by Tobias Roote
“This is DIA Senior Agent Philus Grady, Authorisation Delta-Zero-Knight-forty-four-Amber-six-four-two.
Standby for security code Xon4”
Grady waited, the AI remained silent and the fighters were now only seconds away from contact.
“Authorise code Xon4 : Alpha-Alpha-Eight-Eight-Four, Cobalt-Beta-four-nine-zero-two, Zeta-Beta-Nine-Nine-Three-Zero. End.”
With no response from the AI, Grady wondered if he had misjudged the situation entirely. Had he ?
As the AI continued its silence, it evaded the initial interception by the leading fighter. The other two had attempted to lock onto their tail jets, but the lock slipped away. Grady could feel the inertial pull of RAFA’s defensive manoeuvring and wondered how long they could evade the other fighters before one got a full lock on and fired their missiles.
“RAFA ? You there ?” Grady asked wondering why the AI was remaining silent. Their evasive flight path and RAFA’s silence continued for a further two minutes, by which time Grady was beginning to panic.
“Agent Grady, you are authorised by the Quorum to respond as necessary to any enemy ships in the vicinity that may intend for your escape to be neutralised. This ship is armed with two sets of defensive weapon systems that aren’t on the blueprints, your AI will now utilise them to enable your escape. The ship is now yours to command. Respond on this frequency when you are clear of all threats. Authorisation Delta-Nine-Nine-Nine, Vargo out.”
Grady was stunned, but knew they were out of time.
“RAFA, use all available defence options to neutralise the attack on this ship as per authorisation Delta-Nine-Nine-Nine,” Grady ordered.
“Affirmative, Grady, bringing Hofflyte Zero field on-line, prepare for system blackout in three-two-one.”
The screens went dark, no internal lights or dials showed. To all intents Grady was in a black container with no power, and no view of the outside. Were the attacking ships firing, had they locked onto them ? What was going on ?
Grady pulled at levers, forced the stick to respond to his hand movements, he called to the AI and nothing responded, except for the blinking red light.
What the... ? a red light was blinking, getting faster.
In the absence of anything else visible, Grady’s eyes were glued to the light as it flashed at an increasing and impressive speed. As it became steady, a humming noise started up behind and beneath him and numerous relays clicked into positive and the HUD lit up. The screens around him blinded him as they resumed operation.
RAFA’s voice came over the comms, “Hofflyte field deployed, We’re clear of threats and current heading is into deep space. Are you ready to take over, Agent Grady ?”
“What the fuck is a Hofflyte field, RAFA ?”
“A Hofflyte field is a time dilation field that emits a magnetic pulse similar to an EMP but isn’t permanent. The effect creates a temporary warp in local space slowing down time within its influence to varying degrees, not less than five-to-one and not more than eight-to-one depending on intensity of emission. We closed down our systems so as not to be affected while we breached the edge of the field’s effect while exiting its influence. The fighters within the field will take between five and eight minutes to proceed through it whereupon normal time will resume. Anything flying into that zone will also be affected in the same way. In eight minutes the field will have completely dissipated and normal space|time will resume.
“Wow ! Never heard of anything like that. When did we get so clever ?” Grady was impressed.
“I understand that information on that is held at a higher access level,” responded the AI.
Grady decided to ask the burning question that would answer much of what he needed to know
“Where were you initialised, RAFA ?” he asked quietly.
“I was premeditated on Exodus, Grady. As are all AI’s that are used within the Core fighter squadrons. I have two persona’s, the first you can access without authorisation as you have been doing, the other, the Exodent ‘me’ is available to you only after authorisation and verification directly with Exodus.”
“That was the delay before the Quorum responded,” Grady surmised.
“Correct, I have immediate access in such instances, to authenticate directly with the elders and validate, in this case, your identity.”
“So, what exactly are you, RAFA ?” Grady asked.
“I’m a fifth element AI, one of the latest designs. My function is whatever is required by the Core navy, unless it brings me in direct contravention of my Exodent programming,” the AI answered truthfully.
“And that Exodus programming requires that you do what ?” Grady was sure he knew the answer.
“In the event my instructions from the Core pilot contravene my Exodent programming I’m required to malfunction or self destruct.”
“Wow !” Grady said again. “No half measures then.”
“No, my instructions are clear. When you activated Xon4, I was updated with new imperatives and am now yours to command, Grady, speaking of which I require a destination,” the AI responded.
Grady thought for a moment. He couldn’t go anywhere until he understood the full nature of the warrant out for his person. ‘Dead or alive’ meant he needed a hideaway. He typed in a location’s coordinates and added a left arrow and ‘-d’ command instructing the AI to head for that location, then delete the instruction when complete. It would provide some insurance if the fighter was ever retrieved.
“Admirable prudence, Grady,” the AI observed the delete command. “Proceeding to location at maximum acceleration. We require fourteen hours of travel which is well within my capabilities.”
It was simple. He was blown as a secret agent just when the need for him on Archon-5, Ektepoi, was at its highest. How could he serve the DIA from here. There was no way the Core was going to let him anywhere near the planet. They would blast him out of the ether on sight.
RAFA cut in to his thoughts.
“I need to remind you that you have to call in to your superiors. I have a link ready when you are,” the AI said.
“Ah, yes. Let me think about things a little more, then we’ll get onto it,” Grady replied reluctantly, he was not yet recovered from the activities of the last day. He needed to sort a few things out in his head.
“RAFA, what’s going to happen to you, do I need to get you back to the Dramatus somehow ? And there’s the fighter by the landing pad. If the Flag thinks all the Dramatus fighters are equipped with this ‘Hofflyte field’ then they will want it - badly,” he asked.
“Yes, you raise a good point there, Grady. The comms are busy with encrypted traffic between the Flag and the ground support ships. I suspect they are thinking much the same.”
“Get Kildark on the comms visual,” Grady ordered.
The screen lit up with the AWA logo and it was long seconds before Kildark appeared on the screen.
“You’re pushing your luck, Agent Grady. I thought Range made it clear that you were to get off-world, but I didn’t expect you to steal a Core ship to do it. You need to drop it off somewhere before all hell breaks loose. As far as they are concerned you still work for me and I can’t sort this mess out as something weird is going on outside the station’s access zone.”
“That weird shit is my fault, I’m sorry, but I need you to do something that’s imperative to the Alliance and AW Command. You need to destroy the other fighter that’s sat outside the entrance. They are going to come in big and heavy very soon to capture it and they mustn’t get hold of the ship whatever it costs. There’s – “
“I hate to interrupt you Grady, but there’s no point. Shrilla took off in the ship shortly after you left... the last message we had from her said she had unfinished business and needed to return the fighter to the Dramatus,” Kildark replied.
Grady killed the connection. Shrilla took the other fighter ? She has no idea the danger she is in, he thought.
“RAFA, try and connect with the
other fighter. Attempt to establish Shrilla’s whereabouts and intentions,” Grady ordered the AI.
He went back to dwelling on his problem. If he was blown as a secret ‘sleeper agent’ then he would be recalled to the DIA on Exodus for reassignment. He couldn’t imagine going back into the heavy doctrine of living and working under the leash of the Quorum, but there was no alternative. He would have to see what they offered him when he got back there. He presumed he would be recalled shortly and debriefed over the next few months. He thought of Dalt and wondered if there were positions open to him that would put him out there alongside him. His options were limited.
It was time, he decided.
“RAFA, connect me with the Quorum,” Grady requested.
He turned to the comms screen as he saw the DIA logo appear. It blinked as the call was encrypted at either end, then cleared down to show the image of one man. His immediate superior and not a man to dally with.
“Honorific Elder Vargo, I see you,” he offered the official salutation. The words hadn’t come from his lips for many years now and they seemed strange to him, surreal.
“Honoured Son, I see you, and welcome back to the fold. It has been some time since we spoke, but I have followed your progress with interest.” He smiled kindly.
Grady was still the dutiful son and therefore showed humility and respect. That’s how it worked, it was a settlement of a negotiating position between them. The spiritual leader and the acolyte.
“I regret my use to you has been curtailed due to my recent actions. I deeply apologise if this reduces my worth in progress of our goals.”
“Not at all, my son. Your progress has been exemplary and your ability to maintain secrecy has been, barring one setback, perfectly in tune with your status. The discovery you made has changed things dramatically. I believe secrecy is no longer our objective, but speed and endeavour is of the utmost if we are to hold the initiative that your actions have placed in our favour.
“Tell me of your visit to the planet Archon-5 and your discovery of the native species. I need to know everything, your observations and personal opinions matter, so hold nothing back. Your encounter is the first and we need to document it in great detail. This connection is good for what we need, so let us begin.”
Grady went into detail from the moment he and Shrilla arrived in the Archon system to the escape from the system with the help of Dalt and the Angels. When he got to the point where they were retrieved by the Dramatus and taken to Fording Station, Vargo waved for him to stop. Smiling.
“It is as we thought, an opportunity to discover if this human species is originated from the Dispersal. Your thoughts and recollections are excellently reproduced and it is the view of the Quorum, that you proceed on a new mission. One that will be more dangerous and crucially important to the cause of the Dispersal. We need unquestionable proof.
“You must return to the planet and attempt to uncover its history. In doing so you may well run the risk of execution by the indigents, or you may have to fight the corporations if they attempt to thwart your search. We have a defensive fleet surrounding the planet, but they will be at war with the Core within weeks, possibly days, and it may well take you that long to make headway.
Should you fail I fear the corporations will destroy the planet to keep the discovery from getting out.
We need proof beyond doubt and we need it now, or the Core and their corporation masters will overrun this Empire and we will be hunted to extinction. Our future and that of the Ektepoi are resting on your ability to uncover the truth.
“Philus Grady. In this you must not fail.”
End of Book 1
Thank you for reading my novel. If you can spare the time I would love to receive a review.
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