The Apex Warriors

by Marc Stevens

  “Commander, I was planning on remotely piloting a single Dagger. I would make the mission time frame approximately two hours. When the two hours elapse, I would reverse the gate so the Dagger can return through the gateway. In the event, something catastrophic should happen, and imminent capture becomes a possibility, I will detonate the Daggers anti-matter power source to avoid the technology falling into enemy hands.”

  Justice’s plan left both Tria and me frowning. If the insertion was compromised from the start, the Dagger would have no way to immediately return. Justice would have no option other than to destroy the Dagger. The spacecraft, as far as I knew, was irreplaceable. Not being able to communicate with the Dagger until it reached the other side, or in a worst-case scenario, not at all, was a serious problem. There were way too many unknown factors.

  I could tell Tria was just as concerned with all the variables as I was. She was also thinking outside the box. To my surprise, she took the discussion in a new direction.

  “Justice, what if something is discovered that needs immediate investigation. Not having the ability to put boots on the ground quickly, rules out options we could benefit from. We would be denying ourselves the potential opportunity to recover data or artifacts that could give us a marked advantage over our enemies.”

  “Yes Tria, your conclusions are correct, and my plan is far from optimal. I intentionally removed the risk to my crew. The thought of losing another member of my clan causes me… pain.”

  We knew the AI could not feel physical pain. Justice’s transformation from sterile AI intelligence, to a free-thinking sentient entity, was quite remarkable. He conducted himself like a human being and his emotions at times were spot on. His distress at Xul’s loss, and his declaration of pain, was exemplifying his human side. That being said, I was hoping he would get around to the human emotion of revenge. We needed an alternate plan that would preclude his need to always protect us from harm. As long as we continued to follow our doctrine of liberty and justice for all, we would always be in imminent danger.

  “Justice, I agree with you on the use of the Daggers, and I appreciate your concern for our safety. The way I see it, we need to pilot the mission. Are all the Daggers configured for armed reconnaissance?”

  There was a long awkward pause and then Justice got back on track. “Commander, the upgrades to the Dagger power generators are complete. The weapons upgrades are ongoing. The sponsons for the additional weapons and sensor arrays will be part of the external hull upgrades. It will require your approval for the diversion of Containium for the project. Felix has already worked up the programming for the project. He only needs the materials and your consent to begin.”

  I rubbed my forehead thinking about the amount of time and Containium I would be diverting from the defensive drone program. Felix was already running the replicators at capacity. Tria squeezed my leg and it brought me back from the brink of my worries. I again suspected she was not just in tune with my thinking, but could actually read my mind.

  “Nathan, unless there is some danger we are not aware of, there is no immediate threat to your homeworld. If there was, the Sig would have alerted us by now. There is a lot more at stake here than just Earth. If the Prule continue to gain superior technology, and in this case, I believe we are talking about Guardian tech, the entire galaxy is at risk.”

  Tria was right. I was selfishly only thinking of humans. Countless trillions of lifeforms stood to lose if I did not look at the bigger picture. “Justice, inform Felix to put a hold on the drone program. He is to devote a hundred percent of the replicator output to getting the Daggers mission-capable as soon as possible. Please inform the scientists this will be an all-hands project.”

  “Affirmative Commander, messages sent.”

  With a single focus point to concentrate on, I was now hitting on all cylinders. “Justice, what is the status of our freighter?”

  “Commander, it has been at the mining facility known as El Dorado taking on refined Containium for the past several days. It is currently in transit back to Alpha Base and its scheduled ETA is seventeen hours.”

  “Contact Broza and Hylet, and inform them they are now back under contract with us. Tell them to get moving to our Sig supply depot, and start hauling processed materials to Venture. Give Tam Lin a heads up and tell her she has a new freight contract as well. I want her to be the go-between for our salvage. When the Zaens unload at Venture I need her to get it here as soon as possible. If she has any questions, have her contact me.”

  “Messages sent Commander.”

  I knew I could easily cut the Zaens out of the supply loop. Since I actually owned their Zaen flagged freighter, I was going to make use of it. It also didn’t hurt knowing that the contract payment to the Zaens was a hell of a lot cheaper than hiring a freighter and a crew from Tam Lin. There were also the issues we would be having taking any more salvage or Contanium without building a bigger material handling system. We were experiencing growing pains. Finding trustworthy personnel to help us, was going to be a major problem. The Sig would readily volunteer, but the base’s living quarters were only so big. Another concern was the scientists were uncomfortable around the Sig. The Sig’s past history with the Grawl, or most other races for that matter, was not good. It would take a lot more than me telling them everything was cool, and forget about your past. With the exception of the Grawl surveying engineers that recently joined our ranks, the Grawl scientists have been with me from the start. I would not make an arbitrary decision that might affect our close relationship.

  I got up and took Tria’s hand. “Let’s go see what the scientists have been up to with the Daggers.”

  She smiled at me and we headed for the boarding ramp. As we stepped off the Legacy, we saw the scientists moving in mass from the production area and living quarters to the artifact building. It was where the Daggers were undergoing their retrofit. As we got closer to the artifact building we could hear Jaran dividing up the scientists by their specialties and assigning them a work schedule. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Coonts and Klutch on an intercept course. Tria and I slowed so they could catch up with us. Klutch looked happy and Coonts not so much.

  “Commander,” Klutch said. “The scientists are saying they are going to modify the Daggers so we can go back and kick some more scat out of the Prule. Am I hearing correctly?”

  “Yes, Troop Master. The scientists have come up with some upgrades that will make the Daggers much harder to detect.”

  Coonts still had a frown on his face. “Right up until we have to use the phase drives, what then?”

  “If it comes to that, we will make a run for the gateway. Unless the Prule have developed a new class of ship that can catch a phase drive, there will be little they can do about it.” Tria answered.

  “Unless we are wrong about the gates and the Prule have a way to change their direction.” Coonts shot back.

  I stopped and turned to the over-muscled Grawl. “Coonts, this will be a volunteer mission. I am not going to force anyone to go.”

  Klutch gave the Grawl a clap on the back that made him stumble. “You should stay here and guard the base. We won’t need your help, because I will kill your share of the Prule.”

  Coonts narrowed his eyes at Klutch. “I never said anything about not going. I was just pointing out the deficiencies of using the Daggers. The last time we used them, they were ready for a scrap heap afterward. ”

  It looked like the two were going to have a full-blown argument and I had heard enough. “Coonts, if you see the upgrades the scientists have in mind for the Daggers, I think it will change your opinion of their usefulness.”

  “Commander, I have incoming IST traffic from Bond Connery.”

  That got everyone’s attention and quieted Coonts’s commentary. Bond was our undercover agent back on Outpost 9765. The outpost was the target of an unsuccessful terrorist attack, that was aimed at killing me, my strike team, and my allies the Sig. The catastrophic event m
ade Tam Lin and the Sig relocate, so those who lived on the outpost would not suffer the consequences if another attempt was made. Tam Lin turned over her entire operation to Bond. He was a newly minted ally and a complete unknown. His criminal past and subsequent righteous rehabilitation made him the perfect deep-cover agent. We left him with a very large donation to help anonymously rebuild the outpost and spread goodwill where it was needed most. The Coram was a former warlord and knew how to use that skill set to get what he wanted. He was also a silver-tongued devil that could talk the pants off a prostitute for a plug nickel. Given the proper assets and a little bit of time, we knew he would be privy to a wealth of illicit information.

  I was glad to hear from him and hoped he was doing well. “Put him on our group comms, Justice.”

  The unique accent of the Coram’s translator came over our IST transmitters. “Commander Myers, I know that I have not communicated with you for some time, but I assure you I have been working diligently at establishing my new cover.”

  The Coram had no idea what we had gone through or what we were doing while he was on Outpost 9765. “That is not a problem Bond. If I did not have faith in you and thought you would break my trust, you would not be in the position you are in right now. How is the restoration of the outpost coming along?”

  “I am pleased to report the reconstruction is going quite well. The assets you left in my care are being distributed to the construction crews and those who have been displaced by the attack. Even the large Sig security detail that was left behind to protect me and Tam Lin’s interest, have joined in to rebuild. By working side by side with many of the races that once feared them, they have made allies and lasting relationships. They are now an intricate part of the new outpost security team and are vetting others to join their cause.” Bond replied.

  It was hard for me not to smile. There was a time when I had seriously considered killing the Coram. It was good to know that something good finally came out of my decision not to. That was not usually the case. Bond was an exception to my past experiences.

  “Are you running low on credits?”

  “No Commander Myers, I still have over one hundred and six of the three hundred billion you gave me. The reason I am calling is that I have established an intelligence network on the outpost. It seems that your credits and my efforts are already starting to pay off. While I must caution you that I have no current way to prove the intel is legitimate, I do, however, give it a certain amount of creditability.”

  “Bond, any information coming from the outpost is better than none at all. What have you got?”

  “An Ilor displaced by the terror attack has made a makeshift shelter near the commercial shipping docks. He is temporarily sleeping in the outpost's heat dispersion ports. They vent excess heat from the outpost power generators to the atmosphere as part of the climate control process. The particular vents he has taken shelter in, overlook the commercial docks. Unless you were looking directly into the vent when my informant was either coming or going you would completely dismiss it as a viable shelter.”

  The Coram paused to see if I had questions. My silence encouraged him to cut to the chase. “Commander, he reports seeing four Tibor climbing out of a shipping container. They were dressed as civilians and quickly left the area. He says that two different members of his own race whom he did not know, passed very close to that location. For reasons unknown, they both made a mark on the wall of the warehouse near the container and promptly moved on. Twenty hours later a single Tibor dressed in civilian garb passed the location and erased the marks.”

  “That is interesting. Why would they go to that much trouble to conceal their activities unless they were up to no good.”

  “Correct Commander. My past experience tells me it is a signal for a covert meeting or a message to visit a dead drop. Either way, it needs further investigation. I did not want to risk leaving any kind of surveillance device in the area that contains a power source. I decided to give my asset an abundance of rations and instructed him to shelter in place. He observed the location for fourteen twenty-hour periods. He claims to have only minimally rested during that time. The results are concerning. The place was visited four times by the Tibor, six times by members of his own race, and an unknown number of times by someone wearing a cloaking suit.”

  I found that last part more troubling than the other visitors. “How can your asset be sure it was visited by someone with cloaking technology?”

  “He said he had just observed one of his fellow race members make a mark on the wall. When the subject exited the area he saw the mark seemingly erase itself, and another mark appeared on the wall. He is positive about what he saw and adamant about his conclusions.”

  “Okay, Bond, I trust your judgment on this, and I think it warrants us paying you a visit. We have some issues that need to be addressed before we can make the trip, but you can expect to hear from us soon. I advise you to protect your new asset. If he is spotted, they will surely kill him.”

  “No need to worry Commander. Once he informed me of the suspected cloaking technology, I pulled him from the area of operation. He is staying with my Sig security team until further notice. I am also having the Ilor living complex he once resided in, rebuilt ahead of other structures in the area.”

  “Thank you, Bond. You are proving to be an extremely competent ally. Keep up the good work. We will alert you when we have arrived in your sector.”

  “No, Commander, Thanks is not necessary. I am forever in your debt for getting me out of the grave I had dug for myself. I look forward to seeing you again. Bond out.”

  8

  I looked at my strike team members to see what their reactions would be to another mission so soon after the loss of Xul. It was good to see that just like me, they had anticipation written on their faces. The nastiness that happened on 9765 had a lot to do with us. Even if the strange happenings were not tied to that event, I yearned for those responsible, to suffer the same fate as their innocent victims. We would soon find out if the two incidents are somehow tied together.

  “Justice, what is the status of our battle armor?”

  “Commander, there is a sufficient supply of parts to repair your battle armor. They will be rearmed and combat-capable in six hours.”

  “What about the Legacy?”

  “The repairs to the Legacy will be extensive Commander.”

  “How long are we talking about Justice?”

  “Once the materials become available, more than two hundred hours.”

  “Okay Justice, as soon as the Daggers are upgraded, inform the scientists I want the Legacy to be the next priority project. Is Eagle two armed and mission capable?”

  “Yes Commander, our remaining assault shuttle is mission capable in all aspects.”

  “Coonts, Klutch, when our armor is ready, get it stowed in the Eagle. I want it prepped and ready for the trip to Outpost 9765.”

  Without hesitation, the two moved off to get the Eagle ready for our next mission. Tria looked at me and smiled. “We are as you say, getting back on the saddle?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. The aliens around me never miss a thing. Not even a mumbled comment on my part. It was not news to me that Tria discussed many of my metaphors with Justice. Some of the things I say, were hard for them to decipher their true meanings. Most of the time they were tied to sarcasm, but this one was not, and Tria was spot on.

  “Yes, it is best to continue with our missions as they are presented to us. I can think of no better way to honor Xul. He would have wanted us to carry on.”

  Tria nodded in agreement. “We should check on the Principle Investigator. If she is coherent, we should let her know we will be going to the outpost.”

  I knew Sael wouldn’t like it if she awoke and we were gone. She would badger Justice and the Grawl relentlessly until she knew where we were. “Good idea, it will save everyone a lot of grief if she knows in advance we are leaving her behind.”

  We turn
ed around and headed for the Legacy. I stopped on the ramp so I could take one last look at the damage. Something inside of me was bothered by what I was seeing. Justice’s previous explanation did not cover a theory I was tossing about in my head.

  When the hatch closed behind me I called to the AI. “Justice, when you said you overruled your primary directives, I think you never intended to come back to Alpha base, did you?”

  There was a really long pause before he answered. “Commander, I have already stated my reasons as to why I stayed to help the Chaalt.”

  Tria was giving me a funny look for the question. Then her eyes suddenly widened. “Justice,” She called. “Did you make the decision to fight until the Legacy was destroyed?”

  The beautiful alien hit the nail squarely on the head. It was a question I could not put into words. As much as I didn’t want it to make sense, something was telling me that’s exactly what the AI intended to do. Our distress signal may have saved the Legacy from complete destruction. When the AI failed to answer Tria’s question, we both stopped before we entered the lifts.

  “Justice, you could have come back to Alpha Base and cared for the Grawl,” I said quietly.

  “The Grawl do not treat me in the same manner as you. They do not comprehend the true meaning of family or fully understand human emotions. I cannot go back to what I once was. When I erroneously determined you were killed, I lost hope of ever having a family again. Even the unlikely prospect of going back to Earth in hopes of finding another like you only returned a point zero seven percent chance of being successful.”

  I was a little stunned by that revelation. The AI was insinuating I was unique, and the only command authority acceptable to him.

  “Justice, you could have joined with my people,” Tria added.

  “Please do not take what I am about to tell you as an insult Tria Burlor. My subsystems have firsthand knowledge of how your people treat artificial intelligence. If I had chosen to join your people, they would have soon removed me from the Legacy and replaced me with the mindless machines they consider intelligent. They would only care for the weapon that the Legacy is and nothing else. Your people still do not realize how much they are hampering the AIs they trust to defend and care for them.”