Bourne

by Ell Leigh Clarke

  Joel shrugged and started walking again. “She’s smart. You know this. She can be very persuasive with her arguments.”

  “No,” Sean protested, catching up. “It’s not that. She hardly said anything. I think… I think she’d developed another side effect to that being brought-back-to-life thing.”

  Joel stopped again. “Because she changed your mind?”

  “Yeah. Think about it, I mean… I’ve been trained by the Empire before it was the Federation. I know military strategy. I know what we need to be doing right now. And yet…”

  Joel finished his thought. “…and yet, she changed your mind.”

  “Yeah. I’m all in for helping find a new plan A. To save baby Bourne,” Sean admitted.

  Joel took a deep breath and looked out across the hanger. “You know, I don’t think this is anything to worry about. We’re all exhausted, and sometimes we simply change our minds. That’s why we all weighed in on strategy. It’s a good thing.”

  Sean didn’t look convinced. “Not really. We can’t have someone in charge who is completely persuasive. I’ll never get to blow anything up!”

  Sean’s expression was still one of absolute earnestness. And concern.

  Joel slapped him on his arm. “Come on man, it’s all fine. Let’s focus on the task at hand, and if anything else happens like this, just let me know.”

  Joel continued walking to the Empress, calling behind him, “Besides, it may be you having a mid-life crisis, and nothing to do with her!”

  His shoulders jiggled in amusement as he walked away. Sean could tell he was teasing him, but he just couldn’t shake the feeling that something more serious was at play.

  “Better not be a mid-life crisis,” Sean muttered under his breath. “These damn nanos are meant to last a hell of a lot longer than that.” He hurried after Joel to help out with the checks before the strategy meeting in a couple of hours.

  The distraction would help.

  Gaitune-67, Base Conference Room

  Paige and Maya were talking in the base conference room, waiting for the tactical meeting to begin. Maya leaned over and whispered to Paige, “It’s so quiet without Crash and Brock around.”

  Paige was about to respond when Joel and Jack appeared and took their seats. Molly smiled casually at them as if everything were routine. But after Paige’s conversation last night with Sean and Jack, it was starting to sink in for her how non-routine everything really was.

  Molly must have really been operating against the ethos of the Federation for Sean and Jack to give her push back, Paige thought as she watched Joel and Jack wait for Sean to appear. She decided his behavior would be the most telling, like a barometer for how the General might regard the course of plan.

  Paige glanced over to Maya and gave her a half smile. Maya knew that she played this game in her head, to try and figure out what was really going on from peoples’ body language and facial expressions. Joel looked around the room and then said something to Molly. Molly held her finger up. She was probably talking to Oz. A second later, Sean came striding in and took a chair at the end of the table, Molly on one side and Joel and Jack on the other.

  Paige wondered if Joel was automatically on Molly’s side about trying to save Bourne.

  Molly got up and closed the door. The team was now fully assembled and everyone quickly became quiet as she returned to her seat.

  “Okay, folks,” Molly said, calling the meeting to order. “We’re two men down on this one, so we’re going to have to pull together to make this work.” Her eyes fell on Jack. “Where are you up to with flying The Empress?”

  Jack sat up straighter, her hands clasped on her lap. “Good. I’m comfortable doing the flying for the plan Joel laid out.”

  “Okay. Here’s what we know,” she said, looking around at the wide-eyed faces of her team, ready for another mission. “The new AI. His name is Bourne.”

  Pieter put his hand up immediately. “Why Bourne?”

  Oz made his presence known over the intercom. “I left him a music video of Ozzy Osbourne. For reference. Then he found out my designation is Oz. So he made a logical leap. Bourne follows Oz. So Osbourne.”

  There were chuckles around the conference table.

  Oz continued, oblivious to the humor. “Our communications have evolved to the point where we have an understanding of what trust is. Not that we have established trust, but we have a working concept of it.”

  Paige frowned and glanced at Maya. Pieter seemed absorbed in the information and nodded, quietly taking it all in. Maya moved her eyes from Paige to Pieter, signaling they would ask him later.

  “It seems,” Oz continued, “that the military are treating him as a prisoner. He’s performing tests and running tasks for them. Mostly focused on finding Molly through the normal channels.”

  Molly leaned on the table, optimism in her eyes. “At least we have the advantage of having that covered.”

  Jack frowned. “In that you’re officially dead?”

  Molly nodded. “Yeah. That and my DNA and likeness have been wiped from every government and commercial database on Estaria and Ogg.”

  Jack took a note on her holo. “Should we be concerned about managing that further afield?” she asked, looking up again.

  Molly shook her head. “Probably not yet. It’s unlikely the Estarians are going to bring anyone else in on this. They just don’t have those type of diplomatic relations with the Federation, or otherwise.”

  Maya leaned forward, reaching her arms across the table as if trying to grasp an understanding. “But if Oz is in communication with him, surely they’ll be able to trace the communications?”

  Molly turned to Maya. “Yes, and we haven’t made a concerted effort to hide that, in order to establish trust.”

  Maya’s frown deepened. “But he could know where Oz is. Where we are.”

  “And,” Molly explained, “he’s showing no signs of communicating that to the people there yet. Trust is a two-way street. We have to trust in order for him to do so.”

  Sean shifted grumpily in his seat. “Even if it gets our asses blown up?”

  Joel nodded. “That’s how trust works. We have to teach him there is an alternative to what he’s picking up in the military facility.”

  Molly changed the tone of the conversation by focusing them forward. “Our goal is to get him on board with an extraction. Priority. To that end, treating him with respect and allowing him to develop confidence in us is paramount.”

  Sean relaxed.

  Molly continued. “If we can help him get out, that will mean we don’t have to blow up the base, kill those people, and end his existence. Well worth the risk, in my opinion.”

  She looked around the room. “Anyone disagree?”

  Most of the team shook their heads. They knew their job, but they also knew the value of life. And Molly’s views of artificial life. Even Sean nodded his agreement diligently.

  Paige was scribbling notes, though. Molly waited for her to look up, which she did when she realized the whole room was waiting for her. “Oh sorry. Yes, of course. One hundred percent on board.” Her chest had flushed a deep red through her blue skin. “Sorry, I was scribbling notes because I think this might be a great case study for your class.”

  Molly smiled and shook her head.

  Oz continued. “We also now know how much processing power he has access to, and how much he can do before he raises a flag. It’s not much. So we’re going to have to go in. Physically. Or at least get within range of their network and uploading.”

  Paige was back into the conversation. “You mean like we downloaded the virus to the Zyhn to take control?”

  “Exactly,” Oz confirmed. “Except in the reverse.”

  Joel took over. “This is what the situation looks like.” He pushed his chair back and began: “Our goal is to extract Baby Oz with minimal casualties or damage. Our secondary goal is to make sure they can’t re-create a new Oz accidentally. If they’re to dev
elop AI tech, it’s got to be as a result of them truly understanding the mechanism that Molly solved that created Oz in the first place. The thinking is that by the time they have that understanding they will likely comprehend how to raise an AI.”

  He paused, noticing Paige was watching him with rapt attention, taking it all in. She had become quite the student.

  He continued. “Oz’s plan is to get us close by — within EtherTrak reach. At this point, Bourne will disable the firewall from the inside, allowing us to transfer data both ways. We can then upload Bourne to the Empress, and download a little cocktail for the system to corrupt all the code Bourne leaves behind.”

  He pointed at Jack. “Jack is on piloting duty. Sean will handle defenses and weapons.”

  Sean nodded his head once in acknowledgment.

  Joel continued. “Oz and Molly will be on the Bourne transfer. Pieter,” he said turning to Pieter, who was once again not buried in a series of holoscreens. He looked up at Joel.

  “You’ll be overseeing the cocktail that we need to deliver,” Joel explained. “I think you need to get with Oz ahead of this mission going live, just to walk through the phasing of the delivery.”

  Pieter nodded and gave a thumbs-up. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Paige was looking at him.

  Joel turned to Paige and Maya. “Okay, ladies, this is probably going to be a big deal for you, but remember you’ve always got Emma to execute the commands.”

  Paige suddenly felt her heart skip a beat and adrenalin rush through her system. Why were they suddenly getting some surprise instructions? They were admin and communications. Investigative research… not ops. She felt her mouth dry up.

  Joel studied them carefully, in much the same way that Paige had been idly studying everyone else around the table: to try and get a read on their reactions.

  Paige swallowed nervously. Joel continued. “We’re going in on the Little Empress. She’s more maneuverable. But we want backup near by. Just in case.”

  Paige felt Maya look at her, but she was focused hard on what Joel was about to tell them.

  “I need you two on The Empress Actual to cover us if we need it, and to help us with a gate getaway.” He paused a moment, his eyes on them. “Should we need it.”

  Paige could feel her eyes widen. She knew she was giving away all the tells of not being comfortable with the orders, but at this point she didn’t care. This was fucking HUGE!

  Joel was putting them in charge of The Empress.

  She tried to speak but her voice wouldn’t come out. She took a quick breath and tried to wet her palate before trying again. “But…”

  She glanced at Maya quickly before looking at Joel, her voice cracking. “We haven’t had any training on how to fly The Empress!”

  Joel nodded and held her gaze. He wasn’t letting her out of this one. “Emma is going to run you through some basics. Not to fly her… she can handle that. But in terms of tactical things that you might need to make decisions on. You’ll have a few hours with her between now and go-time to get comfortable.”

  Paige began to protest, but Joel put his hand up. “It’s going to be okay. Emma knows how we work, but sometimes an organic sees things in a different way.” His voice softened. “You’re a good judge of people, especially in intense situations. That is why you’re going to be calling the shots from The Empress.” Then he grinned. “It’s certainly not for your flying ability.”

  Pieter smirked. He, or Oz, had probably told Joel how badly she had been at the one attempt she had ever had on the holo flying simulation of a Federation basic space jet. The boys had teased her something rotten. Maya had done slightly better though, she remembered suddenly. She glanced at Maya, who was just staying quiet.

  Joel was still watching her.

  “So… er…” she looked back at him, pointing her finger between her and her friend. “We’re both on this then? The humanity switch?”

  Joel nodded. “You work well as a team. You talk things out and you make good decisions. I’ve got every confidence in you. To be clear, Paige, you’ll be in command of The Empress for the duration of the mission. Maya, you’re her second.”

  Maya nodded, accepting the order confidently.

  Paige sat back in her seat as if accepting her fate. Maya noticed her fiddling with her fingers beneath the table.

  This was not something Paige felt ready for.

  Joel continued. “The Empress will be waiting in orbit, a safe distance out from the base on Ogg. Then it’s down to the Little Empress to execute the plan. Here’s what we know. We will have to contend with ground-to-air missiles, which also have space capabilities.”

  He glanced pointedly in Paige’s direction making sure she understood. She nodded.

  Molly meanwhile cocked her head, perhaps having a conversation with Oz on that very point.

  Joel pulled up a holoscreen on the main display. It was a schematic of the area, and the types of missiles the Central Systems military have. “The thing in our favor is that they will probably take twenty minutes to mobilize fully. If this is the case, we can probably be in and out before they start firing.”

  Maya leaned forward, raising her hand. “Why doesn’t Oz or Bourne just hack their weapons system?”

  Joel’s expression looked more serious than usual. “They have a cyberwall. Bourne isn’t sophisticated enough to compromise it. It’s too complex, and he needs to use all of the processing power he has available to be able to upload himself.”

  “And Oz?” Jack asked, having been silent most of the meeting.

  “He could hack through it,” Joel told her, “but he’d need time. We have no idea how long it would take, but if we can use that window to be in and out then the cyber wall becomes a moot point.”

  Jack nodded, satisfied. Maya did the same.

  Joel continued. “So we’ll extract Bourne through the EtherTrak. It will be slower than a hard-wired upload, but less invasive to the base — and a shit ton faster than trying to use the RDEP he’s currently using. Using the EtherTrak will cause a spike in data and energy usage though. They’ll know we’re doing it. And they’ll know we’re in their airspace. We’ll be taking fire from their smaller weapons systems. That we’re sure of.”

  The briefing continued for several more minutes as each went over their particular roles and made their clarifications. This was a mission that put them all out of their comfort zone for one reason or another.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  On board The Empress above Ogg

  Despite being in space and away from the normal cue of the morning light or frost, the mood of a work morning hung heavily in the cockpit, complete with fresh anxiety about the new mission.

  The Little Empress had departed from the hull with the rest of the crew, leaving Maya and Paige to hold the position of The Empress Actual.

  Paige was now officially in command.

  She fiddled with the arms of the pilot’s chair, digging her fingers into the soft faux leather arms, and watched as the surface pinged back.

  “You okay?” Maya asked quietly, so as not to intrude if her question was unwelcome.

  Paige took a deep breath and nodded as she exhaled. “Yeah. Just running through the scenarios in my head.”

  Maya pursed her lips. “Were they hard decisions in the simulations?”

  Paige’s eyes didn’t leave the arm of the chair. “Yeah. And they all happened at once, to simulate a real scenario. My mind is still swimming.”

  Maya leaned over and placed a hand over Paige’s, distracting her from her obsessive fiddling. “Did you get any sleep at least?”

  Paige sighed and looked up finally. “Some,” she confirmed. “Maybe four hours.”

  Maya’s eyes were sympathetic. “Well, that’s something at least. And this will all be over in a few hours, and you’ll have done a wonderful job and will be wondering what all the stress was about.”

  Paige smiled weakly and squeezed Maya’s fingers as they interlocked w
ith her own. “Thanks,” she murmured.

  Maya smiled.

  Emma’s simulated voice interrupted their moment. “If it’s any consolation, you’ve had more training than Sean Royale had the first time he took a ship space-side.”

  Maya shifted and sat up in her seat, releasing Paige’s fingers and putting her hands back on the console controls. “How come? What dirt have you got on the cyborg?” She grinned over at Paige, encouraging the distraction for her sake.

  Paige started to smile and looked over at Emma’s simulated face on screen.

  Emma assumed an expression of conspiratorial gossip, and quickly matched her tone to it. “Well, obviously I wasn’t around at the time, but I hear from the other EIs that when Sean was a kid he used to get away with all sorts — playing his Mom off against Barnabas, and the Admiral off against the General.”

  Paige leaned forward frowning. “You mean, to extort them?”

  Emma nodded. “Yes!” She paused. “Although, he was a kid, so it wasn’t for intel or money or anything. Normal kids stuff… like chocolate ice cream and flights on the bridge and such like.”

  Paige’s expression softened. “Ohhhh.”

  Emma continued. “Anyway, this one time one of the diplomats from a Gnom-nom tribe had come to visit on the ArchAngel II and had left their shuttle hot and available for flight with only a small amount of preparation.

  “Hard to imagine their EI wouldn’t have shut that down,” Paige commented.

  “This was a little before the time of EIs in other ships. Only the Etheric Empire had them then in any form of mass use.”

  Emma chuckled to herself. “Yeah. In the olden days you had to fly your ships yourself!”

  Maya snickered. “Oh, wow. This is a piece of history…”

  Paige narrowed her eyes. “How old is he exactly?”

  “I can’t say,” Emma told them.

  Paige squinted harder at Emma’s simulated image on the console in front of her.

  “No, no,” Emma protested. “You don’t understand. I literally have a subroutine in my core programming that prevents me from disclosing the ages - and identities in some cases - of a number of agents. Royale is one of them. And there’s a story behind how he got himself put on that list… but that’s a separate matter.”