We did agree to try to talk to them, did we not?
“Bangle is right,” Rachel pointed out. “Nobody wants to risk opening a channel to each other, so that means a face-to-face convo.” She met his worried gaze and seconded his worry. She was not looking forward to facing the scary robots either. Mostly she was trying not to think about that part because it was as scary as meeting Doc’s gaze. Not the moment to wet her pants. She’d gone before she put on the suit, but that felt like hours ago, instead of a few minutes. Oh, fear.
Someone is trying to access this outpost from the one you call Kikk.
That had to be Doc.
“I don’t think it is a hostile action,” Rachel hastened to explain. “They are worried about us. And the incoming squadron.” Still, this was not the time for other voices—like Doc’s— in the mix demanding explanations about how they got here and why she hadn’t left yet. They were in the chute. All they could do was ride that bronc until they got thrown or the buzzer went. “Could you let them see us, but not join the discussion?”
It would be good to have a record of what went down. Just in case.
“I thought you wished for input from your people?” Valyr asked.
“Too many cooks could spoil the soup at this point,” she said and was surprised when he nodded. Guess his people had soup, too. She looked around the room. Was she really looking for an optimal place to greet the robots? Like this was a wedding reception or something? For a moment she could almost hear the wedding planner from the one wedding where she’d been a bridesmaid.
“Now, girl, if you could just move here and put on your smile and your pretty.” A pause. “Well, just do your best, darling.”
Her eye wanted to twitch. That night, she’d have paid to get shot by a robot.
“We should probably have good cover initially.” She didn’t want to hide behind a console, though, because she didn’t want any of them to get shot up, and the security station was too close to the access hatch—
A concrete—or like concrete—block emerged from the floor just in front of the Urclock.
Like this?
“That’s perfect.” And surprising. Nothing wedding about it. Bonus. “It will draw fire from the consoles,” or where ever Bangle lived, “and it will give us a place to negotiate from.” She studied it. “Cool idea.”
The Phoenicopterians first developed the concept.
“Phoen—what?”
On one of the screens, an image appeared. Of a flamingo. Sort of a flamingo. In a uniform. She tipped her head to the side. She’d never seen an actual flamingo, just plastic ones in her mom’s yard. There were distinct differences. Like the freaking uniform it wore. She rolled her eyes at herself.
“I’d like to meet one of…them,” she said, tipping her head to the other side. If she ever had a house, she planned to have plastic flamingos in her yard, too.
They left for the sanctuary long ago. The Mycetarians sought their destruction.
Another image appeared, and Rachel flinched. There were worse things, she realized than facing some robots. Those where some evil looking stork-like creatures.
“I’d want to be in a sanctuary, too,” Rachel muttered. “They aren’t…close to here, are they?” She looked at Valyr, whose gaze slid away from hers.
You should ask our incoming visitors. They might have more up-to-date information.
“I’ll make a note of that.” Did Bangle recognize sarcasm?
A smaller, atmospheric capable ship has left the bogey and set a course for this outpost.
“Right.” Rachel knew the look she gave Valyr was full of tense. “Can you allow the link from Kikk?”
I will allow it.
“Thanks, um, let’s get in position.”
Her brain wanted to do equations on how long it would take their bogey-robots to get dirt side and then get down the tunnel, but she lacked key data for a proper equation. In the end, her brain produced: not long enough.
The protective block that Bangle had deployed was a little high for Siru to see over, but Rachel liked the height just as it was—the little guy rolled to a position directly in front of the block. Rachel gave Valyr a wide-eyed look and opened her mouth to protest. She realized Kid Rock was singing in the background, this time it was “All Summer Long.” She wouldn’t have thought it fit the moment but was surprised to find it did. They were trying a lot of different things.
“I am a protection robot,” Siru said, catching a bit of huff from Bangle.
Rachel couldn’t help looking from Siru to Valyr and back.
“He will not do any damage to anyone until it is required,” Valyr assured her.
Okay, that was not what she was worried about. She studied Siru, trying to see how it could do anything but cute someone to death. Apparently, Siru had hidden depths. Super hidden. She gave them both a thumbs up, which startled Valyr. Siru? Well, he was a rock…robot. He could probably out impassive Doc.
She looked around her. She had both guns, was there anything else—right. She bent and grabbed her backpack and took it with her behind the barrier. She glanced back. “Can we dim the Urclock’s lights? It’s gonna turn us into perfect targets.”
The lights lowered.
Pitch black. Who didn’t want to wait in utter darkness for some robots to arrive?
“Thanks, Bangle.” Why did it seem like her voice echoed now? “Okay, team. Let’s…do some diplomacy,” she said. Okay, that was not as fun to say as let’s kick some butt.
Even working in concert with Robert, they weren’t making much headway at cracking the outpost’s new defenses. Doc glanced back at Hel. He felt her look and met her gaze, giving her a reassuring smile from inside the force field or whatever it was that enclosed him. The lovesick hologram didn’t realize how connected they were. Doc could see and feel what he did, even as she worked on hacking the outpost. She received help from him.
“This is a tough nut, little sis,” Robert muttered. He gave Emily a worried glance. “Maybe you should—”
“I’m good,” she said. She did look fine. She’d pulled a table out of one of her many pockets and was reading—a mystery, she’d claimed.
Their surroundings were more mysterious than romantic. Not that she hated it. This where they’d been joined, their first marriage, though the General had insisted on a more legal service. The result was satisfactory, except when they got too far apart. Then it was itchy.
And this hacking was not going well. It was kind of like going to battle with herself—only without the scary overtones.
You do not scare me.
She ignored this interjection from the love of her life. She thought she saw an opening and doubled down. And got shut down. Either the guy they’d spotted had sentient nanites, too, or they were dealing with an AI with a lot of processors at its disposal. Even Hel’s Key DNA wasn’t helping all that much. Though he was able to keep the AI from shutting this outpost down again.
“The problem is, there aren’t that many ways in there from here…” She exchanged a look with Robert.
“You think maybe we’re trying to crack the wrong nut?”
“Military strategy counsels against a direct attack against a heavily defended position,” Doc agreed.
Robert brightened. “If we can reestablish a connection to one of the other outposts…” His voice drifted off as the movement of his fingers sped up.
Doc dived in, too. She ignored the weakened border outpost. Most likely the AI had heavily defended that weak point, too. She considered the other outposts. The other border ones didn’t appear to be as heavily defended. She did a mental eeny meany miney and started her assault on moe—a most gentle assault. She sensed the AI would be triggered by anything too aggressive.
The silence grew, but it was no longer a discouraged one. At almost the same time, Doc and Robert said, “I’m in.”
She gave him a grin that he matched his, followed by a tired laugh.
“That was a workout,” he admit
ted.
“Should we try at the same time or have one of us act as a possible distraction?” Doc asked.
“Distraction,” Hel said from his circle.
“Flip you for it?” Doc asked.
Robert shook his head. “Let me start—”
A video feed opened up with multiple views over his work console. He jerked his hands back.
“It wasn’t me.”
“It wasn’t me either. For some reason, it has decided to let us have a look.” Doc checked. “Yeah, all we can do is look. No talking allowed.” Now all she had to do was figure out what it was she saw.
It was the same view as before…but not. There were multiple feeds giving them multiple views, for one thing. And all the views looked they were preparing to hunker down for a battle. Dr. Frank as what? Die Hard?
Doc tried the comm again. She might have pounded it. No dice. She ground her teeth. What really pissed her off? She understood why. Based on the suddenly available tracking information, they’d just be a distraction right now. Still pissed her off.
“I’m guessing we don’t want to send this to the General right now?” Robert asked.
“I think it would give him a heart attack.”
She leaned closer as if that would help her see better. Was that—it was some kind of barrier in front of that clock thing. That was new, as was the little robot standing in front of the wall. Cute little bugger. Dr. Frank—she thought it was Frank decked out in body armor because she was shorter than the other figure—had moved behind the barrier, but had not assumed a defensive position. Doc might be a little jealous of that body armor. And the ray guns. The man next to her—was it the man from the earlier feed?—was also decked out in body armor. Big dude. Almost looked scary all suited up like that. Now she got a changed view. They were tracking a smaller ship that had left the bogey. It was on a course for the surface access tunnel shaft. If they were facing five oversize robots, they didn’t stand a chance, no matter how sassy their gear.
“I hate watching a massacre,” she muttered. Robert shot her a quick, sober look. And then the lights went down to oh-dark-nothing. Well, at least she wouldn’t have to see the massacre.
Then Robert said, “Look at that.”
They had squadron tracking back. Two ships—the transport and a single fighter escort—had broken off from the main body.
“Where are they going?” Emily asked. She’d put aside her book, her attention also caught by the mystery, or massacre, about to happen at the Central Outpost.
Doc considered the question. “What if they have ships’ hanger like we have here?”
“It’s possible,” Hel said. “That could mean the AI is working with Dr. Frank?”
“We can hope,” Doc said. It was all they could do right now.
Over her comm, Sergeant Carolina City, heard the Dauntless pilot giving them an update.
“We’re going to reduce our intercept time by diverting to the access shaft,” Captain Benjamin Bailey, USAF, said.
Next to her, Captain Luca Gibson, the Naval Flight Officer, piloting the transport shuttle, agreed with this assessment, though she could tell he wished they had a better sense of how long the descent would take. If it took too long, it might erase any advantage their course change had given them.
“I’ll go in first,” Bailey said. “If it looks like there’s gonna be trouble, well…”
City exchanged a wry glance with Gibson. Yeah, they knew what to do. If they had time.
Gibson sent agreement, then asked, “Any idea how long our descent inside will take?”
“No idea. Probably too long.” Bailey sounded a bit glum.
He wouldn’t, City knew, be happy about being diverted to accompany them down to the outpost. Not only did he risk missing any bumping of heads with the alien bogey, he’d be stuck on the ground with her and her rifle squad trying to hold a position with a sketchy sit-rep.
“The bogey has touched down on the planet’s surface,” Carey’s voice came over the comm.
“I have the outpost’s guidance signal,” Bailey responded. “I don’t see…there it is. I see the ship bay access opening. I’m going in.”
“I’ve got it, too,” Gibson echoed. “I’ll be on your six.”
Their surface ship dropped the three of them near the access tunnel and lifted off again. With the cloaked and unknown squadron out there somewhere, CabeX did not want the small ship sitting on the surface. It would assume a low altitude course for a quick pickup if it became necessary.
OxeroidR took the lead, Kraye in the middle and CabeX bringing up the rear. They had full scanning activated, but there was not much to see on the barren surface of this small planet. Both the border outpost and this one had experienced planetary drift, based on the data they’d extracted from their first foray. The surface of this planet was pockmarked with asteroid hits, and the surface structure had sustained considerable damage. The atmospheric readings showed high toxicity levels. Swirls of wind stirred the dry red and brown dirt and, because they had 180º of view, he knew that same wind erased their footsteps almost as soon as their feet lifted for the next step.
There was nothing here to attract scavengers except for the underground outpost. If one didn’t know it was there, one would move quickly on. The extreme barrenness upped the appeal. With a little work, it could be perfect, though this had not been the plan when they left their region of space. Despite a consensus about this from all the crew but Kraye, his link with his crew on the Najer simmered with unhappiness. The list of what they did not like was not long.
They did not like such a small team going into an unknown situation.
They did not like CabeX’s orders to destroy him if he showed signs of a code compromise.
They did not like to miss meeting with a possible sentient system.
If they’d known about the messages, there would have been another addition to the list, but it was enough unhappy for now.
In front of him, Kraye moved somewhat clumsily in the heavy suit required to protect his human skin from the toxic atmosphere. Everything about their exoskeleton was designed to protect against harsh conditions, both atmospheric and from hostile actions. They could endure heavy fire for long periods without sustaining serious damage. Even with the protective suit, Kraye could not.
He was lightly armed. His purpose on the mission was not about weapons, but words.
CabeX and OxeroidR were never not heavily armed. It was one of the reasons he’d reduced the size of the insertion team. He wished to exude tempered power. He wished the entity to know they could take what they wanted, but they’d chosen not to. This was not a tactic they’d been programmed for. In the past, when they’d been sent it, it was as power’s hammer. The blunt fist of pure force.
This was their choice. To make this choice, they were willing to take the associated risks.
OxeroidR halted, a hand lifted to stop them as well. He lowered his main defensive arm, the weapon deploying as he moved toward a semi-collapsed wall, shifting his body to cover possible fire from dangers not visible behind the half-fallen walls. After a visual survey, he beckoned them forward.
They were programmed to balance risk and reward, but they all knew the real risk was after their descent where there would be better opportunities for an ambush.
CabeX studied what was left of the structure as they progressed toward the access tunnel. There were signs this had been a multi-room enclosure. But indications of its purpose were long gone. The collapsed, partially missing walls, marked the outlines of several rooms that surrounded the access tunnel box. It was visible, but there was not a direct path through the tumbled debris.
Despite his assessment of low threat level, CabeX continued to scan the area as they made their way past pitted walls to the rust-streaked box. OxeroidR circled it, scanning for structural integrity. It appeared to be intact though for how long was uncertain. It had sustained damage. From their experience at the last outpost, these tunnels were h
eavily strengthened. It was curious that they had this surface access to the outpost through this tunnel. Had the humans who built these outposts been unable to face the deep complexes without some access to the surface, no matter how inhospitable? Or were they necessary in some way? They were not large enough to bring in large supplies. Logic dictated there was larger access elsewhere. He looked forward to exploring the outpost and finding out.
Now OxeroidR halted at the entry point and prepared to breach the door. The control panel next to this access was a broken square with a few pieces of rusted wire hanging out. He hoped that opening this wouldn’t result in a catastrophic breach. They did not wish to fill the lower levels with a toxic atmosphere.
CabeX checked Kraye’s propulsion pack and then deployed a safety line between them. For the descent, Kraye would bring up the rear using a remote-controlled propulsion unit. CabeX would control this unit since Kraye had used it before.
OxeroidR applied the XYP-50 to a gap in the hatch doors and then activated the prying mechanism. With a drawn-out shriek, the hatch began to open. As soon as there was a gap, OxeroidR sent a drone down to secure video and assess risk factors. The other outpost had not had protections in its access shaft, but that did not mean this one would not.
With a low hum, the drone descended into the shaft, a red light punching into the deep darkness to scan the walls as it dropped. A view opened up as they received visual from the drone. The shaft was heavily damaged, so even if they’d been able to summon the lift, it would not have been able to make it to the surface.
When the drone was about halfway down the estimated drop, it stopped, it’s light and video playing over the top of what appeared to be the lift. It approached it, scanning as much as it could.
“It appears to be intact,” OxeroidR said.
CabeX created a hologram for Kraye to see.
“Is that an open top access hatch?” Kraye asked.
Lost Valyr: Project Enterprise 7 Page 18
