Earth Afire (The First Formic War 2)

"Because they're not ships," said Imala. "They're debris. They're not a threat anymore."

"Exactly," said Victor. "They have some motion but they're being ignored because they're debris."

"If you're making another point, Vico," said Imala, "we're not seeing it."

"This is the answer," said Victor. "This is how I can reach the Formic ship."

"How?" said Imala.

"By camouflaging a tiny shuttle to look like debris and then piloting it very slowly, as if it were drifting, right up to the surface of the ship. It would blend in with all of the other drifting debris. The Formics would completely ignore it. And if the motion was slow enough, their sensors wouldn't detect it."

"Theoretically," said Imala. "You don't know how sensitive their sensors are."

"Actually," said Victor, "we have a pretty good idea. My father and all the men from El Cavador, along with Lem's men, reached the surface of the ship. How? By having their ships match the Formics' speed, which meant their ships looked stationary to the Formics. And more importantly, for whatever reason, the men passed through the shield. I can get on that ship, Imala."

"And do what exactly?" asked Imala. "Blow it up? Your family already tried that, Vico. It didn't work."

"My family tried damaging it from the outside. They didn't go inside."

"So you'll go in the ship? How?"

"I don't know yet. I just came up with the idea. I'll figure something out."

"I know you're upset about not being able to enlist, Vico," said Imala, "but let's think rationally here. What you're suggesting is suicide. We don't have any of the supplies you'd need. We don't have a shuttle. We don't have camouflage for a shuttle. And we certainly don't have weapons for doing any damage inside the Formic ship even if you were, by some miracle, able to get inside."

"What is it with you planet people?" said Victor. "All anyone ever does around here is say something can't be done. We don't have this. We can't do that. That's against the rules. Well guess what? This is how we live, Imala. This is how free miners think. When there's a problem, we don't sit around and take note of everything that can't be done, we do something. We find a way, and we fix it."

Imala folded her arms. "You and I are on the same team, Vico. I've made sacrifices for you, and getting snippy with me doesn't help. Everything I've said is true. You may not like it, but those are the facts. We don't have those supplies. Just because I question your idea doesn't mean I'm wrong. Are you telling me that every free-miner idea is a good one?"

"No. Of course not."

"Then let's think this through instead of arguing."

Victor exhaled. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Imala turned to Yanyu. "Does the observatory have a shuttle we could use?"

"I thought you were dismissing the idea," said Victor.

"I'm figuring out if it's feasible," said Imala. "I'm trying to help." She turned back to Yanyu.

"No," said Yanyu. "We sometimes have the scopes serviced, but there's a repair crew that does that. They have their own shuttles. I've never even seen them before. I wouldn't know how to acquire one."

"What about the Juke shuttle?" said Victor. "The one we just docked?"

Imala shook her head. "It's in the system now. We don't have authorization to reboard it or take it anywhere. Juke Limited wouldn't let us near the thing. How would you camouflage a shuttle anyway? Maybe we start there."

"Space junk," said Victor. "There are thousands of pieces orbiting Earth. Old satellites, retired space stations, discarded shuttle parts. We simply scoop up some of that and then weld it all over the surface of the shuttle to make it look like a big chunk of a destroyed ship."

"Weld it?" said Imala. "Who's going to loan us a shuttle and then allow us to essentially destroy it by welding junk all over it?"

Victor shrugged. "I don't know. I have some money. Maybe we buy a used one."

"You don't have enough," said Imala. "Not even a fraction of what we would need. Operating shuttles are expensive. Even old ones. Especially now. With the war on and people in a panic, you can bet the price of shuttles has skyrocketed. I'd give you everything in my account as well, but we'd still be shy. Plus there's the cost of fuel to go out and recover the space junk. That's probably nearly as expensive as the shuttle itself. It's a good idea, Vico, but we don't have the money for that."

"I'd give you everything in my account too," said Yanyu. "Maybe the others at the observatory would chip in also."

Victor and Imala exchanged glances.