“Freighter is picking that up now. Should have it on the surface in a few hours. The drilling will be finished by the time we get back.”
Tawn turned to her friends. “I think we’re good here. Marcene, see to it that wellhead is aboard before you head back to Eden.”
The slug, Marcene, nodded with a near toothless grin as she turned to head away.
Harris frowned. “What happened to her?”
“She likes to fight. With that mouth you’d think she wasn’t very good at it, but that girl can brawl with the best of them. Savage on the battlefield too. Would be one of my first picks for my own private squad.”
“What about the other two?”
Tawn half frowned. “I’d put both in the average category. For slugs that is. Both would have mopped up Bagman’s boys on their own.”
With orders for new materials placed, the Bangor exited Chicago Port Station on its way back to Eden. A short ride, followed by a wormhole jump, had the centuries-old warship plummeting through the atmosphere as a fireball, pulling to a stop only meters above the concrete tarmac of Boxton. The group was soon seated in the office of Garp Huukov.
“You’ve certainly lived up to your word, Mr. Gruberg.”
Harris nodded. “Wellhead should be here shortly. Couple hours after and you’re ready for a flow test. You have the piping installed for your buildings yet?”
Garp sighed. “We had that deal signed with Rumford before you got here. She has promised we’ll have it in another week.”
“Sounds like she’s slow rolling you,” Tawn said. “Pipes are a no-brainer.”
Harris leaned in. “Just do your buys through us. You won’t be disappointed.”
Garp nodded. “Speaking of that, how are you set for delivering concrete and steel?”
“You planning to expand?”
“It’s been said that within the year we could expect a thousand miners a day coming through here. This planet is rich in minerals. And from what I’m told, we have more volunteers signing up for contract stints out here than we have work for.”
Tawn said, “Work on New Earth slow?”
Garp shook his head. “The opposite. The Empire keeps things running smoothly. We’re a patriotic lot, Miss Freely. Even though the government has no part in this expansion here on Eden, they will make allowances for any volunteers who want to come.”
Garp gestured toward the lunchroom. “You hungry?”
“These two are always hungry,” Gandy replied. “You sure you can afford them?”
Garp nodded. “I get comped, so yes.”
Chapter 3
_______________________
Harris sat with four plates in front of him. “Give us your take on New Earth, Mr. Huukov. What do Earthers do for entertainment? We’re taught that your government is an empire, ruled by an individual with a party council to back him or her up.”
Garp nodded. “Mostly true. Only it’s always a he. The emperor has any number of wives, with children by most. Most of those children end up on the council of laws, which ensures the emperor’s rule will continue and that his desired line of succession is followed. We believe it to be a fair and equitable system. As I said before, Earthers are a patriotic lot.”
Harris nodded. “Same with us.”
“During the war, we had no shortage of volunteers for either war fighting or factory work. We are duty-bound to follow the emperor’s wishes. In return he provides for us, giving most an equal status. The ruling family does of course have special privileges… as they should.”
Trish asked, “What kind of special privileges?”
Garp shrugged. “What you would expect. Any violations are handled discreetly by the family, not aired in public, if you would. For entertainment I would expect we have the same as you. Sports, music, the Colosseum…”
Gandy raised a hand. “Wait… the Colosseum? What is that?”
Garp gave a confused look. “You know, gladiators? Wild animal fights. You don’t have those? My cousin Duade has been on the highest ranked massing squad for seven months straight. Only one broken bone and one stab wound during that run. He swears he is going to retire when he hits a year. If that were to happen he would be well taken care of for the rest of his life. Three months is a long run in the Colosseum.”
Gandy asked, “These wouldn’t be fights to the death, would they?”
Garp again shrugged. “They can be. Usually the crowd asks for mercy. On the rare occasion, if you’ve severely maimed a favorite you might get the thumbs down. I tell you what, since the war stopped, the gladiator ranks have been overwhelmed with veterans. Those fights are the one thing I think I’ll miss most while being out here. You don’t have those kind of games?”
Gandy shook his head. “Sounds barbaric.”
Garp laughed. “It’s in our blood. It’s in your blood. The games came from Earth when the colony ships fled. We were told they once flooded an arena with water and held mock naval battles back on Earth. Every now and then talks spreads of one of those, but the emperor refuses to allow it. We don’t have water navies, so he finds it all frivolous and unrelatable.”
“Do you not have oceans?”
Garp shook his head. “We have more than a hundred small seas. Lots of swampland. You?”
Gandy replied, “Well, I guess we don’t have a navy either. Plenty of ships though. And one big ocean along with one big land mass.”
Garp took a generous bite of his food, chewing for several seconds before offering a response. “We have sixteen continents. I’ve been to four of them.”
Trish asked, “I haven’t seen any of your women out here. Are they allowed to come?”
Garp nodded. “If escorted by a husband. He can bring as many wives as he likes.”
Trish scowled. “We only allow a single spouse.”
Garp took a swig from a cup. “What good is that? What if your husband tires of you?”
Trish put her hands on her hips defiantly. “Then I send him packing.”
Garp chuckled. “We’ll that’s just silly. Who would put up with a bossy woman? Now I see why you have women fighting in your military. You have extras that nobody wants.”
Harris put his hand on Trish’s shoulder, keeping her in her chair. “Our culture is different, that’s all. Our laws treat everyone as equals. If women want to join the military they have every right to.”
Garp looked at Tawn. “You’ve been quiet through this conversation. I don’t suppose you served, did you? You certainly have the build for it.”
Tawn leaned forward. “I did. Did you?”
Garp nodded. “I did my required eight. Was in the supply corps, which was how I landed in this job. Never got lucky enough to see combat. You?”
Harris shook his head at the female Biomarine as he saw her stare beginning to turn into a glare. “Tawn and I both served. And we both saw action. Not something we’d care to talk about. Lost a lot of good friends.”
Garp smiled. “Well, that must have been something. They stuck me in supply because my wrists were too small. Said I’d get my ass kicked on the front lines. Really… how hard is it to carry a plasma rifle and pull the trigger?”
“Too easy,” said Harris. “Tell us about your expansion plans here. What can we expect in the coming months as far as supply orders?”
Garp nibbled on the New Earth equivalent of a chicken leg. “I should have designs for a dozen new buildings in the coming week. A couple warehouses, a fabrication shop, a second fusion reactor building. I’ll have to admit to being a bit nervous about relying on a single reactor. I heard rumors it had been threatened with destruction when the pacies raided. You know about that, right?”
Harris shook his head. “What’d you hear?”
Garp leaned forward. “I heard the pacies hired mercs to come in and clean house. We just happened to have a ship in orbit that called in a destroyer. Chased them off.”
Gandy said, “I heard a New Earth destroyer got shot down.”
; Garp laughed. “Yeah. That was put out by the pacies. There’s nothing out here in the truce worlds that would take out a destroyer. None of these ships even have armaments. Your own fleet came in to cart the mercs back to your territory for trial. I heard they got hanged. Any truth to that?”
Trish said, “Nope. We gave them a big parade and welcomed them home.”
Garp was in the process of eating a spoonful of blue-colored pea-like vegetables, almost spitting them out. “Good one. Sparky sense of humor from that her. Gonna make a good wife someday… with the proper training.”
Harris again held Trish in her chair. “Mind if we wonder around the compound a bit once we’re done here?”
Garp thought and then nodded his head. “I’ll have Mr. Chen from the welcome desk escort you around. Not much to see, but you’re welcome to take it in if you want.”
The meal was finished and a tour given. The Boxton compound was made up of twenty-four windowless, concrete buildings that were connected together by underground tunnels. As Garp Huukov had alluded to, there wasn’t much to see.
A short time later, the wellhead arrived from Domicile. The hookup went smoothly and within two hours the first of the aquifer water flowed out onto the sand. The next few days would be spent plumbing out each and every building.
The crew climbed aboard the Bangor and the hatch was closed.
Trish asked, “We checking our claims?”
Harris nodded. “Yes. And any that are ready we’ll be taking in to the claims office to be registered. Anyone wants to mine titanium here on Eden will have to go through us.”
Tawn leaned back on one of the benches. “I have to say, this all went a lot better than I thought it would.”
“It’s only temporary,” Harris replied. “As soon as the Earthers take control the laws will all be changed and our claims likely thrown out.”
Gandy said, “Dove has twenty-thousand residents. Boxton has a few hundred right now. If their plan is to flood the colony with settlers so they can take over the government, why don’t we do the same? Maybe work with a colony company back home to bring settlers here. We have a few of the Retreat residents who are willing to come out, but we need tens of thousands to run these mines. And the more we have from home, the fewer will get sent in from New Earth.”
Tawn crossed her arms. “That might actually work. At least for the short term. Earthers won’t come if there are few jobs. We could end up controlling all of the titanium without having to shoot anyone. Do either of you know anyone who has dealt with one of the colony companies?”
Harris said, “As suggested, we could go back and buy one of those companies. Can’t imagine any of them are making so much right now that they wouldn’t have an affordable buyout price. Would fit perfectly with our business model as well. We bring the colonists out and we supply them.”
Gandy added, “We could also build the housing and transportation of these colonies—basically control everything. They work for us and we house, feed, and clothe them. We could even sell them entertainment.”
Trish pushed into the conversation. “You want people to move out here, you need to build a dome. Doesn’t need to be transparent, just a large enough open space that people don’t feel confined like you do in Dove or Boxton.”
Harris chuckled. “Now where would we get the money for that?”
Trish shrugged. “Don’t know what it would cost. They did build a domed city on Rega III. The colony went bust due to financing, but there is a design and there’s obviously someone who can do the manufacturing.”
Gandy said, “Why don’t we see if we can buy that city and move it here?”
Trish laughed. “You can’t move a whole city.”
“Why not? Somebody moved it to there.”
The Bangor set down beside the largest claim. A twenty meter dash across the hot sand had a door to the single office building opened and closed.
Trish scowled. “It’s as hot in here as it is out there.”
A voice came over the comm: “Mr. Gruberg, this is the Troventa. We should be setting down beside you in the next few minutes. We have the reactor and cooling equipment for the offices. Your location will be the first to be outfitted. Unless you would rather we begin elsewhere?”
Harris shook his head. “No. Here is good. How long before we have a tolerable climate?”
Trish said, “You can keep talking, but I’m dying. I’ll be back on the ship.”
Harris gestured toward the door. “Let’s all move back.”
The voice over the comm replied, “For that single build, less than an hour. We really only have the reactor and the thermoelectric cooler. We won’t have the humidifiers for a few more days. By the end of the week all these buildings should be livable.”
“Fantastic news. Keep us informed.”
Harris hopped back into the cabin of the Bangor. “They need a bit of time to have that room cooled.”
Trish said, “We can jump back to Domicile and check on colony companies if you like.”
Tawn nodded. “That might be our best move. We’ll want to look at ground transportation and mining gear too. Maybe contract some mining consultants? Basically we’ll need everything anyone would need to run a colony.”
Harris sat in the pilot’s chair. “Take us home. Juniper city is probably a good starting location. Lots of industry there.”
Two hours later the Bangor was landing on the homeworld surface. Trish and Gandy were given the task of gathering information on colony companies, with a focus on those who had been at least moderately successful. Tawn and Harris made their way to a company that manufactured vehicles which could be ruggedized for harsh climates.
After being dropped by an air-taxi at Hosh-Morgan, a truck manufacturer, they were intercepted by a handler from the DDI.
“Miss Freely, Mr. Harris, I’m here to collect status.”
Harris unloaded about their current plans. After a lengthy conversation, the man asked them to wait where they were as he walked around a nearby corner. Fifteen minutes later, he returned.
“You have approval to move ahead with your plans. A revolving credit account has been set up and linked to your accounts. It has a two hundred fifty million credit limit at the moment. We can adjust that as needed. Don’t be concerned with overspend. Certainly don’t be frivolous, but spend what you need. Buy out a colony company. Enlist any mining consultants or designers or whoever you need to get this operation up and running.
“And I’m told you are to be congratulated on registering claims. Word is getting out about this. Expect other players to be contacting you about leasing or buying those claims. Do not sell or cooperate. String them along, but don’t sign or sell anything.”
Tawn asked, “When will the credit account be available?”
“Check your stores. And keep in mind now that you have something the Earthers badly want, and they’ll stop at nothing to get it. You are now officially valued targets to them for kidnap and extortion. Watch your backs. If they come it will be hard and fast.”
Harris asked, “When will you make contact again?”
The man smirked. “You’ll never see me again. Just know that you are being watched, and if we feel the need to make contact we’ll do so. Take care.”
The man turned and headed back toward the corner of the building, quickly vanishing behind it.
Tawn said, “I like that we’re being watched, but I don’t like that we’re being watched. I have to believe the Bangor might have a dozen tracking devices hidden on it.”
“Maybe we should ask Trish and Gandy to look into it. No one has been seen around the ship, but something must be getting broadcast.”
Tawn winced. “And if we find something?”
“Well, we obviously can’t remove it, but we could certainly think about how we might modify our behavior, depending on what it records.”
Harris pulled open a door, held it and followed Tawn inside.
A man sitting at a reception desk
stood. “Welcome to Hosh-Morgan. How can I be of assistance?”
Tawn said, “We need vehicles.”
The man smiled. “You’ll want to visit one of our dealerships. I’ll get you the location for here in Juniper City.”
Harris replied, “We’re talking an initial buy of maybe a hundred such vehicles, capable of operating in a constant sixty degrees Celsius environment.”
The man paused. “I see. The Juniper City sales team will be able to help you with that. I’ll get you—“
Tawn cut him off. “We would like to speak with someone higher up the chain of command, if you don’t mind.”
The man nodded. “My apologies. I’ll see who I can find.”
A second manager, and then a third, came to the lobby. Each was turned away for someone more important.
The vice-president of dealership relations approached. “Bob Mendez. I’m told you desire to speak with a senior individual about a potential large sale?”
Harris held out his hand. “Harris Gruberg. And this is my partner Tawn Freely. We’re looking to make an initial fleet purchase of a hundred or so ruggedized vehicles. And when I say ruggedized, I’m referring to sixty degrees Celsius average daytime temperatures. This is an urgent need. We have the funds to make the purchase, and we’d rather not have to go through a dealer who will only add delay and cost.”
Bob replied, “I can assure you that any cost difference or delay would be minimal, Mr. Gruberg. We have a tight relationship with our dealers. I can personally begin a conversation with our local dealer if you’d like.”
Harris asked, “Let me ask you this… what’s the average cost of one of your best transports that will operate in that environment?”
Bob thought for a minute. “Anywhere from twenty thousand… all the way up to a hundred, depending on options and capabilities.”
Harris sighed. “Let’s begin with the hundred thousand figure. We’re in the market for an initial purchase of a hundred such vehicles. That’s a ten million credit sale. Are you certain you want to lose that deal over passing it off to a dealership?”
A commotion could be heard coming from a hallway behind the reception desk. Bob Mendez stood, hurrying off in the direction of the disturbance.
ARMS Harris' Revenge Page 3
