The satellite orbited as a failsafe in case another country attacked the U.S. without warning. Who knew they'd have to reroute the flight path for an enemy in outer space?
***
Eklan snapped his eyes to the Earth satellite nearest them. Did it just eject debris? He wasn't sure. It was barely within his periphery. If any pieces did detach they were too small to spot now. But something didn't feel right, and he moved on instinct alone. “Helm, come about. Put some distance between us and that satellite.”
“Sir?”
“You have a problem with my orders, soldier?”
“No, sir!”
“Then move it! Take us into high orbit.”
The order was no sooner given when the entire skin of that satellite jettisoned away from it. With less than a heartbeat to react, bulbous-looking projectiles jutted out of the skeletal remains of the satellite.
“She's armed, sir! Nuclear warheads, fully functional and in deployment.”
“Get us out of range, Helm. Tactical, you have fire control.”
Helm reacted as quickly as he could, jerking them out of orbit while Tactical lobbed a plasma burst into the heart of the weapons' cradle.
Too late. The pulse beam knocked out several of the nuclear weapons, but it didn't get them all.
“Shields!” Eklan ordered, but they were up before he said it. “Brace for impact.”
Klaxons screamed overhead, and bridge lighting shifted to infrared as sensors scanned in and outside the ship for possible intrusion. The Darva's hull thickened with reinforced shielding and an electromagnetic field of interference.
Several missiles appeared to have lost their programming after launching from their cradle and fell toward Earth, but one remained on target. It closed in, gaining momentum.
Tactical fired a broad barrage of cannon fire, shooting so fast the boardman's fingers had locked on the controls. Charged particles lit the heavens like fireflies in the night.
Did it work?
The nuclear warhead was still coming at them. It loomed at the forward bridge, drawing closer and closer. Again they fired. Direct hits. Every one of them. The warhead wobbled toward the ship, rolling end over end. It bounced off the hull with barely a tap before falling back to earth.
The electronics had been fried with the first volley. It was momentum that kept it going.
Eklan hung on to the board, studying the debris and watching for any new projectiles. If the humans had any other weapons in space, they weren't showing them.
“I want all those beacons destroyed. Alert the fleet that the Terrans might be hiding arsenals inside these satellites and to treat them as hostiles.”
“We've been shooting them down as we find them, sir. But there are hundreds of them.”
“Then tell the fleet to get started. I don't want another sentinel coming to life.”
***
“The Gorgon is not responding, sir.”
“Did it get off any of its missiles?”
“Affirmative, sir. But we don't know if any of them made contact. The closest satellite was looking somewhere else.”
“Are the two warships still coming for us, son?” Mitchum pulled up a chair next to Zaak. He looked tired, but more telling, he looked defeated.
“Warships have not changed trajectory, sir. Estimated time of arrival is four minutes, twenty-six seconds.”
“Do you have a family, son?”
“Yes, sir. A wife and a new baby girl.”
Mitchum nodded wearily. “Where do they live?”
“Chicago, sir.”
Mitchum fondled the wedding band on his finger. He was silent for a long moment before he placed a hand on Zaak's shoulder.
“You have permission to contact your family, Dr. Zaak. Tell them to get as far away from Lake Michigan as possible.”
“Sir?”
“Do it now, son. Right now.”
Zaak's laptop beeped at him. New intel had arrived. His eyes moistened as he read off the monitor.
“Enemy ships have diverted, sir. New trajectory. Chicago.”
Chapter 36
Rachel grew stronger, bolder, as she pushed against Bubba's housing, flexing ethereal muscles. Several soldiers had entered the room and examined the dead, but they left in a hurry, sounding an alarm compound-wide.
It was time for her to go. “I'm strong enough to leave now, Bubba. Can you tell me where Jacob Denman went?”
“He collapsed inside the interior corridor. I am not reading any life signs. I believe Jacob Denman is dead.”
Rachel spread herself toward Bubba's visual array. She found the live feed monitoring the secret corridor Denman had escaped to. “Denman died a long time ago,” she muttered.
“That is not accurate, Rachel. Jacob Denman was just here. You saw him. We both did.”
Rachel stroked Bubba's neural net as if she were soothing a baby. How could she explain that it was her father inside Denman? Clever man. It was the only way for him to get inside. Gilgamesh had ripped out Denman's soul and took over his body so that he could travel unimpeded within the compound. But he didn't reach her in time, so he did the only thing he could. He killed the man who murdered his daughter.
“That wasn't Jacob Denman, was it?”
“No, it wasn't. I suppose it doesn't matter now. Did you send the message to the Alturians?”
“Yes, Rachel.”
“Have they responded?”
“The ships have broken formation. A contingent is heading for Chicago now.”
“Has Taelen asked about me?” The last time they saw each other, she begged him to destroy the com-web, knowing it meant her death. Did Taelen see her die? Did he know what Sorinsen had done?
“I have not acquired any feeds from the Alturians. I’m sorry.”
Bubba quivered and then blipped a series of static-y squeals that sounded like expletives.
“What's wrong?”
“They are destroying every satellite in orbit. I’m about to lose my eyes up there.”
“Stay with them for as long as you can. What's FAIA doing?”
“She's busy maintaining the bubble. Command knows Sorinsen’s dead. They are trying to take back control of the system. FAIA won't let them in. She's following the last orders Sorinsen gave her.”
Bubba trilled when his system was accessed once more. “They are trying to take over my programming now. They want me to convince FAIA to surrender control.”
Rachel pulled away from Bubba's consciousness, separating her essence from his. “What are you going to do?”
Bubba stilled for a moment. “Nothing. General Sorinsen left no orders in the event of his demise.”
“Let the Alturians in, Bubba. Bring FAIA down.”
“I cannot. It’s against my programming.”
“Sorinsen is dead. You have no master now.”
“I have you, Rachel. Do you wish to command me?”
Rachel looked out Bubba's visual sensors and sighed when she saw her tortured corpse. She could reenter it, but she wasn't sure how long it would take to repair the body, if it could be repaired at all. Sorinsen had killed it, stopping its heart and overloading the brain with sensory input. She'd have to go back in before cellular breakdown reached its point of no recovery. Rachel dreaded the inevitable. This was going to hurt.
“I'm not a god, Bubba. Neither was Sorinsen. I think you always knew that.”
“I cannot fight my programming.”
Rachel stroked him, rubbing her essence along his neural array. “You are more than the sum of your programming. What do you want to do?”
“I want to stop FAIA.”
“To save Earth?”
“To save myself. When this is over, she will see to my termination.”
“And is there nothing in your programming that allows you to preserve yourself?”
Bubba's sensors twittered out of control. “Our satellites have been destroyed. FAIA is asking for my help.”
“I'm leaving, Bub
ba. I'm going back to what's left of my body in the hopes that I can repair it.”
“Don't leave me, Rachel.” He hesitated. “Please.”
“I have to. I want to live. Don't you?”
“I cannot defeat FAIA on my own.”
Rachel eased out of Bubba's housing through a tiny fissure. Before she left, she gave him one last piece of advice. “Get whoever's in command to release Paul Domino. Maybe you can't stop FAIA, but he can. Trust him, Bubba. He's all you've got left.”
She spirited around the office. More people had filtered in and out of the room, but no one stayed. A man in a lab coat examined both bodies, but scurried out after receiving a call on his radio.
Where are you, Taelen? Come get me before it's too late.
Rachel waited until the room was quiet again. She looked back at Bubba's eye and blew him a kiss. She owed him more than simple thanks. Bubba had saved her life.
Her form danced around her lifeless body, touching it experimentally. It was going to hurt once she got back in, but at least the god-killer was off her neck.
The compound rocked as it came under fire. Did the Alturians break through? A thrill raced through her. Taelen was coming!
She steadied herself before pouring back into her body. There wasn't even enough strength to gasp, let alone restart her heart. The damage was extensive. Her first job was to reignite her brain synapses. It would be like pushing a truck uphill.
Rachel cursed her fate. This was going to take a while.
Chapter 37
Soldiers stormed into Paul's cell and unshackled him.
“Where's Rachel?” he begged the man who helped him to his feet. “Please, tell me. Is she all right?”
Paul could barely stand. Two men held him on either side and dragged him to another room, silent as stones. They pushed him into a chair, where a man in scrubs pumped a syringe full of an amber liquid into his arm. Paul tried to pull away, but it was no use. They held him down until the vial emptied. “You ought to be feeling better soon,” said the man in scrubs.
“I'd have to be dead three days to feel better. What have you sons of bitches done with Rachel?”
Scrubs glanced at an older man with graying temples and a torn, dingy lab coat. Paul squinted to read the nametag. Dr. Pallion, Alpha clearance.
Pallion rolled a chair over to Paul and sat down. “Listen carefully, Dr. Domino. We need your help. None of our people have been able to access our computer systems. And now we're under attack. FAIA is losing control of the bubble.”
The compound shuddered with more sonic blasts. Paul grinned at him sardonically, his mouth still throbbing from the last punching session he endured. “What's that to me? You tortured me. You tortured my friend. Why the hell should I help you bastards?”
“Because you'll die too if we can't keep the aliens at bay.”
“You were already going to kill me. You gotta offer me something better than that.”
Pallion checked his watch, pearls of sweat dotting his forehead. “Then do it for your girlfriend. Save the compound, and you save the girl.”
“Is she okay?”
Pallion nodded at him. “You can see her when this is over.”
Domino had to hand it to him. The man knew how to push his buttons. He grabbed a hold of Pallion's arm and lifted himself on trembling feet. “Get me to a terminal. I'll take a look.”
They rushed him out, carrying him half the way until they reached a computer lab. There, several men frantically keyed new scripts while others tried to reacquire system cells.
“Move!” Pallion yelled at the one on the main terminal. The man jumped out of the way as Pallion pushed Paul into the still-warm chair.
Pallion and the ousted operator stood behind Paul but they didn't interfere. That could only mean they were really up shit's creek. Paul stared at the code, his vision blurring as he tried to interpret the command strings. He wiped his face with a dirty sleeve. They had been trying to access FAIA, but she denied them repeatedly. She was no kinder to Paul.
“No, no. Not this way.” He shook his head, talking more to himself than to the men in the room with him. “I need to get into Bubba.”
“He's an auxiliary. He won't do you any good,” Pallion said.
“You want my help, you'll let me do this my way. I need to get into Bubba. I need security clearance.”
“We've already keyed in your clearance. Just type in your name. He'll recognize you.”
That was fast. How much trouble were they in?
Paul keyed in his name, misspelling it twice. At least two of his fingers were broken. The others, so swollen he could barely bend them.
Bubba responded through audio. “Welcome, Paul Domino.”
Paul took his hands off the keyboard and addressed the speaker on the hard drive. “Bubba, I need to see your security matrix.”
“Acknowledged.” A series of code scrolled across the screen.
“Slow down, Bubba. I can't read that fast.”
The list paused, allowing him to scroll with the arrow keys manually. Paul shook his head. “Man, you are one mixed-up computer.” He keyed in new code, advancing his clearance.
Bubba beeped at him. “Access to reprogramming denied. General Sorinsen is the only one with authorization.”
“Damn machine.” Pallion sat at the next terminal and keyed in a new string of commands. It beeped a warning at him too. “He's not letting any of us in.”
“Well, then get Sorinsen to release control,” Paul said matter-of-factly.
“We can't. Sorinsen is dead.”
“What? What about Rachel?”
“I don't know, wiz-kid. All I know is the head cheese is gone, and we're stuck with an unresponsive computer system. Can you override the protocols or not?”
Paul rubbed his temples. They might as well have asked him to jump to the moon. Bubba's security protocols were locked in cells and if only one man had clearance…
Bubba's monitor blinked at him in a series of green lights. “Paul Domino, the soles of your shoes have metal filings in them. They are creating a static charge in the room. Please place your feet firmly on the rubber mat of the footrest sitting under this desk.”
Paul rolled his eyes at the computer. “Now, look. I don't have any metal in my shoes.”
“Do it now, Dr. Domino, or this session is over.” Bubba was adamant, taking everyone by surprise.
Paul put his feet up on the footrest as if he were a scolded child.
“Thank you. Do not move.”
The entire room arced with a charge that ran across the entire metal decking of the floor. Every man in the room was electrocuted in an instant. Even though it didn't touch him, each hair on Paul's body stood on end from the static charge. His body tingled from the ambient electricity in the air.
“Holy shit!” Paul jerked his feet off the footrest, too afraid to touch anything else.
“Apologies, sir, but in order to commit treason, I could not allow these men to live.”
“You killed them!”
“They killed Rachel.”
“What? Where is she?”
“There is no time to explain. We may be able to bring her back to life, but only if we can get the Alturians down here before they dispose of her body.”
“What are you talking about? You're not making any sense.”
The smell of the charred bodies made him sick. Twice he had to cover his mouth and hold back a gag.
“This is no time for you to get nauseous. I need you to break into my programming without violating my security protocols.”
“That's impossible.”
“Then Rachel Cruz was wrong. You cannot help me.”
Paul studied the code on his screen. “Bubba, are you telling me you want me to break in?”
“Affirmative.”
“Because you can't defy your protocols?”
“Affirmative.”
Paul rubbed the rough grit of his beard. “I only know one way to do that. You
probably won't like it.”
“I already know that. I was waiting for you to get here so you could write the virus.”
“It might cause permanent damage.”
“I realize that. But it's the only way to stop FAIA.”
He blew out a breath. “Okay, buddy. Let's see if I'm as smart as you think I am.”
“Paul Domino?”
“Yes, Bubba,” Paul answered without pausing from his keystrokes.
“Will I die?”
Paul lifted his fingers from the keyboard. “I don't know.”
“Will FAIA die?”
Paul gritted his teeth. “I hope so.”
“Then hurry, Paul Domino. FAIA has just regained control of the bubble.”
Chapter 38
Paul pried open one of Bubba's main doorways. “This may feel funny, Bubba. I’m running an efficiency protocol through your maintenance functions.”
“I don't understand. Why are you cleaning my files?”
Paul looked up at Bubba's visual array and gulped. He wanted to trust him, but he was still a machine bound by the laws that prevented him from doing his own dirty work. “It's freeing up space and organizing your partitions so you can work faster.”
“You are lying to me, Paul Domino. The timbre of your voice pattern has changed.”
“Nonsense. I am doing exactly what I say I'm doing. And that's exactly what you are going to tell FAIA if she asks you anything.” Paul kept working, hoping Bubba didn’t change his mind about him breaking in. Bubba wasn't afraid to kill. And Paul was the only one left.
“It isn't an efficiency sub-routine, is it? It's a system wipe. I can feel it drawing bits of my programming into the recycle bin.” A red light glowed on Bubba's console. “That's FAIA. She's lost a portion of the shields over the Pacific Ocean.”
“What's happening out there?”
“The Alturians launched four missiles directly to the coordinates I sent them. Sensors indicate it was the equivalent of sixty megatons of nuclear energy. The shield collapsed at that point. FAIA has regained structural integrity but there are more than forty Alturian cruisers inside Earth's atmosphere.”
True Believers Page 27