"Not really. Here," Ronin said, highlighting a section several frames ahead on the ship. "There's an escape ship built into this one. We're on the way."
"There's no one guarding these maintenance areas?" Dame asked, surprised to see that the access hallway they were in was nice and broad, it lead all the way to the front of the ship, too.
"There are supposed to be patrols passing regularly along the entrances and exits. They're supposed to come through here, too, but it looks like every soldier they had was put in a fighting ship and sent to break the stalemate between our fleets."
"We were losing," Dame said without thinking, recalling the destruction of the Sunspire.
"We were holding out," Ronin countered, increasing the pace to a run.
It wasn't hard for her to keep up, but Easy's heartrate was highest, it was a test for him. A portrait of a gentlemanly looking male in an Order of Eden fellow appeared in the upper right-hand corner of Dame's view. Beneath it stated: Order of Eden Rear Admiral West Kenly: Capture and contain. "This is why we're stopping that ship. He's going to use it to escape and we're cutting this Rear Admiral off."
"That's right," Ronin said. They were moving at a full run. The ship they were trying to get to was on her tactical display, and it was starting to activate. The vessel was corvette class, thirty-nine metres long, roughly shaped like a leaf. It didn't look like a vessel Regent Galactic made. That was probably because it wasn't. It was special, probably an expensive escape craft for cowardly commanders. "Jake, er, the Admiral was hoping to capture him, but they're running into too much resistance. Finishing the hack on the Ascent and capturing its database is more important, so he's put me in charge of getting West."
"As if you don't have enough to do," Easy snickered between huffs and puffs.
"We'll get him," Edda said flatly, right behind Ronin.
Their route took them out into the open, where they would emerge at one end of the loading bay for the escape ship. They slowed, and Ronin kicked the door open. Nothing on their tactical map warned them that there was anything wrong with kicking the maintenance door open and rushing in. Their scanners didn't show any activity in the bay other than the systems aboard the escape ship powering up.
The bay was made to fit the ship with large armoured doors, mooring clamps along its sides, and a collapsible gangway leading to the port side of the vessel, which was called Veritas. The name was written large across the aft side of the ship in a curve that conformed with the shape of the hull.
An instant before disaster struck, Edda noticed a squad of fifteen security androids surrounding six soldiers that read clearly as framework constructs. Minh-Chu didn't show any sign of noticing them, they were over twenty metres away, in formation, standing on the far walkway that was connected to the ship gangway. The androids turned their flat, boxy heads. They didn't have faces save for a flat armoured panel that most likely protected their sensor suites. The androids, not made to look human at all, noticed Ronin and began to raise their weapons.
Without thinking, Dame yanked Ronin by the pack built into the back of his armour, throwing him behind her as she fired her rifle at the squad in the distance. They exchanged fire at the same time - her shots flying wild, meant to distract as much as to maim and disable - and she dropped under cover as her shields reported hits, the indicator flashing red: 98%, 91%, 83%, 71% before she put a crate between her and the squad of mechanized and synthesized Order soldiers.
Easy stayed back in the service passage, Ronin was scrambling to his feet just ahead of him, out of the line of fire. "Why didn't those guys show up on our scanners?" Ronin asked, irritated.
"Dead suits!" Easy replied, peeking around the corner, firing a few shots, then ducking back as several bolts of energy narrowly missed him, scarring the wall instead. "It must be. It's like old cloaking tech, suits that block all signs of life so whoever's wearing them can hide what they are."
"Yeah, but our scanners should have picked up the androids," Ronin remarked, throwing three discs into the air that started flying in random patterns as they fired energy bolts at their assailants. They only lasted seconds, so much skeet for the androids and framework soldiers.
"Some kind of jamming? Or maybe they hacked into our tactical system or something?" Easy proposed.
"I can see them now," Edda said as she took a small hand rocket from her thigh pocket and flung it overhead. The androids didn't scatter, but shot at it, forcing it to explode half way across the bay. "Dammit! I hate robots!"
"I told Jake this was a bad idea," Ronin grumbled as he fired back at the androids, most of his shots hitting their mark, depleting their shields, but they were fearless, and instead of jumping for cover, they fired back. Before his shields were depleted, Ronin ducked back behind cover. "It should be him and his best guys here, everyone else charging up the middle. We just don't have the people to take these buggers out. We'll have to get creative. Any ideas?"
Edda took her turn firing, getting through to two androids. Watching the strikes directly on their metal armour was highly satisfying, and she was reluctant to duck back under cover when her own shields were down to twelve percent. An alert popped up on her tactical display that said; WORMHOLE SYSTEMS CHARGING, referring to the Veritas. It would be able to escape moments after launch. "It might be too late to get creative," she replied.
Then her scanners picked up six humans. One was verified as West, and she watched them run towards the gangway. "They're going to escape," Easy said through clenched teeth. "Dammit, I want someone to answer for all the shit the Order's done to the Haven System!"
"You and the whole Admiralty. We want someone other than Wheeler, someone whose been in the order for years, and this guy's the right guy, according to our intel," Ronin said as he took his turn shooting. A barrage of his heavy rounds battered the lower half of the squad of troops, doing as much damage to the flimsy deck as it did to the shields. Taking their footing out was a good idea, but it was too late to stop the Rear Admiral. Ronin's next barrage targeted the coupling between the gangway and the ship. To Edda's surprise, it only did superficial damage. The armouring there was robust, even for something built to military standards.
It really is time to think creatively, but I don't have enough training to be a real infantry soldier, Edda thought, looking all around for anything that could help them stop the Rear Admiral. Then, another thought occurred to her; Is there something else we can do if we can't stop him? The hull of the Veritas was only twelve metres away, by her estimation. For her that was ten long paces and a jump, unless she used the propulsion systems in her suit, then she could get there even faster. There was an emergency hatch on the hull, too. If it could be accessed from the outside, then she could get into the ship. She shuddered at the memory of going after a Wheeler in a downed Starskipper. Taking one person alive was difficult, even under those circumstances. No, I can't force my way aboard and expect to live, not even in this armour. They will have weapons and full control of the systems on that ship.
As a last-ditch attempt to stop them, Dame peeked out from behind cover and fired at the gangway, scarring the transparent metal cover as the Rear Admiral and his small group rushed to the ship. She wasn't the only one. Her shots were joined by Easy's, and Ronin tossed two hand rockets up. One struck the gangway, the other landed in the middle of the androids. The first did little damage, while the second scattered the enemy squad. It was a lucky shot; the androids were too focused on protecting the Rear Admiral and his people to take the rocket that hit them out.
The main thrusters of the Veritas lighted, glowing red then blue, pointing up. The heat wouldn't be a problem for them in their armour, but it indicated that the ship was about to leave. With surprising speed, the armoured doors at the bottom of the hangar swept open, and pure nervousness gnawed at Dame's middle as she realized there was only one way to go after the Rear Admiral.
The androids were down along with the framework constructs. They wouldn't have much of a chance t
o shoot at her as she made the jump, so she got to her feet and readied herself.
"Dame! What are you doing?" Ronin asked, shocked.
"I'll get him. I'll bring him back." That first step punctuated her statement, and she made the leap, suit thrusters pulsing as the mooring clamps came away from the sides of the ship. This was the kind of thing a hero did. This was the kind of mad act that got normal men and women killed but served as the beginning to the greatest stories in the histories of her people. This was the kind of thing that could win a war and end suffering.
The ship began to move faster than she was descending, and she thought; This is the kind of thing an idiot does, as the hull fell away from her so fast that her body couldn't make contact. Then, to her surprise, Easy flew past her and collided with the hull. His suit affixed, he half turned and grabbed her hand.
Flopping onto her back, her armour affixed to the hull of the Veritas and she watched the shape of the Ascent One diminish, getting smaller faster as the Veritas' thrusters pushed them away. A pair of Uriel fighters turned, firing pulse guns that raked the Veritas' shields. Then they were inside a wormhole, surrounded by twisted light and colour shifted space. Dame turned all but the direct laser link channel to Easy off. They would definitely be detected if they left their whole communications suite on, then she realized that her cloaking systems were still running. If the ship they were piggybacking on didn't have the technology the Order used to detect cloaked ships, then they could ride along undetected indefinitely.
After several moments of laying still, attached to the hull, Easy burst into laughter. Dame was just starting to laugh along, marvelling at the absurdity of her idea, when he sobered. "Now what do we do?" came the question.
An answer came to mind, but she knew it wouldn't be helpful. Edda offered it anyway; "We answer that question, and then we'll know."
"May as well start talking about the sound of one hand clapping," Easy grumbled, turning over and looking at their immediate surroundings. There was nothing but hull plating, flat and neatly fitted together for several metres in every direction. "I lost my rifle." He breathed. "I just realized. I dropped it when I saw what you did then dove after you."
"Why did you do that?" Edda asked.
"I…" Easy started, verbally fumbled, then settled on; "I have no idea. Why did you jump?"
"Seemed like the heroic thing to do," Edda said, flipping onto her belly, making sure her suit was properly affixed.
"I hate and love that answer at the same time. Did anyone ever tell you that you're crazy?"
"Where I come from, I'm a perfectly reasonable person." That wasn't true, and Edda knew it, but it wasn't the time for soul searching. It was time to start looking for the hatch she saw before she made the leap.
"You're going to have to tell me about your people sometime," Easy said with a chuckle. "If you're reasonable there, then they're probably pretty cool."
"I'll have plenty of time to tell you about them if we can't get into this ship quietly. We'll have to make the whole trip on the outside."
"Oh, guess that could be worse, I aced Suit Week," Easy said.
"I didn't have to do that," Dame said, imagining what it must be like, trapped in a space suit for an entire week.
"Well, you're about to," Easy said. "Found the hatch. It's hard-locked. Can't open it while we're in wormhole transit without setting off every alarm on the ship. We're going to be spending a lot of quality time stargazing."
"Oh," Dame replied, considering the idea of breaking through the hatch by force. There was no way they could do that while maintaining their advantage. In short: most of the outcomes would end in their terrible demises. She checked her supplies and survival systems. She could survive in her suit for twenty-eight days. "I'm afraid I'm not very interesting, Easy."
"Let me guess; you just checked your suit and realized that you could survive out here for a while?"
"Yes. I can survive for over a standard month."
"I'm sure we'll land by then. I bet you're plenty interesting, too," Easy said.
"I wasn't always a heroic person," Dame replied, shaking her head.
"Interesting and heroic aren't the same thing. Why do you worry about not being heroic, anyway?"
"Because where I come from, they don't believe in being heroic," Edda replied. Her rifle was recharged, and there were plenty of solid rounds left. If someone came out to check on the things sticking to their hull, Dame was sure she could take them out and hopefully find a way inside.
"Well, depending on how this turns out, I have a feeling that they'll start believing," Easy said. "I know I'll be retelling this story if I get the chance."
"You will. Don't worry, we'll get this Rear Admiral, and he will be in the cell next to Wheeler."
"I'm starting to believe you," Easy chuckled.
Thirty-Three
Establishing Camelot
* * *
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," said Frederick Ames, one of the lead programmers for the T.H.O.R. project as he finished delivering his initial report. He was almost in tears by the time he was finished explaining why Haven Fleet's 'un-hackable' defence system was broken into within minutes by the Order of Eden. The whole time he explained, and he did so rapidly because he knew time was short, Ayan felt like she was sinking deeper and deeper into her chair. A small part of her wanted to drop through the seat cushion and disappear altogether.
"Just so I know I've heard you correctly," Rear Admiral Grey said to Fredrick, who was so nervous he jumped a little. Grey's tone had an angry edge to it. "The operating system Haven Fleet has built everything on was originally from the Triton. The Mars Standard Operating System."
"That's right, with some custom security code and segments from Lorander that have been added since," Frederick replied, one foot pointed to the door. "We've customized the whole operating system heavily, it hasn't shown vulnerabilities so far."
"Except for today, when you launched these defence platforms. The Order was able to hack them because you forgot to flip a switch?"
"A software switch that would allow newer versions of the Mars Operating System to update older versions, like the one our whole system is based on. We run a program to make sure that the update switch is turned off on everything, among other things, keeping our operating system from being vulnerable."
"But you forgot to run this program, or flip this switch on all those platforms? That allowed the Order to access our un-hackable T.H.O.R. system. It was that simple?"
"Yes, I'm afraid it was," Frederick said.
"Thank you, Frederick," Ayan said before the Rear Admiral could ask more questions. It was their second time through the facts. "Take an hour to catch your breath, talk to someone who can help you calm down. Then go back to work so we can start reassessing the viability of automated defences."
"Thank you," Frederick said, shrinking from them and disappearing through the sliding double doors.
"You should send him to what's left of the Bakersfield," Rear Admiral Grey said so the programmer could hear him on his way out. "I'm sure the Captain would enjoy hearing all about the software switch our man here forgot to flip before we started launching our defence system."
The Bakersfield was a new destroyer caught in the middle of seventeen of the defence platforms. When they were hacked, that ship was nearly completely cut to pieces. Over half the crew, two hundred sixty-three, were killed in the first twenty seconds. "This was a horrible misstep, we know why it happened now, so the next step is to move forward."
"I'll tell that to the families of the people we lost today thanks to this simple misstep," Rear Admiral Grey replied. "Anything else you want me to pass on?"
The Rear Admiral's bitterness wasn't welcome, not in the least. Ayan glanced at her left-hand command and control unit, where there was a streaming status on the rescue ships that were sent out to the Sunspire. They were surrounded by boarding shuttles, even a few fighters and a Clever Class Corvette with a single crewmember
aboard. The defence satellites that the Order hacked were back under control. In a decision that she thought was a little over-cautious, Ayan ordered that they all self-destruct. That wasn't the foremost thing on her mind, however. Her mother and over a hundred eighty original Freeground Military staff were assumed dead.
Even as Order ships were being overwhelmed by the firepower of the entire Haven Fleet, most of their ships getting taken by boarding parties, Ayan couldn't bring herself to feel that there was a victory to celebrate. Her original thought when she saw the details of the rescue mission on Tamber, that it wouldn't end well, kept on replaying in her head. If she could go back in time, she would have objected loudly, advised that an all-or-nothing strike using everything they had was a better choice until that was the course they chose. In the end, Ayan had to live with the fact that she agreed with people who were happy to remind her that they had more experience in fleet combat than her, and that surprise would buy them all the time they needed.
"Is there anything you'd like me to pass on to the families when I inform them that the crew of the Bakersfield have been lost?" Rear Admiral Grey pressed.
"Offer my regrets," she replied, knowing how shallow that would sound to the people who heard it.
"I'll do that. I'm sure they'll be expecting more, though."
"If the task is too daunting, I'll be happy to inform them for you," Ayan replied curtly, motioning towards the door.
"No, Ma'am," Grey said, slowly getting to his feet, watching her. He looked frustrated, but there was something else, too. Worry?
"Don't forget: You can't tell them how it happened. The failure of the T.H.O.R. program is classified."
"Yes, Ma'am," he said quietly, leaving the black and dark grey room. He walked through the tactical hologram hanging at its centre.
The space seemed small, and compared to the circular, multi-tiered command centre just outside, it was. There was comfortable seating for nine arranged in a circle with several pull-out seats that came out of the floor and walls for more. It was decorated in dark colours so holograms could be clear at low luminance. The tactical map lured her gaze and she examined it without thinking.
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