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Nellie and the Nanites - Bk3 - Ch.38
🕑 Added 2024-06-13 08:00:02 +0000 UTCChapter 38
Repercussions continued
“Councilman Hadrian,” Crush smiled into the comm pickup. “What can we do for you?”
“There are serious matters that we need to discuss,” Hadrian frowned. “I would much prefer to have this meeting over a secure commlink.”
“Alas, we are not quite up to that as yet,” Crush was well aware the very machinery he claimed not to have was clearly visible behind him, but he had no intention of using it. They only wanted it secured to prevent recording or any other official record of the call being made.
If Crush agreed, they could claim anything happened, anything was said, and there would be no record to prove them wrong.
“I see,” Hadrian frowned pointedly over Crush’s shoulder and then went on. “We recently discovered a spy in our Colony and have traced them and the original bug to you.”
“The original monitor was part of my security duties as Marshall for the colony,” Crush replied easily. He had been waiting to say that since he first installed it. As no one had ever actually outlined his role, they could not complain it was outside his responsibilities. “As for it still being used, I suggest you ask the one found in possession of it why they were using it.”
“That is not possible,” Hadrian said sourly, “As I suspect you are well aware.”
“Yeah, that’s the problem with killing suspects. It makes it damn hard to question them afterward.” Crush replied.
“I feel it incumbent upon me to note that any spies caught in our Colony will be termed to be an act of overt aggression from this point on,” Hadrian leaned forward and tried to look grave. “Luckily, we have a way to resolve this matter without the need for violence.”
“Isn’t that nice?” Crush asked as he picked up a blank piece of paper and stared at it carefully. “And only a day or two after you threatened to attack us.”
“We did not,” Hadrian tried to say.
“I have the report right here,” Crush waved the blank paper in his hand. “Shall I give you the word-for-word transcription?”
“That will not be necessary,” Duke stepped into the pickup range on their side and put a hand on Hadrian’s shoulder. “I spoke hastily and in a time when we were under attack. I want only good relations between our groups.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me, Councilman Duke DaVore,” Crush noted the slight flush at his use of the last name, which was good information to have for later. It seemed Duke wasn’t quite as comfortable using his family name as Brenda was. “What do you propose?”
“We have a problem that is causing difficulty for both our groups. I suggest that overcoming it together would ease tensions.” Duke smiled. “We were friends once, Marshall Crush. Why not try to be that again?”
“What problem is it that we both face?” Crush ignored Duke’s question. For one thing, it was clearly fake, and for another, Crush did not plan to get buddied up with someone who was clearly comfortable with one of his own being killed.
“Our crops,” Hadrian took over from Duke again, “This moon is far from fertile, and our plants do not grow well in the sandy soil. I suspect you have recovered the remains of the growing tower on your land. If that is the case, I suggest a trade. We will trade some basic supplies that we have in abundance for any food that you may be able to spare. Our colony eats better, and yours gets the basic supplies you must need pretty desperately.”
Crush looked out the window in the comm room at the fields of rampant crops. They certainly had enough to spare. Several times over, in fact. Prim’s determination to prove that her idea had merit resulted in the crystals being distributed all over the place; with the walls of the housing towers covered in growing crops, their village was starting to look more like a rather neat jungle than a village.
“I understand it will be a sacrifice,” Hadrian was saying. “Your people will be hungry and perhaps angry, but in time, I trust they will see the wisdom in your decision.”
“We might be able to spare a bit more than you think,” Crush leaned back a little in his chair. “How many supplies can you offer? What quantities of which materials?”
“So you are open to the trade offer?” Duke asked.
“Certainly,” Crush smiled. “I think it is always good for neighbors to help each other out.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Duke seemed energized by the discussion, and they got down to details. It was clear that they needed food in a very bad way. More than that, they seemed to have a wealth of supplies available. If Crush were to guess, they planned to recover the lost sections of the original ship. That was completely fine by him. Let them do the work; he would sit back and let the crops grow.
===<<<>>>===
Duke and Hadrian looked down at the numbers again and smiled. The other colony was clearly in a worse condition than they had expected if they were willing to trade away such a significant portion of their food supply.
“It is possible they have found an alternate source of food,” Hadrian noted a particularly large number at the base of the columns. “Either that, or they plan to starve themselves for a couple of weeks.”
“Whatever the answer is, they are clearly desperate. We might expect others to attempt to return to us soon. If that is the case, I want them all questioned prior to being allowed entry. We don’t want any more spies getting inside our Colony.” Duke looked over the numbers again. “Do you think they really have discovered a new source of food?”
“If they have, we will too. In short order, they will need to give us that as well.” Hadrian smiled. “I suggest we push for as much, as fast, as possible.”
“That might force them to the edge of collapse, or over it,” Duke didn’t want to actually drive the colony to the wall. Not if he didn’t have to.
“Which would put them back with us,” Hadrian offered. “That is still the long-term plan, is it not?”
“It is,” Duke smiled. The idea of Crush especially coming crawling back, was particularly amusing. In time, Duke planned to have Crush become his right hand. It was clear that this idiotic council idea had been a mistake. Since he took control, the entire place worked like clockwork. Nancy had been making a bit of noise about him crushing her little medical scam, but she would learn.
If not, he would take great pleasure in telling her to take a hike over to Crush and whatever mercy he had for her.
Duke was fresh out.
Outside the council rooms, Duke was pleased to see his colony jumping. Everyone was moving with purpose at last. Combining the two ships was a tough job, but it gave the entire colony a single purpose.
Nothing united like a common goal. People who worked and strived together could not help but glow closer to each other. The day they launched the ship, everyone would feel a shared accomplishment they would never forget.
The council had done everything it could to drive a wedge between various groups as they maneuvered for power, but he was wiping that out day by day.
Already, there was more mixing between groups. The former Warrick followers had initially moved over to Nancy, but seeing her bend the knee at a single glance from Brenda had quickly lost her support.
More people moved over to Hadrian’s camp every day, and Duke was confident the man had learned his lesson from the execution of Warrick. In short, he had fallen in line.
Now, they had solved the immediate food problem, while the long-term need to reunite the colony for more manpower was bound to follow naturally from the over-taxing of the offshoot.
In the meantime, they had plenty of work to do.
His steps turned toward the newly established training section. Crush and his people had left a decent number of military people behind. Those people were now being retrained as Duke’s personal guards and crew for the new ship. In less than two weeks he would have everything he needed to control this colony into the future.
After checking in on the training crew, Duke headed back to his personal quarters. His sister was waiting for him, spending the time chatting up a woman who was trying to politely and anxiously decline her intentions without ending up on the wrong end of Brenda’s ire.
“Leave her alone, Bren,” Duke smiled to see his sister had not really changed in all these years. It was nearly identical to the way he had found her scaring a maid outside his room on the day he finally broke away from the family estates.
Seeing her chance, the woman hurried off, much to the amusement of the siblings. “You never change.”
“I try not to, dear brother,” Brenda chuckled. “It’s so much fun when they are too afraid to say no and too straight to say yes.”
“How are the salvage crews going?” Duke asked as soon as they got indoors.
“Pretty well,” Brenda admitted. “The Last Chances was pretty much a bolt-together ship anyway. Taking the systems and moving them over to the freighter is a pretty easy job, at least with everyone helping.”
“How long until it is actually complete?” Duke said, chucking the family emblem on his desk before sliding into one of the only two easy chairs in the colony.
“A month and a half, at least. We need more machinery if we are going to move any faster.” Brenda pulled up some information on her datapad. “The biggest thing is going to be getting the physical armor bolted in place. Major time sink.”
“We should have that much, at least.” Duke nodded happily. “After that, we need to start moving things over to the original target planet.”
“I thought you were set on staying here?” Brenda asked.
“I was,” Duke nodded. “But we have natives on one side and Bea’s people looking over our shoulders. It isn’t a good long-term prospect anymore.”
“What about the intrepid colonists in the other camp?” Brenda chuckled. “You planning on telling them about the change of plans?”
“I doubt they will last much longer,” Duke smiled happily. “The brave Marshall just agreed to trade a large amount of their food for basic materials and supplies from us. They’ll probably have collapsed before the ship is even ready.”
“You know the Marshall will be a problem if you let him back into the fold, right?” Brenda asked.
“If he is, he’s welcome to go and try his luck with the robots. Or the natives.” Duke sighed and looked out the window of his compartment.
“What’s wrong?” Brenda asked in that particular tone siblings use when they think their brother or sister is wallowing in something.
“I think it was a mistake, Bren. I should have never left the family name behind.” Duke admitted. “I thought you could do things a different way. Help people, let them choose for themselves, and it all just fell apart. Look at the place in just a week of me being a DaVore again. Organized, working, and peaceful. If I had done all this under our own name, I’d have troops, ships, and all the resources I could ever need.”
“You’re not thinking of going back, are you?” Brenda sounded worried. “Mum and Dad aren’t exactly the forgiving sort, brother.”
“No!” Duke laughed at the idea of throwing himself on the family’s mercy. They had none to give and would probably kill him as an example to others. “But I need to be a DaVore to make this work. No more holding back.”
Brenda applauded and cheered as he gave her a look.
“Nice to have you back,” Brenda grinned savagely. “What’s first?”
“First?” Duke looked out the window. “We complete the training and the ship. After that, it will be time to ring in the changes with this place.”
“Dibs on Nancy,” Brenda yelled. “I’ve been looking forward to killing that bitch since I met her.”
===<<<>>>===
A month after the agreement between Crush and the old Colony, he was watching the ten cents loading the latest collection of materials onto the three copies of the ship he had seen for the first time up on the foundry what seemed like a lifetime, and only the blink of an eye, ago.
“You sure that you can spare all this?” Nellie stood next to him, shaking her head in disbelief. “It’s enough materials to make a whole new section for your colony.”
“Farm,” Crush corrected her. “At this point, it’s a farm.”
“And a school,” Nellie noted.
“Weirdest school I’ve ever seen,” Crush said, “Four students, but they are in every class at the same time.”
“It’s weird.” Nellie chuckled. “But you get used to it after a while.”
“I suppose so,” Crush nodded. “We have another shipment due in two weeks if you want that as well.”
“What do you want in exchange?” Nellie asked.
“I’ll talk to Salem about it,” Crush said stubbornly.
“You don’t have to,” Nellie said sympathetically.
“I have to learn,” Crush insisted. “I really do.”
“As you wish,” Nellie grinned. “We can always use more supplies.”
“I’ll get the better deal one of these days,” Crush insisted. “Just you wait and see.”
“I believe you,” Nellie nodded theatrically. “Millions wouldn’t, but I do.”
“Piss off, Captain,” Crush chuckled.
“See you, Mayor,” Nellie waved as she headed off to pilot the third ship.
A lot had changed in a month. Crush was getting a little sick of thinking about how quickly things had changed. He seemed to have that same thought every week since he met a certain Captain, and things just seemed to change faster and faster.
The small colony that really was a farm, more than anything else now, bustled. They had planted several new fields, and the first graduates of their hydroponics program tended them every day. The original Prim model had returned to the Embassy, but with the Captain’s people rotating in and out of training, she made regular trips back here to check on ‘her plants.’
His people didn’t really need help with the more significant projects anymore, thanks to some strange, massive, exosuit-like machines that let them move massive amounts in their large metal claws. He watched the latest example of the ‘Tiny Suit’ working on upgrading the walls. Already, the simple metal ones had been replaced with stone blocks traded to them by the natives that Crush had learned were called the Clutch.
Their young had sampled some of the crops and apparently found them tasty enough to mention back home. Next thing he knew, they were coming by to trade for them.
Remembering the importance of a good relationship, Crush had given them seedlings to grow their own as a gift.
It had just been a little idea, he thought. A mark of respect.
The next day, he met Tw’ee, their Elder, and began to revise his estimations of the people rather quickly.
Dealing with Tw’ee and Salem had become a regular challenge for him and was almost the reverse of his dealings with the council. Back in the old Colony, he had been running rings around people, making stupid and obvious moves to increase their own power while pretending to help others.
Now, he felt swamped as he tried to keep up with two people who seemed to think at right angles to anyone he had ever met and left him running to keep up with their pace as they tried to make everyone’s lives better. Salem had actually said in one of their recent meetings that she was trying to get every one of the materials Crush had access to. Crush asked why, and her response was one he would not forget: “You can’t use it as well as we can, and we can give you what you really need and want, so why pretend?”
Crush had spent his life learning to counter how people wheedled and tried to get one over on others, only to end up dealing with two people who seemed to find the idea of doing that pointless and stupid.
The results of their way of thinking were all around him.
In a little over a month and a half, this place was nearly as mechanized and comfortable as the Hub had been on a good day; ships came and went often enough that Crush had trained up some traffic controllers, and best of all, they hadn’t closed the gates in days.
Clutch members, nanite-boosted crew, and cents wandered in and out freely, and Cara was currently out with three of their people on a hunting trip with the locals.
It was all going so well that it was giving him whiplash, even as he waited for the inevitable point when the other colony became suspicious.
===<<<>>>===
“They want more?” Duke frowned at the latest delivery request from the new colony.
“Yes,” Hadrian rubbed his eyes. “We asked for a twenty percent increase in the next delivery, and they offered twenty-five if we could offer early delivery.”
“This must end,” Duke said simply. “They were supposed to crumble, but they seem to be thriving.”
“It is working for both sides at the moment,” Hadrian offered. “Why not let it continue for a while longer?”
“Because we don’t know how they are growing all this food,” Duke jabbed a finger at the readouts. “Even if they are getting it from Bea or the locals, they are going to be stronger, not weaker, as time goes on.”
“We could contact the station ourselves,” Brenda offered. “Try and talk them into trading directly with us instead.”
“Once the ship is ready,” Duke shook his head. “I will not negotiate with her until we have a ship capable of challenging hers.”
“So, what do you want me to do?” Hadrian asked.
“Tell them we want something different,” Duke stabbed the list again. “We don’t just want food. We want to know how they are growing it. Offer them fifty percent on top of the next delivery in exchange for the technology.”
“Will they agree?” Hadrian asked, clearly doubtful.
“We only have enough materials to trade for two more weeks anyway,” Brenda added. “Everything else we need for the construction of the ship, or the shuttle and land craft. We demand the tech now, or we have to go and take it from them eventually.”
“I understand,” Hadrian nodded to them both and hurried away.
“If they are getting the food from the Captain’s people, they won’t have anything to trade,” Brenda warned Duke as he stared down at the table.
“The knowledge of where the food comes from will be enough,” Duke answered. “We have enough food for the next two months anyway. If Bea is giving them the food, she knows it is for us, really. Once the ship is ready, we can negotiate on a more even footing and become friends again.”
“Is that the plan, then?” Brenda asked innocently. “To be friends?”
“Friends, for now,” Duke said simply. “At least until we are stronger than her.”
“When we are?” Brenda was grinning.
“Then we will have to show Bea the proper place of a DaVore, which is always on top of the pile.” Duke was kind of looking forward to it. “Speaking of which, how is the plan for tomorrow night going?”
“All done,” Brenda chuckled. “Nancy will never know what hit her.”
Comments
turtlegaminginf
Ever time i come back this story just get better and better.
Mech Bagienny
He has all the information, but his aristocratic mind cannot comprehend reality. It's beautiful to see how raising him will eventually kill him.
Avdrdr
I don’t think he’ll ever be stronger than her she’s already building up to counter the ies
Clayton Danvers
Thanks both, I'll give that one another pass to make it easier to read.
Mercury313
Now I see, thanks for the clarification
Eleeyah
No, it's continuous: Brenda asks what will happen when they are stronger than Bea. Duke answers that they'll "show Bea the proper place[...]." Duke then switches topic to another person who needs to be shown her place.
Mercury313
"“When we are?” Brenda was grinning. “Then we will have to show Bea the proper place of a DaVore, which is always on top of the pile.” Duke was kind of looking forward to it. “Speaking of which, how is the plan for tomorrow night going?”" This seems a little bit disjointed, as if there is a paragraph missing. Brenda asks something and Duke seemingly completely ignore it?
