by Jessie Wolf
“No. Well maybe, but I’m not sure.”
“Ok, what do you think is going on?”
“Well, if what I’m seeing in my read outs are correct your brain waves are more in line with my own processing algorithms. It is either that or I have gotten a better synchronistic alignment with your brain wave patterns.”
It is Charley who gives me the answer to what’s going on. “I hate to tell you all this, but that ain’t it. What’s happening is Vicky’s AI was not at full development last night. This morning she is closer to her full capacity as such you are able to tap into that greater amount of processing power. Now if she continues at the rate she has been then by the time dinner rolls around she will match both me and Dee De.”
“Do you mean that I’ll be as smart as you and big sister, brother?”
“Yes he does, baby sister. We figured that it will take you a full twenty-eight hour day for you to reach your full potential.” Dee De put in.
“Are you two telling me that by the time same time tonight as when I first climbed into her harness last night that she will have reached her full growth as an AI?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
“In a word, yes. By the time we reach the estate Vicky will be on the same level as a twelve year old, by tonight she will equal a full grown adult.” Charley explained.
“So what you’re telling me is that she is ‘growing up’ before our eyes?” I asked of them.
“As usual you got it in one kiddo. However that’s not all that’s happening here. From what I can tell the more her AI progresses the greater her capabilities become.” Dee De tells me.
“Oh yes quite true sis. I believe that with every hour that passes, Maiha, you will see unparalleled increases in her computational power. To put it in simple terms. Right now she is using training wheels by the time we get home she won’t need them, then by tonight she has her driver’s licenses.” Charley’s explanation floors me.
“If that’s the case do either of you two have a guess as to how powerful she will become?”
It takes them a few minutes but Dee De finally tells me. “If our calculations are correct Vicky will have the computing power of a fourth generation AI if not higher.”
“You mean to tell me that she’ll surpass the both of you?”
“Unfortunately yes. It seems that Vicky’s newer and much larger systems allow for a greater capacity for growth as an AI.” Answers Charley.
My Goddess! If Vicky has that kind of power at her disposal then what do the AIs of my family have? I don’t have to wait long to find out as first Nanase, followed quickly by Nanami and Fuyuko, all try to contact me at the same time in a panic. Thankfully mama steps in and restores order, as well as calms down my three younger sisters. “Ok guys, I take it you all have discovered the increase in the power of your connections to your Suits. Am I right?” when they all give me a very loud yes I let them in on what is going on. After five minutes of explaining what Dee De and Charley told me I was able to calm their fears.
“Ok Storm Dancers it’s time for us to move over into line with the rest of our House troops. Wait one while I find out where Mountain six wants us. Over.”
“Roger that Wave Dancer.”
“Mountain six, this is Wave Dancer. Over”
“Wave Dancer this is Mountain six. How can I help you? Over”
“Mountain six where do you want the Storm Dancers to form up at? Over”
“Dancer place yourselves between the Mountain Wolves and the Hell Hounds. Over”
“Roger that Mountain. On the way. Out”
“Ok Storm Dancers you heard the man let’s get a move on it. Over”
“Roger that Wave Dancer.” Answered mama for the rest of my family. Then I hear her start to issue her own orders to my family. “Maidens fall in behind me Monsoon Maiden you’re tail end Charley. Tempest you’re to keep your eyes on our right side and Typhoon your to do the same on the left. Monsoon be sure to check our six o’clock on a regular bases. I don’t care if there is someone behind us I want you all to treat this as a real world stand-alone exercise. Do you understand? Over”
I listen in as they all confirm mama’s orders. The next one she gives out though is a surprise. “Wave Dancer go ahead and move out. I want a full recon of our route home. Over”
When Mountain six tried to overrule her she told him that of all the pilots that were present I was the best one for the job. When Hell Hound one said he could send out his heavy lance as scouts she pointed out that our best option was for them to keep the heavies and assault lances together because of how slow they were; even he backed down. I don’t know where she got all of this military knowledge all of a sudden, but I’m going to find out, and right now. “Mountain Mistress switchover to tac two please. Over”
A few seconds later I hear mama on tactical frequency two. “Yes Wave Dancer you have a question. Over”
“That’s a big roger there Mistress. Where did all of this military knowledge come from? Over”
“I came by it from Chie. Over”
“Mistress who is Chie? Over”
“Why Wave Dancer, you of all people should know the answer to that. Over”
I think about it for a few seconds before the answer hits me. “Is Chie your Death Dealer AI Mistress? Over”
“So the light dawns. Very good child. For some reason Chie has a full memory of military knowledge and tactics that I am able to access. She has also pointed out a great deal of little things that can improve our tactical situation. Over”
Now I know what is going on. When her AI came online as being fully self-aware it began to give mama all she need to know on how to be a military commander. Couple that with her years of experience as a High Priestess it’s no wonder that she is as good already as a military commander. She can see the little details that most commanders miss. On top of that she is not handicapped by years of indoctrination that most field commanders have. Allowing her to think outside of the box. Not only does this make her one hell of a tactician, but she’ll be deadly as all hell in a fire fight.
“Sounds good to me, Mountain Mistress. Ok I’m moving out now. I should be able to get at least half way back to the estate before everyone here is on the road home. Over”
“Dancer don’t push it too far out. We don’t know if the bad guys have set up a reception committee for us or not. Over”
I can’t help it; I just have to be a smart ass. “AAAHHH! You don’t let me have any fun. Over”
“This is not the time to be a smart ass Dancer. Everything by the book. Do you hear me? I want you coming home to me, understand? Over”
Maybe it was the worry that I heard in her voice or the fact that I had upset her to the point of yelling at me I quickly dropped the attitude. “Roger that Mountain Mistress. By the book, keep my head down, and come home in one piece. Over”
“Thank you Wave Dancer. Out”
Once she signed off I switched back to TAC one and started my recon sweep of the roadway to home. As I moved I had Vicky’s sensors at full. If there was someone waiting for us I want as much warning as possible. I keep an ear out for any radio traffic from the convoys that will let me know if I miss something. About half way I start sweeping back and forth across the route home. I know that it is probably a waste of time, but this way I’ll know if the enemy is out here.
“Wave Dancer this is Hell Hound six. Over”
“Hell Hound six you have traffic for me. Over”
“Dancer are you making cross path sweeps of our route? Over”
“That’s a roger Hell Hound. Why? Over”
“We were picking up your ground trail, but couldn’t pick you up on radar. Over”
“That is the goal of every good scout Hound six. To not be seen until the very last moment. Over”
The laugh that I hear over the radio tells me that he was using me to get a point across to one of his troops. His next transmission tells me that I had figured it right. “Thank you for making
my point Wave Dancer. Too many of the youngsters didn’t believe me when I told them what you were doing. Over”
“My pleasure Hound six. Now I have to get back to work. Out” and with that I got back to the job of being a scout. Not an easy job to do in an eighty ton war machine. For the next two and a half hours I crisscross the route. When I check my map I see that I’m less than four miles from the estate. At that point in time I get my first bleep on my radar. Seeing as I am within such a short distance to the estate I contact Col. Fujiyama before doing anything.
“Mountain Wolf six this is Wave Dancer. Over”
“Go ahead Wave Dancer. Over”
“Six I have what looks like two lances of medium Alpha Papa Sierra’s at about three miles from Home Plate. Are there friendlies operating out here? Over”
“Dancer hold your current position while I check in with Home Plate. Over”
“Roger that six. Holding position. Over”
I move over to a rock outcropping for some cover and keep an eye on the two bleeps on my radar. As I’m waiting I get another two lances worth of bleeps on my screen. This ain’t good. That’s a total of twelve AP Suits out there without any F.F.I. and they’re moving into position for what looks like an ambush. Oh shit that is exactly what they’re doing. For some reason they haven’t either picked me up on their sensors or spotted me by looking around. What the hell. Why aren’t the House troops patrolling outside the estate compound? They should be at least making standard patrol sweeps of the area. Well no sense in worrying about that now I need to get into position to break up this ambush before it can get started.
Stepping away from the outcropping I swing out and around to the far side of their formation. As I move Vicky starts to paint each one of them with a targeting marker. When we get to where I can start my run in on them she gives me four hard locks on what has to be their far left flankers. Along with each hard target lock she gives me a read out of the target is. Now normally I would only have one maybe two hard lock’s at best, and no target info. The fact that Vicky is able to give all that she has is unbelievable. I have to make sure I’m not seeing things.
“Vicky, is the info you on the HUD accurate?”
The voice I hear next is not the one I heard earlier this morning. Well not quite it sounds like the voice of a teenager not a seven year old. “Maiha that is good as I can get it right now. Why is there a problem?”
“Oh no problem. It’s just that you have a hard lock on four targets with the type of APS they are, is all. I’m just not used to it is all.”
“Oh I thought that it was standard procedure to supply my pilot with as many hard targets and what type. Do you need me to cut back on the number of targets?”
“No need. I just want to know if you can handle it is all?”
“Oh sure. In fact I have another ten targets being tracked waiting for the primaries to be destroyed.”
Holy shit. She’s tracking a total of fourteen targets with four of them on hard lock for primary engagement. Good lord if she can do this now, then what the hell will she be able to do tomorrow. I deal with this later right now I need to find out if I need to engage them or not. I still haven’t heard back from Col. Fujiyama.
“Mountain Wolf six this is Wave Dancer. Over”
I wait a few minutes then try again. When I still can’t get a hold of him I try Maj. Howard. When I get no answer from him I being to get a very bad feeling.
“Vicky, are there any radio frequencies open out there?”
“Yes just the one to the rest of the Storm Dancers. All others are being jammed by the AP Suit in the middle of the target area.”
“Open up a link to the Storm Dancers and then switch targeting priority to that AP Suit. It has to have an Electronic Warfare Package on board. We have to take it out first.”
“You have the link on Maiha. Targeting the enemy APS now. Oh shit, Maiha you’re not going to like this. That APS is a Night Hawk an electronic warfare suit. There is only one way to target it and to do that you will have to be right on top of it.”
“Great, just great. It’s one of the new black op suits right?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t get a hard lock at this range, but the moment we get to within four hundred meters I should be able to target him and get a hard lock when I do.”
“Not your fault. Right now I need to let the convoy know about the ambush.”
Before I can get the first word out of my mouth though I hear mama voice over the radio. “Wave Dancer this is Mountain Mistress. Over”
“Mistress this is Wave Dancer. I don’t have a lot of time. There is an ambush waiting for our return again at the following coordinates. I’ll take out the jammer so everyone can talk but you need to get the rest of them moving into to help save my ass. Over”
“Dancer do not I repeat do not engage the enemy. Do you hear me?! Over!”
I hate to do this but I have to break up this ambush before it gets started. “Say again Mistress you’re coming in broken and distorted. Over”
“Vicky cut the connection.”
“The connection is cut, Maiha. Are you sure that was smart?”
Laughing I tell her the truth. “Hell no! That was one of the dumbest things I have ever done. Almost as dumb as what we are about to do. Now where is that Night Hawk?”
“He is just behind the two seventy to Warhammers. If I had to guess I would say that they want to keep him safe and sound by placing him behind everyone else.”
“Ok baby girl let’s show them how wrong they are.” With that I began my first attack run on the enemy. As we move through the woods I feel our speed increase soon we are doing close to Vicky’s top speed. I can’t believe it I figured we would have to slow down, but for some reason she is moving in the same manner that I would if I was on the ground and not in her cockpit. The only thing I can think of is that my own way of moving has been translated into her. If that is the case then what Col. Fujiyama and Maj. Howard said earlier was true. We have become one being. May the Goddess of War have mercy on their souls if this is true. Because if it is then Deaths Daughter has come to claim her first souls.
As we break into the rear of their formation I get my first look at the Night Hawk. At three hundred meters we get our hard target lock. Vicky gives me a full read out on what it is armed with and his capabilities. At eighty-five tons and with two heavy one hundred and eighty millimeter rail guns he is a beast but with his back to me I can pour all four of our main guns into it. I should be able to take him out before they even know what hit them.
As I cross the two hundred meter mark the son of a bitch starts to turn around, but he’s too late. I cut lose with all four main guns. The PPCs slam into him like chained lighting, as the PPLs draw a line from me to him of pure death. With all that energy and heat concentrated on the back armor it isn’t long before they punch through to the power plant. The Night Hawk comes apart at the joints as its power plant runs wild and explodes. The force of the explosion is so strong it almost knocks me off my feet. As it is the two Warhammers crash to the ground face first. Vicky’s heat monitor shoots up like a rocket toward the red zone. Well that lets me know right then and there not to ever do that again. Vicky lights up and targets the two Warhammers. Before I can stop her she fires the six medium lasers in her chest into the head of the one on the right while firing the left hand PPC into the one on the left. In short she destroyed the two of them before they even had a chance to fire a signal shot. Talk about deadly efficiency.
Before I know what going on I hear the voices of my family over the radio. What the hell? Did mama break away from the convoy and bring the rest of them with her. She sure as hell did from the sounds of it.
“Hit them now Storm Dancers. Typhoon take out those light weights on the left flank. Tempest take out the ones on the right. Monsoon you’re with me. We’ll hit them in the center where your sister blew that big ass hole in their line. I want prisoners if you can get them girls, but do not and I mean th
is, do not endanger your selves. If they won’t surrender leave only smoking Ruins. Over”
I hear a round of yes ma’am’s from them. Well seeing as how they came all this way to save my ass I might as well join in the fun. “Welcome to the party Storm Dancers. We have a total of thirteen bad guys out here to play with. Hit them on the run and don’t stop moving. If you can push your speed up to full and let your AIs handle the targeting and fire of your weapons.”
“Roger that Wave Dancer. Our Suit AIs have already given us the low down on the targeting up grades. But what’s this about moving at full speed? Over” that was Typhoon.
“Typhoon Maiden our Suits move the way we do. So we can out maneuver anything out there. Over”
“This is Tempest Maiden. Are you telling us that our Suits are now an extension of ourselves? Over”
“That’s a roger there little sister. Now get a move on it. We still have bad guys to deal with. Over” to make my point I target a lone Raven APS and hit it with all I got. The poor bastard never had a chance. He went up like a rocket. At about that time mama’s Highlander sent twin two hundred millimeter rail gun rounds into the chest of a Rifleman that never stopped. They just went straight though him. He fell where he stood. My little sisters weren’t sitting back doing nothing during this time. Oh no they each had dropped an APS and were working on their next targets. The one hundred and eighty millimeter auto cannons of the Patton’s were signing out a song of pure death and destruction. By the time we had made our first pass there was a total of fifty percent of the enemy down or destroyed. All before they could get even one shot off at us. Turning hard to the left Vicky gives me a hard lock on two Puma’s medium weight support APS’. As I begin to come into range they open up on me. I dodge to the side crossing their lines of fire making them pull up or shoot their partner. That was all the break I needed. I pour on the speed and head straight at them. Once again Vicky takes over the firing of our weapons. She pours thunder and lightning into each of them. Each one gets a PPC, PPL, and three of the medium lasers to the head and chest areas. The heat that pours into the cockpit is dammed near unbearable. Now I see why heat management is so important for the pilot of a Mountain Lion. With this kind of heat it could cook its pilot if not for the built in safety shutdown. I turn and head out away from the next targets. “Vicky, baby girl did you forget about our auto Shutdown if we get too hot?”