E-Day

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

  This was the first time in Jason’s career that he had been invited to the sacred chamber and hall where the representatives of the Alliance gathered to discuss everything from droid laws to war.

  “They are almost ready for you,” Apeiron said in his earpiece. “The council is finishing up the first of their deliberations.”

  Jason discreetly looked at the Engines. Captain Akira Hayashi was in the front row, his two katana swords slotted over his back. He was a giant of a man, with a stone jaw and a mane of hair hanging over his wide shoulder plates.

  Two Royal Pistons guarding the golden gates moved, and the doors creaked open.

  “This is it,” Apeiron said. “Stay by my side.”

  Sunlight streamed through the glass dome as Jason entered the chamber with Apeiron. Rows of empty chairs with velvet backs faced thirty wooden desks, forming a half halo in the center of the room.

  The Nova Alliance Council members, representing the thirty megacities, slowly walked out to fill the booths.

  In the center of the room, a single podium faced the councilors. War Commander Contos and his second in command, General Andrew Thacker stood there at attention.

  The golden gates closed, sealing with a thud.

  Chief Councilor Marcus Lang stood in his booth wearing a long, golden robe that clung to his muscular body. His athletic frame, smooth features, and thick ponytail were all results of the drugs that he, like so many other wealthy and privileged men and women, took to prolong their youth.

  He tapped his gavel against his desk.

  “War Commander Contos, General Thacker, and Doctor Crichton, welcome and thank you for joining us in these challenging times,” he said. “Today we are also joined by Apeiron, and I must say, it’s an honor.”

  He bowed at the Hummer Droid as the other councilors rose and said, “AI is salvation.”

  “I am here to serve,” Apeiron said.

  Chief Councilor Lang motioned for the other councilors to sit.

  “We are here today to discuss something we have all wanted to avoid after the recent Coalition attacks,” he said. “All-out war, which now seems inevitable.”

  Jason clasped his hands behind his back.

  “We are hopeful that AAS has a way to take back Megacity Paris and Megacity Moscow with minimal civilian casualties,” said the Chief Councilor.

  Councilor Gina from Megacity Zurich rose in her wooden booth. The tall, slender woman with straight black hair directed sharp green eyes at Jason.

  “Casualty numbers are projected to be two million,” she said. “So far, I’ve seen no options where we can take our megacities back without losing too many innocent lives.”

  Pausing, she reached up to a ruby around her neck, as if to summon strength. “There has to be another way.”

  “What other way?” grunted Diego Ventura, the bald, husky councilor from Megacity Mexico City. “We’re done dealing with these War Lords, Councilor. You don’t feed a wolf meat and expect it not to want more. We should never have offered this truce.”

  “If I may,” Jason said.

  “Of course,” said Chief Councilor Lang. He gestured politely to give Jason the floor.

  “We knew the peace probably wouldn’t last, and frankly, the truce was to buy us time to perfect our war machines.” Jason cleared his throat and looked to Gina. “Councilor, we may lose hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of innocent lives by marching to war, but if we do not, we could face something even worse… complete extinction of the human race.”

  The councilors broke out in raised voices.

  Chief Councilor Lang pounded his gavel again.

  Jason waited until there was silence. “I’m here to present a way to end this war by deploying a new type of war droid.”

  Apeiron walked over to the tiered booths as the windows in the dome tinted, darkening the chamber. Directing her digital screen upward, she projected a hologram.

  “We call this a Canebrake,” Jason said. “They are programmed to exclusively kill Coalition soldiers. No civilians will be harmed in their attacks.”

  The hologram began to move, the Canebrake running on all four legs while firing the plasma cannons and whipping the segmented arms out in all directions.

  “They’re equipped with multiple weapons and can move at a top speed of twenty-miles an hour,” he said. “The newest titanium-alloy armor plates protect their vital components. Further, their sensors are updated with the most advanced optics for combat in all environments.”

  “Have they been field tested?” asked Chief Councilor Lang.

  “Not on Earth, but they have been tested at the Titan Space Elevator and are ready to deploy to Earth,” Jason replied.

  “They aren’t ready to deploy until they have been tested on Earth,” Contos said in a booming voice that commanded the attention of the councilors.

  “War Commander, all due respect, but these aren’t soldiers who need training like the warriors in the chamber outside,” Jason said. “These are machines, programmed to—”

  “To kill,” interrupted the War Commander. “Before we activate killer war machines, I want to make sure nothing, and I mean nothing, will go wrong.”

  “Perhaps we can reassure you with some recent footage,” Apeiron said soothingly. “As you know, we are holding high-value Coalition prisoners at the space elevator. Men and women tried for and found guilty of war crimes.”

  “We provided them armor and weapons, and dropped them into a habitat with a Canebrake,” Jason said. “This was the result.”

  The hologram changed, and the councilors watched the Canebrake dispatch the six men within a minute. Another scene played, showing ten more Coalition soldiers who were deployed into a larger habitat to hunt another Canebrake.

  These warriors were smarter and set an ambush in a tunnel. The Canebrake easily sniffed out the attack and killed them all one by one.

  “It took just over five minutes for the Canebrake to dispatch this second group of ten veteran warriors,” Jason said. “And both machines only sustained minor aesthetic damage.”

  The room was silent.

  Chief Councilor Lang looked at his colleagues. “Remarkable. How many are currently available?”

  “We have one thousand units finishing production right now, with ten thousand more planned over the next few weeks,” Jason replied.

  Apeiron shut off the projector, and the golden glow of the sun washed over the room. Jason used the quiet to scrutinize the councilors. They looked impressed, if not a bit horrified of what they had witnessed. Not that he blamed them.

  “We are running out of time to save the planet,” Jason said firmly. “We must act before the Coalition hits us again.”

  He then gestured toward Apeiron. “I designed Apeiron to bring humanity back from the brink of disaster, to restore the planet. I cannot do that when the Coalition continues to attack. We may lose civilians and soldiers, but I assure you the Canebrakes will reduce our casualties greatly.”

  “One test on the space elevator isn’t going to convince me those things are better than the men and women outside those gates,” Contos said, pointing. “I will only deploy these machines if absolutely necessary.”

  Jason could tell where this was going. “If I may interrupt,” he said. “I will personally oversee their deployment, starting in Megacity Paris. I’m confident enough in our machines that I will risk my own life.”

  “You want to be there for the battle?” Councilor Gina asked.

  “He most certainly does not,” Apeiron said, directing her faceplate at him.

  “I will be on the ground to make sure nothing goes wrong,” Jason confirmed.

  “If you don’t think it’s safe for him, then why should we—” Contos began.

  “Doctor Crichton does not have combat experience, War Commander,” Apeiron interrupted. “But if the doctor wants to be on the ground to monitor the battle, I will be there by his side.”
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br />   “You being on the ground will not change anything if something goes wrong,” Contos said. “We must take more time to deploy these machines.”

  “We are out of time, War Commander.” Jason let out a discreet breath. “I don’t think anyone in this room understands that our planet and our species is at risk of extinction if we fail to act today. These recent Coalition attacks have severely restricted our efforts to clean our air and soil of nanoparticles, and we believe there are more attacks coming.”

  The chamber fell into complete silence.

  “You’re absolutely sure these Canebrakes are ready?” Lang said after a pause.

  “Yes,” Jason said confidently.

  The Chief Councilor scratched his chin for a few long moments.

  “I motion to deploy the Nova Alliance Strike Force to Megacity Paris and allow War Commander Contos a chance at taking back the city, using whatever force he deems necessary,” he said firmly. “If his forces require the assistance of the Canebrakes, they are authorized for deployment.”

  “I second that,” said Councilor Ventura.

  “All in favor?” Lang asked.

  Every hand shot up, even Councilor Gina’s.

  “Motion passes, War Commander,” Lang said. “Liberate Megacity Paris.”

  He tapped his gavel. “AI is salvation.”

  — 14 —

  A half-moon broke through the clouds over Megacity Paris, only to vanish under the curtain of smoke choking out the skyline. From the troop hold of a MOTH, Akira looked out over the walls as they prepared to land at the forward operating base, abandoned months ago during the start of the truce.

  He glanced at his HUD, confirming Kichiro’s beacon was still in the same general location.

  Now, it was time to get him back.

  Akira used his INVS eyes to search for hostiles as the MOTH flew along the western border of the city.

  “The Coalition knows we’re coming,” Perez said.

  “Good,” Tadhg said.

  “A lot of people are going to die today,” Frost said. “Nothing good about that.”

  Tadhg pounded his chest with a fist. “Good in the sense most of them will be Coalition soldiers, by my cannon, and my sword.”

  “Don’t get cocky,” Frost said, shaking her helmet. She had recently etched new flowers on the exterior and touched up its paint: black eye sockets, stitches for lips. Every squad member had taken time over the past few days to work on their armor, not only for aesthetics, but also to ensure that it was ready for this fight.

  Akira reached down to secure a vest of titanium around Okami. The cyborg wolfdog didn’t like wearing it, but it would protect him from anything short of a land mine.

  The pilots put down, and a ramp extended to the dirt.

  Akira was the first one down, his boots slurping in the moist ground. Thousands of Pistons had arrived the day before with a small army of Hummer Worker Droids that were rebuilding the FOB.

  At the front trench, Akira halted and zoomed in on the fifty-story walls. The Coalition had pulled all of its troops off the parapets and towers. But they couldn’t hide from the bombs that were about to rain on the city.

  It struck him then, this was it, the day they finally took back the city. Akira found himself thinking about every moment that had led to this one. The death of his wife, losing his son, being saved by Ghost and Contos. And all of the death in-between.

  “Time to end this,” he said. “Tonight, we bring death from the shadows.”

  The team recited the motto, adding, “Together, we are one.”

  Okami shot up, back stiff, tail up.

  Frost, Perez, and Tadhg stood next to Akira as the first of the King Cobra and Short Sword fighter jets pierced the skyline. Tracers lanced from hundreds of rooftops, and rockets streaked into the sky.

  Explosions burst on the other side of the walls, each one causing a quake Akira felt to his core. Every blast represented the loss of innocent lives, but the Nova Council had decided it was worth the sacrifice to defeat the Coalition.

  This is what it has come to, he thought.

  For the next hour, they remained in the trench, orange and red glows flashing in the darkness over the walls. The images transported Akira back to the day he had raced toward Tokyo where Yui was sheltering with their son.

  He pinched his eyes closed for a moment, pushing the painful memories away, then flipped them open again to watch the Nova Alliance pound Coalition targets.

  He checked the beacon for Kichiro on his HUD again, fearing for his horse.

  I’m coming, boy.

  Keeping low, Akira motioned for Shadow Squad. They started toward a massive clearing in the historic Forest of Senart. The entire 1st Division of the Nova Alliance Strike Force had gathered here.

  Neat lines of Hammerhead APCs waited for deployment, dual turrets atop their T-shaped cockpits. Fifty pilots had climbed inside the Juggernaut Mechs, their robotic arms bristled with mounted Gatling guns that fired explosive rounds. Nine hundred and fifty Pistons stood at the ready in gray armor and helmets, watching Akira as he led the Engines to their APC in the darkness.

  He opened the hatch and climbed into the turret, observing the Pistons preparing for battle. In his mind’s eye, he pictured his ancestors, gathered in the cold, wearing their heavy samurai armor before meeting the enemy on the battlefield.

  They were with him now. He could feel it in his heart.

  The relentless bombing continued, growing even more intense when the order came to finally roll out. Akira braced himself as the Hammerhead lurched onto the muddy road.

  The convoy growled down the winding path out of the forest. As they neared the outskirts of the megacity walls, sporadic Nova Alliance civilians flooded away from the city, cheering at the convoy passing them.

  Akira reached down to his duty belt and pulled out Blue Jay. He tossed the drone up. As it climbed, a mirrored feed transmitted to the team’s HUDs. Most of the storefronts and apartments ahead were boarded up, but he saw heat signatures across the thermal scans.

  “Get to the subways!” Akira shouted in French.

  The Hammerheads rolled closer to the megacity walls. Each successive block was more wrecked than the last. Smoke drifted over the streets, the Coalition’s attempt to block NA scans.

  Blue Jay rose higher, sending back the first images of Coalition fighters gripping their energy spears, swords, and rifles. Dozens of snipers waited on the rooftops of derelict apartment buildings, and thousands of soldiers stood in the streets behind fast and agile tanks with triple-barreled turrets.

  The combat map the Engines and Pistons accessed on their HUDs flashed with the enemy targets. Akira studied his mini-map for the enemy positions, as well as the Nova Alliance Strike Forces.

  The other divisions were all ready to punch through the enemy lines.

  “Silver Crane,” Akira said over the comm, “this is SS1, in position, over.”

  “Roger, SS1,” a pilot replied. “Echo on approach, targets acquired.”

  The scream of Short Sword fighter jets shattered the quiet, and comets of blue flashed out of the dark sky. Explosions burst in the distance, and hunks of the megacity wall crumbled, opening up doorways into the city.

  Missiles streaked out from another squadron, targeting Coalition tanks before they could scramble to the openings. The pilots confirmed direct hits.

  “SS1, Silver Crane actual, you are clear to engage,” said the rough voice of War Commander Contos. “Repeat, clear to engage. Liberate our walls.”

  “Copy, Silver Crane,” Akira replied. “Liberation commencing.” Reaching over his shoulder plates, he drew one of his two katana energy swords and angled it toward the sky. “Death from the Shadows,” he said over the private channel to his squad. “Together, we are one.”

  “For Ghost,” Perez said.

  “For Ghost,” they all repeated.

  “And for all of the people held prisoner
here,” Frost said. “May we free them all.”

  Akira let out a war cry that reverberated through the streets as the Pistons and Juggernauts roared behind the Hammerhead. In answer, the Berserker horn of the Coalition hordes boomed.

  The convoy rolled toward a ten-by-ten-foot hole in the bottom of the wall that separated them from the enemy.

  Akira sheathed his sword and pulled out his RS3 rifle. He aimed the sleek, short-barrel at the hole, waiting for the targeting system to secure a clean reading.

  “Get ready,” Akira said.

  The APC plowed through the smoke swirling out of the shattered hole in the wall. As soon as it crossed the barrier, the horizon lit up like a light show.

  Akira ducked into the vehicle and secured the hatch.

  Okami went stiff as plasma bolts and high-caliber rounds pounded the thick armor, rattling the vehicle. The combat medic and cleric Piston inside the troop hold hunched down.

  “Just a little rain,” Akira assured them. “Soon we will unleash the lightning.”

  “AI is salvation,” said the cleric.

  We’ll see about that today, Akira thought.

  The click of bullets and plasma bolts rang out around the vehicle. Overhead, the two turrets raked back and forth on the targets that Blue Jay had identified. Akira watched the feed on his HUD as enemy muzzle flashes went out like light bulbs.

  He checked on Kichiro one last time, and then opened the hatch.

  “Good luck, Captain!” shouted one of the Pistons.

  “And be careful,” Apeiron added.

  “Make sure Okami stays out of trouble,” Akira said.

  He looked down at the wolfdog, who wagged his tail, anxious to get into the fight.

  “Soon, little guy,” Akira said.

  Climbing out of the turret, he activated his jet pack, firing into the air. Tadhg, Frost, and Perez lifted into the sky like missiles from the other APCs and headed toward different rooftops.

  Akira touched down behind the crumpled lumps of three dead armored snipers, who appeared gray in his imaging. A plasma bolt suddenly streaked past his kabuto, nearly taking off one of the horns.