“Long ago we all swore an oath to protect and defend our world. It was an oath intended to shield our citizens, our form of government, and our inalienable rights, from those who would do them harm or take them away. Today we call on you to hold true to that oath and all it stands for.
“On the planet below is a complex of buildings with connecting underground tunnels. Those buildings once housed the colony of Dove, a pacifist community that came out here to live in peace. That community was overrun and butchered by Earthers who are bent on controlling this planet.
“Eden is not for the weak or faint of heart. It’s a desert planet with scorching surface temperatures. Its Domer inhabitants rarely came out into the light of day. Earthers have seen to it they never will.
“Eden is also rich in titanium, titanium New Earth wants and needs if it is to rebuild its fleets. Those fleets, if brought up to their desires, would be used for conquest against all the colonies of Domicile. We have sworn an oath to stop that from happening.
“Shortly we will be down on the surface. I’ve drawn up plans for the assault of the complex. Our goal is to disarm the invaders and to establish a sustainable colony that will deny the titanium ores to New Earth. We may be here for months or possibly years. Your commitment has shown your loyalty to your world. That commitment will one day be revered and celebrated by all.
“If any of you have doubts about the operation we’re undertaking here, please feel free to make it known. You will be returned to the Retreat without question or comment. As we have said before, your duties here are voluntary.”
The recruits sat in stern silence.
The colonel let out a long breath. “You have each been assigned to squads and those squads have each been given missions. When those have been accomplished you will be given more. If all goes well, I expect the fighting to be over within hours.
“The force below is estimated to be as many as fifteen hundred strong. They butchered twenty thousand of our peaceful citizens. I expect that kindness to be returned, not through acts of revenge or torture, but through acts of overwhelming and decisive force. When our goals have been accomplished, all surviving prisoners will be dealt with in our standard, humane ways.”
The colonel looked over the room. “Some of you I’ve fought beside before. Others… I look forward to doing so today. As your commander, I’ll be going in with you.”
Tawn frowned as she whispered to Harris. “I was hoping he wouldn’t do that. The Retreat needs him. They can’t afford the loss.”
“He’ll be fine. Just like us, he’s done this before. Besides, he’s got more than two hundred Biomarines backing him up. I doubt this will take the couple hours he’s planned on.”
The speech was wrapped up and the orders to prepare given. Water packs were distributed and put on, followed by the sunshield suits. Plasma rifles were handed out with spare charges. The cargo hold of the Biarritz was soon echoing with the whining sound of plasma rifle charging circuits as they were put through the standard pre-fight testing.
In addition to the water-packs, a hundred cooled water-stations would be dropped between the buildings along with spare sunshield suits and food rations. When the preparations had been checked and rechecked, the order for the assault was given. The Biarritz dropped into the atmosphere of Eden.
Harris made his way toward the Bangor.
Tawn asked, “You not fighting?”
Harris laughed. “I am. I’m just taking in my ship. I want her at the scene in case we need the railgun. And I want her close to the ground in case I want Farker. He might be useful when clearing these buildings. You going in with the others?”
Tawn nodded. “I am. Gandy will be staying here with the Kingfisher. If I need him he’s only a comm away.”
Harris walked into the cabin of the Bangor.
Trish asked, “We going?”
Harris sat in the pilot seat. “I want you to drop me at the designated building. From there I want you back up at fifty meters to wait for my command. I might want Farker, or I might want a pickup, or I might need you to fire that railgun. You have issue with any of those?”
“No sir. I’ll be waiting.”
Harris nodded. “Good. Take us out and let’s get this done.”
The Bangor shot out of the docking bay as the Biarritz reached ten kilometers. A short buffet saw Trish Boleman take control. After a nose-over maneuver, the Bangor raced toward the ground. Trish pulled the ship to a stop a meter above the sand.
A cloud of grains blasted the building beside which they had landed. The hatch opened and Harris Gruberg jumped out. The door of the building he targeted was checked. It was open. Harris pulled back hard, diving forward into a roll and coming up into a shooting stance. The room was empty.
A comm opened from the colony of Dove. “Unidentified ships. This is the colony port for Eden. Please identify yourselves.”
A short jog down a hall brought the sound of voices. Again the Biomarine dove, sliding to a stop in front of a doorway with his plasma rifle at the ready. Four, robe and sandal wearing pacifists, sat on several couches.
“Hello?”
Harris asked, “Where are the Earthers?”
“The Earthers? Is that a weapon? Those aren’t allowed here.”
Harris rolled over, coming up on his feet with his weapon still raised. “New Earthers took this colony. Where are they?”
The respondent hesitated. “After the incident, we allowed a ship to land at their outpost. They all went home.”
The confused Biomarine slowly lowered his weapon. “They didn’t attack here?”
A comm came in from the colonel. “Anyone seeing any resistance? We’re hitting nothing but Domers so far.”
As Harris went to respond, Trish came over the comm. “We have visitors! It’s… a New Earth destroyer! Just came through a wormhole! And the guy at the port desk… he’s a Domer.”
A hail came in from the Destroyer. “Assaulting vessel. This is the New Earth Destroyer Ernst. You are in violation of the Truce of Beckland and the constitution of the colony of Eden. You will cease all hostilities and submit to our authority.”
Harris scowled as he looked out under the hood of his sunshield suit. “Played by Baxter Rumford… again.”
He turned and sprinted back toward the door. “Trish, I need an immediate pickup!”
The door was flung open to a blast of hot sand as the Bangor settled just above the ground. Harris dove into an opening hatch, ordering it to immediately shut.
Trish asked. “What are we doing?”
A second wormhole opened. Another NE destroyer slipped through. Harris flipped off the sunshield and hopped into the pilot’s chair, his lap belt was fastened and pulled tight.
“We’re running. Nothing good will come from our capture.”
The Bangor lifted up and began to race away across the desert as the bulky destroyer dropped through the atmosphere.
Trish said, “The Kingfisher just came out of the Biarritz!”
Harris opened a comm. “Gandy? What are you doing?”
“I’m following you!”
Two plasma bursts from the Ernst rumbled on the hull of the Kingfisher. Gandy Boleman did his best to evade the shots that followed. Two additional hits saw smoke starting to fill the cabin.
Gandy yelled, “They’re pounding me here!”
Harris growled. “Should have stayed put. Hang on!”
The Bangor circled hard back, stretching the limits of the inertial dampener system. “Bring the railgun up.”
Trish replied, “Against that? A destroyer? Are you serious?”
“Just do it! And set the feed to auto!”
Harris dodged the first rounds that came their way as the Bangor closed on the daunting New Earth destroyer.
Gandy said, “I’m putting her down! Can’t see in here!”
Harris yelled into the comm. “I’ll be right there. Swooping in fast. You be ready to dive in the hatch!”
A hesitant
Gandy replied as the Kingfisher slowed and descended, “OK.”
Two plasma rounds found their mark on the front of the approaching Bangor. The ancient warship jerked violently. Harris pushed the stick from side to side as he kept on the close. Another round struck the hull as two others missed.
The trigger for the railgun was pressed. Vibrations reverberated through the ship as a series of supersonic cracking sounds were heard. The nose of the attacking destroyer caved in as its hull was perforated and its superstructure failed.
Explosions followed, with the immense ship diving straight for the desert surface. Sand flew in every direction as the forward bulkheads of the destroyer buckled and folded on impact. As the ship came to a stop, the back half slowly rolled over, slamming to the surface with another blizzard of sand and dust being kicked up.
Trish sat with her jaw dropped as Harris stared in disbelief at his display. The control stick of the Bangor was turned and the craft raced back toward the ground. The second destroyer began firing from high altitude as it entered the atmosphere of Eden.
Harris guided the heavily armored, Zwicker Class ship in low, pulling to a stop just short of the downed Kingfisher. A wave of sand and dust passed Gandy Boleman as he made his way toward the open hatch. A dive into the cabin had the Bangor swiftly moving away as plasma rounds began to impact the ground around the Kingfisher.
The centuries-old ship exploded, shattering into thousands of pieces as the New Earth Destroyer opened up with all cannons. A small crater of debris, billowing with smoke, was all that remained.
A new general comm came in. “Hostile vessel. This is the New Earth Destroyer Kabalat. Cease all activity and prepare to be boarded.”
Harris pulled back on the control stick, turning the Bangor into a fireball as it raced up through the atmosphere. Repeated plasma rounds sizzled the air around the departing ship as it rocketed upward.
As the blackness of space began to fill the display, Gandy asked, “What about Miss Freely?”
Harris shook his head. “Can’t help her now.”
A wormhole out into dead space opened. The Bangor slipped through.
Chapter 26
_______________________
The Bangor drifted in the dead space between two star systems. Harris Gruberg paced back and forth on the cabin deck.
Trish sat with her arms crossed and a dejected look on her face. “You couldn’t have known.”
Harris shook his head. “She played us like sock puppets. Her hand was in all this. She knew we wouldn’t let Eden fall to the Earthers like that. And who knows what our government has been doing in all this? Where are they? There are New Earth destroyers out there. That has to be a violation of the Beckland Truce.”
Gandy insisted. “We have to go back for her.”
Harris glared. “And do what? That destroyer will keep its distance. We got lucky that first one was sloppy. They won’t make that mistake again.”
Trish said, “We should at least go back and see what’s happening. We can keep our distance and jump away if we have to.”
Harris thought for a moment and then nodded. “Let’s do that. We can’t go back to Chicago port. The DDI will be waiting there for us.”
Gandy said, “Maybe not. What if we go to the Retreat and take the shuttle to the station?”
Harris rubbed the back of his neck. “And do what? Even if we make it on the station, what is there to do? They’ll just come get us. Cameras are everywhere. If they want to find us, they will.”
After several paces he gestured toward the cockpit. “OK. Take us back to Eden. For the moment we do as you say. We observe. But bring us in far enough out that they won’t detect the wormhole opening. We’ll sit and watch and decide what to do from there.”
Trish piloted the ship to within sensor range. A third New Earth warship had come on the scene, parking in orbit. The second hovered just above the Biarritz, which was parked on the sand beside the colony of Dove. Three wormholes opened with Domicile warships coming through.
Instead of a confrontation, the Domicile cruisers pulled to a stop beside the New Earth Destroyer. Several minutes of inaction passed before one of the ships turned toward the Bangor.
Harris sighed. “That’s our signal to go.”
A wormhole opened and the Bangor slipped through.
Trish said, “If we can’t go back to Chicago, can we at least go to the Retreat?”
“And what would we do there?” Harris replied.
“Hide out? Or load up on supplies? And what are we gonna do about jump fuel? At some point we’ll have to visit Chicago.”
Harris sat in the pilot’s chair. “We jump to the Retreat. And we take the shuttle and siphon the fuel. We can raid the storehouse there as well. Won’t be long before those Dom ships are heading out there to question everyone. I still can’t believe we were such suckers.”
A jump had the ship in orbit above the Retreat. Minutes later she rested on the grass of the spaceport. Harris opened a comm to the second in charge.
“This is Captain Huat. How can I help you, Mr. Gruberg?”
“I’ll try to be brief. Big trouble is coming. Our raid on Eden was a setup. The colony had not been overrun by Earthers. Now it has both New Earth and Domicile warships in orbit. Our people have been captured. We need food and fuel and we need it fast. I would expect Domicile ships to be here shortly.
“So we’re gonna need to grab and run. Can you send a few hands over to the supply warehouse? And I need someone with equipment who can transfer fuel from the shuttle into our ship.”
The captain nodded. “Give me a few minutes to get organized. What do you need from the supplies?”
“We’ve got about 50 Cubic meters of cargo space. I’d like to load half with food and half with containers for fuel.”
The captain replied, “We have the food. In fact, we just took shipment of about fifty thousand MREs. Miss Freely sent them along because she had heard a number of comments from some of us that missed them. I can load you up with as many of those as you need.
Harris asked, “And the fuel?”
“The fuel canisters, and any fuel, might be a problem. The shuttle should be back in a few hours. I can send a ship making sure they top off before coming back, but you’ll have to wait for them. We do have the fuel transfer equipment in the storehouse. I can give you a set to take with you.”
Harris frowned. “I don’t know if we have a few hours. The Dom ships could be jumping this way any minute. Bring us the food. If we have to we’ll camp out somewhere for a month and come back when the furor has died down.”
“Sorry to hear about the mission. Who has control of Eden?”
“The Pacifists for the moment. But I have a suspicion that might be changing soon. Oh, and you’ll probably appreciate this one. I managed to down a New Earth Destroyer with the Bangor.”
“How would you have done that?”
Harris grinned. “We got one of her railguns working. Shredded the nose of the destroyer, sending into the ground. Crashed hard. If there were any survivors, luck was with them.”
The captain smiled. “I’ll be sure to pass that news around. Even with this going bad, that little fact will make you popular.”
Harris shook his head. “I don’t need popular right now. I need a new identity.”
The captain leaned into the comm. “We do have several slugs who were in intelligence. That might be something we could work up for you. I’ll see what I can do.”
The captain turned away before looking back into the comm. “You should have your MREs in about fifteen minutes. And for the fuel, if the Dreambus isn’t back before you go, I can always have it meet you somewhere. And I’ll have it make a couple jumps so we know it’s not being followed.”
Harris nodded. “Excellent suggestions, Captain. I’ll send you a set of coordinates. You can have her meet us there.”
The supplies were loaded. Harris Gruberg pushed the stay out for an additional hour before decidin
g it was time to go. Six hours later, the Dreambus, which had been named the Warlift, popped into the same space.
Harris opened a comm. “Happy to see you, Warlift.”
The pilot replied, “Major Divos, sir. Happy to help.”
“Any word on the news channel back at Chicago?”
The major replied, “Very little. There was news that something has happened on Eden, but no one knows what that is. The military did up its alert level another notch. They’re now at a three. First time since after the truce.”
Harris frowned. “I hope we haven’t fouled things up enough to bring back war.”
The major smiled. “I don’t think we’re near that level yet, sir. Oh, and I have a data message for you. Some hot redhead at Chicago port asked that I give it to you if I saw you. And don’t worry, I had one of our intel guys scan it. It’s clean. I’ll send it over.”
An additional hour was spent transferring fuel to the Bangor. The equipment provided, along with a short spacewalk, had the ship’s main tank topped off. Instructions were given for obtaining additional fuel as well as for spare storage canisters for the hold.
Gandy suggested a tanker ship be purchased instead. His prior shipyard had one such used ship that would hold enough fuel to keep them supplied for months. Credits were transferred to the major for the purchase and filling of the tanker, if it was still available. Coordinates for an alternate jump point were given as well.
The Warlift departed, leaving the Bangor and her crew to wait. Harris tapped into the data message, sending it to the console and cabin speakers. An image of a smiling Baxter Rumford appeared.
“Hi Goober. You two losers are the biggest suckers around. I warned you to keep your noses out of the business of Eden, but you just couldn’t do it. Now look what’s happened. You were caught assaulting a peaceful colony! Hahaha! What rubes!
“I can’t tell you how much enjoyment I’m getting out of this. And the downing of that destroyer? Kudos to you for coming up with that. It was like icing on the cake. We were hoping to use this incident as leverage to force the pacies to allow our people back, with some water rights.
ARMS War for Eden Page 24
