the back. “We go now, and you’re going with us. So tell your people at the bottom of the steps to stack their weapons. Otherwise we come down there blasting and we’ll take them ourselves.”
Tawn leaned in. “And before you start thinking about it, keep in mind what he and I are capable of. You have to have heard stories. And I can assure you the reality of those stories is far worse than what you heard. So open that door and send down the message.”
The New Earth colony leader yelled down to his followers. A stack of a dozen repeating rifles and Fox-40s were soon at the bottom of the steps. One of the other captors was used to carry them up.
Harris yelled down. “Listen up the lot of you. I don’t care how many of you there are, but if anyone tries to enter this building we’ll blow your fusion reactor. We have the means and we have the will. Understood?”
A voice echoed up the steps. “Understood.”
Tawn yelled down. “One more thing. If we find you are holding out on weapons, we’re blowing that reactor. Understand? You have anything you’d like to add?”
The voice came back. “Three more rifles and a handgun. We’re putting them at the stairs now.”
Tawn looked at Harris with a smirk. “Some people need extra incentive. Mr. Falburn, if you’d care to take us to a supply of water and some sunshields, we’ll get this operation underway.”
Daniel replied, “I’m begging you to please wait another forty minutes.”
The threesome walked into the room with the captors.
Harris gestured to the people lying on the floor. “The lot of you get up. And you come with me.”
The smallest among them was taken to the hall where the remains of his comrades lay. “Grab that arm and the rest of that leg.”
The man replied, “What?”
Harris pushed his shoulder. “Pick them up, moron. And hurry.”
The man complied, reluctantly. His eyes averting from the massacre before him.
“Now we go to the steps. This is you lucky day.”
Harris opened the door. “Down.”
The man looked up. “What do you want me to do with these?”
Harris sighed. “You take them down with you. Show all your friends. Remind them of what will happen if any of them come up these steps. You’ll all want to go back to your other buildings and stay there.
“If your forces come back, well, you’re obviously free. If you see my face, one of two things will happen. I’ll be feeling generous and leave you as you are, or I won’t be feeling generous, and you can guess the outcome. I’m giving you the option of setting how I feel by how you behave while I’m gone.”
The door to the stairs was closed as the lone captor descended carrying an arm and a leg. A supply of water was gathered along with eight sunshields.
Harris stood in front of Trish Boleman and her twin brother Gandy. “Here’s what we need you to do. You’ll be staying in the reactor room. If you hear anyone out in the hall and it’s not Tawn or myself, you fire a couple rounds into that reactor. And yes, that probably means you’re dead.”
Tawn added, “And before you ask, if you have to ask, you’re doing this for your planet. This is for all Domicile. We stop this here and we stop the war from returning. Consider yourselves soldiers now. Millions are counting on you to protect them. Are you willing to sacrifice it all should the time come?”
Gandy stood, bracing his rifle. “We are!”
Trish frowned. “Not what I thought I was signing up for, but I’ll do my part. Just make sure you do yours and you come back.”
Harris placed his hand on her shoulder. “We’ll be back before you know it. Just remember, you hear a voice that’s not mine or hers, you take down that reactor.”
ARMS War for Eden Page 19
