Unstable Prototypes (43 page)

"Yeah, but I finally managed to psyche myself
up for it. I don't want to get kicked out after all of that!"

"This isn't a field trip. The students don't
get to take the tour," Garotte said.

"I'm not just a student! I get a paycheck,
too!"

"Out!" Garotte said.

"Jon, please," Michella said calmly.

"But! … Fine. I get to do all of the
dangerous stuff and none of the fun stuff," he grumbled.

"One moment, my boy. A quick lesson before
you go. The dangerous stuff
is
the fun stuff. Keep that in
mind while the adults talk business."

Jon grunted, then there was the sound of a
door opening and closing.

"He's gone," Michella said.

"Very well. Now, what's this about footage?"
Garotte said.

"You haven't seen? Surely it made it to all
of the special feeds by now!" Michella said defensively.

"Sorry, my dear. I have been a bit busy with
my own concerns to be watching the local news."

"There was an attack on Tessera by the same
people you're after. If you are able to accept a data transmission,
I'll send you the raw data."

"Are we set up for that, Ma?" Garotte
asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Do it."

A few moments later, the video footage was
delivered. Garotte tracked through it on the ships monitors.

"Egad..." he said quietly as he watched the
insane race to the scene unfold in fast forward. "Those are our
boys, alright. What the hell were they doing on Tessera?"

"I can tell you what they did, precisely, as
well as the scope and depth of their involvement with several key
military locations, but I'll require some information in
return."

"And what might that be?"

"An even exchange. You tell me anything about
this group that you've learned, anything you've done against them,
everything."

"To what end?"

"So that I can include them in my eventual
reports on this matter."

"That isn't feasible. I can't have any
sensitive information I might have accumulated broadcast to the
masses."

"If you agree to allow us exclusive access,
then I will naturally hold back any information you give me for any
reasonable amount of time. If you don't think that you can trust
me, then just remember my name when your mission is through,
because I guarantee you, I
will
find you. And I will have
questions. And I will expect gratitude."

Garotte leaned back and laughed. "Oh, I do
love a woman with confidence. Let me get a look at you," he said,
tapping the control to activate the video feed.

The scene that appeared on his screen was the
inside of Michella's luxurious hotel room, the attentive young
reporter with notepad and pen in hand, Lex beside her on the couch.
They, in turn, saw Garotte sitting in the control chair, Silo and
Ma out of view in the passenger and cargo area.

"And a toothsome young lady as well? Lex, my
boy, my hat is off to you. Alright then. Since, as you say, we
need
this information, I would say that you should show your
cards first."

"Fair enough. What would you like to
know?"

"What were they after on Tessera?"

"They were stealing something called Esche
alloy."

Garotte snapped his fingers. "Ma. The parts
list. Is that on it?"

After a few moments, the reply came. "Esche
alloy is the most difficult component of the CME Activator to
attain. It is reasonable to assume that they are in possession of
all of the other components, or have devised a way to manufacture
them. Even if they have not, said components are simple to assemble
from basic materials."

"Miss... I'm sorry what is your last name, my
girl?"

"Modane."

"Miss Modane, exactly how much alloy was
stolen?"

"8 kilos."

"Ma. How much alloy would they need to make
one of those weapons?"

"Based upon initial designs, 350 grams."

"So they've got enough to make more than
twenty of these things?"

"22.857142 repeating," Ma said.

"And how many weapons would they need to
cause serious damage?"

"Deploying one device will cause intermittent
failures and extreme damage in most unshielded electrical systems
of a star system for approximately four to eleven days, depending
on solar characteristics. Deploying three to six will cause a
sustained effect that will completely destroy or irreparably damage
all electrical systems of a star system and will last for a number
of months evenly distributed about a mean of five months. A similar
but diminishing effect will be felt within a radius-"

"Good enough for me," Garotte said, ignoring
the remaining explanation as she droned on in the background. "How
exactly did you get-"

"One moment, I want to hear the effects of
the weapon," Michella said, scribbling furiously.

"Miss Modane, you have my word as a gentleman
that you will be given full access to the computer system's
interminable supply of unnecessarily detailed facts when the key
points have been covered. Now, as I said, how did you get a
transmitting device onto one of their ships?"

"I threw it on there right before they took
off. You actually might even see it on the video."

"The video mostly shows a wall during their
takeoff," Garotte said.

"I know..." muttered Michella

"And how did you know that they would be
heading to Tessera for the Esche alloy? That sort of information
would have been helpful if you'd shared it with us, Lex, my
boy."

"I didn't know they would be showing up. I
went to Tessera to visit Mitch. There is a convention going on, and
she's a speaker," the pilot explained.

"... One moment. Let me see if I understand
this correctly. You were concerned that you were getting too deep
into the dirty side of this operation, so you left for a resort
planet, only to bear firsthand witness to what was unmistakably the
most aggressive and deadly use of force since the operation began.
Egad, my boy. What are the odds?"

"An accurate calculation of so infinitesimal
a value exceeds my current resources," Ma said, having just
finished her previous statement. "Mr. Alexander has a perplexing
tendency to fall victim to statistically confounding coincidences
and disasters. He appears to be a nexus of probabilistic
aberration. It is a trait that could benefit from further study.
Also, it is advisable that you pay attention to my-"

"Moving on!" Garotte interrupted, speaking
over the continuing reprimand, "Contrary to my expectation, you
seem to have some quality information. Let us get down to brass
tacks, then..."

The next few minutes were densely packed with
information. Michella delivered a carefully filtered list of places
and names she had been able to unearth in her investigations. There
were very few specifics, but each new organization or military post
she named that had been infiltrated by the Neo-Luddites hardened
Garotte's expression further. What few morsels of information he
had been able to discover on his own agreed with her own findings,
which unfortunately meant that her findings were almost certainly
accurate. If that was the case, the scope of the task at hand was
made infinitely more massive. Reporter and spy alike agreed that
approximately six months ago, something or someone had injected the
group with intelligence, finances, and leadership sufficient to
turn them from a loosely affiliated group of dedicated but
disorganized subversives to a surgical and single-minded
organization.

In exchange for the fruits of Michella's
labors, Garotte traded juicy but, from his point of view,
strategically harmless bits of information. He described their
equipment and tactics, the details of their maneuvers on Manticore.
A fair share of the intelligence he'd dug up had been worthless to
him, but would add plenty of depth and color to Michella's
report.

"Right, well. I would say that was a mutually
beneficial arrangement. I'll let you two get on your way."

"Wait. I would still like to ask this AI a
few questions," Michella said.

"Ah, yes. Ma, come here and," Garotte began,
leaning back to address the creature directly for the first time
since the call had been placed. When he caught a glimpse of what
Silo had been up to, he palmed his face. "Good lord, woman. As if
the estrogen levels in this ship weren't high enough."

"What? I think she looks darling. Go 'head,
sweetheart. Go answer some questions," Silo said from out of
sight.

Garotte stood, shaking his head and muttering
to himself while a quiet tapping approached the chair. A moment
later Ma leaped into the vacated control chair, slidepad in her
teeth, and set it down on the console. Silo had clearly been busy.
The little creature was now wearing a small pink hoodie. She had a
bright pink patent leather collar with a tag reading "Sassy"
spelled out in pink and white sequins. There were clip-on faux hoop
earrings, three in one ear and two in the other, a pink hair bow
was clipped on top of her head, and her nails were painted,
predictably, pink. Michella fought heroically to maintain her rigid
and professional demeanor, but the bundle of tooth-rotting cuteness
presented to her was enough to send a tremor through her carefully
cultivated facade.

Ma tapped out a message. "Hello, Miss Modane.
It is very nice to see you again."

"Again? Oh. Yes. In Trevor's apartment. When
you... licked me."

"It seemed to be the expected behavior at the
time."

Michella closed her eyes and tried to picture
a simple computer terminal.

"Summarize the effects of the, er, CME
Activator."

"Deploying one device will cause intermittent
failures and extreme damage in most unshielded electrical systems
of a star system for approximately four to eleven days, depending
on solar characteristics. Deploying three to six will cause a
sustained effect that will completely destroy or irreparably damage
all electrical systems of a star system and will last for a number
of months evenly distributed about a mean of five months. A similar
but diminishing effect will be felt within a radius which will
expand at the speed of solar wind. These estimates are based upon
experimental data and simulation of the existing design. If
proposed improvements are applied, the duration and intensity of
the effects will increase by 200 to 300%."

"Have you traced the location of the device
we were able to plant?"

"No. The high probability of its discovery
shortly after it is remotely activated has motivated us to wait
until the device is likely to have been taken to its final
destination."

"When do you suppose that will be?"

"Undetermined."

"Would you be willing to send the footage
Trevor described to me that was recorded during the initial capture
of the scientist named Karter?"

"Pending the successful completion of this
operation, I will gladly provide you with a copy of the footage,
edited to remove any depiction of items or persons considered to be
sensitive."

"Excellent," Michella said, opening her eyes
and fighting back another coo of adoration. "And Ma?"

"Yes."

"Have someone take a picture of you dressed
up like that and send it to me," Michella said quickly.

"Yes, Miss Modane."

"Goodbye. I'll be in contact."

"Goodbye, Miss Modane. You have been
extremely helpful. Mr. Alexander, I don't suppose you have
reconsidered your decision to withdraw from the mission. Your aid
would no doubt be highly useful, and your presence is always
appreciated."

"Uh..." Lex said, his hesitation enough to
prompt a hard look from Michella. "No thanks, Ma. But let me know
how everything turns out."

"I will be sure to do so. Goodbye."

"So long."

With that, she cut off the transmission.

"You heard her, sweetheart," Silo said,
snatching Ma's slidepad. "Smile!"

Ma straightened mechanically in the chair,
and produced the nearest approximation of a smile as could be
achieved on a face that wasn't really designed for it. The result
was halfway between grin and a snarl. Silo snapped the picture and
turned the device to the AI.

"What do you think?"

Ma looked closely at the image, then looked
herself over, for the first time noticing the degree of her
transformation. She then tugged the slidepad from Silo's fingers
and assembled a reply.

"Attractive though the accessories are, I
fear that they may be undermining my already vastly diminished
credibility in this form. Please remove them," she said. A moment
later she pulled up the image again, then amended. "Except for the
earrings. The nail polish may also stay."

"I knew you'd like it," Silo said, scooping
up the AI and starting to remove the items Ma had nixed. "So,
Garotte. What do you think about the mission now? I'd say the new
info changes things."

"I'll say... What I had turned up suggested
that they were military certainly, but if this Modane woman is
right, and it seems likely, then... Well, virtually every military
organization is likely to at least have eyes and ears. And the
heists she says they pulled off... These folks are exceptionally
well equipped."

"Well, they are fixated on the dangerous,
unstable stuff, right? Doesn't that mean there is a good chance
that most of them will be at least equipped with things that are
likely to blow up in their faces?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Funny thing about
inconsistent and unreliable weapons; you cannot depend upon them to
be consistently unreliable."

"You said we've got better weapons waiting
for us at the rendezvous, right?"

"Better, yes, but not nearly good enough.
With the sort of manpower and training we're looking at, they'll be
good enough for a smash and grab or two, but only if we know
precisely where our target is and we can get in and out quickly.
For a full rescue, assuming they've taken the precaution to put
Karter in a well guarded facility, we'll need a lot more men. But
if they've got that alloy, and it is the last piece of the puzzle
for them, then we've got to assume that they are going to be ready
to deploy soon. At the very least, that means that Karter will have
served the purpose they captured him for, and thus could be on his
way to execution. More likely and more worrying, it means they are
probably nearly ready to use the weapon,
and
they've gotten
Karter to cooperate with them, which means steadily escalating
attacks and more insane equipment. Either way, we're running out of
time. After we get properly equipped, we
may
have the time
to make one more stop."