Hales war, p.19
Hale's War, page 19
part #4 of The Terra Nova Chronicles Series
MAC sat at the controls, steering the shuttle with expert efficiency. It was odd not to have Greer at the helm. They’d been through so many of these dangerous encounters together, it almost felt wrong not to be together now. But they needed MAC with them if they were going to succeed. He was the only one that could navigate the Ultari systems.
The rest of the team was in the passenger compartment just behind the shuttle’s cockpit.
“There is Network Control,” MAC said, pointing through the shuttle’s main viewport.
Carson leaned forward, taking in the massive complex. “And you’re sure that the nexus is at the top of that building, right?"
"That is correct. It is where I first encountered the Herald prior to leaving Ultar."
"So if we take that out, the communications go down?” Carson asked.
“That is the theory,” MAC said.
“Theory? What the hell are you talking about? You said that you could knock out their communications.”
“There is no way to know if they’ve installed further backup systems after the initial attack at the Center. My guess is that they have not. But it is only a hypothesis."
"Oh, that's fantastic," Nunez said from behind Carson.
Carson looked over the faces of her team—Jena, Nunez, and Jerry. What is it about this galaxy that requires us to keep splitting up? Carson wondered. She would've much rather kept her whole team together, as it would've made the assault that much easier, but they had limited space and even fewer resources. The Palace was going to be the biggest target, the Emperor the hardest to take down. Hale needed as many hungry war fighters as he could get. She just hoped that MAC was as capable as he seemed.
"We are being hailed by Network Control," MAC said.
They'd known that was going to happen, but Carson’s stomach still twisted nervously as the display in front of her flashed the incoming message. She turned to Nunez. "You ready?"
The Pathfinder grinned. "Chief, I was born ready."
Carson leaned forward, tapped the audio-only key, then backed out of way.
"Unidentified shuttle, you are approaching restricted airspace. State your purpose and transmit clearance codes."
When Nunez spoke, his voice was deeper than usual and he'd added a bit of a gruffness to it that Carson wasn't quite sure was right. "We're the repair team for the communication node you reported damaged. Requesting landing clearance."
There was a pause on the other end of the connection. "We were not aware of any downed nodes. Who put in the request?"
MAC held up a hand, two metal fingers spread. Carson nodded. Two minutes to land. She watched the tall steel grow in front of them, grinding her teeth together as Nunez continued his improv.
"How should I know who put in the request?" Nunez said, shrugging. "I just work here. All I know is we have a work order to fix one of the communication nodes and that's what we're going to do. I know one thing, though: Emperor Kyrios will be pretty angry if his communications network suddenly drops off-line, especially if we could've prevented it. Your call, though."
Another pause. "Stand by."
Carson reached forward and muted the link.
Nunez smiled. "You think they bought it? I bet they bought it!"
"The Ultari technicians working here are intelligent, by Ultari standards anyway,” MAC said. “But the Emperor's name does tend to carry a lot of weight. I doubt any of them will want to risk calling down Kyrios's wrath on themselves."
"And if it doesn't work?" Carson asked.
"Then we will have to improvise."
Despite herself, Carson laughed. "Improvise? Can you do that?"
MAC turned and looked at her, his three yellow optical receptors glowing. "I can do many things."
They were almost to the building now. MAC tapped a switch and the humming of the landing gear folding down and locking into position reverberated through the shuttle.
"Repair crew, you are cleared to land. Report to Control when your repairs are complete."
They all let out a collective sigh of relief, except for MAC, who gave no indication that he was disturbed, relieved, or otherwise. He maneuvered the shuttle over Network Control's expansive roof and lowered it onto the landing pad.
"Yes, it is a much subtler approach than last time," MAC said, obviously talking to CID.
Carson flipped her visor down as she moved back into the passenger compartment. The rest of her team stepped aside, allowing her access to the side doors that were already folding out of the way.
Air ducts and clusters of large cables snacked across the roof. On one end, five satellite dishes pointed into the sky, and on the opposite end, six large air-conditioning units buzzed incessantly. MAC had set them down on a landing pad directly in the center, right next to a jagged section of roof that looked like it'd been recently repaired.
MAC walked down the ramp, moved across the roof to the access door on the far side and waited. "I am ready."
Carson keyed her IR as the rest of the team filed down. "Carson to Hale, we're in position."
A second later, Hale's voice came through her helmet's internal speakers. “Roger that. Proceed on mission."
She nodded to MAC. "Go."
"We are about to have company," West said, pointing.
"What?" Carson brought her gauss carbine up, sweeping it across the length of the roof.
"Two hundred and eight degrees to the northeast, approaching quickly," MAC said.
Two Ultari fighters appeared over the city, their shapes barely visible. It was hard to make out whether or not they were actually heading toward them. Sunlight glinted off their hulls, the heat from their engines rippling the air behind them.
"Shit," Carson said. Through her carbine's optic, she ranged them at forty-seven hundred meters. "They're going to be here any second.” She turned to MAC. “Whatever you're going to do, you better do it fast."
"My counterpart is accessing the building's security grid and bypassing the primary—"
"I don't need a running narrative, just do it." Carson turned and looked through her optic again. "Two thousand meters. Shit.”
“Too bad we didn’t bring a rocket launcher,” Nunez said, crossing his arms. Nodding to Birch, he said, “We should add that to the list.”
“List?” Carson asked, eyebrow raised.
“Yeah.” With a finger, Nunez motioned back and forth between himself and Birch. “We’re assessing the team’s gear requirements. Don’t have any Strike Marines to call in for backup. Figured we’d start packing heavy from now on.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. Something I should’ve thought of already, Carson told herself.
Something arcing up from one of the buildings four blocks away caught her attention. It streaked through the air, trailing white smoke behind it, curving to angle straight for the two Ultari fighters.
"That's a freaking ground-to-air rocket, Chief," Nunez said, pointing. “At least someone thought to bring rockets.”
A second later, the rocket slammed into one of the fighters, sending flaming debris in all directions. The fireball curled up, and the second fighter sliced through the smoke. It pulled up, angled straight up into the sky, and turned to face the new threat head-on.
Behind her, Carson heard the whine of MAC's pulse cannons. She looked between the infiltrator cutting through the security panel next to the door and the second fighter as it unloaded on whoever had fired the rocket, completely decimating the building's roof and upper floors. It held its dive, strafing until it absolutely had to pull up, then it veered away, rolling back to the east.
"Holy shit, talk about overkill," Nunez said.
Then a second rocket shot into the air from another rooftop. Then another. Soon five rockets were zeroing in on the remaining fighter, tracking it until one inevitably found its target. The second fighter exploded in a fireball.
The roof access door slammed open two meters away from Carson, and MAC stood in the doorframe, waiting. "We are in."
She motioned to the dispersing debris cloud behind her. "What the hell was that?"
"That was the resistance,” MAC said. “They aren't known for their subtlety."
“Subtle, shit,” Birch said. “This is war.”
“Birch, Popov, Jerry, you have rear security. The rest of you, with me,” Carson said, heading for the entrance.
MAC led them down several switchback stairs into a large room filled with rows and rows of humming servers. Several areas looked like they'd been damaged by some kind of fight, as repaired components and makeshift connections linked many of the machines.
"Looks like someone had a good time," Nunez said, moving down the central walkway, his gauss carbine at low ready.
MAC moved down one of the paths leading off the main stretch, heading to a cluster of servers at the far end of the building. "This is where I first met the Herald, Jared Hale. Unfortunately, a number of the stations were damaged in the process. However, it appears as though many of the systems have been replaced, or at least repaired."
"You fought Jared Hale?" Carson asked.
"That is correct," MAC said. "But it was not a battle either of us was aiming to win."
"That's strange," West said. “Fight to win or don’t fight at all.”
“To have the conversation that the Herald wanted to have, it was necessary to give the illusion of combat. Unfortunately, it appears as though they have repaired the majority of the damage we caused. The security around the building’s internal network has also be augmented.”
“Is that going to be a problem?” Carson asked.
“Yes, I know you aren’t a single-process algorithm,” MAC said. “No, Chief Carson, it will not be a problem. The Ultari resistance fighters are pressing the attack. The main bulk of the Center’s physical security teams are moving off to engage them.”
“That’s good for us,” Jena said, passing them on the walkway, moving to the far entrance. “Is this the only way in here from the main building?”
“That is correct,” MAC said. “A short stairwell leads down out of the mechanical suite to the top level. A central lift will then take you to the rest of the levels. CID has accessed the main power grid of the building and is sweeping the system for possible locations for the pods.”
“You can find them based on power usage?” Carson asked.
“The power requirement for the stasis pods is fairly substantial, given how compact each unit is, especially considering the length of time they’ve been kept. But the power consumption isn’t the only thing you must consider when looking for the stasis pods. You have to ensure that all the nutrients and supplements are maintained; otherwise, the physical body might degrade over time.”
“Wait a minute, I thought they were in stasis,” Nunez said. “Doesn’t that mean they’re in, like, cryo-sleep or whatever it’s called?”
“You are referring to the process of cryogenically freezing the subject, then thawing them and returning them to the natural state of life. That process has a number of challenges for which even our own intelligence nodes have not yet been able to account. No, the stasis these two beings are currently in is basically a state of hyper-reduced entropy. They are not conscious, but they are not frozen, which requires their bodies to have a steady supply of supplements and nutrients. The requirement is drastically reduced in this case, but they still must maintain a steady supply.”
“So, we find the supply, we find the pods?” Carson said.
“Essentially, that is correct,” MAC said. “CID believes he has located the pods in question. They are on the sixth level, northeast corner of the building. He is disabling the building’s security protocols as we speak.”
The lock on the door by Jena clicked and she pulled it open.
Carson nodded. “Let’s move.”
****
Jared entered the throne room with Elias in tow as angry shouts, orders, and curses echoed around the chamber. Pantos, the former leader of the Order of Founders, cowered along with the rest of his lackeys near the far side, beside one of the obsidian pillars—as far away from Kyrios and Cigyd as they could get.
The Elite constructs filed past Jared, moving silently to take positions along the base of the Emperor’s elevated throne. Jared activated his visor and it slid up into his helmet. He bent over Elias, who’d propped himself up on his elbows, and spoke so only the boy could hear. “Whatever happens, you stay behind me, OK?”
Elias looked at him with a mixture of trepidation and disgust. For a long moment, Jared thought the boy might curse him again, but finally, Elias nodded.
Jared straightened. “You called, Master?”
Kyrios looked down from this throne, his eyes blazing. He pointed to the main holo display, which showed three resistance tanks floating down a street, flanked by rows of armed Ultari fighters. Their numbers appeared fewer than when they’d attacked the Collection Facility, but they still comprised a moderate-size force, several thousand at least by the looks of it.
Ken, you crazy son of bitch, I hope you know what you’re doing, Jared thought.
“What is this?” Kyrios demanded, his tone suggesting he might be only slightly annoyed at the events unfolding in the streets outside. His body language, however, told another story.
Do you feel it, Kyrios? Do you feel your end coming? Jared wanted to ask. Instead, he said, “It appears to be the resistance, Master.”
“It appears,” Kyrios sneered. “It appears? Tell me, servant, who else would be advancing toward our strongholds with tanks and armed troops? I know that I did not order any such maneuvers. Where are the Netherguard?”
“They are deploying as we speak,” Jared said, sending the order to his field commanders.
“Deploying?” Cigyd asked. He stood at the station Zviera usually occupied, behind an array of holo displays that offered him multiple angles of the advancing resistance forces. “There shouldn’t be any need for the Netherguard. The resistance should’ve been crushed. There should’ve been nothing left to advance with! You have failed!”
Pantos, visibly shaken, stepped forward. “Please, M-m-master, we’ve had great success—”
“Silence! You have failed the Emperor at every turn,” Cigyd growled. “Your betrayal continues to grow with every passing day, I can smell it. You have wanted the Emperor to fall ever since our arrival on this world. You, as with the rest of your people, have lost your way!”
“Master, no!” Pantos dropped to his knees, his hands clasped together above his head. “I haven’t failed you! I live to serve the Emperor. Glory to the Emperor!”
Obviously taking their cue from Pantos, the rest of the Founders dropped to their collective knees, prostrating themselves before their two remaining gods. Murmurs of servitude and prayers to the Emperor echoed across the chamber, mixing with Pantos’s cries for forgiveness.
“Why have you failed me?” Kyrios asked. “Have I not shown you the true path to salvation? Have I not treated you kindly? And yet, you allow these…vermin to walk freely upon my streets. To openly challenge my reign?”
“Master, no!” Pantos wailed again, keeping his eyes locked on the floor. “All praise to the Emperor!”
A tone chimed from Cigyd’s station, alerting him to an incoming message. “Ah, perhaps your traitorous brother Rygous has something else he wishes to confess.” The Archduke accepted the call and the Ultari running the Network Control Center appeared on the central display. “What is it, servant?”
Rygous’s eyes were wide in obvious confusion and terror. “Master, we are under attack! Resistance forces are advancing on our facility. We’re receiving reports of fighters being shot from the sky and tanks moving through the streets.”
“You say these things as if you weren't already aware of today's events,” Cigyd said. “You expect the Emperor to believe that you—as his representative in the largest informational hub on the planet—didn't know the attack was imminent.”
“Master, there were no indications that an attack was about to happen. All the information we have received over the last couple days led us to believe that the resistance was breaking apart.”
“Breaking apart?” Cigyd repeated, motioning to the display screens behind him. “Does it appear to you that the resistance has broken apart? Is that what you're telling me? Because what my eyes are seeing and what you were saying are two completely different things, unless you mean to say that they are coming to surrender.”
Rygous hesitated, looking at something off-camera. “I—they’re shooting at the building—”
The display abruptly cut off, replaced with a blank screen. Then, in sequence, the remaining screens went dark.
“What is this?” Cigyd asked, his fingers dancing across the controls. He took a step back, looking at the other Ultari techs around him. “Fix it! Bring them back!”
“What is going on?” Kyrios demanded, standing.
“We’ve lost our connection to the Network Control Center,” Cigyd said.
Quickly, Jared ran a diagnostic across his suit’s internal systems and found the Archduke was telling the truth. Even his connection was down, which meant that it wasn’t an isolated incident—the entire planetary network was now off-line. Possibilities began running through Jared’s mind as several technicians ran to try and fix the problem.
You’re not going to be able to solve your issues here, Jared thought. If the network hub was down, troubleshooting the transceivers wouldn’t do anything.
The doors to the throne room slammed open and two Ultari commanders ran in, followed by several Netherguard. “Praise to the Emperor!” they shouted in unison as they approached the throne. Breathing heavily, they bowed at the base of Kyrios’s throne.
“What is the meaning of this?” Kyrios asked.
“Master,” said one of the commanders, while the other kept his eyes fixed on the floor, “the resistance, they’re attacking!”
