by J. N. Chaney
It had been two days since I’d spoken with Sigmond. Two days since I’d authorized Athena to enhance his programming and give him the ability to direct the other crew in their strike ships. I hadn’t talked to him once in that time, because I’d been asleep, but from everything I could hear, he sounded exactly the same as before.
“Indeed, she did,” he answered. “I have been given expanded functionality in order to better suit your needs.”
“Did she tell you what you’d be doing? Specifically?” I asked.
“Yes, sir. In fact, I’ve already begun working with several pilots, directly reporting to Mr. Alphonse Malloy periodically throughout the day, depending on the training schedule.”
I raised my eye at this. “You already started?” I asked. “Exactly how many times have you taken those colonists out to practice?”
“There have been seventeen training sessions in total,” he informed. “However, some of those have occurred simultaneously. In total, I have spent twenty-six hours with over thirty-seven pilots.”
I blinked, trying to process the numbers I’d just heard. “Did you say seventeen sessions? Holy shit, Siggy. How the hell did you find the time to do all that?”
“You were indisposed, sir,” said the A.I. “I found myself with much more time to spare.”
I smirked. “Maybe I should disappear more often, then.”
“Perish the thought, sir. In truth, I can perform several tasks simultaneously thanks to the new enhancements, your coffee and shower included.”
“Well, good,” I said, taking another sip of my drink. “Because those are always your top priorities, Siggy. Don’t you forget it.”
Nine
“What’s going on?” I asked, reporting to the bridge after receiving an alert from Athena. When I walked in, I found most of my squad, plus Hitchens. Only Alphonse was missing, having been in the middle of one of his classes at the time of the call.
We were still twelve hours from Abaddon Station, so I hadn’t been expecting any emergencies yet. Not until we were closer, at the very least. “Captain, thank you for coming,” said Athena, standing in her usual position, next to the wall.
Octavia looked at me. “We may have a problem,” she said.
I let out a sigh. “What kind of problem?”
“The drone is still operational,” said Hitchens.
“It hasn’t blown up yet?” I asked.
“Hardly,” said Octavia. “It looks like it’s finally stopped moving, too.”
I shot a quick glance at Athena. She flicked her wrist and changed the display to show a star chart with a blinking icon in it, presumably to indicate the drone’s position. “It would seem the drone has arrived at its destination,” said the Cognitive. “Abaddon Station.”
“Abaddon?” I echoed, crossing my arms. “The same place we’re heading?”
“That is correct,” she answered.
Abigail was nearby, studying the image. She turned to me and shook her head. “It hasn’t moved since it arrived, which was almost an hour ago.”
“It’s been that long? Why are we only hearing about it now?” I asked.
“We were in a slip tunnel,” explained Athena. “Interference from slipspace hinders my long-range sensors. I could only estimate the drone’s movements.”
“Okay, so what’s all this mean? Is the drone actually doing anything?” I asked.
“I’m afraid so,” said Athena. The image suddenly changed, revealing several more dots of light inside the star cluster. “I’m detecting multiple drones, identical to the first, all converging on its location.”
“It called for backup,” said Bolin, who was standing quietly next to Karin, near the rear of the group.
“Do they know we’re coming?” I asked.
“Unknown,” said Athena. “I believe this may be an automated response to our arrival. Perhaps a protocol built into the drone’s system.”
“Do you think this is Hephaestus?” asked Abigail.
“Who?” asked Bolin.
“He’s another Cognitive,” Abigail explained. “He’s supposed to be in charge of those things.”
“I believe Hephaestus is inoperable at this time,” said Athena, frowning. “My attempts to connect with him have been unsuccessful, which is why I believe these drones are acting according to their programming and nothing more. They currently perceive us as a threat, so they are only following protocol.”
“Okay, fine, they want to blow us out of the sky,” I said, waving a hand at the screen. “How many are we dealing with?”
“Unknown. There were nine drones en-route at the start of this meeting. Now there are twelve. I believe their numbers will continue to grow before we arrive.”
“How many can we handle?” I asked.
“I would estimate no more than two dozen,” said Athena.
“Are you counting our squad’s firepower?” asked Abigail.
Athena nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
“Sounds like we’ll need another plan, just in case we can’t take them head-on,” I said.
“What other options are there?” asked Abigail.
We all grew silent for a moment, each of us mulling the problem over in our heads. It was hard to know what would happen next, no matter what kind of force we threw at the drones. After all, even if you spent a lifetime building allies, there were always bigger armies. “Hold on,” I said, causing each of them to look at me. “What about a distraction?”
“A distraction?” repeated Octavia. “How do you distract a drone?”
I ignored the question, continuing with my own. “How good are the sensors on those things? Are they about the same as Titan’s?”
“Not quite as efficient, but they can detect our movement, even from this distance,” explained Athena.
“What about a cloaked ship?” I asked.
“Without the specific wave frequency, it would be extremely difficult,” said Athena.
“Wait a second,” said Octavia. “Don’t tell us you’re about to suggest we use The Renegade Star to infiltrate that space station while Titan acts as a decoy and lures the drones away?”
I gave her a sly grin.
“Jace, that’s insane,” she said.
“No,” stated Athena, pausing momentarily before flickering back into full motion. “That may actually work.”
“May?” I asked, not liking the uncertainty of her statement.
“Titan would need to move quickly. The drones out-paced us during its escape, which suggests a more compact, efficient thruster design. Once we enter the system, we could find ourselves under assault rather quickly.”
“We could cover you,” said Karin, finally speaking up. She was referring, of course, to Titan. “With a few ships drawing fire from those drones, we could lay down some suppressing fire.”
Abigail shook her head. “No way. Those drones would outnumber whatever ships we had. It wouldn’t help.”
Karin pointed to the screen, causing it to magnify. There was an asteroid belt, wide and expansive, around the outer section of the star system. “We arrive here, behind this, and we leave before the drones get too close.”
“That’s good, but let’s add some mines to it.” I stepped closer to the screen, pointing near the belt. “We can drop a few dozen between the rocks. It’s not much, but it might help slow them down.”
“That’s a nice plan, but if those drones are as fast as Athena suggests, we might not have enough time,” said Octavia.
“You’re forgetting about the other pilots,” said a voice from the edge of the room. I looked to see Alphonse, lingering at the door. Apparently, he’d slipped in without me noticing.
“That so?” I asked, unable to keep myself from smirking. “You think those scrubs in the hangar can handle a job like this?”
“You might have been asleep for the last two days, but they’ve come a long way,” he told me.
“I guess that means Siggy’s doing a good job,” I said.
I nodded. “How many are good enough to qualify for this?”
“Twenty-two of them, but I can have that number up to twenty-five before we arrive.” He placed his hands behind his back.
“That’s a little more accurate than I expected,” I said.
“I know my pilots,” he explained. “Even though I’m not with them in their ships, I have Sigmond show me the reports. I see their progress and I know which of them can do this.”
I recalled Siggy telling me about that. I’d say this for Alphonse: he was the most efficient training instructor I’d ever seen. I was probably wasting his talents, given his history with espionage and tactical strategy, but to hell with it. We needed pilots and we needed them a week ago.
“Okay,” I finally answered. “Once your team places those mines, you double back to Titan.”
He nodded.
“After that,” I continued, turning to Athena, “re-open the tunnel and run.”
“You want us to leave you behind?” asked Bolin.
“Not for long. Just until we do this handshake thing with the defense system,” I said.
Athena nodded. “If you can perform the security check, the drones should stand down and return to their designated markers. However, should you fail, we may be unable to retrieve you without engaging the pursuing ships.”
“Sounds like we have a back-up plan, at least,” said Octavia. “Distraction, followed by blunt force.”
“I like it,” said Bolin.
“Me too,” said Karin.
“Good, because I need both of you leading the charge, right next to Alphonse,” I ordered. “Freddie, Abigail, and I will take The Star and head inside.”
“W-Wait a second,” mumbled Freddie.
Abigail placed her hand on his shoulder. “We’ll be fine,” she said, looking at me. “We’ll keep each other alive.”
I nodded. “We always do.”
Ten
I had Sigmond run a system check about an hour before we were set to arrive. He delivered the report faster than usual—a side effect, I assumed, of his most recent upgrade.
“Standing by for departure authorization, sir,” informed Sigmond.
“Relax, Siggy. We still gotta wait for Abigail and Freddie,” I told him.
A second after I said the words, I heard the airlock door open. “We’re here!” yelled Abby as she stepped into the ship.
I walked out to see her, Freddie, and Dressler standing side-by-side. I tilted my head at the sight of the doctor.
“Oh, right,” said Abigail, noticing my expression. “Athena suggested we bring Dressler with us, given her experience with some of the technology. I didn’t see the harm.”
“And you’re okay with this?” I asked, looking directly at Dressler. “It could be dangerous. We don’t know shit about what’s waiting for us.”
“I survived that gods-awful ice planet, didn’t I?” asked the doctor. “This can’t be any worse than that. Besides, none of you are engineers. If anything needs to be fixed, you won’t know the first thing about what to do.”
“Fair point,” I said, leaning on a rail against the corridor wall.
Dressler raised a small briefcase. “I’m bringing some tools, just in case.”
I nodded, looking at Abigail. “Any other surprises?”
“Not for the moment, but hopefully I’ll think of something.”
Freddie and Dressler unpacked their equipment in the lounge while Abby and I took to the bridge. By the time we finished going over the plan again, we were nearly at our destination.
“Arriving out of slipspace in six minutes, Captain,” informed Athena.
“We’re ready,” I told her, tapping the controls to raise the cloak.
Part of the initial plan involved The Renegade Star cloaking itself before Titan even arrived. That way, it eliminated any chance of a drone spotting our ship when we disembarked.
“Last chance to get off,” I said, looking at Abigail.
“I’m staying put, but you can leave if you want,” she told me with a smile.
“You know I can’t trust you with my ship,” I said, turning back to the dash. “Nice try, though.”
An icon flashed, letting me know the engines were primed and ready. I placed my hand on the control stick, slowly pulling back.
The Renegade Star began to hover off the landing bay floor, and I eased us closer to the shielded gate.
“Approaching slip gap point, sir,” informed Sigmond. “Shall I raise the cloak?”
“Do it, Siggy,” I ordered.
The cloak initiated almost instantly, seconds before the emerald slip tunnel wall began to split apart, revealing the dark void of normal space.
“Here we go,” I muttered, easing the ship closer to the edge, ready to disembark. I waited for the bulk of Titan to break from the tunnel. Once our section was free, I took the controls and brought us into open space, easing away from the Moon.
“Sir, I am detecting movement,” informed Siggy. The holo display transformed to show the entire star system. Near the fourth planet, on the other side of the asteroid belt, Abaddon Station floated in isolation, surrounded by a string of red dots.
“How many drones, Siggy?” I asked as I brought my ship into the nearby belt.
“Thirty-seven, sir,” said Sigmond. As soon as he told me the number, several more dots blinked to life, arriving on the opposite side of the system. “Apologies. There are fifty-two drones, sir.”
The dots began to move from Abaddon, heading toward Titan’s position. At the same time, I saw several blue dots emerge from the Moon, indicating our strike ships were on their way to plant their mines. “Patch me through to the others,” I ordered.
“Go ahead, sir,” said the A.I.
I took a quick breath. “This is Hughes. We’re cloaked and on our way to Abaddon. Everyone, watch yourselves. Plant those mines and double back to Titan as soon as you can. Keep track of the enemy drones. Don’t let them get too close.”
“Leave the busy work to us,” responded Octavia. “We’ll be waiting for you when it’s done.”
“Watch yourself, Octavia,” added Abigail. “All of you.”
We flew through the belt, the strike ships already dropping mines behind us. Before we emerged, several of the drones were already nearing the asteroids.
None of the drones noticed us, so I continued toward Abaddon, unfettered. I wasn’t sure if they could detect me, not fully, so I couldn’t help but feel relieved when we passed right by them, undetected. If we could only make it to the station, we might stand a decent chance at this.
As The Star neared the fourth planet, the holo showed a slip tunnel forming near Titan. “We’ll return for you soon,” said Athena, her voice coming from the turn-key, located beneath the dash. “Please, use caution while aboard the station.”
“Leave it to us,” said Abigail.
With that, Titan disappeared into the tunnel, dozens of drones following it inside, before the rift could close.
The Renegade Star was now on its own.
* * *
Abaddon Station was before us, only a short distance away as we began to decelerate.
Two red dots remained near the station, unmoving. “Looks like a couple of drones are still here,” I said, checking over the holo.
“Why do you think they stayed behind?” asked Abigail.
Sigmond answered this time, surprising me. “It is likely that these two drones operate on a separate protocol than the others in order to protect Abaddon Station.”
I tilted my head, after hearing Siggy’s suggestion. “Where’d you come up with that?” I asked him.
“Apologies, sir. Athena uploaded an extensive library of information regarding Abaddon Station, the defense network, and the associated drones in order to better serve the mission.”
“She should’ve told me about that,” I muttered. “Hell, Siggy. The next time you get a dose of kn
owledge, you let me know.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Bring us closer to the docking bay on Abaddon, but watch the drones,” I said, shooting a quick glance at Abigail. “If they move, shoot them.”
She nodded. “Simple enough.”
But the drones never budged, despite how close were drew to the station. Even after we entered the bay, the ships remained completely motionless, allowing me to breathe a little easier. We’d been lucky to make it this far, I knew, which meant it could all fall apart at any moment.
The Renegade Star dropped to the raised landing platform and lowered its cloak. I kept my eyes on the holo, waiting for any sign of movement, whether from the drones or elsewhere, but saw nothing.
A few seconds later, I unhooked my harness and got to my feet. With a quick nod to Abigail, the two of us left the cockpit, making our way to the loading dock.
Dressler and Freddie were already there, waiting for us, prepped in their environmental suits.
Abigail and I got dressed and secured our helmets, making sure to grab a weapon from the nearby locker before heading out, just in case.
The lift cracked open, once we were set. As we walked down to the platform, I could already see the expansive interior in all its glory. It was like we were back on Titan, based on the layout and architecture of the landing bay.
To my surprise, there were no other ships here, including any drones. I had expected to see a few, at least, but the entire area was empty, except for The Star. Where did the drones go for repairs? Even Titan had several hundred strike ships sitting on it, waiting to be used. Abaddon Station had nothing.
“Siggy, quick question,” I said, continuing to look around the open area. “Did Athena tell you what happened to the people who used to work here?”
“The station is fully automated, according to my data,” he answered. “The Cognitive in charge of the defense network used to oversee the station’s activities.”
“How?” asked Abby.
I pulled up the interior map of the station, quickly locating the connecting corridor we would need to take and began walking toward it. The others followed, continuing the conversation as we went.