George gestured towards a chair and I took a seat and began to sip at the only good news given to me all day. An aide then came running in the door breathing heavily, "Sir, you need to come to Frig's lab. He has something important he wants to show you, something to do with your father’s data."
I promised George I would return his cup as I hurried off towards the lab. When we arrived Frig was sitting at a monitor, "Sir, one of my techs found this file buried within three other files. He just happened on it by chance and we were able to extract the following document from it. Sir, I just sent this over to George. It appears to be a complete breakdown of the Torrian drug being used on the Milgari."
I replied, "Well why didn't you just tell me it was over there. I just ran all the way here spilling hot coffee on my hand." Frig replied, "I would say that is too friggin bad Sir, but then I would sound like you. George has the data now Sir, see him for an interpretation."
I got up and hustled back to George's office, "OK, this is wearing me out. What do we have?" George was looking over the data, "It looks like the breakdown of what the drug affects and how to create it. I believe, just from this initial view, that we may be able to create a cure for the Milgari. If we can do that we can then work on a delivery system. This is it Don, this is what my team has been trying to figure out for the past year."
Finally, it was the good news that I had been looking for. I got the Council together to discuss what we could do with a cure once we had it. Gy was the first to speak, "You are going to have to get through that armor first. I know it’s not popular, but we might need something that's kinetic."
I spoke, "Frig and I used to have a coil gun on the Swift. Could something like that be used?" Rita replied, "In order to make a hole in one of those ships you would need a gun about twice the length of one of those cruisers. I don't think that is feasible."
I replied, "Well what about some type of missile, something with a warhead?" The Colonel chimed in, "The Grid military experimented with those for years. They are slow and easily knocked out before they arrive at their target. Of course the Prassi seemingly solved the slow issue, but with a warhead you are destroying the vessel, not delivering your cure."
Frig then spoke, "Sir, I may have a way, but it would mean ramping up the wormhole experiments. If my theories are correct, I may be able to open a microscopic wormhole. If we can control its location, we may be able to push an aerosol version of the cure onto their ship. I don't know how much we would be able to push through, but that could be determined by experimentation."
I pointed towards the lab and replied to Frig, "Go make that happen. We will continue to hash things out here." Frig rose and headed for his lab. More ideas were brought to the table, but each one was incomplete or proven to not be viable.
After five hours of discussions I adjourned the meeting. Everyone had orders to go back to the daily tasks and to think further about what we might do. I stood in my office looking out the window at the planet down below. If we could somehow pull this off we would again have the upper hand.
The Colonel came into my office for a word, "You know Don, if the cure for this drug the Milgari are on works out, we might just see an end to hostilities. The Torrians without their army will soon wither up and die. These sectors could finally be at peace."
I looked back at the Colonel, "That would be a welcome thing Colonel. Imagine waking up every day and your worry is about what you are going to accomplish and not about are you going to die. I look forward to that day Colonel, but I wonder if it will ever come."
Three weeks after the discovery of the data on the Milgari drug George had his cure. In the week following he had a formulation of the cure in an aerosol spray. We were only in need of a method of delivery to bring our new weapon to the war front.
I walked into Frig’s lab to check on his progress, "Anything new today?" Frig replied, "Sir, you have asked me that every day for the past two weeks." I sat in a chair and raised my arms, "I ask a question and I get some nonsensical fact shoved down my throat. Let’s try this again. Has there been any new progress?"
Frig replied, "Yes." I sat silent for several seconds, "Well?" Frig turned from his console, "I have run repeated simulations that have opened a wormhole as predicted. Also as predicted it is extremely small and only open for a short period of time. George will have to tell us if it is long enough to deliver what is needed."
I stood from my chair, "So we now have a delivery system. When can we make use of this?" Frig raised his hand, "Sir, you are getting ahead of yourself. I have simulated the wormhole. At this moment it would appear that we will require one of those cruisers out there to be packed full of generators to connect to the antenna array I have created."
I sat back down, "A cruiser full of generators? I thought we powered the one on that derelict with a single generator? What gives?" Frig replied, ‘Sir, the derelict ship was one big antenna. The array itself and how the energy was delivered to it are the two pieces missing at this time, the two most important pieces. If this works, we may be able to improve it through experimentation. As of this time however, we will need a cruiser full of generators."
I called in Gy to get the process started. When he left I returned to my conversation with Frig, "Do we have any idea of how close we have to get to open the wormhole?" Frig replied, "Theoretically we could open it from here, but the reality is that we do not have a precise location for the other end."
"The hole has to be opened inside the ship and at a point where the air would be circulated. I would think the optimum target would be the landing bay. We need to target a large space so that there is room for error. Both ships, ours and theirs, will need to be in a stationary position. As far as a distance goes we will need to be within our sensor range and at a point where the resolution of those sensors will allow us to precisely define the target space."
I replied, "Well, that all sounds doable. Make sure Gy has everything he needs to build out that cruiser. I’ll get with George and see what amount of this stuff we will need to deliver." I left the lab and headed for George’s office.
George was sitting at his desk, typing on his keyboard. I went straight to the carafe of hot coffee on his counter. After pouring a cup I sat in the chair in front of his desk, "So, how much of this cure do we have to deliver for let’s say… a battleship?"
George had the answer ready, "We will need two liters of aerosol, but that can be highly compressed, so I think we can deliver it in the doses needed. My team is crafting both a delivery container and a feed tank. We start as a liquid so I am asking for a 30,000 liter tank to be added to the cruiser Gy will be working on. The wormhole will have to be opened directly in front of the nozzle, but Frig doesn’t see that as a problem."
I waited until the afternoon for Gy to get his plans defined before I paid him a visit. I asked for a status, "How long do you think it will take to retrofit one of those cruisers?" Gy responded, "At the moment it looks like about a month Chief. We have the generators in our production line already so those are not an issue. And the automated docks can be programmed to strip out the interiors of a cruiser, everything is already mapped. I think the long lead time will be constructing Frig’s antenna array and getting it installed."
The news was exciting. It was possible that we were only 30 days away from a solution to a war that had dragged on for a thousand years. The following day I was making my rounds and stopped in to see George. I had questions about the Milgari cure, "So, you tested this out on the Milgari captives and it worked? What are they like now without the effects of the drug?"
George replied, "I would guess they have reverted to what they would normally be like. I have had conversations with a number of them and they are mostly confused over what has been happening. They don’t understand the rage they were feeling and they certainly don’t feel any allegiance to the Torrians. They might actually be one of the peace loving species in this galaxy."
"I have one in particular who seems to be more intellectual than the others. He was basically the ships janitor. He was asking pertinent questions such as what happens now and how do I get back to my people. The others seem to be waiting to be told what to do. This lad, his name is Glemak, could easily be a leader for his people."
"We might want to start training him to be their leader because if this works we will have millions of confused Milgari on our hands. It’s funny, but I almost feel sorry for them… almost." I replied, "Can I see him, talk to him?"
George pointed towards the lab, "He’s in the holding cell. Just tell Frank I sent you over. And don’t get close enough to the cell where he can grab you through the bars, keep a safe distance until we know for sure that he has been cured."
I walked to George’s lab and pulled a chair up in front of Glemak’s cell. He sat on his bunk with his face down, looking at the floor in front of him. There was no rage, no seething breath, no ill will towards anyone or anything, only a hollow stare.
I spoke, "So, you are Glemak? George tells me you have been asking questions. He says that is a good thing." Glemak slowly raised his eyes, "Is it a good thing? I don’t know, it is like I just came out of a fog that has been my whole existence. I’m not sure where I am going or where I have been. Your doctor did not answer any of those questions. So here I sit, wondering what my life is about."
I then began to tell Glemak of his beginnings at the birthing center and of the Milgari drug that was used to enslave him. I told of what his people were bred and raised for, of their barbaric acts and undying loyalty to the Torrians. I then told of the Grid and how we had been running from his species for a thousand years.
Glemak sat silent as the information was absorbed. After several minutes of silence I began to stand. Glemak sat up on his bunk, "Where are you going and what is to become of me?" I stopped, "Well, at the moment I was going to go to get lunch and for you, we are not yet sure of what to do with you. The Doc seems to think we can train you to lead your people home or something."
Glemak stood and gripped the bars of his cell, "Home? Do we have a home? Have you seen it?" I sat back down and raised my hand, "OK, hold on. I can’t say that you do or don’t. From our records, which are sketchy from that far back, there is mention of you having a home planet before the Torrians took control of you. We didn't know the Torrians were in charge. We just thought you were some crazy species out to do us in."
"We may be able to give you star maps to the area, but from what I understand, your world was destroyed by the Torrians when they took over. Sorry that I mentioned home as I don’t think that place exists any more, depending on what happened, perhaps it could be terraformed. We are attempting to do that here as we have no home either. You might be better off just searching for a habitable planet and settling there. Of course your people have not been set free yet so it doesn’t really matter at this time."
Glemak’s hands fell back to his side as he sat back on his bunk. It matters to me Don Grange… it matters to me." I stood to ask how it was that he knew my name, but I realized the explanation was as simple as the name-tag pinned to my shirt. I tuned back as I began to walk away. "I’ll see what I can do for you Glemak. If it is deemed helpful to our cause I might be able to push it through the Council. Given our history with you, that might be a difficult task."
Later than afternoon I held a Council meeting to discuss the impending Milgari problem. What would we do with the free Milgari after the cure had been administered? The Council was quick to decide, Glemak would get his training.
With several weeks left before the cruiser would be ready for a test I hopped in the Wren for a ride to the Grid. I was curious as to how our plan to identify spies and to then round them up was going. Doris met me at the Alpha Bay docks.
As I stepped onto the deck and began to speak she raised her finger to her lips, "Not now Sir, please wait until we are secure." We continued to walk quietly to Doris’ office. I sat in the chair in front of her desk.
When the door closed and the green light came on I knew it was safe to speak, "So, I just came out to check on the progress and to tell you of the exciting news back home." Doris sat in her chair and sighed, "Sorry Sir, it has just been hectic around here. People are starting to get suspicious and questions are being asked that indicate we may need to move on this sooner rather than later."
"The Colonel’s intel team is doing a bang-up job of identifying those who are listed and then setting up the trees of the people they are in contact with. So far, I believe they have something like 450 direct threats and around 6,000 indirect or undecided. Frankly Sir, if the team was bigger I think they would just uncover more. If you walk in their office it’s like an organized mayhem in there."
I replied, "Is there any word of the SCore agents and Ashley?" Doris responded, "Yes, the four agents she enlisted are now working for the third-in-command Jeff Norberg. He formed a team to supposedly investigate Martool Mining. Of course we are cooperating fully." Doris smiled.
Doris continued, "The buzz amongst the politicians is that they want to know more about your company. Jeff’s team is slow rolling that information out to them. I have been typing up their reports so everything is watered down. I have also been pre-releasing those reports to our press operatives so any information released can be spun in a positive way. So far, that strategy appears to be working."
"But we are seeing a lot of questions being asked that give the appearance of people getting nervous. Several of our direct threats have been pressing the news people for their sources on some of the stories that put them in a less than favorable light. Threats are being made Sir. We are trying to stay one step ahead, but as time goes on those tasks become ever more difficult."
I wanted to see Ashley, but Doris thought it was a bad idea. Any association that could be made between her and me would only bring scrutiny onto both of us. When I finished my status briefing with Doris I was taken on a quick tour of the Colonel’s intel headquarters. Doris was right, it was controlled mayhem.
With the Grid operations in full swing I walked back towards the Wren to head home. There was planning to be done. When I arrived in Alpha Bay C Michael Felix was waiting for me, "Don Grange. I should have known you would show up here again. Congratulations on your success with Martool. When I heard that was you it was quite unexpected."
"I would like to discuss a few things with you if you have a moment." I replied, "Sure, tell you what, my ship is right down here how about we go for a quick ride?" Michael Felix looked at me suspiciously, "You are not still harboring ill will against me are you Don? It was my office that pushed through the information that got your warrant lifted. I’m sure you view that as a hollow gesture that was somehow to my benefit, but it was something that needed to be done."
I sighed and responded, "Look Felix, if you want to talk we take a ride. I have things to do so either come with me or go away." Felix raised his hand, "No need to be testy Don. We are on the same side now."
We walked to the Wren and stepped aboard. When the door closed I filed a quick flight plan and was given taxi directions to the launch pad, within a minute we were in the darkness of space. I spoke, "OK Felix, what’s on your mind?"
Felix replied, "I just wanted to bury the hatchet so to speak. I have had extensive talks with the Admiral and I will have to say Don, as much as I loathed you before, I now have a different opinion. What you have managed to accomplish is stellar. I would not have taken you for a patriot."
I squinted one eye, "Well, I would have taken you for a politician. You have wanted to control everything since the day we first met. First the Messenger service, which was a brilliant move if you wanted to control the flow of information on and off the Grid. And now as a politician on several of the most powerful committees. The Sad thing is, I knew you were capable of working your way up like this, I just hoped it wouldn’t happen."
"You see Felix, I never liked you because you always bent the rules to fit your purpose. Anyone who got in your way was pushed to the side or rolled over. You always played by the rules, you just didn’t play fair."
Our discussion went on for nearly an hour before I landed back in Alpha Bay C. The door of the Wren opened and Michael Felix stood to exit. He held out his hand for an expected shake. I looked at it and spoke, "Felix, I’m not going to shake your hand or slap you on the back or pat your rump. I still don’t like you. And until that changes please just stay out of my way."
With that Michael Felix nodded and stepped out onto the deck. The door of the Wren closed and I again filed my flight plan for home. Two minutes later I blasted out into space and turned for Jarhead.
Upon arrival back on the Suppressor I immediately did a walk around for status. The cruiser modifications were nearing completion and Frig was preparing for his first test. I spoke, "How’s it looking? Have you given her a name and will Doc’s apparatus deliver the goods?" Frig replied, "I believe it will Sir. I am hoping to do a test of the system tomorrow. We will only have 40% of the generators online, but it should yield measurable results. I have selected the name of the ship, it will be called the Injector."
After meeting with the others I made my way back to my office. The afternoon was long and uneventful. My thoughts were consumed with anticipation of the coming test, it had me on edge. The Colonel then barged through the door. The look on his face told that something was wrong.