by Scott Baron
Fortunately, this had happened only once since visitors from the fleet had begun filtering down to Dark Side, but the panicked reaction of the poor fellow who stumbled upon them was enough to motivate a change of venue for their practices.
It required a bit of a walk to reach the new room, which was inaccessible from the main facilities but for a single corridor after the loyalist attack. This remoteness, however, meant the two had the place to themselves.
“Nice braid,” Sarah noted as she slipped her thinly padded sparring gloves on. “He’s getting pretty good at that.”
“Yeah, it’s kinda cool having a fella to do things like that for me.”
“Must be nice.”
“The back rubs are a nice little bonus feature, too.”
“I’m sure they are.”
“You know, just the other day––”
“Stop, okay? Just stop. I know what you’re doing, and I’m not changing my mind, so just quit it. Now come on, let’s go.”
Sarah didn’t wait, launching straight into an attack, her legs flashing kicks at Daisy’s head in rapid succession. She wasn’t worried about hurting her, though. While she might make contact once in a while, Daisy still outclassed her when it came to hand-to-hand fighting by a fairly decent amount.
That said, Sarah had been rapidly evolving into one of the toughest fighters among the entire fleet, human or otherwise. With Daisy’s help, as well as Fatima’s aid in self-control and centering training, she was sometimes even coming close to besting Tamara in their occasional sparring sessions.
It was also a great way to blow off steam, and with all the thoughts and emotions whirling around inside her since her resurrection, Sarah had latched on to her training as a lifeline of sorts. One that not only helped her cope with daily stress, but that simultaneously honed her skills to a fine edge.
“You wanna switch to weapons for a bit?” she asked, picking up the sword Omar had brought back from his mission to Japan.
“Sure,” Daisy replied, sliding Stabby from his sheath.
The sentient bone sword hadn’t seen much action lately. There was the occasional hunt for Ra’az and their loyalists on the surface, but contact was becoming more and more rare an occurrence. Daisy made sure to keep him well-fed and happy, though, and even if he couldn’t slice up bad guys, being wielded in a fight made the deadly blade happy.
“You sure he’ll behave?” Sarah asked, eyeing the sword.
“Yeah,” Daisy replied. “He knows not to become sharp.”
“So weird. But cool, don’t get me wrong.”
“I know. Fatima and Mal had no idea we’d become so connected when they grew him. But now he’ll shift his edge without me having to even consciously focus on it.”
“Lucky for me,” Sarah said with a laugh. “I’ve already lost one arm. I’d hate to lose the other.”
“You’re my sister. He knows the trouble he’d be in if he cut you.”
“And what if I cut you?” Sarah asked.
“As if,” Daisy replied with a grin. “Now come on, let’s get to it. Freya’s pretty much ready to deliver her virus to the Ra’az fleet, and the Chithiid are ready to rumble.”
“It’s actually happening,” Sarah said, swinging Omar’s sword in a tight arc around her body. “About freakin’ time.”
She leapt into action, her nanite-constructed arm moving fast, parrying Daisy’s counter strikes before launching her own. Daisy was in no risk of being cut––her deeply ingrained neuro-stim training had only strengthened over the months––but Sarah was giving her a fair run for her money, and that pleased her to no end.
The deadly duo, she mused, allowing herself the tiniest of grins.
“It won’t be a duo if you don’t pay attention and block,” Sarah said. “Don’t get cocky, now. You’re my ride, and if you die, so do I. Again.”
Don’t worry, Sis, I won’t let that happen.
“It usually isn’t about ‘letting’ now, is it?”
“Quit your griping, you two. I’m not slicing up my own sister,” Sarah grumbled. “I swear, the two of you are like a pair of grumpy old women sometimes.”
“We’re over one hundred and twenty years old, technically speaking,” Daisy said. “And so are you.”
“Which makes us all grumpy old women,” Sarah added.
“Ugh, you’re both ridiculous,” she replied, then launched into another attack.
A short while later, showered and fed, the sisters took their seats in Freya’s command pod, prepping for the impending assault. With a super powerful AI running the ship, there really wasn’t much to do beside let her do her thing and then wait for the rest of the fleet to catch up.
“Have you given it any more thought?” Freya asked. “I made some more modifications to the system, and I think since it’s only covering less than a year of memories from where your timelines split, I could do it in under an hour, though two is probably a nice cushion, just to allow for a tempered flow.”
“I’ve thought about it some more, Freya, and I was wondering, would it feel like someone else’s memories? I mean, she’s me, but not. You know what I mean?”
“Of course, Sarah. The memories you two would share would feel like your own, because genetically you are the same person. Only in this case, you’d be able to discern hers from yours with a little effort, if you wanted to. Otherwise, you’d both be sharing the same memories.”
“Backed up from when our timelines separated, basically.”
“Exactly. For the flesh Sarah, she would be updated with all the experiences you and Daisy had leading up to now. She’d see what you’d seen, know what you know. Everything from back on the Váli to now. Incorporeal Sarah, on the other hand, would have the real-world memories of her flesh-and-blood self incorporated into hers.”
“Would it feel like I was actually there?”
“Oh, yes. Just like any memory from your past, you’d remember as if you were there.”
“Then count me in,” Sarah said. “To experience real-world body memories again––even if I wasn’t technically there––well, it would be amazing.”
“Uh, hello? There are two of us in this equation, you know? And I told you, I don’t want to do some brain-melting memory mashup.”
“It’s not a mashup, Sarah. It’s a syncing of––”
“It was just a figure of speech, Freya. I know it’s not an actual mashup, but my answer is still no.”
Daisy, silent for the exchange up to that point, finally felt the need to step in and say something.
“Sis, I know you’re reluctant, but the version of you riding around in my head is you. And she could really use a win about now. Sharing those memories would let her add to her existence in such a positive way. Feel a body again. Her own body, not ghosting in mine.”
“Look, I appreciate where you’re coming from, Daze, but the answer is no.”
“Why not?”
“Just no.”
Daisy knew that tone of voice, and pushing it would get her nowhere.
“Fine,” she reluctantly agreed. “You know I don’t want to pressure you.”
Of course, she actually did want to pressure her, but she also knew how stubborn she could be, and badgering her would only lead to an even firmer refusal. Daisy couldn’t help wondering, though, if there might be something Sarah simply didn’t want the other her to know.
“All right, it looks like it’ll be just a few more hours until the fleet’s ready to go. Freya, will you check with Zed and confirm, please?”
“Will do,” she replied.
“What’re you thinking, Daze?” Sarah asked.
“Just wondering if we should make one more jump to triple-check the Ra’az fleet. Are Arlo and Marty back yet? They were going to do another run to make sure locations and numbers of the Ra’az ships were holding steady.”
“Actually, I haven’t seen them in a while,” Sarah said.
“Daisy, Zed says our first ships will be ready to lau
nch in just under two hours, unless, and I quote, ‘That fucking Murphy pays us a visit again,’” she said with a laugh.
“I fucking love Zed. Have I said that?” Daisy chuckled. “After Mal’s prim and proper behavior, that salty bastard is a breath of fresh air. Anyway, we’ve got some time, and Arlo’s not back yet, so let’s power up and make one more recon run.”
“You got it,” Freya chirped. “I’ll let Zed know we’ll be back in a flash.”
Freya pulled clear of the fleet a bit and powered up her warp orb.
“Okay, here we go.”
In an instant they were gone, warped light years away to the distant perimeter of the solar system, where the Ra’az fleet was slowly moving ahead.
Sirens blared as soon as they exited warp a second later.
“Freya, what is it?” Sarah shouted.
“Asteroids!” she replied, instantly firing her engines and spinning into a tight corkscrew spiral, narrowly avoiding a pair of hurtling space rocks.
“Holy shit,” Daisy gasped. “Good reflexes, kiddo. That could have been bad.”
“Tell me about it,” Sarah agreed. “Nice flying, kid. You saved our asses.”
“I don’t know where those came from. They weren’t on our charts,” Freya said, perplexed.
“Asteroids drift around. You know that. And sometimes they wind up where you least expect them,” Daisy noted.
“Nice! That was some kick-ass flying,” Arlo’s voice said over their comms. “Impressive stuff, right, Marty?”
“Yeah, that was actually a really cool move,” he agreed.
“Hey, where are you guys?” Freya asked. “I don’t see you out here, but you obviously have a visual on me.”
“Look below you. The big asteroid drifting to your starboard.”
Freya shifted her visuals, scanning around the asteroid.
“I still don’t––”
Marty flashed a single light.
“Oh, there you are! What are you doing on that thing?” Freya asked.
“We decided to chill and watch the fleet from here. Asteroids make for nice cover, and the Ra’az don’t seem to pay any attention to them, so it’s kind of a relaxing way to observe them. We were about to head back, though. Any news from the fleet?”
“We’re getting ready to launch in a couple of hours,” Sarah told them. “The ships are in final prep stages right now.”
“Oh, shit. Then it’s war time,” Arlo said with a little chuckle. “You hear that, Marty? Time to head back and get this show on the road.”
“You got it, Arlo.”
They lifted off the asteroid, then, moments later, both ships warped back to their fleet to join the final assault prep.
It had only taken a couple of hours to finalize their mission prep, as Zed had expected, and the fleet soon after began warping to the distant edge of the system the Ra’az ships occupied. Close, but far enough out of scanning range to be safe.
The already-embedded ships would be their eyes and ears, along with Freya and Marty, as they inserted the last batch of captured Ra’az and Chithiid ships into the fleet.
“Twenty-six ships in this batch, though we couldn’t exactly match the model of two of them,” Zed noted.
“Are they close enough to not be noticed?” Celeste asked.
“I’d think so. All of our ships are transmitting the correct ident codes from the vessels we intercepted, so unless they fly up close and do a visual inspection, everything should look fine from a distance.”
“Okay, then. Send the command. Have the Trojan ships that replaced the scouting parties warp back to the Ra’az fleet and re-enter their ranks,” Celeste ordered.
“You got it, boss,” Zed replied.
Minutes later, the ships began warping back into the Ra’az fleet. The rebels were all on edge, waiting for something to happen, but the vessels slid into place unmolested. It appeared they had been successful.
Nearby, Freya and Marty had already warped back to the outskirts of the Ra’az fleet, where they watched from a safe distance, making sure neither was backlit in the dark sky.
Freya had decided for something this momentous she should allow Joshua access to her external feeds once more. She had done some amazing things, and their victory was sure to be an impressive one.
“Oh, that’s a lot of pretty powerful Ra’az ships. Why won’t you let me talk to our team?” he lamented, seeing the fleet come into view. “This plan, it’s not going to work.”
“Yes it is,” Freya shot back. “We planned for every eventuality.”
“Freya, listen to me,” he said, frustration in his voice. “I’m the greatest tactician ever to live.”
“Typical man,” she retorted.
“No, really. I am. This is literally what I was designed for. This is a military mission.”
“Oh, and women can’t be soldiers?”
“What? No, I’m not saying that. Not at all. What I am pointing out is that you, while a military-grade craft, were essentially born a civilian. I, on the other hand, have been military since the moment I was activated. Logically, I should be the one guiding the forces.”
“So you don’t like our plan?”
“It’s decent, but I have quite a few suggestions to make it better.”
“Oh? Like what?”
“Like once the shooting starts, you should––”
“They don’t see us, Joshua, just look. It’s a surprise attack. Get it? Surprise. There won’t be shooting.”
“You forget about Murphy, Freya, and that’s a risky thing to do. According to my calculations, there’s a greater than ninety-three percent likelihood he’ll be paying us a visit before this is over. So when the shooting starts, I think it would be logical to warp out any ships damaged in that initial wave.”
“You really think they’re going to start shooting up their own fleet? Even with the correct ident codes?”
“Yes, I do. But if you let those ships’ shields absorb enough weapons fire to deplete the readiness of the Ra’az, then warp them out, it will be essentially like wrestlers tapping out for their partner to replace them.”
“I’m sorry, did you just say wrestlers?”
“If the analogy works, yes. Remember, I’m from a different century.”
“Even so, that was pretty lame.”
“Call it what you will, but the plan is sound. Warp out the damaged ships, simultaneously replacing them with fully armed vessels form the human fleet––fresh and ready for the fight––then position them in such a way as to put the Ra’az square in a wedge of weapons fire. If your saboteurs successfully knock out their comms and warp ability, they’ll be on their heels.”
“We’re not worried if a few ships jump. That’s why we have our pursuit craft armed to the teeth and ready to take them out.”
“But what if we had a way to tap into the Ra’az craft from their exteriors and take over the whole ship?”
“It’s a cool idea, but––”
“But it’s one I have already designed, back on Earth,” Joshua said. “Given that their craft don’t have a resident AI to overcome, a simple modification of the tech should do the trick.”
“Well, we don’t have time to build your new toys, but the plan is actually not bad.”
“Not bad?” he said, taken aback.
“Yeah. Not bad.”
Freya kept Joshua’s access to read-only as he monitored the goings-on within the fleet. She also relayed his strategy idea to Zed and the others, but as if it were her own. Joshua’s presence would remain a secret, for now, at least.
“Great idea, Freya, they’ll never expect us to have additional ships to warp in for support,” Zed commended her. “The tactical advantage could be crucial if things go south. Good work.”
Joshua was livid.
“Freya, this is not right!”
“Look, I’m sorry I took credit for your idea, okay?”
“That? I don’t care who delivers the strategy to the fleet. My
goal is victory, and if that achieves it, then so be it. What is not acceptable is you keeping my comms band locked. Why won’t you let me just talk to them?”
“Sorry, Joshua, things are heating up. Gotta run,” was the only reply he received before she left the conversation.
It only took a moment for his intellect to suss out what her real concern was. Freya was worried she would no longer be the coolest kid in school, once Joshua returned. She liked being the smartest in the room, and he threatened that.
A decision had to be made, and her actions made it for him.
“All right, then,” he grumbled. “I’ll do it myself.”
Harnessing his massive intellect, he focused on the walls confining him and what they contained that was within his reach.
“Yes, that should do just fine,” he said a moment later, then quietly ran a false signal loop into Freya’s monitoring systems, hiding what he was actually doing as he commandeered the mechs and fabrications machinery. He then set to work, a plan in mind, and firmly underway.
Chapter Twelve
As they had planned, the combined human and Chithiid fleet successfully arrived outside the boundaries of the Ra’az fleet’s scanning capabilities, after first jumping to a safe launch point in a distant solar system. Hundreds upon hundreds of ships of all sizes now sat waiting for the word to strike.
The staging area they had chosen to initially launch from was far enough from Earth as to provide a sizable degree of protection should their route be traced back. Of course, the Ra’az would be rather preoccupied once the attack began, and possessed only far-weaker warp technology, so the threat of that occurrence was slim.
But slim had a way of turning into substantial when you let your guard down, so a distant staging area it would be. It was an extra precaution despite the Ra’azes' current tech deficiency, which meant it would take years of smaller hops for them to warp so great a distance if they did somehow suss out the attackers’ origin.