Owner 03 - Jupiter War (42 page)

As the ships drew closer together, the
Command
used one of its side-burners to shift course abruptly to avoid the seventeen approaching missiles, and from that action he was able to assess the capabilities of its detection gear. The
Command
’s instruments would be able to detect major Mach-effect shifts in Saul’s own ship, but whether the crew might be looking out for something like that was another matter entirely. Small shifts would not be noticed, which was handy now as Saul reached the periphery of the fusillade coming back from the
Command
.

A small nudge with Mach-effect and a brief flare of steering thrusters altered his course just so. The two railgun missiles that had been on target now dropped to one. This struck fifty metres down from the top pole of the ship, punched through the hull and sliced through most of the intervening structure before turning into an explosion of white-hot ceramic and molten steel as it peeled away part of the internal space dock and took off the back end of the Mars-format space plane. This resulting detritus, still having lost little of its momentum, travelled down parallel to the axis of the ship, through lattice walls finally to blast out forty metres to one side of the Traveller engine, leaving an impressive plume.

With diagnostics and structural sensor data running straight into his extended mind, Saul noted just a small loss in the redundancy within structural integrity, some damage to the EM shield and Mach drive, already being tended to by a proctor and its herd of robots, and generally, just a fractional loss in battle readiness. The two who had been working in the space plane, and who had been using its acceleration chairs, died too fast for their backups to register the moment of their deaths – turned into white-hot gas in less than a second. Their memory would be one of just sitting in acceleration chairs, and their next conscious experience would be either some interaction through the ship’s system or waking up inside new clone bodies. Saul had yet to decide on which but, for the interim, the backed-up copies of dead human minds were kept in a state of unconsciousness.

‘Further acceleration,’ he announced, firing up the Traveller engine for another course change, while also noting that only half its fresh fuel remained.

The reaction followed just minutes after, as the
Command
changed the orbital spiral of its course inward for better convergence. Those aboard it were now thinking that their single hit had been enough to dissuade him from his attack run, that he realized he was heading into a fight he could not win, and they were therefore moving to block him. He turned his ship again to take it up out of their plane, as if he wanted to head out and over them away from Jupiter, but also increasing orbital convergence. They moved to block again, firing their railguns back at him once more. Saul returned fire, but also fired ahead of both ships at a moonlet called Hermippe, knowing that the debris cloud would push the other ship even nearer to him. It would be a slugging match now as their courses drew closer together, rather like ancient battleships pummelling each other.

‘Brigitta,’ he declared, ‘soon you’ll get the chance to try out your new toy.’

‘About damned time,’ she replied, before sipping from a flask of coffee.

Angela was awake also now, and busy checking tactical data on her screen. Others were thoroughly aware of the situation too; Le Roque studying Saul’s battle plan and issuing instructions to those he had designated as ‘fire control’ and who were now heading for EVA units. Squads of robots, controlled by the chipped, were ready for quick deployment within the ship. Everyone now had their suits tightly closed up and, when not remaining strapped in their acceleration chairs, were ready with breach patches and welding gear. It was the best they could all do, Saul decided, but still many of them were going to die.

The next strike peeled up hull metal at the equator of Saul’s ship and glanced off the heavy armour around the vortex generator, blast walls absorbing the shot and asteroidal ice turning instantly to searing steam. The vortex generator remained untouched, however, and there were no personnel in that area, since Alex was conducting his hunt close to a hundred and eighty degrees further around that same ring. Saul still felt a moment of disquiet at that one strike since, without the abrupt Mach-effect nudge, the missile might well have penetrated the armour and struck the vortex generator, which was even now slowly winding up to speed. Another strike went in above the Traveller engine, taking a chunk out of its support pillar. He deliberately induced a misfire, leaving the fusion drive sputtering and burning dirty, before shutting it down. Robots ascended the pillar to make repairs, quickly slicing away wreckage and transporting up replacement beams. Meanwhile, the other ship decelerated to bring it closer; doubtless its crew assumed he had lost the ability for massive course changes.

Explosions lit the way ahead as Hermippe threw rubble and molten rock out into vacuum. The
Command
fired side-burn fusion engines to avoid the debris and brought itself closer still. Two hits on the
Command
followed: one a glancing blow near the nose that slagged some kind of weapons turret, and the other one punching right through its main body, the burning gas throwing it into silhouette. Another hit on Saul’s ship ensued, slicing in transversely and carving a molten trench through the side of Arcoplex Two. Breach alarms screamed there and bulkhead doors slammed shut internally around the area as it bled air. Through one cam, Saul peered at a group of four people strapped to acceleration couches and gazing up in disbelief through their visors at the long hole above them, its glowing lips open to the rest of the ship.

Another missile came in, almost perfectly on target, its line of flight destined to take it straight through the centre of the ship and just metres from where Saul himself sat. One Mach-effect nudge threw it many metres to the side, where it smashed explosively into the inner bearing of the Arboretum. The whole bearing assembly then fragmented; the cylinder world’s shaft at that end dislodged and swung fifty metres to one side. Chunks of ceramic flew in every direction and the mercury content of the bearing spewed out in a glittering cloud. Saul registered twenty-eight backups disconnected from their primary sources: fourteen incinerated when a plume of plasma from the initial missile impact played over their accommodation unit, twelve of them vaporized inside the building in which the bearing was housed, along with one broken neck and one shattered skull in the Arboretum itself. Saul also noted that there had been sixteen people in that accommodation unit – two of them yet to be chipped and now having lost any chance of eternity.

Enough – they were close enough now.

‘Brigitta,’ he said through gritted teeth, ‘now.’

The Data Saved Us

That the Gene Bank samples and data were essential to save Earth’s ecosystem was just another misconception on the part of Serene Galahad and her advisers. When seeds buried thousands of years ago could still germinate, when a single bacterium could multiply into billions in the time it takes to plant a tree, and when the exigencies of evolution could turn a mouse into the equivalent of an elephant or a tiger, Earth was not dying. Earth was sick, however: the disease was called manswarm and, with the Scour, Serene Galahad had administered the antibiotic, whilst her sprawl clearances were the salve applied to Earth’s scabrous hide. But, even if manswarm had not been so reduced by her activities, the resource crash would have served the same ends as the Scour – and Earth would have regenerated itself, in time. This is a fact of biology and not of blind optimism. Earth has seen numerous extinctions throughout its existence, and in every case that engine called life has never stopped. It was in fact a kind of arrogance to suppose that humans could be so supremely destructive. And, even with that data, much of the life of our present time will still be little more than fossils in rock, a billion years hence.

Earth

Serene stared at Ruger as one of her security team disarmed him. Unlike Trove, he resisted not at all, just wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes and emitted a few further chuckles.

Why was the man laughing?

Elkin had confirmed, by a random sampling of the data stream, that the
Scourge
was indeed now transmitting the uncorrupted Gene Bank data. It would take maybe half an hour for the transmission to complete and Ruger – she glanced at the laptop now gyrating in the air above one of her spiderguns – had no way of stopping it if he decided things weren’t going his way. Ruger had to realize it was all over for him now.

Serene turned to Elkin and drew a finger across her throat. Elkin gave a signal and all the lights blinked out on the floating cams – signifying the ETV transmission was ended. Serene felt the situation was now back within her control, and that she had some decisions to make. With the data in her hands, she could now, if she so wished, just recall her three ships, but she decided at that moment not to. Various experts had assured her that the Gene Bank data alone, though lacking the genetic codes in the full gamut of samples, would assure the future of Earth’s biosphere. However, getting hold of those samples, and capturing or killing Alan Saul and his rebels, would be a huge bonus.

‘Bring them,’ she instructed Vaughan, gesturing towards Trove and Ruger.

By now all the Inspectorate staff aboard the station would be dead, and it was time to consolidate her position here. She would express some surprise upon learning about the full extent of the Scour deaths on board, then order Calder’s arrest and, after some assessment of the remaining staff, put someone else in charge. After that she would return to Earth, back to what she now knew to be her comfort zone, there put the finishing touches to her cover stories, execute Calder for unleashing the Scour here, then have a long talk with Ruger about his inappropriate humour.

‘Ma’am,’ said Sack, now up close to her side.

‘What?’ she asked, as the future opened out before her in her mind. She would indeed carry through her plan to turn the human race into something more manageable. She would continue demolishing unoccupied sprawls, restocking the oceans, begin establishing forests, jungles and other ecosystems and turn Earth back into the halcyon garden it had once been. With so much to do, she was anxious to be away from here and eager to get started.

‘The screen,’ said Sack.

Serene looked up and saw that the ETV talking heads had now been banished, and that Calder was gazing out from the screen. Everyone now swung round to watch.

‘Oh, good,’ said Calder, ‘I have your attention.’

Serene did not like his tone at all. She quickly scanned about: the bay was covered by her personnel; the dead Inspectorate staff they had found here were neatly stacked away in a nearby storeroom. Sharpshooters covered the entire area, but were almost superfluous while her three spiderguns were deployed.

‘Your arrogance, Serene Galahad, is astounding,’ continued Calder. ‘Did you honestly think that, with the resources and scientific personnel you put at my disposal, I could not work out what you did? Did you honestly think I would not find out that the biochips, manufactured in your Aldeburgh Complex, were the actual source of the Scour, and that you yourself controlled them?’

Cold dread ran its claws up and down Serene’s spine. She glanced at the expressions all around her, some puzzled and some doubtful, yet others suddenly attentive and turning towards her. They expected her to make a response.

‘And do you, Calder,’ she said, forcing a tired smile onto her lips, ‘honestly expect anyone to believe that?’ She gestured to those gathered all around her. ‘Would I surround myself with staff who have all lost family to the Scour? No, I would not. I surround myself with these people because they are as dedicated as I am to exacting vengeance upon the mass murderer Alan Saul. And now you, in your pathetic and desperate attempt to usurp me, are scrabbling for some way to turn them against me.’ He was about to speak, but she quickly overrode him. ‘Do you also honestly think that, having such an option available, Messina and his Committee would have expended such a wealth of resources on sectoring, and on developing the Argus network?’

‘Oh, classic,’ said Ruger abruptly. ‘And yet none of it matters at all.’ Then he burst out laughing again.

‘Shut him up!’ Serene snapped, and felt some degree of satisfaction when her order was instantly obeyed and a rifle butt connected with Ruger’s head.

‘Good try,’ said Calder. ‘Your lies may well have worked on those around you, but that’s irrelevant now. I knew straight away once you had activated the biochips, and gave you the news you were expecting. It was, of course, necessary to supply some bodies from our morgue here, for veracity. And now, Serene Galahad, it’s time for you to pay.’

White light flashed near the end of the bay, metal screamed and a cloud of debris expanded. Serene felt something crash into her, tearing her gecko soles right off the floor. She struggled against Sack’s grip, though he was only performing his job and dragging her to cover. More explosions ensued and then gunfire erupted. Sack pulled her down by the airlock leading to Ruger’s shuttle, just as a spidergun opened fire at a group of figures already swarming into the hold, sending shattered bodies tumbling. She pulled close to Sack, suddenly wishing she’d taken things further with him, for he was her rock, all she could trust. A thrumming seemed to fill the air, Serene’s fone emitted a sound like water dropping into a chip pan, then she saw one spidergun fold up like a fist and another go tumbling aside, loose-limbed.

‘Tank-busters,’ explained Sack.

Vaughan and other security staff had launched themselves into the air and were firing their weapons furiously. Serene watched ceramic bullets smacking into some of them, then a ten-mil machine gun sounded, tearing up the floor in a line that terminated at Elkin and her two aides, who just flew apart.

‘We need cover,’ said Sack, glancing aside as the men guarding Ruger and Trove dragged them over.