Project Starfighter

by Stephen J Sweeney

  He looked uneasily at Athena, Phoebe, and Sid, but to his relief saw that they were nodding their heads in understanding.

  “I’ll make the jump preparations and tell the freighter to revert to its regular form,” Sid said.

  “Good. What about the upgrades to the Firefly and Valkyrie? Is there anything more we can do with the fighters?”

  “A little,” Sid said, “but we’re close to hitting the limits on both. We might be able to boost their shields and firepower by another ten to fifteen percent, but that’s all.”

  “How long do we need to get that done?”

  “Not long, since most of the work is already finished. Perhaps another three hours? If I’m remembering things right, the jump from here to Murdar will take around four hours.”

  “In that case,” Chris said, “let’s aim to have Ursula with us in five.”

  Chapter 25

  The jump to Murdar took just under four hours, the Dodger completing its remapping of its covert systems a few minutes before arrival. Good timing, Chris thought. He had spent the entire jump sequence on the Dodger’s bridge, running through the plan in his head time and time again. The others had left him to it, Phoebe and Sid talking between themselves, and Athena disappearing off on her own. Something seemed to be eating her up inside. Perhaps in light of Overlook’s revelations, she had gone to consider her own existence.

  “Approaching the Murdar system,” the Dodger’s AI informed Chris. “We will be exiting jump in the vicinity of Odeon. Disengaging engines in ten seconds ...”

  Chris sat up as Sid and Phoebe entered the bridge, and focused on the central viewport as the freighter reverted to normal space. A large planet loomed before them, a greenish gas giant sporting an expansive ring system. Space never failed to impress Chris; it was filled with wondrous natural sights that often boggled the mind in terms of their size and scope. Today, however, his eyes were focused on one thing only – the Zetaman Facility, hanging in orbit around Odeon.

  It was larger than he had expected, shaped a little like a mushroom, fat at the top and tapered at the bottom. There were no windows or running lights as far as he could see. The facility was cold-looking, and a little uninviting. Intimidating, almost. Had he not known what they were approaching, Chris might well have believed it was of alien origin.

  “I’m picking up several WEAPCO fighters on the scanners,” Sid said, poring over one of the bridge’s consoles. “Seven confirmed: five Talons and two Mirages. There is also a Hunk-class corvette hanging nearby.”

  “Have any of them reacted to our arrival?” Chris asked.

  “Not yet,” Sid said. “As far as I can determine, they have scanned us but are currently standing down. Maybe they’re waiting to see what our next move will be, or are conversing with their superiors.”

  “Computer, bring us to within shuttle deployment range of the Zetaman Facility,” Chris said, not wanting to waste time. “Sid, Phoebe, let’s get over to the executive transport and head over there.”

  The three made their way down to the hold where all the vessels they had acquired were parked, Sid and Phoebe making their way over to Overlook’s former transport.

  “Give me a moment,” Chris said to the other two. “I just need to brief Athena.” He started over to the Firefly to talk to her about the facility’s defences, and run through a secondary attack strategy, should the fighters and corvette turn hostile. He spotted Athena’s avatar sitting on a crate, staring at the floor.

  He went over to her, noting something as he drew nearer. She appeared to be weeping. He stared at her in disbelief. She was crying. She was sniffing, too, and didn’t appear to have noticed him.

  “Athena?” he prompted her.

  She looked up at him, a little startled, and quickly began to wipe away the tears from her eyes. “Chris. I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

  “What’s wrong?” Chris asked. Against everything he believed and what he had decided Athena to be, he felt himself needing to know.

  “It’s nothing,” she said, waving him away and sniffing. “I was just thinking.”

  “About?” He shouldn’t be asking. This was wasting time.

  “Life, my existence, that sort of thing. It’s okay, I was just over-analysing things and winding myself up.”

  “Okay,” Chris said, taking the opportunity not to discuss the issue any further. “We’ve arrived at Murdar and are closing in on the Zetaman Facility. There are a number of WEAPCO fighters and a corvette patrolling the immediate area. They haven’t flagged us as hostile yet, but I strongly suspect that will change once we’re aboard the facility and start trying to find Ursula. You might have to get out there and tackle the fighters until we’re safely back aboard.”

  “You’ll have my full support in that case,” Athena nodded, still appearing quite down. “I will monitor the situation from here, and step in as necessary.”

  Chris looked over at the WEAPCO Cyclones that had at one time served as Overlook’s escorts. “I know that you don’t have Phoebe’s skills, but how many of those fighters can you coordinate in battle, yourself?”

  “Five or six at most. Any more than that and I will be handing over runtime that could impact my own combat skills.”

  Chris thought it over. “Given your abilities, two or three should be more than enough. Sacrifice them if you need to. Stay away from the corvette, unless you think that it will cause us problems. Maybe try to lure it elsewhere.”

  “Will do,” Athena nodded. There was still a trace of sadness in her voice.

  “Thank you,” Chris said. “I’ll keep you up to date with what is happening on the inside, via the Dodger. Talk to you later.”

  “Is Athena okay?” Phoebe asked, as Chris joined her and Sid in the cockpit of the executive transport. “I could sense her longing. She seems upset about something. Depressed, almost.”

  Chris had forgotten that Phoebe’s gift allowed her to share thoughts and feelings with Athena, without the need for either the helmet or proximity to the avatar. “She’s okay,” he said. “She was just deep in thought.”

  “Did you resolve it with her?” Phoebe asked, turning around and looking to the airlock door. She almost looked ready to get out and go talk to Athena. Had they not been preparing to rescue Ursula, Chris was certain that she might well have done.

  “I ... I told her I will talk to her about it later,” Chris said. “As soon as we’ve got Ursula and gotten out of here, I’ll talk to her properly.”

  “In range of the Zetaman Facility,” the voice of the Dodger’s AI came over the transport’s comms.

  “Open bay doors,” Chris said.

  It’s just a machine, Chris tried to remind himself as he brought the transport’s systems and engines online, and started out. Athena wasn’t really alive, wasn’t really experiencing those feelings and emotions. They were merely a part of her programming, a part of her constructed personality. She was nothing more than a collection of silicon and storage, random access memory, and an expansive database that recorded everything she encountered and made her respond in a suitable and calculated manner.

  But if that was the case, why was her wellbeing starting to bother him so much ...?

  ~

  “The Zetaman Facility is talking to us,” Sid said.

  “What is it saying?” Chris asked, as he guided the executive transport towards the facility’s docking bay, maintaining the same velocity. The bay doors were sealed, but Chris was confident that they would have them open soon enough. Though he was sure that the AIs wouldn’t pick up on hesitations or any other such human traits, he forced himself to remain level-headed and carry on as though the transport’s presence in the system was nothing out of the ordinary.

  “I can’t say for certain,” Sid said, working at the console in front of him. “It’s mostly binary and machine code. As far as I can tell, they’re attempting to find out why we’re here and what we’re doing.”

  “Route it through to Athena,”
Chris said, watching the Talons and the corvette closely. “She’ll be able to tell them we’re here to drop off Overlook for a surprise inspection. Make sure she understands to let them know of the damaged conscious transit thingy, otherwise they’ll want to know why he doesn’t just beam himself over there.”

  “Okay,” Sid said. “Hopefully, we’re not too late. The AIs would have been expecting an instantaneous response.” Sid’s fingers darted over the console controls, and then the three waited.

  “Do you want me to try talking to it?” Phoebe asked.

  “Only if Athena fails,” Chris said. “Let’s save your gift for when we need it most. I don’t want to overburden you from the get-go.”

  Phoebe agreed and awaited the outcome along with Chris and Sid.

  “Done,” Sid announced a moment later. “Athena’s confirmed with the facility that we are bringing Overlook in. The docking port is opening.”

  Chris saw that the bay he had been heading for was now accessible, the doors sliding apart. He set down inside, noting how empty the bay was. There were only two other vessels there. Before their conversation with Overlook, learning of how almost no one within WEAPCO had a physical body, the lack of vessels and staff might have surprised him. Not anymore. There would likely be only a handful of humans in here, all prisoners. Perhaps only Ursula.

  “We’re down,” Chris said. The three looked at one another, took up their guns, and nodded their readiness. “All set, Phoebe?” Chris asked.

  “All set,” she said.

  The side door of the transport jawed opened, steps unfolding and setting down on the deck. The three hurried down them, Chris seeing, as expected, a number of drones moving forward to greet them. Lights on the front of the foremost winked on and off, and Chris caught the sight of a fluorescent green scan line moving from the top of Sid and Phoebe’s heads, down to their feet.

  “Chris Bainfield, Sid Wilson, Phoebe Lexx,” the drone said immediately. “You are wanted by the Wade-Ellen Asset Protection Corporation, on the charges of—”

  “Hit them, Phoebe,” Chris said.

  The drone fell silent, its lights no longer flashing madly. The rest, too, appeared to have become docile.

  “Okay,” Phoebe said.

  “Good. Have them escort us to where they’re holding your sister.”

  As he had come to expect, Phoebe did not speak, but the drones rotated in place and started off towards a lift that resided in a tubular structure, central in the docking bay. The three followed after them, keeping a close eye on their surroundings.

  “How is it?” Chris asked Phoebe, as the lift ascended. “Any harder than usual?”

  “Easier,” Phoebe said. “Athena’s training has helped a lot.”

  The lift arrived at its destination, another group of drones there to greet the three humans. The drones were accompanied by war bots that appeared to have already powered up their weapons systems. One began to speak, but fell instantly silent after little more than a glance from Phoebe. The three humans continued on, walking a narrow corridor, an escort of seven drones and war bots around them.

  “Going to be a little like the Pied Piper if this keeps up,” Sid commented.

  “Do you think any of them will come in useful once we leave?” Chris asked Phoebe.

  “No,” Phoebe said. “I will probably either tell them to self-destruct, or power themselves off completely.”

  The drone leading them came to a door, which, after a couple of seconds, slid aside. And there, floating upright in a fluid tank, was Ursula. Chris did not need to ask whether this was the right room and the right person – the woman in the tank was identical to Phoebe, albeit a little thinner and with much longer hair. Other than that, there was no mistaking the fact that this was Phoebe’s twin.

  Phoebe made a noise that sounded to Chris like a whimper. It must have been dreadful for her to see her sister this way. Tubes were feeding into various parts of the woman, and something was clamped over her mouth. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn’t moving. Thankfully, she looked more like she was asleep, than dead. Her skin was also pink with warmth.

  “Stay strong, Phoebe,” Chris said, looking at the drones. “We don’t want you to lose control of these things. We’ll never get out of here alive if you do.” They must have passed at least forty or fifty machines on the way there, and that was only on this level. The facility was likely staffed by hundreds – maybe even thousands – of drones and war bots.

  “Sirs, Madam, you do not have permission to—” the drone staffing the chamber started, before Phoebe shut it up.

  “Any idea how we can get her out of there?” Chris asked.

  “Maybe one of the drones can do it?” Sid suggested. “How about the one that was in here when we arrived?” He nodded to the machine that was bobbing silently in a corner of the chamber.

  “I’ll ask it,” Phoebe said. “It can.”

  “Good,” Chris said, checking his gun. “Tell it to do so, and then let’s get out of here.”

  The drone did as instructed, starting to work through various steps silently. Holographic datasets appeared on the front of the container, detailing what looked like heart rate, blood pressure, and levels of various chemicals. After a time, several of the cables inserted into Ursula began to detach and slowly retract. Everything appeared to be going smoothly.

  Chris suddenly began to feel tense. Something wasn’t right here; it had been all too easy for them to get inside and begin their rescue effort. So deep within WEAPCO territory, they should not have been able to just waltz in here like this.

  But then again, maybe this was just how it was all going to go from here on out. In their crusade against WEAPCO, Phoebe and Ursula were their most powerful assets. That’s why the Corporation was hell bent on eliminating such twins.

  Just as he began to relax, Chris’ earpiece jingled. “Athena,” he said.

  “We’ve got company,” Athena replied. “A squadron of WEAPCO fighters has just exited a jump point and are on their way to the facility. They’ll be here in under five minutes.”

  Chris swore. “Silent alarm,” he said to the others.

  “Possibly,” Athena said. “Or perhaps they were lying in wait. They must’ve known that we would be coming here sooner or later.”

  “What class of fighters?” Chris asked. Sid and Phoebe were looking at him pensively. Though they did not have earpieces, it was all too clear to them what was happening.

  “All Cyclones,” Athena responded. “Plus one Fer-de-Lance.”

  Chris swore again and glanced to the tank, willing the draining process to quicken.

  Athena continued, “The Fer-de-Lance is heading for the facility’s docking bay. All the other fighters are coming for the Dodger. The corvette and the Talons are holding position. The Cyclones are not currently in attack formation.”

  Chris racked his brains as he tried to think of a way out of this. The corvette and the fighter guard would likely now attempt to stop anything from leaving the facility. They might not have turned deadly yet, but that could change at the drop of a hat.

  “Does the executive transport have jump capabilities?” he asked Athena.

  “Yes,” Athena said. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking that you should get yourself and the Dodger out of here, and meet us back in the Eyananth system.”

  “I’m not leaving you here on your own, Chris.”

  “You won’t be – Sid and Phoebe are with me. As soon as we’ve rescued Ursula, we’ll take the transport out to meet you. WEAPCO won’t attack it, because we have Overlook trapped on board. We’ll hold him hostage, if necessary.”

  “Okay,” Athena said. There was reluctance in her voice.

  Chris closed the connection, and then explained the situation to Sid and Phoebe. “Once the tank is fully drained, Sid and I will carry Ursula down to the bay, and get her back on board the transport.” He looked at the tank. Half the solution had emptied. It wouldn’t be too much
longer, now. Maybe a couple more minutes.

  “Phoebe, you’ll have to control the drones and have them act as our bodyguards,” Chris said.

  “I can’t see us having too many problems getting out,” Sid said. “If more drones and bots arrive, Phoebe can just take them over.”

  “Kethlan might be with them,” Chris said. “You can’t control a human being.”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Sid said.

  The tank completed its draining sequence, the tube that had been in Ursula’s mouth retracting just before the capsule itself opened up. Chris, Sid, and Phoebe moved quickly forward to catch Ursula’s limp form as she slumped down.

  “Is she breathing?” Phoebe asked.

  In answer, Ursula gave a throaty choke, and Sid urged them to roll the woman onto her side, to allow her to evacuate any fluid that had entered her lungs. Thankfully, there wasn’t much, and the woman soon began breathing normally.

  “Ursula?” Phoebe whispered.

  No response from Ursula, who only continued to cough and inhale loudly. She was perhaps not yet conscious of where she was and what was happening to her. No matter, thought Chris. There would be plenty of time for her to recover once they had gotten her out of here.

  Together, Chris and Sid lifted Ursula and began to carry her out of the chamber, urging Phoebe to keep an eye on the drones and bots, and prepare for a fight. Getting in had clearly been the easy part.

  ~

  They passed the security checkpoints without opposition, made it to the lift, and from there down to the bay where the transport was docked, Chris not particularly surprised by the scene that greeted them.

  “Bravo, Mr Bainfield. Bravo,” a tall, thin man, sporting a pointed goatee applauded him.