by Chris Hechtl
“Nothing's happening,” he said.
<)>^<)>/
Kim heard him and tried herself. When nothing happened, she started to pull out. That was when all hell broke loose.
<)>^<)>/
Bernie engaged the systems in his suit and then directed a file at the nanite control module. He felt something come alive in the electronics, but it thrashed about in the computer. Then he felt things, like ants crawling all over him. Then the ants started to bite and chew at his skin. He opened his mouth and eyes and screamed.
<)>^<)>/
Letanga knew something was wrong when Bernie screamed. He looked up from what he'd been doing in alarm. He saw Bernie and Kim thrashing about in their suits and swore. “Shic, get clear!” he barked. Shic instantly backed away from his suit, hands raised. “Satet, what the hell is going on?!?” Letanga growled as Kim and Bernie screamed and thrashed as if they were being tortured.
“The nanites are interacting and rejecting the users,” Satet said. “They are being consumed.”
“What the hell do we do to stop it??” Sylvia demanded, rushing forward, but then stopping herself before she got too close and eaten as well.
“Jethro!” Letanga howled as he rose to his feet.
<)>^<)>/
Jethro heard his name called, more like blasted over the radio network. There was such a frantic urgency in the call that he turned and ran as fast as he could to the source. It was coming from the armory.
<)>^<)>/
Each of the suits had been made by different A.I. Each part, therefore, had their own nanites within those parts. Those nanites were keyed to the specific user. When Bernie and Kim tried to interact with the nanites, they inadvertently activated them. The nanites had a command unit known as a queen. The queen was the central processing network of the nanites. It had more complex coding than the simple worker drones. It didn't participate in the labors except to receive directives and then disseminate the orders to direct the drones. But each queen had its own set of backup mission directives. When the various nanites came together, they recognized that they had been activated by an unauthorized user. They, therefore, activated their security protocols and directed the workers to consume the user and then destroy the electronics in the suit.
<)>^<)>/
Letanga and the others hesitated when they saw their fellow soldiers being melted within their suits. Within seconds they were maimed as they thrashed about. Bernie's thrashing seemed to be locked down as if he'd been glued or melted into the suit padding.
Sylvia raised a horrified hand over her mouth as Shic backed off swearing.
“Get in there,” Anjaneya said to Sylvia. “Get in before it is too late.”
“What? What can we do?” Sylvia demanded. “It's too late, isn't it?” she demanded in a hoarse voice.
“Not if we can get in fast enough,” the ape A.I. said firmly, spurring Sylvia to action.
Kim's thrashing managed to get her out of her suit but it only delayed the inevitable. Sylvia rushed in to help Kim's melting body while Shic and Omri gagged and looked away.
<)>^<)>/
Jethro saw the situation when he charged in and acted instantly. He reached in and yanked Bernie out of his suit. Nanites swarmed all over his hand, consuming his fur and skin in the milliseconds before Bast's nanites went to work neutralizing them.
Jethro grimaced at the brief kiss of pain but held on as he saw swarms of his own nanites invade the PFC's body and then go to work neutralizing the nanites. Bast took apart a few of the nanites, then blasted a signal to them to shut down, effectively killing them.
Jethro inhaled and then exhaled slowly. But Bast wasn’t quite done. He saw her access the human’s implants to stabilize him as she directed nanites to shut off the thousands of exposed capillary blood vessels.
“Hopefully, their implants don't suicide them,” Sylvia muttered. Jethro looked over to her. She was busy trying to stabilize Kim too. He nodded. He looked up and around the room until he settled on his cousin.
“We need medics here. Letanga, clear them,” Jethro said as he put the call in to Captain Lyon.
“How bad is it?” Captain Lyon asked as Jethro sketched out what happened.
“Bad. Bast and the others neutralized the nanites, but they are a mess. Our nanites are keeping them alive,” Jethro said. “We need medics, possibly stasis pods on site stat,” Jethro said flatly.
“Understood. They on their way. Tell them to hang in there,” the captain stated.
“They are unconscious, sir,” Jethro stated. “Probably a blessing given they were partially eaten alive,” he said with a grimace.
“Not a happy image. Frack. Okay, I'm on my way,” the captain said as Kim sucked in a ragged breath. She was the only one breathing Jethro knew; Bast was keeping Bernie alive with her nanites. They couldn't do much except stop the bleeding and feed oxygen directly into his red blood cells. The nanites were tied into the PFC's implants, giving the occasional jolt to keep his heart pumping.
Jethro felt intense relief when the medics came in an agonizing six minutes later. They assessed the horrifying situation quickly and efficiently then sprang into action.
<)>^<)>/
The incident wasn't over with just the medivac of the two injured. Jethro and everyone involved had to wait as NCIS agents escorted by ONI agents arrived on the scene to take their statements. During that time, there were plenty of questions being asked by them. Fortunately, their A.I. had recorded the incident, so the investigation was relatively straightforward.
What wasn't straightforward was how the investigation was conducted. The entire affair was black, with no notes or recordings taken by the agents. They were clearly not briefed on the armor or the area and kept their noses delightfully short in asking questions. Of course the ONI agents might have had something to do with that. Also, the timely arrival of Captain Montgomery to take over the ONI side did as well. They quickly wrapped up when the captain arrived, then presented their findings to him and Admiral Irons.
Admiral Irons ordered the incident classified and sealed. They were told not to discuss it with anyone outside the command. “Sir, we need to do so. We need to learn from this to prevent a recurrence. We need to make certain it never happens again,” Captain Lyon stressed.
Jethro nodded grimly.
“All right. Within your command but no further.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Another gory story to tell the new troops,” the admiral muttered.
“New troops live longer and become old troops when they hear such things and pay attention, Admiral,” Captain Lyon reminded the admiral respectively.
“Not always,” the admiral murmured softly as his holographic image winked out.
<)>^<)>/
The following day it was clear that the accident had scared some and not just those who had yet to finish the basic implant upgrades.
Jethro kicked himself for what had happened. Too late he remembered what the Matriarch had said about the history of his suit, how someone had tried to use it and it had purged itself.
Captain Lyon called them together to discuss it and to let them know about Kim and Bernie's status.
Doctor Thornby has taken charge of them. Both are in stasis. Both are a mess and will take weeks in a regen tank to rebuild. There is some brain damage in both. How much and how it will affect them long term is anyone's guess at this point. Apparently it was touch and go, but they've since stabilized.”
“When can we see them, sir?” Sylvia asked.
“They are in stasis. There is no point in seeing them; you'd just see the outside of a tube,” the captain stated with a shake of his head. “Now, to address the elephant in the room,” he said eying them all. “I'm guessing from the drawn looks and the occasional yawn not all of us had a good night's sleep,” he drawled.
“You could say that again, sir,” Omri muttered. His eyes were dark, and he had circles under them. It wasn't the first time they'd lost
sleep. Their implants could normally handle it, but they were all under sudden mental stress.
“I think, given this situation, it is a wake-up call. It should keep us honest. We've taken too much for granted here,” the captain said slowly.
“We've been playing with fire in other words, sir?” Gunny Z'v'll asked.
“Yes,” the captain replied. “We've gotten cocky and just gotten burned. This tech has its dangers. There is good reason why people fear nanotech,” he said.
“I think the fear of getting eaten alive just shook everyone, sir,” Jethro said slowly. There were grim nods around the room. He held up his bare handpaw. He'd lost all his fur and a layer of skin when he'd pulled Bernie out and Bast had applied his nanites to neutralize the rogue ones. His skin itched and he already had a downy fine hint of fur growing back in. “I know a few people who are leery about getting into a suit now. Hell, so am I,” he said with a shake of his head. “And I've already got nanites in me,” he growled, flexing his fingers then extending and then retracting his claws.
“I know. Think about it from my stand point, I've got to do it too,” the captain said.
“It is scary that it did so much damage so fast!” Sylvia said with a shake of her head.
“You're telling me. I was almost third,” Shic said, clearly shaken by the experience. “You said they are recovering though?”
“Yes. Nanotech has its good and bad sides. In this case, the very thing that tried to consume them is rebuilding them cell by cell. But it will take time. They are going to be laid up for weeks.”
“Wonderful,” Shic said.
“So, that means they will get bumped to the end of the line.”
“You mean we're still moving forward, sir?” Shic asked, aghast.
“Damn straight, with some modifications on protocol. For instance, we're not going to try any funny stuff with the armor before it is activated. And one user, one suit—don't mix and match personnel once it's been initialized to a specific user,” the captain said. "ONI believes the security protocols were tripped by the user, and that since the nanites came from different suits, that's what caused the conflict and the results … well you know the results. So another thing is we're going to have the A.I. zero out the nanites in the suit parts. I think someone is still trying to see if they can. The jury is still out there."
“Bloody hellfire,” Shic muttered. "I have to be in the suit for the next step," he said with a grimace, canines bared in an expression of fear.
“Step up or step off Staff Sergeant,” the captain said coolly.
All eyes fell on the Neochimp. He grimaced. The chimp's fur was up, but he finally straightened his shoulders. “I don't like it, but we've come this far. I guess I'm next, sir?”
“You and me both,” the captain said with a firm nod. “We'll get it done.”
“One way or another,” Shic muttered.
Chapter 30
On a spur of the moment decision, Jethro took Lil Red out early Saturday morning after they'd done their weekly grocery shopping. He took her to a newly opened carnival, one that sported thrill rides and shows.
Red, however, was not thrilled by the crowds. She was okay initially before they started up but tended to move to the outer edge as the carnival grounds began to fill up. She was wicked fast, able to dart in and out between people with her sinuous agility that Jethro envied. Well, he had it too, but she was younger and a hell of a lot smaller.
She did enjoy a few of the shows but tended to hide under the bleachers when the crowds began to build or move in and out. It was a learning experience for both of them.
She also greatly enjoyed the food and got a bit fat from some of the carnival food. She fell asleep on the ride home. Jethro carried her in and put her to bed.
<)>^<)>/
Bob Sho noted the target leaving the base at the main gate. He called it in and then tailed the target at a safe distance. When they got to the carnival, he swore viciously. He paid for the parking ticket but lost the target in the crowd despite the target being so distinct.
Instead, he hung out in the parking lot and waited for his partner to show up. When Larry Nitz showed, he looked at him scathingly. “Took you long enough,” he growled.
“I was sleeping. We've been taking twelve-hour shifts, remember? Plus, our normal jobs?” Larry said, shaking his head. “Any sign of anyone else interested in our target?” he asked, looking around.
“No. We need to head inside. People are getting suspicious,” Bob said as he uncrossed his arms and indicated the ticket booths.
“What people … oh,” Larry said, noting the kids picking up litter in the parking lot. “Okay,” he said.
They paid their way inside, but there was no way to find their target, even when they took high vantage spots. “Damn, if we'd known,” Larry muttered, shaking his head as he ate his hot dog.
“I know. But the order is to just observe and report,” Bob said.
“But there is an open contract on him, from the Guild itself!” Larry muttered. He finished the hot dog, brushed his hands off, and then picked at his chili fries. “Now what?”
“We head back to the base. Somewhere that is a good bottleneck, then call it in and see if the powers that be will authorize us to run him off the road and hit him.”
“Damn. And you don't know the vehicle?”
“It's a brown piece of shit ground car. One of the cheap ones the military imported from Epsilon Triangula I believe. A two-door sedan, looks like every other. Probably a rental.”
“Make?” Larry asked, jotting the information down on a napkin. “Model, plate number?”
“Plate is a barcode, good luck trying to read it,” Bob said with a shake of his head as he ate his giant slice of pizza. The food was greasy, expensive, and sucked. He put another dash of Parmesan onto the pizza, then some pepper.
“Right, so an ET car … Powers? Wayne? What?”
“No clue,” Bob said.
“Damn it, like a needle in a hay stack,” Larry said. “You didn't get pictures, did you?”
“Do I look stupid?” Bob demanded as he ran his meaty hand over his bald scalp. “It would have drawn the wrong kind of attention. So, no.”
“Damn.”
“I don't know about you but I'm not going to go through the parking lot and try to pick his car out.”
“No, me neither. Okay, I'll take the western road; you take closer in just in case I miss something.”
“Which you probably will. But close in means we can't act,” Bob warned.
“We still can't get authorization,” Larry said. He shut up when a group came over to the table next to them and then sat down, gushing about the food. He rolled his eyes and then went back to picking at his fries.
<)>^<)>/
Each of the other two “classes” as they tended to be called, though Captain Lyon preferred to think of them as fire teams, came online fully together, which meant they could begin training in full once they had recovered and had gotten through the first week of A.I.-induced sleep cycles. Since some had been paying attention or participating virtually before their final initialization, they picked up some of the lessons relatively quickly.
Initializing their suit abilities was relatively straightforward. Learning how to modify them on the fly when they went inside was a learning experience. Bast tended to pass on her lessons to the other A.I. but sometimes they had to learn to adjust the variables themselves. Given that their hosts were different bioforms, that was a given. Training them to respond to changing situations on the fly took experience and time.
Cloaking for Letanga, Tikaani, Tungulria, Lobo, Roarack, and a few of the others was simple, though only Lobo, Jethro, Tungulria, and Roarack had the full cloaking ability before they'd been upgraded and knew the tricks to utilize it to their fullest abilities. Frequently, Tungulria stepped in to sub for Jethro in the training.
As the other classes came online, Jethro broke them down into slow and fast learners. He sicce
d Tungulria on training the others on cloak, though he occasionally stepped in with his own exercises.
One such exercise was for the RECON members to practice their cloaking ability outside their suits. The black wolf was good at training the basics but sometimes lost his patience and growled at his pupils when they became totally lost and clueless. Some picked up on it right off, others took longer. Each had to work on their stamina while in cloak.
During the yoga practice sessions, Letanga learned a new trick, a way to fade out with a Cheshire grin by exposing his teeth and keeping his eyes open. It was freaky to see from the outside. His nanites eventually blocked the teeth and eyes out from view when he didn't close them after a few seconds.
That led to a lesson on how to unlearn some of the things they'd learned as cubs and kittens. Jethro taught them to move faster and with their eyes fully open. “It's harder I know, but you go with the flow. Also, it feels really weird with your eyes. Like ants on your eyes.”
“I know,” Letanga agreed with his ears back and a full grimace. “I kept brushing my teeth afterward.”
The other Cadre members could cloak with their nanites but not for long or as effectively. Jethro got them to practice but focused more on getting them to move efficiently and use their shields sparingly.
“Shields and the cloak suck up a lot of energy,” he explained. “The two are intertwined to some degree. There are three stages of cloak: the smart skin, the nanite skin, and then the shields bending light around the suit. RECON will need to learn to use all three abilities as well as the ability to use natural camo as much as possible.”
“Use our power sparingly?”
“Trust me, every watt counts,” Jethro said dryly. “The same for shields. Don't go around with them on full bore everywhere you go. You'll suck yourself dry in next to no time,” he explained. “And if you interact with an outside object, like say, a wall, it will rebound the energy and suck the power down faster too.”
“So not good,” Sylvia said. “I'd hate to be in the suit without power,” she said with a shiver.