Solbidyum Wars Saga 9: At What Price (35 page)

“You need to destroy it with sound,” called out Rory from across the room.  He had been working there on some unrelated project and apparently had been listening to our conversation.

“What?” said A’Lappe, becoming alert to Rory’s comment.

“You have to use sound to destroy it.  Crystals don’t like sound,” Rory repeated casually without looking up from his workstation.

A’Lappe turned to Cantolla as Cantolla stared back.  It just might work,” they said in unison.  A’Lappe began typing manically at his station, while Cantolla continued to think out loud.

“It’s very possible that a focused sound beam at the right vibration could destroy the organism’s crystalline structure.  Or maybe we have existing tools that can neutralize the pathogen on a broader scale with little or no adaptation to the equipment, like the resonant ultrasound instruments that are being used by the Earth geologists or even the transducers that are commonly used in the surgical med units.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say we’d be able to cure anyone, but a sonic device of some kind might actually work sanitize a large area or even get those people in HAZMAT suits on Sambal decontaminated.  We need to get the Nibarians on Agraious and Frandee to test it quickly.  If it works, we might be able to save those people trapped in HAZMAT suits before they die from starvation or dehydration.”

“I hope so,” I said.  “Marranalis told me this morning that two of the people at Sambal have broken the seals on their suits – one to get a drink and one to relieve himself.  They thought it was a safe bet and now they’re paying the ultimate price for their gamble.  We’re running out of time to save the rest.  Thirst is going to drive a lot more of them to take the same risk soon.”

“It may be possible to manage the dehydration, at least temporarily, but it would be tricky and a little painful,” said Cantolla.  “The HAZMAT suits are made of a thin material that is self-sealing in the event of a puncture or leak.  It’s possible to make injections through the suit and even install IVs using a heat sensor to find a vein.  The obvious problem is making sure the needle hasn’t been contaminated.”

“Let’s keep that in the back of our minds as a last resort.  For now, focus on trying to find a way to disinfect the suits and the quarantined building.  See if Rory’s idea will work.”

When I arrived back on the
GLOMAR ROSA,
I knew before asking that Marranalis had more bad news.

There’s been a body-bomber attack on Resalon during an outdoor sports event.  There were at least five body-bombers spread about the facility and they must have been connected remotely as they all detonated at once.  Fatalities are estimated at more than three hundred at this time and the injured number in the several thousands.  Governor Lenacky is among the fatalities.  The Brotherhood also made an aerial attack on the planet’s solbidyum reactor plant, but the system is deep enough underground that there was no significant damage to the actual reactor unit.  Still, the attack successfully knocked out a significant portion of the power grid.  Engineers are looking over the damage now, trying to determine how long it will be before power can be restored.”

“No biological agents were released?” I asked.

“None that we are aware of, sir.”

“I hope that means Ming doesn’t have any left.  I just wish we could find out where he is.”

“That reminds me, sir.  Admiral Wabussie wishes to talk with you about the interviews with Senator Yungman’s sister.”

“Did he say what they found out?” I asked.

“No, sir.  He just asked me to relay that he wishes to speak with you.”

“I guess I should go to the Capitol Station and see what he wants,” I responded.

I could just as easily have called him from my office, but I needed the time that walking through the gate and down the corridor to his office would provide just to clear my thoughts.  There was too much going on, and since I was on the down-side of my treatment cycle, my mental functions were already becoming a bit sluggish.  A’Lappe had made it clear that the benefits from the treatments weren’t going to last as long as they had in the past and that I could expect to show symptoms sooner than before, so I had to be more mindful of my demeanor and work harder to stay focused as the week progressed, especially when interacting with people who didn’t know about my condition – which meant pretty much everyone.

As I moved through the corridors and saluted the passing officers, I wondered just how much longer I really had before my condition became completely disabling.  A’Lappe didn’t know and he became elusive and strangely silent when I broached the topic with him.  In the back of my mind I was hoping I could get Ming and have just one year of peace without interruptions… just one quiet year, unmarked by war, that I could spend with Kala, Lunnie and Reidecor before I died.  I sighed as I entered the waiting area outside Wabussie’s office.

“Admiral, we received a message that you were en route.  Admiral Wabussie said to admit you as soon as you arrived,” greeted the aide, who showed me immediately into the office.

“Ah, Tibby,” said Wabussie informally as I entered.  “I’d like you to meet Agent Condari.  Condari was assigned to interview Senator Youngman’s daughter.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said to the balding man of medium height who rose from his chair to greet me.

“It’s my pleasure and a great honor to meet you, Admiral,” he replied.

“I hope you’re bringing some good news,” I said.  “Something that will lead us to Ming.”

“We may have,” said Wabussie.  “Please, have a seat and I’ll let Condari tell you what we’ve learned.”

Once we were seated, Condari presented his findings.  “Telanna, Senator Yungman’s sister, told us that she overheard her captor-master talking one night with a visiting superior, one of the higher-ranking Brotherhood members.  Telanna said on that evening, not long before the liberation of Alamar-4, her master, Bimdat Ranwoo, and this superior, Garrad, an arrogant and sadistic beast of a man who enjoyed inflicting pain on Telanna, both used her in a very rough manner, leaving her afterward in an unconscious state inside the bedroom.  When she regained consciousness, she could hear them talking in another room.  Garrad told Bimdat that he needed to go to Xennek to meet with Ming.  She was sure he said Xennek, as Garrad repeated it again later.  From what she could recall of the conversation, Ming was using Xennek as a major staging area.  She also remembered hearing Garrad mention a scientist that was working for the Brotherhood and that this scientist had come up with what he called
the ultimate weapon for defeating the Federation
.  We believe the scientist is Fass Hakwin, and the
ultimate weapon
is the germ warfare that has currently been unleashed on Agraious, Frandee and Sambal.”

“How reliable do you believe this intelligence to be and where is this Xennek?” I asked.

“That took a little digging.  Xennek is not a planet in the Federation.  In fact, it's not a planet at all.  It’s a moon that orbits the planet Plamos.  Plamos is several light years from the Federation perimeter and we know very little about it.  One thing of particular interest, however, is that there is a huge asteroid field a short distance from Plamos that very likely meets the criteria for providing the type of asteroids that Ming needs to create his ships.”

Now Condari had my full attention.

“We also believe that Xennek is where the Brotherhood has been training their terrorists.”

“Tell him the other part… about the other moon,” said Wabussie.

“Ah, yes.  There is a second moon that orbits Plamos.  Graben.  It too supports life, but that life is deadly and everyone who has ever set foot on the planet dies within hours.”

“Ming’s plague,” I said, nearly jumping out of my seat.

“We think so,” Wabussie said.  “Of course, we can’t be sure, unless we examine samples of the organisms taken directly from the moon, but the reported symptoms seem to be the same.”

“Is there any cure for the disease?” I asked hopefully.

“I’m afraid not,” responded Wabussie.  “Every mention of it we can find in the computer databases refer to it as exceedingly lethal and contagious.  There has never been a single recorded survivor of the infection.”

“I don’t suppose that by some chance Bimdat was captured when we liberated Alamar-4 and that we have him in custody.”

“Bimdat’s body was found and identified on Alamar-4 right after the battle.  I’m afraid you won’t be getting any new information from him,” said Wabussie.

“Is there anything else you can tell me?” I asked.

“Only that you will have a hard time getting to Xennek.  The space between here and there is Brotherhood territory that is heavily traveled by Brotherhood ships.  It would be supremely difficult to get there undetected, even cloaked.”

“Send the coordinates to Marranalis on the
GLOMAR ROSA
and we’ll see what we can come up with as a means of getting there undetected,” I said.  “We’ll find a way and when we do, we’ll put an end to Ming and the Brotherhood,” I said.

“Do you really think you can get him?” asked Wabussie.

“We don’t have a choice.  If we don’t get him, his disease canisters will wipe out all of us.  We have no defense against them.”

As soon as I returned to the
GLOMAR ROSA,
I directed Marranalis to bring up the 3D hologram and light up the location of Plamos.  It was considerably farther away than I expected and when Marranalis illuminated the nearby asteroid field, I cursed myself that we hadn’t considered looking out this far before.  Realistically, the field was immense; so even if we had investigated it, we very well might have still missed the Brotherhood’s asteroid-ship fabrication site when searching within the dense belt of asteroids.  I imagined that two very large planets must have collided to produce so large an asteroid field.

Any excitement I had about finding Ming was soon dispelled when Marranalis lit up the known locations of Brotherhood patrols and areas of space under Brotherhood control.  All the direct routes to Plamos and its moons were areas that were impossible for any ship to traverse without being detected – cloak or no cloak.  Even worse, rumor had it that the Brotherhood was intercepting and commandeering all ships going through those areas of space.  There was only one alternative.

“I want six long range patrol ships equipped with stellar gate components sent on routes to that circumvent this area between here and Plamos.  I want gates set up there as quickly as possible so we can mobilize for a full assault.  Gate positions are to be established here, here, here, here, here, and here,” I said as I walked into the 3D display to indicate the locations.

“Sir, that’s going to take some time,” said Marranalis.

“I know that, but I don’t see any other way to get there without having to fight our way there and if we do that, Ming will be long gone before we even get close.  It may take longer than we like, but it’s the only way.  Even so, there is a good chance the patrol ships may be spotted before any of them get there.  I want this mission to be classified as
Above Top Secret
.  I don’t even want the Admiralty to know about it for the time being.  Pick crewmen with no families and whose work routines are aligned with top secret missions and long absences so their companions don’t become concerned if they aren’t in contact for a while.  I’ll talk to Wabussie about sending an FSO agent along with each ship, with the possibility that we may be able to get some FSO agents on Xennek to gather intelligence, once we have the gates in place.

“This will be a very dangerous mission.  After several failed attempts to get Ming, I have no doubt his security is very tight and he’ll be watching for us.  He’s most likely not on Xennek, but hiding on his starship somewhere in orbit or nested in space inside a hive of fighters, like he was at the other site.  Now that he possesses Cantolla Gate technology, who knows what avenues of escape he has set up for himself.  If we do manage to find him, we’ll need to attack swiftly and hard.  We’ll have minutes at the most to destroy him before he escapes.  Before we even open a gate, it’ll be critical that we know exactly where he is,” I said.

“This isn’t going to be easy,” said Marranalis.  “There’s a lot of room for error and a high risk of being detected.  Besides that, we could be walking into another trap like at Glomar Rosa.  We’ll be in the thick of Brotherhood territory.  No matter how we look at it, once we take our ships into the Xennek area, we’re surrounded by enemy ships.  If they were to destroy or block our gates like they did at Glomar Rosa, we would have a huge fleet of enemy ships between us and home that we would need to fight just to get home.  And we know how that would turn out.”

“You’re right,” I said as I thought about it.  “But I still want those six gates set up.  In the meantime, we’ll try to come up with a plan that protects our backs to make sure we don’t get trapped.”

I was exhausted.  I struggled to focus through two more days of planning, study and data collection with Marranalis, the FSO, and the interagency science task force, as Ming continued to terrorize the Federation with random body-bomber attacks and aerial blitz raids.  Marranalis had taken to ordering food for me automatically and making me rest periodically during the day, knowing that I was soon due for a treatment.  By the fifth day, I was so exhausted that I felt compelled to contact Kala and tell her that I expected to be too tired to leave the
GLOMAR ROSA
at the end of the day and that I would be staying in my quarters for the night.  She must have felt uneasy about the tone in my voice, because she dropped what she was doing, got dressed her captain’s uniform, and found a reason to be called to the Glomar Rosa for a day or two of duty so she could stay with me.  When she surprised me in the officer’s lounge during one of Marranalis’s imposed meal breaks, I have to admit I was deeply relieved and happy to see her.