by Isaac Hooke
"Out!" Skull said.
Hoodwink and Sarella abandoned the existing vehicle, leaving behind their camping gear, and loaded into the off-road SUV.
Four plasma rifles were piled together in the back seat.
"Nice." Hoodwink strapped one of the rifles over his shoulder.
"Hand one to Blake and me," Skull said from the front.
Sarella gave Skull and Blake a rifle each, and kept one for herself.
Skull started the off-roader and drove directly into the wilderness that edged the highway. The remnants of an overgrown paved road provided a bumpy path through the trees.
"They'll send one of the Birds-of-Prey to monitor this area," Skull said. "So we have to stick to the woodland route. It's going to be rough, though. This road hasn't been maintained in a long while."
"What's a Bird of Prey?" Hoodwink asked Sarella quietly.
"A really big fixed-wing military drone," she told him. "A hunter killer. After the Satori won the war, they used them to hunt down remote outposts of humans and kill them all. It's equipped with a full complement of Hellfire X20s, along with a few bunker busters."
"Basically bad news," Blake said, flashing that gold-toothed grin at him from the shotgun seat.
Up ahead another big-wheeled SUV awaited, blocking the path. When Skull reached it, the vehicle started up and led the way.
The undergrowth thickened so that the road wasn't even visible because of all the foliage that had encroached upon it. Skull followed in the path of the lead vehicle; tree branches scraped the sides of the SUV and the metal screeched in protest. Overhead, the tree canopy completely blotted out the sky, foiling any Birds-of-Prey that might be watching overhead.
"You're ruining my paint job," Blake complained.
"Kid," Skull told him. "The paint job is the least of our worries right now."
Rivers occasionally overran the route. The SUVs were forced to move into the open to cross them. Hoodwink and the others watched the skies tensely during such fordings, but no Hellfires came.
On one crossing the water came up to the hood of the vehicle. The snorkel did its job and the vehicle didn't stall. Some water leaked inside however, dousing them up to the ankles. The liquid was easily emptied by opening the doors after fording.
After some hours of driving like that, a radio resting on the dashboard abruptly came to life.
"The silo is just ahead," a voice said over the line. "Going off road."
The lead SUV turned off the road and directly into the trees. Skull followed it. The branches scraped their vehicle even more vigorously.
"What do you think about your paint job now, Blake?" Skull taunted.
Hoodwink was jerked terribly in his seat as the SUV drove over the bumpy terrain and surmounted the logs and bushes in its path. The frame groaned loudly when the vehicle struck a particularly nasty bump, and Hoodwink nearly hit the ceiling.
"Remind me never to let you drive again," Blake muttered.
Skull ignored him and nodded toward the right side. "See that?"
Hoodwink glanced out the window. "I don't see a thing, I don't."
"Look carefully. There's a fence out there."
And then he saw it: a chain-link fence almost lost to the foliage.
"That's the abandoned launch control center," Skull said. "It was tricky as hell to get in there. Surveillance cameras and automated guns all over the place. We had to cut all the video feeds and replace them with our own. It was all fairly low tech, ancient stuff though. Nothing like the aReal shit we've had to deal with in the past. Oh, and get this, there was a dead Equestrian."
Hoodwink glanced at Sarella. "An Equestrian?"
"Fancy name for a robot tank," she told him. "Ancient model."
"Its power source had failed, of course," Skull continued. "We removed the AI core, blocked its connection to the Internet, and managed to reprogram the thing with the help of a few training AIs. We put it back in the tank, supplied a fresh power source, and guess what boys and girls? We have ourselves a robot tank."
Hoodwink spotted a single-story structure between the trees beyond the fence. There seemed to be some sort of antenna tower beside it. Then both were gone, lost to the thick branches.
"I saw a building," Hoodwink said.
"That would be the launch control building," Skull said. "Most of the actual control center is sheltered in an underground bunker underneath it. But that wasn't what we were concerned with. No. The silos were the key. Do you see any hemispherical cupolas on the ground?"
"No," Hoodwink said. "Too much foliage."
"Well, those are what the tops of the silos look like. According to the archives, this was one of the last launch control centers still operating when the war came. We'd moved all of our nukes to submarines and flyers by the time the aliens arrived. Our engineers had a hell of a time getting the blast doors open."
The chain-link fence faded into the foliage behind them.
"We're not going to the silo?" Hoodwink asked.
"No," Skull said. "Once we found a missile, we extracted the smaller delivery vehicles and moved them to a safer location to work on. Who can say that the Satori don't send regular patrols out to these abandoned silos to check on them, after all?"
"I doubt they would," Sarella said. "They have no fear of nukes."
"Just the same, we weren't going to take any chances."
"So where did you move these delivery vehicles?" Hoodwink asked.
"You'll see."
Skull continued to follow the lead vehicle for another thirty minutes, jostling the passengers constantly along that bumpy terrain.
"I don't know how you transported nuclear delivery vehicles through this crap without them going off," Blake complained.
"It doesn't work that way," Sarella told him.
"It takes more than a jostling to detonate a nuke, it does," Hoodwink agreed.
"And who made you the expert?" Blake asked.
"You forget," Skull told him. "He is an alien."
"Which is exactly my point," Blake said. "What does he know about our technology?"
"I've done my research," Hoodwink said. Though in truth Blake was right: he knew relatively little about how the nuclear warheads actually worked.
The trees abruptly opened up as the two vehicles drove into a clearing. A canopy had been hung overhead, blocking out the entire sky. The underside had a leaf pattern that replicated the surrounding foliage. A similar pattern likely decorated the top.
Sarella apparently noticed that Hoodwink was staring at the canopy, because she told him: "It shields us from any visual reconnaissance during the day, and thermals at night."
"I guessed as much," Hoodwink told her.
Floodlights connected to generators provided extra light. Tents of varying sizes were strewn about the clearing. Three soldiers in full kit stood guard in front of the largest tent. Another two soldiers guarded a smaller tent.
"Welcome to one of the satellite rebel camps," Skull said. "It's completely mobile: we can have everything packed up in under two hours. And two minutes if we leave the tents, canopy and lights behind."
In front of four other SUVs, two big pickups with monster truck wheels were parked off to one side. The vehicles were technicals—double-barreled anti-aircraft energy guns were bolted to each of the truck beds. A robot battle tank stood silent watch beside them. The Equestrian, no doubt.
The lead SUV came to a halt beside the other vehicles and Skull parked behind it.
Hoodwink scanned the thick trees that enclosed the camp.
Sarella squeezed his hand. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he lied.
He couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom.
The bee-sized micro-drone flew through the trees, its obstacle avoidance tech working at full tilt to avoid the many leaves and branches as it circumnavigated the camp. Its tiny camera was pointed toward the tents, transmitting everything to the Shell, and hence, Jeremy.
Jeremy had dispat
ched miniature spy drones throughout the city. He had specifically instructed them to ignore the biometric signatures transmitted by aReals and to rely on good old fashioned facial recognition technology. He had seen nothing for a week. Hoodwink and Sarella had apparently gone into hiding.
And right when he was about to give up, all of a sudden Hoodwink and his girlfriend had unexpectedly turned up. The pair had been spotted inside an SUV headed toward the outskirts of the city. Jeremy had considered launching his attack right then, but curiosity had gotten the better of him. What was that scheming Hoodwink up to?
Jeremy had instructed the micro-drone to pursue.
Let Hoodwink think he was safe. Let him scheme away. And just when his plans were about to come to fruition, Jeremy would strike.
From his vantage point aboard the helo-drone, Jeremy giggled in delight.
25
Hoodwink watched as men dressed in combat gear emerged from the lead vehicle.
Skull and Blake opened their own doors and got out.
Hoodwink glanced at Sarella, whose hand he still held. "Well. I guess there's no turning back now, is there?"
"Not really," Sarella agreed. "Why, you're having misgivings?"
"Only one." Hoodwink looked her squarely in the eyes. "The fact that you're here." She opened her mouth but before she could protest he tightened his grip on her palm. "But I'm glad you came nonetheless." He gave her a quick peck on the lips and then he forced himself to pull away. "Let's do this."
Hoodwink approached the small party of men who stood beside the SUVs, the Equestrian guarding ominously in the backdrop.
"Meet our commandos," Skull said when Hoodwink reached him. "Pencils. Alien. Depravity. Carbine."
Pencils and Alien nodded stiffly, while the other two men merely stared daggers at Hoodwink when they were introduced.
"Commandos," Skull continued. "Meet Hoodwink, our resident alien. And Sarella, his girlfriend."
Hoodwink inclined his head slightly.
Alien ran a scanning device up and down Hoodwink's body.
"He's clean," Skull told him. "We already checked him earlier."
"Never hurts to check again," Alien said.
"So you're the one betraying your own race?" the one named Depravity said. "I'd never sell out my own species." He spat a thick glob of chewing tobacco and saliva onto the ground in front of Hoodwink and Sarella.
Hoodwink glanced at Skull. "We're off to a good start."
"Don't mind them," Skull said. "They're honestly glad for your help. They just don't know how to show it." Skull turned toward the commandos. "Have the scouts reported in?"
"They have," Pencils, who seemed to be the commanding officer, said. He wore glasses, though Hoodwink suspected they were prescription, not aReal. The Satori eugenics program should have bred out men like him years ago. "Nothing in the sky. Nothing in the trees. Quiet as a fox out there."
"I think the proper saying is wily as a fox," Alien told Pencils.
Pencils shrugged. "Foxes are quiet."
Skull led the group through the camp. The soldiers assumed positions on all four compass points of the party.
"I suppose it's good to have an armed escort protecting us," Hoodwink commented to Sarella.
Blake overheard, and he looked at Hoodwink and flashed that gold-toothed grin of his.
"You probably think they're here to protect you from the aliens?" Blake said. "Should we tell him, Skull?"
Skull glanced askance. "Let's just say your proposal wasn't exactly met by open arms, Hoodwink. There is division among the rebels. Some believe you pose a grave threat to our existence. They think you're an assassin who has come to take out our senior leadership elements. The soldiers here are meant to protect against that possibility."
"All these soldiers to protect you from me?" Hoodwink said incredulously.
"You, or whatever machines you might summon to your aid."
"I feel so loved right now," Hoodwink quipped.
"What Skull isn't telling you," Blake appended. "Is that some of us really want to kill you. And I mean really badly. It's not often we get our hands on a surrogate alone outside the cities. A surrogate, that ugly symbol of our alien overlords. So the soldiers are also here to protect you from us."
Depravity glanced at Hoodwink and spat on the ground in front of him again.
Hoodwink sighed.
When they reached the largest tent, Skull led the party inside. Alien and Depravity came, too, while the remaining two commandos joined the others who guarded the door.
Within, Hoodwink saw a few workbenches and shelves covered in equipment. A robot arm was operating on a spherical object shielded behind a thick glass case. Two men in white lab coats stood by a pair of computer terminals.
"You're the scientists I've come all this way to meet?" Hoodwink asked the men.
The pair exchanged looks and then laughed uproariously, just as if Hoodwink had made some grand joke.
"No no no," Skull said. "These men are the decoys. Those are the scientists."
Two long-bearded dwarfs dressed in shabby clothes were tethered by an umbilical to a nearby computer. Both were unconscious.
"Wake them," Skull said.
One of the decoys went to the computer terminal the dwarfs were linked to and pressed some buttons.
The dwarfs awoke.
"What the fuck!" the first dwarf said, sitting up. He rubbed his eyes. "I told you about pulling us out prematurely. I was in the middle of something!"
"Don't get your nuts in a twist," the second dwarf said. He disconnected the umbilical from his belly button and lowered his shirt. "We've been in there for what seemed days. I for one am glad to leave that digital world behind."
"He's here," Skull said.
"Who's here?" the first dwarf said, his eyes bugging out angrily. "Like I'm supposed to know who the fuck you're talking about?"
"The alien."
"That's him?" The scientist eyed Hoodwink up and down. "He doesn't look like much."
Hoodwink forced a polite smile. Neither do you.
"Well, you show the fucker around," the first dwarf told the second. "I'm going back in. I have some more tests to run."
He lay back down and shut his eyes. He hadn't bothered to disconnect his umbilical.
The second dwarf stood. He reached up and extended a hand. "Hello. I'm Brent."
Hoodwink knelt slightly and shook the hand. "Hoodwink."
"You'll have to excuse my colleague Gab," Brent said. "We don't get many visitors, or a chance to socialize with the outside world that much."
"That's fine. I hear you have a nuke for me?" Hoodwink surveyed the remaining portion of the tent, and his eyes locked onto a black, inverted cone-shaped object that squatted in one corner.
"Indeed we do." The dwarf led Hoodwink toward the object, which was about five feet tall and three feet thick at the base. "We had to retrieve all the old training programs from the Hidden Archives to figure out this thing."
"The Hidden Archives?"
"Yes," Brent said. "The entire technical history of humankind, squirreled away from the aliens in small canisters no bigger than diving tanks. We have a local copy there." He nodded toward several small metallic tanks that lay against the tent fabric behind the computers. Several blocks of what looked like plastic explosives were attached to them, Hoodwink noticed. A precaution against capture, Hoodwink guessed.
"The training AIs from the archive taught us how to extract the reentry vehicles from the ICBM," the small scientist continued. "Each reentry vehicle is called an Mk210, and carries a nine hundred kiloton W98 warhead. Roughly sixty times the power of the Hiroshima bomb. Though you probably have no idea what that is."
"I've heard of Hiroshima," Hoodwink said. "I've been studying human history since I returned to Earth."
"Fantabulous," Brent said. "Then I won't have to come up with another comparable. Will that be good enough for your needs, then? Or do you need something that packs more of a punch?"
/>
Hoodwink gazed at the black Mk210 reverently. "No. That will be more than enough."
"Good, because this is the only one we've rebuilt so far. See, these things have been sitting around for two hundred years. Turns out the radioactive material caused a whole slew of decay in the metal, not to mention corrosion in the joints, plus some of the goddamn plastic materials had warped with time, so we had to 3D print a whole new W98 and transfer the primary and secondary to it with radiation gear and worker robots, then throw it all back into the Mk210 again. Fucking— pain— in— the— ass.
"Anyway, after much coaxing, the training AIs showed us how to disable the permissive action link, which means there's no two-man rule requirement or Gold codes or any bullshit like that. Just arm and go. We put together a manual remote detonator powered by a small magnesium-ion battery." He handed Hoodwink a palm-sized black box with a small HLED display that showed a countdown set to five minutes. There was a small metal switch on the front beside a button.
"Turn the dial to adjust the timer," Brent continued. "Then flip the switch and the button turns green. That means the warhead is armed. Press that button to initiate the countdown. Keep in mind: once you activate the warhead countdown sequence, you can't shut it down, so if you're not ready to put fifty kilometers between yourself and the Mk210, do not press the button, and instead flip the switch back down to disarm the thing."
Hoodwink nodded.
"We've also added magnetic shielding, based on the specs you sent us," Brent said. "We followed your design to a T, so if it doesn't mask the weapon's signature from the Satori, don't blame us."
"I'm sure you did everything properly," Hoodwink told him.
"It's funny," Brent said. "We've all seen the histories of the attack. The Satori force us to watch it when we're kids, part of the indoctrination sessions and all. In them, we see humanity launch wave after wave of nuclear weapons at the enemy, and none of them ever breaches the darkness surrounding the alien vessels. Instead we end up destroying our own cities. And now you come to us saying those videos are a lie. It's a bit hard to swallow, at first. Especially since the Hidden Archives confirm that's exactly what happened."