18

There were hard decisions to be made once we were all aboard the Jellybird.

“That had to prove I’m right,” I argued.

X-37 responded calmly, which was annoying as hell. “On the contrary, it was a demonstration of what will happen if you go up against the Archangels before my plan has been properly set in motion.”

“I hate arguing with you, X,” I muttered.

“It is good that we disagree,” X-37 said. “Our discussions improve our chances for survivability by several percentage points. If I did not raise counter arguments to your far too human decision-making process, I would be less than useless as your LAI.”

“Yeah, sure. Having a limited AI yammering in my head is a sweet-ass solution to all my problems,” I griped. “Jelly, give me an update on the Nightmare versus Black Wing damage.”

“I have made contact with Novasdaughter and Henshaw. It seems the Nightmare has sustained so much damage that Necron agreed to a temporary truce while they work on repairs. Eighty-nine percent of the original crew have agreed to put aside past allegiances to put the ship back in order—and not die,” Jelly said.

“Let me guess, the remaining eleven percent are the officers?” I asked.

“A very small percentage of UFS Nightmare officers have switched sides, at least for now,” Jelly said.

“Why can’t those assholes see what kind of a maniac Nebs is?” Elise wondered aloud.

Tom shrugged. “Union propaganda runs deep. And they are probably afraid of him.”

“What’s wrong, Tom?” I asked.

He lowered his eyes to the ground and shook his head. “I feel like I should be on the Nightmare helping with repairs.”

“The Nightmare is beyond our shuttle range at the moment,” Jelly replied.

“I know, Jelly,” Tom said. “Thanks for checking.”

“May I make an observation?” X-37 asked.

“Go ahead, X,” I said.

“None of you have slept for over twenty-four hours. This level of sleep deprivation is not sustainable,” he replied.

“I’m not tired,” Elise said.

“That’s because you’re a kid and kids don’t get tired,” I said, expecting a profanity-dense response.

“And now you’re a jerk again,” she said. “Does the Reaper need a nap?”

I hesitated, then relented. “Yeah, he does. Tom, you have the conn. Everyone sleeps in shifts while X-37 admits my plan to storm the Dark Lance is our only option.”

“Agreed,” X-37 said. “Once I am certain we have dealt with Necron and drawn the Archangels into my trap.”

“Your trap is lame, X,” I said.

“On the contrary, it is perfect,” X-37 said. “My analysis of the Archangels is that each of them is an extraordinarily proficient fighter, probably chosen personally by Vice Admiral Nebs. But therein lies their weakness.”

I frowned. “I don’t follow.”

“They lack the imagination to question him, and will be easier to fool as a result,” X-37 said.

“Bullshit, X. You’re making too many assumptions about living, breathing, high level Union operators,” I argued.

“On the contrary,” X-37 said. “I am making only one assumption. The Archangels will listen to the LAIs native to their Archangel armor. Once I’ve hacked in, I will send them on a wild chase.”

I grinned. “That sounds like a good plan, X. Almost like I came up with it myself.”

* * *

I knew something was wrong the moment I woke up. With the lights off, I slipped out of bed and moved, scanning the small cabin with my cybernetic eye. X-37 didn’t bother to tell me this was paranoid. We were on the same page.

A Reaper could never be too careful.

“You biometrics are optimal but slightly elevated,” X-37 advised. “You slept for four hours.”

“Really?” I asked. “Doesn’t feel like it. I didn’t dream.”

“It is more likely that you do not remember your dreams because you didn’t regain consciousness during REM state,” X-37 said. “I took the liberty of checking all ship security cameras the moment your heart rate suggested you were worried about something unseen.”

“Nice one, X.” I dressed and geared up quickly. “Did you find anything?”

“Brion Rejon is attempting to steal one of the recently acquired shuttles,” X-37 said.

“Any theories on what he thinks he’s doing?” I headed out the door, already following an icon X-37 had placed in my HUD.

“Jelly says he has logged several requests to leave the ship,” X-37 explained. “He wishes to go to the planet, an action Jelly and I both find suspicious.”

“Yeah, me too. That place is a wasteland,” I said. “He claims there are ships dry-docked on the surface and underground shelters, but I saw what the planet looks like. Anyone living there has got to be completely mental. How many times can they fire that weapon before their little bunkers become death traps?”

“Unknown,” X-37 said. “Insufficient data.”

I headed for the bridge, thoughts clear, body rested and a firm conviction in my mind. Nebs was the problem.

It was time to solve the problem.

“Have you been able to take control of the Archangel LAIs?” I asked.

“The last contact we had with Union ships allowed me to establish a proxy persona within the server they share,” X-37 said. “Not to brag, but that has never been done before.”

“Nice. How’d you manage that?” I asked.

“I am the template for the Archangel LAI network,” X-37 said.

“Congrats, X. You’re a daddy, or maybe a grandpa,” I said.

“Insincerity detected,” X-37 said.

“Oh no, X, I mean it. You’ve been immortalized by the Union,” I said. “Now let’s use that to kill these asshats.”

“I said I have established a presence in their network. That is not the same thing as taking control,” X-37 said.

“If you take control, then we win automatically.” I said.

“I intend to summon them to the Archangel armory for an emergency refit, then lock them inside while convincing them you surrendered and they can stand down from their mission,” X-37 said.

I snorted in disbelief. “They’re never going to believe that. I’m not a quitter.”

“You do have a reputation of being stubborn,” X-37 agreed.

“I’m determined, there is a difference,” I insisted. “Sometimes, X, you try to hurt my feelings on purpose.”

“That is your problem, not mine. I am not responsible for your feelings,” X-37 said. “Only your wellbeing.”

Unwilling to continue the argument, I entered the bridge and relieved Tom.

“Get some sleep. You have earned it,” I said.

“Thanks, Hal. I was starting to hallucinate I’m so tired,” Tom said.

Elise arrived a moment later, logging in to her workstation without a word. I watched her for a bit.

“Good morning, sunshine,” I said.

“I contacted Novasdaughter,” she said, ignoring my greeting. “The Nightmare nearly went completely offline, but she has it under control. She says not to expect help against the Dark Lance. Her crew is trading with scavengers for parts. I’m not certain, but she sounds disgusted at the out of date parts she has been forced to use.”

“Okay,” I said. “That just reinforces my argument. We need to take this fight to Nebs, right to him, like me throat punching him.”

“I recommend you utilize your arm blade rather than punch him,” X-37 said, his tone reasonable and business-like.

“Right. Blade to the throat. Why didn’t I think of that,” I said. “Or maybe I just shoot him.”

“You could push him out an airlock,” Elise suggested.

“Or shoot him into the void as was done previously,” Jelly said.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah—those are all fantastic suggestions. I’ll know what to do when the time comes. All I need is to get close enough to do what a Reaper does.”

That shut everyone up.

“Contact with the vice admiral is premature, Reaper Cain,” X-37 insisted.

“There will never be a perfect time,” I said. “Jelly, set a course for the UFS Dark Lance and give me an update on her status.”

“Right away, Captain,” Jelly said.

OceanofPDF.com