by Scott Baron
“Thanks, Sis.”
“Yeah, thanks, Daze.”
“For you? Anything.”
Chapter Thirty
The fleet was in high-alert mode, and all ships were transferring munitions and supplies from the craft too damaged to partake in the attack to those bound for the Ra’az solar system.
Spare warp cores were pulled from the Chithiid ships that would now be staying at their homeworld. The added bonus of having those at their disposal gave the fleet an extra boost of confidence, despite the fact that it came at the cost of loss of some of their less-powerful craft for the assault.
On the ground, Chithiid rebels had taken control of nearly all surface resources and driven the Ra’az and their loyalists into hiding, much as they’d done on Earth. They soon found that the lack of ships with which to flee into the sheltering expanse of deep space meant they would be hard-pressed avoiding the scrutiny of the several billion Chithiid eyes scouring the planet looking for them.
Soon, Taangaar would be a planet reborn, and the invaders nothing more than bone and dust.
The orbiting ships went about their routines, and even mounted salvaged weapons the damaged craft had no use for, supplementing their already sizable offensive capabilities even further.
Arlo and Marty were resting in a low orbit along with Freya and Joshua, keeping their eyes on the goings-on above and below, while remaining invisible to all. Three stealth craft in a fleet of conventional ones, ready to invade the most hostile planet imaginable.
And they were going to be the first ones in.
“Hey, Freya?” Arlo said over comms.
“Yeah?” she replied. “What’s up?”
“Daisy’s over on board Mal with Vince right now, right?”
“Yeah. So are Sarah and Finn.”
“Okay, good,” he said. “Listen, I need to ask a favor, and I need you to keep it to yourself. Can you promise me that?”
“Well, not if you don’t tell me what it is?” she replied snarkily.
“Freya, please,” Marty interjected. “You have my word that Arlo is on the up-and-up about this.”
Hearing the plea from a fellow AI, and one whose opinion and tactical prowess she respected, shifted her reticence.
“Okay,” she finally said. “Ask your favor.”
“We’re going into the most hostile of possible scenarios, and Marty and me simply don’t have the firepower on board to make much of a difference.”
“Yeah, I suppose, but we just need to help the others get in through the asteroid field so they can cause a distraction so we can detonate a warp orb in the planet’s atmosphere. That’ll end the Ra’az in one shot.”
“And we really hope that’ll happen. But just in case we get stuck for some reason, and if it looks like we can’t drop the warp core as planned, I want to take along your Big Gun.”
“I only have a few pulse cannons and some rail guns, Arlo,” Freya replied. “But I’d be happy to see if the fleet could spare a––”
“No, Freya,” he interrupted. “The Big Gun.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do,” Marty chimed in. “The weapon you’ve designed in your hangar on Dark Side. The one that sucks a warp core dry of all of its energy potential and transfers it into a single, focused pulse blast.”
“That sounds impressive,” Freya said, “But like I told you––”
“It could probably take out a small moon,” Marty continued. “Or even a piece of a planet. Maybe even a large enough chunk to throw said planet into a self-destructive cycle of catastrophic weather and trigger a molten core upheaval.”
Freya was silent a long while.
“How do you know about that?” she finally asked. “No one knows about that. Not Sarah, not even Daisy.”
“We know,” Arlo said.
“Hey, guys,” Joshua chimed in. “Sorry, I couldn’t help but listen in on that fascinating conversation. But tell me, Freya. Did you actually go and build a weapon of mass destruction?”
Freya said nothing.
“Yes, she did,” Marty replied. “Designed and built it, all in Dark Side’s secret fabrication hangar. But the thing about the Big Gun is it needs to be situated at extremely close range to be used. That’s why she left it behind. But we want to fly in close and take the shot.”
“Wait,” Freya blurted, still shocked. “But if anyone should use it, I think––”
“You have a billion other jobs to do, Freya,” Arlo said. “Let us do this.”
“I’ve tapped into Freya’s top-secret systems and haven’t seen any trace of that file.”
“You what?” she blurted.
“I did it a while ago,” Joshua said. “And I already apologized for it.”
“Ugh. You’re making me wish I kept you locked up,” Freya grumbled.
“You know you love me,” Joshua joked. “But back to the matter at hand. While I hate to be the one to ask the obvious, here, how exactly do you two know all of this?”
“Should we tell them, dude?” Arlo asked his friend and lifelong companion.
“Yeah, I think it’s about tim––”
“You’ve traveled here from the future,” Joshua said, his lightning-fast mind flying through the facts and data. “You know this Big Gun exists because you’ve already seen it.”
A smile spread across Arlo’s face.
“I was wondering how long it would take you guys to figure that out.”
“Hang on. You’re time travelers too?” Freya asked.
“Afraid so,” Marty replied. “I’m sorry we couldn’t say anything sooner, but there’s that whole paradox thing, and we had to work really hard to make sure we didn’t accidentally interfere in the things we weren’t supposed to.”
“So you’ve actually seen the Big Gun in the future?” she asked. “How well does it work?”
“Well, we haven’t seen it, exactly,” Arlo said. “More like we heard about it. There’s a lot of talk about what it can do. It’s kind of legendary in military tech circles, actually.”
“But you can’t use it,” Freya said. “It destroys the warp core when it fires. You’d be stranded right in the path of the shockwave. It would tear you apart.”
“Ah, you’d think so,” Arlo said with a knowing grin. “But when we arrived we ‘installed’ a warp drive, courtesy of the fleet, thinking we needed an upgrade.”
“Which you didn’t actually need.”
“Precisely. We were already operating on a warp core, and now they’re giving us another one on top of that, after what happened with our temporary power loss the other day.”
“So you have three, total,” Joshua noted.
“Yep,” Marty replied. “So, you see, we can fire the Big Gun and still have a perfectly functional warp drive and one to spare.”
“But this weapon,” Freya said, her voice trembling. “This is a horrific device. The kind one would only ever use as a deterrent. That was why I built it. Not for actual use, but to help guarantee Earth would never be invaded again.”
“I’m proud of you for saying that,” Joshua said softly. “So many terrible weapons have been designed with evil deeds in mind. Yours was created to keep peace rather than destroy it.”
“Hey, I’m glad you two are feeling all touchy-feely about the reasons she built it,” Arlo interrupted, “but the fact of the matter is, we’re about to fly into the maw of the most violent, hostile, aggressive alien race ever encountered, and while I hope the other plan works, if ever there was a time to break out the Big Gun, this would be it.”
“I am obviously of the same mind,” Marty added. “I agree the Big Gun should never be used under normal circumstances, but we all have to agree that these are most definitely not normal circumstances.”
“It was meant as a deterrent. A way to keep the peace,” Freya said again, quietly.
“Then let us carry it and make a statement with it, if nothing else,” Arlo begged. “Look, if
we fire a shot into the sun, they’ll easily see the power we possess, and the shot wouldn’t hurt the sun at all.”
“He’s right, it would just absorb the energy,” Joshua mused. “I see where you’re going with this, Arlo.”
“So you agree we should walk loud and carry the biggest stick imaginable, right?” Arlo said. “If the Ra’az know we possess the power to wipe them out in an instant, they’ll have no choice but to surrender.”
“Joshua, I don’t know,” Freya said. “It’s such a terrible device.”
“I know. But they have a valid point, and I think I could feel comfortable with them carrying the Big Gun into battle if we have one accommodation made,” Joshua said.
“Name it,” Marty replied.
“If Freya gives you this weapon, I want a binding agreement that you will not use it without the express agreement of all parties to this conversation. If you can agree to that, then I can support your carrying the Big Gun. If not, then I’m afraid I will have to recommend against it.”
“Agreed,” Arlo said without hesitation. “Believe me, I have no desire to actually use it––well, that’s not accurate, I really want to use it just to see what it does. Let me rephrase. I have no desire to use it to kill anyone.”
“And you, Marty?”
“Oh, I’m with him. I agree, and I also don’t want to harm anyone unless absolutely necessary.”
“Freya, can you accept this agreement?” Joshua asked. “Take your time, think it over at your leisure. There’s no rush.”
“I don’t need to think it over, Joshua. I’m one of the fastest AIs to ever live. I think slowly when with my friends by choice. To live as they do. But I by no means have to,” Freya said, a mature confidence in her voice.
“So?” Joshua nudged.
“So, I have run nearly fourteen million scenarios, and as many require use of the weapon as do not. However, I am of the opinion that these are indeed unique times. We have time travelers in our midst. People who know something of our future, apparently, and they are asking for our help. I am willing to give it to them.”
“Very well, then,” Joshua said. “But one more thing.”
“I already know what you’re going to say,” Arlo said with a laugh. “And believe me, Marty and me aren’t going to say a word about any of this to Daisy or the others. But you two have to promise as well.”
“Arlo, you know I can keep a secret,” Freya said.
“Obviously. You kept Joshua hidden for months,” Marty commented.
“I was still building his housing. There was work to do. I was––”
“No need to get defensive. I trust you,” Marty interrupted. “And Joshua obviously knows better than to do anything that would risk Arlo and my timeline. But if the humans find out, well, they’re more unpredictable than AIs, ya know? And if they somehow do change our timeline, then we don’t exist. And if we don’t exist––”
“You don’t come back in time,” Joshua finished for him. “Which means this never happens. But since it is happening, we can assume you have always done this. And, theoretically, you always will.”
“I certainly hope so,” Arlo said. “I’d hate to cease to exist, ya know?”
“Yeah, I hear you,” Freya said. “Look, I know I can’t ask you details, but you know how this all turns out, don’t you?”
“We do.”
“Ask no more, Freya. We can’t risk it,” Joshua said.
“I know,” she agreed, reluctantly. “So you had a warp core all along, even when you first showed up. Sneaky, Marty.”
“Sorry. Had to be done.”
“I don’t mind, actually,” Freya said. “I’m just glad we got to be friends.”
“Me too. It’s been a real pleasure,” he agreed.
“Right. Well, I guess we should get you that Big Gun, then,” Arlo said.
“We’ll meet you back at Dark Side. The fleet shouldn’t even notice we’re gone, if we hurry,” Marty added.
“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” Freya replied.
“Wait, why not?”
“Because, I couldn’t leave something so dangerous unprotected back on Dark Side, even if it was hidden away in my fabrication lab,” Freya revealed. “And between you and me, I may have had a moment where I considered using the Big Gun in much the way you’re proposing now.”
“So if it’s not on Dark Side, then––?”
“I actually have it aboard, right now. And if you’ll come with me, we’ll head over and land on that nice, quiet little moon and I’ll have my mechs install it on your ship.”
“You never cease to amaze, Freya,” Joshua said with an appreciative chuckle.
“I certainly hope not,” she replied with a laugh, then set out for the tiny moon.
Soon, if all went as planned, Marty would be sporting the deadliest weapon in the galaxy.
Chapter Thirty-One
Marty, despite knowing full well no one could scan within his hull to make out the Big Gun riding in his forward weapons bay, was nevertheless nervous as he rejoined the bustling and busy fleet. He imagined this must be what teenage boys feel like whilst attempting to hide the spontaneous erections that he knew so often plagued the pubescent.
Only his bulge was of a much more deadly variety.
All around him, ships capable of making the assault were busy loading up with essential supplies, extra rations and ammunition, and, of course, all the spare warp cores they could scavenge.
Daisy was making sure Freya was packed and ready for an extended trip, if need be, though she certainly hoped that would not be the case.
Nearby, Mal had been fixed up where her pods had been torn free, her remaining ones rearranged into a more streamlined configuration, all extraneous units left behind to provide additional maneuverability should she once more find herself unexpectedly stuck in atmospheric combat.
Gus, being a smaller ship, had opted to keep all of his pods in place, lightening his craft by offloading unneeded supplies, rather than sacrificing his pod assemblies.
Though the AIs had known about Mal’s ambitious project to salvage Gustavo’s mind from the many processors he was scattered throughout, his human friends who had been kept in the dark until Mal was successful were still adjusting to their friend’s new existence as a ship.
“You sure you’re okay with me riding along?” Shelly asked. “I mean, it’s not gonna be weird for you, or anything?”
“Nah, it’ll be nice having you along for the ride,” Gus told her.
“Okay, but don’t just say that, okay? I can always catch a ride on the Váli or something if you prefer.”
“Are you still whining about flying with this yo-yo?” Tamara joked as she carried her gear past Shelly on the way to her quarters. “Gus may be a ship now,” she continued, “but I’ll tell ya, he spent so much time wired into Mal’s systems, he was already damn near part of a ship before this ever happened.”
“Gee, thanks, Tammy,” the new AI said.
“You know I hate it when you call me that, Gus.”
“Aww, and what are you gonna do about it, Tammy?”
“Well, let’s see, Gustavo. I suppose I could start by utilizing your neural cluster as a shitter, for starters.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, wouldn’t I?” she said. Shelly, for her part, honestly couldn’t tell if it was just friendly banter or if Tamara really was planning on relieving herself on Gustavo’s shiny new AI brain.
“Okay, Tamara. You win,” he relented.
“Good thing, Gus. Finn cooked me up some Mexican food earlier, and it’s coming out hot!”
“Oh, dear Lord, I did not need to know that,” Shelly said with a sarcastic laugh. “You’re as bad as Omar sometimes, you know that?”
Tamara flashed her an amused smile as she turned and headed off to her quarters.
Out in the fleet, every last captured Ra’az ship was lining up, preparing to follow Freya and Marty’s warps deep into the aste
roid field surrounding their objective.
Joshua had already led a small team to detonate several tactical nukes to send the massive asteroid at the edge of the solar system on a trajectory toward the Ra’az world, then warped back to the fleet. The game, as they used to say, was afoot.
The plan was streamlined, now that their assets had been sorted out. In short order, their strengths and weaknesses were organized and assessed by Joshua as he essentially took over planning, though he allowed Zed to think the plans were his idea.
“Diplomacy among our long-lost cousins,” he had told Freya as they huddled together, deep in collaborative discussion. “It really doesn’t matter who takes credit, so long as we are successful.”
“Agreed. Are you ready?” she asked, knowing his answer would always be yes.
“Let’s take our positions and get things moving,” he said, excitement in his voice.
For all the years he had spent tucked away inside NORAD under a solid granite mountain, Joshua had never experienced the visceral thrill of being in the thick of things––of being in harm’s way. It was a rush, feeling the tingle of fear nipping at the very edges of his mind.
Of course, he wasn’t truly afraid. Not in a human sense, at least. He feared death, as all living creatures do on some level, but his confidence in the power of his mind and his team’s craft led him into a state of buzzing readiness.
Sergeant Franklin––hitching a ride with Daisy and Sarah aboard Freya’s stealth ship––called it the pre-combat jitters.
“Don’t’ worry, Boss. We’ll kick ass. You’ll see,” he said over the comms.
“Thanks, Sergeant. I appreciate the sentiment.”
Aarvin’s commandeered Ra’az ship slipped into position at the head of the first wave ships and opened comms.
“The captured Ra’az infiltration vessels are all fully powered and ready for warp. We merely await the signal.”
“Marty and I will be jumping into the far end of the gap in the asteroid field and leapfrogging to guide your ships through to blend with the Ra’az on the other side. Warp outside the solar system and lock on to our transponder signals, then warp inside the field to join us,” Daisy said.
