Warden 4

by Isaac Hooke

  “Oh, I am excited, believe you me,” DragonHunter said. “But also wary.”

  “Yeah I know, you like your Faraday cages,” Will told the hacker. “Well anyway, congratulations, that was a quick ID extraction.”

  “You hire the best hacker, you get the best,” DragonHunter proclaimed. “Khrusos routes missives through the parliamentary network at least three times a day, so his ID wasn’t hard to track down.”

  “Have you pinpointed his location yet?” Rhea asked.

  “I have. Get this, Khrusos doesn’t even live on Earth.” DragonHunter leaned forward. “He’s staying as a guest of the Paramount Leader Qui Fon Chin, in the presidential palace on Mars!”

  3

  It took Rhea a moment to process the news. “As a guest, or a prisoner?”

  Horatio exchanged a pointed glance with Will. “That would explain why the policies of the United Settlements have been slowly aligning with those of the Martians and Chinese over the past several years. He often praises the Martians in his nationwide addresses, pointing them out as a prime example of sustainability.”

  “You think Qui Fon Chin mind-jacked him?” Will asked.

  “It’s certainly a possibility,” Horatio said. “Though I have a feeling Khrusos is there of his own free will. He was last sighted in person on Earth fifteen years ago. He might’ve moved to Mars any time since. Everyone wants to live on Mars, after all, though few can afford it.”

  “What’s so special about Mars?” Rhea asked.

  “It’s a utopia compared to Earth,” Brinks said. “As Aradne is to Rust Town, Mars is to Earth.”

  DragonHunter shrugged. “The Mars domes aren’t any better than Aradne, honestly.”

  “Maybe so, but at least Mars won’t be running out of water anytime soon,” Will said. “I can understand why Khrusos would move there.”

  DragonHunter rubbed his chin. “You suggested Khrusos might be mind-jacked… but I say it’s more likely Khrusos chipped Qui Fon Chin than anything else. While I was in the parliamentary servers, I used the opportunity to download a few classified documents. Okay, I admit it, a lot of classified documents. Anyway, after reviewing some of the most recent communiques between the office of Khrusos and the Martian government—which rules China, in case any of you are unaware—Khrusos obviously played a big hand in their most recent policies. He seems to be responsible for the cyborgization push of recent years, for example.”

  “The cyborgization push?” Rhea asked.

  “The Chinese government offers financial incentives and tax breaks for people who give up their bodies and transfer their brains into cyborgs,” Horatio explained. “As part of an overall program designed to reduce the water footprint of the average man and woman.”

  “Yes, that’s the one,” DragonHunter said. “The office of Khrusos has also pushed the Chinese to implement specific water rationing and recycling programs. When the program first started, I heard thousands died from dehydration because the rationing was so strict. They’ve since eased off, with a focus on recycling, but only after Khrusos signed off on a deal involving billions of dollars of United Settlements water reclamation technology. Also, I don’t know if anyone noticed this, but recently the Chinese always vote with the United Settlements on matters put forth to the High Council.”

  The High Council was the official ruling body of Earth, responsible for all decisions that globally affected the planet, and served as the interface between Earth and the remaining governments of the solar system. It was composed of five member nations: the United Settlements, China, Russia, Chile-Argentina, and Persia.

  “He definitely seems to be China’s puppet master,” DragonHunter continued. “All of the aforementioned policy changes began after he moved to Mars, incidentally.”

  Will nodded. “So, he moved to Mars to infiltrate the Chinese and consolidate his control over the High Council then. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s begun similar infiltration operations against the other members. Whoever controls the High Council, controls Earth.”

  “I think he has designs on the entire solar system,” DragonHunter said quietly. “He essentially has Earth and Mars already. The Galileans are next on his list, judging from the military options he’s asked his team to look into.” The latter was the general term for the colonists who lived on Jupiter’s Galilean moons, including Ganymede.

  She stared at DragonHunter. “What military options?”

  DragonHunter returned her gaze uneasily. “Well, in one of the classified documents I saw, he asked the Defense Secretary to consult with the top generals and admirals to put together a plan for the invasion of Ganymede. The Defense Secretary is coordinating with his Chinese counterpart, and they’re working on a plan with a scale that hasn’t been seen since the aftermath of the Great Calming.”

  “They’re going to fight for water again,” Rhea said softly. “When they should be expending their resources cooperating instead.” She thought of the Europan colony of Centaar on Ganymede, and imagined it turned to rubble, like the Ganymedean geodesic dome she’d visited. Was that the fate of all who tried to colonize the water-rich moon?

  She glanced at Renaldo. “Get in touch with Targon. I want him to bring us to Mars as soon as he’s available.”

  “You won’t be allowed to debark when you reach Mars,” Horatio said before Renaldo could reply.

  She gave the robot a defiant look. “Why not?”

  “Visitors from Earth need to apply for a special visa,” Horatio replied. “Processing can take up to six months.”

  “Well I’m not waiting six months,” Rhea said. “This assassin threat needs to end right now. As do these war plans.”

  “You won’t be able to change a thing,” Will said. “Khrusos isn’t going to listen to you.”

  “I was very convincing with the mayor of Aradne…” she said.

  “Yes, but only because you removed his mind jacking chip,” Will told her.

  “Maybe Khrusos is chipped, too,” she insisted.

  “I doubt it,” Will said. “Your words will fall on deaf ears, trust me. Just like when you tried to convince the Europans to donate water to Earth.”

  “But I didn’t use force then…” Rhea said.

  “Yeah? What, you’re planning on waltzing into the presidential palace on Mars, one of the most well-guarded facilities in the solar system, and storming into his office? And once you’re there, jabbing an X2-59 under his throat and demanding he stop sending assassins? Oh, and while he’s at it, can he please arrange a deal with Ganymede for water to boot?”

  Rhea gave him a cold look. “I have a nanotech-enhanced body. Ban’Shar that can deflect all energy weapons.”

  “Yes, you’re powerful, but you’re not invulnerable,” Will said. “Remember how we first found you: your head and shoulders chucked out with the trash. All it takes is one mistake on your part, and that’s it, no more Rhea. You get hit here—” He indicated her forehead. “Your brain is lost. Look at what happened to your hand in the last fight.”

  “You could try official channels again,” Renaldo suggested.

  “Khrusos’ office has ignored all the messages we’ve sent,” Rhea said. “It’s obvious he intends to continue ignoring me. No, I have to go there and confront the bastard. And use force to get what I want.”

  Will was shaking his head. “Worst idea of the century.”

  “We could try publishing the accusations again,” Jairlin said.

  Rhea had created a video where she implicated Khrusos in the attempts on her life and had her Wardenites disseminate them across the mainstream video sites, since she was personally banned from them. But the uploads were always deleted moments after publication, even from the alternate streaming sites she had access to, like Subversenet.

  “No,” she said. “I’m going to Mars.”

  Will threw up his hands. “First Ganymede, now Mars. When does it end?”

  She ignored the comment and glanced at Renaldo. “Arrange for the transpo
rt.”

  Renaldo nodded.

  “This merchant of yours, is he willing to take you as unregistered passengers?” DragonHunter asked. “As in, no entry on the manifest at all? Because without visas, they’ll send you back to Earth.”

  “He’ll do it,” Rhea said. Though she wondered how she’d sneak through customs, considering that all crates offloaded from the vessel would be scanned.

  She studied DragonHunter. “By the way, we’ll need a way to infiltrate the Martian presidential grounds, and the palace itself. Despite what Will implied, I do want to minimize the use of violence as much as possible.”

  DragonHunter nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. But no guarantees: there never are any in the hacking world.”

  “There never are any in the real world, either,” Rhea agreed.

  Rhea relaxed in her spartan quarters deep underground. The chamber was essentially a bunker, located three floors beneath the main headquarters the Wardenites had built for her in Rust Town. The rest of the HQ above ground was a series of cargo container whose perimeter fence was watched by robots and men 24/7.

  She sat on a sprawling bed that took up most of the room. Beside her was a nightstand and clothes closet. The hatch to the room was closed, which sealed the Faraday cage. A tiny vent in the wall piped in breathable air.

  She’d applied a localized virtual decoration—the heroic portrait that depicted her perched atop the stack of dead Hydras, with her X2-59 raised high. It reminded her of what she was capable of when she put her mind to it. Reaching Khrusos wasn’t going to be easy, and she needed all the reminding she could get at this point, if only to calm the doubts that ate away inside her.

  Will was right, she wasn’t invincible. She had Ganymedean technology on her side, but it would still take all of her focus and determination if she wanted to reach the leader of the free world and make him submit to her demands. She would be relying on training that she couldn’t even remember, the muscle memory of the warrior she once was, ingrained into her subconscious mind.

  Make him submit. She wasn’t entirely sure how that would play out, or if Khrusos would even keep his word when their meeting was done. She feared she might have to kill him, though she had to wonder what sort of tyrant would replace him. The office of president was supposed to be an elected position, but Khrusos was a masterful politician, according to what she had read online. It all started with the Ganymede Countermeasures Act, declared after the Great Calming, which he had used as an excuse to turn himself into a Caesar.

  To lend his reign an air of credibility, he had members of the House pass the act. Citing the ongoing negotiations with the Europans for access to water, these loyal House minions kept extending his powers annually, so that Khrusos had remained in office for the past thirty years. It was almost in the president’s best interests to keep the negotiations with Ganymede going. Too bad the public was left in the dark about how crucial those negotiations were, and how close Earth’s water supply was to running out.

  Two other members of the High Council had similar strangleholds on power: the presidents of Russia and China. But at least they weren’t holding Earth’s water supply hostage to maintain that power.

  She thought about the palace that housed her enemy. It was located in the city of Hongton, capital of Mars. She wondered if she’d even be able to penetrate it, she, this intruder from old Ganymede, hated enemy of Earth. If she was discovered, Khrusos would probably summon every combat robot in the city to join in the attack. Well, the defenses surrounding the palace were formidable in and of themselves, or course, though there was precious little about them online.

  Her heightened hearing detected a clanging sound coming from outside, as of a person descending the rungs to her level. She accessed the remote interface of the cage and disabled it. Immediately she connected to the main network, and on her overhead map Will’s dot appeared.

  She accessed the external security camera and confirmed it was Will. She unlocked the door.

  “Come in,” she said when he was about to knock.

  Will opened the door and peered inside. “I just heard from Renaldo. Targon’s agreed to bring you to Mars. And he won’t document you or the other passengers who tag along. He’s about a week out.”

  “Good news,” Rhea said.

  “After that, it’s only five days to Mars,” Will said.

  Rhea nodded. “Not bad, considering…”

  Will sat on the bed next to her. He gazed at the wall directly in front of him, where Rhea had hung the augmented reality painting. “Is there a picture here?”

  “Uh huh,” she said.

  “Care to show me?”

  “Nuh uh,” she said with a smile.

  Will chuckled, then became serious. He sighed. “You’d think, being the leader of the free world, Khrusos would resort to more civilized methods of dealing with you.”

  “Like arresting me?” Rhea asked.

  “Exactly,” Will replied.

  She shrugged. “Maybe he wants to keep it off the record. Maybe he’s worried arresting me will piss off a few people.”

  “And people won’t get pissed off if you’re assassinated?” Will asked in disbelief.

  “Sure they’ll be pissed off,” she agreed. “But not at him. Not if they don’t know he’s the one who ordered the hit.” She paused. “It certainly reveals a lot about his character, that he’s chosen the assassination route, doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah,” Will said. “Makes you wonder how many of his political foes he’s had taken down over the years. I know I won’t feel bad when you bloody his nose.”

  “So you believe in me now?” she said.

  He glanced at her, his face serious, but then apparently he couldn’t resist a smile and quickly looked away. “Not really. You don’t stand a chance.”

  “A-hole.” She roughly shoved his arm.

  He shrugged. “I’m just being realistic. But uh, you know I’m coming with you, right? I’ve talked to Horatio. He’s in, too. Miles, Brinks, and Renaldo also. They’ll come at least as far as Hongton, anyway. Not sure how many of us will be joining you in the palace, though: I have a feeling you’ll do better if you don’t have too many of us around to distract you.”

  “I’ll have enough trouble protecting myself, let alone a team of Wardenites,” she agreed. “By the way, there isn’t all that much room aboard Targon’s vessel, in case you forgot.”

  “I haven’t forgotten,” Will said. “I tried telling the others, but they insisted on coming. We’re going to be thoroughly packed in.”

  She hadn’t reenabled the Faraday cage, so when a call appeared on her HUD a moment later, she received the notification immediately.

  She accepted the call and DragonHunter’s hologram appeared before her. She shared the feed with Will.

  “What’s up?” she asked. “You’ve found a way to infiltrate the Martian presidential palace?”

  “Not exactly,” DragonHunter said. “I’ve been continually monitoring dispatches from the office of Khrusos, thanks to the little cyber payload you installed for me, and I got some bad news. I just found out that the Martian government issued a warrant for your arrest.”

  “Guess we spoke too soon about Khrusos not arresting you,” Will commented.

  Rhea glanced at Will. “He knows I’m coming.”

  “Potentially,” Will agreed.

  “Thank you, DragonHunter,” Rhea told him. “I appreciate the heads-up.”

  “Yeah, you’ll also want to liquidate your current headquarters ASAP,” DragonHunter said. “Because you see, Khrusos also issued an arrest warrant for you on Earth as well. Aradne security robots are en route to your present location at this very moment. Several divisions of them, in fact. It looks like they’re not going to take ‘no’ for an answer…”

  Rhea shot Will an urgent glance, then told DragonHunter: “Thanks.”

  “Welcome. Good luck.” He disconnected.

  Rhea got up, but before she could even gather
her belongings, she received a call from Renaldo.

  “We have a problem,” Renaldo said.

  4

  Rhea had been walking to the closet, but she stopped in her tracks. “Let me guess, we’re surrounded by robot troops.”

  “That’s right,” Renaldo said. “Take a look. This is from a Wardenite on patrol outside.”

  She received a share request; when she accepted, a video feed filled her vision. She forwarded it to Will.

  The live footage depicted the headquarters as viewed from the rooftop; the Wardenite doing the transmitting was standing at the edge, overlooking the sprawling cargo containers of the lower levels. Beyond the Texas barriers that formed the perimeter of the compound stood different divisions of military robots: two-legged mech divisions, equipped with electrolasers, missiles, and plasma turrets; smaller robot infantry divisions, armed with shoulder-mounted RPG launchers and forearm-mounted rifles. The defensive laser turrets positioned at intervals atop the Texas barriers mostly targeted the bigger mechs. But some were pointed upward.

  Glancing overhead, Rhea understood why: hundreds of octocopter drones hovered in place like a swarm of locusts frozen in time, their deadly laser mounts dangling underneath, tracking the Wardenites scattered across the compound grounds.

  The main entrance to the compound was closed, with the defending robots there having replaced the concrete barrier that served as gate, effectively locking out the enemy. Until the mechs decided to bash their way inside, that is.

  As she watched, one of the armed Wardenites used a jetpack to thrust to the top of the concrete; he hovered there, waving his rifle menacingly, and shouted at the robots, telling them to go away. The iron monstrosities neither answered, nor budged.

  Rhea had seen enough. She dismissed the video feed.

  “Gather all who’ve volunteered to go to Mars, and get down here as fast as you can,” she told Renaldo.