Lyssa's Flame - A Hard Science Fiction AI Adventure (Aeon 14: The Sentience Wars: Origins Book 5)
Page 16
Looking at her hands again, she tried to think of what she would say. Petral had already provided a list of topics that might work, from asking for help to protect Bry on Mars, to requesting protection from Heartbridge, to potentially romantic lines of discussion if the others failed.
She laughed inwardly at the idea of seducing someone.
The truth was, Jirl couldn’t precisely say why Yarnes had helped her before. He’d said he wanted to help shut down the Weapon Born program to stave off a war with Mars, but now she knew the TSF was simply looking to grab up whatever tech they could, especially the shipkiller mech frames developed by Heartbridge.
Yarnes had been using her for any number of reasons, and when General Kade had been killed, Yarnes left as quickly as possible, not even trying to convince her to stay when she reported that she was safe on Starl’s ship.
Whatever she did, she had to distract Yarnes long enough to at least slow down the TSF response when they learned their labs had been infiltrated.
The maglev dropped closer to street level, showing a shopping district full of people and drones. She couldn’t tell if it was more busy than usual. It certainly didn’t look like the frenzied stores on Ceres. They passed underground, the windows filled by plascrete panels, plumbing and conduit, then solid black that showed her reflection: white button-down shirt and gray pencil skirt. Her normal business attire.
Starl reached into the bag between his leather dress shoes and inspected a small cutting torch, checking its charge, then replaced it and drew out a bandoleer of black discs connected by black filament.
“You better not use those things unless I tell you it’s safe,” Petral said.
“What is it?” Jirl asked.
“Small scale electromagnetic pulse,” Starl said. “One of these can shut down a network node or maybe a drone. The whole band could kill our maglev, or a shuttle. I’ve had some fun with them.”
The way he tossed the bandoleer didn’t give Jirl a lot of confidence that he wasn’t going to kill their car. Beside him, the two guards checked their weapons and armor.
Petral had identified the TSF laboratories deeper in the facility. Jirl would get off at the station she knew and distract Yarnes, the station commander, while the others went deeper. They would notify her once Tristan had a mech and was ready to begin the assault on Heartbridge.
After that—so long as Jirl was free of Yarnes—she would rendezvous with them or, if that wasn’t possible, make her way back to meet with Arla. Tucked in Jirl’s waistband was a data key. She would need to find an empty office and enter it into a general-use terminal. After that, the fireworks would start.
Jirl took a deep breath, steadying herself. She straightened her shoulders and set her chin, adjusting her gaze out the window at the dark, where her reflection stared back at her.
Jirl gave her a tired smile.
The determination in her voice made it hard for Jirl to believe she wouldn’t fight her way through Heartbridge’s entire security forces if necessary.
The maglev chimed, indicating they were approaching their first stop. Jirl watched herself in the black window until the marble station appeared, glaring with bright lights. A single TSF guard stood at the platform. Around her, the others adjusted their bags slightly, ensuring they looked like luggage.
Jirl took a deep breath and stood. Focusing her gaze on the door, she walked to the end of the car and stepped out onto the platform.
The guard stiffened to acknowledge her. “Welcome,” he said. “How can I direct you?”
Jirl felt the tickle of active scanning touching her Link. She passed her basic information to the request and smiled at the guard.
“My name is Jirl Gallagher,” she said. “I’m here to see Colonel Yarnes. I’m afraid I don’t have an appointment.”
Behind her, the maglev door slid closed and the car moved away, leaving a blast of cold air in its wake. She was alone.
The guard nodded, and his face grew distant as he passed information. His brow knit for a second when he didn’t seem to get the response he expected.
“Sorry,” he said. “They need to check in with the colonel.”
“I understand.” A bead of sweat ran between Jirl’s shoulder blades, made even colder by the wind form the maglev track penetrating her shirt.
Another minute passed with the guard looking awkwardly past her. Eventually, he nodded. “The colonel is in a meeting right now but would like to meet you. If it’s all right, I can take you to a waiting area. Would you like coffee or tea?”
“Coffee please, thank you.”
They had to wait for another guard to replace the soldier at the terminal, then Jirl followed her guide down the wide marble corridor to the single door she had been through before. They entered a narrow, wood-paneled hallway with blank wooden doors on either side. The guard approached one that looked like all the others and tapped the lock panel. The door slid aside. He led her into a nicely appointed room with two facing leather couches and a low table. A display with the TSF crest on its otherwise empty face filled one wall.
A coffee service already sat steaming in the center of the table.
“You’re welcome to serve yourself,” the guard said.
“Would you like some?” Jirl asked.
He gave her a quizzical look, then smiled. “No, thank you. I need to get back to my post. There’s a rest room through there, if you need.” He pointed at the outline of a door in one wall.
The guard left and Jirl took advantage of the restroom, adjusting her pencil skirt and white shirt, making sure the data key was where she had tucked it. Petral had assured her the key would look normal to anyone who wanted to scan it. Still, it made Jirl feel like she was carrying a bomb.
After ten minutes of waiting, she decided to compose a quick-code text message for her son Bry. She asked him how he was doing and if he was having fun with his cousins. She assured him that she would join him soon on Mars and they might even stay there if he liked it enough. She missed him and loved him. She sent the quick-code and immediately wished she had written it differently or sent a voice message. She wanted him to hear her emotion but also didn’t want to push too much.
Finally, she poured herself a cup of coffee and added cream, then watched the swirls of white in black until the surface of the cup had become a uniform caramel color. When it had stopped steaming, she took a sip.
With the taste of coffee on her lips, she thought briefly about what would happen if she died. Her accounts were in order. Bry wouldn’t want for anything for a long time, if he managed the money correctly. He would have two more years before adulthood. The money would certainly cover his Link surgery. From there, he might stay on Mars. Maybe he would want to see where his father was buried on Earth. He could still visit Earth, if he wanted. It would take a little training to acclimate to the gravity.
If she died, she wouldn’t find out what was going to happen, not just to Bry but to everyone. If it happened after the clinics got the destruct message, she would be all right with it.
Not until then, she decided. Once that happens, I think things will be better.
The line of thought surprised her. She didn’t consider herself a depressive person, but everything that was happening around her only served as a reminder that without Heartbridge or Bry, she had no purpose. She couldn’t see a future beyond the fall of the white spire.
She would enter the data key, maybe see Arla, and then after that, blankness.
Jirl considered the emptiness. She imagined the spire collapsing level by level, blowing out debris into the surro
unding district, the center of her life disintegrating.
She blinked. No. I’m going to live past that. I’m going to escape.
A surge of joy passed through her, making her smile despite herself. When the door opened and Yarnes walked in, she looked at him with that same smile, which made him stop as the entrance locked him inside with her.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that expression on your face, Jirl,” he said.
Jirl quickly composed herself and picked up the coffee cup to give her hands something to do.
“I was just thinking about the future,” she said.
He gave a short laugh. “I’m glad you can do that. Did you come with Starl and the others?”
Jirl froze inside. Did he mean on the maglev, or High Terra?
Petral had told her not to lie if she could help it. She didn’t have to give complete truths.
“I’ve wanted to see you ever since I got back to High Terra,” Jirl said.
Yarnes paused, looking surprised. “You did?”
Jirl gave him another smile.
Yarnes caught himself and shifted his gaze to the display. He didn’t press about Petral and Starl, and Jirl relaxed slightly. So he either didn’t know they had arrived with her, or he was waiting to see what she would give away.
For every motive she imagined, she found it hard not to trust his honest, soldier’s face.
“I was surprised you asked to meet me,” Yarnes said. “There’s something I want to show you, so this is fortuitous.” He nodded toward the display.
The crest had disappeared from the holotank and now showed a standard system map. The holodisplay activated, and the end of the room filled with Mars, Ceres, and the Cho. Larger Hellas asteroids dotted the space between Ceres and Jupiter.
Jirl frowned when it appeared that a cluster of asteroids were both too close to each other and moving off orbit. Still holding her coffee cup in both hands, she stood and stepped around the couch so she could get a better look at the whole map.
A collection of icons caught her attention.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“I figured you would recognize it immediately.”
She didn’t, but it was impossible to ignore the swarm of ships dominating the space between Jupiter and Mars.
Yarnes moved closer to stand beside her. He zoomed in on the cluster, which became a fleet of ships, spread in a loose wing-formation that must have covered a hundred-thousand kilometers.
“Should I recognize them?” Jirl asked. “I don’t see anything that looks like a Heartbridge design.”
“We haven’t seen any either,” he said. “They’re mostly former space force military craft from all three militaries, although there are many new designs among them as well. As far as we can tell, their path originated in the Scattered Disk near Nibiru. They aren’t answering any hails and all registry information comes back null. They are definitely armed, though they haven’t showed aggression toward any civilian craft they’ve passed. The flight plan appears to be targeting Ceres.”
“Alexander,” Jirl said.
“We believe those ships are piloted by sentient AI,” he said, nodding. Yarnes fixed her with his brown eyes. “I need to know what Heartbridge knows about this. I’m hoping it’s why you’re here.”
Jirl swallowed, nearly dropping her coffee cup. “I came here to see you,” she said. “I don’t know anything about those ships.”
Yarnes continued to watch her closely. His gaze softened and he glanced at the map, then waved an arm to push it back against the wall so it didn’t dominate the room.
“Well, it’s good to see you, too, Jirl, but this isn’t a good time for social calls.”
“When is?” she asked quickly.
“I’ve been—I’ve been thinking about you ever since the clinic exploded. It makes me feel stupid, honestly.”
“You don’t even know me,” Yarnes said. He gave her another assessing glance.
Was there a shadow of a smile on the edge of his lips?
Jirl shrugged. “Everything’s going to hell. I figure if ever there was a time to say how you feel, this is it.”
Yarnes laughed. He crossed the room to stand in front of her. “You want me to take this?” he asked, pulling the saucer and cup from her hands. He set them on the table.
When he straightened in front of her, Jirl became very aware of just how close he was, and how she might need to follow through on what she was suggesting.
Was she attracted to him?
Would she be doing any of this if she wasn’t?
He had placed himself close to her, but not too close. She would have to step toward him if they were going to touch. Jirl looked up at him and she flushed. Sweat broke out on her neck and she unfastened the top button of her shirt.
“It’s hot in here,” she said.
Yarnes raised an eyebrow but didn’t look down at her chest.
An alarm burst from the room’s overhead speakers. Yarnes’ eyes when distant as he accessed his Link.
“We’ve got an interior alarm,” he said. “My Quick Reaction Force is being activated.”
He turned toward the door and Jirl caught his arm, pulling him back around. She stood on her toes to kiss him, just catching his lower lip at first and then reaching behind his neck to pull him down to her.
Yarnes’ uniform was stiff against her business suit. He kissed her back quickly and then drew his face back, looking down at her with a surprised smile.
“You’re full of surprises,” he said.
“Do they really need you on the Reaction Force?” she asked.
Jirl felt slightly giddy. Her heart was hammering in her chest, all the adrenaline from the anxious maglev ride dumping out in a surge of desire that had probably always been there. She could tell Yarnes wanted her, too. Even if he had been trying to use her, there was a flicker of mutual attraction that had been hidden beneath the colonel’s veneer.
“Not immediately,” he admitted.
I don’t care if this is espionage. I want him.
Jirl slid her gaze toward the couch, where the solar map still rotated above. She unfastened the top closure of his uniform jacket.
With a lapel in each hand, Jirl pulled his face back down to hers for a more certain kiss, then pushed him backward until his boots hit the couch’s edge, and they went down together.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
STELLAR DATE: 01.15.2982 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Raleigh, TSF Regional Materiel Command
REGION: High Terra, Earth, Terran Hegemony
The maglev picked up speed out of the station and Brit found herself trying to grab one last look at Jirl standing on the platform, facing the TSF guard alone. She had the feeling she would never see the woman again. The car picked up speed, carrying them deeper into the TSF headquarters facility. Another platform appeared, flooding the car with light, and then was clipped away by plascrete walls, plunging everything back into darkness.
Everything depended on Petral now. Brit glanced at her, seeing that the dark-haired woman was still staring ahead, attention fixed on some interior point where security queries threatened their progress. Across the car, Ngoba Starl rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes, nodding to some music only he could hear.
Since there was nowhere else to look, Brit sized up Starl’s bodyguards one more time; the blond one looked like he could punch through metal, while purple-eyed Fletcher looked made of wiry muscle, ready to choke the life out of something. Brit focused on her breathing, putting the travel time out of her mind. They couldn’t risk communication via the Link, so there would be no updates from Jirl.
Why did she care if she saw Jirl Gallagher again? Meeting the woman had upset her opinion of Heartbridge, changed the company from a faceless evil to a place made of people, many of which were probably just like Jirl, with children and consumer debt, trying to make their way. Wasn’t that the true evil of the world, that good people were inevitably dragge
d into the machines of destruction? She knew that when they brought Heartbridge down, there would be another to take its place, and another after that. Maybe the AI were right to take Ceres. Maybe a reset was the only thing that might save humanity from its own benign evils.
Pointless thoughts. She was here for the dead children on Fortress 8221. They were already a lost cause. That was the point. And her own children, out there without Andy to take care of them?
Brit tensed her jaw, trying to convince herself that Cara was strong. Cara could take care of Tim, even if Andy was sick.
She leaned forward to put her face in her hands, fighting back the tears at the edges of her eyes. Without Andy taking care of the kids, Brit’s idealism felt like dust in her mouth. She couldn’t find the same iron resolve she had felt so easily before. Before when?
Brit looked up from her hands to find Starl watching her with concern on his face. He raised a questioning eyebrow and she forced a tight smile.
They passed another station and when the lights were gone, Petral said in a low voice, “Next stop.”
Reaching for the bag between her boots, Brit found the stock of a short-bodied automatic rifle. Side pockets inside the bag held a series of magnetic mines and a handheld cutting torch—her new favorite multi-tool. She checked the charge on her pulse pistol, then reached deeper in the bag for two bandoleers of grenades and draped them over her shoulders, crossing her chest.
According to the schematics Petral had found, they would be arriving at a supply dock that served a series of lab spaces. There was a fifty percent chance the dock would be manned by civilian employees with one or two TSF on guard duty. If there were no humans present, there would be service drones with monitoring systems that would alert the working staff to activity on the dock. Starl’s EMP grenades were for the drones. Brit’s stun grenades were for the TSF patrol.
They had debated trying to use Brit’s rank to at least get inside the lab spaces, before she finally decided it wasn’t worth the risk of alerting a ranking officer. The sooner they neutralized whatever they found on the dock and got inside the labs, the better.