by Isaac Hooke
“I got this,” TJ said. “Hmm. The main AI appears to be online, but it’s refusing all my access codes. Apparently, the codes have been changed.”
“Not surprising,” Rade said.
“I’m going to have to pipe a few privilege escalation commands into the airlock subsystem,” TJ continued.
“Do what you need to do,” Rade said. “Get me my ship back. Bender, assume command of the HS3s and Centurions.”
“With pleasure,” Bender said.
“Try not to ejaculate,” Manic commented.
A few moments later Bender reported: “Check out what this HS3 found on deck five.”
Rade received a video feed request from Bender. He accepted, and the viewpoint of one of the HS3s filled his vision.
“What am I looking at?” Rade asked.
“That’s an emergency airlock,” Bender said. “You see those dents along the surrounding bulkheads, and the scrapes on the deck in front of the hatch?”
Rade nodded. “It’s the kind of thing you’d expect to see if an airlock suddenly opened, explosively decompressing the inner environment, with objects battering the surrounding surfaces before being sucked out. Furniture. People.”
“Other emergency airlocks on different floors have similar dents and scrapes,” Bender said.
“I see now why the security grilles closed,” Lui said.
“Uh huh,” Bender said. “My guess is the Phant bitches assumed control of the station AI and opened the airlocks, spacing everyone. Then they closed them and repressurized the station all nicely after.”
“Station AI cores aren’t usually shielded against Phants, are they?” Manic asked.
“Some of them are,” Rade said. “Like most newer starship cores. However, seeing as we’re in Russian space, it’s likely none of the stations have the shielding. The core would have been exposed to the Phants, ready for them to assume control.”
“That would explain why the station stopped communicating so soon after the Argonaut arrived,” Tahoe said. “If there were any survivors, it would have been a relatively simple matter for the Phants to seep into the sealed shops and incinerate them.”
“What about any Artificials or robots they found?” Fret said.
“I’m sure the station has a trash compactor somewhere,” Tahoe said. “Or maybe we’ll find a few robots camped out aboard. With our luck, they’ll probably be trigger happy.”
“What about all the ships we lost contact with?” Fret said.
“The Phants must have moved methodically between the AI cores of the ships,” Lui said. “Since all the vessels are Russian, they would have been unshielded. Working as a team, the Phants could have probably taken them offline in under ten minutes.”
“Why didn’t the remaining ships send out a distress call of some kind during that time?” Fret said.
“Either they didn’t know what was going on, or the Phants had the station’s main AI core produce interference,” Lui said. “I’m just speculating of course.”
“I’ve broken into the airlock subsystem of the Argonaut,” TJ interrupted. “And opened up the hatch in question.”
“Algorithm, you’re good to burn through the remaining airlock,” Rade said. “Concentrate your fire on the central regions, and avoid damaging the bulkheads bordering the Argonaut’s airlock.”
“Not a problem,” Algorithm replied. A moment later: “We’re through. The Argonaut’s outer hatch is open.”
“TJ, regulate the hatches to let the robots inside,” Rade said. It probably wasn’t necessary to regulate the airlocks. If there was a contagion aboard the station, it would have likely seeped inside the Argonaut already—if it wasn’t sourced there. But he decided to stick with protocol.
The robots entered a moment later.
“The Argonaut passageway seems clear on the other side,” Algorithm said. “It’s a T intersection. Recommend sending a few HS3s through first.”
“Bender, divert a couple of HS3s inside,” Rade said. “Have the Centurions follow them.”
“Done,” Bender said. “By the way, the HS3s have explored all the levels with their LIDAR now. There’s nothing obvious out there. However, we got a bunch of sealed shops and shit on every level. Recommend we start cutting through some of them.”
“Shops and shit?” Manic said. “So like, you mean, fecal matter is dripping from the bulkheads?”
“No, bitch...” Bender said.
“I agree with Bender,” Rade said. “It’s time to start cutting into some of the security grilles. Team, we’re going out there. Algorithm, I’m recalling you from the Argonaut. Join us in the concourse. Cora, stay here and guard the opening as per our previous discussion. Alert me the instant you notice anything unusual.”
“I will,” Cora said. “And try not to get yourself killed, for Shaw’s sake.”
“Don’t intend to,” Rade said. “I’m a father now, haven’t you heard?”
“I have, to my sorrow,” Cora said.
“What’s wrong, not looking forward to running the nursery?” Rade said.
“It is a sorry fate,” Cora said. “I don’t suppose if I changed my voice to a male’s I would be able to avoid that duty?”
“Nope,” Rade said. “No duty shirkers around here.”
“Too bad. Maybe I’ll get lucky and be destroyed before then.”
Rade couldn’t tell if the robot was being ironic or not. He shrugged, and made a mental note to have a talk with TJ about tweaking the sarcasm settings.
Mikhail regulated the airlock, allowing the Argonauts to proceed into the tight corridor in single file. They soon emerged into the concourse. Algorithm was waiting there for them.
“All right, we take the escalator to the next floor,” Rade said.
The Argonauts proceeded up the escalator to deck five and formed a defensive formation at the top. Rade directed Algorithm to the closest restaurant. “Cut through the security wall.”
The Argonauts assumed an offensive half circle outside the restaurant as Algorithm fired the plasma rifle into the door. In moments the white hot metal melted away.
“Bender, I want an HS3 inside!” Rade said. “Lui, Algorithm, go!”
Lui and Algorithm followed the HS3 inside. Lui went high, Algorithm low.
“Clear!” Lui said.
Most of the remaining Argonauts filed in. Rade left Tahoe and TJ outside to guard the entrance.
A quick search of the kitchen area turned up nothing. This particular restaurant also had a back area containing an office and bedroom. Again, it was empty.
They cut through and cleared three more shops with a similar layout when Brat reported in from the Argonaut.
“We’ve swept the ship,” Brat replied. “It’s clear.”
“That was quick,” Rade said. “The breach seals were open?”
“They were,” Brat confirmed. “And most doors we encountered were already cut open. For the few that remained intact, we injected the escalation code TJ sent us to get through quickly.”
“Were you able to regain control of the AI?” Rade asked.
“Negative,” Brat said. “Like Shaw mentioned, the security chip hidden underneath the panel is missing. We’ve rebooted a few times to inject code, but it’s going to take us some time. If TJ wants to lend us a hand, we could certainly use it.”
“TJ,” Rade said. “Get aboard the Argonaut and help the Centurions.”
“Bene,” TJ said. “Will do.”
The remaining Argonauts moved from shop to shop, continuing to clear the station. Rade spotted several security camera domes along the way—in the shops and along the walkways outside—and he knew his team was being watched, either by the unresponsive station AI, or more likely, the Phants. But there was nothing he could do about it.
The team finished exploring deck five and moved onto number six.
The Argonauts were in the process of clearing a dorm area, sweeping through the rooms individually, when TJ reported in.
&
nbsp; “I have Bax in our control once more,” TJ said. “I used the backup security chip on my person to reboot it, and voila. Our Phant friends apparently installed some software patches since taking over. Anyway, I returned the system to an earlier save point and restored all former accesses. Your old command codes and voiceprint should be in place.”
“Good. I’ll give it a try.” Rade tapped in the Argonaut’s AI. “Bax, do you read?”
“Hello, boss,” Bax replied.
“It’s good to have you back,” Rade said.
“I didn’t know I was gone,” Bax said.
“No, you wouldn’t, would you?” Rade said. “Tell me, what’s the status on the weapons systems?”
“The missile inventory is currently zero,” Bax replied. “But the Vipers are fully operational.”
“The Phants must have effected repairs on the Vipers,” Lui said. “Either that, or Ulysses never successfully shorted them out.”
“By the way,” TJ sent. “I also double-checked that the physical anti-Phant countermeasures were still in place around the AI core. So our prey isn’t hiding there.”
“You still sense the enemy, Surus?” Rade asked.
“I do.” She hefted her stun rifle. “With the same intensity as before.”
“As an aside,” TJ added. “There are no backup stun rifles aboard. It seems the Phants have gotten rid of them. Or perhaps taken them, maybe hoping to stun Surus.”
“Something to watch for,” Rade said. “Leave a couple of robots aboard, TJ: one guarding engineering, the other the entry hatch. And proceed to secure the remaining ships.”
“There are a lot of ships docked here,” TJ said. “That could take quite some time.”
“Then you better get started,” Rade said. “We’ll join you once we finish sweeping the station. Which will also be a little while.” He tapped in Electron, who resided aboard the Molotok with the other Hoplites. “Electron, I want you to transfer all of the Hoplites, including yourself, to the Argonaut. Open the hangar bay doors, then spacewalk or jet across. I don’t care how you do it, as long as you don’t waste too much jumpjet fuel. Your old access codes to the Argonaut should work, but if you have trouble, tap in TJ.”
“Understood,” Electron replied. “I’ll have the Hoplites begin the transfer process immediately.”
“Thank you.”
“Should we get Shaw and the twins to switch over to the Argonaut as well?” Tahoe asked.
“No,” Rade said. “I’d rather she stayed aboard the Molotok for now. We have two ships, we might as well use them. Besides, I’m not entirely convinced we don’t have a Phant hiding inside a bulkhead aboard the Argonaut somewhere, waiting for us to lower our guard.”
“What if the EM emitters attached to the incubators aren’t powerful enough to protect the twins!” Shaw said over the comm suddenly.
“Shaw, calm down,” Rade said. “They’re powerful enough. Shaw?”
But she didn’t answer.
“Damn it.” Rade accessed her Implant video feed, and saw that she was racing through the corridors of the Molotok, heading toward sickbay.
When she reached the compartment, she sighed audibly. “I’m bringing the incubators to the bridge.”
“Go ahead,” Rade said.
She carefully scooped them up in each hand, and carried them like large baskets.
Rade dismissed her feed and concentrated on sweeping the dorm rooms with his Argonauts once more.
The next few hours passed without incident. Clearing the station proved for the most part a relatively quiet, monotonous affair, punctuated by those initial moments of intensity when the team first broke through a new security door.
And then they made a discovery.
twenty-five
Rade and the others had just broken through a security door into what at first appeared to be an office of some sort. As they proceeded deeper into the space, and the offices gave way to lab areas, it became clear that it was a robotics research laboratory. Shelves were lined with spare robot parts and limbs. Tables and counters in the center of the room had partially finished Centurions and Artificials lying on them. Accordion-like hydraulic conduits, most supporting robotic arms, descended from the ceiling; however one of those conduits ended in metal hips topping a pair of steel legs on a treadmill.
“Well that’s not eerie as hell or anything,” Fret commented on the disembodied legs. He kept his rifle raised and at the ready.
“What is this place?” Manic asked.
Harlequin answered. “A research lab for Nova Dynamics, the robotics conglomerate. They have satellite labs and offices throughout the galaxy, and use them to hire local talent for cheap: scientists and Artificials willing to work for half the price of their United Systems counterparts. And since office space is so inexpensive on stations like these...”
“So essentially, sweatshop labor,” Fret said.
“Maybe,” Lui said. “But it’s big industry. And brings in a lot of money for Nova and its shareholders.”
“Every one of these people they hire is another lost job for someone in the United Systems,” Tahoe said.
“Since when do you give a shit if a United Systems bitch gets a job?” Bender said. His rifle was glued to his faceplate as he swept the room, slowly stepping forward. “Lazy hoes are all on basic pay anyway. And by hoes, I mean both men and women and the genders in-between, in case the twits among you misunderstand.”
“Are you one of the in-betweeners?” Manic said.
“Yeah man,” Bender said. “I got a dick and a pussy.”
“I knew it!” Manic said. “Must be nice to have sex with yourself.”
“Way better than with my hand,” Bender said. He waved his arm at Fret suddenly. “Out of my way, you skinny bitch. You’re blocking my sight line.”
Fret moved aside as requested, but then said: “I may be skinny, but at least I don’t have small balls like you.”
“Small balls are awesome,” Bender said. “Can’t tell you how easy it makes wearing this tight undergarment, considering the massive size of my snake.”
“You’re the only one I know who’s happy to have small balls,” Fret said.
“See, that’s why you’re a bitch,” Bender said. “Try taking some test like the rest of us, and you’ll understand. You might get small balls, but your libido goes through the roof.” Test was short for testosterone, Bender’s gear of choice.
“Like I need a high libido when I’m stuck aboard a cramped starship full of men,” Fret said.
“Hey, in a pinch, there’s always the used skin musician you found...” Lui said.
“The hell is this?” Tahoe said from his position near the front of the group. He had stepped into an adjacent lab, an almost cavernous area containing three wide countertops. The HS3s hovered overhead.
Rade joined him and saw torpedo shells sitting on the countertops. Their tips were open, revealing the empty warhead sections inside.
“Looks like someone repurposed the 3D printers to create something very unrobotlike,” Lui said.
Rade and the others slowly entered the new room and spread out.
“Anyone want to hazard a guess at the kind of torpedoes they were creating?” Rade asked.
“Swarm torpedoes,” Tahoe said. “Filled to the brim with our self-replicating robot friends.”
“When the Greens decide to betray you, they really go full tilt, don’t they?” Rade glanced at Surus.
She shook her head. “If true, Corunna will pay. The Greens were ordered to cease interfering in Phant preparatory activities in this space. The edict from the Greens was very clear—we were to back off, and in no way aid the existing Phants.”
“But isn’t ordering you to stop hunting them the same thing as helping the Phants, though?” Fret said.
“It indirectly helps the Phants, I suppose,” Surus agreed. “But what we have here is a case of direct assistance. By all appearances, Corunna and Alton have teamed up to stage an attack.
By aiding the Phant, she is directly violating the edict. I won’t feel so bad about throwing her into a sun now.”
“So they came here to create swarm missiles,” Manic said. “And presumably, to find a starship capable of using them.”
“TJ, how many more of the docked vessels do we have left to explore?” Rade sent the Italian.
“Five,” TJ replied. “I’m still working on cracking the entry codes of the latest.”
“Of those five, which ones are equipped with missile launch tubes?” Rade asked.
“Four of them are,” TJ said. “According to the schematics in the records.”
“How do we know a ship we’ve already cleared isn’t harboring the Phants?” Fret said. “Hiding inside the bulkheads, or something.”
“I somehow doubt they would let us aboard without a fight,” Tahoe said.
“I do as well,” Rade said. “And they certainly wouldn’t let TJ reboot the AI cores.”
“Uh, guys?” Shaw transmitted. “One of the remaining unexplored ships is breaking away from the station. It’s a Nablis class.”
Nablis class ships were higher end vessels, a step above Marauders, though one step below corvettes in terms of armaments and armor.
“They’ve just ignited their engines at full burn,” Shaw continued. She paused, then: “They’ve fired something at the station! It appears to be a missile of some kind.”
Rade and Tahoe exchanged a look.
“Swarm missile,” Tahoe said.
“Retreat!” Rade said. “To the Argonaut! Shaw, you’re in command of the Molotok. Break away from the station and open fire. Destroy that missile if you can. If the Nablis ship launches a projectile at you, utilize the Vipers as point defenses and take cover behind the station. Do not, I repeat, do not let them strike the Molotok with a missile.”
“Will do,” Shaw replied over the comm.
“You might want to get suited up as well,” Rade told her. “In case you need to evacuate the ship in a hurry.”
“Probably a good idea,” Shaw agreed.
“TJ, get aboard the Argonaut,” Rade said. “Bring the rest of the Centurions.”
“Already on my way,” TJ replied.