The Trilisk AI (19 page)

“So
they’ll know I’m there? Suddenly the stealth suit isn’t sounding as comfy as
before.”

“The
Space Force will notice you. The F-clave probably won’t. My idea is, we could
try and make you look like a software glitch, or maybe just a legitimate wearer
who’s misconfigured.”

“Well,
how do they manage them?”

“I
don’t know many details. There’s a system there that uses frequencies banned
for civilian use. We could turn it off completely. But then I’m wondering if
you would be classified as a non-combatant. I mean, an unarmed civilian is a
lot different than someone creeping around in a stealth suit in a firefight.
I’m not sure if that would make it more dangerous.”

“If
we turn it on, then I need to join their team? And we won’t be authorized to do
it.”

“Suppose
their team was called WarFalcons. Then what if you weren’t on the team but you
called yourself SpyFalcon? Or Observer? They would be less likely to shoot you
dead. You wouldn’t be on their team. As you say, we wouldn’t be authorized to
join their link channels, but you could imagine they might think someone
screwed up somewhere and didn’t add you correctly.”

“The
name might give them pause,” Cilreth said. “Okay. I’ll get on this
configuration. Maybe ObserverDrone or UNDrone?”

“Could
backfire,” Arlin said. “If they think you’re just a mechanical, they might be
less concerned about friendly fire incidents. Heck, if I were special forces
I’d love to take out the government spy drone trying to report back on all my
mistakes.”

“Oh.
Yeah,” Cilreth said.

“I
wouldn’t be surprised if they try to deactivate the suit remotely,” Relachik
said. “But it’s an officer’s call. If you turned out to be on their team, or
even a UN monitor of some sort, and they got you killed by deactivating the
suit, it would be bad. So they might not try it.”

“Better
and better. I’ll see if I can figure out how that would be done and disable
that feature.”

“Then
we’re back to them deciding she’s a combatant if they can’t turn it off,” Arlin
said. “Maybe we should all go in.”

“If
I figure out how to keep it from being turned off, I’ll make sure the suit
reports that it
was
turned off.”

“We
might have a week,” Relachik said.

“Then
I’ll get on it.”

“I’m
curious about the battle module,” Arlin said. “What kind of a thing is it?
What’s the plan for that one?”

“Its
exact nature and specs are need to know,” Relachik said. “But the plan in that
case is simple. You’ll sit there and hug a big rock about a kilometer away with
the stealth functions on. The lights at the F-clave complex will go out. You
wait three minutes, then go in and get what you need. Hurry out before the
cleanup crew shows up.”

“The
F-clave has internal power,” Cilreth pointed out.

Relachik
shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. The power will go out.”

“Doesn’t
the Avatar thing hang around for the cleanup crew?”

“No.
It will be gone. In three minutes, it will be long gone.”

“I’ll
prepare for the less likely contingency, then,” Cilreth said.

“Yes,
that would be smart. I can lay out some scenarios for the case where they send
in a human team. We can drill those a bit.”

“I’ll
be waiting.” She got up and walked out. Arlin and Relachik sat in silence for a
moment.

“Did
you get me to buy in first just so she would too?” Arlin asked.

“No.
I was prepared to go with her. It just makes so damn much more sense for
someone with the stealth suit to go alone.”

“She
might not come back,” Arlin said. “I mean, I think she will, but...”

“I’ve
led people to their deaths before,” Relachik said. “But there was always a lot
on the line. I go to sleep every night knowing that I did more good in the
world by doing that than if I had sat back and refused to give the orders.”

“What’s
on the line this time is personal. It’s important to you, maybe not to her.”

“But
that’s another thing, isn’t it? She volunteered. She knows it’s a little
dangerous.”

“Fair
enough,” Arlin said. “Can you tell me anything else about the Avatar battle
module?”

“Let’s
see. Should I say ‘I’ve already said too much’ or should I go with ‘If I tell
you, I’ll have to kill you’?”

“Ha.
Okay. Let me know if you need help with the sim, then.”

“Will
do.”

Relachik
linked in with Cilreth and started to set up the parameters of the simulation.

***

Cilreth
stood in the desert-like environment of undeveloped Brighter Walken. It was only
a simulation, but looked and felt real enough. She activated the suit’s stealth
function. She checked her arm. It appeared as if she could see through her own
flesh, though it had a ghostly glowing outline.

“Do
I glow like that? I hope not.”

“That’s
just for you. No one else can see it. It’s not just the sim. The suit can
overlay your limbs for you for real, just like that. Helps to keep you from
shooting yourself or chopping off an arm or whatever.”

“Nice.”

She
spotted the rock formation ahead that they had named Station One.

“I
can only guess as to the location of the storage,” Relachik said. “And chances
are, the F-clave has modified its compound without notifying anyone. So I’m
deviating from the floor plans of record.”

“Got
it.”

“If
the Avatar goes in ahead of you, there’ll be nothing in your way. You just have
to hurry and find the storage and get out before the retrieval team shows up to
capture the gang members and the storage. This simulation is for the worst-case
scenario: a special team goes in backed up by some local marshals. In that
case, you have to get in behind the team, avoid the fighting and grab what you
can.”

“Can
I count on your support?”

The
answer was delayed.

“Best
if you can do it in silence. But if you get hung up on something, you can ask
for help. Remote or otherwise. The suit’s link frequencies may or may not be
jammed, as I mentioned earlier.”

He
doesn’t want me to talk. But he can’t bring himself to forbid it, either.
“Okay. No noise then. Whenever you’re
ready.”

“You’re
at Station One. Arlin and I will be watching. Here we go.”

Relachik.
Over on the west side.

It
was Arlin’s simulated link. Cilreth got a surveillance feed. She saw that a
drone had stopped.

I
see it,
Relachik
transmitted back.

Has
it seen something?

No.
They neutralized it.
Okay,
Cilreth. Probably about a minute or two now.

I’m
ready
, she sent back.

Everything
happened at once. Two missile trails shot forth from the desert, only a couple
of feet above the ground. The front and rear gates of the compound exploded.
The drones on patrol around the perimeter were all dead in their tracks.

“Here
come the robots,” Relachik noted.

“There’s
two at the front gate and one at the back,” Arlin added.

Cilreth
watched two light combat robots charge the front.

“Do
you hear any chatter?” Relachik asked.

“No.
Nothing.”

“Good.
Maybe you’re the only stealth suit out there. Go on in. Silence from here on
out unless you get in a real mess. Good luck.”

“Got
it,” Cilreth said. She checked the suit diagnostics one last time. Everything looked
good. She sprinted out from the rocks.

She
watched the entrance as she approached. Soldiers in light armor prepared to
enter after their machines. She counted eight of them.
And hopefully there
are no invisible ones.

The
squad ran inside the gate.

Cilreth
tried to calm her breathing as she walked out of the last cover toward the
compound wall. Loud cracks of weapons fire erupted from the compound. She
glanced back. Her footprints appeared lazily behind her, eerily trailing her by
several feet.
If someone shoots at the head of the footprint trail, they’ll
miss.

The
entrance yard was a mess. She saw a couple of robot pieces lying around and
three men in glue. She didn’t know what side they were on, so she ignored them.

Her
eyes scanned the main building. Two doors had been forced. She ran for the wide
double doors straight ahead. A camera bubble or weapons turret had been melted
above the doorway. The ruin belched black smoke. Cilreth decided to run up
beside the door before bolting in. She heard the sharp snap of launchers and
the whine of a stunner.

She
took a peek. She saw a smoke-filled atrium. More people in glue struggled on
the floor. Cilreth ran inside, keeping a wall on her right side. The room had
once been luxurious, filled with low tables and faux-leather couches. She took
the first corridor that offered itself and looked down its length. A black scar
from some explosion marred the floor. She looked at the doors and summed them
up: several small ones and a big metal one that had been forced open.

The
small doors are too close to the entrance. They can’t be important. Go deeper
into the complex.
She
ran through the ruined metal doorway. A short mirrored hallway split right and
left.

Cilreth
experienced a moment of near-panic.
Which way should I go? There’s going to
be so many hallways, so many doors. I can’t count on the map being any good.

She
chose the left. People chose the left less often. Then it struck her that might
mean the soldiers went right and the criminals still awaited a fight on the
left, but she didn’t turn back.
No time for second-guessing myself. Besides,
the soldiers probably split up.

A
commotion rose ahead. An opulent archway guarded by a beautiful but functional
metal mesh had been forced. Cilreth ran up beside the doorway and dropped to a
knee to peek around the corner.

She
caught a glimpse of robots fighting more machines. The robots looked like Space
Force hydras, a commonly used light assault robot. But the room was large. She
should be able to sneak through. She stayed low and darted inside.

It
was like a scene from robot hell. The room was filled with car-sized
programmable fabricators and a series of raw material vats. A giant, many-armed
industrial robot held two Space Force hydras aloft in the center of the room.
Projectile holes had been scattered across its surface. As Cilreth took in the
scene, the industrial robot dropped a large circular-saw-tipped arm onto one of
the hydras. The hydra was ripped in half in the space of a second. Some part of
Cilreth expected the lifelike hydra to scream in its death throes, but she
heard only the squeal of metal and plastic being sundered. A soldier or marshal
crouched behind cover in the corner to her left, looking at his puny nonlethal
weapon, probably wondering what he was going to do next if the giant machine
proved unstoppable.

Cilreth
skipped to her right amid a rain of hot debris launched by the saw blade.
Sparks and metal showered over the stealth suit. She ran for the right corner,
next to an exit. She accelerated directly toward a desk and vaulted over it. As
she dropped to the ground a metal sphere rolled up beside her.

Oh,
that’s what he was doing.

The
world went black.

“Was
that what I think it was?”

“You
bought the farm. Smart grenade. Look, you took a risk by running through that
fight. You might make it, you might not. This time you didn’t. Remember, you
don’t have to be detected to get killed in combat.”

“Whatever
happened to super-accurate smart weapons?”

“It
was super-accurate, and aimed at that industrial robot’s power spine. You also
happened to be super-stealthy, and super-in-the-way.”

Cilreth
swore.
I wanted to do better than that the very first time.

“Okay,
let’s run it again.”

Chapter 15

Magnus
awakened with Telisa curled beside him. He checked the feed from Scout. The
situation appeared to be good. He accessed Shiny’s probe and saw that none of
the destroyers wandered nearby.

They
gathered their things. Their sleep had been light and brief. Scout kept
patrolling around them.

“Thank
the Entities for that thing. How could I sleep with those alien
monst...creatures around if it weren’t for Scout?” Telisa said.

“Good.
Look, just change your perspective. We’re hunting for those things. Not the
other way around. We’re deadlier than they are.”

Telisa
took a deep breath. “True enough, I suppose.”