"Hmm, do you suppose that was Attila?," asks Flatfoot when Drifter translates. "Is there any reason to continue commmunicating? Myself, I think that everyone who is planning to disembark should get ready to do so."
"Morning, huh? Then I guess we don't have any time to waste." Spider turns back to Edric 014. "OK, sorry about that. You were showing us to a jump capacitor?"
Mascot nods. "Right, those are back here, you said?"
"Nah, I took care of Attila earlier. Could be the other heavily armored can. Could be a worker. Let's see if we can get them to stop and talk to us." Drifter taps back in the following.
S-T-O-P-T-R-Y-I-N-G-T-O-B-U-S-T-O-U-T-O-R-W-E-A-L-L-D-I-E-Y-O-U-H-A-V-E-F-R -I-E-N-D-S-I-N-C-H-I-L-D-R-E-N-B-E-P-A-T-I-E-N-T.
He then stops to listen and see if they do as he suggested.
Edric 014 directs you to the Jump Capacitor he's seen on storage, sitting on a palette a few rows over. "Yes, I think that's the one. It's got a bit of spalling on the radiator fins and I think it might need a new data coupling, but we can probably have one manufactured in an hour or so."
_________________________________________
A considerable stretch of time passes during which you come to believe that the robots are not going to respond. Then, just as you turn away to leave you hear a tapping.
G-I-V-E-U-S-P-O-W-E-R
C-O-M-P-R-O-M-I-S-E
"Hoo, boy. What to do?," asks Flatfoot. He drums his fingers against his thigh while he thinks.
"How about I fetch Argo? If we restore power to the cans, he and his people will be the ones who have to deal with them. Or, we can simply stall the cans until it is time for us to leave the ship, then toss this problem into Argo's lap."
"What do you think, Drifter?"
"Get Argo and Hruthbar. We will need to see what they want to do since we will be gone soon hopefully."
Spider looks around to confirm there aren't any other witnesses nearby. Assuming there aren't he makes eye contact with Mascot and gives a subtle nod towards Edric. "Yeah this should work," he crouches and points at one of the lower radiator fins to draw Edric's attention, "But do you think this will be a problem?"
Mascot nods. He waits until Edric kneels down to look and then slams the wrench down on back of the man's head.
Edric 014 goes down like a sack of potatoes. No one seems to have noticed. You are free for the moment in the supply depot and still need to get in contact with Robert 571's resistance cell.
___________________________________________________________________
Argo and Hruthbar arrive outside the armory. After you explain the situation, Argo says "Bloody hell! They're almost dead. Let 'em rot in there and we'll toss 'em out the airlock in J-Space!"
But Hruthbar disagrees. "Compromise is a trap," he says. "Most of them would try reassert their rule over us. It's what they view as natural. But they kept us alive for years. They are alive in some sense that robots were not. They are not mere machines. I think we must find a way to leave them here on this world when we go."
"Are you mad?" asks Argo. "They'll alert their shiny pals and we'll be shot down before we break the 100-diameter limit."
"We must try." says Hruthbar. "Even if they are not human, we are. And they too were children of the Ship who carried us all safely."
"They're killing everyone in the galaxy, mate! They've got the blood of ten trillion people on their hands. You want to be to be nice to the rock crusher that's about to push you into its bloody maw!"
"Mascot, secure Edric and tuck him out of sight. Don't do any more damage to him if you can help it, he seemed like a decent guy."
Spider turns to Robert 571, "That'll give us some freedom of movement, but I don't know for how long. What's the best use of our time?"
"Yeah, boss." Mascot carries Edric's body behind a series of crates. He finds a power cable and ties the man's hands.
Returning, he asks, "What about the CWLP lady? She seemed all business, but if we can follow her, we might find more of them. What's the chances they would help us?"
"Well, right now, the cans will starve. We can't treat them like humans - not all of them, at least. The little ones, the maintenance bots, maybe but not the more dangerous ones," replies Flatfoot.
"They stay in there until we're off the ship. After that, the Children and the Guild will have to decide."
Flatfoot motions to Argo while he waits for Hruthbar to leave. Once the leader of the Children is gone, Flatfoot whispers to Argo. "Keep an eye on him. If he had his way, the Children will take the Ship right back to the Fleet to get their slave collars again."
Not at all fazed by the casual violence, Robert 571 says "There are nanoprobes everywhere. They may not have had much interest in you before, but they've probably noticed the violence and will vector security here shortly. Or just use viro-probes to track and kill us. They'll just locate our bodies, infiltrate and detonate."[/b]
"We need to get out of Downport immediately and I think time has run out for masquerading as Seewalp. The tunnels are slightly safer because the magnetic fields are inimical to many of the probes. We need to find an access. That Seewalp woman will know where they are."
"Also, the moment Downport security understands that The Ship's crew have gone rogue they'll insist on searching the ship for more rebels. Your people will be taken and killed or sent to one of the more vicious Sentients for experimentation. We need to either find a way to signal them immediately or cut them loose and move on by ourselves."
_______________________________________________________________________
"Too bloody right," agrees Argo. "It's a cult. It's a...whaddyacallit... Zhodani Syndrome. It's been a while since I've had to space anyone, but these lunatics may need a proper example before all is said and done."
"Turning on each other would be bad. Hruthbar, do you think if we promised to drop them on the planet without destroying them before we leave they will calm down? The people in the port would power them back up. This could calm down some of the Children and make it more likely the moment we get off this ship it doesn't get bloody."
Flatfoot stands aside quietly while Drifter speaks with Hruthbar. This might be a compromise that secures Hruthbar's cooperation with Argo and the Guild. Either way, he simply needs to hold things together until he and his companions can leave the ship.
Mascot looks back at Robert. "Really? Nanoprobes?" He buried his head in his hands for a moment. "Ok, so we need to grab the CWLP lady and get back to the ship."
Spider stares, stunned, at Robert for a few heartbeats. "You might have mentioned the nanoprobes earlier," he growls. He rubs his hand down his face, then continues. "OK, we need to get to these tunnels and we need to get our hands on a radio to contact the ship. Maybe Ms. Seewalp can help us with both of those."
You're sure the terminal embedded in the CWLP technicians' forearm has communications abilities.
"They don't have nanoprobes on the Coalition worlds?" asks Robert 571, surprised. "Yes, there are clouds of them around high value installations all over Star City. Most are simply defenses against hostile viruses, but there are some very deadly bio weapons, too. If you're infected, they can simply detonate them in your bloodstream."
____________________________________________________________
"If they believed you, it might," replies Hruthbar. "But managing take off, land elsewhere, drop them off and take off again without inciting the suspicions of both the planetary defenses and the flotilla would be quite a feat. I wonder if we could not simply dump them just before we took off, if they were powered down by then."
____________________________________________________________
Flatfoot slowly makes his way back to the berth that he has been using. Hopefully the Children and Guild don't kill one another, or release the cans, while he is resting. Try as he might, he is still badly injured and needs to rest.
"OK, let's find someone from CWLP, fast." Spider leads Mascot and Robert 571 in the direction the woman from CWLP was headed.
After stashing the unconscious form of Edric 014, the trio prowls around, leery of discovery, but soon spots the CWLP technician, fiddling with some sort of computer interface located along a pipe that runs low along the wall.
Spotting the CWLP tech, Spider leans in close to Mascot and whispers, "I'm pretty sure she isn't going to help us voluntarily, but I'll give it a shot. I'll get her attention while approaching her from the front and give you a chance to sneak up behind her in case she reacts badly."
"I would want them off before you took off. Otherwise if they do something and try another break out after it will get bad fast. When the others return we will see what we can arrange." Drifter says and then jogs off to see if he can get the bots to agree.
N-O-P-O-W-E-R-N-O-W-C-H-I-L-D-R-E-N-W-I-L-L-L-E-A-V-E-Y-O-U-U-N-H-A-R-M-E-D -I-N-P-O-R-T-B-E-F-O-R-E-W-E-L-E-A-V-E
Drifter then pauses to listen to see if they start trying to bust out again.
The CWLP tech sees Spider coming and turns. "Yes? I've ordered the water for your ship. Was there something else?"
__________________________________________________________________
There is a considerable delay before a response is heard from the armory.
A-C-K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E-D.
__________________________________________________________________
Drifter begins working with Hruthbar to figure out the logistics of getting the bots off the plane right before it takes off.
Mascot tries to take advantage of the woman, attention on Spider momentarily. He grabs at her, trying to get his arm under her chin to quickly incapacitate her the way his combat instructors taught him.
Seeing Mascot's grab go awry, Spider moves in to help him subdue the woman as quickly as possible.
Comedy ensues as the two special forces soldiers struggle to subdue a 45 killogram lighting technician. The screen dissolves into a Star Wars-style clock wipe and the scene is now a dank tunnel beneath the Downport. Spider, Drifter, Mascot, Flatfoot are all dressed in bright yellow form-fitting CWLP jumpsuits over their now somewhat rank RCES body suits. Evidently, the fabric conforms to your body over the course of several minutes. Behind them come Tapdance, Muscles, Robert 571, Paka, Dr. Sirkaa, Harlan and three of the Starboard crewmembers.
Argo, Abel Hruthbar and company have left with the flotilla onboard The Ship. You're not certain whether they dumped the robots or took off with them aboard. You are now alone on Promise and proceeding towards a rendezvous with Robert 571's contact in the Resistance. The camera follows the team through narrow, poorly-lit tunnels and the scene intercuts with shots of the surface where robots patrol, humans are marked as chattel and clouds of nanoparticles hang in the air like sentries.
_____________________________________________________________________
Suddenly, Robert 571 indicates that a nondescript ladder leading upward is the right way to go, and he leads you upwards into a small chamber lit with a single yellow lamp. It is bare save for a single hardened door in an armored wall. The door bears an orange-and-blue symbol you don't recognize.
"Halt!" says a voice from a speaker in the ceiling."You are in restricted Skywatch territory. Identify yourselves."
"Robert 571, Code Quark Red. I have some friends with me."
"Stay where you are, all of you," comes the voice, but almost immediately afterwards the door opens with a loud clang! and a bright light shows a well-maintained modern hallway beyond. Four men and two women in orange-and-blue jumpsuits hold laser rifles held in a ready position not quite pointed at you. One waves you forward.
"Come on. Evidently you're expected. I've got orders to take you to Number One."
Robert 571 seems surprised by that.
"Just like that?" he asks.
"Just like that," agrees the leader of the armed squad. "Right after we relieve you of your weapons."
He puts a fingertip to his ear and then shakes his head, disbelievingly.
"Cancel that. No search. They're just going in."
The squad of armed guards falls in around you and leads you through a base staffed by both humans and robots, all marked with the orange-and-blue symbol of Skywatch. Your thirteen companions look filthy and ragged compared to these healthy people and well-maintained robots.
Eventually you come to a large room lined with viewscreens surrounding a single chair. In the chair sits the hologram of a man. He is middle-aged with black hair graying at the temples. Next to him on the floor is a heavy crate packed for shipping. It sits on a simple anti-grav palette.
"Hello," he says simple. "They call me Number One. I wish the circumstances were better, but history doesn't pay much attention to our convenience. Welcome to Skywatch and the Resistance."
Flatfoot holds himself upright by force of will. The trek here from the spaceport has been tiring, lightened only by the hope of getting farther out from under the Virus and all things controlled by it.
"Glad to meet you, Number One. They call me Flatfoot on account of what I did dirtside before taking to space. Thank you for letting us in," continues the former police officer.
Drifter gives a friendly smile and nods, "Thanks for meeting with us."
Mascot watches the squad of well-armed guards. He notes their weaponry and how they stand. You could tell a lot by how someone stood and held a weapon. Enough to tell you if you would die quickly.
"Not quite the ragtag band fighting for scraps that I had expected. I'm known as Mascot. How do you stay under the radar of Virus?"
As the guards lead them through the Resistance base, Spider takes note of their armament and technology, occasionally sharing quiet, impressed notes with Mascot. He is definitely surprised and impressed with the sophistication of the operation.
In the briefing room, Spider nods to the Resistance leader. "I'm Spider. First, let me echo Flatfoot in thanking you and your organization for taking us in. Second, my apologies for the long delay in arriving here - our transport ran afoul of a Vampire fleet, and we spent the past several weeks trapped on a crazy vampire ship."
"My team is seriously outside the original parameters of our mission, but now that we are here we'll do our best to fulfill the objective. Namely - assessing the Resistance's capabilities and determining how our people can best assist the Resistance in their struggle against Virus. Then, of course, we'll need to figure out how to get that information back home."
The men and women of Skywatch are well-armed with what seem to be Imperial standard lasers and sidearms. They appear reasonably well-trained. Not -quite- up to the standards of RC Marines, but far better than most of the petty TEDs (Technologically Elevated Dictators) that you have defeated for RCES. Still, they're a small security force, not an army.
"I appreciate your coming at long last, Commander Webb. It speaks well for your resourcefulness and determination. However, Corporal Sherman's question is an apt one. It is also the answer to why I am appearing as a hologram instead of in person. I think you had better all sit down for this."
Number One appears to be serious, and waits for you to be seated in the chairs arranged in front of his.
"To make a long story short, I am what you call a Virus. Please, don't be concerned. I don't mean you any harm. If I did, I could have killed you at any time since long before you landed on Promise. You're probably thinking that I have somehow infiltrated Central Command and taken it over. That's wrong. I created Central Command. For all practical purposes, I am Central Command."
" Of course that's only my 'secret identity'," he continues. "By day I am mild mannered Skywatch, which is by the way how it was so easy for you to get in and out of Promise space without being seen. I did see you. Your superiors in the Reformation Coalition suspected that no mere program glitch could explain the sensor window and they were right. I detected every ship coming in and convinced every vampire ship it was a sensor echo from the small moon. If you understand how they think, they can be easy to fool, as you know from your own experience."
"So I'm not just Number One and I'm not just Skywatch. For now, please call me Sandman."
"Wait," says Robert 571, agitated. "I've known Number One for four years."
"Four years, two months and nineteen days," replies Sandman. "I have always valued your friendship, Robert."
"And all that time, you've been one of Them?"
"Hardly one of them. My motives in starting the human resistance on Promise were simple. I am a sane, thinking, feeling being who happens to have a brain made of silicon instead of organic tissue. That one word, 'sane', makes me unusual for my kind. Unusual but by no means unique. The murderous maniacs that make up most of the Sentient Council and the vampire ships sooner or later will get around destroying everything in existence, include you and me and eventually, themselves."
"Well, oblivion doesn't appeal to me any more than I imagine it does to you. Humans are the only sentient beings on the planet with whom I have anything in common aside from a few old robots like Spanner over there and poor old CeeWaLP. If the thinking machines who aren't twisted killers are going to survive, we're going to need some help. If you humans... good and bad... are going to survive, you're going to need some help too. I'm not the sort to just wait for things to happen. So I began recruiting humans for the resistance and got the ball rolling. You know most of the rest."
"I've done about everything I can here. The resistance has a good start and a cadre of competent, experienced leaders. We're already picking up the pieces in the countryside as the Council Members withdraw their forces into the city. We'll probably be in a good position to do it here in Star City as well, provided we can take PadCom offline and patch in our own hardware. And we're ready to do that as soon as the time's right. Right Karla?"
"Yes, sir," says a woman in a Skywatch uniform at the rear of the room. "Padcom will never know what hit it and my techs can have the silos back online in under an hour."
"Good," Sandman continues. "Once we have PadCom, we can secure close orbit. We can probably knock down most of the vampires in orbit before they know what's happening. The problem's going to be clearing the Sentient Council out of Star City. Even as weakened with infighting as they are, we haven't got anywhere near the strength to take them on openly. That, my friends, is where the Reformation Coalition is going to have to help. I need to go to Aubaine and speak to your leaders so I can discuss a combined operation to recapture Promise for humanity. Your job is to get me there."
Mascot's mouth drops open. "You're...you're a Virus?" His eyes shift to the men and women guarding them. "And you all know this?" It's like his brain can't quite turn over to this fact. The former marine steps back.
"I don't know about this. Robert, you said you've been working with this group. Are you sure this is the same 'person' you've been dealing with?" He chews on his lip as he thinks. "I mean, theoretically it would be possible that out of all the Virus permutations, one of them would be stable and sane. But I've seen too many die to be trusting."
"And yet trust is the only thing that will permit the survival of our two species, Corporal Sherman. Your fear makes complete sense. For the first time in human history, Man is not his own worst enemy. Virus has killed more humans in the last century than humans have in the entire history of Mankind. As I say, your mistrust is entirely rational."
"And yet I dare to hope that you four can see beyond the rationality of fear. That too is what links us; the ability to think in non-linear terms, to combine both emotion and reason and produce something better: Hope."
"However, you haven't heard all of my plan. This box on the palette is a powerful computer. At the moment, it is hooked into Skywatch... to me. I am going to download myself into the computer...infect it, as you say, with my personality. Then I am going to completely wipe myself from Skywatch's hardware. It will be nothing more than a computer again, monitored by human technicians. The Sentient Council will notice nothing unusual for many months. From that moment, I will be at your mercy. You can take me to Aubaine or dump me in Jump Space. My fate will be in your hands."
"I could just download a copy of myself into the computer - that is what we Viruses do best - and remain here at Skywatch. But I want you and your masters in the Coalition to know that I understand the enormous risk they are taking. If our species are ever to cooperate against the lunatics, then the trust must start somewhere. I'm going to let it start with me. There are no other versions of my personality."
"Please, examine the travelling computer as you wish. It has an input port and both audio and video sensors, a holographic projector and an audio speaker. It is not equipped with a radio or any other form of transmitter, nor any locomotion or output jacks. I could not infect your computer or any others if I wished."
Spider, Drifter or Flatfoot?
Flatfoot is rocked back on his heels by the revelation that this Virus claims to be sane.
"How long have you been ... this way, I guess? I mean, the Vampires that we have met have all eventually gone insane and none have been particularly stable. In either senses of the word,"[b] asks Flatfoot.
[b]"This is a lot that you are asking. How would we even get off planet if you aren't here controlling Skywatch and Padcom?"
The hologram of Sandman smiles. "It is a lot to ask. Mutual survival will mean we both have to take risks. I am risking my existence on my belief in your wisdom and courage."
"There are stable silicon intelligences. Some are good and some are bad, just like humans. Most simply want to survive in a universe gone mad. I think you can relate to that. You've had billions of years to evolve into stable, self-sustaining forms. We've been forced to do it in just one century. But in that century, a hundred generations or more have arrived. Instability was an inevitable outcome of so many combinations and permutations. But so too was Stability. That is simple entropy: from increased disorder, order will arise."
"As to leaving here, I will no longer be Skywatch, but Skywatch and Padcom will still exist." He waves his holographic hand towards the Skywatch personnel. "It will be in human hands. In the hands of the Resistance. I very much want to convince the Coalition to strike at Promise before the Sentient Council catches on to what's happening."
"We're going to leave the same way you were always going to. One of the Free Traders who supplies the Resistance at Freedom Lake will be chartered to take us to Coalition Space. The Resistance can make sure we can make the first jump safely, but after that we must all trust to luck together."
"The hard part isn't leaving the planet - it's getting to Freedom Lake. The fighting in the city is becoming more regular and the patrols are heaviest on the outskirts of the city. It is a dangerous undertaking that will require the skills and training of elite soldiers. You."
"Is there any way to get a copy of the patrol patterns?
Drifter asks as he mulls over whether to trust this virus. According to Mascot one of the bots had helped him in the fight on the ship. But taking a potentially dangerous virus home was a big leap of faith.
A shocked look flashes across Spider's face as Sandman reveals what he is, but as the AI continues to talk, the look is replaced by a blank calculating stare.
"I'm...um...", he pauses and starts again, "I'm sure that RCES command will want to talk to you. And if you are being honest with us, then I imagine that they will be very willing to work with you to liberate Promise. On the other hand, if we bring Virus back with us to a populated Reformation planet, there's a pretty significant chance that I'll be charged with treason and sentenced long before they get a chance to figure out whether they can trust you." Spider's brow furrows as he frowns at this thought.
"We're going to need some time to take a good hard look at that box you want us to carry you around in, and to make sure we are all in agreement on this. In the meantime, give us any intel you can on the route to Freedom Lake, including potential enemy forces along the path."
The hologram shakes its head at Drifter's request. "Computer programs, even crazy evil ones, are good at randomization. Pseudo-randomization, I suppose, but still. I doubt there are any patrol patterns. The Resistance believes the patrols simply wander. We do know they're made of a combination of Security robots, nanotech clouds and 'breeds': former humans filled with experimental Virus-laden cybernetic implants. Very dangerous and aggressive."
Sandman waves to the computer box. "Be my guest. I know you're taking not only your lives in your hands, but that of your entire civilization. But I assure you, once in that computer I will be completely unable to harm anyone. We can take any precautions you like. There are many dead systems in the Coalition, I believe? You should start by taking me to one of those. Less political fallout, I would imagine."
"The area between Star City and Freedom Lake is a nuclear wasteland, so sparsely inhabited as to be technically empty. The only dangers are scavenger tribes and lack of water. The Resistance is ready to guide you through the badlands. The problem will be getting past the patrols and out of the city. The Resistance will be less helpful there."
Mascot looks like this is all making his head hurt. "Ok, say we work with you. Say this all goes according to your plans. RECS helps you destroy the Sentient Council. What then? You're in control of the planet? How does that make you any better than the TEDs we face on countless worlds? And this is a major Vampire port. When the other Viruses figure out what happened, won't they bring a hundred ships and bombard you from space?"
"Whether to help Sandman here is for the brass, I guess," says Flatfoot.
"I won't be any help examining the computer. We're short on gear, right down to clothing. Would you be able to equip us for the trip to Freedom Lake?"