AMP Rebellion (6 page)

What happened next was not expected. Two Durian cruisers uncloaked and began deep scanning the area.

I gave the order. "All ships pull back quietly. Make immediate headway to the Fasture. If you get captured you all know the drill. DeChamps just showed us what we have to do to protect each other."

As our tiny fleet headed towards the Fasture nebula I had Frig take the Injector closer to the Grid. If the Durians were now deeply involved with McKinzey a takeover of our home was not far behind. I again wondered if McKinzey was a Durian plant.

I spoke, "We need to talk to our team on the Grid. I want to know if they were able to draw a sample of McKinzey's blood for a DNA comparison. If the Durians are already here the Dakar and Prassi cannot be far behind. We just need a way to get on there without being noticed."

Frig replied, "I want to try an experiment Sir. It will take a short time to set up. I have the exact coordinates of our team offices on the Grid. I will attempt to open a wormhole to that location and then to establish a comm link through the wormhole. If successful, we will have a comm link that appears to originate from the Grid instead of from our ship. I can heavily encrypt the signal and set the power extremely low so that snoopers on the Grid will not have access."

I responded, "That is an excellent idea my friend. If this works we will have to figure out a way to make use of it from on-board the Suppressor. Imagine instant comm with our guys on the Grid whenever we need it. We could then work on expanding it to our fleets. We know the exact coordinates of the Suppressor. With this ship you could open a wormhole from anywhere and communicate in real time."

Frig thought for a moment. "Hmm. The Suppressor is in orbit around Jarhead Sir. I would not be able to open a reliable link to her while she is in motion. We could however, set a stationary satellite to act as a fixed link. From that point our only limitation will be the length of time a wormhole is open."

Frig got to work on a wormhole comm link while I contemplated the existence of the Durian ships. If McKinzey was working for the Durians the entire security of the Grid was in jeopardy. I wondered how the fact that alien warships were being allowed in Grid space was flying with Grid Command. The Milgari threat was over, but that was hardly reason to allow another military access to our space. It was my opinion that perhaps our freedom was at more of a risk now than ever before. Perhaps our biggest enemy was the one coming from within.

Frig spoke, "Sir, I believe our comm test is ready. I will attempt to open the wormhole at an elevation in the main office where it will not put life at risk. If someone were to accidentally walk into the hole while it is open it would be catastrophic for them. Imagine a small portion of your body being transported elsewhere while the remainder stays where it is."

I paced about the bridge. "Do what you can to make it safe. We need to let them know what's going on out here and if they have any ideas as to where our people were moved to. If they have been moved off Grid and are in the custody of the Durians we are in trouble."

I stopped and quickly turned. "Open that link! If the Durians have our people they already know the location of the Suppressor! They might be sitting out there right now!"

Frig replied, "Coming online in three... two... one.... Link established Sir."

I opened a comm channel. "This is Grange! Who is the officer of the deck today? We have a bad situation brewing here!"

Major Pam Howler responded, "That would be me Sir. Is this a secure access Sir? Our equipment says it is originating here or nearby."

I replied, "I don't have time to explain Howler. This is what we have going on. Our troops are not being held on the transports. They are a trap, a trap that was setup by the Durians. I think McKinzey is working with them. We need several things from you Howler. We need McKinzey's DNA. We need to know where they might be holding our troops and we need to know what activities the Durians may be planning right there on the Grid!"

Howler responded, "The DNA grab is in the works Sir. I will see if there is any way to speed that up. The Durian ships are indeed a bad sign. We have been picking up some comms that are going off Grid, but we have been unable to determine who was on the other end. And as far as our men go, everything we have says they were taken onto shuttles and flown out of here."

I replied, "Could they have been brought back aboard? Can you analyze the shuttle traffic to see if anything unusual shows up since they were taken away?"

Howler replied, "Can do Sir. We should have an analysis of that data within the hour. As long as the shuttle logs were not erased or tampered with, we should be able to track their movements. Harmon! Borrick! Get on that shuttle traffic immediately!"

Before I could respond the wormhole collapsed and the comm went silent.

Frig spoke, "Recharging wells Sir. We should be able to re-establish that link in another 24 seconds."

Once my comm channel was again online I gave further instruction to Major Howler. Finding our people was a top priority. I again began to pace the bridge of the Injector.

I turned to Frig and spoke, "What are the chances that you can establish a comm to the Suppressor? I want to get word to them that every ship should be moved to the Fasture and parked there, including the Suppressor. If we have to abandon equipment then have it destroyed before they go."

"We cannot risk having anything fall into the Durians hands or any advantage that we may currently enjoy would become a liability. I don't want to make decisions based on bad Intel. We would get eaten alive if we went into battle without our tech."

I continued, "Frig, if our comm will work going through that wormhole, what about our sensors? Could we open a hole and make use of our sensors through there?"

Frig replied, "Are you suggesting doing a deep scan through the wormhole Sir? If so, I would have to say no. We would not have time. But we could achieve a partial scan. And it in turn would reveal a significant amount of data."

I replied, "OK. Here is what I want. Open a wormhole to the area surrounding the Suppressor and Jarhead. It doesn't have to be exact, just in open space. Do what scanning you can and tell me what the area looks like. If we see anything unusual, anything at all out of the ordinary, I want to know."

Frig tilted his head slightly and replied, "Could we not establish the same with a comm to the Suppressor Sir?"

I responded, "If the Durians already have control I don't want them to know that we might be on to them. If everything looks good we make that comm link. If anything looks out of whack, we go with the assumption that the Durians are already there. Let's just hope McKinzey was the one initially in charge of this operation and that the Durians were new to the scene. If that is the case our people can still make a run for the Fasture."

Frig replied, "If we are moving our base Sir. Those automated docks will have to be destroyed. We will not be able to produce any more ships."

I nodded. "I know. McKinzey has screwed us in the worst way. Our whole operation is in jeopardy. I just hope we catch a break here. The survival of our freedom is going to be counting on it."

Several minutes later Frig spoke, "Sir, the scans show activity as normal around Jarhead. I am initiating another portal for a comm link. A connection has been established Sir."

I got on the comm. "This is Grange. I have an immediate order for evacuation of all ships. We expect the Durians to be closing on that position at any time. Anything that cannot be immediately moved should be destroyed. This is an emergency move and needs to happen right now! And patch me through to George, Rita and Gy."

Several seconds passed before the others answered. "This is George Don. What is happening?"

I replied, "We are certain the Durians know of your position and will be there at almost any time. You need to destroy everything that can’t be moved and get out of there while you can. If the Durians arrive before you leave our whole operation is over. Don’t waste time packing or trying to salvage anything. If it can’t fly immediately, just burn it!"

The comm link ended as the wormhole collapsed. I rubbed the sides of my head as I began to pace the deck. It would now be some time before I knew if the others would reach safety in the Fasture. Opening new comms while they were trying to flee would only slow things down. Coordinates to a rendezvous location in the Fasture had been passed during the comm. It would be days before I would know if the escape was a success.

I stopped my pacing and spoke, "Frig. Can you open wormholes in a line heading away from the Suppressor going towards the Grid and perform scans? I want to know if the Durians are headed that way. Would there be enough time for the scan to catch them if they were passing nearby?"

Frig replied, "Entering coordinates for a block of scans along a trajectory heading back towards the Grid. We should have the first scan results in 48 seconds Sir. I will need approximately 16 minutes to determine if the Durians are heading towards the Suppressor. But you do realize Sir, that if they are traveling in a cloaked condition, we will not be able to detect them. Just as we saw back at Dakamus, they can go dark whenever they desire."

I replied, "Just make it so Frig. I’m going to be on edge until I know everyone is out of there."

The waiting game was torture. I continued to pace as Frig verified that there were no signs of the Durians approaching Jarhead from the Grid. A new partial scan of the area revealed that 60% of our ships had departed.

The great automated construction docks we had worked so hard to acquire and configure were now on their way towards the star in the Jarhead system. They would burn into oblivion before our enemies could put them to use against us. Once assembled, they had become too large to transport elsewhere.

When the last of our ships had left the Jarhead system I turned to Frig. "Let’s head out to their location. If we need to talk with our team on the Grid we can do it from there with the wormhole. Since we are on the subject, have you had any time to try to expand the portal capacity? Can we make it larger?"

Frig replied, "At this time it would require more power or a larger antenna array. I was thinking of possibly converting two of the empty cargo bays on the Suppressor for just such an experiment. One bay would be filled with generators while the other housed a massive antenna structure."

I responded, "Do we have any idea of the size of the hole we could produce? Can we fly a Hawk through it?"

Frig shook his head, "I am sorry Sir. We are still far from a portal of that size. With our current understanding we may be able to fire a blaster from a Hawk or Defender through it, but that would be the limit. I am also not sure if sending raw power through it would actually work. It is possible that something that strong may cause the hole to collapse prematurely. The portal we are able to open now remains relatively unstable Sir."

I continued my pacing as I spoke, "If we are going to build this thing we also have the issue of payment for generators and antennae as well as keeping our operations going. Our cache of jewels is down on Jarhead in that hardened bunker. I’m not sure what kind of stash we have readily available on the Suppressor. Our credit store on Omrin has already been placed on hold pending claims filed by McKinzey against it. We are going to have to really grease some palms if we want any access to it."

Frig replied, "Agreed Sir. I believe that is something that George might be able to handle for us. One moment Sir…. The current scan of the system shows that all ships have departed for the Fasture nebula Sir. We should be in the clear."

I plopped down in a chair with a scowl on my face. "What do we do Frig? McKinzey has us in a bind. A few of us are free, but not enough to do much. I’m beginning to wonder if we need a million-man army to take the Grid back from that traitor."

Frig was quiet for several seconds. "We do have that army Sir. The Milgari… they have pledged to me repeatedly that they would forever be in my service should I require it."

I chuckled as a picture rolled through my head of Frig leading a million Milgari into battle. "No, as good as that sounds it is not an option. These are our people on the Grid. If we turn it into a battleground, we are the ones who would lose. I don't want to risk all those innocent Humans who probably don’t even know what it is they are caught up in. We need a way to neutralize the opposition without having to fight against our own. If we were to attack with Milgari forces we would be the ones branded as traitors."

Back in the Fasture I sat in my office with a view-screen in front of me. I perused the final terraforming pictures that had been uploaded to the Suppressor from Jarhead. We were only a year away from completion of the major earth moving projects where a massive tree planting campaign would begin.

The immense storms that played mayhem with the planet’s surface had largely subsided. The weather was slowly changing to habitable seasonal patterns. The vast expanses of naturally irrigated crop fields lay ready for plantings, plantings that would no longer happen.

We had abandoned our potential new home due to the threat of the Durians. Our giant, robotic terraforming platforms sat idle. Without the manpower required to guide them, we had been forced to bury them deep under Jarhead's surface. Our vast underground bunkers of stolen jewels and other resources lay hidden from above, but unusable for our purposes.

We were a fleet without a home. Our base was a giant converted ore hauler, our supplies were limited. I let out a long sigh as I looked at the images. Frig came through the door holding a bottle.

I spoke, "What’s with the booze? Are we drowning in our sorrows today?"

Frig sat, poured a glass of the Omrin whiskey and pushed it in front of me. "No need to drown Sir. Consider this a sort of celebration. I believe I may have a breakthrough with the wormhole generator Sir."

I sat up in my chair. "What kind of breakthrough are we talking about? Are we talking big or are we talking really big?"

Frig poured a smaller glass of his own and held it up. "Think smaller Sir. Perhaps moderate by your desires, but substantial from where we are. I have been over the calculations numerous times. From two bays of this ship, one containing generators and the other antennae, I believe we can open a 25 centimeter diameter portal Sir, a portal large enough to pass this bottle through to someone on the other side."

I sat my glass down. "That is fantastic! We can now start up that booze smuggling operation with our people on the Grid! Soon, we will have everyone there drunk as a skunk and we can then just waltz right in!"

Frig sat silent for several seconds. "I have to assume that a skunk is a Human rogue, or perhaps an animal from the Archives for that statement to make sense Sir. Sarcasm aside, what this means is that we can now transfer physical objects to wherever we desire."

I stood and waved my now half empty glass around as I walked my office. "OK. So, we can send supplies maybe? Unless you tell me that I can stroll through one of those portals I just don’t see the significance of it yet."

After gulping down his glass of whiskey Frig winced and replied, "You have to think in a bit more unconventional terms Sir. Imagine this… McKinzey walks into a room, surrounded by his bodyguards. His eyes are drawn to the corner of the room as a strange light appears and a small round window to elsewhere pops into existence. Those same eyes widen as one of Jeb’s hand grenades drops out of it onto the floor in front of him."

Frig hesitated for a moment. "Think of the portal as a tool Sir, a tool that can be used for almost any situation. We only need to determine what that use is. Perhaps if you finished your booze Sir, it would clear your mind."

Frig had put me in my place as usual. The remainder of the afternoon was spent talking about our potential uses for a 25 centimeter portal. With enough thought and planning the portal could prove invaluable. But there remained two enormous hurdles for us to still overcome. Where would we obtain the 40,000 generators needed to supply its power and where would we obtain the materials needed to construct the giant antennae? George would have much to do in the coming months.