<Venting atmo out there,> Irek spoke up a moment later. <Half of the Niets are wearing EV-capable armor, but the other half aren’t. With luck, a bunch will stop shooting at you to help their comrades.>
<Thanks,> Rika said, glad the AI was on his game again. <Anything else we can do to slow them down?>
<Your Marauders have secured the first of the railgun power supplies. You could call for a fireteam to come down here. Plus, don’t you have two other mechs nearby?>
Dammit, forgot about them. Talk about being distracted, Rika thought to herself before replying to Irek. <On it, calling them down.>
<Don’t be so hard on yourself, Rika, you’re doing more simultaneous tasks than I’ve ever seen a human manage before.> Niki’s tone was laden with awe, and Rika wondered if what she was doing was unusual for someone with her neural structure.
Finaeus had explained that while L1 and L2 humans had more neurons and greater interconnectivity in their brains than L0s, their strengths and weaknesses still manifested in different areas—just like with normal humans. Not everyone gained every skill imaginable; they usually just got better at what they already excelled at.
<It’s not easy,> Rika replied. <A lot to concentrate on.>
<No kidding…your brain is lit up like a starship’s engine. Good thing your MK99 has excellent heat dispersion, or you’d have passed out by now.>
Rika flipped her focus back to the two soldiers she was almost absently controlling. With Irek’s atmospheric venting, the fire coming their way had diminished. She moved them to more defensible positions and prayed they’d hold up until the cavalry arrived.
Outside the station, the battle was intensifying. The Marauders had successfully taken control of forty-two Nietzschean ships. Niki, Potter, and Dredge were assisting in piloting those vessels, taking vectors from Rika as she coordinated the fleet action.
This is fun, Rika thought as she directed five destroyers to fire on one of the larger Nietzschean-controlled cruisers, breaching its shields before the Lance sent a pair of missiles into its engines.
As a result of the Marauders’ successes, the battlespace was becoming crowded with debris, and Irek’s firing solutions from the station’s weapons were becoming limited.
She divided her ships into four groups, one anchored by the Fury Lance, and the others by the Republic and the Undaunted. The fourth would move toward the Peerless—just as soon as Chase and Alison got full control of the thing.
All four groups moved away from the station and toward the second wave of Nietzschean vessels. The numbers were stacked three to one against them, but with the disarray she was sowing in the enemy ranks, she gauged the odds to be better than even.
In a straight-up slug-fest, the Marauders would win, but she’d lose half her ships, along with the mechs aboard them. What Rika really needed was for Chase to get control of the Admiral’s dreadnought so she could pull the Seppies into the fight—on the right side, she hoped.
* * * * *
<Alison!> Chase called out, as beamfire slashed through the air just centimeters from his shoulder. <Are you almost there?>
Fireteam one-four was pinned down in a broad corridor by a group of Nietzscheans, set up behind more of their grav shields. The defensive fields were more than enough to stop the mechs’ dwindling supply of ammunition and energy charges.
To make things worse, the enemy had figured out that if they lit the concourse up with high-intensity targeting lasers, they could spot the stealthed mechs.
Which had led to their current dilemma.
Between the five of them, they had six grenades left. Chase considered lobbing them over the shields, but it was a gamble. If Alison could just hit the generators from behind, this would be a done deal.
<Yeah, OK! We’re stacked up on either side, and they don’t have a clue we’re here. Targeting the shield generators.>
<Crush ‘em, Sergeant,> Chase replied.
Two seconds later, rail shots and a pair of DPU sabot rounds came from behind the Nietzschean emplacement. The weapons fire tore through the enemy and hit the shield generators.
Fred signaled his fireteam to advance, while Alison’s team kept the enemy pinned from behind. Ten seconds later, there were only three Niets left, all of whom stood up and tossed their weapons aside, signaling their surrender.
<Stars dying in the black,> Alison muttered. <Nietzscheans surrendering? This is one hell of a weird day.>
<We’ve got them covered, but we’re low on ammo,> Chase replied. <You take the final leg toward the forward comm center. We’ll secure these three, re-arm, and be on your tail in five.>
Alison signaled her acknowledgement. <You got it, Captain.>
<Rika?> Chase reached out to the woman whose behavior was giving him no small amount of anxiety at the moment. <How you doing in there?>
<Me?> Rika replied an instant later, sounding exhilarated and distracted at the same time. <Kicking ass in outer space. How close are you to that forward comm center?>
<I’m held up, but Alison is on the final leg. With luck, she’ll be there in five minutes.>
<Good, she’s got the mods I need to get into their systems. Are her other two fireteams still headed to the bridge?>
<Yeah,> Chase confirmed. <We’re lucky so much of their crew was onstation, taking leave, or this would be a lot harder. What do you want me to do?>
Rika didn’t reply for a moment. <OK, I don’t see anyone else nearby—at least with the access I have. They could be using fallback systems, if they’ve realized I’m messing with their comms. I think some of the ships are doing that now.>
<Tricky bastards,> Chase replied as he slid his JE-84 into his shoulder mount and hefted a Nietzschean railgun, applying the biolock hack before putting his hand on the grip.
<I’d feel a lot better if you joined up with the bridge team,> Rika said a moment later. <Send Fred on to catch up with Alison. We need that ship locked down for what’s to come.>
Chase rose to his feet, surveying the surrounding area, making sure no downed enemies were faking. <What’s coming?>
Rika laughed. <Either we get the Seppies to come to our aid, or we get back on our ships and get the hell out of here.>
<That grim?>
<In less than an hour, seven hundred Seppie ships will be here.>
<Oh,> Chase said aloud and over the Link. <Yeah, that sounds grim.>
<Hence my urgent need to get the Peerless fully under our control.>
<OK, OK,> Chase shot Rika a grin over the Link as he signaled to Fred that he was going to the bridge, and that Fred should assist Alison. <I’m on the move. Don’t get your pretty girly legs in a twist.>
A laugh came back from Rika. <Thanks, needed that. I’ll be watching your progress.>
<‘Cause that’s not creepy at all.>
<I’m doing my impression of Tanis. Deal with it.>
Chase reached a lift bank and saw that the cars were offline. As he prised open the doors, he sent back a lascivious smirk. <I like that. Tanis is smecksy.>
<Smecksy?> Rika asked, and Chase felt the distinct impression that he had garnered more of her attention.
<Uh, yeah. Sexy, but said in a funny way so you don’t kick my ass.>
Rika laughed, her touch feeling light once more. <I’m OK with you finding Tanis sexy. She is, but she’s…like…the ultimate matriarch. It’s like finding your own grandma sexy.>
Chase swung out onto the ladder embedded in the wall of the lift shaft and began climbing. <Why’d you have to bring Nana Romie into this? Now you’ve ruined everything.>
<Mission accomplished,> Rika replied with a laugh. <Oh, shit, gotta go, my puppets are getting torn to shreds.>
<Your puppets?>
* * * * *
Rika was starting to feel like her mind was being pulled in a thousand directions. A throbbing pain was beginning to pick up behind her eyes, its companion setting up shop at the base of her skull.
She rolled her shoulders and looked around the node c
hamber. It was strange to think that there were three people in the room—minus the dead Nietzschean in the corner—but she couldn’t see the other two.
Not unless she closed her eyes.
When she did, Rika could see the matrices of thought that were Niki and Irek. She marveled at them for a moment before pushing her focus back out to the fight, just on the other side of the node chamber’s door.
The first of her puppets was down, both legs shot off, though his armor was sealing his wounds. She considered getting his remaining weapon into a firing position, but that would just earn him a quick death, and she felt a little guilty for what she’d done—even though the Nietzschean would have killed her in a heartbeat, if he’d had the opportunity to do so.
The team of Marauders led by CJ had linked up with the Kellies, and were close to the node chamber, but Rika gauged that they were still five minutes out at best. Meanwhile, the Nietzscheans in the corridors outside had been reinforced by a second platoon, and her other unwilling defender had thirty seconds of ammo and charge left.
A thousand options rolled through Rika’s mind; ways to rush the Niets, defend the chamber, stall their advance. She shared them with Niki in an instant, and they both agreed that none would work.
<Open up, Irek, we’re going for a ride.>
<What? Where?> the AI sputtered.
<Just do it.>
Rika opened her eyes and pulled her right pinky finger from the NSAI node, then disconnected her hard-Link cable from Irek’s titanium tower.
Instantaneous, mind-searing pain crushed Rika, as her mind slammed back into her body. She looked through bleary eyes at the SAI column and saw that Irek had complied with her order. Rika reached inside the titanium pillar and pulled out his cylinder, cradling it to her chest as she triggered her MK99 skin’s stealth mode. After taking a moment to steady herself, Rika began to climb up the stack of NSAI nodes.
<Rika, we’re blind. We can’t tap the root systems through a wireless connection,> Niki said as Rika settled atop the nodes.
Below them, hammer blows sounded against the node chamber’s doors, and Rika prayed that the enemy would be in such a rush that they wouldn’t perform a physical sweep of the chamber once they inevitably breached it.
Her headache intensified, her heartbeat pounded in her ears, but Rika did her best to ignore both while she checked to see if any of the nodes had hard-Link ports within reach. She didn’t spot any on the top, and leant out over the edge, looking for a place to jack in.
Just as the Nietzscheans began cutting through the door, she saw a port and spooled out her hard-Link cable, jacking into the node. The cable was in plain view of the doors, but she hoped none of the enemies would think anything of it in a room already filled with them.
She rolled onto her back and extended the hard-Link port on her pinky finger once more. She drew a deep breath, and slotted Irek’s core in.
Though it had felt like minutes, Rika realized that they’d only been disconnected for forty-seven seconds. Little had changed in the battlespace; the Fury Lance was still holding its own, but the Republic had lost propulsion. She hoped Travis would signal for evac.
Then Rika realized she could check for herself, and was relieved to see that he was getting his command team onto an assault pinnace.
OK, she thought, tangentially aware that she could pick up on some of Irek and Niki’s multi-layered conversation, as their data flowed through her. Just need you to get to that node, Alison. Then we can finish this.
Rika’s headache was intensifying, and a warning on her HUD alerted her to extreme levels of swelling in her brain. If she didn’t decrease her mental activity soon, it would begin to hemorrhage…or maybe it already had.
As if Rika had willed it, Alison’s voice came into her mind, the woman’s excited tones a stark juxtaposition to Rika’s current state.
<Rika, I’m here, I’m jacked in with a hard-Link. What are we looking for?>
<Alison,> Rika steadied her breathing. <We need to find out whether or not Admiral Fels had his private tokens secreted away in the node. I’ve seen people do it before for convenience, so they could remote send root-authorized commands.>
<When have you seen that?> Niki asked.
Rika paused. <Uhh…I think Tanis told me. Either way. Let me work through your Link. I know where to look.>
For a moment, Rika thought Alison would resist her. Letting someone proxy through your hard-Link was a risky thing. They gained high levels of access to your internal mods—even your mind, if you weren’t properly buffered.
<OK, Rika. Do what you need to do.>
Rika didn’t have the energy to respond. She connected through Alison and raced through the data stacks within the node, looking for official messages sent with the admiral’s encryption tokens attached. Commands that could be sent to ships in his fleet and receive instant validation. Missives that would appear to be incontrovertibly sent from Fels himself.
It’s not here…shit…it’s not here! Rika exclaimed to herself as she combed through the data. <Niki, I can’t find it, I know what to look for, but…>
<Let me help,> Niki prompted, and Rika allowed the AI to piggyback through Alison.
Rika’s headache intensified, and she closed her eyes tight, pleading to whatever light guided the universe that she could stay conscious just a few minutes longer.
<Rika! Is this it?> Niki asked, sending her the route to a hidden file, stored deep within the node’s privileged data structures.
<Yes!> Rika loaded the private keys, hashing her message with their algorithms, and broadcasted it from the Peerless to all the Nietzschean ships in the system.
<Chase, did you make it to the bridge?> she whispered across the kilometers of darkness that separated them.
<Yes, I have control.>
Chase sounded good—triumphant, even. A smile formed on Rika’s lips. She barely heard the Nietzscheans storm into the node chamber where her body lay, as the blissful darkness of unconsciousness overcame her.
SURRENDER
STELLAR DATE: 09.20.8949 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Peerless
<Rika?> Chase asked as he fired a pulse blast at a Nietzschean who’d risen up, a coward attempting to run from the bridge.
No response came, and Chase felt a cold shiver run down his back.
<Rika!>
Nothing.
“Sir!” one of the Marauders called out, and Chase turned to see PFC Holly pointing at the holotank. “We’re broadcasting to the entire fleet.”
“Which fleet?” Chase asked, gesturing for the holo to play the message audibly on the bridge—surprised that it accepted his command.
The voice of Admiral Fels suddenly filled the bridge.
“I repeat, all prior orders were the work of Marauder infiltrators. New vectors and targets to follow this message. The Sepans have double-crossed us. They are not coming to aid us, they are joining with the Marauders to attack our ships. I repeat, new orders are included with this data burst. Updated vectors and targets are being transmitted now. All Sepan vessels are hostile, take them out with extreme prejudice.”
“The fuck?” one of the mechs whispered. “Did we just win or lose?”
<Rika!> Chase called out again. <Was that you?>
<Chase,> Niki’s voice came into his mind. <Rika’s passed out, and there are Nietzscheans all around us. She sent that message, but now she’s out. If they find us…>
Dammit!
Chase’s eyes flipped to the holotank, but he barely noticed that every Nietzschean-controlled ship had shifted to new vectors, the weapons fire directed at the Marauder-controlled ships decreasing as the enemy fleet dispersed.
“Wow…they’re going all over the place,” Holly muttered from Chase’s side.
<How long can you hold on for?> Chase asked Niki. <And what about the Seppies? They weren’t coming to help us, they were coming to join the Niets.>
<Oh, Rika covered that too. She sent a message that appeared as though it was supposed to go from Fels to General Saz, but instead she broadcast it to all the Seppies. It painted Saz as a traitor who was siding with Nietzschea to get his share of the spoils when the Niets raped the system.>
<And you? Is Rika hurt?>
<CJ’s team is still two minutes out…then there’s the hundred Niets all around….>
Chase considered his options, then thought of something. <Can’t we just masquerade as the admiral to all the troops in the station? Just like we did with the ships?>
<Already tried that,> Niki replied. <The Niets switched to direct relays that they’ve set up through the station. They’re disregarding anything that’s not coming through their channels. I was going to hack them, but Rika used up all the drones. We’re out of options, here.>
<Potter,> Chase called out to the AI controlling the ship’s helm. <Do you have weapons?>
<Forward beams; one of the firefights disrupted control systems for the aft guns.>
<That’s all I need,> Chase replied. <Get ready to give the station’s operations center a light brush. Niki, can you get me on with their Admiral Fels? Assuming he’s still up there.>
<He is. And boy oh boy, he’s been trying to reach us. You should hear some of the things he’s been saying. Plus…his face is a very unnatural shade of purple right now.>
Though he supposed he should expect it, Chase was constantly amazed at how well AIs could compartmentalize their fears and inject humor. <Put me through.>
Niki complied, and a moment later, Chase was looking at a view of the Ursa Station Operations Center. The room was the very picture of chaos. Half the people were rushing about without any clear destination, while others were staring at consoles dejectedly. A lot were yelling.
It took almost ten seconds of Chase calling out for the admiral—who was ten paces away, screaming at someone to get him in touch with his flagship—before anyone took notice of him.
When they did, the entire room fell silent.
“That’s more like it,” Chase said. “My name is Captain Chase. I’m currently in command of the Peerless, and I demand your unconditional surrender.”