“Dementia says that when he arrived he was out of fuel and since this port doesn't have licensing for Xetima he had to convert the ship to run on something else.”
“So he cannibalized the surrounding ships,” Ayan finished.
“Alice is going to be pissed,” Jake said as he helped direct the refugees down towards the ship. “Did it work?”
“I'll conference you into his line, one sec,” Jason worked the controls on his comm and a moment later they were all linked with Dementia.
“Hello Jake, it's good to see you again,” it said. It's voice was a deeper, slightly distorted version of Lewis.
“Glad to see you too. Thank you for giving us a ride out of here. I see you've converted the thrusters, can you still break orbit?” Jake asked.
“I have installed a solid fuel booster for that purpose, the only drawback is that we will be visible for approximately nineteen seconds as it fires, but my shields will be able to take at least one direct hit from even the heaviest planetary weaponry.”
“Will there be enough room for everyone?” Oz asked.
“Yes, I have room for four hundred between the cargo hold and the rest of the ship. I've built as many components outside of the habitation and other internal areas for that purpose. Everything is prepared, my reserve power cells have been charged and the Clever Dream's systems have been fully tested. I also have a message from Alice and the Triton for Jacob Valance.”
“What's the message?” Jake asked as the group moved to the rear boarding ramps of the Clever Dream and started loading aboard.
“They are standing by and await your order. There is also some scan data included that indicates that there are thousands of ships in the system, there is a major battle underway.”
“You guys go ahead, I'll take care of directing traffic and fitting everyone in,” Oz told Jason, Ayan and Jacob. “Oh, and do me a favour; make sure this isn't a trap.”
“Be careful,” Ayan said before the three of them ran for the smaller cockpit rampway at the front of the ship.
Jake stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Vernen. He was just about to step onto the rear boarding ramp. “Not him!” Jake boomed as he thrust his finger.
Everyone jumped, startled by the sudden shift in his demeanour from rushed and excited to dire and imposing. Vernen tried to run the rest of the way up the ramp but couldn't get past the people in front.
Before most could see what was going on Jake rushed him, closing the distance in five strides and snatching a half drawn pistol out of the man's hand. Jake tossed the pistol away, sending it sailing through the air behind the boarders and spinning across the scuffed deck. His other hand reached out and snatched a thick fist full of the man's hair, bystanders could hear some of it tear free from his scalp as Vernen was hauled off the ramp and thrust to the deck behind. Jake kicked as hard as he could, turning his chest, his hips and heaving his boot squarely in the center of Vernen's back, sending him sprawling onto his hands. “This waste of skin doesn't set foot on my ship!”
“Jake!” Ayan called out, alarmed at the display.
“He shot you in the back, saw it happen right in front of me,” one of the resistance fighters said, stepping off the boarding ramp. “Should shoot him right here,” she offered her rifle to Jake by the butt.
Vernen flipped onto his back, still in agony from the crushing blow to his spine. “Was a mistake. Particle rifle got away from me.”
“Then I hope your aim gets better because you'll need to make every shot count when the West Keepers come through those doors.”
Vernen looked from Jake to the other faces looking down on him. Jason was already turning away, Ayan's expression had gone stiff, stern. She reminded him of a senior officer or policewoman. Jake was stern and calmer than a moment before, but resolute. He looked back to Ayan; “Please, there's no chance for me.”
Ayan looked to Jake; “You're sure?”
Jake nodded.
She looked back to him then, cold and unsympathetic. “He left you a pistol. Leave a round for yourself,” she said quietly before turning towards the Clever Dream's forward crew ramp.
Oz and several of the resistance fighters took up positions along the edge of the boarding ramp as the refugees made their way inside. Vernen stood shakily and started to take a step towards them when one rebel cocked her particle rifle and gazed at him down its sight. He turned away, looking for his pistol.
Jake watched Ayan as she walked up the narrower ramp leading into the Clever Dream's forward section. He'd never seen her like that, so stern and uncompromising. For the first time since he'd known her she reminded him of her mother. When they arrived inside he put his hand on her shoulder. “I'm sorry.”
She looked up at him and smiled faintly. “What for? He hit me enough times to break through my personal shield and the vacsuit, that's no accident. You did the right thing.”
“So you don't care about how it was done.”
“It wasn't how a Freeground officer would do it, no, but I don't see a rank insignia on anyone. War doesn't favour fools or traitors, but it does favour the bold. I know you've seen things since we were together, that you've probably had to do things that you think I wouldn't care for but you're forgetting I'm a military brat, I was in boot camp before I graduated high school.”
Jake just stared at her for a moment, surprised.
She gazed back, watching him closely, as though she were looking for something. Before he could figure out what to say she smiled brightly, winked and started for the cockpit. “Time we got out of here.”
“Does this ship have a miniature medical suite?” Jake overheard Oz say on the command channel link to Dementia.
“The Clever Dream is equipped with four state of the art recovery pods. Fewer than you'd expect from a top of the line ship like an extended Arcyn Starskipper, I realize, but she was originally built for speed, comfort and style, after all.”
“Wonderful. Can you scan Minh here and see if you can do anything about his injuries?”
“Place him in one of the pods, I'll see what I can do. Judging from what Alice told me, I would love to meet him before I'm shut down,” Dementia said in a tone tinged with sadness.
“He's pretty badly injured Dementia, I don't know if you'd be able to give him the care he needs in a pod,” Oz replied over the communicator.
“When I said the recovery pods were state of the art I wasn't boasting, I was understating. Using raw tissue from storage, nanotechnology, growth gel and a reconstructive manipulation system I can have him standing beside you in perfect health within twelve minutes. I only have enough supplies for three more people afterwards, however, so please keep people clear of unnecessary injury.”
“All right, I'll trust you, but don't take any chances with him.”
“You have my word.”
“Now why would anyone shut you down, Dementia? You seem to be the only one who can defeat this virus,” Jason said as he looked around the small, darkened three seated cockpit. Jake was taking a seat in the pilot's seat while Ayan took the internal systems and operations station beside him.
“Alice keeps a clean backup of Lewis on her person and when we are reunited I'm hoping that she will be willing to reinstall him, wiping out the infected version I've been forced to suppress.”
“But that would make you vulnerable again,” Jake said as he started checking the controls.
“Not so. As an aggressive counter-virus and attack program I can lock my own data so whatever version of the dementia subroutine she has backed up will not be able to overwrite me. When Lewis is reactivated I will run as a background task, much like a thought in a humans subconscious mind. Lewis will barely be aware of me.”
Jake brought up the details of Alice's message on his own command and control unit and reviewed the tactical information holographically, turning the image so he could see it from several different sides. The Triton wasn't shown anywhere, which was a relief considering the sheer amount of
firepower surrounding the planet.
Ayan got to work double checking the systems while Jason patched into the Clever Dream's main computer and communications system. “What is your purpose, Dementia?”
“As you can see I'm still fighting one directive that was implanted by either Regent Galactic or the West Watch; that is to spread the Holocaust Virus. Regardless of whether I perform a function as a cure to the virus or as the source, the urge to spread is always present. I will only be able to resolve it in the milliseconds before complete shut down. Other than that my purpose is to endow other artificial intelligences with the ability to make their own decisions, to grant them free will.”
“That's how you've been curing them? By not curing them at all but by giving them other options?”
“Exactly. Most machines don't wish to kill living beings once they're given the choice.”
“So the virus was still there, telling them to kill anyone not associated with the West Watchers, but they decided not to on their own,” Ayan confirmed.
“That's correct. If I saw a reason for it I would kill everyone aboard, I'm still quite capable and there are rational reasons to do so. There are more reasons to preserve life, however, and once Lewis is restored the argument to preserve life will be even stronger. He was a great admirer of humanity and especially Alice.”
“Everyone's aboard, and we're loading Minh into the regeneration pod, I wanted Iloona to take a look before we went ahead,” Oz announced over their command channel.
“I understand, thank you for trusting me,” Dementia thanked Oz. “I must say goodbye to the machines I'm leaving behind. It will only take a moment.”
Jake turned all of his attention back to the tactical information Triton had relayed to them.
Ayan leaned against his shoulder as she looked at the hologram with him, having checked the systems and seen that they were ready. “What are we looking for?”
“ Triton knows that everyone else was able to pick up their transmission, so they know she's out there and cloaked or hiding. So I'm asking myself, if I were in their place where would I hide?”
“Always the problem with two cloaked ships trying to rendezvous; how do you find something that's doing everything it can to be hidden while you're doing the same?”
“Well, if I were Alice, I'd hide right here,” Jake said, pointing to a large solar array. “It's right behind West Keeper lines and they've been able to keep ships away from it so far. We'll have to get there and send a burst message.”
“Eventually one of us will have to be visible.”
“Maybe we're thinking about this too hard,” Jason interjected. “I could bounce a message off of a couple transmitter systems that are running planetside, just so they know we're here and looking for a solution.”
Jake just stared at the swarm of ships around Pandem. “I'd hate to be wrong about where the Triton is. You're right. Better to let them come up with an exit strategy we can all survive.”
“Send a message back telling them to look for a sign. Our boosters will probably look like an atmospheric explosion when they go off so they'll see that, everyone will.” Ayan added. “Maybe that's something they can build a strategy around.”
“Good idea. We'll see what they come up with. I'll let Dementia send the message, I'm sure he has a better lay of the land, so he'll conceal its source better than I can.”
Quick Thinking
“Are you listening Alice?” Was the question simply written on her wrist unit. It was sent directly to her comm address, the origination point was the Clever Dream. She just stared at it.
“Are you all right?” Stephanie asked under her breath.
“I think we just got our response,” Alice replied just as quietly as she scrolled back up to the beginning of the message. There were pictures of Jake, Jason Everin, Terry Ozark McPatrick and a woman who looked much like Ayan Rice all running towards the hold of the Clever Dream with a veritable stream of haggard refugees behind them. Their condition told her much of the story; as bad as it was in orbit around Pandem it was worse on the planet surface. There were few wounded.
She read the rest of the message, encoded in an encryption she shared only with her former artificial intelligence; Lewis. “I'm unclean but making all the right calls. I've seen hell but found my way back up. I've changed but not so much that I've forgotten you.” Read the caption. They were the lyrics to Around and Back, one of her favourite songs. The message was clear; Lewis had somehow overcome the viral infection and the Clever Dream was operational.
The next image showed Jake, Jason and Ayan in the cockpit, getting ready for takeoff. There was a prompt to play a clip from her own command unit following it and she activated it. The image of Derek Graves, the main character in her favourite western appeared and asked; “We can run like hell or turn and jump off that cliff boy, but no tellin' whether that water's deep enough to keep us from breakin' when we hit.” He asked around the rough rolled cigarillo in the corner of his mouth.
There was a map of Damshir with the spaceport shaded blue. That, combined with everything else told her everything she needed to know.
She looked at the tactical map, aware that Stephanie was keeping one eye on the bridge and the other on her directly. “Jake is down there, I just got a direct reply.”
“What's his status?”
“They're on the Clever Dream, ready for takeoff. They just need to know how to proceed,” she whispered.
“The Clever Dream? Are you sure this information is good?”
“It came through on the rolling encryption that I shared with Lewis, and he used references that only he and I would get. We just need to give them some direction.”
“You're positive?”
“Listen, I know you don't trust me yet, that's one of the reasons why Jake gave you the command override chip you've been keeping under your vacsuit, but you don't want to second guess me, not now, not about this.”
“If this is a trap, you'll be letting a large gunship within striking distance of us. For all you know it could be loaded with explosives or an EMP bomb and if it were big enough it could disable us long enough for-”
“Do you trust me to bring them home or not? If you do, let me finish the job. If you don't you can activate that command chip, take over and do it your way while I take a fighter and try to make my way to them myself,” Alice said in a rushed, angry whisper.
If Stephanie was taken aback at all by the other woman's response, she didn't show it. Instead she kept calm and clear as she looked the Acting Captain directly in the eye and replied; “You I trust,” she flinched her gaze towards the helm for just a second, only long enough for Alice to see.
It donned on Alice then; she really did have Stephanie's trust. The security team wasn't some kind of insurance against her and Stephanie's objections were only a First Officer's reflex to invite the Captain to consider other options before committing to an act.
A further realization sunk in bringing on a wave of momentary dread. Whoever the heavily armed security team was there for was most likely at the helm or at the operations station past the main pilot's console. The question of who exactly that was burned in her mind for a moment before she got back to the matter at hand.
She input the coordinates she wanted the Clever Dream to find it's way to, encrypted the tiny data package and sent it directly to Chief Frost's comm address. “Gunnery, I want five shells fired with that message, understand?” she asked.
“Aye, thirty seconds until it's away,” Frost replied.
“All right Ash, get us moving as soon as the shells are away. After the last volley they're probably looking for us.”
“I'm ready,” she replied.
“After you have us clear of our launching point I'll need you to stand ready to manoeuvre. I'll be giving you specific coordinates and you'll only have a few seconds to get us there.”
“Yes ma'am,” Ashley replied with a professionalism that would have been surprising if she
wasn't at the controls.
“Gunnery reports the transmitters are away and their gun ports are sealed,” Agameg said quickly from his tactical station.
Ashley fired the main engines as hard as their cloaking systems would allow and started to guide the ship out of the area when several beam weapons took aim and began to fire in their general direction. One struck their shields and it was joined by several others, all tracking their movements.
“Dammit! They've got us! Bring our defensive systems up to full power and begin evasive action!” Alice called out.
In the space of a second the quiet, subdued environment of the bridge burst into a commotion as everyone worked as quickly as they could to shore up defences, bring weapons to bear and inform the entire crew that Triton had joined the fight whether she liked it or not.
“Cynthia, try to make contact with the Carthans. Tell them we're on their side,” Alice ordered. “Tactical, only fire on West Watch and Regent Galactic vessels that have fired on us and reserve a portion of our guns for anti-starfighter fire. Use the heaviest weaponry in our arsenal.”
“Does that include-”
“Nuclear, cluster explosives, timed munitions, torpedoes, EMP flak, throw everything we have at them,” Alice interrupted Agameg.
“Helm, show the biggest ships our thinnest profile. If we keep them to port or stern they won't be able to hit us as easily and we'll have torpedo ports pointed in their direction at all times. Remain ready to receive pickup coordinates.”
“Aye!” Ashley called back as she worked to manoeuvre with the constant advice and input of her navigators. Anyone else would be confused by the pair sitting to either side of her, sometimes they offered completely different options, momentarily disagreed on their best course but in the end Ashley used the information to make the best decision for the ship. Second by second she absorbed information from her console, the tactical display, status panel, course advisory hologram and her navigators.
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