by Matt Verish
“Now might be optimal,” Lin explained. “With the Sentinel struggling to maintain control of the android, we may be able to give our aid to Cole.”
“You mean Rig and me,” Emmerich clarified.
Slowly, the arguing voices over Cole’s comm became familiar, and he managed himself into a sitting position with his good arm. Seeing the lean woman standing a short ways from him helped him to connect the rest of the dots, and he finally understood his fortune. Beside him was his satchel, and he snatched it. He bolted upright, and both his world and stomach turned upside down. The sudden dizziness and nausea caused him to tilt forward, though he regained enough of his footing at the last moment.
I’m coming, Cain!
Cole ran toward his freedom, keeping a wide berth around the android. He could feel those amber eyes burning a hole through the back of his skull as he approached the final obstacle barring his freedom. His face came inches short of pressing into the smooth surface. The doors leading to the Icarus remained closed.
Cain.
the AI said.
Oh, great. Cole drew a sharp breath and looked over his shoulder. He knew exactly what he’d see, but locking gazes with the android still sent a chill up his spine. A phantom spasm wracked his arm where she had nearly crushed his tricep. His knees turned to water when she stalked in his direction, and he braced himself against the locked doors for the inevitable confrontation.
Cain.
And what if during the process she turns me into a human pretzel? He asked, eyeing her hands with terror.
Do I have a choice in the matter?
Okay. Cole produced his best smile when the android was a couple steps away. “Here, let me get the door for you.”
His entire body was lifted, and his back was used as a life-sized battering ram to part the double-wide doors. The wind was knocked from his lungs, his head buzzing with pain. She continued to carry him unceremoniously while holding onto the front of his jacket. He dared not attempt to free himself of her bone-crushing grip. His legs dangled helplessly, his jacket so tightly compressed that he could not breathe. He stole a brief glance over his shoulder and saw that the android was indeed leading him toward the ship. He would’ve been relieved if he was not losing consciousness for a second time.
You’d better be right about this, Cain.
So cocky... You’ve been hanging around me too— Thunk! “Ow!” Cole rubbed the back of his head once he mostly cleared the metal archway of the ship’s aft entrance. I guess we’re inside.
The Icarus’s fusion reactor engines roared to life the moment both man and android were safely aboard. None of the other crew members were present as Cole was carried toward the lift. Stars and darkness were slowly swallowing his vision, and his captor showed no signs of letting go. Unable to take a proper breath, Cole panicked and reacted as only he could when he was backed into his Corner. He punched her in the face.
The pain in his fist became a distant concern as he sailed through the air and crashed, hard, inside the lift. He was slow to rise, and he struggled to focus on the android. Even out of focus, it was clear she was attempting to make sense of her situation. He stared a bit too long, and he watched in horror as she sprinted directly towards him.
“Bridge, bridge, bridge, bridge, bridge!” he shouted at the lift. The door slid closed in time, though the android continued forward. Momentum slammed her body into the outside with such force, that the thick metal door caved inward ever so slightly. Cole had covered his ears too late, her impact akin to a small explosion. Amazingly, the lift rose despite the damage.
“Turn off the lift once I exit, Cain,” Cole said as he hauled himself to his feet. “I sure hope we’re making a hasty exit from this place, because I think she’s pissed.”
CAIN said.
“Erratic? A woman? Never.”
The lift door opened, and three familiar faces stared back at him. Each one wore a different mask of emotion. Concern for Lin, anger for Emmerich, and amusement for Rig. Cole pushed past them all, ignoring their overlapping comments. He sneaked a peak at the viewport screen, which indicated the ship had already departed from the facility. He slung the satchel over the back of his flight chair and dug out his sidearm.
“I’ll put it away once she stops coming for me,” Cole said, inspecting his sidearm. He holstered it and cringed when he flexed his injured muscle. “Why don’t you tell me again about your loss of connection to the host theory.”
“And your dumb ass brought that thing aboard,” Emmerich said to Cole.
He shook his head. “As though I had a choice in the matter, Chrys.” He pointed toward the steps beside the lift. “We all make mistakes. I seem to recall you attempting a terrorist attack on Terracom. Big mistake, that.”
“Yeah, and her keys are about to gouge out our eyes,” Rig said. He caught one of the plasma rifles that Emmerich had tossed his way. “Let’s make that bitch a lot less complex.”
“Agreed,” Cole said, slinging a rifle of his own over his shoulder. He approached the stairwell as Lin’s Rook hovered beside his head, though he kept his full attention upon the android’s remaining access point.
“Fire only if necessary,” Lin whispered to him through the cube. “We might have use for a functioning android.”
“Such as?”
“I’ll give you a detailed explanation later,” she finished through comm-speak.
Cole turned to her, his brow raised. The faintest upturn at the corner of her lips confirmed his suspicions. We’ll see. I hope you sent that thought as a direct communiqué. He made a slashing hand motion across his throat, and all verbal conversation ceased amongst the group. The sound of heavy footsteps ascending the stairwell filled the fresh silence.
I know, Cain. I hear her. He gave the silent order for Rig and Emmerich to spread out.
Cole let his arms fall, his head hanging. Come again?
2
DISCONNECT
How many?
“Why is nothing ever easy?” he muttered under his breath. “This is the complete opposite of what you promised. You’re fired.”
“Musgrave.”
Cole’s head snapped up at Emmerich’s sharp whisper. He tensed at the sight of an encroaching shadow crossing the threshold of the stairwell. The figure of the android came to a halt just short of coming into view. There was a long, breathless standoff.
The android obliged first, but not in a way anyone expected. The shadow retreated, a quick succession of heavy footfalls pounding down the steps. Cole lowered his weapon and frowned. Then a sobering realization set in.
She’s going for the cargo bay.
Cole holstered his sidearm and indicated the others follow suit. He moved toward the hallway leading toward the living quarters. “Ignore that last thought. Just worry ab
out those drones coming for us. You should be able to handle them, compliments of my brother’s arsenal. The three of us, we’ve got an android to take out.”
Cole stopped and shook his head, having forgotten CAIN’s unwillingness to take command of the Icarus in times of combat. Ever since the AI’s rebellion and near demise of the crew, CAIN always sought permission before assuming command of the vessel.
“Yes, that’s an order,” he replied in as official a tone he could manage. “Give ‘em hell, son.”
Rig chuckled.
Cole winked at Lin, who nodded before turning toward the ship’s console. He watched to make sure the cockpit barrier safely energized and divided the party. When he turned and continued away from the stairwell, Emmerich called out to him.
“That thing went that way,” she said, gesturing with her rifle.
“I know,” Cole said, maintaining his course. “You wanna follow her? Be my guest. Let me know how that works out for you when you walk right into those loving arms of hers.”
“Back door action, eh, Nugget?” Rig asked.
“Yes. And I hope the innuendo was intended.” He smirked when the mechanic laughed. “Now, come on! No time to explain.” No point in telling them I’m flying by the seat of my pants. He broke into a full sprint. He was relieved when both Rig and Emmerich flanked him on either side. The trio zipped through the Bar and past their living quarters, sounding like a herd of galloping horses. A familiar pain reared its ugly head in Cole’s knee well before they approached the infirmary. He was grateful to slow near the steps leading down the cargo bay, though he knew the descent would only worsen the pain.
“I get what you’re doin’,” Rig said as they entered the stairwell. “You’re still a pussy.”
Cole grabbed the railing as he descended. “You keep calling me that, and I continue to disprove your accusation.” He hit the landing and flinched. “What do I have to do to impress you?”
“Get a knee replacement, for starters,” Rig said, and Cole smiled.
“Hey!” Emmerich hissed at them both. When she had their attention, she turned an imaginary key on her lips. Cole dragged an invisible zipper across his mouth, Rig simply stuck out his tongue at her.
They descended the rest of the steps in silence, and snuck out of the stairwell with weapons poised and armed. At first glance, there were only the stacks of fastened crates and offline machinery, but the trio knew better to approach with extra caution.
Cole strained for any sound of the heavy-footed trespasser, though the thrum of the ship’s engines obstructed any chance of pinpointing its location. He reached out to the AI for assistance. We can use your eyes right about now, Cain.
Security camera footage and a full schematic of the ship’s interior appeared in the corner of Cole’s vision. Thanks, buddy. Kick some ass, and show that outdated computer who’s boss.
Cole scanned numerous angles of the live security feed, though he did not see any sign of the android. He had anticipated that it would approach the recently loaded cargo, but it had been left untouched and unguarded. He was fairly certain it would ignore the bridge with the energy barrier lowered, so that left only one possibility. He flipped the camera over to the heart—brain, rather—of the ship.
“I don’t like this,” Lin said from the bridge.
What don’t you like? Cole asked, giving her his full attention.
“CAIN has the ability to undertake complex multitasking that would be impossible for humans. I personally programmed it to handle all manner of trials, simultaneous or not.”
Cole didn’t like what he was hearing. He ignored an impatient glare from Emmerich. You saying he’s getting lazy? Maybe he recently reached AI puberty.
Lin sighed. “I’m afraid CAIN might have unknowingly been hacked by the Sentinel.”
It was Cole’s turn to sigh, though it was more because to Emmerich shoved past him. He waved Rig past as well. How is that possible? Didn’t Cain hack the Sentinel first?
“That’s true, but it’s possible for the infiltrated security system to simultaneously attempt its own malicious attack to defend itself—even override the intruder’s attack.”
Cole was feeling less confident by the second. But wouldn’t Cain know? I thought he was state-of-the-art and kinda unstoppable.
“State-of-the-art or not, artificial intelligence is unpredictable. And CAIN is an exceptional case, considering past circumstances.”
Cole caught up with the others, seeking safety in numbers. He returned his attention to the security feed. Might that be why our android beauty is not showing up on any camera angles? Can that be compromised?
There was a moment’s hesitation before Lin asked, “Can you see yourself on the feed?”
He was switching through the angles halfway through her sentence. He broke out in a cold sweat when he toggled through the “live” images a second time without locating himself. The Sentinel was aboard the Icarus.
“Shit!” Cole shouted. He disposed of all stealth and charged directly for the AI server. “We’re in trouble, Doc. Your worst fear’s been realized.”
“Cole, you have to incapacitate the android,” Lin instructed, remarkably calm. “I will see what I can do to combat the hack on my end.”
Cole opened his mouth to respond, but an unsteady foundation interrupted him. All of the Icarus was trembling. “Are we being boarded?”
“We’ve ceased engaging the drones,” Lin explained. “CAIN isn’t offline, though our control has been severed.”
“I think I know why,” Cole said as he reached the opened hatch leading to the server. He switched on the light at the end of his rifle and pointed it down into the tight space. “I’m guessing our android passenger is having a heart to heart talk with CAIN’s brain jar.”
“Cole, you cannot allow that to happen.”
All of the ship’s lights went dark; the blue emergency backup kicked in. Cole sighed. “Looks like I’m too late, Doc. You’d best continue worrying about a workaround on your end.”
“Musgrave. Why have we lost power?” Emmerich demanded from behind Cole. “And what exactly are you staring at down there?”
“Nothing. Yet.” He blinked and kept his flashlight poised on the floor at the bottom of the steps. “But I have a very good reason to believe therein is the cause of our latest problem.”
“Shouldn’t we go in after it?”
Cole nodded. “ ‘We.’ I like that. Teamwork. Heh. I half expected you to push me in and ask questions second. As much as I appreciate the gesture, I doubt we’ll all fit in that little closet. I’ll handle this. I’m just building up the courage to go down.” He sniffed. “You and Rig might wanna investigate who recently docked with the ship. I don’t recall expecting company.”
“Well don’t just stand there thinking about it,” Emmerich said. “Get your ass down there!” She shoved his back with the frame of her rifle before stalking away.
“Yes ma’am,” he replied flatly, though he did not budge. Thought I was in charge of this boat. She survives a plastol burst to the head, and suddenly she’s a bossy war hero. He sighed and slung his rifle over his shoulder. Kneeling down, he grabbed the top rung of the ladder and tried not to acknowledge that his back was toward potential danger. Even if he jumped down into the room, he had no actual plan as to how to subdue the android. His rifle could make a decent-sized hole in its chest, but a lower stun setting might not accomplish anything. If it don’t work, then there will be other androids to capture.
Cole held his breath as he approached the bottom. His climb down had been with a rubber neck. The insides of his gloves were soaked with sweat as he paused on the bottom rung. A stealthy ninja he was not, though he was pleased to have not drawn th
e attention of his mark. He slid the rifle off his shoulder and triple-checked the setting. Drawing the slowest, quietest, calming breath, his lungs had started to ache for more oxygen.
What am I doing?
Dispensing with his sneak attack, Cole poised the rifle and stalked toward the android. He slowed just shy of breaching the corridor’s threshold. Taking a shot now would guarantee his target, but his intuition kept his trigger finger from squeezing. Perhaps it was because the android had not acknowledged his approach. Her back was to him, her arm extended toward the massive wall of technological marvel that was CAIN. Sending an energy blast into the android’s back now seemed ill-advised.
“Hey, Nel.”
No response.
“What’re you doing to my buddy, Cain, here?”
Silence.
I’m going to regret this, Cole thought as he nudged the android’s shoulder with his rifle barrel. He jumped back as soon as he grazed her uniform. He squeezed the trigger halfway, expecting retaliation, but nothing happened. His shoulders slumped, and he scratched his temple. Now what?
Cole nearly dropped his rifle. Shit, Cain! I’m gonna need to change my shorts after that.
How fortuitous!
The android spun around, sending Cole back a few steps. It stared at him without aggression. Its lips parted, and CAIN’s voice came out.
Cole blinked, uncertain what to think. That’s friggin’ weird. “If you’re in control, hold up your right hand and show me just your middle finger.”
“Ha!” Cole slung his rifle over his shoulder and clapped. “That was totally worth it. You can stop being rude now.”
The android looked around as if taking in the sight of the room for the first time.
