“Alexandra,” said Saroudis out loud, “please forgive me. I love you.”
The Destiny soared in the blackness of space towards the monstrous, Fury planet killer. Energy lightning beams focused from all the ship’s firing tips and converged to create one giant energy ball in front of the ship. Mere seconds before the Fury ship was ready to unleash this destructive power, the Destiny rammed dead center into the Fury weapon.
The darkness of space turned into blinding white light on impact.
“Noooooooo!” shouted Alexandra, sitting on her bed, her hand reaching in front of her.
She was soaking wet, out of breath and it took her a while to get her bearings.
A nightmare? Thank god it was just a nightmare.
“You alright, love?” She heard Adonis’ muffled voice from the bathroom. The shower was running.
She walked to the bathroom’s slightly open door. The escaping light was the only source of light in the bedroom.
“I’m alright, dear. Just a bad dream.”
“Why don’t you go back to sleep?”
“Won’t you join me?”
The shower stopped and Adonis stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. She hugged him tightly.
“You’re as wet as I am. You sure you’re alright, my love?”
“I’m fine now. Just hold me tight and come back to bed with me.”
Adonis squeezed her tightly for a minute.
“I . . . I’m sorry. I can’t stay. The Destiny is waiting for me. I just came to change my uniform. I have to go.”
Alexandra’s heart beat vigorously. She took a step back, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
“You can’t go, Adonis.”
“What are you talking about, Alexandra?”
“I . . . I have a bad feeling. I saw you die in my dream. Please, I beg you, don’t go.”
Adonis dropped the towel and put on his uniform.
“It was just a bad dream, my love. I’ll be fine.”
Alexandra’s hand trembled and tears flowed. She felt a strong pain in her stomach and her heart ached.
“Please, Adonis, I beg you, don’t go.”
When he was done dressing, he took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. “I have to go now. I’ll be back soon, I promise.”
Before she could find the strength to speak again, Adonis left their new quarters.
She fell on her knees and burst into tears.
2
Yanis and Kvasir sat at the conference table in Chase’s ready room.
“Thank you both for coming.”
“Sure thing, boss,” said Yanis.
“How can we help you?” inquired Kvasir.
“I need your help with my upcoming plan to remove Gaia 2. As you know, she’s threatened to kill one million humans if she detects us entering the solar system. That’s the first thing we need to deal with: a stealthy approach to Earth. Once there we must act fast and make sure she doesn’t have time to react to our presence. If she detects us before we have neutralized her, or if we can’t distract her, millions could die. We can’t let that happen. Earth has lost too many innocent souls already, and I won’t have anyone else die if we can prevent it.”
“You have a plan?” asked Yanis.
“I have, but it’s contingent on you providing me with technological solutions, Kvasir.” Chase shifted his gaze towards the Asgardian. “You’re an AI specialist. I’ll need your help to infiltrate her consciousness and make sure she’s too occupied dealing with me to devote resources towards hitting cities on Earth.”
“How do you propose to occupy her, Captain?” asked Kvasir.
Chase wasn’t used to hearing people call him captain. The fact that Kvasir, an alien, not even part of the Alliance, did so was doubly surprising.
“I can interact with technology with my mind. I can pilot ships remotely, without any technological entry point. Our best bet is for me to battle Gaia 2 in her own consciousness, or AI matrix, if you will.”
“A sort of mental cyberspace battle. Quite ingenious if, in fact, you can enter her systems with your mind. But you’ll probably be at a disadvantage in there.”
“Why?” Chase raised an eyebrow.
“There’s a good chance her mind won’t immediately make sense to you. Though hopefully I can devise a program to help you. But, once in there, you’ll be on her turf, and whatever countermeasure she summons within her own mind might defy the laws of physics. It may be very tricky and physically dangerous for you. Make sure your avatar doesn’t die. I suppose you’d like me to try and hack her while you’re battling her in her mind?”
“Yeah, that’s the general idea.”
“Then I’ll need to equip you with a subspace device allowing me to use your mental connection to her as a way to enter her AI matrix. That’s when things get tricky.”
“Why don’t I like the sound of that?” said Yanis.
Chase raised a hand towards his friend. “Please continue, Kvasir.”
“Your approach is bold and something she might not expect. But if she gets the better of you inside her matrix, she may piggyback that subspace connection and invade your mind, inflicting physical harm to your brain and body. You’ll only have a single shot at this and, if you fail, she could kill you.”
“I’m willing to take that risk. While in there I need you to find a way to get to Cedric as well. He’s been invaded by Gaia 2 and right now she uses him as an avatar. We need to sever that connection and recover him. He’s saved Earth too many times to just declare him more collateral damage of this war.”
“I may have an idea about how to achieve that, and also give you a better chance of winning.”
There was a spark in Chase’s eyes. “What do you have in mind?”
“With your permission, I’d like to use your ship’s backup of Gaia to help you fight her evil counterpart. While you’re doing that, I’ll hack Gaia 2’s systems and the original Gaia can help me.”
Yanis cleared his throat and Chase glanced at him.
“What is it, Yanis?”
“I don’t want to be a party pooper, but are we really willing to bring the original Gaia back online? I know she’s been a great ally up until Gaia 2’s takeover of the Earth, but let’s not forget that she’s responsible for the mess we’re in. I’m not sure we should contemplate having any sentient AI, no matter how kind they seem to be, as part of the equation going forward.”
Chase didn’t like this but it was difficult to counter the logic. Yanis was right. If the first Gaia had never attained consciousness, or if they had eradicated her earlier, all of this could have been prevented. Still, Gaia had been invaluable in their fight with the Furies, in both training him and also in helping him defeat General Arkoolis back on Droxia.
“Duly noted, but if she can give us the edge we need, I’m willing to risk it. That is,” said Chase, looking back to Kvasir, “if you can implement a failsafe. A killswitch that would allow us to turn her off without issue should we need to, once Gaia 2 has been dealt with.”
“That can be arranged, though I’m not sure it’s necessary.”
“Oh, it’s necessary,” said Yanis, raising his voice.
“Easy,” said Chase.
“Spiros is dead and Cedric in the state he is now, and we both know this is all Gaia’s fault! I know she didn’t mean for any of it to happen, but her existence is the reason we have to deal with Gaia 2 now.”
“You misunderstand me,” said Kvasir. “Perhaps it’s best she tells you herself.”
Yanis lost his color. “What?”
“She’s the one who proposed it, in fact. When I accessed her backed-up consciousness and informed her what had happened, she said she would gladly sacrifice herself to make amends for the unintentional harm she has caused.”
“Are you insane?” barked Yanis.
Chase stood and put both his palms on the table. “That’s enough, Yanis! I’ve given Kvasir the green light to do
this. He needed to analyze Gaia’s matrix. It was the only way he could help me hack into Gaia 2.”
Yanis shook his head disapprovingly. “Well, you’re the boss, but I’m telling you this is a mistake.”
“I understand how you feel. I also considered Spiros my friend, and I feel his loss too. But blaming Gaia achieves nothing. We can’t go back in time and change it, so we might as well use whatever advantage she can provide us. I thought you’d be on board trying to save Cedric, and her assistance will greatly help us.”
“At the risk of having Gaia 2 kill you, should you fail,” scoffed Yanis.
“You leave that to me. I’ll need your help too. Tell me you have a way to defeat her ship’s advanced shielding. We’ll need to attack and neutralize her fleet the moment I engage her. Please tell me you can do this?”
Yanis sighed. “I have been analyzing her ships’ tech from the logs of our last encounter with her fleet. I’ve also made strides in understanding the ancient tech Ryonna brought us. With a combination of the two, I think I can give our fleet the upper hand.”
“Thinking is not enough. I need to be sure we can destroy her armada.”
“Well, right now I can’t guarantee anything, but the simulations I’ve run of the multi-phasic laser tech I’ve been able to devise should give you a three to five hundred percent efficiency in terms of firepower. The new weaponry will also partially cancel out her ships’ phase-rotation shielding.”
“If I may interrupt.” Kvasir raised his hand.
Chase nodded at him.
“You see, once you’re in Gaia 2’s matrix, I can infiltrate the part of her matrix controlling the fleet and weaken all her systems, both offensive and defensive. This should level the playing field even more, but it will take time. The more we engage her, the weaker she’ll get.”
It was starting to look like a solid plan. Chase’s strategy was taking shape even better than he’d hoped. There was still one problem that needed fixing.
“This is all well and good, but we can only manage this if she doesn’t detect my presence until I’m already inside her matrix. How do we make that happen?”
“Right off the bat,” said Yanis, “I’d say using a StarFury for the last leg of the journey to Earth should allow you to approach her undetected.”
“I have to disagree,” said Kvasir.
“Why?” asked Yanis.
“We can’t know for sure that Gaia 2 isn’t able to detect the stealth tech of the StarFuries. You developed it on Earth, and she has the blueprints for that ship. I would be extremely surprised if she doesn’t already have a way to detect cloaked StarFuries, and I recommend against using the cloaks in battle with her fleet. Since the StarFury loses shields when cloaked, if she can locate the stealth ships, she’ll shoot them down with ease.”
“Then we may have to accept that there will be casualties on Earth if she detects us,” said Yanis.
“Unacceptable,” said Chase.
“I know you may sometimes think otherwise, but I’m not a miracle worker,” said Yanis with a resigned tone.
“What about that instant drive potential Sarah told me about?” said Chase.
“That’s just a hunch at this point.”
“I could help you investigate that further,” said Kvasir.
Yanis looked at the Asgardian with unmasked annoyance, and then retuned his gaze to Chase.
“I don’t think we have time to devise a working prototype before we arrive in Earth space.”
Chase could sense the tension and stress in his friend. He understood how he felt, and the fact that Cedric’s life was on the line didn’t help.
“I don’t think we have much choice. But if we could make an instant jump from outside Gaia 2’s sensor range with a StarFury, we could greatly decrease her time to retaliate towards the planet,” said Chase.
“I agree,” said Kvasir. “I also think that with Gaia’s help—assuming we let her network on the entire fleet—her computational power could allow us to find a way to make this happen.”
Chase saw Yanis flinch at the mention of networking the original Gaia, but he stayed silent.
“I want you two to do whatever it takes to provide me with a stealthy approach. You have less than fifteen hours to come up with a solution.”
“Why don’t we just get out of hyperspace, take the time we need, then make sure we have a tested solution?” said Yanis.
“Because every minute we leave Gaia 2 in control of both Earth and Gaia’s latest version of her matrix increases the probability that we might not be able to do anything to stop her.”
“I’m sorry, Chase,” said Yanis, “but you don’t really know that you’re up to that task. You’re just hoping you can stop her.”
“I don’t, and you’re right. But the longer we wait, the more difficult the task will be. I think we can, at the very least, agree on that.” Chase looked at Kvasir for confirmation.
“I’m afraid the captain’s right,” said Kvasir. “We can’t delay. Yanis is also right: we have no way of knowing if she’s already too evolved for us to take her out in that fashion. But I guarantee that the longer we wait, the harder it will be.”
“It’s decided, then. I’m counting on both of you to be ready when the time comes. Assign any and all resources you need to this. We only have one shot at stopping Gaia 2. Let’s make it count.”
Both Yanis and Kvasir got up.
“Please sit back down, Kvasir,” said Chase. “If I can have just one more word with you.”
Kvasir nodded.
Chase accompanied Yanis out of his ready room. “I’m counting on you, Yanis. We’re all counting on you.”
“No pressure then?” said Yanis with a forced smile.
Chase clapped him on the shoulder and returned to his ready room.
Kvasir was fiddling with a holo-interface device attached to his wrist. He turned the gadget off and returned his attention to Chase. “What did you want to talk about, Captain?”
“I wanted to apologize for Yanis’ bad mood.”
“Unnecessary, Captain. I’m new here and an untested quantity. I expected some resistance.”
“Be that as it may, I thought a little background would help you understand. He’s a brilliant scientist and also a dear friend. But not long ago his sister was killed in the line of duty, and he’s been taking that hard. Now Cedric, who happens to be one of his best friends, is all but a vessel for our vilest enemy; and perhaps seeing Spiros die in such a horrible fashion has reopened the still fresh wound of losing his dear sister.”
“I understand. Thank you for providing me with that information.”
“I also have a favor to ask.”
“Anything.”
“Once you’ve re-activated Gaia, I’d like to talk with her.”
“I was working on that just now. I just need to install the killswitch and add several layers of security. Yanis is right to be afraid that she could become a problem. Even though I doubt she would do it willingly, should she get hacked while we try to take Gaia 2 down . . . Then we’d better be ready. As soon as I’m done with that, I’ll have her contact you.”
“Thanks, Kvasir. Give Yanis all the help you can to get that instant drive ready on time. Remember, I don’t need a fully working technology, even though in the long run that could prove invaluable for defeating the Furies. Right now, all I need is a short-range, near-instant jump so we avoid detection. I already have countless lost lives on my conscience. I want to avoid losing more.”
“That’s very admirable, and I’ll do everything I can to help.”
“Thank you, Kvasir, that will be all.”
Daniel sat with Chase in the mess hall. “Mind if I join you?”
Chase smiled. “Doesn’t look like you need my authorization, bro.”
“You seem concerned. Is everything alright?”
Chase shot his best friend a dubious look.
“Dumb question,” said Daniel. “But are you coping, alright? Yan
is is concerned you’re rushing into danger because of what Gaia 2 did. And, truth be told, I can’t blame him for feeling this way. Are you certain you’re not rushing into a trap?”
“I’m certain of nothing; hence my doubts. All I know is that I need to reduce Gaia 2 to dust, and the sooner the better. The way she killed Spiros—it haunts me, you know.”
“Yeah, that was brutal. We’ve lost our best scientist.”
“And one hell of a human being too. He never asked for anything. All he did was give, and then give some more.”
“Yes, but revenge is a dangerous game, or have you forgotten?”
“I haven’t. I made some questionable decisions when hatred and vengeance were in the center of my thoughts. But this is not a revenge trip, it’s a rescue mission. Aphroditis warned me that I couldn’t ignore Earth’s predicament for too long. I just never expected the time would come so soon.”
“I understand, Chase.” Daniel took a bite of his bread. “You haven’t touched your food.”
Chase looked at all the food on his plate: double-dish pepperoni pizza, sweet and sour pork and Peking duck. Everything was cold already.
“I thought food would make me feel slightly better, but I can’t seem to spark an appetite.”
“You should eat. You’ll need your strength soon enough.”
“I know.”
“How can I help once we get to Earth?”
“Just make sure we destroy that fleet in orbit. The more ships we get down, the less computing power Gaia 2 will have; which should help in my fight against her.”
“I still don’t understand how you can fight an AI inside her own matrix. Granted, you’ve displayed an uncanny ability to control technology with your mind, but this seems risky—at best”.
“I’m going to ask Gaia for help.”
“Not a popular decision with Yanis.”
“I know, but we don’t have any choice. Kvasir will make sure we don’t lose control; but honestly, I don’t think this version of Gaia means us any harm. Her last words on Earth before Gaia 2 destroyed her were filled with love and regret. I trust her.”
Armageddon Unleashed (Universe in Flames Book 7) Page 3
