Chapter 33: Interlude: A Dragon Is Born

Swybar was the first out of the D 60 Long Distance shuttle; the two men that accompanied him followed down the ramp and looked around. One of them was a disguised Kermac, that much he knew but he had no idea who the other was, but he expected him to be an agent of the worm. All three of them were disguised as humanoids wearing heavy insulated and heated suits and cold masks. Patches on their suits identified them as civilian contractors. All his life Swybar thought it was impossible to forge a CITI implant and yet all three of them had passed the controls on Norman’s Planet without any problems.

The man he suspected to be Kermac now listened to the name of John Anderson and the other one Sergei Kachinski.

His new name was Bolon Darr.

The dark red sun in the sky above them provided little light, and the temperatures on the surface of this world rarely rose above 223 degrees Kelvin.

The D 60 had landed on an immense Duro-Crete field built into a crater or valley surrounded by rough looking mountains. It was the only ship here. The entire place looked as deserted and empty as a place could look. Their helmet lights drew sharp circles onto the smooth surface.

The man he suspected to be an Agent of the Worm grunted.” You promised us a surprise and a way to Koken, I see nothing.”

The Kermac slowly looked around. “What is this place anyway?”

“This planet is called Bone Yard 72 and you Kermac would kill millions for what is here.”

“We will complete the job of the hangman and kill just one if that does not come true.”

Swybar kept his thoughts to himself. He used to be an Admiral and now he was treated like a lakey. Of course he knew about the famous arrogance of the Kermac, but to experience it every day close up cost him much self-control.

He decided to play along, they had rescued him and had immense resources, but he was only moments away from being in charge again and neither of his companions suspected a thing.

Sergei put a hand on his shoulder and said to the Kermac.” It is quite enough. I am sure the Admiral had a reason to come here and we are further into Union Space than any Kermac Agent ever managed to come. We are here because we have certain common goals. Now Admiral I suggest you show us why we are here.”

Both the Kermac and the other man lost their entire swagger as four immense humanoid shaped robots rose from suddenly opening trap doors, each of them at least 20 meters tall.

The Kermac recognized them and none of his usual arrogance made it to the surface, it was fear that made his voice tremble.” Ramas, Type 7.”

Swybar stepped forward.” Command Code: Terra Terra 4-4-6.” While he did that he produced his hidden Code Key and held it up. One of the giant arms lowered and he pushed it into a slot that appeared on the robots thumb.

Sergei whispered. “I never saw any Terran weapon system like that.”

The Kermac answered with a hush voice. “Because they are over 700 years old, designed by none other than Dr. Isah as a last answer to the Y’All invasion, before that cursed Stahl appeared to save the day.”

“As in Isah Drive?”

“Dr. Isah was one of the Immortals. Chosen by that mysterious Guardian the Earthers tell about. He was the single most intelligent being in the known Universe; even we Kermac have to admit that. He designed and invented more ground breaking technology than anyone.”

Swybar turned. “The Type 7 have accepted my command codes. We have full access to the Bone Yard now.”

The Kermac could not shake his uneasiness quite as fast. “Those are really Rama 7?”

“Three of three hundred mothballed here. All fully operational, and as everything else here almost forgotten, but then I was in charge of logistics and Bone Yard depots were under my jurisdiction.”

“We must find a way to get them off this planet.”

The Kermac literally salivated, seeing himself carried by one of these machines down the parade alley on Kermac prime.

Swybar grinned coldly. “We are not here to take the Ramas, which would be no real problem as they are all fully Trans light flight capable.”

Sergei spoke for the first time. “Why have they been moth balled if they are so magnificent?”

“Because when Stahl came with the Translocator cannons the Rama project was put on the back burner. Then you Kermac assassinated Dr. Isah the lead designer and the project itself was even further pushed back. When the war ended, resources were needed to rebuild the fleet and the Rama project was officially of the grid. Most research and weapon manufacturing is now outsourced to private corporations. This was one of the last projects directly managed by the now defunct Fleet Technology Development Bureau.”

“If we are not here for the robots why are we here?” The Kermac wanted to know.

Swybar stepped onto the lowered hand of the robot. “To make me once again independent and equal and not a slave. You saved my life I grant you that, but you treated me like a servant. This ends now. Arrogant Kermac, I am tempted to teach you a lesson in arrogance.”

The Kermac extended his Psionic powers but his Telekinetics were stopped by an invisible barrier.

The other man said.” It seems our trust in you was ill placed. Good thing I trust no one. You do carry an explosive device in your head and I control it.”

“You don’t even begin to understand the capabilities of a Rama 7. Dr. Isah incorporated the finest Saresii Anti PSI tech and combined it with his very own devices. I am a safe as can be, besides without me the Ramas and everything else here will be quite hostile to you.”

Sergei hushed the Kermac agent before he could respond. “For the time being let us assume you are now in charge. What is it you want?”

“Actually I will do what I said I would. I will help you, but no longer as the helpless servant but as equal partner. After I helped you to get to Koken, as a repayment for my rescue, I will use what we take here today to start a new career in the private sector.”

The Robot lowered its other hand.

Swybar said. “Step on. It would be a long walk otherwise.”