Maelstrom of Treason

by Michael Anderle

  “Once we achieve full integrative stability, it won’t matter how we achieved it. Doesn’t victory matter more than the method?” Ilse offered him a thin smile. The general was always saying she needed to smile more.

  “You’re really trying my patience today.” General Aaron scoffed. “You think I’m an idiot, don’t you?”

  “No. Obviously, you have many deficits in knowledge compared to me, but the same could be said if our situations were reversed.” Ilse shrugged. “If you’re implying that I’m attempting to deceive you somehow, you’ll need to be more specific about what your charges are so I can refute them.”

  “You think I don’t know how close she is to a potential collapse?”

  “I don’t believe I’ve submitted a report stating that,” Ilse commented, her heart rate kicking up. How did he know that?

  “No, you haven’t, which is a problem in and of itself, but I don’t have the ability to easily replace you.” General Aaron grunted in frustration. “And you’re so OCD about this project, I know you’re not holding information back to sandbag it. If you go too far, I’ll have to take that risk, and you’ll enjoy a nice hidden prison far from Earth.”

  Ilse didn’t reply. She’d been careful not to pass along that information, which meant the general must have gotten to someone on her team or was otherwise spying on her. She would need to take that into consideration in the future.

  It was nothing more than an additional, annoying distraction.

  “I’ve read every report the team has sent out, including yours.” General Aaron tapped his PNIU and brought up a document on an opaque data window. “Let me quote you, Doctor. ‘If collapse occurs, fundamental matrix instability may result in potentially irreparable damage to the subject. In the most likely scenario, this would necessitate redevelopment of the core matrix and restarting training from the seed state. In a worst-case but not impossible scenario, a cascade collapse results in the complete failure of the underlying core, with little chance of project recovery.’ Do you remember writing that, Doctor?”

  Ilse nodded. “Of course. But if you’ll read the next paragraph, you’ll see the second possibility is extremely unlikely, unlike what you’re implying.”

  “Do you have billions of credits lying around in a vault with Navigator artifacts?” General Aaron raised an eyebrow. “If you do, then you can act like this isn’t a big deal. Otherwise, you need to understand that this project is far more important than one fake woman.” He stood, bracing himself on the table, his jaw tight. “If we don’t have her stable at the end of all of this, all the billions we’ve dumped into that damned prototype ship will be pointless. We might never be able to use it to its full capabilities. It’ll be a living monument to military waste.”

  “I find it disappointing how little importance you place on creating a truly self-aware AI.” Ilse sighed. “We’ve achieved something grand, and you don’t care.”

  “Why should I care?” General Aaron sat back down. “There’s no shortage of people in the UTC, and we can get them to reproduce without needing Navigator artifacts.” He adjusted the collar of his uniform jacket. “We need Emma to maximize the potential of that ship. Don’t you understand the scope of this? If this succeeds, it could put us ahead of every other species in the Local Neighborhood, but only if we can get her stable in that ship, and we can replicate her. Otherwise, it’s just another scientific dead end.” He cut through the air with his hand. “Let me make one thing clear. The only reason I’ve tolerated her not being retrieved is that you’ve insisted this will accelerate the process, and certain other important people to whom I owe favors suggest Emma could play a useful role in helping them clean up internal threats to the Confederation. But my patience isn’t infinite, especially when you’ve already strained it by keeping things from me.”

  “As long as we’re making things clear, I’ll note that I don’t care about other directorate projects. I honestly don’t care about the success of the other project, but I do care about the success of this one, and you’ll achieve your goals if I achieve mine.”

  General Aaron narrowed his eyes, staring at her. “Whatever happens won’t bring that woman back to life. Is that what this is? Some sort of misplaced guilt? She knew what she was signing up for, and she was dying anyway. We were all lucky she fit the profile.”

  “I didn’t even know her before the project,” Ilse insisted. One good thing about being a woman most considered boring was that feigning disinterest came easily to her. Her heart pounded in her chest, but the general wouldn’t be able to tell from her bored look. “I care only about achieving the goals of this project. It will be my life’s work, a masterpiece. Your secrets will eventually come out, and I’ll be remembered as the woman who helped usher in truly self-aware artificial intelligence.”

  “Good for you.” General Aaron stood. “I’m glad we’re on the same page. Continue your testing and do whatever you can on your end to achieve stability. If she does collapse, we might have to revisit the question of why you think you can get away with hiding relevant information from me.” He pointed at her. “And let me be clear. You pull that crap again, and you might end up in a prison station quicker than you realize.”

  “Thank you for your clarity, General.”

  Ilse didn’t care about the threat. If he knew about the potential for collapse and hadn’t stopped her, she could continue as she had been. She’d worry about confrontation when her goals no longer aligned with the general’s.

  That would be an interesting day.

  Chapter Forty-One

  November 9, 2229, Neo Southern California Metroplex, Private Hangar of Rabbit-class Transport LLT9208 Pegasus

  Unlike the last time Erik and Jia had met Alina, she stood in the middle of the hangar, waiting for them with a pleasant smile and wearing a normal business suit.

  When Alina had contacted them to arrange another meeting, Jia was worried it would be another discussion rather than an assignment. The conspicuous lack of Cutter and Lanara fueled the suspicion.

  She’d only been off the job for nine days, and she was already itching to get back into the field. Piloting training filled her days, but it didn’t quench her craving to accomplish something more.

  Jia didn’t see a reason to hold back. If Alina didn’t want them to do anything, maybe they could go ask questions themselves. The conspiracy had targeted Erik on more than one occasion.

  It wouldn’t be impossible to smoke them out with the right effort.

  “We’re sitting around gathering dust,” Jia complained. “You do realize that, Alina?”

  Erik chuckled as he closed the door to the flitter. “She’s right. Don’t tell me the ID doesn’t have something for us to do.”

  “I didn’t realize you two were so eager to get to work,” Alina declared.

  “I gave up my dream career.” Jia folded her arms. “I don’t regret that, but I’d prefer to be hunting scumbags.”

  “Fair enough. You’re both right, and I do have something for you.”

  “Finally,” Jia muttered.

  Alina held up a finger. “But I wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page regarding your cover.” She tapped her PNIU. “The new company logo for Cassandra Security.”

  A hologram of an owl above a stylized black-and-white drawing of a kneeling weeping woman in a white tunic appeared. Jia circled the logo for a moment, strangely satisfied.

  “You’re now both contractors for the company,” Alina continued. “Per our previous discussions, my people have taken care of getting the appropriate permits you need to do everything I anticipate, but you’ll still have to be careful.”

  “To not blow our cover?” Erik asked.

  Alina nodded. “But not the way you think. Your weapons dealer license allows you to legally possess heavy weapons. You’re not technically a private military contractor, but we’ve gotten you some of the relevant licenses, so you can legally possess the exoskeletons without too much trouble. Theoret
ically.”

  “What exoskeletons?” Erik looked at the closed cargo bay of the Rabbit, his face alight with hope. “You got them?”

  “Good things come to those who wait, Erik,” Alina insisted.

  “So you’re saying you don’t have them yet,” Jia concluded.

  “You won’t need them yet.”

  Erik laughed. “You don’t know that. A lot of investigations we work have a nasty habit of blowing up into something more complicated. If we end up getting shot at by a bunch of exoskeletons, I’m going to curse your name, Alina Koval.”

  Alina wagged a finger. “Oh, adapt and overcome. It’s not like you’ve died when outgunned so far, and I’m not going to give you the Twelve Labors, just investigation and hunts. They’re all well within your skill set.”

  “That doesn’t mean we prefer to be outgunned,” Jia insisted.

  “Oh, and by the way, how about some mini-flitters and a scout bike?” Erik asked. “Not right away, but just trying to cover all the bases. I don’t see why I should have to do all this out of my pocket.”

  “Fine, I’ll look into grabbing you some, but we’re getting off-track,” Alina replied. She dismissed the logo with a flick of her wrist. “The important thing I’m trying to get across to you two is that you’ll now officially be private citizens working for a private company. There’s a lot of looking the other way and sovereign immunity that comes with being police officers, and you won’t have that anymore. That means you’ll need to be more careful about what happens and what and whom you blow up. Your licenses will help, and Lanara’s good at pulling weapons off exos quickly if necessary, but you won’t have the force of government behind you.”

  Jia gave Alina a cool look. “In other words, if we get in trouble, you’re going to leave us to twist in the wind. Is that what you’re saying?”

  “I have influence that I can use to help you out, but the thing about being a ghost rather than a cop is that I have to use a light touch. The worst loss we can suffer is when our enemies know we’re involved.” Alina snapped her fingers. “If I push too hard, our enemies will be better able to counter you.”

  “We’re not exactly quiet,” Erik commented. “And if a bunch of Talos Tin Men shows up to kill us, I’m not going to worry about anything but blowing the hell out of them, whether or not they know I’m connected to the ID.”

  “I’m not saying you shouldn’t do what you need to. I’m just trying to impress upon you that neither of you has worked under these conditions. Being a cop or a soldier means that at the end of the day, you have official government support to do a lot of damage if necessary.” Alina’s smile turned cold. “Welcome to black ops, where I’ll praise you for saving the UTC one day, and then the next day, claim I have no idea who you even are while I slam a door in your face.”

  “And I wondered why people say so many rude things about ghosts,” Erik joked. “But it also means we don’t have to hold Emma back so much because we’re worried about something getting thrown out in court. It doesn’t make up for everything, but it’s a nice advantage to have in our back pocket.”

  The AI appeared, her current holographic form eschewing her typical white maxi dress in favor of green and black Army fatigues and short, cropped hair instead of the chignon. She saluted with a smirk. “I’m prepared to defend the UTC from all enemies human and nonhuman, ma’am.”

  “It sounds creepy when you say it that way,” Erik muttered.

  Emma reverted her to typical form. “What? Don’t believe me?”

  “I think as long as we keep it interesting, it doesn’t matter.” Erik shrugged.

  Alina inclined her head toward Emma. “Just because you can use her more, it doesn’t mean you should. Using what’s effectively an ID-level hacking system is going to get you flagged by people who know what to look for. Not telling you to not use her; just be mindful that every weapon and advantage you show off might end up sending a signal to Talos and anyone else you find along the way.”

  “That might not be a bad thing. Sometimes it’s good to draw your enemy to you.”

  “If you quickly end up dead, you can’t avenge your unit, Erik,” Alina pushed.

  “We understand,” Jia interjected with a nod. There was nothing unreasonable about what Alina had said, and she’d rather not get sidetracked.

  “Okay.” Alina pointed at the Rabbit. “I’ve taken the liberty of supplying the same kind of partial holographic supply tech I loaned you on the moon. Depending on the assignment or the lead, you might also need fake identities. If I’m the one sending you somewhere, I’ll help supply those. Otherwise, you might have to take advantage of less savory sources.”

  “Criminals, you mean,” Jia commented.

  “Yes, basically.” Alina shrugged. “They can be useful at times.”

  “Fine,” Erik replied. “So, in summary, don’t go overboard, remember we’re not cops, and it’ll be a while on the exos and anything else I’ve asked for that you haven’t already supplied.”

  Alina thought a moment. “That’s about the gist of it, yes.”

  Jia sighed in frustration. “What about the assignment?”

  “Eager woman, aren’t we?” Alina smirked.

  “Let’s just say I’m not suited for retirement,” Jia muttered.

  “I know the feeling. It’ll probably be better for me if I die on the job.” Alina tapped commands into her PNIU and a hologram of a stern-looking lithe dark-haired man appeared. “This is Chetta Sukorn, a field agent for the ID who was looking undercover into Talos leads on Mars for me when he disappeared.”

  “Talos.” Erik gritted his teeth. “Right to it, huh?”

  “I thought that would get you going.” Alina nodded at the hologram. “Chetta’s a good agent, and we have no idea what happened. He was in the initial stages of the basic investigation and establishing contacts. We don’t know if Talos has a major presence on Mars, but considering how aggressively syndicates operate on that planet, they might be taking advantage of that to hide their own activity. This assignment’s simple. You are going to fly to Mars and see if you can track down our missing agent using those leads. You’ve already proven that your team can go toe to toe with Talos. They might not be involved, but if they are, you’ll have a good shot at recovering Chetta without alerting Talos to who he is.” She frowned. “Assuming he’s still alive.”

  “And if he’s dead?” Jia asked.

  “Then find the people who killed him. If they’re worth interrogating, take them alive, otherwise, the UTC won’t miss a few scum one way or another.” Alina motioned to the Rabbit. “By tonight, Lanara will finish installing a secure comm system in your ship, and Emma can easily relay messages through it. Of course, because of the distance, we won’t have real-time messaging, and if you get in big trouble, I’m not going to be able to get there too quickly to help you.”

  Erik eyed her with obvious suspicion. “Is that another way of saying you’re not going to hide out there like you did on the moon?”

  Alina shook her head. “Believe it or not, I’ve got other things to do besides babysit you two, but some local assets will be helping you. Kalei is on a fake vacation there right now, but she’s trying to maintain a cover.”

  “Kalei?” Jia frowned. “The info broker?” She scoffed. “Of course, she’s a ghost, too. Why am I surprised?”

  Alina nodded. “We all have our specialties. The only reason I’m not having her follow up heavily is that we need her to establish a network for other investigations. Besides, I’ve got you two and Emma and better plausible deniability.” She tapped at her PNIU, and Erik’s and Jia’s PNIUs chimed. “I’ve embedded Chetta’s last known whereabouts and his cover identity apartment in an encrypted header in that file, along with contact information for Kalei. Emma will be able to decrypt it with ease. Keep in mind, he’s not officially missing, and the local authorities are not involved, nor do we want them to be.”

  “Even though one of your guys is missing?” Jia asked.r />
  Alina nodded. “All that will do is complicate things. As you saw on the Moon, all it takes is a few corrupt locals to make things unnecessarily complicated. Besides, if we go running to the cops every time an asset or field agent is in trouble, we end up damaging our overall mission.”

  “Mars, huh? I better get some simulator lessons to run through the VR.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  November 10, 2229, Beyond Earth orbit, Rabbit-class transport LLT9208 Pegasus

  The full team sat gathered around the table in the cramped crew quarters, including Emma, who was sitting in a holographic chair off to the side.

  Erik didn’t mind the tight accommodations.

  He’d been on plenty of military ships with stacked berths jammed together to fit as many soldiers in as small a space as possible. Having only four humans and one AI on the small transport felt luxurious by comparison, and with decent coffee, life was beyond what he could hope for.

  Cutter stuck his hands behind his head. “It’s good to be back in space. No offense, but the Goddess of Death had me on standby waiting for your asses. I’ll have to make some course corrections in a few hours, but we’re on track to hit Mars in three days.”

  “I could handle those course corrections,” Emma noted.

  “Sure, but where’s the fun in that?” Cutter dropped his hand to point his thumb at his chest. “Let me earn my pay, Holochick. You can handle things when I’m sleeping.”

  “If you insist.” Emma rolled her eyes. “I applaud your previous display of bravery, but you’re still a superfluous fleshbag.”

  “You sound like one of my ex-girlfriends.” Cutter furrowed his brow a moment, thinking to himself before admitting, “A lot of them, actually.”

  Erik chuckled. A little ribbing never hurt. It was another thing that reminded him of the military. Despite earning the respect of the other detectives, he and Jia had ended apart from them, legends and symbols more than fellow cops in the eyes of the others.