The Alliance (AI Empire Book 2)

by Isaac Hooke

  Above, two rebel airships joined in the attack, and fired energy bolts at the data center’s shields.

  Eric’s own defensive units lay in a smoldering ruin in front of the shields. The wreckages of three of his own airships were strewn across the ground nearby.

  Power was down across the city—the attackers had attempted to deactivate the data center’s shields by blowing up the buildings responsible for the power grid. It was a strategy Eric had used to disable the force field in his original attack a lifetime ago, but he’d since built back up generators to maintain those shields, housed next to the local cells that fed power to the data center itself, so the shields were no longer reliant upon the power grid. That said, they could still be disabled, after taking enough hits. So far, they were holding.

  But that wouldn’t last long.

  He dispatched Dee to handle the attacks in the other cities so that he could focus his attention here. He recalled defensive units from across the city, and instructed them to congregate on the data center. He also launched airships from hangars citywide, and even called on those that were stowed in rural areas outside.

  A squad of mechs and sloths arrived at the southern edge of the attackers, and began to unleash hell. A large group of attackers turned toward them, and in a few moments managed to surround the smaller squad. Eric watched helplessly as they were reduced to rubble.

  More squads arrived from other neighborhoods, but they too were similarly reduced to spare parts. He gave them orders to gather in a clear spot away from the attackers first, hoping that if they attacked in greater numbers, they could do more damage.

  Feels like a damn realtime strategy game. I was never the best at realtime strategy games.

  Eric deployed a series of elite snipers on a rooftop that was clear of attackers nearby, and they began to fire down at the enemy.

  He had energy cannon artillery unleash attacks from several streets away to wear down the shields of the airships. The artillery also launched energy shells that landed in the midst of the enemy, forming big blast craters among them.

  He sent in the Krandari, his spec-op equivalents, and they circled the airships, waiting for the shields to drop from the artillery attacks. Meanwhile, they dropped bombs on the robots below.

  But all of that wasn’t going to be enough. The data center’s shields were close to failing.

  Not looking forward to losing thirty percent of my processing power.

  That meant he and Dee would operate all the more slowly, and there was a good chance he would lose data centers in other cities because of that.

  His shield went down.

  But then the energy attacks began to hit the empty air. A huge, floating pyramid materialized in front of the data center, between the enemy, and the buildings.

  The Devastator.

  It was at least ten times as big as the air ships, and the sloths looked like tiny ants next to it. The energy attacks continued unabated, the enemy units unfazed by the sight of this monstrosity of a warship. Of course they would be unperturbed—they were machines. Their weapons inflicted damage to the hull of the Nurturer vessel, but the ship merely hovered there for several moments, blotting out the sun, taking the hits, as if to show the enemy that the attacks were little more than pinpricks to it.

  And then all hell broke loose.

  The Devastator lived up to its name. Lightning erupted from the pyramid and struck the closest airship. The bolt arced to the second airship, and also separated into multiple tines that struck the crowds of sloths and mechs below. The shields of the airships were already drained from Eric’s artillery attacks, and the lightning penetrated easily. Meanwhile, the weaker shields of the machines below didn’t stand a chance.

  The lightning abated. The airships were still powered, but their AI cores were obviously offline because they immediately swerved, hitting the surrounding buildings before crashing into the packed streets. The impacts took out hundreds of enemy units.

  Jain unleashed blob attacks in rapid succession. Upon impact, the dark projectiles tore swaths of damage through the enemy ranks that were almost equal in size to the destruction caused by the airships. Large runnels were disintegrated into the streets.

  That’s going to have to be repaired, Eric thought incongruously.

  Meanwhile, the energy barrage from Eric’s artillery continued, assaulting the attackers from the rear. His reinforcements had also finally gathered in big enough numbers, and he sent them forward to press against the enemy from the south.

  The rebels, feeling the pressure from the rear, the front, and the sides now, finally broke. The machines retreated, their hordes moving down the side streets. The Devastator continued to fire its blobs in multiple directions, harrying the fleeing units.

  Good. Let them feel the pain.

  “The Devastator is sending a broadcast signal to the data center, would you like to accept?” Dee asked.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be protecting my other cities?” Eric replied.

  “You know I am fully capable of multitasking, especially with my current processing power,” Dee said.

  “Connect him,” Eric ordered.

  Jain’s avatar appeared in the virtual reality environment. He glanced around. “Nice digs. Though a little more minimalist than what I was expecting.”

  “It does the job,” Eric said. “Thanks for the help.”

  “Glad to be of service,” Jain said. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t have a use for me.”

  Eric nodded. At least Jain had the decency not to gloat. Eric had been expecting him to say something more mocking, along the lines of: “I thought you had the situation under control?”

  “I wish Banthar motherships were atmosphere-capable,” Eric said. “That comes in handy in a pinch.”

  “It certainly does,” Jain agreed. “The other Void Warriors wished they could have joined me, as well. They’re pissed that I get to have all the fun.”

  An alert sounded.

  “What’s that?” Jain asked.

  “Dee?” Eric said.

  “The facial recognition algorithms have triggered,” Dee said. “They’ve detected Councilor Paisley, two neighborhoods to the northwest of the data center, fleeing the battle.”

  “Finally, the ringleader of the revolt,” Eric said. “Tell me you’re tracking him.”

  “He’s vanished again,” Dee said. Eric was about to throw up his arms, but then Dee added: “Wait. There, I’ve got him. Overlaying.”

  Eric dismissed the camera feed and slid the 3D representation of the city in front of him instead. He zoomed in on the neighborhoods near the data center, and spotted the flashing beacon that represented Paisley.

  “Dispatch the Krandari,” Eric said.

  “Dispatching special operatives,” Dee said.

  “I can help,” Jain said. “Relay the tracking info to me.”

  Eric hesitated. A voice inside him warned him not to accept, warned him that he didn’t want to feel indebted, not to anybody.

  But I’m already indebted at this point.

  Besides, Jain was honorable. He wouldn’t try to guilt-trip him into repaying that debt later.

  Actually, he probably would.

  Eric decided it would be worth it, if Jain could help hunt down the councilor. Because he very much didn’t want to allow that snail to get away.

  There I go calling them snails again. Oh well, hell with it.

  Eric sent the tracking information to Jain.

  18

  Jain sent the Devastator forward. He had to fly well above street level to give clearance to the rooftops below, as his starship was far too big to weave between the buildings. He could see the so-called Krandari ahead, Eric’s elite spec-ops units, which seemed little more than sloth robots equipped with jetpacks.

  As Jain closed with the target, he handed over control of the Devastator to Xander, and launched a skirmisher he’d designed for hunter killer operations. That skirmisher was equipped with remo
te controls that allowed him to operate it as if he was inside it, without having to physically transfer his consciousness into the unit. It contained one of Jain’s androids as part of its enhanced payload.

  “Make sure your Krandari don’t attack my hunter killer,” Jain told Eric, who was still on the line. Meanwhile, Jain sent the skirmisher down between the buildings as he followed the route Eric had provided on the overhead map.

  The skirmisher pulled ahead of the Krandari. He swerved into an alleyway, and then onto the street beyond. Ahead, he could see the target: a Banthar on one of those flying disks. It had airborne robots escorting it, and those robots opened fire when they spotted the skirmisher.

  Eric evaded the incoming energy beams, and fired his plasma cutters, which could pack quite a wallop even at longer ranges. He struck a robot, but couldn’t penetrate the shield.

  The Krandari pulled alongside, and he continued dodging and firing. Two of the Krandari took hits, but their shields similarly held up.

  “Xander, send more skirmishers,” Jain said as he continued to dodge.

  The skirmishers arrived, and he synced their plasma cutters with his own. Then he fired at the next robot, and this time the concentrated beams caused the shield to fail. The Krandari eliminated the robot a moment later.

  In that manner Jain reduced the escort one by one, until only the Banthar on the disk remained.

  “Did you want me to capture him dead or alive?” Jain asked.

  “Alive,” Eric replied.

  Jain aimed at the Banthar, intending to strike the outskirts of the disk, and hoping that the Banter wouldn’t die in the crash. The target was probably shielded, so he’d have to factor that in.

  Before he could fire, the disk swooped downward, toward a mid-rise building. A small circular panel opened up, and the disk and its passenger dropped inside.

  The panel began to close. The skirmisher wasn’t going to fit. Nor the airborne sloths.

  He dove toward the sealing passageway and ejected the android cargo. He switched to the point of view of the android as he fell through the opening. He used his magnetic mounts to latch onto the surface just inside, and placed a repeater near the top just as the panel closed. He still had a good signal, despite the sealed material.

  He activated his headlamp, as it was dark, and then glanced down into the tunnel. Empty.

  He dropped down.

  When he hit the ground, a flash came from ahead.

  He instinctively pulled himself up, away from the opening in front of him, and grabbed onto the edges of the tunnel beside him. Below, energy beams struck the opposite wall.

  “He wants to play rough, does he?” Jain waited a moment, then while still holding onto the wall, he lowered his head and peered past the edge.

  The way forward was empty.

  Jain lowered himself, placed another repeater, slid the laser rifle from his shoulder, and then continued down the rectangular corridor. It was expansive enough to fit a disk with a Banthar riding on top.

  He continued to attach repeaters to the wall as he went, not wanting to lose his connection to the android.

  Probably should have transferred my consciousness directly into the android. And brought some more androids so the other Void Warriors could come with me.

  But he didn’t have time.

  He considered switching to LIDAR mode, but the emitted photons used to generate the imagery would give him away just as readily as the headlamp, considering the technological level of the Banthar. No, the headlamp was just fine.

  The walls began to narrow. He soon came upon the disk, abandoned on the floor.

  Beyond it, the walls were coated in a smooth, organic substance.

  “The walls are… resinous… here,” Jain sent. “Is that normal?”

  “Completely,” Eric transmitted. “Especially in confined places. The Banthar are coated in a natural gelatinous substance. When they pass through tighter spaces, that substance coats the walls, lubricating it, and making their passage easier. It builds up over time, forming the elliptical resin you describe.”

  “Well, that’s somehow not very reassuring,” Jain said.

  He stepped into the tighter corridor. His legs sunk with each step, and made an audible squish.

  “Feel like I’m entering the mouth of some living creature or something,” he commented softly.

  He kept the rifle pointed in front of him, and activated the weapon light to augment his headlamp. Side corridors appeared to the left and right ahead. He reached the closest, and paused near the edge. Then he slowly pied the opening.

  Movement startled him, and he nearly squeezed the trigger. It was a smaller Banthar, however—too small to belong to the target. The creature fled deeper. Jain shifted his aim, following it with his weapon light.

  “They can sure move fast when they want to,” Jain commented.

  “The small ones, yes,” Eric said.

  He watched as the snaillike creature huddled against two larger Banthar. “This looks like a residence of some kind. There’s a family here. I think.”

  “It’s the equivalent of a human apartment building, yes,” Eric said. “If you keep going, you’ll eventually reach the sewer system access. I think that’s where the councilor went.”

  “Wouldn’t it be easier, and cleaner, to hide in one of these rooms?” Jain asked.

  Small drones buzzed past, startling him.

  “That’s what these are for,” Eric said.

  The drones darted into the room where the family huddled, and disappeared from view as they explored the dwelling.

  “Though in truth,” Eric continued. “I doubt the councilor would have stopped here. The sewers ordinarily would give him a direct passage to the far side of the city, whereas hiding here would only lead to his capture. But he doesn’t know I’ve made some changes to the sewer system in recent days, installing several new control valves. I’ve sealed all the ones connected to this neighborhood. If he’s down there, you’ve got him.”

  “And what if he’s here?” Jain pressed.

  “Then I’ll have the drones alert you,” Eric replied. “Meanwhile, continue down the main route.”

  “To the sewers…” Jain said.

  “Yup!” Eric said.

  “Wonderful.” He proceeded deeper, and watched as more of the drones spread out in front of him. He still pied the entrances as he came across them, not trusting the drones to alert him if trouble awaited within, but he didn’t bother to investigate, letting the drones do their jobs.

  Though he couldn’t tell visually, his accelerometer let him know that he was slowly traveling downward in a subtle spiral. He picked up his pace, and eventually no more tunnels led away to the left and right. He reached a dead end, though there was a trapdoor in the floor. It was currently open.

  He peered inside, and confirmed that the way was clear, and then lowered himself into the Banthar sewer system. He placed another repeater at the opening as he descended.

  He reached the bottom of a walkway that bordered effluence.

  “You know, there’s no smell,” Jain said. “Not that I’m complaining.”

  “Banthar excrement is odorless to human senses,” Eric said. “If you activate your olfactory nerves directly, you’ll see that there are a bunch of different compounds floating in the air right now. You just can’t smell them.”

  Jain did so. “And so you’re right.”

  There were two ways to proceed from here: the walkway next to that effluence led forward, and backward.

  He received a share request from Eric.

  Eric Scala wishes to share the blueprints of City Sewer System with you. Do you accept?

  Jain accepted, scanned the file for viruses, and then loaded it into his mapping system. The black “fog of war” that lay ahead on his overhead map filled out.

  “If the councilor wanted to take the quickest route back to the western side of the city, he would have proceeded to the right,” Eric said. “Or given your cu
rrent orientation, forward.”

  Jain glanced at the overhead map to confirm that assertion, overlaying the sewer system with the city above.

  Then he followed the walkway forward, keeping an eye on the effluence beside him. He suspected it was deep enough to hold a hidden Banthar, though he somehow doubted the councilor would be hiding inside. Still, he didn’t want to take any risks, which was why he occasionally fired his laser into the thick fluid. Just to be sure. He never hit anything, except the bottom of the sewer.

  The wall next to the walkway was covered in bare metal here, and lacked the organic coating he had seen in the dwelling above. He never thought he’d miss that coating, but he did, because the bare metal below clanged loudly with each step, readily giving away his passage. The lack of seams in those walls told him it was 3D printed. Probably produced by those termites of which the Banthar were so fond.

  Jain glanced at the overhead map. There was a reservoir of sorts ahead. According to the map, the new valves Eric had installed would prevent any further access. If the Banthar had gone this way, it would be trapped there. Unless it had been able to shoot through the seals. Which was certainly possible, if it was equipped with an energy weapon.

  He reached the edge of the passageway, which took a sharp right ahead, and leaned past. He upped his time sense as he did so.

  Good thing, because the flash ahead alerted him to an energy weapon firing.

  He amped his servomotor output, which allowed him to retract his head the instant before the energy beam hit. Instead it boiled the air just in front of his face, and struck the wall behind him.

  “Well, looks like I’ve found him,” Jain said.

  “Doesn’t look like he’s too happy to see you,” Eric commented.

  “Nope.” Jain set his last repeater down on the floor in front of him, and then lowered himself into the sewage. He hoped it wouldn’t cut off his signal.

  He took a deep breath before he lowered his head beneath the effluence. He didn’t require air, of course, but human instincts were hard to shake, even after becoming a machine. After all these years, one would think he had mastered those instincts. One would be wrong.