The Battle of Broken Moon

by Michael E. Gonzales

  "Sergeant, next time you need transport just, well, soon you'll know how to access Ismay. Then you can hit me, and I'll be here."

  "Thanks, Specialist, I appreciate that. Hey, one quick question, if you don't mind. How did you end up a SUB?"

  "I was ordered to attend jump school, ordered! That's supposed to be voluntary. I didn't want to go, I'm afraid of heights. Of course, something went wrong and I was left a paraplegic. I was lying in the hospital thinking up different ways to off myself when this bird colonel comes in. He said the Army takes care of its own. Ha, get that! Anyway, he made this offer; the SUB project or discharge, which of course meant a life going to the VA and some of those shitty robotic arms and legs they hand out. So, it was a no brainer from where I sat in a wheelchair. The way I figured it, they owed me. Of course, I ended up committed to life in the army. It's kind of a prison term, but hey, I'm walking and I'm on the Moon, sort of makes me an astronaut, huh?"

  In my room, I again stopped in front of the mirror. Walker apparently didn't see what I saw. Of course, he was all excited to see me. Perhaps, with time, he'd notice.

  I knew I had to tell him, and soon. The longer I waited, the more the lie was compounded. Then I thought of the trouble we could both end up in if it was discovered I'd told him; he would, of course, suffer the worst. I was too expensive for them to pull my battery, or something. However, there was no reason they should discover I'd told him. Walker was a smart guy with plenty of discretion. He knew better than to start blabbing. Yeah, I'd tell him the very next time I saw him.

  I was surprised when at 05:21 someone rang my doorbell. I opened it to find a full Colonel, his identifier illuminated, "LCDD - CYB - 001 - COL Wayne, Jonathan M. - LCDD CDR." The commander of the detachment was standing there in my door and oddly unaccompanied. This action was highly irregular. Normally, I would be summoned to his office, yet here he stood at my door. Lost as to how to act, I sprang to attention. "Sir."

  "Relax, Strum. May I come in?"

  "Yes, sir, of course."

  He came in and sat in the only other chair in my living room besides the sofa, the desk chair.

  "Sit down, Sergeant. Relax. This is an informal, and off the record meeting."

  I took a seat on the couch.

  "How are you adjusting?" he asked.

  "I don't think I know yet, sir. It's still very surreal."

  "I understand. You are one of the few who are a SUB because of such a situation."

  "Colonel, I'm not used to having the commander drop in at my billet."

  "You made this a great place to have a meeting," and he glanced up at the smashed smoke detector.

  "Sorry about that, sir. I still don't know my own strength."

  "There are not a lot of places in JILL not monitored. Fortunately, the computer I like to call 'Big Sister' has not yet been fully activated, so we're not yet under constant, round the clock surveillance."

  "As security is our mission, I'd think you'd approve of that kind of monitoring," I suggested.

  "Sergeant, I'm an American, we have always expected a degree of privacy in our lives. I understand that the situation up here is different but I'd feel better if the monitoring could really be restricted to maintenance, as we tell the population it is. That," he motioned toward the crushed mechanism on the ceiling, "is spying."

  "I'm sorry sir; I don't believe you came here to talk about sisters and cameras."

  "Straight to it then, I like that. It seems you have an acquaintance up here. Sergeant Pete Walker left a message at my office. He'd like to see you assigned to the same company he's in. Is he a former buddy from combat?"

  "No, sir, he was my roommate during Lunar School at the IIEA."

  "Your roommate? He should have been weeded out. We try to ensure no one from a SUB's former life comes into contact with him again."

  "I spent a couple of hours with him tonight, sir."

  "Yes, we know. Did you tell him anything?"

  "No, sir, not yet. But sir, I will. He's my friend. I owe him my life and I won't continue to lie to him. Besides, he already knows about the SUBs."

  "No, he doesn't. He thinks there are robots here. He knows nothing of the SUB program. Walker is a good man, good record, he was having some PTSD issues, but it would seem you helped him with that."

  I didn't respond.

  "Sergeant Strum, I'm sorry, but you can't reveal yourself—or the SUB program—to Sergeant Walker."

  "Sir, I can't go on lying to him. I won't."

  "Sergeant, if you tell your friend, I will have him sent back to Earth and his memory will be adjusted. I'm sure you are aware that procedure is far from perfect. He could end up an idiot or a vegetable. And although you can't be sent home, you would lose my confidence and could end up doing nothing but shit jobs for the next ninety years. I want to pre-empt that eventuality. I want your oath that you'll not breach Opsec. Or, I could save Sergeant Walker a horrible fate by have him arrested, this morning, and incarcerated until the next shuttles arrives to take him home—your call."

  "Damn, sir, you play a mean game of hard ball."

  "Do I have your oath?"

  "Yes, sir, you've got it."

  "I'm going to trust you based on your record. Remember, if you let me down, it’s your friend who will suffer."

  "Yes, sir. I understand."

  He rose to leave, and I got to my feet, as well. "Sir, may I ask a question?"

  "Yes."

  "Did Specialist McGregor tell you about Walker?"

  "No," the colonel responded simply.

  I shrugged and asked, "Then…how?"

  "Sergeant, I told you, there are few places in JILL not monitored."

  “So, sir, you met with me here because—”

  “Because, Mathew, you and Walker are quality individuals and I want you both in the detachment. But as I just explained to you, if you open up to Walker, and it’s discovered, my hands will be tied.

  “And one other thing…” He smiled and gently slapped me on the shoulder. “This conversation never happened.”

  Chapter 6

  Squad Strum

  About half-an-hour after the colonel departed, my doorbell rang again. I opened it to an attractive blond woman. She made me think of Susan.

  Over her face, I read, "JILL CYB-Lab - CYB - 16 - Tech, Marshal, Cassandra P." She brushed past me and entered directly into my quarters.

  "Well, hey. Come on in, Cassandra," I said.

  "Good morning, Sergeant Strum. You may call me Ms. Marshal. I am here to instruct you on your abilities and limitations. I am told you're a quick study. That's good, as I am very busy this morning. Sit down in the desk chair and move it here, where you can see the mirror."

  "I'd rather not look into the mirror, if you don't mind."

  "I do mind. The mirror is also a monitor onto which data is going to be streamed for your absorption."

  I sat down and looked into the mirror, the lights in the room lowered and the mirror faded into a black rectangle. A small blue light began to slowly flash in the center.

  "Sergeant, look at the light."

  As I looked, holographic images of computer code began to appear before me. The room around me faded away and my world consisted only of these images. I was aware they were affecting my mind but I didn’t know exactly what was happening.

  "Sergeant, as you are aware, you are no longer residing within your biological body, thus many of the limitations you have grown accustomed to all your life no longer exist. Your skeletal structure is now titanium. You are possessed of considerably greater strength and agility. You have greatly enhanced speed and clarity of thought, assisting you in this is your new ability to access the vast library of information through JILL's servers.

  "This is possible through your connection to the Ismay network. You can contact any entity in JILL that is also Ismay capable, which means for you that all coms will be accomplished through Ismay as all PDAs and COMdes are so equipped.

  "You will discover
that Ismay will allow you to have conversations in seconds that would take you several minutes in a spoken language. You will discover that multiple communications can be conducted, on several levels, and in several dimensions, simultaneously. You will find yourself speaking aloud only when necessary to interface with the Bios.

  "Keep in mind that all your parts are replaceable—except one. Your Biotronic brain is a one of a kind—irreplaceable. Just like the brain of any Bio.

  "Do not presume that you are now indestructible. All projectile weapons, laser, and photon weapons can damage or destroy you. You will feel pain, but you can diminish the level of that pain or shut it off entirely through individual sensors, as needed.

  "You are also vulnerable to extremes of heat and cold and your biological components are susceptible to radiation, though you can endure far more of these three for longer periods of time than your biological colleagues. Despite being hardened, you can be affected by a sufficiently intense Electro Magnetic Pulse, or EMP.

  "The palm of your right hand contains a CEW, or Conducted Electrical Weapon, commonly referred to as a stun gun. You can adjust its power output. Your left palm contains the sensors necessary to provide you a direct computer interface at any of the access pads located throughout JILL. Their locations are annotated on your internal map. These are redundant, really, thanks to Ismay, but exist to provide you a secondary and secure means of communication with the main computer. Do you have any questions?"

  "What's the stun gun for?" I asked, looking at my right hand.

  "You are law enforcement here. That, and your strength, are your primary means of self-defense."

  "How do I make a call on Ismay?"

  "A call? You mean initiate communications. Once Ismay is activated, you will have access to the digital communications interface catalog—the phone book, to continue your metaphor. You can connect with individuals or groups, you can also place net calls or simply open the net and listen to the traffic, and you can identify and isolate communications important to you. Private communications protocols will be available in your memory in a few minutes.

  "You will also be able to locate any entity or device with access to Ismay. All communications will produce, for the individual with whom you are speaking, an image of you as seen from the nearest of the many maintenance sensors located throughout JILL. Of course, you may, if you wish, disable this feature as you desire. All Ismay functions go through Ava, the base’s main computer.”

  "How do I use all this stuff?" I asked.

  "In a moment, I will activate all the features we have discussed and a tutorial will flash through your mind over Ismay."

  "What's my power source?"

  "You are equipped with a special graphene-based ultra capacitor, or G-Buc. You must recharge, on average, once every six months. You have a quick recharge station here in your room. But, should your power supply fall below twenty percent, you will have to report to the long term recharge stations in the Robotic Maintenance Bay. A charge to your battery from below twenty percent can take twenty-four to twenty-seven hours, so be mindful of you charge status at all times. Any further questions?"

  "None that come to mind right now."

  "Once you have access to Ismay, you will be able to receive answers to any future questions. Are you ready?"

  "Yes."

  "Just relax, Sergeant." From out of her pocket she produced what looked like a small, nearly paper-thin remote. "Look again at the blue light," she said.

  As my gaze fell on the blue light, it turned red, then it flashed in my face with great intensity. Before my eyes, I beheld yards and yards of code rushing past, followed by readouts of various systems and their status all flashing through my mind with great speed. I saw number and letter combinations that indicated the status of all my hardware, software, and biological components, and to my eternal amazement I fully understood each one with absolute clarity! I underwent an instant epiphany; as if, on graduation day, I suddenly understood all I'd been taught.

  My face must have betrayed me.

  "You are aware I take it?" Ms. Marshal asked.

  "Wow," I said, looking up at her.

  "Play with yourself and get a feel for things," she said nonchalantly.

  "I beg your pardon?"

  "You know what I mean."

  "I'm glad you messed that up."

  "Why?"

  "I was starting to wonder if you were a SUB or an Android."

  "Where I work, I am in constant communications with JILL's many computers. I oft times sound like them when I am required to speak aloud."

  "Do you ever get any down time?"

  "We do not require rest."

  "Your body doesn't, but what about your mind?"

  "Sergeant, my work here is done. Good morning," and she turned to leave.

  Quickly, I called up her identifier, "JILL CYB-Lab - CYB - 16 - Tech, Marshal, Cassandra P.", and called to her over Ismay. "Thank you Cassandra."

  She stopped and turned to look at me over her shoulder, just like Susan used to do. "You're welcome, Sergeant," she responded over Ismay, and then, she left.

  I sat there looking over all this information and, surprisingly, comprehending all of it. I was absolutely amazed. I decided to check my power supply. I was at ninety-two percent. I looked about for the recharge station she said was in my room but didn't see anything resembling the ends of jumper cables. I went into the bedroom where a queen-sized bed sat, neatly made. I turned around and said aloud, "Well, where the hell is it?" And just like that, the answer appeared in my mind. It was the bed. The bed was a quick recharge station, for use only if I had more than twenty percent charge remaining. Below twenty percent and I'd have to report to the RMB, Robotic Maintenance Bay, for a full G-Buc recharge, a procedure that would put me in stasis for a whole day.

  I decided to grab a bit of power, just to see what it was like, so I lay on the bed. As I did, I got a verbal message in a nondescript female voice, "You do not require a recharge at this time."

  I spoke aloud to…the bed, I guess, "Disregard and recharge me anyway," I ordered.

  "Request acknowledged. Please lie down and center yourself on the bed."

  Behind me, two small panels opened in the wall on either side of my head, and from these holes there extended arms with a sort of cone attached to the end of each. Once these were on either side of my head, the cones rotated so that their small ends pointed at my temples. I turned my head a little to look at the one on my right.

  "Remain still. Look at the spot on the ceiling," the bed instructed me.

  I brought my head back and looked up at the ceiling, there was no spot. "Hey, I don't see a—" Before I could finish, I felt a hot electrical shock at my temples. I turned off the tactile sensors at those spots and the discomfort went away. In my head, I saw a sliding scale bar quickly move from ninety-two to full, and the words, "CHARGE COMPLETE" appeared in my vision.

  I sat up, and rubbed my temples as I gradually brought my tactile sensors there back on line. "Hey, that was a dirty trick," I said aloud, but there came no response.

  ○O○

  At 08:00 Lunar, I was summoned to the office of the commander, Colonel Wayne. He had an office in dome one inside the administrative complex not far from the office of Mr. Peacock, the facility administrator. The colonel's secretary, a Bio woman about forty years of age, received me in the outer office. She announced me to the colonel and he asked I be shown right in.

  I knocked on his door and heard him respond with, "Come." The first thing I noticed as I entered was the presence of another uniformed officer seated in one of two chairs in front of the colonel's desk.

  The colonel sat with his elbows on the arms of his chair and his hands clasped at his waist. I walked directly up to the desk, threw him my sharpest salute and said, "Sergeant Mathew Strum reports."

  Returning my salute, he responded over Ismay, "Sit down, Sergeant, and relax."

  "Thank you sir," the remainder of our meeting was co
nducted through Ismay. It was odd to conduct a conversation with no one's lips moving.

  The colonel's identifier had appeared next to his head the instant I laid eyes on him. "Sergeant, I'd like you to meet my XO," I turned to my left, and over the head of the executive officer seated in the other chair came his identifier, "LCDD - CYB - 002 - LTC Pegram, Albert A."

  "Colonel Pegram, my privilege, sir," I said.

  He extended his hand and said, "No, Sergeant, the privilege is mine. I was Air Force and flew a relief mission to you guys in the Crusaders. I've flown over some tight spots, but that looked like the Alamo, down there. I'm pleased to meet one of the few survivors."

  "The Alamo, sir?" I did not understand the comparison.

  "Lieutenant Colonel Pegram is also a military historian," the colonel said. "Sergeant, we called you here to discuss your assignment. Work is completed on the new addition to JILL known as the Barbicane Science Center or BSC. For the foreseeable future, all arriving shuttles will be bringing equipment in for the many labs located there, and hopefully more LCDD personnel; the size of the detachment is going to triple in the next year in order to police the BSC. In the meantime, I need a platoon in there to do the work of a battalion. I'm promoting you to Staff Sergeant and giving you the assignment."

  "Can do, sir."

  "I knew I'd picked the right man. This link—" an HTML link appeared in my field of vision, and I saved it, "will give you access to the LCDD's personnel roster. I already know you're going to want Sergeant Walker in your contingent, that's fine."

  "And also Stabsunteroffizier Dolphus Kappel."

  "He's a German," the colonel noted.

  "Yes, sir, is there a problem?" I saw his eyes shoot a look at LTC Pegram.

  "How long have you known him?"

  "We started the IIEA lunar school together, sir."

  "Yes, I have his file now." He was examining it over Ismay. "Okay, he seems all right. I take it you trust him?"

  "What's going on here, sir? Last time I checked, Germany was on our side."

  Again, the colonel shot his XO a glance. "Sergeant, the remainder of this conversation is classified, you understand?"