Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Episode 3

The Honeymoon is Over

by

Keith M. Shaw

Chapter 1

He entered the dark, smoky, crowded barroom slowly. His eyes took several moments to become accustomed to the dim lighting. When they did, he quickly surveyed the scene until he saw his target sitting at a corner table at the back of the barroom. Deliberately he walked across the room. He did not want to appear that he was in a hurry to leave the planet, which he was.

As he approached the table, two large, muscular men stepped from the side to block his access to the man behind. He stopped, looked up at the men.

"I have an appointment with Mister Caputi."

A deep voice sounded from behind the two bodyguards. "Let him through. I've been expecting Mister Bettino."

The two men stepped aside and the man slid into the bench seat across from the older man. Caputi stared at the newcomer through his dark glasses as he set his cup on the table.

"Right on time, Mister Bettino. I like that."

"Yes, Sir. I had a little trouble with the stellar authorities on Harper Five, but nothing I couldn't handle."

A sly smile crossed the older man's lips. "Yes, I heard about how you handled the Earth Alliance agents. That's why I like dealing with you, Bettino."
"Yes, Sir. I understand you have some new prototypes for me to test?"

He nodded in approval. "Your sources are excellent, as usual. I have your normal order ready, plus as you mentioned, some prototypes for you to test and show to your colleagues. The shipment is being loaded on your ship at this moment."

"Thank you, Mister Caputi. I will test the new weapons and let you know how they work and if there is any interest in them."

He nodded as he extended a small electronic device across the table. "Now the matter of payment."

"Of course. The same arrangement as usual?"

Caputi nodded once. "You have been my best associate for a very long time. I have never had any problems with you being even a second late. Therefore, you are the only one I am comfortable with this arrangement. As usual, half now and the other half in one week."

Bettino smiled. He pressed his thumb onto the electronic device. "I really appreciate this, Mister Caputi."

Caputi grabbed the younger man by the wrist and cocked his head slightly. "However, you do know what happens to people who don't pay me on time."

Quickly Bettino nodded. "Yes, Sir, I do. I would never dream of stiffing you."

Caputi smiled and let go. "That's just a friendly reminder. So, will you be leaving right away?"

"Yes. I already have a demonstration scheduled on Ballista Prime. If I hurry, I can get there by tomorrow morning. What about you? On your way back to your impenetrable planet of love?"

Caputi chuckled slightly. "That's the first time I've heard it explained in that fashion. Yes, I'll be returning to my estate on Edenbridge soon. Care for a drink before you leave?"

Bettino shook his head, then noticed a man in uniform just enter the bar. "No, I'd better get going before he recognizes me from Harper Five."

"I understand. Just remember: one week."

He nodded as he carefully headed for the back exit.

The side of the mountain exploded into millions of rock shards. Bettino lowered the weapon and turned to face his colleagues. "And that is on the lowest setting."

The group of mercenaries smiled and nodded among themselves. "How many do you have to sell?"

Bettino scratched his chin. "How many do you need?"

"Two dozen."

He desperately tried to hide the broad smile growing inside. Instead he nodded once. "I have two that you can take right now. The rest I can get from my supplier and have them delivered to you by early next week."

The mercenaries looked and talked among themselves for a moment before agreeing to the deal. Suddenly they heard a rustling in the bushes and a figure flashed through the trees. Bettino pointed to the figure quickly.

"Kill him!"

Two of the mercenaries took off after the intruder. Bettino turned to the ones who remained behind. He picked up another one of his weapons. "I have one more thing to show you. This is kind of a prototype. Let me show you what this one will do."

He picked it up and attached it to the laser cannon on his ship. He then picked up the second one and attached it to the laser cannon on the other side. The two mercenaries came back into the clearing.

"He hopped into a short range transport," one said, breathing heavily. He pointed south. "Headed toward town."

Bettino smirked slightly. "Ladies, gentlemen: the rest of this demonstration will take place in the air. If you will all return to your ships and follow me, I will show you what this prototype will do."

Bettino hopped into his ship and flew south for half an hour. He came over a tall mountain and saw a small city nestled in the valley below. He grinned slightly to himself as he activated the video communicator with the other ships following.

"Now watch the show."

When he reached the outskirts of town, he pressed the trigger of his laser cannon once. A spherical silver object flew out of the weapon and imbedded itself into the ground. He then flew a quarter of the way around the city and fired another silver orb into the ground. He finished the circular pattern around the city until there were four silver orbs in the ground. He turned back to the monitor.

"I would suggest everyone to steer away from the city."

When all the ships were off to the side, he pressed the trigger one more time. Electrical waves quickly began to form on the four orbs. Within seconds, an arc of electricity fired from orb to orb until the city was surrounded by the arc. The arc rapidly constricted until it covered the entire city. Bettino chuckled as the city instantly vaporized. One of the mercenaries gasped at the demolition.

"Holy Maker! Did I just see that? You just killed an entire city?"

Bettino nodded. "Everything is vaporized. People, homes, businesses. Truly a weapon of mass destruction. And the best thing is that there are no other ill-effects to the environment. There is no radiation, no detrimental erosion. You are simply free to rebuild on the exact same spot with no cause for alarm."

"What is the range of those orbs?"

He grimaced slightly. "That's a good question. This was a small city. I believe that the range is about four times the demonstration here, but since it is still a prototype, I could be a little off on the specs."

"So it's not enough to destroy the city of New Chicago on Earth?"

Bettino shook his head. "I don't think so. But it might be big enough for a city like New Phoenix."

"When can you deliver a dozen of these?"

"That's going to take at least a month. Of course the weapons themselves are reusable, as long as you have the orbs to load. I can have a shipment of the orbs next week when I deliver the other supplies, if that is acceptable. Let's all land so we can finish our negotiations."

After landing in a clearing not far from the now-extinct city, Bettino pulled out an electronic fingerpad. He waited for several moments while the group of mercenaries gathered around discussing the terms of the agreement. Finally one stepped forward and pressed his thumb on the pad. Bettino smiled and nodded, then shook the mercenary's hand.

"You will not regret your decision. These are truly the best weapons on the market right now. Like I said, I can have them delivered to you by the beginning of next week."

The man nodded in approval. "Perfect. That will give us just enough time to plan our attack… against the Earth Alliance and the Defense Directorate."