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Ghost Tactics: Thunderbird Book 2 (Thunderbird Series), page 1
GHOST TACTICS
THUNDERBIRD
BOOK 2
TOBY NEIGHBORS
Ghost Tactics: Thunderbird Series Book 2
Copyright © 2023 by Toby Neighbors
ISBN: 978-1-952260-59-9
Mythic Adventure Publishing, LLC
Idaho, USA
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
ALSO BY TOBY NEIGHBORS
They Walk In Darkness
The Four Horsemen
Surviving Wormwood
Wizard Rising
Magic Awakening
Hidden Fire
Crying Havoc
Fierce Loyalty
Evil Tide
Wizard Falling
Chaos Descending
Into Chaos
Chaos Reigning
Chaos Raging
Controlling Chaos
Killing Chaos
Elder Wizard
Lorik
Lorik the Protector
Lorik the Defender
We Are The Wolf
Welcome To The Wolfpack
Embracing Oblivion
Joined In Battle
The Abyss Of Savagery
The Vault Of Mysteries
Lords Of Ascension
The Elusive Executioner
Gryphon Warriors
Regulators Revealed
Avondale
Draggah
Balestone
Arcanius
Avondale V
Third Prince
Royal Destiny
The Other Side
The New World
Luck Holds
Zompocalypse
Spartan Company
Spartan Valor
Spartan Guile
Dragon Team Seven
Uncommon Loyalty
Total Allegiance
Kestrel Class
Jump Point
Gravity Flux
Modulus Echo
Zero Friction
Planet Fall
Charter
Jack & Roxie
My Lady Sorceress
The Man With No Hands
ARC Angel
Battle ARC
Broken Crucible
Hidden Kingdom
War INC
Carthage Prime
Cronus Team
Skandia Seven
Mercurial
Magnificus Prime
Incursio
Merlin Appears
Runners
Survivors
Infiltrators
Resistance
Conquest
Occupation
Extraction
The Signal
Battle Orders
Base Of Fire
Hard Site
Recall
Evade
Assault
Space Fever
Staying Alive
Fractal Cut
Blast Zone
Action Zone
Covert Infil
Armor Brigade
Havoc Squad
Thunderbird
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
CHAPTER 1
Pace sprinted through the dark corridor, rifle in hand, panting hard. The tunnels under the river were dank, the air heavy. Right behind him, running step for step, was Corporal Jessie Gold. Following them came the passengers from The Philadelphia. They were slower, and louder, their feet pounding the stone passageway. It was the threat of danger that drove them, maybe the fear of getting lost in the dark, or being caught from behind. There was no enemy on their heels, but NERO, the rogue AI system, seemed to be everywhere.
After crashing on the restricted planet, Pace had done everything in his power to protect the passengers of Medical Access Initiative starship. That was his job, but it was more than just an assignment. Pace had seen plenty of missions go down in flames on hostile worlds. It was just part and parcel of being a Special Operator in the Republic Marine Corps. He had even seen teammates, some of them close friends, die in combat. Their deaths seemed all the more tragic as the Senior Officers discarded missions the way children throw away broken crayons. But Pace felt a connection to Dr. Madison Kelter, and not just because she was his primary asset on the protective services assignment. Nor was it just because of her son Ollie, who had bonded so strongly to Pace’s war dog Riot. Ollie was on the autism spectrum, and had trouble connecting with other people, but was right at home with Riot. They seemed to understand one another on a level that Pace could only envy
His feelings for Madison ran deeper than anything he had felt in a long, long time. She was a brilliant physician, a dedicated mother, and a generous philanthropist who had volunteered for the MAI mission. Nothing seemed important other than getting back to Low Town, the underground city built by survivors trying to carve a living on the abandoned planet. As Pace ran through the tunnel that ran below the river and started up the winding stairs that led to Low Town, he thought about Rastamus III. It had been a thriving world and on the cutting edge of planetary control computer systems. NERO, or Neurological Electronics Regulatory Operations, had been built to network and regulate the popular neural enhancements that gave people instantaneous connections to computer systems. Only something had gone wrong. NERO was a state of the art Artificial Intelligence, built to think and react on its own. Safeguards had been built into the system, and yet at some point NERO had become truly sentient. After studying the system it was built to regulate, NERO decided people were lower lifeforms, and it rewrote its programing. After blasting past the safeguards meant to keep the AI system in check, it began a worldwide extermination program against the humans on Rastamus III. The planet fell within hours, the ships in orbit were destroyed, and the entire star system was locked down to keep NERO from spreading across the galaxy. Pace had no idea how The Philadelphia had been rerouted into the system, or who had sabotaged the vessel. The ship’s AI, fighting a losing battle to keep NERO from overrunning it completely, had woken and warned Pace of the danger. Everything from that point on had been a desperate struggle to survive.
“Uggghhh,” Jessie complained. “I’m getting soft.”
“Won’t do us any good to be exhausted when we return,” Pace said, slowing to a stop. “Better to regroup now.”
“What’s the plan?” Jessie asked.
“We have to find the doctor,” Pace said. “We aren’t leaving our people behind.”
“And we can’t stay.”
“No,” Pace said. “We don’t know who we can trust.”
“But if we’re out in the open, won’t the robots catch us?”
“We’ll use Ghost Tactics,” Pace said. “Always moving, stay hidden, strike and vanish.”
The others caught up. They were technicians, engineers, medical programming specialists, but not soldiers. Still, when the choices were fight or die, everyone became a warrior.
“Todd, I’m putting you in charge,” Pace told the electrical engineer.
“In charge … of what?” he panted.
“The group,” Pace explained. “You keep everyone together. Keep moving. No matter what happens in Low Town. Your job is to survive.”
“Not sure I like where this … conversation is headed,” the engineer said.
“We have to assume the citizens in Low Town are working with NERO,” Jessie said.
“How is that possible?” Capreese Ino asked. “They have no technology?”
“That we know of,” Pace pointed out. “But someone was taking orders, and we can’t let our guard down.”
“So where… are we going?” Eugene Moss asked. He was a system interface trainer, not much older than Jessie, but clearly out of shape. Bent at the waist, and leaning against the stone wall, he could barely look up.
“We,” Pace said, pointing at Jessie, “will rescue Dr. Kelter and her son. Get as much of my ammunition as we can, and get out of the city. Our best bet at this stage is the river. If we have to separate, you get to the surface, then head down into the canyon on the north side of the city. Wait for us by the river until dawn, then follow the river. Look for shelter, anything that will make you hard to spot from the air.”
“It’s impossible,” Lisa Van Noy complained. “There’s no where to go … no way off this planet … we’re all going to die here.”
“Maybe,” Pace said honestly. “But not without a fight. Our first priority is to find a safe place to r
“And after that?” Todd asked.
“We’ll figure it out together,” Pace said. “Time to move.”
“Oh, no,” Capreese complained. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”
“Can’t stay down here forever,” Jessie told her.
“Really? Cuz it kinda feels like I could just lay down and die.”
“No one is going to die tonight,” Pace said. “Just stay together. If you fall behind, that’s okay. Keep going up until you reach the surface.”
They started the climb again. It wasn’t easy on any of them. The hyper-stasis experience left the body drained of essential minerals, and sometimes even resulted in muscle atrophy. Normally, Marines were awakened from hyper-sleep several days before deployment, giving them time to rebuild their body’s reserves of energy, and to reactivate the muscles that had lain dormant as they traveled through space. None of the passengers were given the time, or the resources, to replenish their bodies appropriately. Any vigorous activity would quickly wear them down.
It was obvious the stairs had been carved out of solid rock by robotic machines, and while the only light was the glow of the lichen on the walls and ceiling of the tunnel, it was clear that they hadn’t been around for centuries. There was no visible wear on the steps, which were so even and wellformed that their origin was obvious. NERO had built the tunnel using drones, giving the humans access to the towering bluff and the castle built between the two rivers. The only question was why?
But answers would have to wait. Low Town was a settlement built into the underground sewers of what had once been a thriving metropolis. That former city on the surface had become a massive server farm for NERO. Solar, wind, and hydro-electric power was collected, but the AI was eager for much, much more. In addition to the vast fields of solar panels, the river served as a cooling mechanism for NERO’s nuclear power plants as well. Pace knew he was just one man, and the odds were stacked high against him, but he also knew there were targets to hit everywhere. He could do real damage to the AI’s infrastructure, even if it were a vain attempt to fight back against an overwhelming enemy.
“This is it,” Pace said as the tunnel leveled out. “We can’t show mercy.”
“They might not all be in on the betrayal,” Jessie pointed out.
“True, but we have no way to decide who is innocent and who isn’t.”
“So we just kill them all?”
“No, but we can’t hesitate to put down anyone in our way.”
“I’ll follow your lead, Sarge,” Jessie said.
Pace knew it was true. Jessie Gold could have been a movie star, or a fashion model, or a trillionaire’s trophy wife, but instead she had chosen to be a Marine. And she was anxious to prove her mettle.
“Stay on my six,” he told her. “Keep an eye out for flankers. Don’t let anyone get too close.”
“Why do I always wind up without a weapon?”
“We’ll see if we can remedy that too,” Pace said. “One problem at a time. Keep your head on swivel. Are you ready?”
“Born ready,” she said.
“Let’s move.”
They set off down the long corridor. The city was built in what was to Pace a labyrinth of tunnels. He wasn’t sure where he was going, only that he had to find Dr. Kelter, her son, and Pace’s war dog Riot. They came to a junction, turned to their right, and kept moving. Pace had his Bushmaster Tactical rifle. It was loaded with Electro-Magnetic Burst shells. They were a short range ammunition meant for knocking out electric devices, such as battle bots, or surveillance drones. But in close quarters, they would take a man down from pure kinetic energy alone. Pace for one didn’t relish getting hit with the non-standard ammunition.
They made a turn and found an older couple hobbling through the tunnel ahead of them. Pace jogged to them, and held his rifle at the ready. They might be old, but he couldn’t trust that they weren’t his enemy.
“Where are you going?” Pace demanded.
“Morning wash,” the old woman said.
“We gather with the elders every day,” the old man said. “In the big room.”
“The elders?” Pace asked. “Including the mayor?”
“Sure,” the old man asked.
He looked frightened, and Pace felt sorry for him, but he still couldn’t trust them.
“Where are you from?” Pace asked.
“We’ve lived here since the fall,” the old woman said. “You lose track of time when you can’t see the sun or the stars.”
“We’re not your enemy,” the old man added.
“So you didn’t know that we were being handed over to NERO?”
A look of shame crossed his face, but his wife was defiant.
“You were being given a chance to leave this place,” she said. “You think any of us have ever been given such a chance?”
She was referring to NERO’s offer to fly them up to a ship in waiting. Todd Rawlings had been the first to suggest that NERO, despite nearly killing Pace on several occasions, was actually allowing them to live. The rogue AI was manipulating them, only Pace hadn’t known why until a group of young men from Low Town had captured him, most of the passengers from The Philadelphia, and Jessie. They had marched them across the river through the underground tunnels and up to the castle on the bluffs that overlooked the old city. There, NERO had made the offer to let them go. But the passengers from the Philadelphia had quickly surmised that what the powerful, sentient computer system really wanted was access to other star systems. It had the technology to traverse the galaxy, but not the navigational knowledge. That’s what NERO wanted from the passengers, and what NICO, the AI who had controlled The Philadelphia, had successfully locked NERO out of — the navigation system.
“A chance to spread NERO across the galaxy?” Pace asked. “No, I hope you never have and never will.”
“We’re just trying to survive here,” the old man argued. “We’ve been prisoners down here our whole lives.”
“So fight back,” Pace argued.
“You think we didn’t try that?” the old woman said. “My parents died fighting. His father and uncles did too. We aren’t fools. You can’t defeat the computers. It’s too late for that.”
“Go back,” Pace ordered. “Back to your domicile and stay there.”
“Or what?” the old woman challenged.
“Or today is your last day,” Jessie said. “That’s just the way it is.”
“You would kill an old woman?”
“Count on it,” Pace said, trying his best to sound intimidating.
Of course he wouldn’t kill them. In fact, he didn’t even blame them for betraying him. He had no idea what NERO had offered them to turn against the passengers of The Philadelphia, or perhaps how he had threatened them. So Pace wouldn’t kill them, but he didn’t mind them thinking that he would.
“You’re a cruel man,” the woman said.
“Come on, Stella,” her husband urged. “Let’s go home.”
The couple turned back, while Pace and Jessie pushed on.
“Would you have?” Jessie asked in a whisper once the couple was out of sight.
Pace shook his head. “No,” he said. “They weren’t a threat.”
“That’s what I thought,” she added. “But you sounded like you were ready to do it right then.”
“Good,” Pace said. “We need everyone in the entire community to believe we’re willing to kill them to survive. It may be our only chance of getting out of here alive.”
CHAPTER 2
They came to the storage room where Pace had stashed the ammunition for his rifle, along with the other weapons salvaged from The Philadelphia. Even though the pressure to find Dr. Kelter and Ollie was like a vise around his chest, he took the time to put on his battle armor, including the tactical vest. There were only a few magazines of static disruptors left in the loops of his vest, but he quickly swapped out the ammunition in his rifle. The static disruptors weren’t ideal against living enemies without cybernetic enhancements, but like the EM shells, would work.
