Quan said, "A group has broken from the main assault. All entries onto the ship are being probed."
Joni yelled, "Eight AIs down! I can't account for additional signals up here!"
The colonel replied, "Seven down. Heading for the last one."
I yelled back, "We're losing the hallway!"
I stepped out firing several bolts as I pulled my maul from its holder. The two bots closest to my position felt my wrath as the heavy maul slammed into their lightweight robotic bodies. As the maul went back in place I spun, taking Garrett by the shoulder and shoving him down the hall behind me. I took a laser pulse to the upper shoulder that fried through half the layers of the Grotus suit I wore.
I pulled Jack from his stance in the doorway and signaled for Go to follow. The two raced to the next set of doors as two more laser pulses impacted the lower sections of my suit, locking one hip joint in place. I ducked back into the near door as a hail of ion bolts flew down the hall from behind me. I charged back into the hall, firing my blaster as I ran toward the others.
Through the mayhem of flying bot parts, two new laser pulses impacted my suit. The first singed my lower right abdomen, the second burned through the armor on my right calf. I fell through the door behind Garrett as an intense searing pain shot up my leg. I scrambled to remove the boot on my right foot, pushing away the smoldering body armor as I winced in burning agony. I rolled over, grasped my blaster and pulled myself back to the doorway, taking position under Garrett's left shoulder as he leaned outward.
The colonel said, "All AIs in the back half of the ship are down, hang on guys. I'm coming your way!"
Joni yelled, "Working on the last one now... done!"
Garrett yelled back as he fired, "They're still coming!"
Jack fired twice before ducking back in his doorway. "They must have AIs outside! Quan? Is there enough juice left in the battery for the comm inhibitor?"
Quan replied, "The battery has been depleted."
I yelled, "Enable the inhibitor from your arm pads! That should give us at least a few meters!"
The colonel powered to the outer door, shutting off the flow of bots coming into the hallway. Half a dozen ion bolts later, the bot raid had come to a stop. I rolled over on my back as I continued to grit my teeth, looking directly at the blackened and bleeding burn on my calf.
The colonel said, "There won't be any more through this door, but they've entered others!"
Raptor could be heard barking, followed by the sound of repeated laser pulses popping as they impacted the inner walls, floor and ceiling of the ship. Garrett raced back. A single ion bolt put an end to the attack. A panting Raptor lay on the deck with several pieces of bot shrapnel sticking from his muscular back.
Garrett stepped into the hall, firing several bolts as two bots approached from another door. The return pulses pushed him back into the room where Raptor lay.
Garrett yelled, "I need some help!"
Jack sprinted down the hall with Go immediately after. As they reached the corner going back toward the approaching bots, the two bots collapsed harmlessly to the floor.
Joni said, "Got it! That should be the last AI!"
Garrett replied, "You better get in here! Raptor has been hit!"
Joni squealed as she powered toward their position.
The colonel blinked in and stood over me. "That's a nasty burn."
I replied as I looked down the hall toward my fur-covered friend. "I'll live."
The colonel helped me to my feet. I hopped on one leg. When we entered the far room, Raptor was still lying on his side. Joni was on one knee, hovering over him.
Jack looked over his wounds. "He'll need stitching up, but I don't see any major hits. None of the wounds go deep into the muscle."
I took a deep breath, hopped to a chair and sat down. "We have any pain killers that are safe for dogs?"
The colonel replied, "Go, head down to the med bay and see what we have."
Go shook his head. "Lower decks. Nothing left down there."
Joni said, "That AI ship out there has a med bay on it. The AIs and bots wouldn't need it, but any live passengers would."
The colonel nodded. "Let's get them both over there. Garrett, take Go with you. See what we would need to do to fly that ship. The manual controls may have taken damage. If we can get it in the air we should at least have a fighting chance if another one shows up."
The med bay of the AI battlecruiser was a welcome sight. Painkillers were administered as the automated surgeons of the med-bay got to work on our wounds. Jack bypassed the identification protocols, allowing the med bay to operate on Raptor. Two hours later, we were both patched up and sleeping soundly.
Chapter 22
* * *
By the following morning, Go and Garrett had the manual control consoles of the battlecruiser repaired or bypassed. I watched over the ship's camera system.
Garrett carried on a conversation with Go, "When I came into the room, Raptor had a hold of the bot's laser arm. Pulses were flying everywhere as the bot tried to shake him off. I had no choice but to shoot. Things were happening too fast and the bot was repositioning its legs for a different move. I'm just glad his injuries weren't more than they were."
Garrett gestured to the colonel. "We're set for a test. Tell us when you're ready and we'll get this bird in the air."
The colonel replied, "Take us up when you think it's safe."
Garrett looked over at Jack. "You're the captain, Captain. Take us up when you're ready."
Jack nodded. "Initiating ion gravity drives... all parameters nominal. Hold onto your panties, gentleman, we're going exo-atmosphere."
Garrett followed Joni off the bridge. Seconds later they entered the room where Raptor and I were lying on separate beds. They both made their way to the dog, smiling and gently rubbing the fur on his head as they tried to comfort him.
I said, "I see where I come on the pecking order around here."
Joni returned a snarky smile. "Would you like me to rub your head too? Would that make you feel better?"
Garrett walked over, looking down at my bandaged calf. "What's the op report say?"
I reached over my arm pad, pushing the report to a holo-wall display. "He has slight muscle damage to his shoulder. Three weeks should see him back to moving freely."
Garrett laughed, "Not him... you. What's it say about your calf?"
Again I pushed data to the display. "Deep burn. Skin graft coming in a week. Until then, I have to stay off of it. Some muscle damage, but it will heal over time. The machine deadened a nerve that serves my lower leg, so I don't feel any pain at the moment. I see we got the AI ship flying. Are we heading anywhere?"
Garrett shook his head. "Colonel thinks we should stay. Frig and Kerba are still underground on the near moon. Quan is on Dallex. The Colonel thinks we should watch over the wreckage of the Quantix for the time being. He doesn't want salvagers picking it over if we leave. And if more AIs show, we can always run."
Joni reached over and scratched my head. "There. Is that better?"
I nodded. "It is, thank you. Garrett says we are waiting here."
Joni half frowned. "If it was up to me, we'd be headed for your Talisans. That would leave the Quantix exposed for a couple days, but we would at least be safe for half of it."
I said, "What about our cesium ore ships?"
Garrett replied, "The freighters are all still where we parked them. The single Talisan cruiser we've had guarding them is still there as well. Too bad we couldn't have called it over to protect us. It's only six hours away."
I sighed. "We did OK."
Joni said, "Maybe it's time we got rid of those ships. I'm sure there are colonies that could make use of that ore."
I nodded, "That may be, but I think we should hold onto them until the AI threat is gone. It might have done us good to sweep the ore from those ships and to bury it on one of the planets out here. We could have done so without leaving any evidence of such
on the surface."
Joni replied, "That cesium is nasty stuff, I think it's best kept in its containers. We shove it down in the dirt somewhere and we risk contamination. And we don't have an army of a million bots to work toward cleaning it up."
Joni pushed an image of Jorus to the screen. "What we need to be doing is focusing our energies on rescuing your people."
I scowled. "My people only need rescue from themselves. If we eliminate the AI, the rest will settle out."
I asked, "What do we hear from your uncle?"
Joni replied, "He said things have heated up in Andromeda with the loss of the gate to Jorus. The AI have three thousand ships there. And they are attempting to acquire the resources needed to start building factories. My uncle says if that happens we can kiss Andromeda goodbye. And we don't know if the AIs there are based on the ones with Garrett's kill switch or not. Since they all have the ability to clone themselves, we have no way of knowing which one might be copied."
I said, "We need another portal ship so we can rid Andromeda of the AIs. All it takes is one corrupt governor to allow access through the portal gates from an Andromeda world and we lose another galaxy. We might want to have Quan monitoring all the gates for us."
Joni replied, "I believe he already is, but I'll double check."
Jack came over the comm. "I was just thinking, the Quantix down there, it has one of the Yacabucci generators on it. We might want to go back down and pull it. If another AI ship comes this way, it would be useful."
I replied, "Great idea, Jack. Go should be able to help with that. Take us back down."
As the Effica day passed, the Yacabucci generator was brought aboard our captured battlecruiser. Go worked on the necessary connections with the goal of tying into the forward sensor arrays of the Grotus designed vessel. His efforts bore no fruit.
The end of the following day the Talisan ships arrived. A multitude of Talisan engineers scoured the Quantix, removing every piece of hardware or technology that an enemy could make use of. Three days later, our small fleet headed for Dallex.
Once our destination was reached, I was immediately transferred to a Talisan hospital, where operations ensued and a new skin graft was put in place. I was told my recovery time would be two weeks for 50 percent use of my calf, with 100 percent usage following four weeks later. Raptor received similar care.
Two days after my operation, I moved from my hospital room to an engineering conference room on a powered chair. As I entered the room the Talisan officers and engineers stood. I waved for them to be seated.
Jack said, "We think we have a solution for the gate. The Earth gate, it's locked out from Earth, but it can be opened everywhere else. We're discussing a ship design for its use. More of a modification, really. I'll let Go talk about it."
Go nodded. "Were taking our latest Talisan battleship and removing all the crew and soldier support from it, except for enough to accommodate eight people. We have six, that allows Frig and Kerba if needed. The remaining space will be used to support cesium fusion generators using the isotope of cesium the Ares was reworked to use. Frig was able to devise a workable design, since we had lost that with the demise of the sentinel ships. Anyway, we can pack enough generators and fuel storage in that reclaimed space where we can keep the armaments and armor. It won't have the active skin, but it will be tough."
I said, "How long before we have it?"
Go replied, "The retrofit has already begun. It won't be able to sweep out a thousand ships like the Ares could, but it should be able to handle as many as forty at a time. I know that's not as good as we had, but it's the best we can do. Initial estimates are for a first jump in three weeks."
I asked Frig, "Was using the Earth gate idea, yours?"
Frig nodded, "It was. If the code crack happens, we will be able to jump to Earth immediately. It's a risk, but one I believe to be worth taking."
"Has anyone heard from Harden?" I asked. "What's the latest from Andromeda?"
Joni answered, "I spoke with him an hour ago. Word from Andromeda is that an orbital AI factory is almost half complete. If we can stick to our schedule here, we should be able to catch it just before it goes online. Harden is trying to arrange a couple of contingency plans for us using his people there in Andromeda. One businessman is attempting to build a large ion cannon in a warehouse on the surface below the factory. Another is rigging a freighter with a goal of being able to crash into it. Either would cause delays."
I said, "I will say this, your uncle has proven useful. It doesn't excuse the things he's done, but he has helped our cause."
Joni sighed. "I still don't trust him as far as I could throw him, but I did give him more rope with which to hang himself. He traveled yesterday, to the Sawblade capital world for a meeting with the resistance from Andromeda. But don't worry, I sent four Talisans to keep an eye on him at all times. He won't be using the crapper without at least one of them standing beside him. Oh, and the Andromedans canceled their rejoining the AMP vote and declared martial law. The people aren't happy, but with the AI ships available to the current governor, no one is pushing back."
Garrett said, "We've also been keeping an eye on the tags we dropped around Jorus and the other Yallux worlds. The AI are present there, but we haven't seen any new activity other than the beginnings of a new factory in orbit above Jorus."
A comm came in from Harden. "Mr. Beutcher, I've just completed a discussion with the Andromedans who are friendly to our cause. I'm in need of another favor. Travel to Andromeda is required for a direct meeting with the resistance. I believe I can organize a more effective campaign from there."
I shook my head. "I don't think I can authorize that, Harden. While we are grateful for the help you have offered, we don't have access into Andromeda to bring you back should you misbehave."
Harden furrowed his brows. "You no longer have a portal ship?"
I replied, "Let's just say it's receiving some needed upgrades. Either way. We can't trust you out there on your own."
Harden crossed his arms. "Have I given you any cause since I offered my help? Any reason at all why you should not trust me?"
I nodded, "I can give you several from before that. The Moddle, the Grumar, the Grotus, the massacre at Odenta? Need I go on? Those people have all been wiped from existence because of you."
Harden protested. "Now wait one minute. The Grotus exterminated the Moddle and the Odenta. The AIs killed the Grumar and your own people, the Grunta committed genocide on the Grotus. I may have engaged in scheming and conducting wars, but I am not responsible for those species demise."
Jack stood. "Maybe not. But you and you alone are responsible for the death of my family... of everyone I knew. And all the time I was out there fighting for our defense, it wasn't for our defense at all. There was no invasion of Andromeda. The only external threat was the threat you were making elsewhere. I'd say you've done enough to where you should never be trusted again. In fact, if you were standing right here in front of me, I would shove this blaster down your—"
I held up my hand. "OK, let's not have that discussion now. Harden, the answer is no. You've been given the resources that are available to you. Make your best use of those."
Jack sat down.
Harden replied, "It's your call, but I think we're missing a good opportunity."
The comm was closed.
During the weeks that followed, our new portal ship, Earth's Rise was commissioned, tested and put into service. After two days of ardent familiarization with our new vessel, we were ready to once again take the fight to the AIs.
I motioned to Jack as he manipulated holo-displays in front of his captain's chair. "Move us to a neutral location and give us a portal scan of the new Andromeda capital."
Jacked nodded. "Coming right up."
Jack pushed the received data to the bridge holo-wall. "I count seventy-two AI warships in orbit."
Quan said, "I can confirm that finding after running a scan through all
of the gates in Andromeda. There are eleven hundred eighteen AI ships in close proximity to the gates in that galaxy. I'm forwarding the list to you now."
I replied, "Thank you Quan."
I looked at the colonel. "This is your show now Colonel. Forty of ours versus seventy-two of theirs."
The colonel grinned. "I would expect that deficit to only last a few seconds. I have a dozen fleets of forty ships each at the ready. Just keep that portal window moving and we'll have those AIs crushed in minutes."
The colonel was right. The first sweep brought the AI ships in our direction. By the third sweep, the AI ships attempted to turn and scatter. Our use of the Yacabucci web saw to it that they were held in place. The colonel's assault troops quickly moved aboard, capturing all seventy-two of the ships within a fifteen minute span. Two sweeps later, the captured vessels were parked in orbit around Dallex. Immediate conversions to standard Talisan bridge configurations were ordered.
Using the data provided by Quan, a portal scan was followed by another assault. The pattern was repeated until all eleven hundred eighteen AI ships were accounted for and captured. A similar scan was performed through the portal gates in all six galaxies, resulting in another five thousand four hundred eighty-two ships being destroyed, with another four hundred taken under our control.
A day after, the purge was complete; an uprising on the Andromeda capital world left the AI friendly government confined to a single city block of buildings. A new government was formed, and word of an impending vote to rejoin the AMP was scheduled and broadcast to all citizens.
Our swift victory in Andromeda was followed by a search of every galaxy for any AI ships or ground systems. Eighteen were found to be in transit between two colonies and quickly neutralized. Just over three thousand AI controlled ground systems were removed from operation. Continuous monitoring was setup to alert of any new sightings.
OMEGA Rescue Page 22
