Mutant Hunter (Clone Worlds)

by Tobias Roote

  “When we exit, we need to remain hidden behind the Dramatus until we can make a direct approach to the space-port,” Grady advised. They would exit using its shadow to hide their presence until ready to attack. There wasn’t too much of a problem approaching AW Command, the port was always open between the asteroid’s base and open space. They maintained a forcefield which despite being manufactured from the most advanced technology was still only sufficiently powerful enough to hold in atmosphere. It was an expensive process using raw materials found on the asteroid and other chunks of rock in the vicinity.

  Their problem was going to be the Core battleship Flag. Hopefully Dalt and Charon had that figured out because Grady was going to have his hands full with the AI and firing on other Core vessels. He knew the Core had safety switches to handle friendly fire.

  “AI, do you have a name ?” Grady asked while waiting for the hangar doors to open.

  “Do you mean a name or call-sign ? If so I answer to ‘RAFA’ which represents my Random Automatic Fire Algorithm which is still in beta testing and only on this ship.”

  “RAFA ? Well ! that’s unusual and can you tell me what this RAFA is ?” Grady requested while the countdown to launch continued.

  “It allows me to fire at will if certain conditions are met. Because I also have the opportunity to decide which targets and when to fire, it may appear random to humans. In fact it is a complicated algorithm that analyses risk and threat to life of the pilot and craft. As I am a fourth iteration of the first fighter AI installed I’m quite advanced. If you tell me what the target is I can compute the best route to it as well as the best ammunition and firing sequence,” the AI responded.

  “Who flies this bucket while you're doing all this, RAFA ?” Grady wondered.

  “I have two secondary AI’s who control space and atmosphere flight and correspond perfectly with my targeting. The pilots usually sit back and watch the process. Would you like to give me a target ?”

  Grady blinked. The AI had actually asked him to provide the target and expected him to sit quietly while the machine did all the work. Not a Gremmel’s chance that was going to happen.

  “No, I don’t mind you helping out, but I’m flying this plane AND choosing the target. You can however, provide location and navigation for this trip. Our destination is AW Command bunker entrance, Fording Station. Compute ?” he clarified.

  “Affirmative, the launch bay is open, I suggest we disembark in nineteen seconds to optimise our trajectory and braking. I’m passing the coordinates to Theta, and the bridge, CONFIRM ?”

  “CONFIRM ! RAFA,” Grady replied bracing himself for the launch which he just knew the AI would process at the highest possible speed that his body could stand. Ario had done the same at times.

  “Shrilla, Hold on to your seat. We’re going in,” Grady called to his partner.

  “Received. These AI’s are something, aren’t th – ” she answered, just as both fighters were hurled out the launch bay in perfect synchronisation. Grady heard her grunt as the G-force slung her back into her contoured seat cutting off her comment. He chuckled mentally, he would have done so vocally except his breathing was being interrupted by a heavy weight on his chest.

  “Launch achieved,” the AI announced.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The Best Defence is Attack

  “Follow me,” Grady called to Shrilla. The onboard controls had taken over as soon as they launched and they were now flying in formation, Shrilla’s ship tucked in neatly behind his.

  “Dramatus, we’re going to remain in your shadow while our systems calibrate, then we will proceed to target point,” Grady advised.

  The signal came back, “Be advised the intended target has been neutralised, but Core reinforcements are inbound. Two gunships as far as we can tell. It looks a mess down there. Be careful !” Dalt’s voice came across sounding cautious.

  Grady’s hold on the stick relaxed a little as he sensed the responsiveness of the fighter was perfectly anticipated his style of flying. As he flew parallel to the Dramatus he looked around to gauge his location physically, but other than blackness there was nothing to show. The station would be on the other side of the ship. He looked at the navigation aids and realised that their window of optimum flight was coming up in a few seconds.

  Swinging away from battleship and arcing underneath Grady saw the asteroid station’s perimeter in the distance and pointed the fighter towards it. Shrilla was still on his wing. Having inherited the Dramatus entry speed they were still flying too fast to approach the large lump of rock, but the AI was already braking the aircraft as Grady swung the fighter in a wide loop to give them both the right angle of entry and the time and space to decelerate.

  “Is this a simulated battlefront ?” the AI asked.

  “No, this is a real-time mission RAFA. Why ?” Grady enquired while fingering his switches to ascertain the manual controls for weapon selection and firing commands.

  “Because I’m being scanned by the CN Flag and tasked to respond to military codes. They imply we’re a potential threat,” the AI responded.

  “Reply that we’re on a priority mission and to stand down their alerts,” Grady ordered. He knew what was happening. It was standard procedure in a Core military exercise to verify all other ‘friendlies’ with the latest authentication codes. The Dramatus arriving in system must have been a big surprise to the captain of the CN Flag. They needed to keep it confused for long enough to get close into their gunships.

  That meant they needed another forty seconds to put the threat of retaliation behind them, then they would be through the forcefield and able to halt the attack on the AWC. By the time the Captain of the Flag knew what was going on, the Dramatus would have slowed and navigated to a point where it could defend the station and them against the Core attackers.

  “Are we going to fire on civilians, or military targets ?” RAFA asked again.

  “We’re targeting the attackers of AW Command, RAFA. That means we will be going against Core fighters and gunships. Do you have a problem with that ?” Grady asked concerned suddenly that there might be a conflict of interest in his AI.

  “I am unable to shoot at another Core vessel without explicit orders to do so,” the AI responded simply.

  “I have two choices, RAFA. I can disable automatic weapons and targeting, or you can accept a command to fire upon Core forces where they are attacking station civilians or AW Command structures and personnel.” Grady responded curtly, his finger hovering over the manual control over-ride that would effectively turn the AI into a bystander in the upcoming engagement.

  “I am unable to comply with your order without proper authorisation codes from the Dramatus. However, I am required to protect this craft at all times from any threat Core, or otherwise. Therefore, this AI is only permitted to maintain a defensive role,” RAFA instructed.

  “Well I’ll be damned,” Grady muttered. “Did you hear that, Shrilla ?” Grady called out. He flicked the switch to give him manual control of targeting and weapons selection.

  “Affirmative Grady, we have AI’s with principles and rules of engagement. Impressive stuff,” she responded. He listened while the same conversation was repeated from her AI and a similar action response agreed.

  “Switching to manual targeting,” Shrilla confirmed.

  “Entering station perimeter zone, preparing to engage atmospheric thrusters,” RAFA advised.

  The engine noise changed as the AI activated the main propulsion jets. Grady felt the fighter respond to his touch in a way he could only describe as familiar. They approached the space port area and Grady immediately saw two gunships approaching the AWC entrance. The wreckage of the earlier threat still lay smoking on the ground, but the extractor and fire drones were on the scene making it safe. It might be a big asteroid and its atmosphere enough to sustain a large population, but it was still a valuable resource that needed careful management. Fires were the b
iggest threat and dealt with automatically by the station’s AI. They were going to be an additional flying hazard, Grady realised.

  With his eyes on the first target, he selected a kinetic missile to reduce the level of air contamination or explosion, locked onto the jet and prepared to fire.

  “Shrilla, take out the second gunship, then strafe the ground forces approaching AWC,” Grady called to her.

  “I’m on it,” she responded positively.

  The range was good, but he couldn’t afford to miss, or for them to evade. If he got it wrong his missile would blast the front of the AWA headquarters.

  He flicked his eye over the fire button on his HUD and a tiny missile flashed past his peripheral view and within two seconds dove into the jet exhaust of the gunship causing it to implode violently. The craft veered to the right towards the space-port visitor area and while Grady fought to bring his fighter around to re-engage it before it took out the civilian area, the AI intervened and a plasma bolt lanced across the empty space cutting the remaining engine in half. As the gunship fell to the ground Grady immediately understood that the AI had responded to the threat of civilian casualties and disabled the ship before it could cause collateral damage.

  “Nice work, RAFA,” Grady responded to the AI’s actions. He flew over the top of the wreckage and as they turned back towards the AWC entrance he saw the second gunship touch the ground with both its engines smoking. The speedy response of fire control drones created a shadow on his visual display as they came en-masse to neutralise the degradation to atmosphere quality.

  “I’m receiving threatening responses from the CN Flag over the loss of their craft, but the Dramatus has arrived in orbit and is dealing with it. The official threat status is therefore, currently clear,” RAFA advised. It sounded relieved and more relaxed, but Grady couldn’t be sure it wasn’t his own feelings emanating in the confined space.

  “Good work, RAFA,” Grady acknowledged.

  Grady wanted to land and join the forces on the ground outside the AWC where he could see Range.

  “Put me in touch with the ground force,” Grady asked the AI.

  “Range, you’re supposed to be keeping the entrance clear,” Grady called out when he saw the green comms light come up on his HUD.

  “Damned if it isn’t the elusive Mr Philus Grady causing traffic chaos out here,” came the reply.

  “Give us ten minutes to clear this wreckage then land your craft as close to the entrance as you can get. Beware snipers from the Core affiliated ships parked in the port area. They’ve been picking our men off over the last few hours.”

  Grady mused, he wasn’t about to land if there was a chance of retaliation.

  “RAFA, there are snipers that will target me and the other pilot in the port area. Are you able to help in neutralising them ?” Grady asked.

  “Affirmative, they represent a threat to the ship and its crew which put it firmly under defensive protocols,” it answered.

  “Good ! Then let’s go clean up this space-port so that normal flights in and out can resume,” Grady smiled.

  “Affirmative, Grady,” the AI used his name for the first time.

  They cruised at a height of one hundred feet while Grady tweaked the ground radar to give him a clearer perspective, then switched to thermal imaging. There were lots of red spots. Some were coming from near the parked-up ships.

  “Identify Core ships in the landing zone, RAFA,” Grady requested. He saw three vessels turn red on his HUD.

  “Zoom in on these three images and place them on different screens so that we can visualise them better.”

  “There is no need, I can already detect that those three people are firing on personnel in the vicinity of your protected area. Do you wish me to take out the targets ?” RAFA asked.

  “By all means, RAFA. It will be ideal if you can disarm them, but otherwise remove the threat,” Grady responded.

  “Shrilla, have you neutralised all the ground troops ?” he asked.

  “Yes, for some reason they don’t seem to want a fight,” she replied.

  “Keep your head down a few more minutes we need to take care of some incoming sniper-fire,” Grady warned.

  “Right,” was all she said. He watched as her fighter hovered outside the entrance to AW Command, protecting the tractors pulling away the wreckage of the two nearest gunships.

  “RAFA, take out those snipers, now please,” Grady asked the AI.

  “Already done,” the AI replied smoothly.

  “What did you shoot them with ?”

  “The latest Microwave Particle Emitters (MPE’s) allow me to narrowly beam selected targets. Their hands are badly burned, but targets are alive. A few days in the regeneration tanks and they will be fine,” RAFA informed him.

  “Ah ! Nice touch, RAFA !” Grady smiled at the AI’s solution for non-fatal defensive action that also provided it with a moral response to firing on Core personnel. The threat scene detailed in his HUD turned green as the last of the combatants was neutralised. Time to call in, he decided.

  “Dramatus, this is Grady. Ground threats neutralised. Advise status of any inbound enemy ships,” he requested.

  “This is Dramatus, no inbound threats from Flag at this time. Suggest you land and update AWA on the status of your mission, Dramatus out,” Dalt’s voice sounded tense and Grady wondered just how well he was keeping the Flag and its support vessels out of the picture. The Alliance fleet should be in range now, so that would resolve much of the problem. As if to prove him wrong, his HUD flashed YELLOW alert as five inbound fighters swooped in through the large iris that represented the portal into the station’s space port.

  “Dramatus, I thought you said no threats inbound ?” Grady cried.

  “Be advised the Alliance are taking command of local airspace and will require all in-flight vessels to land and power down their engines until vetting has been completed. Failure to comply will result in punitive action,” the voice of authority carried through Grady’s headphones.

  The drones having sucked up all the smoke and put out all the fires had already dispersed leaving the space around them clear. The fighters flew directly toward the AW Command entrance. Instantly realising they were still in Core ships, the suspected perpetrators of the attack, and in anticipation of their challenge, Grady called them on broadcast mode.

  “Alliance fighters, you’re too late the threat has been neutralised. We’re friendlies in Core fighters, please check us out with AW Command before you do anything rash.”

  The fighters that had been coming in at full attack formation slowed, but maintained their heading, hovering in front of Grady while behind him, Shrilla was jockeying for a shooting position.

  “Alliance fighters are locking their weapons on both Core fighters : Instructions ?” RAFA asked.

  “Hold your position,” was all Grady said to everyone, including Shrilla who he trusted not to shoot first and ask questions later.

  “Core fighters, this is Alliance One, maintain position. Do NOT, repeat do NOT, activate your weapon systems or you will be destroyed,” came the tinny response, a result of their comms systems having a slight problem with handshaking the different technology.

  “Alliance One, copy that. Maintaining position,” Grady replied sounding confident and relaxed. No need to give these fly-boys any reason to be nervous now, he thought.

  “Grady, this is Range, they want to know if you’re a friendly, or no ?” came a recognisable voice over the comms.

  “Range, do you want your butt kicked ?” Grady responded, laughing in spite of their predicament.

  “Core fighters, this is Alliance One. Set your craft down on the deck and shut-down your engines and AI’s,” the voice came again.

  Grady smiled, they weren’t very trusting. He approved and passed on the instructions to Shrilla and RAFA.

  “Let’s park these where they are and make for the entrance. Okay, Shrilla ?

  RAFA, l
and and shut-down all systems, then go to sleep,” Grady ordered.

  “Affirmative ! Landing. It’s been a pleasure flying with you, Grady, let’s do it again sometime,” RAFA responded.

  Grady was nonplussed, the AI showed more social skills than Ario on the Citrix. He decided to check on the progression of AI technology and push for an upgrade to Ario if there was one.

  “You too, RAFA, nice to fly with an AI that can balance its morals with fire-power. You make for a formidable partner.” Grady meant it. If the Core could produce AI’s of this quality, then they might end up using them without pilots, in which case there would be a real disadvantage to Alliance fleets.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Dramatus - Orbiting Fording Station

  As Grady and Shrilla exited the launch bay heading for the station and the defence of the AWC, Dalt turned and confronted Charon.

  “You are concerned we’re going into a war-zone when you have the fastest, most powerful battleship in the known system ?”

  “Yes, true, I am. This ship is largely untested, these trials are – “

  “These trials are irrelevant. The ship is based on a well-tried and tested chassis, only the bridge and armaments are new as well as the propulsion system. If we don’t help the Alliance of Worlds now, then the Core will have nothing stopping their march to eradicate all opposition. We have the element of surprise as well as superior fire-power. This ship will either serve the enemies of the Core, or it will be destroyed,” Dalt said vehemently. It wasn’t that he distrusted Charon, but he wasn’t sure how confident a leader he would be against a Core fleet. He needed to know now if he was going to falter, in which case he would take over.

  “It’s true what you say, but this ship’s specifications are known to the Flag, and the captain is a very experienced fleet officer. I’m sure he will know the ship’s weak points and – “