Solstice 31: The Solstice 31 Saga, Books 1,2,3

by Martin Wilsey

  “Now it's 230 years later. Earth has recovered, technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. Colonies have begun trade and hold diplomatic relationships.” Jimbo sighs.

  He turns and looks at the images of the Warmarks.

  Hume spoke, “These are third gen Warmarks, with an ECHO system behind them. All the pilots could be dead, and these things would keep fighting. There are two smart-nukes in there,” she pointed over her shoulder at the drop-ship, “Nukes with names, personalities and they follow ORDERS and even make their own decisions.” She stood, “I do not recommend we wake them up. They might have contingency orders.”

  “Just as I think it's all going really well, it turns out, people are always going to be assholes,” Jimbo said.

  “Wait a sec,” Hagan stood up. “Let's just ask her.”

  “Who?” Kuss asked.

  “Echo, have you been listening to our conversations?' Hagan asked the air, looking toward the drop-ship.

  “Yes, of course.” A small dark skinned woman appeared behind Worthington. She wore a black military jump suit and had an ID badge hanging around her neck. A black badge with white lettering and a photo of her.

  “Echo, your primary mission has been aborted, and we require information to determine our next course of action,” Hagan stated.

  Jimbo spoke, “What was your primary mission?”

  Echo thought about the question a long time for an AI before answering, “To follow the directions of Captain Alice Everett no matter what she asked of me.”

  “Why?” Kuss asked. It caused Echo to tilt her head like a cat.

  “Captain Everett was operating under special orders from Admiral Krieger.” Echo turned and looked at the Warmarks. “There were difficult tasks to be performed. Kreiger believed she needed the right tools for the job. It appears it was not that difficult as they seemed to be accomplished by a simple maintenance guy.”

  “What tasks, specifically?” Worthington asked.

  “Terminate Dalton's Genome project and ensure it cannot be restarted,” Echo stated.

  “Dalton? Do you mean Chancellor Dalton?” Worthington asked.

  She nodded her head and did not stop talking, “Discover how the Chancellor was eliminating entire ships and crews.” She turned and met Jim's eyes, “And recover one or more Scarecrows.”

  “Wex is a Scarecrow,” Hagan said, “Barcus saw another one in the Citadel just before it was destroyed.”

  “Scarecrow?” Cook asked.

  “The literal translation is Protectors of the Gardens,” Echo replied including the verbose words in the original language.

  Kuss scoffed, “Get it now. Retards back home too stupid to use new word.”

  “Captain, there was an additional order.” Echo said, “Recover the Iosin if possible. Her ship. It is where she is right now with Barcus.”

  “How do you know that?” Jimbo asked.

  “Stu is keeping me up to date.” AI~Echo answered, “By the way. We also have orders to stop her from destroying the Earth.”

  ***

  “Barcus, do you remember the conversation we had about the status panel and all its green lights on the Sedna? How it was status display hacked with an old-school log loop and not real.” Wex asked out of the blue.

  “Sure, you wanted to be able to help on the bridge so we could... give rest.” Barcus faded off. “We haven't had that conversation... yet?”

  “Breathe,” Wex said as he clasped the sides of his head.

  “What is happening to me?” He doubled over as if in pain. Po rushed to him.

  “No...” Barcus gasped when he looked into Po's eyes. “No...” he took her by the shoulders. “What did you do?” He glared at Wex.

  “Things will remind you. Or pre-mind you.” Wex said, “Just as you can focus on events of the past and remember if you will begin to focus on the future...” Wex said.

  “I'll pre-member?” He looked at Wex and then to the circle of sofas. “You will explain it, in detail. Here.”

  He fell to his knees under the weight of it.

  “It will be all right.” Po put her arms around his neck and straddled him in a full body hug like a child. “We will get through it together.”

  He brushed her hair from her face. He could see far more than she knew. “We will.” He looked to Wex, who was already nodding her head. “They'll blame me. For all of it.”

  “And even that will save still more billions of lives in the horror of aftermath.”

  “I will have to lie to them all,” Barcus said.

  “But not to her. But she will lie to you. Break promises.” She paused, “To save them all.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

  The Seed Ship

  “All that we knew regarding the truth of the seed ship Iosin was destroyed on December 22, 2631. It was contained in the main computer AI on a secret research base. That base was on Rhea, a moon of Saturn. We did not even find records of that base. There was only the word of a single survivor; that did not come forward for over twenty years.”

  --Solstice 31 Incident Investigation Testimony Transcript: General Patricia Chase, senior member of the Earth Defense Coalition.

  <<<>>>

  Barcus had collapsed back onto one of the command sofas. Po was helping him through an internal crisis in ways she didn't understand. He held her gaze as well as her face. Their noses were only a hand span apart. She could see his intense focus on her as he spoke to Wex.

  “Is it true? What I see?” he asked.

  “It is what will happen before you. It remains to be seen if it is the truth,” Wex said as she casually circled to command area.

  “I will not curse you though eternity,” he whispered to Po. “But you will pound my chest a time or two.”

  “The two of you must remember this most of all,” She stopped her circling for emphasis. “You cannot tell them. Not even a hint. Not for proof or pride or to save their lives because nothing can do that.”

  Then is when Barcus looked at her. He knew what she was going to do. All in a single glance, “I see now.”

  Po spoke into his ear as he studied Wex more carefully, “What is the Long White?”

  “It's a lie.” Barcus turned back to Po, “Promise you will never speak of it again. Even if it is mentioned in your presence.”

  “I promise,” she said instantly.

  “Let's get moving. You have got to see this.” Barcus lifted her to her feet quickly. They all walked toward the lift with purpose.

  ***

  Worthington, Cook, Kuss, and Hume stood around a large hole in the dock flight deck where a service plate had been removed. “It's a good damn thing you didn't try that crazy maneuver with the Memphis in his condition.” Hagan was saying as he climbed out of the access hatch near the center of the engineering section. “Six of the central keel beams are broken. Not cracked, not bent, broken.” Hagan took a long pull of water from a bottle Kuss handed him. “I have never seen a ship this damaged and still fly. The debris impact that tore through here must have cracked them, and it looks like stress on all the landing struts at once broke them all but two.”

  Richard Cook was shaking his head, remembering the feel of the first emergency landing.

  The scan of the damaged infrastructure came up as a giant display in their HUDs. “If I had tried the lateral cart-wheel to get through that hole in the sensor web the entire ship would have just folded and the broke up.” Cook was shaking his head.

  “So we are fucked then. No Memphis. It now just power plant for base and shitty bunks.” Kuss was mad.

  “I didn't say that,” Hagan got to his feet. “It depends what else needs repairs. We have a fabricator. It would take time but we could sister the breaks, and it would work. It's never going to fly FLT again, but it would be okay between the Moon and Baytirus and even the entire solar system.”

  “The Sedna is our best bet for getting back to Earth in one piece,” Hagan said wiping his hands off on his too baggy overalls.

>   Worthington added, “The Sedna might be better for other reasons as well.” Jim looked out the cargo ramp at the Sedna. No one is looking for the Sedna. The Memphis, on the other hand, is expected.” He looked at them all, so they understood, “Expected by the people that destroyed the Ventura.”

  This comment killed all conversation.

  “Any word from Barcus, Captain?” Kuss was unusually formal.

  “None.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Stu has been off line the last twenty-four hours as well.” The group began to follow him down the ramp toward the Sedna. “He has two more days.”

  None of them noticed Cine or Jude in the shadows of the ramp. Listening.

  ***

  The lift took them all back to the flight deck where the STU was parked. As they entered the command deck the canopy was already 'open' and Stu's avatar was standing looking out over the giant hangar.

  “Lady, Wex.” Stu asked in a very formal, polite way, “How did the Iosin come by all these ships?” Stu looked over his should to her as he continued, “ I count 112 just in my field of view here. I only recognize a few makes and models. And this is one hangar of many.”

  Wex stood and looked out over the hangar near Stu, “Some were collected as abandoned, some purchased, some came here with violence and pillage intent. Most actually. Only a few were rescues. Not many. Iosin was not in that business.”

  “Barcus, what's wrong,” Po asked him. She felt him tense again in realization of something.

  He looked at Wex again, as he spoke to Po. “It's Iosin. The ship. It has an AI. It is an AI. But I am not sure Artificial is the word I would use. It's an Intelligence. More like a being than a computer, even an advanced one.”

  “It doesn't even know we are here. Rather it doesn't care.” Wex said casually.

  “Doesn't mind may be a better way to put it.” Stu said, “If it did mind we'd discover those spiders do more than just maintenance around here.” Stu gestured with his chin. The floor of the hangar far below was covered with thousands of cat-sized, unmoving, identical spiders.

  “Close it up, Stu. We are taking a tour.” Barcus said.

  He sat in the pilot’s seat but didn't buckle in. It was the first time Po had ever seen him be so casual about it. The STU was aloft even before the ramp had closed and was moving toward the ceiling. The vast hangar had a giant door that was sliding aside.

  Blue sky and bright sunlight could be seen beyond.

  The door was only about ten percent open when the STU flew threw into the sunlight.

  “How is this possible?” Po gasped. They were flying over water. Behind them, the opening closed and became sky once again. “This is all inside the ship?”

  “Yes,” Stu replied directly.

  They flew in silence toward the horizon. Po slowly slumped into the co-pilot seat as land was spotted in the distance.

  “Stu, give me a tactical,” Po said slowly, incredulous.

  The display came up, and they were inside the great ring of the ship. Their vista was 101 kilometers wide and 10,900km in circumference.

  “The horizon seems much farther away than is possible. And down is toward that globe in the center of the ring.” Po was amazed.

  Barcus was silent and looked like he was visiting home.

  “Above and all around is just like the canopy in here,” Wex said as they flew over the rocky cliffs of the shore. Mountains with dense forest and rivers filled the land below. Mountains became foothills and the river planes. Wildlife was rich, and the plants all flourished.

  The climates changed. In some places, it rained and in others it was arid. It was a perfect closed eco-system.

  “Stu, please find a space where we can set down for a meal,” Barcus said and stood. He watched to rivers and lakes roll beneath then in the green.

  Stu found a beautiful spot where small goats were trimming the lawn like feral lawn mowers next to a large fresh water lake. They carried food and drink out to a stone outcropping that made a perfect bench, overlooking the lake.

  “This seed ship is how Baytirus was terraformed,” Barcus said. It was a statement. “The trees, the animals, even the bees.”

  “Yes,” Wex said as she took a bite of a simple ham and cheese sandwich.

  “What was there before? What if they can't live together? Foxes and chickens.” Po asked.

  “The planet is typically reset,” Wex said absently.

  “Reset? How?” Po asked.

  “It's easier than one can imagine. Just draw down an asteroid with enough inertia and it's reset. Not enough to displace the atmosphere mind you but enough to kill off all the dominant species. Then you seed it with the right plants and animals. If you can stand there and see the results before your first action, it's very easy.”

  “You are gardeners. Scarecrows. Watching over them. Seeding them and watching them grow. Knowing how they turn out even as you begin?” Po asked, “Why?”

  Wex looked at Barcus and then over the lake without answering.

  “If you were immortal, what would you do?”

  ***

  “Jimbo, I have no idea how this ship, these reactors, this whole thing is still here,” Hagan said to Jimbo in his private office on the Memphis. He tossed three devices onto his desk as if they were dead rats.

  “What are these? They look like control system relays.” Worthington said picking one up, “But isn't this a wireless module in addition to the hard line interfaces?”

  “I never would have noticed them had I not been down there looking at the infrastructure damage,” Hagan said letting the next natural question form in Worthington’s head. It would save explaining it.

  “What is this wireless interface keyed to?” Jimbo eyebrow was up.

  “It was set for dedicated encrypted commas with Mia, the Memphis AI.” Hagan leaned over and picked one up. “An instruction set was on the chip... Overload and suppress the ejection of the core.”

  “Dammit. This just gets better and better. Mia could have sent it a command sequence and not even know what will happen?” Jimbo stood and paced behind his deck even though there was only three meters to do it.

  “Jimbo, if that first massive chunk of debris had not taken out Mia.” He left the statement hanging, “We may have been dead anyway.”

  “Have you discussed this with Ben?” Jimbo sat.

  “Yes. I had to. He discovered the hardware based code instructions.” Hagan said, “Ben, tell him your theory.”

  Ben's avatar appeared in the second chair before he spoke, “If Mia had not been destroyed we would have headed straight back for Earth. It is likely that we would have encountered another large survey ship or carrier on the way, and as a good Captain, you would have requested assistance and brought the Memphis aboard.” Ben paused, “It's speculation, but if their goal was mayhem, they could have detonated the ship inside another or even docked to Freedom Station or on the tarmac of the Sri Lanka space port.”

  “And blame you,” Hagan added.

  “Wes, the Memphis was just swapped out six months ago. The drop ship and now this?” Worthington brought up the schematic of the Memphis.

  “I have the whole team going over it with a fine tooth comb. I should get back.” Hagan stood just as Worthington’s comm unit chimed.

  “Jimbo, Barcus just checked in. He's on his way back.” Karen Beary said. “ETA is about four hours.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN:

  The Memphis Repairs

  “When they began to look more closely at the Memphis a bigger picture was starting to form. They were more than just lucky to have survived up to that point.”

  --Solstice 31 Incident Investigation Testimony Transcript: General Patricia Chase, senior member of the Earth Defense Coalition.

  <<<>>>

  The STU had to come into the main hangar. All work had to stop and the hangar pressure cycled so they could come in. The whole process took about thirty minutes. Without orders, everyone
took advantage of the time to take a shower or get a quick meal.

  By the time it was repressurized, Hagan and Worthington were walking across the vast floor to the STU as the ramp was slowly lowering. There were nine pallets of what looked like light gray bricks in Stu's cargo hold. Each pallet was about two meters on a side. Barcus picked up one of the bricks as he walked by.

  Descending the ramp he tossed it to Hagan. He almost didn't catch it, fumbling it. He had expected it to be much heavier. Even in the low gravity, it felt unnaturally light but hard at the same time.

  “What is it?” He turned it over in his hands a few times then tossed it to Jimbo.

  Worthington caught it in one hand easily. Before he could say anything, it deployed eight legs and a couple arms and started to look around from obvious eye stalk cameras.

  “This looks like one of the various kinds of maintenance bots. I've never seen one like this.” Worthington said. He then looked into the hold of the ship. There were thousands of then on the pallets.

  “Toss it here.” Barcus held out a hand, and Jimbo tossed it. Instead of catching it Barcus side stepped and let it fall to the floor. It didn't just fall. It decelerated and landed perfectly.

  “Don't units like these need an AI to drive them?” Hagan asked.

  “Not these kind. They work together with a kind of hive mind.” Wex said, “They can be guided by an AI or people with verbal commands or just be left to their own volition. Work together or independently. They fight entropy.”

  “Fight entropy?” Jimbo asked.

  “They fix things. It's what they do.” Po smiled. “Watch this. Pallet One. Activate.”

  The perfectly stacked two meter cube of bricks dissolved and expanded into a nightmare swarm of gray spiders. They boiled out of the cargo bay moving around Wex, Barcus, and Po out into the hangar. Their feet clicked quietly on the floor, and together it made a white noise until they stopped in ranks, a formation, on the vast floor.