The Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles #4, Retribution (18 page)

“
The biggest problem will be getting back to a permissioned terminal to enter the cod
e
” Debbu said
.“
The site I was planning on using was accessed from the tram tunnel
s
… I
t’
s probably under water at this point
.
”

Cat smiled
.“
As it turns out, I have access to the primary computer center in the Syndicate headquarters building. Will that suffice
?
”

Debbu just grinned.

***

Lieutenant Quick-Kick stood beside a large sweet-sap tree near the edge of the clearing by the observatory. Its leaves had begun to turn brown with the changing of the season. The lieutenan
t’
s Modos Syndicate battle fatigues had transformed to match the trees around him. This alone would have raised the eyebrows of his fellow soldier
s
… if they had had eyebrows.

Despite appearances, Quick-Kick was not a member of the Modos Syndicate. He was an agent for the secretive overlords called the Uruk. As a result he had access to technology that was in many ways superior to that of the GC
P’
s Heshe benefactors. Oh, he recognized the Uru
k’
s ancient fo
e’
s finger prints on this so-called Galactic Coalition. It smelled of Heshe.

He signaled his Commander, Fleet Captain Dry-Bait onboard the Uruk Battle Cruiser
Retribution
. His quantum-entangled communication system was part of a comprehensive series of biomechanical enhancements that had been made for his person. In point of fact, where most Modos established a symbiotic relationship with a dumbed-down Suhtii host, his Bearephant was in fact a highly advanced and battle-ready android equipped with sophisticated cloaking technology that would fool even the best medical scanners.

The
Retribution
acknowledged his hail.    

“
Lieutenant Quick-Kick, reporting in
,
” he said, crisply.

“
Go ahead, Lieutenant
,
” a voice on the other end of the channel said.

“
I’
ve followed the Heshe augment to the rebe
l’
s communication facility north of Harromog. They have entered the facility and engaged the rebe
l’
s encoder. Per protocol
I’
ve intercepted and invalidated the disable code
.
”

“
One moment, Lieutenant... The captain will be with you shortly
.
”

Quick-Kick leaned back against the tree. He closed his eyes and followed the progress of the five who entered the observatory using his fully cloaked Uruk ENOs. The group was discussing how to use the invalid codes they had just received. It was important that he receive instructions quickly, because, should those codes be used, the result would be the destruction of this world. While that might indeed be the ultimate outcome of the current conflict, it was not a decision typically entrusted to lieutenants.

A gruff voice joined the commlink
.“
Captain Dry-Bait her
e
… wha
t’
s your situation, Lieutenant
?
”

“
Sir,
I’
m stationed just outside the facility and have the occupants under observation remotely. They have an invalid disable code for the plane
t’
s sterilization system and are about to utilize it
.
”

“
That would not be a good thing, Lieutenant. The Overlords are not ready to write off this system yet. I would encourage you to do something about it
.
”

“
Yes, sir. Tha
t’
s all I needed to know.
I’
d like to take the opportunity to deal with the augment as well. Can I assume I have your permission to proceed
?
”

“
Capture her if you can. Eliminate her if you cannot
.
”

***

“
I
t’
s coming through
,
” Debbu said, in a greatly relieved voice. The critical key code they had been waiting for was finally appearing in the holographic viewer. The decoded text was a 512 character string that was a combination of Naanac numbers and letters.

Debbu inserted a small dongle into the decoder. The device transferred the string to the memory stick. Pulling it out, he turned to face the others.

“
I believe we are ready
.
”

Ca
t’
s AI had analyzed and catalogued everything in the immediate vicinity. Therefore she knew the device Debbu held needed to plug into a transmitter designed to accommodate it. The unit in question was located on a panel mounted on the rear wall and was currently powered down. She pointed to the panel.

“
We still need to get power to that if we are going to deliver the disarm codes
.
”

Debbu grunted in agreement
.“
There should be a power feed we can reroute. My guess is the original shorted out when the primary feed to the facility was cut
.
”

“
Agreed
,
” Cat said, as she surveyed the room again. She had her AI scan for electro-magnetic signatures that might indicate an active power conduit. She quickly located what she was looking for. Reaching a hand toward a small section of the wall, she extended a finger to touch the wall. Immediately a silver thread flowed from the tip of the finger. Construction nanites under the guidance of Ca
t’
s embedded AI rerouted an energized power conduit to feed power into the dead circuit.

Unknown and unseen by the five in the room, another set of eyes watched everything that was happening.

Chapter Fiftee
n
–
Two Ways...

Quick-Kick adjusted the current being fed into the power conduit the female Heshe proxy was tapping into. He had no concern that her technology would be able to detect his tampering. The Uruk tech to which he has access was considerably more advanced.

As predicted, the conduit surged and shorted out. This time Quick-Kick made sure the circuit boards associated with the panel fused as well. The resulting shower of sparks that his ENO captured and beamed back to him was quite satisfying.

Cat looked confused for the briefest of moments. Her systems had not detected the surge before it happened and, even more concerning, they had not been able to head it off once the initial surge had begun. Neither situation should have occurre
d—
yet, they had. Cat sent an encrypted message to WhimPy 101. There were questions that needed answer
s—
questions only the Heshe could answer.

Turning to face the others, she gave voice to what they were all thinking
.“
We just lost our only means of turning off the nukes
.
”

“
That may not be entirely accurate
,
” Debbu said, while waving smoke out of his eyes.

***

The Uruk Battle Cruiser
Retribution
engaged its cloak at 23 percent efficiency. This was enough to hide it from the GCP ships in system but there was enough electro-magnetic leakage that the emasculated Heshe weapons platform should have no trouble detecting the
Retributio
n’
s
movements. Being detected was part of the plan.

Captain Dry-Bait stretched in his command chair on the bridge of his ship. There had been a time when he would have thought that action unusua
l
… especially given that the body he was stretching was essentially an android. He, like the rest of his crew, benefited from the fruits of their close association with the Uruk. The Syndicat
e’
s chairman might think he was in control of the Modos business ventures but Dry-Bait knew better. Critical people within the upper echelons of the Syndicate hierarchy were in fact employees of the Uruk. It was important that they blend in completel
y
… ergo the yawn and stretch.

“
Helmsman, move us ahead 0.2c. Bring us to a point exactly opposite Naanac on the far side of the sun. Weapon
s
… I want a low-level Higgs Field inhibitor beam fired toward the solar corona. Make the containment dirty. We want our friends in the GCP to see it. Just enough power to cause the sun to eject some coronal masses. The shi
p’
s AI will modulate the inhibitor so that the ejections work their way around the sun and threaten the planet
.
”

Dry-Bait sat back when his orders were acknowledged. With any luck the Heshe Platform would take the bait.

***

WhimPy-101 watched the Modos Syndicate ship called
Retribution
make its way across Naana
c’
s orbit of the sun. Even at one fifth the speed of light the journey took the better part of two hours. The Modos ship was employing a cloaking technology that effectively hid it from all but the WhimPy platform. As a result WhimPy provided the GCP Armada with an enhanced feed from his sensors. At the same time WhimPy-101 continued to contemplate the disturbing message he had received from Catherine Kimbridge. If she was right, it was entirely possible that the WhimPy platform might be forced to do something his designers had hoped he would never have to d
o
– call for help.

The
Retribution
began to emit an energy beam that disturbed the local gravitational field near the su
n’
s corona. The result was immediate and startling. The WhimPy hailed Commodore Ruck.

***

Jason Ruck was sleeping when WhimP
y’
s hail came in. Groggily he sat up in bed and did the best he could to clear the sleep from his head.

“
Ruck here
,
” he croaked, dryly.

“
Commodore, my apologies for interrupting your sleep. There is a situation developing that requires your immediate attention
,
” WhimPy-101 said.

“
Go ahead, 101. Wha
t’
s up
?
”

“
The Modos are attempting to overload the planetary shields using coronal mass ejecta
.
”

“
Will it work? Will they be able to overload the shields
?
”

“
Unlikel
y
… however there is a very good chance they will destabilize the syste
m’
s primary resulting in a nova event
.
”

“
Tha
t’
s not good
,
” Jason said, as he pulled on his uniform.

“
Indeed. It would be bad
,
” the massive Heshe AI said.

As Jason headed out the door to his cabin he signaled the Shi
p’
s AI to summon the senior staff to the bridge.

“
101, I need options
.
”

***

Cat look over the shattered landscape. It seemed strange that she should be back where she had started. The Syndicate Headquarters was the location of the central computer node for the entire global network. It was here that she had met Lt. Commander Pete Leander just days before and begun the cybernetic exploration of the Syndicate computer network. Ca
t’
s AI was even now digesting and indexing information streaming in from the nanites that were probing the network.

Private Stone scrambled up the embankment to stand next to her. The others had remained on the
Honey Dipper
which was heading back up to the WhimPy in orbit. She had elected to take the soldier with her because his Mark Six meant he had the strength and speed to keep up with her. Ricky had dropped them off a kilometer short of their goal because of intense fighting near the headquarters building.

“
The fighting seems to be moving toward us, Admiral
.
”

Cat nodded without saying a word. She had noticed the same thing. A group of armored vehicles was working its way toward a group of rebels. Cat had already contacted the GCP Marines operating in this section of the city. They were on their way to support the local fighters. The locals however were going to need help before they arrived.