Transmat World: Chapter 29
Supreme Arbiter’s quarters, 6:35 A.M., Wednesday, December 8, 2145 A.D.
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Wundee found an undamaged control panel and hacked into the secured-area management system to get the lay of the land. As he suspected, levels surrounding the spherical cavity were for disposal and long-term storage. The rest of the Prime’s hundred levels were labs, warehouses, and factories producing specialty weapons and robots.
Control of the system gave Wundee control of the strikemechs. He ordered them to stand down and surrender to the nearest freemechs. Military related operations permeated both the Forward and Aft Cylinders. Records showed Maxlux had 6.5 billion strikemechs in stasis and 50,000 being manufactured every rotation. Wundee terminated production. Maxlux had to have been building up for a massive surprise sweep of the Harbinger of Light and Justice.
On the 33rd level, they encountered labs with airlocks. Inside they found stasis fields the correct size for holding superpredators. There were organics in cages and evidence of experimentation.
On the 67th level they found 50,000 inactive strikemechs standing in rows. It reminded Wundee of the terracotta warriors of China. He taught them how to fire that clay. Emperor Quinshihuang was one of the smartest humans he consorted with in his efforts to develop human technology.
“Wundee, there has been no sighting of a giant constabulator with damaged stabules,” said Newlux.
“I was hoping to get in touch with it somehow,” said Wundee. “I left a freed machine on Earth that should at least be given the option of staying there or returning, and the humans need to know the status of Harbinger as now being non-threatening to their world.”
“Sorry,” said Newlux.
“I am sending you a message in an Earth language for you to broadcast throughout Harbinger, even inside the Membrane in case they jumped toward the center. Put it on a loop on all frequencies, maximum power. Also, send a team for dealing with organics taken out of stasis.”
Wundee communicated with the stasis cruiser fleet, speaking to the freemech he left in charge.
“Second-in-Command Rimfire, take the gravity generators from cruiser 3n45 and link them in series with the generators on cruiser 3n46. Do the same with 47 and 48. Take the spare fusion generators from two other ships and add them in series to those of cruiser 3n46 and 3n48. Have 3n48’s laser weapon controls modified per the schematic I am sending now. As soon as those ships are ready, bring them to the bottom center of the Cylinder. I will meet you there.”
Wundee turned to his cohorts in the Prime’s quarters. “The humans jumped farther than I thought. They may have found the locator beacon I placed on the ship, but they will be back. Vince Miller trusts his vessel to keep him safe, and he does not possess information he needs to allay his and his compatriot’s fears regarding Harbinger. I need a big enough billboard to attract his attention.”
“What is a ‘billboard’?” asked Lieutenant Breaker.
“A place to put an advertisement,” answered Wundee.
“What is an ‘advertisement’?” asked Favorite Egg.
“I do not have time for a bunch of freemechs to tag team me about Earth lingo. I think I saw a high-speed gravity tug on level fifty-eight. Let us set it up to pull me to the bottom of the Forward Cylinder and meet with cruiser 3n48.”
“Certainly, Field Commander Wundee, right away,” barked Lieutenant Breaker, and as they headed for the door added, “What is a ‘tag team’?”
The gravity tug was in a weapon-testing lab on level 58 amid molten mounds of enduraplast mixed with remains of organic and inorganic life.
There was a backlog of activated stasis mines in the large tube leading from the bottom of the Forward Cylinder to the stasis mine reception chamber. Clearing them out set free several surprised and grateful members of the 3rd Light Mounted. The gravity tug was positioned just inside the open door of the large circular airlock in the bottom of the stasis mine reception chamber. Wundee, Circuit Breaker, Chrome Dome and Favorite Egg assembled on top of the tug, cycled through the huge airlock sped down the tube to the bottom of the Forward Cylinder. Soon they were reunited with cruisers 3n46 and 3n48.
Wundee gave Favorite Egg specific directions on where to go and what to do with the souped-up stasis cruiser 3n48 and its modified weapon system. It at once set a course away from the bottom of the cylinder straight toward the open top of the Membrane and Betilon; the bright, shining heart of Harbinger of Light and Justice.
Wundee, Lieutenant Breaker, and Chrome Dome boarded 3n46 and headed for the Rim at a hundred Rim gravities.
The last microcoulomb drained from the Supreme Arbiter’s local brain battery backup, and the lights went out in the battered and punctured body Mundeen fashioned so long ago on Kolpak.
