Tawn shook her head. “And the Earthers would have already overrun the pacies and titanium would be flowing freely to their shipyards. We did at least delay that happening.”
Harris hopped up and down in place for several seconds. “I think my feeling is coming back. And six months of acceleration might have been a good thing. Who’s to say our defenses back home wouldn’t have been in better shape? If that budget passes you’ll see ships being mothballed so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
Harris took a short, but awkward, sprint. As he returned he high-stepped with his right leg.
Tawn chuckled. “A recording would have been priceless.”
“I think it’s good now. Let’s go check on Sharvie.”
As the two entered the bunker room Harris looked around. “Thought she came in here.”
Tawn nodded as she walked toward the usual table and chair. “Alex, did Sharvie not come in here?”
“Yes, Tawn. I invited her into security level two. She is quite adept at computing.”
Harris asked, “How she get in there? She couldn’t have answered all those questions in the last couple minutes.”
Alex replied, “Did you take note of Sharvie’s activities while the negation unit was under construction?”
Tawn nodded. “She was messing around on a terminal console. I assumed she was connected to the Bangor, running diagnostics or something.”
The image of Alex smiled. “She was connected through Archibald to me. Her answers were concise and well matched to the expected answers.”
“Well, what’s she doing in there?”
“I’m afraid I cannot reveal that to you at this time, Harris. And she is being instructed to remain silent as well. If not, she and whoever she tells will forever lose those privileges, as well as access to this outer room.”
“You sure are a struggle to work with,” said Tawn.
“Proper answers will allow access. Showing agitation, frustration, or other malevolent responses will only work to slow your acceptance process.”
Harris chuckled. “She does get agitated.”
Tawn returned an evil eye. “And I can be malevolent when pushed.”
Harris smacked her on the back. “Go ahead, swing at me, take another step back. In fact, I’ll make a bet with you that I get through that door first.”
“Inciting aggression through the use of verbal slights is also cause for concern to the admittance algorithm. Was that an attempt to make fun of Tawn?”
Harris straightened up. “No, of course not. I have the utmost of respect for my partner and fellow Biomarine.”
The image of Alex smiled. “Excellent. You are well on your way to achieving level two admittance.”
Harris said, “Think I’ll go check on the others.”
Trish and Gandy hurriedly moved about the floor of the shop as each raced to complete their unit first. Harris sat in a chair next to the table where Farker watched the others as they worked. Harris reached out and stroked the simulated fur on the dog’s head.
Gandy looked over. “What happened to Tawn?”
Harris waved. “She’s over in front of the hologram.”
“What happened to Sharvie?”
“She got invited through the door to the next access level.”
Gandy stopped. “She what?”
“She cheated. The whole time you were in here building up that first unit, she was connected with the AI on that console over there. She apparently correctly answered the questions she was asked.”
Trish said, “Wow. Can’t wait to hear about what’s in there.”
“She can’t talk about it, so don’t ask. It seems we each have to make it through on our own.”
“You and Tawn made it to the first level together.”
Harris smirked. “Or we fouled up by being in there together each time.”
“What are you doing right now?” Trish asked.
“Watching you I guess.”
“Why not hop on that console and see if you can get through to the next level?”
Harris scrunched up his face, wanting to give a sarcastic reply. “Fine.”
The next hour flew past as Trish and Gandy scurried about the shop while Harris made faces at the console in front of him after each question asked. Tawn walked through the door with Sharvie just as the Bolemans were finishing up their work.
“Guess who popped out the second door?”
Harris replied, “Baxter Rumford?”
Tawn returned a half scowl.
Sharvie said, “And before anyone asks, no I can’t tell you anything about it other than to say it was interesting… very interesting.”
“Did Alex tell you to say that?” Harris asked. “Just to make us all eager to get in there?”
Sharvie shook her head. “It’s genuinely interesting.”
Trish stood. “Finished!”
Gandy huffed as he attached a final cover plate. “You must have left something out.”
Trish defiantly replied, “I don’t think so.”
Gandy pointed. “Then what is that piece over there?”
Sharvie stepped in. “It was a spare. I did the inventory and we had four of those.”
Harris stood from his console. “Let’s do the initial test and get this show on the road.”
Everyone backed over to the door as a unit was switched on. A repeat of the physical attributes of the first test ensued, culminating in a shockwave that knocked the group down as they attempted to flee from the doorway. A test of the second unit saw a similar result, with the group escaping the final consequence.
Harris said, “Let’s get them on the ship and out for a live test.”
Gandy asked, “If it works as designed, how do we make use of it?”
Harris shrugged. “I’m guessing Alex will reveal that to us once the test is complete. At the moment I don’t have a clue.”
Chapter 22
_______________________
The boson field negation devices were loaded into the cargo hold and the Bangor jumped to the preselected target area. The first device was deployed with the two recording devices placed at one-sixteenth light-year intervals moving away. The Bangor moved to a location just over a quarter light-year distant. A wormhole was opened close to the unit.
“Let’s see what this baby can do.”
A start signal was sent and the wormhole closed. As instructed, fifteen minutes later, a second wormhole was opened to the farthest out recorder.
Tawn said, “Still functioning.”
The wormhole was closed. An attempt was made to open another beside the closest of the two recorders.
Tawn shook her head. “Won’t open.”
Trish leaned over Harris’ shoulder. “That means it’s working, right? And the field it’s creating is at least an eighth of a light-year across. On standard engines, it would take us two years to cross that.”
Harris nodded. “Sounds like we have a success. The question now is… how long will it stay active?”
Sharvie stepped up. “If we wanted, we could find out exactly how big that field is.”
Harris asked, “I’m game. What you want me to do?”
“Open a wormhole halfway between the two recorders. If it gets rejected we know it at least extends out to there. Just keep doing that until we find the edge.”
Harris looked over his shoulder with a grin. “Have I ever told you I like you?”
“No.”
Harris chuckled. “Good. Wouldn’t want you getting a big head over yourself.”
Fifteen minutes of testing revealed a negated boson field almost a quarter light-year across.
Harris turned to the others. “I’ve got just the thing to keep us busy while we wait.”
Gandy asked, “That must mean you’re hungry.”
Harris nodded. “We may be here for a while. Who wants to eat?”
Three meals passed before a check of the negation field showed it was beginning to recede.
&nb
sp; Tawn said, “Eighteen hours. The retraction rate is linear. Should be offline in about two hours.”
Harris opened a wormhole to the nearest recorder. “Let’s go pick them up.”
Tawn replied, “We should affix a self-destruct mechanism for when the field has completely dissipated. Don’t want the Earthers or anyone else building any of these.”
“Not necessary,” said Gandy. “Shouldn’t be much left of the device when we get to it. Alex said when it goes it should melt into a ball.”
The recorders and the now defunct negation unit were collected and the crew jumped back to Midelon. The hologram avatar of Alexander Gaerten uploaded the data from the recorders. Scans of the failed equipment were taken and sent along as well.
Ninety minutes later, an image of Alex appeared. “We have several adjustments to make. Miss Boleman, I’m forwarding the suggestions to your comm as a recording. Listen, make the adjustments, move to the next step.”
Harris asked, “It worked. Why are we changing anything?”
“The adjustments will allow one of two modes: the standard mode which you were just witness to, or a timed mode where the field will shut down at a precisely programmed time. This will allow use of the device for more than one occurrence. The timed use is cumulative, with the device failure imminent when the same amount of time has passed.”
“Fantastic,” said Tawn. “Now we just have to figure out a use for it.”
Gandy said, “We could go order enough parts to build hundreds of these. Just keep putting them out and keep the space around Eden at sub-light speeds.”
Tawn replied, “It takes you and your sister most of a day to put one together. You prepared to be building these things every day for the next year?”
Gandy shook his head. “The rest of you are capable of doing this too. And maybe we enlist more Biomarines back at the Retreat to help.”
Harris rubbed the back of his neck. “No, we can’t let anyone else in on this. We lose control of this tech and all the truce worlds and outer colonies would be overrun in a few months. This is our device, our burden. Let’s focus our brainpower on how we might use it to liberate the colonel and everyone else on Eden.”
Sharvie turned toward the hologram. “Alex, we can capture and decode the Earthers’ comms. That would mean we can get through their security. Is there any way we could hack into their ships’ systems and take control? Even if only temporarily?”
“That would depend on how they organize their security. If they isolate systems, the answer is no. In that instance, for example, access gained to their comms would be limited to their comm system.”
“How are the systems arranged on the Bangor?” asked Harris.
“They are connected, although each system maintains a separate firewall against intrusion.”
Harris nodded. “So a hack might be worthwhile.”
Gandy asked, “Could you analyze an Earther ship for security purposes if we brought one here?”
“I could.”
Harris held up a hand. “Hold on, I don’t know that I like the sound of that.”
“Not suggesting we bring a full ship here,” said Gandy. “If we could steal an empty one, Alex could help us crack their systems.”
Harris chuckled. “Sure, there’s hundreds of empty Earther warships lying about out there. All ripe for the taking.”
Tawn crossed her arms. “What if we could get them to evacuate one? If we managed to hack their control systems we could then fly it out remotely.”
Harris laughed. “You people need to come back to reality. The only way we got control of an Earther ship in the centuries we were fighting them was with a highly-trained boarding crew and a vessel that allowed us to get alongside them. We don’t have either. Why are you wasting time on this?”
Tawn scowled. “It’s called brainstorming. And if you had a brain maybe you could join in.”
“I thought we were looking for ways to make use of the negation unit?”
“We are. Doesn’t mean we can’t mix in other ideas at the same time.”
Harris shook his head. “Other than preventing the Earthers from moving titanium ore, what advantage can we gain by not having wormhole generators? Solving that is where our efforts should be. Alex gave us this great tech. How do we make use of it?”
Gandy said, “What we need is a way to better shield us from the plasma strikes, or a way to hold the Earther ships in place. The inertial dampener field lets us accelerate and turn like we do. Any way to negate that?”
Harris looked over at the hologram. “Alex?”
“I will have to study both of those suggestions. Should either receive priority?”
Harris glanced around the room. “You’re the genius here. Take a pick. Solutions to either of those would allow us to take that planet back. Maybe an even more powerful weapon would work too.”
“I’m sorry, Harris, my programming was written so as not to allow the development of weapons. The dampener negation or the enhanced defensive shield are both acceptable courses of research.”
“Fine then. Do those. How long will this research take?”
The image of Alex pursed its lips. “I’m afraid I don’t have enough information on either subject to provide an accurate answer. Each must be evaluated and weighed against known criteria, after which—”
Harris held up a hand. “Save the explanation. Just get started on them. You can tell us when you have something to discuss.”
Harris looked directly at Farker. “Come on, boy, let’s go for a walk.”
The image of Alexander Gaerten shut off as the robotic pet hopped down to the floor.
Tawn said, “Hey, what are we supposed to do in the meantime? You’re taking our interface.”
Harris gestured toward the bunker. “You all have access over there. Go sit around the table and chat it up if that’s what you want. My dog and I are going for a walk so we can think. That a problem?”
Tawn shook her head. “Nope. Probably better for all of us.”
Harris came to a stop. “Why you say that?”
“Because you’re like this giant idea disruptor. We get onto something and you cut in to kill it.”
Harris laughed. “You mean like the idea to steal an Earther ship? Yeah, good luck with that one. We couldn’t even steal an unmanned freighter. Anyway, I’ll be back in an hour. We’ll see where we are by then.”
Sharvie said, “I’m going to the inner chamber to see if there’s anything I can do there.”
Tawn turned to Trish and Gandy. “OK, you two bozos are with me then.”
Trish asked, “Bozos, what does that even mean?”
Tawn walked for the door. “Come on. I’ll tell you as we go. You see, back in the days when Humans were on Earth, for whatever reason, they had what they called clowns, people who dressed up in funny outfits and caked on makeup and such with the goal of being cute and funny. Was mostly intended as entertainment for kids.
“Of course, just like with just about everything else, it eventually morphed into adult entertainment where it was scary and sick and twisted. Anyway, one of the early clowns that made it popular was named Bozo. So calling someone a bozo was associated with being a clown, or clowning around.”
Gandy shook his head. “What’s a clown again exactly?”
Tawn sighed. “Skip it. Doesn’t matter. Just another dead reference.”
“How’d you know about it?” Trish asked.
Tawn held up a finger. “As part of our training we had to study Earth history for three years. Was supposed to give us insight into why things are the way they are. Since the New Earthers had that same history, it was supposed to help us to evaluate our enemies, who are really just us with a different philosophy.”
“What other Earth history things did they teach?”
Tawn stopped at the table, taking a seat as she looked back at her two pupils. “Well, from what I understand, the Earth was divided into what they called countries. The people of each cou
ntry were sovereign over the land they controlled. Space travel was limited to exploring their own star system back then.
“Anyway, when it was determined that the great apocalypse was coming, those countries aligned themselves into two camps. At the same time, a wormhole leading to our space out here opened. Probes were sent through and Domicile and New Earth were discovered. Right there, within reach, were two habitable planets where none had ever been available before.
“The two teams each built a massive colony ship and each was launched and made their way through the wormhole. Afterward it closed, so we don’t know the fate of Earth. Our history accounts aren’t clear either. Some say it was an asteroid that was projected to wipe out everything. Others say it was from resources being used up. And still others because the star of that system was showing signs of becoming unstable.
“Whatever the reason, the two colony ships left. Our ship was made up of fully elected governments. Those were governments where the politicians were supposed to serve the people. I think we all could agree that from time to time ours has gotten out of control in that respect. And the Earthers, theirs were dictators, emperors, kings, and tightly controlled ruling parties or families. That’s why New Earth is an empire today.
Gandy asked, “Is there a point to all this?”
Tawn chuckled. “Just that it’s better to know where you came from if you’re trying to figure out where to go. The Earthers want us either dead or as slaves. Or best case, as subjects of their emperor. I’d much rather be free.”
An image of Alex popped into view as Tawn sat. “Your historical synopsis is reasonably accurate. The governing laws on Domicile have always had an emphasis on individual freedom while those of New Earth have been about the collective, as you said, usually to the benefit of a ruling party or family. The current emperor is one such person, having had the empire passed down to him from his father.”
Harris walked into the now open bunker door. “I’m taking a ride to Eden. Just to check on the situation. Probably best that you all stay here and focus on your current efforts. I’d also like to check on our Banshee pilots. Should be back in a couple hours.”
“So you’re trapping us here,” Tawn said.
ARMS Harris' Revenge Page 21
