by M. D. Cooper
“That was classic Tanis.” Joe nodded. “Only surpassed by our ‘let’s be bait’ mission on Mars 1.”
“OK, so maybe I don’t actively avoid trouble.” Tanis shrugged.
“If memory serves, we were talking about the timeline, and the prep work for the ship.” Tanis gave Joe a somewhat annoyed look and sent a quelling thought to Angela.
Joe assumed a serious look, but a smile still played at the corners of his mouth. “Yeah, so we will probably need to fuel the ship up. Bob was going to see if he would be able to make a connection to the bay on a highband channel. Docking control systems require pretty secure connections and he can’t pass the encryption commands on the lowband wireless.”
“What if there’s no power?” Tanis asked as they turned into another powerless corridor.
“Docks can generate their own local power. Need it in case of emergency.”
“How thoughtful.”
Joe laughed. “Yeah, I guess it is fortuitous. Fueling the Excelsior could take an hour, depending on the pump specs; we don’t have access to which systems are in that bay right now. Then there’s some equipment checks we’ll need to do, system initialization processes, supply loading, that sort of thing.”
“It occurs to me,” Tanis said, “that with all these other ships onboard, couldn’t we use them to help alter our trajectory?”
Joe gave Tanis a quizzical look.
“What?”
“You didn’t look at the proposal stream?” Joe asked.
Tanis had to admit normally she would have looked at every solution proposal that was postulated for a scenario. This time she had ignored them all, fixated on the one that would put her on a ship alone with Joe for several days.
“Uh, not all of them, no,” she replied.
“Huh…that’s unlike you.”
Tanis shrugged and Joe continued. “It was determined that, with the local gravity fields, the amount of force we’d have to use would cause too much structural stress. Normally, with all systems online that sort of thing could be compensated for, but as things sit it would severely damage the ship.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Tanis agreed. “Be nice if we had one of those ‘tractor beams’ they have in the science fiction stories.”
Joe grinned. “We may as well wish for ‘warp drive’ while we’re at it.”
Tanis laughed. “Or ‘transporters’.”
A minute later, the nano reported back that it had reached the docking bay with no further signs of aberrant technology. Even better, the bay had power and access to the general shipnet. Tanis used the Link through her string of nano and reported in to the bridge.
Captain Andrews’ mental tone conveyed a momentary surprise and then deep relief.
The captain laughed.
* * * * *
Ouri surveyed the platoon. At least four soldiers were down and the stasis shields were showing signs of giving out. Judicial use of EMP grenades had evened the odds, but the platoon was still pinned down.
“Good work, three,” Brandt said. “Squad two, I want you to send your runners for medical attention and stay here with the wounded.”
The commander turned to the rest of the platoon. “What are you waiting for? Get moving!”
The platoon encountered a few more servitors, but was able to quickly dispatch them. Ten minutes later, they arrived at a broad cross corridor that created a square with a maglev station, a series of shops, and the entrance for the node where the rogue AI was holed up.
“Feels so wrong without any people,” one of the soldiers whispered before his sergeant told him to shut up.
Ouri couldn’t help but agree. She had been through this section of the ship a few times and had spent some time in the shops strung along this corridor. It had always been bustling, packed with people. The silence itself was almost a physical threat.
Brandt linked second platoon’s command net with platoon three’s and laid out a plan. Ouri saw that platoon three had encountered more servitors, but none lobbing plasma. They had only suffered two casualties.
As the officer in charge, Ouri would have to approve the plan, but she doubted that she’d have anything to offer that Brandt hadn’t thought of.
Keep in mind that the node turrets and security drones will be hardened, so your EMP weaponry will have no effect on them. Your only route with them is kinetic force, but we can’t damage the entrance to the node or the systems inside. Surgical shots only.>
The lieutenants and platoon sergeants proposed some specific tactics which Brandt accepted before glancing at Ouri.
Platoon three began its advance, and Ouri watched the action on the command net, impressed that the soldiers worked so well together considering that they had only trained as a unit for a few weeks before the Intrepid left Sol.
The platoon made it to within thirty meters of the entrance to the RAI’s node and reported that they could advance no further without suffering casualties. Brandt gave the command and squad one moved out into the corridor where they took positions behind several curved bulkheads.
Squad one was made up of sniper teams who took low positions in the corridor behind their portable stasis shields and searched for targets in the firefight between platoon three and the node’s security forces.
“Abby would have kittens,” Earnest whispered near Ouri.
“Not a lot of choice,” she replied. “Kinetics are the only thing we can hit them with, short of explosives.”
“Oh, I understand,” Earnest smiled. “She would, too, but she’d still have kittens.”
The snipers were changing positions—it would not take more than one or two shots for the security dro
nes to locate them. However, there were six fewer security drones than there were mere seconds earlier.
Platoon three held its position while squads three and four advanced down the corridor under the cover of the sharpshooters’ fire. Once they had taken cover, squad one moved past their positions. The process repeated until second platoon was within fifty meters of the RAI’s node.
Casey reported over the command net.
Moments later, a particle beam shot from the hall behind them into one of the sharpshooters.
Brandt had pulled the sergeants and lieutenant in the company HQ to augment the fallen Marines from the previous engagement. Ouri, Earnest, and the four Marines were all who remained in the command position. Ouri looked at the Marines and nodded. “On me.”
Trying not to think about what she was doing, Ouri unslung her kinetic rifle and activated her targeting computer. In one quick motion, she darted across the corridor while one of the Marines provided cover. She slid into the darkened entrance of a shop and searched for heat signatures in the corridor.
Another particle beam lanced out from the darkness and hit the deck where a sharpshooter had been just a moment before. Ouri tracked the shot and fired a series of rounds at the beam’s origin.
Two Marines slid into the entryway behind her and in seconds added their fire to hers. An explosion and a shower of sparks provided confirmation that their bullets had found a target.
Brandt sent orders to the sharpshooters, instructing them to advance down the corridor—putting more distance between them and the unknowns behind their position. Ouri sent a remote probe down the corridor searching for more adversaries, silently wishing that she had the ability to generate nano on demand like Tanis did.
The probe scanned the corridor as it went, eventually coming across the remains of a security drone that had been pulverized by Ouri and the Marines. It proceeded another ten meters and sent an alert as it flagged two more security drones advancing down the corridor.
Ouri sent the data stream to the Marines and once the security drones were in range they opened fire. A few particle beams lanced out in their direction but none hit, and a minute later the drones were down.
“Not sure why they bother making things like that,” one of the Marines grunted. “They’re not good for much more than target practice.”
“We didn’t expect a war on the ship,” Earnest said as he, Brandt, and the final Marine crossed the corridor to Ouri’s position.
Ouri laughed, “I’m not sure why not. I think there have been wars that were safer than being on the Intrepid.”
“This?” one of the Marine’s asked. “This is a walk in the park. Though you have a steady shot there, Commander, even if you are GSS.”
“Shut up and cover our backs,” Brandt barked back at the soldiers. “Ouri, they’ve cleared the entrance, let’s get in that node and shut it down.”
Ouri couldn’t help but notice that there was a touch more respect in Brandt’s tone. Not much, but a touch.
Earnest ran a hand through his hair as they walked down the corridor and muttered a stream of concerns under his breath. At the entrance, two Marine techs were breaching the doors.
“Allow me,” Earnest said and passed his hand over the physical override panel. The access panel glowed green and the door slid open. The techs stood aside and a squad of Marines pushed past Earnest into the node.
“No need,” he said, “my physical command code will have overridden the node’s internal securi—” His statement was cut short by the sharp crack of several ballistic rifles.
Ouri pulled him back from the entrance, covering his body with hers.
“Report!” Brandt called in.
“All clear,” one of the Marines called back.
“Oh shit…” another gasped.
“Commanders, you better get in here.”
Ouri stepped in, Earnest and Brandt behind her. The Marines were standing on the right side of the node staring up at something hanging from a data conduit. As Ouri rounded the corner, she realized it was Amanda, her wrists chained to the conduit with several data cables jacked into the base of her skull.
Her mouth was twisted in a rictus of pain as she gasped, “About time. Please, get me down from here…”
Ouri signaled the Marines who stood on the railing and cut the chains with small plasma torches. They caught Amanda as she fell and Earnest bent over her, examining the cables plugged into her.
“So this is how the rogue AI was able to get control of so many systems,” he said. “He used her access to the entire ship. Really quite clever.”
“I’m so sorry,” Amanda whispered. “I tried to stop it, but it just pulled what it needed from my mind. I could see it attacking you and trying to keep the ship falling into the star. It’s insane!”
Ouri had heard of insane AI, but only as rumor. How Collins had managed to corral an insane AI and get it on the ship boggled the mind.
Earnest brushed the sweat-soaked synthetic hair back from Amanda’s forehead. “Don’t worry; I’ll have you freed from this thing in a moment.
Earnest looked at Amanda with a puzzled expression. “You promised it could keep you?”
“I did no such thing, I don’t know what it is talking about,” Amanda rasped, concern filling her features.
Ouri saw Earnest pull out several small tools from a pouch and detected a nano-swarm releasing from him.
“Just another moment,” he muttered and then popped the connectors from the back of Amanda’s head.
“Oh, thank my blessed mother!” she gasped and then passed out.
In an instant, Bob’s presence swelled into the local net and, with a snap, the node shut off.
17:31 hours to Intrepid escape maneuver
4:11 hours to end of Excelsior mission launch window
Dock A1 was huge, even by the Intrepid’s standards.
It held a large assortment of ships, from a pair of thousand meter cruisers, to the heavy lifters (of which the Excelsior was the largest), down to smaller tugs and shuttles. Overall, there were more than thirty ships in the bay, all brand new and ready to build a colony.
“Look at that thing,” Tanis said as they approached the lifter in its bay. “It’s all engine.”
“It is designed to move up to B2-12 planetary objects.”
Tanis whistled. “That’s what, nearly the size of Mercury, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, mind you, it will move those rather slowly. For what we need, it will do perfectly. We’ll be able to boost a couple billion tons up to 0.10c.” Joe paused and looked at Tanis. “Last chance to opt out, it’s going to be dangerous”
“I know that, Joe. I’m pretty used to dangerous. Remember your little bit with Angela back there?”
“This is a different kind of dangerous. You’re used to scenarios where you have control. Here you’ll have no control. If things go bad, there will be nothing you can do.”
“You know,” Tanis smiled at Joe, “you’d be surprised how often you can manage to affect the outcome of a bad situation if you put your mind to it.”
Tanis paused, but Joe didn’t say anything, just giving her one of his introspective stares. She resolved to say what was on her mind, to simply be straightforward about her feelings.
“Like today…it hit me…I love you. Not that I just love you, but that I really love you. I know, it’s crazy. Me, in love with a vac jockey, but it’s true.” The words spilled out, she knew it sounded lame; wished it could have sounded as good as the feeling that was inside of her.
It took a moment for Joe to react. He looked stunned, then surprised, then a slow smile spread across h
is face. He pulled her close and crushed her in his arms before loosening his hold, gently pressing his body against hers.
“It was earlier, after Collins got away,” she said quietly. “When you came down the corridor and I realized that I didn’t care what happened, as long as you—”
Her words cut off as his lips covered hers. It was soft at first, just a brushing that froze her for a moment before she responded. Tanis breathed deeply and felt herself melt into him. The intensity increased and moments later their tongues were exploring each other’s mouths and hands were stroking each other’s bodies.
Tanis stopped and moved her head back so she could see Joe’s light brown eyes. “She does have a point. We do have work to do.”
14:41 hours to Intrepid escape maneuver
1:22 hours to end of Excelsior mission launch window
Joe handled the fueling of the ship, as well as making certain it was equipped with all the detection and grappling systems they needed to catch their prey in the darkness on the edge of the system. Tanis worked through the checklists, ensuring that supplies were stocked, life support had the appropriate raw materials, and that there would be some items to use for extracurricular activities.
Andrews chuckled before replying.
Tanis reclined in one of the three acceleration couches in the cockpit. They were also capable of functioning as stasis pods and she had double checked each one’s function in that respect. Things that tested just fine at 1g could break quite easily at seventy.