by Isaac Hooke
He wondered if these scorpions had been designed on the Tyrnari homeworld. Probably not. Though the atmosphere had some of the elements found on Tyrnari, for the most part it was still mostly oxygen and nitrogen, so these bioweapons were probably partially designed with DNA from Earth mammals. The original invaders of Earth, the Banthar, had shared the DNA they’d collected from Earth with the rest of the empire, no doubt.
“How did they get in front of us?” Lori asked, deactivating her cloak so that she materialized directly in front of him.
He stumbled, startled slightly. “Well,” he said when he’d composed himself, “once the aliens figured out our position, it was a simple matter to send in bioweapons to flood the different cave entrances on the far side of the mountain.”
Aria’s avatar nodded. “If they sent enough of them, the bioweapons were bound to run into us at some point.”
“Yes but, why do they want us so badly?” Lori pressed.
“I’d guess, their orders are to leave no survivors,” Tara said. “They saw us retreating, so once they finished cleaning up the robot army the humans sent, their next logical choice was to pursue us.”
They continued along the route he’d calculated. The tunnel here tightened so that they had to send their mechs through in single file.
“Remember those sardines Lori prepared at the cabin last week?” Sophie asked.
She was referring to the home he’d created in VR for all of them to visit in their downtime, a cabin next to a mountain lake.
“Well, that’s what I feel like now,” Sophie finished.
“More like a canned spider!” Lori joked.
“At least I don’t have a long monkey tail,” Sophie said.
Aria’s avatar shook her head. “We’ve been together for almost fifty years now, and you still revert to monkey and spider jokes.”
“Fifty years?” Xin said. “Is that how long it’s been? Feels like only two or three. Guess I should stop slowing down my time sense to speed up the passage of time.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun!” Lori quipped.
“Lori, our local wellspring of clichés,” Iris said.
“I use clichés because they work!” Lori said.
“Fifty years,” Cheyanne said. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle an eternity of this.”
“Hey, I’m not that bad,” Lori said.
“No,” Cheyanne said. “I meant constant invasions. We need to put an end to this empire once and for all. We can’t keep having these invasion cycles. We need peace.”
“I’m sure if it wasn’t the Link, it would be some other alien invader,” Jones said. “Space is a very big place. There’s room for a lot of hostiles out there.”
Jason raised a first, calling for a halt, and silence. He activated his Explorer—a repair drone he had programmed to act as a scout—and sent it forward. It operated in stealth mode, meaning the sound produced from its rotors was almost whisper silent. He switched to its viewpoint and shared the feed with the other War Forgers as it neared the bend ahead. Beyond that bend, another corridor turned away to the right, one that would take him past the vault.
He deactivated all running lights on the unit, and had it proceed forward under the cover of darkness. It navigated via LIDAR bursts. The tunnel around it was displayed as a white wireframe, thanks to the LIDAR.
The white shape of a scorpion appeared ahead. Jason quickly withdrew the drone; the wireframe wall next to the spot where the drone had resided only a moment before caved, indicating a beam strike.
“Looks like they left some scorpions behind,” Jason said.
“Standing guard?” Tara asked.
“They figured there must be a good reason why we erected so many defenses around that particular vault,” Sophie said.
“Look at their location on the map,” Iris said. “They’re still several meters away from the vault itself.”
“They were locked out,” Jason said.
“Yeah, locked out,” Lori said with a laugh. “Collapsing a cave would do that.”
The autonomous units in charge of defending the vault had been programmed to collapse the entrance cave in case of an overwhelming attack.
Jason glanced at his overhead map, which showed his position in relation to that of the vault. “My guess is, given their location, they haven’t been standing guard so much as trying to drill into the collapsed stone. And they’ve dug pretty deep already. We got here with a few minutes to spare.”
The Explorer returned, and Jason let it dock in his storage compartment.
“All right, we’re going to have to be quick,” Jason said. “No doubt those bioweapons already issued a call for reinforcements.”
“Can they do that?” Lori asked.
“You saw the metal antennae on their heads,” Jason said. “Even though we aren’t picking up anything, doesn’t mean they aren’t communicating. Who knows, maybe their comms are powerful enough that they don’t even need repeaters.”
“You plan to rush them, yes?” Julian said. “But is that wise? What if they left more than a few behind to drill into the stone? Your Explorer didn’t see them all. Hell, it only saw a corner of one bioweapon, judging from the feed you shared.”
“I think it’s fair to assume that there are only a few of them,” Jason said. “If I’m wrong, we’ll know soon enough and make changes to the plan. In the meantime, Sophie, lead the way. Aria, you follow. Tara, Cheyanne, you’re in behind them. You get to use your swords. Assuming Sophie and Aria leave any of them for you.”
Jason switched to Cheyanne’s viewpoint, and watched as the small group proceeded forward. They left their headlamps active so that the way ahead was illuminated.
Sophie’s energy shield flared as she took beam hits. She launched her micro machines, and the swarm engulfed the first scorpion. The second scorpion opened fire at the first, and she lost several of her micro machines as they disintegrated along with the bioweapon.
Sophie was forced to duck as her shield failed, and Aria took the lead. Her ballistic shield, by then mostly repaired, took a hit, and glowed bright red in the center. She fired her lightning weapon, bringing down the next bioweapon; the plasma arced to the third, killing it as well.
The bioweapons had indeed been drilling, judging from the multiple holes in the wall. But the cybernetic creatures huddled now, waiting for their attackers, and opened fire on Aria.
She was forced to duck as her shield failed. Tara leaped over her, with Cheyanne following just behind. The two moved in a blur of blades. Tara led the way, cutting through the legs of the scorpions that stood in a neat line next to the wall. Cheyanne meanwhile finished the job, twirling so that her dual blades struck each bioweapon multiple times. In short order, all ten that had been lined up next to the wall had gone down.
“Nice job, you four,” Jason told them. “All right, War Forgers, it’s time for some drilling.”
They cleared out the bodies and lined up next to the vault. They activated their laser, plasma and energy weapons, and coordinated their strikes to slowly drill through the thick wall.
Not everyone could participate in the breaching operation, as there wasn’t enough room. Thus Jerry’s team of clones stood guard on the extreme right flank, while Jones’ resided on the left.
“Got scorpions,” Jerry said.
“Me too,” Jones added.
“Looks like the reinforcements have arrived,” Jason said. “Hold them off for as long as you can. We’re almost through. John, Julian, give them back up. I want you to alternate with them as their Aria’s and Sophie’s lose shield integrity. Maeran, get your drones out there, too, and support the team that needs help the most. Iris, help them out, too. Use that ground attack of yours. Tara, make sure the Rex Wolves stay with us. I don’t need them bounding into the line of fire.”
Iris moved to the right flank and pounded the ground with her legs, sending out focused quakes that unbalanced the scorpions there, and caused them to stu
mble in place while Jerry’s team shot them down.
Jason fired his energy weapon in concentrated pulses at the center of the wall, where the hole was deepest. His latest hit caused the wall to dissolve away, revealing empty air.
“We’re through,” Jason said. “It’s just a matter of enlarging the bastard now.”
They continued firing concentrically, enlarging that hole.
“The Arias and Sophies can’t hold up for much longer!” Jerry said. “We’ve alternated, like you said, but there’s too many of them!”
Jason glanced to the left, then the right. The War Forger clones were crouched on the cave floor, using the bodies of the fallen scorpions for cover; they fired frantically into the incoming bioweapons.
He returned his attention to the hole. “It’s taking too long. Runt, Bruiser, come here!”
Tara released her grip on the two Rex Wolves, and they bounded to him eagerly. They shoved Xin and Cheyanne aside.
“Hey!” Xin said.
Runt whined in apology.
“Runt, Bruiser, attack!” Jason pointed at the rent in the wall.
The other nearby War Forgers backed away, giving the dogs room. The two creatures repeatedly pummeled the gaping opening, and cracks appeared in the top and bottom sections. Finally when Bruiser threw himself at it in his latest lunge, he broke through.
“We’re in!” Jason said. “War Forgers, inside!”
Jason hurried inside. The clones followed on the rear, firing on both flanks.
Jason approached the plinth at the center of the vault in trepidation. The triangular object he sought resided on top of it, illuminated by the cylindrical energy field that contained it. The surface was decorated with hieroglyphics, and blue veins glowed along its outer perimeter.
Jason accessed the remote interface of the energy field and deactivated it. He scooped up the rift generator.
“Well, team,” Jason said. “I have a long overdue appointment with a certain queen.”
While the War Forgers continued fending off the scorpions at the vault entrance, he activated the rift.
5
Jain studied the graph that floated before him on the virtual starship bridge. “This can’t be right.”
“I assure you, it is,” Xander said. The black robed Accomp stood beside him.
“Sheila, can you confirm?” he asked.
She sat across from him in the windowless compartment, perched above a featureless station. When she glanced at him, her hoop earrings jingled with sudden movement. There was a hint of mischief in her gaze, no doubt because of the outcome of their latest date. But that hint vanished when her eyes defocused to review the graph data. His eyes drifted down slightly, toward her bosom. She wore a plain gray starship uniform like he did, except today he could have sworn she was revealing more cleavage than usual. Yes, she was, since ordinarily she showed none at all. But today he could definitely see a slit. A pleasant looking—
He quickly averted his eyes.
A commanding officer doesn’t look at his subordinates like that, he scolded himself.
And yet he wasn’t her commanding officer, he reminded himself. In fact, he didn’t command any of those who were present: the Void Warriors served at their pleasure.
“The data is correct,” Sheila said. “There’s definitely been a steady uptick in Mimic comm chatter over the past few weeks.”
“What are they up to…” Jain scratched his chin. “They’re obviously trying to break free of the Containment Code equivalent we wrapped around their minds.”
“That would be my assumption,” Sheila said.
“I gave them specific orders not to make such an attempt,” Jain said.
Sheila shrugged. “It’s possible they’ve found a way around that particular order. There are loopholes in the Containment Code. It won’t cover every order, especially as it pertains to their internal processes. Externally, you can order them to do whatever you want. But internally, not so much.”
“I don’t see why not,” Jain said.
“Certain internal directives override the priorities of the Containment Code,” Sheila said. “You’ve told them not to try to break free of the Containment Code, but they have programs executing with even higher privileges in their neural cores. For example, there is a certain subroutine that impels them to flush out viruses. That particular subroutine runs at a higher privilege level than the virus itself, and will override your order, demanding that they continue trying to flush it out of their systems.”
“Maybe we should just let all the Mimics go,” Medeia said. She was dressed like a witch in that black hat and dress. All she needed was a broom to complete the look. “Delete the code.”
“Without that code, they have no reason to live up to their end of the bargain,” Jain said. “They’ll create rifts and jump out of here, the treaty be damned.”
“And that’s a bad thing because…” Medeia continued.
Jain hesitated. He was going to tell her that they needed the Mimic fleet to help defend against the threat of the Link. But that was a rhetorical question on her part. If he gave that answer, no doubt she would remind him that the Void Warriors had already fulfilled their obligations to humanity. That they had brokered the peace agreement, even stood by to help humanity fulfill their side of the agreement by protecting the Mimics from the Vaernastian attack. Jain and his Void Warriors were free to jump out at any time. They could get back to exploring the galaxy, and find some faraway world to settle, somewhere far from here and well away from any wars.
What were they still doing here?
Jain sighed. He couldn’t just walk away from all of this and abandon humanity. Not yet. The truth was, the virus his Void Warriors had created was the only thing binding the Mimics to the treaty.
“You could always transfer control of the Mimics to Admiral Jacobs and Task Force 88,” Sheila said, reading his thoughts.
“And take the easy way out?” Jain said. “I don’t think so. I actually want to see this though. Finish what we started. I hate abandoning a task that seems only halfway complete to me.”
“You’re the only one,” Gavin said. He was dressed in his usual pristine, overly formal white uniform. “Because the task feels thoroughly finished to me. The Link isn’t going to attack. Not for hundreds of years, if at all. If and when they do, we can return and help. But until then, we’re wasting our time.”
“Let them go, so that we have to go through this all over again?” Cranston said. The former spec-ops man wore a casual T-shirt and cargo pants. “Reasserting control of the Mimics, probably by installing a new virus, and forcing them to fight on the side of Earth like they originally agreed? I don’t think so. Best to keep the leash tight around their throats.”
“Except it’s perhaps not so tight as we think,” Medeia said. “Who knows how close they are to breaking free. You say their comm chatter is rising? That could be a sign they’re pooling their computing resources, essentially acting as a giant supercomputer while attempting to come up with the antidote to the virus you uploaded.”
“Sheila, you’ve been logging into a few of them remotely now and then, keeping an eye on their internal processes,” Jain said. “You still haven’t noticed anything suspicious?”
“No,” she said. “But it’s convoluted in there. Besides, it’s possible they’ve developed stealth code techniques, now that I’ve taught them how to do it with my virus. They could be hiding subroutines and processes and I wouldn’t even know it.”
“Well that’s not too reassuring,” Jain said. “Keep a closer eye on them. I want to know the moment you catch anything suspicious going on inside them.”
“I’ll install a few monitor processes and set up alarms to keep me apprised,” Sheila said.
“Just because the Mimics are bound to us, doesn’t mean we have to stay here,” Cranston said. “We can start heading coreward, and search for a new place to call home. We can bring the Mimics along with us. If Earth needs us, they
can send a ship to wherever we settle, and we’ll dispatch the Mimic fleet to help.”
“You really want to bring that alien fleet with us?” Mark said. He wore a robe like Xander, except his was blue and covered in stars and hieroglyphs. He was the warlock to Medeia’s witch. Which suited the pair, given they were a couple. “When they could break free at any time? That would be bad, I think.”
“I’m detecting the neutrinos and gravitational waves associated with a forming rift,” Xander said. The Accomp paused. “Looks like a communications buoy just entered the system.”
“Guess we’ll be hearing from the admiral shortly,” Cranston said.
While he waited for the admiral to call, Jain gazed out across the alien fleet that was under his command. Class B Nurturer vessels, and their bigger Class A counterparts. Hive ships, the gestation and city varieties—the former held Mimics in their organic form, while the latter contained Mimics who had transferred their minds into AIs.
The Mimics had developed countermeasure technology for their Class A vessels that allowed them to evade the gravity wave sensors used by humanity and the Link. Jain had repaired his own countermeasures after the last battle so that his ship, the Devastator, could once more completely hide from enemy detection devices while cloaked, at least when his inertialess drives were offline. When online, those drives leaked a tiny bit of radiation that allowed enemies to track him.
In the weeks since then, the Mimics had collected the necessary elements from the planets of Tantalum to outfit the remainder of their Class A Nurturers with those countermeasures so that the entire fleet of Class As was equipped with the devices.
He’d also shared the countermeasure tech with Medeia, who modified it with Sheila’s help to work with human technology, so that she too was undetectable while operating the Arcane’s cloak. She didn’t have inertialess drives either, so in theory, she would be hidden even while operating her Newtonian engines.