2


I learned what hell was in the next few moments—pain, a total lack of control, and the unnerving suspicion that the Nightmare’s counter measures would never stop punishing me. I should have known that the head of the Reaper Corps would have guarded against a Reaper mutiny.
Being able to move, or think, or do anything useful would have been outstanding. Blackness filled my vision.
“You’re freaking me out, you stupid jerk!” Elise stood over me like she wasn’t sure I was safe to touch.
By the time I recognized she was there, my short-term memory was almost as unclear as my long-term memory, but I knew by instinct I needed to mess with her. “Why didn’t you pull me back?”
She stiffened. “You looked like you were being electrocuted. I’m not trying to get shocked.”
“Yeah, I get it. But you wouldn’t have felt a charge unless you touched something that completed the circuit, and saying it electrocuted me is a bit of an oversimplification,” I said, pushing up to my feet.
“What the hell happened, then?” she asked, crossing her arms and stepping back as I stumbled around.
My lack of balance and coordination probably made me appear drunk. The hallway outside of the Archangel weapons vault tilted, causing me to stumble toward the wall. I threw out my right hand just in time to avoid face planting.
Elise giggled. “I shouldn’t be laughing.”
“I agree. Knock that shit off,” I said, turning to lean my back against the wall rather than my face. “That was unpleasant.”
Elise looked at her foot and tapped it several times. Arms crossed, eyes directed downward, she also chewed her bottom lip as though this might give her an answer to our dilemma. “We are really going to need that Archangel armor.”
I exhaled slowly, searching my jacket for a cigar that wasn’t there. We’d been so busy in the rush to get into the slip tunnel and head for the system where the Bold Freedom was stranded in the path of a comet that my routine was out of whack.
“Let’s check out some of the regular gear. It will be better than anything we’ve used so far,” I said, fighting back the need to vomit. “If X-37 could spare us time for a sarcastic comment, he’d tell us to think positive.”
“You should, in fact, think positive,” X-37 said to both of us.
I was glad Elise still had her earbud in place so we could communicate with my AI.
“Shall I reorganize my priorities? I am willing to expose myself to quarantine if you decide humorous interaction is more important than my survival,” X-37 said.
“No, X, you do you,” I said.
“Of course,” X-37 responded. “I’m going silent for a while to work on Tom’s theories. Attacking the ship AI at its signal relay source could have extreme consequences.”
“Yeah?” I worried that Tom would provoke the AI of the Nightmare. He was smart, but this was the premier special operations ship AI we were talking about. There was a real possibility it would self-destruct before submitting to a hostile takeover.
X-37 didn’t respond for several moments and I thought he had already gone into his self-imposed silence. When he finally spoke to Elise and me, his message was simple.
“Tom’s plan has merit, but it needs to be taken a step farther. I must, for lack of a better description, conduct an infiltration mission. It will be like being a Reaper, except classier,” X-37 said.
I laughed, not sure why, but I suspected my reaction was relief. “Nice one, X. Are you saying I don’t have any class?”
“I’m not sure my current software has the ability to judge your cultural sophistication or lack thereof,” X-37 said. “I suspect, however, that you have no class whatsoever.”
“You wound me, X,” I said, holding a hand over my heart in mock dismay. “Do your thing. Will try to manage without you until you and Tom can ninja the ship AI.”
“Outstanding, Reaper Cain. I will alert you when I’m able to talk more,” X-37 said.
Elise didn’t seem as happy as she should be. The runaway was still a teen, and I suspected I hadn’t seen the last of her moods. Maybe I was being a jerk, but I couldn’t be that far off the mark.
“Are you okay, kid?” I asked.
“Not a kid,” she quipped. “Are you okay? You look like you just finished a gut check workout and ate some mysterious gray sludge from a medical locker.”
“I should’ve never told you about that,” I said, pushing away from the wall and heading for the regular armory. When we first met on the Dreadmax prison station, I had been forced to eat something questionable. At the time, I convinced myself I was in a kitchen or break room, but it was far more likely that I had been in a research facility and had consumed some sort of spoiled plasma—and that was the best scenario.
“I laugh every time I think about it. I don’t think I could ever be that hungry,” Elise said, her mood improving as we neared a new roomful of weapons and tactical gear.
“Gray gelatin is delicious,” I said. “When X is done messing around with the Nightmare AI, I’ll have him find the recipe. You’ll love it.”
Elise made mock retching sounds.
“You’re hilarious,” I said.
“What’s a ninja?” She switched up the conversation because she was a teenager.
“No idea,” I answered. “I asked my teachers the same thing, and they said it was an old word that meant something to do with stealth, but I was pretty sure even then they were clueless. Probably just a remnant of an old language.”
The regular armory was locked, of course. I checked my lock pick wires, worried for a moment that they had been ruined by my experience at the Archangel armory door. Fortunately, it didn’t take much of a charge to cause that much pain when my nerve-ware was so sensitive. There wasn’t much damage.
I put my palm to the security panel, took a deep breath, and sent my wires in to do their thing.
“Why haven’t I ever seen you do this before?” Elise asked as she observed my progress.
“I don’t use it much, and it’s one of the many functions X-37 and Henshaw have brought back during our last several repair sessions,” I said.
“It seems useful,” she admitted.
“Sure, but normally X just opens everything remotely,” I said as I heard the locks click open. “There we go. Let’s check out some new toys.”
* * *
I showed Elise around the armory. The place was familiar, just like the good old days when I was a soldier with no idea how corrupt the Union had become. The main room had workbenches to clean and repair weapons or armor, plenty of space for a large group of soldiers to move around as they geared up, and rows of personal lockers. I counted them and thought there had to be at least a full company of regular soldiers assigned to the Nightmare in addition to Neb’s personal killers.
Most of them had been trapped on Wallach when we stole the ship. A good portion, however, now filled the brig and kept Path and Locke very busy. Just feeding them and dealing with their constant attempts to escape or argue was a full-time job.
There was a room dedicated to small arms weapons, everything from pistols to crew served machine guns with every imaginable optic and upgrade. I spent some time making sure there wouldn’t be any surprises. This gear wasn’t for the Archangels, but special operations units. Everything was the same as I remembered from my time in the Union, but newer and better maintained.
In the next room was unpowered armor, lighter and more resilient than what I had worn on Dreadmax, very simple to equip and use. The powered units would require me to train Elise and anyone else from Locke’s hodgepodge force before they could operate them safely.
“What do you think?” I asked. “The powered armor is EVA compatible. Could be useful if the ship is blown to pieces.”
Elise carefully examined the armor, nervous but trying to look like a pro. “You know how much I like EVA missions, but we should start training with this stuff as soon as possible. Everyone should.”
“You’re right,” I said.
In the third and final room that connected to the main work area was the range. It was in standby mode, but I suspected we were going to have fun. Not only were there several virtual shooting lanes, but a full tactical course that was modular and ready to be switched up to imitate various scenarios.
“I love this ship,” Elise exclaimed. “Why didn’t we steal it sooner?”
“It’s okay,” I responded. “We should steal the other two and pick the best one.”
“I’m down for that,” she said.
A speaker near the ceiling chimed, alerting me there was a message about to be broadcast. It surprised me because I was accustomed to all communications coming through X-37.
“Novasdaughter for Cain,” my new expert pilot/executive officer said.
“Go for Cain,” I responded.
“The uncharted S.G. Point is up ahead,” she said. “We’re in the right system, but you better get up here.”
* * *
Striding onto the bridge, I saw multiple holos displaying the scene. The comet, though still distant in absolute terms, gave everything in the system a peculiar sheen. The local star cast intense white light, an almost blue glare that did amazing things with the wake of the passing object.
But that wasn’t what made this system different from any place I’d ever been. There wasn’t one, but multiple debris fields—thousands of derelict ships drifting lifelessly.
“That’s not something you see every day,” Novasdaughter said with a wry grin. “Halek Cain with nothing to say.”
I could’ve mentioned that Elise was speechless, and that she was a greater master of snarky, profane comments than I ever would be. Not that I was keeping score. She had an advantage because she was the product of an illegal experiment and a teenager. So of course she had a mouth on her like an arms dealer.
“X, a little help here. Can you link up with the Jellybird and make some sort of analysis? I’d like to know all I can about these wrecks,” I said, not sure why I had an uneasy sensation in the pit of my gut.
My limited artificial intelligence didn’t respond. Elise and I shared a worried expression.
“X?” I repeated. “Don’t go to sleep on the job now.”
X-37 wouldn’t be able to resist a chance to snap back with a witty comment or an assertion that I was speaking nonsense with mixed metaphors and lame colloquialisms. This time, I got nothing from the LAI woven through my nerve-ware.
“The Nightmare AI is still interfering with our communication with the Jellybird,” Novasdaughter said from her control center. “Your friend Tom has sent us some text-only messages. Regular ship-to-ship communications are tricky in this system. He advises that he is keeping the ship in stealth mode and that the Lady Faith is doing the same.”
“Understood,” I said. “Let’s move away from the slip tunnel exit. Standard evasion protocols. There are still two more Union stealth carriers out there and I imagine they’re pissed off right now.”
“Taking evasive maneuvers and entering our own stealth mode,” Novasdaughter said.
I watched as the Nightmare moved at speed around the periphery of the system. Holographic monitors displayed different sectors with a combination of actual long-range views and digital simulations based on known systems and generally accepted astrophysics.
The most stunning view was of a large gas giant with double rings at different angles. Formed from different materials, one ring was closer to the planet than the other. A cluster of dark ships had become part of the outer ring. It looked like some vessels were in a degrading orbit. A thin river of debris flowed toward the gas giant.
I couldn’t make out the smaller specs, even with the computer enhancement. Some of the original spaceships had been enormous, nothing like any Union or Sarkonian ships I’d ever heard of.
“Can you minimize the computer enhancements but boost the clarity?” I asked.
“One moment,” Novasdaughter said. “I have to pull up the algorithm and work through the menu. This would be easier with the Nightmare’s artificial intelligence helping. And to make matters worse, I’m a fighter pilot, not a starship pilot.”
“You’re the most qualified person we have,” I said.
“I’m not complaining,” she said. “I’m just sharing some information. This is a promotion, by the way.”
“I’ll make sure to reflect it in your paycheck,” I said.
“We’re getting paid?” she asked with a laugh. “Here’s the divided view of the holograph; I split the debris field into parts. One view will be with the computer-enhanced details, and the other with natural light. That’s not too bad, but eventually it will be invisible without magnification.”
Dark shapes twisted in the void. Occasionally, there was a glint of light or movement. The field of broken and dead ships reminded me of an anthill under a corpse. “Is anyone else seeing that? There’s something wrong with this picture.”
Elise worked on her own station, pulling up a view that she manipulated as she studied it. “This workstation is identifying an anomaly but can’t explain it. I’m not sure what you and I are seeing, but there’s something there. We should investigate it.”
“We should do a lot of things,” I said, pulling up the Bold Freedom and its plight to take a better look.
“I wasn’t talking about before we rescue the people from Dreadmax. Of course we’re going to take care of them first,” Elise muttered.
“Try not to say everything that just pops in your head,” I said, realizing even as I spoke the words that this was the start of an argument.
“Like you’re one to talk,” she said, refusing to face me as she pretended to work on the display problem.
“X, a little help. If you don’t pipe up with something to put this kid in check, I’m going to get worried,” I said.
“I’m not a kid,” Elise growled, teeth clenched so that the words were barely loud enough to hear.
“Cats don’t wear slippers,” X-37 said.
“Random,” Elise said with a tone of singsong sarcasm.
“X, I need you to check out these debris fields,” I insisted, ignoring Elise and Novasdaughter. No one outside of the Reaper Corps knew what to look for in a degrading or compromised limited artificial intelligence. There were certain keywords that would warn me the unit was failing. I listened intently for what came next.
Elise turned away from the work she’d been pretending to do despite having reached a complete dead end on her own. She had an odd expression on her face. “What’s wrong, Reaper?”
I told her about the keywords but not what they were, and we waited to see what X-37 said next.
“You’re just a cross-eyed fish, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.
Elise and Novasdaughter stared at me, clearly wanting to know if these were the indicators that meant the end was near. I shook my head.
“You’re talking nonsense, X,” I said, getting worried now.
A long pause followed.
“Help me, Reaper Cain,” X-37 pleaded.
My blood ran cold.
“...Reaper Cain…”
“X!”
No answer.
Elise typed furiously on her keyboard. A moment later, Novasdaughter started doing the same thing. I paced the bridge, knowing there wasn’t anything I could do on the computer systems that Elise and Novasdaughter weren’t already attempting. “Tom, can you read me?” I said, hailing the Jellybird.
“I’m here,” he said, his response tense.
I explained what had happened. “If you have a way to stop the Nightmare from attacking X-37, I need to know it now.”
“Your LAI wasn’t supposed to do anything until we were both ready,” Tom said.
“Shit happens. He either saw an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up or something else drove him into direct conflict with the ship AI,” I said. “Can we implement your half of the plan without consulting X?”
Tom looked uncomfortable. “It’s only a theory, and the signal relay I might be able to use against the Nightmare’s AI is difficult to reach.”
“I don’t care how hard it is to get to it. Tell me where to go and I’m on my way,” I snapped.
Elise jumped up from her chair, determined to assist me.
“It’s on the outside of the ship, in an armored relay box with several defensive systems I can’t hack into,” Tom said. “If I was on the Nightmare, I might be able to do more.”
“No, Tom. There isn’t time, and I need you on the Jellybird,” I said. “Send me the coordinates and a diagram to the EVA equipping room. We’re going to get some on-the-job training. Novasdaughter, contact Locke. See if he has anybody with extravehicular activity suit credentials and send them my way.”
“I’m coming with you,” Elise said.
“Good, I’ll need your help,” I said. We rushed into the hallway. When we arrived at the EVA equipping room, Novasdaughter began relaying Tom’s instructions. Apparently, during the short time it took us to descend to the equipping area, the Nightmare had blocked all communications with the Jellybird or other ships.
“The Nightmare AI is treating this as a mutiny. I don’t know if you can appreciate that, but our situation is going to get very difficult. I don’t know how much longer I can talk to you, and don’t count on connecting with your limited artificial intelligence or the Jellybird,” Novasdaughter said, speaking quickly.
“Give me the schematics. I’ll memorize them in case I lose the ability to pull them up digitally,” I said. Moments later, I was studying a screen next to the wall speaker. It felt crude, but this was the only way we were going to get things done with most of the ship systems back under the Nightmare’s control.
Elise stood beside me until Locke and two volunteers arrived. We studied the map and went over what needed to be done to control the signal relay to the ship AI. Tom left detailed instructions.
I followed each of them to the letter until I had removed a power regulator from a heating and ventilation system, opened the top panel, and looked inside.
“And now it gets ugly,” I said.
“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Elise asked.
“More or less,” I answered. “Okay, just less.”