“When I Soloed, my clothing was made with Canibus hemp threated with nullification strands. The last time was a rush, and we didn’t have time to make the clothes, so I tried to smuggle vials surrounded in coffee grounds in my shoe soles. Those dogs can smell through coffee, and I got busted.”
Sledge asked, “Would you ever do that coffee thing again?”
“Of course not. It doesn’t work.”
Sledge smiled.
“You passed the test. Leadership is just common sense. You learned from your mistakes. They’ll get killed learning from theirs. They need a leader, Cole,” he said. “And as you can see, I don’t have a very deep roster.”
Cole saw Sledge’s desperation, but couldn’t see himself with that much responsibility.
“I know we’re in a dark situation, but sorry, Sledge, I’m not your guy.”
Sledge was disappointed.
“Okay, Cole. I can’t make you a leader.”
Cole walked out of the tent with Sledge following and saw all the teenagers doing tasks. Then he remembered how young the Neo-Khaos squad was who saved him. Sledge put his hand on Cole’s shoulder.
“If you still want to fight, go to the Magrupt range to learn how to turn those bastards off.” He pointed to the range.
“The gate guard said it was like flipping on a light switch.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that,” Sledge said. “You have to calculate your power to compensate for your target’s mass and distance. Trust me. You don’t want to shoot a charging grizzly bear with a 22 caliber hand gun when you could use a Ardax rail cannon.”
Cole looked at him. “You can adjust the disruption that drastically?”
“It was invented by some tech nerds. They got it from a vintage video game medium they played called Janek’s Rip. It was the zygote of the immersion experience we used to engage in. This time, life did imitate art.”
Cole nodded and went to the range. He saw the cadre and realized she was a teen also. Everyone he saw was young.
“So, you’re the Magrupt expert. How do you fire this uber-light switch?”
“I see you talked to Marc,” she said. “This is a high precision electromagnetic pulse cannon in which you have to gauge mass, environment, and distance. I’m Kayleigh by the way.”
He shook her hand.
“Cole Rann. So, we’re talking about a simple calculus problem to make this thing work.”
“It’s not that simple when you’re neck deep in borgeys. Adding two plus two is difficult then.”
Cole was surprised at her seriousness.
“How many of these things are we trying to turn off?”
“Think of it this way. As many people on Earth with an assistant and the extra help is the total.” She threw a Magrupt to him.
“Turn off this portable radio, the computer, and the refrigerator.”
He saw how the Magrupt had a fanned muzzle at the end of the barrel, many dials, and a button on the upper part of the handle.
“Nerds made this; real menacing.”
He aimed at the radio and clicked the button.
Nothing happened, so he tried again.
Click.
Kayleigh took it back, flipped a switch, and shot the fridge. The lights turned off and the motor stopped.
“It may not look menacing, but it’s effective when you turn it on, Jock.”
He took it back in disdain and shot the radio
It burst into flames.
“Remember that ‘simple’ calculus problem, Genius?” she cynically asked. “Use those knobs to range your mass and distance. That way, you conserve your limited energy disabling bursts.”
“Lady, you are not nice.”
“Most of our parents were killed by a relentless program that has no qualms of killing us,” she said. “My ‘niceties’ turned off that day. I had to learn how to turn off automatons and borgeys”
Cole thought these teens grew up way too fast to learn rationalization. They just coped by getting galvanized or just lost it.
He adjusted the Magrupt while Kayleigh reset the targets. He shot them all and switched them off.
“Once I knew what to do, it was easy.”
Kayleigh smiled. She pressed a button, and the targets began to recede on their tracks.
“What you just did was get your feet wet. It’s Ironman competition swimming time now. Each target is at various distances. You have thirty seconds to turn them all off. When you do that twice, that’s when you’re going deep sea diving.”
Yep, Kayleigh was rock hard.
It took about an hour to get his ranging correct. He finally disabled every device in under 30 seconds.
“Okay, what’s the deep sea dive?”
Kayleigh clicked the randomize distance switch. As they began to move closer and farther away, Cole felt dread.
“You don’t think these things would just strike a pose so you can hit them. Your opponent is a tactical mechanized weapon. You have to defeat them tactically.” She began the stopwatch. “Thirty seconds.”
Cole was frantically adjusting to disable his targets, but with their sporadic moving, he couldn’t catch them. They eventually broke past the safety barrier.
“You’re dead, try again.” Kayleigh reset the exercise. “Yeah, just like flipping on a light switch.”
As Cole tried again and failed, Kayleigh activated the auto-reset and walked over to Sledge.
“How’s our boy fairing?”
“Still thinking the way Marc does. He may get it in two or three days,” she reported.
“I guess he was right. He couldn’t lead those Neo-Khaos rookies.”
“Lead?!” Kayleigh was surprised. “Marc could lead those people better than he ever could, and Marc’s an idiot.”
“You don’t think he could ever hack it?” Sledge asked.
“He can’t even finish the Magrupt range. How can he perform in the wasteland?”
“FINISHED!”
Kayleigh turned to Cole and walked back to the range with Sledge.
“It took you about an hour to even range your weapon when they were stationary. How did you beat them moving in under three minutes?! Do it again!”
“This time, make them more aggressive. They won’t just lollygag when they spot you.” Cole readied himself.
Kayleigh turned the program to the elite setting and waited for Cole to get overwhelmed. Cole just waited.
As the timer clicked down, Cole didn’t fire. Kayleigh thought she pulled him out of his confidence zone. Then when the units rushed to break the safety barrier, Cole did three quick adjustments and cut them all off one by one.
“Wha… how…”
Cole smiled.
“When I was desperately adjusting for erratic distances, I began to think. Why am I chasing what’s programmed to relentlessly chase me? Set your ranges, memorize your distance parameters, and let them attack you. The only thing with a constant on this range is they’re coming. Just shoot ‘em when they get there. So yeah, make them turn it into a light switch.”
Kayleigh felt defeated. With all her meticulous designing, how did he find a flaw that quickly?
“I just have to randomize the targets so they attack in a randomized pattern. It’ll take an hour, but beat the range then.”
Sledge stopped her.
“Don’t reprogram anything, Kayleigh. Cole just gave you your leadership leveler. If they can figure it out, they can lead.”
“But he’s not a leader, Sledge! He’s just a snarky know-it-all!”
“Yeah, who defeated your moving range in under five minutes? What did you predict? Two or three days?” Sledge hit her with a dose of reality. “You got it, Cole. You sure you don’t want a squad?”
Cole had to clarify his objections.
“I’m not really a ‘people’ person. I just help the wayward ones. They never had opinions of what I did. I never had kids, and according to a fellow smuggler, teenagers have opinions. I never had any pat
ience for dealing with them. When we’re on a mission and they tick me off, I might just let them get killed out of frustration.
I know me, Sledge. I’m just saving you from further disappointment. I’m not saying no because I don’t want to do it. I’m saying no because I can see the future.”
Sledge kept trying because he thought he could persuade Cole. When Cole gave him a plausible answer, he stopped.
“Okay. At least I have a good lone wolf to pull off some missions. I’ll leave you alone.”
Cole acknowledged, turned back to the range, and clicked his Magrupt back on.
“Reset the targets, Kayleigh. Practice makes you better.”
Kayleigh started the targets once more and walked to Sledge.
“Let him get his rocks off. You can’t win ’em all.”
They walked to his tent to let Cole be.
They were intercepted by the Neo-Khaos soldier who came through the gate.
“We messed up, Sledge. We thought we could explain to the prisoners after they were let out. We didn’t know they were starving. One guy listed and we sent him here.”
“Where’s the rest of your squad?”
“They’re still trying to catch those prisoners. The only reason I’m here is that since unshielded radio communication would pinpoint us and the base, I had to tell you personally.”
“Cole made it this morning, so you didn’t have to come back. He told me you screwed up,” Sledge said in disappointment.
“The reason I had to return is to tell you… Tony died,” the soldier said. “The borgeys laid a trap for him. They used a wailing woman’s voice to lure him in. When he was separated, they fried him.”
Sledge had a grim look on his face.
“So, you mean to tell me because your squad thought you knew better and didn’t listen, you exacerbated your dangerous mission to correct your mistake, and got Tony killed?!”
“We didn’t know they were starving, Sledge. We thought…”
“NO! You didn’t think! We plan missions meticulously for a reason! When you’re out in the field, you execute your mission to the letter! Improvising in the wasteland gets you killed!”
“Sorry, Sledge.”
“Don’t apologize to me. Tell his new wife she’s gonna rear their new baby without a father!”
Cole heard Sledge explode and realized working with the teens would help the population survive better. He did vow to help. He just never thought his help would entail directing immature teenaged soldiers. If life gives you lemons…
Cole stood from the range and walked to Sledge.
“I see you really need help. These kids can’t hack the wasteland. I’ll lead them.”
“Don’t screw with me, Cole! I’m not in the mood!”
“I’m not screwing with you,” Cole said. “My smuggler friend was very well off. His kids were spoiled in the suburbs, so being bratty was their M.O. These teens don’t act that way. Granted they are teenagers, but they’ve been through an evil those teens never experienced before. I think they’ll listen.”
“And you think you can handle it?” Sledge asked doubtfully.
“I just saw you rip that soldier a new one, and he didn’t pout. I was wrong. They’re tougher than I thought.
Kayleigh is meaner than my ex, and she’s twice as old as Kayleigh. They’ve grown up way past their age. I want the squad.”
“You must’ve stepped on a leprechaun,” Kayleigh said. “All it took was for you to lose it.”
Sledge walked to Cole.
“Diplomacy ain’t my strong suit, so they already know I blow up. They’ll shed your tantrums like old news. Follow Raheem back to them to tell them there’s a new sheriff in town. I’ll be waiting.”
Cole looked at Raheem.
“How do you call them back?”
He pulled out a bullhorn.
“Old school Morse code. We use that dead communication signal to call location and time. Borgeys are too advanced to have it programmed into them.”
“So, instead of cellphones, you’re using the old cup and string method, smart.” Cole was feeling better about leading. “Show me the way, Raheem. We might just win this time.”
Chapter Two: The Discarded One
It had been 19 months since Cole took over the rookie squad. They were taught tactics the other squads adopted. Cole showed them how to temporarily disable the borgeys, separate their infiltration core, and find the particulars of each goal. If they were fully deactivated, their programming went with them.
Each borgey was designed to infiltrate the base, mentally probe the leader, and relay the tactics back to the mainframe. They were trying to know us, so Cole’s new tactic was to get to know them.
Cole was never a soldier, but he utilized the WW3 immersion simulation in his downtime. The only way to beat the other opponents was to anticipate future movements by analyzing current choices displayed. He never held a gun, but he was a tactician.
Many of his soldiers were transferred to other bases to teach the strategy. It worked until the Program discovered the method of thwarting the cybernetic units, and sent them out with no farther link in communication and a program self-destruct whenever it was in a compromising position.
Cole made the Program adjust. He was feeling like he was making a difference. He was feeling like he could turn the tide, so he went on the offense.
“The Program is getting desperate,” Sledge told Cole. “There’s a new borgey facility in Australia.”
“It’s going everywhere now. It never targeted Australia before,” Cole said.
“Don’t discount the intelligence. One of your girls reported it.”
“I trust Sharon, I just don’t like Kiwi birds,” Cole said sarcastically. “Not enough meat.”
“If I didn’t know you were a health nut vegetarian, I’d almost think you were funny.” Sledge joshed him. “What are you going to execute in the Outback?”
“Turn and burn, Sledge. Set a bomb in the factory, level the place, and be back by Friday.”
“You’ve changed from being that selfish loner who Soloed by himself to a trusting team leader,” he said. “You know these missions don’t go off without a hitch.”
“That’s a leader’s job,” Cole said. “Plan for the worst so you come out shining at the end.”
“If your team is going to fly to Australia, you know any communication will be monitored,” Sledge said.
“Carlos used to be a pilot, so he knows how to map our destination manually. We call it Wright brothers traveling. You do know way back then, explorers navigated the globe hundreds of years before the computer was ever invented.”
“Yes I do,” Sledge said. “We thought a computer made life easier. We got up to inventing artificial intelligence, and look where that got us.”
“This is just a new challenge we have to overcome. Humanity is about to get snuffed out like a weak flame, and we’re just that ornery spark to keep it lit,” Cole said. “I’ll prep my squad, we’ll execute the mission, and be back by Friday.”
Cole began to walk to his squad to begin the normal mission parameters, but this mission would become the polar opposite of normal.
It was around 2 in the morning when Cole’s squad touched down In Victoria Australia. It was in the south-east quadrant of Australia. They found an abandoned airstrip to land on. Their intelligence gave them a map of the facility.
“Will this detonate in the rain?” Cole asked Linda.
“Water doesn’t affect a Mercury detonation in a sealed compartment. You could throw this in the ocean and blow up an underground layer.” Linda was his explosives expert.
“Okay. Boom-boom. We just need it attached to the main computer to stop production.”
“I can’t help overdoing it, Cole. It’s the only way to be sure.”
“You’re just happy we found that C-4 Semtex plant in Dubai last month. You were getting sick of that dynamite and ni
tro concoction.”
“When you’re running from borgeys, that bomb isn’t too stable. I got sick of potentially losing body parts in a heated chase situation.”
“I guess it’s a little more intense than wondering what color dress to wear for a dance,” he said.
“Well, right now, I’d pick camouflage.”
They navigated to the facility and saw the very few blackout lights beaming like penlights in the night. They anticipated the darkness because automations needed no light to function. Listening to the whirs was more dominant.
They put on their night vision glasses to see where they were going.
“Chip, Carlos, Steve, Gaia, and Linda, find the main construct and place the bomb for thirty minutes. That’ll give you some time to sneak outa there. I’m going to find and disable the back-up.”
“You’re gonna get enough of that Soloing. I can back you up.” Steve said.
“The reason I keep Soloing is to not have another liability get killed unnecessarily. If I’m not back in forty-five, just make sure the plant’s fiery rubble before you exfiltrate with or without me.”
They all looked at Cole nervously.
“So, if you’re not back, just leave?”
If I don’t return, there’s a ninety percent chance I’m dead,” Cole said.
“What about that ten percent?” Gaia asked. “We never leave anyone behind in hostile terrain.”
“There was an ancient sect of combat troops called the Marines who had that same motto,” Cole said.
“Then why don’t we be like the Marine combat troops?”
“Because their motto made them extinct,” Cole said. “Case in point. Have you ever heard of a marine before I just said it? This is tactical, not mindless heroism. If all of you get wiped out because of a ten percent chance, that means I didn’t do my job.”
He got tough. “You’re Neo-Khaos. You keep the entire human race going. Do your jobs.”
Chip got serious.
“You heard the man. Neo-Khaos soldiers fight another day, and dying stupidly from sentimentality isn’t in our job description. We’ll execute, Cole and if you don’t come back? We’ll know it was for a valid reason.”
Cyber Thought Police Page 2
