"What about this creep?" Dredd glanced at Hiro.
"He's been getting further and further off-book. I'm sure he had something to do with Tex's murder. I know he's on the take, I just couldn't prove it."
"The Psi-Judges back at Central will be able to confirm that," said Dredd. "Sorry we had to shoot you before."
The SJS-Judge gave a weary shrug. "It happens."
Foster's eyes widened. "You're telling me that Moon-U freak is beaming hypnotic pulses through the vid-screens? That's incredible!"
"Is it?" said the Sov-Judge. "Think about it, Foster. Most of Luna-1's population spend half their life watching the Tri-D - with enough exposure to something as subtle as this, you could push anyone into an abnormal emotional state with the right stimulus."
"Why haven't any Judges been affected?"
She cocked her head. "How many serving officers do you know who have time to watch the vid eight hours a day?"
"Show me the data stream," said J'aele, as the implications of Kontarsky's words became clear to him. The woman handed him a digital pad with a recording of the hub traffic. The Tek-Judge gave a low whistle. "This is very impressive. The bandwidth is incredibly tight for a self-aware program. The Moon-U AI must have some sort of packet-shunt capacity."
Foster rolled his eyes. "In English, please?"
"That little data-demon is like a viral colony, you see?" J'aele explained. "It's constantly reproducing and moving through its host body - in this case, Luna-1's computer network - but the processing power is spread across hundreds of thousands of virtual locations." He frowned. "Now we know what to look for, we could start eradicating it, but it would just keep popping up somewhere else."
"So how do we kill it?" Dredd walked toward them. "And when we do, how do we make sure this thing stays dead?"
"If we can find the AI's source code, we could create a counter-program to hunt it down and erase it all," said the Sov-Judge. She gave the African a nervous look as J'aele scrutinised the pad.
When J'aele looked up, it was with an air of seriousness and concern. He studied Kontarsky for a moment; Dredd saw something unspoken pass between them.
"This program..." said the Tek-Judge. "It has an advanced encryption algorithm protecting it. I recognise the type."
"Origin?" Dredd demanded.
"I think Judge Kontarsky knows," J'aele's hand dropped to his holster. "Don't you, Nikita?"
The Sov-Judge's jade-green eyes softened with regret. "It's an East-Meg military code. I wasn't sure until a moment ago, but Judge J'aele's reaction confirms it. The Moon-U AI is Soviet software."
"You understand what this means, Kontarsky? This is proof that Moonie's partners in crime are East-Meg Two," said Dredd.
Foster rubbed his chin. "It makes sense. The Sovs want the Moon as much as anyone does. They hook up with Moonie and he uses his underworld connections to kick-start a rebellion, running the guns to fuel the riots. Then afterwards he'd probably set himself up as president-for-life in return for letting the East-Meggers have the mineral rights."
Kontarsky was shaken by her own admission. "Those hit-men who came after us at Tranquillity were Sov troopers too. There's only one place they could have come from, the same place where the AI was probably activated..." She looked away suddenly, her lip trembling. "I can't believe he would try to kill me..."
"What's it going to be?" Dredd asked her. "You have a choice, Kontarsky. Your own countrymen have betrayed you, put you in harm's way. You know what will happen if we don't end this. You've got to ask yourself where your loyalties really lie. The flag..." and he pointed at the bronze shield at her throat, "or the badge."
Unbidden, the young Sov-Judge's fingers reached up and touched the cool metal, running over the Cyrillic characters of her name. Suddenly, Nikita's path was very clear to her. "The time delay of signals from Earth means that the AI must be being directed from a source closer to Luna-1. From lunar orbit."
"The Irkutsk," said Dredd. "Kommissar Ivanov's courier ship."
"Da," she replied, her voice quiet and brittle.
"Dredd," Foster said carefully. "If we attack a Russkie vessel, that'll mean war with the Sovs."
The Mega-City Judge nodded. "Been there. Done that."
Judge-Marshal Che threw the reports at Kessler's chest and slammed a fist into the desk. "I told you to impose order, not tear the city apart!" Spittle flew from his lips and his face flushed crimson.
The SJS officer's crooked mouth curled into a sneer. "It's too late for second thoughts now, Chief Judge. You gave the command. Your name is on the record. I am merely executing your directives."
"Punitive executions for all crimes?" Che raged. "At this rate, the Special Judicial Service will have killed more citizens than the uprising has! Sector Command reports that dozens of officers are refusing to follow these barbaric orders and I cannot blame them!"
"Those Judges have been suspended or cancelled," Kessler said briskly. "The SJS is firmly in operational control on the streets." He fixed Che with a cold eye. "You wanted this problem solved, but now it comes to getting your hands dirty, you fold like a deck of cards!"
"How dare you!" Che managed, indignant. "I am Judge-Marshal of Luna-1! You will address me with respect!"
"Respect?" Kessler hissed the word like an insult. "For a man who was content to live out his life in the shadow of another? This was your test of fire, Che and you have been found wanting! Luna-1 needs a man of strength, now more than ever, but instead you quibble about bloodshed and casualties!" He gave a callous chuckle. "You cannot hide behind your desk, Chief Judge. You must make the hard choices or else you must step down in favour of someone more exacting."
At once, all the bluster and fight left Che and he sagged into his chair. The Judge-Marshal seemed to deflate, the chain of office around his neck and the cloak on his shoulders too big, too heavy for his wiry frame. The burden of command had always been a part of Che's career - he would not have risen to his rank under Tex's leadership otherwise - but the cold-blooded murder of his friend and the slow destruction of his city had broken him. "Of course... You are right..." he managed, his eyes focussed on some distant midpoint.
"I'm always right," Kessler replied, contempt for Che dripping from every word.
"Chief Judge!" An anxious voice bleated from Che's intercom. "He's here! It's Judge-"
"Dredd!" Kessler shouted, as the Mega-City Judge entered with Kontarsky, Foster and J'aele close behind. The SJS officer pulled his firearm. "Stay where you are! You are under arrest for the murder of Judge-Marshal Tex and-"
"Stow it, Kessler," Dredd's voice was iron-hard and it gave the other man pause. Dredd towered over Che. "Chief Judge," he growled, "I have reason to believe that Sov agents are behind the disorder. It is my firm belief that Kommissar Ivanov of East-Meg Two is in conspiracy with the escaped criminal CW Moonie to depose the government of Luna-1. I want your permission to proceed with a full assault on Ivanov's vessel."
Che blinked owlishly at him. "I... I cannot sanction such action..."
Kessler still had his gun pointed at Dredd's helmet, although the senior Judge seemed not to notice. "You're insane! You've cooked up this mad story in order to further your own agenda of revenge! I should shoot you where you stand!"
The Chief Judge waved a weak hand at Kessler. "I cannot..." he repeated. "Kessler... Kessler is in charge now."
The SJS chief smiled. "You see, Dredd? Judge-Marshal Che understands which of us has the stomach for this job."
Dredd turned his full attention on Kessler for the first time, a burning determination flaring in his face. "The only thing stopping me from breaking your neck right now is the law, Kessler. The same law that you've stepped all over to get where you are. The same law you're breaking to gun down innocent civilians just to push yourself up the chain of command." With a sudden rush of movement, Dredd struck Kessler, the heel of his right hand cracking the SJS-Judge's nose, his left snatching the man's STUP-gun from his grip. Kessler stumbled ba
ckwards, blood gushing from his nostrils. "Your city is coming apart at the seams and all you see is a chance to exploit it. Tex is dead because you couldn't keep your own house in order!"
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"I had a Psi-Judge give your boy Hiro a deep scan before I came in here. He was the shooter in the plaza. He killed Tex and tried to frame me for it." Dredd's face wrinkled, as if he smelt something foul in the air. "I'll deal with you when this is over."
Foster trained his pistol on the injured Judge. "You just stay down there on the floor, chummy."
"Che," said Dredd. "We're out of time. Give the order."
Colour drained from Che's face. "I... I can't." He met Dredd's gaze, tugging the Judge-Marshal's badge from his chest. "I never should have taken this in the first place. I have failed my city." He pressed the shield into Dredd's hand. "Tex always trusted you, Joe. Don't let him down like I did."
Dredd held the star-and-crescent sigil for a long moment, then he snatched a bound copy of the Lunar Constitution from a shelf and slammed it down on the desk. With one hand on the book, he began to speak in a clear, exact voice. "I, Joseph Dredd, pledge allegiance to the badge of Judge-Marshal of Luna-1 and to the code for which it stands. One colony, under law, with discipline and order for all."
"You can't just take over!" Kessler yelled. "Who do you think you are?"
"Quiet!" snarled Foster. "I'll tell you who he is... He's Chief Judge!"
"Acting Judge-Marshal," Dredd corrected. "For now." He looked to Kontarsky. "Get me a live feed to the diplomatic ships."
"What should we do?" said J'aele.
"Prep a combat shuttle for immediate launch." He tossed the Tek-Judge Kessler's pistol. "And get that skull-head creep out of here."
"What about Che?" Foster asked softly.
Dredd gave the other man a sombre look. "Take him down to Med-Bay."
"Something is going on," said Sellers, studying his screen. "Multiple signals from Justice Central to all the other couriers."
"The cowards are calling for help," said the bald man. "Not that they'll get it."
Sellers gave the East-Meg Tek-Judge a hard stare. "You seem confident of that, Gorovich. How come?"
The Sov officer smiled. "No one will dare oppose us. To do so will risk our nuclear retribution and the unbridled might of the glorious East-Meg nation-state."
"You spout the party rhetoric so well," Judge Gorovich's commanding officer said with an arch sneer. "Sometimes I wonder if you are capable of thinking beyond it."
Gorovich smothered an angry retort with a false smile. "I am merely a willing servant of the Sov people, Kommissar Ivanov."
"Indeed..." replied the tall Russian diplomat. Ivanov glanced around the Silent Room, at Sellers and Moonie, who watched the interplay with amused looks on their faces. "And I'm sure our friends here on Luna-1 will hold East-Meg Two in the highest esteem once we have successfully brought them to power, yes?"
"Clinton Moonie never forgets his friends," chirped the frail old man. "Or his enemies, for that matter."
"That much is certain..." murmured Gorovich.
"We've reached the terminal phase of the uprising," said Sellers, consulting his screen again. "I guess it's time for you to start rolling in your jackboot boys, kommissar."
Ivanov raised an eyebrow at Sellers's use of words, but otherwise ignored the insult. He touched a control on his desk and spoke in quick, clipped Russian. "Ivanov to the bridge. Captain, bring us to deployment range and stand by to launch all drop-troopers and landers." He snapped off the intercom without even waiting for an acknowledgement of his orders.
The kommissar settled back in his chair, watching alert indicators blink on as drones loaded Rad-Sweeper tanks and Sentinoid wardroids into cargo landers. Concealed in the scanner-opaque belly of the Irkutsk, elite Neo-Spetznaz troopers were joining the machines in preparation for the lunar assault. "And now, gentlemen," he said with a frosty smile, "we wait for the sun to rise on a Red Moon."
The eagle's-eye window showed the faces of a dozen diplomatic officers from Mega-Cities across the globe, each one broadcasting from their orbital embassies. Dredd scanned their expressions: none of them showed even the slightest suggestion of solidarity.
"I'm not going to waste time dancing around the subject," Dredd told them, "All of you are fully aware of what's been happening down here in the last seventy-two hours. As Acting Judge-Marshal of Luna-1, I'm invoking the emergency assistance clause in the global partnership treaty. I need troops, medical supplies and technical staff."
The silence that followed his announcement hung in the air. The Brit-Cit representative cleared his throat. "Dredd, what you're asking... It's difficult to agree to. We have no troops-"
"Bull," Dredd broke in. "The treaty says your ships are supposed to be unarmed but we all know that's not true. Every one of you has a military contingent aboard."
"You accuse us of a violation?" the Sino-City ambassador spluttered. "How dare you!"
"Spare me the wounded pride act," Dredd grated. "Luna-1's bleeding to death while you're playing games up there. Get past your politics and do the right thing."
The cardinal from Vatican City gave a tight smile. "Dredd, you have much to learn about diplomacy. You cannot simply demand we ignore one part of the treaty and accept another."
"You ask us is to place our flag with yours," Casablanca's representative added. "You ask us to join you against the East-Meg peoples."
Dredd fumed. "If you back us, Ivanov won't dare send troops in! He's relying on you to be too gutless to fight, so he can stroll in and pick up the pieces!"
"Brit-Cit cannot risk engaging Sov forces," said the British ambassador. "I'm sorry, Dredd. I wish it could be otherwise." The link from the Brit-Cit ship went dark.
"Sino-City also refuses to bolster your petty skirmish." Another screen winked out.
"If the Sovs take the Moon, every Mega-City on Earth will pay the price!" Dredd snapped. "If you force us to fight them alone, Luna-1 will be obliterated in the crossfire!"
"Then you should consider honourable surrender, Judge-Marshal," Hondo's diplomat noted. "For the sake of the Selenite citizens."
The last links were severed, leaving Dredd to stare at out of the oval window at the smouldering city beyond.
"None of them would even consider it," said Kontarsky. "They don't dare fire on East-Meg officers."
Dredd shook his head. "It's not just that. They're hoping that Ivanov's soldiers are going to fail, that we're going to kill each other. Then they'll come in and fight amongst themselves to stake their claims on the Moon. We're on our own."
The shuttle J'aele had chosen for the assault was one of the fastest craft in the Luna-1 fleet, an agile Falcon-class inter-orbital pursuit ship.
"It is designed for rapid response, mostly going after Belt pirates or chump dumpers who haven't gone interstellar. The weapons suite is good, but it's not enough to do serious damage to a cruiser like Irkutsk. It has decent armour, but the best defensive system is its speed. At full burn, even smart missiles will have trouble tracking it."
Dredd ran a hand over the bullet-shaped fuselage. "We're not looking for a dogfight. This is a shock attack. I want to get on board Ivanov's ship before he can say 'Das vidanya'."
"Got that covered," added Foster. "I had the meks bolt on some counter-measure pods. We'll drop enough tinsel to make them think it's Christmas."
"Let's load up, then." Dredd turned to find Kontarsky watching him.
"I thought you could use a replacement firearm," she said, handing him his diplomatic case.
Dredd opened the container and removed his Mega-City Lawgiver and a dozen ammunition clips. "Rodriguez was right. A real gun's better than those beamers."
"I want to join the assault team," she said, without preamble. "I am fully rated on the cruiser-class starship design."
Dredd holstered his pistol. "You were reporting to Ivanov every moment you could during the investigation. He used you to track
us out at the Oxy-Dome. You kept quiet when you knew there was Sov involvement in Moonie's plan. Tell me why I should trust you now."
She nodded at the Lawgiver. "You took the gun. If you don't trust me, how do you know I didn't sabotage it?" She paused. "Ivanov used me to help turn Luna-1 into a battleground. I cannot let that go unanswered."
"Good enough," He looked away. "Get on board. We lift in five."
18. POINT OF IMPACT
The shuttle was on automatic as it swept in low over the hull of the Irkutsk. Laser cupolas tracking the speeding ship were fooled as gales of silver thread spat from pods on the Falcon's winglets, sending their beams into knots of tinsel instead of homing in on the Justice Department ship. Klaxons blared inside the Sov vessel as scanners saw the shuttle multiplied a hundred-fold on their screens.
In the ship's cargo bay, Dredd aimed the clamp gun in his hand through the open hatch, sighting the flat expanse of the cruiser's fuselage as it flashed by. He didn't check to see if the others were tethered to the cable; they had been briefed and he expected them to follow procedure. Dredd picked his spot and fired. The gun threw a flat-headed projectile at the other vessel, trailing a diamond filament behind it.
The clamp struck the Irkutsk with a clang and locked in place. In the next second, Dredd and the other Judges were reeled out of the shuttle like fishermen pulled over the side of a boat, while the Falcon continued on its course. He glanced over his shoulder as the motors in the clamp gun drew them to the enemy ship: behind him Kontarsky, J'aele and Foster drifted in a loose line, each tied to the other through a belt webbing loop. Their gamble, that the Sov gun crews would be too occupied trying to target the shuttle to notice a string of human shapes threading across the darkness, had paid off.
Boots impacted on the hull with a resonant thud, automatic electromagnets kicking in to let them stand on the curve of dark metal. Foster made a gulping sound, his stomach threatening to rebel as he caught a glimpse of the Moon turning above them.
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