Kane was stunned by the daring of the Breakers, and angry with himself for underestimating them. Then his chest tightened as he thought of Charly and Mhara. They were both at the picnic in the conservatory.
“Have they identified the hostages?”
“No. We do not yet have that information.”
Kane envisioned the conservatory; Mhara had taken him there several times. Many of the floras on Ahlemon, from trees to flowers, had been planted there. It was a botanical ark, and it had been impeccably maintained by the Meken gardeners for two thousand years. While he had never been to the central computer, he knew its entry was somewhere at the back of the conservatory.
As he continued to reflect, the tram arrived. “Super,” he said, “redirect this tram to take us to the conservatory, and call for two dozen sentries to meet us there.”
“What about the Breaker fleet?”
“Tell the Director to supervise the team at the marina; they can implement the plan without me.”
It took Supervisor 5 just seconds to convey Kane’s orders; then he and Kane boarded the tram.
“This is the same scenario as the suspension chamber attack,” Kane said, thinking out loud.
“Yes,” Super 5 responded. “The Breakers cannot get into the central computer without Supervisor 6. The access codes are updated daily, and the Breakers do not have them. The Director updates the codes and shares them with the Supervisors as a backup. Supervisor 6 will protect the humans at all cost, including divulging the access codes.”
Super 5’s summary was accurate but unnecessary; Kane was mostly angry with himself that he had allowed something like this to happen. He should have anticipated a move by the Breakers surrounding the Push to Earth.
The tram came to a stop in front of the conservatory, where they were met by the sentries. A hover cart loaded with laser weapons arrived next, and they dispersed rifles and handguns.
Kane groaned as he found other hover carts carrying injured people out of the garden; he had not been informed of injuries. He entered the conservatory and saw Charly walking beside a cart moving in his direction. He waved to her, and she ran ahead and wrapped her arms around him. She was crying. Kane pulled her away gently.
“What happened?”
“It’s Rhogan,” she said looking back at the cart. “They hit him in the head.” She choked up, and Kane’s muscles tensed for the worst.
“He’s alive but unconscious,” she went on. “Rhogan saw them coming. He made me hide in some bushes. Then he distracted them and they knocked him in the head. And . . . ohh . . .” She erupted in sobs.
“What?”
Charly looked up at Kane with fear in her eyes. “They took Mhara. Last I saw her they were pulling her along with a rope around her neck.”
Kane groaned out loud, and he felt sick to his stomach. Charly was staring at him, anguish and concern in her face. He pulled her into a hug. “We’ll get her back,” he said, suppressing his own fear.
He turned and saw Thorin approaching them, coming from deeper in the garden. Kane was relieved to see him.
“Rhogan will be fine,” Thorin said. “They are taking him to the hospital. Charly, you should go with him.”
Charly looked to Kane, and he nodded for her to go. Instantly she ran to Rhogan’s cart, and she and Rhogan’s Meken escorts left the conservatory.
“They have Mhara,” Kane told Thorin.
“I know. It pains me as well.”
“What else can you tell me?”
“Very little. The witnesses said the Breakers were hidden in the back of the gardens, and their attack was harsh. We think there are six Breakers, and they have taken at least ten hostages, but we’re not certain. They terminated three Mekens and one human and injured several others. Rhogan was very lucky.”
“Sounds like Rakaan.”
“Charly did not think it was him.”
“Really? Was it Atticus?”
“No. Charly did not recognize the Breaker leader, but she said that he was vicious.”
“So Atticus or Rakaan, or both, must be leading the Breaker fleet.”
“What fleet?” Thorin asked with alarm.
Thorin hadn’t heard. Kane quickly brought him up to speed on the Breaker attack and the action plan that was under way.
“They should stop the Push,” Thorin said.
“We’ve had that discussion. You’re welcome to try again, but I don’t think it will do any good. And I really need you to help me figure out what to do with this computer attack. What kind of damage can they do?”
“If they destroy enough of the computer, they can shut down much of the city’s functions.”
“What about the suspension array? I know the suspension chamber is on an independent power system. What about the array?”
“They cannot harm the array. But they could disrupt the Push by disabling the central computer.”
“Mr. Kane.” Super 5 approached them. “The boats have just launched.”
“Great. So they managed to install the remote control units?”
Super 5 hesitated, then responded, “Not exactly.”
———
Piloting the last of four boats to exit the north marina, Builder 31 quickly accelerated to maximum speed, and the other boats did the same, the roar of their engines acting as audio beacons to Leevee. He communicated their plan to the Director and Supervisor 5. He and his fellow builders had determined that the only way to guarantee the simultaneous convergence of Leevee, the Breaker fleet, and their speedboats, was to control the speed of the boats in real time. Since they didn’t have time to install remote control units, they had chosen the only other option to ensure success: they would drive the boats themselves. They had not sought permission for this; it was the only option.
Builder 31 watched his sonar. The four closely bundled green blips on the bottom of the screen were him and his comrades. They were headed directly toward the blue blips on the top of the screen—half a dozen Meken aircraft hovering over the Breaker fleet. A minute after they left the hangar, a new, red blip appeared on the upper left corner of the sonar. It was Leevee, and she was making a beeline for their speedboats. Noting her location and speed, Builder 31 made the calculations and formulated their approach plan. Through a localized intercom system, he communicated directions to the other pilots: they would continue at maximum speed and slow down only when it was necessary to ensure the simultaneous convergence of the three parties.
With the plan in motion, he suspended his tactical processing and accessed his memory banks. Two thousand years of memories rolled through his biomechanical consciousness, and his system began oscillating with an unusual hum. He ran a quick diagnostic and decided that he was pleased—pleased that this was how he would provide his final act of service to Ahlemon and the colonists. He communicated this to his fellows, and they pressed forward together, accepting that there is an end for everything, including the life of a Meken, and that this would be a good ending.
Unbenownst to him, at that same moment and several miles behind, Kane McKennon was sending up a prayer of gratitude and good fortune for Builder 31 and his valiant comrades.
41
Day 40
1100 hours
Conservatory, Alto Raun
Kane and Thorin quickly devised a plan, and Super 5 communicated it to the Director. Thorin then took a tram to the outskirts of the city—he would lead the Mekens and armed humans in an exterior line of defense against the Breakers should any of them manage to evade Leevee.
Joined by a dozen sentries, Kane followed Super 5 into the conservatory, where they boarded two canal barges. As it turned out, the canal was the only way to reach the central computer’s surface entrance. Of all the systems in Alto Raun, the central computer was the most insulated from attack; it was almost half a mile underneath the central tower, surrounded by bedrock, and accessible by only a single means of entry.
Having passed through the gardens, they entered a dimly
lit tunnel that ran for a hundred feet then opened into what looked like an underground subway terminal. Boat docks and a platform lined one side of the canal. Fifty yards beyond the docks, a mesh grate angled out of the water and across the entire width of the canal, designed to push any floating objects onto a small shelf at the top of the grate. The water passed through the grate and into six large tubes that led to hydroelectric turbines. Super 5 directed the barges into docking spaces, and they disembarked. Then he led them to a heavy door at the far end of the platform. Kane stopped him before he touched the access control panel.
“We need to check for booby traps.”
Supervisor 5 had not been present when a bomb destroyed half of the water pumping station leading to the suspension chamber. “Please explain.”
Kane gave his brief tutorial on booby traps.
“I doubt that the Breakers had time to wire a trap directly into the control panel.”
“Agreed. If we encounter any traps, they’ll be mechanically activated. Assign one of your sentries to enter the pass code once we’ve moved back. Then we’ll open the door from a distance.”
Kane instructed a sentry to attach a piton to the door and a wire cable to the piton. Then the entire team withdrew to the far end of the platform. A sentry stayed behind and, at a wave from Kane, entered the access code. Nothing happened. Unexpectedly, the sentry next to Kane pulled the wire cable and the door swung open. Again, nothing happened. Kane didn’t even have time to yell as the forward sentry entered the open doorway. The entryway exploded and the blast knocked everyone to the floor.
Kane groaned, his head ringing. Sitting up in a cloud of dust, he felt a sharp sting in his upper arm and found a bloody tear in his shirt. As he tore his sleeve off to expose the wound, he called to Super 5.
“You guys OK?”
The supervisor and the other sentries rose, unharmed.
“I’ve got some shrapnel in my arm,” Kane said. “Any way you can help me get it out?”
Precision rods extended from Super 5’s thumb and middle finger. “These are not specifically designed for this, but I believe I can reach into the wound and remove the particle.”
Kane yelped as the prongs abruptly dug into the bloody wound and pulled out a marble-sized chunk of the exploded wall. “What’s with you guys? You’re so damned impulsive.”
After wrapping the wound with his torn shirtsleeve, Kane gathered his team and gave them a short lecture. “You need to slow it down and think before you act or you’ll get us all killed.”
Kane checked the demolished entryway, and they carefully made their way through the debris—which included various body parts from the sentry who had activated the bomb. A broken water pipe was spewing water, which ran down a stairwell. When Kane indicated they were ready to move ahead, Super 5 pointed to the stairs and Kane led them down, checking for trip wires as they went. The stairwell emptied into a long, narrow room containing six hydroelectric turbines, each about eight feet tall.
“This is the way to the central computer?”
“The Creators wanted it well hidden.”
Super 5 led them to the last turbine in the room and stopped in front of a control panel.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to enter a code.”
“And what happens then?”
“It will activate a motor that will move this turbine aside and expose a stairwell leading to an elevator that will take us down to the central computer. This turbine is a decoy. It appears to function like all the others, but it does not have a water intake.”
“OK. But before you do anything, we need to think about how this is going to play out.”
“Play out?”
“Do you know the game of chess?”
“I have a definition for chess in my Earth database. Chess is a game in which each player has to exercise a strategic series of moves in order to win. A good chess player develops a strategy and then forecasts likely responses of an opponent, playing out the possible outcomes in their mind well before making the actual moves.”
“Right. And, we’re about to play a game of chess with the Breakers. Thankfully, they haven’t played enough to be good at it. First we need to define some of the rules of this particular game. Are you certain there’s no other way in or out of the central computer?”
“That is correct.”
“No sealed elevator maintenance shaft or hidden tunnel from the ocean?”
“The Director gave me his entire schematic database, including his personal knowledge of any alterations made to the city; there is no other way in or out.”
“Do you think this is a suicide mission for the Breakers?”
Super 5 paused before responding. “I do not believe so,” he said, finally. “Based on the Breakers’ self-serving patterns and the current circumstances, it is unlikely that they would willingly give their lives for a greater good.”
“I agree. So, the Breakers have no option but to come out of this stairwell. They will come out prior to inflicting any damage to the computer. And they will use the hostages as shields because they know we’ll be waiting for them.”
“That is logical. But if we wait for them to come out, then our odds for saving the central computer are greatly diminished.”
“And what are our odds for any kind of success if we load our team into that elevator and go down to the computer room to get them?”
“We could very likely lose the computer, the hostages, and our own lives.”
Again, Super 5’s summary was accurate and didn’t need a response.
“Now we just need to figure out how to separate the hostages from the Breakers when they come out. Any ideas?” Kane asked.
A good minute passed while they all considered the question. Super 5 spoke first. “I have an idea,” he said, staring at the water accumulating on the floor.
———
Ten minutes later, the turbine room looked deserted. Water gushed from two pipes at the far end of the room, newly broken by the Meken team; the Breakers would think the busted pipes were the result of the entryway explosion. The floor was now covered with an inch and a half of water. Standing on top of a thick block of broken wall that they had scavenged from the entryway, Kane was hidden behind a large turbine control panel, but positioned where he could see the full length of the turbine room. Super 5 was at the other end, also standing on a block, and hidden behind a control panel at the bottom of the entry stairwell. The rest of the Meken sentries stood on blocks, hidden behind other control panels or turbines throughout the room, positioned such that the Breakers couldn’t see any of them when they climbed out of the turbine stairwell.
They waited. Several questions weighed heavy on Kane’s mind. What if some Breakers or hostages were left down in the computer room? What if the computer room blew up before they could get in, or worse, while they were in it? Maybe the Breakers wouldn’t use explosives at all; maybe they would rely on a computer virus to do the job. Whatever destructive device the Breakers planted in the central computer, it was likely that a timer or a remote trigger would activate it after they were a safe distance away. In any case, Kane and his team had to successfully make it through this first encounter before any of that mattered.
The fake turbine began to slide sideways, moving from its base, and Kane motioned the ready sign to Super 5, who relayed it to the other sentries. A minute later, a head peeked out of the turbine stairwell. It was human, a middle-aged man whom Kane didn’t know personally but recognized as a fellow passenger from Earth.
The man glanced frantically around the room, his face etched with fear; then he disappeared back down the stairs. A minute later he reappeared and climbed out of the stairwell with a Breaker pressed firmly against his back, and another human pressed to the back of the Breaker. The trio stopped at the top of the stairs, and the Breaker surveyed the room; then he looked back down the stairwell and said something in the Meken mechanical language. Kane overheard an exchange, a
nd another human/Breaker/human trio came out of the stairwell. He stopped breathing when he saw Mhara, accompanied by the Breaker leader. Kane recognized him by the bloodred paint that covered the top half of his head, matching Charly’s description. His eyes glowed white, indicating that he was supervisor level. This Breaker was clearly poised for battle. He barked a command to those in front of him, and they stepped into the water. In all, five Breakers came out of the stairwell, each sandwiched between two humans. Once out, they re-formed into a tight ball and encircled themselves with the hostages. Then they began to move as a group toward the exit stairwell.
Kane was surprised; he thought there was at least one more Breaker. Either he was wrong or the last Breaker was still in the turbine stairwell or at the computer room itself. He decided to wait a few moments before giving the signal to Super 5. His hesitancy was a mistake. The Breaker leader abruptly broke from the safety of the circle, took two leaping strides, and fired behind a turbine. A Meken sentry fell dead.
Kane signaled to Super 5, who dipped the exposed end of an electrical cable into the water. The Breakers and their hostages instantly convulsed, their backs arching as the electrical current traveled from the water into their bodies. Kane grimaced. The sight of it brought a rush of doubt even though Super 5 had assured him that the current from this particular cable would not seriously injure the human hostages. Super 5 pulled the cable out of the water, and all the Breakers and hostages collapsed to the floor—all except one: the Breaker leader, who was standing atop the block previously held by the Meken sentry he had just killed. He was already firing at the other Mekens hidden behind the turbines. When he saw a sentry step into the water without effect, the Breaker leader ran back to the center of the room, scooped up a hostage with one arm, and pulled her close to his chest. It was Mhara. She bounced in his arms like a limp rag doll as he ran toward the exit stairs, firing frantically. The Meken sentries held their fire for fear of hitting Mhara, and their lack of battle experience left them immobilized, unsure what to do. This essentially provided the Breaker leader a clear lane of escape. Kane ran after him, splashing in the water, also afraid to shoot and knowing there was no way he could catch him.
The Last City (The Ahlemon Saga Book 1) Page 29
