Go said, "Garrett, take the Jess down for a look."
Garrett nodded. "Give me a minute."
Go looked over with a grin. "If Quan is still alive, that is huge. And he knows how to construct an arm."
"I'm not picking up enough of a signal for him to be online," I said.
Joni commented: "Not picking up a signature from the section that was the archive."
Go replied, "Still, this is exciting."
Garrett powered up the Jess and was quickly parked on the planet's surface. "I've got something at twenty meters. Tough climbing on this stuff. Looks like it fell apart when it landed here."
Joni said, "I can come down and fly if needed."
Garrett climbed atop a boulder that was cemented to a steel structure. "Don't bother, we'll know what we've got in just a second."
As Garrett pulled himself up onto another rock, he came face to face with an active autobot. "Crap."
Garrett fell back as the bot attacked, knocking his blaster from his gloved hand as he drew it from its holster. Joni blinked out and powered toward the melee.
Garrett yelled as he grabbed at the bot's spindly arms. "Gonna need some help here! Stuck on my back!"
Joni replied, "Two seconds!"
As Joni pulled to a stop and blinked in, half of the bot vanished. The other half fell to the ground beside Garrett.
Joni held out a hand. "I can't let you go anywhere."
Garrett picked himself up, grabbed his blaster, smiled and winked before looking into his helmet cam. "You can mess with me, just don't mess with my woman. She don't like it."
Garrett climbed atop the boulder, staring down at the AI core lying on the other side.
As he raised his blaster, Go yelled out. "Wait! I want that AI!"
Garrett scowled. "Haven't they caused enough damage?"
I said, "It's trying to break into our comms."
Go shook his head. "We need it. I need to interrogate it to determine what information it got from Anterra. It should know everything Anterra knew, plus anything it knew before that. It might even tell us the plans Harden has for them."
Garrett frowned as he holstered his blaster. "You just took all the fun out of it."
Garrett started an AI blocking app running on his arm pad. The AI, without any bots or other AIs to communicate with, stopped its attempts to hack into our comms. It was soon aboard the Ares and placed into a room with redundant comm blocking apps running.
As Go got to work on his interrogation efforts, an alarm sounded on our sensor array.
Garrett said, "What is it?"
I replied, "That whole pile of debris just lit up with activity."
"Joni," Garrett said, "looks like we've got work to do."
Joni smiled. "I'll meet you down there."
"Hold on!" I said, "that's not an AI!"
Garrett asked, "What are we seeing?"
I turned to Garrett with a smile. "I think it's Quan!"
Go said, "Did I hear that right?"
Quan said, "Hello… I am glad to see that you made it."
Joni replied, "Some of us did. Are you intact?"
Quan replied, "My archives are down. I do not know their condition. I surmise you managed to move me to a new location. Is that correct?"
I nodded. "You wouldn't fit on the Ares, so we sent you here. What happened to your QE comm?"
Quan replied, "The six pairs I was connected to had endpoints on the five sentinels and the repair facility. When those connections were lost, I was reduced to standard comm. Until now, you were out of range for contact."
Garrett asked, "You were shut down. Why?"
Quan replied, "The autobot would have pursued the pieces of my core had I not done so. Thank you for risking your life to save mine."
Garrett shook his head. "Wasn't trying to save yours. Was just checking what was there."
Quan continued, "Your assistance is appreciated either way. Now, there are a handful of crushed and damaged autobots down here. If the parts can be collected, I can direct one of you to piece one together for my use."
Garrett held up his hand. "Hang on. We're not building you any bots. We have enough of them to fight already."
Quan replied, "I can assure you there will be no harm to you from the bots I make use of. I have critical needs at the moment and those needs require precise moves and the ability to follow orders to the letter."
I nodded. "Pick up the parts he needs. We need him."
Garrett frowned as Joni began to follow him toward the Jess. "I can handle it. See what you can do to help Go or something."
Garrett's reply drew a punch in the arm, knocking him off balance. In an awkward attempt to regain his footing, Garrett took two hard steps to the left before slamming into a wall.
Joni laughed.
Garrett said, "Hey, that wasn't funny!"
Joni continued her laugh as she replied, "Oh come on. You're in a battle suit. It's not like you're going to fall down and get hurt. Now, get over yourself and let's go pick up some parts."
A bot was assembled and control given over to Quan. The next two days were spent building more bots for his use.
I said, "Quan, this might not be a bad place for you to stay. The problem with that is: how would we communicate with you when we're out there?"
Quan replied, "Had we been able to preserve the QE stealth tags I had developed for you, we would only need to leave one of those here with the base located on the Ares. Am I correct that those were destroyed with the Garmon?"
Joni nodded. "I never had a chance to get to them. I was trying to save Jack."
Quan said, "Are we certain that Jack was killed?"
Joni gave a confused look. "That repair structure and the Garmon mostly burned up going down through that atmosphere. Knog swept the entire bridge out, but there was no sign of Jack. He must have been elsewhere on the ship at that time."
Quan said, "Was the wreckage searched?"
Joni shook her head, "No, but there wasn't much left."
Quan continued, "Were the lifepods checked?"
Joni perked up. "No, you think he might have made it to one? And if he did, would it have survived the impact on the surface?"
Quan replied, "Perhaps you should check. The lifepods are made for survival in harsh conditions."
Joni turned to face Garrett. "We should take the Jess and see."
Garrett nodded as he stood. "Let's go."
Kerba raised his hand. "I should like to stay down on the surface if it is alright with you. Perhaps I could assist Quan?"
Quan replied, "Any assistance would be welcome. I have created a list for you that will provide for sixty days of provisions."
Kerba nodded as he stood. And perhaps we can recover my ship. It is buried not far from your location."
I looked at Garrett. "Can you drop Kerba and his supplies on the surface? I don't think he needs to be with us."
Garrett frowned. "He knows pretty much everything we know."
I nodded. "I don't think it would make much of a difference. We are only terrorizing him by keeping him here."
Joni asked, "You ready?"
Garrett replied, "Let's help get Kerba loaded up."
I said, "Keep me informed."
Within minutes the Jess was settling on the surface of Gratis.
Joni said, "Most of the wreckage is at this location. The Garmon, or what's left of her, should be under that section. Hang on."
Joni blinked out and powered into the pile of tangled, burned, and melted metal alloy.
Joni said, "I see the Garmon. And a pod. It's empty. Moving on... empty. Empty. Got two bodies. Hold on. Jack's crew. I think it was Barnaby and Howell. Next pod... two more. I've got Harris and Saxon. And... Chan and Harvin. That leaves Jack and Lieutenant Jefferson. Next pod bay is empty!"
Garrett replied, "They must have made it out, then."
Joni stopped. "Why wouldn't they have signaled us?"
Garrett shook his head. "Think about it
. You've just crashed on a planet and there's a hundred thousand automated alien ships hovering above you in space, and who knows how many of those bots were on the ground. Are you going to call for help and risk giving yourself away? Just keep looking, I'll do a deep scan of our surroundings."
Garrett lifted off in the Jess to an altitude of a kilometer. A scan was performed and an isolated lifepod identified. It had come to a stop in a heavily wooded area, wedged between two large stones. After an initial look, it was determined that the pod, with its door wedged shut, had been blasted open from the inside. The occupant, or occupants, had escaped, but were nowhere to be found.
Joni said, "Jack survived, but they must have captured him."
I replied, "You're thirty kilometers from the bunkers where Don Grange and Bartel Helbris lived. He may have sought refuge there."
Garrett countered. "I don't think so, both of those complexes were overrun by bots. If he survived out here, he would have had to hide out in a natural cave, and there aren't any of those around here. All of this land was terraformed. The mountains, the rivers and creeks, all laid out by design. Unless he ditched his battle-suit and ducked into a crevasse or something, he's not here."
Go said, "Those battle-suits you got from Quan, they have signal inhibitor technology. If he doesn't want to be seen on a scan, he won't be."
Joni said, "Well, I'm searching this area for any clues. If he's here, I'll find him. Hold on. There's a box wedged between the chairs in this pod. Got it."
I asked, "What's in it?"
Joni smiled. "I'm not certain, but I think we just scored a half dozen stealth tags with the QE. We put one here on the Ares and give the other end to Quan and voila... our comm to Quan is restored!"
Garrett replied, "We can do that when we get back. For now, I'll send over a high res topography map from the scan."
Go said, "If Jack survived, they found him. He's either dead or captive. If it's the second, that could be bad news for our advantages. He knows everything we know."
I nodded. "And Harden wouldn't hesitate to use extreme techniques to pull that information from him."
Go continued, "You know what this means, don't you?"
I replied, "What?"
Go flipped through nav maps until an image of Alpha Prime displayed on his holo-display. "We have to go there. It's time we paid Harden Salton another visit."
I winced. "That means we send Joni in there. That's an option I don't particularly like."
Joni said, "Hey, I can handle it. We don't need to kill him. We just need to find out what's going on."
After a half hour of continued search, Joni relented and joined Garrett on the Jess. A portal jump had them once again aboard the Ares.
I said, "A thought just occurred to me. Harden still has the stationary portal. We should at least take it offline."
Garrett replied, "Finally. He may have used that to move those ships away from Gratis."
I shook my head. "I don't think he needed that portal. He has to have at least one other portal ship out there, and we need to find it and destroy it."
The rumble of our portal generator had us floating in space a thousand kilometers from the stationary gate. No activity could be seen going on around it. The stationary gate was idle.
Garrett said, "I still say we destroy it here and now. Let's just sweep it away a part at a time. We can dump the sweeps into the middle of the Adicus sun over there."
I nodded. "Make it happen."
As the first piece of the gate disappeared from view, Go said, "We've been waiting for this moment for a long time. Knowing he has another portal ship out there makes this less of a milestone, but I'm glad to see it go."
Joni frowned. "Now we just need to find the portal ship. I look forward to asking him where it is personally."
I shook my head. "You can't interact with him. He can't know about the suit."
Joni replied, "If he has Jack, he already knows."
I sat in my chair. "We don't know if he has Jack or not. If you're going in there, you only need to observe."
Joni replied, "I'll do whatever you ask."
Chapter 21
* * *
A portal placed us in high orbit around Alpha Prime. A second portal saw Joni swept down to the surface. The Salton compound had changed. Guards walked everywhere and both manned and unmanned guns aimed toward the sky, numbering five times that of the buildings. The Salton compound was now under heavy security.
Garrett said, "There are twenty thousand ships circling this planet. All of them show as manned. I looks to me that he is expecting an attack."
Joni replied, "That's how it looks down here as well. Patrols are marching everywhere and multiple guards are standing at every door. I wonder if there have been any more assassination attempts?"
I said, "Just find your uncle. I have the feeling that time is not on our side anymore."
Joni powered into the command center. Harden was seated in his chair, high above the floor.
Harden said, "What was out in Omega that they attacked? Mr. Pollis, do we still not have a report?"
Pollis replied, "Sorry, sir. What little information we have says they jumped to a star system on the far edge of the galactic arm. There are no planets there. We don't know their business."
Harden slumped back in his chair. "How did we let this spiral out of control so quickly? That was supposed to be my fleet. The Grotus now control it. And they are here in my galaxy!"
Joni said, "That's not good news. Especially for you, Knog. If they find Balimus—"
I replied, "Stay here and continue shadowing your uncle. We'll be at Balimus, trying to talk sense into my people."
I looked at Garrett. "Jump us to Balimus immediately."
Garrett replied, "Where do we want to send them?"
I said, "Dallex. They can stay among my Talisans until we figure this out."
Garrett asked, "You don't think they'll look for the Talisans?"
I replied, "The Grotus do not care about the Talisans. They will want the Gruntas, and then they will begin their conquest of the Triangulum."
Garrett tilted his head to one side. "Conquest of the Triangulum?"
I sighed. "Think about it. They have the Kergan and the Tamarin building ships for them. Those three small empires, with the AIs and autobots, could dominate this galaxy in a short period of time. They may even get whole species and colonies to join them without a fight. The Saltons haven't done themselves any favors with their conscription and heavy taxes."
Garrett said, "Nobody knows about the conscription. That has all been attributed to pirate raids by the other ruling families. The taxes would do it, though. Wow, we might lose control of the New Alliance before we can set things back on the path toward the old."
Garrett continued, "I do see one bright spot out of this."
"What's that?" I replied.
Garrett said, "It's not the AIs who are in control. It's the Grotus. We can kill the Grotus. The AIs can make a million more of themselves overnight."
A jump placed us a short distance from the Grunta transports, still in orbit around Balimus.
I landed the Jess in the docking bay of the command transport. After the Jess blinked in, I walked down the ramp-way to a flurry of scrambling guards. I was taken to a holding cell.
Getta soon joined me, sitting in a chair across the small cell from my chained-up position. "What are you doing here? You know how the rest of the Council feels about you."
I said, "Things have changed. You are all in grave danger."
Getta huffed, "We are always in danger, and yet here we are, alive as ever."
"Harden made a grand alliance between the Grotus, Kergans, and Tamarins. They focused their energies on building automated ships. A fleet of a hundred thousand ships is out here in the Triangulum. I believe they will be coming for you."
Getta scowled. "And why would they do that? We have Harden Salton's word."
I shook my head. "The other three
turned on him. He has twenty thousand ships huddled around Alpha Prime, just waiting for an attack. The Grotus are running things now."
Getta stood. "Are you certain?"
I nodded. "Yes. They attacked us at a planet called Gratis. We suffered tremendous losses. Ships that could have easily defeated that fleet were lost due to a simple passcode being compromised."
Getta paced the room before summoning the guard. "Take off his chains."
I stood and was pulled into the hallway.
After a short walk, Getta stopped. "I'm taking you before the Council. Try to be polite and not insult them. This group doesn't have the experience or the patience of the last Council. I have already seen one individual practically mauled to death by several of the members. Just say what you need to say and I'll get you out of there."
I nodded and was once again pulled down the hall by my arm. We rounded a corner; two guards were pushed aside and we entered the Council chambers. At the sight of me, the room broke into an uproar.
Getta pounded her fist on the council table, nearly punching out a section. "Listen to me! Forget your outrage! We have critical news that this council must hear!"
The fracas died down.
Getta shoved me forward. "Tell them."
I cleared my throat. "Harden Salton assembled a hundred- thousand-ship fleet through an alliance with the Grotus, Kergans, and Tamarin. The ships are all automated with the AIs. The others turned on Harden and have taken control of the fleet, with the Grotus being in charge."
The room again erupted in outcry.
I held up my hand and raised my voice. "There's more. That fleet has attacked a planet here in the Triangulum, destroying everything there. I believe they will now be coming here. The Grotus will not rest until you are all dead. They have warships, you have transports. If you stay here you will be slaughtered. Harden Salton doesn't have enough ships to protect anyone here, including Alpha Prime. You should consider any deals you had with him null and void. He is no longer in control."
A councilwoman stood. "I suppose you have a solution for this mess?"
I replied, "Far from it. But I do believe we need to move everyone away from here. I have an idea about where to take you where you might be safe."
OMEGA Brutal Page 20
