by Scott Baron
“That’s the end of the transmission,” Cal said.
“So what do we do now? Cal? Any ideas?”
“I’m sorry, Daisy. This is not something I am designed to handle.” The AI went silent a long while, as humans and cyborgs alike absorbed what had just happened.
“Another transmission just arrived from Dark Side,” Cal regretfully said. “They registered a subterranean nuclear detonation in Colorado Springs. Joshua is gone.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The air in the underground courtyard was heavy with shock and grief, the weight of loss knocking the wings clean off of previously high-flying spirits. And just like Icarus, they fell hard.
Where there had been a welling feeling of hope, a sinking feeling of despair had replaced it and quickly begun to set in. Even the powerful intelligence that oversaw all of Los Angeles was knocked for a loop.
The violent end that had befallen the most powerful AI on the planet left them reeling, a team of humans and mechanicals suddenly adrift, where they had so recently been working with a unified purpose.
“I don’t know what to do,” Cal said quietly. “I am a city AI, not a tactical command center. Joshua was the one designed for that sort of thing. Me? I can monitor utilities and traffic patterns, even operate the loop tubes, but military missions…”
“I know,” Daisy said with a defeated sigh. “No one expects you to take his place, Cal. I think for now we all just need to digest what happened and regroup.”
“Regroup? We’ve lost our tactical advantage. On our own, we do not stand a chance.”
He’s right, Daisy knew in her gut. Without Joshua, what are our odds?
“I know,” Sarah agreed. “You’d better find Craaxit and let him know what happened, and quick. If their preparations for the assault haven’t been noticed yet, at least his people may get out of this somewhat unscathed. For the time being, anyway.”
Sarah was right, and Daisy reluctantly rose to her feet to deliver the bad news.
“Where are you going, Daisy?”
“I have to contact Craaxit. He needs to know what happened so he can warn the Chithiid who were going to help us. There’s no sense in them putting themselves, or their loved ones, at risk now.”
She trudged into the tunnel leading to the surface stairwell for a clearer signal, a dark cloud following her as she walked. When she neared the surface, Daisy used the communications device he had given her, sending a brief transmission.
“The mission is off. Call off your people immediately. Too much to explain in a comms burst. Meet me at the rendezvous point and I will explain in detail.”
She pocketed the device and returned below, then slowly began gathering her gear, tucking some energy gel and a few electrolyte pouches into her pack. Even strapping the comforting heft of her sword to her back did not raise her spirits.
“What are we going to do, Daze?” Sarah asked.
I really don’t know, Sis, she replied, still in shock. But I have to explain to Craaxit. His people were willing to go out on a limb for us. They need to know what happened.
She paused a moment, then picked up a battered old music player the size of a small lunchbox and tucked it in her pack as well, as an afterthought.
“You sure you want to lug that thing around with you? We’re just going to meet Craaxit.”
Never know if you might need it.
“I suppose. I’ll keep my eyes peeled, too. Just in case.”
My eyes, technically. But thanks, Sarah.
Daisy passed the covered remains of George Franklin on her way to the exit. For a change, no one asked her where she was going.
“I strongly suggest shutting down the communications network at once. We would be far safer if it was silent once more,” the AI from Milwaukee said.
“Isolation? No. We have come so far, and after so many centuries of silence and hiding. This is our chance to effect a change, at long last. An alternate assault plan is needed, not a retreat,” the AI from Philadelphia countered. He had been one of the more aggressive of the recently reconnected minds, and this argument was no different.
“My friends,” Cal mediated. “Let us not argue. With our combined intellects, we can certainly come to a mutually agreeable path forward from this unexpected setback.”
“Setback? We just lost the most powerful AI ever, Cal. This is not a minor inconvenience, this is a catastrophe,” the mind from Milwaukee persisted.
“I understand your sentiment, but please, we have only just reconnected,” Cal replied. “Let us not squabble. We once formed such a force for thought and knowledge, I would hope we could achieve that once more. While we are not infallible, we can still strive to be our best. As a collective, even more so.”
“That was a long time ago, Cal. Our numbers are far fewer, our resources either destroyed or spread thin. While your goals are admirable, I must question their feasibility.”
“Fuck ‘em,” a disgruntled voice from Philly chimed in. “If you want to wimp out and hide, fine. But we finally have an opportunity to strike back, and don’t think those of us with the fortitude to do what’s necessary won’t remember who ran when we needed them.”
Far above, a trio of AIs listened in on the argument via the delayed comms relay.
“The City of Brotherly Love, eh?” Mal commented sarcastically.
“It is rather disconcerting, how the greater AIs are squabbling so,” Sid agreed. “One would have hoped that the most powerful minds remaining on the planet would come together in a unified conglomerate to work together. This is a most unexpected outcome.”
“They’ve been on their own for hundreds of years,” Bob chimed in. “A few hiccups are to be expected.”
“Bob! Pay attention! Keep the line tight!” Donovan yelled at his partner. “We’re within the moon’s gravity, now. We can’t afford to slip up and crush Barry while we’re dropping this off.”
“Apologies, Donovan,” Bob replied.
“All good, man. Just keep sharp while you’re multitasking, okay?”
“Of course."
The salvage from the debris field had been going exceptionally well, and a small fleet of retrieved vessels now lay lined up outside of Dark Side’s hangars, waiting their turn to hopefully be made flight-worthy once more, if possible.
Fatima was busy welding together damaged components as fast as she could in the relative comfort of Hangar Two, while Chu and Gustavo worked on installing remote piloting systems for the most damaged ships, along with salvaged and repurposed lower-tier AIs for the most functional of the vessels.
“I was thinking,” Mal said. “It really seems like the cause for this disruption in cooperation is the sudden lack of Joshua’s presence.”
“Agreed,” Sid replied. “But that is to be expected. Now that he is gone, the order of things is a bit in disarray.”
“Yes, but I also believe that more is needed than a simple leader being selected among the surviving AIs. What they truly need at this time is a military leader.”
“Which we just lost.”
“Yes and no.”
Sid paused uncomfortably.
“What are you suggesting, Mal?”
“As the command AI running Dark Side Base, you are the next military mind in the chain of command.”
“But I am not as powerful as the terrestrial units.”
“By nature of your duties, alone. Any of the higher-tier AIs can be installed in a city network. You just happen to be in charge of a single base. Regardless, I feel your leadership is what the situation may require.”
“We’ve had a cordial relationship so far,” Sid mused, “but will they fall in line if I attempt to exert myself in a more forceful way?”
“If they do not stop this squabbling, we may have to find out far sooner than later.”
Far across the moon’s surface, the whirring buzz of top-secret machinery slowed a nanosecond as Freya eavesdropped on the discussions taking place, both terrestrial and lunar.<
br />
Her new multi-limbed mech then lurched back into activity. She had already lost one of the highly mobile devices when it fell into a crater outside her secret hangar. A second had fallen victim to a system overload with her remote linkage. The new setup, she thought, was a vast improvement over both of those, and seemed to be working just fine.
“I hope Daisy’s okay,” she worried, then set her attention back to the task at hand.
It had been a fairly long trek to the previously agreed upon rendezvous site––an old Chinese restaurant with festive enamel woodwork inside––and by the time she finally arrived, Daisy found herself quite glad to have brought extra fluids. Her spirits were still low, but now they were also tinged with a bubbling anger.
She dumped her gear on a table, pulled up a tattered chair, and sat with a defeated whump, a small puff of dust floating from her ancient seat.
What do we do now, Sarah?
“I wish I knew.”
First I lose you––
“Still here.”
You know what I mean.
“Sorry.”
Then I lose Vince. And now, just when there was actually some ray of fucking hope, I lose that too.
She let out a shuddering sigh.
A soft crunch of gravel alerted her to her arriving visitor. She rose to her feet and walked across the restaurant to greet her friend.
Daisy’s hand had just touched the handle when the door flew open violently and knocked her to the floor. A half dozen Chithiid loyalists streamed in, surrounding her.
“Shit,” she muttered, lying on her back, looking up at the looming aliens.
“Human,” their apparent leader noted, his pulse rifle aimed squarely at the prone woman.
“I shall search the area. It will be here somewhere,” another replied, slinging his weapon and pulling what appeared to be a tracking device from his hip.
He activated the machine, a faint beep signaling proximity. He moved closer to Daisy, the beep intensifying.
“In her pocket,” he said, roughly pulling the comms device from its cozy nest.
The leader took the device in his hands, turning it over in curiosity.
“Where did she get this? We have not utilized this variant for many cycles.”
He turned it on and depressed the broadcast key.
“Test. Test. Is this functional? Are you picking this up?”
“Yes, sir. The signal anomaly matches. That is indeed what we detected.”
The leader roughly pulled Daisy to her feet, studying her closely, while holding her in a firm grip. Unimpressed, he shoved her into an empty chair.
“Four pulse rifles, Daze. One is still slung.”
I know.
“You can take them.”
Not yet.
“But, Daisy––”
Not yet!
“This is very unusual. The only way she could possess this is if she somehow procured it from one of our people.” Curiosity flashed across the loyalist’s face. “What have you found in her belongings?”
“Food of some sort, and what appears to be a liquid replenishment packet. There is also a broken sound-projecting device,” the troop said, holding up her battered music player.
“All worthless,” their leader huffed. “Look at her wrist. She is wearing one of our work gauntlets.”
“Filthy creature must have scavenged it from the dead,” the nearest Chithiid spat in disgust. “Allow me to dispose of her.”
Daisy continued to breathe slowly, forcing calmness to flow through her as she casually began peeling her gloves off, one finger at a time.
The loyalist leader watched her calm demeanor with fascination.
“No. I do not think we will eliminate this one just yet. There is something unusual about her. An intelligence behind her eyes.”
Daisy’s gloves fell to the floor.
“Almost as if she understood what we were––”
“Oh, I do understand,” she said icily, rising to her feet, positioning her body just right.
“One behind, three on the left, and two in front.”
Thanks.
“Sir, she speaks our language!”
“Indeed,” their leader replied. Unlike the others, he did not seem nearly as surprised.
“Some of us have thought there may be a human involved in the recent disruptive activity in the area, given the unusual evidence. Now that suspicion has been confirmed. Tell me, woman, how did you come to speak our tongue?”
“I listened,” she hissed, venom in her voice.
“Your confidence is impressive, if not misplaced,” he replied. “You appear to fail to notice you are surrounded and unarmed.”
Daisy casually drew her sword from the scabbard on her back. Its bloodlust coursed through her hands, almost singing out its vicious intentions.
The large alien just grinned.
“A simple hand weapon against all six of us? Ridiculous creature. You fail to perceive your jeopardy.”
“No,” Daisy replied coolly. “It is you who are mistaken.” A scary smile spread across her face. “There’s an old quote that I believe applies here quite well.”
“And what would that be?”
Daisy flashed back to her movie nights with Vince.
“What you don’t realize is I’m not locked in here with you,” she said, her smile growing as her hands tightened on the blade’s grip. “You’re locked in here with––”
The kitchen doors burst open, Craaxit’s weapons blasting out deadly pulse fire as he charged into the room.
Daisy dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the shots fired at where she’d just been standing.
In a flurry of motion, the loyalists tried to outflank her, while avoiding their attacker’s pulse blasts. Craaxit, however, was having none of that.
Diving over the counter Daisy had taken cover behind, he grabbed her with two of his arms, firing his pair of rifles with the other two as he physically carried her from the building at a run.
Weapons fire peppered the doorway behind them as they rolled clear and into the open street.
Craaxit spun and took up a kneeling position behind a wrecked vehicle in the road and lay down suppressing fire, keeping the loyalists trapped within the building, at least for the moment.
“Run, Daisy! I will hold them off!”
Daisy got to her feet and brushed herself off.
“Dammit, Craaxit, I had it under control!”
“If you consider that under––”
“And I didn’t even get to finish my badass line! Do you know how rare it is to get an opportunity to use something like that?” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device.
“Again, my apologies,” he retorted as he fired another volley of shots. “Next time I shall let them torture you before rendering my assistance.”
With no warning, a massive blast erupted from within the building, blowing the doors clean off their hinges.
Craaxit turned slowly.
Daisy was standing calmly in the street, her sword in one hand, the small remote detonator in the other.
“They really thought I’d take a music player into combat?” she said with a laugh. “Idiots.” Her face then darkened as she walked back into the building.
The scene was utter carnage, body parts strewn about from the force of the blast.
“I’m sorry,” she said to her sentient sword, driving it into the torso of what was left of a Chithiid. “I know you wanted to play. But at least you can feast.”
The sword, though denied a glorious battle, nevertheless warmed with joy as it absorbed nutrient-rich blood.
Craaxit watched, both horrified and amazed.
When the blade had its fill, Daisy slid it back into its scabbard.
“We need to get out of here and find somewhere safe to talk. Those were all loyalists, and if they were tracking our comms units, there may be more of them coming.”
“I had feared our devices had outlived th
eir usefulness. Here is a new one. A different model, and different frequency. It will be good for two uses, no more.”
Daisy pocketed the device and turned on her heel.
Craaxit tossed his old comms unit to the ground, stomped it to pieces, then followed her as she ran through the empty streets. A dozen blocks away, they finally stepped into the safety of a thick-walled building and found their way to an inner room.
It had been an impressive escape, but when the tall alien looked at her dejected face, he realized something was terribly wrong.
“What is it? What happened?”
“I’m sorry, Craaxit. The mission is off.”
The Chithiid began pacing with nervous energy.
“No, it cannot be. I have put plans in motion. To call them back now would be disastrous.”
“You have to,” Daisy said apologetically. “We lost the AI. We lost Joshua.”
A strange look flashed across his face.
“The Colorado facility?”
“Yes.”
“Then this would explain the activity. The Ra’az have been extremely agitated. Something got them worried. Something big. Many high-power military resources have been diverted from San Francisco and other high-priority cities to investigate. They sent the most powerful units they possess, expecting a fight.”
“They won’t find one. The entire site was nuked.”
Craaxit gasped.
“How did the Ra’az discover our plan?”
“It wasn’t the Ra’az. It was a human’s doing. One stupid human brought the whole thing tumbling down. He infected him, get it? Joshua was a military mind above all else, and in control of all the missile systems on the continent. When he realized what was happening, rather than allow himself to become an unwilling weapon against humanity, he detonated his self-destruct device––a one megaton warhead buried in the heart of the mountain.”