Frontline sf-4

by Randolph Lalonde

  “When I saw you climb out of what was left of the Gull I nearly lost my mind. Then the rescue crew pulls her out and she looks almost exactly like Ayan five years ago, only healthier.”

  “And blonde. Don't forget that part. Women like it when you notice their hair,” Minh smirked.

  Jason laughed and dropped himself down into an armchair. “You haven't changed either. I can't tell ya how good it is to see you.”

  “Good to see a familiar face too, Jason. I hear you married Laura.”

  “Yup, I was on my way to join her on the Triton when we landed in this mess. It's an all out war and we're holding out on one of the only outposts left. If they take this mountain the whole world will be under the control of corrupt artificial intelligences and some group called the West Watchers.”

  “Some time to get back out into the galaxy,” Minh sighed.

  “You're telling me,” Jason smiled as he watched Ayan sit up in bed. “She's up, we should get in there. She hates hospitals.”

  He and Minh walked into the recovery room.

  “Jason!” Ayan shouted out as she extended her arms out towards him.

  He accepted her enthusiastic embrace. “You were the last people I expected them to send after us.”

  “Where's Oz?” she asked.

  “He's with my husband, Alaka,” said a heavy set nafalli with light brown fur and dark black stripes. She held out a scanner and took a reading of Ayan. “You continued to sleep after the anaesthetic wore off so I let you rest. My name is Iloona.”

  “Thank you, what did I need anaesthetic for?” Ayan asked.

  “Your wrist and leg were broken. I had nanobots knit the bones and inspected you for brain injuries. There was no permanent damage.”

  “Alaka saved our butts when we first arrived. He's a hero here, saved a stadium filled with people when the bots first went crazy and has been leading a group of forward infantry ever since. Oz signed up as soon as he heard he was going behind enemy lines,” Jason filled in.

  “Don't tell him he's a hero, his head is large enough already,” Iloona finished reading the results on her scanner and smiled at Ayan. “You've made a full recovery. Unfortunately you and your friend's sleep cycles are both aligned nocturnally.”

  “Thank you Iloona, if being nocturnal is the worst news in all this, I'll take it.” Ayan noticed something stirring just under the surface of the nafalli's thick coat. The muffled squeaks and high pitched grunts were all the additional evidence she needed. “Congratulations,” she smiled.

  Iloona put a broad paw over her pouch, bringing on a round of louder squeaks. “Thank you. I've been blessed with two boys and one girl who already enjoys teasing her brothers. She won't let either of them sleep unless she's sleeping.”

  “What are their names?”

  “Oh, they haven't emerged yet, so they've yet to be named. It'll be soon though, then their brothers and sisters will have their hands full chasing after them. Please tell me if there's anything else you need Ayan, I have other patients.” Iloona said with a smile before shuffling off.

  “This isn't how I imagined a core world. It's not part of the central cluster but I never imagined there would be so many non-human residents. They're the ones who got a few thousand ships out of the system when things first started to get crazy, they saved about three million humans during the evacuation, then the spaceport was shut down completely and Regent Galactic started rounding any survivors up, loading them into ships and taking them off world. From what they've told me people thought Regent Galactic was here to help. The issyrians and alligians are pretty sure they were being taken into some kind of slavery and when they confirmed it Alaka and Roman started organizing anyone willing to fight here. The slave barges left and they expect Regent Galactic or the West Watch to start dropping reinforcements any day. The advantage they have is that the artificials don't attack non-humans until they pose a threat.” Jason said quietly.

  “So people like Alaka don't actually have to worry unless they take up arms, they're not targets?” Minh asked.

  “That's right. Alaka's probably their number one target now though, he leads assaults with a CS-30.”

  “A CS-30? Isn't that a fighter class disintegration weapon?” Ayan asked as she hopped out of bed and stepped behind a small privacy curtain. She pulled the flimsy hospital gown off and started materializing a combat grade white vacsuit with her command and control unit. The thicker vacsuit began forming layer by layer on the floor behind the privacy partition.

  “That's right, he adapted it from one of their downed fighters when combat first broke out. Apparently he was watching a game with a human friend when all hell broke loose.”

  “Iloona can't be happy about her husband rushing out to fight when they're not in any real danger,” Minh whispered.

  “I think they see it as their fight. Otherwise I'm pretty sure they would have gotten their eleven children together and sat on a stockpile of supplies until it was all over.”

  “Eleven children?” Ayan exclaimed, peeking out from behind the curtain as she pulled on the top half of her vacsuit. It was heavier, more complex and had many more protective systems and layers built in. She found herself wishing she had worn one when she left Freeground on the Warpig, she may not have had broken bones during the crash.

  “Eleven, you should see them. Five are the most hyper active kids I've ever met and three just stay together and stare at everything while they whisper to each other. It's like they're aware of some conspiracy that no one else sees. They're so different I hope I get to meet the three that are in her pouch, you never know what to expect.”

  “I've only run into nafalli once before, when Jonas and I were out on Zingara station.” Ayan said, stepping out from behind the curtain and picking up a small metal box. “They were really good people from what I could tell.”

  “I remember hearing about that through Laura. I never thought I'd meet one to be honest, not while I was working for Freeground Intelligence anyway. I was promoted so fast they didn't even bother giving me field work for the first year, they just put me in charge of a whole processing section.”

  “That must have been after the scan. I don't remember any of it.” Ayan said quietly as she opened the small box and took the first of six pills with a sip of water.

  “What's the last thing you remember?” Jason asked cautiously.

  “Your wedding,” she smiled. Ayan poured more water into the glass on the bedside table and got ready to take two more pills.

  “What're those?” Minh asked quietly.

  “Four of them are non-genetic performance boosters. Doc Anderson gave them to me in case I had trouble adjusting to not having genetic enhancements.”

  “And the other two?” Jason asked.

  Ayan finished taking the third and fourth pills before answering. “One's a genetic ageing management and regeneration pill, it should be easy to reverse if I change my mind. The sixth is a nanobot package,” she closed her hand around the last two and hesitated.

  “What does the nanobot package do?” Jason asked warily.

  She didn't answer, instead she popped them into her mouth, gulped them quickly and washed it down with the rest of the glass of water before firmly putting it back down on the table. “That's decided then.”

  “What was it?”

  “You remember the package they gave you when they cured your genetic decay disorder?”

  “Yes, it was an offshoot of the framework technology that nanobots built into my breastbone. It's still there.”

  “Well, I guess the Doc knew I'd eventually find myself in a dangerous situation so he sent a more advanced version along. Over the next ten hours the nanobots will build materializers into several sections of my body, so if the worst happens they'll start rebuilding me.”

  “That project is beyond classified,” Jason whispered. “Special forces aren't supposed to start using that for at least three months.”

  Minh just watched the conversatio
n take place, looking from Ayan to Jason and back.

  “I guess Doc still knows people in high places. A few decades in the military does that.”

  “I could imagine.”

  “So we're going into a dangerous situation?” Minh interrupted.

  “Well, I am. It sounds like the people here need help, and I see two people in here with real infantry training and experience,” she replied.

  “I know you have training and off ship experience, but…” Minh looked to Jason. “You don't have infantry training, do you Jason?” Minh asked.

  “I have some covert training, you're the better soldier I'm sure,” Jason replied with a grin.

  Minh smiled back. “Right, always thinking of others before myself,” he looked back to Ayan. “What's the plan?”

  “We're supposed to get to the Triton after retrieving Oz and Jason here, and these people need help, so maybe we can get the Triton to come to us.”

  “That could be a problem. There are major comm stations planet side jamming everything coming in and out of the system. They have complete control over what people see, hear and how far those transmissions get.”

  “Well, we'll have to take care of that then.”

  “We could always find a way to hijack an enemy ship and go get the Triton ourselves,” Minh offered.

  “Enemy ships look just like everyone else's ships, sorry Minh.” Jason replied. “The bots are organized, a lot of them use the same equipment we do, stealing, salvaging, hacking everything they can get into service.”

  “Well I guess we're on the hook if we want transportation too. Is there somewhere I can check in and volunteer with here?” Ayan asked Jason.

  “Yup, they have a recruiter's office in the secure section of the mountain. I don't think it's seen as much traffic over the last few days.”

  Jason and Ayan started walking towards the door, Minh remained standing at the head of the bed for a moment. “Are you coming?” Ayan asked.

  Minh thought quietly for a while, looking more serious than Ayan had ever seen him.

  She walked to him and took his hand; “maybe there's a way for you to pitch in without getting right into the fight. There must be.”

  “I've been planning ops from behind the scenes, they need strategists,” Jason offered quietly.

  He shook his head; “I'm not afraid, and I'll be signing up right along with you. I just hope you realize that if this is the kind of battle I'm picturing, it could be a lot more complicated, more dangerous than you imagine. We could be here a very long time and we might not all make it out.”

  Minh's statement hit home. Her and Jason both paused a moment. “From the work I've been doing with the commanders here, he's right Ayan.”

  “What do you think we should do?” she asked finally.

  Minh's expression was deeply pensive as he hesitated. “Do you think we could form a strike team? Go after objectives quietly?”

  “I think we could swing that with the people here. They've been primarily on the defence so far. What's your idea?”

  “We get just a few people together and start taking out their key facilities one at a time. Make them worry, convince them that the people here don't care if they have to rebuild their communications and power centers. Just like in the Quaking Mile.”

  “I haven't played that sim since before the First Light.” Jason commented as he nostalgically recalled the scenario.

  “I don't remember that one, what's it all about?” Ayan asked.

  “It's exactly what Minh's talking about only smaller. There's a square mile where you have power, communication, transportation and other key structures. The first team to take out the majority of the key points wins. Often the team that's best at evading while accomplishing their objective takes the points. Casualty rates are very low for teams who pull it off quickly.”

  “Now that you mention it I remember playing it a few times when I just met you bunch on line. It sounds perfect. Do you think it'll work?”

  Jason smiled; “Minh and Jonas had the team record on Freeground and as I remember, you were always a first pick for boarding crews, Sunspot.”

  Mementos

  The glass Jonas Valent had last drunk out of had been encased in a small glass display box. Jake Valance stared at it after setting it down in the middle of his Ready Quarters office desk. He had no idea what to do with it after placing it inside the case consisting of a simple black base and transparesteel surround. The writing on its base said; A Drink With Jonas.

  As he quietly looked around the office for a place to put it, perhaps a good spot for a small shelf without it drawing too much attention but a place he'd look to often enough, the door chimed. “Come in,” Jake said quietly.

  The heavily armoured door was drawn out of the jam and Alice stepped inside. Over her black vacsuit she wore her flight jacket, something that was making an appearance all over the ship with anyone who fancied themselves a good pilot. She was the first to make it part of the uniform by adding the Triton skull to the right shoulder. Many senior staff members in the engineering, gunnery and security departments had started to wear long coats much like Jakes', but either addition to their uniforms were considered luxury items, and since they were dense protective garments it took several days worth of materialization rations to create them.

  Alice's smile still brought his spirits up, it was something he hoped would never change. “How was the day watch?” she asked brightly.

  “Filled with good and bad news. The crew are responding to the general difficulty of the training simulations increasing ship wide as a challenge, I'm not hearing many people complaining. Our live combat drills are still getting better, and we've had thirty one people qualify in their departments to become full crew.”

  “Thirty one? That's twice as much as yesterday.”

  “People are embracing their roles, getting together into groups and helping each other out. Crew members who are working as a unit are qualifying for their posts faster. We should see at least two hundred more graduated members in the next three days. The bad news is that we'll still be left with half the crew not fully qualified. That's something we expected, but I also have a problem with the civilian volunteer group.”

  Alice sat down and made herself comfortable in the seat across from him, she was right at home, during the evening shift the office was hers. Jake slept just above most of the time in a small sleeping cabin. If there were any problems he was just a hatch away and she had only had to call on him twice. “Last I checked half the civilians were signing up as damage control or part time security. I even saw a couple people trying out as fighter pilots.”

  “That's the problem. The training regimen we're on is made to prepare the non-civilian crew for a kind of warfare that doesn't allow much opportunity to take prisoners. We both know that Triton is being groomed as a killer, every department knows it. The default disposition for everyone aboard with the exception of the civilians is to kill anyone trying to board us or anything circling outside.”

  “It's working, in true condition simulations our casualties are continually decreasing despite the fact that you keep making them more and more difficult. Even in missions where we have to determine that each opponent is armed before firing the aggressive attitude is ensuring early surrenders and quicker suppression times.”

  “I know, and that's good, but eventually we may find ourselves outside of a war zone. If we're all as hard as nails and ready to open fire at the slightest indication of trouble, we'll be of no use to anyone. It's the civilians that will keep us human, aware that there's a grey area to this friend or foe mentality that's built into all our training.”

  Alice didn't respond right away and just looked at him, glancing at his new trophy before replying. “You're right. I'll be honest, I'd expect that kind of thinking more from Liam, but you're right. Are you going to stop civilians from qualifying for different positions on the ship?”

  “No, but we should start compiling a list of p
eople the civilians have requested us to pick up. We have a lot of room left in the habitation section in the Botanical Gallery.”

  “What about children?”

  Jake hesitated a moment, it was something he had been thinking about for several days. “It feels wrong to have them aboard a ship of war. I'm still against it.”

  “I agree. It's going to cut a lot of people from that list though. The civvies that are requesting to bring family aboard have a lot of brothers, sisters and others who have kids.”

  “We'll have to live with it, I need to know that everyone aboard made a concious choice to be here.”

  “Speaking of family, is that what I think it is?” Alice asked, gesturing towards the encased drinking glass.

  “It is. I didn't know what to do with it after finishing the testing, so I…” he gestured towards it and shrugged.

  “It's good, I mean, it's not like he was able to leave much behind. What did the tests turn up?”

  “Well, his results show natural ageing, mine show that I'm almost seven years old and a large percentage of my physiology shows signs of mass regeneration. He was the original, that's for sure.”

  “Laura was saying that you're like his moodier brother,” Alice smirked.

  Jacob burst out laughing and nodded. “That fits. How are you two getting along?”

  “Great, if there's anyone in engineering or our civilian research volunteers with nothing to do, she gives them a challenge. I don't know what she's been up to since I last saw her before I made the switch from AI to human, but it's given her the ability to command, demand respect and delegate. The more I watch her the more I learn, even though she keeps trying to convince me that I'm the great commander.”

  “You are, if I were to take you off the bridge night watch the graveyard crew would probably mutiny. I don't know what I'd do without you.”