Trampship Wars 2

by L. D. Roberts

  They headed in towar d the towers core past the The public personnel elevators tha t where spaced around the 100 foot thick ring of living apartments around the outside of the building. Farther in they passed the towers cargo elevators and the first of the utility service trunks . The mostly hollow core above the transportation 10 th floor was broken up by by groups of 3 decks stretching across the entire width of the tower, w ith open spaces of 5 floors between most of the groups of deck sd . Each open floor was covered with parks, shopping centers, business and industrial works that needed the extra overhead space areas every 5 to 1 0 stories .

  The English troops had set up their base of operations on on one of the lower industrial floor s that reached across the full width of the building some 10 5 stories above the bot’s blockaded transportation floor. The extra space above the main transportation floor was to give the masses of passengers that usually packed the train ramps and walkways a feeling of open space to reduce stress. Mark paused at one of the holes blasted in the floor of the wide passageway, allowing several troopers to lay on the floor with their weapons pointed down to the sides and a clear field of fire down onto the inside walls of the outside ring and the outside walls of the inside core as well as the many monorail tracks with covered personnel loading ramps covering the full width floor below. The wide open floor far below was the main transportation floor to the fast rail transit bridges connecting this building to the surrounding buildings with a few long distance lines running over the horizon between the buildings. Mark decided that was one hole he did not want to fall through as he backed away from it and rejoined the squad.

  The Star Queen’s s S quad not only looked different than the English troops around them with their molded one peace simi-flexible suits but the English troops also shied away from the bots each of the marines were accompanied by. Though Mark had to admit their bots looked pretty intimidating with their battle suits and heavy weapons. Mark had insisted in putting the Stealth S quad’s bots m through the suit-up pod even though it took a few modifications to both the suit-up pods and the bots. The bots could now go everywhere their marine could go without being detected, hopefully. He had originally planned on the stealth squad flying in alone so the AI Controler would not be suspiciase and start looking closer for any interfearence in his security lines going the thousands camera’s up the building . But Captain Summers had put an end to that pla n when she wanted reinforcments taken in with Comandaunt Saunders agreeing and sending the squad and him in on one o f the APCC’s.

  Looking around at the stares from the English troops at the bots made Mark smile. The half a ton of weapons and ammunition each bot carried on their back, front, and legs also helped their look of intimidation. Though Mark realized that it was mostly the fact that the English troops having their own remote controlled bots used against them had a lot to do with the problem. The English troops could not understand that these where not remote controlled bots with some guy back someplace in the rear safe , operating them . B b ut were independent and slaved to a marine which limited what they could be used for but still increased the marine’s and his squad’s available firepower. Each marine could see through the bots eyes if he wanted or needed to but could not control the bot directly except through encrypted verbal commands. Mark just hopped the bots would work the way he hoped in the real world combat when it came time.

  A chirp on his shoulder reminded Mark of his own newly acquired bot. The little ball sat there as if it had been glued to his shoulder. The only place he could figure to put it with his pockets and pouches already full of equipment and ammunition (power pack magazines) . Mark had stopped by Assault Shuttle 1 durring the hours of preparation so the Torpedo Chief could take a look at the little ball . The Torpedo Chief had used his patch cord to connect it to a computer and then Mickey to reprogram and refuel its drive. Or should he say fuel it. The log of the Imperial sensor showed that its drive had never been used. It had been placed in various boats and ships and packages over a thousand years without anyone evidentially knowing that it had its own independent gravity coils and thruster drive.

  Once the little sensor ball had been fueled and programmed to accept Mickey’s control input s it hovered in the middle of the shop until told what to do. That is until Mickey gave it the same program as the trooper bots, making it somewhat independent, just to make sure the AI couldn’t take it over. Mark could not resist taking it along since Mickey said it was stealthier than Marks scout suit and could be fully independent responding to his commands once she finished programming it . That is when she finished programing it. Mark glanced at the little ball as he followed the scout squa d. Hopping he could send the little ball it out ahead and help scout the building when he went looking for the AI. Warning him of any problems and hopefully find the AI.

  If he did not chicken out. He was finding all kinds of excuses the more he thought about his plan, not to leave the protection of the troops forming the army army around him when the time came. Even though it w as his original plan and still made sense . The more he thought about it though , the more ridiculous the idea of wondering around the depths of the subbasement and catacombs of the big building trying to avoid and or hoping the thousands of bots ignored him if they did see him, to find one lone AI, was sounding more ridiculous each time he thought about it. Fact was, it was sounding more and more terrifying by the minute.

  They reached the core and Mark realized that an English squad was placed at each elevator shaft and utility trunk running down through the floor . Mark and the squad passed passing a dozen s of sections of 3 and 6 troops squads nervously pointing their weapons down the shafts or holes in the floors or grouped around elevator and small utility chases as they walked . Each section giving the bots walking next to each of the Star Queens marines , guarded nervous glances and out right stares at times . Mark and the squad finally reached the core chase of the tower and Mark realized that it looked like a full platoon was surrounding the large open area around the central chase lounging and talking in small groups . Evidentially as reinforcements if any of the chases or elevators across the floor had problem s .

  Entering the central main utility shaft or chase at the building’s core, Mark immediately found the thick cable conduits they needed to access spaced around the sides coming up through the floor ringing the chase that was already crowded filled with pipes and conduits running up and down the central shaft’s walls. The marines having to clear other conduits and even power and service lines out the way to get at the armored security conduits. An open area some 40 feet across spanned the inside of the floor ’ s donut ring with the clear ce nter of the chase reaching up and down the full length of the building . The cameras and sensors on that and every floor the English troops controlled had already been cut blinding the AI to the English troop s activities. But the AI had threatened to start killing people when the English troops started taking out the lines going to the cameras and sensors on the 500+ 480 floors above them.

  Mark ’ s problem was that they had to tap into the lines to those cameras and sensors and then feed false video back down to the A.I. if they wanted it to believe nothing was happening with its quarter million hostages when the transports landed . They also had to make sure the A.I. had no reason to even think they were taping into the lines. Standard security comms even in civilian buildings had anti tapping devices that included pressurized inert gas conduits and sensors to listen for sounds and watch for heat increases from anyone or thing trying to cut into the conduits. The Star Queen’s marines were very careful when they accessed the conduits to make sure no gas was bled out with no noise or heat allowed to travel up or down the conduits with the English military cutting equipment they had brought specially designed for that job. A job they had trained at for years as most transport ships had the same security conduits.

  It took them longer to finely splice into the camera and security feeds to the upper floors than what Mark had thought it would take . B b ut any spike or
change in the signal would alert the AI to their tampering. Making him glad the attack had been delayed for the riot troops to be delivered and the extra time it would take to reload the shuttles with the Star Queen’s assault troops . . Giving them the time to be extra careful making the splice s and record the signal feed loop on the thousands of camera’s and sensors they would be sending back down to the AI on a loop . But even then the loop was not going to be half as long as he had hopped. Mark now regretting the many little detours and stops he had made on the way to the core with the squad insisting on following and stopping each time as he studied the transportation floor far below them trying to place what he saw with t he plans of the tower Mickey was showing him. Trying to figure out a safe way to penetrate to the basement.

  Watching the marines work Mark suddenly had a thought. “Mickey is there any way you can change details of the feed we send down to make it harder for the AI to realize he is watching a loop.”

  “I will have to Mark, or as soon as the loop starts playing, the AI will realize that he has already seen what he is watching. Too many small details will exactly match for an AI computer to miss. I will have to change over half of the variables in the down feed s . That is why I have included such a large chip of mine in each of the taps and why we have brought so many back pack computer cores along . But still, u U ntil the tower is evacuated , I will not be able to help you much. That is also why I have spent so much time programing and bonding the remote sensor drone to you. You can use it and it’s sensors to scout out ahead of you with only minimal help from me love with no fear that the AI will take control of it.”

  “You know we should just wait for the tower to be evacuated and the marines to clear the basements before I go down. I can’t see how I can find this AI all by myself anyway.” Still pissed that his plan had been practically butchered by every senior officer adding their two cents worth. Though as the minutes passed , he became more relieved that he had lost control and the responsibilities. Including the fact that he had or ders not to go into the basement alone. Mark stuck his head out into the open air of the shaft looking over the belly high wall that surrounded the opening. More to get his mind off of all the changes that had been done to his plan and the fact that he felt relieved at not having the responsibility , than really W caring onde ring how far down it went. Idly w W ondering if it went all the way down to the core. He could not see much as but a laser beam came streak ed ing up hitting the rail next to his head blasting off a cloud of particles hand . “Shit. Damn that was close” Mark ex claimed as he jerked his head back stepping away from the railing.

  Mark He had noticed that m any of the con crete plasticrete floor rings around the chasse’s shaft starting below the floor below several floors below and reaching all the way down to the main transportation floor , had been blasted off the inside of the shaft providing a clear shaft wa ll firing buffer zone down to what Mickey showed Mark was the transportation floor . But that still left plenty of of places for the AI’s remote bots to shoot from on the floors ringing the shaft below the transport floor. Each lower floor below the transport floor had a clear view and shooting angle up the chase across from them. Though the farther up the chase you went the more the bot would have to expose himself . S o only the half dozen floors above Mark were really thr eatened by bots sniping up the shaft. Though as Mark studied the quick recording Mickey had made, he noticed that the bots had cut notches into the rings of rails and floors to create firing ports making it easier to see and target up the shaft.

  “Mark; turn on your suits stealth mode and look again.”

  “What! You have got to be kidding. Next time they may just hit me on the first shot instead of missing.”

  “Mark do it love. We need to test the stealth suit’s effectiveness against the bots now before committing to your plan to sneak into the basement . With the suit on stealth, they should not even see you to shoot at. It is a good first test of the suit. Or do you want someone else to do it first. Pick one of the marines Mark. Don’t worry it is perfectly safe or I would not have asked you to do it.”

  Mark looked around at the marines finishing up with the taps spaced around the ring with others setting up the cores. Though several were not doing anything but watching the others work. Perfect candidates for the test. Or victims. Mark imagined the guy he told to look over the rail getting hit between the eyes killing him.

  “Dam it Mickey.” He turned on his suit’s stealth mode to at its highest level and after looking at his arms and hands disappear . G , he rimacing , Mark leaned over the edge again next to the burnt streak for a few seconds and then pulled back. When nothing happened he a deep breath and looked again hesitating a little longer before pulling back. Finely he leaned out over the rail as fare as he could and closed his eyes , and scrunched up his face and waited for the pain of a direct hit.

  After a full minute he opened his eyes and started looking. “Ok did they pull back?” It only took a couple of seconds and he found the barrel of a laser riffle sticking out a hatch with the head and left shoulder of a bot behind it some 10 a dozen floors below on the top walkway ring of the chases enclosed shaft that was still complete down on the transport deck. A few more seconds and he could see 7 of them peeking out below from various floors farther down, frozen. Each waiting for a target from a separate section around of the shaft.

  Smiling , Mark took the assault weapon off his back. Noticing that it too was almost invisible to him. Having to rely on feel more than sight to handle it as he aimed it down the shaft. He practiced moving the weapon and its target reticle from one head to another around the ring in succession several times . Then and then taking a deep breath and holding it, Mark he fired. Seven rapid shots in a row. Each on a different target without waiting around to see if he had hit or not. Then went back and did it again. The second time around he only fired when he could still see a head behind a gun still peaking up in his direction. Two shots more and he could not find a head to shoot at.

  The marines not working on taps or cores and most of the their bots , where suddenly aiming their weapons over the rail expecting a general attack but found nothing to shoot at and did not fire while most of the English troops on this and the several lowest intact ring s directly below and the half dozen above , just started firing down the shaft blindly for several seconds until their officers and none com’s stopped them. As peace and quiet returned to the shaft, Mark could not help but smile. “Ok marines; no one looks over the rail without their suits on stealth mod. Got that?” The marine’s and bot’s suits disappeared with a harrumph from all of them. Most of the bots remained looking down the shaft as some returned to tasks they were needed at . Mark was mildly amused as , all the suits disappeared as well and the English troo ps already on the ring suddenly started looking around as they started asking questions. . Mark only knew where t he marines’ hey were from little outline markers on his glasses. While the English tro ops started feeling around unti l one of them made contact , grabbing the arm of the marine he had been talking to only a few minutes before . Finally convin ced that they were not , not seeing things.

  “Ok Mickey; are you seeing them and does that mean that the AI will be able to see us? ” Mark watched several of the troops and bots walking around like ghosts doing their job s. Only when they moved fast could you see a burred shape that looked something like a marine.

  “I can tell that something is there when they are not moving Mark only because I already know they are there and I am looking for the minute signs while and their comms are giving me their positions and status. The AI will have to have a bot with the right sensors within a few feet and know where to look before they can detect any of the suits unless you turn your heat radiator toward them or drop one of the heat sink pellets right in front of them or in the open. The high temperature heat sink pellets can be detected for quit a range.”

  “Heat sink pellets?”

  “Yes Mark. Please pay attention when I brief you on thing
s. The suit in class 1 or the stealthiest mod, takes your body and electronics heat and places it into a waste pellet that it discards every 15 to 30 minutes. The pellet is heated to some ten thousand degrees and can be a beacon to your position if you are not careful and hide it. A special gun on the inside of your leg, can shoot it into the floor if you are on concrete or soil without making too much noise. In a steel decked ship , you must find places to stash the pellet un-observed though it can penetrate several inches of armor if you must but the noise is incredibly very great and easy to trace for a few seconds. Which is why you should only use class one in special extreme circumstances. ”

  “In class two mode, your excess heat is dissipated in the soles of your boots to whatever surface you are walking on but that can leave foot prints detectable on infrared sensors for several minutes though when used on the steel decks of ships the heat dissipates rapidly in only a few seconds.”

  “In class three mode, the heat is expelled into the air around you and again is detectable on sensors sensitive enough to see the warm air raising up from your back or is in direct sight of the exhaust port at the bottom of your back pack just above the middle of your butt.

  In class two mod your excess heat is dissipated in the soles of your boots to whatever surface you are walking on but that can leave foot prints detectable on infrared sensors for several minutes though when used on the steel decks of ships the heat dissipates rapidly in only a few seconds. In class three the heat is expelled i nto the air around you and again is detectable on sensors sensitive enough to see the warm air raising up from your back or is in direct sight of the exhaust port at the bottom of your back pack just above the middle of your butt . Mark suddenly noticed the stream of heat blowing out the butt of most of the Squad. Mark smiling at the marines kneeling next to the taps or cores looking like they were taking dumps. T hough the ones standing looke d almost as funny. Then Mark noticed that the bots had a slightly fainter stream of heat flow ing out from their butts to Mark’s surprise. Mark chuckle d puzzled, until he remembered that electronics and bots had he at problems as well.