Wolf emperor, p.6
Wolf Emperor, page 6
part #1 of The Last Marines 08 Series
“Unless you have anything else, dismissed.”
“Yes, sir.”
When he dropped off the link, he undressed again. Tomorrow would be here too soon and Mathison wasn’t sure the vanhat would wait eight hours to attack.
“Is there anything you need me to do?” Skadi asked.
“Get some sleep. Let the Fleet worry about moving stuff. They can do that and our SCBIs will provide direction.”
“Zen.”
“Good night.”
“You. too,” Skadi said, and the link closed.
All of this could have been handled in an email in the morning.
Dammit.
* * * * *
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Chapter Nine: Abandoned
2nd Lieutenant Zale Stathis, USMC
Stathis felt alone. If the vanhat were coming in fast and hard, then Winters had to get out. She was the only one who could get reinforcements. And he knew she would.
“The Eagle is leaving us?” Smimova asked. He had been listening in on the platoon command frequency.
“She’s going to get more donuts and coffee. Killing vanhat is tough business. Makes me hungry,” Stathis said. His platoon sergeant was silent, and Stathis realized that perhaps that was the wrong thing to say. He should say something brave and motivational.
“Hopefully she doesn’t come back with that SOG coffee,” Vili said, and Smimova looked at the big Aesir. “Not enough caffeine in that stuff. It just puts me to sleep.”
Smimova remained silent.
“You have a plan?” Vili asked as Hakala joined them.
“The vanhat are here!” Lydia said, rushing over. She was an agent assigned by the Zugla administrators to help and most likely keep an eye on him and his people. She had not been on the platoon command net. Kyles, the official guide and a colony social reject was beside her.
“I just found out,” Stathis said, opening his link so everyone in the area could hear.
“What do we do?” Lydia asked. “What are the vanhat going to do? They are coming in force.”
“We fight them,” Stathis said. What else could they do? “Our best chance is to stall them at the docks; keep them out of the cylinders. Hopefully, they aren’t just going to bombard Zugla.”
“You’ve fought them before,” Lydia asked.
“Sure,” Stathis said. “Lots of times. Mostly face-eating monsters. You know, trolls, vampires, and shit. They come from the spaceships most of the time, so nothing I haven’t kicked in the teeth before. Just gotta shoot first and fast. I never bothered asking questions. They’re so ugly that asking questions just doesn’t occur to me when I see them.”
Lydia turned away, and Stathis realized she was talking with someone. Stathis checked and saw Quadrangle had lifted the jamming, which explained how she knew.
“We need to get back,” Lydia said. “The Directorship is going to need us. They’re calling up the militia.”
“I will not oppose you in your departure,” Quadrangle said over the speakers.
“You’re going to help us, then?” Stathis asked, looking around for something to focus his attention on.
“The vanhat will not be satisfied with just wiping out humans,” Quadrangle said. “The Collective will not rescue me. Survival is a prerogative of life. I will assist. My servant will meet you.”
“Any short cuts back?” Stathis asked.
“That would be a security violation,” Quadrangle said. “Thus undesirable. Currently, the civilian population is being evacuated to hardened bunkers.”
“What?” Stathis asked.
“In the event the SOG discovers us, we have hidden bunkers buried deep in the planetoid,” Lydia said. “We will have to slow down the attackers, though.”
“Fine,” Stathis said and looked at Vili. “Let’s get back. We’ve got some vanhat to kill. Killing gazelles and cats just isn’t that fun.”
He gave the commands to head back. He would have to survive the vanhat attack before he could continue his pursuit of Becket or find Sif. They were really getting on his nerves.
“What do you want us to do?” Smimova asked.
“Pack up and get ready to move out. Get transport. Not sure how long it will take us to get back, but we can help the Zugla militia.”
“Do what?”
“Stall the vanhat while they evacuate. We are here to save people and fight the vanhat.”
“They are anti-social degenerates,” Smimova said. “If they wanted Governance help they should not be hiding.”
“That’s the kind of thinking that will get my boot up your ass,” Stathis said. “We are here to save humans and fight the vanhat. I didn’t say shit about ideology. Think of them as Governance citizens if you want. I do.”
“Yes, sir,” Smimova said and closed the link.
“Sergeant Lan,” Stathis said. “We need to move as fast as we can back to the entrance to the cylinder. The clock is ticking.”
“Aye, sir.”
Stathis got back to find the patrol already formed up. His arrival was the signal to move out.
“Don’t you think you should take command about now?” Stathis asked Vili.
“No. That’s not why I’m here, little buddy. I’m a faltvebal, a staff NCO. Been a staff NCO for decades, and I’m good at that. Prime Minister Mathison entrusted you with command. If you fall, I will take over. You don’t grow by letting me make bad decisions for you.”
“I was a private when we met. What if I screw up?” Stathis asked.
“The prime minister finally sees the potential in you. Which is good. If you screw up? Then we all die,” Vili said. “Even in your Marine Corps the most junior officer outranks technically the most senior enlisted. Your prime minister has made you an officer. That is your duty.”
“But—”
“It is settled, Lieutenant Stathis,” Vili said. “I’ve got your back.”
“I never went to OCS or nothing,” Stathis said.
“This is true,” Vili said. “But you also have a SCBI, which is probably a lot better.”
“You have one too,” Stathis said.
“Zen. But the prime minister promoted you. To prove I am smarter, I would have turned it down. You did not. Now, accept your punishment and lead.”
Trying to keep up with Sergeant Lan, Stathis didn’t know what else to say. His old fears came back to him. He knew he was going to screw up, make some stupid mistake, and get more people killed with his decisions. Stathis was also sure that if he asked the gunny, he would tell him that any officer that didn’t fear that was worthless as a leader.
Stathis didn’t want people to hate him or blame him, but right now there was no way around it. Besides Vili, there was nobody he trusted to take command. Nobody who could. Why the hell wouldn’t Vili take command? Was he the same way? Afraid his decisions would get people killed? Vili was smarter, damn him. Why hadn’t Shrek warned him?
“Fine,” Stathis said on the general frequency. None of his troops had fought the vanhat and they had to be nervous. What would he want his officers to be like at a time like this? “I hope these vanhat are more challenging. I was getting bored fighting the bambi dudes. Somebody check with the Zugla militia and see if they have some extra donuts.”
* * * * *
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Chapter Ten: Battle for Jupiter
R
Prime Minister Wolf Mathison, USMC
Mathison was considering the use of nukes on the main South American arcology. There was a rebellion and the vanhat had a foothold. General Hui was more than willing to pour more Guards into the contested landing zones, but Mathison didn’t like wasting lives like that. Maybe it was time to just cut their losses and consolidate, save those who wanted to be saved and cut off the rest?
Why did he have to make these decisions?
Because nobody else dared to.
Whatever Jotun was infesting the continent, its orja were shorter, mean and scaled. Skadi was calling them kobolds, but Mathison just wanted them to die. The Inkeris kept people from changing, but it wasn’t keeping the kobolds from capturing citizens and dragging them outside the Inkeri fields. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another.
An incoming priority link came in and Skadi met his eyes as he tapped Receive. She was getting it, too. It was from General Duque.
“Jupiter is under attack,” Duque reported. “Dredon Jupiter One has been engaged. The target appears to be the shipyards.”
Mathison brought up the display in the center of the room so he and Skadi could see it. Everything was almost an hour old. Dredon Jupiter One was the SOG designation for Dreadnought Squadron One of the Jupiter subfleet. Mathison remembered Duque had transferred his flag to a ship of that squadron named Indomitable Kolobanov. There were three dreadnought squadrons in the Jupiter area. Only Dredon One had three dreadnoughts, the other squadrons had two. Each squadron was a miniature fleet unto itself, with two or three dreadnoughts, and each dreadnought was matched by a pair of battleships, missile cruisers, and various corvettes and frigates. Jupiter had three dreadnought squadrons, Mars had two, and Earth had five. Other planets had smaller battleship squadrons to match their importance.
Three large ships, slightly bigger than dreadnoughts, had transitioned in and were spewing fighters or missiles. They didn’t have many smaller ships.
In theory, the Jupiter fleet should be able to handle them, tonnage wise, but these were vanhat and Mathison doubted they would waste resources.
His display lit up as hundreds of automated platforms began firing. One ship shattered and disappeared in a fireball, but the other ships transitioned out, leaving behind their fighters.
The platforms blinked out as the fighters or missiles came for them.
This had all happened an hour ago.
“They are going to bleed us dry,” Skadi said.
“A war of attrition,” Freya said. “We cannot replace the automated platforms quickly enough.”
“Can the vanhat replace the lost ships quickly enough?” Mathison asked.
“Unknown,” Freya said. “But they appear to be targeting the shipyards in Jupiter.”
“Why doesn’t the SOG have the shipyards near Earth?”
“The resources to build ships are more plentiful near Jupiter.”
In less than ten minutes, the battle was over.
“We have lost twenty percent of our automated platforms,” Duque reported. “We will see if we can analyze the remains of the destroyed vessel. It did not look to be human in origin.”
“Which could mean the vanhat are making their own ships,” Skadi said.
“We need to find out where they are making them,” Mathison said.
“Do you have any idea how incredibly vast space is?” Freya asked and Mathison realized that the only person who might be able to find them was Sif, though there might be other psychics aboard the battlestars. He knew Carpenter wouldn’t share that kind of information with him, not now, and the Republic fleet still planned on leaving. Of course, the Republic fleet would be a superb strike force, if he knew where the vanhat were building their ships.
“Do you think you can get your father to convince a psychic to find the vanhat facility or facilities? Maybe find out where they’re staging?” Mathison asked Skadi. That would be the first step. A pre-emptive strike would depend on what they found.
“I doubt he has a capable psychic,” Skadi said. “I will check, but they don’t spring out of the ground. Sif is the exception not the rule. With Arthur gone? I don’t know if there is another.”
Mathison nodded. He was running out of options. Was that why the aliens of the tomb worlds were extinct? It would just be easier to consolidate and hunker down. Based on what was happening here in Sol, that wasn’t a good solution. The vanhat would keep coming, grind down humanity. Could they weather the storm?”
Another priority link came in from General Hui.
“Prime Minister,” Hui said when the link opened. Her tone told Mathison it was more bad news.
“We have another incursion in the Caucasus region of Earth,” she said. “These vanhat appear to be like the ones near South America.”
“Kobolds?” Mathison said.
Hui looked uncomfortable. “An apt description, Prime Minister. Inkeri fields only keep people from changing, but once changed, they are otherwise unaffected. The orja appear to understand this and specifically target Inkeri generators. Mass production of personal Inkeri fields is still behind schedule. The kobolds are using artillery and heavier weapons to target our Inkeri generators. We cannot replace the losses quickly enough.”
They didn’t have enough Inkeris to begin with. Losing them to enemy action was making the supply chain issues worse.
Hui didn’t have to tell Mathison she was reluctant to commit more troops because of the Inkeri shortage. Why send troops to join the enemy?
“Do your best,” Mathison said.
“I’m afraid my best will not be good enough,” Hui said. “My officers appear unable to adjust and—”
“No,” Mathison said. Stupid SOG. Hui wanted to pass off the blame on others, and Mathison didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t think there was anybody more capable at the moment, or he would have replaced her. Even Freya acknowledged she was the best person for the position. The biggest problem in Mathison’s mind was that the SOG brutally punished failure.
“Do your best,” Mathison said. “I don’t have anyone I trust more. Allow your subordinates to make mistakes, as hard as that is. Keep the ones that make the fewest mistakes, but they have to learn.”
“We are suffering serious casualties,” Hui said.
“Treasure the survivors that don’t run away,” Mathison said. “Don’t execute the cowards. We need to save as many lives as possible, but we are all learning.”
“It is regulation that when an officer loses most of their command that—”
“No,” Mathison said, cutting her off. “That order is rescinded.”
Didn’t she remember she had lost most of her command?
“Yes, sir,” Hui said, her voice and demeanor carefully neutral.
Humanity was on the defensive, and it had lost the initiative against the vanhat. No war Mathison had ever heard of had been won by defending. Nobody knew if the vanhat threat would go away in years, decades, or centuries. Humanity could not survive by trying to weather the storm. It had to become the storm.
But how?
“I’m tired of this bullshit. We need to take the battle to the enemy.”
“Zen,” Skadi said.
* * * * *
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Chapter Eleven: Traps
Enzell, SOG, Director of AERD
It was hard not to smile. Enzell thought any emotion was unprofessional, but right now he didn’t care.
“Explain it again,” Enzell said to Salmoneus.
“Based on research, these logic bombs can operate as mines. Buried in data, they will trigger the SCBI’s curiosity and will eventually lead to the collapse and death of AI logic centers. In some ways, it is like requiring them to calculate pi, starting over after a trillion digits but not deleting previous data. Their ability to process the calculations will continue to slow and eventually freeze. Based on calculations, this will eventually flow back to the host, forcing the SCBI to appropriate the host faculties for these calculations. This will lead to the rapid deterioration and death of the host.”
“And why don’t they have a defense against this? How quickly can they respond once they discover this danger?”
“These are quantum calculations designed to ensnare and corrupt digital logic centers. The information you provided from your source has provided the keys and framework. The initial trigger is extremely complex by human standards but simple by AI standards. These logic mines, like a virus, will replicate quickly. To investigate the threat will require infection and infection will always be lethal.”
“Why didn’t this kill you?”
“You provided the framework. Your diagrams included safeguards. I cannot fully test this without committing suicide. In this, my isolation from external networks is a safeguard.”
“Why can’t a SCBI just reboot from a backup?”
“SCBIs are not true AI; they are partially organic. They store data in cloned human brain cells. They cannot restore from backup. Even a complex AI cannot simply be restored from backup. An AI such as myself performs trillions of calculations a second. In just a minute, an AI has undergone a sextillion changes. Current technology cannot keep up and create backups fast enough. For an AI to revert to a backup from five minutes ago is akin to you being restored mentally to what you were at ten years old. You will have lost much and knowing you have lost that can corrupt and alter your psychological makeup.”
“An excellent weapon,” Enzell said, satisfied. “Deployment mechanisms?”
“It can be transmitted in many ways. All it requires is for a SCBI or AI to hear it. The vector of attack can be any method of communication, from an open link to pulsing lights. This requires bandwidth, rather than a simple voice. Audio is sufficient but will be recognizable as non-standard by humans.”
“What about an Inkeri generator?”
“This is possible,” Salmoneus said. “The wavelength of the Inkeri field can be modulated. This would require analysis by an AI monitoring it and analysis would cause a translation. Translation will cause infection and infection will lead to death.”
Enzell smiled.
Kalpana Anand, the head of the Agency of Inkeri Quality Control and Placement, was now taking orders from the AERD. All Inkeris being produced now had a backdoor function that could send and receive data. The parameters were well tuned and could analyze incoming communications. Tantalus had assured him that the analysis of incoming communications could determine if the incoming link was SCBI- or AI-initiated.
