Different Paths (14 page)

Talia had turned her back on Iaido in
embarrassment. The young girl tugged on her jacket to get her attention. “Yes
Eve?”

“Did you come through the bar? Wasn’t it
wonderful?”

Taken aback at the subject change, Talia looked to
Iaido for guidance but he was occupied at a computer screen with Jay. “What do
you mean? I don’t think a bar is anything special, especially that bar.”

Eve placed her small hands on her hips. “I mean
the androids.”

“What androids?”

“The staff upstairs,” Diana said as she
disconnected her jack. “They’re androids.”

“All of them?” Talia asked.

Diana nodded. “Yep. Fred the bartender is an old
prototype but the rest are my brothers and sisters.”

“But that would mean you’re an…an…”

“An android?” Diana raised one eyebrow. “Is that a
problem?”

Talia shook her head. “No. I mean, they seemed so
real.”

Her eyes seemed to flash with anger but before she
could say anything else, Jay interrupted.

“Now Diana, mind your manners. Take that confusion
as a compliment. I know I do. No one is supposed to be able to tell you apart
from a real born.”

Taking her creator’s advice, Diana turned back to
her monitor but not before she flashed Talia a disapproving look.

“I see that an explanation is needed.” Jay
gestured to the surrounding factory. “After we were rescued from Gilese, I was
sent to Walter-Reed Hospital for rehab and was amazed at the lack of cybernetic
limbs available for veterans. So, I began to tinker with the existing
cybernetic technologies, tweaking and modifying them in an effort to improve my
standard of living and those of my fellow vets. Eventually I began to
experiment with androids, improving and refining each generation until after
ten years of tinkering, Diana is the quintessential example of my craft.”

Diana gave a slight nod to her creator before she
turned to Iaido and said, “I think I found who hacked our system.”

Iaido moved to her side. “Who?”

“There wasn’t much to go on,” Diana said. “They
were good, real good. The best I have ever seen. They bounced their signal
through a hundred different stations, on planet and off but I think I have them
backtracked to a company known as the Praetorians.” She pointed at her monitor
where it showed a glyph of a helmet and sword. “They have holdings in several
locations but I haven’t been able to hack into their system and I have tried
every code-crack I know.”

Iaido glanced at Eve and asked, “Have you seen
this symbol before?”

The young half-sylvan shook her head. “No. Is it
important?”

“I’m not sure.” Iaido placed a reassuring hand on
her shoulder and asked, “Eve would you be so kind as to get everyone a drink
from the kitchen?”

Eve perked up at having a task to do. “Sure. What
do you want?”

“Bottled water from the fridge will be fine for
everyone.”

Eve clapped her hands together before she headed off.
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”

Once Eve was out of sight Iaido said, “I have seen
this glyph recently.”

“Where?” asked Diana.

“On the base of the necks of the two Galactic
Marshals who arrested me earlier.”

Kristopher asked, “Which marshals?”

“The ones that tried to kill me on Stone
Mountain.”

“Stone Mountain? A federal agent was found dead on
the mountain bluff an hour ago. Was that your handiwork?”

“No,” Iaido said. “But it was intended to look
like I killed him. One of the marshals did it but that isn’t the worst part.”

“What could be worse than a dead federal agent?” Kristopher
shouted.

“The marshals are Myrmidons,” replied Iaido in a
quiet voice.

The silence from the three veterans filled the
room.

Talia looked back and forth between the three military
men, waiting for someone to break the deepening silence. Finally, she couldn’t
stand it any longer. “Who or what is a myrmidon?”

It was Iaido who answered. “A myrmidon is the
latest version of the Super-Soldier Program.” 

Talia asked, “A what?”

“The history of trying to manipulate genes to
genetically improve soldiers date back to the Nazis of pre-coalition Germany,
back in the mid 1900s; they weren’t very successful but the idea remained.”

Jay picked up the story. “It seems that sometime
around 2022, the United States and Great Britain revived the Super Solider
Program with the intention of replenishing their armies after the Jihad with
the Unified Islamic Nations ended. The earliest versions were basically clones;
heavily augmented but clones still.”

“But isn’t cloning illegal?” asked Talia. “The
Empire experimented with cloning over six millennia ago and although it was
viable, it was decided that it was amoral and was never used anywhere in the empire.”

“It seemed that the general public believed the
same way,” Kristopher added. “After the UNCF was formed in 2035 cloning became
illegal within its jurisdiction with one exception; all military and law
enforcement personnel are allowed a clone in case of a death in the line of
duty. However, I believe less than five percent have chosen that option. I know
I haven’t. When it’s my time to go, it’s my time.”

Jay turned to his old friend. “What’s the matter
KC? Afraid to cheat death again?”

“No. It wouldn’t be natural. It wouldn’t feel
right.”

“You wouldn’t know the difference.” Iaido said,
“If you’re dead, you can’t feel anything. If you’re a clone, you believe you’re
the original, so you wouldn’t feel anything either.”

Kristopher shook his head. “That’s too
philosophical for me but let’s get back to the questions at hand, who are the
Praetorians? And why would they have Myrmidons?”

“According to the UNCF data files,” Diana said,
“the Praetorians are a registered security consultant corporation with
contracts from the Galactic Commission to police Sol. They have three bases:
Ceres in the asteroid belt, New Leavenworth on Eris and a small outpost on
Mars.”

Talia raised an eyebrow and asked, “Ceres? Eris?
What are those?”

Iaido said, “Ceres and Eris are dwarf-planets
named after mythical gods and goddess.”

Seeing that she didn’t really understand the
concept, Jay interjected. “We Terrans like more colorful names for planets. The
Sylvan Empire would simply refer to Ceres as Sol-Three point five and Eris as
Sol-Twelve.”

Iaido said, “Ceres is a buzz of activity. It is
the largest working stardock between Earth and Titan. I’ve been there several
times to drop off bounties. Eris is nothing more than a ball of ice. The only
habitat is New Leavenworth. Officially it is a prison for military and
political prisoners. In reality it is a place for the Coalition to stash people
they would rather forget.”

“It sounds as if you have been there,” stated
Talia.

“I have. I spent three years in New Leavenworth on
the military side of the prison.”

“What for?” asked Talia.

“Among other things, I was charged with an Article
104, aiding and abetting the enemy,” Iaido said. “While stranded on Gilese I
rescued and patched up several of the confederate soldiers and even a few of
the bugs.”

“Why would you do that? Why would you spend your
time helping your enemy?”

“I gave aid to any that needed it, friend and foe
alike. I had no hatred for them. They were warriors doing their duty just like
us and just like us; they were left for dead by their commanders.”

“Okay. I can see you helping the Confederates but
not the Mantodea...they are merely beasts?”

“That’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it but
I disagree. Any race that has mastered spaceflight cannot be animals. If what I
have read about the earliest days of the Terran – Sylvan relationship is
correct, many of your own people believed that about us.”

Talia frowned. “But that’s different.”

“Not really, many think that the Mantodea are
animals because of their appearance, that and their own ignorance. I have no
disillusions about my actions. I might’ve been programmed to kill and obey
orders but I am more than my programming. What I did on Gilese during and after
the battle was the right thing to do. I know that.”

“But you served time in prison for your actions.”

“That was the choice of the Strike Commander. He
didn’t even question me or my actions. He just passed judgment and shipped me
off to Leavenworth. It was one way to shift blame for the debacle that was Gilese.
I was a convenient scapegoat and since he didn’t believe that Myrmidons had any
worth, it was no great loss to him. To him we were nothing but tools. Pawns to
be used then discarded.”

Kristopher asked, “And you going to prison had
nothing to do with you trying to kill him?”

Before Iaido could respond, the alert tones which
signaled the activation of the EBS sounded throughout the factory.

The EBS (Emergency Broadcast System) was designed
by the Coalition to turn on any computer connected to the net allowing
emergency bulletins or broadcasts to reach the majority of the population.

“An All Points Bulletin has been issued for Iaido
Achilles Spartan. He is wanted in connection with the murder of a Federal Agent
and should be considered Armed and Dangerous. The Galactic Commission has
issued a bounty of five hundred thousand credits for any information that
results leading to his arrest and capture. Contact the NAPD with any
information.”

Alarms began to sound throughout the factory
signaling a perimeter breach.

Without hesitation or warning, Iaido slammed his
left fist into Kristopher’s solar plexus knocking the wind out of the police
lieutenant. As he doubled over in pain, Iaido immediately followed it up with a
shuto strike to the side of his neck, knocking him out cold.

“What did you do that for?” Talia asked, “I
thought he was your friend?”  

“That’s why I did it.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Now that there is an official warrant for our
arrest, KC was duty bound to arrest me. And duty is something we both take
serious.” Iaido pointed at the limp form at his feet. “Now he can honestly say
that he didn’t have a chance to arrest us and if they tap into his memory aug,
it will validate his claim.”

An explosion rocked the building causing the
lights to flicker once before going out. As the factory descended into total
darkness, a second crash from the upper windows showered the companions with
glass and served to herald the arrival of five heavily armored figures as they
dropped in from the ceiling.

The companions reacted instantly.

Unable to see in the surrounding darkness but understanding
what was about to happen, Jay hurled himself out of his chair to tackle Talia
and take her out of the kill zone.

Diana and Iaido become a blur of motion as they
moved directly toward their assailants.

Even unarmed, Diana was far from helpless. She
rolled under the first shots of the SWAT team and into the two foremost
assailants. With surprising ease, she disarmed one and knocked out the other
before turning her attention to the rushing figures from the south end of the
factory. Once she realized that their assailants were just cops doing their
duty, nothing more and nothing less, she scooped up one of the fallen rifles
and began firing. Using the targeting sensors built into her android brain, she
went for wounding shots instead of kill shots; firing with superb precision and
accuracy. Her every shot disabled a rushing cop and mere seconds into the
breach, their charge was stalled.

Iaido also recognized that the assailants were
SWAT officers; tough and highly trained but misguided. With the sound of the
first explosion, his combat conditioning kicked in and he slipped into the
zone. Time seemed to slow for him, he was aware of Diana’s attacks, Talia’s
shock and the fact that Jay had initiated lockdown but only slightly. His true
focus was the three SWAT grunts in front of him. Two were within easy arm’s
reach, while the third was nearly thirty feet away; still within reach but not
without leaving himself open to attack.

Subconsciously his mind registered that the SWAT
grunts weren’t carrying the standard issue R-Gun; all were carrying THAB Mk8s
–Tactical Heavy Assault Blasters Mark 8s. These were full military-grade
weapons; Iaido had used earlier versions of the same rifle on many missions
during his time with Omega.  He also knew that these weapons are not normally
carried by the police, even SWAT. They were reserved for heavy tactical
assaults. This meant they weren’t going for a capture…their orders were to
kill.

Leaping over the closest grunt, Iaido couldn’t
help but grin as he reflexively fired upward completely missing Iaido but
spraying blaster fire on their entryway; which in turn caused the second team
about to leap inside to fall back instead under cover. As soon as he landed,
Iaido lashed out with a side kick and knocked the grunt off his feet.

Long ago, Iaido had stopped wondering why his
brain noticed the strangest things during combat.

For example, W. Spurgeon was the name of the other
SWAT grunt that was closest to his starting point and he had a cartoon figure
of a talking sponge with legs, arms and a stupid grin painted on his
tac-helmet.

Officer Spurgeon began tracking Iaido and firing with
controlled rapid bursts. Unfortunately for his teammate, he was so keyed on
trying to shoot Iaido that he wasn’t paying attention to where his missed shots
were going. That was until a three round blast took his partner in the head.
Even the SWAT armor couldn’t take the punishment of the THAB; one of the blasts
ripped right through his visor and ricocheted around the inside of his armor
before blowing out his chest. The poor soul was dead before his body hit the
ground.

Iaido went into forward roll, scooped up the
dropped THAB and fired two short bursts at the remaining SWAT grunts. Both were
crippling attacks that would put them out of commission but with the advanced
biometric systems in their suits, he knew that neither would die from the
wounds.