OMEGA Rescue

by Stephen Arseneault

  "Your eyes," I said. "One watches me as the other watches the room. I find that fascinating."

  Juuta's second eye focused in on me. "The left brain of my species is dominant in language; therefore my left eye follows you as you speak. My right brain has better attention and creativity, therefore my right eye is constantly moving, observing that which surrounds me."

  I took a moment in thought. "We have a single brain with two hemispheres, each having dominant traits. Your two brains work in a similar manner. That functionality seems to be common among sentient beings."

  I returned to Juuta's prior statement. "We aren't with the AIs. The Tamarin, the people you fought back there, they were with the AIs. They were also holding one of our people hostage. The Human you heard rumors about."

  Juuta nodded. "But you aren't Human. What are you?"

  I replied, "Grunta. We have been allies of the Humans and at war with the Tamarin and their AIs. It has been a confusing time as to who's who. We have been interacting with multiple species, and they all seem to have a propensity for switching allegiances. I understand the AIs attacked your colonies, or at least tried to."

  Juuta sat back on his bed. "The AIs are virulent expansionists. Our leaders, from when the first AIs arrived, mistrusted them. Our saving grace was their vigilance in observing them, always suspicious of their intent. They discovered the AIs were using the resources we traded to them to first rapidly grow their numbers and then to build a fleet. We attacked, a single ship escaped. A fleet was sent to chase them, but it never returned. We have patrolled the space surrounding our colonies ever since, waiting for their resurgence."

  I asked, "The technology that makes your craft almost invisible. How do you do that?"

  Juuta hesitated. "I do not know. I am but a guard."

  I slowly nodded as I raised and wagged a suspicious finger. "A guard who actually passed the science exam. You seem intelligent enough. I would have to believe you know. However, I won't press for that information. I understand the need to keep such things secret from those you mistrust."

  I shifted in my chair, sitting upright. "Your colonies, that's a two cycle journey for your ships. That's quite the haul coming out to that planet and back. Was that just an outpost? Watching for the return of the AIs?"

  Juuta nodded. "We only came out this far three cycles ago. The camp was established and we were ordered to sit and watch. A small science team was left with us to study the planet. I was halfway through my assignment. The AI ships showed on our sensors, we signaled our fleet, they were in the area, and the AIs were destroyed."

  I again leaned in. "The building your scientists manned. There were three Tamarin in there that had been dissected. Is that the way the Baldi treat prisoners?"

  Juuta sighed. "I had wondered about that. I heard screams. They would last a few days and then there was once again silence. My colleagues and I, we only walked the perimeter wall. That was our only duty. We were not allowed into that building once the Tamarin were captured. We are not a barbaric species. We have fair trade and good relations with two other species we've encountered."

  I asked, "Had either of those other species come in contact with the AIs?"

  Juuta frowned. "I do not have knowledge of that."

  Our conversations lasted for another hour before Juuta decided it was best to not talk. I returned to the bridge.

  Jack pulled up an image of the Baldi system we had scanned. "Looks like they have a robust economy going, at least in this system. Did he tell you anything?"

  I shook my head. "No, he confirmed much of what Garrett had said. Other than that he was stingy with his information."

  Jack crossed his arms. "What do we do now?"

  I replied, "We wait for the Council."

  Jack sat forward. "Well, I can at least map the area surrounding that Baldi world. Give me an hour or two and we'll have a complete accounting of their colonies."

  I nodded. "I'll browse the data as it becomes available."

  Chapter 14

  * * *

  Hours were spent familiarizing ourselves with the colonies of the Baldi Empire. Seven robust, self-sustaining planets made up the main territories, with dozens of small outposts dotting the surrounding systems. After listening to and analyzing communications from in and around the colonies, a pattern emerged. The Baldi would build a colony to its maximum sustainable population and a new world would then be settled.

  Interactions with the other two species they had encountered happened once every two cycles. A single station had been constructed for the three empires to congregate and trade. The Baldi appeared to be the most paranoid of the three, having a military more than twice the size of either of the others.

  I said to Jack. "They have a comm system similar to our QE comms. Instant communications across vast distances. I have to wonder if their scientists made the same discovery of quantum entanglement."

  Jack replied, "Our people figured that out three thousand years ago. It was inevitable that someone else would too."

  A comm came in from Frig. "Mr. Beutcher, we've been conducting tests for the past hour. I thought you would want to know that Quan's archives are back online. I will now work to reduce the size of his memory units. Quan will focus on having the bots transfer the archives to his portal ship."

  An image of Tom Harper appeared over my arm pad in a comm hail. "Mr. Beutcher. I would like to be sent to Gratis."

  I said, "What about Harden Salton?"

  The colonel replied, "We've sent out three broadcasts to all news and media outlets on all colonies, announcing the fact that the AMP was being brought back to life in its former structure. Security forces will be backed up by military force if needed, and all colonies are to schedule elections for offices. All citizens of age 20 and over will be eligible to vote. Unrest has only been reported on two worlds, and we're sending ships and troops to have those officials removed by force if they don't comply with the new election schedules.

  "And Mr. Salton should not be a concern. We are back at his compound. Quan sent five thousand bots to rebuild this place. They just arrived, along with fifteen hundred of your Talisans. All government communications will originate from here for the time being, and Harden Salton is under confinement. Possession of all blasters in the AMP has been criminalized, and the security forces have been given top priority to collect them all. Refusal to comply can be punishable by death. We won't go that far of course, but the populace doesn't need to know that. That notice should go out within the hour."

  I said, "I would belay that order, Colonel. Many of those with blasters have them for self defense. If we deem it necessary in the future to remove those weapons, that can be revisited. For now, I would rather they feel secure with their families. The AMP brought with it security, but that hasn't been reestablished yet. Maybe you could put out an edict stating maximum prosecution if a blaster is used for any other purpose other than self-defense.

  "How goes the purge of AIs?"

  The colonel replied, "Slow. We have reports of close to fifty thousand ships remaining in the six galaxies. Our Tamarin friends seem to be about making excuses. The numbers are falling, but not as fast as I feel they should be. And I like your blaster suggestion. It's a reasonable request to want to maintain personal security when the governmental form is suspect. I'll have that order changed immediately. I don't like this AI situation."

  "I'll give Vagra a call," I said. "What's your need on Gratis?"

  The colonel was swept from his location on Alpha Prime to the bridge deck of the Ares. "I would like to have another attempt at getting that gate to Earth open. There are valuable resources there that would make our transition back to the AMP simpler. For one, new portal gates can only be constructed there, and we are in need of replacements for those that have been destroyed. Looking over the data, there are also a number of new candidate colonies for gates.

  "I would like to have a gate to Yallux from each of the galaxy capitals. The free flow of people
is our best defense against another overthrow. I would also like to bring back the day when any citizen could travel to any colony in the AMP without hindrance. That opens up equal opportunity for everyone when it comes to their economic achievements. I've looked over the rulings that led to the prior overthrow, and I have a few tweaks to the laws that should add more checks and balances."

  Jack performed a quick scan of Gratis before the colonel's transfer. "Uh, we have a problem."

  The colonel walked and stood behind Jack. "The AIs are still there in force. Get me a scan of the buried portal gate."

  Jack replied, "Wow. They've dug it out. This can't be good."

  I opened a comm to Vagra Withers. "Vagra, we are having a problem with the AIs. Their numbers in our galaxies are falling, but at far too slow a pace. And they seem to be actively attempting to steal one of our portal gates. What orders have come from your end?"

  Vagra shrugged. "All authority over the AIs has been passed to the Grunta Council. That happened yesterday during our agreement with them."

  I nodded. "Thank you."

  I opened a comm to Getta. "We have a problem."

  Getta replied, "I cannot talk at the moment, Knog. There is too much going on. I'll comm you back when I have a chance."

  The comm closed before I could reply.

  I turned to the colonel. "This is our galaxy. Take the Thorn. If you park beside the gate and enable its comm inhibitor, that action will bring every AI and bot within a few hundred meters of that gate to a stop. I would be interested in their response."

  Jack said, "Why don't we just open a portal from here and pipe an inhibitor signal through? With that small a portal opening, I can reroute a few generators and push the signal out to several kilometers."

  I replied, "Do it. I'd rather not send the Colonel or the Thorn in there if we don't need to. We need to know if this is the AIs acting on their own, or are they being directed by the Council."

  Jack punched in the generator routes followed by the portal coordinates. "Initiating gate, piping through the inhibitor signal."

  Both Go and the Colonel dropped to the floor, their artificial limbs had ceased to function.

  The Colonel blinked out. "That's a first. I'm OK now."

  Go said, "Wouldn't have thought that signal would interfere with these prosthesis. They don't have comm channels to each other."

  The colonel replied, "No, but they do communicate that way internally. That boosted signal must be enough to get through the shielding. It's a good thing the Duke didn't figure that out. Half our Marines voluntarily had their arms and legs replaced just before the War of Wars. I can't say things would have gone our way during that campaign if this had happened."

  Go motioned with his head. "Well, can someone at least prop me up in a chair?"

  Jack walked over, pulling him to the nearest seat and setting him upright.

  I said, "Bots are clear at the gate, Colonel, if you want to go in. And I would add that inhibitor signal to your personal broadcast abilities just in case you need it in the future."

  The colonel shook his head. "Can't say I'm fond of that option at the moment. I can broadcast with the active skin enabled, but I will be affected too."

  I nodded. "If that happens, we'll come get you."

  The colonel made his way to the Thorn, sweeping himself to Gratis. The portal gate had been contained and moved from nearly a kilometer underground to a position just on the surface. The colonel drifted out of the Thorn, floating just in front of the twenty meter tall structure.

  Tom Harper said, "It's still intact. I can now see how they've been moving these gates without issue. They were designed to automatically shut down if tampered with or moved. I see fixtures covering each of the sensors that feed that information to the circuits inside. Supposedly they should not have been able to synchronize the disabling of all those sensors at once, but they evidently found a way. Go, I'm passing you the dimensions of this gate. It's smaller than those on a standard colony. Tell me if it will fit in the bay of the Ares."

  Go replied, "Uh, I'm not doing anything until that signal is turned off."

  Jack laughed, "Hang on, Colonel. I can get that for you. Let's see... we need another two meters. Just a sec... I think we can modify the crew deck above. Would cut it in half, but it's rarely in use anyway. We don't have that many people aboard."

  The Colonel asked, "How long will it take. I'd rather get this moved out of here soon if we can."

  Jack replied, "I can help you with that too. Hop back in the Thorn and move away. I'll send that gate over to Maxell until we are ready for it here. That will also allow us to turn off that inhibitor signal."

  Go said, "Please, Colonel. Take that option."

  The colonel replied, "Make it happen, Mr. Carson. I'll be waiting at Maxell for a second sweep onto the Ares."

  Jack entered parameters for the portal generator. "Widening the portal and sweeping... now. OK, Colonel. It should be waiting for you on the surface of Maxell. I'm sending the coordinates."

  A thousand bots were sent to the Ares by Quan. Half an hour after they had begun, the bay of the Ares had been expanded. Seconds later, the Earth portal gate sat on her docking bay deck.

  Go walked down to look the gate over as the colonel stood in front of it. "Now we just need the access code, Colonel. Are you sure it hasn't popped into your head?"

  The colonel looked over the devices keeping the gate intact. "I'm over twenty-two hundred years old, Go. My memory isn't quite what it used to be."

  Go laughed, "For a senior citizen you're doing pretty well. So we know how they steal the gates now. Is there anything we can do that would prevent that in the future?"

  The colonel turned. "That's precisely what I was just thinking about. If we can get to Earth we can modify all these gates in any way we want."

  Go was shaking his head. "I can't believe they were attempting to steal another one."

  The colonel froze. "Quan. I need a scan of every gate out there. Tell me if there are any AIs in close proximity to any of them."

  The comm was silent for several seconds. "All gates, except those which were previously missing, are accounted for. Sixteen of those gates have an AI signal in close proximity."

  The colonel scowled. "They're trying to take more. Quan. I need you to pipe the AI inhibitor signal through every one of those gates. Go, come with me, we're going to take out a few AIs. Send them a message."

  Go followed the colonel onto the Thorn as Jack and I watched on his video feed. Seconds later the first AI and more than two thousand bots it controlled were blasted away by the Colonel and Go. Destruction of the remaining AIs at the fifteen other gates in question, followed. When the last of the gates had been cleared, the Thorn returned to the Ares.

  The colonel said, "Contact your Council. I want a full accounting of the remaining portal ships."

  I replied, "They aren't talking, Colonel. Getta claims too much is going on. They do have an entire planet to resettle."

  The colonel gestured toward the nav console. "I would like to see the data that supports that, Mr. Beutcher. They shouldn't be so busy as to not answer a simple question or two."

  Jack initiated a scan. "Give it a couple minutes."

  I said, "Colonel, my people have been conscripted and taken from their homes. They've fought with numerous species, with promises not being kept. They've only just discovered our original home world, the place of our species birth. And they're threatened by a rival species, the Grotus. If they need time to get resettlement underway, I won't begrudge them that time."

  When the scan had finished, Jack began pushing data to the screen. "Knog, I don't think you're going to like this. Data says you have about one hundred fifty thousand Grunta on Jorus right now. I thought they had all been moved."

  I thought for a moment before a feeling of anger began to grow in my gut. "Give us a scan of Mayanis."

  Several minutes later my fears were confirmed. Data showed a fleet of transports
parked on the planet's surface. A third of the planet was blanketed with the domes brought on by ion inhibitor spike towers. The Grunta, my people, had attacked.

  I stood, commanding Jack. "Take us there, now."

  The colonel walked over, placing his hand on my shoulder. "Son, you need to step back for a moment and give yourself room to think. If you decide to just charge in there, you aren't doing yourself or anyone else any good. Give us a little time and we'll figure out how to best help your people."

  I opened a comm to Dallex. "General Gurus, I will be sending transports to pick up twenty thousand soldiers. Have them ready with the ion blasters we made that will work within an inhibitor field. We are going in after the Grotus. My people are on the ground fighting as we speak."

  The General nodded. "As you wish, Your Highness. The troops will be ready within the hour."

  Jack said, "There will be a lot of fighting taking place within an hour. Isn't there a better way to help? Those inhibitors only cover a third of the planet. The Ares is heavily armed. We could take her in and do some major damage."

  The colonel stepped in. "OK, let's do ourselves a favor. Take the portal gate out of the docking bay and put it somewhere safe. Give it to Frig and Quan. They can work on possibly getting it open while we work on your problem."

  Arrangements were made and the portal gate from Gratis was transferred. A sweep of two of the Grunta transports had them sitting on the surface of Dallex. Once loaded with Talisan fighters, the transports were swept back to Mayanis, settling down just outside the inhibitor fields.

  The Ares was brought in low over the inhibitors and visual cameras were used to scan the grounds. Two large groups of warriors were found. Six million Grotus stood facing nearly four million Grunta. The fighting had yet to begin.

  I moved to the docking bay and donned a parachute I had kept since my prior jump on Jorus.

  The colonel placed his hand on my shoulder as I slapped my maul into its mount on my back. "You sure you want to do this?"

  I nodded. "I cannot allow my family to face the Grotus on their own. Cowardice is not looked upon kindly in my species."