Reconnaissance in Force (Book 6 of The Empire of Bones Saga)
Page 29
Since Talbot really didn’t know anything about computer hacking, he really couldn’t dispute that.
“Why is this one so much harder?” he asked. “You’ve gotten into a lot of Old Empire computers before. Don’t you have a bunch of tools to make this easy?”
Carl set down the tablet he was using onto the locked console and turned to face him. “I do have tools, but I’ve had exactly zero luck breaking into every military computer we’ve captured from the Rebel Empire. Whoever programs them is paranoid, and I mean that literally.
“This one is probably a lot tougher than those. It contains classified research that the Rebel Empire doesn’t want anyone to know the details of. Remember, the AI’s don’t exactly trust humans, particularly the ones they use as slaves.
“Honestly, the fact that they require humans to do this research in the first place tells us something very interesting about how they work. Or rather, how they don’t work.”
Talbot felt the corner of his mouth lift up. “You know what tells me more about how the AIs value this stuff? The fact that they planted explosive charges in the researcher’s skulls.”
The young scientist gaped at him. “They did what? You’re joking.”
Carl waved his hand in the air before Talbot could respond. “No. Of course you’re not joking. Did I mention that the AIs are paranoid? Now that I think about it, that doesn’t surprise me at all.
“In an emergency, they’d blow up the scientists up to keep them from being captured. I’m shocked that they didn’t actually do that.”
“I suspect it has to do with the fact that we surprised them so badly,” Talbot said. “We literally dumped a brigade’s worth of marines on them with no warning. First, we snuck into a system that they were certain they had locked down, then we use the transport rings to get our people onto the orbital without them having a chance to see them.
“Last, we set off your jammers and blew a nice big hole into their secure area. Our people were all over them before they had a chance to figure out what was happening, much less act on it. I’m sure shutting down all the fusion plants within a few minutes had something to do with our success, too.”
The young man nodded. “Overwhelming surprise was the goal. I’m just shocked that it worked out so well for us. Frankly, far too many of your wife’s plans go astray for my comfort. Then lots of things get blown up to make up for lost ground.”
Talbot was still getting used to the fact that he and Kelsey were married. It still didn’t feel real. It was almost like a pleasant dream.
He laughed. “A surprising number of things get blown up even when things go according to her plans, too. Though I will admit that this mission was less destructive than most. However, with discretion being the better part of valor, we’ll just keep that to ourselves.
“Maybe it would help to step back a bit and look at the big picture,” he said after a moment. “What exactly do we have our hands on?”
Carl sighed. “If we’re just talking about the research areas, we’ve got five major labs doing work on various projects. One of them is some kind of missile enhancement program. We’re talking bigger warheads, faster drives, and more endurance. Possibly making them smarter and harder to hit. They’re also looking at more powerful beams, and potentially stronger battle screens.
“Then there’s the production area for the Raider implants. That particular assignment didn’t involve any research. I suspect the people there were more like factory workers. They didn’t know exactly what they were producing, I’ll bet.
“Stealing the orbital and the minds that made all this possible is going to have a profound impact on the Rebel Empire’s research programs. They aren’t going to be easy to replace, and this isn’t the kind of knowledge the AIs want loose.”
Talbot snorted. “They’d probably give any retiring worker a private party to make sure they go out with a bang.”
Carl winced. “Ouch. Based on the plans I saw on paper, it looks as though they only used the equipment whenever they needed to produce a fresh batch for the crazy AI on Erorsi.
“That points to the probability that the Rebel Empire doesn’t have any attack forces outfitted with Marine Raider implants, which we already suspected. That’s good news for us.”
Talbot nodded. “Then there’s the AI production line that Annette Vitter said was going to kick off soon.”
The crazy fighter pilot had bluffed her way into the restricted area of the orbital and parleyed a case of mistaken identity into access to a briefing about the AI project. Talk about huge brass balls. The woman would’ve made a hell of a marine.
“Not exactly kick off,” Carl disagreed. “They already had a facility here to produce the hardware. The plans that Captain Vitter saw revolved around expanding that facility. If I had to guess, I’d wager that this was a backup production center for AI hardware that they wanted to make more productive.”
“Are you making any progress in understanding how to produce that hardware?”
Carl gave him a flat look. “In case it escaped your notice, there are a lot of competing priorities vying for my attention. It’s been less than a day. It’ll take several days just to figure out what we have our hands on.
“That doesn’t even take into account talking to the scientists themselves, and seeing if they’re going to cooperate. Which I’m inclined to think they won’t.”
Talbot frowned at his friend. “The Rebel Empire put bombs into their heads. Perhaps you’d care to explain to me why that won’t make them feel a little bit cooperative.”
“Think of the explosives as a failsafe. One the scientists probably don’t know exists. I’m pretty confident that the Rebel Empire made sure the scientists they put on these classified projects were loyal. Maybe I’m wrong. I hope so, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
Unfortunately, the odds were very good that Carl was absolutely correct. They’d have to do this the hard way.
“I really wish we brought more of your people along for this mission,” Talbot grumbled. “We’re really lacking in the scientist department this time.”
Carl smiled wryly. “To be fair, we’d only planned on snagging some equipment before we made a run for it. Nobody in their right mind thought Princess Kelsey would steal an entire space station. Better yet, those supposedly sane people thought we’d run toward our support ships.”
Because of the untimely arrival of a Rebel Empire fleet, they’d had no choice but to run in the opposite direction. All they had now was the carrier Audacious, the Marine Raider ship Persephone, a freighter whose contents they were still trying to pin down, and a recovery ship they were using to move the captured orbital along at a snail’s pace.
Not exactly enough force to deal with a determined pursuer, and they were trapped in a series of systems that limited them to running only in one direction. One that led deeper into the Rebel Empire.
Their only hope was to find a weak flip point and slip off to the side. The Rebel Empire didn’t know those things existed. If his team found one, they’d get the breathing room they needed to solve their current problems. If they didn’t, they were screwed.
Carl proved his thoughts were roaming along those lines when he spoke again. “Any word on the search for weak flip points? All of this is going to be for nothing if we don’t get off the path the Rebel Empire expects us to be on. Once they figure out that that wasn’t their orbital that blew up, that is.”
“Commodore Anderson hasn’t mentioned anything. We’ve still got probes and fighters out searching this system. No luck yet.”
Their forces had fled to the first empty system without looking for weak flip points. Kelsey had wanted to be absolutely sure they got clear before anyone came looking for them. They were in that second system now. If they didn’t find anything here, they’d move onto the next one. Quickly.
“Well, do the best you can,” Talbot finally said. “Once we have the prisoners settled into the area of the orbital we’ve cleared f
or them, I’ll have you talk with scientists. Perhaps you can form some kind of bond. You know, geek to geek.”
Carl chuckled. “I’ll certainly do my best. How long do you think that’s going to take?”
He shrugged. “We’re talking about a little under ten thousand people here. Just determining who everyone is will take days. They’re not exactly cooperating. It would really help if we had access to the personnel files.”
The young scientist picked up his tablet glumly. “I still have a few ideas to try. If all of else fails, we might be able to trick one of them into logging in.”
Talbot considered that and smiled. “You know, that’s a really good idea. Let me get back to you on that.”
About Terry
Terry Mixon is the author of The Empire of Bones Saga, The Humanity Unlimited Saga, and The Fractured Republic Saga. He served as a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army 101st Airborne Division. He also worked alongside the flight controllers in the Mission Control Center at the NASA Johnson Space Center for almost two decades, supporting the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, and other human spaceflight projects during his tenure there. He lives in Texas with his lovely wife and a pounce of cats.
Contents
Titles By Terry Mixon
Copyright Notices
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Preview of Behind Enemy Lines
Table of Contents
Titles By Terry Mixon
Copyright Notices
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Preview of Behind Enemy Lines