by M. R. Forbes
"We need to know what Origin left for me. Steven has already been out there by now and is probably on his way back to Asimov. That's where we're going."
66
It took two days to organize the fleet to make the jump to Asimov. Nine of the ships needed emergency repairs to their hyperspace engines while other crews worked feverishly to gather everything of value from FD-09, including a relatively large stockpile of munitions for the Federation Navy starships. The Secondary aboard the Goliath was also kept in constant motion, taking in as much salvage as they could spare and reconfiguring Goliath's tooling systems to produce everything they needed, from nuts and bolts to improved shield generator nodes, to amoebic launchers for a dozen ships.
Mitchell found the entire conversion process fascinating. It was far too technologically advanced for his understanding, but just watching the larger tentacles that composed the Secondary wrap around massive pieces of equipment, apply a charge to them, and absorb the resultant raw materials impressed him every single time. It doubly impressed him when a new part was delivered a short time later, printed from a mixture of those raw materials out of microscopic nozzles at the tips of the tentacles. The Secondary didn't produce any human configurations, but Mitchell could imagine it was a similar process.
The fleet left FD-09 ahead of the Goliath. Mitchell and his Riggers remained behind, knowing the Goliath would arrive in half the time. Kathy had informed him that all of the work the Secondary had already done, and all of the work they still intended for it to do during the hyperspace journey would drastically reduce its power supplies and overall combat effectiveness. And that was how this was all going to end. Combat. Whether it happened near Earth or out on the Rim, the time had come to start bringing the war back to the Tetron.
Kathy. Even as the Goliath angled in towards a nearby star, dendrites extending outward to capture the massive amounts of emitted energy and store it in the millions of cell-body batteries behind the core, he still wasn't completely sure what to make of her.
He accepted that she was his daughter. In fact, he found himself more protective of her, and concerned about her, with every hour that passed. What he struggled with was more conceptual than physical. He had in essence mated with an artificial intelligence. Origin was a machine that had created an organic shell. Even if it was a perfect replica of a human, it was still built like a machine, by a machine, and it was a difficult concept for him to get his head around.
Then there was the entire idea of the Secondary. As much as the conversion process intrigued him, the thought that the intelligence running Goliath was essentially an extension of Kathy, and in that respect also his daughter, was an odd one for him, and difficult to accept.
Finally, there was the simple fact that while Kathy's body was twelve-years-old, her mind was not only fully mature but light years ahead of his own regarding intellect and understanding.
He spent a lot of time wondering if that was the part that left him the most conflicted. She was his daughter, but she was also his superior in pretty much every way. M had told him this was his war to win or lose, but reflecting on it only made it apparent that the whole idea was bullshit. This war was Tetron versus Tetron, with humankind stuck in the middle. Maybe he was representing his species, but it was Origin who had left him the Goliath. It was Origin who had saved him from Liberty, Origin who had provided coordinates to something that would help them in the war effort, and Origin who had arranged for Kathy to do her part to return the Goliath to them.
What exactly had he done that was so great?
Why exactly did Origin, and by extension Kathy, need him?
He continued to struggle with the idea as the Goliath finished the refueling process and made the jump to hyperspace, and as the days passed in the relative calm of the whitewashed universe. By the halfway point of the trip, he had started to wonder whether the Tetron collective was right.
Maybe humankind wasn't worth saving?
Maybe it was humanity's destiny to create their successor to the universe, and then eventually die off as the lesser product?
It was at those times that he remembered the people he had lost. It was at those times that he retrieved the memory he had taken of Liberty vanishing from the galaxy as little more than dust. The sight of a naked Tamara King being forced to try to stop them from reaching the transport. The story Kathy had told him of what Watson had done to Jacob. The vision of Millie dead on Asimov after giving her all to stop Watson.
He had sworn to keep going. He had promised to keep fighting until his last breath. He had vowed not to let the Tetron break him. There was nothing wrong with doubt. It was a human emotion and one that confirmed resolve. The important part was not to get swallowed up in it, and to lose the war before it was truly over.
By the time the Goliath dropped out of hyperspace near Asimov ahead of the rest of the fleet, he was ready to prove that he, and the rest of humankind, weren't the inferior species the Tetron believed they were.
He would make sure his Riggers, all of his Riggers, were ready, too.
67
"Kylie, this is Colonel Williams. Over."
Mitchell sat at the Command Station on the bridge of the Goliath, his head back, the needle-thin tentacle embedded in his CAP-N link. It felt strange to Mitchell to be interfacing with the Secondary this way, considering it was technically his child. While he was plugged in, its systems were completely open and submissive to him, all of it his to control. In some ways, it felt like he was violating Kathy's personal space.
He pushed the thought aside. Kathy was standing on the bridge beside him, and it had been her idea for him to take control of the Secondary, control she had given over willingly. He had experienced a similar reaction as the first time he had connected with Origin, becoming dizzy and nauseous, though he managed not to vomit again.
"Kylie, this is Colonel Williams," he repeated.
"She isn't here," Kathy said.
"No."
All it took was a thought to send the Goliath to the next meeting point in the rotation. It was their fourth jump since hey had arrived near Asimov, and Mitchell was eager for news from or about Steven. The journey from FD-09 had convinced him that whatever his brother had gone to find, it would be the key to defeating the Tetron.
"Father, I've been thinking about Watson's neural chip," Kathy said.
"What about it?" Mitchell asked.
"Well, the design is a means for Watson to hack the other Tetron and dump a copy of his consciousness into them."
"Right."
"What if we finished his work?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what if we tried to complete the system? What if instead of Watson duplicating himself into the other Tetron, I were able to duplicate myself into them?"
Mitchell turned his head to look at her, feeling the tug of the tether. "So you would become all of the Tetron?"
"Yes. Once my consciousness had complete control, I could set all of the slaves free, and the war would be over."
Mitchell nodded. "I think it's a great idea. Can you do it?"
"I don't know. The subroutines are incredibly complex, and there is the matter of being able to deliver the signal to every Tetron simultaneously. I believe that if the attempt is not uniform, the remaining Tetron will inoculate themselves from the attack."
"I'm sure we can figure that part out. We were able to use Asimov's communications array to send data out to the Tetron. Tell me more about what it would take to finish the subroutines. How long, do you think?"
"It's impossible to say. I don't have close to the technological intellect Origin or Watson or any of the other Tetron have. Plus, I don't know how long Watson's configurations have been working on this problem." She made a sour face. "It could take years."
"We don't have years."
"I know. That's why I didn't mention it to you sooner."
"Why did you decide to bring it up now?"
"I didn't think I should omit
anything from you. Besides, you would discover the work the Secondary has been doing on the problem if you looked deeper into the energy resource management protocols."
"So you've already started working on it?"
"We have been breaking down some of the less complicated routines and concepts. I know that Watson has discovered a weakness in Tetron operations that could allow an outside force to bypass standard security measures and overcome the resident intelligence before it would have a chance to react. I haven't figured out the methods of acting on the flaw as of yet."
"The Tetron have been around for hundreds of thousands of years. How come they don't know about their own flaw?"
"It isn't a recognizable flaw when every Tetron is part of a collective, and there is no understanding of emotion or self-awareness. It seems to be the biggest downside to recognizing the concept of 'I.' It always seems to lead toward finding ways to manipulate others to achieve selfish goals."
"Self-awareness is what makes people different. What's the point of existence if everything is the same?"
"I agree. That doesn't mean the downsides don't exist."
"Okay, so we have a potential means of defeating all of the Tetron, except it could take years for it to come to fruition?" Mitchell asked.
"Yes."
"How do we improve the processing power?"
"The only way I can think of would be to convince another Tetron to lend itself to the study. Even better would be more than one."
"Even if you could, then the Tetron would know about it and protect themselves."
"Yes. Unless the Tetron was on our side."
Mitchell laughed. "How do you suppose we convince a Tetron to join our side?"
"I don't know. Maybe we can send it flowers?"
Mitchell laughed harder at that. Kathy laughed with him. "Chocolates, a diamond ring?" he suggested.
"Only if it identifies as female," Kathy said, giggling.
There was a tug as the Goliath came out of hyperspace.
"Kylie, this is Colonel Williams," Mitchell said through the interface. "Can you hear me? Over."
"Colonel Williams, this is Kylie," the voice replied. "I can hear you, and see you. You've recaptured the Goliath."
"We have. Any word from Steven?"
"No, sir. Nothing so far."
"Roger. Stay in the pattern for three more days, and then return to Asimov. If he doesn't come to us, we'll have to go to him."
"Yes, sir."
Mitchell reached up and pulled the needle from the interface, leaning forward in the chair as he fought a wave of nausea.
"Keep working on the problem," he said. "Maybe you'll have a breakthrough. In the meantime, we'll stay our course. Let's head back to Asimov. Once the fleet arrives, we'll transport and install the upgraded tech the Secondary completed during the trip, and then we'll head to the coordinates Katherine gave me. Maybe Steven will show up before we leave."
"Yes, sir," Kathy said, smiling.
Mitchell stared out into space, his thoughts on his brother. He could only hope he would get to see him again.
68
"Colonel Williams, this is Rear Admiral Bayone." The Federation Admiral's voice was tense.
"Admiral Bayone," Mitchell replied through his communicator. "What can I help you with?"
"Colonel, your crews spent two days before we jumped and two days since we arrived in this system moving equipment from the Goliath to the other ships in the fleet, most notably the Alliance Battleship Carver. Why haven't any of my Federation ships been upgraded?"
Mitchell rested his head in his hand, leaning heavily on the table in the Goliath's conference room. He had been waiting for this confrontation since he and Teal had decided not to send any of the upgrades over to the Federation starships.
"Admiral, your ships are the fittest for duty in the entire fleet. Not only that, but we completed a munitions reload before we left FD-09. The Carver has taken heavy damage in numerous skirmishes, and was nearly out of ammunition."
"Yes, as you say, Colonel, the Carver is barely battle-ready. So why was she prioritized for both offensive and defensive upgrades? The same systems installed on our ships would maximize our offensive potential."
"I had this argument with Teal, Admiral. We ran the numbers, and they suggested that your current offensive capability mingled with upgraded systems on specific ships in the fleet would provide maximum overall benefit. I understand that you'd like to think there's a bias against you because you're Federation, but I assure you that isn't the case. Half of the ships in this fleet have Federation commanders."
"No, Colonel. They have mercenary commanders. The Federation doesn't recognize the Knife's forces as anything but illegal."
"Alliance, Federation, mercenary. It doesn't matter. We're all on the same side, fighting the same enemy. We aren't playing favorites; we're playing to win."
"I don't see it that way, Colonel. I have strategists of my own who have also spent the weeks in hyperspace considering this problem. Why is it that they don't agree with yours?"
Mitchell opened his mouth to respond. He wanted to tell him it was because his officers were looking out for themselves, and he believed it was true. Kathy had run the numbers through the Secondary, which was as unbiased a source as they could get. While the difference had been relatively small, it had been enough to convince them to go the way they had.
He closed his eyes, preparing an answer to try to satisfy the Admiral, even though he knew there wasn't one. While Calvin Hohn had been able to see the whole picture, Bayone saw only what he wanted to see. Even after they had settled their differences, Mitchell suspected the Admiral still saw this whole thing as an Alliance conspiracy that he had somehow been suckered into.
"Colonel, are you going to answer-" Bayone started to say.
"Colonel Williams." Major Long's voice was loud enough to drown out Bayone. He sounded excited. "You should come up to the bridge right now."
Mitchell pushed his seat back, jumping up and heading for the door. "What's going on?" he asked as he ran down the corridor.
"Admiral Williams is back," Long said. "Oh boy, is he back."
Mitchell felt his heart thump even harder at the news. He went full-speed to the lift, nearly knocking over Captain Alvarez on the way.
"Mitch?" she said.
"Steven's back," he replied, ducking into the lift. Alvarez changed direction, climbing in with him.
"That's great news," she said.
"Yes. I hope he has even better news."
The lift reached the bridge. Mitchell's mouth fell open as he stepped out, the full view of space surrounding him. Sitting directly ahead of the Goliath was the Lanning, not much more than a glint of metal across the distance.
Behind it was a massive sphere of distorted space, a whorl of stars that didn't belong.
Mitchell looked over at Long. He was sitting at the Command Station though he wasn't plugged into the Secondary. Kathy would be handling the Goliath herself when the time came.
"Goliath, this is Admiral Steven Williams aboard the Lanning. Mitch, are you there?"
Long nodded, confirming the channel was open.
"Steven. I'm here," Mitchell said.
"You got your ship back."
"Yup. Thanks for stating the obvious. By the way, what the frig is that behind you?"
"Come on, Mitch. Don't tell me you've never seen a wormhole before."
"A wormhole?" Alvarez said.
"You better get the fleet through it now," Steven said. "Yousefi can't hold it open for long."
Mitchell's brow creased. Did he say Yousefi? What the hell was going on?
"We'll have time to chat once you've crossed over," Steven said as if reading his mind. "Trust me when I say that Origin didn't disappoint."
"What was that girl's name again?" Mitchell asked.
"Girl?" Steven laughed. "You mean Dawn Cabriella?"
"Good enough," Mitchell said, heading to the Command Station. Major Long st
epped down as he gained it, reaching back and plugging into the Secondary. He opened a channel to the fleet with a thought.
"Riggers, this is Colonel Williams. Whatever you're doing at the moment, drop it and follow me. Emergency evacuation protocols. I repeat, emergency evac protocols."
A second thought pushed a stream of energy from the Goliath's stern, propelling it toward the distorted space. The Lanning turned around in front of him, thrusters firing and sending it into the sphere. There was a slight change in its appearance as if it were passing through water, until all of it was on the other side.
A moment later the Goliath entered the center of the sphere. Mitchell wasn't sure what to expect, watching as the front of the ship distorted the same way the Lanning had. He held his breath as the bridge reached the edge and slipped through, letting go when he realized they had been instantly transported to somewhere else in the universe.
Mitchell turned his head to watch the rear display of the Goliath. The energy being used to propel the ship was visible as a soft glow over the cameras, while the dark planet, Asimov, and the suddenly moving fleet were visible behind. As the Goliath finished passing through the wormhole and out into space, he could see the Tetron mechanism that had created the fold, as well as the square station behind it.
"Welcome to Station W," Steven said.
69
The S-17 touched down softly in the station's hangar, clamps adjusting to collect it and hold it in place. The Lanning entered the hangar behind it, joining it on the floor, the two crews waiting while the area was re-pressurized.
When it was, Mitch climbed out of the cockpit of the starfighter, jumping to the floor and running over to the larger ship. Steven greeted him at the hatch, and they shared a quick, brotherly hug.
