by Terry Mixon
14
Jared watched Persephone’s scanners through his implants as they felt their way along, looking for the far flip point that the alien map had indicated would be there. This was a gamble on their part. Even if they found one in the right location, would it really lead to Twilight River?
He turned his head slightly so that he could see Kelsey out of the corner of his eye. She was standing on the other side of Angela’s chair, staring at the display at the front of the bridge. She didn’t seem to be focusing on it, though. She looked like she was deep in thought.
Considering what she’d found out, he wasn’t surprised. Discovering that he was going to be a father had shaken his world, but that paled in comparison to how finding out that you were going to be a mother must feel. Particularly for Kelsey, who was so far along that she wasn’t going to be able to transfer her child—her little girl—to a gestation pod.
She would have to do this the old-fashioned way, with blood, pain, and screaming.
He’d never say it, but that was actually her kind of thing. Usually, it was other people doing the screaming and bleeding, but she’d had her share of both. And she was obstinate enough to always do things the hard way. Every. Time.
It was kind of fitting, really.
“The probe has found a far flip point,” the helm officer said. “We’ll be there in about two hours, Admiral. We can send a probe through and start getting information on the other side in about thirty minutes.”
“Do that,” Jared ordered. “Have it stay on the other side and gather passive scanner readings for sixty seconds before returning. If there’s any sign of hostile craft in the vicinity, it’s to immediately return.”
The man nodded sharply. “Yes, sir.”
He ran various scenarios of what they might find as time passed. The situation on the other side might range all the way from being a walk in the park with no enemy ships in the system to it being packed so full of enemy vessels that it was impossible to get to the station where the master AI resided.
His bet was that it leaned toward the heavily defended. After all, the AI could put as many ships as it wanted in the system. Why would it fail to protect itself when it had packed the systems around it full of defensive measures?
He was more than willing to wager that the station where it had initially been built was surrounded by battle stations similar to those defending the flip point that the Clans were attacking even now.
After making a couple of flips along the multiflip point system, they were too far away to get real-time information on the battle, but the FTL com was able to send slow updates this far, and he knew that the attack was underway.
The probes in the system itself sent the data to a controller probe at the multiflip point, and that one transitioned every half hour to send data to other probes in systems closer to them. It was slow, but it did give them a window into what was happening.
Even the hidden ships the AI had seeded in the system hadn’t been enough to stop the Clans. That meant they’d have one more system to work their way across and another flip point to assault. Based on the defenses of the one they were currently attacking, Jared wasn’t sure whether they had the force with them to be able to make that second attack work.
He was still worrying about how that was going to turn out when Thompson spoke up again.
“The probe is flipping, Admiral,” the helmsman said.
The tension on the bridge ratcheted up until the probe returned a minute later and started sending them data. It was slower than using FTL coms, but they couldn’t risk tipping their hand.
“The probe confirms that the other side of the far flip point is clear,” Thompson said. “The layout of the system is consistent with Twilight River. There aren’t any ships close to the far flip point. It did, however, detect a lot of ships moving throughout the system. Most seem to be moving in the direction of the flip point that the Clans are going to be assaulting soon.”
Jared nodded, elated that they finally had access to the damned master AI. “They’re either strengthening the defenses or going to reinforce the defenders in the next system. The timing is good for us, I suppose. Send the probe back to gather data until we get there.”
He tried not to get his hopes up. This could all still prove to be impossible to pull off, which meant that they’d have to work their asses off to beat the master AI. The devil was going to be in the details. He’d leave the rest of the fleet on this side of the flip point and hope for the best.
When they finally made the flip and arrived at Twilight River, the probe had refined the readings of the ships it could detect. It could only make rough guesses about the classes based on their gravitic signatures, but there was a lot of firepower on the move.
Unfortunately, they weren’t going to be able to pick out stationary defenses at this range. If there were battle stations ringed around the science station that housed the master AI, they wouldn’t be able to see them until they got probes into the area.
Which meant that it was time to execute phase two of the plan. “Start launching stealthed probes. I want coverage of the station with the master AI and the flip points leading into this system.
“We need full-spectrum coverage of the open space inside Twilight River as well. There could be a lot of ships just sitting out there waiting for an opportunity to activate their drives and come charging in.”
He turned to his sister. “Kelsey, it’s time for you to get together with your people and start implementing your part of our crazy plan. Make sure that Julia has everything that she needs, and be certain that your teams protect her on the way in. She’s not a trained Marine Raider, and we’re going to have to compensate for that.”
Kelsey nodded. “I’ve already got that figured out. We’re going to have to get somewhat closer before we launch the stealthed pinnaces. At least Persephone can slip in without too great a risk of detection. We’ll make this work.”
With that, she walked off the bridge.
He knew his sister was still angry at him for keeping her safe, but he didn’t want to have to tell her father that she was dead if things went badly, especially now that she was pregnant. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if the worst happened.
Thankfully, he’d managed to stymie her. Now all they had to do was beat the murderous AI that had enslaved the human race.
“Set course toward the science station, Major,” he told Angela. “Get the ship in order and take charge of the assault. It’s time to finish this.”
Carl stared at the robotic creature that Talbot had found. It shouldn’t be in one piece. Hell, nothing in this building should be in one piece. The fact that the machines were still able to produce food in the kitchen was mind-boggling.
The home seemed to be in decent condition—and that was almost certainly the doing of the robot—but that made no sense. The aliens had to have been gone for literally millions of years. They hadn’t disappeared recently.
Though you wouldn’t know it by looking at their creations. The buildings still stood, and their workings still functioned. That made the craftsmanship of the Old Terran Empire look like children putting blocks together so they could immediately knock them over.
The portable scanner he had with him was able to get some information from the robot. He had a decent idea of what it was constructed from, and while that was long-lasting, it would have faded into dust over the timescale they were looking at.
Just the settling of dust and grit from the atmosphere should have buried this city, yet the streets were clean and clear. Obviously, advanced technology kept them that way.
He’d have to take samples to be certain, but his scanner indicated that the age of the robot varied depending on the part he was examining but in no case was older than perhaps seventy years. Some of the newer parts seem to have been crafted only within the last couple of years.
Something was maintaining this housekeeping robot. Which was kind of meta. Something maintaining
the maintainer.
Yet nothing he could find in the house seemed designed to do that. Did something come in from outside to repair the serving robot and make sure that the bedding was refreshed? To stock the machine that created food?
“You’re making me nervous,” Talbot said. “Why don’t you just offer to buy it dinner and get the ball rolling?”
Carl smirked at his friend. “You’re a riot. I’m just trying to figure out how any of this can exist. The aliens have probably been gone for millions of years, yet everything is still just exactly as it would need to be for the occupants to walk back through the door and be taken care of.
“And this is just some random house sitting on the outskirts of a massive city. One would assume this is a fairly pedestrian dwelling. Whatever the aliens are using to keep things working is so ubiquitous that everyone had it.”
Elise cleared her throat. “Isn’t this a mystery that we should try to solve some other time? Everybody back at the obelisk has got to be worried about us. And on another note, where is this planet? Is it the home planet of these aliens?”
Olivia nodded in agreement. “How did that little bitty chamber move us across what has to be tens of thousands of light-years? We basically flipped without a ship, and we went much farther than any flip point could take us.”
“That’s a mystery,” Carl agreed. “One that I doubt we’re going to have time to solve. It’s got to be sort of like the transport rings, just on a tremendous scale and at a technological level that I don’t think even the Omegans could understand.”
He returned his attention to the robot. “I wish we could take this thing with us. Being able to understand the technology that we’re dealing with might make a world of difference and provide so many breakthroughs.”
Talbot shrugged. “I can disassemble it for you.”
“I’d rather have it in one piece, thanks,” Carl said dryly. “Maybe we can convince it to go with us.”
“It seems to be attached to the house,” Talbot argued. “I’m not sure how you’re going to make it follow along behind you like a puppy.”
Elise walked around the robot, examining it. “It seems to have a panel here in the back. Perhaps there’s a way to turn it off?”
Carl hadn’t seen any panel, so he walked around the device and examined it more closely. With her pointing it out, he could see the very, very faint line that probably indicated something there. It wasn’t straight, so it hadn’t stood out from the decorative markings, but she’d somehow spotted it.
“How did you see it?”
She shrugged slightly. “It’s this interface. I can see the outline of it as a faint blue shade, and there’s a spot directly above it that looks like a tiny rune.”
Without waiting for him to say anything, Elise reached out and touched the robot. The concealed compartment opened up when the door covering it simply melted away.
“There are four runes,” she said. “Should I just press one and see what happens?”
“Sure.”
Elise touched one of the runes that Carl could only see through the vid she was sharing with them. Nothing seemed to happen. She touched the next one, and the robot settled down to the floor and stopped moving.
“I think I turned it off,” she said.
“Let’s finish testing it,” he said. “Touch the rest.”
The third rune made it stand back up and look exactly as it had before. That was probably how it was powered on.
The final rune was more interesting. The robot turned around and faced Elise and inclined its forward half slightly. It was almost like it was acknowledging her.
That made Carl wonder. “Try walking outside.”
When Elise headed out the front door, the robot followed her. It was the first indication he’d seen of it doing anything that wasn’t related to the house.
“I think you’ve retasked it to follow you to a new place. Why don’t we take it back with us?”
“I don’t think it’s harmful, so I can’t think of any reason not to,” Talbot said. “But let’s get moving. We need to get out of the big chamber, and we can’t do that if we’re not there.”
Carl nodded and headed for the door. There would be plenty of time to come back later and examine this massive city filled with unbelievable technology.
If, of course, they survived the upcoming fight.
15
Kelsey was still fuming as they made their way deeper into the Twilight River system. There had to be a way for her to get around Jared. Unfortunately, no ideas were presenting themselves.
She made her way to where the Marine Raiders were assembling to board the stealthed pinnaces that they’d use to get to the old science station where the master AI was housed. It was still uncertain whether they’d get close enough to actually make the strike, but it was far better to be prepared than found wanting when the moment came.
As stealthy as Persephone was, she was more detectable than the pinnaces themselves. When the time came, she’d launch the pinnaces, and they’d coast to the station. Then everything that happened would be on the heads of the Marine Raiders, who’d be led by Angela while Kelsey ran Persephone.
It would’ve been better to leave Jared in command, but while Fiona was willing to accept him, the computer that actually controlled Persephone insisted on being run by a Marine Raider.
That meant it had to be her. Yes, the rest of the crew still handling the bridge controls were Raiders, but Kelsey had the command experience. That was somewhat frightening when it came right down to it.
Not that it mattered in this case. She’d be doing whatever Jared told her to do, so it wasn’t like she was going to have to fight the ship in a naval battle. Anyone could have done it. Hell, even Julia.
Kelsey felt her eyes narrow slightly.
Could that work? Could she convince her doppelgänger to swap places with her like some old vid where twins traded places? Would the ruse fool anyone? After all, that was the kind of stunt that any hero in a novel would try.
Still, it beat doing nothing. If they caught her, she was no worse off, and if it worked, she’d be on her way.
She walked over to where Julia was watching the Marine Raiders loading their gear. She leaned back against the bulkhead next to the other woman, who was already dressed in her armor with her helmet resting in the crook of her arm, and watched the action.
“You ready for this?” Kelsey asked as Angela came into the compartment and started issuing orders. “This is going to be your first big fight. One where you know you’re getting into a fight ahead of time, anyway.”
Julia raised an eyebrow as she turned her head toward her. “You know fighting isn’t really what I do. Why aren’t you going? This seems like something you’d insist on.”
“I was overruled,” Kelsey grumbled. “Jared put his foot down. It pisses me off, because I think that I need to be there, but I’m not exactly sure how I can get around him.”
That was playing dirty. Even though Julia had accepted that the Jared in this universe wasn’t the same kind of man as in hers, there was still a barrier between them. Julia didn’t really trust or like Jared, and Kelsey was manipulating her. It made her feel guilty, but she couldn’t allow that to stop her.
Julia turned to fully face her and put her hands on her hips, scowling. “You’re the damned crown princess. He can’t tell you what to do.”
“He’s in overall military command,” Kelsey said with a resigned sigh. “Colonels don’t get to argue with admirals. I can think of any number of reasons why I should be on this mission, but that’s not what he wanted to hear. He said that you could do everything that I could.”
She let the silence drag on for a couple of seconds and then leaned a little closer. “Though, we might be able to pull the wool over his eyes.”
“Wool? That’s something from an animal, right? What does that mean?”
“We’ve really got to work on showing you more old vids. It means we might be able to
fool him long enough for me to go on this mission if you’re willing to switch places with me.”
Julia tapped her lips thoughtfully. “Hmmm. I’m willing to consider it, but I think I need to know a little bit more. What are you supposed to be doing here on Persephone while we’re gone?”
“Technically, I’m in command of the ship, but Jared is going to be giving the orders. The crew is all trained, and they’ll be following his instructions. The computer only answers to the command authority of a Marine Raider, so that rules Jared out. Basically, I’d be a figurehead. Or rather, you’d be a figurehead.”
“What makes you think that the computer will accept me?” her doppelgänger asked with both eyebrows raised. “Fiona knows everything about me, including the fact that I’m not you. She’d tattle on me in a second. She’s listening to us right now, isn’t she?”
“She is, but there’s a trick to this. The version of her listening to us is a subroutine that respects our privacy. There are a couple of triggers—like calling for her attention—that would draw the real Fiona to listen in, but as long as we don’t cross those lines, the information that the subroutine hears won’t make its way to her.
“As for the ship’s computer, it’s not sentient. It’ll check your implant serial codes, and that’s it.”
Julia was quiet for almost a full minute as she thought. When she finally spoke, her voice was low and more than a bit worried.
“What if something goes wrong? I don’t want to get anybody killed.”
“If push comes to shove, tell Jared who you are. He’ll be pissed, but it’ll be too late by then. Look, this is my universe, and it’s my responsibility to take out the AI. I’m not going to be there for you when you get home, and I can’t ask you to do my job for me. Please.”
A few seconds of indecision flitted across Julia’s face, and then she nodded. “We’re going to have to step out so that I can give you my armor. This is going to be challenging. I’m going to have to pretend that I actually like Mertz. I mean, Jared. That’s going to be hard.”