by M. R. Forbes
"Yes. Everything has been prepared as requested, though I'm still not in full agreement with your idea. This is a tremendous risk you are taking."
"It isn't as risky as you think. We'll have safeguards in place."
"The Alliance."
"And the Federation, both."
Tio pursed his lips and shook his head. "I will applaud you for your unprecedented success at getting two opposing nations to agree to stop nipping at one another and focus on a shared goal. How long will this peace last, do you think?"
"Long enough, I hope," Mitchell said.
It had been three weeks since the Dove had arrived at Asimov, and two weeks since Kate, Ella, Steven, and Teegin had briefed him on the events with the UPA Defense Council. After learning about the Tetron threat, and after experiencing the effects of their control personally, the Council had been quick to recommend immediate action by the Senate, sending out messenger ships to all corners of UPA controlled space with directives to move the entirely of the armed services into EMERGCON status, and to update all ARR encryption with new schemas provided by Teegin. Shortly after that, the first delegates had arrived from the Federation homeworld, extending an olive branch to the Alliance in the face of this new threat.
A threat that hadn't been quiet during those weeks. The Tetron were making their move, skirting the Rim and claiming any planets they could. The reports continued to trickle in daily of their movements. Another lost planet. Another missing fleet. It took time to get warnings out towards the Rim. Time the Tetron weren't giving them.
Even so, the number of planets lost at this stage was only twenty percent of the prior recursion and the amount of force that was building to confront the Tetron was staggering. There was a part of Mitchell that wanted to believe the humans could counter the threat on their own, based solely on the massive firepower they were accumulating. There was another part of him that knew it was wishful thinking. Not only would Tetron amoebics be able to shred hundreds of ships in seconds without help, but the hope that their recursion's instance of Watson was eradicated from this future had been fully dashed back on Earth.
He was still out there in some capacity, and he still had a move left in this war.
It was that unknown that plagued Mitchell every day, even as they continued to move forward with the plan. Tio's forces were in motion, gathering their ships, preparing their weapons, and gearing for war. So were the Federation and the Alliance, who they had maintained direct contact with through Steven and a mass of messenger drones. The ships that would be involved had been decided, their systems deliberately separated from the rest of their respective networks, their soldiers vetted and checked to ensure that if they were configurations, Watson or otherwise, they would be unable to get a message back to reveal what the humans intended. It was a lot of work, a lot of effort, but it was all managed seamlessly by Origin and Teegin, as they were able to process the incoming and outgoing flow of data without pause.
Though Mitchell often thought about humankind taking care of itself, it had only made him more certain than ever that they would have never had a chance at winning the war without both Tetron, and that his former self's efforts to see the hybrid created combined with his decision to remain in the current recursion were the efforts that might finally change the outcome.
Tio reached out and lifted the engine, turning and handing it back to Origin. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Origin replied.
Then the Knife approached Mitchell. "The Federation and the Alliance have been at one another's throats for years. I, for one, am not convinced that if this plan of yours does work, the two sides won't cancel their agreement before their lasers have cooled. And you will be stuck in the middle."
"If it means the end of the Tetron, I won't care," Mitchell said.
"Better we destroy ourselves than let someone else do it?"
"Yes."
"Yet, either way, we are destroying ourselves."
"Technically speaking. What's your point?"
"I want you to understand that when the battle is over, regardless of who wins, my fleet will not remain to be caught in the crossfire."
"I never thought it would."
Tio's eyes narrowed. "Are you suggesting I'm a coward?"
Mitchell smiled. "Of course not. You're too smart to get caught in the open. I expected nothing less. You know your role. That's all I need you to do."
"That's all? It took my best people and your intelligence two weeks to craft this message. Are you certain the enemy will take the bait?"
"I don't think they'll be able to resist. Your brother is their Holy Grail."
"Another excellent point, Colonel. I seem to be the one with the most to lose in this venture."
Mitchell pointed back at the engine. "And the most to gain."
Tio smiled. "Potentially. When do you want to send the transmission?"
"Origin?" Mitchell said.
"I have completed running my calculations, Mitchell. The optimal time for transmission is at zero nine hundred hours."
Mitchell checked his p-rat. "Three hours from now."
"Once the transmission has been sent, I will pass a message to Teegin to meet us at the rendezvous point. He will coordinate with Admiral Williams and the Alliance forces and Admiral Hohn of the Federation. The battle groups will arrive ahead of us and wait at the designated positions. The Goliath will synchronize their arrival with ours."
"Your ships are ready to go?" Mitchell asked.
"Yes, Colonel," Tio replied. "We will initiate the drop as soon as we arrive in-system."
"Origin, have you calculated the probabilities of this going in our favor?" Mitchell asked.
"No, Colonel," Origin said. "I did not want to diminish morale if they were not what we are hoping."
"Good idea."
"I'll go and finalize preparations with Teal," Tio said. "I'll be awaiting your command from the bridge of the Manibus."
"Thank you, Tio," Mitchell said.
Tio bowed to him and left.
"You aren't lying about the calculations, are you?" Mitchell asked once he was gone.
"No, Mitchell."
"If you were, would you admit it?"
"No, Mitchell."
Mitchell laughed. "Are you scared?"
"We have spent many recursions reaching this position. I am looking forward to a resolution."
"Even if we still lose?"
"Yes."
"Thank you for all that you've done, Origin."
"It is the least of what I could do, considering that I am the cause. But you are welcome, Mitchell."
Mitchell left Origin's core, heading for the bridge. He was looking forward to a resolution, too, but only one he would accept.
They were going to win.
They had to.
33
"Tio, you're clear to drop," Mitchell said.
"Affirmative," Tio said. "Knife Actual, initiating planetside ingress. Knife Two One, Knife Three One, code red. Code red."
"Roger. This is Knife Two One," Teal said. "The Corleone is away."
"This is Knife Three One," another voice said. "The Gotti is away."
Mitchell looked out of the viewscreens of the Dove's bridge, finding Tio's forces closer in toward the planet designated FD-09. It was a Federation planet, in Federation space. A secret research facility dedicated to creating new and powerful weapons to use against the Alliance. A facility where the Knife's brother, Pulin, would one day conceive of the intelligence that would become the Tetron.
This wasn't a war drop, though. There would be no offensive response from the small military force located on the planet's surface, and the few ships around it had already vanished from the area.
Instead, this was a defensive drop. Tio's militia was heading to the surface to shore up the outpost's defenses, and so Tio could have a conversation with Pulin about the Tetron. Mitchell had already warned him it wouldn't go smoothly; he knew from the past recursion that Pulin was
happy his invention became self-sustaining, even if it meant the destruction of humanity. Even so, the Knife believed he could talk some sense into his brother, and without interference from Watson, maybe he could.
Assuming Watson didn't interfere.
There was no way to know he hadn't found his way to FD-09 somehow. They were still trying to determine how and when he had taken General Cornelius and replaced him with a configuration. They were still trying to figure out how he had gained short-range control of the Council, and the implications of the escalation. Watson's hold on their minds hadn't required interface keys, and Teegin's EMS block had failed to break it. Whether or not the same method worked long range remained to be seen. Was that the secret that he had been gloating about?
There was no option to hold up this mission while they figured it out. The Tetron had captured six worlds already, and had started destroying them once their efforts to enslave the population started to fail. Four planets had been laid to waste, and more would follow unless they put a stop to it.
Which was why they were sitting outside of FD-09.
At the moment, it was the Dove and the Goliath and Tio's forces, but Tio's army was quickly descending to the surface. Soon, it would be the two identical starships alone, waiting for the Tetron to arrive.
Mitchell knew they would. They had given them little choice. A carefully crafted message, constructed by Origin and Tio, written in code and probabilities and math, announcing the discovery of the Creator in Federation space, and essentially daring them to come and try to claim him. And what else could the Tetron do? They wanted the Creator to help them solve the Naniate problem. They needed to get the Dove and the Goliath, Origin and Teegin, Ella and Mitchell, out of the equation so that they could return to capturing souls instead of killing them. It might mean a different form of enslavement, but enslavement all the same.
Would they suspect that there would be additional forces waiting nearby?
Probably.
Would they guess at the size of that force?
Probably not.
They had gone through great pains to move assets around in a way that the Tetron would have difficulty tracking, and fortunately, space was still a big place, even for the intelligences. They had made sure to keep expected defenses close to where the Tetron were operating, even as they knew those defenses were going to fall. They had sacrificed hundreds of lives to the cause, and now Mitchell could only hope it had been worth it.
"This is Knife Two One," Teal said. "Corleone is down."
"This is Knife Three One. Gotti is down."
"Knife Actual is down," Tio said. "Colonel, any sign of the enemy?"
"Not yet," Mitchell said. "They'll be here."
"Affirmative."
"Teegin," Mitchell said. "Is the payload ready?"
"Yes, Colonel," Teegin replied. "Three amoebic tubes on both the Dove and Goliath have been replaced with torpedo launchers. We have a dozen torpedos prepared. The count should be sufficient provided your accuracy matches historical standards."
"The nice way of saying, as long as you don't suck, Ares," Kate said.
"Roger, Falcon," Mitchell replied. "You, too."
"Carver Actual," Mitchell said. "Admiral Williams. Status?"
"This is Carver Actual. We're ready and waiting, Ares."
"Yellow Leader?"
"This is Yellow Leader," Ella said. "All squadrons locked and loaded."
"Dragon Actual. Admiral Hohn, are the Federation forces in position?"
"This is Dragon Actual. We are in position."
Mitchell turned his attention away from the planet and toward the space beyond, seeking the Tetron in the distant black. They were out there. They were on their way.
"You all know what to do," Mitchell said. "Stay focused."
He followed his own advice, taking even, deep breaths, even as he held the grips of the Dove's command chair tightly, ready to set the Dove in motion the moment the enemy appeared.
He had waited nearly half of this lifetime and all of countless others for this one chance. This one opportunity to turn the war eternal on its head and change the timeline once and for good. He wasn't afraid. He wasn't nervous. He was eager. Anxious. Ready.
Slow.
Steady.
Time slowed down. He stared out into the darkness, a hunter waiting for his prey to stumble across his path. He could feel his heartbeat. He could sense every muscle in his body, and then every dendrite across Origin's form as though it were a part of him. He imagined Kate was feeling the same way, merging with Teegin to become one unstoppable force.
When this battle was over, they could be together at last. Not only in spirit but in heart and soul and body as well. Their love, however it had happened, had crossed the chasm of time and space. This was their moment to step away from the edge of infinity, to finally settle in the here and now, to preserve humankind and one another.
What had come before didn't matter. Not anymore. The only thing that mattered was each second. Each heartbeat. Each breath. To stay in the present to save the future.
A small blue speck appeared at the edge of his vision. A matching red dot popped up on his threat display, overlaid behind his eyes.
A second joined it.
A third.
Three more appeared behind them.
Three on their port side.
Three to starboard.
Three above.
Three below.
In an instant, they were surrounded.
Mitchell smiled.
So far, their plan was going perfectly.
34
"Eighteen targets painted, Ares," Kate said.
"With the three that were destroyed, there are only three still absent," Teegin said.
"Watson?" Mitchell asked, referring to the iteration from the invader's recursion.
"Not here," Origin said.
He wasn't surprised.
"They are firing on us," Teegin said.
Mitchell didn't need the Tetron to tell him. He could see the blue points of light flowing from the front of every one of the intelligences, along with the blue marks on his display that indicated amoebic launches. Thousands of amoebic launches.
The Tetron weren't holding back. They weren't taking chances. They were hoping to end things quickly.
Too bad.
With a thought, Mitchell tapped into the power of the eternal engine, drawing it into Origin's dendrites, along the inner surface to the external protrusions, converting it and pushing it along the Dove's hull. A dozen kilometers away, Kate did the same to the Goliath, creating a green sphere of energy that spread out from the ship.
"Battle Fleet Carver," Mitchell said. "Initiate jump. Battle Fleet Samurai, initiate the jump. All starfighter squadrons, prepare for launch. Knife, the enemy is inbound."
"Roger. Battle Fleet Carver, initiating jump," Steven said.
"Roger. Battle Fleet Samurai, initiating jump," Admiral Hohn said.
"Roger. Knife is in position," Tio said.
The green energy fields continued to expand from the two starships as the amoebics closed the distance. The projectiles slammed into them a moment later, sending flares of blue along the green as they dissolved against the shields.
"So far so good," he heard Kate say.
Then the Tetron fired their plasma streams, sending eighteen balls of fury bearing down on them in conjunction with a second round of amoebics.
"The true test," Mitchell said.
Teegin had promised the shields could stand up to at least one attack. Even so, he squinted as the plasma struck the shields, pushing against them, bending them inward at the same time flames spread along the surface before converting into white hot gas. The space within their protective bubbles rumbled as some energy leaked through and bounced around within it, disrupting the vacuum and shaking the starships.
"Field integrity is at fifty percent," Origin said. "It will not withstand another concentrated hit from the main weapons."
Mitchell's HUD updated as she said it, green dots appearing all over the display. The Carver and her battle group materialized beside them, the battleship exiting FTL within the confines of the field, while the Samurai and her escort entered the fray equidistant on the port side. Two hundred more ships appeared, encircling the Tetron.
"Carver Actual, jump complete," Steven said.
"Samurai Actual, jump complete," Admiral Hohn said.
"It doesn't have to," Mitchell said. "All units, fire at will. All squadrons, you are go. Remember, we only need to get one torpedo into one Tetron to initiate the spread."
"Affirmative, Ares," Steven said.
Both Federation and Alliance ships opened fire, unleashing everything they had at the Tetron while their fighter squadrons poured from their hangars. In seconds, the space around FD-09 was littered with thousands and thousands of munitions and fighters, painting the dark with flares of light.
"Integrity is at thirty percent," Origin announced as a reduced wave of plasma streams hit the shields.
Mitchell dropped the field with a thought, freeing both the Dove and the ships clustered around her to attack. Immediately, a pair of nukes streaked from the Carver, heading for the nearest Tetron.
"This is Yellow Leader," Ella said. "Yellow Squadron is away."
Mitchell turned his head, tracking the fighters as they swarmed from the Carver's hangar. Ella was easy to pick out, the S-17 unique among the piranha and moray that followed it.
"Good hunting, Yellow Leader," Mitchell said.
He put the Dove in motion, preparing the main plasma and opening the amoebic batteries. He didn't want to hit any friendlies, and so he needed to get the ship in closer to the enemy. He pushed the power to the rear, propelling the Dove forward as the automated systems in the ships around him helped direct them out of his path.
Two explosions marked the Carver's successful strike, though it wasn't able to pierce the Tetron's shields. Mitchell maneuvered toward the same target, firing amoebics as he closed on it and loading the first torpedo into its tube. The amoebics detonated against the shields, dozens smacking harmlessly into it. A third nuke blasted the Tetron, and then a fourth. The Samurai entered the fight, the last missile out the Tetron's defenses. Mitchell fired the torpedo, watching as it streaked toward the Tetron's core.