The Trilisk Revolution (Parker Interstellar Travels) (11 page)

My
double blew up a bomb. That won’t help me.

“
Trilisk
hosts?
”

“My
first target was one. And if two admirals dropped like flies when that gas hit,
then they were Trilisk hosts, too.”

“Why
did you decide to betray Earth? Why would you participate in the alien attack?”

“Please
keep up? Everything’s fine. We came to get rid of the Trilisks. The less you
resist, the fewer men and women that will be hurt. Just let the ships come and
they’ll leave when the Trilisks are removed.”

The
man turned bright red. Caden was startled.

“The
less we resist?! Thousands are dead! They didn’t have a chance to fight back!”
the man yelled.

“What?
Thousands? You said only a few are sick from the gas.”

Shit.
Did the gas effect normal people, too?

“Titan.
Ganymede. All three belt city Space Force bases. Destroyed!” the man said.

Caden
could not speak for a moment.

What
have I done? Shiny did that?

“They’re
not destroyed. You just can’t reach them. Your communications have been
scrambled,” Caden said. A horrible feeling started to settle in his stomach.

It
took his interrogator a moment to respond. Caden received a pointer to his
link. It was a video capture.

Caden
saw a Space Force base built into a large asteroid. Some kind of missile shot
toward it. The base exploded. Pieces of the structure hurtled into space. Caden
could hear the chatter of radio traffic in the background… filled with calls
for help.

“Destroyed
by… the large spherical ships?”

“I
have no idea. They’re gone. No one can reach Mars Defense. The attack has been
moving steadily through the system. Earth is next. SFC is next.”

Chapter 14

Siobhan
submerged her Vovokan shuttle in the ocean a good distance from the Spero
island compound. She took a moment to gather her equipment and her thoughts for
the assault.

I
have to do this. I have to make this frackjammer pay for what he did to us.

Siobhan
admitted to herself she cared about this revenge more than anything else. A
better person would have been focused on Earth, on freeing humanity, but
Siobhan knew she was not that person. The primary reason for her existence was
to snuff out Spero. She accepted it.

I
don’t care what anyone thinks. I don’t care. He will die for this. Then I’ll do
whatever I can to stop the other Trilisks.

As
agreed, Shiny had provided her with new toys for the mission. She had a Vovokan
subverter device she could use to take over Terran electronics. She did not
understand its workings, but Shiny’s instructions were clear and simple: scan
the target’s link interfaces to get a report on its weaknesses; then, one of
the weaknesses could be exploited to gain control of the target.

Of
course, the Terran link interfaces had been hardened by countless attacks. One
by one the flaws had been discovered and shored up. New link interfaces never
went into widespread use until they had been tested for years, often including
close scrutiny by AI experts. Nevertheless, Shiny obviously had a few high tech
tricks up his sleeve that allowed him to circumvent Terran link security.
Perhaps he had uncovered UNSF back doors, or maybe he could use EM fields to
change bits inside the hardware indirectly, creating an opening. In any case,
Shiny’s report indicated almost any Terran device would be vulnerable.

Siobhan
would have been happy with that alone, but Shiny had given her two more items:
a stealth suit, and a weapon.

Siobhan
had been told it was based upon Cilreth’s stealth suit, but Shiny had made some
improvements to its power and subtlety. The Vovokan had also made some tweaks
to the suit’s software. She wore the suit now. It reported itself at full
charge and readiness.

That
left her weapon. It looked like a heavy pistol, with an additional grip under
the barrel for steadying its weight. Siobhan had no idea what it fired. The
link interface reported 200 bio-target shots and Shiny had told her, one shot
would be fatal to any human, Trilisk-enhanced or otherwise, that wore a Veer
skinsuit or less. It also reported a magazine of 50 mech-target shots, which
were for robots, hardpoints, or Terrans in full combat armor. The analysis said
she should be able to one-shot anything up to a tank.

The
range of the weapon left her stunned. Shiny’s specs reported a range of one
kilometer for the bio shots, and ten kilometers for the mech shots. The weapon
could not lock onto anything so far away by itself, but with the help of a
simple attendant sphere, the heavy pistol could kill anything on the island
from anywhere else on the island. If she was inside or her target was inside,
then it became much less sure.

Her
plan was to utilize this amazing weapon to its fullest. She would deploy
attendants around the island as spotters for her target. Then, rather than
shoot it out with Spero in his stronghold, she would spook him out. Once out of
the building, the attendants could spot for her. It should only take one or two
long range shots to kill him.

He
would never know what hit him, and he would have no chance to shoot back.

Siobhan
opened the shuttle’s modest cargo bay and let the ocean come in. She stabilized
herself until the water had flowed in, then swam out. Behind her, twenty
insectoid soldier robots unfolded and followed. They would help provide the
pressure to drive Spero out of his fortress.

Siobhan
headed toward the island with her escort. The soldiers followed her for a
while, but soon they split off, ten to each side, to move to other spots on the
island. Siobhan wanted it to appear like the compound was surrounded by a small
army. She figured that would pressure Spero into running for it.

Siobhan
activated her stealth suit and emerged onto a sandy beach. Her attendants
noticed a couple of electronic monitors meant to detect trespassers. Siobhan
moved slowly by, relying upon her suit. She saw her position on the island in
her tactical. Her link showed her an optimum path to one side of the compound.

Siobhan
had purposefully selected the end of the compound that looked the most remote.
She wanted to pressure Spero, flush him out. If possible, she would avoid as
much of the security as she could.

The
attack on the outer system should help. He knows something is coming.

Siobhan
walked into the vegetation of the island. The surface was rough. A few tree
crabs scuttled for cover. She had to climb down into a depression and back up
again on her way. The ferns and palms were dense, but it made her feel safer.
She watched the soldiers and attendants take their positions with her PV.

Siobhan
proceeded an eighth of a kilometer through dense jungle, then stopped. She
heard something. Then she saw something metal through the ferns. A large
machine moved up ahead.

It
had two metal legs lifting it above the foliage of the island floor. Its gray
and red metal body looked vaguely humanoid and heavily armored. There could not
have been a person inside, as the waist was impossibly thin, composed of only a
shiny column that looked like a metallic spine. A sleek, arched chestplate
opened for four gray tentacles of carbon or metal. Weapons systems built into
arms and head were unmistakable. A pair of baneful red eyes surveyed the jungle
from its armored head.

That
thing was designed to intimidate.

She
checked its interfaces with the subverter.

Custom
software. Source unknown.

Then
the machine closed off all communications. The subverter had alarmed it.

Fsssssss.

Flame
engulfed the area. Siobhan immediately felt it through her suit.

Krumpf.

Sliced
fronds, branches, and sand sprayed over her from her right flank.

Can
it see me?

Siobhan
darted away through the burning foliage. She zigzagged back into cover, dancing
around branches and leaves. She drew oxygen from the suit’s supply. As the
smoke cleared, she stopped again in a crouch to look back.

The
green plants did not burn well. Most of the flames had died down. The machine
had cleared a small area of plant matter. The sandy soil exposed was blackened
and littered with jungle debris.

Siobhan
caught sight of the machine again. It had lifted two meters off the ground,
leaving its legs dangling in midair. It did not seem to be looking at her. A
laser probe flashed from its head, checking for hidden objects. The machine
patrolled about in the air, searching for her.

No
hacking this one,
Siobhan thought.
Run or fight.

Siobhan
brought up her weapon and loosed two mech rounds.

Blam! Blam!

Bright
flashes popped among the bright green fronds between her and the robot.
Something had stopped the rounds. The machine started to scan in her direction.
She turned and ran.

So
much for Shiny’s fancy gun! Damn it! How could this machine be so powerful? I
wonder if the suit’s sound curtain could cover such loud sounds.

The
machine came after her. She could see it in the view of a couple of her
attendants nearby. She ran as fast as she could through the jungle without regard
for direction.

It’s
not supposed to be able to see me. Did Shiny betray me?

Siobhan
looked back. She had broken some fronds in her hasty passage. Did the machine
see that? She looked at the ground. Just out of the range of her stealth suit,
she saw one of her footprints deep in the crushed leaves covering the sandy
ground.

I’m
helping it by leaving footprints behind.

Siobhan
jumped onto a rock, took three steps and then scrambled up a tree with thick,
soft branches. She slowed. The huge green fronds hid her well, but she did not
want to give away her position by moving any of them.

She
heard a humming noise as the machine neared her hiding spot.

Siobhan
prepared herself for another shot.

Maybe
the mech round will work at point blank range.

Siobhan
did not move her hand yet to aim. She just froze. She glimpsed its leg through
the leaves as it hovered nearby.

The
awful machine moved on.

Siobhan
regained her wits. She had been nothing but a mouse running from a robotic cat
there for a minute. Now, it was time to think again.

Spero
had not doubt taken notice by now that something was afoot out in his vast
front yard. Unless the guard machine was too dumb to report a battle with
something it could not see.

That
could be fine. He’s alerted. He does not know how many enemies he has out here.
I need to change alerted to alarmed.

Something
in surveillance feed caught her eye.

Someone
else is out there. They don’t look like they belong.

Siobhan
watched the stranger. The feed zoomed in.

Frackjammers!

The
stranger looked just like her. It
was
her. As she watched, the other
Siobhan leaped over a huge rock formation and landed on the other side.

Yep.
A Trilisk duplicate!

“I’m
going to kill somebody for copying me without my permission…”

Siobhan
had the awful realization that her copy would be vulnerable to manipulation by
the Trilisk. Then she would be facing the Trilisk and herself. A super-fast
version of herself.

What
if the Trilisk made a copy? Just to screw with me? How could it happen? Did my
copy survive way back on the Blackvine habitat?

Chapter 15

Telisa’s
robotic carrier approached the huge mass of Skyhold. The carrier looked exactly
like supply ships that came into Skyhold regularly. Only two decks and a few
isolated cabins on board were pressurized. Telisa waited patiently with her
cloaking device activated. With luck, she would be able to sneak on board when
it was unloaded. Telisa isolated her link to help stay hidden.

The
ship received a broadcast from the habitat. The message came through the public
broadcast on the ship, through speakers and the link network.

“
Andralede
…
we see you are with crew. Prepare to be boarded.”

We
see you are with crew? I don’t think so. If they do see me, this is going to be
a lot harder than I expected.

Telisa
stayed put. She had her Veer suit’s vacuum cover ready. If she had to move
through vacuum to get inside Skyhold, she would. She had left her beloved
double-triggered “lightning gun” behind. It was too heavy and probably not safe
to fire on Skyhold anyway. But she missed its heft and reassurance at her back.
In its place was a heavy tube filled with Maxsym’s deadly compound.

The
carrier attached gently to Skyhold. Telisa saw there were two connections, one
on her deck and another one deck below. She moved in that direction, ready to
try and slip by. When she neared the lock corridor, she took a peek. Her new
eye helped her see all the way down the long corridor and took a snapshot in
several wavelengths.

She
saw a team moving onto the carrier from the lock corridor. They had laser
carbines in their hands. Telisa was unfamiliar with their armor—it wasn’t Momma
Veer.

They
do suspect something. Or could they really take this precaution with every
ship?

Telisa
found a spot to wait for them to pass. It was a rectangular maintenance access
port, shoulder-width and twice as tall as a human. She slid inside.

No
room to maneuver, but this is the best way to give them the slip.

The
group moved by her niche silently. She felt something was wrong with them. She
looked at the nearest face. It was hidden behind a smooth reflective oval mask.
A green circle was emblazoned on its shoulder, the universal symbol for a
robotic construct.