Kaizen Sanctuary (The Exoskeleton Codex Book 2)

by Sean Kennedy

  “When I have my Hummingbird armor, I don’t feel like I am in a suit. Just like when I was in the Rainwalker, I can feel the way my wings move and fire my thrusters like it’s all part of my body. It’s the same thing for my envirosuit and the power-boks.”

  “You can feel the ship?” Mac asked.

  “Yeah, but that’s like asking if you feel your eyes or your face. It's like, I am the ship.”

  “But what about the technical readouts, the targeting data and displays?” Slate asked.

  “I still have that,” Jacob said. “My heads up display looks the same, no matter what. It's the same when I use Immersion too,” Jacob paused seeing that he was the only one smiling, “is that okay? Did I do something wrong?”

  “No, you’re not doing anything wrong Jacob,” Mac said, “but if I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t believe it.”

  “Believe...what?”

  Mac gave a reassuring smile. “It's fine Jacob, you haven’t done anything wrong,” he said and looked to Slate again, “we just aren’t sure how you're doing this.”

  “The Vade Mecum,” Slate said, “it has to be.”

  “The thing is Jacob,” Mac said, “when your uncle and I went through our training, the Space Corps implanted skills, and we would know things without learning them.”

  “Yeah, it’s exactly like that!“ Jacob said.

  “But you said you didn’t know anything about the controls in the cockpit, right?

  “Nope, nothing,” Jacob said.

  “Did you touch the controls at all?” Slate asked.

  “No, not at all,” Jacob said and felt embarrassed, “I was afraid to, I don't know what any of them did and...” he stopped.

  “…and what?” Slate demanded.

  “I... just ...wanted to impress you,” Jacob said and immediately regretted saying it. Somewhere high above, a pigeon ruffled its wings, and the sound echoed against the rafters.

  “Impress me?” Slate said, stepping forwards and crouched to look into Jacob’s eyes. Despite Slate’s gray, tired skin, his eyes were an intense abyss.

  Slate put his hands on Jacob’s shoulders, “We are trying to understand what you're doing because what you are doing is very, very impressive,” Slate said, and Jacob saw the corners of his eyes twitch, “but it’s going to take time.”

  At the mention of time, Jacob wondered how long he’d been in the Rainwalker and 9:35 AM flashed in a sudden half dropped visor. He had been fighting in the simulator for over three hours, but it felt like only moments.

  “I imagine you must be pretty tired.” Mac said and winked like he was sharing a secret.

  “Not at all, I feel great!” Jacob said as he watched Slate slid up his visor with his hand, shifting his focus from one eye to the other.

  “There’s no signs of strain,” Slate said standing up, putting one hand on his hip and reaching back with the other to scratch his shaved head. “How long were you running around last night?” he asked, and Jacob shifted his weight, remembering his Uncle's had said about getting some rest.

  He looked down at the mottled concrete slab of the shop’s floor. “All night.”

  “All night?” Mac said, “You didn’t sleep at all?”

  Jacob winced, “No, I barely had time to power-bok back here for training.”

  Slate froze mid scratch and looked back to Jacob as though petrified.

  “Well, you must at least be hungry,” Mac said, but Jacob could tell he was hiding something, “let's head into the house, and we'll get you something to eat.”

  Jacob looked to his Uncle Slate, whose distant eyes were now staring through the seated Kaizen, its blue circle still pulsing. He glanced back at Jacob and nodded, snapping out of his trance.

  “Yes, that's all for today,” he turned away dropping his shoulders in another deep choking cough, reaching for his stained pocket handkerchief.

  “You’ve done well Jacob, really, really well,” Mac said and nodded for him to follow. Jacob fell in step as Mac led him past the storage racks and through the barn door. The bright light of the morning sun was harsh, and Mac stood for a moment with his eyes closed as he faced it, taking a deep breath of the oily air.

  “Uncle Mac?” Jacob asked.

  Mac turned, opening his eyes to a squint.

  “Did I take too long to destroy the target?”

  “The target? Mac said, raising one eyebrow and opening his eyes wider as they adjusted to the light.

  “Yeah,” Jacob said, “if I had attacked the carrier straight on, I don't think I would have been able to take on all those fighters, and I know the navigation systems said I wasn’t supposed to go into the field, but I had to use it for...”

  “Jacob,” Mac said, gently laying his hand on the boy’s shoulder, “we only wanted to see if you could successfully launch from the holding bay.”

  Chapter 11

  Jacob sat on his attic bunk, spooning beef stew from a foil bag into his mouth as Mac sipped coffee in the wingback chair. He held the bag up to let the last drops of stew pour down his throat before pressing the air out and rolling it up.

  He reached for the matching hydration pouch on the side, grabbing the second of two as Mac returned the red ocher coffee cup to the wooden table: a worn skull and the slogan Stay Zero, still visible on its face. The color made Jacob think of a Martian dust storm, and he had to shake his head and blink to clear the image.

  He looked to Mac, staring through him with half closed eyes; one hand tucked into the side pocket of his coveralls as he slouched in the wingback.

  “What did the Vade Mecum do to me, Uncle Mac?”

  “Well, that’s the thing now, isn't it? It does seem odd,” Mac said, nodding.

  “Well…I feel okay,” Jacob said and wondered if he really did feel okay. He knew he should be tired, but it was almost noon, and he still felt fine.

  “Odd isn’t bad,” Mac said, “just different.”

  “What did you expect would happen?” Jacob asked, and Mac chuckled as he took another sip of coffee.

  “What I had thought, was that the Vade Mecum would teach you to pilot that Hummingbird suit of yours.”

  “And it did,” Jacob said.

  “But, if it showed you how to fly a fighter, you would have known how the controls worked, what switches to throw, and all of that. You didn’t, and you were still able to fly better than anyone I've ever seen.

  “Really?” Jacob said, feeling his cheeks flush beneath his half-mast visor.

  “Even the best pilots the Corps would never willingly go into a debris field. Not only were you able to navigate it, but you used it as a weapon, and destroyed a Legion carrier,” Mac taking another sip of coffee, “I’d call that a pretty successful first flight.”

  “Uncle Vincent didn’t look very happy about it,” Jacob said, “he’s not mad, is he?”

  “Not at all, I think he’s as surprised as I am, maybe more so. He’s never been comfortable with surprises. But, your abilities are more than we could have hoped for,” Mac squinted over his mug.

  “For what?’ Jacob asked.

  “Eh?” Mac blinked.

  “You said more than we could have hoped for.”

  “Ah, well, I know you may find this hard to believe, but not everyone has a partially finished gun ship in their barn.”

  “No, I guess not, but I’m happy it’s there.” Jacob thought for a moment, “Why is it there?”

  “Why do salmon go upstream?’ Mac asked, slurping coffee.

  “Are salmon fish, or birds?”

  “Fish. A large fish that returns every year to the exact stream they spawned in, no matter how far away it is.”

  “That's why you built the Rainwalker?”

  “You might say that. When we went through basic, the Space Corps imprinted pilots with every bolt, screw, and wire, of that craft, but for just that one. That model gunship is all we know how to fly, but you seem to be able to transfer your skills to anything.”

  “It’s j
ust like telepresence, everyone can do that,” Jacob said.

  “Oh, I don’t know about that,” Mac chuckled.

  “Sure,” Jacob said, “I know I couldn't build power armor or a spaceship from scratch; what good is piloting if you have no ship?”

  “You could always steal one,” Mac said and considered the idea. “Never mind, the point is, Your uncle and I figured we weren't going to be down here that long.”

  Mac took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “I suppose life is what happens while you're making other plans.”

  “There must be some way to get the thorium,” Jacob said.

  “Perhaps, now that you've come along,” Mac said, and his ghostly stare returned

  “Why not before?” Jacob asked,

  “Well, as much as I hate to say it, your uncle and I aren't as strong as we used to be. I'm not sure either of us would be able to make the jump. Ripping through space-time takes a toll. But you, my boy,” Mac said with a twinkle in his eye, “you're not going to stay stuck in the zone Jacob, we’ll see to that.”

  His voice gave Jacob a warm feeling, as though everything would be okay.

  “Do you know when I can do some more training?”

  “Training? We’ll have to figure out what to do next. You’ve kind of jumped ahead of our expectations a bit,” he chuckled.

  “There must be something I can do to help. I've started patrolling with Teeva and his crew, they’ve offered me a job protecting free market servers from the Plague.”

  Mac took a deep breath and looked out the attic’s cathedral windows as he let it out.

  “Some spending money will come in handy lad, but I doubt you’d be able to save enough to buy six kilos of thorium 6,” he stood up, “but I wouldn’t worry about it too much. All we’ve lacked until now was motivation.”

  *ding-dong! A chime sounded in Jacob's helmet.

  “Ah,” Mac nodded at the ceiling “I'll leave you to your guests.” He walked to the attic door just as Jacob’s HUD presenting a prompt.

  'Immersion Access requested by:

  Teeva, Joni.

  Authorize?'

  Mac turned back at the head of the attic stairs. “You did really well today Jacob, and don't think for a moment that you didn’t.”

  “Thanks, Uncle Mac,” Jacob said, and the warmth grew stronger. He authorized Teeva and Joni’s request as Mac vanished down the stairs.

  The attic fell away, replaced by space hangar walls as a section of space time slid open. Beyond it, he saw the Dojo’s tatami mats and paper walls behind Joni and Teeva as they rushed across the threshold.

  “Bro! You’re blowing up!” Teeva shouted from under the broad brim of his sedge hat.

  Joni’s head turned, making her short ponytail dance as she looked around the star cruiser interior. Jacob liked the way her eyes were sparkling.

  “Hey Guys,” Jacob said, and Joni smiled wider as Teeva made a strange set of symbols with his hands.

  “That's the Dragon Cobra Ninja Hand signs bro. I’ll show you how to do it later so you can throw down on those Plague fools the next time you take ‘em to the cleaners.”

  “Not that you'll need to,” Joni said and traced a ninety-degree corner with her fingers, and a transparent media screen opened within the angle, hovering in the air.

  Jacob recognized the landscape as the Galafynn fair and felt a twinge of panic seeing a surging Plague horde. He thought perhaps the Plague had returned, but he saw footage of his Hummingbird blasting a Plague Dragon’s head off. A narrator cut in as the battle continued on the screen.

  “The Galafynn guard refused to comment, but there’s little the Dragon Cobra Ninja clan is an 0perator squad, especially after the reception our team received in the Warscape.”

  “This is great,” Joni said, and the footage switched over to a burned-out city street where a ragged reporter was running amongst whistling ordinance.

  “Mr. Stone!” The reporter called out as she rushed across a street to a cluster of troop carriers had parked in a circle. Jacob recognized Owen Stone, the bearded the 0perator as the reporters pressed their way between vehicles.

  “Mr. Stone is it true that you now have power armor supporting your efforts? When did...”

  Jacob watched Stone raise his rifle and fire two shots into the reporter's face. Her head sprayed against the carrier. He pointed at the camera and the muzzle flashed the feed into darkness, switching it back to the Galafynn loop.

  Joni waved her fingers and the sound faded out,“Everyone is going crazy trying to figure out who we are.”

  “Do they know? Won't they find out from the server logs?” Jacob asked.

  “Nah bro, Majka made sure the Galafynn gots the data all locked down. You're a ninja now, and good thing too because the Plague is going nuts!”

  “They seem pretty nuts to start with,” Jacob said.

  Joni laughed, “That's true, but it's really made waves. This was the first time 0perators have ever defended a free market server against the Plague, that’s why they thought you might be with them.”

  “Is that a good thing?” Jacob asked.

  “It’s a very good thing,” Joni said, and Teeva nodded.

  “Well I guess it didn't stay very low key,” Jacob said.

  “Don't sweat it bro, but I sure wouldn’t put on that armor anytime soon.”

  “Oh,” Jacob said, “okay I guess.”

  “You guess?” Joni said, “Jacob this is huge! Everyone is talking about it, even on the physical channels. Galafynn is getting mass traffic, it's a rally point against the Plague now.”

  “Won't that just make the Plague attack it again?” Jacob asked.

  “No way bro, there’s too much heat there now. Lots of traffic means more cash, and that means better contractors. Everyone wants to know who the mystery mech was. Pretty rad bro, not gonna lie. Galafynn was so happy about it, they gave a bonus of a thousand IC’s a piece!”

  “Does that help with ranking?" Jacob asked,

  “No bro IC’s are a crypto currency bro, it's cash! That’s why we're here! We’re headin’ to Zone Town and wanted you to come.”

  “Can I get six kilograms of thorium 6 there?” Jacob asked.

  Teeva recoiled like he'd been slapped, “Get what bro?”

  “Thorium 6,” Jacob said, “I need six kilos of it.”

  Teeva looked at Joni to get some insight, but she stared at Jacob, “What in the world do you want six kilos of thorium for?”

  “Oh, uh... a project for my uncles,” Jacob said and shrugged.

  “A project huh?” Joni said with a smile, “Well you won't be able to get it in Zone Town or any market Jacob. There’s a global ban on it.’

  “What the hell is Thorium 6?” Teeva said.

  “Jump gate fuel,” Joni said, and “I mean it’s usually used as jump gate fuel, that’s why it’s illegal,” she said. “It's nearly impossible to shield, and you’ll always get the max penalty if you get busted with it.’

  “But there’s also a worldwide ban on Kaizen droids...” Jacob started.

  “That's different Jacob, the droids are just an inconvenience, with thorium anyone could put anything in orbit. They can track it by satellite, and if any is detected, freelance insurance teams can jump in. There's an open bounty on thorium smugglers.”

  “It can’t be that crazy,” Teeva said, “they might have some in town.”

  “How do we get there?’ Jacob asked.

  “They won’t have any thorium in Zone Town Teeva!” Joni said, rolling her eyes, “We could go virtual, but after last night, I’m moving pretty slow. I felt bad for you Jacob, didn’t you have something to do with your uncles today? I hope it wasn’t online.”

  “Yeah, why is that? My uncle’s seemed kind of impressed that I was able to do stuff after being online last night. Mac kept thinking I would be tired, but I’m not at all, I feel great.”

  “Aww yeah, bro!” Teeva said snapping his fingers in the air. “That's our zero-bounce n
inja! Ain't nothin’ sticking to you bro.”

  “That's not what it is,” Joni said shaking her head.

  “No?” Teeva said, “I dunno baby-girl, bro’s immune to neural fatigue.”

  Joni fluttered her eyes and shook her head, turning to ignore Teeva’s statement, “I went online and did some looking on this Vade Mecum program. It’s pretty obscure stuff, but from the rumors I found, only a few were made before the plug got pulled. There’s hardly anything because it was Kaizen mil-spec software, but the rumors are pretty weird.”

  “How weird?” Jacob asked.

  Joni shrugged, “No worse than other Kaizen rumors I guess. Kaizen tech freaks people out. Anyways, we’ll meet you on the road outside your place if you want to come, okay?”

  “Sounds good to me!” Jacob said.

  The sliding VR panel opened behind Joni, and with a quick smile, she slipped back through to the Dojo. Jacob saw Kage walk by and give a quick wave.

  “Hey, Teeva?”

  “Yeah bro?” Teeva said turning back.

  “If you can just log off and disconnect, why open doorways?”

  “Bro! Anything that makes the ‘V’ less real is super rude, it’s always better to exit than to just drop out, besides, it's LCF,” he said, stepping through the door, “the Look Cool Factor bro!”

  The doorway slid back, leaving Jacob in the virtual bay of his attic bedroom.

  He looked down at his bunk, still unslept in beside the two wingback chairs. Maybe it was the excitement of training, but he’d spent ten of his last fifteen hours online, and he still felt fine.

  Better than fine, he felt refreshed. He slipped out of augmented reality, letting the starship fade back into his attic bedroom with its speckled sunbeam. The door was still open, and Jacob slipped through it, lightly shuffling his power-boks down the narrow stairs.

  “Uncle?” His voice rattled around the spotless furniture, bouncing across of the freshly polished floor. An aluminum brutalist lamp table sat next to an orange leather recliner. Barstools, stationed like perches for one to look through windows, out past the veranda’s shade.

  There was no answer, but Jacob felt he wasn’t alone.