=::= Day 87 - Rebecca's PoV =::=

"I don't get why y'all are still sitting here acting like there's no third choice staring ya in the face," Ella scowled.

"Just pack up an' leave!" she stated. "Ain't no reason to stick around, considering miss AI there's got the planetary defences working for her. Get your boat off this rock, then you don't gotta worry about either Taggart stealing her or Arun blowing her up."

I sighed, "You know why. We've got just enough fuel in our tanks to get as far as the place that wants to arrest us, or the place that wants to kill us."

"Anyways we're not going to abandon you folks like that," I added. "My gut tells me if we left that wouldn't stop Taggart from taking out his frustrations on everyone here at Ganvis."

Jace finally spoke up, "I'm sure my mom appreciates that you're looking out for us. So I guess the next question is, what can we do about it? If President Taggart's sending an army this way, there's not a whole lot we can do to stop them. Is there?"

"Why not orbital bombardment?" Ella asked as she looked to Jenny. "You control the satellites, right? If you see an army coming our way, just start dropping hypersonic tungsten on them until they go away."

Our AI grimaced, "I'd rather not commit any more war crimes if I can avoid it."

"That does raise a good point though," she added as she looked to me. "My access isn't limited to controlling the weapons satellites and monitoring the communications grid. I also have access to global surveillance, and interestingly I haven't detected any forces heading our way. Not yet at least."

Amanda asked, "Could they be masking their movements somehow? Keeping their activity hidden from their own spy satellites?"

Jenny frowned, "I certainly wouldn't rule that out, but I'm honestly not sure if they have the means to do so."

"Whatever they're up to," Sarah said, "It had to have started when Taggart's get-away ship was blasted, right? That was only eight days ago. So it's not like they've had ages to set up and execute some huge elaborate scheme."

Cam shook her head, "Mr. Finn said two of them attackers was here since before the war even started. Maybe not just on account of the Demeter, but they knew we was here."

Jenna agreed, "That's a good point. We should probably assume they've known the Demeter was here all along. While they might not have originally planned to capture or destroy her, they could have had numerous contingency plans ready incase they were needed."

"What are you saying?" Jace asked. "We might have more moles hiding among the refugees? How do we even check for that?"

He frowned as he added, "I guess we could demand to search everyone's belongings, see if anyone else has military hardware with them? Except odds are anything truly incriminating probably would have been hidden as soon as they got here. And there's plenty of innocent reasons for folks to arm themselves. Especially nowadays."

I leaned back in my seat with a thoughtful frown on my face. After a few seconds I shook my head, "We're missing something. Probably something obvious. The first two attackers may have been sent here to spy, maybe as a precaution. The second two came in the last few days, right? They were sent to secure the power distribution hub, in preparation for an attack tonight. Yet there's no evidence of anyone moving into position to attack us."

"Jenny," I asked as I looked to our AI again, "Based on what you know of Taggart's forces, what's the fastest they could get here from where they are right now? And how would they be travelling?"

She reminded me, "I believe those loyal to the president are now aware of the fact that their information systems have been compromised, but I have no way of knowing when they came to that conclusion. Consequently I can't be positive any of the information I have is genuine, or if it's been falsified to confuse us."

I nodded, "I get it. Your info was accurate eight days ago though, that's what cost Taggart his escape plan. So to the best of your abilities, how fast can they get here and how will they be travelling?"

"Either Taggart himself or anyone travelling from his stronghold would require at least twelve hours to reach us," the AI replied. "And that's assuming they used a high-speed high-altitude grav-sled. The only faster option would be a sub-orbital flight via shuttle or ship."

She continued, "If he were sending enough troops to storm the settlement and secure the Demeter they'd have to be en route already. Assuming my information is accurate, none of Taggart's forces are near enough that they could reach us by midnight tonight. Except I don't see any craft heading our way, from any direction."

We were all quiet again for the next few seconds, until Ella suddenly exclaimed "Son of a bitch!"

"What's wrong ma?" Jace asked, with a worried look on his face.

My old friend looked at me and stated, "Taggart ain't lookin' the blow up the Demeter, it's no damn good to him if it gets shot full'a holes during a pitched battle. And he's gotta know that you folks ain't gonna let your boat get captured. First sign of that happening you can just take off. Or worst case scenario, scuttle the damn thing yourselves to keep it outta his hands!"

"So what are you saying?" Amanda asked. "He's not coming after all?"

A moment later our lovable foxgirl shook her head and frowned, "No, it can't be that easy."

Ella still had her gaze fixed on me. She stated, "You know what I'm thinking Becky, you just don't wanna say it. Taggart ain't sending an attack force 'cause he doesn't want a battle here. He just wants your ship."

"Fuck," I sighed as I finally realized what she was getting at. "I should have seen that right from the start. He needs the ship intact, but he wants everyone here dead so he can just walk in and take it. No strike force, no attack, no combat at all."

By that point Amanda's face had gone pale. "You're thinking about chemical or biological weapons, aren't you?"

My mind was spinning through the possibilities as I got to my feet. "Jenny I need you watching the sensors and the satellite feeds like a hawk, incase of any inbound traffic. Small missile, large bird, I don't care what. Point defence lasers on standby, anything comes within twenty-five kilometres of Ganvis shoot it down!"

"Jace," I continued, "Can you tell me where those four attackers were staying? I need to check their belongings to make sure they haven't already smuggled something into the area."

Sarah asked, "If there's something already here I assume you're going to try and disarm it? Can I help?"

"I'll deal with it myself," I stated. "And don't worry, I'll put on an e-suit before I go. Jenna this isn't an order but I'll ask you to accompany me, since chem or bio weapons won't harm you."

The others all started talking at once but I raised my voice and stated, "Nobody else is leaving the ship until I know it's safe. That's final!"

"Final my ass," Ella scowled as she stood up too. "You keep my boy here, keep him safe. But ain't nobody gonna keep me away from my man, or my town. Unless you wanna raise your hands against me Becky, I'm going back out where I'm supposed'a be."

Jace was the next one on his feet as he started, "Ma -"

"Sorry son," the mayor cut him off. Then with a lot more compassion in her voice than I thought she was capable of she told him, "Stay here, stay safe. With luck Rebecca and her girls will take care of things. But if not, I need to know you'll be ok."

I glanced at my foxgirl girlfriend, I was positive she'd be the next one to protest. Instead she just gave me a worried look and said, "Be careful Rebecca. I'll be monitoring you from the cockpit, and I'll keep in touch on comms."

"Thanks Amanda," I gave her a grim smile. "So let's get to work folks. Jenny I trust you're already watching the skies. Jace I need to know where those people were staying. And Ella, you're right. I'd feel the same way if I was in your place, so I'm not going to stop you from leaving. Sarah, Cam, will one of you please see the mayor out, then seal up the ship once she's gone."

Both our engineer and mechanic escorted Ella aft to the lift in engineering, but not until after she and Jace shared a quick hug. Then he started explaining where our four moles were staying, while Jenna Amanda and I all listened carefully. Meanwhile Jenny took her HPD into her cabin and deactivated it, so she could focus all her attention on watching out for incoming threats.

By the time Sarah and Cam returned to the ship's mess Jenna and I had a good idea where we were going. There were two separate locations we needed to search, one to the north and the other to the south-west.

"You're taking the grav-sled right?" Amanda asked. "You won't be walking all over the place in an e-suit. And what will you do if you find something?"

I thought for a few moments then decided, "We'll take the fighter. It's got two seats, and it's fast. What we do will depend on what we find, if anything. We can either try and disarm it, or just get it the hell away from here. The fighter's a good choice for that too, it's got more range than the sled. We can even break atmosphere with it if needs-be, haul whatever we find out into space."

"In that case I'd like to bring a spare e-suit along in the fighter," Jenna stated. "If we need to go into orbit then open the doors, I'd rather not be exposed to hard vacuum."

She added, "While it won't kill me, it would damage my exterior and I'd like to avoid any more of that."

"Of course Jenna," I nodded. "If that's everything then let's get started."

Ten minutes later our android and I were seated in the two-man fighter. I was at the flight controls and she sat behind the gunnery console. I had my e-suit on, but hadn't bothered with the helmet and gloves yet, those could wait until we were ready to exit the craft. Jenna had a spare suit tucked in behind her seat, and on the floor between her feet was Cammie's toolkit incase we needed to deactivate or disarm something. Finally we had a pair of carbines with us, on the off chance that we might encounter more people loyal to Taggart.

Amanda Cam and Sarah were all up in the Demeter's cockpit so they could monitor us and stay in contact through the comms. I assumed Jace was in there too so he could listen in, I doubted he'd be happy to sit by himself in the lounge while his family and town were all on the line.

"Pre-flight complete," I spoke into the comm. "Here we go."

The fighter's engines flared to life as we disengaged from the Demeter's port-side bay. I barely had to touch the throttle though, our first stop was less than five kilometres away to the south-west. That's where the second pair of combatants had set up shop when they arrived a few days earlier, and I figured they were our primary target.

It was barely half a minute before Jenna and I got our first look at the place. The couple hadn't been there long enough to finish setting up a pre-fab house, but they'd got it part-way done. There was a floor and a couple walls, while a few more concrete panels lay in a stack nearby. The interior of the half-built structure was protected by some cheap blue plastic tarps, which were nearly blown clear the the fighter's engines as I set us down a dozen meters away from the place.

"We're at the first site," I reported on the comm. Then as I reached for my gloves and helmet I added, "Suiting up and heading out. We'll be in touch."

I confirmed my e-suit was sealed and secure before Jenna and I unsealed the fighter's doors, and we both took our carbines with us as we emerged from the vehicle. I motioned Jenna to hold back while I advanced on the half-finished structure, and very quickly made sure it was clear. Then the two of us searched the place as quickly and thoroughly as we could.

That took us about five minutes, while we did find more incriminating gear we didn't find what we were looking for. As we headed back to the fighter I reported via my suit's comm, "There's more weapons here, military hardware similar to what they had on them over at the power station. We also found two gas masks, which confirms our suspicions. Moving on to our next target."

"Understood," Amanda responded. "Be careful Rebecca."

I smiled as Jenna and I climbed back into the fighter, "Always. We'll be airborne in thirty seconds."

The other location was a kilometre and a half north of town, and the couple who lived there had been at Ganvis long enough to finish setting up their pre-fab one-level home. They'd even started working their new land, it looked like the soil had been tilled turned and seeded.

As I set the fighter down a dozen meters in front of the building the engines kicked up some dust, and I noticed the front door of the place was wide open. Then as Jenna and I emerged from our craft two armed men emerged from the small building. Fortunately they were on our side.

"Finn?" I frowned. "What are you doing here?"

The town's lawman had just emerged from the house, probably to see who'd dropped in on the place. And with him was one of his militia men. Both were armed, Finn had his rifle in hand while the other guy was holding a military assault rifle. Probably taken from one of those four bodies at the power hub.

Finn scowled back at me as he responded, "My job. What the hell are you wearing? And what the hell's wrong with your grav-sled, that you gotta come over here in that damn fighter?"

"It's a long story that I don't have time to explain," I stated. "I need to search this place for any sign of special warfare devices. You'll be safest if you get back to town."

The large man stared at me for a second or two then he motioned to his assistant and they both stepped out of our way. Finn looked at me and said, "I know what you're looking for. Me and Todd here found something we weren't sure what to make of it. Inside, on the floor behind the couch."

"Be careful," he added. "C'mon Todd, let's get the fuck outta here."

I led Jenna in through the doorway while the two men hurried off in the direction of town. The building's interior was pretty basic. There was one open room with a bed and some footlockers in one corner, rudimentary kitchen facilities in another corner, and a sofa in a third corner. The final corner was the only part of the dwelling with interior walls, and that formed the washroom.

We headed straight for the sofa, and what we found behind it left a cold weight in my gut.

There was a big black duffel bag that had been opened up, and inside I could see three squat silver-coloured pressurized cylinders. They were all bound together with metal straps, and the end with the valves was enclosed in a vented metal box. There were some military-style numbers and designations stencilled on the side of the cylinders, but none of them were familiar to me.

"Damnit," I sighed into my suit's comm. "We've got something here. Looks like three pressurized tanks, about twenty inches long and five or six inches in diameter. Probably full of some kind of toxic gas."

I added, "The valve ends are hidden inside a metal enclosure. There's a good chance this thing's set up to open automatically. It might be on a timer, or maybe it's rigged to trigger remotely."

"It's probably got tamper-protection," Sarah warned through the comms. "It could go off if you try and open it or remove that cover part."

Then Jenna spoke up, "According to the markings, it's an aerosol neurotoxin. There's enough here to wipe out every last person in Ganvis, including all the surrounding farms."

"According to the specifications the gas is lethal within ten minutes of exposure," the android added. "And it's equally toxic whether inhaled or on skin contact. It's heavier than air so it will hug the ground and flow out over the landscape, but oxidizes to an inert state after about thirty-six hours."

She looked at me and sighed, "If they hid these in town or even at the power distribution building and the valves opened at midnight, everyone in and around Ganvis would likely be dead within two hours. And there'd still be a lethal dose present in the morning when we opened up the ship."

I shook my head, "If they cut the power first we'd probably open up right away to go investigate. We'd get caught in it along with the rest of the population."

Then I frowned and added, "How'd you know what this stuff was?"

"I forwarded an image of the markings to my sister," Jenna explained. "She checked the military computers, and told me what it is and what it does."

Then she added, "She also told me how to dispose of it. Incineration is the safest way, temperatures above one thousand degrees will break down the gas and render it harmless."

"How can we get it up to a thousand degrees?" Amanda asked over the comm.

I smiled, "Haul it up into orbit, then toss it out and let it burn up on re-entry."

"Agreed," Jenna nodded.

Amanda stated, "Be careful, both of you! Do you want me to notify Mayor Wheeler?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

I sent Jenna out to the fighter so she could start getting suited up, then I told my girlfriend "May as well tell her what we found and what we're doing about it. By comm though! Do not unseal the Demeter until I say we're clear."

"Ok Rebecca," our loveable foxgirl replied. "I'll be off frequency for a minute or two."

While she was doing that I checked the duffel bag both inside and out for any sign of traps, then when I was convinced it was safe I zipped it closed and carefully picked it up. There was some weight to it, but nothing I couldn't handle. I loaded the duffel into the fighter, then as soon as Jenny was ready I got us heading skyward.

Unfortunately things didn't go entirely to plan. We were only about halfway through the atmosphere when we both heard a loud hissing sound coming from the canisters. Fortunately the two of us were fully suited up, so the gas couldn't harm me or contaminate Jenna.

Both of us were securely strapped in, so when we settled into a safe orbit we opened up the doors and vented the gas along with all the air in the fighter. Then we tossed the duffel bag out so the canisters would burn up on their way back down.

And finally, Jenny confirmed that a minute or two exposure to hard vacuum was more than enough to ensure the inside of the fighter and the outside of our e-suits were clear of any residual contamination from the gas.

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