by Drew Cordell
“We’ll get you filled in, Jake,” Leroy said, turning to Caeldra. “You’re lucky you didn’t kill a Justicar.”
“I would have liked to. That man took his Inquisitor role way too seriously,” Caeldra said bitterly.
“So you and Mary were training with Marwin in Olympus?” Leroy asked me.
“Yeah, the training helped us survive the Mids.”
“Awesome. I’m sure the Council will put you on Runner squads. We’ve been running the streets and Undercity recently for supplies. Our farms down here are holding up, but we’re still recovering from trying to feed a lot of civilians when everything first went down.”
“I’ll put in a word with Edgar. I’m sure we can get you in Knight Squad with us,” Caeldra said. “Leroy is back to running now that business is dead around here, the Slums are back to the bartering system, and credits are useless.”
“Is River’s Port still around? What about the Scavenger Guild?” I asked.
“They’re doing all right. We’re working with the Scavenger Guild at the moment. Trading protection and security against the Harvesters for manufacturing resources and preserved food and water to stockpile,” Leroy said.
Caeldra took a deep drink of her soda. “We’ve been nailing the Harvesters hard, and they’re starting to fall apart. They weren’t well-structured before everything happened, and they’ve scattered between the streets of the Slums and the Undercity after losing a lot of people. We kill them on sight whenever we see them now; they’re too dangerous to be kept alive.”
“We did our best to get them off the streets when everything stopped working and we killed a lot of them, but we lost a lot of good people as well,” Leroy said, taking a sip of soda and drooping his head. “We thought everything was just temporary—that everything would come back online. When it didn’t, everything fell apart. When you’re hungry and scared, you do what you have to for your family. The Council opted for preservation of the Guild and cut assistance to the surface once things started getting really crazy. We took in some people, but almost everyone in the Slums is dead. River’s Port had some problems with their electrical grid for a little while, but they fixed it up and boosted their security. River’s Port is so isolated from everything else, it barely had a problem surviving the collapse of society on our tier.”
“Wow,” Mary said.
“So what are the Runner teams working on then?” I asked.
Caeldra set her soda down on the counter behind her. “Scouting, killing Harvesters, and working for the Scavenger Guild from time to time. The Guild is building a backlog of earnings for what we’re doing, and they’ll payout once they’ve established some type of currency that’s useful again. We’ve been working with the Scavenger Guild lobbyists to figure it out, but until that happens, we’ve got to work. Everything except personal possessions is communal now,” she finished.
“And if we can somehow take down the Omniscience Engine with the data we recovered?”
Leroy considered the question. “Then I imagine we’ll launch an all-out attack. We aren’t well suited to play the long game, especially against an enemy like the one we’re facing.”
We talked for another thirty minutes before Edgar and Marwin appeared in the doorway.
“We’re done meeting. The storage device contained parsing code that will help us scan the Omniscience Engine code for vulnerabilities. It could take years to find to anything useful. Until then, we’re assigning Jake and Mary to Knight Squad for missions; you’ll start in a week assuming Jake is cleared for combat by the doctor,” Marwin said.
“Leroy, please gear Mary and Jake with full equipment and show them the ropes of our new operating procedures,” Edgar said.
As the memories of the robot’s words continued to echo through my head, I looked to Mary, Caeldra, and Leroy. “It’s good to be back.”
15 PROTECTION DETAIL
[Three Years Later]
I shifted my rifle in my gloved hands, resting my hand on the grip and letting the weapon hang from its sling. We kept up the slow, steady pace as the huge Scavenger Guild truck rolled forward behind us. It had been weeks since the last reported Harvester attack, but we were all on edge, unable to shake the feeling we were being watched, followed, or both. Something felt off, and the Scavenger Guild asshole we were working with wasn’t helping. I continued to sweep my flashlight beam around the empty streets. There were no signs of Government activity either, other than the Rail which ran constantly.
I pulled my bandana down after it became uncomfortable, breathing in the cold, dry air of the Slums. The smell was mostly gone now, especially since everything was freezing over, halting decay and packing the more unpleasant smells beneath a layer of hard frost. I adjusted the beanie I wore and pulled my scarf tighter around my neck, tucking the ends back into my leather jacket for more warmth. The fabric was soft, but I was sweating, an unpleasant, cold-hot feeling that was one of my least favorite parts of running missions in the winter. It seemed no matter what I did, I couldn’t get my clothing right to maintain the right body temperature.
“Any progress with Master Aarlen?” Caeldra asked, moving alongside us to walk by Mary and me.
“Not really. He’s still training me, but I’m not sure I’m improving. I can match his abilities now, but the projections are getting a lot scarier,” I said.
“I don’t understand how you can do that stuff at all,” Mary mused.
“I’m the only one we know of that can create multiple Paragon Thoughts. They think I’m the key to stopping the Omniscience Engine. The whole reason they wanted to keep me away from the Government was the fear of the Omniscience Engine gaining my ability. They thought if it captured my ability, then it would abandon New York’s population. It didn’t get what I can do, but almost everyone is dead,” I said, sulking in the fact.
Caeldra patted my shoulder. “You know it’s not your fault. We knew something like this could happen for a long time. It’s the whole reason we do what we do. Think about it. If we manage to save humanity and destroy the Absolute Knowledge project, then with our data and AI systems, we can rebuild humanity while retaining everything we know from a world that existed without the goal of Absolute Knowledge. If we can break through and learn everything about the Omniscience Engine, we may be able to find other survivors or cities outside of the country. Artemis can never become the Omniscience Engine; it’s different in that it can’t overwrite its core code.”
I pulled my scarf out of my coat again, wrapping it around my neck loosely. “You really think there could still be other countries alive out there? There may not have been a Great Flood of 2039, but something happened to change the world. If Washington D.C. was really our capital before New York became the only country in the world, wouldn’t it still be around? I mean, why does it make sense that only one chunk of land would survive global destruction?” I asked.
“I don’t have an answer for that. Until we find data to prove otherwise, we can’t assume either point to be correct. There are too many unknowns—too many lies in all of this. We need to keep working toward a better future and hope we can make a difference,” Caeldra said.
“I’m just ready to be done with this run. I don’t ever want to work with this idiot again,” Mary said, tilting her head up toward Gabe. The man was smoking a cigarette and laughing at some obscene joke he had told the driver. Gabe cackled and punched the driver on the arm, audibly giving away our position to anyone within a few blocks. He took one final puff and flicked the cigarette out of the window, almost hitting Mary in the head with it.
“Keep it down up there or roll up your windows; this is dangerous territory,” Caeldra said to Gabe who shrugged her off.
“This guy has been nothing but arrogant and rude. It’s hard to believe his Guild would put him in charge of one of these trucks,” I said.
“If natural selection does its job, he won’t last much longer,” Adam mused, continuing to walk on the far-right flank of the convoy.
“Don’t you have to have nature for natural selection?” Bailey asked, lowering her rifle and raising her arms to exaggerate her point. “I don’t see too much nature around here anymore.”
“You don’t need nature for natural selection,” Leroy laughed.
“Unfortunately, our job is to prevent natural selection in this case,” Caeldra said.
“Actually, that’s my job. I’m obligated to resuscitate Gabe if he goes down as the medic. You all are just hired muscle,” Adam snickered.
Bailey shook her head and moved closer to Adam, starting a conversation with him while we escorted the cargo.
“What do you think they’re hauling?” Leroy asked, turning his attention back to us. “He wouldn’t let me see the ledger, which is strange.”
“No idea. Probably nothing dangerous,” Caeldra said. “The agreement with our Guild means someone always clears the ledger before we move out.”
“You think it was faked?” Mary asked.
Caeldra lowered her rifle and let it hang from its sling. “No, the Scavenger Guild doesn’t have a reason to do that. They don’t want to start a war with us.”
Gabe continued to bellow some offensive story, laughing obnoxiously while he told it to the driver who showed clear annoyance. They were both oblivious to the conversation we were having below.
I kicked a chunk of trash out of the way, watching it skitter on the pavement toward one of the overloaded gutters and jolt to a stop. Our combined efforts with the Scavenger Guild had cleared the streets of garbage to some degree, but there was just too much of it. Sometimes we’d take different routes for variation to help prevent Harvester ambushes. It would be a long time until Harvesters were completely eliminated, but they were hurting and losing coherence as a group.
“Let’s speed it up,” Gabe called. The portly man looked out the window, appraising us and the road ahead while the Scavenger Guild driver continued to move the truck forward over trash, the heavy rubber wheels bouncing methodically.
“Negative. Slow and steady; we don’t want to miss anything and give Harvesters the opportunity to ambush us,” Caeldra called back to the man.
“There are barely any Harvesters left, and they’re not going to ambush a transport under full protection detail,” Gabe said, annoyance in his voice. “If we don’t speed it up we’re going to be late, and I’m going to miss out on my bonus.”
“You’d really risk your life for a bonus?” Caeldra asked him. “We’re taking a different route, and we haven’t cleared the streets that well. You need to drive slow so we can get you to your destination safely.”
Gabe huffed and said something to his driver that I couldn’t make out. The truck kicked into overdrive, upping its speed and flipping up a wake of garbage behind it. “I’m getting my bonus,” he called out from the truck. “If you want your cut, you’d better keep up or hop on.”
“Son of a bitch,” Caeldra swore, jogging to catch up to the truck.
“Keep scanning, don’t let anything slip by. We’ll deal with this idiot once we get to River’s Port,” Leroy shouted.
Mary was close by my side, and we all caught up with the truck, grabbing the handles on the boxy shaped vehicle and stepping up onto the foot bar. Once we were all on, the truck accelerated forward, moving quickly over the uneven ground.
The engine revved as we cleared a tall pile of debris that had formed a barricade on the streets. The large tires struggled for traction, throwing garbage behind it and up onto us. When the truck cleared the barricade and landed back on the street, blasts went off all around us. Explosions ripped from below, tearing into the thick rubber tires and deflating them instantly. It looked like the truck itself was intact.
Everyone in my squad was yelling, trying to get eyes on any ambushers, but we were still alone in the deathly silence of the Slums.
“That’s just great. Now we’re really going to be late,” Gabe cried. “Do you see anyone coming toward us?” he asked, but he was already rolling up the window on his door.
“This is your fault, asshole. If you let us do our jobs, we would have spotted the mines with our equipment before you ran them over,” Caeldra seethed, scanning the darkness with her flashlight.
The mines had been staged at a four-way intersection on the road, and tall, monolithic buildings lined each of the corners of the streets. We were right in the middle of it all, vulnerable from an attack from any direction.
“Contact, thirty yards!” Mary yelled, holding her weapon trained on the approaching person. The person was wearing a heavy jacket and mask, and it was impossible to tell their gender.
“Run a full scan on the ground to sweep for more mines. We don’t want to step on them,” Caeldra ordered.
I started scanning with Artemis, searching both the street and the person walking toward Mary and me. “Stop!” I yelled, pointing my weapon at the person. Artemis’ scan was clean and didn’t detect any weapons.
“I’m a civilian. I’m not armed!” the man called back to us, continuing forward with arms raised above his head, holding his flashlight beam to the side so we could see him clearly.
“Shoot him!” Gabe yelled to us, briefly rolling down his window.
“Shut up. He’s not armed, and he doesn’t look like a Harvester,” Mary snapped.
“Take off the jacket. Do it slowly,” I called out to the man.
He stopped in place. “It’s freezing out here. Look, I’m not armed,” he said, keeping his hands raised.
“Mary, Adam, and Bailey, get on the roof of the truck. We need eyes up there,” Caeldra said, moving along to the back of the truck. “Hold fire unless you see weapons or a threat.”
Leroy moved to the back of the truck, guarding Mary, Adam, and Bailey as they climbed the rungs of the ladder leading to the roof some fifteen feet off the ground.
The floodlights on the truck flickered to life, washing our surroundings in bright, white light. “Who are you?” I yelled to the man in front of me.
“The name is Rick. Do you have anything you can give me? I’m hungry,” he said, walking closer to us.
“We’re not carrying any food, and you need to leave. Don’t step any closer,” I said.
The man who called himself Rick continued to step forward slowly. I moved my finger to the trigger of my rifle. “Sir, I’ve got a weapon pointed at you and I’ll have to shoot if you get any closer.”
Rick stopped in his tracks. “Come on, man. We only have a couple minutes until the Harvesters show up; just give me something and I’m out of here.”
I stiffened. “How do you know they’re coming?” I asked.
He didn’t say anything, just backed off with his hands raised, disappearing into the darkness.
I walked over to the cabin of the truck, tapping on the glass with my rifle. Gabe cracked his window. “What’s the situation? Is he leaving?” he asked.
“Yeah. He was just a civilian, but said the Harvesters would be here any minute. Any luck with the radio?”
“Not getting anything. Could something be jamming us?”
“Not sure. We may have to abandon the haul if things get dicey, but this truck isn’t going anywhere. All the tires are busted,” I said.
“We’ll get someone to repair it. Just do your damn job. It’s already your fault we’re going to be late,” Gabe shot, rolling up his window before I could respond.
I punched the door of the truck with my cybernetic hand, denting the plate metal and storming away before he could do or say anything. I had bigger issues on my hands than dealing with the likes of him.
“Huge swarm of Harvesters coming. They’re armed!” Bailey yelled from up top, her voice straining. The engines of the truck revved, and the broken rims holding the massive tires started to spin in uneven, screeching intervals, flipping up trash from below and not accomplishing much else. Smoke leaked out of the front hood of the vehicle, hissing as it flooded from the damaged, overheating engine.
We all moved to ga
in vision on the attackers. There must have been at least twenty of them. As they approached, my vision overlay lit up their outlines and highlighted their weapons. Most of them were carrying melee weapons, but a few of them had guns. The group of Harvesters started to rush forward, and someone on our side started shooting.
I lined up a shot and fired my rifle. My shots bounced off the heavy metal plating of a Harvester and screeched as they hit the concrete. The Harvesters were shooting back, all with old weapons that fired bullets. Mary rolled on the ground, moving behind a large pile of garbage bags that had been piled on the bank of the curb. Harvesters shot at her, but something in the bags kept bullets from going through. I lowered myself behind the broken wheel of the heavy truck, pushing my body to the side and lining up another target before squeezing off a few more rounds.
“They’re getting close!” Bailey yelled from on top of the truck’s roof, spraying her rifle into the approaching crowd. Bailey had gone prone and moved her Nanotech to protect her head and shoulders while she fired from the roof of the truck.
I reloaded my rifle, slamming a new mag into the receiver and trying to hear over deafening gunfire from both sides. I rolled to the side, moving behind the same pile of trash Mary was taking cover behind as bullets slammed into my jacket, bouncing off my Nanotech with a spray of sparks and causing pain to reverberate in my chest. The Nanotech stopped the bullets, but the kinetic force of the bounces still hurt.
A Harvester vaulted over the pile I was barricaded behind and swung a section of pipe at me. Blocking the blow with my rifle, I drew my CZR-7 and downed the enemy in a single, bloody shot through the neck. Mary rushed over to me, sliding down and crawling through the trash. “Are you okay?” she yelled.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I said, raising myself from cover and shooting.
We had dropped a few Harvesters on the frontline; the ones who wore thick sheets of metal to soak up our energy rifles. Even with sustained energy rifle fire, it was tough to break through armor like that. Caeldra sidestepped a swing from a spiked pipe and jabbed her knife into the mask of a Harvester. She moved behind the truck when she caught the attention of another enemy with a submachine gun. Heavy, glowing bullets sliced through the side of the vehicle, punching through to the center.
