George picked up his display, tapped in a few strokes, and turned it towards me. “As you can see here, we added support to this area of the skull where your neck connects. We added these interleaving structures through her brain matter that should cut down significantly on trauma from a concussion. She should be able to take quite the punch, Don.”
I spoke. “What is this down here, around the abdomen?”
George enlarged the image on the display. “Ah, the remaining soft tissue was still an issue. York has a new exoskeleton of sorts, and each of her internal organs is now protected by the same structure technology that we inserted into her brain. So far, she has not had any complications from these insertions. She is now much more cyborg than Human on a percentage basis.”
I replied, “I’m betting that she loves that. How about Frost, has she opted for any of this?”
George shook his head. “She is a stubborn one, prefers to be all natural, as she calls it. Even though the exoskeleton design places it under the skin, she said it would make her feel like she was wearing clothes all of the time. She has some strange comments, Don. I sometimes wonder what makes her tick.”
I laughed. “Just don’t ask her that, George, or she might show you. If Frost likes herself the way she is, then so be it. So, Doc, these updates you gave to York, can they be done to me in a timely manner?”
Again George shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Don. Diane’s Tantric fusions were made with an alloy that allowed us to build upon them. We would have to recoat all of your bones, which may not even take correctly, and then open you up again for the structure inserts. If you were interested in doing battle with the Colossuns, which I hear could come at any time, you would not have sufficient time to heal. Because of where you already are, we are talking three to four months of operations and recovery before you could begin your retraining.”
I replied, “Retraining? Why would I need to do that?”
George set the display down and spoke. “With the new exoskeleton and structural enhancements came a new set of connections to the nerve endings on each of her stumps. You would have to receive the same, which would mean that your brain would have to learn all of your motor skills for a third time. With your training ethic, I believe the whole thing to be a nonstarter. So, tell me about some of your parameters; how high can you jump?”
I sat back in my chair. “My best vertical leap, from flat footed, is eleven and a half meters. That is in standard gravity, of course. My forward leap at a full run is thirty-six meters. I have leg pressed a thousand kilograms for ten reps in a row, and I can pretty much do unlimited push-ups, with a tech sitting on my back. For foot speed, I topped out at ninety-one kilometers per hour.”
George replied, “Impressive. I am sure you are wanting to ask, and the answer is yes, York should be able to best most of your parameters by 10 to 15 percent at least. We will just call her this year’s model and you last year’s.”
York popped her head into George’s office. “Oh, hey, Mr. Grange. You have any interest in going for a run? I was just about to sprint to the stern of the Suppressor and back. Any interest?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so, York, not after what George has been telling me. I don’t need to be seen running around with some freakish, hybrid cyborg. People would talk.”
York laughed. “OK, Mr. Grange. No need for jealousy. We are both on the same team.”
I waved her on. “Go have your run, York. I have other work to get done.”
With a single step, York vanished from the door threshold. I heard only a single foot plant before she reached the end of the hallway nearly sixty meters away. Silence followed.
As I stood from my chair, my arm pad warbled. “This is Grange.”
Frig spoke. “Sir, the Gonta believe they have located the Grid. I am preparing the wormhole for your transfer.”
I replied, “It may be go time, Doc!”
With the great news on my comm, I sprinted from George’s office all the way to Frig’s lab. The flights of stairs were especially fun, with a single bound between each floor. When I entered the lab, two technicians were waiting for me beside the rail.
I spoke. “Fire it up!”
As soon as I had lain out flat, the wormhole opened and the techs shoved me through. I again rolled out into a stand and began walking towards the wormhole generator that had made the possible hit.
As I entered the room, I spoke. “What do we have, boys? Tell me some good news!”
The Gonta in charge looked up with a frown. “I am sorry, Mr. Grange. False alarm. We happened across a rogue moon that matched the size and coloring of the Grid. The alert went out before we had a full viewing.”
As I walked back towards the transfer room with a dejected look on my face, my arm pad again warbled. “This is Grange.”
It was Frig. “Sir, the second team on the Orienta has what they believe is a positive hit. I am getting the data feed now. It looks like we found her, Sir. As you had predicted, there are nine other partial structures in close proximity.”
I spoke. “The Verna! I’m heading to team two now. And Frig, thanks for all of your efforts on this. It means the world to me!”
The Gonta in charge of team two was busy identifying the multitude of Colossun ships in the surrounding space. “That’s fifty-five of those mega battleships such as the one the Duke inhabits. And that is in that single cluster alone. There must be a thousand of them parked between all of those docking nodes.”
A second Gonta spoke. “Sir, those two stations in orbit around that planet—they are not stations, those are ships as well, Sir. And they appear to be fully mobile.”
The Gonta in charge spoke on his comm. “Commander Grita. Please proceed to Central Command. We are sending a feed with the initial data breakdowns your way.”
I turned and headed for the command room. Grita and his other commanders were filing in.
Grita spoke. “Mr. Grange, come in. We are about to get our first look at the Colossun home fleet. Have a seat over here by me.”
I replied as I sat down, “Thank you, Commander. I appreciate that you are including me.”
Grita smiled. “We are partners until the end now, Mr. Grange. What I get to see, you get to see.”
The first images began to appear on the command room screen. “Ah, your Grid. She is beautiful, just like the Carions. Even with those few noticeable battle scars.”
I replied, “Yeah, we have taken a few beatings in our time. How long before we have close-in scans? I would like to know if my fellow Humans are still aboard.”
Frig came on my comm. “I am performing a scan inside the Grid as we speak, Sir. I should have results in a few seconds.”
My anxiety level began to spike as I awaited the scan data. The few seconds seemed like an eternity.
Frig spoke. “I have readings for about five hundred million, Sir. It appears that we are a bit shy of a full load. Some of them must have been moved.”
I replied, “See if you can tap into the Grid’s systems and get an accurate count.”
Frig was slow on his response. “I am sorry, Sir. I had to shut down the portal. The Duke’s virus is still active. I would advise the Gonta to monitor for the first signs of an intrusion and then shut their portals down as well.”
The screen in the command room froze.
Commander Grita looked down at his local display. “I am afraid we have lost our connections as well, Mr. Grange. We cannot risk this station any further. I am transferring our scans to the border areas. If the Colossuns are preparing for an attack, it would be from an advance fleet.”
With the changeover in searches in place, I made my way back to the Suppressor and into Frig’s lab. He was busy sorting and collating the data that had been collected.
Frig spoke. “Sir, look at this. There is a steady stream of shuttles heading towards and leaving from the Grid. I believe they may be in the process of moving our people to the surface of that planet.”
I chuck
led, to which Frig responded, “What do you find funny about that, Sir?”
I replied, “Oh, it’s not the transfer, that is for sure. It’s that you called them our people. That’s the first time I think you have referred to them that way. It’s cute, that’s all.”
Frig sighed. “I don’t know why I bother, Sir. I sometimes feel as though I am conferring with a ten-year-old who is trapped in a cyborg body.”
I smiled. “OK, I will lay off the rhetoric, although, I do think it’s kind of cool.”
The shuttles were moving in a small but steady stream. I had no doubt that the Grid was only a month or so away from being vacant of Humans. What then? How would we protect ourselves? Running had been our last line of defense, and that was now gone. And what of my fellow Humans? Would they be allowed to live? Were they being tortured? Would I have the chance to see Ashley just one more time?
I put my hand on Frig’s shoulder. “Can we scan that planet?”
Frig replied, “I don’t think it is worth the risk, Sir. I am rebuilding and reconfiguring our firewall layers, but each time, they are broken through faster than the last. That last scan only lasted thirteen seconds. The virus could very well break through before I have the opportunity to shut the system down. I have isolated the lab for this exact reason. If the lab is compromised, Sir, we will have to space all of this equipment.”
I looked intently at Frig’s display. “What about over here? On the other side of the planet. If the virus is coming from those ships, could we gather info from the other side of the planet from them?”
Frig stared at the display for several seconds. “I can give you four seconds, Sir. If the Colossun virus takes out this lab, we will be totally reliant on the Gonta to communicate with us. If that happens, I believe we risk the Gonta fully pulling the plug on this operation. If I were them, I would be tempted to do so.”
I again looked intently at Frig’s display. “No, I think the Gonta are going to stick with us. Give me at least a quarter scan of that planet’s surface if you can. We need more information.”
Frig set the wormhole to open on the other side of the planet. Six seconds were allotted for a quarter scan before the portal would be closed. I gripped the arms of my chair and squeezed as the scan went into action. Frig jumped as the first chair handle snapped under the pressure from my bionic hand.
I spoke. “Sorry about that. These things make it too easy, and dangerous, to get carried away. What does the data tell us?”
Frig punched in a handful of commands on his console. “Hmm. It would appear that our people are being taken to this surface city. It doesn’t have the appearance of the other cities on this planet. It leaves the impression that it has been newly constructed.”
I replied, “So, a prison camp. OK. How many people does it look like it will hold?”
Frig ran a calculation. “All of them, Sir.”
I stood and paced the room. “Well, that is good news at least. The Duke is planning on keeping them alive, or he would not have built that housing for them.”
Frig turned his chair towards me. “That is some astute reasoning, Sir. You have these patches of brilliance that sometimes pop through all of the clutter that muddles your brain. It would seem to reason that the Duke does indeed plan on keeping the Humans around. Kudos on that spot of brilliance, Sir.”
I looked at Frig. “OK, you scare me when you refer to me as brilliant, and when did you start using kudos? That is not a part of your normal vocabulary. That is something I would say.”
Frig replied, “I decided in your absence that perhaps if I spoke more of your language, your vocabulary if you will, that you, we, would be better able to communicate.”
I nodded my head in approval. “Well, kudos to you for taking the initiative after a dozen years!”
The banter continued for several minutes before we both tired of it. Our focus was returned to the new data from our quarter scan. The Duke had constructed a city to house the Humans and was transporting them from the Grid to their new habitat. The construction told of long-term housing, which meant the Duke planned on keeping our people alive. It was a good sign, which gave us more time to act. Our time, however, was limited by the approaching Durian fleet. If we were going to act, it would have to be soon.
Chapter 19
I grabbed my AK from the locker in my quarters. It had been a long time since I had held her, and she felt good in my new hands. I had to smile at the inscription on the stock.
Point other end and pull trigger!
I grabbed a satchel of clips and made my way to Frig’s lab.
Frig spoke. “Sir, is that weapon effective against the Colossuns?”
I replied, “I don’t know, but I am going to find out. Have Frost and York already gone through?”
Frig nodded. “They have. They are waiting on the Orienta to begin the assault.”
In the weeks following the discovery of the Grid, the Gonta had located a Colossun fleet that was staging on their border. Attack plans had been drawn up and a fleet assembled. The first order of business would be to set off the large portal bombs, as Frig had termed them, on the lead Colossun ships. Assault teams consisting of Gonta soldiers would then transfer through open portals into the spaces voided by the bombs.
If any ships could not be overtaken, the Gonta fleet would move in to finish the job. I was assigned to a team along with Frost and York. We would be dropping onto a Colossun command cruiser.
I spoke. “OK. Fire this thing up. Oh, and you are certain the Gonta portals are all isolated now? No chance of a nasty virus infection coming through and taking over?”
Frig replied, “I am confident. And, Sir, you are fully aware that once you go through, there is no communication coming back until your mission is complete. Capture that ship and deploy the worm program as instructed. If we are lucky, we may be able to beat the Duke at his own game.”
I nodded. “And if we don’t, or if the worms aren’t successful?”
Frig stood. “If that is the case, we may have trouble getting you home, Sir.”
I spoke. “Well, if I can take control of a Colossun ship, then maybe I’ll just fly it back.”
Frig replied as he pressed the button to open the portal, “Yes, good luck with that, Sir.”
The Gontas had twenty-six portals running. Colossun targets had been identified, and the portal bombs had been readied. The Gonta soldiers were all business in their new battle suits. Our hybrid suits had been enhanced with a few extra Gonta features such as a double protective layer over the vital organs. Frost commented on how it made the suits look ridiculous. I countered that I would take function over form any day.
As the first wave of bombs went through, we lined up behind the rails on which we would follow. I was first in line, followed close behind by York and Frost. When the buzzer sounded, my ankles were grabbed, and a shove sent me through to the Colossun ship on the other side. Three decks had been taken out for ten meters in each direction. I fell through and landed hard on a flattened table in what had once been a lounge.
Dead Colossun bodies lined the corners of the room. I sprang to my feet and fired my blaster at the first two Colossuns that entered the room to look for survivors. York landed on her feet and Frost on my shoulders, knocking me back to the ground.
York looked over at me. “Well, come on, Sir, we have a ship to clean out!”
Before I could stand, York burst through a doorway, and blaster fire could be heard in the hallway. I raced out behind her. My reaction times were better than they had ever been, but I found my shots hitting the debris from York’s first-out-of-the-blaster-tip shooting. She was half a step ahead of me as we charged down the hall. Frost ran behind, covering our backs.
Every corner brought new victims as York continued on her rampage. If ever there had been anyone born to be a Marine, it was York. Her anticipation of the enemy’s moves was uncanny.
As we rounded a new corner, two blaster bolts struck York in the chest, kno
cking her backwards against a far wall. Without missing a beat, she returned fire and once again charged ahead. I wondered if George had built the perfect killing machine.
Our next hallway had a door that had been locked and sealed at the far end. Without hesitation, York put herself into a full run. Just before striking the door, she fired two bolts at the hinged side. As she struck the door, it burst loose from its frame. The door flew inward in a cloud of smoke and debris. When the smoke began to clear, York was standing in the center of the room shooting at everything that moved. The room had been cleared before I could catch up.
I turned back to Frost as we continued; she was beginning to breathe heavily. “You going to be able to keep up? This is a big ship, but I think it’s going to be clear in record time.”
Frost replied, “You don’t have to worry about me, Sir. I’ll let you know when I’ve had enough. Just keep pushing forward; this mopping up is the easy part.”
When we reached the end of deck five, we came to a stairwell that was heavily defended. Blaster fire impacted the stairwell wall immediately after York popped her head up.
I spoke as she dropped herself back down. “What did you see up there?”
York replied, “We aren’t going through that. There are at least two barricades and a dozen fighters up there. And they are setting up a more powerful blaster, from the looks of it.”
I pointed back down the hall. “OK, so we go back this way and look for another way up.”
York shook her head. “I have a better idea, Sir.”
York counted off paces back down the hall.
Frost spoke. “I’ve seen that look before, Sir. Get ready for another wild ride!”
York stepped into a side room and looked up at the ceiling. Three ion bolts had it glowing red before York sprang from her feet and slammed the ceiling with her shoulder. The ceiling buckled, but held. Three more blasts and another hard leap had York bursting through to the next floor.
I spoke as I looked up through the hole and winced at the blaster fire. “That’s just wrong. How is anyone supposed to defend against that?”
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