Dark Rivals

by Amy DuBoff

  >>We have no understanding of the propulsion system on this craft. It is entirely possible that it has some form of gate tech. It did appear seemingly out of nowhere, after all.<<

  Well, shit. Huh. Ava uncrossed her arms and stared up at the rock node. So, in theory, once we take out this ship, we’ll be done with the rogue Dyons.<<

  >>Presumably. If there were others, I’d expect those carrier slots in the cylinders to be full. The fact that this ship is empty indicates that they pooled their resources and set out to grow their numbers.<<

  Right, hence the plot with taking over the Alaxar Trinary. But… who are the other Dyons?

  >>I can offer no insight into that,<< the AI replied.

  I guess it doesn’t matter. Ava shook her head. Back to the critical items now. Assuming this ship is controlled by a group of rogue Dyons, and none of them want to play nice—which may be why the ship’s parts aren’t talking to each other—that doesn’t help us access the systems we need to access.

  >>No, it doesn’t,<< Ruby agreed. >>I probably shouldn’t have even brought this up now. It’s not relevant to our mission.<<

  Actually, it’s given me the beginning of an idea.

  >>Please share, because I don’t have a suggestion for how to proceed.<<

  Were you able to identify what this node is responsible for? Ava asked. If it’s not communications, then…?

  >>Structural control.<<

  Meaning?

  >>I believe this node is what’s controlling the internal movements of the corridors.<<

  Ava laughed. Oh, shit, really? That makes it way easier! I was about to suggest some crazy convoluted thing with hacks, tricks, and whatever other nonsense.

  >>Okay, so what do you have in mind?<<

  Ava smiled. All we need to do is tell this node exactly where we want to go.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “Status!” Kurtz ordered.

  “No word from Ava or the Raven, sir,” the communications tech reported. “I have detected no friendly signal within the alien ship.”

  She should have been in touch by now. Kurtz drummed his fingers on the armrest of his command chair.

  Infiltrating any enemy compound always came with the risk that communications would be lost inside. Usually, there was some means to counter the interference. The device Nick had designed should have allowed Ava to tap into the alien ship’s own communications array, but clearly something had gone wrong.

  With the communications blackout and no other sign, they had no way of knowing if she would be able to complete her mission, or even know if she was alive. Kurtz only had his faith that she wouldn’t give up.

  Regardless of his concern for her safety, they were out of time. The Dyon ship would be visible in the Alaxar Trinary within five minutes. Even if Ava were to make her exit at that moment, an explosion wouldn’t happen until it was well within visual range.

  “Send the override order to the shield generators in the Alaxar Trinary,” he instructed.

  Captain Vera nodded, then leaned over the edge of her chair to access a console next to her. “Sent,” she confirmed.

  “Now we wait.”

  * * *

  A warning flashed across Karen’s computer monitor.

  Is this it? She’d been waiting for the moment of truth—what, exactly, the FDG’s ‘visual disturbance’ would be with their alleged ‘test’. The warning about an offworld signal tapping into the control module for the shields indicated that she was about to find out.

  She hit the comm on her desk. “Trisha, did you get the alert?”

  “Yeah, the packet is still downloading. It should be live in two minutes.”

  “I’ll meet you in Command Central.”

  She jogged down the hall past the bullpen of cubicles to the bank of windows on the far wall. The windows overlooked the courtyard between the Nezaran government building and NTech headquarters. More importantly for the present, it offered a clear view of the sky through the top of the translucent biodome.

  It was twilight, and the stars were beginning to show alongside two of Nezar’s three moons. The deep blue sky had a slight haziness to it from a nearby windstorm, but otherwise was perfectly clear.

  “Anything yet?” Trisha asked, coming up behind her.

  “No. I’m not even sure what to look for.”

  “Maybe it will be nothing.”

  Karen shook her head. “I doubt that. The fact that they gave a warning at all means it will be significant. If anything, those kinds of announcements downplay the reality.”

  Trisha crossed her arms. “Well, we distributed our press release about the ‘test’. I just sent an alert to the news networks that it was about to begin. It should be on every screen momentarily.”

  Karen peered down at the massive reader board above the NTech lobby entrance. Sure enough, there was a red crawler along the bottom of the screen stating that a planetary shield test was in progress.

  Murmurs of surprise sounded around the room.

  She returned her gaze upward in time to see an opaque spot in the upper atmosphere above the city, which was slowly growing. It spread across the shield like a pool of paint flowing around a sphere. Wherever it covered, the moonlight dimmed only a small measure, but the stars and moon were completely obscured.

  “I was expecting some flickering!” Trisha exclaimed. “This…”

  “I know why the FDG is doing it, but I don’t know how we explain this to the public.” Karen shook her head.

  “Why block out the night sky?”

  “Well, on the one hand, they’re doing us a favor by hiding the planet-ship from view of the people on the surface. Dealing with the handful of people in the spaceport above the shield is way easier.”

  “That’s true.” Trisha nodded. “But you think there’s another reason?”

  “Yeah, the real reason. They’ve been evasive about how, exactly, they intend to take down that absurdly big ship. Whatever weapon they have that’s capable of that level of destruction, they don’t want anyone to know what it is—or that they even have it. If no one sees it, it’s hearsay.”

  “I guess we’ll need to keep our mouths shut, too.”

  Karen released a long breath. “Sometimes it’s a burden, having more information than anyone else and needing to keep it to yourself. Personally, though, I’d rather keep a secret and know the truth than blindly follow on the outside.”

  “I’m with you there.”

  “Ma’am?” a tech said from one of the nearby cubicles. “Daily News has someone on the line asking to do an interview about this shield test.”

  Karen smiled at Trisha. “Why don’t you take this one?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “It should come from a local. If they interview me, it might make them more suspicious.”

  Trisha sighed and nodded. “All right.”

  “Come on, let’s jot down some talking points.”

  * * *

  Ava frowned at the code running through her mind. Okay, so maybe telling the node where we want it to take us wasn’t as straightforward as I’d hoped.

  Whenever she watched Nick and Samantha work on a hack, they’d made it look easy. As an AI, Ruby had innate skill in computer-related endeavors, but the Dyons’ programming language was as alien as their lifeform.

  We might need to try something else, Ava suggested.

  >>No, you’re right. This is the best strategy. I know there’s a way we can tell this ship to move this node to where we need to be, or at least how to open a pathway right to it.<<

  They’d already been working on it for fifteen minutes. The clock was ticking down too quickly.

  Ruby—

  >>Wait, I’ve got it!<< the AI exclaimed. >>Watch this magic.<<

  The ground trembled, and a hole appeared five meters to the left. Descending into the depth was a perfectly formed spiral staircase, made of the same stone-like material that was present throughout the ship.

  Ava gaped
at the creation. You are amazing! I’d ask you how you did it, but I don’t think I want to know.

  >>Take the gift and go! The program is still running, and it will open a path for us back to the pod, too.<<

  That’s a long way up now.

  >>But it won’t be. I have programmed the bottom of the cylinder to lower to the level of the core. It should be a straight run for us, and then we can fly out.<<

  Damn, that would have been such an easier way to get in!

  >>Hindsight, and all that. We never could have hacked it remotely. They could override my commands at any time, though. We need to hurry. Nick and Sam can keep it active for us once they get remote access.<<

  Can you? Keep it open, I mean?

  >>Not without an additional processor. Your mind is amazing, Ava, but it doesn’t have the resources for an ongoing hack like that.<<

  Understood. What about the device? She looked down at the box still resting on the ground by the column.

  >>I’m using it to temporarily keep the doorway open. Leave it.<<

  Without further delay, Ava raced down the stairs.

  After the equivalent of twenty stories, her legs were burning, despite her augmentations. Rapid healing or not, she suspected she’d be feeling all the running around tomorrow.

  She descended another fifteen stories before she finally spotted the bottom. To her right, she saw a surprisingly straight tunnel that faded into darkness.

  >>That’ll be our exit,<< Ruby explained. >>Head left. We’re almost there.<<

  Ava ran in the indicated direction, her movements feeling odd over the flat ground, after spending so much time on the stairs.

  How deep are we now?

  >>Don’t think about that. We have our exit plan,<< Ruby replied.

  The left path led through a corridor the scale of the other chambers she had encountered thus far. The ceiling curved above her fifteen meters up, transitioning into rippled walls. The floor was the same spongy covering of interwoven fibers that she’d encountered in the depths of the ship, and it gave extra bounce to her step as she ran.

  After half a kilometer, the broad passageway flared outward at the entrance to a chamber that dwarfed the others.

  >>This is the core,<< Ruby stated as Ava entered.

  A central column of rock rose in the center of the chamber, adorned by what looked like petals of a blooming flower, crafted from the same stone. It towered at least a kilometer high, but Ava couldn’t get a clear reading on the top.

  >>This node is connected to the rest of the ship,<< Ruby explained. >>Communications, defenses—we can get it all from here.<<

  So, we patch in, and then Nick and Sam will keep it locked down while we escape?

  >>That’s the plan.<<

  Okay, tell me where I hook this up. Ava pulled the main module from her bag.

  She jogged toward the central column, listening for any enemies that may be lurking in the shadows. In a space so large, anyone could be watching her without her knowledge.

  The fibrous groundcover thickened closer to the column, and Ava was soon sinking in, up to her mid-shin. Thanks to the field around her suit, the fibers moved from her path with every step. Without that, though, she feared it would be able to swallow her up in moments.

  >>Put it in physical contact with one of the data conduits. That will give a backup connection in case the wireless interface fails.<<

  How do I use this tracer thing to find it? Ava asked.

  >>I’ll add a visual overlay for you. This might be a little… disorienting.<<

  Ava’s vision distorted in a pixelated flash. When it cleared, there was an eerie purple glow to the environmental features around her. Some spots were bright, and others were almost black.

  What is this?

  >>Electromagnetic field overlay. The brighter the spot, the more energy is running through it. You see that conduit in the central column?<<

  Ava nodded. It stood out from the others, both in brightness and thickness. That’s this node’s primary connection with the rest of the ship, isn’t it?

  >>That’s my best guess, anyway. We’ll know right away if it works or not.<<

  Ava slogged through the moss-like fibers toward the part of the bright conduit that appeared to be closest to the surface. When she reached out her hand, it sank into the bed of flexible fibers, and then touched stone underneath.

  Can you dim the visual overlay? I need to look at this.

  The purple faded from her vision.

  Sure enough, the conduit she needed to access was deep within the column, without any discernable access point. Are you sure we need a physical connection?

  >>Without it, I fear the ship will be able to override the wireless signal much faster. It may buy us a minute or two, but seconds could make the difference.<<

  All right, time to get creative. Ava returned the module to her bag.

  She stuck her hand into the mat of fibers covering the stone column, working them inward and tearing away the covering to expose the stone underneath.

  >>It needs to be in contact with the conduit inside.<<

  I know, Ava replied to the AI.

  She pressed her fingertips into the rock. They sank in slightly, where the field around her suit made contact with the stone, breaking apart the bonds that held it together.

  Can you turn up the intensity?

  Ruby smiled in her mind. >>Why didn’t I think of that?<<

  An electric spark shocked Ava’s arm, but she blocked out the discomfort. Curling her fingers into a fist, she punched into the stone.

  Her hand disappeared into the column, up to her wrist.

  This is super weird…

  >>Don’t go too deep!<< Ruby warned. >>We don’t want to disrupt the conduit itself.<<

  The electromagnetic overlay returned to Ava’s vision. She could see the outline of the shield around her hand and where her fist was in relation to the conduit. She’d need to go as deep as her elbow to reach it.

  She worked her arm in until her fist was brushing the edge of the conduit. Then she dragged it downward to create a vertical slit in the column wall large enough to slip the module inside.

  While sliding her right arm up and down to keep the opening from closing, she readied the module in her left hand.

  Ava quickly withdrew her right arm, then grabbed the module and carefully slid it into place, the pronged end pointed toward the conduit. The rock stayed clear of the field surrounding the device.

  When the prongs were in contact with the conduit, Ava slid her arm out from the opening.

  That was a little more… intimate than I was expecting.

  >>Yeah, I’m not going to take the bait and degrade into a conversation riddled with innuendo. I need to hack into this comm system.<<

  Good plan, Ava agreed.

  Ruby was silent for two minutes while she became acquainted with the network.

  >>And we have contact! Tapped into the communication system now. Pinging the Raven.<<

  A moment later, a chirp sounded in Ava’s comm.

  “Raven, can you hear me?” she asked.

  “Ava! Thank the stars,” Widmore replied. “It’s been over two hours. What happened?”

  “Ran into some moving passageways and mutant rock-dogs. The usual.”

  The major was silent. “Are… you okay?”

  “Yes, sir. I’m at one of the inner nodes now.”

  “Wait, what?” Nick said, jumping on the communication link. “You were only supposed to tap into one of the conduits running to the node.”

  “Yeah, well, that plan didn’t work. It was a great idea, but this ship is all kinds of fucked up.”

  “What do you mean?” the major asked, concern evident in his tone.

  “The components aren’t integrated in the way we had anticipated,” Ruby supplied. “I have come to believe that this group of Dyons is a rogue faction.”

  “Meaning there are other Dyons?” Widmore clarified.

  “Possibly, sir
. This is all speculation,” Ava responded. “But this ship isn’t built-out. It’s like a bunch of disaggregated parts were thrown together by a group of people who don’t want to work together.”

  “I’m not sure I follow, Lieutenant…”

  “I’ll explain once I’m back, sir. The important part is that we needed to get to this central node in order to access the necessary parts. Ruby has a wedge in the door for you.”

  “Yes! I see the access point,” Nick said.

  “It’s going to take some time to trace the defensive controls,” Samantha said, speaking up for the first time in the conversation.

  “Good, because we’ll need some time to get out of here,” Ava said. “It’d be nice to have a chance to get back to you before the Hellfire blows this thing.”

  “You might want to be careful about vocalizing those plans,” Widmore cautioned.

  “Pretty sure they picked up our intention when the Hellfire attacked last time.”

  “We have your back. Get out of there, ma’am,” Nick said.

  >>Handoff is complete,<< Ruby reported in her mind. >>Let’s see if that pod made it to where it’s supposed to be.<<

  “I’ll see you soon,” Ava told her teammates. She muted the comm.

  What do we do if it’s not?

  >>We get to find out how fast you can climb.<<

  Ava ran toward the open passageway leading in the direction of the pod. She’d gone no more than four steps when a chorus of voices filled her mind.

  “Where are you going, Ava? We’re not finished with you yet.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Ava froze in her tracks—not restrained by a physical force, but by a command in her mind.

  Shit! Ruby, how are they doing this?

  Her heart pounded in her ears. They hadn’t been able to overpower her—not since she faced off against Reya on Nezar, when the Dyon was inside Chancellor Heizberg.

  >>I don’t know. I can’t sense it. I’m sorry, Ava, there’s nothing I can do. You have to fight it.<<

  Help me shift!