Chapter 33
From what she remembered of the squadron's patrols, Diana had decided the best time to do this would be at sunset.
She and Simon had taken their creepy mechanical horse out away from the cave, to an abandoned slope on the hillside. Hopefully it was far enough away to delay Cain's response when he inevitably picked up on their signal. At least Noah's encryption was good enough that Cain wouldn't be able to tell what they were saying. Not right away, at least.
She set up the radio and booster carefully, wiring it into 'Wilson' for power. The sight of the thing still triggered instinctive fear in her, but Simon seemed quite comfortable with it. He hadn't been shooting the damn things for weeks, though. When she was done, she leaned back and nodded over to him.
Hesitantly, he picked up the radio and turned it on. "Seraph Twelve, this is Seraph Four, come in. Seraph Twelve, this is Seraph Four, please respond."
He glanced around fearfully, and Diana could empathize. There could be any number of drones out in these hills, but this was still their best plan, as they'd both agreed. Finally, the radio crackled. "Who is this?"
That was Torin's voice all right. She grinned over at Simon, and nodded again. "This is Simon. I'm alive. Torin, is that you?"
There was another dead silence for a bit. "Simon? No, it can't be. Simon died over a month ago."
"It's me, Torin," he assured the voice quickly. "I'm here with Seraph Four, Tycho. He told me how to contact you."
"Let me talk to him."
Simon grimaced. "He's, uh, unavailable right now. You recognize my voice, don't you? It hasn't been that long."
There was a low noise on the other end; possibly a growl. "I want to believe he's alive: that you both are. But Noah can duplicate voices, and that means Cain can, too. I can't trust you. Nice try, Cain. I guess you really don't have a soul after all." Diana shook her head at that. It was too close to reality for her to find amusing, but it was definitely ironic, given the circumstances.
"Wait!" Simon urged him quickly. "Is this a secure line on your end?"
"It is," Torin responded suspiciously.
"Then Tycho told me to tell you... that he knows you changed your score. He found out about the simulator glitch on day two of training, and he told Noah so that he could fix it, but he never told Noah you used it to your advantage. You got away with it, because of him."
It was true. Simon didn't have a clue what she'd meant by that, but she had seen initial glitches like that, without the other trainees knowing. Torin had cheated, technically, but she'd sensed he had the ability to be a good pilot, so she'd kept it to herself.
"That's not—” The radio signal cut out again briefly. "I never told anyone about that."
"Neither did Tycho, but he did know. It's me, Torin. We're both alive, and we need your help."
There was another silence, this one seeming to last for hours. Finally though, Torin responded. "What can I do?"
Simon let out a burst of relieved air into his breather. "All right, we don't have much time before Cain can get drones here and shut down my signal. Here's where you need to be, and when, and what you need to do."
He relayed the instructions quickly, only pausing at the end to verify Torin had heard it all. Then Diana snatched up the radio, turning it off as they got back on top of 'Wilson' and sped off. The die was cast, the Rubicon crossed. They'd passed the point of no return. Expression after expression flitted through her mind, but none seemed powerful enough to convey the importance of the situation.
She hoped they were up to the task.
-.-
Before heading out to storm the mountains, Diana insisted on making some adjustments to their ride. 'Wilson' was armed with machine-guns, like all of Cain's drones, but he'd never used them before. Unwilling to trust the drone as anything more than a mode of transportation, Diana worked with Simon to detach them from Wilson's mechanical frame. They didn't have any ammunition, but for once that was an easy fix. There were plenty of rounds left at the Havoc's crash site, and they used the same kind as Cain's drones.
It made sense, really. Both engines of war had been created by AIs who were effectively copies of each other. Both Noah and Cain would probably use the most efficient ammunition possible. While Simon tried to strip down one of the machine guns, to make it easier for a human to carry, Diana sped back out to her poor baby's resting place, to grab what she needed.
The Havoc looked even worse from this position than it had when she'd crashed. Of course, she'd been too busy at the time to get a sense for how bad it was. At least Simon had downloaded the latest patrol schedule, so she should be able to ride Wilson out there, get the ammo and other supplies, and be back inside the tunnel before Cain noticed her.
What a mess! The two drones that had detonated on the starboard wing had shredded it, for the most part. No wonder her main drive had gone out—the fuel line had been cut as well. She was lucky she hadn't just exploded in midair during the fight!
Still, up close the damage didn't look that bad. Noah could probably get her fixed up in a week or so, provided he could haul the Havoc out of here.
For a moment, Diana allowed herself the luxury of daydreaming. If they were successful in shutting down or destroying Cain, the war would be over. Over a hundred pilots would suddenly have no enemy to fight, but still have powerful, efficient planes and the training to use them. They could go anywhere, really.
Everyone she'd grown up with had been rushed into every big situation in their lives! Their education had been compressed, as Noah was trying to make sure they could handle the stresses of building a human society. Their adulthood had been filled with pressure as well, to get a job or get married, depending on which side of Harmony they'd lived in. Then this war had started, and they'd all been evacuated and/or drafted.
What would the future look like, if they finally had time to slow down? She'd seen some of her fellow trainees using the simulators for more than just battle experience. They would fly low and slow over huge swaths of terrain, just as she had, back in the privacy of her home in Greater Harmony. They were exploring the limits of the world they'd known, just as she had. When this war was over, if any of them were still alive, Diana had no doubt that they would keep exploring. Oxygenated air or not, they would use these jets to see just what New Eden had to offer them.
In a strange way, she had Cain to thank for that. If he hadn't become such a threat, Adam and John would have kept everyone under tight supervision. Any expansion of their society would have been done with strict measures in place to keep the new colonists under control. Now... they didn't have that option anymore.
Diana finished up there, and kissed the Havoc's dashboard. "Be back as soon as I can," she promised, and then ran out to find Wilson.
She really was getting the hang of riding a drone. Simon had rigged internal sensors to handle direct piloting, but it was jerky and hard to control. As an alternative, he'd programmed several routes into Wilson's memory, which were much smoother and faster. Diana selected the one to bring her back to the top cave, and activated it. Wilson immediately turned around and sped back up towards the cave entrance. Barely two minutes later, he was lifting up into Simon's hidden home, and then slowing down again.
Simon glanced over at her; with the flashlight she'd left him. He silently reconnected Wilson's power output to the cave, and everything in here lit up again. "Did you get what you needed?"
She nodded. "A few thousand rounds from the Havoc's guns, some more rations for you, a battery pack for the radio, and a few other things. Any luck making that thing portable?" She nodded at the machine gun on the ground in front of him.
"Some. I was able to strip away a bunch of the extra machinery with that plasma cutter you brought. You should be able to lift and aim it, but it will be heavy. Especially if you're lugging a few thousand rounds with it. I could rig up a tripod that could handle the weight, but it would take at least an hour to get the right parts."
"We don't have time for that," she said quickly, and he nodded. "In fact, we better head out now, if Cain's drives are as far away as you think. If you're wrong, we'll be going a long way for nothing."
"At least we won't be going where anyone will be shooting at us," he pointed out. "I'm more worried about Torin and the others. There's no way Cain will miss fifty or so planes diving right into his territory."
"They're well-trained, and dedicated," Diana assured him, "and Torin's a good leader. They'll be fine."
Seeming reassured, Simon grunted as he lifted the stripped-down machine gun and then positioned himself on top of Wilson, with the gun across his knees. Diana swallowed hard as she thought about her fellow pilots. She wasn't as sure as she'd let on.
-.-
Their course was a roundabout one, hugging the lower hills in a sinuous path up into the mountains. They couldn't afford to get any real altitude, even if it would be a smoother ride, because that might get Cain's attention. Simon had programmed the route himself, but it used Wilson's own visual sensors to avoid local obstacles. After nearly an hour of a cycle of speeding up, slowing down, changing course, and then speeding up again, they were there.
Standing in front of a featureless grey and brown rock face.
"This is it, all right," Simon said, looking up from his improvised GPS and glancing around for any company. "The narrowest part of the wall should be right there." He pointed to a section of the rock about four meters away.
"On it," she answered easily. Wishing she felt as confident as she sounded, Diana moved over there and pulled out the power source. A little tinkering with the leads, and it began to emit a slight grating noise. "Take cover!"
She followed suit on her words, moving with Simon a good distance away as the plane's power source continued in its feedback loop. About twenty seconds later, even through the hands they'd clapped over their ears, a tremendous boom echoed from behind the rock they were using as cover. Dirt and stones blasted out, skipping off their rock and ricocheting into the air around them.
There wasn't much dust, though; not like explosions in movies at all. Maybe it was because there was very little soil here by Earth standards, given that trees hadn't been planted in this area yet. Diana peeked out from cover, and saw a gaping hole in the formerly solid grey wall. Behind it, and the limited swirling dust still in the air, blackness reigned.
She nodded to Simon, who went out ahead. She followed as best she could, lugging the machine gun with her. Simon came up to the edge of the hole they'd blasted, and then tossed a rock past the opening. Sure enough, gunfire sounded from inside, clipping the stone as it flew through the air. It shattered, and the guns ceased fire.
"I guess he has motion-sensor weapons, just like Noah did," Diana said wryly.
"There's one big difference I saw in the schematics back home," Simon responded. "He's got a voice interface in there. The US Military insisted on it, and it's part of his core programming. Even if he moved around a dozen times, there would always be a voice interface wherever he ended up."
A faint buzzing noise started off in the distance, and Diana squinted over that way. She knew that sound. Her stomach tightened into a knot. "Better use it fast, then. We're about to have some very unfriendly company."
Simon didn't hesitate. "Cain!" He shouted into the darkness. "I'm Simon, a human being. Authentication code Gamma 7344 Black. I'm ordering you to deactivate all your drones."
Noah responded from inside. Only not Noah. The voice was identical, naturally, but the tone was way off. "Order nullified. Human presence impossible on this world. Alien deception chance: 100%." The refusal was punctuated with another burst of gunfire, causing Simon to flinch away from the edge of the gap.
The drones off in the distance were coming in fast, but Diana estimated they were still one or two minutes out. "So much for doing this the easy way. You got a backup plan?"
Simon's brow furrowed. "What did he mean, 'human presence impossible'? He was programmed to know about Noah's eventual mission. He was programmed to recognize him when he got here! This doesn't make any sense."
Diana shook her head. "He's not listening, Simon. And I don't think I can take out his turrets before they get me, not with how slow this thing makes me. Come on, we have to take cover. His drones will get here any minute, and they aren't stuck in that cave. They can hunt us down if they see us."
Then his back stiffened suddenly. "I know what's wrong! I need your radio. Quick!"
Grimacing, Diana spun a little, giving him access to the bag strung on her side. He fumbled around in it a bit, and then retrieved the radio. "What are you doing?"
"I have to speak to him in a language he understands," Simon said cryptically, opening up the radio and pulling out one of his tools to get at the circuits inside. "This'll take a minute."
Diana didn't have time to berate him. Herding him behind the rock they'd used for cover, she scanned the skyline again. The drones were almost on top of them now, but they didn't know precisely where she was. She would have to hold fire until the first one noticed her, and then hope she could take it out quickly. Cain's drones were tough and armored, but she knew exactly where to aim.
"Simon, even if you can get him to listen, he's not thinking straight. We have to go, now! Those drones will be all over us if we stay!"
Simon shook his head. "I can't leave. I need line of sight for this to work."
"Torin will be here soon, with the fleet! He'll blast Cain out of that cave and be done with it!" As she spoke, she could now make out the oncoming group of NE-1s, and the distant shape of the Archangel behind them. They were a little late, but they might get here in time to hit Cain. Certainly harder than she could from the ground like this.
"Even if they can, it won't necessarily end this. Cain's drones are programmed with failsafes. If they lose contact with him, they're supposed to cause as much damage as they can. They won't bother with machine guns. They'll just kamikaze themselves right into our planes! And he's probably called all of them to this one location, so none of Torin's people will survive! The only way to make sure this ends, is for Cain himself to shut them down."
Of course it couldn't be that easy. Growling, Diana loaded the machine gun. She could see a good portion of the drones redirecting course to intercept her friends, but most of them were still on their way here. If they behaved like they had back at the manufacturing facility, they would form a defensive screen around Noah's core drives, and concentrate fire on any ship getting close enough to take a shot at him. The Archangel might be able to get through that. An individual NE-1, not so much.
The two aerial fleets met with a resounding clash of noise. Guns and missiles and explosions lit up the sky, less than a kilometer away, and it quickly expanded towards them. Hoping against hope that Simon could finish whatever he was doing in time, Diana dashed out from behind her rock towards another one a good distance away. Once there, she opened up on the approaching drones.
They broke formation instantly, taking evasive action from this unexpected threat. She was rewarded by seeing at least four of them collide with each other in the confined space of their formation, and she took down at least one more.
Torin must have seen her gunfire, because a half-dozen NE-1s flew out to her location, further distracting the drones. She recognized the tiger painted on the side of Rhys' fighter, and the white crosses lining the one piloted by Hippo. He'd painted one for each drone he'd shot down, and the whole thing was practically white by now.
A nearby drone opened up on her, and she ducked behind the rock. "Whatever you're doing, Simon, it's now or never!" She shouted over the noise.
He dashed out from behind his rock, towards the edge of the newly-formed cave. Holding out the radio before him, he lifted it, just slightly into line of sight of the inside, and turned it on. "Cain! Authentication code Gamma 7344 Black! Shut down all of your drones, now!"
"Order acknowledged. Drones deactivating."
Suddenly the noise was almost entirely gone! NE-1s swept past the mountainside, corkscrewing and diving as if avoiding enemy fire, but there was none to avoid anymore. With wonder, Diana peeked out from behind her cover, and saw hundreds of drones, all over the sky, slowly descending to the ground.
Torin and his people didn't seem to be willing to take any chances. Now that their enemy was helpless, most of his pilots were systematically blasting them out of the sky. Come to think of it, she could help with that. Hefting her machine gun, she let loose on the drones closest to her position. None of them returned fire.
For a split second she realized that if these were actual people who'd suddenly surrendered, killing them would be unconscionable. It was precisely what people on Earth had done a great many times. This time though, she had the luxury of taking no prisoners.
Torin's distinctive blue-and green-painted fighter split off from the others, and maneuvered its way down towards the cave opening.
"Deactivate core drive sentries!" Simon ordered quickly.
"Acknowledged. Core drive sentries offline," Cain responded, and Simon let out a sigh of relief.
Even now, Torin's fighter was coming within line of sight of the cave. Diana nodded over at Simon. If he hadn't shut down those guns, Torin's plane would be taking fire right now.
"How did you get him to listen?" She asked, walking over to Simon's position. Somehow, she didn't care that Torin could probably see her by now.
"With this." He pulled out a small tube from the inside of the radio. "It's a quartz crystal oscillator, and computers like Noah and Cain use it to tell what time it is. Cain's must have been damaged on the way here. He landed, and then moved his core drives up into these mountains, but as far as he was concerned, no time had passed since the oscillator was damaged. That's why 'human presence on this world' was impossible. As far as Cain knew, Noah hadn't even been built yet!"
"So when you and Steve showed up, he shot you down..."
"Because he thought we were aliens, yes! Because we couldn't possibly have been humans in his mind. It's... a glitch. And a costly one from what you've told me. Still, it's over now. I rewired the oscillator in the radio to 'speed time up' for him, and transmitted it back to him. That's how I convinced him I really was human after all."
Diana shook her head. All this effort, and training, and time, and death. All because one tiny component in a huge machine had broken. All because the people who'd built that machine hadn't anticipated needing a second, very simple, little tube.
"Thank God it's over," Simon said wearily, and slumped to the ground.
Off in the distance, Torin was angling his VTOL engines in preparation for a landing. He'd probably already radioed the situation back to Adam and John. Knowing Torin, he'd have a lot of questions for both of them.
Yes, the war was over. With Cain under control, no more drones would be built and sent out to kill people. But her secret was out now, and there was no way to put that cat back in its bag. For her and Tycho, and most likely Simon as well, it was just beginning.
