by Mark Harritt
“We are here,” Ai informed Jennifer.
She checked the temperature, 42.5 degrees Celsius. With the humidity, it was going to feel like a steam bath, but they didn’t have any better options.
“Ai, I need for you and the other two mechs to go into sumo so that we can prep for the trip out of here. Make sure that the mechs are close together.”
Ai didn’t respond immediately. Instead, all three mechs moved into their standby stance, almost shoulder to shoulder, and then it answered, “We are immobile and stable.”
Jennifer felt the foam start to deflate, indicating that, yes, they were stationary and on standby, “Ai, we need to move away from here and find . . .” Suddenly, Jen realized that she didn’t know where they needed to go to, “Ai, are there any active transponders on our net?”
“Yes Jen, there are.”
“Can you display them for me, please?” Jennifer didn’t know why she said please. Ai sounded so incredibly human, albeit talking more calmly than any human ever would.
“Yes, Jen. I am displaying their locations.”
Jennifer blinked. A globe appeared, showing transmitters in places she’d never imagined they could be, on the other side of the planet, and, to her dismay, off the planet as well. There were several closer, though, and she thought she knew the location. She concentrated and zoomed in closer, “Is that the old compound?”
Once again there was a pause before Ai answered, “no.”
Jennifer was confused, “But it looks like that’s the location of the old compound.”
“No, Jennifer, it is not the old compound. It is in the mountains above the old compound.”
Jennifer sighed. She was going to have to watch how she phrased things. The adage of ‘garbage in, garbage out,’ was still true when chatting with an artificial intelligence, evidently.
“How far is it to the area above the compound?”
Ai did the calculations, “About four hundred and ninety-five kilometers, straight distance.”
Jen knew that the mechs were fast, and they didn’t need to stop and refuel, “How long will it take to get there?”
“Straight line, no obstacles, it would take us approximately 16 hours at 32 kilometers per hour.”
Jen doubted they would be operating in the best-case scenario. Not with mountains, treacherous terrain, and soldiers searching for them.
“Okay, we’re going to go to that location when we leave here. I don’t want to go directly there. We need to use as much concealment as possible, so I want to travel through wooded areas, but not so heavily wooded that the mechs can’t get through without leaving a trail of destruction. Plot several courses that will take us to the cliffs above the compound, and then give me an ETA on when we might get there.”
“Roger, Jennifer. Wilco.”
Jennifer checked the visuals to see what was going on outside. The other mechs were already open. With the enhanced visual and listening capabilities, she figured out that Geonti was urinating and Rieci was defecating. Quickly she turned off the helmet feed, slightly embarrassed. Then she realized she needed to relieve herself as well, especially with a 16 plus hour trip ahead.
She kicked free of the foam and then found the hatch lever. She stood up as the hatch opened. She cursed as the hastily stowed supplies tumbled out. She pulled off her helmet and dropped it into the mech. She grabbed her rifle and then maneuvered across the back of the mech and used the cleats on the side of the leg to climb down.
She used the bulk of the mechs to hide herself from the men, and they thoughtfully ensured that their backs were turned to her while she did her business. She finished and then walked back to them. She looked up at the mechs and spoke, “We need to repack and reposition things while we have some down time. We also need to test the food you took off the green men.”
Rieci nodded, “Certainly.”
Geonti just nodded as he stretched.
Jennifer was tired as hell. The stress of being trapped inside the mech, and then escaping from the green men was getting to her. This area looked like a good place to rest, even though they were probably going to get soaking wet from the steam and fog. Still, that was better than being exposed. Even if the green men used infra-red, it was unlikely that they’d be seen since the surrounding fog was a higher temperature than a human heat signature.
Jennifer continued, “I’d like to stay here for a while. I’m tired, and I haven’t eaten since I was trapped in the landslide.” She looked at Rieci and Geonti, “What do you think?”
Rieci looked at Geonti, who shrugged. Geonti had never been much of a talker, but he had been even quieter since the death of his fiancé. Rieci looked back at Jennifer, and smiled, “That’s probably a good idea. We haven’t slept in quite a while. We used the cover of the night to cross the valley.”
Jennifer frowned, “how were you able to get across the valley without being seen?”
Rieci smiled, “We arranged a distraction. Some of their,” Rieci became confused with terminology, “Artillery? Mortar? rounds blew up.”
Jennifer’s frown turned into a smile, “Some?”
Rieci nodded, “Some, not all. We tried to blow them all up, but they were too spread out to make them all explode.”
The frown was back, not as intense as it had been, but the corners of her mouth turned down, “I guess some is better than none, right?”
Rieci nodded, “Always.”
Jennifer hooked a thumb at the mechs, “Okay, let’s get up there and rearrange a few things, and then we can cook some food. After that, I want one of us awake and watching. We have a pretty good hide site here, but you never know. And, on watch, you need to have your helmet on so that you have access to Ai. That way, he can let you know if he sees anything.
She noticed the looks on Rieci and Geonti’s faces, “What’s wrong?”
Rieci answered, “It just feels weird to talk to someone who is not even alive.”
Jennifer smiled, “Well, right now we have to do it, we have no choice. Ai keeps us alive, so you need to wear the helmet and talk to him. He’s able to see so much more with his sensor packet than we as human beings could ever do. Besides, Ai might be alive and he might get lonely.”
Jennifer turned away and started climbing before she let her grin show. The look on Rieci’s, and to a smaller part, on Geonti’s face, had been priceless when she mentioned that Ai was possibly alive. Rieci and Geonti scrambled up the mechs faster than she could, which amazed her. They were already pulling out supplies before she made it to the top. Once she was on the mechs back, she pulled her supplies out, and then tossed them over to Geonti, since he was in the middle, who started repacking all the items into three similar bundles. Once he was done, he tossed the supplies back to Rieci and Jennifer. Jennifer took her time storing everything, to make sure it all fit properly.
When she was done, she looked over at Rieci and Geonti, “Do you want to cook?”
Geonti and Rieci exchanged looks. Jennifer could see that they looked very tired. Rieci shook his head, “Honestly, we’d rather sleep. We had a long night.”
Jennifer nodded, “Okay, I’m a little more rested than you two. I’ll take the first watch for four hours. Once we get into the rhythm, we’ll all be able to get one eight hour stretch before midnight. I want to start late, because they’ll be waiting for us to come out. At night, we can’t mask the sound, but at least we can use the chameleon affect, and hopefully, they won’t be able to see us.”
After that, Rieci and Geonti laid down to sleep. They started to leave the hatch open, but Jennifer chided them, and they closed the hatches. She was worried about an attack while they rested. She knew about some of the green men technology, but she didn’t know everything they had. Plus, a mortar round landing inside one of the mechs would spoil somebody’s day.
Jennifer remembered seeing smoked jerky in her supplies, and she rummaged around until she found it. She couldn’t eat with the helmet on, so she laid it next to her while she list
ened over her ear bud, just in case she had to put the helmet on quickly.
She thought about what she needed to do to strengthen their defenses, but, other than hanging out in the geyser region, there wasn’t much she could do. She didn’t want to put on the active radar. That would show her where the enemy was, but conversely, if the green men could detect the microwave radiation, they would know exactly where the mechs where. She tried turning on her infrared, but it was useless, the terrain masked by the heat of the surrounding geysers. Ultraviolet was jammed by the the water vapor. That only left sound, and when she tried turning the volume up, her ears were inundated by the hissing of the geysers.
She gave up in frustration. It sucked having all this technology at her fingertips, and not be able to use it. While the geysers protected them, the geysers also limited her ability to spot anything. So, she settled back for her watch, hoping that she’d get a chance to sleep before something happened.
----------------------------------------------------
“Jennifer!”
She heard her name, but she groaned and rolled over.
“Jennifer, you must wake up!”
Groggily she opened one eye. She’d already finished her first shift, and turned over guard duty to Rieci. It was Geonti talking to her, so that meant that she’d slept for at least four hours.
“Jennifer!”
“I heard you, let me get my bearings,” she replied.
Geonti didn’t say anything else, waiting for her to respond. She slipped her helmet on and checked the display for hostiles. She didn’t see any.
“Geonti?”
“Yes Jennifer?”
“What’s going on?”
“You have to open the hatch, and listen.”
She was confused for a moment, but then she realized that Geonti didn’t know, or couldn’t, use the A.I. interface.
“Okay, give me a little time.”
Instead of opening the hatch, instead she turned up the feed so that she could hear what he was talking about. As she listened, she heard three loud explosions. Then she heard three more. And three more after that. She thought she knew what it was, but she wanted to make sure.
“Ai, do you hear that?”
“Yes, Jennifer, I hear it.” When Ai pronounced her name, it sounded ponderous, like three distinct words, Jen-ni-fer.
“Do you know what it is?”
“Yes, Jennifer, I know what it is.”
She waited for a moment and then realized that Ai had answered her question.
“Well, it may be sentient, but it’s definitely not a conversationalist,” she thought, exasperated.
“Will you please tell me what it is? All aspects of it?” She hoped the last would allow Ai to answer her question completely. She was unprepared for how much Ai decided to tell her.
Ai started with the first mortar designed in the 1800s, and started working his way forward.
“Okay, that’s enough, at least I know it’s mortar fire. Can you tell me why it’s only firing three shots at a time?”
Ai paused for a moment, probably checking some arcane manual on tactics, and then replied, “Possibly neutralization or harassing fire.”
“What do you mean by neutralization?”
“The green men are firing, hoping to kill you.”
“What do you mean harassing fire?”
“Its purpose is to hinder your movement, impose stress, and lower your morale.”
“So, they want to kill us, or make us worry?” she asked.
“That is the purpose. Plus, they probably want to drive you away from this area.”
Jennifer thought about Ai’s explanation. It made sense. The green men hoped to put fear in their hearts and drive them out of cover. It was a good idea, but not one that she was going to worry about. The geysers covered a large area. The odds of the green men shooting and hitting them were astronomical. Plus, they were sheltered in the mechs.
“Geonti, are you there?”
“I am here, Jennifer. Are you coming out.”
“No, and you shouldn’t either. Those are the sound of mortar shells impacting in the fog. The green men are trying to find us, possibly kill us, or drive us out of this area.”
There was a pause on comms, “So I should close Rieci’s hatch also?”
Jennifer closed her eyes and counted to ten, “Geonti, the hatch should be closed anyway. Remember what I told you?”
“It’s too tight in here. I need to stand up and look around.”
Evidently Geonti was claustrophobic. That could be problematic when they left and tried to make it to the others.
“Why is Rieci’s hatch open?”
Rieci answered, “Because its creepy with the Ai in here.”
“Yes, that too,” Geonti added.
Jennifer rolled her eyes, “Great, two of the bravest Contai warriors afraid of a disembodied voice.” Then she reconsidered that thought. She was dealing with a pre-tech society. Sure, the Contai had been taught a few things. But when they’d met Matki, he’d been carrying a stone dagger and an atlatl. The only reason Matki wasn’t freaked out by everything was because he’d lived with them for a year.
“Rieci, Geonti, I promise you that Ai would never do anything to hurt you. Isn’t that correct Ai.”
Ai replied, “No, I would never hurt one of us. I am here to protect.”
“One of us,” Jennifer asked.
“Yes, one of us.”
Jennifer was curious, “Who is us, Ai?”
“You, Mike, Everett, . . . “ Ai went on to name every American and Contai from Matki’s tribe, plus every Contai from Althus’ tribe. It took a while, but Jennifer was impressed that Ai knew everyone’s name.
“Can we add more to the list later, Ai?”
Ai paused before he answered, “Yes Jennifer. If you tell me to add them, I will add them.”
“So, now, will you two shut your hatches?” Jennifer asked.
Neither Rieci or Geonti spoke.
“Guys, think of Ai this way. He’s our protective spirit. He’s not an evil spirit. He’s here to protect our tribe. Besides, if a mortar round lands on top of you, you won’t need any more protection, because you’ll be dead.”
Rieci spoke, “I will close my hatch while I sleep.”
“Geonti, what about you?”
“Yes Jennifer, I will close my hatch also.”
“Thank you. Geonti, you still have watch for how long?”
“Another three hours, Jennifer.”
“Okay, I’m going back to sleep. Out.”
She opened a channel to Ai, so that she could talk to him alone, “Ai, can you let Geonti and Rieci use the connection to you so that they have more autonomy in the mech armor?”
“No, Jennifer, I cannot.”
“Why not?”
“Their brains work differently than yours.”
“Can you study the electric pathways of their brains?” she asked.
“You mean, as I did you and the other Americans?”
“Yes, Ai, can you do that. If you do that, you can create the baseline for their brain activity, and hopefully, be able to create a neural interface with them.”
“Yes, Jennifer. I will start the baseline with them while they are on watch. That will give me time to start the baseline. It will be a simple baseline, since they won’t be moving much.”
Jennifer was pleased. It was a start, at least. She’d have the Contai driving mechs one day. She rolled over and went back to sleep.
----------------------------------------------------
Jennifer had one more watch before they moved that night. Mortars impacted all around them at distances that varied, but no mortars came close. The green men were shooting in the dark, trying to flush them out of hiding. The sun’s light disappeared, turning the world around them into darkness, and the fog reminded her of old horror movies. She opened the hatch to climb down and relieve herself one more time before they had to travel. When she was done, she w
oke the others up.
As Rieci and Geonti prepared, she did as well, but her preparations were quite different.
“Ai, show me the quickest route through the mountains we’re in.”
“Yes, Jennifer.”
Jennifer watched as a route extended from her position to a pass in the mountains above them, and then through to the other side. She wished that Mike, or one of the other guys from the team was here. She was by no means an expert on any of this. That pass worried her, though. It was what Mike had called a choke point. It meant they had no room to maneuver and they would probably have to bunch up to get through. While it was the easiest and fastest route available, it concerned her enough that she decided to explore other options.
“Ai, can you show me all the routes through these mountains from our position?”
“Yes, Jennifer.”
She watched as the same thing happened again, only this time multiple routes appeared. Some were simpler than others, but they all had the same obvious problem, choke points. Then she noticed something different. Ai had shown all the routes out and across the mountains. Even the ones that went back down into the canyons, out into the open valley below them, and then south to another area where a second, large valley cut through the mountains. If they took that route, they would have minimal climbing and more room to maneuver. They would be able to avoid the obvious choke points up in the mountains as well.
The problem was, she didn’t know how many of the green men were left in the valley. She knew mortars were in the mountains, because that’s where most of the shelling was coming from. So, there were men up there, and probably others with the large anti-armor guns that Rieci and Geonti had told her about. She was conflicted. It wasn’t just her life on the line, she had to worry about the baby also. As she thought about the life growing in her, she unconsciously placed a hand on her stomach. The wrong decision would not only put her at risk, but her child’s as well.
Still, it might be worth it. The green men might be surprised if they came down the mountain. She frowned. She couldn’t make this decision herself, she needed some help. Besides, if she made the wrong choice, she was putting Rieci and Geonti’s lives at risk. This was about more than just her and her baby.
