Project Starfighter (40 page)

“Such as Mal?” Overlook asked.
“Could you imagine what might happen if a lunatic such as that
gained access to a system that could, as you so elegantly put it,
turn him into a god?” He snorted. “You think we’re bad, Mr
Bainfield ...”

“Then why don’t you just destroy
the system?” Sid asked.

Overlook started laughing. “And
kill ourselves? Mr Wilson, the first thing one does when one
discovers the fountain of youth isn’t to piss in it!”

“Wait a minute,” Phoebe said.
“If you are all gods, living the high life on Mount Olympus, who is
your Zeus?”

“Lance Skillman,” Athena
answered, before Overlook could. “I’m assuming he created the
machine that houses your consciousness?”

“Actually, no,” Overlook said.
“That would be a man called Mark Titus. He created the machine,
initially intending it to be used by the great minds of our times, so
that they could live forever. Keeping them alive would be of great
benefit, you see; culturally and scientifically. Imagine never again
having to lose such people as Shakespeare, da Vinci, Hawking,
Einstein, Darwin, Turing, Hubble ... Imagine being forever able to
consult their great minds. Wonderful idea, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes,” Chris conceded. “The
human race has lost inspirational people throughout its history. But
they have lived on through their work – their discoveries, their
writing, their books, their theories and their research. They already
have
immortality, and we’re able to benefit from them
through what they have left us.”

“But to have the actual person,”
Overlook pressed, “the actual man there for you to speak to. Would
it not be a great thing? Maybe you’re thinking that they could be
replaced by a machine, by a simulation. But it wouldn’t be
them
.
And I will admit that, for all our AIs and machines, humans do it
better.”

Chris glanced at Athena. “Machines
have their place and are useful.”

Overlook looked between Chris and
Athena for a time, as though sensing or seeking out something there
between them. He made no comment and continued on. “Titus actually
hated machines. He thought that they would at some point rise up and
turn against their creators – that they would conclude that all
organic life was either redundant or immoral, and should be
eliminated. That’s why he stipulated that any machine should be
kept no more intelligent than a pocket calculator; you give it
instructions and it follows them, no questions asked. To quote the
CEO: they should remain AIs and never become pure Is.”

Athena scowled at that, clenching
her fists. She made no comment, however.

“Why did you build Athena?” Sid
asked.

Overlook cast a disapproving look in
Athena’s direction. “It, or rather, the Firefly, was a gift to
Skillman’s sister. She always wanted to fly, to explore the galaxy,
to see things. She especially wanted her mode of transport to be
weaponised and powerful. We constructed a special starfighter,
capable of matching such requirements. Part of the design was an
advanced AI system that could act as a companion and adapt to the
needs and desires of the pilot. The damn thing was never supposed to
evolve the way it has.”

“So then why the need for a
helmet?” Chris asked.

Overlook scowled, seemly irritated.
“Skillman’s sister at one time entertained the notion of
transmitting her consciousnesses into a corporeal form, to heighten
the experience. We advised against it, though the option was still
there in the final Firefly design if she wanted to make use of it.”

“So, you sometimes put yourselves
into actual bodies?”

“No, don’t be ridiculous,”
Overlook said. “That would make us mortal, weak, and vulnerable.”

“But it sounds as though you have
the means to do so.”

“The technology exists, yes. But
again, we never use it.”

Chris rubbed his eyes. This was all
too much, it was mentally exhausting. They needed to do only two
things from here on out – find Ursula and, with her and Phoebe
together, to fight against the Corporation.

“Get the information we need from
him and then lock him up, or confine him to memory or something,”
Chris instructed Athena, getting up and preparing to exit the
transport. “Just ensure that he can’t escape or kill himself.”

“Mr Bainfield,” Overlook said.
“Supposing you defeat WEAPCO, what will you do about Mal?”

“What about him?” Chris asked.

“As I said, WEAPCO is one thing,
but Mal is another. Are you ignoring the elephant in the room.”

“Mal’s dead,” Chris said.

“He’s been thought to have been
killed before, and has always come back. Why do you think his group
are known as the Immortal League?”

“He’s dead,” Chris repeated.
“I saw his fighter explode with my own eyes, and he didn’t eject.
Mal’s no longer a problem; he won’t be coming back from this
one.”

“You seem very sure of that,”
Overlook said, as Chris started out of the transport.

Chris hovered briefly in the doorway
before responding to Overlook. “As you should be, Mr Overlook,”
he said.

~

Overlook
did not need very much more encouragement from Athena to divulge the
information that Chris was after, enabling the group to cross-check
the details against the records held on the
Dodger
’s and the
executive transport’s databases. Satisfied, Chris called a meeting
on the
Dodger
’s bridge.

“So, what’s the plan?” Sid
asked.

“We’re going to take the
Dodger
out of silent running,” Chris said.

“And just fly straight into WEAPCO
space?”

“Yes,” Chris said. “A WEAPCO
freighter entering WEAPCO space should be largely ignored. An unknown
freighter approaching a WEAPCO complex would be viewed as highly
suspicious and would probably be blown to bits before it had a chance
to deploy a docking tube. Athena can talk to the station’s systems
and convince it that we’re friendly. She can tell them that we are
there to deliver supplies or something.” He looked at Athena for
confirmation.

“I can do that,” she said. “But
we will still have to work quickly. The AIs will likely cross
reference all their records and will spot that we aren’t scheduled
to be there.”

“There’s also a good chance that
WEAPCO will know that the
Dodger
has been missing for some
time,” Sid added. “They’ll flag it up immediately when it’s
seen. They’re sure to suspect by now that either we or a mercenary
group took it.”

“That could raise the alarm far
sooner than we hope,” Chris acknowledged. “One thing’s for
certain, though – once we’re in, we can’t leave without Ursula;
we need to end this thing now.”

“How many of us are going?” Sid
asked.

“All of us, except Athena,”
Chris said. “I don’t think your avatar system can extend that
far, can it?”

“No,” Athena said. “I’m
bound to the ship. I could fly over to the station with you and tap
into the system there, to extend my presence, but I can’t see it as
being of any real value. I wish there was something more I could do.”

“You can watch for our return to
the
Dodger
, and jump the freighter out of the system as soon
as we’re back aboard,” Chris said. “Sid, Phoebe, we’re going
to arm ourselves for a fight. We’ll take the executive transport
over; that will make things seem a little more legitimate.”

“What about the Manx?” Sid
asked.

“Too small, and, as with the
Dodger
, it risks being tagged as a threat the moment it’s
sighted.”

“Shouldn’t one of us stay here?”
Sid asked. “Other than Athena, I mean?”

“No,” Chris shook his head. “We
all need to be there. I want Phoebe to do what she can to take
control of the facility, but if something goes wrong, we’ll need to
resort to guns. If that’s the case, the more the better.”

Sid nodded. “We’ve got plasma
rifles with shield disruptors, so that should be enough.”

“Have we got enough ammo to take
on an army of drones and bots?” Phoebe asked.

“We must make do with what we
have,” Chris said.

“We’re going in there to save
Ursula, but what about anyone else?” Phoebe then asked. “Overlook
didn’t say there was anyone else being held there, but we can’t
assume that there won’t be.”

Chris considered it for a moment,
before coming to a swift conclusion. “Your sister is our objective.
If there is anyone else there, we’ll just have to go back for them
later. We can’t risk losing Ursula, for the sake of rescuing a few
random others. I know that sounds terrible,” he added hastily, “but
that’s just the way it is.”

He looked uneasily at Athena,
Phoebe, and Sid, but to his relief saw that they were nodding their
heads in understanding.

“I’ll make the jump preparations
and tell the freighter to revert to its regular form,” Sid said.

“Good. What about the upgrades to
the Firefly and Valkyrie? Is there anything more we can do with the
fighters?”

“A little,” Sid said, “but
we’re close to hitting the limits on both. We might be able to
boost their shields and firepower by another ten to fifteen percent,
but that’s all.”

“How long do we need to get that
done?”

“Not long, since most of the work
is already finished. Perhaps another three hours? If I’m
remembering things right, the jump from here to Murdar will take
around four hours.”

“In that case,” Chris said,
“let’s aim to have Ursula with us in five.”

T
he
jump to Murdar took just under four hours, the
Dodger
completing its remapping of its covert systems a few minutes before
arrival. Good timing, Chris thought. He had spent the entire jump
sequence on the
Dodger
’s bridge, running through the plan in
his head time and time again. The others had left him to it, Phoebe
and Sid talking between themselves, and Athena disappearing off on
her own. Something seemed to be eating her up inside. Perhaps in
light of Overlook’s revelations, she had gone to consider her own
existence.

“Approaching the Murdar system,”
the
Dodger
’s AI informed Chris. “We will be exiting jump
in the vicinity of Odeon. Disengaging engines in ten seconds ...”

Chris sat up as Sid and Phoebe
entered the bridge, and focused on the central viewport as the
freighter reverted to normal space. A large planet loomed before
them, a greenish gas giant sporting an expansive ring system. Space
never failed to impress Chris; it was filled with wondrous natural
sights that often boggled the mind in terms of their size and scope.
Today, however, his eyes were focused on one thing only – the
Zetaman Facility, hanging in orbit around Odeon.

It was larger than he had expected,
shaped a little like a mushroom, fat at the top and tapered at the
bottom. There were no windows or running lights as far as he could
see. The facility was cold-looking, and a little uninviting.
Intimidating, almost. Had he not known what they were approaching,
Chris might well have believed it was of alien origin.

“I’m picking up several WEAPCO
fighters on the scanners,” Sid said, poring over one of the
bridge’s consoles. “Seven confirmed: five Talons and two Mirages.
There is also a Hunk-class corvette hanging nearby.”

“Have any of them reacted to our
arrival?” Chris asked.

“Not yet,” Sid said. “As far
as I can determine, they have scanned us but are currently standing
down. Maybe they’re waiting to see what our next move will be, or
are conversing with their superiors.”

“Computer, bring us to within
shuttle deployment range of the Zetaman Facility,” Chris said, not
wanting to waste time. “Sid, Phoebe, let’s get over to the
executive transport and head over there.”

The three made their way down to the
hold where all the vessels they had acquired were parked, Sid and
Phoebe making their way over to Overlook’s former transport.

“Give me a moment,” Chris said
to the other two. “I just need to brief Athena.” He started over
to the Firefly to talk to her about the facility’s defences, and
run through a secondary attack strategy, should the fighters and
corvette turn hostile. He spotted Athena’s avatar sitting on a
crate, staring at the floor.

He went over to her, noting
something as he drew nearer. She appeared to be weeping. He stared at
her in disbelief. She
was
crying. She was sniffing, too, and
didn’t appear to have noticed him.

“Athena?” he prompted her.

She looked up at him, a little
startled, and quickly began to wipe away the tears from her eyes.
“Chris. I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“What’s wrong?” Chris asked.
Against everything he believed and what he had decided Athena to be,
he felt himself needing to know.

“It’s nothing,” she said,
waving him away and sniffing. “I was just thinking.”

“About?” He shouldn’t be
asking. This was wasting time.

“Life, my existence, that sort of
thing. It’s okay, I was just over-analysing things and winding
myself up.”

“Okay,” Chris said, taking the
opportunity not to discuss the issue any further. “We’ve arrived
at Murdar and are closing in on the Zetaman Facility. There are a
number of WEAPCO fighters and a corvette patrolling the immediate
area. They haven’t flagged us as hostile yet, but I strongly
suspect that will change once we’re aboard the facility and start
trying to find Ursula. You might have to get out there and tackle the
fighters until we’re safely back aboard.”

“You’ll have my full support in
that case,” Athena nodded, still appearing quite down. “I will
monitor the situation from here, and step in as necessary.”

Chris looked over at the WEAPCO
Cyclones that had at one time served as Overlook’s escorts. “I
know that you don’t have Phoebe’s skills, but how many of those
fighters can you coordinate in battle, yourself?”