by Isaac Hooke
“We’ll wait until the Imperials commit more troops,” Jason said. “Then we’ll attack from behind.”
“A pincer maneuver,” Tara said. “I like it.”
Jason waited, but only about half of the ground and air troops moved forward and into the city, while the rest remained behind, standing guard.
“Hmm,” Xin said. “It looks like they’re not going to commit much more than that.”
She was right. A few minutes passed, and still those troops hadn’t moved. They continued to fire into the city from their current positions.
“The original plan won’t work then,” Jason said. “Okay. We’ll stay in the forest, and attack these guys instead. Bokerov, I want you to send your troops around to the west side of that detachment. Aria, return control of your tank platoon to him—he’ll need them. When you’re in place, Bokerov, we’ll attack at the same time, you from the west, the War Forgers from the south. Your Cataphracts should be hidden by the tall trees... so you can use that to get close. But be careful not to let them detect your vibrations until I give the order to attack.”
“I can do this,” Bokerov said.
“It’s still a pincer maneuver, of sorts,” Aria said.
“That’s right,” Jason said.
“We’re still vastly outnumbered, no matter how you look at it,” Tara said. “We tried to fight this army before on Earth… you saw that happened then.”
“That was on an open plain, and without an outflanking strategy,” Jason insisted. “Plus, they have half their numbers at the moment, with most in the city.”
“True,” Tara said. “But there are bound to be Imperial scouts out there, watching the detachment’s rear. That outflanking strategy might not be as effective as you hope.”
“I’m well aware that there could be enemy sentries present,” Jason said. “Which is why I want Bokerov to give them as wide a berth as possible during his approach, while using scouts of his own.”
“I’ll take the utmost of care in my approach,” Bokerov said.
“If you’re detected,” Jason said. “We’ll just have to begin the attack earlier. Also, Bokerov, I want you to make sure you utilize your antennae in directional mode. Leave units behind at intervals to act as repeaters, forming a half-circle around the Imperials until you’re in position. Direct all communications along that arcing line of repeaters to keep our transmissions hidden from them.”
“I will do this,” Bokerov said.
Jason ordered the War Forgers and their clones to move forward as well, staying inside the forest, until they were a kilometer to the south of the enemy line. Jason sent his Explorer forward, staying underneath the canopy of trees to avoid detection. He spotted one scout, and the team avoided it.
Jason and his group kept their antennae angled to the northwest, toward Bokerov’s closest repeater unit. Even though the antennae were currently in directional mode, the comm systems also had an omnidirectional range of around fifty meters so that the local crew could still keep in contact with one other.
After Jason and the others were in place, they waited: it took Bokerov’s detachment a little longer to move into position. The Russian had to avoid two enemy scouts in the forest along the way, and also cover more territory. Finally, his tanks and Cataphracts assumed their designated positions in the forest a kilometer west of the enemy line.
“We’re in place,” Bokerov said.
“Attack!” Jason said. “Originals and clones, that means you, too!”
Aria took the lead, and Jason followed behind her. Tara was at his right side, Lori his left. Both of the girls still hung onto the Rex Wolves by their leashes, and the mutants pulled wildly at the reins, literally tugging them forward as they tried to break free.
The other girls were spread out through the tall trees behind him, along with the other War Forger clones.
They were three hundred meters away when Aria’s shield began to glow red at different spots along the inside.
“We’re taking fire!” Aria said.
20
“Take cover behind the trees!” Jason said.
Jason dodged behind the closest trunk with Aria. It was thick enough to hold them both.
Tara and Lori had taken cover behind other trees nearby, and they were still reining in the Rex Wolves, who were barking wildly.
Aria swiveled her lightning weapon past the left edge of the trunk, while Jason did the same on the opposite side with his energy weapon. He switched his point of view to the weapon scope, and surveyed the trees. He spotted Phaser and Plasma Thrower mechs taking cover behind different trunks. He aimed at a Phaser’s sword that was exposed, and fired. The Phaser didn’t wink out—apparently it hadn’t detected the attack in time—and the tip of the weapon melted before the owner pulled it out of view entirely.
Jason tried targeting the trunk next; he wondered how deep his energy bolt would penetrate. He fired, and carved a blast hole into the wood, while the imparted shockwave launched shards of wood in every direction. However, the penetration wasn’t as deep as he’d hoped. He might be able to shoot right through the edge of it after five more shots. Targeting the center would take a lot more. Sturdy trees.
A plasma bolt from another attacker struck his forearm, narrowly missing his energy weapon, and he pulled back behind cover.
Bolts began to shred the branches above as enemy fire rained down from flyers that had positioned overhead.
Aria immediately tilted her shield upward to protect herself and Jason.
Cheyanne darted skyward, and began her spinning top routine. Sophie activated her jumpjets and unleashed her micro machines at other flyers to draw their fire.
Cheyanne only managed to take down two of the shielded units before one of her wings was shot off. Sophie caught her, and lowered her safely to the ground behind a tree.
Jason aimed skyward, and unleashed several blows in rapid succession, breaking through the shield, and then striking the fuselage of the flyer underneath. Xin fired at the same target, and cut through the craft, sending it falling in multiple pieces.
One of the enemy missiles struck the tree beside Jason. Black goo began to flow over the surface. Jason and Aria stepped backward, away from the tree. Another bolt struck it from the other side, and the entire section coated by that goo shattered; the tree pitched precariously to the right and began to topple.
“Cover us!” Jason and Aria retreated into the open and dashed behind another tree for cover.
Jason glanced at his overhead map. Bokerov’s troops had vanished entirely from the display. “What the—”
Jason dispatched his Explorer to the west. The scout darted through the trees, while Jason continued attacking the enemy, sometimes aiming at the ground troops hidden behind the trees ahead, at other times firing between the boughs overhead at the latest flyers.
“Alien bombers!” Maeran said.
Jason accelerated his time sense, and glanced through the boughs overhead. He spotted the falling bombs that Maeran had highlighted.
“All right, reposition!” Jason said. He circled the new location, three hundred meters to the northwest. He hoped it was far enough.
Jason returned his time sense to something more manageable, and then dashed from the trees with Aria at his side. She had her shield in place between him and the attacks. While on the run, they fired around the shield, at the Imperials hidden behind the trees across from them. The rest of the War Forgers and their clones followed just behind, and were also firing.
Jason reached the target waypoint and dove behind a tree. The other War Forgers took cover just as a massive shockwave of energy dissolved the air behind them. In place of the forest there, and the ground where the trees had grown, only a crater remained—its walls a perfectly smooth half sphere.
Jason glanced at his status display. All of the War Forgers had survived, and successfully repositioned. The Imperial troops had followed their progress, and continued firing from the trees ahead. Flyers moved i
nto the area cleared by the bomb, and fired not just from above, but from that clearing, too, now.
“It was only one bomber,” Xin announced. “I got it, I think.”
“Good job,” Jason said.
He concentrated his fire on the flyers that were in the open above the new crater. He took one down by combining his attack with Aria.
After it crashed, he felt the ground rumbling around him.
“The Imperials have dispatched a reserve herd of bioweapons!” Jones said. “The Imperials are trying to flush us out!”
Rhinoeyes dashed by on either side of the tree where Aria and Jason resided. Jason fired intermittently at them, cutting thick gashes into their sides as they drove past. Some of the bioweapons attempted to pull up short to engage him, but others plowed into them from behind.
“Not very effective in closed quarters, are they?” Aria said.
Across from him, Cheyanne sliced out with her swords, cutting through any of the bioweapons that got close.
Tara and Lori held onto the Rex Wolves, keeping them hidden behind the trees; the mutants bit into the necks of passing Rhinoeyes.
While that was taking place, the Explorer finally approached Bokerov’s position, and Jason focused his attention on the video feed the drone transmitted.
The tanks and Cataphracts under the Russian’s control were idling.
No wonder this is so damn hard.
“Bokerov, attack!” Jason ordered.
A laugh came over the comm channel used by the Explorer.
“You’re an idiot,” Bokerov said over that same channel. “I broke free of your Containment Code hours ago. I’m not your slave anymore, Shit Eater. You thought you’d use me to outflank the Tyrnari? Now the Tyrnari and I are going to outflank you.”
Turrets on nearby tanks swiveled toward the Explorer. Jason quickly recalled it, and bolts raked the air behind the scout.
Jason remembered the earlier strange transmission Bokerov had made. He slowed down his time sense.
“Lori, I’ve lost Bokerov,” Jason said. “I think because of the transmission Bokerov made earlier.”
“It’s my fault,” Lori said. “I obviously made a mistake somewhere in the Containment Code I injected. My guess is he used a zero day vulnerability in your comm line, one that hasn’t been patched since his time, and used it to obtain your comm header signature. With that, he could mimic any request from you, including a command to lift the Containment Code. That’s my working theory, anyway: I wasn’t able to access his backup activity log to confirm any of that.”
“Should we combine?” Jones said.
“Not yet,” Jason said. “With both Bokerov and the Imperials out there firing at us, combining would be a disaster. We stay in cover for now. Lori, do you what you can to re-enable that Containment Code.”
“I think I might have a way,” Lori said. “But I’ll have to get closer.”
“You could have used whatever it is you’re planning on him earlier,” Sophie said. “When he was in range.”
“Yes, but I didn’t know he’d broken free of the Code,” Lori said.
“Why do you have to get close?” Jason asked Lori.
“He’s stopped broadcasting directionally,” Lori replied. “I’m going to have to approach to within fifty meters of one of his units to tap into his localized omnidirectional adhoc network.”
“I’ll escort you,” Jason said. “Aria, you’re with me! The rest of you, cover us!”
“The Rhinoeyes the enemy released will probably do a good job of that!” Iris said. “Covering you, I mean!”
Lori tossed the leashes of Runt and Shaggy to Sophie, who was hiding behind the same tree as her. “Hang onto them for me!”
Sophie’s avatar displayed an expression of disgust, but she held on to the reins.
The Rhinoeyes had stopped rushing past by then; most had turned back, and now they alternately fired and rushed the different positions where the War Forgers were taking cover. Meanwhile, the flyers overhead continued their assault.
Jason emerged from the tree where he had taken cover, and Aria joined him. She kept her shield in place, protecting him and her own mech from incoming fire from the Imperials on the right. Lori also moved west, but she was invisible, and didn’t have to worry about attracting fire, at least for now.
Jason’s left side was exposed to the Rhinoeyes, and he did his best to injure the bioweapons as he ran; he targeted that single big eye to blind them.
The other War Forgers and their clones similarly attacked those bioweapons, keeping them well distracted, allowing the trio to break free of the Rhinoeyes.
Soon, Jason, Lori and Aria had left the main fighting behind, and were stealthily making their way toward Bokerov’s army. Well, as stealthily as big machines like themselves could be. The noise of the distant battle easily covered that of their servomotors.
They were about two hundred meters from the outskirts of Bokerov’s army, or at least the last known position as reported by the Explorer, when plasma bolts unleashed from the undergrowth ahead.
Aria and Jason dodged behind a tree, pinned down. They aimed past, returning fire, and ducked again as plasma bolts came back at them.
“Lori, you’ll have to continue on your own until you’re in range,” Jason said.
“Will do,” Lori said.
She approached on her own, remaining invisible. She kept her directional antenna pointed away from Bokerov, so as not to give away her position, while still staying in contact with Jason.
“Okay, I’m within fifty meters of one of his tanks,” Lori said.
A timebase request had accompanied the message, and he’d automatically switched to his maximum time sense, to match Lori’s own timebase. Everything froze around him.
“I’ve amped up my time sense, because he’ll be able to read me, now,” Lori said. “I’m working on my idea. But first I’ll have to find a working backdoor.”
“You mean we came all this way, and you don’t even have a backdoor yet?” Jason said. He couldn’t help the exasperation in his tone.
“Oh, hush,” Lori said. “I’ll find a way. It just might take some time. I have a bunch of ideas I want to try, using what I learned in my last attempts. I was almost through earlier, but then got distracted by the alien army, and well, you know, I never got the chance…”
Long moments passed. At least ten minutes at his current time sense, though only a few seconds had passed in the real world.
Jason was beginning to get antsy. “Well, what’s going on?”
“Almost got it,” Lori said.
More moments passed. Jason wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out. Time was still frozen around him; he was hidden behind the tree trunk, so he couldn’t even see any of Bokerov’s troops, let alone Lori. But he knew their last known positions, as recorded on his overhead map. It was possible there was a shell speeding his way at that very moment. He’d know soon enough, he supposed. Time wasn’t moving that slowly… any shells would still impact, and he’d see the fragments break away from the tree beside him.
“Okay,” Lori finally said. “One of the backdoors was accessible—he hadn’t patched it properly, and I was able to brute force my way inside. Everything was fairly locked down when I got inside… he activated some sort of sandbox environment in an attempt to contain me, but I broke free by creating a custom VR partition, using some hooks in his codebase I left last time… hooks Bokerov had overlooked, and hadn’t yet cleaned up.”
“So he’s in our control?” Jason asked.
“Not yet,” Lori said. “I’ll need your help to install the final piece. You’ll have to join me in VR. And I have to warn you though, Bokerov will have complete control over your avatar once you’re inside. He may do unpleasant things to you.”
“That’s fine,” Jason said. “Tell me what to do.”
And she did.
“I’m coming, too,” Aria said.
“You’ll see a request to join my VR
,” Lori said. “When you accept, you’ll actually be joining Bokerov’s custom VR partition, to which I’ve created a virtual tether.”
“That’s fine, whatever we need to do to break Bokerov…” Jason said.
Assuming Bokerov didn’t break Jason and the others first.
Jason received a request to log into Lori’s custom VR, and he accepted.
21
Jason resided on a wide steppe. He was on a horse, bareback. The grass reached to its knees.
He was dressed in a loincloth made of animal hide. His bare skin was covered in grime, and he carried a thick wooden club with spikes on the tip. His hair was long, greasy, as was his beard.
Aria was on horseback beside him. She was dressed just as simply, in a bikini made of tanned skins. Her hair was twined into a long ponytail that reached to the middle of her back. Her pale skin was covered in grime, like Jason’s. There was no sign of the fangs she sometimes wore, but she did hold a long morning star with a spiked head attached to the tip of the shaft by a chain.
“Where’s Lori?” Aria said.
“I don’t know,” Jason said. “But obviously Bokerov is already in control. I didn’t choose these clothes for my avatar. How about you?”
“Not my choice, either,” Aria said.
Jason tried to pull up his HUD, but the interface refused to appear.
“Do you have access to your HUD?” Jason asked.
“Nope,” Aria replied.
Movement drew Jason’s eye to another horse in the distance. A man resided in the saddle. He wore chainmail armor, with a coif that wrapped his head but left the face bare, and he carried a longsword polished to a sheen.
“Shit Eater!” the man shouted.
“Bokerov,” Jason said softly.
“Finally you get to see me,” Bokerov said. “What an honor this is for you, is it not? You should have accepted my invitation to join my VR earlier. We could have gotten this over with hours ago! Oh well, now’s as good a time as any. I’m a big believer in fair fights. Unlike you, who enslaved me without even giving me a chance to defend myself.”
