“Carlos told me he’s a bio-augmenter called Jean-Renae LaBeau. I think he’s French Canadian. Although Carlos said something about New Orleans, so he might just be a Cajun. We’ll find out in a day.”
“Come to the lab and bring the bird… wait.” He turned to Gaia. “Can I fix some stuff in the lab?”
“Why do you keep asking? Go fix stuff,” Gaia said.
“The reason I keep asking is that I don’t want to come back to a note and you living with Snark. You might say things don’t disturb you, but actions speak louder than words.”
“What ‘actions’ have I done?” she asked.
“Nothing yet, but I’m a transiton. I try my best to prevent those future actions,” he said.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she told him. “Remember that confidence I was so attracted to? Use that instead of the molly-coddle approach. ‘Bad’ transitons are sexier.”
“You heard her, Chip,” Alikira said. “Stop ‘over-nicing’ your way out of your relationship. That’s the quintessential pussy move. Now, let’s trick out my bird.”
Chip said bye to Gaia and walked with Alikira on-deck so she could retrieve her albatross.
“Are we still safe when I take it apart?”
“That albatross is a security redundancy. The Yamato’s constantly in its stealth bubble. I don’t think the Program is advanced enough to calculate phantom wake waves in choppy water yet. I know you think it’s the next level, but don’t give it that much credit. It was still designed by a human and humans have flaws.”
As she quelled his apprehension, the albatross came into view. It landed on Alikira’s arm.
“Let’s go boost your bird, Falconer,” Chip said and began to walk to the lab.
They both went below deck to the laboratory. Chip clicked off the albatross, opened the head, and inserted a chip.
Alikira began her REM and accessed the surveillance process recording.
“It’s functional, Chip. You didn’t put your finger in the lens or anything. Let’s test it by having it fly over Gaia’s old house,” she said.
“I just spoke with her and she said she didn’t want to see her house in the wastelands.”
“You really don’t get women, do you?” she asked. “She likes you and knows a detour would delay you. She told you that to ease your mind. I’ll ask her—you’ll see.”
“They walked back to his quarters.
“We almost have this completed. I just need one more thing,” Alikira told Gaia. “We need to test the surveillance protocol. Type in your old house’s address so we can make sure the navigation is accurate.”
She put out her arm to let Gaia type on her digital keyboard.
“You can see my old house?”
“Do you want to see it again?”
“Oh yes!” She typed in her address.
Alikira looked and smiled at Chip.
“You’ll get it one day.”
Gaia looked at Alikita speaking to Chip.
“What is he going to get?”
“Female assumption realization. He can understand a supercomputer, but you are much more complicated.”
“You lost me, but I don’t care at this point.” She wanted to see her house. “Send your bird.”
They all walked top-side so Alikira could send her bird. Gaia grabbed Chip.
“I didn’t want to be a burden for my wants. Now I get to see what happened and we stay on-course.”
“Alikira was right,” he said. “You’re harder to read than a digi-theory analysis ratio problem. You’ll let me inside one day.”
“I’m trusting you more each day,” she said. “That will gain you quicker access.”
“It’ll probably take an hour to report back. Who wants lunch?” Alikira asked.
“You know, I could go for some corn beef hash right about now,” Gaia said.
“I’ll prepare it so you don’t have to,” Chip said.
“I think he’s beginning to read your ‘book’, Gaia,” Alikira said as they went to the dining room.
The albatross came back later in the day. It had surveillance on Gaia’s old house. Alikira downloaded it and they all went to the laboratory.
She plugged into the monitor and displayed Gaia’s house.
“Does it look the same?”
“Yes, its just severely overgrown,” Gaia said.
“You were right,” Chip said, It really isn’t your house anymore.”
Then they saw something very strange. It was Gaia’s big brother in tatters, hunting a squirrel in the backyard with a bow and arrow!”
“Lance?! But you died!”
“Did you actually see him die with your own eyes?” Chip asked.
“No, he was away, but I did see my parents die. He was a transiton just like you, so he had an assistant. How can this be?!”
“If he’s like me, he probably got away from his assistant and did the same form of surgery I did. I just didn’t know anyone else knew of it. Your brother is still alive.”
Gaia was ecstatic. Then she felt dread.
“We can’t stop for me. Our mission is too important,”
Chip wanted to fix this.
“If I can get Steve to join me, we don’t have to stop.”
“What crazy notion is jumping around in that head of yours, Chip?” Alikira asked.
“Oh, nothing, Just a special mission to go get Gaia’s brother with those surface transport submersibles in the lower deck. That way, we can get him and catch you all on the return.”
Gaia was concerned.
“That’s going to be dangerous, Chip. You don’t know what’s out there.”
“Why do you think I’m asking Steve to come? That nut lives for missions like this. I just need to let your brother know we’re coming to get him for you.”
“When you see him, say Bánh hỏi. That’s a Vietnamese rice dish. He’ll know it’s from me.” She wrote it down.
“Okay, time to do the crazy, but because I like your maid outfit, I’ll beat ‘crazy’ over the head this time.” He went to find Steve.
“Do you think he knows what he’s doing?” Gaia asked.
“He’s Chip, he knows enough to get Steve. They’ll be fine.” Alikira had hope in her heart.
Linda and Gaia saw off Steve and Chip. They were going off into the wild blue.
“At least Chip has Steve with him. I don’t think he’ll be as nervous,” Gaia said.
“At least Steve has Chip,” Linda said. “Your brother is a transiton and Chip can talk to him in ‘tech speak’. Steve is a big guy, but even he knows Chip is smarter than he is. He calls him transiton to keep his rep and he secretly is one himself. He really respects your boyfriend.”
Gaia smiled at her.
“You know he’ll never say that.”
“Of course he won’t, but at least you’ll know and ‘pillow talk’ can be very revealing.”
“Hey, Transiton!” Steve yelled. “What’s the barrel of fuel for?!”
Chip was on a larger submersible. He carried a barrel.
“We’re not walking to Bangor from here! We’ll never catch our ride on the flip-side! You’re gonna hotwire our all-terrain vehicle to travel quicker and no cars!”
Steve was happy Chip thought of everything. He just had to keep them safe, so they continued their quest.
After a few hours, Neo-Khaos was in Halifax. Carlos weighed anchor and he went to Steve’s marksmen.
“Okay, I just need eight of you. I’m about to meet my friend with Di and he won’t attack impulsively if he sees ten of us. That gives me time to tell him we’re ‘friendlys’. When he sees me, he won’t attack.”
“It’s just one guy, Carlos. Does he carry a bazooka?” Marc asked.
“Worse, Marc. He controls moose, Kodiaks, and wolves. You can miss with a bazooka. Those animals could probably smell you from here. And that’s another problem. You can’t bring yo
ur assault rifles this time.”
“Then why are you getting us? We’re the marksmen, remember?”
Snark was miffed.
“The reason I need you is you have the courage and won’t lose it in the woods. There are a lot of animals out there. I need eyes for wolverines, wolves, moose, and bears. You’ll know the difference between an apex predator and a muskrat.”
“But a moose isn’t dangerous,” Nugget said.
“Obviously, you haven’t seen a bull moose in person.” Carlos said. “They stand at four to five meters tall and will kill you easily if it thinks you’re a threat.”
Clarence was surprised. “I didn’t think they were dangerous.”
“Everybody, stop thinking like Nugget. Stay alert and let’s go!”
They all got off the ship and went into the untamed forest.
“Is Jean-Renae jumpy?” Alikira asked.
“Live alone in the wilderness for a while, then ask me that same question,” Carlos said. “Jean-Renae isn’t a big guy. All the other pilots picked on him because he never wanted to join us at the bar. He was reclusive even before the extinction attempt. Now he’s the king of his world and the vicious animals are his subjects. We have to play by his rules now.”
“So, we’re dealing with a vengeful lunatic.” She surmised,
“That ‘vengeful lunatic’ is going to supply you with your vicious animal commando army. Don’t discount the crazy, especially when they could help you.”
As they traveled deeper into the woods, they saw geese, a baby lynx, and a deer.
Carlos whispered to them all.
“Follow that deer, quietly. If they aren’t apex predators, they’re prey in these woods.”
They kept silent while tracking the deer. It went to a water source at the base of a mountain. Nugget accidentally cracked a twig and the deer looked up quickly to scan for a threat, Nugget froze and the deer kept drinking.
That was when a mountain lion blindsided the deer and took it down with deadly swiftness!
“I guess lions hunt better than you, Nugget,” Carlos whispered. “That must be the apex predator I forgot about. I hope Jean-Renae is listening. Here goes nothing.”
Carlos stood and walked towards the mountain lion feasting on the deer!
“Carlos! What are you doing?!” Alikira whispered desperately.
Carlos continued.
He stood dangerously close to the feasting mountain lion.
“I know it’s one of yours, Jean-Renae! It’s Carlos and I need your help with taking down the Program!”
“The lion’s gaze shot at Carlos and it growled with its bloody fangs.
“I’m serious! Stop trying to make me pee myself! Where are you?!”
The lion rose and walked towards Carlos.
“He never said anything about a mountain lion and we don’t have our rifles!” Snark whispered loudly. “Now he’s about to become a cat snack!”
As the lion came close enough for Carlos to feel the wet heat of its menacing breath, Carlos stuck out his hand to pet it. The lion stared at Carlos with its piercing eyes and finally bowed its head.
“It’s okay! Jean-Renae was just messing with me!” Carlos called out to the marksmen. “Let’s follow this mountain lion!”
The squad breathed a sigh of relief and followed Carlos and the mountain lion deeper into the woods.
Alikira caught up to Carlos.
“That was stupid.”
“Not when you know who you’re dealing with. We have a certain history. He always wants me to know he’s in control. That’s his entire make-up. I know he freaked out the marksmen. He just wants everyone to know he isn’t to be trifled with. That mountain lion can see in infrared, so he saw them hiding. Just call it his form of a term-setting welcome.”
“This guy sounds a little distrustful.”
“Get picked on by your pilot comrades and see if you don’t become distrustful. You have no idea how devastating that is.”
“Actually, I do,” she said. “Not nine months ago, I was hated by my comrades. I only trusted Cole back then. If it weren’t for the meanest one, they would still hate me. That’s why I tried so hard to get Linda to tell Steve she liked him.
I understand your friend. It’s your job to break him out of his shell. Living this way sucks, so ‘tough love’ him into normalcy.”
Carlos did it for Steve and Steve had fifty kilos over Jean-Renae and hit like a renegade truck. He should try.
“Okay, Di, I’ll do it. I think my chest will be safe this time.”
“What happened to your chest last time?”
“When we get back, ask Steve what happened to my chest.” Carlos continued to follow the mountain lion.
As they walked deeper into the thick, the lion took them to a clearing with many large animals guarding a cabin. They all had menacing cold looks. The lion sat next to a grizzly bear and allowed them access.
“Okay, people. I know this guy!” Carlos yelled. “Just stay with the wilderness special forces! Di, you come with me.”
Carlos and Alikira walked up to the cabin and Carlos knocked.
“We’re here, Jean-Renae! Don’t let your vicious squad eat my marksmen!”
They heard a few clicks and the door opened.
“Ah,Transporteur, entrer.”
Carlos went in with Alikira.
“That’s Di, Jean-Renae and she’s not a borgey.”
Jean-Renae saw her titanium gleaming.
“Ah, le femme d’argent.”
“Stop that French flirting, Jean-Renae. She’s my silver lady and that’s titanium. She just shines that way.”
“What do you want, Carlos?” Jean-Renae finally got serious.
“Wow, no pleasantries. You just get right to the point.”
“I’m a little rusty with the lack of visitors. The dead usually don’t come around for coffee., yes.”
“We’re trying to rebuild and gather the stragglers. That means taking out the Program.”
“Do you mean Circumscriber?”
“This continent gives it respect by saying the name,” Carlos said. “We just call it the Program back in the Far East, yes, that thing.”
“Why did you come for my help?”
“Di has a surveillance bird and saw all the undead guards at the headquarters in Baltimore.”
“Three hundred twenty-four,” Alikira interrupted. Her albatross worked.
“Yes, that many,” Carlos confirmed. “Our group is called Neo-Khaos, but we don’t need anyone dying while trying to repopulate—kinda defeats the purpose. We need to get into the facility and your cyber animals can help.”
“I live in Canada. Baltimore is in North America. My animals can’t walk that far, no? I’m sorry, but you came for nothing, yes.”
“If they can walk out of the forest, we have transport,” Carlos said. “They can hitch a ride on our aircraft carrier, the Yamato.”
“How did you get the Yamato?”
“Okay, one more time. Neo-Khaos originated in Hong Kong Japan and every military base was wiped out or abandoned. We were able to pick and choose in the wasteland. I bet if you lived in Annapolis, you could helm the U.S.S. McDerount aircraft carrier. Right now, we have no rules. We just do what we can to survive.”
“Are you fine with the way I look?” Alikira was confused at his cavalier attitude.
Jean-Renae walked up to her.
“Carlos must not have told you what I do, no.” he began. “I augment wild biologically inherent hunters to be my bodyguards. I mix the organics with computer machinery. I don’t know what happened to you, but it must be a form of my own concept. The reason I’m fine with your look is I have done and seen this many times before, yes? A French man is not arrogant enough to think he is the only one to think of this. Whoever made you was just better at it than I am, bravo to your creator.”
“Her creator was her parents. The Program changed her and when it found out she was minorly flawed, it threw her away,”
Carlos said.
“I was a mistake. That’s why I have to fix this. I never wanted to be a cyborg. The wild part about this crazy situation is the Program made its executor. I just need to get past the undead guards to dismantle it.”
Jean-Renae felt important this time.
“Well, I’ll get you past the guards, no? My wolves can take out three hundred twenty-four mindless reanimates by themselves. The wolverines, Bobcats, moose and Grizzlies are just the cream on the cinnamon roll.”
“Okay, shall we leave for Baltimore?” Carlos asked.
“Lead the way, Transporteur. I think it’s time to correct our situation, no?” Jean-Renae was ready.
They walked out of the cabin to see the marksmen playing with the animals!
“You said they were part of your team, so I put them all in the docile mode. Don’t worry though. When it’s time to execute, they can get ‘lose your lunch’ bloody.”
They all gathered to travel to get back on-board the Yamato.
As the wind whipped through Chip’s hair, the road was desolate traveling to Bangor. Steve was humming a tune while driving and dodging abandoned cars.
“We’re ninety miles away from Bangor. What’s your plan to get him on our side?”
“A Vietnamese rice dish,” Chip said. “He’ll know Gaia’s on our team. Sometimes, the little things are the most effective. I go by the Occam’s Razor method all the time.”
“The simplest solution tends to be the right one,” Steve confirmed. “I think I can get there in forty-five.”
“On the open road I’d agree, but playing ‘Dodge the Derelicts’ puts a damper on your hypothesis.”
“I’m happy you’re leading this mission,” Steve said, “You guys can talk science stuff to each other while I get to smoke the bad guys.”
“You know you’re a ‘just in case’, right? Everybody’s gone. You might need to take out an automaton or two, but the borgeys were deactivated when the Program knew we controlled them.”
“In case you forgot, Transiton, we’re still in the middle of a war. The second you get arrogant, you die. Did you know about possessed Seals or nanite bats on the Yamamoto base? I’m the answer to your not knowing what’s out there question.”
The Natural Selection Retaliation Page 10