Wherever the TriRusk intended to take her, the presence of water was a key indicator. Maybe they weren’t solitary creatures. What if they were something much more, and the MinSha didn’t know?
It hit her suddenly. What if they were something much more, and the MinSha knew all along?
She leaned over the edge of the sled. “Hey!”
There was no response, and they continued plodding through the jungle. She tried again.
“Hey! I need to stop.”
She didn’t, but maybe the beast would recognize the word. Sure enough, the sled slowed and jerked upward as the TriRusk propped it against a tree. After a moment, it appeared at her right shoulder, looked at her with its somber eyes, and began to untie her. As the restraints fell away, she flexed her arms and legs and discovered her injured arm and leg hurt much less than a few hours before. The TriRusk stepped back from the travois, and she stepped down, expecting to wince. The leg was stiff but no longer throbbed. She could put her weight on it, and she could walk. The bandage showed no sign of blood. With a flex, she decided it felt good enough for her to run.
Can I do this?
She turned to the TriRusk. “Take me back.”
The TriRusk snorted but made no move.
“I have to go back.” Jessica pointed in the direction they’d come, or at least where she thought that was. “The MinSha need my assistance.”
There was no response. She turned and started to walk hesitantly. Everything appeared to be working normally. Jessica took one step, then another, and another. She looked over her shoulder. “Are you coming with me? I’m going back.”
The TriRusk snorted again but sat there, leaning on its knuckles. She waited ten seconds, then started walking away. A tall bush with two-meter-wide, frond-like, circular leaves blocked her path.
“I’m leaving,” she said with a lilt as if mocking the TriRusk. On the other side of the bush, the TriRusk dropped out of sight. Her heart skipped a beat. It was going to let her go.
But can I make it back?
In the trees above her, the constant cacophony intensified. The chirping calls became screaming warbles. Jessica looked up and saw a half-dozen shapes scurrying down the trees ahead. More joined them. They had small, stubby wings like cormorants, and long-beaked faces poking out from manes of brightly-colored feathers. Each of them was no more than a half-meter tall, like very large chickens. As they came closer, Jessica saw they had small arms ending in claws under their wings, as if they were shrunken Tyrannosaurus with flightless wings. Their toothy maws opened, and Jessica realized she’d seen them in the gathering darkness at the MinSha compound. She remembered in a flash that they terrified the MinSha.
And, she realized she’d made a catastrophic mistake. She reached for her pistol, removed the safety strap, and raised it. She felt the click of recognition from the smart grip in her palm, and she thumbed the safety off. Two dozen of the little bastards encircled her, flying forward with uncanny speed. She fired at the first three targets to her left, dropping them easily. Fifteen meters separated her from the flock of killers.
She dropped three more with quick, perfect shots.
Ten meters.
She fired twice more. The remaining flock screeched and descended on her. She fired again and again, leveling the pistol at the center of the mass and—
WHAMM!
A white blur knocked her aside. Jessica spun and fell into the foliage. She looked up as the bird-things fell on the TriRusk who’d come to her rescue. She’d thought the animal was slow, but it wasn’t any more. Its powerful arms and legs smashed into the mass, ripping and tearing the birds to pieces with every move. The flock screeched, but the horrific noise faded as a new, deep voice tore into the air. The TriRusk roared and dispatched the flock in seconds. It bellowed one last time, and the jungle around them fell eerily silent. Jessica lay in the underbrush with her legs under her, looking up at the TriRusk as it roared. Black blood ran down its white fur, but there were no obvious wounds. Slowly, it lowered its forearms and turned around to face her.
The somber eyes blazed. With a thump, the TriRusk leaned forward on its knuckles and walked over to her slowly. With a speed she barely comprehended, it snatched the pistol from her hand, reared back, and threw it into the jungle. The TriRusk turned back to her. Its attitude was different, as though something had changed. Powerful, graceful strides replaced the limping, shuffling movement she’d grown accustomed to seeing. The TriRusk loomed over her. Jessica realized everything she’d thought was wrong.
Again. Icy fear raced down her back, but she shook it off. Other than the ferocious attack and change in mannerisms, the TriRusk’s face was clearly unable to hold its ruse. It scowled at her as effectively as any teacher from her past. She could work with that.
“You’re a warrior, huh?”
The TriRusk lowered its chin, and its wide maw worked from side to side. It snorted one more time, but didn’t change its expression as it lifted a forearm and pointed toward the sled. Jessica blinked at the clarity of the gesture.
“You want me back on the sled? Fine. Take me back to the MinSha,” Jessica said. “You can fight. I need your help.”
The TriRusk gestured again, forcefully, to the sled and shuffled a half-step forward. Jessica stopped herself from flinching and quickly got to her feet. The TriRusk’s elongated face was still well above her own. She looked up and pointed at it.
“You can understand me, can’t you?” There was no response, save for another chewing movement of the TriRusk’s lower jaw. “You can? Good. You know what a Peacemaker is, right? That’s what I am. I’m giving you an order—take me back to the MinSha compound, right now.”
The TriRusk lowered its paw and stared at her for a long moment. He dropped his chin lower and kept his eyes on her. As his mouth opened, Jessica sucked in a breath and held it in shock.
“No, Human.”
She exhaled. “You speak Standard!”
“Come,” he said.
“Let’s go back!”
“No.”
Jessica stepped around the TriRusk and tried to walk away. “I have to get back! I have a job to do!”
“Death there.”
She stopped and looked over her shoulder. “What do you know about death? There are good people in danger.”
“Humans.” The TriRusk almost spat. “Not good people.”
“Not them. The MinSha. They’re here on a peaceful mission.”
“Untruth, Peacemaker.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jessica demanded. “Take me back there and show me what you mean.”
“No, Peacemaker.”
“Fine. I’m not going one more meter with you and—”
It caught her with one strong arm, flipped her around, and threw her over its shoulder. Before she could argue, the TriRusk ran forward, its speed taking her breath away. As the jungle flew by, Jessica closed her eyes and lowered her head to protect her face. Faster than any Human could run, the giant raced to the southeast. As it ran, it turned its maw toward her. Unbelievably, the halting manner of its speech evaporated in a heartbeat. “You’re not welcome here, Human.”
* * *
MinSha Compound
Weqq
From the moment the MinSha guns ceased firing, Lucille tapped into the compound’s systems, found all its camera systems, and captured them. Recording the video feeds for reporting purposes was in her programming. Once connected, she reached into the inner network of systems and identified the critical areas of power, sanitation, security, and defense. Working quickly, Lucille propped up partitions for the command structures and hid pathways for network control that she could access. Human mercenaries, at least the companies in her database of actions, would disconnect networks at the first opportunity. Letting them believe they had control of a given system was one thing. Actually having control of it, and being able to provide it to her Peacemaker was something different. Satisfied she had the systems protected in case of ra
pid disconnection, Lucille tried again to communicate with Jessica. Using the external sensors on the compound’s arrays, she located the signature of Jessica’s earpiece twenty meters outside the southeastern wall. The battery was strong, and the signature hadn’t moved in 24 hours. There was no other signature matching the sensor profiles for Jessica’s gear or for a Human being, alive or dead, in the surrounding jungle.
Lucille did a quick scan and found the electromagnetic spectrum in the local area remained saturated with broadband jamming. The dozen report-capable frequencies were blocked. There was less significant jamming in the high-frequency spectrum, but she wouldn’t be able to use the low-power to get her message out unless she found a close connection. The search program identified more than twenty CASPers approaching the compound, but they had protected systems. Fresh system updates blocked backdoor opportunities in the CASPers. The updates looked legitimate and appeared to be from major component manufacturers, but they even blocked the service test ports.
Lucille made a note to reference the updates once she connected to GalNet and continued her search. There was a command skiff at the edge of the compound. Its sensor arrays were susceptible to eavesdropping, and through the opening, she tunneled into the command and control processing unit. A complete inventory of the mercenary company’s weapons systems downloaded in seconds. She could not locate two of the CASPers listed either at the compound or through the connection to the rear assembly area.
Lucille also discovered the Satisfaction was severely damaged and was lying on its side ten kilometers away. Crews worked to repair the guidance systems and the damaged thrusters, but the ship wasn’t going anywhere in the immediate future. As soon as she could establish a connection to the damaged ship, she’d ensure it couldn’t move until she used its independent communications suite to radio the Peacemaker Guild for assistance.
Consulting her reporting criteria, Lucille saw that her programming required a report to the guild. Her Peacemaker, her programmer, was officially duty status unknown, whereabouts unknown. DUSTWUN. She prepared the report in a picosecond and put it in a queue to initiate when conditions were right.
The security camera system showed the CASPers entering the shattered compound and taking up overwatch positions around the upper ring. A lone Human entered the central area in an exaggerated swagger she calculated to be a complete ruse. There was a ninety-plus percent probability the Human commander, Raleigh Reilly, would fire his pistol at point-blank range. She attempted to connect to the security communications system, only to find it deactivated.
As she predicted, Reilly pulled a gun and shot Psymrr at point-blank range. The mercenary commander and his unit were a clear and present danger to the MinSha. There was nothing she could do with her current programming, except to follow her ultimate guidance from Jessica.
In extreme measures, do what is necessary to ensure your ability to report on whatever occurs.
Her connection to the compound’s internal network was strong enough for her to transfer to a secure location. From inside, she could explore and act as necessary. She could ensure her ability to report within the data pathways and storage opportunities. If the Raiders didn’t have a systems engineer on their rolls, she’d never be found. However, her logic circuits hung on initiate.
Initiate required a Human hand.
Would intent merit the same consideration?
After .0068 seconds of deliberation, Lucille initiated a full, encrypted download from Jessica’s combat slate to the MinSha internal network for redundancy. It would take a few hours to fully understand the alien programming methodology and architecture, but her position would be safe. It was as much of a success as she could manage. Once she was safely able to continue her mission, she could reach further into the network and determine Jessica’s location and position. If she was unable, there was a possibility she could assist the MinSha under Jessica’s initial guidance, but that would require a deviation from her programming. Rather than consider that course of action, Lucille transitioned into discovery mode and mapped the initial connections of the MinSha network.
Seven minutes into the search, Lucille found a separated port deep inside the medical officer’s archive architecture. The link appeared live and active, but where there was substantial evidence of information leaving the port in the last two weeks, there was very little evidence of an external connection.
Lucille tunneled inside and connected. Her worries about the MinSha network, and her own safety, became the least of her concerns in a matter of seconds.
* * * * *
Chapter Fourteen
MinSha Compound
Weqq
Tara spotted the MinSha compound through the shredded foliage, and she tried to move around the compound to where she’d seen the strange gray and white creatures. Just north of there, they should find the sniper’s body but getting close was impossible. From behind a rock outcropping barely large enough to provide her cover, she looked at Mike 77 hidden deep in the foliage. Oso’s guns were silent.
So much for covering fire. Tara shook her head and jabbed the transmit button. Oso wouldn’t respond, but that didn’t matter. He was with her to observe her, to undoubtedly communicate with Raleigh, and more than likely, to kill her. “Lucille? What’s he doing?”
The assistive program managed, somehow, to penetrate her companion’s suit and provide a constant stream of data. <
“Great.”
<
Tara pivoted the CASPer, bringing the front cameras around. “Give me thermals.”
The thermal system changed the full-color view of the sunlit jungle to a monochromatic green-scale. Through the canopy, she could see a large, hot source moving over the MinSha colony.
<
“Emergency jump, bearing 090.” Her fingers moved in a blur across the instrument panel, and she grabbed the controls as the jump jets spooled up and fired.
<
The CASPer shot through the jungle canopy, into the mist-filled sunlight. As the jump jets cycled to cushion the impending descent, Tara snuck a look at the rear cameras and saw the sky filled with ordnance. Satisfaction’s bay doors were open, filled with every type of weapon in Raleigh’s inventory. Despite the impressive rate of fire of her fellow Raiders, Tara saw the MinSha returning fire at a significant rate.
She knew Satisfaction couldn’t take that pounding for long.
She snapped off the display and focused on her forward cameras and the heads-up display showing her rate of descent and speed. In the center of the display was a velocity vector—an indicator of where on the approaching ground she would land. The CASPer punched through the wispy branches at the top of the canopy and down through thickening brush. The suit was already converting to landing mode when she saw the ground. While she’d trained as hard as any CASPer pilot for the last several months, her ability to handle the jump was a combination of learned skill and a substantial reliance on Lucille.
<
“Agreed.” Tara fired the jump jets again and rocketed the CASPer into the sky. Ahead of her by a few hundred meters, Mike 77 arced through the dusk. She followed his path into the jungle canopy. “Anything on his command linkage?”
<
Tara blinked. She hadn’t considered the possibility the Satisfaction might be targeting her. “Lucille, are you computing the chance they’ll fi
re on us?”
<
“That makes me feel better,” Tara said with a chuckle. If they weren’t targeting her, or Oso, why was he max jumping at every opportunity? “How many more times can Oso max jump that thing?”
<
Tara knew the probability of Mike 77 turning on her increased the farther they got from the MinSha compound. The descent was smooth as glass, and she easily found a landing spot in relatively-clear terrain. Landing a CASPer wasn’t all that difficult, in theory. Designed to replicate and augment the abilities of the Human body, all she needed to do was prepare her own body to land as if she’d long jumped more than eight hundred meters. Inertial dampeners and accelerometers would take care of the cushioning effect.
<
“Good.” Tara bit off any further comment and braced for landing. The clear terrain was rocky in places, and the last thing she needed was to wreck the CASPer. She stabilized her descent with a few quick puffs of the jets and steered the CASPer clear of the rocks. The impact was a little harder without the compensation, but the CASPer’s systems remained green across the board. “Max jump, Lucille. You’ve got the trajectory. Get me as close to Mike 77 as you can. Weapons armed and ready.”
<
“That’s what bothers me. Set weapons free.”
Tara jumped the CASPer to its maximum altitude and found Oso’s signature two thousand meters away, finally remaining still. Cameras and sensors confirmed his weapons were down and stowed, but Tara wasn’t buying it. She’d land the CASPer a dozen meters away with her weapons and sensors bristling. Crashing through the upper canopy, she saw the dense foliage near the MinSha compound had given way to what looked like a pine forest. She could see the brown forest floor through the sporadic brush and what looked like nasty thickets. Mike 77 stood in the receding light, as if watching her dispassionately. As she landed, Tara kept her weapons down, but focused on the camera ports of the other CASPer, and pressed the radio transmit button. Whether Oso would respond with anything more than a click of the microphone was unknown, but they were far enough away from Raleigh that she could risk a direct transmission. If he answered, Lucille could get further inside his command and control systems.
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