by S A Pavli
Manera and I spent the rest of the day kicking our heels, waiting for the experts to do their stuff. By the afternoon, Hamo came to see us with bad news. He explained that there was no ready made vehicle that could be used to sneak in under the Freylan’s radar and it would take too long to design and build one.
“We have to use a manned vehicle,” he finished grimly. “We have small external maintenance rigs that will be suitable.”
“Who is going to fly it?” I asked. I already knew the answer; only two people had the technical expertise to use the maintenance terminals. Cora or Colrania.
“Cora has volunteered. She feels responsible for this whole mess.”
“That’s very brave of her.” Could a robot be brave? But Cora was not just a robot. She was a semi-aware AI. Hamo nodded his agreement.
“We owe her very much,” he said. “She will take a backup of her avatar mind and she has a spare body.”
“But it won’t be her, the same person,” I said.
“It won’t be her consciousness, but it will be her in every other way,” said Hamo. “But she will be okay Paul, she is a very strong and resourceful individual.”
“We have no other choice Hamo,” I agreed.
“Come, we are nearly ready to go,” said Hamo. “I will explain what will happen and you can tell the Admiral. We must co-ordinate our forces.”
We followed Hamo to the engineers workshop where we found Colrania and her team, with Cora, putting the finishing touches to their modified exterior maintenance rig. It was a simple vehicle, open to Space, with four manoeuvring thrusters. The operator sat in a harness and it had clamps to secure it to the ship.
Cora had abandoned her regal metallic robe and cape in favour of a business like harness which held tools and a massive blaster slung over her shoulder. I noticed another in the rig. I was impressed!
They took me through the details of the operation. It was daring and risky, particularly for Cora, but in the short time available it was the best we could do. I explained it to the Admiral, and impressed upon him the necessity for the EDF forces to keep their distance until they got the word. He was sceptical but agreed.
“You’ve got 24 hours Captain. Then the EDF go in.”
“Understood sir.” But I had other plans. I turned to Hamolatonen. “Hamo, we can’t let the EDF go in. We have to pre-empt them.”
“What’s your plan?” he asked.
“We ready our own soldier robots and send them in before the EDF. With a bit of luck we can mop up and the Earth Defence boys can just walk in and rescue the hostages, take all the credit without a shot being fired.”
Hamolatonen looked doubtful.
“Paul, I understand, but it’s also important that our role in bringing down the rogue Peacekeepers is understood,” he said.
“Of course,” I agreed. “And the Earth authorities will understand that. But ordinary people must feel that our EDF was up to the job of defending us against the aliens. It will give them confidence.”
“Mmm, false confidence,“ said Hamo. “But I see what you are saying. And we want no more deaths.” He nodded his agreement. “Let’s take our places, we are ready to go in.”
We all wished Cora good luck. I embraced her and thanked her for what she was doing. She was cool and smelled very faintly of a flowery perfume, her body firm and supple. I marvelled at the realism of her avatar body.
Her maintenance rig was carted off by a robot and she followed. We took our places in the control room. Manera and I were observers, the operation was to be mostly handled by our robotic servants, the ship’s AI and Colrania and her crew.
The plan was that one of our fighters would carry out a fly by of the Freylan, probing it with radar and laser as if it was a reconnaissance run. The Freylan will almost certainly fire a missile at it which it could intercept. Using the ensuing explosions as cover, our small maintenance rig will dive down towards the Freylan through the hole in its surveillance screen. The rest was up to Cora and the effectiveness of Alfred’s new viruses. She had to find a working maintenance point, tap into that and simulate an emergency upload to the AI.
We would have to rely on Cora to tell us if the operation had worked, which would entail some risk on her part.
We waited until Cora’s rig was in place and the fighter was then launched. It accelerated away towards the giant battered Peacekeeper ship. As we predicted, the Freylan launched a missile as the fighter came within range.
“Only one missile,” I remarked to Manera.
“Yes, it must be running low.” The tension in the room was palpable as the missile closed. Our fighter waited until the last moment to intercept, diving out of the way of the ensuing explosion in a daring multi-G manoeuvre.
“Phew, that was close.”
“The closer the better to provide cover for the rig,” said Manera.
“Rig is away and on course,” said Colrania, examining her complex display carefully. The crucial thing now was that the rig would not be spotted by the Freylan. The minutes passed and I wondered why it was taking so long. I voiced my concern and Colrania replied.
“The rig is simulating a piece of wreckage,” she said. “It’s just drifting for now, until it gets close to the ship.”
“Ah, right, good thinking.” I thought of Cora, crouched in the tiny metal latticework rig, drifting through Space. Any second, a high power laser may stab through the darkness and fry her and the rig. Not something I would care to do. I felt guilty, sitting in the brightly lit safety of the powerful Peacekeeper ship, with the warm thigh of my loved one pressed against me and the apple fresh smell of her hair in my nostrils.
“Come on Cora.”
Manera pressed my hand in sympathy.
The announcement that Colrania had received the signal that Cora had made it to the ship was greeted by sighs of relief from all of us. The fighter that had dropped her off had positioned itself in a pre-agreed location. She had punched a single highly focused laser pulse at the distant fighter to tell us. It was the only way Cora had of communicating her status without alerting the Freylan.
It was an agonising twenty minutes later before we received the next communication to say she had found a working maintenance terminal. Fifteen minutes later again, we received the next pulse. She had connected with the maintenance terminal and uploaded the emergency protocol containing the virus. The next communication from her would indicate whether it had succeeded, or not, or whether she did not know. I asked Colrania how she would know.
“That’s the tricky bit,” she said.
“That’s the tricky bit?” I asked ironically. She grinned in response.
“She has to try and get a response from the AI.”
“Right. Pull the tiger by the tail and see what happens.”
“Exactly. I presume a tiger is some kind of fierce carnivore?” Colrania asked with a tight smile.
“Ho yes!” I nodded soberly.
We waited patiently, making desultory conversation. I contacted the Admiral and gave him an update.
“Our forces are ready to go as soon as you give the word,” he said.
“Hopefully, if this is successful, it will be a stroll for them.”
“They are ready to do whatever it takes Captain.”
“I am aware of that Admiral, but if we are not successful, and they have to fight their way in, the fate of the hostages will be uncertain.”
“That calculation has been made,” he said.
I was horrified by his remark.
“You mean, the authorities are prepared to sacrifice the hostages in order to win a pyrrhic victory?” I asked angrily.
“They are determined to demonstrate to the people of Earth that they can defend them against an alien threat.”
“Except of course, that they cannot. If the Peacekeepers had been fully armed and undamaged they would have made mincemeat of the EDF. As you know.”
“I know that, you know that, but the people of Earth do not need t
o know that.” I tried to retrain my anger and contempt, but failed.
“Arrogant posturing!”
The Admiral sighed heavily.
“If it’s any consolation, I agree with you.”
“It will be no consolation to the hostages.”
“I will do my best Captain. Do your duty.”
“Yes sir.” I knew that the Freylan was mostly in vacuum. The Peacekeeper robots had no need for air. The hostages were sealed in the only ventilated area on the ship. If the EDF went in with heavy weapons the sealed area could be breached and the hostages would all die. It was now even more crucial that we got into the ship before the EDF.
An hour passed and we received no further communication from Cora. Hamo announced that the Earth forces were massing close to the Freylan. They were not going to give us the 24 hours we had been promised. We desperately needed to know if the Freylan was still operational.
“Hamo, why don’t we use another of our fighters for a close fly by and see if the Freylan responds as before?”
Hamo scowled thoughtfully before replying.
“It’s probably too early.”
“I know. But if the EDF go in before we do, and the Freylan is still operational, you can wave goodbye to the hostages.”
“Why are they so impatient?”
I considered my answer. Should I tell him about the EDF’s callous calculation? I was reluctant.
“They think that the Freylan is terminally crippled.”
“It may be, but it would be wise to be sure.”
“We have nothing to lose by doing another flyby.”
“I’m not sure it will prove anything. The Freylan may not want to waste another missile. But we have nothing to lose. Let‘s do it.”
I sighed with relief. Hamo gave the order and we waited, our eyes on the 3D displays. The first fighter was still holding its position, waiting for a communication from Cora.
The fighter exited the Settang and accelerated on its course towards the Freylan. It reached the same point as before, but this time there was no missile. It hurtled by the stricken Peacekeeper and curved away.
“Hamo, bring it in closer,” I suggested.
“I don’t want to bring it within range of the heavy lasers,” he said. “We have no defence against them.”
I was frustrated. We needed to know if the Freylan was still operational. Pussy footing around it would prove nothing.
“So we lose a fighter Hamo. We have to know.” There was silence as he considered the options.
“We should give Cora more time.”
At that point, I was convinced the whole operation would end badly. The consequences for Human Hianja relations could be disastrous. I could not allow it.
“Hamo, We take the fighter through the same route into the same destroyed section as Cora. There won’t be any working heavy lasers left. Drop off a couple of soldier bots with cameras and comms attachments and try to find Cora. She may be in trouble.” He seemed to be undecided, but in the end nodded reluctantly.
“Right Paul, but if the Earth forces are so keen for a fight, perhaps we should let them.”
“The hostages will die, and it will be seen as our fault. Hianja I mean.”
“But surely…” he began to protest, then stopped and nodded slowly. “Mmm. All right, let’s do it.” He gave the commands and we waited.
“The soldier robots are already equipped with cameras, microphones and full communications. We can direct them remotely.”
We focused our attention on the 3D, which was currently showing a view from the fighter. The metal skyscraper that was the side of the Freylan loomed closer as the little ship picked its way cautiously towards the giant. It had taken a battering in that area and the sleek metallic curves had been turned into twisted wreckage open to Space.
The view switched to the camera on the lead soldier bot which was poised with two others in the air lock. The doors opened to reveal the dark opening into the ship, surrounded by twisted metal. It looked like a hazardous journey but the soldier robots launched themselves across the gap, manoeuvring themselves confidently around the jagged metal which protruded knife like from the body of the starship.
The lead robot was in, the others close behind. It found the gaping hole that used to be a corridor into the depths of the ship and scrambled inside. its main lights came on and we could see that further along, the corridor was undamaged, We also saw Cora’s rig, parked fifty meters further down.
“Cora’s rig.” exclaimed Hamo. “Excellent. Now where the hell is she?”
“Could she be with the hostages?” I asked.
“That’s an idea,” said Hamo. “Colrania, can we get to the pressurised habitation area from here?”
“Let me check.” Colrania spoke softly into her display and complex diagrams of the Peacekeeper ship scrolled across her display. “Yes, shall I direct the robots?” Hamo gave her confirmation and we watched as the robots made their way down the corridor, turned into a branching corridor and then another, all the time heading down into the heart of the ship.
“Are we sure the pressurised section is located in the same part of the ship as ours?” I asked.
“Yes,” said Colrania. “It is part of the fundamental design of all the ships. I guess it was anticipated from the beginning that the Peacekeeper ships would have to transport living creatures at some point. This area was built with atmosphere pumps, pressurised containers and some minimal living accommodation. We have improved things a bit on this ship.” she grinned across at me and Manera.
“Just a bit,” I agreed.
“The problem is,” she continued. “The living area is close to the hull breach that the EDF tried to gain entry from. If they go in again with heavy weapons they may damage the atmosphere seal for the living area. They will rescue some dead hostages.”
“I’ve already warned them about that Colrania. Whether they listen or not….” I shrugged and shook my head.
The robots had not seen any other living thing and they now arrived at the sealed living accommodation. Access was via an airlock, which I recognised as similar to the one on the Settang Despass. The lead robot pressed the button to open the airlock but nothing happened.
“Cora may have disabled the door,” said Colrania.
“Can we contact Cora?” I asked.
“Using a comm device inside the ship will be detected,” said Colrania. “But I think we have no choice at this point.” she looked enquiringly at Hamolatonen. He was looking worriedly at his display.
“The Earth Defence Forces are on the move,” he said.
“Let’s wait for them to begin their attack. That will distract the AI, if it’s still alive. We can then try to communicate with Cora.” My suggestion was considered by Hamolatonen for a few moments.
“We have three soldier robots fully armed,” he said. “We can defend the hostages. Let’s try communicating with Cora now.”
Colrania nodded and got busy. Two of our soldier robots assumed defensive positions, covering the corridor in both directions while the third remained poised by the door. After a minute she smiled broadly and waved a fist in the air.
“This is Cora. What is your disposition?” Cora’s melodious voice seemed calm and unconcerned.
“Cora, this is Colrania. We have three soldier robots outside the accommodation area. Where are you.”
“I am inside with the hostages.”
“Excellent.” Hamolatonen took over the conversation. “Cora, the EDF is preparing to storm the ship. What is the state of the AI and its defences?”
“I believe the AI is down. But the soldier robots have switched to automatic. They are not responding to the stand down command.”
“Ah. Not good.” Hamo turned to give me a worried look. The door to the pressurised area swished open and Cora stood there in front of our lead robot. She strode over to the robot and examined it, then repeated the examination with the other robots.
“We can defend the ho
stages,” she declared. “Any attack will come from that direction.” She pointed down the corridor. “I will take the hostages into the inner rooms. Advise the EDF accordingly.” She turned and walked back into the accommodation area. She was not one for idle chit chat, was Cora! The robots positioned themselves further down the corridor.
“Colrania, get the Admiral on the line please.” The Admiral’s face appeared almost immediately on the 3D.
“Captain, I was about to call you,” he said.
“A bit after the event Admiral,” I said. Cheeky to a superior officer I know, but I was past caring. “We have detected the EDF on the move. They are preparing to storm the ship.”
“That’s correct Captain. Sorry, I could not prevail upon them to wait any longer.”
“Thanks for trying Admiral. This is the situation with the Freylan. We have Cora on board with three soldier robots. They are protecting the hostages, who are locked up in a pressurised area of the ship. This ship’s AI is down, but we have been unable to stand down its soldier robots.” The Admiral nodded.
“Does that mean that our ships will meet no resistance from the Freylan?”
“Yes. The EDF forces can go in without being attacked by missiles or lasers, but they will be attacked by the robots. They must deal with them.”
“I see. Do we have any idea of numbers and armaments.”
“No, but I suspect there will be few of them and they will be running short of ammunition.”
“That’s something. Good work Captain.”
“Admiral. you must impress upon the EDF that the hostages are safe and protected. They are in a sealed area not far from their point of entry. I will get Colrania to send you a map of the ship so they know where they are being held. Also, impress upon them that there are three of our, repeat our, robots guarding the hostages with Cora and they must not be attacked. If they attack them they will defend themselves and the consequences for the EDF forces could be tragic.”
“Understood Captain. We do not want a repeat of Dickson.”
“Exactly sir.” The Admiral signed off. We were now all committed and it was all in the lap of the gods.
