Randolph Lalonde - Spinward Fringe Broadcast 08 - Renegades (13 page)

Ayan tried not to grin
at Mischa, who brilliantly added the touch of removing her and Victor
from their seats in the motion. Victor Davis’ fury at the motion
and his removal helped bury Ayan’s nearly uncontainable smile –
he looked like he was about to fly into a rage.

“Agreed, one hour!”
Tyra practically chirped.

“Seconded,” Iloona
said hesitantly.

Victor stormed from the
room into an antechamber and Ayan followed close behind. She was
hurrying so she wouldn’t crack a great big smile in front of Tyra,
and she wasn’t sure she got through the door in time.

Birds

The jungle ruled the
terrain in the unexplored jungle beyond the charted perimeter. The
sounds of birds and calls from other animals filled the air around
Alice. There was no doubt; she was in the midst of wilderness unlike
anything she’d ever seen. Birds with green, blue, and white
feathers watched her from large branches as she passed only metres
below. They were predator birds, with great talons and cool,
assessing gazes.

The last time she saw
so many birds in one place, she had woken early on New Year’s Day.
She strolled along the beach, avoiding people who were still asleep
on the sand and saying hello to early risers like herself. Her walk
came to an end when she ran into Minh-Chu, in front of the tent he
shared with Ashley. He served Alice some of the blueberry-mint tea
concoction he was drinking and commented on the birds lazily gliding
overhead, saying, “Now those are pilots.”

He’d never seen live
birds before. It was Alice’s third time. She and Minh didn’t talk
much, but marvelled at the grace of the feathered flyers overhead as
they rode the air currents and pinwheeled around until Ashley woke up
some time later.

Alice knew she should
be getting close to the escaped androids; it was time to bring her
thoughts back to the present. She pressed onward across the massive
lower branches, the higher pitched chirps from smaller birds growing
louder.

Her tactical scanner
was trying to piece something together, a ruined structure that the
trees had broken through. She stopped a moment and let the system
finish shaping the map ahead. There were still intact towers reaching
up into the trees; some were hollow while others had levels and rooms
that looked like habitation areas. They were all attached to one main
hub, a large dome made of older transparent metal.

It took her several
minutes of looking to match what was in the scan results with
something she could see. The structure was overgrown inside and out,
popping transparent steel panels loose and twisting the structure in
the grasp of vines and branches. “How did the androids get in
through this mess?” she asked herself.

The tactical scanner
couldn’t find clear tracks – the jungle had already grown over
any sign of their passage close to the main dome. There were enough
places for her to squeeze into the structure, but with the tangle of
vegetation inside the large building, she wanted to pick the best
entry point. She mentally ordered the tactical scanner to do a
broader search for androids. Within seconds, it highlighted a turret
above her. “More climbing, fun, fun, fun.”

“You don’t want to
go in there,” Lewis’ voice told her over her communicator.

“You mean I don’t
want to go in there alone?” Alice asked as she prepared a grappling
line on her right wrist. The thin, strong tether line was made for
use as a safety device on space walks, but the rangers found it did
just as well for terrestrial adventures.

“I can’t see inside
that structure, but there are transmissions I can’t decrypt weakly
emanating from within,” Lewis replied. “You should leave it
alone.”

Alice stopped
everything she was doing and stared at the dark opening many metres
above her. Normally, Lewis would suggest she wait for backup, but
he’d never before suggested she stop altogether. “What do you
think I’ll find in there, Lewis?”

“I can’t tell for
certain.”

“Guess,” Alice
replied. The channel between her and Lewis was still open, but he
wasn’t replying. “Is all this because of something you did?”
Again, her question was answered with silence.

“I’m ordering you
to reply immediately,” Alice said.

“You are no longer my
legal owner,” Lewis said.

“All right, I’ll
invite Ayan to our little chat. Maybe I should have done that right
at the beginning.”

“The Ando models
downloaded the antivirus I designed and they’ve been distressed
ever since. One of them is broadcasting a weak signal, I can’t
decrypt his message.”

“Is this the
Holocaust Virus all over again? Is there anything in the antivirus
that could make things worse?” Alice asked.

“Not for humans,”
Lewis replied.

“But there’s a
chance any bot that downloads your miracle cure can just go nuts and
run for the jungle?”

“I was certain that
the antivirus would remain in reserve, unable to overwrite directives
and morality code when it existed in a computer’s programming, but
something in the Ando models…”

“Has proven you
wrong? What? What did your software screw up with those androids? I’m
going into this situation regardless of what you tell me. If you care
about what happens to me, you’ll tell me more so I have a better
chance in there.”

“I can’t scan them
from my location. If I were within a kilometre, it wouldn’t be an
issue, but I suspect the Ando models chose this location because of
the structure and remote area.”

“It’s difficult to
scan in this whole area,” Alice agreed. “So they’re probably
hiding something. Can you at least give me a hint? Just give me your
best guess at what they’re hiding.”

“I don’t have
enough information for that, I’m sorry. I’ve told you everything
I know,” Lewis said. “The androids seem content to remain inside
this structure, much further in the jungle than any picker would go,
and one of them seems to be calling other Ando models. I suggest you
leave it alone and report that the Holocaust Virus has activated a
defect in the Andos.”

“I’m going in. If
there’s anything else you’re holding back, this is your last
chance to share,” Alice said. She fired her line and it struck
solid metal beneath the entrance above. A flock of black and green
birds took wing, fleeing the opening.

“I have more
questions than answers, Alice. There is something sinister in the
signal – I am sure of that, at least. If I weren’t docked in
Haven Shore, expected to remain moored here until later, I would be
there.”

“And you’d slag
this spot from high above, to hide whatever’s happened here, I’m
sure,” Alice said.

“You know me too
well,” Lewis replied. “I won’t be able to communicate clearly
with you once you enter. If you insist on going in, I suggest you at
least call for backup. Perhaps you should contact Doctor Carl
Anderson, he would understand this.”

“And I won’t?”
Alice asked as she tested her ascension line. “I’ll just check it
out and if I get in over my head, I’ll consider getting other
people involved.” She activated the winch and was drawn up rapidly.

An Unexpected Match

Singe and her two
wingmen came around the last boom arm separating them from the escort
shuttles and let out a barrage of missiles and smaller explosive
projectiles. “Wait for those escort shuttles to return fire. We’re
still not in a good position to break cover,” Minh-Chu told
Tempest, who held her position behind cover nearby. He still had a
hard time ignoring the red blip on his display that designated the
position of the man Jacob Valent just jettisoned from his ship in a
flimsy survival bag.

Searing beams surged
out from the uglies at Singe and her wingmen. The power readings
Minh-Chu saw were a little lower than before, though not by much, but
it was enough for him to tenuously grasp at hope. “Now! Tear ‘em
up!” Minh-Chu said as he led the way, breaking cover and locking on
to the nearest shuttle. He sent three electromagnetic pulse missiles
towards the enemy ship and rolled, opening up with all four of his
auto-cannons. Thousands of small hull-piercing projectiles streaked
towards the shuttle in quick, sure bursts. He pulled his master
trigger by reflex. The Uriel Fighter was actually automatically
tracking his mental cues for weapon triggering through its brain
scanning technology. Every single shot impacted on or pierced the
shuttle’s shields.

The nearest shuttle’s
beam weapons shut down and its energy shielding intensified as its
partner’s weaponry fired with renewed fury, surging beams of
intense light, plasma, and cutting particles at several of Minh-Chu’s
allies. He took fire from three beams at once, all dead on the nose
of his fighter. Minh-Chu stopped firing as he rotated his ship,
spreading the damage across all his shield generators. The fore
quadrant of his shield system reported that the half-second blast it
sustained cost him sixty percent of his shield energy and almost
overloaded the forward system. The other quadrants hadn’t suffered
as much damage. “All fighters, finish off Shuttle A,” he said,
designating the shuttle that was trying to move towards the Torano,
which had moved so far off that it was impossible to see with the
naked eye. Even if both the escort shuttles were destroyed during
this fight, they’d served their purpose: Samurai Squadron was so
distracted that they couldn’t do anything to stop the Torano’s
departure without exposing themselves to too much damage. Capturing
the Torano was something the Warlord would have to do on its own.

All six fighters
concentrated fire on the nearest ugly shuttle from all directions as
they engaged in the unfettered acrobatics of evading fire from the
shuttles’ secondary weapons and the other escort ship. The target
shuttle’s energy shields failed, and after a few seconds, its hull
was blasted open in several places, venting atmosphere.

The other escort
shuttle, designated Shuttle B on Minh-Chu’s tactical readout, used
the exploding shuttle as a distraction, firing afterburners of some
kind, accelerating after the Torano. “On him!” Minh-Chu said.
“Watch for fire from our main objective, we weren’t able to get
information on any extra weaponry that hauler has.”

“Aye,” Singe
reported in. “Judging from the surprise we’ve had from those
shuttles, the Torano must be well armed.”

Minh-Chu rotated his
thruster pods and turned his throttle up to full. The rest of Samurai
Squadron was with him, except for Dent who waited on the safe side of
the station for the action to end.

The local navnet
plotted a course for them through a holding pattern at the outer
perimeter of the station, where hundreds of ships orbited in an
orderly line. Jacob, Frost, and Stephanie had all told him to expect
complete apathy from these outer stations most of the time. It wasn’t
in their best financial interests to get involved with firefights
that didn’t do much damage to their facilities, and they often
picked the side of the ships that did less harm. In this case, the
Torano’s group had already damaged the station, so Minh-Chu and his
fellow pilots were getting navigation assistance from the station. If
they were fighting near Freeground, their security forces would be on
them in seconds, and within minutes they’d be hauled out of their
ships and arrested.

“This is Torano
Command,” Minh-Chu heard on the emergency band. “Calling all
ships sympathetic to Regent Galactic and the Order of Eden! We are
being pursued by Jacob Valent, a pirate wanted by the Galactic
Courts. Any assistance will be rewarded handsomely.”

“This is Jacob
Valent,” he replied on the same channel, without a breath’s pause
between the enemy captain and his own address. “I’m operating
under British Alliance authority, and will capture or destroy any
vessel that interferes with my lawful pursuit.”

“Watch for any ship
breaking into our area,” Minh-Chu said. They had crossed into
clearer space, well away from the station and closer to the outer
trash belt. Once the Torano cleared that, they may be able to attempt
faster-than-light travel, and the whole fight would end or change,
depending on how dedicated Jake was.

The ugly escort shuttle
broke cover as it sped towards the Torano, and Minh-Chu switched to
electromagnetic pulse ammunition and opened fire on it with his guns,
raking its shields. The remaining five fighters in his wing followed
suit, and the shuttle’s shields were down by half within seconds.
It didn’t fire back; it was most likely using all its available
power to shore up its shielding, hoping to break away with the Torano
and escape.

Minh-Chu could see
flashes of light up ahead, where the firefight between the Warlord
and the Torano raged on. His scanners told him that the Warlord’s
prey had dropped its sixteen hundred metre long cargo train. Minh-Chu
decided to take a chance and activated one of two accumulator
missiles. “All fighters, clear to one thousand kilometres,” he
ordered. “You have five seconds.”

“Aye, getting to safe
range,” Singe replied. Minh-Chu’s comrades decelerated to let the
shuttle get ahead, and by the time his attack counter counted down
from five to one, everyone was at a safe range. He fired several
rapid release dumbfire missiles, projectile rockets with conventional
explosives that were the length of his hand. The shuttle fired
countermeasures in a wave of small fragments that set most of them
off, and as soon as Minh-Chu manoeuvred around the particles left
from the exploded missiles and chaff, he fired another round of
twenty. The shuttle didn’t release countermeasures; they were
either out or reloading. “Custom ugly shuttle three-oh-five, please
shut down your engines and surrender. This will be your only
warning,” Minh-Chu said, having second thoughts about launching a
weapon that was beyond anything his other fighters had. The power
reading on his accumulator missile was increasing exponentially, and
it wouldn’t be long before he would have no choice but to launch
it.