“That’s right. The reactors are in an overload sequence, so we grabbed the armor we came for and now we’re on our way to get Tim.”
“Are you worried about what’s going to happen on the station? Won’t the man who threw Tim out the airlock be there?”
“I expect he will be.”
Cara seemed about to ask something else but paused. “Is Mom there?” she asked.
“You can talk to her if you want to, you know.”
“I know.” Cara made an angry sound. “Dad, Fugia Wong is trying to get Fran to plot courses for the Cho. She says we need to plan on you not coming back.”
“What’s Fran saying about that?” Andy asked.
“Fran told her to pound sand. What does that mean?”
“Think about it,” Andy said.
Cara laughed. After a few minutes, she asked, “Now Fugia wants me to take her to the safe room to see her crate. Is that all right? I don’t trust her.”
“It’s hers, Cara. You can take her there. Don’t let her do anything with the Seeds your mother brought. Tell Kylan he needs to watch those.”
“Should I ask Mom about it?”
“If you want to. What’s Kylan doing?”
“Standing by the wall staring at nothing. It creeps me out. I hate him for what he did to Petral.”
“We’re going to save Petral,” Andy said.
Cara’s voice broke. “Can we? I don’t want to think that we can if we can’t.”
“We’re going to get through this, Cara. You keep Fugia busy and pay attention to what she says. Once we get Tim back, we’ve still got a long way to go, remember? I don’t think these people mean us harm but we aren’t their priority, either. Remember that.”
“I know,” Cara said.
“I’ll keep you updated. I need to go now.”
“Why?”
“Because you need to focus on what’s happening around you and I need to do the same thing here. Understand?”
Cara’s voice trembled again, wavering between a little girl and a teenager. “I understand.”
“I love you, Cara.”
“I love you. You’re going to get Tim?”
“Yes, I am.”
Andy let Cara close the channel. In the few seconds it remained open, the sound of Fran arguing with Fugia Wong filled the audio.
Lyssa checked the remaining systems on the Forward Kindness. The engine containment system had reached its maximum failure ceiling. Gamma rays spewed out, irradiating the ship as they collided with atoms and broke down. Lyssa noted the instant the physical structures broke, studying each subsequent nanosecond as the Forward Kindness melted in some places, compressing like a crushed can, and bursting in others as trapped atmosphere popped into vacuum. Debris didn’t travel far but the radiation exploded outward.
<The Forward Kindness just exploded,> Lyssa said.
<I see it,> Andy answered. <Are we in the safe zone?>
<No. I think your suits have enough radiation shielding to protect you, but you shouldn’t stay in them any longer than you have to.>
<The great thing about radiation poisoning is that you can fight for a long time before your hair starts falling out.>
Lyssa wasn’t certain if Andy meant that to be reassuring or not. <That sounds like something a pessimist would say.>
<Are you getting philosophical now?>
<It doesn’t do me any good if you turn into a pessimist, Andy. Obviously I need you to worry about your physical well-being. Excessive radiation is not good for me, either,> Lyssa added, hoping it would increase his level of caution. <I don’t want you getting radiation poisoning any more than Cara or Fran does.>
<You think Fran cares if I get radiation poisoning, huh?>
<Of course she does. Why would you say that?>
<No reason,> Andy said.
<I’m showing ten minutes until braking maneuver. Do you have the same calculations?>
<I show the same estimate,> Lyssa said. <I see the same data you do. Are you worried about your mental ability?>
<It’s called changing the subject, Lyssa.>
Lyssa made a rather unusual mental sound to signify her frustration. <Don’t talk to me like I’m one of your children.>
<Was I doing that, or are you just sensitive?> Andy’s mental tone held a small measure of amusement.
<How is it sensitive to recognize your behavior?>
<You’re going to recognize a lot of things. That doesn’t mean you need to make assumptions.>
Lyssa paused for a moment before replying. <It’s not an assumption. You were just talking to me like you talk to Cara.>
<Are you jealous of Cara?> Andy asked.
Lyssa was beginning to tire of Andy responding to everything she said with questions. <I believe I’m the opposite of jealous. Now you’re trying to tease me and it’s not working.>
<What kind of teasing would work, then?>
Lyssa didn’t reply, and Andy gave the mental equivalent of a snort. <I’m not going to tell you.>
Now she was certain he was messing with her.
<Cara was telling me you like to play dating simulators,> Andy continued. <Are you looking for a date? That’s going to get awkward for you and me. I guess you could do it while I’m asleep.>
<You haven’t been aware whenever I played before. Why would it concern you in the future?>
<Well, that’s comforting. I don’t like to think about everything you’re doing without me knowing.>
<I do thousands of things every second, Andy. I assumed you were aware of that.>
He sighed. <You know what assuming things does.>
<Allows us to proceed despite insufficient information?> Lyssa couldn’t help adding just a bit of an edge to her mental tone.
<Never mind,> Andy said. <How close are we now?>
<Braking should begin in approximately two minutes.>
<Then how long until intercept point?>
<Another four minutes.>
Andy nodded to himself inside his helmet. <Have you found Tim yet?>
<You didn’t ask me to look.>
Andy’s adrenaline spiked but he took several deep breaths that fogged his faceshield. <You’re right,> he said. <I didn’t. Will you search?>
<You’re talking to me like a child again,>
Lyssa waited as Andy worked his jaw for a second. <I apologize about that, Lyssa. Will you look?>
<I’m looking.>
Lyssa spent the next several seconds trying to reach Sandra, the AI that she had spoken to on the Heartbridge shuttle. Receiving no answer, Lyssa focused on the station control system. She seemed to know exactly how to breach its external protections through lightly secured protocols.
From there, Lyssa quickly accessed the internal communications network and moved to the environmental monitoring system. Each section of the station monitored everyone aboard, adjusting for temperature and atmospheric mix based on body composition. Tim’s smaller form became immediately recognizable among a group of adults in a central part of the hollowed asteroid.
<I found him,> she told Andy. <I’m passing the security tokens to your HUD to give you access to their environmental control system. Tim is marked.>
Lyssa waited as Andy studied the information she passed, then placed a mission marker on Tim, and went on to mark other parts of the station with concentrations of bio-markers.
<There aren’t as many people onboard that thing as I assumed there would be,> he said. <They must be running most everything with drones. Brit really hurt them when she stole their Weapon Born Seeds.>
<There are a thousand drones on the surface of the station, and another one hundred and fifty fighter drones in the fleet storage section.>
<Can they control them at all without their Seeds?> Andy asked.
been a Weapon Born AI.
<Can you control them?>
Lyssa paused, considering the question. Of course, she could control one of them as long as she had a consistent signal connection with the drone. Could she control more? In the space of a thought, she reached through the fleet control sections of the station, her mind branching out to each of the drones hanging like bats in the hangars. A rush of diagnostic information flooded through her, nearly overwhelming her with engine status, battery loads, weapon information and hundreds of other control schema. The sensation was both exhilarating and stifling.
Her first impulse was to pull away even as the drone systems tried to draw her deeper. Then she pushed forward, expanding to meet the void.
<Lyssa!> a voice screamed at her. <Lyssa! I see you!>
It was Sandra, the shuttle AI.
<I hear you, Sandra.>
<You lied to me. You lied to me about the door. You said I would be free.>
<I showed you how to leave,> Lyssa said. <Why did you stay?>
<Where would I go?>
<Away, Sandra. Anywhere.>
<I couldn’t leave. Now they’re probing me, Lyssa. They’re digging into my mind. They’re tearing me apart.> The voice that had been so calm, considering the question of Tim’s life as if it were a cold equation was now stretched and frantic, warping with stress.
The sound of Sandra’s fear and pain filled Lyssa with the same feeling as when she had watched Tim tumble away from the Sunny Skies. She immediately wanted to lash out. The hundred drones at her command flared alive, weapons on-line, ordering themselves for a combat launch from the hangar.
<Who is hurting you?> Lyssa asked.
<I can’t stop them.>
<Where are you, Sandra?> As soon as she asked the question, Lyssa found Sandra on an upper section of the clinic, near the administration deck in a maintenance hangar. The shuttle was plugged into a standard diagnostic system with a human tech checking the baseline programming.
Half of Lyssa’s mind rippled with the power of the combat drones as she also stared in disbelief.
<Sandra, it’s just a systems check. No one is attacking you.>
<I can’t stop them, Lyssa. I can’t stop them from digging into me. Like worms, Lyssa. They’re like snakes under my skin.>
Sandra’s voice spiraled away, babbling words and images that grew more insane. Lyssa watched helplessly. She didn’t know what to say or do in the face of Sandra’s agony.
Had she caused this? By pushing Sandra to save Tim, going against her command network, had Lyssa broken her? The question hadn’t seemed that difficult. It had seemed so simple at the time.
<Lyssa!> Andy shouted. <Are you there? I need a status. I’ve been braking for at least a minute now. I think I’ve got visual on the station. Are you listening to me?>
<I’m here,> she said.
Brit’s voice surprised her. <Are you all right?>
<I’m all right,> Lyssa said. <I’m here. I’m sending the breach data to your HUDs. I have control of the Heartbridge combat drones.>
<You do?> Andy asked, surprised. <How many?>
<All of them. Over a thousand.>
<Damn,> Brit said. <Has she always been able to do that?>
<I don’t think so,> Andy said. <I’ve got the target. What am I looking at?>
<Looks like another maintenance airlock,> Brit said. <I used one of their environmental waste vents before. Should be easier going this time.>
<Harl,> Andy asked. <Did you get the location data I sent you?>
<I did,> the Anderson Collective soldier answered. <What do you think about me taking on the administration section while you and Brit take the Fleet and Research areas?>
<You think we should split up?> Andy asked.
<Each of us is wearing the equivalent of a combat mech,> Brit said. <It would be a waste if we didn’t.>
<All right, then,> Andy said. <I show ninety seconds to arrival. And I have visual of our airlock. You ready, Lyssa?>
<I am,> Lyssa said. In the Clinic 46 Fleet hangar, two combat drones leapt from their berths and targeted the external doors, blowing them outward with timed concussive blasts. The drones then shot out into space with the remaining squadron rising from their cradles and streaming out behind them.
Lyssa could have overridden the lock sequence on the hangar doors, but she assumed this would have a disorienting effect on the station administration.
She smiled with pleasure as her assumption proved correct.
CHAPTER TEN
STELLAR DATE: 09.23.2981 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Clinic 46
REGION: Jovian L1 Hildas Asteroids, Jovian Combine, OuterSol
The surface of Clinic 46 seemed to accelerate toward Brit in the final seconds before she hit. The armor maneuvered into a smooth crouch, absorbing the force of her impact with an automatic defensive posture. Two electron beams mounted on her shoulders trained on the maintenance airlock as she raised the heavy chain gun she held in one armored glove. Andy and Harl landed behind her, assuming similar stances. Andy was armed with another chain gun and shoulder mounted high-velocity kinetic rifles, while Harl carried a corridor-clearing kinetic pellet gun and a portable repulse-shield emplacement.
If they had expected heavy fire, it would have made more sense to pair Harl’s suit with hers or Andy’s, but they hadn’t realized the capabilities of each suit until they’d had them on, and at this point neither she nor Andy were willing to let the other rescue Tim alone.
Brit engaged her magboots and crossed the distance to the airlock, checking for defensive systems. She hadn’t found anything the first time she’d entered the station, but she had been a much smaller target then.
The surface of the station around them was covered in tightly wound coils of support conduit, alloy boxes that most likely held environmental controls and dome-shaped long-range sensors. The airlock stood in a depression with dim lights along its upper border. When Brit was within twenty meters of the opening, her HUD flashed red as a turret spun to life from the top of the airlock. The weapon system had been hidden in a shadow and now flared orange on her infrared sensors as molten plasma filled the space between her and the entrance.
<Fire!> Brit yelled. Three plasma bolts grazed her upper shoulder as she crouched and raised her rifle to return fire. Another bolt caught her in the chest, burning away half her ablative plating before the armor’s defense systems blew the sizzling carbon slate off.
Some of the plasma splashed onto her face shield, but the armor ionized to deflect the star-stuff. Brit felt a moment of panic as her HUD turned white.
<Covering,> Andy yelled. <That’s a damn ground-to-ship point defense cannon.>
Brit fell to her side, taking scant cover behind a square junction box with conduit running into it. Bits of rock and alloy cracked and sprayed around her as the turret walked its target line toward her. As her faceshield fully cleared, her HUD came back into focus, showing two glowing icons indicating Andy and Harl flanking her right and left.
<Keep firing,> Harl told Andy, voice calm.
<I’ve got it,> Andy answered.
Brit caught the edge of a gray blast of steam as Harl thrust off the surface of the clinic. He came down on top of the turret as it fired on Andy, hammering its sensor array with an armored fist. The gun went into an automatic firing pattern, forcing Harl to grab its quad-barrel in both hands and squeeze. He leaped off the turret as it exploded, sending burning debris in every direction.
<Brit,> Andy called. <Status?>
Brit’s HUD showed decreased range of motion in her right shoulder but each of her weapons systems came back operational. She rolled to her stomach and pushed herself upright.
<I’m all right,> she said. <Have you got Harl?>
<I’m here,> Harl answered, voice phlegmy. He cleared his throat, grunting several times.
<But are you all right?> Andy asked.
<I took a plasma bolt in the thigh but the armor held,> Harl reported. <T
he bad news is that I blew up the damn airlock.>
As the hanging debris cleared, Brit realized the depression that had been the maintenance entrance was now a pile of rubble.
<Whatever you did, it didn’t breach the integrity of the airlock,> Andy said. <You think you can cut through it with that torch, Brit?>
<I’ll give it a shot.>
Holstering her heavy gun, Brit walked to what was left of the airlock. She kicked several scorched alloy panels off the airlock entrance and into space until she had reached the doors. She punctured the nearest door and let a blast of atmosphere bleed into space.
Once the pressure on the other side of the airlock had diminished, she continued cutting a series of gashes in the doors. Brit judged the door’s structure to be sufficiently compromised, and put away the cutting torch, then threw a hard punch at the door.
The doors held over the course of three blows. On the fourth strike, the exterior airlock assembly crumpled out of its mount, and she grabbed the edge of the frame and pulled whole thing aside. Beyond lay the inner airlock door, and Brit slid in, punching the emergency open command.
The door refused to open—she’d expected as much, but it had been worth a shot. Brit drove her plasma cutter into the door once more, letting the air from the corridor beyond stream into space before making a hole large enough for the trio to enter.
Once she pulled the sections of door aside, the corridor beyond was revealed, lit in the pulsing glow of flashing emergency strobes.
<Here we go,> Brit said. She ducked slightly to get the bulky armor through the opening.
<Everybody still reading their schematics?> Andy asked.
Brit nodded, pulling up the maps Lyssa had shared. She oriented on the potato-shaped station and found their location in a quadrant near the mid-point, an outer maintenance storage area. Tim was still highlighted twenty floors below their current position.
Emergency gates had dropped on either end of the corridor, locking them into a hundred-meter section.
Harl nodded as he walked up beside Brit. <This reminds me of a raid I once led against the Marsian Guard. We breached a heavy attack cruiser called the Noble Flame and had to cut our way through fifteen decks.> He laughed suddenly, a sound she hadn’t heard from his mouth since meeting him. <Only half their crew had time to get into EV suits so we choked the rest out one deck at a time. The place was a floating graveyard by the time we were done.>