POD (The Pattern Universe) (15 page)

Medusa looked at its programmed scope of operation, then made contact with the Fortress mainframe to receive instructions.

[Authorisation PUMA/G425/ECHO - Proceed Scenario K12/14/200: Initiate Attack. Target: Space Island ]

With official instructions to proceed received, Medusa sent a Wireless Integrated Security Protocol, WISP command to the five gunships whereby they powered up and fell into formation ready to fly to their pre-set destination which consisted of a two hour flight in-atmosphere.

Although the ships were all equipped and designed for space-flight, there were no automatic flight algorithms in place yet, because nobody had the opportunity to fly them manually into space. One thing Ferris was short on was skilled manpower, hence these automated systems.

At about the same time that Baxter and his team were flying through the Alps on their sleds, the Fortress attack group cloaked up and began the fast, high altitude flight to Space Island, fully expecting to take the enemy by surprise.

Ferris, back in the main control room at the Fortress, was activating his other attack plans when he was informed that his infiltrator forces had been intercepted and turned back. His advance crew had been removed from the first ship that had landed and he was getting no response from the on-board AI or cameras. How had they known?

He scanned the operators and staff that were busy monitoring all aspects of his robotic army. They were a good team and he didn’t believe any one of them could have accessed the outside world. The one that had informed him of the flight infiltrator failure was looking at him for a response. Ferris ordered him to pass across the records from his station. He looked down as the files appeared on his monitor. He opened the folder and opened the contents

He looked at the logs and video feeds, zooming in on the images of the security globes that had headed off his ships. He couldn't be sure, but they looked like they were modelled along the same lines as the latest Fortress ones. They had only been created since the escape by the cloaked UFO, so precisely ‘who’ could have given them that information?

“Computer, check all external access logs for last 60 days; detail all access incidents not originating from primary authorised locations,” he ordered.

“Working,” the metallic voice answered.

Pleased with the advance of the AI to a level of verbal understanding and response, Ferris was nonetheless concerned at their technology leaking. He would have to check the scientists next. Goeth noticed his look across the room and wisely kept his head down.

Ferris could do nothing about it at the moment, but he would go through the whole of the network before the end of this operation and weed out anyone who might be passing information to the outside.

He waited on the reports back from his advance spotters. The surface teams would monitor from specially adapted sleds with a side car arrangement where the driver could maintain position or evade discovery while a spotter lay prostrate on the shelf alongside and helped to identify targets for the mainframe.

While Ferris would oversee the whole operation and intervene, he would leave the action to the computers that had been tasked with taking down all defences, construction yards and shield generators whilst leaving the research and development block unharmed. The computer had instructions to ring-fence that area and fly in the Medusa to drop off its cargo.

Medusa carried the Fortress’ latest weapon on-board, warriorbots, cloaked and undetectable to everything that Ferris’ scientists threw at them. They were going to be a real surprise visitor to Space Island. He had been keeping them ultra secret and the plans hadn't even been kept on the mainframe. Only in the last few days had they been incorporated into the battle computers programming.

The computer ‘dinged,’ it had something to say.

“Computer, proceed,” Ferris commanded.

“Report suspect intrusions detected: Two incidents unaccounted, 42 days, 31 days.”

“Computer, provide the point of origin; provide origin of data breaches,” Ferris ordered.

“Origin of intrusions: Location undetermined - data core breach indeterminate,” the computer responded.

Damn! Thought Ferris, how could someone not be traceable? His data-net credentials allowed him to track every single access point on the planet, he practically owned the data-net There must be an error, but there was no point in getting the computer to re-check the details, if it had made an error it would only repeat it and come up with the same result.

“Computer, length of time accessing data core on previously requested intrusions?”

“Working.”

‘ding’

“Computer, proceed.”

“Time accessed 42 days: 2 minutes 23 seconds. Time accessed 31 days: 1 minute 44 seconds.”

“Computer, file report: Ferris one zero four two. Collate all, append.” He would look at it later, something was missing. Maybe he would be able to find it himself. His analytical mind was usually able to determine any kind of anomaly in the logical world of the computer. The answer would be there, he just needed to ask the right question.

“Report filed.”

There wasn't anything more Ferris could do at the moment, so he turned back to the operations board. The Fleet was still over an hour from target. He needed an alternative plan for taking out the Grav-Port

Medusa followed the internal instrumentation built into its systems and calculated they were within fifteen minutes of the island. It should be on visual now, but there was no sign of it. Unperturbed the AI switched to a satellite location co-ordinates confirming it was on time and on target. The enemy must be using a camouflage shield hoping to confuse the attacking force. This had been anticipated; the AI overlaid the satellite images of the island on its display and the immediate result was a 3D rendition of the island exactly where it was supposed to be.

Medusa then switched all defences to active and primed the on-board NRG’s. Noting the surveillance drones patrolling the island’s perimeters, its operation rules classified them as targets. The gunships spread out into attack formation. It gave the command to neutralise the drones which doubled up as a means of zeroing the gunships’ sights. As each drone was eliminated, the icons on the screen winked out.

The enemy would know they were coming, but that wasn't a cause for concern; they had superiority in the air and were virtually impregnable. It had clear instructions to remove all airborne threats, and so followed them.

Reaching the outer area around the island’s cloaked shield the Medusa AI checked the drone warriors: Two teams, four to a team ‘A’ and ‘B’, ready to deploy.

In the cargo section, eight strangely designed contrivances stood looking much like metal stick insects with what first appeared to be welded metal blocks for body and heads. Closer inspection showed them to be well designed and efficiently organised.

The arm and leg sections were formed of angular and twisted steel which despite being slim and modular in design, appeared to flow naturally into joints, able to traverse a full three hundred and sixty degrees. The legs ended in a set of six angular toes with some form of soft composite sheaths over the ends, presumably to improve grip as well as reduce contact sounds on hard surfaces.

Similar to the legs, they sported two arms ending in hand-like claws. These were designed to be double-jointed enabling the individual claws to flex into any position to hold objects of any kind. Some of the Warriors hefted large calibre NRG’s, wasted on shielded humans, of course, but these were designed to damage local infrastructure. The others carried a new disabling device. A sonic burst gun which would disorient a person, which because it wasn't life threatening wouldn't activate the shields defence.

The Medusa broke away from the five gunships that encircled her and dived until the proximity to the ocean below caused massive ripples to be sucked up into the wake of the ship as its speed and drag pulled everything behind it. At the last minute, it used its anti-grav as a brake and pulled up close to the Space Island’s shield.

The Warriors prepared to disembark. They required no water-craft or sleds, their built-in A-Grav and thrusters would transport them wherever they wanted to go and the agility and versatility acquired by this integration meant they were able to react quickly to on-ground or in-air exposure with full integrated combat manoeuvres.

Deploying the first team through a set of drop down doors, the Medusa immediately ran a coded program through the transmitter in its bow. It was rewarded with a nullified hole appearing at sea level in front of its position large enough for a small man-sized team to slip through. It would not even register on the enemy sensors as it was coded into the software stolen from the Fortress months ago. A single line of code injected into the camouflage shield software provided for a tiny amount of differential to occur at the point that shield met water.

That enabled the shield to be weakened at that point, and anything with enough force to push through would get past the shield defence. Ferris had always created the technology with back doors that left him with control, and in this single, important instance it had proven itself.

Back in the Fortress, Ferris observed the successful hacking of the shield and from where he was, directed the warriors from his own console. He wanted no errors and would not trust this aspect to the AI This was the real mission; the gunships and invasion were a ploy to gain access to the Space Island complex and insert the warrior bots. He would now have his revenge on Garner and take what was his.

- 12 -

Below, in the foundations of the Fortress, Baxter’s teams were pulling themselves out of the freezing water. Their luck had held out thus far. They now squatted at the edge of the torrent without the benefit of light, using only their Night Vision Visor, NVV to scout visually for any alarms. The men moved alternately to the nearest exit ready to begin their ascent.

Baxter held back and looked at the internal 3D plan overlaid on the inside of his visor. With the one eye closed, he looked at the route they had set in prior to leaving Space Island. It showed as a thin gold line on the map that was displayed providing limited data in a hostile environment.

With the route set in his mind, he tapped the side of his helmet. He checked his visor showed the golden direction indicators in the bottom corner, leaving his vision clear of obstructions.

Indicating to the teams to move forward in pairs, they moved lightly on their rubber soled boots making no sound. To ‘old hands’ like these habits tended to be ingrained. They would keep you alive when all else failed around you.

As they moved up a level at a time, they came across very few workers. There was little down here except storage and empty rooms built for expansion. None of the workers detected them, and the teams slipped past and up to the next level. They saw cameras positioned in corridors that seemingly ignored them, and they soon arrived at the secure levels.

Baxter left the four men of the beta team to gain access to the laboratories while he led alpha team up to the next level. The indicator on his visor told him there was a left turn ahead. It didn’t tell him there were two guards standing there blocking access to the safe room.

He raised his arm, signalling the others to a halt, then indicated right to get someone to move up level with him on the right side of the corridor in a position to take down both targets at the same time.

Pulling out the same little box they had used to great effect in the initial briefing room, Baxter set the output to maximum width and prepared, on the count of three, to slide it across the thirty feet between them. He would need to be accurate. The range only worked up to three metres, after that it was hit and miss in terms of whether the shields would disarm, or not. He didn’t recognise the weapons the guards were holding so wouldn't take his men closer if it meant putting them in the direct line of fire. He had been criticised over this approach by his superiors, but with his long experience he preferred to play it safe with the lives of his men.

The nullifier slewed across the even surface of the floor. As it left the protection of the shielded zone where it had been harmonised with Baxter’s cloak, it appeared as if by magic, sliding towards the guards, who reacted by turning their weapons on the tiny box. Shooting at it without having had time to aim they missed, and as the nullifier reached them it was already too late.

Baxter and his men, who had already fielded their weapons, aiming directly at the guards didn’t miss as both men fell to the ground, stunned. Dicks and Felpham both leaped forward from the rear, straps and mouth gags at the ready. There would be no bloodshed unless the Fortress people started it. Then it would be a quick switch to lethal weapons.

As they came up to the room housing the main computer, a klaxon alarm went off, startling the men standing beneath one of the speakers. Either the guards had somehow set off the alarm, or more likely a security monitor had reported the incident which meant they would have a lot of company very soon.

The doors were keyed to bio-signatures, so there was no way they were going to get in by conventional means. Baxter took out the ceramic flask, and while the others covered the small cul-de-sac they had fortified with their shields overlapping so that nothing could get through, they waited.

Carefully, as Osbourne had instructed him, Baxter poured a small quantity of the grey sludge around the top of the door-line and some more in the control area to the left of the door at hand height. He replaced the ceramic stopper then stood well back from the door while he watched for any activity.

One minute passed. He heard the sounds of weapons being discharged, and turning to look he was surprised when one of his men fell to the ground motionless. He was shielded and still cloaked, yet somehow he had been hit with something. He was either dead, or unconscious. Baxter looked back anxiously at the doorway while his men pulled the man out of the firing range. They would check him out. He needed to concentrate on what was going on with the doorway. He watched, nothing seemed to be happening. Then, at one minute thirty seconds, it was as if watching a slow motion movie, the charcoal grey line where he had poured the contents became uneven as it slowly spread like a stain, eating its way through the clean steel composite like a fast spreading rust. It took only a few minutes before Baxter could see through the door frame into the room beyond.