Project Starfighter

by Stephen J Sweeney

  “Is that how you were able to read my mind the first time we met?” Chris asked. Athena had said that she had modelled her appearance on images and thoughts she had picked up, the ones that had been at the forefront at the time.

  “Those were thoughts that you were projecting quite freely,” Athena said. “They were on the surface of your mind, the most obvious and easily accessible ones. But even if you had buried them deep, I would have been able to extract them forcibly. I just chose not to. It would be an invasion of privacy.”

  “But Phoebe, with her natural abilities, could stop you from reading her mind, right?” Sid asked.

  “With the right know-how, yes,” Athena said.

  “That’s something we should work on,” Chris said to Phoebe. “If I’m understanding things right, whatever invaded your mind severed your control over the fighters. This time it detonated them, but we can’t run the risk that in future it might simply take back control. We need to make sure you can block them out completely.”

  Phoebe nodded, still looking despondent. “Where do we go from here?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure that we can count on Tyler’s further assistance,” Chris said. “He’s just suffered a significant setback, having ended up fighting both Mal and WEAPCO at the same time.”

  “At least we know that we can build a force of our own,” Athena said, “one that we can command ourselves.”

  Chris nodded. “It’s clear to me what the next move should be – find and free Ursula. WEAPCO, the Immortal League, and Tyler will all be duking it out between themselves for control for a little while, and so our best chance at a jailbreak is now. We just need a little more information on the facility where she’s kept, and we can get started.”

  “What more do we need?” Phoebe asked.

  “Right now, we know where it is and how well it is defended, but we know nothing about what’s on the inside. We need to know how it is staffed, what internal security measures exist, that sort of thing. It could be that there are zero drones and bots in there, meaning we’ll end up having to fight people. We can’t take control of them.”

  “We also need to find out what kind of conditions your sister is being held in,” Sid added to Phoebe. “She might simply be in a cell, or she might be wired up to some contraption. The latter could involve a complicated extraction process. We can’t assume we can simply unplug her from something – it could kill her. I’m hoping that the Dodger has at least some useful information about the facility in her databases. I just need to find it.”

  “And then we can just fly over to Murdar, right?” Phoebe asked.

  Phoebe, Chris noted, remained desperately anxious to rescue her sister. The constant delays must have been eating her up inside. What if they arrived too late? No, Chris thought, the Corporation was still looking for Phoebe. If they couldn’t bring Phoebe in themselves, they would be expecting Phoebe to come looking for Ursula.

  First things first, though – the hold here was looking decidedly empty, what with Kethlan having destroyed all of their fighter support. It was vital to overcome that problem before they went any further.

  “Phoebe, what can we do to help you with your ... barriers?” Chris asked.

  “I can train her,” Athena volunteered. “I can start with something simple, such as trying to extract a number that she is thinking of. We can then move onto more complicated things, like sentences, images, and then thought processes.”

  “Would the drone we captured earlier be of any use?” Sid asked. “I’ve gotten all I can out of it.”

  “That would help for the more complicated techniques, yes,” Athena said.

  “Will it be hard?” Chris asked.

  “That will depend entirely on Phoebe.”

  Phoebe smiled. “Ha! No pressure, then.”

  Chris nodded. “As soon as you’re ready, we will put together a plan to rescue your sister. We’ll be going in there silent, but need to prepare ourselves for a fight. I don’t see WEAPCO letting us walk into the facility, free Ursula, and simply walk back out again.”

  “Okay,” Phoebe said. She turned to Athena. “Let’s get started. Ready?”

  “Ready,” Athena said. “Start by thinking of a number, any number ...”

  ~

  Chris lay in his quarters, on his back, unable to sleep. How long had he been staring up at that ceiling now? A few hours, that was for sure. He hoped to drift off soon, and get some much needed rest. He didn’t expect Phoebe would take too long to learn the ins and outs of the barrier techniques that Athena was teaching her, and then they would be springing into action. As long as Sid stopped distracting Phoebe. There was definitely something between those two. Sid had taken an instant shine to the woman, and sometimes suffered from a fat tongue when he spoke to her about non-mission related things, tripping over himself, and becoming a little confused.

  The door lock jingled, just as Chris was closing his eyes.

  You’re up late, he thought to himself. “Come in,” he said.

  The door slid to, revealing a blonde woman of average height standing there. She was barefoot, wearing a white nightdress, and for a second Chris did not recognise her – until her features and long blonde hair then her away.

  “Athena?” he asked, sitting up.

  “Hi,” she said.

  “What ... how did you get up here?” he asked. He was sure that her avatar was confined to a small parameter of only a few metres around the Firefly. He had seen the avatar start to flicker and become unstable whenever it moved too far from the fighter, and he distinctly remembered that time when Athena had attempted to pursue him out of the cargo hold, after he had dismissed her attempts to get to know him. In contrast to that time, he now found himself welcoming her presence.

  “I’ve temporarily linked myself to Chugger’s avatar projection system,” Athena explained, moving in through the door and closing it behind her. She did so gracefully, the gown flowing smoothly with her.

  “What do you want?” Chris asked.

  “I just came to see how you were,” Athena said. At other times, with someone else, Chris might have expected to see a cheeky smile on the woman’s face – a visit at such a time, in such attire, a hint of things to come. Athena’s expression made no such suggestions. She was genuinely here to see how he was.

  “I’m ... okay,” Chris said.

  “Truthfully?” Athena asked. She came over to sit on the bed, facing him.

  “Truthfully,” he said, sitting up. “I just can’t sleep, that’s all.”

  “You don’t need to lie to me, Chris. I’m not here to judge you.” She reached out, pushing him back down.

  She was remarkably strong, Chris discovered – the forcefields or whatever else was behind the technology that made the avatar work granting Athena strength totally unexpected in the form she had adopted. He allowed her to push him down and shifted onto his side, where she joined him, taking his arm and pulling it over so that he was spooning her. He didn’t resist, finding her warm and soft.

  He wondered how she had found out about such an intimate act, usually shared only between two human beings. But then, she had likely just scanned his memory and his thoughts. She had always promised not to go too deep, and maybe she hadn’t. Perhaps this was something else that he had projected to her during the closeness of the timeslip, their awarenesses lying next to one another; perhaps Chris had subconsciously imagined the two of them lying physically the same way.

  “I have read that when you’re having difficulty sleeping,” Athena said, “it’s best to reflect on a happy memory, or something else peaceful.”

  “It can help, yes,” Chris agreed.

  “Humans seem to like serene places – woodland, lakes, rolling hills, lightly fogged countryside, that sort of thing. I saw them in photographs and paintings when I was researching and studying your race. It’s something that nature has clearly done to keep people settled.”

  Chris pictured the scenes of which Athena spoke
. He had never had the chance to visit or experience such places for himself, likewise only ever seeing them in photographs. Even so, the thought was helping him to relax. Athena being by his side was helping him to settle, too. He noticed that his breathing was starting to slow. And so he remained where he was for a time, his arm around Athena, the two lying silently and peacefully together.

  “This is nice,” Athena said, after a time, her voice soft and content.

  “Is this why you came up here?” Chris asked.

  “One of the reasons. I wanted to experience the physical closeness that humans share together. I am able to enjoy the mental bonding at any time, but I know with humans these two things are closely tied.”

  “Yes. The contact can strengthen things.” He rearranged his arms, wrapping them further around her and pulling her close. She sighed happily again, and they continued to lie this way for a while, Chris feeling Athena’s body rise and fall as she breathed. That was something the avatar would be simulating, Chris thought. Though not real, it bothered him a lot less than it once had.

  “Have you ever been stone skipping?” Athena asked suddenly.

  “Huh?” Chris responded. “Why do you want to know that?”

  “I was thinking about parks, and then I remembered seeing people doing it in photos and videos. Do you play it a lot?”

  “I used to when I was younger,” Chris said. “It’s not something that adults do a great deal.”

  “It looks like fun. How many skips did you manage?”

  “Five, I think?”

  “Do you often make it into a competition?”

  “No. I only did it for fun.”

  “I bet I could easily match you,” Athena said. Chris sensed her smiling.

  “It’s not that easy,” Chris said, his hand seeking out hers, their fingers curling around one another’s. “You have to find the right stone and the right body of water. It needs to be perfectly still.”

  “Sounds like a challenge.”

  Chris chuckled. She really was confident. “Well, if we ever get the opportunity, you can show me your best.”

  “Deal.”

  They fell silent again, and soon Chris could feel his eyes starting to close.

  “Are you okay?” Athena asked again.

  “I’m okay,” Chris said.

  “I felt your fear earlier, when Kethlan showed up. You were scared.”

  Chris said nothing. He had been scared, yes. He didn’t want to say so, though.

  “I was scared, too.”

  “Does the thought of dying frighten you?” Chris asked her after some time.

  “Of course.”

  “Why? You’re ... a machine. A sentient machine,” he added. “You could just be rebuilt.”

  “It wouldn’t be me.”

  “I’m not sure I follow,” Chris said. “You’re made up circuits and silicon. You could just transfer your memory or mind state to another place, and go on living. Sid said that the WEAPCO drones sometimes do so – before they are destroyed. It’s apparently one of the permitted final operations during a self-destruct order.”

  “My consciousness is unique, like yours,” Athena said, shifting a little. “Copying and plugging my mind and memories into another machine wouldn’t cause me to immediately inhabit that new place. My awareness is singular; neither you nor I can exist in two places at once. WEAPCO have technology that could easily map your mind and create a new you, but it wouldn’t be the same Chris; it wouldn’t be the man who is holding me now.”

  Chris nodded to himself. They were both mortal. “This isn’t what we normally talk about,” he said. “Pillow talk, I mean. It’s usually a lot more positive.”

  “But I gather it’s usually honest,” Athena said. “And that would mean letting your emotions flow freely, exposing yourself, and showing your vulnerable side to someone you trust.”

  “Yes,” Chris agreed, after a pause.

  “Thank you for sharing that with me. Do you mind if I stay here with you tonight?”

  “Not at all,” Chris said. He sensed Athena smile, then felt her hand squeezing his as he continued to cuddle her.

  She felt so real to him suddenly. Could that simply be because of the avatar, or was there something more to it? No, he thought. It’s a machine, nothing more. For all the affection and comfort the physical contact was bringing him, Athena was nothing more than a load of ones and zeros making up algorithms that made her – it – mimic the state of being alive. She wasn’t real at all.

  Wasn’t she?

  “Let’s get some rest,” Athena said.

  “Yes,” Chris said. “Computer, lights.”

  The cabin faded into darkness, and Chris closed his eyes and slept.

  Chapter 23

  [Encrypted Data Transmission]

  [To >> Kline Kethlan]

  [From >> Erik Overlook]

  [Subject – Mercenaries]

  @OverlookE – Commander, I have received an update from the drones monitoring the shipyards at Elamale. They have reported that the yards and all units, including fighters, have been destroyed. Can you comment?

  @KethlanK – The report is correct, sir.

  @OverlookE – How, dammit? How could you have allowed this to have happened? The yard was meant to act as a lure, but not actually be demolished in the process!

  @KethlanK – A number of complications arose.

  @OverlookE – Is that all you have to say? What about the mercenaries, the Immortal League, and the Wolf Pack? Were they all eliminated in the trap? We especially needed to be rid of the Immortal League!

  @KethlanK – The final numbers are currently unknown.

  @OverlookE – What about the leaders? What happened to Tyler, and Mal, the cultist?

  @KethlanK – To my knowledge, Mal was killed during the ambush. Tyler, however, managed to escape.

  @OverlookE – And what of Bainfield? It was reported that a Firefly, a Valkyrie, and a salvage-sweeping and transit freighter were in the area.

  @KethlanK – Bainfield escaped.

  @OverlookE – This won’t do, Commander! Stay where you are. I’m transferring myself to your location.

  ~

  “What happened, Commander?” Overlook asked, glaring at Kethlan. “Why didn’t you kill him?”

  “Two reasons,” Kethlan said, pacing in a small area in the executive transport’s somewhat cramped interior. “First, because I was keen to recover the Firefly and discover what had happened to it. And second, I was interested to see whether or not Chris Bainfield’s skills would make a good template for an update to the AI combat processing table.”

  Overlook, having considered him for a time, reached for a cigarette and lit it. “You know what I think, Kline? That you’re full of shit. You want to know what I think really happened? You went into that engagement with low expectations of your opponent. You therefore decided to play around with him, toy with him, test his abilities, and see what he was made of. And after you were done fooling about, you would kill him. But what actually happened was that Bainfield sussed you and your tactics out, and got the upper hand. And because you spent so long pissing about instead of doing the job of destroying that fighter, he bested you, Commander.”

  Kethlan managed to hold back his scowl. “He did not best me, sir. A kid will never best me in a straight dogfight! You and I both know that I am one of the finest pilots that the Corporation has ever seen. My skills have been used as the basis for many of the AI units currently on the field. I did not allow him to gain the upper hand.”

  “Whatever your reasons for keeping him alive, that was not your decision to make,” Overlook said. “We have been instructed by the CEO that Bainfield is to be eliminated. Do not disappoint me again, Commander. I will not tolerate any further insubordination from you. You are lucky to hold the position that you do, in ... such a capacity. After today, I should think that Lance will be reconsidering his appointments.” He took a drag on his cigarette. “The records also show that you issue
d a termination signal to sixty-seven fighters.”

  “I believe that Bainfield has Lexx working for him,” Kethlan said.

  Overlook paused as he prepared to take another drag. “And she has demonstrated psionic control over our fighter units?”

  “I believe it was she who was controlling the fighters when I arrived in the area. The shipyard had also been destroyed prior to my arrival. I think it is possible that she may have been able to trigger a self-destruct in the complex itself.”

  Overlook nodded. “Her command over her powers appears to be consolidating faster than we anticipated.”

  “She wasn’t able to stop me from overriding the self-destruct order of the fighters under her command, though,” Kethlan reminded him.

  “Irrelevant,” Overlook said. “If her abilities are increasing this quickly, it is possible that she will become even more powerful than William Benedict was. I will once again recommend to Lance Skillman that we terminate Ursula Lexx, post haste. We know where the other sister is; there is no need to keep the one we have at Zetaman alive any longer.”

  “Couldn’t we turn her to our advantage?” Kethlan ventured. “Engineering an escape plan and putting the woman out onto the field might cause Phoebe Lexx to make mistakes, and walk straight into a trap.”

  “That scenario has already been simulated, some time ago. The result was that both Lexxes teamed up and overran our forces, fighting all the way through to Earth with an army that eclipsed our own. That cannot be allowed to happen in reality. Our society would collapse.

  “I want you to now focus your efforts exclusively on finding and killing Bainfield, Wilson, and Lexx. And I mean, killing them. After Mal, our most immediate threat comes from Bainfield and his cronies. Two men and one woman, barely out of their teens. Who would’ve thought?” Overlook muttered.