Cyber Invasion (The A.I. Conspiracy Book 1)

by Steven Atwood

  Lea sat on a painted wooden chair next to a small brown table.

  Cain sat across from her. “This is nice.”

  Lea reached across the table, taking his hands. “Date night?”

  “For an hour,” Cain laughed.

  A waitress placed two menus down on the table. “Can I get you all something to drink?”

  “Sweet tea,” Lea said.

  “And you, sir?”

  “Same,” Cain replied.

  “Be right back with your drinks.” The waitress rushed off towards the bar.

  “You think Jake will get the parts he needs here?” Lea asked.

  “Well, we’ve been here for just about six hours and he hasn’t called us screaming that they don’t have what he needs, right?”

  “I guess.”

  “I bet the ship will be fixed in a day and they’ll take one day of shore leave,” Cain said. “That’s what I would do.”

  Lea looked up at the holographic starry night. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

  Cain nodded. “Yes, but not as beautiful as you.”

  “Where should we go? You know, after we’ve finished the mission.”

  “I like it out here in the Kuiper Belt. Close enough to Earth for protection, but far enough away to not have to obey their stupid laws,” Cain said.

  Yes, he would be worth giving up a chance at another command. He’d sacrificed so much for her, never asking twice. It was time that she did the same. A smile stretched across Lea’s face. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  His eyes enveloped her, swallowing her whole, as they always did. Lea leaned across the table and kissed him. As their lips touched, her heart beat faster and her toes began to curl with anticipation.

  “How many kids do you want?” Lea asked.

  Cain blinked. “I … well, I always wanted three kids. The same as my family.”

  “Here you go,” the waitress said as she plopped down two sweet teas on the table. “Have you decided yet?”

  “Oh, I—Lea, you ready?”

  Lea blushed. “I’m always ready.”

  Cain grinned at her. “Go ahead and order while I look over the menu real quick.”

  “Okay, I’ll have the prime rib.”

  “How do you want it cooked?” the waitress asked.

  Lea eyed Cain. “Rare.”

  “And you, sir?”

  “I’ll take the T-bone steak. I’ll have it rare, too.”

  The waitress nodded. “Very well, I’ll put your order in.” She hurried off towards the kitchen.

  Cain smiled at her. “I was hoping that …”

  Lea felt her heart reaching out for her husband and her mind didn’t fight it. Was it her biological clock? Maybe. The military wasn’t her whole life, right? What could be better than being closer to the man she loved than she ever was before? One word. Nothing. He’d given up so much for her. Did she take it for granted? Just a little. When it came to career, he’d always put the family and their marriage first; she didn’t. The family would always be there, but you only have a little time in your life for a successful career. Maybe Lea had risked the one steady thing in her life for … credits and power. Was that worth it? Especially when the government could take it away on a whim? No. Being in the internment camp taught her one thing; Lea had to appreciate the only thing that she truly cared about: Cain.

  “… what do you think?”

  Lea blinked. “Sorry.”

  The waitress slid the plates down onto the table. “Here you go.”

  “Thank you,” Lea said.

  The waitress showed her tablet to Cain. “Seven hundred and seventy-five credits, please.”

  Cain took the tablet and nodded. “Sure.” He entered in a twenty-percent tip and placed his thumb on the screen.

  “Payment accepted,” the tablet said.

  “Have a nice dinner.” The waitress moved on to the next table.

  Lea’s mouth began to water as her knife sliced through the prime rib with ease. “This looks great.” She popped a little piece into her mouth. “Oh, wow. This is good.”

  “Whoever knew you could find a good restaurant this deep into space?” Cain said.

  “No kidding.”

  Lea and Cain talked about everything from kids to how they planned to get out, and just about everything else, over the next twenty minutes. No matter what Cain said, Lea felt intrigued by it. Not that it was anything special, but this was the first time she’d given him her completely undivided attention and she loved it. Nothing could ruin it now.

  Cain rose from the table, taking Lea’s hand. “Want to look at the stars?”

  “Sure.” Lea followed him towards the far wall. The large portholes in the walls were three times as wide as they were high.

  “They’re beautiful.”

  “Yeah, they look different from here. I don’t know. Maybe I’ve gotten so used to them I forgot how pretty they are.”

  Lea rested her head against his enormous chest. Her eyes began to close as his heartbeat got closer.

  “What’s that?” Cain asked. “That ship looks—it can’t be, can it?”

  Lea’s eyes flashed open. “What?” A large ship, just as big as the Renault, was maneuvering into a docking station. Somehow, it looked familiar. “It is. That’s the alien ship! We’ve got to get back to the Renault. Come on!”

  “So much for date night.”

  “Come on!”

  Cain ran after Lea, heading back to the Renault.

  17

  Lea flew out of the lift and onto the bridge. What was normally buzzing with unending activity was down to just Bill at the communication station. “Please tell me that repairs are done.”

  Bill nodded. “Yeah, Jake finished the repairs a few hours ago.”

  “What about the supplies they were getting?” Cain asked.

  “They’ve finished transferring the supplies into cargo bay seven,” Bill replied. “I thought—what’s going on?”

  “Did you see that ship come into port?” Lea demanded.

  “Which ship?”

  Cain glared at him. “Bill, one of the ships guarding the jump station just pulled into dock.”

  “Where?”

  “Here!” Lea said. Bill was a good and loyal officer, but sometimes he seemed a little slow. “I want you to recall the crew immediately.”

  “Doing it now.” Bill’s hand flew across the communication control panel. “Sending the recall signal now.” Bill looked up. “What if they don’t see it in time?”

  Cain sighed. “If they followed protocol, no one should be by themselves.”

  Bill tried to hide a snicker.

  “What?” Cain demanded.

  “Sir, there are some things the crew was planning on doing that would best be done in private.”

  Lea’s face reddened. “Then tell them to get off their hookers and get back to the ship or they’ll lose their manhood.”

  Bill swallowed. “Not all of them are men.”

  “You know what I mean. Now get them back here, now!”

  Cain tapped the communication controls on his chair. “Sergeant Major, this is the CO.”

  “I read you,” Kyle said. “What’s going on? I just got the recall signal.”

  “Our friends from the jump station just arrived.”

  “Here?”

  “Yes, now get our marines back here on the double.”

  “Yes, sir. Out,” Kyle said before the communicator clicked off.

  Lea moved over to the weapons console. “Maybe we can scan them.”

  “Why would we? We couldn’t during the attack,” Bill said.

  “Perhaps whatever prevented us from scanning them before isn’t on,” Cain said. “Can’t hurt to check.”

  “What do you think I’m doing, love?” Lea’s fingers darted across the control panel. Pirates had as many assets trying to detect scanners as they did to prevent them. Why should aliens be any different? Hell, they even acted like pira
tes from the outer planets. Sure, the ships were different, but they fought in a very similar way. Could the aliens be allied with those troublemakers?

  “Any luck?” Cain asked.

  “Not yet.” Lea’s eyes fixed on the scanner modulation indicator near the top right-hand corner of the display. If she could match the modulation of their cloaking device, she should be able to scan right through it. Red. Red. Red. Yellow. Red. Green! “I got it. Scanning now.”

  Cain stood up. “What have we got?”

  “Give me a second. I’m trying to strengthen the beam.” Lea’s tongue poked out the corner of her mouth and her hands danced on the control panel. “Missile bays, dark-matter engine and power source, particle beam weapons—”

  Bill rolled his eyes. “We knew that without the scanner.”

  Cain shook his head. “Not about the dark-matter engine.”

  “Shut up, the both of you,” Lea said. “Life-forms are departing the ship.” She blinked. “Why would aliens come aboard a human space station? The locals would freak the hell out.”

  “Can you tell what they are?”

  “No, the resolution is not that good.”

  “What about after they get onto the station?” Bill asked. “It must be able to pick up different life-forms there.”

  Good idea, Lea thought. “Adjusting the scanner.” She scanned the whole station room by room, floor by floor, bay by bay. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Where are they? “I don’t see them anywhere.”

  Cain frowned. “That’s not possible. It should be able to easily pick out non-human life on that space station.”

  Lea shook her head. “No.”

  “You did say that their crew was leaving their ship?” Cain asked.

  “Yeah, so?”

  Cain smiled. “Wouldn’t two ships be better than one going against that jump station? Especially when they think one of them is theirs.”

  Would it work? Could it? Lea looked down at the scanner. “The scanner still doesn’t see them.”

  “Good. As soon as my marines get back, we’ll take the ship,” Cain said. “I’ll leave Kyle here.”

  “Why?” Bill asked.

  Lea smiled. “To make sure I don’t endanger his mission.”

  “Can’t let you take all the glory.” Cain kissed her. “I gotta get ready.”

  “You don’t have much time.” Lea wrapped her arms around him. “I love you.”

  “I know.” Cain pulled away and rushed into the lift.

  Lea returned to the scanner with her eyes fixated on the number of life-forms aboard the vessel. “Bill, get the crew back here. We’ve got an attack to plan.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The lift door opened on Deck 13 and Cain stepped into the MOC (Marines Operations Center). The front wall had six monitors and three work stations. Two chairs, not too dissimilar from the captain’s chair on the bridge, sat in the center. Along the walls were the cyber, EW (Electronic Warfare), tactical, and science stations, each manned by a marine specializing in those fields. It was a true command center. In Cain’s eyes, Lea’s ship was merely a taxi service for his marines to get the mission done.

  Kyle, in full fatigues, grinned. “About time you got down here. This must be your first time here this tour.”

  “No it isn’t. I—”

  Kyle shook his head.

  “Well, okay. I’ll come down more often,” Cain said.

  Kyle laughed. “Who can blame you? Hell, you kicked the XO (Executive Officer) out of his own chair—what? Two years ago?”

  “Something like that.” Cain looked towards the hatchway in the rear of the MOC. “Is everyone ready?”

  “Not yet. The platoon commanders are briefing their troopers.”

  “My Force Recon team?”

  “They’ll be here.” Kyle started walking Cain towards the hatch.

  “What’s our marines’ status?”

  Kyle pulled a tablet from his pocket, tapping the screen. “We have First Battalion all accounted for, as well as our Force Recon team.”

  “Second Battalion?”

  “Still missing most of the weapons platoon from Lima Company.”

  Cain rolled his eyes. “Again?”

  Kyle laughed. “They call themselves the Warpigs for a reason.”

  “I suppose.” Cain moved to the front of the briefing room. The lectern stood on the far side of the wall monitor with at least ten rows of seats facing the front.

  Kyle looked around, ensuring they were alone. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

  “We’re taking the alien ship. They docked here at the space station and their crew left the ship,” Cain said.

  “Really? Something doesn’t feel right.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, I didn’t see any aliens on that station. Besides, we’ve never even seen an alien before. If we didn’t see them among the outer planets, why would we see them here? Wouldn’t three-headed little green men stand out?” Kyle asked.

  “Yeah, they would. But, the intelligence tells us they’re aliens, so that’s all we’ve got. Look, it doesn’t matter. We know they breathe oxygen.”

  “How?”

  “They went on the space station. If they were aliens wearing spacesuits, someone would notice, right?”

  “Yeah. Second?”

  Cain bit his lip. “There is no second.”

  Kyle frowned. “That’s what I thought. I—” He slammed his mouth shut as the two second lieutenants entered the briefing room, followed by eight marines comprising Cain’s Force Recon team. “They’re here.”

  “I can see that.” Cain put his tablet on the lectern. “Everyone, please take a seat. We don’t have much time.”

  One by one, everyone took a seat, with their eyes locked on Cain. He hated briefings. Cain believed the best seven-word order was, Hey, Marine, here’s my intent, now go! That’s how he was during his platoon commander days, a long time ago. At first, he’d done everything to impress his commanders, even taking extreme risks to get the mission done. Nothing logical about it. No, just plain crazy, with little chance of working. That was his SOP (Standard Operation Procedure). Then he met Lea, someone just as nuts as he was, and he loved it.

  Cain looked directly at the two second lieutenants. What was going through their minds? All of them were ripped out of the force and sent to the internment camps, but they still came to their planet’s aid when it desperately needed them. He couldn’t be more proud of his marines. “Good evening.”

  “Good evening, sir,” they replied.

  “Not too long ago, one of the alien ships we fought at the jump station pulled into dock at this space station.” He tapped his tablet, and the image of the enormous ship appeared on the three-dimensional monitor. “This vessel is a mere eight docking stations away from us, but on the far side of the station. Our scans show that the crew is departing the ship—to look for our people, no doubt.”

  “Sir, do they know we’re here?” Lieutenant Stacy Jones asked.

  “There’s an old saying, you hide a tree in a forest. This station could be considered that forest.”

  “What the hell are you saying, sir?” Kyle demanded.

  Cain glared at Kyle. “They probably don’t know that we are here yet, but that won’t last long. There are at least four other ships like the Renault docked here.”

  Kyle smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

  That son of a bitch, Cain thought. He’d done that purposefully; well, it was his job. Marine sergeant majors helped keep their commanders on target and on track, and Kyle was no exception. Cain grinned. Yeah, Kyle was the best at it.

  He tapped his tablet again and the monitor zoomed in on the ship. “We’re going to take a shuttle and enter through the belly.”

  “Are we cutting through or using a hatch?” Stacy asked.

  “Cutting through. They can booby-trap hatches, but not the bulkhead. Once we’re through, a team will repair the hull before the shuttle breaks the seal. Once
, inside, we’re going deck by deck to secure the ship.” Cain straightened up. “Questions?”

  “How do we ensure that no crew members come back onboard the ship after we clear it?” Dwaine Phillips, the male platoon commander, asked.

  Kyle stepped forward. “By securing the entry points and killing any of those cocksuckers trying to kill us, got it?”

  Dwaine swallowed. “Yes, Sergeant Major.”

  Cain tried to hide his snicker by clearing his throat. “Any more questions?”

  No one said a thing.

  “Silence is consent. Okay, we step off in twenty minutes. Get your men to the shuttlecraft,” Cain ordered.

  The room snapped to attention. “Yes, sir.”

  Cain watched his marines rush out of the briefing room. “Do you remember those days?”

  “Like a bad hangover,” Kyle replied. “Are you going to be on the bridge or the MOC?”

  “Neither, I’m going to be with assault team.”

  “What? You’re nuts. Sir, I don’t need to tell you that your place is not on the front lines,” Kyle reminded him.

  Cain nodded. “I know, but a leader leads from the front, not from the rear.”

  Kyle’s face fell as he put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’ve got a bad feeling. Please don’t go.”

  “You think this mission isn’t worth it?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I don’t want your death on my conscience. So, I’m going with you.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re remaining here and running the OP (Operation) in the MOC.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I order you to.” Cain grinned. “I can do that, since I’m the commander.”

  Kyle nodded. “Hoo-rah. Just make sure you come back.”

  “I always come back.” Cain headed to the captain’s quarters to get his gear on.

  18

  Lea paced back and forth, brushing against Liz’s and Polly’s chairs at the helm. She hated waiting. She really hated being reminded that the political officer needed to approve all missions. Mechanical bastard! How many ops had it been on? How many ships had it confiscated? How many shipping lanes had it cleared from pirates? In a word, none! Nothing. Some geek in some dark room on Earth programmed that POS all about strategy and tactics.