A.I. Void Ship (The A.I. Series Book 6)

by Vaughn Heppner

  “Five AI warships, and each three thousand kilometers in diameter?” asked Hon Ra.

  “Right,” Jon said. “But the Main itself is also an AI military vessel…and it’s not the size of Earth’s Moon, it’s the size of Mars. That’s about the same size as the second planet in the Roke System,” he told the chief Star Lord.

  “Nein!” Toper Glen said, speaking directly to Jon. “You say the robots have a ship the size of a world?”

  “Precisely,” Jon said. “From what we’ve learned, the bigger the AI ship, the more powerful his brain-core and the higher he is in the robot hierarchy. According to Zeta, the Main is one of the largest AI vessels in the Dominion, but not the very biggest. Imagine that for a second.” Jon paused to let the others do just that. “The Main dwarfs his five siege-ships.”

  “Given their combined mass,” Hon Ra said, “how can our fleet face them?”

  “Face them?” Jon asked. “Do you mean to tell me that you think that’s it? Oh no, First Ambassador. The Main and the siege-ships arrived at 70 Ophiuchi and went to Sigma Draconis and then Delta Pavonis. Each time, the Main took the besieging cyberships with him, augmenting his fleet.”

  No one spoke into the subdued silence.

  Finally, Jon continued in a softer voice. “According to Zeta, there were 52 cyberships at 70 Ophiuchi, 39 at Sigma Draconis and 81 at Delta Pavonis.”

  Hon Ra touched his paw tips one by one, as he silently mouthed something to himself. Finally, looking up, he said, “One hundred and seventy-two extra cyberships.”

  “That’s right,” Jon said. “So, the Main has his five siege-ships, ten cyberships he brought along from the Demon Star and one hundred and seventy-two extra cyberships, those already in our local region. Here’s where it gets fun. According to Zeta’s calculations, she believes the combined force is presently heading for the Solar System.”

  Several humans moaned in dread, including Admiral Santa Cruz. The Roke Warriors glanced at each other.

  “According to Zeta,” Jon said, “the Main will begin his counterattack assault against the human home system. After annihilating everything there, the AI fleet will likely go from one Confederation system to another, finishing the genocide.”

  Hon Ra raised a paw.

  “Yes,” Jon said.

  “How do we stop such an immense fleet?” the First Ambassador asked.

  “Let me be clear,” Jon said. “I have no idea how to stop them. We have twelve cyberships that can attack from the void. We could launch, perhaps, several hundred Vestal missiles, accelerating them to five percent light-speed.” Jon shook his head. “Given their massed might, the AIs could lay down prodigious counter-fire. I doubt any of the Vestal missiles, despite their incredible velocity, would reach them. There are simply too many robot ships in one place.”

  “Can we pick off some AI ships here and others there?” Hon Ra asked.

  “That used to be the idea,” Jon said, “but not anymore, not if they maintain tight fleet discipline. Why else has the Main united everyone in the local region into one gigantic fleet? Frankly, he’s doing exactly what I would have done if I controlled that fleet.”

  “Are the AIs already in the Solar System?” Hon Ra asked.

  “Zeta says no,” Jon said. “Given the faster rate of void travel between star systems as compared to hyperspace travel, I believe her.”

  Toper Glen leaned near and whispered to Hon Ra. The First Ambassador listened for a time, finally nodding.

  “Go ahead,” Jon said. “Speak your piece.”

  “The situation is obviously grim, Jon Hawkins,” the First Ambassador said. “Yet, one thing we have learned. You always have a plan. What is your plan this time?”

  Jon gave the Roke ambassador a wintery grin. “I don’t think you’ve heard me or understood, Hon Ra. That’s why we’re having the meeting. We’re planning here. We’re looking for ideas. As of this moment, I don’t have a plan for defeating the AI fleet.”

  Toper Glen set a big old paw on one of Hon Ra’s paws. The First Ambassador jerked as he looked at the Chief Star Lord. Toper Glen spoke softly to the First Ambassador.

  Hon Ra’s shoulders slumped as he faced Jon again. “You are the Supreme Commander. The situation might…it is beyond our understanding. By what you have said, nothing can stop the AI armada.”

  “I know,” Jon said. “I…I don’t even know what to say anymore. We have the largest fleet yet and we have void-capable ships, and yet, we’re helpless against the AI mass.”

  “Excuse me, Supreme Commander,” Hon Ra said. “I was not yet finished.”

  “Oh,” Jon said. “Sorry. Go ahead.”

  The First Ambassador looked at Toper Glen. The big old Roke nodded. Hon Ra faced Jon.

  “Given this sad truth,” Hon Ra said, “our noble Warrior Chief has decided to die with his friend, Jon Hawkins. You Earthmen helped us fight and defeat the robots in our hour of peril. We will thus help you, even if it means we all die.”

  Silence filled the chamber.

  Jon looked away, staring into the distance. He wished Colonel Graham were still alive. The old man would have known what to say. Jon wished Stark was still around and Miles Ghent.

  “Let us leave all doubts aside,” Bast said. “Facing the AI armada does not mean we might die, but that we will die.”

  Jon faced the others, and he rapped his knuckles on the tabletop. “No, Bast, I haven’t admitted defeat yet, not by a long shot. I’m simply letting my comrades know the situation.”

  Toper Glen nodded sagely, and he struck the table several times, harder with each blow.

  Jon derived strength of purpose from that. He loved the bear aliens. They understood honor and facing adversity with a brave front.

  “We have a fleet,” Jon said, his voice hardening. “We have a tech advantage over the enemy. The AIs are also heading for our most heavily defended star system.”

  “Supreme Commander,” Hon Ra said, “what can defend against such might as you’ve described?”

  Jon stared at the First Ambassador. He was more aware of his fleet admirals watching him than ever, particularly Admiral Santa Cruz of Mars. Colonel Graham had told him before to always show courage in front of the men. No matter how hard it got, a commanding officer had to give his people hope, even if it was false hope.

  “We’re going to damn well find out what can or can’t defend against such mass,” Jon said roughly, as he stared at them. He could feel their stares hitting him right back. He could feel them wanting to believe him.

  “Look,” Jon said, speaking to himself as much as to the others. “At the least—the least, mind you—we’re going to go down fighting. That’s worth something. Every species has to die sometime. Why not die with a gun in your hand, killing as many of the enemy sons of bitches as you can?”

  “That is warrior talk,” Toper Glen said approvingly. He slammed a meaty paw against his table, stood and straightened his crooked back as best as he could. In a loud voice, he shouted, “We will fight! We will fight with Jon Hawkins! And maybe the Holy One will give us victory over the machines.”

  “Maybe so,” Jon said.

  “Pray tell us how we can gain anything by fighting an unbeatable force?” Bast asked.

  “We won’t gain a thing by sitting here moping about the odds,” Jon said. “We have ships—”

  “Jon,” Bast said. “The AIs have world-sized ships. They have moon-ships. They have hundreds of times, tens of thousands of times more firepower and mass than we do. We can’t win this fight. Frank Benz was right. We must flee and build new homes far from here.”

  The fleet admirals looked at Bast. Two of them—including Admiral Santa Cruz—appeared thoughtful.

  “No!” Jon said. “We’re not fleeing from the AIs and we’re not abandoning the Solar System or Earth.”

  “But you can’t win by fighting,” Bast said.

  “We have void tech. We have—”

  “AI mass and firepower makes a mockery of our so
-called superior technology,” Bast said, interrupting. “I can understand now why the Sisterhood has lost for twenty thousand years against the robots. No one can defeat the death machines when they come in their masses.”

  “We did defeat them—before,” Jon said.

  “That was then,” Bast said. “This is now.”

  “I’ll give you a better saying,” Jon replied. “We did it once. We can do it again.”

  “You’re dreaming,” Bast said. “This is cold reality. This is the AI Dominion as it really is. This is the AI Dominion that destroyed my race.”

  “I’m sorry about the Sacerdotes,” Jon said. “I can’t begin to imagine what you’ve gone through. You’ve been a wonderful help to humanity, and I want you to continue to hope. Remember, you helped design the anti-AI virus that helped give us one of our greatest victories.”

  Bast nodded moodily.

  “This might be your great chance to hit back against the machines that destroyed your race,” Jon added.

  Bast stared at him, and it seemed as if a well of hopelessness and sorrow leaked from his large Neanderthal-like eyes.

  “Bast is right,” Jon told the others. “I am dreaming. I’m dreaming big, and sometimes, implemented dreams can change reality. We’re taking everything we have and heading for the Solar System. Maybe the AIs won’t have perfect fleet discipline. Maybe we can pick off a few of their cyberships and rattle them into making a mistake. Maybe our void ships can do more than we think. What that means is we all have to keep thinking and dreaming so that by the time we reach the Solar System, we’ll have some kind of tactic that will allow us to destroy the AI armada.”

  -3-

  Zeta and Ree stood before a viewing screen inside the Rose of Enoy. The three-hundred-kilometer asteroid ship was parked near the Allamu battle station, which was in orbit around the factory planet.

  They had each maintained the same energy form as before as a matter of mission custom. They had been traveling through the void for six hard months, scouting for the Confederation, giving the humans and Roke the best chance possible. Now, they were weary and maybe even dispirited. Going in and out of the void in a short time span had an effect even on them.

  “While waiting for the Confederation creatures to decide what to do,” Ree said, “I have run many analyses. I cannot find a way for the humans and Roke to defeat the AIs.”

  “That is an imprecise statement,” Zeta said. “You mean these humans and Roke cannot defeat the Main headed for the Solar System, the Main with his five siege-ships and masses of cyberships.”

  “Thank you for the clarification,” Ree said, although she did not sound thankful.

  “We must maintain precision in all things,” Zeta explained.

  “But you knew what I meant.”

  “Possibly,” Zeta said.

  The ball of energy that was Ree radiated more brightly. “I find this incredible. But I believe that you have come to like these humans.”

  “Again, you are imprecise. I have come to like Jon Hawkins. There is a difference.”

  “I understand.” Ree waited. “But he will die with the others.”

  Jon had messaged the asteroid ship and told the Sisters of Enoy the united decision to advance to combat in the Solar System.

  “There is a greater problem than the Confederation extinction,” Ree continued. “The humans have—”

  “I am well aware they have Enoy technology,” Zeta said, interrupting. “I was the one to give it to them, after all.”

  “The humans and Roke are reckless creatures,” Ree said. “We witnessed this in the Beta Hydri System.”

  “Make your point.”

  “You already know my point.”

  “Did I not say to be precise?” Zeta said.

  “The humans and Roke are reckless,” Ree said in a stiffer voice. “That is why you are short-tempered. You know they will attack even though it means their deaths. In their recklessness, will they ensure that no Enoy technology falls into AI hands?”

  “I find it doubtful that they will take such pains while their races face oblivion.”

  “That is my own analysis,” Ree said. “Thus, our duty is clear. Since the AIs will annihilate both races, we must make sure that there is no sign of Enoy interference.”

  “It’s too late for that.”

  “Are you referring to the Battle of Hydri II?”

  Zeta’s humanoid lightning-bolt form brightened considerably. “How many times must I tell you not to query me?”

  “I withdraw my question,” Ree said hastily.

  “Are you seeking to anger me?”

  “I am not. I stand corrected.”

  “Because if you are attempting to anger me,” Zeta said. “You have achieved success.”

  “Leader,” Ree said, her ball of energy physically lowering so it almost seemed as if she cringed. “I have evoked the wrong response. I do not wish to become null. But I still have a duty to Enoy. That is why I have said these things.”

  “We both have a duty to Enoy,” Zeta said, sounding slightly mollified.

  “The Main has surely anticipated us,” Ree said. “He must realize the humans will have masses of Vestal missiles. The amazing AI battle fleet mass negates the Vestal missiles, however, as the robots will be able to lay down incredible defensive fire.”

  “Jon Hawkins will realize this.”

  “What can he hope to achieve then by heading to the Solar System?”

  “I do not know. That is what makes the coming event delicious. This is new. Do you not delight in newness?”

  “I might if I did not know exactly what will happen,” Ree said. “The humans and Roke are doomed. That means—”

  “Listen to me,” Zeta said, interrupting. “I have attempted to instruct you. Yet, you continue to be dully unteachable.”

  “I do not understand.”

  “What is this?” Zeta asked in a mocking tone. “You do not understand? Yet, you have repeatedly told me that you know exactly what will happen in the Solar System. Your pre-knowledge of future events is, frankly, astounding. How, then, can my repeated warnings have escaped you?”

  “Do you refer to my having greater precision?”

  “Ah,” Zeta said. “This is a delight. You have actually heard my words. How refreshing.”

  Ree floated a little higher as she pulsated with rhythmic light. “Instruct me, please.”

  At first, Zeta said nothing. Then, she said, “Jon Hawkins is unique. Our tests showed us this. You have run repeated combat analyses and found that the humans and Roke do not have a chance against the AI mass.”

  “Such seems clear.”

  “That makes the coming battle all the more interesting,” Zeta said.

  “I fail to understand.”

  “That is because you have not lived as many cycles of time as I have. I have seen much—not all, but much. Because I have seen so much, I have witnessed endless repetitions. Ennui stalks me and fills me with tedium. I yearn to witness something different. This, I believe, we shall see in the Solar System.”

  “Because of Jon Hawkins?” asked Ree.

  “This is my belief.”

  “I…I do not see the odds being in his favor. By this, I do not mean in his favor of winning the battle. He clearly cannot. I mean in his favor of attempting something unique.”

  “Nevertheless, that is my contention.”

  “May I ask you a question concerning that?”

  “In this instance, you may,” Zeta said.

  “What gives you this confidence?”

  Zeta had expected the question. It was obvious, really. In truth, she had nothing to give her this confidence except that she wanted to see a new thing. She yearned for a species to truly resist the AIs and destroy a true AI fleet mass. She had given Jon Hawkins a technological edge. Could the human use it so he could eke a victory from the jaws of defeat?

  “Is this hope you evidence?” Ree asked.

  “Yes, I think it is,” Zeta s
aid.

  “Then I suspect that the humans have infected us with one of their maladies.”

  “Perhaps,” Zeta said.

  “Will you instruct Hawkins in void travel?”

  “You are querying me again. You must stop it.”

  “I await your pleasure,” Ree said softly.

  Zeta did not respond, but she saw a light blinking on the screen. Hawkins wished to speak to her again. No doubt, he wanted to know how to fly his ships in the void. The great test was about to begin, and that made Zeta sad.

  Ree was right. The humans could not win. She would miss Jon Hawkins and his flights of fancy. Still, she was going to give the human the opportunity to prove her wrong for once.

  -4-

  The great majority of the Confederation fleet headed for the Allamu System Oort cloud. The cyberships and bombards gained velocity as the weeks passed.

  Overall command of the hyperspace fleet went to Toper Glen, the Warrior Chief of the Star Lords of Roke. He had 217 bombards, along with six cybership-class vessels. Three human admirals commanded twelve, twelve and eight cyberships, respectively, and were under orders to obey the old bearlike alien chief.

  Meanwhile, Jon, eleven cybership captains and select crewmembers went via shuttle and landed on the Rose of Enoy. Each person fell asleep, was transported inside the Enoy asteroid-like ship and placed on hard slabs of matter.

  Zeta and Ree caused energy helmets to circle the human heads as they dream-trained the people to deal with the void, to move in a realm with no up or down and how to handle the mind warping that inevitably happened to physical beings moving in and out of the void.

  In time, the dream training ceased, and each person awoke on his or her original shuttle that had brought them to the alien asteroid ship.

  ***

  Upon returning to the Nathan Graham, Jon went straight to a simulator. He threw himself into studying the tactical situation of an AI fleet zooming from the Oort cloud to the satellite and moon cities of Neptune, Uranus and Saturn as it headed for Earth.

  A ship the size of Mars would undoubtedly lead the AI pack. Five Luna-sized siege-ships would follow. Almost two hundred cyberships would act as escorts to this incredible mass of metal.