Roger wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. Feeling distinctly uneasy, and on the verge of panic, he requested his AI open the link to the ship. There was no response. It was almost like his AI no longer existed.
“Is this some kind of joke?”
Tynan continued to smile at the man. “Not even close to being a joke. In fact, one might say its the complete opposite." Tynan waited for the man to do something predictable like try his AI again or even run but Lapont seemed to be in some form of daze.
“There’s no point in trying to contact the ship. We’ve incapacitated your AI. When I shook hands with you earlier, I implanted a virus designed to temporarily crash your AI. Now, if you’d like to come with us…”
Tynan saw the pilot tense up as if about to run for it. He motioned to his two fellow Templars who seized Lapont’s arms. Tynan produced a small molecular bonded knife and held it close against Lapont’s side.
“Don’t do anything silly now," he told the frightened pilot. “I’d hate to have to kill you. Makes such a mess you know.”
“Where are you taking me?," an increasingly worried Lapont asked the Templars.
“Someplace you won’t be very familiar with," replied Tynan. “The bridge." The other Templars sniggered.
Tynan led them down the corridor. Lapont followed, prompted by the two Templars behind him. The Knights-Captain came to an AG lift and gestured with a flourish and a bow to Lapont.
“After you Captain-Pilot." The two Templars pushed him in and then entered themselves. Tynan came in last. He opened a panel in the side of the lift which caused the doors to close and the lift itself to start moving.
“In case you’re wondering," Tynan said without looking at the dazed Lapont, “we’ve disabled the Minx’s access to this lift. If you were expecting any help from that quarter, then you’re sadly mistaken.”
“What do you want from me?” Lapont asked wild eyed.
“Well, that’s the question I was expecting to hear a little earlier from you. I’m really rather disappointed. I thought you Pilots were meant to be intelligent. I suppose your brain must have stagnated with disuse.” Tynan waited for a response, but not receiving one, decided to continue.
“Disappointing really. It wasn’t much fun in playing verbal hockey if you didn’t have anyone to play with. Hmmm. What do I want." He walked up to Lapont and tore first one, and then the other epaulette off the man shoulders. “I think these will do nicely for starters."
In order to get Felix off the ship against his will, the Areopagite’s had to disable a significant part of the Minx’s monitoring capability. That would in turn cause the Minx to dispatch a security and maintenance team to investigate. Even if they could get Felix to the ship, the Minx was capable of stopping them leaving by simply refusing to remove her vacuum field from the docking bay. One option of course was to take the Minx completely out of the equation.
To that effect, three grim faced Templars and one nervous and frightened ship’s Captain-Pilot exited the lift at level 60. During the ride, Tynan had told Lapont what he was to say. They walked down another corridor and came to large double doors marked with “Bridge Access. Authorized Personal only." Tynan nudged the Captain-Pilot and he addressed the doors.
“Minx, its me. Open the doors please. I’ve got a few people I want to show around the bridge." He was sweating heavily under the intense gaze of the Templars.
“Good evening Captain-Pilot Lapont." The doors opened to allow the four men to enter. “There seems to be some problem with your AI Captain-Pilot. I cannot gain access.”
“Minx, help, I’ve been…” Lapont never finished the sentence. Tynan thrust his knife into Lapont’s temple. The man continued to stand upright for a few seconds with a look of surprise on his face before toppling forward and landing with a slightly moist thud. A red stain slowly puddled under him. Tynan didn’t give him a second look.
The Minx took a nanosecond to analyze the situation. The doors slammed shut and the access panels on the bridge were suddenly covered with blue fields. “You’ve killed Captain Lapont," she said with some emotion.
“Who are you? What are you doing?” she demanded. “Security has been called and will arrive in 2.6 minutes. You cannot escape.”
The three Templars ignored her. Tynan walked over to the access panels while his subordinates took out two large weapons from one of the cases and set them up on tripods. The cases were shielded and scan proof from the ships senses. One of the mounted weapons, a field disruptor, was aimed at the main access panel. The other, a high yield plasma cannon, faced the direction of the door.
As soon as the weapons were removed from their cases, a red light filled the bridge. A high pitched siren could be heard in the background.
“I have detected illegal weapons," wailed the Minx. “This comprises a level 2 felony. Desist immediately.”
Tynan walked back to where the other two Templars waited behind their weapons and opened the other case lying on the floor. He carefully removed a large spherical object. On one side was a large suction cup, the other contained a small display screen. Tynan accessed the bombs main processor via his AI and initiated the activate sequence. The little display screen came alive and started counting down.
Tynan nodded at the Templar with the field disruptor who let off a white pulse at the main bridge panel. The field surrounding it immediately cut out. Static electricity jumped off the panel and then dissipated.
A more strident sounding Minx demanded to know what was happening.
Tynan calmly walked over to the now field free panel, opened it, and inserted the bomb, attaching it with the suction pads. Closing the panel, he walked back to his two men.
Precisely 2.6 minutes after the Minx informed them of security’s imminent arrival, the bridge doors slid open to reveal a squad of 6 security guards together with 2 combat droids. A plasma bolt, half a meter in diameter, exploded in the middle of them. The smell of melting flesh and metal filled the bridge. When the smoke cleared, all that remained of the security detachment was a small puddle of molten droid and the odd piece of sizzling human fat.
Tynan and his fellow Templars packed up their weapons, and careful so as to not stand in the congealing puddle of human and droid, calmly made their way back to the lift.
The Minx, surveying the carnage, was at a momentary loss. The field, disrupted by the cannon, reasserted itself. She used it to open the access panel and with her optical senses got a good look at the device planted by the Templars. It was, her memory informed her, a field protected Neutron bomb. And it was placed right on her AI interface. The countdown display read 7 seconds.
“Oh dear," she said.
Chapter Four
Antipathy had always existed between the Areopagite’s and the Watchers. Skirmishes between the two had certainly taken place, mostly over newly discovered planets, and loss of life and materiel on both sides had occurred. Outwardly, the two groups presented a polite face to each other and even displayed limited degrees of courtesy. But inwardly Angels from both sides concealed (and sometimes not) a degree of anger, jealously, and indeed in some, hatred.
The Areopagite’s fear was that the Watchers slowly growing power would eventually eclipse them. For their part, the Watchers coveted the power that their former kin currently possessed. Many assumed that the two groups would be natural allies. They assumed wrong.
Genetically similar, possessing the same ability to navigate through Shiva space and sharing the beliefs of Dionysius the Pseudo Areopagite, it would have seemed a logical paring. However, anyone who had studied the history and development of religion would realize that religion is often as far away from logic as it is possible to come and a single difference in religious doctrine or methodology will almost always justify either rape, burning or pillaging and usually an enthusiastic combination of the three.
The physical difference (not withstanding ethical) between Areopagite’s and Watchers was simple and significant. Areopagite’s were cr
eated from a normal human being in a genetic laboratory (or so the story went). Watcher’s were created and born the natural way. The Areopagite Proscription against an Angel and non-angelic individual having sexual relations and specifically children, was instituted to stop the superior genetic code of the Angels from being diluted, thereby weakening their powers. Also, and for some reason, it was not seen as very Angelic to procreate. This proscription had been put in place almost since the inception of the Areopagite’s and it was not without its critics. The Proscription was aided somewhat by Areopagite Angels created to be sterile.
Approximately one hundred years earlier, one of these critics, Zophiel, a former Cherubim of the Areopagite’s in charge of genetic research, fell madly in love with one of his non-angelic female flock. Being the romantic that he was, Zophiel decided to quit Areopagite society and its restrictive proscription and found his own church – one that allowed fornication and procreation with whomever he damn well pleased.
Unsurprisingly, he was joined by over 300 other angels who were similarly inclined.
Using their abilities to navigate, they founded their own world, naming it Ardos after the top of Mount Hermon where biblically two hundred angels had descended to Earth to have sex with mortal females. In keeping with this theme, they named themselves the Watchers or Grigori. Zophiel himself changed his name to Semyaza, the biblical name for the leader of the Watchers and married his non-angelic partner, Doris (who was later elevated to Angelic status). He then modified his own genetic code, and that of his followers, to allow procreation.
According to the Book of Enoch, the offspring of an Angel and a mortal female was called a Nephillim which somehow later turned into an evil giant. The offspring of the Watchers, much to the Areopagite’s disappointment (and curiosity), failed to turn into these creatures, and instead became Angels of limited power.
The Watchers maintained an operation similar to that of the Areopagite’s but on an infinitely smaller scale. Like the Areopagite’s, they hired their services out as navigators, explorers and guardian angels, and whilst only controlling the one world, were thought by analysts to one day be in a position to challenge the Areopagites choke hold on navigation and exploration. These same analysts could see the potential of a society that had a policy of interbreeding in terms of sheer exponential birth rates. The Watchers now had a population over 5 million and were starting to attract many more followers than the Areopagite’s, largely due to their intermingling policy.
Pure bred Watchers; that is children whose parents were both Watcher, were equivalent in power to an Areopagite Power. Direct descendants of Semyaza and his now Angelic wife Doris, were deemed to possess the abilities and power of Thrones, Angels that in Areopagite society were of the third order. These Watchers were named Prince or Princess.
One of the most feared Watcher Princes was Asel who was currently sitting in the command seat on the bridge of the Class 1 Trireme, The Sweet Bejesus. The Sweet Bejesus had arrived on board the Dirty Little Minx shortly after the Areopagite war galley Divine Retribution. There was no sign of activity aboard the Areopagite ship but Asel had taken the precaution of assigning two of his men to watch it. He watched in satisfaction as his Nephillim scurried about the bridge, going about their orders with an air of controlled haste. The command seat was raised above the other consoles in the crescent shaped bridge. A low balcony, accessed via a small staircase, separated Asel from his lesser brethren.
A few Nephillim spared their master a hurried glance. Asel was an impressive sight. Physically similar to Areopagite Angels, Asel differed in that he had long dark hair, red and purple wings and was dressed in silver battle armor befitting his rank.
His source had revealed that the individual with the Overdrive data was aboard the Hedonist ship. The Areopagite’s would probably be in possession of him right about now. This didn’t concern Asel. The same source had told him that that Simbiel would be taking Felix back to Arabot. Which meant they had to eventually come back to their ship.
One of the small screens in front of him showed two men walking through the docking bay, heading towards a fish shaped ship. They obviously weren’t Areopagite’s. He gave them no further thought.
Asel settled back in his chair to wait and had just closed his eyes when he felt a shudder running through the whole ship.
“What was that?”
One of his senior lieutenants turned around to face him. “I don’t know Sir, we’re trying to find out now.” The lieutenant closed one eye, opening it again moments later. “There’s been an explosion on the bridge. A large chunk of level 60 has been destroyed. The ship’s main AI has been taken out. All life support and basic functions have fallen back onto the secondary systems and basic automation. We are also emerging out of Nospace as a standard response to AI malfunction.”
Asel smiled. “Prepare the assault squad. We’re about to have company."
◊
Logan and Tarquin arrived back in the docking bay area of the Dirty Little Minx. No Templars were in evidence anywhere as they made their way back to Tarquin’s ship.
“Was that Watcher Trireme here before?," asked Tarquin.
Logan looked in the direction of the Watcher ship a few bays away. “Don’t think so. I could be paranoid but I don’t think this is a coincidence.”
Tarquin sighed. “Great. This just keeps getting better and better.”
They reached the Debacherous Weekend which extended its ramp at Tarquin’s unspoken command. Inside, they descended stairs to the hold, coming to a stop in front of a heavy looking metal door. Tarquin fired the code to his ship’s AI which opened the door for them. Logan had been in Tarquin’s ‘toy’ room before and had been duly impressed, stunned and vaguely horrified by the amount of weaponry his friend possessed. He’d seen military weapon stores and private armies less well equipped.
“Remind me Tarq, why you need all this stuff again?’
Tarquin had picked up a large plasma cannon and was examining the readout. “Insurance, piece of mind, security. And I like really big guns.”
Logan raised his eyebrows. “Right.”
Tarquin turned to his friend. “How do you rate the chances of ship security getting Felix away from our religious friends.”
“Low to nil. Have you ever seen Templars in action before?”
“Nah."
“Well, its not pretty.” Logan looked up at a bulky silver suit with four arms hanging from a brace on the wall. “Hey, is that Class 5 Gorgon Battle armor?”
Tarquin grinned. “Sure is. I’ve got a spare that might fit you as well."
Logan’s face lit up. “Excellent. These are great." He paused to look suspiciously at his friend. “Aren’t these suits restricted for military use only?”
“Yep."
Logan opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it and shut it again. He shrugged. “Ok.”
Tarquin was removing a large two handed cannon from a wall rack. “If you liked that, you’ll love this. Logan, meet my friend; the highly illegal Class 3 field Disruption cannon, also known as a Angel Fucker or Afer." He stroked it lovingly. “Cost me half a years salary.”
Hefting it with some difficulty, Tarquin pointed it at the wall. “Capable of temporarily disrupting the field of an Angel in the Second Hierarchy.”
Logan stared incredulously at Tarquin. “Where did you get that?”
Tarquin smiled and winked. “I have my sources.”
“Well, what do we do if we come across a First Hierarchy?”
Tarquin shrugged. “I guess we’re fucked.” He looked over at Logan. “So what’s the plan anyway?”
“If we step off your ship toting the firepower equivalent of a small army, we’ll have to fend off resident security as well. If the Angels want Felix off the ship, they’ll gonna have to bring him back here. We’re just going to have to wait.”
“What about the Watchers?”
“Hopefully they discuss their religious differences in a
purely violent way and then we step in and mop up the pieces. Felix should be okay. Sounds like nobody wants to hurt him. He’s too valuable alive. Its risky but we’ve got no option.”
A shudder ran through the ship. One of the rifles fell out of its rack on the wall, landing with a clatter on the floor.
Logan looked down at the rifle. “That was an explosion," he said thoughtfully. He tried to access the Minx but there was no response. Tarquin had one eyelid down. After a moment, he opened it again, a look of surprise on his face.
“I’ve just talked to my ship. There’s been an automated announcement. The Minx’s AI is down and we’re emerging into regular space.”
Logan looked at his friend grimly. “You know what this means.”
“Yep. Sounds like our options have changed. Suit up. Let’s go get Felix.”
◊
Felix and Crystal had just put their clothes back on when they felt a shudder running through the ship. The door slid open to reveal two Templars carrying plasma guns. Entering the room they pulled the couple to their feet and marched them into the Lounge.
“Where are we going?," demanded Felix. The Templars didn’t respond. Felix didn’t expect them to.
Simbiel stood in the centre of the room surrounded by six more Templars, busy unpacking weaponry from silver cases. He smiled when he caught sight of them.
“It seems there’s been a slight malfunction with the ships AI. We have to evacuate.”
Felix curled his lip up in distaste at the Angel. “The chances of a ships AI becoming inoperable is 1,365,000 to 1. You wouldn’t have had anything to do with lowering the odds by any chance?”
Simbiel continued to smile. “Let’s just call it an act of god shall we?”
“Since when did God start kidnapping people?”
“When there’s a just and righteous cause.”
“You call murder, kidnapping and acting like complete immoral bastards a just and righteous cause?”
Simbiel pointed a finger at Felix. A small blue spark flew from his finger and hit Felix in the leg.
Overdrive Page 10