Dadr'Ba (35 page)

Once positioned so that its sensors could operate, prepared to retreat at any moment, operating in stealth, low emanation mode. The team performed a remote analysis of the CASS minibots; they didn’t appear to be emanating, leading them to conclude that they must be operating in autonomous or semi-autonomous mode. Which made sense, because the room is entirely sealed off. There’s no way for the minibots to communicate with the outside. Proven by the fact that communications traffic from the cell area stopped once the soldiers sealed the Prz’Nr’s inside.

The microbot was unable to detect the method or means behind the door seal. Somehow CASS succeeded in preventing psychic penetration into the cell and adapt it to the kill-vests the Prz’Nr’s wear outside the cell. But the microbot’s QECS still functioned.

What happened next took only a few seconds, suddenly all activity and conversation fell silent, and the CASS minibot on the ceiling went on full alert and started to move down the hallway. At the same instant, P’Ko felt it, and Su’Zi exclaimed, P’Ko unable to distinguish whether spoken or psychic, I can feel them! P’Ko’s eyes and attention fixed on the CASS minibot stalking down the hallway, toward the Prz’Nr’s.

Warning! And almost instantly, the conversation started again, and the noises from the kitchen area resumed, the CASS minibot stopped, paused and reversed its movement a few steps, without turning, not having a real front or back then settled down still on the ceiling in a resting position and remained on alert.

The geo-positional alarm went off again; it had been happening intermittently and got worse over several weeks. Somethings wrong with the position tracking system monitoring the SMT (Special Mining Team).

The technicians have checked out the Comms link and the SMT’s headsets but haven’t been able to reproduce the problem. They’ve thoroughly checked and even replaced the headsets. But the problem keeps coming back. There must be some stray interference from something in the area, they’re almost finished getting the “special materials” needed from this asteroid, they’ll see if the problem follows them to the next job site.

The good thing is that the problem doesn’t seem to affect the video feeds as much, only a few glitches here and there. Between the five feeds from the Prz’Nr’s headsets and the remote surveillance cameras, there’s enough data to identify the location and ensure the security of the operation. Otherwise, they may need to halt operations until the technicians can iron out the problem. The other good thing is that the kill-vest links, using triple redundant PST (Phase Synched Transmission) security has never lost a link or showed any indications of a problem.

The MOC (Mission Operations Commander) silenced the alarm like he did the night before and reminded the surveillance analysts to pay close attention to the video feeds and watch for any anomalies.

The SMT exited the freight elevator at the predetermined level and down the passage to the entrance to the work site. They passed single file through a portable air shower, and across a sensitive scale used to ensure they don’t attempt to take anything from the mining site. They appeared to march as they made their way in the massive gravity down a smaller tunnel the rest of the way to the work site.

The MOC stared in amazement as he watched on his multiple monitors the SMT enter the worksite, a cavern, covered floor to ceiling with precious minerals metals and gems. The MOC never got tired of the sight and wished he could see it in person, but it would never be, the asteroid they mined was deep within level four, and the gravity at that level would probably break his legs.

The SMT paused to take in the view, then slowly entered. Their work order today was to finish extracting a pair of extremely large crystals, for use in some classified high-tech experiment or make a couple of exquisite, million plus credit lamp bases for end tables or nightstands. The work order on the MOC’s console didn’t specify. However, he suspected that these would wind up decorating some high-level official’s private quarters.

The work was slow and meticulous; the SMT seems to be taking extra precautions, first one and then the other crystal was freed from its mineral encasement.

Then disaster struck, the SMT all five of them started to leave, two of them straining to carry the work order crystals. The rest picked up tools and jammed their pockets and the inside of their coveralls with gems. Then all of them began making their way to the exit in a tightly packed group. The MOC initiated the alarm that would instant message Chi’Yo and dispatched soldiers to the site.

In voice contact with the SMT, the MOC ordered them to stop, not once, but twice, then initiated the stun function built into the kill-vests, by this time, Chi’Yo was in video communication. The MOC shared his screen over the video interface with Chi’Yo; showing him that the stun had no effect. A surveillance technician reported that the single elevator to the site had been left at the mining level and doesn’t seem to respond, adding that technicians were already working on it. It would be some minutes before the soldiers would be at the site.

Chi’Yo knew that with the tools that the SMT carried, they could make it to the access tunnel or elevator shaft and possibly escape. Chi’Yo and the MOC didn’t know how or why the stun function of the kill-vest didn’t work; the Mi’Nr’s must be betting that Chi’Yo wouldn’t blow the kill-vests fearing to damage the crystals. Well, Chi’Yo’s wife would just have to get over it, “Blow them,” he ordered, “Blow them, now!” 

The MOC keyed the destruct sequence, adding the authorization code from Chi’Yo and all the video feeds in the area, including the stationary cameras in the immediate vicinity went blank.

P’Ko didn’t like being a hero, sure he first suggested using a modified version of his pocket sized diagnostic tool, but Tn’Ya was the one that went crazy with the mods making it into something he’d never dream of. And yes, it was his idea to hack the video systems and switch the crews, he’d been evading and fooling video systems as long as he could remember, but it was the team that made it all come together.

Then Su’Zi and Tn’Ya together came up with the brilliant idea of using a kind of Crystal Tear Stylus absolute zero freeze strip to defeat tamper system seal on the kill-vests.

Su’Zi and Mi’Ka prepped the SMT psychically, and Su’Zi even insisted on being one of the five volunteer replacements for the SMT padding herself in places and strapping herself down in other locations she replaced number one after the switch. They pulled off the switch in less than three and one-half seconds under, the cover of a carefully created splice of video fed into the SMT monitoring system, which was incredible since they never had a full dress rehearsal.

P’Ko had wanted to be one of the SMT volunteers, but with his height, he’d never been able to masquerade as one of the SMT’s. He helped with the hacks of the elevator and the video surveillance systems, but the most dangerous thing and arguably the bravest, was that he carried the activated, could explode at any second, partially frozen kill-vests to the blast zone, using another part of the rough-hewn passage a safe distance from the fake SMT. Which turned out to be even more dangerous because the CASS detonated them sooner than anticipated. Everyone, expected the CASS to detonate the kill-vests sometime after they planned to cut the video feed to help cover their escape. The unexpected blast wounded P’Ko and some of the volunteers on the fake SMT nearby. But they all managed to escape through the elevator shaft down to the next level and out through another tunnel, the surveillance camera’s having been spoofed, covering their tracks.

Maybe next time the CASS won’t use so much explosive, the blast of all five kill-vests in such close proximity obliterated the whole area, but to be sure the escape team added a little extra explosive to make doubly sure no evidence of their mission remained. The CASS engineers and technicians that made the kill-vests will have some explaining to do.

Mi’Ka is taking charge of the rehabilitation of the SMT; they had all been drugged and infected with surveillance nanobots, and at least partially mind wiped or had been in captivity so long it affected their minds. For most of them, their past remains a mystery, one or two could even be Touch of God Survivors, there’s no way to tell. The important thing is that they’re free and happy to be back among their people and were adapting quickly back to Mi’Nr society and the best part, CASS is none the wiser

To P’Ko’s relief, the celebration wasn’t really a celebration, and he wasn’t the star, at least not the only one. The rescue was weeks past, and this event turned out to be more a recognition ceremony. It was held at the resistance safe house at the edge of Dadr’Ba, and P’Ko was thankful to find that no individuals were recognized, but the whole team was, including Tn’Ya wearing an exoskeleton equipped eSuit that included a surveillance nanobot suppression system.

Several people came up making short speeches citing the accomplishments of the team, even some of the team got up to say a few words thanking their teammates. There were no awards presented. Presentation of an award would risk its discovery by a CASS spy or raid and wasn’t worth the risk.

There were handshakes and toasts, then everyone headed up to Ol’Tn’Ga, because the ceremony had been carefully planned to be on the same day as the annual Run with the Se’Ro’Bs and Ol’Tn’Ga was just beginning to liven up. P’Ko and Su’Zi had wanted to run, but neither of them got picked, but that didn’t dampen the mood any.

Chn’Gi could feel her throat constrict, and her chest tighten, she began to have difficulty breathing. The data she was reading was unequivocal; the O’Mi’s had developed fission based nuclear weapons and almost immediately used them on each other and then in short order progressed to fusion based devices.

The TV signals and deciphered language provided proof that the O’Mi’s have a propensity for death and destruction. Decades ago, they developed high volume automatic projectile weapons and increasingly large chemical-based bombs and deadly gasses. With these weapons they devastated and destroyed not just military targets and battlefields, but entire cities, population centers and the infrastructures necessary to keep the residents alive.

Chn’Gi began to realize that if the O’Mi’s continue to improve and develop weapons at this pace, reinforced by correlating data regarding the rate of weapons development on Or’Gn, the O’Mi’s will have weapons capable of threatening Dadr’Ba by the time they arrive.

Chn’Gi felt an ache behind her eyes that slowly spread to the back of her head as she reviewed the latest population projections. In spite of the O’Mi’s propensity towards killing each other, their population has doubled in just the last hundred years. If the population continues to increase unchecked, the population could be nearing ten billion by the time they arrive. They will be facing severe shortages of food, water, medicine, energy and other vital resources. They’ve shown little concern for protecting the environment and controlling pollution. Or’Gn’s history showed a similar pattern, never completely gaining control over the population, regional rivalries, resource management or stewardship of the environment.  

There’s no chance now of Dadr’Ba’s arriving at O’M as clean and pure as they envisioned. O’M will be a poisoned resource depleted rock covered with a starving, diseased population choking on its own waste. Perhaps our only hope is that the O’Mi’s will self-annihilate, or face a worldwide pandemic or collapse of vital infrastructure causing a mass extinction before they arrive. The statisticians put the odds of O’Mi self-annihilation at close to fifty-fifty, but Chn’Gi doubted these numbers. Based on her study of Dadr’Ba’s ancestors during the same period in their history, Chn’Gi’s educated guess placed the odds more like only twenty to twenty-five percent. She kept her numbers to herself and dared not brief it to the Council, and used the statisticians fifty-fifty number instead.

Given the even odds the Council started to hedge their bets for finding O’M free from the pestilence and began an aggressive weapons development program.

Before the latest set of predictions, the council planned a protected settlement and “working” with the local population on better stewardship of O’M. They had increased the numbers of soldiers, enhanced their capabilities and weaponry, but after these new revelations realized that there was no way they could produce enough soldiers to conquer the planet. So they began developing advanced weapons of their own in preparation for a battle with the O’Mi’s on a (potentially) near peer level.

Chn’Gi closed her eyes and began the deep breathing exercises that Gi’Ya had taught her, forcing back the constriction that made it difficult for her to breathe, and attempt to drain the energy from the pain in her head while willing the tension that had crept into her shoulders and upper neck to relax.

Chi’Yo, grim-faced, listened intently to the briefing, it would have to be carefully edited before presentation to the Central Council, and he may have to brief it himself. The briefer, Zhu’Ro
[101]
is the quintessential scientist; totally absorbed in the science behind solving the problem and oblivious to any of the moral or ethical implications, with no leadership potential, or aspirations, and prone to ramble.

It’s going to take the time to get through all three potential COA’s (courses of action), “Theoretically it’s possible to set the atmosphere on fire, utilizing the techniques we use in fusing the heavier elements in our fusion engine and create a chain reaction.” Zhu’Ro paused as if running calculations in his head, then continued.  “If started in one spot, it would be tricky to prevent it from expanding too fast and push out into space and fizzling out. It’d need to start as a cluster of smaller devices rather than one huge one; the more minor explosions would then merge into a much larger self-sustaining size that would then grow to envelope the whole planet.” Then, almost as an afterthought added “but that option would burn away not just the atmosphere but the oceans and a significant portion of the topsoil stopping only when the iron content got too high. Then it would burn itself out, the surface probably to a depth of kilometers would consist nearly entirely of extremely radioactive ash and slag composed of iron and heavier elements.”

Du’Shi
[102]
cut in, “Our perfect world for habitation would become nothing more than a giant asteroid, devoid of all life-sustaining elements, an enormous spherical cinder, devoid of all atmosphere and water. Life would be impossible.”

Chi’Yo had assigned Du’Shi to run an OPT (Operational Planning Team) to come up with these COA’s, and her enthusiasm was showing. She wanted to be in charge of executing whichever option gets chosen. She’s stating the obvious, Chi’Yo thought; she’s going to have to step up her game if I’m going to pick her to run this operation.

COA two was briefed and would have been ideal, using asteroids to pummel the aliens into submission, but the timing just didn’t work.

COA three was a more conventional approach and would need more time to prepare, and more resources, which we have. It will also give Chi’Yo more power, so Chi’Yo decided on COA three. The COA brief to the Central Council will make it obvious which COA to take, it will have the most favorable data supporting it. 

Chi’Yo looked around the room and asked, not expecting a response, if there was anything else from those present that they wanted to bring up.

To his surprise Zhu’Ro raised his hand, Chi’Yo looked toward Zhu’Ro, “yes?”

Hesitantly at first then building up steam Zhu’Ro said “Sir, although not timely for dealing with the O’Mi’s (referring to COA two). We could set in place the injection of a comet into orbit around O’M which would provide a wealth of resources that we may need later.” Then cautiously ,”but easier to do than that we could initiate a Dadr’Ka, a next generation Dadr’Ba, crewed with volunteers.

A suitable cometary mass from the outer solar system could be nudged out of its orbit and with gravity assists along the way pass through the heart of this solar system out the other side toward a new home. Like our ancestors did with Dadr’Ba. These volunteers could help us colonize the galaxy.”

Chi’Yo liked the idea, and knew that the CA would like it too, the resource comet might also become useful in case COA three fails. Shutting Zhu’Ro down Chi’Yo responded “That’s not our concern, our job is the safety and security of Dadr’Ba and our successful landing and colonization of O’M. Everyone is dismissed.” but he resolved to mention the idea of a Dadr’Ka to the Commander.