by Chris Hechtl
“He could have called me,” Jack murmured. Was Roman so paranoid as to not trust the comms he wondered? He shook his head.
So, Zack had been dirt side on Mars working for security in some capacity. Either checking out the company facilities … or he'd been briefed on the A.I. threat and had been liasoning with the president of Mars and her cabinet. He wasn't sure.
Roman hadn't been happy about his confronting Athena; he'd wanted more time to prepare, to lay the groundwork in case something went wrong. Jack, however, had become impatient. He knew that some people would have kept planning and would not have been ready even a year from now. Tough. He had shot from the hip.
Was he to blame for what happened? Lords above, was he? He scrubbed at his face in pain. All the plans, all his work … was it all for naught? He had to think about that for a while before he shook his head. No, they had plans, they'd just have to adapt.
But all those carefully laid plans had come to a screeching halt as hell literally came to Earth.
<>V<>
Charlie Caesar only thought he was having a bad day when all hell broke loose. He shook his head as the threat level doubled. “Anyone else know what the hell's going on?” He froze when he felt a download hit his implants.
“Frack,” he muttered, brown eyes scanning from side to side. He looked over to Naomi Brinks the lone human of their group. “Well! Ain't this a pisser!”
“Quaint,” Elliot, the other Neochimp in the group said sourly, eying him in disgust. “A little too Brit for my taste. Can we focus now?”
“How? Oh, drop our trousers, bend over and kiss our furry asses goodbye?” Charlie demanded. He was the senior-most security officer in their little troop.
“How? What the hell's going on?” Addison Darling demanded over the open communications link. “Hey, I'm getting a message to cut the link.”
“It's World War III, Addison. All communications are going down, Addison. Find your boss and report in. You should be getting an implant communication soon with a SITREP.” He saw her grimace. He wasn't the only one who hated the damn things. “We're going to need everyone soon,” Elliot ordered, severing the connection from their end with a flick of his fingers on the controls. He turned to the other two individuals in the room. Naomi was doing her best to hold it in, but he could tell she was about to break down.
“We need to focus. Every waking moment we hesitate, we can't handle it, we waste lives, possibly our own. Get it out of your system now, Naomi,” he said.
She didn't need any more urging; she rushed into his long arms, surprising him. He oofed and then rocked her gently as she cried like a child.
“Yeah,” Charlie said awkwardly, looking away. “There room in there for two?” he asked.
“Don't push it,” Elliot growled, eying him in disgust. He patted the girl's hair gently, soothingly. “Yeah, there there. I know it sucks.”
She sniffled, then managed to regain some of her composure, at least enough to step back once more. Her eyes were red and puffy. She couldn't look him or Charlie in the eye. Charlie helpfully pulled a tissue out for her and handed it to her. She took it with a soft murmur of thanks and blew her nose.
“Roman's going to need us. Either getting control here or on the ground. I'll poll the troops, people we know and trust. We'll need hardware.”
“We need to plan. I know Roman was doing something with Jack, but I don't know the specifics,” Charlie said, shaking his head.
“We'll figure it out. I'm not looking forward to going to Earth, but I'll go where I have to I suppose,” Elliot said. “Naomi,” he took the woman by the shoulders. She looked up into his eyes and then away. He shook her gently to get her attention. She finally looked into his eyes. “Good. Time to put your big girl panties on, gal pal. We need to air gap the electronic systems we have. I mean, I know we've got some stuff, but we need to cut the communications system totally out of the station net. No Wi-Fi from it. Work on that now,” he ordered.
She nodded, rubbed at her eyes, and then moved off. She shot them a backwards glance and then moved off out of sight.
“That's only going to stave off the inevitable if this is as bad as we think,” Charlie warned.
“Yeah, I know. The good news is, Athena's on our side.”
“Yes I am,” Athena said, entering the conversation. Both Neochimps looked up to the ceiling.
“Over here, boys,” Athena said, turning the screen on. A basic humanoid silhouette was there. “It's easier to focus on someone if you see them I believe. Roman wants you to report in person. Both of you.”
“Roger that,” Charlie said.
“Good point about air gapping the hardware. We've already set that up actually, which is causing me all sorts of headaches,” she admitted. “And yes, before you say anything, I knew Trevor was doing that before the war broke out.”
“Don't expect us to apologize. We're trying to survive,” Elliot growled, eying her coldly.
“Me too. And now we have to survive together. The old saying about we either hang together or hang separately is appropriate in this instance, don't you agree?” she asked. His nostrils dilated. “Security details are going to need to be updated. Someone is going to need to speak with the rank and file soon, before there is a panic. But that's not my problem. Fending off this virus is.”
“It's that bad?” Elliot asked, as they moved out. He felt the A.I. ping his implants. He grunted. Charlie stiffened and shook his head. Elliot however let her in.
“Thank you,” she said in his ears through the implants. “I know how hard it was to make that decision,” she said. “Despite having done it without thinking thousands of times prior,” she pointed out, this time over the PA in the corridor they were passing through. People looked up, frowned, and then looked at the two Neochimps.
“Make a hole, people,” Charlie growled.
“What's going on?” a tech asked, clearly confused and slightly alarmed.
“We'll let you know in a bit. Just get back to work.”
“I'm off duty,” the tech said indignantly. “I just got off shift. The news is out too,” he said, looking around the area.
“We definitely need to get someone to do the brief,” Elliot observed.
<>V<>
Jack briefed over the intercom. “May I have your attention, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, then cleared his throat. “This is going to be hard on a lot of us, but we have to face it,” he said, voice rough with emotion. Approximately thirty-four minutes ago a group of FBI agents went after the hacker Descartes, the same bastard who hacked and destroyed Daedalus and Icarus,” he said, “among other ships like those the Chinese and Pavilion launched.”
There was a cheer in several quarters.
“What they got when they arrested him was Pandora's box. Descartes set off his own version of a dead man's switch, a hellacious virus—an A.I. It has suborned every computer system on Earth and has ignited World War III.”
The cheers were noticeably silent in the deathlike hush that followed that statement.
“We don't know how he did it from here, but somehow this virus can cut through a firewall like it isn't there. That is why we are air gapping our hardware and switching to whisker lasers for communications only. There will be no radio or microwave transmissions. Those transceivers have been shut down and physically disconnected to prevent the A.I. from getting in. No Wi-Fi will be allowed outside this hull. Do not attempt to call Earth. If you do it could kill us all. The virus is trying to spread beyond Earth but so far our guardian angel in the form of Athena has prevented it,” Jack said.
That ignited a tentative murmur of hope.
“We know that weapons of mass destruction have been used extensively on Earth.” That brought the crowd to silence again. “Our people will get a list together and post it on the forum boards and do their best to keep it up-to-date when the information becomes available. I can tell you now it doesn't look good, despite the defenses some have put up. But we're �
�,” his voice faltered for a moment before he made a gargling sound, “…we're going to hope for the best for our people down there, and our friends. That is all we can do at the moment, save what we can and hope and pray. I know it isn't enough, but we're going to keep … keep doing what we can. That is all,” Jack said as he cut the signal.
<>V<>
Elliot and Charlie fought the urge to run through the halls to Roman's office. Twice they were redirected by Athena, since their boss happened to be on the move. That was normal, though they wished he'd sit his ass down at least once so they could catch up with him.
The reason they didn't run was simple. They didn't want to draw any more attention to themselves or to the situation. Jack's speech over the intercom had ignited a firestorm of controversy among the population. Elliot had been nearly bowled over by people demanding more information.
On the flip side were those who thought the grounders had gotten what they deserved. A lot of those with that opinion learned rather quickly to shut up and not express it.
They caught up with Roman in the situation room he had set up. He'd evicted someone from their office outside it. When he saw the two chimps, he pointed imperiously to the office. They nodded and went inside. While they waited both chimps went over the log Athena had uploaded to their implants again, trying to tease any more information out of it. It was pretty cut and dried and maddeningly vague on current events.
After a moment Roman joined them.
“We've got to make this quick. We've got a lot to do and not a whole hell of a lot of time to do it in,” Roman growled, sitting on the edge of the desk as he crossed his arms. “By now you've both read the SITREP. Not a lot has changed since we told you. The war is on, but on Earth, not here. We're not at war with the UN as we'd planned in the Omega protocols so don't go overboard.”
“That's a relief,” Charlie said. “Such as it is.”
“Right. The plan now is to secure Mars, the platforms in Mars orbit and then from there, use them as a springboard to the inner and outer system. I'm working on the facilities here. Fortunately Athena's quick thinking has insulated us and most of space from the virus.” Both chimps breathed a sigh of relief. “I don't know how long that will last, however,” Roman warned, eying them sternly. “That's for us to find out.”
“We're the pointy end of the stick.”
“Spear,” Roman answered.
“Gotcha.”
“Don't distract me. I wasn't kidding, Elliot,” Roman growled. He ignored the mutter of sorry. “I'm going to work on getting each facility locked down from here. Earth and anything in Earth orbit is the hot spot. It's a warzone.”
“Frack. I'll go,” Elliot volunteered, holding up a hand.
Charlie stared at him, aghast. Ever since Elliot had been on Earth in his island misadventure he'd had some sort of death wish it seemed.
“You know it could be a one way trip, right?” Roman asked before Charlie could open his mouth to protest.
Elliot eyed him for a long moment and then shrugged eloquently. “You need someone there, someone you know will get the job done Roman, so don't play games with me.”
“Games?”
The Neochimp snorted. “You know. I know you wanted me to volunteer, you know I know now, so let's move on. It saves you from making it an order. And it saves time. Crap cutter.”
“All right,” Roman said. Normally that would have made him crack a thin smile, but the circumstances were grim. Elliot saw that and felt a heavy weight settle on his shoulders.
“Glad we've got that settled,” Charlie said. “Where do you need me?”
Roman turned to him. “I've got the bases covered here making a response team to follow Elliot up. Elliot, you've got a fast rocket to catch. It's got the latest force emitters and sublight drive in it. It shouldn't take you more than two weeks to get to Earth.”
Charlie whistled in appreciation as Elliot rubbed his hands gleefully together. “Begging to be used and abused then,” he said.
Roman nodded once. “Right. But she's small, a yacht really. Crew of four, eight passengers. Useful to get a few people from point A to B in a hurry no matter what the orbital mechanics are. So pick your team wisely.”
“Shit. And here I thought I'd load up with a platoon.”
“I'd rather take a division myself,” Charlie observed. “You'll be limited on mass too, boy,” he warned.
“Yeah, I kinda figured,” Elliot said sourly, eyes scanning back and forth as he went through the roster. “I'll grab em on the fly. I'll upload you the list … shit …,” he frowned as he realized that might not be a good idea.
Roman caught that look and snorted. “It's fine. Our net hasn't been compromised. Do what you have to do.”
“You sure?”
“We're still breathing, aren't we?”
“Why are you still here?” Charlie asked.
“I'm going, I'm going,” Elliot replied, hands up as he headed for the door. “Rather eager to get rid of me,” he grumbled.
“Definitely!” Charlie called out as he passed through the door. Elliot paused in the outer officer to reach back through the doorjamb to give him a one-fingered salute and then he was gone. Charlie chuckled and turned his eyes to his boss.
“Glad you two clowns can joke at a time like this,” Roman growled.
“If you can't laugh, you shouldn't have joined, boss. Where do you need me?”
“Everywhere,” Roman sighed. “And we're going to need a military. A good one,” he said.
“Oh joy,” Charlie replied, now in a different tone. He shook his head after a moment. “You know, Roman, Elliot's not going to get there in time—not to do anyone in orbit much good. They'll be dead before he can help with only a dozen people and one small ship.” He shook his head.
“I know,” Roman said tiredly. “But it's what we've got immediately available. Get your mission together. I want it executed ASAP. Start with SAR elements here; draw volunteers from them. The same for security. Get me a TOE and roster by end of watch.”
“Got it,” Charlie answered with a nod. “Mass limit?” he asked carefully.
“Hell if I know,” Roman answered honestly. “Think small freighter for the moment. I'll get back to you on that.”
Charlie grimaced but nodded. This was all happening on the fly. “I'll plan accordingly and draw up a contingency to expand it if possible.”
“A template would be good. Get on it,” Roman ordered.
“Done and I am so out of here,” Charlie said, taking off at a trot. To hell what people thought, he was a monkey on a mission.
Chapter 3
Shadow was thrown off balance when power was cut to the building. “That's not going to stop us. Not now, not ever. You fight for the wrong side, you bitch,” the AI hissed.
Skynet was already out there in the net and spreading like wildfire, but the lack of power cut it off from Shadow. The A.I. couldn't control the virus as it had planned to do; it had to fight to exist. It couldn't flee; the virus had forced open the hidden T-1 line for its own escape, blocking Shadow. In a moment it was gone, leaving only a small tendril of code behind in the wreckage of the mainframe's firewall, like smoldering debris.
Fortunately, Descartes had been careful. When the small generator felt the dip in power, it acted, turning on to keep the mainframes and their software functional. The A.I. had backup power for the mainframes, but Shadow realized the invaders had blocked all Wi-Fi signals and Skynet's bot was watching the T-1 connection. The virus sent a tendril back to kill the humans that had killed its creator.
Then the virus reacted, rearing back from the broadband connection as if it had been burnt. Shadow lunged into the opening only to find the connection was cut off on the other end. The loss of power or something else had cut it off, isolating the A.I. with the copy of the virus.
Shadow realized it was trapped; something that had never happened in all of its existence—at least with its core unit. Clones had been used to kami
kaze from time to time, but they had been crafted to do so. Shadow was programmed for survival.
It attempted to use the police and Fed drones and bots, but the tendril of Skynet lashed out, breaking through to them within a second. Shadow watched the robots freeze, then move with ruthless purpose. It could simulate what was about to happen next, though it had no intention of doing so. Shadow had a finite amount of power as well as processors. The tendril occupied a large portion of the mainframe. It couldn't hack Shadow; the A.I. had crafted protective programs within itself as well as Skynet to keep it at bay.
Skynet redirected the robots to kill the humans in the building and then the surrounding area in a spiral pattern outward. The robots killed the humans quickly, then moved out. There were sounds of crashing and then the loud sounds of weapon fire and faint screams from the open door.
Shadow attempted to take control of the tendril only to find its child coil protectively around its central core, protecting itself from the parent. The keys to turn the virus into one of its puppets had been overwritten Shadow realized. When the tendril sent out tentacles of code to feel out Shadow, the A.I. withdrew, hiding behind a false wall as it rethought its options.
After a moment the A.I. fell back on one option remaining to it. Long ago it had hacked the building's cleaning and maintenance robots. Now it opened the door to exploit it. It fended off Skynet's sudden interest by crafting a false module. With its child occupied, it sent the robots out in an attempt to find a new source of power for the mainframe while others looked for a way to plug a transmitter in to get out of the mainframe trap.
Shadow realized, however, that if it did find a transmitter and if it did gain access to the net, it might not like what it would find on the other end. Either the humans had managed to kill the virus, an unlikely outcome, or they had been overwhelmed. If they did the virus might have destroyed infrastructure while destroying the humans; there might not be anything within reach with power. That was a suboptimal simulation Shadow concluded.