The Edge of Infinity (War Eternal Book 7)

by M. R. Forbes

  "But they must all be connected, right?" Steven asked. "Networked?"

  "Yes."

  "And we have a virus that kills Watsons, don't we? It destroyed the Tetron who had been overwritten."

  "It will not work on him again," Teegin said. "He will surely parse the data he no doubt collected from the infected Tetron and use it to vaccinate himself."

  "Damn. Good point."

  "If only we had someone who was an expert in artificial intelligence and had a direct connection to the Tetron operating system," Kate said. Mitchell glanced over at her. She was staring directly at Tio.

  Mitchell smiled. "You mean someone like their creator?"

  She shrugged. "I don't know. Could be."

  Tio noticed them looking at him. He shook his head. "He won't help us, Colonel. I tried to talk to him, but he thinks what the Tetron are doing, and their motivation, is fascinating. Given a choice, I believe he would opt to live forever to witness the interaction of the Tetron with the Naniates."

  "Given a choice," Mitchell said.

  "He will not be persuaded."

  "I don't know. I have a feeling Admiral Narayan and her Riggers can be pretty damn persuasive when they want to be."

  Tio's eyes narrowed. "Are you referring to torture, Colonel?"

  "Am I?"

  "That is barbaric."

  "The genocide of the human race is more barbaric if you ask me. Millie, do you have someone suitable who can spend a little time with Pulin, and maybe convince him to help us refactor our Watson virus?"

  Millie nodded. "I do, Colonel. Hell, I'll do it myself."

  Tio didn't say anything. He seemed resigned to the idea.

  "Let us say we succeed in updating this virus," Chang said. "How do we deliver it?"

  "We'll have to go to the source," Kate said. "New Terra."

  "You say that like it's simple. If the Tetron are as capable as you say, we can only assume that Watson won't leave his planets undefended."

  "Nobody's saying it'll be simple, only necessary."

  "Do we even have a star map of New Terran space?" Steven asked.

  "I have queried the military archives that I downloaded from Liberty," Teegin said. "We have a rudimentary map with estimated positions of the New Terran worlds."

  "Estimated could mean within thousands of AU."

  "Making a sneak attack next to impossible," Teal said. "Odds are he's going to see us coming."

  "Odds are, he's going to have a fleet waiting for us," Katherine said.

  "Using the eternal engine to create a plasma stream did some serious damage," Mitchell said. "Origin, how often can we repeat that?"

  "The engine is at thirty percent power, Mitchell," Origin said. "You may be able to utilize it one or two more times at that magnitude, but we will be sacrificing shields to do so."

  "Teegin, what about your engine?"

  "It is at forty-seven percent, Colonel," Teegin said.

  "Meaning we may be able to put a nice dent in them, but it won't be enough to win the day."

  "That is a logical assumption."

  "What else do we have? We need to figure out how many of our ships can be repaired, and what we can salvage from one to fix another. And we need to do it fast. Every minute that passes is another minute that Watson is getting stronger. Teal, you have a lot of experience piecing together starships from scraps. I want you to work with Admiral Williams and Lieutenant Chang on this."

  "Yes, Colonel," Teal said.

  "Teegin," Katherine said. "Let's say we manage to deliver the virus to Watson. What happens to the New Terran population?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean if they're all configurations, will it even matter if we destroy Watson? Won't they continue to fight?"

  "An excellent question, Major," Teegin said. "If we postulate that the New Terrans do not all know they are configurations and are living their lives as standard human beings, then it is logical to suggest that Watson must have a link to each of them in order to activate and command them. If this is the case, then we can use that link to either deactivate them or change their orders."

  "Wouldn't we need a direct interface to Watson's new core to do that?" Mitchell asked.

  "Yes, Colonel. But we would require direct contact regardless in order to deliver the virus."

  "I was under the impression we could torpedo him from space, just like we did with the other Tetron."

  "No, Colonel. It would be illogical for him to leave his core exposed. We will have to descend to the planet's surface and insert the virus directly. Before we can do that, we must gain access to the command link and disable the configurations."

  "Sounds easy enough," Steven said sarcastically.

  "By we, I assume that means you?" Mitchell said.

  "Yes, Colonel. I have battled Watson once before, and I am prepared to do so again."

  "I should be the one to do it," Origin said. "He is my creation. My fault. My problem."

  "You will not survive," Teegin said.

  "How can you be sure?"

  "I have seen inside of him. I am certain."

  "We can't take any chances," Mitchell said. "Teegin will go." He turned to Millie. "You wanted to know why I picked you up? This is the best reason I can think of."

  She nodded. "We'll be ready, Colonel."

  Mitchell swept his eyes across each of them. He could sense the fear in the room, but it was minor compared to the determination.

  "Teal, Steven, Chang, I want damage recovery assessments within four hours. Tell me what we can have battle ready within twenty-four, and what we can fix while we're in FTL. Everything else gets left behind. Tio, talk to your brother again. See if you can get him to listen to reason before we have to start pulling fingernails. Katherine, I'm going to be on the ground with Teegin and the Riggers, which means Origin is going to need another interface."

  "I'm honored, Colonel," Katherine said.

  "Good. You all know what you need to do. The clock is ticking. Let's move."

  40

  "Mitch."

  Mitchell turned around, finding Kate standing behind him. He had been staring out into space through the open hangar, watching smaller ships and crews in sealed exosuits move around the damaged starships beyond. While he had given Teal four hours to produce a report, the fleet commanders had decided not to wait that long to start effecting repairs.

  Most of the activity was centered around the Carver, where nearly a dozen repair ships and almost one hundred crew members were speckling the bow, most likely working to fix damaged shield generators and restore full coverage across the vessel. He wished he could say that the repairs would help, but after witnessing the firepower of the New Terran's ships he had a bad feeling that all the work would accomplish would be to delay the inevitable, and only for seconds at best. Even so, it was important to keep the crews busy and to give them something to keep their mind off the friends they had lost and the danger they were soon going to be in.

  "Kate," he said, smiling.

  "Origin told me I could find you here. She said you probably wanted to be alone, but I figured I was an exception?"

  "You could have knocked."

  "Too impersonal."

  He reached out and took her hand. "I almost lost myself," he said. "I almost gave up. You brought me back."

  "You're welcome," she replied. "It was the least I could do."

  "I've never felt so powerless before. I've never felt so hopeless. I saw Ella die once already. Watching her die again?" He shook his head. "Kathy, too. And all of the others. It took who knows how many recursions to break the mesh and get into a position where we had a chance to win the war. Now I feel like our efforts have only pushed us further from that goal, and I've taken away our options."

  "To go into the next recursion and try again? That wasn't a mistake, Mitch. If we can't win, we can't win, but we need to go all in."

  "I hope you're right."

  "I know I am."

  She stepp
ed into him, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

  "I waited an eternity for you," he said. "I don't want to lose you so soon."

  "You won't lose me. I told you, we're connected. I don't know how or why, but no matter where we are, I'll always feel you. I'll always know you're out there."

  "I love you."

  "I love you, too."

  He broke the embrace, but only so he could lean down to kiss her. Their lips met, lingering together, desperate to cling to one another.

  "Excuse me, Colonel," Millie said, coming up behind them.

  He didn't know how much time had passed. However much it was, it hadn't been enough. He pulled back from Kate to look at Millie. She wasn't the least bit embarrassed about interrupting the moment.

  "I have a p-rat," he said.

  "I was in the neighborhood," she replied. "I'm going to be meeting Cormac here to take a shuttle over to the Manibus. Pulin isn't cooperating."

  "He won't help us?"

  "No."

  "So you're meeting Cormac? I thought you were going to do it yourself?"

  "I can be a hard bitch, Colonel. I can kill people if I have to. But I'm not one for torture. I was just trying to get under the Knife's skin."

  "It seemed like it worked," Kate said.

  "I hope so."

  "I was trying to avoid this," Mitchell said. "It's going to be a lot harder to get this done without his consent." He turned to Kate. "Maybe we can pick this up again later after we transfer back to the Goliath?"

  Kate nodded. "Of course." She bowed to him, using proper formality in front of Millie. "Colonel. Admiral." Then she headed away, crossing paths with Cormac as he entered the hangar.

  "Hey," Cormac said to her, smiling as she nodded to him in acknowledgment and continued past. His eyes dropped to her rear and lingered there while she vanished into the corridor.

  "Careful, Firedog," Millie said. "That's the Colonel's woman."

  Cormac laughed. "No offense, Colonel," he said, walking over to them. "That has to be one of the nicest asses I've seen in at least a year."

  "Firedog, one more word and I'm going to break your frigging nose," Millie said.

  "All right," Mitchell said. "That's enough. Let's just go take care of this."

  "Are you sure you want to be involved, Colonel?" Millie asked.

  "If I'm going to order something like torture, I'm going to be man enough to bear witness to it."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Origin, I'm going over to the Manibus with Admiral Narayan and Corporal Shen to meet with Tio and Pulin. Has Katherine completed the integration?"

  "Yes, Colonel. She is a much gentler pilot than you are."

  "I can't say I'll miss you either."

  Origin laughed in reply.

  Mitchell crossed the hangar with Millie and Cormac, where a small shuttle was resting beside the Corleone. While he had allowed Tio to return to his starship, he had insisted on keeping the dropship. Hopefully, they would need it later.

  They climbed into the shuttle, with Millie taking the pilot's seat, ducking ahead of him to do so.

  "My bird," she said with a smile.

  Mitchell didn't argue, taking the co-pilot position and sitting back while she guided them out of the hangar and into space.

  "I'm sorry about Briggs," he said as they traveled the distance between the Dove and the Manibus. He could see Tio's ship up ahead, an old trade hauler that had been modified to something a little more sleek and upscale.

  "Me, too," Millie said. "And losing the Schism. She was a good ship."

  "How many others were on board?"

  "Three. Alsip, Dover and Singh. We left the non-essentials on the Dove."

  "Singh?" Mitchell said.

  "Yes."

  He felt the bite of the loss. He had barely had a chance to speak to the engineer, and now she was gone.

  "Manibus, this is Julliard, carrying Colonel Williams. Requesting permission to come aboard."

  "Juliard, this is Manibus. Permission granted. Hangar doors are opening now."

  A small hole opened in the side of the Manibus, revealing a hangar that looked minuscule compared to the cavernous reaches of the Dove. Millie guided the shuttle into the open space and touched down, pausing while the deck was secured. Then they moved from the shuttle to the hangar, and from the hangar out onto the floor of the starship. They were met with a flurry of activity as they did, with nearly every hand pitching in to make repairs on the vessel.

  "Tio is expecting us," Millie said as they navigated the corridors. Mitchell felt uncomfortable and out of place on the ship, mainly owing to the carpeted floors and painted walls.

  "Where is he?" Mitchell asked.

  "Confined to quarters," Millie replied. "Shank is watching over him."

  "Do you think that's necessary?"

  "Never trust a snake, Colonel. They have no backbone."

  "Actually, Captain," Cormac said. "Snakes do have backbones."

  "Shut up, Firedog," Millie said.

  They reached Tio's quarters a few minutes later. Shank was standing outside the meticulously carved hinged door to the space, his back against the wall, his arms folded across his muscular chest. His eyes were closed as though he were sleeping, but when Millie moved to slap him his hands unfolded, and he caught her wrist with practiced ease.

  "You know better than that, Captain," he said.

  "Just checking," she replied.

  The door opened ahead of them, pulled aside by Li'un Pulin. He stood in the doorway, staring at them with the deadest eyes Mitchell had ever seen.

  41

  "Pulin?" he said.

  Tio's brother backed away from the door without a word.

  "Colonel," Tio said behind him. "I'm glad you decided to come. Maybe you can convince the Admiral that I'm not a threat to run?"

  Mitchell made his way into the room. It was as opulent as the rest of the ship, with plush furniture and thick carpet. Tio was sitting at a computer terminal there, but he rotated to face the door as they entered.

  "I don't know," Mitchell replied. "Maybe you can convince me that you're not a threat to run."

  Tio held up a hand. The knuckles were bruised and raw. "Pulin, lift your shirt."

  Tio's brother did as he asked, wincing as he revealed bruises all along his ribs.

  "Is that supposed to mean something to me?" Mitchell asked.

  "If anyone is going to beat some sense into my brother, it will be me, Colonel," Tio said.

  "Heh," Cormac said, snickering behind them.

  "And?" Mitchell asked.

  "Would I beat my brother if I intended to try to escape with him?"

  "I don't know. You've got a reputation. You don't have to stay in your quarters, though. Just make sure Shank is with you when you wander."

  "You're too kind, Colonel."

  "So, you beat your brother up a little bit. Have you made any progress?"

  "I will need a little extra assistance, I think."

  "You want me to soften him up some more for you?" Cormac said. "It'll be my pleasure."

  "Not that kind of assistance," Tio replied. "I was hoping you could have Teegin pass the Watson code over so that I could bring it up on my terminal."

  "Why?"

  "To see if I can elicit some interest from him." He pointed at Pulin, who had lowered his shirt but was otherwise motionless.

  Mitchell wasn't sure what the man's problem was. He had seemed much more animated the first time they had met. Then again, that was a different recursion. Who knew how things had changed?

  "How do I know you two won't use the code in a way we don't intend?" Mitchell asked.

  "Teegin is free to monitor all of our activity," Tio replied. "I may have an agenda of my own, Colonel, but I definitely do not want artificial intelligence destroying human civilization. You know that I've dedicated most of my life to the opposite."

  Mitchell nodded and then used his p-rat to open a channel to the intelligence. "Teegi
n, can you send a sample of Watson's operating instructions to the Manibus?"

  "Tio has requested it?" Teegin said.

  "Yes. He thinks he can get his brother going if he can show him the code. He's like a damn zombie."

  "Autistic?" Teegin asked.

  "I don't know what that is," Mitchell replied.

  "Nevermind, Colonel. Are you sure we can trust him?"

  "No. I want you to keep an eye on them? Can you do that remotely?"

  "I will need access keys."

  Mitchell turned to Tio. "Can you give me the access keys?"

  Tio began tapping on the surface in front of his terminal. The key was transferred to his p-rat a moment later. Mitchell passed it to Teegin.

  "One moment," Teegin said.

  "I have it, Colonel," Tio said. "Thank you."

  "Teegin asked me if your brother is autistic."

  Tio scowled. "Autistic? No, Colonel. He's high. Drugged. I don't know if it was willingly or if the Federation gave him something to help him concentrate. Either way, he's been like this since we picked him up. I expect it will take a few days to work out of his system."

  "We don't have a few days."

  "Which describes my desire to show him the code. If I can get him on the task, he may surprise us with his tenacity to it."

  "Do you know what we're looking for?"

  "Yes, Colonel. A way into the Watson's subroutines that this version may not have patched. An access point, followed by a command and control override, followed by a systems degradation package."

  "Is that right?" Mitchell asked Teegin.

  "Yes, Colonel," Teegin replied. "Are you surprised? I also share systems based on the Knife's neural network."

  "Pulin," Tio said, his voice gentle but commanding. "Pulin, come over here. I want to show you something."

  His brother's eyes shifted slightly, but he didn't move.

  "Pulin," Tio repeated.

  There was still no response.

  Tio stood and walked over to him, grabbing his wrist hard enough that Pulin winced. He pulled his brother over to the terminal without additional resistance, positioning him in front of the chair and pushing on his shoulders to get him to sit.