If Kevin had control over his physical body, he’d probably shed a tear. He was acutely aware that someone he once considered a threat was risking her life to get him out of his predicament. That was an understatement, being a powerless witness to horrors such as seeing oneself kill someone else in cold blood, like when 8-3-9-6 had executed the emperor, was not something he’d ever forget.
At best, he’d have to learn to live with it. One could argue he had no choice, and no matter how much he told himself that, Kevin still thought that it was his actions that had brought him where he was today.
Sure he could never have anticipated that this would be his reward for saving Kalliopy; no good deed and all that, but now that he knew why she had betrayed him at least offered him some sense of logic.
Even if his relationship with his own sister hadn’t been the best in the last few years, if someone were holding her hostage, he would do whatever the person asked to try and save her. In this way, Kalliopy was no different than humans. It comforted Kevin to know that like on Earth, Arcadians valued family above all else.
Kregans, however, were another matter. And if they ever won the war, they might come to Earth next. As far as Kalliopy was concerned, Kevin was willing to forgive and forget, but first, he had to get out of this one alive.
* * *
Boomer darted forward and charged the space bug with all his might, hoping to push it out of the way. But things didn’t go as planned. The impact mainly resulted in activating his personal shield and he was sent crashing hard to the floor, while the bug didn’t even budge.
It didn’t even register his presence and kept firing at Kevin. Fortunately, the AI was doing a good job at erecting shields and counter attacking, but it didn’t look like he was inflicting any significant damage.
Maybe we should have spaced that thing when we had the chance.
There was no point in rehashing the decisions of the past, they needed to focus on the here and now. And, right now, they were in trouble. At least the AI controlling Kevin was too busy with the space bug and the rest of the battle raging around them to focus on trying to single them out and attack them.
Boomer? said a familiar voice inside Boomer’s mind.
Kevin? Is that you?
Yes, buddy. It’s so good to hear your voice.
It’s good to hear your voice too. We’ll get you out of here, just hang on.
Not like I have much choice at the moment.
Boomer heard a loud noise coming from behind and turned around. A missile had been launched from the forces on the other side of the throne room, a room that was turning into ruins with each passing moment.
It felt like time froze.
What’s going on? Boomer wondered, as everything around him seemed to happen in slow motion.
That’s a feature of your new smart armor,” said Mira. “When it detects your vitals are elevated as a result from a dangerous or potentially life or death scenario, it will inject your bloodstream with a compound that gives the impression that time has been slowed down considerably. Your brainpower, in turn, goes into overdrive, giving you more time to evaluate the best course of action.
Neat, it has a bullet time feature.
Boomer’s first instincts had been to jump out of the way of the missile but he knew that it could potentially hurt Kevin if it impacted with the bug. It seemed like the distance between him and the missile wasn’t safe enough for him to destroy the bogey with a missile of his own.
Taking the missile frontally didn’t seem like a good tactical option, considering that they still needed to deal with the AI controlling his friend. Which only left Boomer with one risky move.
Here goes nothing!
Boomer darted forward and jumped in the path of the missile, tilted his head and grabbed the missile in between his teeth. He then imagined he had rockets under his limbs and used them to alter the trajectory of the missile. Power rocket boots materialized and fired their payload to offset the force that was now dragging both Boomer and the missile forward. He pushed the rocket boots to their max so he could perform a one hundred and eighty degree spin on himself. He used his onboard HUD to calculate the exact angle, and the smart armor did the rest.
Boomer opened his mouth again and the missile returned to its sender. The explosion rocked the entire palace and parts of the ceiling collapsed, letting moonlight rays pierce through the heavy layer of smoke.
That was an impressive move, buddy, cheered Kevin.
Thanks, but I’ve had it with the situation, we can’t keep doing this for long, it’s too chaotic a situation to control.
What do you have in mind?
It’s time to get rid of both parties of this battle so we can focus on getting you out of here.
How do you propose to do that?
How else? A show of force.
Boomer regretted being unable to turn into a dragon. It would have been so much easier to incinerate the opposition in one fell swoop. But he thought of an alternate tactic to achieve a similar result. His back rocket launcher grew in size, going from a twin rocket-launching platform to a dozen tubes. Boomer unleashed hell from above toward the other side of the palace.
18
Boomer’s missiles arched down toward the lion’s share of the enemies waging battle on the other side of the palace. While he would have liked to see the result of their destruction, time was of the essence, so Boomer was already back on the move.
Time to thin the rest of the herd.
The ground started to shake heavily, and Boomer knew his missiles had reached their target. The temperature in the room rose quickly and everything took on an orange glow from the inferno he had unleashed.
The rocket launcher vanished off of his tiger body while Boomer morphed into a cheetah to achieve faster speed, fully armored as well. Two predator auto-targeting turrets materialized on his shoulder plates and two lightsabers positioned horizontally on the middle of his back and with a swoosh, the twin red-colored plasma blades came to life.
Nice way of going Darth Maul on the opposition, said Kevin.
Yes, the sabers should take care of anyone in my path, Ben Hur style, while the turrets do the rest.
Great strategy, but, please, be careful.
Boomer ran as fast as he could, slashing anyone foolish enough to remain in his path into pieces, while his turrets surgically took down enemies one by one.
Roger that. How are things on your side?
I’m waiting on Mira’s magic so that I can try and regain control, but if I can’t, you guys need to find a way to knock the crap out of me, but I’d appreciate it if you found a non-lethal way to do so.
That’s the plan we have in mind. In another minute or two I should be able to try and fire EMP-charged ammo your way.
That should do it, but Boomer?
Yes? said Boomer as he skid on the marble floor taking three enemies out with the lightsabers in the process.
If push comes to shove, you have to protect yourselves, even if it means ending me.
Kevin! I don’t wanna hear it! We’ll find a way.
But, Boomer. . .
No! We’ve not come this far to give up now, we’ll make this work.
There was a brief silence.
When did you get so brave?
I have a great master.
* * *
Altanor was furious at the report he had received. His troops were getting decimated on the ground. But at least the emperor had been killed, and he hadn’t heard from Xonax since that had happened.
He didn’t know if that was good or bad news, but he couldn’t spare any more men to try and capture the palace. Xonax’s force would have to do that for him.
Altanor’s ship was not equipped with transporters, so getting Kevin back from the ground was also something of a pickle. He didn’t trust Xonax in the matter. He never trusted that man to start with, but he had honored his promise to deliver Kevin before. The question was would he still cooperate now that he
seized the throne?
Kregan laws were clear: whoever kills the emperor becomes the emperor himself. That thought haunted him for a while, and perhaps there was a double coup to be attempted. Altanor the Kregan Emperor had a nice ring to it.
Still, first he needed to get back to the surface, to make sure Xonax didn’t renege on his promises and didn’t keep Kevin for himself.
“Get us down there,” he ordered.
“Getting past the palace defenses will be tricky,” said one of his crewmen.
“Then land us far enough to avoid their turrets, and we’ll walk the rest of the way.”
“Understood.”
Altanor’s ship changed course and soon entered the planet’s atmosphere.
* * *
Lacuna exited cover when her shields were fully recharged. With Boomer now mowing through enemies, they would get less taxed. But the moment she stepped out of cover, Kevin threw a powerful shockwave her way and sent her crashing into a wall. The stone cracked on impact, but the shield protected her body.
Ouch!
I’m so sorry, said Kevin. Maybe you should stay in cover, or turn into something faster.
I wish I could. Unfortunately, I have the most limited of smart armors. Ziron ran out of nanites and… shit. I can only morph weapons.
I understand. I just don’t want you to get hurt by my hands.
Don’t get sentimental on me now, we both know that a week ago I would have ended you without a second thought.
Which begs the question as to why you are helping me now? Not that I’m complaining about it.
Lacuna dragged herself back to her feet and used a nearby column to peek on Kevin’s position. That AI seemed to have eyes behind its back, but maybe it was just that it could focus better on the nearest threats now that Boomer had taken care of the background opposition.
It’s kind of a long story, and I don’t think now is the time to get distracted by it.
In any case, thank you.
Sure thing, just keep the faith, okay? We’ll get you out of here.
Will do.
The AI controlling Kevin’s body seemed occupied keeping the space bug at bay. He was in the middle of casting another spell when Lacuna thought she heard sobbing noises in her vicinity. She looked around and couldn’t see anybody.
That’s when she remembered the terrified girl. Trying to locate Kevin earlier had grabbed her attention and she had not given the female another thought ever since.
“Is someone there?”
“Please, don’t hurt me,” said a bodiless voice.
She sounded terrified and weak.
“I’m not going to hurt you, I’m with the Arcadian Confederate, well, kind of.”
A mess of light-brown hair rose from behind some nearby rubble. Lacuna could discern a dirty and bruised face.
“Then you must know my sister, Kalliopy.”
Princess bitch? All too well.
Lacuna had to refrain herself from cussing. “I’ve met her briefly, yes. She’s worried to death about you.”
“Is she here?”
“No, but she should be on her way. We’d better get you out of here before you get hurt.”
Well, more hurt than you already are, that is.
Lacuna was surprised at the emotion that engulfed her when looking at the princess’ sister. Was that pity? It sure wasn’t something she was used to feeling very often. It made her wonder if she was growing soft lately, but the flip side was that she liked herself better this way. Perhaps there was something to this being a nice person thing.
“Mira, can you scan the area?”
“The interference is pretty strong, but I’ve been working non-stop to improve the sensor range. Ever since Boomer dispatched most of the soldiers, my scans are able to get a clearer picture. What do you need?”
“Can you detect an Arcadian life form not ten meters from me?”
“Affirmative.”
“That’s Athala, beam her back to the Apophis and let Ziron and the princess know we got her sister back.”
Beams of light engulfed Athala and took her away.
“That’s excellent work, Lacuna.”
“Thank—”
But then a massive explosion threw Lacuna into the air.
* * *
Lacuna!! screamed Kevin in his mind.
8-3-9-6 had dodged a massive attack from the space bug, which impacted not three meters away from Lacuna’s current position.
She was catapulted into the air and bounced on the nearest wall before crashing down on the marble floor, head first. Her body was motionless.
Lacuna! Are you alright?
I think she lost consciousness, said Boomer.
I’m going to kill that thing, and then I’ll bury this AI too.
I like your enthusiasm, buddy, but one step at the time.
Anger rose inside Kevin’s mind, which made his inability to use his body all the more frustrating.
Mira, you have to help me regain control of my body.
I think I found a way to do just that.
I’m all ears.
Trying to find cracks in the AI’s firewall isn’t working, I lack the CPU power needed to break into these systems in a timely fashion. However, I think I found a way to get around it. As the AI searches your memories for strategies on fighting the space bug, it opens up options.
How so?
If you access the same memory as it does simultaneously, I should be able to patch you into its matrix.
What then?
That’s where it gets tricky. Once you’re inside its matrix, you’ll basically be an avatar in a foreign land. It will feel very similar to virtual reality. The rules will be a little different than the simulations, though, but I believe because of your vivid imagination, you can be anything you want and do anything you can think of within the matrix. It should divert 8-3-9-6’s attention enough that it will stop fighting your friends in the real world.
What about beaming the space bug away?
It’s in an enraged state at the moment, and I still can’t get a lock. We may have no other choice but to kill it.
Can you at least beam Lacuna and Boomer out?
I could, but then who’s going to fight the creature and protect your body?
That’s a chance I’m willing to take.
No! protested Boomer. Absolutely not.
I—I con—cur, said a weak Lacuna.
Lacuna, are you alright? Kevin asked.
It feels like my current headache might last for weeks, but the armor probably saved my life, all things considered.
I can’t let you two sacrifice your lives for me.
This is not open for discussion, roared Boomer, we’re not abandoning you! End of discussion.
I agree, we’re here, we’ll finish…this…together.
Kevin could tell Lacuna was in tremendous pain. Her voice was trembling, her words choppy.
Then, Mira, enough with the theory crash course, tell me what memory to look for. It’s way past time I gave 8-3-9-6 the payback it deserves.
There’s one more thing you need to be aware of, though. If you die in the AI’s matrix, I’m afraid you’ll die in the real world too.
Swell. No pressure, then.
19
Is everyone clear with what needs to happen? asked Mira.
We protect Kevin’s body from the space bug while Kevin fights the AI, said Lacuna.
Correct, Mira answered. And, Kevin, time might not pass at the same rate inside the AI’s brain, you may feel like you’re in there for hours when, it fact, only minutes will pass in the real world.
Understood, said Kevin. I just want to say thank you all for your help. It’s hard for me to express how much it means to me that you’re willing to risk your lives for me.
You would do the same for any of us, said Boomer.
Kevin would without a second thought. After being trapped in his own body, feeling utterly helpless, he had felt alone in the univers
e, and part of him thought he’d never see his friends and loved ones ever again. He also had felt abandoned. But obviously that was not the case.
Just so I understand, asked Kevin. I can fight the AI with anything I can think of?
Yes, confirmed Mira, once inside the Matrix you’ll be pure energy inside a circuit, represented by an avatar that can be anything you want it to be. There’s virtually no limit to what you can do. I do suggest that you try and make the combat as quick as you can, the more you let the AI adapt, the more it will use your own techniques and dig into your memories to fight back. Eventually, it could become better at using your vivid imagination to find ways of killing you.
But if I die, so does he, right?
Yes, but it doesn’t mean he’s not going to try to self-preserve. His chip can be removed from your brain, intact with everything he’s learned from your bond, so even if it may seem like a last-case scenario, I wouldn’t count on him not using lethal force against you. Unless he’s a very empathic AI.
No chance of that, I can safely say that fucked up piece of programming has no emotions whatsoever.
Then be very careful, Kevin. And, one last thing, you’ll lose communication with us and the outside world once in there. You can’t call for help.
Not ideal, but I’m going in to win and regain control of my body, so failure isn’t an option.
On some level Kevin was glad for that part. If he heard troubling news from the outside while he fought, it might distract him and prevent him from performing at peak level. Then again, that could be a great motivator to push him beyond his limits…but it didn’t make sense overthinking it, he’d never know since he’d have no contact with his friends once he went in.
I’m ready when you are. Just say the word, said Mira.
See you all in a little while. Ready!
Think of when you received your first computer on three, two, one…mark!
Kevin barely had to bring the surface of that memory to his mind when everything around him changed. He lost his view of the world and was transported into an ominous desert.
Across the Galactic Pond - Box Set: The Complete FAR BEYOND Space Opera Series Page 33
