by Scott Baron
I don’t know, Daisy replied.
Vince took the Chithiid’s nearest hand and closed it into a fist, urging him to mimic the motion. The puzzled alien complied, and Vince joined him, only this time he kept his fist closed, placing the alien’s open hand over his. Again, they ran through the motions, and this time Vince opened his fingers in a V.
“Is he––?”
He actually is, Daisy said, thoroughly amazed and amused.
Vince pounded his fist three times again, making scissors with his fingers.
The Chithiid did the same, but with all four hands, showing two rocks, a scissors, and paper.
“No, that’s cheating!” Vince blurted with a smile.
The big alien let out a belly laugh and slapped him on the shoulder.
“Look at him, making friends wherever he goes.”
That’s my man, Daisy grinned.
“Your man?”
Yeah. My man, she quietly replied with a warm glow heating her chest.
The pod lurched as it began its supersonic trip. In just a few minutes they would quietly arrive under San Francisco. From there, things would get interesting.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Before the team departed for the research and testing facility in San Francisco, Craaxit had arranged for one of his compatriots who was staying in Los Angeles to act as a communications relay to spend a little time with Cal and help tutor the rapidly-learning AI, now that he was beginning to get the basics of Chithiid language.
“I am believe we understanding better,” Cal had said to the young alien helping him with his grammar.
“Almost. But the inflection changes the structure. Here, listen to me.”
“Wait, let me try again,” Cal replied, then repeated himself, this time with perfect pronunciation.
“Yes! You are a very fast learner.”
“I also have the assistance of several dozen additional AIs contributing to the assimilation of this new information. Between us, we should be able to communicate fluently within an hour or two.”
“That soon?”
“Oh, yes. Though we will need you to feed us pure vocabulary. That, unlike grammar and pronunciation, we cannot extrapolate from our current knowledge stores.”
Daisy had watched the alien and computer as they worked together, and marveled that just a few weeks prior, they would have been just as likely to engage in a battle of defensive cannons and dismantling teams as chatting amicably.
“Things certainly have changed since we got here, eh?” Sarah observed.
And for the better, for once, Daisy replied.
“Yeah, I guess mayhem does typically follow you.”
Hang on. What happened to ‘us’?
“Us? Hey, I’m just a ride-along. The real-world carnage? That’s all you, Sis.”
Daisy let out a soft chuckle.
That moment of levity had passed, and now they were all bundled together into a loop tube capsule, speeding toward San Francisco at Mach speeds. The unlikeliest of groups to save a planet, but there they were. Humans and cyborgs and aliens––oh my.
Willie––one of the domestic cyborgs who volunteered to join the mission––had downloaded the rudimentary beginnings of Cal’s Chithiid language translation protocol to better communicate during the mission, and was practicing with a solidly built alien.
“I believe that arms useful in things that doing we will,” he said.
The large alien looked at him with a somewhat confused expression in his four eyes.
“Do you mean to say ‘in the things we will do’?” he replied.
“Ah, yes. Sorry I am to you. My translation software still processing is this new language.”
“You are doing quite well, actually,” the amused alien replied. “Especially as you have never spoken our language before.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course. Now, what were you attempting to say?”
Willie looked at the alien’s physique with what could almost pass for a hint of cybernetic envy.
“I saying I think your having four arms must be useful in the things you do.”
“Indeed. You could even say they come in handy,” he replied with a low chuckle.
Willie cocked his head like a confused spaniel. Moments later he let out a laugh.
“Oh, I get it. Handy! You made a joke!”
The big Chithiid winked at him––which when one has four eyes, is a funny sight to see.
“Look at those two,” Sarah said. “A cyborg and a Chithiid, getting on famously. It looks to me like if not for the Ra’az starting this whole war thing, we’d have probably been allies all this time.”
The pod began to slow to subsonic speeds as they neared the Bay area.
“Okay, y’all––” Daisy began.
“What, you’re Southern, now?” Sarah quipped.
Bite me.
“Oh, but for the lack of teeth.”
“Recapping before we pull into the station,” Daisy continued. “Craaxit’s men on the inside will get us into the building and to a secure spot to take up a standby position ahead of the assaults on the comms hubs.”
“How do we know it’s safe?” a young woman joining the action asked. “What if the aliens are unsuccessful in providing us a clear way in?”
“We’re taking precautions,” Daisy replied. “And don’t worry, your group will be coming in behind us.”
Vince caught her eye from across the pod and gave her a little wink. A faint grin curved her lips upward as she winked back.
She then turned her attention from her man and looked over the assembled team as they readied themselves for what would be an attack so audacious, they’d all be legends if they somehow pulled it off.
Despite the odds, she felt a surge of pride swell in her chest. Though inexperienced, the team was ready to give all they had.
She hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Only time would tell.
The trek from the loop terminus under what had once been the financial district to the Ra’az research facility took the team nearly an hour. It was close enough to the tunnel’s exit, but they had to go the long way around to stay clear of line-of-sight surveillance.
“My team will go in first,” Craaxit said as they approached the very perimeter of the research facility. “It is crucial that no one suspects anything out of the ordinary or the entire building and surrounding grounds will go into a lockdown. If that happens, I fear the warp ships will launch before we can fully disable the hangar doors.”
“Understood,” Daisy said quietly. “We will stand by for your signal. Only once your people have infiltrated and taken their positions will we move in.”
“We will keep them from launching as subtly as we can. Make it look like a mechanical problem. The entire mission depends on the Ra’az overseers believing all Chithiid are on their side,” Craaxit said. “Most of the Chithiid in this facility are loyalists, anyway. My people have all tied a small red strip around their lower arms above the elbows. It is not uncommon for workers to wear such items to keep their hands from becoming slippery as they work.”
“Alien sweatbands, like you suggested. Excellent.”
“This will identify us at a glance. We may have to act as though we are fighting against you, but none of my people will actually target yours. I would hope your people return the courtesy.”
“Don’t worry, they’ve all been briefed. Fake the battle and only shoot the Chithiid without the armbands. Got it. But what if there are some who aren’t loyalists in the mix? It seems likely at least a few would be in the facility.”
Craaxit looked grim but resolved. “Try not to harm them if you can. The ones not engaged in the fight.” He paused as he mulled the reality of the situation. “But, Daisy, far more rides on this than the lives of a few innocents. This mission is more important than any individual, or even all of us combined.”
She nodded in solemn agreement. “You ready?”
“Yes. Wait for our signal. And good luck.”
The Chithiid moved startlingly fast across the perimeter to the building, slowing to a casual walk when they came into view of the security cameras. They had split into smaller groups and were staggering their approach so as to not draw attention, their weapons hidden in grime-covered work bags.
Daisy activated the portable comms unit and sent a message to the moon. “We have begun. Awaiting the signal and ready to move in.”
Five minutes later a delayed reply came through.
“I read your signal, Daisy,” Sid said. “Our fleet launched an hour ago, and most are already drifting hidden in the debris field as you hear this. The attack on the communications hubs begins in ten minutes, as per the plan.” The communication ended.
“Okay, you all. This is it. Move to the perimeter of the monitored zone and stay under cover until my go. And remember, conventional weapons and explosives stay shielded in the Faraday material. Only pulse rifles in the open until the scanners are disabled.”
The humans scurried forward into position while, the cyborgs hung back, hiding within a nearby building out of scanning range until the scanners were down, enabling their entirely metal frames to approach the heavily guarded building undetected.
The Faraday suits were good, but seeing as they were entirely made of metal, not that good.
Drifting in the debris field, Captain Lars Harkaway sat comfortably in the Váli’s pilot’s seat, the command pod having been somewhat retrofitted for the attack run. A pleasant nervousness flooded his body.
Been a long time, old man, and finally, after all these years, you’re going to get your revenge. The determined smile on his face would have required a power grinder to remove.
Gustavo sat in the navigations chair, which had been heavily modified to allow additional connections for him to guide and control a portion of the remote-control decoy ships. While he normally jacked in to the Váli’s guidance systems via a single one of the several ports hidden under his hairline at the base of his skull, for this particular mission, he had utilized every last one of them.
A braided loop of fine cables was now running from his head to the massive AI storage and processing mains of Mal’s home in the heart of the ship. The system had been massively fortified in the lead up to the attack, and Gus was more tied in than he had ever been in the past. For a man who spent every working shift with his mind jacked into a computer, that was really saying something.
“I have them dialed in and ready,” he mentally signaled Mal, still a bit unnerved that vocal communication was no longer necessary.
“All of your vitals are in the green, Gustavo,” the ship’s AI replied. “You’re doing great.”
Despite any reservations he may have had at the beginning of the mission, Gustavo reveled in the new sensations that engulfed him.
“This is amazing, Mal. I never realized it could be like this.”
“Don’t get used to it,” she replied. “I’m routing you directly through the additional AI processors and looping back into the backup data stores. This should boost your reactions a few thousand percent.”
“I can feel it,” he marveled.
“Good. Now stay focused. We are about to begin.”
Captain Harkaway looked around at the rag-tag team of scrappy survivors about to launch an all-out assault on the invaders who had conquered an entire planet in a matter of days. There they were, just a handful of hopeful warriors, about to run headfirst into the grinder. It was madness, but a sense of pride filled his chest just the same.
“Commander Mrazich, watch your starboard, you’ve got a big one floating your way,” Donovan’s voice crackled over their shared comms.
“I see it,” Mrazich replied, hitting his maneuvering thrusters and slipping out of the path of the enormous piece of debris.
“Oh,” Harkaway said, an idea forming in his mind. “Oh my!” he said and began to laugh.
“What is it, Captain? Is everything all right?” Donovan asked over the air.
“Oh yeah. In fact, it’s more than all right. I just had an idea, and I think you’re going to love it.”
“Lars, what the hell are you talking about?” Commander Mrazich asked.
“Inspiration,” he replied. “And thanks to you, I might add. Okay, everyone, listen up. Change of plans.”
“You can’t change plans. The mission is underway,” Mrazich growled.
“For this, yes, we can. Everyone find the biggest piece of scrap you can and position yourself against it. All the drones too.”
“What are you thinking, Lars?” Mrazich asked, more than a little confused.
“We’re going to use every ship we’ve got to rain down debris onto those comms stations, following behind in the very rear. It’ll look like another destabilized cloud of space junk falling out of orbit, and they’ll be so busy trying to knock down the pieces heading their direction with their cannons, they won’t even know we’re coming. By the time we start our actual assault, we might even be able to catch them with their ships still on the ground. Then we blast the ever-loving hell out of those bastards and take back our planet.”
A long silence hung in the vacuum over the open radio channel.
“Goddamn,” Commander Mrazich finally said with an amused chuckle. “Now that is something different. I like the way you think, Captain.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The massive Ra’az research facility sat near the water in the leveled waste of what was once San Francisco. The entire region had fallen early in the attack, a target of high value due to its richness of plunder, thanks to the efforts of Silicon Valley over the years.
Now the area where the wharf used to be was covered by an enormous building, the surrounding land nothing but piles of unsalvageable debris and churned-up soil.
Interestingly, the old tunnel connecting the East Bay with the ruins of the city was still intact. Daisy had made careful note of the long-silent access points, just in case a hasty egress was required.
“Come on. Not under the bay. There’s got to be a better way, Daze.”
It’s only a last resort option. Stop freaking out, she silently replied, settling in to ride out the uncomfortable wait.
“Waiting is the worst part,” Vince whispered, reading her mind. “The fighting could be intense, but this sitting around, the anticipation is killing me.”
The sky darkened momentarily as a massive vessel passed overhead. It appeared to be a barge-like craft, and was piled high with what had to be the choice technological plunder scavenged by the Chithiid slaves.
A trio of huge beings came into sight on the rooftop moments later. Much taller and tougher-looking than even the Chithiid, which, given the size of their four-armed servants, was really saying something.
“Oh my God, that’s what we’re fighting?” a stunned human gasped.
The Ra’az were bipedal and had only two arms. Two massive arms. Their hands possessed what appeared to be four fingers instead of five, but Daisy couldn’t quite see from their position.
One of them raised its arm, a thick loop of energy flashing out close to forty meters and wrapping around a support strut on the barge craft. With a series of tugs, the Ra’az helped guide the ship slowly down onto the rooftop landing platform four stories above.
“Makes your whip band look like a pea-shooter.”
I know. Did you see the reach on that thing? And the power it must require to pull a barge that size? No wonder they don’t give those to the Chithiid.
“I know what you’re thinking, Daze.”
Damn right, she replied with a quiet chuckle. I sure as hell want to get me one of those!
Daisy put the thought of adding the new toy to her arsenal aside and turned to her team.
“Okay, so now we know what we’re dealing with.”
While the team sat and quietly listened, not a one running for cover, the men and women’s faces nevertheless showed their true feelings.
&nbs
p; They were freaked out.
“Okay, yes, they’re big,” she continued. “And yeah, they’re strong too. Fine. But if these weapons can take out a metal-encased cyborg or blast through a solid door, it will take down a Ra’az just the same.”
“Daisy, the attack has begun,” Sid’s voice said over the encrypted comms device. “We are on a tight timeline now. The delay has been reduced to ten seconds, only. I will notify you the moment all three units are disabled.”
High above, the barge settled into its resting position as the Ra’az landing team returned inside the facility.
Come on, Craaxit, hurry up. Daisy realized she was bouncing her foot nervously and willed the limb to stop. Come on, come on, come on.
“Scanners and security feeds are down on the southern side. The access door will be left ajar,” the small comms unit in her pocket said. “It appears we can only block the external scans and loop the video feeds for five minutes. Go now.”
“You heard the man,” Daisy said.
“I heard chattering gibberish,” Vince said, “but I assume he said it’s time.”
“Yes. Systems are down on the southern side. Let’s move!”
The team took off at a run, the cyborgs hiding on the periphery but prepared to follow as soon as they saw the movement and Daisy’s signal. They would have no problem catching up with the slower humans.
Once inside, the building would be a safe haven for them. An oversight on the Ra’az’s part, they never set their scanners to face inside as well.
The attack team paused at the door. Two Chithiid with the tell-tale red armbands opened it and gestured them in.
“It is clear. Come now!”
Daisy waved her team forward, and they were quickly safe inside the building. She checked her countdown timer.
Two minutes and twenty seconds ahead of the cutoff. Not bad.
The two Chithiid looked over the group, nodded once, then took off the other direction.
“Okay, you know what to do. Pair up, humans and cyborgs. Plant the bombs on communications arrays and any non-warp craft. Remember, do not place bombs directly on warp ships. Disable them only. The Chithiid rebels with us have to scatter. They will support us as they can, but they can’t be seen with us or the jig is up. You all got it?”
