Chapter 156 - The platform

Book 5 - Chapter 153

Y: 2143 – 1 week until Southern Europe regional inter-academy first round.

Daedalus Financial Position: <5.23M> bitcreds

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Myrmidon: Security and operating systems are under our control. I also have control over all the space exos.

Daedo: Keep them blinded, locked down and max out their noise cancellation. Are there any personnel onboard who aren’t in space exos?

Myrmidon: None that I can find through scanning, comms, or operational reports.

Daedo made his way down the corridor towards the control room. Without needing to be asked Myrmidon added the station map to his HUD; they had worked together as a team for what seemed like their entire lives and Myrmidon was able to predict most of Daedo’s needs.

He waited patiently as Myrmidon opened the secure door to the control room. The AI didn’t have to crack the security protocol, he accessed the codes from Lai’s exo logs. They passed another Huawei employee who was frozen in place. A human’s strength was no match for an exo, especially one with electro-magnetic boots. The prison they had envisioned for Daedo was turned on them and they would be sure to learn from this mistake. He was sure that in the future failsafe’s such as manual disengagement would be installed. But it was too late for them now, Myrmidon had simply and easily defeated their systems.

Their arrogance and underestimation of him and his AI were their downfall. Not their technology, but they would most likely blame their techs anyway, to save face.

Daedo sighed. This is why he was here. This control room was disconnected from all of Earth’s networks as far as Mace and her mother could tell. It was the source of the attacks on Daedalus on three occasions now. First at the meeting with the Senegalese delegation, then several minor attacks following and lastly the devastating attack on their own elevator platform and construction site in Panama.

He plugged the suit’s interface into the primary command station and let Myrmidon do his work. The AI proceeded to deactivate the warheads and launch the arsenal of weapons primed on the platform into space. The missiles and drones would fly towards the sun for a little over a month before disintegrating. As soon as the first volley was away Myrmidon began reloading and scheduling all the remaining ordnance to be fired towards the sun. Emptying the weapons platform entirely.

This alone would not stop Huawei, they could always re-supply.

Daedo watched the missiles on one monitor while checking station security on another. All station personnel were accounted for and trapped in exos – it brought a rare smile to his face. They were wide awake and impotent. And they would be fuming, especially Lai, who had an ego the size of a small moon.

He checked the vitals on each of the space exos, some had high heart rates, but they weren’t in danger as far as he could tell. They were sensory deprived with the magnetic boots and hydraulics engaged. He flicked through the manifest and logs as Myrmidon fired off one missile battery after another.

Daedo checked the operating system for other low orbit weapons platforms. Then he opened a specific channel on the comms unit.

Daedo: Check Comms.

Marais Captain: Check comms confirmed.

Daedo: Received. Data packet attached.

He recognised the voice immediately and sent a small data packet confirming their location and trajectory. It was the son of the CEO and Chief Engineer, Jeram, who greeted him on his first day at Fortescue.

Jeram: Position confirmed. MIS-08 inbound ETA 22 mins. Permission to dock.

Daedo: Granted and I am surprised they allowed you to come.

Jeram: Why? I’m well trained, experienced and I volunteered.

Daedo: It’s an unnecessary risk. Surely Marais has many pilots who qualify.

Jeram: I’m hurt. You know the old ones don’t use AI like we do and you’re making it sound like you’re not happy to hear my comforting voice.

Jeram had come to his rescue in his time of need and was almost as trusted as a Daedalus core member.

Daedo: I’m glad you’re here. I know I’m in safe hands.

Jeram: Aww. I’ll definitely tell the girls you do have a heart.

Daedo: Girls?

Jeram: Sorry, I’m distracting us from mission parameters.

Daedo: Very well. I’m sending docking protocols and will organize disembarkment of personnel before your arrival.

Myrmidon began to force march the occupied exos towards the Huawei craft that they had arrived on. One by one the frustrated Huawei personnel boarded the craft. He even sat the qualified pilots in their seats.

Myrmidon was unable to access control of the craft itself. Not in the window of time they had allowed for the mission. But it was not necessary, once all the technicians and soldiers were aboard the act of releasing the interlocks would push the craft away. Its hatch would be open however when the failsafe kicked in it would close automatically. The personnel would remain unharmed because they were all in space exos.

The AI would the manoeuvre the station away from the drifting craft using its inbuilt strategic orbit mobility system. It couldn’t fly like a ship, but it had to maintain its orbit and position itself in different strategic locations. It used its central power system with an array of thrusters and two solar sails. The exos lockdown was on a timer, three hours would be more than enough for them to float aimlessly in space. They would probably panic because he didn’t inform them of his plans.

As the Huawei craft floated away Daedo messaged Jeram on the Marais Industries Military Intrasolar Shuttle (MIS-08).

Daedo: The main bay is open. Go ahead and dock once the Huawei craft is clear.

Jeram: Check. ETA 5 minutes.

It was time to leave, after confirmation that Myrmidon had finished programming, he exited the central control room. Through the dimly lit passages he made directly for the docking bay using the map in his HUD.

As he turned a corner, he noticed movement from his peripheral vision, and he immediately sidestepped. The shape solidified as it bore down on him. Two arms, two legs and torso – someone was able to hide from his scans and log checks. They weren’t wearing an exo, if they had been they would’ve been disabled and disembarked.

Now the element of surprise was lost the assailant was at a disadvantage because he had an exo. Using the power of an exo he forcefully pushed them into the wall, and it was then he noticed it was a girl. Her head hit the wall hard, and she slumped onto the floor. Her eyes fluttered from the impact to the back of her head.

He wasn’t sure if she was acting. While he hesitated, she crawled just out of his reach, took three rapid steps as she rose to her feet. His outstretched hand grabbed fresh air as she began to escape down the corridor.

He thought for less than a moment on his course of action. He had no choice; he could not pursue her for long even if it was for her own good.

Daedo: Myrmidon, give me access to the station’s comms and alert system.

After his AI complied Daedo spoke through his helmet’s communication as he walked to the Marais’ vehicle. “Hello Huawei operative this is Commander Daedo from Daedalus. We have taken control over this station and attempted to evacuate all Huawei representatives. I apologise that we missed you due to your skill - because now we will send this weapons platform into the earth’s atmosphere to burn before it crashes into the deep ocean. You have thirty seconds to board the Marais vehicle. If you do - we will not harm you, and you will be released once it is safe to do so. You have my word. Daedo out.”

He quickly made his way down the corridor before stepping through the connection module and onto the Marais shuttle.

Jeram’s voice could he heard through the shuttle’s comms, “I heard that. Did you miss one?”

“Yes,” Daedo replied. “We can only afford thirty seconds.”

Thirty seconds seemed to take forever as Daedo waited near the shuttle’s entrance. The assailant did not secure a weapon while he was onboard but that could have been due to her need to remain hidden. This restriction was now lifted so he took cover behind the bulkhead as a precautionary measure.

His HUD showed two countdown timers and the thirty second mark slowly ticked passed.

Myrmidon: She is attempting to regain control

Daedo considered the situation for a moment. If she failed, she would likely die. However, there was a small chance she could survive if he ceded control - to help her survive re-entry. He knew there was a chance because it was his back-up plan to rig the internal modules and land in the Atlantic Ocean. He decided for a middle ground approach.

Daedo: Myrmidon – can you change the re-entry angle and flight plan to our plan B option?

Myrmidon: Done.

“Please detach Captain Marais,” Daedo asked Jeram.

“Don’t have to ask me twice,” Jeram replied as the interlocking mechanisms began clicking and winding rapidly. After the umbilical detached short jet bursts could be heard as the shuttle maneuvered away.

When they were at a safe distance Jeram pushed a throttle forward and the shuttle began to pick up speed.

“Any changes to the plan?” Jeram asked.

Daedo shook his head slightly. “No, there’s nothing we can do for her now. If she survives it’ll be a wild ride.” Daedo peered out the window at the orbital platform.

“Who was she? An operative? A soldier?”

“No idea. She’s good. We didn’t detect her until she attacked us.”

Jeram turned the yoke and checked his instruments. Daedo sat beside him in the co-pilots chair. Learning to fly was not something he had time for, but Jeram looked like he was having fun despite being on a dangerous mission against one of the most powerful companies in the world.

“Can she save the platform?” Jeram asked.

“It’s possible, but unlikely. She’d have to be as good a programmer as me or Mace or have an AI like Myrmidon and even then, she doesn’t have much time.”

The platform finished turning and its thrusters flashed. It slowly began to dive towards the earth. It was according to plan, soon there would be no turning back. The best way to stop re-supply was to get rid of it altogether. He had no idea how much a secret, stealth, low orbit weapons platform cost, but it sure wasn’t cheap.

“Do they have any others?” Jeram asked.

Daedo continued to watch it on the scanners and with visuals while he could. “Not that we could find. Maybe, but there’s no trace of it.”

“So, it’s either no or super stealthy with no digital trail.”

Daedo nodded.

They flew for a few minutes and Daedo said, “I’ve changed my mind.”

“Hmm?” Jeram asked.

“Can we do a pass over the wreckage without endangering the shuttle?” Daedo knew the answer, but he asked anyway.

“No, but I’m up for it if you are. Let’s see if the operative wants or needs a rescue.”

“The middle of the Atlantic isn’t a nice place to be stranded. But if she’s smart, she’ll be in an exo, and they have life support. And if she’s not in an exo, she’s dead.”

In less than an hour they were circling the wreckage. Daedo had donned his Daedalus equipment and jettisoned the Huawei exo. Myrmidon used the ships scanners looking for life as Daedo peered down at the wreckage. A visualization of the scan data was represented on his HUD.

“There,” he said as a green light popped into existence. Jeram shared the visualization and veered the craft towards it.

Daedo made his way to the rear of the shuttle as it’s cargo door slowly opened. Jeram expertly lowered the versatile shuttle, but it was not designed for ocean rescues. It was designed for high-speed air to space missions. It was a jack of all trades and master of none.

Using his grappler Daedo lowered himself onto the wreck. He’d have to cut open the hull to see if she was alive beneath the slab of metal before it sank. The air trapped inside was keeping it afloat for now and the compartment was relatively intact despite a hot re-entry and crashing into the ocean.

Most of the platform was crushed, burned, or destroyed. Less than a third remained.

His nanotool made short work of the composite hull and he sliced open three sides of a square before using the strength of his exo to bend it back.

The body was there, it was in an exo and unmoving. But he could tell she was breathing and had a pulse. Her breath was shallow, shallow enough that she probably was unconscious this time.

He shot a second grapple into the chest of her exo and then pulled himself up using the first. His arms were extended, one up and one down as they were lifted into the shuttle.

The shuttle hovered on autopilot and was stable. Jeram was taking no chances with their guest. He helped Daedo secure her to a chair, checking for weapons and then vitals.

“I’ll lock down her exo,” Daedo raised his voice over the noise of the shuttle. As Jeram chuckled, he added, “They’ll plug this vulnerability soon, but we can make the most of it in the meantime.”

Jeram quickly returned to his pilot’s chair, and they got underway. They didn’t want to hang around for very long. When the cabin was pressurized Daedo removed her helmet and was stunned when he realized she looked exactly like Jia.

It wasn’t Jia. It couldn’t be. Then he noticed her cybernetics looked different. Jia had a twin. Or was it a clone.