The Cronian Incident (The Formist Book 1)
Page 35
[Engage stealth mode and. proceed to checkpoint Beta.]
The squad obliged, and all four of them engaged their electromagnetic cloaks. All four of them quickly disappeared, like puddles of mercury slowly disappearing into the background. Their sonic dampeners also kicked in, concealing their footfalls as they double-timed it down the tube towards the settlement proper. The occasional pod car passed them by, its inhabitants completely oblivious to the crew infiltrating their settlement.
The tube opened onto an open court. The lights changed drastically as holographic emitters filled the air with green, blue, orange, and white images. The people were similar, wearing garbs of cotton, linen, and synthetic fibers. Some were drab and simple, others flamboyant and colorful – indicative of hundreds of different influences and overlapping cultures.
Once past the pod station, they were onto the main deck. Their overlays told them they were standing in Aljiran plaza. Saana scanned upwards and down, taking in the tiered-structure. The honeycomb-fashioned colony matched the description held in the mission records. Arranged in a series of expanding levels, every plaza reached upwards towards the main dome, and downwards into the floor.
The entire settlement sat in a base of regolith harvested from Jove’s more rocky moons and Trojans. Each one pulverized and stuffed into the crater. From this base layer, assemblers carved out public spaces, sucking up regolith and spitting out molten rock to create walls, rooms, and tunnels. In no time at all, inhabitants filled each of those honeycomb-shaped tiers.
Moving from one side of their level to the other, they kept towards the walls, making sure not to get close to any of the pedestrian traffic. Quite a few people were out at this hour, despite it still being early morning for the settlement. They made it to the far side in no time at all, where ta doorway passed to the adjacent plaza.
Saana became aware of a faint buzzing and noted the appearance of a strange signal in one of her display reticules. A Visible Light Communications signal was growing in intensity, and her proximity sensor indicated it was because something was encroaching on their position.
She turned around with the rest of her crew, looking to the source.
[Tracking a UAV on approach. Remote traffic monitor. Unarmed.]
It was Henrissaint saying this. He had already obtained the drone’s frequency and was accessing its specifications.
[Acquire it and connect its feed to us.]
Henrissaint obliged, and soon, the drone’s cameras were broadcasting directly to them.
[I have control] he said. [VLC interface is out of the Stone Age, but images are of sufficient resolution]
[Dispatch to objective, acquire identities en route, and provide over watch towards our approach]
[Roger that]
From the air, the colony looked even more strange and beautiful. Like pixels of color moving about a sea of grey-blue, little insects funneling their away along hexagonal tunnels. However, these views quickly ended as the drone ducked between one passageway and the next, moving ahead of them to get to the corner they needed to be.
Every so often, the drone caught sight of a person who carried markings that identified them as being a member of the Aquiline Front. Red clothing, the right tattoos. On occasion, it spotted someone in a public place seeking to agitate. Henrissant slowed the drone to conduct a quick image capture of these ones. When he had five, he signaled to Saana.
[Identities acquired]
They kept following along, maintaining a constant distance. Henrissaint also maintained a speed that prevented it from getting too far ahead of them. Saana kept her eyes focused on their path, following the markers projected by her overlay onto the world around her. With every step, with every marker passed, the distance indicator continued to tick down. The mission clock did the same. So far, they were well within their specified timeframe.
When the finally drone reached the passageway they were seeking, Henrissaint brought it to a stop. Its cameras then focused on the security hub located beneath it. Some were heavily fitted, wearing ballistic armor suits and helmets, and carrying rifles. The rest wore the standard coveralls and carried basic sidearm. As people came and went, they watched and occasionally checked IDs.
The constables stationed there took notice of the drone too, then looked away. Henrissant began moving it again to avoid any suspicion. There was nothing strange about a traffic monitor passing above them. But one that lingered in one place for too long? This was something they might feel obligated to call in about.
After passing through this last doorway, they sought out a corner. Under the cover of shadows and obstructions, they disengaged their stealth fields. With her four squad members now apparent before her, Saana gave the order.
[Upload identifications, select weapons profiles]
Four affirmatives. Within seconds, the five squad members in their metallic suits starting changing form. Monochromatic mercury turned into solid form, mimicking the color of cloth and flesh perfectly. In a few seconds, they became the perfect likeness of the drones they spotted on their way in.
They raised their hands next, gripping a space of air that quickly filled with swarms of nanoware. Their weapons of choice materialized shortly, producing three carbines, one rifle and one heavy repeater. They let a few second pass, waiting for a break in the people passing through. They needed witnesses, but as few as possible. Saana was sure to order Henrissant to bring the UAV back around and release it from their control. A picture was worth far more than testimonials.
When the mission clock counted down to zero, she issued the order.
[Engage]
One by one, they emerged from behind cover. The constables looked up to see them. And one by one, they reacted in what felt like slow motion. A widening of eyes, pupil’s dilating, and hands moving frantically to go for their weapons or assume a defensive position.
It made no difference.
Her squad opened fire, and riddled the body of every guard at the checkpoint with holes. Fast-moving caseless slugs, propelled by electromagnetic force, tore through flesh, bone and sinew, splattering blood in a trail behind them. In slow motion, their heavy carcasses fell to the ground and bleed out.
They never had a chance.
Saana’s senses slowly adjusted to take in the chaos around her. Behind them, voices cried out as people ran from the sudden burst of gunfire. Behind them, the monitor hovered in place, recording their every movement. They let it watch them for just long enough before Saana ordered Popov to destroy it.
She looked to Okran next and gestured to the nearest section of open wall.
[Paint it].
As ordered, Okran placed her hand above the wall and uploaded the proper icon. Her suit sent bits of nanoware onto the flat metal surface, bombarding individual particles with microwaves and breaking them off in a precise fashion. After a moment, an image emerged, burned into the surface for all to see.
An eagle poised over three circles. The letters CoJ appearing beneath.
As icons went, it was crude and makeshift. But what it lacked in artistry, it more than made up for in clarity.
In Saana’s visual field, a new indicator appeared. This one was their exfil clock, and it was rapidly counting down.
[Engage stealth fields] she ordered. [Make for LZ and prepare to dust off]
###
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About the Author
Growing up in the 80s and 90s Matthew Williams was born in to science fiction. He enjoyed many of the infamous SF franchises of the time and read many of science fiction's most influential works. As an adult, Matt marvelled at those SF novels which stood the test of time, while making valuable observations of the human condition, and he decided to create
his own novels.
As a professional writer for Universe Today, Matt is well-versed in many nerdy topics ranging from: spaceflight to terraforming, Earth sciences to physics, and the future of human space exploration. He has interviewed many of today’s top scientific minds and NASA personnel, and been a featured speaker at astronomy societies. His articles have appeared in such publications as Business Insider, Science Alert, Phys.org, HeroX, Pionic, Gizmodo, Futurism and IO9. The Cronian Incident is his first published novel
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Email: houseofwilliams@yahoo.ca
Books by Matthew Williams
THE FORMIST SERIES
The Cronian Incident
The Jovian Manifesto (coming soon)
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