by Ryk Brown
Jessica recovered, straightening out in her seat and looked forward. “Holy shit!”
“This world is under attack!” Nathan exclaimed.
“By who?”
There was a thud as something struck the back of their vehicle, causing their back end to drop violently. Warning alarms and red lights began appearing all over the console.
“Uh-oh,” Nathan said as he struggled with the controls.
“What the hell was that?” Jessica wondered.
“I don’t know. Maybe debris from the second vehicle,” Nathan replied. “Whatever it was, it damaged our aft port side grav-lift emitter. I don’t think I can keep us in the air.”
“Then put us down!” Jessica insisted. “There’s no one chasing us now, anyway!”
“Believe me, I’m trying!” Nathan replied, twisting the lift throttle to full power. “I’m not getting any response on the lift throttle!”
“Nathan!” Jessica yelled, pointing to the trees ahead of them.
“Brace yourself!” he warned just before they plowed into the tops of the trees. The ship bounced, and then flipped over, tumbling downward. Branches cracked as their ship slammed into them, breaking from the impact. Nathan felt himself being thrown to one side, then forward, slamming his head into the corner of the forward windshield frame. Finally, the ship hit the ground, and he blacked out.
Nathan woke to the sound of distant sirens and explosions. He immediately turned to find Jessica, who was lying against her door, not moving. “Jess!” he yelled. “Jess!”
“Nice landing, flyboy,” she groaned.
“Are you hurt?”
“We just crashed into a forest,” she replied angrily. “Of course I’m hurt.”
“How bad?”
“I’ll survive,” she insisted, moving toward the open overhead hatch. “What about you? Can you move?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
“You’ve got a cut on your head,” she pointed out.
“Bumps and bruises,” Nathan insisted. “I’m good.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Jessica said. “Some of those sirens could still be for us.”
“Right behind you.”
Jessica pulled herself up through the hatch, pushing a fallen branch out of the way and surveying the area.
Nathan was next, climbing up through the hatch and sliding down the side of the vehicle onto the ground. “Now what?”
“We need to put some distance between us and this crash site,” Jessica told him. “If they’re still coming after us, this is where they’ll start looking.”
“I think they have more important things to worry about right now,” Nathan insisted. “I think we should find a way to get off this world. We need a ship, preferably one with a jump drive.”
“We could try to get back to the Bayside Spaceport to our own ship, but we’d probably have to shoot our way in and out.”
“Yeah, probably not the best idea,” Nathan agreed.
“We’ll use the trails. If they have satellite or drone surveillance, it will give us at least intermittent cover,” Jessica advised as she headed off. “Hopefully, with all that’s happening, they’ll be busy looking elsewhere.”
“Where are we going?” Nathan asked, following her through the broken branches.
“We need a place to hold up until we can figure out what the hell is going on and who is attacking SilTek.”
“And why they wanted to arrest us,” Nathan added.
* * *
Nathan followed Jessica down the trails between homes, staying in the shadows as much as possible. “Why are we heading away from the spaceport?”
“Because the spaceport is exactly where they would expect us to go,” Jessica replied.
“For good reason,” Nathan insisted. “We need to get off this world, and pronto. It is under attack, after all.”
“And this attack is why we’re still free. The moment it ends, they’ll devote all available resources to finding us.”
“We don’t even know why they’re looking for us.”
Jessica stopped dead in her tracks. “Someone’s coming,” she whispered, moving around behind some bushes.
Nathan followed her, hiding behind the same bush. A moment later, a young man came running down the path, darting into one of the gates just after passing their hiding place.
Jessica jumped out, heading for the same gate.
“Wait…” Nathan called out in a whisper. Jessica disappeared through the gate a moment later, leaving Nathan no choice but to follow. He glanced upward, checking for security vehicles and search drones, and then darted down the path and through the gate after her.
Once inside the gate, he spotted Jessica on the other side of the yard, crouched down behind a bush, a few meters from the back door of the house where the young man she had been following was punching in an access code to enter.
The back door control panel beeped, and the door opened for the young man. Jessica leapt into action, charging out from behind the bush and rushing up behind the unsuspecting young man.
The young man spun around, his eyes wide, as Jessica grabbed him by the collar, pushed the muzzle of her sidearm against his face, and shoved him inside.
Nathan again searched the skies, checking for surveillance, and then dashed across the open yard, up the steps onto the back patio, and through the open door.
“Who are you?” the young man demanded as Jessica pushed him up against the kitchen wall. “Are you Section Twelve?”
“Shut up,” Jessica insisted. “Close the door,” she called back over her shoulder to Nathan.
“What are we doing?” Nathan asked.
“As automated as this world is, every home is probably locked,” she explained, “and if we tried to break into one, we’d just be telling them where we’re hiding.”
“What the hell is going on here?” the young man asked again, looking bewildered.
“I thought I told you to shut up,” Jessica said, flashing him a menacing look.
“You’re not Section Twelve, are you,” the young man realized.
“What is Section Twelve?” Nathan wondered.
The young man looked confused. “You’re not Tekan.”
“What gave it away,” Jessica sneered.
“Tekans don’t run from bobo…” His eyes widened. “Are you Subvert?”
Jessica looked at Nathan, confused.
“Don’t look at me. I’m still wondering what Section Twelve is.”
“If you don’t know what Section Twelve is and you don’t know what Subvert is, then you’re definitely not Tekan,” the young man deduced.
“What’s your name?” Nathan asked.
The young man looked at Jessica, then back to Nathan. “Dylan. My name’s Dylan.”
“What is Section Twelve?” Jessica asked.
“Uh… They’re probably who’s after you.”
“Look, Dylan,” Nathan began, “we don’t know who is after us, or even why. So any information you could give us would be helpful.”
“Well, first, you should turn off those zappers,” he suggested. “They can track them, you know.”
Nathan looked at Jessica. “Shouldn’t you have thought of that?” he scolded as he powered down his sidearm.
Jessica shrugged, powering down her weapon.
“If you’ve got tainers, you should power those down, as well,” Dylan added.
“What are tainers?” Nathan wondered.
“VR sets?”
“We don’t have any,” Jessica told him.
“Then you’re definitely not Tekan,” Dylan chuckled.
“What is Section Twelve?” Nathan asked again.
“Secret security,” Dylan replied. “They’re not subject to corporate bylaws. You do not want to be
on their scope, trust me. Is that who is hunting you?”
“Like I said, we have no idea who is hunting us,” Nathan reminded him.
“Where did you get those zappers?” Dylan asked, pointing to the sidearm tucked in Nathan’s belt. “They’re standard-security issue.”
“Uniformed security officers burst into our guest house this morning,” Nathan told him.
“How the hell did you get away?” Dylan wondered, looking confused.
“It wasn’t difficult,” Jessica bragged.
“It wasn’t difficult?” Dylan repeated. “Are you kidding me?”
Jessica shrugged.
“Who are you people?”
“Who is attacking your world?” Nathan asked.
“They didn’t say,” Dylan replied. “The warning sirens went off, and my comm-unit instructed me to take shelter.”
“Then why didn’t you?” Nathan wondered.
“This is my shelter,” Dylan explained. “Or, at least, it’s downstairs.”
“Your home has an attack shelter?” Jessica asked in disbelief.
“Every home has one,” Dylan explained, surprised that she didn’t know. “Every home, every building…they’re everywhere. We’re taught to head to the nearest shelter when the alert is sounded. I was already on my way home, so I just kept going.”
“Isn’t that risky?” Nathan wondered.
“Less risky than my mom finding out I was at Lan’s house,” Dylan replied. “Besides, they always attack the spaceports and defense systems first, so I figured I had time.”
“Who’s Lan?” Nathan wondered.
“My friend,” Dylan explained. “My mom doesn’t like him much, and, well, I’m sort of grounded.”
“How often does your world get attacked?” Jessica asked, curious.
“A few times a year,” Dylan replied.
“By who?” Nathan asked.
“Usually the Benicasi, but sometimes the Yachi or the Ristani. Last year, we even got attacked by the Sinato.” Dylan studied the two of them. “Which one are you?”
“I haven’t heard of any of them,” Nathan insisted.
“Neither had we, until the jump drive was invented,” Dylan explained. “Now, every world with a few jump-equipped warships wants to try and steal our tech.”
“Why doesn’t SilTek stop them?” Nathan asked.
“They do,” Dylan replied. “At least they have so far, but many of us believe that it’s only a matter of time until someone comes along who can defeat our defenses. Many Tekans believe our government should go on the offensive. You know, show them we can strike back.”
“That strategy doesn’t always work as well as you might think,” Nathan warned.
“It’s better than hiding in our shelters and hoping for the best,” Dylan insisted.
“Then you’re one of the many who believe SilTek should go on the offensive,” Jessica surmised.
Dylan held up both hands. “I didn’t say that.”
“Relax,” Jessica told him. “We’re not Section Twelve.”
“We’re visitors to your world,” Nathan explained. “We were invited by Ariana Batista. We’re supposed to be negotiating a…business arrangement.”
“It must not have gone well,” Dylan said.
“I guess not,” Nathan admitted.
“Why are you here?” Dylan wondered. “Why my house?”
“We needed someplace to hide while we figure out how to get off your world,” Nathan told him.
“We spotted you on the trail and figured it was an easy way in,” Jessica added.
“You can’t hide from SilTek,” Dylan said. “They know where everyone is, at all times.”
“How?” Nathan wondered.
“There are no cameras inside the homes,” Jessica pointed out. “Only in public places.”
“True, but the house AIs know who is on their property and will report that knowledge if lawfully queried by security.”
“Then your AI knows we’re here?” Nathan surmised.
“Yes.”
“Then I guess we’d better keep moving,” Jessica decided.
Nathan sighed. “Sorry if we scared you, Dylan.”
Dylan watched as Nathan and Jessica turned to depart.
“I can shut down our AI’s comm-link to the main hub and make it look like an equipment failure,” Dylan offered. “That should at least buy you some time, if it hasn’t already been queried, of course.”
“How can you tell?” Jessica wondered.
“It’s all in the logs,” Dylan bragged, “if you know how to read them.”
“Your AIs have logs?” Nathan asked, surprised.
“All AIs have logs,” Dylan replied as if it were common knowledge. “They’re written to local data banks that cannot be altered by the AIs, themselves. It’s a legal requirement. It’s how we monitor our AIs to make sure they’re performing as designed.” He gestured toward the corridor. “I can show you.”
Nathan looked to Jessica.
“If you’re hoping for a better idea, you’re looking at the wrong person,” Jessica told him.
“Looks like we’re in your hands, Dylan,” Nathan told the young man. “I have to warn you, though, the stakes are far higher than you could possibly imagine.”
Dylan swallowed hard. “You could’ve kept that part to yourself, you know.”
Nathan gestured for Dylan to lead the way, falling in behind him as he headed down the corridor.
“The AI is downstairs,” Dylan explained, opening the door to the stairwell. He led them down the stairs and into another corridor.
“What’s in there?” Nathan asked, pointing at another door as they passed.
“The garage,” Dylan replied. “The AI is down the hall, just inside the entrance to the shelter.”
Nathan and Jessica followed Dylan down the corridor, pausing at the entrance to the shelter as Dylan entered the access code.
“It’s in here,” Dylan announced as he entered the shelter and opened another door just inside.
“Stay out here, just in case,” Nathan ordered Jessica. He stepped into the shelter and looked inside the door Dylan had opened. On the other side was a closet full of electronic equipment. Dylan flipped up a small view screen revealing an input station. The screen lit up, and data began scrolling quickly across it.
“There,” Dylan said, pointing to an entry on the screen. “This is where I unlocked the back door and the three of us entered. Here, it shows my identity, but it shows you and your friend as unidentified persons.”
“What’s that last line?” Nathan asked.
“That’s where I logged on to view the logs,” Dylan explained. “There are no entries showing any queries by security, so they don’t yet know you’re here,” he added as he began typing furiously.
“What are you doing?” Nathan asked.
“I’m setting it up to send error codes if queried,” Dylan explained.
“It’s that easy?” Nathan asked, unsure if he believed the young man.
“It is if you know what you’re doing,” Dylan replied, obviously bragging.
“And you know what you’re doing,” Nathan said, still a bit skeptical.
“Everyone has a skill,” Dylan replied. “Hacking AIs is mine.” He stopped typing for a moment, glancing at Nathan and smiling. “On a world run by AIs, the ability to hack them is very valuable.”
“Probably very illegal, as well,” Nathan commented.
“There’s that, yeah,” Dylan conceded, returning to his typing. After a few moments, he stopped. “That should do it,” he announced, turning back to Nathan again. “But that’s only going to buy you ten or fifteen minutes.”
“Why?”
“Because once the attack is over, they’ll be able to conduct
a full search,” Dylan explained. “Any AI that doesn’t answer a lawful query will go to the top of the search list.”
“How long do these attacks usually last?” Nathan wondered.
“Never more than half an hour,” he replied, “at least not in my lifetime.”
“It’s already been twenty minutes,” Nathan pointed out.
“Hence, the ten or fifteen minutes I quoted.”
“I don’t suppose you could hack the AI that runs the Bayside Spaceport, could you?” Jessica asked from the shelter hatchway.
“I’m good, but I’m not that good,” Dylan admitted. “Is that where your ship is?”
“Yup,” Jessica replied.
“Does it have to be your ship?” Dylan wondered.
“Preferably,” Nathan said. “However, at this point, I’d be happy with any ship with a jump drive.”
“That, I might be able to help you with,” Dylan said, grinning.
* * *
The door to the garage opened, and the lights came on. “Old FTL light cargo haulers converted into jump ships,” Dylan explained as he led them inside. “Since they’re so old, they need a lot of ongoing maintenance, so, rather than tie up space at the spaceports, they keep them in maintenance yards located all over the planet. There’s one about one hundred kilometers from here. They usually have two or three of them there.”
“How do you know all of this?” Jessica wondered.
“The mother of a friend of mine works there as an environmental systems specialist.”
“If we only have ten or fifteen minutes, then we don’t have enough time to get there before they figure out where we were and where we’re headed,” Nathan pointed out.
“Oh, we’ll get there in time, barely,” Dylan bragged.
“Uh, the transports we’ve seen don’t go that fast,” Nathan argued.
“This is not your ordinary ride,” Dylan boasted as he placed his hands on the vehicle’s cover. He yanked the cover off, revealing a cherry-red, shiny, sporty-looking transport, unlike anything they had seen on SilTek.
“Whoa,” Jessica exclaimed.
“Is this yours?” Nathan wondered, equally impressed.
“I wish,” Dylan replied as he tossed the cover aside. “It used to be my grandfather’s, but my pop inherited it when he died. He only takes it out once a month.”