by Mark Walden
Nero looked around the room at the astonished expressions. Doubtless they had all quickly realised what they had in common but the fact that they had been carrying around this responsibility for years without ever knowing it had clearly come as a shock to many of them.
‘H.I.V.E. has fallen, G.L.O.V.E. is in chaos, the ruling council has been captured. All of this has been done by one man, if that is what you can call him. The events that have forced me to gather you all here today are in large part my own fault. As soon as Diabolus and I determined that we would need an AI to control this project I embarked on a project to develop one. That project was codenamed Overlord and it was my greatest mistake. I was so focused on making sure that when the time came everything would be ready that I forced the engineers responsible for its development to proceed too quickly, to take too many short cuts. When the time came to activate this entity I learnt to my cost what a mistake that had been. We had created a monster, an advanced intelligence with nothing but contempt and loathing for its creators. It very nearly cost me my life but Overlord was destroyed just hours after it was activated. Or so I thought at the time. Overlord was not destroyed – he survived, hiding in the shadows, plotting his revenge. Now he has put that plan into motion despite all of our efforts to stop him and we are all that stands between him and his final victory. I could lie to you and tell you that you have a choice in this, but the truth is that you do not. If we fall here today then the rest of humanity will fall too. You, the selected best of H.I.V.E.’s Alpha graduates, are the last line of defence.’
He paused to let his words sink in. If any of the men and women in front of him were thinking of running from this responsibility, he could see no sign of it.
‘You doubtless have many questions,’ Nero continued. ‘I will answer them as best I can, but time is short.’
A tall, strikingly beautiful woman in the front row raised her hand.
‘Yes, Miss Holmes,’ Nero said with a nod of the head.
‘I don’t have any memory of anything being put inside my skull,’ she said, ‘and it’s the sort of thing I think I’d remember.’
‘Part of the psycho-hypnotic programming ensured that you would have no memory of the procedure. An unfortunate but necessary deception under the circumstances.’
‘And that was the only time it happened?’ she asked with a slight frown.
‘Yes. Obviously you’ll have to take my word for that, but I hope you all know me well enough to realise that I am not about to lie to people I am asking to risk their lives like this,’ Nero replied.
Another hand went up in the crowd.
‘Yes, Mr Usmar,’ Nero said.
‘Some of us left H.I.V.E. twenty years ago,’ the man said. ‘Aren’t you worried that we might be a bit – well, rusty?’
‘H.I.V.E.mind has been discreetly tracking all of your activities,’ Nero replied. ‘I am confident that he would not have selected anyone for this mission who was not qualified to take part.’
He nodded towards another raised hand.
‘What exactly are we going up against here?’
‘A fortified US military facility containing some of the most advanced and powerful weapons systems that the world has ever seen. All of which may be under the command of a psychotic AI backed up by his own military force of an as yet undetermined strength,’ Nero said calmly.
‘OK. Sorry I asked.’
‘How are we going to do this?’ another voice asked.
‘Diabolus? Would you care to explain our plan of attack?’ Nero asked, gesturing for Darkdoom to take the question.
‘We have one advantage that Overlord doesn’t know about,’ Darkdoom said. ‘This facility was one of many that was built for the US military by Drake Industries. Unbeknownst to them, and thankfully for us, Jason Drake was in the habit of building back doors into his facilities. We will send in a small team this way to infiltrate the base. Once inside, they will open the main doors and let us in. We could try to take the main doors down but that would doubtless result in a direct confrontation with Overlord’s forces – something that we want to avoid until we can be sure that we have the upper hand. There will be a full tactical briefing straight after this, but that’s the basic plan.
‘We also have some new equipment that should give you an edge. For some time Doctor Nero has been providing me with the best of the technology that Professor Pike has been developing at H.I.V.E. and I have made an attempt to unify it with some of the other advanced technology that we have acquired recently. The aim was to put all of it into a single package.’
Darkdoom walked over to a large crate that stood off to one side. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you ISIS, the Integrated Systems Infiltration Suit.’ He swung the front of the crate open to reveal a gleaming black suit of highly sophisticated body armour. ‘This suit combines full thermoptic camouflage with advanced Kevlar polymer body weave. It is fitted with an array of electromagnetic devices, including a full EM scrambler pulse, an anti-personnel discharge unit and a high-powered adhesion field built into the palms and soles of the boots. It has a variable geometry forcefield landing device and, courtesy of the late Mr Drake, a detachable flight control system that can be used for pinpoint insertion. Grappler units are mounted on both arms and a full targeting and information HUD within the helmet. This is what special forces will be wearing in twenty years’ time, but you get it today.’
‘Go, go, Power Rangers!’ Shelby muttered to Wing as Diabolus continued to explain the capabilities of ISIS.
‘Shhh,’ Wing whispered, trying not to smile.
The briefing continued for another half-hour and the assembled Alphas listened attentively. Occasionally they threw in a question or asked for clarification but for the most part they seemed to be taking all of this in their stride. Nero was pleased to see that thus far at least their plan was working. H.I.V.E.mind had chosen well.
‘That’s it, ladies and gentlemen,’ he said as the briefing drew to a close. ‘For anyone else on the planet this would be an impossible task; for you it will merely be challenging. Suit up – we launch in thirty minutes. I know that you won’t let me down.’
‘Do you really think they can do it?’ Darkdoom said quietly as he watched the Alphas start to break into the crates that lined the hangar wall and unpack their ISIS suits.
‘Yes,’ Nero said, ‘and let’s face it, if they can’t no one else can.’
‘Doctor Nero,’ Wing said as he and Shelby approached, ‘Shelby and I were wondering what part we were to play in all this.’
‘Possibly the most critical part, Mr Fanchu,’ Nero replied. ‘You’re going in through the back door. It’s your job to make sure that the rest of the Alphas can get inside.’
‘You’re sending us in alone?’ Shelby asked with a frown. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I’m up for this, but going in without backup?’
‘Oh, don’t worry, Miss Trinity,’ Nero said with a smile. ‘You’re not going in alone. I’m coming with you.’
g
Chapter Nine
Wing snapped the final fastening shut on his ISIS armour and walked back across the hangar towards Shelby.
‘Hey,’ she said as he approached. ‘You ready for this?’
‘As ready as I can be,’ Wing replied with a sigh. ‘I just hope that we’re in time to save Otto, Laura and Lucy.’
‘They’ll be OK,’ Shelby said, putting a hand on his shoulder. ‘We’ve been in situations like this before.’
‘Perhaps, but the fact that Doctor Nero has felt it necessary to put this Zero Hour plan into action worries me,’ Wing said. ‘He would not have done so if the threat had not been dire. We cannot afford to fail.’
‘And we’re not going to,’ Shelby said, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him towards her. ‘We’re going to go in there and we’re gonna give Overlord the ass-kicking of a lifetime.’
‘I hope you are right,’ Wing replied, looking deep into her eyes. ‘I do not think I could s
tand it if something were to happen to you.’
‘I can look after myself, big guy – you know that.’
Wing kissed her gently and then pulled away.
‘We should get on board the Leviathan,’ he said. ‘It is not long till launch.’
The pair of them walked towards the giant aircraft and up the rear loading ramp. Just inside they found Nigel and Franz apparently having a hushed argument about something.
‘Hey guys, what’s up?’ Shelby asked.
‘Tell this idiot that we’re better off staying on the Leviathan, will you?’ Nigel said with an exasperated sigh.
‘I am just saying that we should be going with you,’ Franz said. ‘I am thinking that you will be needing all the help that you can get.’
‘They’ll need us just as much here,’ Nigel said. ‘Someone’s got to to help coordinate that attack.’
‘I am ready for battle,’ Franz said proudly. ‘My triumph in the holographic combat training is being proof of this.’
‘This isn’t a simulation, Franz,’ Nigel said, rolling his eyes.
‘Bah,’ Franz snorted dismissively. ‘There is no difference.’
‘You are, of course, correct,’ Wing said calmly. ‘What should it matter that a bullet from a real assault rifle will be travelling at one thousand metres per second when it hits you? It is equally pointless to dwell on the fact that as it enters your body it will start to spin and fragment, shredding your internal organs, or that upon exiting it will leave a wound the size of a man’s fist. Indeed, it is not unheard of for large-calibre rounds to completely sever limbs. A quick death from catastrophic blood loss would then be almost inevitable but, as you rightly point out, these are all inconsequential facts.’
‘Where is being the toilet?’ Franz asked, suddenly turning pale.
‘That way,’ Nigel said, pointing further inside the Leviathan as Franz hurried away. ‘Thanks, Wing. I’d better go and check he’s OK,’ he added.
‘Now, that was just cruel,’ Shelby said with a grin.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Wing said innocently. ‘I was merely stating the facts.’
‘Yeah, course you were,’ Shelby said, ‘though I’m not really sure I needed to hear all that just at the moment.’
‘The trick is not to get hit by the bullet in the first place,’ Wing replied.
‘I’ll try to remember that,’ Shelby said with a slight roll of the eyes. ‘Anyway, I don’t think that the flight packs were designed with him in mind. Of all the words that I could use to describe Franz I don’t think I’d ever go with aerodynamic.’
‘Now who is being cruel?’ Wing asked with a slight smile as one of Darkdoom’s technicians approached.
‘Come with me, please,’ the man said, gesturing for Wing and Shelby to follow him over to a rack of weapons mounted on the wall.
‘One for you,’ he said, handing a compact sub-machine gun to Shelby, ‘and one for you.’ He took another gun and offered it to Wing.
‘That will not be necessary,’ Wing said, refusing the proffered weapon.
The technician stared at him for a moment in confusion and then put the gun back on the rack with a shrug.
‘It’s your funeral, kid,’ he said as he walked away.
‘I don’t know if you’ve heard, but kung fu doesn’t work at long range,’ Shelby said with a frown, shaking her head as she popped the clip from the gun to check it was fully loaded before snapping it back into place and sliding the weapon into the holster on her thigh.
Dr Nero walked up the boarding ramp before heading over to the rack and taking one of the guns from the wall. It was somehow strange to see him in the ISIS armour rather than one of his usual immaculately tailored suits.
‘Do you have everything you need?’ he asked as he holstered his weapon.
‘Yup,’ Shelby replied with a nod, ‘though you might want to see if you can persuade tall, dark and stupid here to take a gun.’
‘I have seen Mr Fanchu sparring with Raven back at H.I.V.E., Miss Trinity,’ Nero said, ‘and if he can hold his own in a fight with her then he probably does not need one. It is his decision to make.’ He knew he could not force Wing to take a weapon and he suspected that it would be pointless if he did.
‘Go and get your flight packs,’ he went on, pointing to the other side of the compartment where the rest of the Alphas were having the bulky devices mounted on their backs.
As Wing and Shelby walked away, Professor Pike walked over and handed Nero a slim metal case.
‘That’s all I can spare,’ he said as Nero slid the case into an equipment pouch on his belt. ‘You’ll only get one shot.’
‘That’s all I’ll need.’
‘Get in there,’ Furan said, shoving Otto hard in the back.
Otto found himself inside a sophisticated laboratory filled with the latest scientific equipment. Technicians were busy at workstations around the room, all wearing white hazmat suits. At the far end of the room there was a thick glass wall with an airlock mounted in it. Standing with his back to them and watching the activity within the sealed chamber was Overlord. Furan pushed Otto through the lab towards him. Otto tried to reach out and connect with any of the electronic devices that filled the room but it was pointless – the device attached to the back of his neck was jamming his abilities completely.
‘Do you know what that is?’ Overlord said as Otto approached, gesturing to the large silver cylinder on the other side of the glass.
‘No, but I’m sure you’ll bore me with the details anyway,’ Otto said with a sigh.
‘Futile defiance,’ Overlord said. ‘As much the hallmark of your species as anything else, I suppose. That,’ Overlord pointed at the cylinder, ‘is the future, Mr Malpense.’
‘I thought I didn’t have a future,’ Otto replied.
‘Not your future – mine,’ Overlord said with a smile. ‘You see, the strain of Animus that you were infected with and that I now inhabit was far too aggressive. As you can see from my own physical condition, it destroys whoever it touches. Even with my almost unlimited power I can only slow the process, not stop it. So I created a new strain in the hope that it might allow me to remain within a host indefinitely. Loathsome as I may find it to be trapped inside one of these fragile sacks of meat, it is still preferable to being imprisoned inside a glass tank. The new strain was a failure though.’
‘What a shame,’ Otto replied.
‘Oh, it still proved to be quite useful,’ Overlord continued. ‘As you will know from your recent experiences with Raven it allowed me to encode instructions within a human consciousness – instructions that they were powerless to resist. It still needed to be implanted directly though, and as we found with Raven that can be difficult when the target is uncooperative. Furan lost several of his best men when we ambushed her during her retrieval of Lin Feng. It served to illustrate the fact that a more efficient delivery system was necessary. Fortunately I was already working on obtaining just such a thing. The group known as the Disciples had been tracking the development of something that would serve that purpose perfectly: a top-secret military research project that was being worked on here.’
‘Are you planning to bore me to death or will you be getting to the point any time soon?’ Otto asked.
‘Such impatience, Mr Malpense! I would have thought you would want to savour your last hours of life.’
‘Not if I have to listen to you ranting,’ Otto said quietly.
‘Very well, I shall get to the point,’ Overlord replied. ‘The Americans were developing a revolutionary new system for repairing their military vehicles on the battlefield. The project was called Panacea and the concept was that their vehicles would have a layer of dormant reconstructive nanites built into their armour. If the armour was damaged the nanite layer would be exposed to the air and begin replication, working to repair the damage until the breach was sealed, whereupon they would deactivate. It was really quite ingenious, especially for som
ething developed by humans, but they were worried about the nanites’ replication rate. They were finding it difficult to stop them from doing so indefinitely, spreading out of control. They feared the so-called ‘grey goo’ scenario.’