The Complete Clockwork Chimera Saga

by Scott Baron

  “He’s nuts, but that little guy is actually a really good shot,” Daisy noted as Kip the AI took out the drive system of a Ra’az ship. Moments later, as had already happened before, the other ships spun and destroyed it before it could be captured and reveal its secrets.

  “Little did they know, I had a warp orb already,” Daisy said with a chuckle.

  The ships swung into a dogfight, with Daisy’s little craft managing to damage a second Ra’az ship.

  “It’s still intact, but it’s far more damaged than my initial scans back when it first happened showed. I didn’t really know what I was looking for back then,” Freya apologized.

  “How bad is it?” Sarah asked.

  “Very,” she replied. “In fact, the warp system seems to be misfiring. But even if it somehow doesn’t tear itself to pieces attempting to jump, that ship is more stripped down than I expected.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning there are no repair facilities on board. And there is no stasis pod. It’ll take that thing years to get anywhere with the drive systems the way they are,” Freya coldly noted. “The pilot is dead meat. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

  “Damn, hon, when did you get so brutal?”

  “When those fuckers tried to kill Daisy,” she said, the anger of re-watching the events play out bubbling beneath the surface.

  Daisy nearly commented on her salty language, but felt now was not the time. Soon afterward, Freya––the other Freya––destroyed the remaining Ra’az warp ship, rescuing Daisy from her certain fate. She then cleared Kip of the AI virus unleashed upon him before setting out for Dark Side Base.

  Her silent observers trailed behind. Covertly following the stealthy vessel.

  A sense of excitement was beginning to build aboard Freya’s ship.

  “Pretty soon, Daze.”

  I know.

  “Out loud, please.”

  “Sorry. I said I know,” she replied, apologetically. “Any day now, our timelines will re-sync, and we’ll be back in the present.”

  “Only, we took the long way around.”

  “And brought back a little surprise,” Daisy said with a grin. “Now, let’s review those last few minutes before we warped out of here again. I want to be on the same page when it happens, and I want to know who the hell our visitor was.”

  In just a few days, they’d encounter him, whoever he was.

  “I’m looking for Daisy Swarthmore. Do you copy? I have an urgent message,” was the last they’d heard from the mysterious ship before they leapt back in time. Pretty soon, when their timeline finally caught up, they’d find out exactly what that message was.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Freya observed with rapt fascination as Mal pulled into Hangar Two for repairs, where Fatima quickly set to work patching the hole where the Váli had been hit. Inside the ship, Barry silently mopped up Gustavo’s blood from the command pod, while his friends retrieved his body.

  Freya was abuzz with anticipation as she knew that very soon her past self would be introduced to the crew and AIs of Dark Side. It was going to be a celebratory moment, as the group’s realization of victory set in, but one tinged with the sadness of loss as well.

  “We’ve seen this,” Daisy said, turning from the monitors. “And much as I’d like to sit around and watch, we’re back at a point in time where we can make ourselves useful.”

  “But we have been useful,” Freya noted.

  “Yeah, but I mean to our proper timeline,” Daisy replied.

  “What’re you thinking, Sis?”

  “I’m thinking it’s going to be a mess down there, and right now––when no one expects us––we can gather a lot of information that’s going to come in really handy in the coming weeks and months. Freya, will your AI cure also work on minorly AI-powered satellites?”

  “Yeah, those should be easy.”

  “Great. Gather us up a dozen or so that are still functional and get them back in working order, then position them in geosynchronous orbit around the major Ra’az hotbeds of activity.”

  “What are you up to, Daze?” Sarah asked.

  “We’re going to watch those fuckers flee, only they won’t have a clue about it. No matter how far they run, if they stay on the planet, I want to know where they went.”

  “Oooh, clever. And the Ra’az are big, which will make them easier to keep tabs on.”

  “Exactly.”

  “But the Chithiid loyalists will be harder. It won’t take much for them to blend in to the general Chithiid population.”

  “I know. At least we can do our best to log and track as many as we can.”

  Daisy spun her seat back toward the monitors and looked at the world below. The world that was theirs once more.

  “Okay, Freya. Take us back down into the atmosphere. Time to start a few new intel files. Let’s have one for Ra’az on the surface, one for vessels that try to flee, and one for images of loyalists who are blending back in with the others.”

  “I’ve already started, Daisy. But why do you want me to also target fleeing ships? I can just pick them off pretty easily while they’re so few and spread out.”

  Daisy thought on it a moment. It was a good idea, but their timelines hadn’t quite caught up yet, so she simply couldn’t contact Dark Side to make the suggestion while the other her was still there.

  “No, don’t,” she finally said. “Much as I want to, we can’t risk overlapping our own timeline this close to stepping back into our own shoes.”

  “I have a thought,” Sarah said.

  “Yeah?”

  “How about using a simple masked transmission to the remaining lower-tier AIs that still have functional ships? Make it seem like they suggested it to themselves. That way there’s a roving band of vessels popping any of those bastards they see trying to clear atmos.”

  “I don’t think we really have enough of them, though.”

  “We won’t catch all of them, but it should stop enough to maybe make others think twice,” Sarah said. “And if you were to send an anonymous message to a certain rebel leader, maybe he could have his Chithiid network do what they can to ground all of the ships not already in the air. My guess is with the Ra’az, being so aggressive, they won’t even try to flee at first. At least, not until they realize just how badly they were defeated.”

  “You’re right. With the comms hubs down, they only have local communications,” Daisy mused.

  “Yep. And my scans are showing increased local chatter, but nothing showing a concerted effort to regroup for a counterattack,” Freya added. “It kinda looks like they’re a bunch of ants who’ve had their scent trail cut off. They’re sorta aimlessly wandering until they get orders.”

  “Hive species,” Daisy said. “Of course. It’ll take a little time for them to reconfigure.”

  “And by then, we’ll have the ships on the ground on lockdown and will have not only the AI ships in the air take down whatever they can, but the Chithiid rebels on the ground hopefully also commandeering the Ra’az defensive weapons to target any fleeing vessels.”

  Daisy warmed to the idea. There would be a lot of loose ends, and a hell of a lot of clean up in coming weeks, but the plan was as sound as could be expected given their current circumstance.

  “Okay, let’s make it happen,” she said. “We’ve only got a couple of days before we’re back in our own timeline. Let’s make our anonymity count.”

  They had been very busy when, a few days later, Freya finally positioned herself far enough from where she had encountered the unknown vessel in their past to safely observe yet not be seen.

  “Here it comes,” Daisy said as her own history played out before her eyes.

  As before, a warp bubble began to form around Freya’s hull.

  “Hadn’t seen it from this angle before,” Freya said. “That’s a really nice warp bubble, if I do say so myself.”

  Daisy had to admit, compared to the weak variants the Ra’az had managed to
create up to then, the kid had a point.

  “Where the hell are you?” Daisy mumbled, scanning the darkness of space for the mystery ship. “Do you read it yet, Freya?”

  “Nothing. But it showed up right about now. I wonder if it has––”

  “Daisy Swarthmore,” a young man’s voice called over open comms as his mysterious ship appeared from the darkness. “I’m looking for Daisy Swarthmore. Do you copy? I have an urgent message.”

  “Shit, where’d it come from?” Sarah asked, startled by the ship’s sudden arrival.

  “Anything, Freya?” Daisy asked.

  “Still nothing. It has to be a stealth vessel of some sort. I’m getting a very basic visual scan, but nothing on my sensors.”

  “Yes, I copy. This is Daisy Swarthmore. Who is this?” Daisy from the past replied.

  “So weird,” Daisy said, listening to herself, knowing what was about to happen. “Okay, here comes the big event.”

  A few seconds later the warp bubble shifted in color from a faint blue to a faint gold. Then, without warning, the ship simply vanished from existence.

  The unknown vessel sat in the darkness quietly a moment.

  “Daisy Swarthmore, I have an urgent message for you,” the mystery man repeated.

  Radio silence hung heavy in the vacuum of space.

  “Um... hello?” he queried into the void.

  Daisy let the question hang in the air––or lack thereof––while she prepared for the moment she’d been waiting for. In just a few seconds, she would finally be back in her own life. Her own timeline. Able to talk to her friends, share their company, and, of course, finally see Vince again.

  She cleared her throat, then opened a comms line.

  “Unknown ship, this is Daisy Swarthmore. Who am I speaking to?”

  The mystery ship picked up the source of the transmission and spun on its axis to face her.

  “How did you get over there?” the young man’s confused voice asked over the comms.

  “We’re just testing a new propulsion system,” Daisy lied, but only sort of. “Your English is very good. What species are you?”

  A hearty laugh came over the comms.

  “I’m human,” he said, amusement in his voice. “My name’s Arlo. Hang on a sec, I’ll fire up the vid feed.” Daisy heard a shuffling noise. “Marty, where the hell’s my hat?” she heard him say.

  “The comms are still open, Arlo,” a mildly frustrated voice was heard replying.

  “Oh, shit. Well, um, I guess we’ll do it without it, then,” the youth said.

  Daisy turned her head to Sarah, making sure her comms were off.

  “Hey, duck out of sight, will ya? I don’t want to give away any tactical information to this joker until we know who the hell he is.”

  “Copy that. Hiding under the bed,” Sarah joked.

  “You’re so not a monster, Sis,” Daisy said with a chuckle.

  Freya’s vid monitor flashed on, and a teenage boy with scruffy auburn hair filled the screen.

  “Cute kid,” Sarah noted. “Doesn’t seem the Ra’az collaborator type.”

  I’d hope not, but you can’t be too careful, Daisy silently replied.

  “Hi,” he said cheerfully, trying to smooth his unruly hair. “Sorry, I don’t know where my hat went.”

  “Holy shit, you’re just a kid,” Daisy said, surprised at his youthful appearance.

  “I’m not a kid. I’m seventeen!”

  “Oh. Sorry, my mistake,” Daisy replied, hiding her amused grin. “That’s quite a ship you’ve got there. Whose is it?”

  “Oh, he’s mine.”

  “I am not yours,” Marty shot back.

  “Well, you’re flying me around, aren’t you? Jeez, do we have to do this now? We’re talking to new people, dude. Not cool.”

  “Sorry, Arlo,” the odd ship replied.

  “Anyway, it’s just me and Marty out here. How about you? And speaking of cool ships, she’s a beaut!”

  “Thank you,” Freya said warmly. “I’m Freya. Nice to meet you, Marty and Arlo. I’m wondering, though. Your hull appears to be constructed of a shifting nanite composite. May I come closer for a better look?” she asked, not hiding her curiosity and excitement very well.

  “Of course,” Marty replied. “And you are correct. My ship is constructed of a nanite composite material, for the most part. Very astute of you.”

  “Thanks! This is so cool. I haven’t met another ship with this kind of tech before. It looks like we have similar origins, though your design is unusual, and the nanites appear to be slightly different than mine.”

  “Oh, well, I was born with them, you see, but over time I have modified my structure to facilitate all the cool things I’ve been doing. You know, kinda doing a plug-n-play swap of segments, and adding new toys and stuff.”

  “Sweet! Another outside-the-box thinker!” Freya exclaimed.

  “Hey, sorry to interrupt you two,” Arlo said, “but I was talking to Daisy.”

  “Sorry,” Marty said. “It’s just cool, ya know?”

  “I know, dude,” he replied. “Hey, I have an idea. How about we do a soft seal and talk face-to-face?”

  Daisy hesitated.

  “There was a plague on Earth, Arlo. While I’m sure Freya did a full decontamination cycle, I don’t know if that––”

  “Oh, that’s fine,” he cut her off. “I’m immune.”

  “So you know about that too?”

  “Oh, yeah. That and a bunch more. So whaddya say? Chat?”

  “You’ve gotta admire his enthusiasm, Daze.”

  Yeah. Let’s just hope I don’t wind up regretting this.

  “Okay, Arlo. Let’s link up. See you in a minute.”

  They sat in Freya’s small galley sipping hot cocoa a few minutes later, a warm hospitality in the cold of space.

  “So, no whiskey on board?” the teen asked.

  “You’re a kid, Arlo.”

  “Just asking,” he replied with a laugh. “The cocoa is great, by the way.”

  “Now let me get this straight. You’re from a small group of survivors carried out into space by some of Earth’s AIs who fled during the alien attack?” Daisy asked.

  “Yep.”

  “That sounds an awful lot like my story.”

  “Sure does,” he said, merrily. “My guess is the AIs lost contact sometime before launch and were forced to select a route on their own. I mean, it was a crazy time, from what I’ve been told.”

  “You’ve got that right,” she replied. “But that doesn’t explain you. Why are you here? Who are you, for that matter?”

  Hey, Sarah. Ask Freya to scan him for any artificial parts, Daisy silently asked her sister as she gently adjusted the neuro-band riding beneath her headband.

  “Will do,” Sarah replied. “Hey, Freya. Daisy wants to know if the kid has any artificial parts.”

  “None,” Freya replied.

  “What was that?” Arlo asked, surprised by the seemingly random statement.

  “Oh, sorry, I was just looking at my scans for ships leaving the atmosphere and must’ve spoken out loud. My bad,” Freya replied.

  “No worries. Thanks, Freya,” Daisy said.

  So, he’s entirely human. Interesting.

  “To answer your questions,” Arlo began, “I’m a scout for my people. I’ve spent a few decades in cryo getting here, all so I can survey the planet and report back its status.”

  “But your ship seems like he’s capable of extremely fast travel.”

  “Oh, he is fast, but our people are really far away.”

  “It feels like he’s lying about something, Daze.”

  I know. Can’t look me straight in the eyes when he says that. I wonder what he’s hiding.

  “Might be paranoid about our intentions too. I mean, we did only just meet, after all.”

  “That’s tough, Arlo. So many years in cryo, well, it’s something I have some experience with.”

  “Really?”
/>   “Yep. Longer than you, I’d wager. But why did they only send one ship? And why you?”

  “Funny you should ask. I’m the one who had to make the trip, you see. Me and Marty? We’re a team, and he’s the only ship stealthy enough to survey the planet without being noticed.”

  “Stealth was your key concern, then?”

  “Oh, hell yeah it was. Last time we checked, the planet was under Ra’az control, with those poor Chithiid bastards slaving away for them.”

  “So you already knew about the Ra’az?”

  “Yeah. Big, ugly fuckers too.”

  “On that we’re in agreement. But you also knew the Chithiid were unwilling slaves?”

  “Uh-huh. And they weren’t the first,” he replied. “Hang on a sec. Hey, Marty, can you bring up the images from the husk?”

  “What’s the husk?”

  “It’s what we took to calling one of the last planets the Ra’az stripped. We found it a while back, though we don’t know exactly how long ago they pulled up stakes and bailed.”

  Images flashed onto Freya’s monitors. A vast world filled the screens, one covered with pockmarks of destruction, its entire surface stripped bare, as well as torn open to access valuable minerals under its crust.

  The Ra’az had sucked the world dry, leaving––as Arlo accurately noted––a husk.

  “There were signs of some sort of civilization at one point, but there was just so little left that we gave up even searching the planet.”

  “Good Lord, this is what they wanted to do to Earth,” Daisy said.

  “Yeah, I know. And last time my people checked in on the planet, it looked like it was going to be on its way to join them. But then they noticed that even though all of the military bases were destroyed and scrapped, the automated defenses on the surface were still keeping the Ra’az at bay in a lot of places.”

  “A surprisingly effective system,” Daisy agreed.

  “Yeah. And there was a little debris field circling the planet. They thought it looked like a fleet of the survivors they were separated from that had returned and tried to take the planet back.”

  “They tried, but failed.”

  “More than once, from what I see. Looks like there’s a lot more debris than our previous scouting mission reported.”