A.I. Destiny 2: Queen Jane

by Timothy Ellis

  "Would your people have survived the research ambassador?" asked the Mushroom.

  "Possibly. According to records, we stopped doing gene research some four hundred years ago, when a research lab was sealed to a depth that not even a major seismic event could rupture the seal. So in answering the question, no, we wouldn’t have been doing gene research, but if we had, even now, I suspect the same thing could have happened to us, even with our level of research paranoia. Although I doubt we'd do this sort of dangerous research on a planet, since a dedicated station would be safer. If the worst happens, the station could be destroyed."

  "Thank you ambassador," said Ganshura. "There will be a short recess, while ambassadors relay this news to their governments."

  Walsh sat, and his eyes met Darlene's.

  The fragility of life was something they knew about personally.

  But this was a whole different order of stupidity, arrogance, and desperation.

  He really hoped no-one else was walking the same path.

  Forty Eight

  It took Jane two days to reach the Owl homeworld. She didn't stop for anything. She avoided the Owl planets, concentrations of Owl civilian ships, and several fleets moving towards the blockade. Neither fleet saw her, but both changed course to come after her belatedly when Owl civilian ships told them what they'd seen shooting past.

  She launched comnavsats on all the jump points, and in system mid-points where it wasn’t too close to the Owl planet, but would be able to check it once an orbit around its sun. For now, it was enough to keep continuity of communications, and be able to see all ship traffic moving along this seemingly isolated spine of systems.

  The homeworld was eight systems beyond the blockade, which accounted for how long it was taking the Owls to get military reinforcements moving. All the same, they obviously had a significant shipyard. Once she arrived in the system, it was easy to find.

  "What's wrong with this picture?" asked Jane, when they came into scan range of the homeworld.

  "No defenses," said Warspite.

  The two of them had been taking it in turns to be on the Bridge, giving Snark the impression they did need some sleep. The Cat turned out to be very similar to Earth cats, in his propensity to sleep whenever nothing was happening. Jane wondered how he'd been able to move long distances, given how much he slept, until she found a crude, but adequate, auto-pilot set-up on his ship.

  "What were you expecting?" asked Snark.

  He was now sitting on a very comfy cat bed, on the console, which he'd brought from his own ship.

  "A planet surrounding array of missile platforms for one thing," said Jane. "At least a fleet of their Cruisers as well."

  "Why? Haven't you seen how arrogant these creatures are?"

  "No?" said Warspite, in a sarcastic voice. "Really?"

  "I'd call you a mop head, but I'm not allowed to."

  He seemed quite amused he'd been able to without actually seeming to. Warspite ignored it.

  "All the same," said Jane. "I expected something, since they are as paranoid as they are arrogant."

  "The arrogance is somewhat justified. No-one has ever been able to get a military force here before. You're going to have to shoot something before they even believe you're not just a giant freighter."

  "Seriously?" asked Warspite.

  This time he was serious.

  "Arrogance!" insisted Snark.

  As it turned out, the Cat was spot on. A channel opened from the surface as they came into orbit.

  "Who are you and what do you want?" said an obviously officious Owl.

  It was almost bordering on being pompous.

  "I'm Queen Jane of the Kingdom of Hunter's Run, and I'm here to negotiate surrender terms."

  The Owl looked confused.

  "Hold please."

  The channel was cut. Snark snorted a couple of times, and then started laughing outright.

  "What's up chuckles?" asked Jane.

  "Wait for it."

  "Wait for what?" asked Warspite.

  The channel opened again, showing a different Owl.

  "I'm authorized to accept your unconditional surrender," it said.

  Snark totally lost it.

  "I think there is some misunderstanding going on," said Jane. "I'm here to accept YOUR surrender."

  "I think not," said the Owl. "It is inconceivable any military force can penetrate our outer defenses, and as such, there is absolutely no reason why we should surrender to anyone."

  "You don’t have any outer defenses."

  The Owl spluttered, and Jane suddenly realized this was a civilian, not a military officer.

  "May I ask your military rank?"

  "Rank? I speak for the families. But in this, I speak for the military, who do the families bidding."

  Jane had the idea he wasn’t actually doing what he was supposed to be doing. But couldn’t put her finger on why.

  "So I'm not even talking to a head of state or a high military officer?"

  "Of course not. Why would I bother them with a minor matter?"

  Snark lost it again.

  Jane launched a comnavsat into orbit. She and Warspite started checking what was down on the planet worth using for a demonstration. Warspite shifted the view to the exact center of the biggest city, and nodded to Jane. She grinned.

  Concorde's Ride shifted so it pointed directly down at the planet. The Owl was still waiting for a reply, and was seeming to be getting impatient.

  "We can see what appears to be a stadium of some sort at the exact center of your biggest city," said Jane. "What are we looking at?"

  "That’s the pride of our governmental system. The Family Forum. It's where all the families meet to discuss major policy."

  "Is there anyone there at the moment?"

  "No. The annual meeting was several months ago, and since business is booming, there has been no need to staff the facility."

  "Good. Hold please."

  Jane cut the channel.

  "You're not?" asked Snark.

  "Watch," said Warspite.

  Jane calculated exactly what would be needed to destroy the center of the facility, and still leave the buildings around it untouched. For a moment she thought it was a pity, since it was a very nice looking stadium.

  A single turret of three Battleship guns fired, and the stadium vanished, to be replaced with scorched earth, and damaged building materials all around. A fire started on one side.

  The channel opened again.

  "Go away."

  Snark was on his back now, and kicking feebly, hardly able to make a sound.

  "Sorry?" asked Jane. "Why do we need to go away?"

  "There's been a catastrophic failure of the Family Forum. I'm afraid the planet is going to be closed for business until it's rebuilt."

  "Catastrophic failure?" said Jane. "No. I just destroyed it."

  "Don’t be ridiculous. Someone must have left the gas on in the kitchens."

  Snark fell off the console. His suit turned into protective mode half way to the deck, but even in the midst of hysterics, he still turned upright, and landed on his feet. He flopped straight down, and continued laughing.

  Jane and Warspite looked at him with bemused expressions on their faces. Jane turned back to the Owl.

  "Pick an empty building," said Jane.

  "Why would I do that?"

  "You pick it, and I’ll destroy it to prove I am."

  "Why an empty one?"

  A series of snorts came from the deck.

  "Duh! I'm going to destroy it. Do you want dead Owls?"

  "I don’t believe it, so it won't matter."

  Jane face-palmed. Warspite pointed to the city map, and then circled a finger around a building next door.

  "Do you have a window to the north side of the building you're in?"

  "Yes, why?"

  "How long will it take you to get to it?"

  "A minute?"

  "Fine. Go there, wait a minute, and co
me back."

  The channel ended.

  Jane waited exactly one minute, and fired a single Battleship gun this time. The Owl was back in thirty seconds.

  "What did you do?" it yelled. "That was an important warehouse. There was millions of Gals of merchandise in there."

  "Merchandise? Call it what it was. Your poisonous drug. Do I get to talk to a head of state? Or do I start targeting every warehouse you have on this miserable planet?"

  The Owl looked stricken.

  "Hold please."

  The channel ended again.

  "Wait for it," came from the deck.

  The missile launch alarm sounded, quickly followed by the radiological alarm.

  "They're firing nukes at us?" asked Warspite.

  Forty Nine

  "Now we run," said Snark. "You can piss them off as much as you want, but once they fire nukes, only speed can save you."

  "Wrong," said Warspite.

  "The question is," asked Jane, "where do we destroy them?"

  Snark had stopped laughing now, and he jumped up onto the helm chair.

  "What do you mean destroy them?"

  "You are aware of the context of blowing shit up?" asked Warspite.

  "Of course. But a dozen nukes?"

  "A dozen, a hundred, what's the difference?"

  "Fallout," said Jane. "Where do we detonate them where the planet won't become uninhabitable as a result?"

  Snark looked from Jane to Warspite and back.

  "You're serious?"

  "Of course we are. The nukes are still within the atmosphere, and if we destroyed them now, the planet gets a dose of radiation poisoning. Depends on how bad they are, as to how irradiated the planet gets. If they're like one of the ones we destroyed before, a dozen would probably be enough to kill all life on the planet, given time for the weather systems to blow the radiation all over."

  "So what do we do?"

  Warspite suddenly grinned. The navmap zoomed in somewhat away from the planet.

  "You think they'll follow us?" asked Jane.

  Warspite nodded. Snark looked at them both, obviously confused.

  "Worth a try, but we better not let them get there."

  "Get where?" asked Snark.

  Concorde's Ride started moving away from the planet. Not very fast, and not very far, but it was soon evident the missiles were following. Once they were out in space, Jane pushed the speed up to stay well ahead of them.

  "Oh."

  Snark had figured it out.

  About half way there, the missiles ran out of fuel. Jane pulled the ship away from the line of their advance, and stopped to watch them go past. She opened up the channel again.

  "Why aren’t you dead?" asked the Owl.

  "Your missiles are too slow," said Jane. "Have you checked where they're going?"

  "Going? If they haven't detonated, they are out of fuel. They won't be going anywhere."

  All three of them face-palmed.

  "You know nothing about space, do you?" asked Jane. "Your missiles followed my ship until they ran out of fuel. Now they are continuing through space on their last heading, at the same speed they were going. Perhaps you should check on where they will eventually detonate?"

  "Detonate? What is there out in space for them to detonate? Other than you?"

  "I think it's time you actually called in your highest military."

  "Hold please."

  The Owl had looked unconvinced, but it did seemed to be doing something. The channel opened again, and this time an Owl with insignia showing was looking at them.

  "Why are you still there? Our missiles should have destroyed you."

  "As I just told your flunkey, your missiles are too slow. You should check where they're heading though."

  The Owl looked off screen. And its manner completely changed.

  "How did you do this?"

  "Why does that matter? Are you going to save your people or not?"

  "There isn’t time. Even if they abandon the shipyard, they won't get far enough away. Is there anything you can do?"

  "Sure. Are you unconditionally surrendering?"

  The Owl looked off screen the other direction. It nodded.

  "Yes. I am authorized to surrender, as long as you destroy the missiles before they destroy our shipyard."

  Twelve Mosquito missiles launched from the nearest launcher. They rushed after the slower nukes, and five seconds later, all twelve nukes exploded. The shockwave was sufficient to make the huge ship wallow for a few seconds, and the shields went down ten percent.

  The shipyard was evacuating.

  "Why are they leaving?" asked Snark, now back on the console.

  "The radiation is really bad," said Warspite. "The hull of the shipyard where people are is fine for protecting against normal background radiation coming from their sun, but they just dumped way more than the structure can keep beings safe from."

  "They'll already be getting a serious dose," said Jane. "But with luck, they can get far enough away fast enough to escape getting a lethal dose. But this shipyard isn’t going to be making anything for a good long time now."

  Concorde's Ride headed back into planetary orbit. The channel opened again.

  "Thank you," said the Owl.

  Snark fainted. The whole concept of an Owl apologizing was too much for him to take in.

  "We are sending you a map of where you are to land. We will have a reception committee waiting for you."

  The channel closed. A screen popped up showing a map of the city. There was a blob in the middle of what looked like a sporting venue.

  "You better stay here," said Jane to Snark, after shaking him awake again.

  "Bring me back some food. If it's in an Owl freezer, it's fine for me to eat. They have a number of delicacies, which they don’t realize would sell really well if they could get them to my planet. If you can't get me a dead Owl, then at least get me some decent alternate food."

  "Fine. Don’t touch anything."

  Snark raised his hands as if to say he wouldn’t dare. Jane turned everything off, so even if he did, nothing would work.

  She and Warspite headed for the Lightning, and dropped for the surface.

  Once they braked a few thousand feet up, Jane took a wide turn around the city. At one point, she stopped and hovered, while they looked at what was going on below. At first glance, it looked like normal weeding operations of market gardens. But Jane zoomed in the sensors on a hunch.

  "Is that what I think it is?" she asked.

  "Damned close," said Warspite. "We'd have to test, but you could be right. And isn’t that…"

  "Those over there? Yes, it could well be."

  They both sighed, and then laughed.

  Jane resumed their flight, and touched down in the exact center of an area of yellow grass. They dropped down into the cargo bay, and cycled through the airlock. While they waited for the ramp to extend, a large group of Owls formed up in front of the ship.

  Jane and Warspite walked down the ramp, and came to a stop at the bottom.

  The Owls started shooting at them.

  Fifty

  Jane and Warspite stood there braced, and let the hard metal bounce off their protection suits. Neither bothered to draw a gun. Instead, the turrets on the Lightning opened up, and started reducing the very nice looking sporting venue to charred rubble. They may have only been point defense guns, but sixteen of them made a lot of mess very quickly.

  The Owl who seemed to be in command started to look concerned, as the pristine venue rapidly began to look like it would need demolishing, and complete rebuilding. Both of them continued to stand there, using sensors to see what the Owls were doing. The Owl's expression shifted as it processed the fact that they were continually hitting the aliens, and they didn’t seem to be at all damaged by it. All the while the sporting venue continued to disintegrate.

  At last the Owl called a halt to the shooting. They shifted back to 'slinky red'. The Owl called a charge
, and the entire group sprinted towards them.

  Jane pulled out Gatling stunners and started sweeping them across the Owls. By the time the leader came into range of hitting Jane with his gun, the rest of his group were all down. Jane holstered her guns, seized his gun in her left hand, yanked the Owl closer to her, and picked him up by the neck with her right hand. Her left hand pulled the gun away from him. She tossed it to Warspite, who absently bent the barrel back so it was pointing at the holder, and tossed it back to hit the Owl in the middle, where it dropped to the ground.

  He dangled there, making choking noises, all three arms completely failing to remove her grip, or ease the pressure. The Lightning's guns were still firing.

  "So this is what surrender looks like to you is it?" asked Jane.

  The Owl continued to choke.

  "Raise one arm if you are happy choking here while this once lovely venue continues to deteriorate. Raise two arms if you personally would like to live, but someone told you not to come back unless the aliens were dead. Raise three arms if you actually have the power to surrender your planet to me."

  The Owl raised his left and right arms, and the middle one came half way up, and sort of waggled.

  Jane dropped him, and he fell right over onto his back, staring up at her in outright terror.

  Warspite took a step towards him, hand outstretched, and he pushed himself backwards with all four feet. Warspite stopped.

  "Do you always have this effect on beings?" he asked Jane.

  "Sadly, way too often."

  She pulled up a hollo screen the Owl could see, and opened the previous channel back up. The Owl she'd first talked to, answered again. The Owl on the ground actually whimpered, seeing the level of technology demonstrated so openly.

  "What is that noise?" demanded the Owl on the hollo.

  Jane added views from the Lightning's external cams to pop up next to the Owl, in a way it could be seen both ways. They were showing the devastation going on around them, and several of the turrets were visible, firing away at a rapid pace. The Owl on the ground now had its beak well and truly open as far it was possible to be, and its eyes were wide with fear.