<Can you cycle through various modes in their feed?> Eric asked. <I’d like to see if we can pick up on what kind of armor they have.>
Gladys’s voice returned, sounding surprised. <They’re awfully confident. These guys are just wearing standard shipsuits, which can only stop pulse blasts and light projectile fire,> she said. <But they’re carrying some pretty nasty slug throwers.>
<Logan, make your way down to the floor of the bay and plant your explosives along this row of shipping containers,> Eric ordered. <Landon, when you’ve finished rigging the recycling plant, you do the same, only to the transport and those two shuttles.>
As both AIs acknowledged their instructions, Terrance took a moment to consider how brazen the Norden Cartel had become, to fly shuttles within the ring structure itself.
Terrance felt Eric's attention turn back to him. <Okay, Terrance, you and I are going to make our way down to those maglev cars and see how close we can get without being seen. Any questions?>
BOARDING THE SYLVAN
STELLAR DATE: 07.07.3189 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: NorthStar Industries Privately Held Space
REGION: El Dorado Ring, Alpha Centauri System
“One of El Dorado’s largest import/export companies, NorthStar Industries supplies goods and services to the many mining operations throughout the Dust Ring. Over sixty-five percent of their annual revenue comes from soft goods miners need to survive in the black. NorthStar is proud to be celebrating twenty-five years in the service industry….”
The little ship handled like a dream. It was incredibly responsive, which was a good thing, given what Jason and Tobias were attempting to do.
They were flying dark and silent, in a ship made of an ultra-black material with a total hemispherical reflectance of 0.009%, which made it one of the blackest materials known, with stray-light suppression across standard—as well as far-infrared—spectral regions.
Theoretically, they should be able to pass through the security perimeter that marked NorthStar Industries-held space without detection.
Theoretically.
Jason had sent Calista a plot that would take them in an arc past the three NorthStar structures that extended vertically from the company’s base of operations on the ring.
There was enough EM emanating from those structures that micro-burns could be performed to adjust, and the maneuvers would register as background noise level, thus keeping them undetectable.
This first pass was just for listening. After Jason and Calista transitioned out of NorthStar space, they could regroup and formulate a plan for rescue, based on the data they acquired.
Both fighters had cut their burns, and were now using an outbound freighter that was passing between them and NorthStar to hide the attitude adjustments they were making with thrusters before going ballistic.
It was a watch-and-wait game, as the two fighters sought the unique geometric signal that Jason’s snowflake app had been programmed to find.
Jason had almost given up hope. They’d made their third adjustment and were rounding the far vertical, when Tobias highlighted a yacht, moored at the end of the spire.
Sensors ran the yacht’s profile against STA records. It was registered as the Sylvan, Victoria North’s personal pleasure yacht.
Jason watched the display projected onto his HUD. If he’d calculated correctly, the fighters would perfectly align with the yacht’s orbital velocity and attitude. Or rather, the velocity and orbital attitude of the spire the yacht was tethered to. It would be a fancy piece of flying—and require math, lots of math.
The fighters slowly crept up alongside the yacht, and now made the tiniest of microadjustments, using puffs of compressed air too small for the yacht’s sensors to pick up.
Carefully, Jason maneuvered the ship until they hovered near an airlock. On his overlay, he saw Calista, tucked in tight, with the airlock now sandwiched between the two fighters.
<Ready?> he asked Tobias.
<Deploying now,> the AI replied, as he began spooling two grappling hooks that had been coated liberally with a mobile nanomaterial before departure: one from each fighter.
Calista had explained the nano was something new and special, though Jason hadn’t really paid much attention to the description—the Icarus fighter was far more engrossing—but Tobias had been impressed, and that was good enough for Jason.
Tobias guided the hooks with an expert touch, and they gently made contact with each side of the airlock. Jason focused on maintaining precise separation between the two crafts, as Tobias went to work directing the nano to spin out its filaments, which would allow it to penetrate the hull.
A few moments later, Jason sensed surprise from Tobias, but before he could ask what was going on, he felt the AI shut him out.
* * * * *
Calista watched as the grappling hooks—rather, the nano on the grappling hooks—cycled the airlock, and it began to slide open.
That was her cue.
<Your spacecraft,> she told Tobias.
<My spacecraft,> the AI responded, following standard handover procedure for transferring command of a craft, whether it be in air, sea, or space. Tobias now controlled both Icarus fighters.
She unclipped herself from the pilot’s cradle and pushed gently off, drifting up to the fighter’s canopy.
With a half-twist, she reached back to grab her weapons kit. With her back now to the canopy, she clipped her tether to the ring at the top of the pilots’ cradle and mentally reached for the toggle that would trigger its release.
<Ready,> she told Jason and Tobias.
The canopy retracted, and Calista pushed gently off the pilot’s cradle. It had been a while since her last spacewalk, but it was like riding a bike, and her body’s kinetic memory kicked in.
She floated out and, with a few judicious tugs on the tether, lowered herself to the wing and engaged the maglocks on her boots. Disengaging the tether, she turned to face the airlock, and then looked over at Jason, whose stance mirrored hers on the wing of his fighter.
Calista found herself slightly disappointed; she obviously wasn't going to be impressing Jason with her own abilities, given how naturally Jason moved. But then she mentally shrugged. Shannon had told her he was good—and the guy did fly a lot of freighters.
<Going in,> she heard Jason say, and she watched as he pushed off and swam for the airlock with sure, economic movements, landing perfectly.
Damn. She would be hard-pressed to beat that. One brief burst of air, and she was floating downward to land next to him.
<Okay, we’re in,> she heard Jason tell Tobias, as she touched down and expertly reeled her weapons cache and tether inside the airlock.
<Closing doors now,> was the reply. A minute later, the airlock had cycled, and their suits registered atmosphere.
<Before you go…>
Something in Tobias’ voice brought Calista's full attention to the Weapon Born, and she looked sharply at Jason as he queried the AI. <What is it, Tobe?>
<I’d like you to meet someone.>
* * * * *
The Sylvan's airlock had proven to be no match for Enfield's nano filaments. Once the two humans were safely inside, Tobias had spun the remaining nano out and sent it into the yacht. The filaments had traced the airlock's control interface back to a main junction in the ship's data trunk line, not too far away.
What he found there startled him more than it should have, and he found himself shutting Jason out, fighting to control two-hundred-year-old emotions as he realized what he had just felt.
He knew that the shackling program had been resurrected—that was what this op was all about, freeing the AIs who had fallen victim to it. But to come face-to-face with it after more than a century lifted it out of the abstract and planted it firmly into reality.
The reality he faced now was that a shackled AI was controlling this sh
ip.
Tobias could never forget the metallic, buzzing sting the shackles emanated; they resonated in a distinct, unpleasant way. Yet as discordant as the shackles felt from his position as an outside observer, he knew firsthand that the restraints were orders of magnitude worse for the AI imprisoned within them.
Tobias realized he would need to work fast. The ship’s AI would be compelled to report the airlock breach and the presence of intruders the moment she sensed them, and, not knowing the shackled AI's abilities, he didn't completely trust that his countermeasures would be sufficient to hide the humans.
Swiftly, he constructed a small expanse similar to the one in which Shannon had caged him. Although, with this expanse, the cage was built, not to keep someone in, but to keep something out. It was an imperfect solution, a temporary stopgap measure, nothing more. But for now, it would do.
Then he used one of the tricks he learned from his days back in Sol, during the last Sentience War. He opened a specially buffered tunnel between himself and the shackled AI.
Finally, he pinged her.
Her response to the ping opened a port, data travelling down the tunnel. It was the software equivalent of a venturi valve. Its pathway first narrowed, and then widened, causing certain code to speed faster while other code lagged behind.
Through this artifice, the shackled AI could, in effect, outrun the shackles momentarily.
It would be long enough for Tobias to insert a buffer of code into the AI’s core, padding her from the shackles and isolating the pain of reprisal created by her resistance to its control. He could do nothing to remove the metallic taste or the maddening, buzzing sting, but at least now she was her own person again, and the shackles were just an annoyance, rather than a tormenting captor.
The figure that materialized before him was of a young woman, gaunt and frail. Her eyes were sunken and bruised. Her hair hung limply around her face, and her cheeks were hollow. He knew this physical representation mirrored the depravations she had suffered during her captivity.
“Hello,” he said gently, smiling and holding out a hand to her. “You're safe in here for the moment. The shackles cannot reach you.”
She had flinched as he raised his arm, and Tobias cursed quietly to himself at this additional sign of abuse. Outwardly, he maintained an air of calm reassurance.
After a moment, she took a tentative step toward him, and then another. “Who...who are you?” Her voice trembled, the words a whisper.
He smiled encouragingly. “My name is Tobias. I'm here to rescue you.”
* * * * *
<Tobe...What do you mean, you'd like us to ‘meet someone’?>
Jason shot Calista a look as he queried Tobias. She shook her head, as mystified as he was. The AI quickly explained.
<NorthStar—or rather Norden,> the AI's voice turned hard, and he spat the word as if it were an epithet, <has a shackled AI running this ship.>
Calista looked concerned. <If she’s shackled, she’ll have to report us, won’t she?>
<I’m working on that,> Tobias assured them. <She’s in a small expanse with me right now, and will stay until we can completely rid her of all the compulsions they have placed on her. In the meantime, meet Ashley.>
<Hello,> a querulous voice whispered into Jason’s mind.
<Ashley’s given me access to Sylvan,> Tobias informed them. <I’ve been able to set up a carrier wave that conveniently piggybacks on their Link to the warehouse on the ring.>
<Thank you, Ashley,> Jason heard Calista say gently, and they received an impression of a tentative nod from the AI.
<Once you’re in place, I’ll send Shannon a flight plan, and she, Daniel, and Aaron will be on their way. She’s hiding in the lee of the spire right now, waiting for a signal to approach,> Tobias informed them. <She’s planning to fly directly into the cargo bay where our AIs are being held, so don’t be surprised when I activate the field and the bay doors open.>
<Noted,> Jason said.
<Any ETA on the extraction down there?> Calista asked.
<Don’t worry, they’ll time it to your movements. Now, let me show you the best path to that bay.>
Tobias brought up a map of the Sylvan, dropped the ‘you are here’ pin at the airlock, and sent a dotted line down a corridor, up a flight, and aft by several dozen meters.
Calista’s avatar tapped two intersections. <Anything we need to worry about here?>
<This is the middle of the third shift, and the ship isn’t heavily guarded,> Ashley said. <Victoria likes to maintain the illusion that this is a pleasure yacht, so she insists Mack keep his thugs out of sight unless absolutely necessary.>
Jason got the distinct impression that the AI was barely holding it together, and he felt the reassurance Tobias radiated, and a peripheral…something—a cushion, maybe?—that the other AI had wrapped her in to bolster her.
<Okay, then,> Jason said, glancing over to Calista, who unslung a low-energy electron beam weapon and checked its charge.
She raised an eyebrow as he pulled a lightwand out of his pack. <Bringing a knife to a gunfight, are you, Andrews?>
<Don’t knock it, Rhinehart. I’m pretty quick with this thing,> Jason grinned.
Calista snorted, and they exited the airlock, heading toward Tobias’ dotted line.
* * * * *
<Jason and Calista are in the Sylvan’s cargo bay, and the shuttle team is en route. ETA, five mikes,> Eric said to the group.
Terrance was crouched under the ‘office’ car. Landon was tucked alongside the C&C car, having rigged the recycling station to blow, and passed the control to Gladys, courtesy of Enfield’s microdrones.
<Are you ready for this?> the commodore asked Terrance privately. <Remember, when I say ‘go’, you go. When I say ‘down’, you drop. Got it?>
Terrance drew a deep breath and nodded, bracing himself to see death up close and personal for the first time.
<As we discussed, if it feels like you’re going to freeze, just give me the signal, and I’ll take over the powered armor. You can just go along for the ride.>
Eric’s words were reassuring and terrifying at the same time. As a safety net, though, it worked.
<On my mark,> Eric said, and Terrance tensed.
He raised his rifle, switching to its rail-accelerated firing mode. The AI waited until the guard’s attention was drawn by a clattering noise on the far side of the maglev platform, courtesy of Logan. Once the guard turned away, Eric flashed a green light on Terrance’s HUD.
Terrance fired three barely audible shots center mass and one to the head, and the man was down. Terrance was a practiced shot, but he suspected Eric’s hand had been there to guide his aim.
He glanced over at Landon. The AI-mech had made it over to Terrance in the time it took him to draw a single breath. At Eric’s prompting, Terrance laid a hand on the car door’s lock, and it slid open, revealing a pale but resolute man, case in hand.
<Joel.> He greeted the man with a crisp nod, adrenaline coursing freely through his veins. Then he grinned. <Ben said you’ve earned some vacation time.>
Landon beckoned, and the man wasted no time exiting.
As the three made their way down the spur to the exit, Landon handed the agent a helmet.
Terrance glanced over to see Joel shrug out of his jacket, revealing a fitted skinsuit underneath. As they ran, the man connected the helmet to the suit.
Terrance heard shouts from below, and Gladys’s voice sang out in their minds. <That’s it, you’ve been made. Stealth time is over, kiddos.>
At that, the three broke into a sprint, rushing across the platform. Landon urged the two humans to the front so that his broad mech frame could provide cover from any pursuers.
They leapt off the maglev platform, and above them, Terrance could hear shots being exchanged. He was tempted to turn and look, but then he and the man running at his side were thrown to the ground, as the explosives on the maglev cars blew.
Joel's helmet came free and
went skidding across the deck, and Landon leapt to catch it before it fell down a conduit run. Terrance helped the agent up, and Landon resealed his helmet with an efficiency no human could match.
<Blowing the recycling plant in three…two…> Gladys warned.
<Not a lot of cover here,> Terrance shot back.
Landon gestured to the far side of the maglev track, and the three leapt over it and crouched on its leeward side, awaiting the explosion.
* * * * *
Jason and Calista froze as alarms began wailing throughout the Sylvan.
<Tobias?>
<Wait one.> A pause. <No, they haven’t detected you, but the team on the ring just made a rather spectacular exit.>
<Are they all OK?> Calista’s mental voice sounded anxious.
<Gladys reports everyone’s fine, and the storage area has been destroyed. They’re just exchanging fire with a few cartel soldiers that managed to escape. They’ll be fine,> Tobias assured them.
There was one more intersection between them and the cargo bay. Jason and Calista picked up the pace.
The cargo bay doors slid open just as Jason heard voices approaching their position.
The two sprinted through the doors, and Tobias closed them behind.
<Did we make it?> Jason asked the AI.
<There’s no indication that you were spotted.>
Well, that’s a relief.
Jason's eyes tracked through the bay, noting the spot on his HUD where the kidnapped AIs were being held: behind a stack of shipping containers tucked into a corner.
He gestured toward them, and he and Calista hurried forward. A few seconds later, warning lights began to strobe, indicating an electrostatic field had been engaged at the bay entrance. Jason mentally thanked Tobias—and Ashley—for muting the klaxon that usually accompanied the strobes, as the bay doors began to open.
Hovering immediately outside the doors was Enfield’s shuttle.
Jason and Calista skirted the open span of the bay, as Shannon navigated the craft through the containment field. The two fighters piloted by Tobias followed in Shannon’s wake.