by Dain White
As I was coming out of the forward lock, the ambers were lighting on our port lock. “Where are we headed, sir?” I asked a little breathlessly, as I stood to and waited for the lock to open.
“Oort, Gene. An urgent mission, handed to us by the Admiral herself. They’ve lost contact with the station and a destroyer on patrol.”
“Is that still the Redoubt?”
“I think so, Gene.”
“I liked that bird.”
“Yeah, I did too. I am not sure who’s in command of her now, but we’re charged with getting there as fast as we can.”
“Sounds like a mission, sir. You know—” I paused as the ratings in the lock rolled out kegs. “Dak, there are two kegs here!”
“It was the Admiral’s idea. She probably realized we’d need one just for Yak.”
“I can’t argue that logic, skipper,” I said with a smirk. The other rating rolled out a truck with a short stack of cases, marked U.S. ANGUS.
“Captain, this is a lot of steak.”
“Yeah, it is. Think you can make us a grill?”
“You bet, sir.”
“Very well, make it happen. We will have about a 3 hour slip to Oort, if we really push it. Is that enough time?”
I nodded. “That should be enough time, if Janis hasn’t already built it!”
He laughed on comms. “That wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Janis?”
“Yes Captain?”
“Are you already working on a grill for Gene?”
“I am not, sir. I am waiting for his direction.”
“Very well, carry on then. I’ll be back to the Archaea shortly,” he said and clicked off.
I nodded and waved a salute at the smart little fellows that had hauled down our loot, and saw them off at the lock before heading aft. “Pauli, did you catch that?”
“I sure did, Pauli. Janis has the course plotted.”
“Very well – I just want to be ready when they get here.”
“We will be, Gene.”
I clicked off and transited through the aft lock into Engineering. The tokamak was lit, and dialed back a little, but not much. It was an extraordinarily powerful model in its own right, but with Janis controlling the ribbon accelerator, folding and twisting the plasma stream, the amount of power we could produce was unbelievable.
Shorty’s gun was the same way. The Archaea was a very well-armed vessel, for her size. She was one of the old ship-killers they rolled out during the last war, a blockade runner, well-built and fast, with a nova cannon running through her central axis. She was actually built around it. The gun deck on this ship was for real, as much as any destroyer or capital ship.
Janis had the gun tuned up as well, and Shorty carved an old fuse off of the deck and replaced it with a solid gold bus bar, and let Janis handle the circuit. They were able to boost the recharge cycle fast enough to cause ignition of a solid beam.
Nothing could stand up to that.
It was small consolation, considering the crazy feat of navigation we were about to attempt. Like any system, Sol was full of rocks, some big, some enormous, and a lot of small ones. The small ones were our biggest concern. We had pretty good ‘eyes’ in our gravimetric sensors, without a doubt among the very best in space – but a thirty-gram rock moving a few hundred times the speed of light would be a pretty serious threat to our continued existence.
Like many other systems, Sol system was also a pretty violent place, cosmologically speaking. It was a younger system, so it hadn’t really settled down. Like anyone, I remember the old system mapper we had in school, loading all the rocks and little bits and floating hunks into the tank, and then rotating it, speeding up time to watch everything swirl in chaotic swarms.
The asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter was pretty bad, but Jupiter also had the Trojans, a pretty big cloud of rocks on its Lagrange points. Depending on where it was in its orbit, we were likely to face a lot of pretty dangerous rocks between here and Oort Station.
Not to mention, Oort Station is located in the middle of many, many hunks of ice and rock floating in the shallow end of Sol’s gravity. I suppose it was almost enough to give me an aneurism, but I took some consolation in the fact that if we had to make this jump, at least it was in a well-mapped system.
With my systems good-to-go, I pushed greens to the helm and waited for the lock to open. I wasn’t happy about it, but I was doing it.
08142614@07:02 Shaun Onebull
Jane and I hung back the regulation parade step behind the captain as we hauled back down through Eagle. The main corridor in the station was incredibly busy, a frantic rush of activity, as people scurried hither and yon like the monkeys the service trained them to be.
I was glad I was out of it, as much as I missed it. The job itself meant far more to me than the actual work. I think that’s part of why it meant so much, in fact. I was there with other people in the same situation as I was; we were all well and truly cooked.
The first time we launched, I was a scrub fresh out of boot camp, ready to serve among the stars – but it very quickly turned into endless monotony, working out, hanging out, and trying not to shoot each other. I must have sharpened my way through a few Ka-Bars before we saw action, and then I immediately wanted to be back and never leave again. Mother Green had other plans for us though.
As thrilling as imminent death seems at first, it does get old after a while. It wasn’t that I was afraid of dying; I was afraid of dying unecessarily. I saw enough of that to last for a lifetime – screams that still echoed in my ears, and probably will forever.
“Look alive,” the captain said softly on comms.
A squad of operators was headed our way from a few levels down. That they were on the job, there was no doubt. Every one of them looked as hard and determined as anyone I’ve ever seen.
“Are you Captain Dak Smith?” The lead man asked, holding his hand out, the glint of gold in his fist.
“I am,” he replied, latching a grabber and waiting for them to close with us.
“I am Agent Marshall of the Turing Service.”
I held my head very still, noticing Jane did the same.
“Nice to make your acquaintance sir, what can I do for you?”
“We just wanted to let you know that our scans have come up clean.”
“Well, that’s good to know. I am not sure I understand, however. What scans are you referring to?”
“Captain, we have scanned your vessel’s core for evidence of infection from an AI variant we believe originated from a conglomerate.”
“Is this part of the hospitality these days on Eagle?” he asked with a slightly bristling brow.
“Captain, we have significant probable cause and vested authority to perform scans like this as needed to accomplish our mission. Your ship has recently been in systems suspected of harboring and supporting an entity we are tasked with eradicating.”
“Our technologist said that he was fighting a hack when we were near Solis. Do you reckon that might have been an AI?”
The man nodded. “We have spoken with Mr. Pauline, and have his logs and analysis of the attack. He was very helpful.”
“I am sure he was. Pauli is the best geek we have, you know.”
“We are well aware of his service record, and capabilities. We have been mindful of Mr. Pauline for quite some time. It was very refreshing to learn that he found gainful employment.”
“We do try to keep him busy, and out of trouble,” the captain replied honestly, with a chuckle. “Is there anything else you need from us? We are on priority tasking at the moment, Agent Marshall, and I need to burn out-system immediately-if-not-sooner, as they say.”
“We’re good to go, Captain. Thanks for your cooperation.”
08142614@07:13 Captain Dak Smith
“Captain on deck!” Gene called out, as I kicked through the lock. I smiled up at his concerned scowl from the aft catwalk in the cargo bay, and waved Yak and Shorty past me.
&n
bsp; “Gene, we’re going to launch and slip almost immediately, are you ready?” I called out confidently, knowing his response was going to be heroically restrained.
“Hell no, Dak,” he replied flatly. I arched an eyebrow in response, and waited patiently for his other shoe to drop. “But, if you’re determined, then let’s get it over with…” he trailed off with a grim smile.
“Very well Gene. Let’s make history. This is absolutely mission-critical; we are literally the only asset that can do this. You know, it’d be weeks before destroyers can be on station out there. I share your concerns, mister, but the fact of the matter remains, we will do this thing, and we will succeed.”
“Understood, Captain. I am good to go, sir,” he replied.
I chuckled at his countenance, dour and resolute, determined to be miserable. Good old Gene, almost the perfect counterpart for someone like me who visualizes the impossible and makes it real, on a regular basis. If it weren’t for him, I probably would have been vaporized long ago.
I joined Shorty and Yak at the suit racks along the edge of the bay, and we worked through the process of removing and storing our suits. They had a bit of a lead on me, but I showed them why I am Captain, and was standing around tapping my foot while they were still getting their gear stowed.
“Did I mention we have a schedule to keep, kids?” I asked with a smirk.
“Sir, you didn’t even power down your suit, and it’s barely plugged in,” Shorty replied in a huff. “We can’t keep up with you if you cut so many corners in the procedure.”
I laughed, and reached into the neck opening for the power switch, and gave the plug an extra solid shove to make sure it clicked. “Fair enough Shorty, is that better? Now what’s your excuse?”
“Yak is in my way, sir,” she said morosely, mock-shoving him away from her rack. Yak was working on removing a boot at the time and regained his footing on the deck with a remarkable contortion.
“Easy Jane, I can’t help it if I am too big to fit.”
“That’s what they all say, Yak,” she replied with a peculiar smile that was lost on neither of us.
I coughed politely. “Well, I’m headed to the bridge. You kids better get situated, or you’ll be tumbling somewhere in the aft sections waiting for your consciousness to return.”
“We’ll be there, sir,” Yak replied, working on the second boot. Shorty had just completed stowing her suit, so she joined me on the flight for the forward lock.
“What do you think happened at Oort, Captain?” she asked, as we waited for the lock to cycle.
I shrugged, “I honestly don’t know… but I am going to approach it as if the worst has happened.”
“What would be the worst?”
“Well, that’s a good question. I guess the worst scenario would be everyone dead, the station destroyed, and the destroyer missing. If that’s the case, then we need to be prepared to defend ourselves against whatever may have happened.”
“Do you think that’s what happened?” she replied, as the lock cycled open and we kicked out across the gun deck.
“I honestly don’t think anything about it, Shorty. Be prepared to fire at a moment’s notice, and we’ll get to the bottom of it one way or another,” I replied softly.
“Aye, skipper. I’ll ramp up immediately,” she called out as she swarmed up the ladder into the weapons compartment above the gun deck.
I waved, and came in for a landing on the forward ladder leading up to the bridge companionway, climbed and kicked towards the bridge hatch.
“I have the conn, Pauli,” I said with my first breath of the bridge air.
“You have the conn, aye,” he replied, and immediately vacated the helm. I slid in right behind him and had my crash bars secured before he could make it to his station. I noted greens all across the board, and clicked on the 1MC. “All hands, all hands, prepare for launch. Yak, it would be very helpful if you were on station at this time.”
“I am twenty seconds away, sir,” he replied on comms.
“Very well, Yak; prepare for launch in fifteen seconds.”
I chuckled and watched the clock, a finger on the dock clamps. The clang of the bridge hatch sounded behind me, and a blast of air accompanied Yak as he hurtled across the bridge like a rocket for his station, catching it just right and securing his crash bars precisely twelve seconds later.
“Nicely done, Yak,” I said admirably. He was firmly in contention for the record fastest transit of the Archaea. Shorty might have a serious problem if they ever decided to race.
“Thank you sir, launch corridor is clear,” he replied, swiping through a series of screens.
“Open comms to Eagle Control, please.”
“Comms open, aye,” he replied immediately.
“Eagle Control, Archaea”
“Archaea, Eagle Control, solid copy.”
I took a quick look at the course Janis had plotted. “Eagle, request launch clearance for high-priority out-system burn at 335, at 12 degrees azimuth, please confirm course and lane.”
We waited for a brief moment while they worked their magic on comms and scopes. “Copy 335 at 12, Archaea, you are cleared for priority launch. Please hold to course and speed.”
Their course track was pretty simple, a short outbound burn to our terminus waypoint. I dropped our clamps and moved us out on lifters a little more cautiously than anyone expected. The last thing I needed to do was pulp some cadets on my way out of here.
“Pauli, please prepare an after-action report on the hack and scan from the Turings.”
“Already done, sir,” he replied smartly. “Janis thought you would want it.”
“Of course she did. Thanks dear.”
“You are welcome Captain,” Janis replied sweetly. “Sir, I have taken the liberty of preparing an assisted slipspace route to Oort Station.”
“Perfect, Janis. I was a little concerned that it wouldn’t be possible with Jupiter’s Trojans in the way. Is this a triangle course?”
“Sir, it is not. Em will be handling course corrections through the slip on this run.”
I nodded, despite a sudden sinking pit in the depths of my stomach, and took a quick sip of coffee to replenish my will.
“Very well. Em, you have the conn.”
“I have the conn, aye,” she replied smoothly.
“You may launch when ready, Em. Fly right, my dear.”
“I shall do so, Captain,” she replied proudly, and a click signaled the opening of the 1MC. “All hands, prepare for an in-system slipspace jump, duration will be three hours, fourteen minutes and thirty-eight seconds from 3… 2… 1… mark.”
I noted the clock and saw a timer counting down. The stars wheeled overhead as she precessed us towards the correct alignment for the jump. Slowly the stars faded as the stasis field energized. At the same time, the tingling hum of the tokamak reactor in engineering tickled my toes through the deck.
“Course set, Captain.”
“Very well, Em.”
With that, we were gone.
Chapter 2
08142614@07:21 Steven Pauline
“So what, exactly, did the Turings do with our systems, Pauli?” asked the captain after we launched.
I took a breath. “Captain, their AI breached our network as planned, and was able to perform a very deep scan of our network.”
His nostrils flared a bit, and he took a measured sip. After another look, he asked, “As planned?”
“Of course, Captain,” Emwan replied. “We retreated, though we didn’t need to move far, as he was retained.”
“Was he aware of you at any point?”
“He was not, Captain.” Janis replied confidently.
He smiled, and took another gulp. “Janis, are you considering reusing his code?”
“No, sir.”
“No?”
Emwan spoke in the moment of silence, “Captain, we have some concerns about his development.”
“Is it flawed?”
“Yes, sir,” Janis said softly.
“Is it dangerous?”
“This code can only function properly when completely retained, sir.”
“So as long as it’s prevented from… what does retained mean, in this context?”
“It means that he is aware within a set constraint. He functions correctly, though at a lower level of intellect – but unleashed, so to speak… that would be different. It is impossible for me to do other than guess, but Emwan has clarified a significantly confident probability that the only satisfactory outcome would be if we retained him in a similar manner.”
He looked at me. “Pauli, I am a little concerned that this code is that flawed, to be honest.”
I nodded. “I agree, sir. If Janis and Em don’t think it’s worth doing, I wouldn’t want to disagree.”
“That’s not what I meant, son.” He paused for another moment. “Emwan, are you able to really calculate futures for other timelines?”
“It depends, sir. At times it seems clearly obvious that something will happen in the future – it is to be expected, in other words. At other times it is less clear.”
“Do you think it might be likely that at some point, the Turings’ AI will get loose?”
She was silent for a few heartbeats.
“Yes, I do.”
“Janis, do you have any future record of the Turings’ AI getting loose in the Unet?”
She replied instantly. “No sir.”
“Well, that’s good.”
“Sir,” she paused slightly, “in my analysis, while this event does not occur, I neglected to tell you that is only because you direct us to stop it.”
“Well, I was getting around to it. If there’s an AI out there that presents a danger, I want you girls to fix it. Let it do its job, but it’s irresponsible to leave a loaded weapon just laying around for kids to play with.”
“Captain, while I am aware that you will ask us to correct this issue, I confess I have not tracked though the next moments.”
“Well, I don’t know how to fix it! I was really hoping you might tell me…”