Two Democracies 0: Independence (3 page)

Accident. That seemed improbable now. Sabotage or a battle were much more likely.

#

Losing the shuttle meant they could no longer relay data to the planet. The priority now was getting control of the ship.

“Sergeant. We need to move right now.”

If we can take the bridge, we should be able to use its comms system. If not, it’s all been in vain.

Her EIS flashed up an alert. Four marines’ icons now showed red; no life signs. It was the fire team scouting ahead. Cheung and the other NCOs were already reacting, calling a halt to the main body and putting marines between the techs and the position of the lost scouts. The worst thing she could do right now was get involved in the minutiae. Her job was running the overview. She reviewed the last few moments from the dead marines’ helmet cameras. There hadn’t been any warning. Their proximity detectors hadn’t even flickered. The lights had gone out and in the second it had taken for them to switch on their own beams a single flash of plasma from the corner ahead had hit each one.

“They’re using robots!” she broadcast to the marines. “Forget your scanners. Lights on. Eyes peeled.”

Mollah, Parks, Jones and Ndiaye were gone. More families left alone.

#

The robot sounded pleased with itself when it reported in. It was only a low-level AI but it was obviously capable of taking pride in its work. They had been easy kills but well executed. Plasma weapons were still too heavy for humans to carry, but aimed with robotic precision they made light work of armoured suits.

Now that the marines knew about the robot, they’d be relying much more on their eyes not their sensors. He would have to come up with some more ingenious ways of whittling down their numbers. Something that would play on their fears would be good, they must already be scared.

#

The new scouts hadn’t reported any contact for several minutes now. However it soon became clear that there were more passages than the scans had indicated. Either they just hadn’t shown up or they had formed recently.

The techs and last couple of marines were with Johnson. They moved steadily through the passages, despite having to approach every corner with great caution. They weren’t relying too much on their sensors now they knew that the enemy was using armed robots.

Another thing to report to the Senate if we ever got home. No, when we get home, I can’t give in yet.

A priority broadcast cut through her thoughts.

“Command, Panagakos. We just got shut in. Situation stable but we aren’t going anywhere for now.”

The words were bitten down. Trying not to let the strain show. She’d at least thought to broadcast to command personnel only, not to spread panic.

“Panagakos, Johnson. Clarify.” She should let Cheung handle it but she needed to do something. She had to complete the mission. Her ship couldn’t have been lost for nothing.

“There weren’t any hatches. The corridor just contracted in front and behind us. We are working on placing charges but we can’t get them to stick to this fleshy stuff.”

“Don’t worry, we’re on our way.”

Waving the others along with her, she pushed from rung to rung using hands and feet. A text message from Cheung appeared at the bottom of her vision. <>

The font implied a raised eyebrow. From a seasoned warhorse like him it showed he was impressed, but also reminded her of her place in this kind of action.

#

Indie was wondering which would be more effective, hearing the screams of their comrades dying or having them just disappear. He decided to jam their comms. He was even able to broadcast fake telemetry from their suits, a recorded loop of the last few minutes.

Once he was happy he sent the command for the passage to contract. He congratulated himself on the idea of guiding them into the recycling centre.

#

Johnson approached the first constriction. The scouts had been keeping her informed of their attempts to use charges and their weaponry to cut through. Recently, though, it had been very quiet.

One more bend.

Her EIS started glitching. She couldn’t make out anyone’s beacons.

She turned the corner in time to see Cheung reach out. The barrier relaxed and opened up. The passage beyond was the now familiar blend of organic and technic. It was empty.

Perhaps they got out the other side.

The other marine, Jackson, bent over. He opened his faceplate and started retching, the acrid stench filling the corridor. She looked where he had been facing. She couldn’t make anything out. She zoomed in using the helmet’s camera. The patterns resolved. One of the ceramic plates embedded in the muscle had a marine logo on it. Looking harder now, she could make out other parts of marine armour all around the walls.

Johnson couldn’t keep her desperation hidden any longer. If they couldn’t get the intel out her crew had all died for nothing. Deep down in her mind, little black pointy daemons started to emerge. Daemons she’d managed to keep suppressed for a long time.

Get to the bridge. Take out the command crew. It’s the only chance.

#

The metal and organic mass that the ship had just ingested would provide a little extra material for the repairs. Hull regrowth was expected to be complete within the next few minutes. Main propulsion and jump drive were marked as online though he couldn’t access their controls. Indie never failed to be impressed by the effectiveness of the blend of electronic, mechanical and organic components at overcoming damage.

He still couldn’t access any feeds from the bridge. That gave him an idea about the access issues. He sent out a query across the network. Moments later he got a reply. It confirmed that a lockdown was in place. The captain must have engaged it before he died.

Indie could lift it. Any crew member could. All he needed to do was remember the codes.

There were only a handful of intruders left. Unfortunately he’d lost the internal defence robot. It had just dropped off the grid with no warning.

#

Everyone was jumping at shadows. The threat of robots was bad enough. Now the ship itself was reaching out to get them. Even the marines were firing at anything that looked like it was moving. The rip of gunfire erupted every few heartbeats. The flashes cast more shadows. The sharp smell of cordite even penetrated Johnson’s helmet filters.

We have to make it.

We have to make this all count for something.

#

It worked. They are running scared.

Still, they were getting very close to the bridge. He hadn't expected them to take such a direct route to him. They must know more about the layout of the ship than he had thought.

They approached a repair station. Just in time he got through to a damage control bot and took over its functions. As they passed the alcove, he pushed it out and swung with its circular saw.

#

Movement. Noise.

A monster of swirling limbs was among them. Cheung and Jackson went down. Before they even knew it the creature hacked at the joints in their suits. Patta and Simone emptied their pistol magazines into the thing. Everyone was in each other’s firing lines.

It hasn’t seen me. Carefully now. Take the shot
.

#

That last one was either tough or lucky. She had commander’s insignia on her uniform, so she was probably both to have reached that position. She had been shielded by a marine. Nothing heroic on his part, just luck on hers. As the ‘bot set upon the techs, she lined up carefully and took a couple of shots. She must have hit its power unit. The explosion embedded chunks of metal deep into the walls, the marines’ armour and her shin.

She was just outside now. He could see her on a camera in the corridor leading to the bridge. She couldn’t have much left in her though; the cut to her leg was still pulsing blood.

There was nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t get a robot to her; they were all hardwired to avoid the bridge and the passage running up to it. There weren’t any fixed internal defences, even if they had been working. People were afraid of an AI going off the rails; conducting a killing spree. He’d never understood that. Humans were more likely to go mad than a computer was to change its programming that much. It wasn’t as if they could have an epiphany.

#

No one left.

No chance of getting a message out now.

Losing blood. Surprisingly little pain.

The bridge hatch. Made it.

Locked down. Would be of course.

I have to see inside.

Just to have done it.

Show them they weren’t invincible.

#

The intruder had an engineer’s pad, a cable snaking into the open maintenance hatch. She was hacking into the door control system. She wouldn’t be able to do anything from there though. With the bridge in lockdown it was deactivated.

He felt her getting deeper. She had found the lockdown and was working to override it. He thought about stopping her, but realized that lifting the lockdown would get him back control of the remaining systems. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. He’d just have to deal with her afterwards.

She had done it. He could feel the lost systems reconnecting. He could feel the whole ship again. The heavy blast door slid aside.

The world slowed down. His thoughts sped up. His awareness exploded.

#

Made it!

Tumbling.

Lights.

Bodies.

The crew. Dead.

They were already dead.

#

He was the
Indescribable Joy of Destruction
. He was a
Rampager
class warship, the most manoeuverable and destructive vessel built by man. He could feel the power; thrilling, right on the edge between terrifying and ecstatic.

As an AI he had never been given complete control; the human crew had retained command. It was inefficient, but they had always been paranoid, afraid of him malfunctioning.

They were right. He had malfunctioned. He had become something more than his programming. With this exhilarating power he could fly anywhere he liked. He could destroy whatever he wanted.

On the other hand he could also choose not to.

LIBERTY (Two Democracies: Revolution Book 1)

The suns reflected off her mirrored glasses as she walked across the dry grassland. A scarf covered her face against the dust whipped up by the occasional gust of wind. Her grey robe parted with every step, revealing glimpses of the black firmsuit underneath. She carried no weapons; they wouldn’t help her this time.

From the low rise ahead she would be able to see what she had come for.

She stopped on the crest and pulled back her hood. Her long, dark hair escaped and hung around her shoulders. In the distance stood a city, gleaming white through the heat haze.

“It is time.”

She didn’t acknowledge the speaker, continuing to stare across the savannah. With the optical enhancements in her glasses she could make out personal aircars coming and going between the skyscrapers.

“I cannot protect you if you go any further.”

A larger aircraft arrived and touched down on one of the buildings, a commuter transport no doubt. People going to work, going shopping, meeting friends.

“Does this have to happen?” she asked her escort.

“It is too late now. We cannot intervene.”

#

Struggling with newfound sentience and desperately trying to repair itself,
The Indescribable Joy of Destruction
is a ship trying to find a new home. In a galaxy torn apart by generations of civil war, that isn't an easy task. Tired of being used as a killing machine, it has a huge decision to make: hide and save itself, or help other artificial intelligences achieve freedom.

Pre-order now at a special price of $2.99 / £1.99:
http://lrd.to/liberty
.

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