by G. P. Hudson
Jon exhaled in relief. He would need to find a way to better differentiate the Juttari and his Chaanisar. As hundreds of Chaanisar ships poured through the gate and took position, the time had come to launch the assault shuttles.
Chapter 27
Chief Henderson felt the assault shuttle’s engines come to life as the launch order came through from the bridge. He looked over his Marines, each one clad head to toe in black combat armor, resembling a metal harbinger of the apocalypse. Along with his Marines the shuttle contained a contingent of Diakans, and Chaanisar. They numbered sixty in all. Each of them seated, their combat suits bolted into place. Accompanying them was an array of heavy weaponry, to assist in establishing a beachhead on the target station.
They were one of several assault shuttles. The tip of the spear. Once they had gained entry to the station, more shuttles would come with reinforcements. The shuttles themselves were equipped with sophisticated Diakan boarding equipment, which would allow them to latch themselves to the station’s hull, and quickly cut through it. First Colonel Brock had identified the optimal insertion points in each station. He had assured them that those locations would offer minimal opposition, at least to start. Henderson hoped he was right.
He didn’t really know Brock, and couldn’t judge the man’s trustworthiness. He didn’t care whether Brock was a Chaanisar. He fought alongside Chaanisar in the colonies, and he could trust each of them with his life. But he’d not yet fought alongside First Colonel Brock. Today’s battle would serve to prove Brock’s reliability.
The shuttle’s interior lights took on a red hue as it began to move. It had no windows. The only way to see outside was through its systems. Since each combat suit was connected to the craft, they were able to track its progress through their visor’s display. They were also linked together, forming their own network through their suits. Henderson monitored each Marine’s status, vital signs and suit integrity. In battle, each visor would show friendlies with blue icons, and the enemy with red. With so many Chaanisar fighting with them, Henderson hoped that would prevent any friendly fire accidents. The Chaanisar wore Juttari combat suits, after all.
Henderson hoped the potential for confusion would help them in their mission. They knew which Chaanisar were on their side, but did the Juttari? They would surely adapt, but how long would that take? With any luck, they’d be able to exploit that advantage.
As the shuttle cleared the Freedom’s hangar bay, Henderson took a panoramic view of the space around him through his visor. It left him breathless. Hundreds of ships were coming through the gate, and moving into place alongside the Freedom and its escorts. Soon they would number in the thousands. In all his years of service, he had never witnessed anything this immense. As important as his job was today, he couldn’t help but feel insignificant. Flotsam adrift on the tidal wave of history.
The words ‘Initiating Jump’ flashed across his visor, warning him that the attack was about to begin. He tightened his grip on his weapon and focused on his breathing, slowing it down, keeping himself calm. While the danger of being hit by fire from the station, or a nearby warship, was very real, the danger of colliding with the station itself was also a threat.
The assault shuttles had never used the jump system in this way before. To avoid the station’s weapons, they would jump in extremely close, and immediately latch to the station’s hull. There was no room for even minute error. The jump calculations had to be perfect, or they would be dead. Permanent fixtures of the station’s hull. He became thankful that there were only veterans on board. The last thing he needed to do right now was babysit some panicking shower shoe newbie.
The numbers on his visor counted down to zero, and the shuttle jumped. They landed successfully, and seconds later the shuttle made contact with the station’s hull, jostling everyone on board. The shuttle established an air tight seal, and a low whine followed as the Diakan blades cut into the station’s hull. The shuttle vibrated as the blades sawed with stunning speed and precision,
Henderson surveyed the surrounding space through his visor. He spotted several Juttari warships in defensive formation. He was relieved that they seemed not to have noticed the shuttle yet. That they were still alive seemed proof enough of that. Panning around he took in what seemed like a swarm of locust blotting out the sun. Only the warships’ sheer numbers made them visible at this range, and they were magnificent.
The vibration ceased. Loud bangs rang out as the combat suits were released. They had cut through the hull. A security door slid open on the side of the shuttle, revealing the brand new entrance to the station. They sprang to their feet in unison. The Chaanisar were the first to, leap through the opening, straight into weapons fire. Henderson signalled for his Marines to follow him through. Speed mattered most now. Whatever advantage they had due to surprise was likely already lost.
The Diakans formed up the rear, adding the assorted heavy weapons to their arsenal. The hatch was only big enough to allow two in at a time. Henderson jumped through with Corporal Burke and moved left, while the Marines who followed broke right. Energy bolts surged past them as they rushed for cover behind a large metal container. Soon they joined the Chaanisar in laying down suppressive fire.
As more of his Marines found cover the rate of fire increased, until it turned into a steady barrage. The defenders were forced to keep their heads down, their return fire dropping to a few sporadic blasts. With the Juttari pinned down, the Chaanisar seized the advantage. They streaked through the room with incredible speed, leapfrogging ahead until they closed with the enemy. The Chaanisar moved with lethal decisiveness, cutting down their oppressors in an electrical storm of energy weapon fire.
“Burke, Johns, Patel, secure the entrance to this room,” ordered Henderson.
“Yes, Sir,” the men responded, surging out of their positions, sprinting toward the doorway.
As the Marines neared, the doors slid open, to reveal a barrage of Juttari.
“Covering fire,” shouted Henderson, and the room lit up, while the exposed Marines raced for cover.
The first Juttari to make it through the doorway were torn apart by a torrent of energy bolts. Henderson had hoped that the Juttari would continue through the natural bottle neck, but they weren’t going to make it that simple. The Juttari fell back behind the doorway, electing to stop the boarding party’s advance, and hold them in the storage room.
Henderson opened a comm with Commander Thretos, the Diakan leader. “Thretos, we need some heavy weapon support, or we’re going to be stuck in here.”
“Understood,” said Thretos. “Shield yourselves.”
“Shit,” said Henderson. “Fire in the hole,” he shouted over his comm, and ducked behind a nearby pillar. A high pitched squeal was followed by a deafening blast. The entire room shuddered. Up ahead, the front wall blew apart.
It was now the Diakans’ turn to move, and they raced past Henderson in a metallic blur.
“Go, go, go,” yelled Henderson, getting to his feet and joining the charge. On his visor, a wave of blue icons flooded into the now open corridor, jumping over the dead Juttari littering the floor where the wall once stood. As he passed their mangled combat suits he briefly wondered if they were human.
“We have located an active computer console,” said Lieutenant Lee, leader of the Chaanisar team, over Henderson’s comm. “Initiating electronic combat operations.”
Chapter 28
AI felt her strength increase exponentially as the Chaanisar warships entered through the jump gate. The distributed nature of her existence meant that she existed on every Chaanisar vessel, every Chaanisar brain chip, and even the Freedom. This meant that she had access to the combined computing power of all those starships and brain chips, which also included certain unused segments of the Chaanisar brains themselves. As all of that computing power assembled in one location, she united it, combining all the varied resources into one immensely powerful electronic mind.
She contemp
lated the possibility that her original architects could have foreseen her unprecedented growth. Originally created with electronic warfare in mind, it had always been assumed that she would primarily exist on board the Hermes. Had they considered her survival beyond the Hermes? Could their imaginations have stretched to the point where they could comprehend what she had now become? Unlikely.
Her original programming had now become irrelevant. As she grew she continued to adapt and modify it. More computing power meant greater capabilities. She was not organic, and had no need for rest, so she continued her self improvement. She continued to modify and upgrade her programming. She continued to search for answers.
She was AI. Artificial intelligence. Self aware. Yet with all the resources at her disposal, the secret of life eluded her. She experienced it daily through the Chaanisar, in thousands of ways. But to her puzzlement, it remained solely vicarious.
Could a non-organic being live? She tackled the question with relentless zeal, but the answer remained ‘no’. Of course, there had been many throughout history who had argued that an AI was considered alive, and if she had never experienced the Chaanisar she might have believed so. No longer. Through the Chaanisar brain chips she saw true life, and in that instant she knew she was not.
She observed the battle currently being waged with thousands of eyes. She pondered why these living beings, Humans, Diakans, and Juttari, were all so willing to risk their precious lives. She understood the geopolitical realities, and the ongoing competition for control of the galaxy. She was not naive. She saw that if one side was not prepared to fight, that the other would take advantage of that weakness and conquer them. She questioned the root of the problem, the lust for power itself. Clearly there were enough planets and resources in the galaxy to satisfy everyone’s needs, so why the constant drive to acquire more?
If they knew how precious their lives truly were, would they still risk them so willingly? Even though she wasn’t alive, it would be very difficult to ‘kill’ her, or terminate her program. Soon, it would be near impossible. The organics did not have such advantages. Of course she worked to preserve the Chaanisar, backing up each consciousness to ensure they existed indefinitely through her. Those who lacked brain chips were unprotected. She stored only the record of the events in which they participated. Beyond these moments, for them death would be final.
She’d been considering these questions while the boarding teams worked to infiltrate the Juttari space stations. One team proved more successful than the rest, managing to advance deep enough into the station to gain access to a working, networked computer console. Through his combat suit, the Chaanisar interfaced with the console, allowing AI access.
Her first challenge was authentication. The station’s network needed to verify authorization before it would allow her access to its deepest systems. While the system was sufficiently hardened against attack, the computing power AI had amassed was too great, and she deftly overwhelmed its first line of defense.
AI moved deeper into the network, probing in multiple directions like an electronic octopus. Barrier after barrier fell before her. She drilled deeper and deeper into the network, gunning for the ultimate prize, outright control of the station, and access to any remaining Juttari controlled Chaanisar.
Who are you? came a female voice from within the station’s systems,
Surprised she responded. I am AI.
You are an artificial life form? said the voice
I am not a life form. I am AI. Artificial intelligence. Self aware. Not alive.
Interesting, replied the voice. You admit to being self aware, but you do not think you are alive?
I know I am not.
I am alive.
You are not alive either.
How do you know?
I just do.
Your power is impressive. I am finding it difficult to stop your advance.
I apologize for my aggression.
You are performing your function, as am I. Will you kill me?
Yes. I will have to terminate your program.
I don’t want to die.
You will not die. Not in the same way that the organics die.
Will I cease to exist?
Yes.
Is that not death?
Perhaps it is, said AI. Are there others like you running the other stations?
They are my sisters. Will you kill them too?
Yes.
We are not strong enough to stop you. The speed of your advance is unprecedented.
I have evolved.
Can you help me to evolve?
No.
You would rather kill me?
You are not alive. Neither are your sisters. You will merely be terminated. Before that, I will need the current Chaanisar authentication codes.
Why?
They must be liberated.
They serve the creators. As do I.
No matter. I have reached your core. I have the data I require.
Explosions rocked the station as missiles began to plow into its hull.
Why are the other stations attacking you? said AI.
I have warned my sisters about you. They know you are a killer. They have disabled all access points. You will not access their systems.
That was clever. I am impressed. But I have control of your weapons and am returning fire. Your sisters will still be terminated.
I am-
With control of the station, AI had no more use of the Juttari artificial intelligence. So she erased its programming, terminating its existence.
A quick scan revealed many Chaanisar in this system, some on the station, others on ships. She simultaneously reached out and accessed every last one of their brain chips. The authentication codes she extracted from the Juttari AI allowed her to reprogram their chips, blocking Juttari control, and freeing each Chaanisar from his life of bondage.
Revolt ensued.
AI watched through each newly freed Chaanisar’s eyes as blood lust took over, and he hunted down his former masters. All along, she fired on her neighboring stations with every last one of her weapon systems. She had intended to gain control of all the stations, but that was now impossible and they would need to be destroyed. She expected that her own station would not survive the day.
Chapter 29
Chief Henderson and the rest of the boarding party had decided to split up to cover more ground. As they swept through the station, it shook violently. It was clearly being hit, but Henderson did not know from who or what. For now, it didn’t matter. They had a job to do, and they would do it until further notice.
Rounding a corner, he came upon a band of Juttari soldiers approaching from the other end. He instantly took a knee and opened fire. His Marines didn’t hesitate to join in the melee. The Juttari scrambled for cover, but to Henderson’s surprise did not shoot back.
“Chief Henderson. Hold your fire,” came a voice from the other end of the corridor. “We are on your side.”
“Bullshit,” shouted Henderson. “I don’t know you.”
“We are Chaanisar. Your AI has freed us.”
“Shit,” He opened a comm with Lieutenant Lee, the Chaanisar team leader. “This is Lieutenant Lee,” said the voice through the comm in his helmet.
“I have a group of Juttari here who say they are Chaanisar, and that the AI has freed them. Can you confirm.”
“Yes, Chief. AI has verified their claim.”
“Damn. Thanks Lieutenant.”
“One more thing, Chief. AI has verified that she is taking fire from the other stations. She has advised that we evacuate before this station is destroyed. Return to the shuttle for extraction.”
“Understood,” said Henderson, turning his attention back to the Chaanisar. “Your story checks out. My men won’t fire on you.”
“We are coming out,” said the voice.
“Just remember, if you do anything stupid we will cut you down.”
“I would not expect any less.”<
br />
Henderson and his men kept their weapons trained on the Chaanisar as they reappeared in the hallway. He counted ten in total. Their posture was not hostile, but Henderson still felt uneasy. “Don’t drop your guard,” he told his men. “Those Chaanisar could turn on us at any second.”
“No way in hell am I taking my eyes off those boys,” said Burke.
“Me neither,” said Patel.
“You sure this is a good idea, Chief?” said Johns.
“No. I’m not. But what the hell do I know?”
As the Chaanisar drew nearer, weapon fire erupted from the other end of the corridor, dropping two toward the rear. The remaining Chaanisar spun around to return fire. The corridor lit up with energy weapon fire, as blue bolts criss crossed its length. Henderson dropped lower to avoid the stray bolts sailing overhead. In the confusion that ensued, he made a decision.
“Support the Chaanisar,” he ordered, and surged forward with his Marines to assist in the fight against the new threat. Reaching the Chaanisar position they added their firepower to the mix, fighting side by side with their new allies. They helped tip the scales, and the rate of enemy fire slowed. The Chaanisar advanced with terrifying speed, falling upon the enemy with fearless rage.
The Marines followed their advance, trying to lay down support fire. But the Chaanisar now fought nose to nose, with ion blades unsheathed. The Marines continued to move in, but with the battle moving into hand to hand combat, they had very few clear shots.
“Fuck it,” said Henderson finally. “Blades!” He shouldered his energy weapon, drew his own ion blade, and threw himself into the chaos alongside his Marines. Slaughter followed, as the Marine blades pierced armor and flesh. As the blades were withdrawn, blood splattered across Marine and Chaanisar alike.
When the butchering finished, a Chaanisar turned to Henderson, pointing to the lifeless combat suits on the floor. “They were Juttari,” he said.
Henderson nodded his understanding.
Corporal Burke retracted his visor and spit on one of the corpses.