Atlas: Infinity Verge Trilogy: Book II (23 page)

“Captain,” the Marine corporal nodded. “We've neutralized the First Fleet defectors. The bridge managed to get weapons online and held off any additional boarding parties. The bridge is locked down. Half of Charlie Company is there now, but they cannot get in. No one is responding.”

“Flak,” Echo said flatly. “Get us back there. I think DINA is acting on secondary protocol.”

“Yes. Ma'am,” the corporal said. “You heard the captain! Move out men.”

Echo and the Marines made their way to the bridge while a couple of the others carried Six to the infirmary. Echo watched as they hauled Six from the lift on the medical deck. She wanted to go with him to make sure he was okay. How the man had survived a fight against seven EXOs astonished her. However, she had other concerns. Echo guessed that DINA had reverted to secondary protocol when the bridge was unable to contact them.

Shortly after the Marines arrived she noticed that her Writcom had been damaged when she flew against the ceiling. Six's Writcom had similarly been destroyed in his struggle with the machines. The Charlie Company Marines were still trying to force their way onto the bridge when Echo and Alpha Company arrived.

“Sit Rep Marine!” The Alpha Company Corporal said.

“Sir, we can't get in.” one of the Marines reported.

“Don't call me sir, I work for a living,” The Corporal snapped then turned to the Captain. “Seems the situation is unchanged ma'am.””

Echo gave him a cold stare when he said ma'am. After his own snap at the marine she had half a mind to tell him a thing or two about leadership and responsibility. She let it go instead and moved to the door.

“Captain override, Alpha Tango Zulu Niner Seven. Shade, Echo,” she said.

The door did not open, but the holographic display outside the door lit up. The image of DINA in her military uniform appeared. She looked at Echo, then the marines.

“Hello Captain. Secondary protocols are in effect.”

“Secondary protocols can only be in effect if I am dead or unable to continue the mission,” Echo said.

“You are dead or unable to continue the mission. There is no response from your Writcom,” DINA replied. “Secondary protocols remain in effect. Propulsion burst initiated in …… two … one.”

The TP-D
Justice
jerked forward as the full force of the propulsion engines ignited. The inertial dampeners failed momentarily and the marines were flung backward down the corridor. Echo's mag-boots were still enabled so she remained still, but the force was painful. If she had not fully broken any ribs they were surely broken now.

The destroyer peeled away from the URSA Class ship and its fighter squadron formerly known as First Fleet. They did not pursue the vessel as it headed further in system and towards Quintar V. The destroyer blasted through space on a direct collision course with the first moon of Quintar V. DINA allowed a holographic image of herself to display on the command deck and
watch
out the Transteel viewer.

As the moon grew larger she held up her hand and the ship began to steadily slow. The milliseconds it took to burn all the fuel for primary propulsion came and went. The momentum gained was enough to bring them into orbit with the moon. DINA intended the crew to use the escape shuttles to land on the moon itself.

“Flakking machine!”

DINA heard the words too late. Lieutenant Andrew Boulson touched an exposed wire to the holographic display where DINA was projected from. The circuit burst and sparked. Andrew was thrown back again. He landed in a heap smoke rising from his fingertips. He was not breathing. DINA screamed as she broke apart. Pixels began to burn away from her image. Slowly the AI disintegrated.

The door leading out to the corridor opened and Echo was able to enter the bridge. She saw Andrew and promised she would weep for him. She rushed to the command console.

Totally fried,
she thought.

The displays still read that shields were at full and their trajectory would take them on an intercept course for the first moon's orbit. Another explosion came from engineering. Echo did what she could with the few manual displays to bring up the status of the ship.

“God no,” Echo’s face was a mask of horror as she saw what had happened. She switched to the general comms.

“All hands, all hands. Abandon ship. There has been a breach in the main engines, we're vending atmosphere.”

Echo checked their trajectory and cursed silently. The ship was on a direct course for Quintar V. Echo switched to emergency channels and began a recorded message.

“This is Captain Echo Shade of the TP-D
Justice
, we're on a collision course with Quintar V. There is no navigation, propulsion is out. Do not send help.“

Then she recorded another message on an encrypted channel she knew only the
Kodiak
had ever used.

“Abel, this is Echo. Do not come and get me. I repeat, DO NOT come and get me. Stay away from-” the equipment sparked and shocked Echo. She fell backward. Echo Shade lay on the ground eyes rolled into the back of her head as the TP-D entered Quintar V's atmosphere.

24:
ADM

Quintar IV - EFNF Alpha Base: Spaceport

2973 ESD - Thursday, June 10th 06:00 hours

“Salutation: Hello Abel Cain. I am ADM, the Automated Defense Matrix. How may I assist you?” The holographic display of a young Quintarran said. He was not too dissimilar from what Zee had once looked like, with a long jaw and hairless features. The holographic display glowed bright blue, giving the impression that the persona was Zee, or at least a relative of him.

“Good morning Adam,” Abel said. He used the colloquial name he'd chosen for the AI.

“Query: You have called me Adam, is this my new designation?” ADM said.

“No, you are still ADM, Adam is a nick name,” Abel said.

“Statement: Understood. How may I be of assistance?”

“For starters you can stop with the precursor definition of what you're about to say,” Abel said irritated.

“Confusion: I do not understand,” ADM said.

“Figures. Do you understand the parameters I gave you prior to loading you?” Abel asked.

“Statement: Observe and report directly to your neural link,” ADM’s intonation suggested pride.

“Good, at least you can follow those orders. I'll figure out how to remove the precursor later. Suffice to say I don't trust the crew I am taking onboard my ship. I want you to watch them and report anything suspicious. Understood?”

“Confirmation: Yes,” ADM replied.

“Great, begin silent operations now, answer to no one but me,” Abel ordered. “One more thing, keep an ear out for long range transmissions or anything from the TP-D
Justice
.”

“Confirmation: Affirmative,” ADM said.

The holographic display of ADM vanished and Abel noted that the console remained lit.

When we’re in space it won’t matter
, he thought.
While we’re on the ground it might look suspicious
.
Meh, forget it,
he decided after considering for a moment and wondered if he really felt he needed to turn off the console lighting.

Abel turned around and exited the command deck. He kept the same basic design as the
Kodiak
. Familiarity was something he needed. After a short few steps he found the descent ladder to crew berthing. His foot hit the first rung and a loud clang rang from the metal on metal contact. Abel lamented the loss of his leg, but not more than he lamented the loss of his best friend. If he was honest with himself, which was not something he was particularly good at, he understood why he had made ADM in Zee's image.

The
Atlas
was slightly larger than the
Kodiak
due to the number of combat modifications. Abel had adjusted the forward canopy as well as the space available in crew berthing. Since he was going to be forced to spend his time with others onboard this ship, he didn't want to have to bunk with them as well. In the forward canopy he created his own private Captain's quarters. The captain's quarters were something he never felt he needed on the original URSA GS-I. He and Zee had built the vessel together and they both knew there would be no other crew.

As annoying as ADM’s precursor definitions were, Abel knew he would be just as capable as Zee had been. The AI was modeled after Quintarran nanite patterns, specifically his own and Zee’s. He had added a few of his own programming flairs too. In the end, ADM was more than just an AI. He was a completely automated spy, starship defense specialist, and an expert on dismantling EXO code. Abel was going after the EXO Prime just as he had promised Echo he would. He had not forgotten that it was the actions of Alek Vale - The EXO Prime - that caused the untimely death of his best friend.

Everything he had done the past year was towards this end; towards exacting his vengeance on the EXOs. Abel made his way across crew berthing and examined the interior of his ship. He missed the quantum locked chairs, but he knew Echo would approve of the more modest choices he'd made. The servers that lined the
Kodiak
had all been removed and actual crew stations were built in. However, Abel could override those stations through ADM if he needed to. He didn't trust Aurora Rigel or the Vald.

No one throws money and resources without expecting something in return,
Abel thought.

While Aurora insisted that Abel share the schematics for the ship, he wasn't about to give away all of his secrets. The quantum locking magnetic strips he employed were still a conundrum to the Vald scientists and they weren’t aware of ADM. He couldn't hide the firepower, maneuverability, and the Warp-T drive. He assumed these were collateral enough for the assistance they offered, but he wasn't taking chances.

Notification,
the text appeared in Abel's mind. It was the alert he had requested from ADM.
Encrypted message received on long-range scanners.

Play message text only,
Abel responded mentally.

Confirmation: Affirmative, playing back message now,
Abel, this is Echo. Do not come and get me. I repeat, DO NOT come and get me. Stay away from--
end of transmission,
ADM said.

“Flak!” Abel Cursed.
Trace the last known location of the TP-D Justice, prepare a flight plan and exit vector.

Confirmation: Affirmative,
ADM said.

Abel rushed back to the command deck, his mechanical leg clicked and whirred with the sudden change of movement. He scrambled up the steps to the primary command console. Abel took a seat in the command chair and adjusted it for comfort. Then he began to review the data ADM was propagating to the Transteel viewer.

“Disengage silent protocol,” Abel said.

“Confirmation: Affirmative. Hello Abel Cain,” ADM said.

“Hello Adam. So if I am reading this correctly Echo and the TP-D meshed out of system on Monday. This message is three days old!? Flakking shit!” Abel swore.

“Statement: Correct. The message was received via EFNF encrypted channel,” ADM said.

“Who else received this? Are there any other messages?” Abel asked.

“Statement: No one else received this particular message. This message was encrypted to URSA GS-I
Kodiak
frequencies only,” ADM replied.

“God ADM are you flakking dense? What other messages have come through from the TP-D? TO ANY CHANNEL!” he clarified.

“Statement: Captain Echo Shade sent a message to the True EFNF on Quintar IV. Alpha Base frequency,” ADM said. Abel thought he detected a bit of snarkiness in the reply.

“Adam, replay that message, full audio.” Abel said.

“Confirmation: Affirmative. Replaying last communication from the TP-D
Justice,
” ADM replied.

The Transteel filled with static until Echo's face appeared. Abel could see that he had bruises on her neck and she looked disheveled overall. Sweat covered her brow and gave a peculiar sheen to her light blue skin. Abel still thought she was beautiful.

“This is Captain Echo Shade of the TP-D
Justice
, we're on a collision course with Quintar V. There is no navigation, propulsion is out. Do not send help,” she said before the video went to static again.

“Flak!” Abel said. “Collision with Quintar V? The EXOs will destroy them.”

“Calculation: Percent of probable survival is point zero five percent,” ADM said.

“Shut up. Engage silent operations,” Abel snapped.

“Confirmation: Affirmative,” ADM said.

“I need a flakking crew,” Abel said to no one in particular.

* * * *

The pub wasn't exactly seedy, but it was still near the spaceport. Ivan Straught ate his meal in silence. His wife was resting in the hotel next door. The quality of the food and drink was not even up to the standards of EFNF rations. However, Ivan ate with enthusiasm. After the attack on his vessel he and Ima had nearly frozen to death. They had plenty of water, but it was frozen. They dared not to light a fire. Fire in a spaceship was a bad idea. So they huddled together for nine days. Shivering and trying to keep from freezing to death.