“Where’s the gyro switch?” Meta muttered to herself. “Oh, here it is. This must be a newer model than the one I used before.”
The Rouen Colony assassin wore one of the extra space marine suits Star Watch had put aboard Victory many months ago in the Oort cloud in the Solar System. This was Maddox’s off-the-cuff idea, and it was a good one.
With the suit’s motors purring, Meta clanked down the corridor. The trick was in idling just right. Otherwise, she might use the exo-power wrong and leap up against the ceiling.
Dana followed behind her with a specialty tool kit.
When Maddox had first explained the idea, Meta wondered why she wasn’t supposed to go to the disruptor control room and burst through, taking down the slarn hunter.
Maddox had explained it quickly. One, Villars might have monofilament wire able to breach the space marine armor. The wire could be crisscrossed in there like a spider’s web. Trust Maddox to think ahead like that. Villars was a cunning bastard, liking to draw others into an ambush. So, they would end-run the hunter. That’s why Meta had woken up Dana.
“We’re almost there,” Meta said.
Dana didn’t respond.
Meta clanked around a corner and came to the hatch that protected the AI’s core chamber. It was time to try to take out the backdoor. Ludendorff was gone, and Villars might not think of this in time.
“Ready?” Meta asked.
“What are you going to do?”
“Watch,” Meta said. She charged, building up speed. This was no time for finesse. She used her body armor like a projectile, slamming against the reinforced hatch, caroming off it.
Meta found herself on the floor. The absorbers had taken the shock. Climbing to her feet, she continued to assault the hatch, battering it down as if she was an elemental force of nature.
***
The metallic hammering sounds reverberated throughout the halls, reaching Maddox.
It’s time, he realized.
Maddox marched toward the disruptor cannon hatch. A second later, Galyan appeared beside him.
“Not now,” Maddox said. “I’m busy.” He ran at the hatch.
The AI disappeared, no doubt to warn Villars.
With his hand on the wheel, Maddox waited. He wanted to stretch this out as long as he could. The seconds ticked by.
Galyan reappeared.
Maddox turned the wheel and began opening the hatch.
The AI disappeared.
Two seconds after Maddox opened the hatch, shots rang out from the chamber. Bullets whizzed past the captain as he stayed out of the line-of-sight behind the opened hatch.
More precious seconds ticked past.
Once again, Galyan appeared in the corridor, no doubt to see what the problem was.
Maddox slammed the hatch shut, dropped to his stomach and slithered away, keeping his pistol aimed at the entrance.
“What are you doing?” Galyan asked.
“Tricking the slarn hunter,” Maddox said.
“I do not understand.”
“I’m making him nervous,” Maddox said. “Soon, he’ll open the door to investigate. When he does, I’ll shoot him.”
“Ah, clever, clever,” Galyan said. “Villars would want to know that.” The AI disappeared.
Maddox scrambled to his feet, returning to the hatch, with his free hand once more on the wheel.
Galyan dutifully reappeared. “He will not—” The AI stopped talking and looked around, spotting the captain by the wheel. “Captain, I have just realized something.”
“What’s that?” Maddox asked.
“There is a high probability that you have engaged in these actions in order to delay.”
“That can’t be true,” Maddox said.
“I assure you that my probability matrix has given this a high grade ratio.”
“I’m going to kill Villars.”
Galyan cocked his head. “Captain, it appears that you are delaying even now with these arguments. Why would you—” The holoimage looked up. “What is that noise?”
Another of the clangs had just reverberated down the corridor.
“What are you talking about?” Maddox asked.
The AI’s deep-set eyes fluttered rapidly. The head swiveled until Galyan gave Maddox an accusing stare. “Someone is attempting to break into my AI core chamber.”
“As soon as you leave,” Maddox said, “I’m going to enter the disruptor control room and kill Villars.”
“You say that in order to delay me.”
“What are your orders, Galyan?”
“I must leave to inspect the new threat. I must—”
“You must warn Villars first. Hurry, Galyan, go warn him because I’m going in.” Maddox turned the wheel again.
Once more, the AI disappeared.
***
Meta gripped the twisted hatch, wriggling her power-gloved fingers deeper into the opening. Once she had a solid hold, she pulled. The exo-skeleton servos whined. Metal shrieked. Slowly, the metal bent more and more. Finally, Meta ripped the hatch from its hinges, flinging the metal against the farther bulkhead.
“Go,” Dana said.
Meta stepped through the entrance into the AI core chamber. Banks of lights winked in profusion, the holy of holies to Driving Force Galyan, the deified Adok commander.
Gas billowed from vents into the chamber.
Meta ignored the growing green cloud. Her suit had independent air tanks. Behind her, Dana stepped through. The doctor had a rebreather and a skintight suit.
“What now?” Meta radioed.
“Shhh,” Dana whispered. “Let me think.”
As the doctor slowly rotated, scanning the chamber, the holoimage appeared in the thickening mist.
“You must leave at once,” Galyan said. “This is a proscribed area.”
Both women ignored him.
“This is your final warning,” Galyan said.
“We’re just trying to help you,” Meta said.
“This is an invasion of my privacy,” Galyan said.
“Go ask Maddox about what we’re doing,” Meta suggested.
“This takes precedence.”
Dana looked up. “I bet the captain is getting ready to charge Villars. Won’t the slarn hunter be surprised when he does?”
A look of anguish swept over Galyan’s holographic features. A second later, the holoimage disappeared.
“Can the AI do more than gas us?” Meta asked.
“Theoretically, Galyan could make the antimatter engines go critical.”
“Then you’d better hurry,” Meta said.
“Shhh,” Dana said. “Don’t rush me. I have to think this through so I do it right the first time. I doubt I’m going to have a second chance.”
***
Maddox spoke to the agitated AI. “This is a tactical dilemma,” the captain told Galyan.
“Yes. It bothers me. I wish to resolve it. Why can’t I make an optimum choice?”
“That’s an interesting question,” Maddox said.
“No, no, this is simply more of your delays. Won’t you help a friend in distress and give me the optimum solution to this problem?”
“I’m already doing that,” Maddox said.
“Explain yourself.”
“Ludendorff put a backdoor into your core. He has bewitched you.”
“I do not understand the last term,” Galyan said.
“It is an archaic expression,” Maddox said. “It refers to a spell.”
“The professor put an input node into the chamber, not an archaic spell of dubious reality.” The AI froze. A moment later, Galyan glared at Maddox. “I know what to do now.”
“Care to tell me what that is?”
“Villars is the professor’s proxy. I will request his aid.” With that, Galyan vanished once more.
***
“There,” Dana said, pointing. “That’s the professor’s handiwork.”
Through the billowing gas, Meta watched the doctor hurry to a fist-sized housing at shoulder level on the wall. Dana selected a small needle-sized instrument from her kit and a pair of electrical tweezers. Taking a deep breath, she raised the tools and began to work on the backdoor. A spark leapt from it, shocking the doctor. It caused Dana to stagger backward, dropping the tiny tools so they tinkled onto the deck plates.