by Scott Baron
“What word?” Craaxit asked quietly, the smile never faltering from his face.
“They will not aid in the assault,” Maarl replied in a hushed tone.
“Then we are done for.”
“Not so fast, my young friend. They will not aid in the assault, but they will create a temporary delay to the hangar door systems.”
“This is excellent. How long will it last?”
“But a few minutes. They are not willing to risk an obvious hostile act within the facility walls. They fear for their security, Craaxit.”
“Do they not realize this is for the survival of our entire race?”
“Perhaps they do, but they feel there are too many possibilities for failure to risk their positions.”
“Cowards,” Craaxit grumbled.
“No. These are good men who have spent many cycles achieving positions of comfort in that facility. While I do not agree with their reluctance, I do, however, understand it.”
His younger counterpart thought on it a moment and had to agree.
“Very well. But we still must gain access. Breaching explosives may––”
“They will also provide a single, unmonitored access point,” Maarl said.
He took a small piece of debris on which he had scratched the rough outline of the building. Should anyone see the drawing, it would mean nothing without context. The door in question was marked with an X.
“This is the accessway. They will foul the locking system to remain open without signaling on the monitors and will feed a loop to a surveillance camera for as long as they are able. It is the narrowest of blind spots, but it should be enough to get them inside. Beyond that bit of help, your friends are on their own.”
Craaxit took the debris and slid it into his pocket.
“Thank you, my friend. I must inform them of this news. You have my gratitude.”
Craaxit walked away, pulling the old communications device from his hip pouch.
Daisy listened attentively to the brief burst of information over the Chithiid communicator.
“Okay, I’ll be there in thirty minutes,” she replied, then powered it back to standby and slid it into her pack.
“Sounds like he’s got good news, Daze.”
I’m hoping so. Whatever it is, he has enough to warrant a meeting and not a quick comms discussion.
“It’s also not safe to use them for long.”
True, that.
Daisy walked to tell George and the others she was departing.
“Hey, I’ve heard from my inside guy. He wants to meet to give me details on what his people are able to do to help.”
“I’ll escort you, Daisy,” George offered, already slinging his weapon across his shoulder.
“No, I’ll be fine. He has more than proven himself to be trustworthy.”
“It’s not him I’m concerned about. I can set up a sniper’s nest a few blocks away. Keep an eye out.”
“I appreciate it, George, but I think you need to keep drilling tactics and op sec into these guys. They’re all really green, and this assault is going to be a do-or-die kind of thing. Literally. We need them as ready as we can possibly make them.”
“My men can handle that, Daisy. And I’d feel––”
“But I trust you, George.” Daisy took a deep breath. “Look, I’m kind of ashamed to admit it, but I never really felt comfortable with other AIs.”
“I know.”
“Really?”
“It was pretty obvious, actually.”
“And you were still okay with me?”
“Of course. Given your circumstances, it’s not all that surprising. You’re only human, after all,” he said with a laugh.
Daisy let out a relieved chuckle.
“So we’re cool?”
“Of course. And don’t worry, I’ll get these people ship-shape and ready to go before you get back.”
Daisy shook his hand, not shrinking from the cool metal at all, for a change.
“Thanks, George. I’ll be back before you miss me.”
She slid some hydration pouches into her pack along with a few energy bars, and headed for the door.
“That was surprising,” Sarah said.
Seriously, right?
“Cool guy, George.”
Yeah, I actually like him a lot. Solid dude.
“Well, he is made of metal.”
Ugh, really? Daisy silently chuckled, then picked up her pace.
“Don’t use up too much energy, Daze. We’ll get there soon enough.”
I know. I just want to get things moving, already. The waiting is killing me.
“Well, it’s only us waiting, really. The others are spread out and should already be almost at their targets,” Sarah noted. “I just hope Craaxit’s people come through and can get them inside.”
Agreed. I don’t want Finn coming all the way back with a “My friends went to blow up Sydney, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt” souvenir.
Australia.
The carnage was extensive.
Finn signaled the rest of the team to stay back while he and Reggie scouted the area, but he doubted there was any pressing need. It was the minimal level of stench of decaying flesh keyed them in that whatever had happened there had occurred quite some time ago.
“Holy shit, dude,” Reggie said in awe. “What the hell happened here?”
Finn surveyed the burned-out warehouse, his gorge threatening to rise despite the fact that the corpses were all Chithiid.
“I don’t know, man. This looks all kinds of wrong.”
The team had to detour en route to Sydney after collecting as many explosives as they could carry in Parammatta Council, having encountered a powered-down segment in the loop tube network. That little hiccup had forced them to cross to the next access point via a surface route.
Once they stepped out into the open air, they saw more than the usual deconstruction and accompanying remnants of a former city. While that was certainly part of the ragged landscape, what stood out were the several huge warehouses left standing.
They were intact, but their walls and windows showed traces of smoke that had climbed their walls from an internal blaze trying to break out.
“There have to be hundreds of them,” Finn said, surveying the bodies. “Thousands, maybe.”
He took out his portable recorder and captured still images and video footage as they walked through the building.
“There are three other structures like this,” Reggie said, stepping over a charred Chithiid body. “If they’re all the same––”
“It was a mass execution,” Finn finished his thought. “Look at the bodies. The rib cages were blasted in from the back.”
“Not conventional old Earth weaponry, either. This looks like alien tech.”
They looked more carefully at the bodies and saw that, indeed, the remains all bore the same signs. Killed by a pulse blast through the back before being burned.
“Look at the hands,” Reggie noted. “All four arms. Some of them were bound.”
“Humans couldn’t have done something on this scale. Even if they attacked in significant numbers.”
“No, they couldn’t. This was the Ra’az.”
The duo quickly surveyed the other buildings, only to find similar scenes of mass slaughter inside each of them. Finn shook off the horror and rounded up the rest of their team.
“We need to find a landline terminal to send this to Daisy and the others. They need to know.” He gauged the sun’s arc and plotted their course. “Let’s get across this hellhole and get underground, ASA-fucking-P.”
They hustled, double-time, and it took them only twenty minutes to find a functional regional tube. The comms line contained therein, while slow––as the regional AI was long-dead––still functioned, so they loaded the images and videos and sent them back to Cal with a brief message, then continued on their way.
The smaller loop net quickly connected them to the main line running t
he rest of the way to their destination. A few minutes later they climbed to the surface near the peninsula of Sydney Harbor.
Reggie was crestfallen.
“I always wanted to see the Sydney Opera House," he said with a sigh as he looked across the rippling water.
The once-magnificent structure lay in ruins, stripped to the bones. Adding insult to injury, the scavenging forces then decided to take the bones too. Aside from a few beams and columns, all that remained was its concrete footprint on the waterfront.
“Destruction of art makes me hate the Ra’az even more,” Finn growled. “Look at this. They scrapped it for materials. Not even cultural appropriation of art, like other conquering empires have done over the ages. These assholes just tore it all down for parts.”
He shifted the uncomfortable bulge underneath his Faraday suit. It was a hot and sunny day, and the bulk of the explosives he carried shielded inside his finely woven metal mesh was making him quite miserable.
“How much longer before we get to plant these bombs? I need to get out of this stuff. It’s creeping me out, man.”
“Soon, dude. Soon.”
Craaxit was already waiting when Daisy arrived at their agreed upon meeting spot.
“Good to see you, my friend. Do you have news for me?” she asked expectantly.
“Greetings to you, Daisy. My network has been busy, and I have some positive news to relay.”
“They’re going to join the rebellion?”
Craaxit hesitated, a slightly uncomfortable look in his eyes.
“Not exactly. But they are willing to help.”
“What does that mean? Either they are or they aren’t.”
“In this case, it means exactly as it sounds. The Chithiid working in the communications hubs are awaiting my signal to open the service accessways and help guide your teams to the power systems to plant the explosive devices.”
“That sounds like they’re with us,” Daisy noted.
“But––”
“There’s always a ‘but,’ isn’t there?”
You know it.
“Just our luck, eh, Sis?”
“But what?” Daisy asked.
“But the men of the San Francisco facility feel it is too risky to participate in an open rebellion when the outcome is questionable.”
“They won’t help?” Daisy said, dejected.
“Oh, they will,” Craaxit corrected her. “But their help will be limited to a temporary, and non-sabotage-appearing delay to the hangar doors. They will also provide a narrow surveillance-free accessway to the one door they shall leave unlocked for your team.”
He pulled the piece of debris from his pocket.
“This is the rough shape of the facility,” he began. “It is at this corner that your people will find safe access,” he said, pointing to the crude drawing. “Here, take this with you.” He offered her the makeshift map.
“I have committed it to memory,” she informed him. “No need to carry a rock into battle.”
“Very well. Though, should your weapons fail, a rock can come in somewhat handy,” he joked.
Daisy grinned and turned to leave.
“Are our comms devices still secure?”
“They appear to be.”
“Good. I will key you in when we have a hard countdown so you can tell your people. This is it, Craaxit. This is when we land the first blow to retake both of our worlds.”
“Good luck, Daisy. May fortune be on your side.”
“Thank you, Craaxit. I hope when next we meet, it is in celebration of our victory,” she replied, then headed back to prepare for the mission with the others.
The men, women, and cyborgs who were going to join in on the assault of the San Francisco facility were practicing movement and weapons handling when Daisy strode back into their camp. Sergeant Franklin and his men had indeed gotten the ragtag group of civilians into respectable muster, considering the time constraints.
“George!” she called out to her cybernetic friend. “They’re looking good.”
“Told you they’d be ready when you got back,” he said proudly. “I think we just might survive this. If we don’t blow ourselves up on the way there, of course,” he joked, nodding to the bundles of explosives and EM bombs stacked with their gear.
“So, you’re confident in our chances?”
“As much as I can be,” he replied. "I mean, we have the element of surprise, a multi-pronged attack with both land forces, as well as aerial missiles. Plus, we have inside help. Short of your buddies getting those drones working for extra cover, I’d say we’re in pretty good shape. Now tell me, what did your fella have for us?”
Daisy detailed the level of assistance their teams could expect in Tokyo, Sydney, and New York.
“Seems ideal,” Franklin mused. “And what about our objective?”
“The warp ship facility is going to be a tougher nut to crack. The Chithiid insiders are only willing to provide the most bare-bones support for the effort. They’ll leave a door open and divert the surveillance cameras and scanners to provide a tiny sliver that is off-scan, but they will not overtly sabotage the hangar doors.”
“We need them to keep the ships from leaving, Daisy. That’s a crucial part of the plan.”
“I know, George. But they’ll only go so far as to provide an innocent-seeming diversion to temporarily obstruct the doors, but it won’t last long. Unfortunately, that means we are going to have to clear the building exceedingly fast.”
“So, a fast-track assault with minimal intel, unknown numbers of hostiles, and the most rudimentary of facility schematics?”
“Pretty much.”
“Sounds like fun,” the metal man joked.
“I knew I could count on you, George,” Daisy said with a chuckle. “I think you’re going to love Frisco.”
“You know they hate it when you call it that, Daze,” Sarah noted.
Well, they’re all dead, so I don’t think they’ll take much offense.
“Daisy, would you please join me in the conference room?” Cal’s disembodied voice asked.
“Sure thing, Cal. Be right there.”
She whacked George on the shoulder. “Okay, buddy, get your little duckies in a row. I’ll let you know when we are about ready to head out.”
“Copy that, Daisy,” he replied, then headed off to gather the rest of the team to complete their prep.
Daisy jogged over to Cal’s conference room facility.
“Okay, I’m here. What’s up, Cal?”
“I just received a transmission from Finn’s team in Sydney. They are nearly in place.”
“Excellent. But why call me over here when you could have just told––”
“They also came across something I need to show you without alarming the others. The monitors in this room are the most convenient for this purpose,” he replied.
The screens on the wall flashed to life. For a moment, it was unclear what they were showing.
“What is that? Daze?”
I don’t know. Looks kind of like a––
She trailed off as reality hit.
“Those are Chithiid,” she gasped.
“Yes, they are.”
“There must be hundreds of them.”
“In that building alone. Yes. And there are three more structures just like it. Finnegan postulated that they were barracks facilities outside of Sydney proper.”
Daisy’s eyes began to tear up as images of body after body flashed on the screen.
“They were executed. Look at the wounds. Their hands,” she gasped. “Who did this?”
“It seems obvious that only the Ra’az, or their loyalists, by extension, have the resources and wherewithal to do such a thing.”
“But why? It makes no sense.”
“Perhaps there was an uprising. Perhaps they were just no longer of use. Whatever the case, I thought it important you see this as soon as the message arrived.”
Daisy was beside herself.
It was wholesale slaughter.
“I have to tell Craaxit,” she finally managed to say.
“The countdown to beginning the assault is already underway,” Cal noted. “We are but awaiting Joshua’s command. I am sorry, but I’m afraid a meeting with your friend will have to wait, Daisy.”
She took a deep breath and settled her thoughts, lowering her pulse as she did.
Keep it calm, Daze, she told herself. We’ll deal with this later.
Emotions in check, Daisy turned to join the others.
“Thank you, Cal. You’re right, of course. I just wish we’d had this an hour ago. It might have been enough to sway the holdouts in San Francisco to act. In any case, the ball is rolling, and I, personally, am looking forward to seeing it crush the bastards that did this.”
Chapter Nineteen
“How much longer?” Sarah asked impatiently. “I thought departure was imminent.”
“Another hour, or so,” Daisy quietly replied. “And will you chill out? Our teams are all in place, and Craaxit’s people are on it. And with the Chithiid on our side, even if the Ra’az do launch a counterattack, it should just be mop up for our guys in those facilities. Numbers are in our favor.”
“It’s only a seventy-four percent chance of success, you know.”
“Look on the bright side, will ya? In just a few hours, regardless of what our team manages to do in San Francisco, the Tokyo, New York, and Sydney communications centers will fall.”
“If the Chithiid are true to their word and can get our teams inside.”
“I trust Craaxit.”
“So do I, but that doesn’t mean his people will be successful. If we can’t sneak our teams inside to disrupt communications and cause a distraction, those missiles will only trigger a full-on alert message to the entire Ra’az fleet, not to mention their home planet.”
“Again with the negativity. For once can’t you have a little optimism?”
“Sorry. I guess it’s easier being a pessimist––when you’re dead!”
“Low blow, Sarah.”
“Yeah? Well sometimes you deserve it.”
In the hours that had passed since Daisy and Craaxit met, the preparations across the globe had been well-organized, if a bit frantic. Thanks to the supersonic loop network, the teams had all reached their munitions caches, and subsequently their target cities long before their deadlines, and with minimal complications.
