“8-3-9-6 to the bridge on the double,” Altanor’s voice boomed through the room’s speakers.
Kevin’s body jumped out of bed faster than it ever had, and, a minute later, he was on the bridge.
Altanor was standing near the ship’s viewport, his hands behind his back, looking at hyperspace lines streaking past the ship.
“We have a new mission. A real mission this time.”
What was the last one about, then? asked Kevin in his mind.
I believe they wanted to test my efficiency at controlling you, said 8-3-9-6.
Oh, I see, a beta test.
I’m unfamiliar with this term.
Of course you are.
“I’m ready,” said 8-3-9-6.
“Obtaining that body and brain to implant you in came at a price. Succeed on this one mission and we can return to our pillaging routine, freeing us from any debts to the Kregan. But first, we have someone we need you to kill.”
“I understand. Who do I have to kill?”
“That’s the tricky part. It’s Emperor Yxantion himself. Do you think you can do it?”
What the hell? I’m going to kill someone else?
Technically, I’ll be the one doing the killing, said 8-3-9-6. You’ll just be observing.
Kevin wanted to argue but contained himself to avoid physical retribution. Still, he didn’t like the idea. Even if 8-3-9-6 was the cold-blooded murderer here, the end result was the same. Kevin would become a wanted fugitive, most likely forever. All everybody would remember is the face of the one who killed the emperor, they wouldn’t buy it that he was under the control of an evil AI. He really needed to find a way to recover his body. And fast.
“There’s no way for me to calculate odds without knowing more about the mission.”
“I’m uploading the plan we’ve devised,” said Altanor as he keyed commands to the holo-screen on his wrist device. “It will require some stealth on your part. We can’t attack them frontally, though we’ll be providing a diversion to give you a window of opportunity for you to take Yxantion out. Also, you’ll have some of my backdoor security codes for the palace, this will make your incursion easier.”
“Analyzing data…” said 8-3-9-6.
There was silence for a handful of seconds until 8-3-9-6 announced the odds.
“I believe this mission has a sixty-eight percent chance of success.”
“That’s actually higher than I expected,” said Altanor.
“I should mention that the odds for Kevin’s body to survive are less than ten percent.”
What? No!
“That’s unfortunate. Is there a way to boost these odds?”
“I can try shifting priorities to a fifty percent chance of the body surviving, but that lowers the chances of success to thirty-five.”
Come on, buddy, I’m sure you can make it work, said Kevin.
Your attempts at swaying me are futile. I only answer to Altanor.
Well, I had to try.
“That’s too low. Let me ask you this. Do you think you’ve gathered enough data to operate another body if we lose Kevin?” asked Altanor.
So now I’m expendable? That’s just great.
“I believe so, but I’m afraid it may require another human. However, I have unfettered access to this boy’s memories, he has a sister, she could be a valid candidate.”
What? NO! Don’t you fucking dare! protested Kevin.
Pain overloaded all of Kevin’s senses, making him feel like he got hit by lightning multiple times.
Kevin’s eyes closed for a second and reopened in a very robotic way.
“What was that?” asked Altanor.
“I had to discipline the host body, the setting was rather high, and so he lost consciousness. I took over.”
“Why don’t you operate this way all the time then and keep him asleep? From the little I’ve talked with him, he’s a chatty fellow and really has a rebellious attitude to boot.”
“Affirmative,” said 8-3-9-6. “I have noticed that as well. Don’t worry, I can curb him. My efficiency in using Kevin’s body drops by up to forty percent when he’s not awake and aware of his surroundings. His brain access to his central nervous system and five senses sends real-time signals to my CPU that allows me to optimize my motor functions control override over his body.”
“That’s a mouthful of technical explanation,” Altanor complained.
“In simpler terms: the mission would not be possible for him when he’s unconscious.”
“I see. Your creator told me you could operate bodies even when the host was suppressed.”
“Correct. For most species the impact to the body is negligible. However, this is not the case for these humans. The link between body and mind in humans is simply too strong.”
“Oh, well, let him witness it all then.”
“Understood. I take it you’re willing to accept the more than likely loss of his physical body? I’ll still be able to control part of his consciousness afterward, but only if you provide me with a new human body.”
“Not to mention surgery to install the tech sorcerer’s augments on another human. But, yeah, let’s go with the higher odds of eliminating Xonax’s father. Once he’s out of the way, and if Kevin doesn’t survive, then we’ll swing by Earth and get you some new flesh to wear.”
10
“Ready to beam to the ship,” said Lacuna.
“Hold on,” said Ziron.
He spat on Lacuna’s chest.
“Ewww, what the hell is wrong with you?”
“You’re gonna need this.”
Lacuna looked in disgust as the gooey sputum morphed and enveloped her body.
“What is this? I think I’m going to puke.”
“Settle down, they’re just nanites, not spit. Billions of them, mind you, but still.”
“Sure looked like a loogie when it landed. What is it for?”
“It’s another smart armor.”
“I can turn into one of those big cats like Boomer?”
“They’re called white tigers, and no, I’m afraid not.”
“Why not?”
“I was working on this one for Kevin after I had finished Boomer’s. I barely had enough nanites and not enough memory storage ones. So this is a very basic layer of protection.”
“I never used one of these, so you’ll need to give me a crash course.”
Boomer came back into the bridge; he was in tiger form with full protective armor. He looked sad.
“You alright, buddy?” asked Ziron. “Why are you in this form?”
“They kept crying,” said Boomer, “to the point where they made me cry. I thought by transforming they’d get scared and it would make them afraid of me, you know, maybe if they feared me, the separation would be easier.”
“How did that plan go?”
“Let’s just say it didn’t work, but I’m too upset right now to transform back. Let’s get out of here before I change my mind about the kittens.”
“Did you think you’d be less likely to shed tears as a tiger than you would as a beagle?” asked Ziron.
“Can we change the subject, please?” asked Boomer. “Are we good to go?”
Lacuna smiled. “We’re fine. Why don’t you go ahead onto the ship first while Ziron explains to me how limited my own smart armor is compared to yours.”
“Oh, you’re getting one too, neat. Sure, beam me up, Scotty.”
Ziron hovered to the nearest console and stopped and stared at Boomer. “Be careful, okay?”
Boomer nodded. “You too.”
Streaks of green light engulfed him, and he vanished into thin air.
* * *
“You can’t morph into anything, I’m afraid,” said Ziron.
“Okay, let’s skip the don’ts of this thing and tell me what it can do.”
“Shields are at half power, and they’ll be able to recharge pretty quickly if they’re not taxed too much. Since there’s limited storage on that
thing, you won’t have an AI to help you like Kevin had with Mira in the previous model. But you can invoke any morphing weapon you can think of, blasters, blades, both metal and energy-based, rifles…”
“Neat. How do I do that?” asked Lacuna.
“Just think of a weapon in your hand and it will be there.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, why don’t you try it?”
Lacuna looked at her palm and a Tranaxian blaster, her favorite hand-held model, materialized in her hand.
“Wow. That’s quite amazing tech.”
She pointed the gun at Ziron’s head and smirked.
Ziron’s eyes grew wide. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
The blaster disappeared and was replaced by a gun made of Lacuna’s index finger.
“Relax, I was pulling your leg. Looks like it worked a little too much too,” said Lacuna pointing at the pillow, which took on a darker shade.
“Yeah! I just soiled myself.”
Lacuna chuckled. “I can see that. I’m sorry.”
“This isn’t funny.”
“You have to admit it’s a little funny. I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Don’t you ever do that again!”
“I won’t. Don’t worry.”
Ziron smelled his wet tail and cringed, and then he started licking it.
“Eww,” said Lacuna. “I’m gonna pretend I didn’t see you do that. What else should I know about the armor?”
“Think of your power reserve.”
A holographic HUD appeared in front of Lacuna’s field of vision.
“Wow, nice!”
“Be aware of your power reserve at all times, you don’t want to run out in the middle of a deadly fight. Fortunately for you, since the armor nano-morphic features are almost non-existent beside the morphable weapons, the power source will last much longer than most of my other smart armors. But don’t let that be an excuse for you to get too cocky.”
“Cocky?”
“Wrong choice of word, I guess.”
“I’d say so, yes.”
“Never mind that. Just be aware of your power reserves. You can also contact Mira aboard the Apophis, or Boomer. Just think of them, and you’ll open a subspace link directly to them, like telepathy.”
“What’s an Apophis?”
“That’s the name of the destroyer I gave you. They’ve all sustained some heavy damage during our last engagement with the Kregan and their auto-repair circuitry is much slower than my own. After I beam you, I’ll try and make some optimizations to it so that the ship can repair itself faster. I would have done it earlier, but I only have two hands and crafting even these primitive smart armors in the amount of time I was given, well…let’s just say I haven’t slept in three days, maybe four.”
“I hear you. Thanks for all the hard work.”
“Just promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Bring Kevin back, no matter what, I don’t think I could live with the guilt if something happened to him.”
“We’ll get him back, I promise.”
“Good luck.”
“To you as well.”
Ziron beamed Lacuna onto the Apophis, but something went wrong and Lacuna rematerialized in space.
“Arrrrrrrg.” She screamed for a long time.
She heard a giggle inside her mind, and then Ziron’s voice came in loud and clear. “Oopsy.”
“Ziron? Why are you laughing, and why am I not dead?”
“Your smart armor shield is active, it’s protecting you from the void of space, and well, I couldn’t help it.”
“You little furry bastard. Now I’ve soiled myself!”
“You now know how I feel, and I guess we’re even then. Stand-by.”
Green streaks of light engulfed Lacuna, and she arrived on the bridge of the Apophis.
“Ho ho h. . .,” chuckled Boomer, “whoa, what happened to your pants?”
Lacuna’s face turned red and she cringed. “This place better have uniforms my size.”
* * *
“What do you mean they left?” asked Kalliopy.
“Boomer wanted to go with her, so I let them both go,” said Ziron.
“And you didn’t think to include me in making that decision?”
“You had told us you needed to sleep, I didn’t think it was worth waking you up.”
Nor telling you that I was giving them one of the destroyers.
Ziron had to suppress a smile at the thought.
“Well, you were wrong. Though I suppose I did give you conflicted orders. What if Boomer and that tramp try and rescue Kevin?”
“The way I see it, that wouldn’t be the worst outcome.”
“I thought we agreed we need to rescue Athala first. Or have you forgotten that conversation?”
“I haven’t, and with all due respect, the only reason I didn’t go with them myself is to help you achieve that.”
Ziron could tell Kalliopy was angry, but she took a deep breath.
“Fair enough. I also want Kevin safe. Hopefully, we can both achieve our objectives.”
Finally, some compassion for the one person that freed you, thought Ziron.
“Yes, hopefully.”
“How far are we from the rendezvous point with the dreadnought?”
“We should be there within the hour.”
“Good, keep me posted the moment we exit hyperspace.”
“Will do, your highness.”
“And Ziron.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I don’t want you to think I’m heartless or that I don’t care about Kevin. Nothing is farther from the truth, but…she’s my sister. I have to try and save her. If she were safe, if Xonax didn’t have her and torture her to get to me, I would have gladly given my life for Kevin’s, you have to believe me.”
Ziron tried putting himself in her shoes, and he could see her predicament. He could tell from the tone of her voice that she genuinely believed what she was saying. Ziron felt sorry for her, it must not be an easy position to be in.
“I understand. You don’t need to justify yourself to me…but thank you for sharing your thoughts.”
* * *
Xonax’s angry face filled the holo-screen on board the pirate ship.
“Report!”
“We’re on our way to Kregan Prime. Kevin is ready.”
“What do you mean Kevin?”
“I’ve turned him into a tech sorcerer, he’ll dispatch your father for you. But let’s be clear, once this is done, that will have paid my debts to you.”
“Yeah, yeah…you have my word. I’m curious how you convinced the boy to do this for you.”
“He doesn’t really have a choice. I’ve implanted an AI in his brain, he’s not in control of his actions.”
“I didn’t think you could be that devious, Altanor. Color me impressed.”
That’s fine by me, keep underestimating me, so that I can keep your father’s throne once I get it.
“We’ll need to create a distraction once we’re there though…we could use more firepower.”
“What do you expect me to do? Attack my own people?”
“At the moment, they’re your father’s people. And last I checked, you are attempting a coup, so yeah, pretty much.”
“Touché. Very well, I have a package to recover first, but I’ll meet you there, you’ll have whatever forces I have left to help you in your mission.”
“That’s more like it. Smile, Xonax, you’ll be emperor soon.”
“First you need to deliver my father’s head.”
“Don’t worry about that, you’ll have it. As long as we’re clear that I’m keeping the AI, and the boy, if he survives.”
“What do you mean if he survives?”
“That’s not exactly going to be the easiest of missions. I’m confident of its success, but I can’t guarantee the
boy won’t perish in the attack.”
“I’m not sure that’s acceptable, his brain is very valuable.”
“Don’t I know it, but let’s not forget one thing, he’s mine, whether or not he’s still alive after the mission.”
Altanor could tell Xonax wasn’t happy about being reminded of that detail.
“Understood. We’ll rendezvous with you tomorrow, then once it’s nighttime, we’ll help you attack the palace.”
“Make sure that you do.”
11
Kevin was counting the minutes until the AI had to power down to regenerate. On his way back to his quarters, he noticed that the cell he was previously held in wasn’t that far from where he was sleeping now.
He would only have five minutes to act and while this didn’t give him enough time to try and free himself from the AI, perhaps he could check on Leg’olas.
Why aren’t you sleeping? asked 8-3-9-6.
It’s hard to find sleep when one knows that the next day they’ll be assassinating the most important man in this galaxy.
You shouldn’t worry yourself with such thoughts, it’s not like you have any choice in the matter.
Look, you don’t have emotions, but I do. And I think that’s why our brains are superior and why they wanted me for this mission.
Your brain has an incredible ability to learn fast. But I doubt your emotions are the reason. If anything, emotions are hindering your potential.
Well, believe what you want.
I can’t have you pass out from tiredness tomorrow, and this could put both our existences in jeopardy. I could zap you unconscious if that would help you sleep.
If you want to take the risk to damage my brain and perform mediocrely tomorrow, be my guest. Perhaps if you stopped chatting me up I would have an easier time at finding sleep.
That’s a fair point.
Interesting. Kevin had simply assumed that maybe the brain zappings might be detrimental to his brain efficiency over the long run, but that had been a bluff on his part. Apparently, that was something he could use against the AI.
It would also help if I could find a comfortable position to sleep.
Across the Galactic Pond - Box Set: The Complete FAR BEYOND Space Opera Series Page 28
