Pieter’s fingers were back on his holo keyboard. “Okay. I’m on it,” he said, his skin turning a shade of deeper gray with stress.
Oz explained his next move through Pieter’s audio implant while he worked. “I’m going to try and guide Molly and Joel to steer clear, but if we take their systems offline, we’ll be blind, too - to their troops, and their location.”
Pieter paused his typing. “I’m not sure we have a choice,” he said, tilting his head back and thinking it through. “All of them have local maps, and know how to handle themselves. I think our best option is to take the cameras, and whatever else they’re using, offline to cripple the advance of the troops.”
“Agreed,” confirmed Oz. “I’ll let them know what’s happening.”
Oz disappeared from the audio connection, and Pieter got to his suddenly-urgent task.
Planet Kurilia, Northern Hemisphere
“Okay, that’s one down, one to go,” Sean announced as he placed the last charge on the external forcefield of their first target generator.
“Good job!” Molly called, turning to check their surroundings again. She had started to feel faint.
Sean noticed she was sweating and had gone a little pale. “You okay?” he asked.
Molly nodded. “Yeah, just a little – ”
Molly?
Yes?
We have an issue. They know you’re there; they have your locations.
Molly looked over at Sean, her eyes wide and creased at the edges with anxiety.
“We have company on the way,” she relayed to him.
Sean looked a little more alert. “How long, and what direction?”
Oz responded through both their audio implants. “They’re coming from The South Southwest direction. You’ve probably got five minutes before they reach your location.”
Sean looked confused. “How did they find us?”
As they started moving in the opposite direction, Oz’s voice informed them, “Facial recognition, from when Molly was down here before. Then they’re assuming the target you’re going after. I don’t think they have another way of tracking you.”
Molly nodded. “That means we can probably avoid them, if we take a different route to our next target; if we move unpredictably.”
Sean glanced over at her as they stomped quickly though the undergrowth. “That sounds like a plan, though it will mean more time here on the planet.”
“Sucks to be us,” agreed Molly.
Sean checked his holomap and looked back at the generator they were leaving behind.
“I guess,” added Molly, “if we go a couple of miles that way and then double back from the other angle, we’ll miss them, and still be able to hit the next target in the minimum time.”
“Agreed,” Sean grunted, closing the holomap.
Have you alerted Joel and Jack?
Yes, doing it now.
Okay, make sure they have a plan for extraction – no being heroes!
Yes, Joel is well aware of that. They’re still en route to their first target.
Okay. Keep me in the loop. Thanks, Oz.
Of course.
Planet Kurilia, Koin Star System, Zhyn Empire, Control Room of PrimeBase
The commander stood behind the lieutenant at the comms console.
“What do we know?” he asked.
The lieutenant didn’t take his eyes from the screen, but reported back swiftly. “We know they hacked into our communications systems and pulled off intel; presumably to know where our people were coming from, in order to aid their people on the ground.”
He paused, flicking a few switches on the holos in front of him. “We’ve since moved to quantum, so we’re untraceable until they get eyes on us.”
The commander nodded his head, listening carefully. “Anything else?”
“Yes,” the lieutenant continued, “our tactical department had a theory that they were going after the main three, and, tracking their movements thus far, that looks accurate. We deployed troops to intercept them at the targets; we’ll have them either neutralized or in our custody in a matter of minutes, sir.”
“Good,” Thatle replied gruffly. “Let me know as soon as that happens.”
“Yes, sir.”
Thatle stepped away from the communications station and headed back to the liaison for the technical department. He stood off to the side as the captain finished relaying current messages between the various teams working planet-wide to combat the intrusion.
Eventually, he had the captain’s full attention. “Any progress?” Thatle asked.
The captain tried to maintain an emotionless expression. “No, sir. The worm is advancing, and we’ve been unable to do anything other than take some of the servers off the grid.”
“How long is it going to take to restore control?”
The captain looked up at him. “Sir, I… our early reports are showing that as the worm works through the systems, it essentially eats up the structure. It may as well be formatting as it goes.”
Thatle frowned, sternly. “What does that mean?”
The captain cleared his throat before answering. “It means,” he said, his voice becoming unstable, “that if we’re correct, our early diagnosis is showing that there will be nothing to restore in any of the systems where the attackers have been.”
Thatle closed his eyes and paused before looking back at the captain. “Nothing?” he checked.
“Yes, sir. Nothing.” The captain flinched a little, knowing what so often happens to the messenger.
The commander looked confused, hardly able to believe his ears. He didn’t want to distract the captain from doing his job right now, but this required more problem-solving.
“Captain,” he instructed, ”can you assemble your best people for an investigative team, and send me the list in the next hour? Then bring in additional manpower to deal with the crisis. We’re going to have to have a meeting with those who understand the problem, in order to come up with a solution.”
The captain nodded, respectfully. “Yes, of course, sir. I’ll get straight on it.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Thatle said quietly, before turning on his heels and heading back to his office.
So much for being ready for the second attack, he thought to himself grimly.
On Board The Empress, Main cabin
“How are you getting on?” Oz asked Pieter through his implant.
Pieter flicked his wrist while he was typing, making sure his mic was open as he responded. “I’m trying to re-sequence the worm to take the comms out faster, but it’s still going to be another ten minutes. I can’t speed it up.”
Oz tapped into what Pieter was working on.
“Yes, I see,” he confirmed. “It was sequenced that way in the first place because it’s the fastest way to take control of everything, given how their systems are structured.”
Pieter stopped typing, and took a deep breath. “I’ve managed to speed up one loop by rearranging one of the small stacks of tasks; but, really, it’s not making much difference.”
He sighed in frustration. “Are the guys all right down there?”
“For the moment,” Oz confirmed, his voice a little flat, even for an AI. “They haven’t encountered any troops yet, but I think Molly can tell that they’re closing in.”
Pieter cocked his head and frowned. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“She’s able to feel people around her,” Oz explained. “Energetically.”
Pieter was still frowning, and looking off above his open holoscreen. “This is a realm thing?” he asked.
“Yes,” Oz confirmed. “Only thing is, it seems to weaken her the more people there are around, and the closer they get.”
Pieter took a moment to realize the implications of what Oz was telling him. “This means she’s going to have a problem when the troops catch up to them, then?” he asked.
Oz’s voice
was even more serious. “This is my concern. We’ve also lost eyes on the troops, and their communications have gone quiet. Was that you?”
Pieter checked something on his screen. “No - not yet.”
“Okay,” Oz continued. “They’ve probably moved their tactical onto quantum communicators. Now there’s no way we can monitor them.”
Pieter covered his mouth as he thought it through. “What can we do?” he mumbled back to Oz.
“Right now, just keep that worm working,” Oz instructed. “I’m going to do a full frequency scan to see if I can pick up anything that might be useful. When that worm gets to the communications system, let me know, and we’ll release the nanodrones.”
“Okay,” Pieter agreed. “Just need another few minutes.”
Planet Kurilia, Southern Hemisphere
Joel checked his map once more. “I think if we just keep going straight, we’re going to hit it in another five minutes.”
Jack followed behind him. “Sounds about right; although, if their troops are closing in, we probably want to think about evasive maneuvers.”
Joel stopped and turned back to her. “You’re probably correct.” He glanced around trying to see what their options were, and being met with nothing but trees. “I’m thinking their nearest base to here is going to be off in that direction.”
Jack put her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun that was breaking through the tree cover. “So, if the target is that way,” she said pointing in the direction they had been moving, “then they’re going to be heading straight to it, to intercept us there.”
She shook her head. “You know, it might just be worth heading straight there, in that case…”
Joel grimaced, “I think it’s risky, either way. The other option would be to approach it from the left of where we are now; but if they control the target by the time we get there, we’re done for, anyway.”
Jack started moving again. “Okay, as we were. Let’s keep going.”
Just then, there was a faint buzz in the distance. Jack stopped in her tracks. “Do you hear that?”
Joel listened, standing perfectly still. “Yeah, like a swarm or something.” He hit his holo. “Oz, have we got incoming?”
Oz responded through both their implants. “Yeah, but it’s friendly. The buzz is the nanodrones fixing to the other targets we need to take out.”
Joel sighed, and smiled at Jack as they started walking again. “Good to know.”
“Yes,” Oz replied. “But we’ve lost all trace of the troops. They’ve switched over to quantum, we think, and our worm has taken all of their other systems offline. You’re essentially flying blind now.”
Joel smiled grimly. “Well, this is what we thought might happen. Thanks for the heads-up, Oz.”
“Sure. I’ll keep you posted as things progress. Molly and Sean have reached their first target, and are doing a detour to get to their second.”
“Okay. Thanks, Oz. Joel Out.”
The pair of space marines kept moving at a brisk and quiet pace toward their target.
Planet Kurilia, Northern Hemisphere
Molly looked up, sensing movement in the sky above her. Sean glanced over at her. “What is it?” he asked.
“Something’s coming,” she told him.
Sean looked up too. “Nanobot phase has started. That’s a good sign, at least.”
Molly brought her attention back down to the ground as they walked. She stopped.
Sean stopped and looked back at her. “Are you…? What is it?” he asked.
She cocked her head, listening. “We may need to course-correct again. I think they’re closing in right ahead of us.”
Sean shook his head. “What makes you think that?”
Molly put her head down, and rested her hands on her knees, bending over. “I… I can feel them. As I’m getting closer to people, it’s zapping my energy. But I sense them, too.”
She tried to stand up straight, but toppled a little. Sean grabbed her. “Dammit, Molly. You shouldn’t have come. You’re not right.”
Molly didn’t have the energy to argue with him. Her skin had turned gray, and her lips matched. Sweat was dripping off her, even though the climate and activity didn’t warrant it.
“We need to go that way,” she told him, pointing off into the undergrowth, away from the track they’d been following.
Sean resigned himself to the change in direction. He sighed. “Okay. Come on, then,” he said, leading her. “Are you okay to walk?”
Molly nodded. “Yep, let’s just keep moving,” she said weakly.
Planet Kurilia, Southern Hemisphere
Oz’s voice connected through Joel’s and Jack’s implants. “Joel? Jack? I’ve just found something.”
They continued to trudge through the sandy undergrowth toward their target. Joel wiped at his forehead.
“What is it Oz?” he asked, checking that the quantum link on his wrist was active.
“I’ve managed to get an image off one of their official military satellites,” Oz told them. “It shows a section of the surface where you are.”
“And?” asked Joel.
Jack had moved on, seeing glimpses of the clearing and their target just up ahead. She reached into her pants pocket to find the first charge to set.
Oz continued explaining his findings. “It looks like the troops are already at your target. The last frame before the satellite moved into range was them surrounding the generator.”
Joel looked up at Jack disappearing ahead of him, towards the clearing. “Jack!” he called out to her, in a hushed, urgent whisper.
“It’s okay,” she called back quietly. “I’ve got this. I won’t be a second.”
Joel couldn’t believe her recklessness. “Jack. They know we’re here. They’ve got the place surrounded!” he hissed. “Oz, did she hear you?”
“I can’t tell,” Oz admitted.
Jack was ten paces ahead of Joel, and she didn’t acknowledge. He started jogging toward her.
“Jack! Abort!”
Jack stepped out into the clearing and headed straight up to the building that housed the generator. She could see the green glow of the forcefield protecting it. A moment later, she had jogged up to it, and was placing the first charge.
Joel stepped out into the clearing, his weapon switched on, deployed and ready to fire if anything moved.
“Jack”, he hissed again, scanning the tree line for any signs of Zhyn activity.
Jack disappeared around the other side to place the next charge.
“Damn it. Oz, she’s already placing the charges!” Joel relayed.
“That means you’re already at risk,” Oz advised. “Get out of there. Get back to the skylift as quickly as you can.”
Joel kept his eyes scanning all around him. All was quiet. He dug into his pocket, and moved the other way around the generator, preparing to set the other charges.
“Roger that, Oz,” he agreed dryly. “If you’ve got a plan B, we might need some extra help.”
Joel continued setting the charges around his side of the target.
Chapter 18
On Board The Empress, Main cabin
Pieter looked up from his holo screen, and across at Maya and Paige. “You guys ready?” he asked them.
Maya nodded. “Yep. Whenever you are,” she responded.
Paige started opening an array of holoscreens. Maya glanced over at her. “Let’s do this,” she grinned.
Paige nodded, anxious and excited.
Maya opened her screen, and started making the connections with the various broadcasting channels. “We’ve got all twenty-three of the major ones online.”
Pieter called over the aisle to her. “Okay, just check that you can broadcast on each of them first, before you push out the first message.”
Maya was quiet for a moment while she went through her checks. Paige finished what she was doing, and the
n looked over Maya’s shoulder, watching her check each channel in turn.
“Okay, we’re good,” confirmed Maya.
Pieter set another program going. “Okay, start broadcasting now, and then set them on loop. If you can, let it all download onto their servers while its playing – it will continue to play long after we’ve left orbit.”
Maya was working away, her tongue now sticking out from between her teeth on one side.
“K,” she responded almost absently.
A few minutes later, she seemed to become aware of herself, and put her tongue back in her mouth. “Okay, Paige. If you can set the loop on each one as we go, I’ll get them started?”
The cabin of the ship was quiet as the three of them worked away from their holoconnections to change the direction of the civilization on the planet beneath them.
Planet Kurilia, Downtown Tarvok
“Hey, Rook, turn the sound up a moment, would you?”
The bartender turned to face his customer, and reached over to the controls.
“Of course,” he smiled agreeably before turning back to the stack of glasses he was drying with a soft cloth.
The bar was quiet, it being the middle of a cycle, and apart from the couple sitting in a booth over on the far side, Rex was the only customer. He sat at the bar, his legs coiled around the stool he sat on, mostly keeping to himself and his beer.
“Ladies and Gentlefolk of Planet Kurilia,” the broadcast on the hologram said. “It is with deep regret that we must inform you of some clandestine activities that have been happening on your planet.”
“Hey, Rook, did you see this? Is this the news?” Rex called across again. His eyes betrayed his confusion at the strange broadcast.
Rook turned back and wandered over to where Rex was sitting and watching the holographic communication. “No. I’ve not. What channel is this?”
Rex shrugged. Rook picked up the controls and looked, flicking through the preview of three other channels. “It’s on every channel,” he concluded, looking back at the screen.
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