His mind snapping back into reality, Lawson turned. He could see movement beyond the airlock. He just had time to unstrap himself from his chair when a loader bot walked past the hatch and headed towards them. Lawson drew out his gun and began to fire at it. The robot took a few hits in its box-like chest before it became still. When another, identical robot poked its stubby head through the airlock opening, Lawson fired a few more rounds at it, but he wasn’t sure if he hit it or not.
Ruthven slowly raised his right arm, signaling at his executive officer to stop. “That’s enough, Vince. It’s over.”
Lawson twisted his chair around to use it as cover. He loaded a fresh magazine into the gun and fired another series of rounds when the robot once again poked its head into view.
A woman’s voice was heard coming from the outside. “This is Special Agent Darian Arante with NASA. Colonel, tell your subordinate to let go of his weapon and surrender.”
Stilicho couldn’t help but add his own words into the fray. “And this is Agent James Bomb of the Supreme Intelligence Agency. You’ve lost, so give it up!”
Ruthven felt a sudden, crushing weight on his chest. The accumulation of stresses had finally taken a toll on his body. He could barely breathe as he took off his helmet. “Vince, cease fire. That’s an order.”
“They won’t take me alive, Colonel!” Lawson said before squeezing out a few more shots wildly in the direction of the enemy.
“Vince, please. Just … stop.”
As Lawson changed magazines on his pistol once more. The immobile robot in front of him suddenly became active once again. It closed the distance and shoved its one functioning arm into Lawson’s chest. The Virago’s executive officer was flung violently backwards, and crashed into a set of view screens at the other end of the room.
Ruthven screamed as he pushed himself towards his stricken friend. He got over to Lawson’s side and twisted the injured man’s helmet open. “Medic, medic!”
The pistol slowly floated away from them. Globules of blood began to seep from Lawson’s mouth and drifted in random directions. His chest was crushed, and he couldn’t draw in a breath anymore. He looked at his superior officer, and gave him a grim, bloody smile. “Did … the mission … succeed, Colonel?”
Ruthven slowly nodded. He cradled Lawson’s head in his arms “Yes it did, pilot. Let’s head back to base. I got a cold one waiting at my quarters.”
“Yes, sir,” he said before coughing out a little more blood in an upward stream that resembled a crimson colored cord emanating from his mouth. Lawson’s body convulsed a little before closing his eyes for one final time.
Darian’s voice boomed from behind the hatch. “Colonel, keep your hands in the air and make your way towards the airlock, now!”
“Yup,” Stilicho said. “We got a casaba howitzer surprise for you if you don’t comply!”
Ruthven gently pushed away the body of his good friend. For a few seconds, he just floated there, seemingly in a trance, before grabbing the pistol from the air. Sensing hostile intent, the robot reacted and immediately started moving towards him.
“Colonel,” Darian said. “Throw the gun away now!”
Ruthven gripped the pistol, stuck the weapon into his mouth and pulled the trigger.
They left Vlad in care of one of the loader bots by the corridor while they floated near the inner airlock. Neither of them wanted to stay inside the battlesphere. The drifting globules of blood had begun to attach themselves to the surrounding walls and consoles, but there were still copious amounts floating around inside the chamber.
“Refueling is nearing completion,” Maia said. “We can detach from the tanker in thirty minutes.”
“You know how to pilot this ship, Maia?” Darian asked.
“Yes. I can use the autopilot program or fly it manually, just tell me where the destination is.”
“Well, back to Earth obviously,” Darian said. “Probably low orbit.”
Stilicho looked her in the eye. “And then what?”
Darian gave him a confused look. “What do you mean, Jones?”
Stilicho looked away wearily. “That’s exactly what I mean. You want to give this thing back to the Air Force?”
Darian couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Is that even a question or is this one of your jokes again?”
“Look,” he said. “This happened because we entrusted the military with a technology that would change everything. This is what resulted.”
“So what do you want to do then? Blow it up? We were tasked to either recover the Virago or destroy it,” Darian said. “There’s enough casaba howitzers to obliterate this ship. Is that what you want?”
“That’s not gonna change anything. There’s nothing to stop the military from making more of these ships,” Stilicho said. “And I’m pretty sure the Chinese and the Russians will start their own crash course programs to build their versions now.”
Darian raised an eyebrow. “So what kind of crazy idea are you proposing this time?”
“There’s at least one shuttlecraft that’s fully functional,” Stilicho said. “Take Anonymyst with you and head back to Earth using that.”
“And what about you? What are you going to do?”
Stilicho gave out a loud sigh. “The more I think about it, the more I realize that the only way to stop this arms race in space is to ensure nobody else builds something like this.”
Darian wasn’t sure if she could believe what he was saying, so she decided to humor him. “And just how are you going to do that?”
“Maia is in full control over this ship,” Stilicho said. “I say let her keep it. She can ensure that if any nation on Earth attempts to build another one- then she can destroy it from orbit while they’re still laying out the design specs for it on the ground.”
Darian blinked a few times. “Y-you’re insane!”
“You know I’m right.”
Darian let out a deep breath. “You know if I agree, I'll be breaking the law too.”
“You’ve already broken it multiple times, Darian,” he said. “All I’m asking for you to do is to break one more. This is the one outcome that’s beneficial for everyone. It’s mutually assured destruction if anyone tries to build a second one, regardless of nationality, or cause.”
Darian looked up at the ceiling and rolled her eyes. “They’re going to label us traitors too.”
“I’ll take the blame for everything,” Stilicho said. “Just say I tricked you into the shuttle with a promise to scuttle this ship.”
Darian placed her hand on his elbow. “If you do that, everyone will be after you.”
Stilicho smiled. “I’ve come to realize I can’t live without Maia. She’s the one I truly have the hots for. If I go back to Earth with you now, I’ll be just another sad and pathetic loser for the rest of my life.”
“Oh, you’ve really gone into the deep end, Jones.”
“Nope. My eyes have been opened.”
“You’ll be looking over your shoulder every second of your life if you do this, Jones.”
Stilicho bit his lip. “Yeah, I guess so. But it’ll be fun, so I won’t be bored at least. Will you come after me too?”
“No,” Darian said softly. “But there will be others. There always is.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Darian looked down. “Okay. Are you sure about this?”
He gave her a wink. “I made up my mind the moment I was launched into orbit. I was either going to be dead or flying around in the Virago.”
“Okay. Whatever happens at this point, I wish you well.”
“And to you, Darian.”
Just before pushing herself past the airlock, Darian glanced back at him. “You know, we make one hell of a team.”
Stilicho grinned. “That we do. If you ever need my services again, just whistle.”
Chapter 32
An impromptu crowd had gathered just outside the General Assembly Building at the UN Headquarters in Manh
attan, to hear the CEO of Urizen Holdings give a speech as to what had just been discussed in closed door sessions with world leaders. Dressed in a pin-striped, three piece dark blue suit, Tyrus Faust exuded an air of genteel style and mannerisms, though insiders always reported that he harbored a mean streak in private matters, just like the other self-made trillionaires of his ilk. A former amateur polo player, Tyrus’s once athletic body had grown corpulent over the years, but he still maintained a robust, daily health regimen to try and keep the ravages of age in check.
“It’s been a tumultuous few days, to say the least,” he said, making sure that the hovering camera drones would give him a perfect profile on their video feeds. Tyrus’s silvery hair was cut like a pageboy’s, and it drooped over his ears in slightly coifed waves. “But we have made progress. Both China and the United States have agreed to withdraw the bulk of their naval and air forces from the South China Sea.”
Tyrus smirked as he continued. “There have been no new updates as to the current whereabouts of the Virago. The latest observations seem to indicate that the ship has taken a geosynchronous orbit around Saturn, but that could change at any time.”
One of the journalists in the crowd raised his hand. “Will the US Air Force or the Chinese PLA send up spacecraft to attack and destroy it?”
Tyrus shrugged. “I’m afraid I can’t answer that question. I was merely part of the advisory committee in regards to the ceasefire. From what I’ve been told, the governments of China, Russia, and the United States do not see the Virago as an imminent threat, so everyone will take a wait and see attitude for the time being in regards to that ship.”
Another reporter chimed in. “So the governments of the world will treat it like a sword of Damocles over everybody’s head, and just ignore it?”
Tyrus chuckled a little and shook his head. “My dear man, no one can do anything about it anyway. From what we’ve all heard the Air Force has got some sort of special nuclear missiles inside that ship, and there’s nothing that can stop it. What we need to do is to focus on the immediate problems right here, right now.”
A female journalist raised her hand. “And what would these problems be?”
“Well for one, Urizen will be creating a special compensatory fund for the families of those who were tragically lost in this affair,” Tyrus said. “I believe that we must all work together, and so I will be creating trusts, not just for the families of the Air Force servicemen killed, but for the relatives of the Chinese nationals that were lost too. I have already approved an initial funding of several billion dollars for this trust.”
A few people in the crowd started clapping, but Tyrus gestured at them to stop before he continued. “What happened in space a few days ago was a near fatal catastrophe. We must ensure that something like this must never happen again. I made a suggestion to the committee to investigate the private contractors that were involved in the construction of the Virago, and do a thorough probe on them for any signs of incompetence and poor judgment. I believe that it was their short-sightedness and possibly illegal activities that led to this debacle.”
Another journalist edged forward. “You mean ACE Corp, right? What have you learned that makes you certain of their responsibility in all this?”
“Think about it,” Tyrus said nonchalantly. “From what I heard ACE Corp was in charge of designing the fusion drive and the AI systems on that ship. That’s all I can tell you at this point.”
As other reporters began to pester him with more questions, Errol Flux suddenly appeared behind the crowd and started to force his way forward. Tyrus’s bodyguards sensed the potential hostility and moved in front of Urizen’s CEO to hold off any potential physical conflict between them. The journalists in the crowd, sensing a hot story in their hands, allowed him to get ahead as they called in for more camera drones.
Errol continued to thrust his way to the front of the crowd until he was flanked by two burly men wearing sunglasses and dark suits. He pointed an accusing finger at Tyrus. “I know you had a hand in the hijacking of the Virago, you scumbag!”
Tyrus raised one eyebrow while he kept his cool. “Have you been reading those conspiracy sites on the dark-net again, Errol?”
“One of the hijackers that was killed had custom cybernetic implants from your company!”
Tyrus chuckled. “My subsidiaries provide goods and services to millions of people. Are you accusing all of them to being criminals too? That’s the most ridiculous assertion you’ve made yet, and you’ve made a lot of them.”
Errol sneered. “This isn’t over, Tyrus. When I get my hands on the evidence, you’re going down.”
Tyrus sighed while rolling his eyes. “What evidence, Errol?”
“There was another spacecraft out there, wasn’t it?” Errol said. “Your people had one of your mining ships relocate near the Asteroid Belt, when everyone else was running away, and you were going to take the Virago once the hijackers turned it over to you. Don’t deny it! We have confirmed sightings of that other spacecraft.”
Tyrus shook his head. “While it is true that a Urizen ship was just beyond L-2, that mining vessel had reactor troubles, and they just couldn’t evacuate in time like the others did. It was mere coincidence. You are grasping at straws, so give it up.”
His temper finally getting the best of him, Errol tried to bull rush past the bodyguards, but they were able to hold him back. Tyrus turned and walked away while the reporters swarmed all over them like a pack of hyenas, bombarding them with questions and clarifications. Several NYPD police officers entered the fray and began to restore order a few minutes later.
Footage of the confrontation quickly spread around the world. In one particular London pub, the video was looped and endlessly repeated at one of their view screens overlooking the bar. It was now mid-afternoon in the city, and a number of thirsty office workers began to pour inside, heading up to the bar counter, flashing their bills, and asking for a pint.
After the initial rush of drinks, one of the barmen slid sideways as he started washing some used wineglasses at the small sink behind him. Across the counter sat another man who nursed a half-glass of stout beer while continuing to look above at the video on the screen.
The barman glanced up at the recorded footage before smiling at the patron in front of him. The customer had been one of the first to come inside when the pub had opened that day, and he tipped well.
“Bloody trillionaires,” the barman said. “They’re the cause of all the problems in the world.”
Stilicho Jones smiled back. “You’re more right than you know, dude.”
“You’re a yank then,” the barman said as he continued washing. “You here for business?”
“Nope, I’m just here.”
The barman placed the now cleaned wineglasses back into the tray beside the sink. “Right then, if you need anything, let me know.” He moved over to the other side of the bar, where another customer was waiting to order.
Stilicho nodded. He had made it back to Earth just yesterday, using various ways and means, and he needed a drink. When Maia had laid out her ultimatum by private com-link to the leaders of the world’s most powerful countries a few days ago, the things she said never went public. The UN figured that telling the general population the news that the Virago was now controlled by an advanced AI, and that it could devastate large portions of the planet would surely cause widespread panic, so it quickly became a multi-state secret, discussed only among the higher-echelons of government. Stilicho was sure that they would heed the warnings, and that no new warship would be built for the time being.
A beeping noise in his smartglasses momentarily startled him. He tapped on the frame and took the call. “Yes?”
Maia’s voice came over his earpiece once more. “Stil, I just wanted to let you know that there is a police drone two blocks north of the pub.”
His stomach started to churn. “Did they find me already?”
“No,” Maia said. “It’s jus
t a routine patrol sweep. Anyway, I took the liberty of hacking into its systems, so the drone is under my control now. Don’t worry, Stil, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I appreciate it,” Stilicho said.”What would I ever do without you?”
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Don’t miss a brand new science fiction adventure series by John Triptych:
Lands of Dust
The Dying World Book 1
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Millions of years from now, the planet is dying. The oceans have dried into plains of ash. Strange, lethal creatures ravage the land. The surviving pockets of humanity eke out a brutal existence.
But some humans have also evolved—into Magi, men who can move objects with a mere thought, and Strigas, women who can control others' minds. Once, Gorgons could do both, and were the rarest of all. But a devastating war eradicated the Gorgons, and their terrifying presence faded into legend.
Miri, a powerful Striga and the chosen protector of her village by the Great Silt Sea, is sworn to defend her people against attacks by raiders and monsters. But when a mysterious young boy is found near the wastes, her once familiar world shatters, and she and her allies must journey across an unforgiving planet in order to unravel a mystery surrounding the extinction of the Gorgons—one that could change everything they thought they knew.
Virago One: A Hard Science Fiction Technothriller (Ace of Space Book 2) Page 30
