Ben James stood and circled. “You’re a scientist, Avery. We both know exotic matter is not something you find on an asteroid. To power your technology with it and in sufficient quantities to yield such results, you must have a very rich source. We have such a source ourselves. But it’s taken one hundred years to siphon a sufficient amount just to power our wormhole technology.”
The more the smug man spoke, the more Avery learned. James and his associates had created the wormhole? And how did this relate to the Outer Rim Alliance? Were they one and the same?
James stopped and stood in front of him. “We suspect you have access to a far more abundant source. Our agents tell us you’ve refined enough to build another six of those ships. With more on the way.”
Vee remained silent.
“Well?” Ben James prodded.
“Well what?”
His eyes narrowed again.
“What is the source, Avery?”
He racked his brain. There was only one suitable response to such a question. Pulled from a laundry list he’d memorized over the years from being around Commander Rayne.
“The source is . . .”
Ben James leaned forward leering. “Yes?”
“You’ll find the source where the sun doesn’t shine.”
There was no reaction from Ben James, only a look of confusion. Fair enough. Avery didn’t understand it when Aaron first hit him with it. “You’ll figure it out,” he said.
Ben James stood rigid. “Have it your way. I warned you. My associates are the crazy ones. A few days with them, and you’ll wish you had chosen differently.” Ben James spun on his heels and headed for whence he came.
Darkness—Avery’s only friend—returned to keep him.
Chapter 15 – Stick To Flying
“Why do I get the feeling there’s going to be a permanent target in the gym soon” – Yuri Miroslav
Hangar deck
“Don’t touch that!”
Yuri froze. He looked around. “Help?”
Corporal Ubu took the small palm sized object from Flaps—carefully—then he dropped it.
Yuri squeezed his eyes and cringed.
Ubu, Dawes and Chen laughed. Lee shook his head in humorous disgust.
“Really, Flaps?” Lee said. “You think they’d let you with play an active device?”
Sergeant Dawes picked it up. “It’s a scramble grenade,” he said. “As you know, every tech-5 and four worlds have dampening fields to drain powered devices. These little guys aren’t as powerful but at least they’re portable. The area of effect is a paltry five hundred square-meters.”
Yuri was on Hammerhead’s flight deck when the marines and Lee intruded and began rummaging through the stored mission equipment.
They should know by now this deck belonged to him. But as he watched them, he found himself more interested in what they were doing. Some of it looked vaguely familiar, but most of it was designed for the Special Forces.
Now, Yuri walked down the devices lining the table. He turned over the upper section of a recon marine armor. He looked at Dawes. “Is this a jetpack?” It was designed to fit neatly into the marine armor.
“This is a jump-pack.” Dawes picked it up. “Ordinary jetpacks burn through fuel too quickly, and are subject to dampening fields, like any powered equipment. The jump packs operate on a different principle. No powered application involved.
“It’s based on gravity manipulation tech. It compresses gravity in varying amounts which work in synergy through these round plates at the bottom.” The little round silver objects seemed rudimentary. How could something so small manipulate gravity?
As if reading his mind, Dawes explained. “They might not seem like much, but these things are expensive to manufacture. Exotic matter is involved in the process. That makes them invaluable. The pack is capable of pushing up to two hundred pounds, forty feet. You can adjust the compression here,” he pointed to a small lever, “to control the force. There’s no computer control.”
Lee stepped forward and picked up one of the four next items.
“Typical,” Yuri said.
Lee waved the foot long blade in the air. “This is a combat plasma knife, Flaps. Sometimes called a plasma blade. A recent addition to marine weaponry. I believe it’s the first weaponized application of plasma by our research division. An ordinary combat knife couldn’t penetrate good infantry armor.” He handed it to Ubu.
“The tech-boys infused the blade with plasma,” Ubu said. “The blade itself acts as the containment. Although it doesn’t radiate heat, it’ll melt through whatever it touches when activated. It’s perfect for impaling armor. The only downside is the plasma charge only lasts a few minutes. The suit keeps it charged when holstered.” He activated the blade and threw it at a small armor plate—a makeshift target they’d set up—twenty feet away. The blade buried up to the hilt.
Lee nodded. He seemed to approve.
They came to some square shaped objects.
Chen picked up one of the boxes, no bigger than an average man’s torso and only half a foot thick. “These are deployable weapons tech and nothing short of amazing. An engineering company in the twenty-first century pioneered counterbalanced folding linkages for mobility, reliability and ease of deployment for equipment and structures. A concept intended for mobile deployment of houses, and any other conceivable structure. Way back then a small trailer sized unit could unfold into an expansive structure.”
He didn’t have to tell them that the military of the day soon took notice and adapted the technology. Flaps visualized the endless applications. It particularly suited combat operations because the process was almost entirely mechanical, and it was supported by battery power where necessary. But a simple power drill was all that was needed for larger applications such as mobile bases. This small, light, object could unfold into a deployable turret or reinforced barricade.
At the end of the table, Yuri picked up one of the palm-sized recon drones. A smooth, grey, circular object equipped with laser optics. These mapped out structural interiors from outside and even tracked anything inside. The evolution of a twenty-first century device which used radar to see inside buildings. The draw back was the original device had to be placed against the building while this device could perform its function well beyond its target.
“This looks like it might hurt,” a new voice said.
Yuri looked around. None of them realized the XO was behind them. How long had she been there? They’d been on some missions these past few months with Commander Alvarez, but she hadn’t been assigned to Phoenix then.
She stepped forward and picked up a plasma blade.
“Careful with that, XO. That’ll leave a mark.” Dawes stepped back. Everyone else did too. Was it even charged?
A sudden short buzz answered that question. The blade had a slight hue. She threw it into the target, just above Ubu’s.
The others exchanged glances.
Yuri wasn’t amused. “Why do I get the feeling there’s going to be a permanent target in the gym soon, and you’ll have competitions?”
Ayres smiled. “That is a fine idea, young Ensign.”
Yuri winced.
Lee stepped forward and hefted one of the last two knives and threw it. It embedded just to the left of the XO’s blade.
Yuri shook his head. “Show off.” He reached for the remaining blade.