University Base

Now was the time, where all her hopes could come crashing down between her ears. This was her hour of torment. This was her hour of victory. The dream of the Cybernetic Consciousness would live or die in accordance with the next few hours.

The drone revolt had served as a good distraction, and a good reason for Aki and a number of dissatisfied citizens to leave the base. They would leave the jewel of Chiron to the victors and set up a new home in another corner of Chiron. The Planetneck sounded like the best place.

Aki was standing in one of her sympathizer's plush quarters. He had been transplanted with the Zeta-5 program some 30 years ago and liked the results. Since then he had agreed with the emergence of a new faction. She was standing by a full length window, a feature which had come into fashion for the very rich, staring out at the dark columns of smoke rising up from her beloved home. The top of a tower, far away, suddenly erupted in flame. They appeared to be running out of time- Bernard had better be quick.

"Bernard, we need to hurry up", she called to her friend and subordinate. Bernard stepped out of his bedroom with a fat bag strapped around his neck. He had light blue eyes, long, dirty blonde hair that reached past his neck- something which was quite uncommon among talents- and was wearing a white uniform. Looking only 20, but in actual fact his age was much closer to 70, he was the product of manufactured genes and the latest beauty products. He worked as a biologist, and artist. His quarters were full of his works yet they would all have to be left on the trip to the new world.

"I am ready to go when you are, Prime Function", he addressed her formally.

"In that case, let us make haste. We really had better hurry- the mob seems to be going in the direction of the warehouse".

The warehouse was in the perimeter of the base, next to a speeder docking facility. All the supplies were there and it also served as a meeting place.

With an immaculate grace, the two talents walked out of the room and down the hallway. The apparent easiness in how they carried themselves and their impassive faces frightened any already nervous passers-by. They reached the ground floor level and walked out of the tower into a pressurized garden. The flowers were still bright. The drones had not reached here yet.

Bernard stopped and looked back, "I shall miss this place", he said.

"University Base would not be quite the same without you, but we still need to hurry up", Aki chaffed at his delay.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the two talents reached their warehouse. It was a large metal structure, in a row of other metal structures, that was beside an even larger metal structure (the speeder docking facility.

With views like this, it was not surprising the drones rioted from time to time.

They reached a door that required a password, which naturally, being the listed owner of the site, Aki knew.

5ZETA.

Inside the vast building four thousand people sat, waiting for their Prime Function to arrive. They were people of all talents and classes of society, as long as it was high up. The crowd consisted of scientists, engineers, soldiers and terraformers. The Cybernetic society would have a severe production shortfall if Aki could not come up with some drones for a means of manufacturing and building, but after the University rebellion she felt some could be enticed away with ease at the promise of better healthcare and work conditions.

One of the assembled people came up to Aki. Maya Kuo, the effective minister of defence. Maya was a hardened sergeant that had earned her name on the dusty battlefields of so many Believing wars. She had joined the Consciousness in the hope of a better future.

"It is ever a pleasure to meet you Aki, and you, Bernard. You two are the last to arrive, we await your command to move of the docking facility", she said, in her usual stiff and formal manner.

"In that case you are commanded to rally the populace and move on the dock", Aki replied.

Maya smiled her assent and turned to accomplish the orders.

Aki felt the thrill of achievement run through her body. Yet the chase was far from over.

From a few hundred metres distant from the warehouse something exploded. The crowd suddenly became silent. It was one thing to see the revolt on vid-screens, another to experience it metres away from you.
"What are we waiting for?", Aki asked no one in particular, "lets go!"

The crowd walked out the back exit, then up to and into the speeder docking bay.

The speeder docking bay was basically a huge building in which speeders, private or belonging to the University, were stored. Aki looked across the pitch at the neat rows of speeders and rovers that were quietly resting in their sites.

A quirky young man in a dark uniform appeared near the group. He was the officer in charge of looking after the precious speeders. He would probably be losing his job soon.

"Who is in charge here", he demanded.

"I am", piped up Aki.

He looked at her without recognition. Being both an Earthling and talent, Aki Luttinen was a minor celebrity.

"Just what the hell is happening here? And who gave you authority to do this?"

"I am escorting several thousand University citizens to safety using the speeders here and Provost Zakharov has given me the authority to do so", Aki explained with all the patience she could muster- Biologicals could really get on her nerves sometimes.

"You are?" said the snivelling Biological.

"I am Aki Luttinen".

"Well, Aki… the thing is…"

"That's Talent Aki to you".

"I am sorry Talent Aki but I have no way of verifying your claims"

Aki gave a darling smile that she knew freaked the officer out, "in that case I am sorry for you, officer".

She paused. Was she willing to kill in order to make the Cybernetic Consciousness a reality?

Yes. Always. Until the end.

"Maya, will you please dispose of this man in the proper fashion", Aki said, even she could feel the coldness of her words.
Without a word, Maya pulled out her impacter handgun and shot the officer twice in the body. He toppled down onto the floor. The silence hung in the air for a few moments.

"Hurry up people", Aki called, her icy confidence never failing, " remember that a revolution is at hand".

Soon Aki's followers had gathered inside a speeder and the only thing left to do was leave. This was an important moment. In University Base they were just malcontents, rebels, but outside- when everyone was being led by Aki- they were different. More of a faction than a rebel movement.

As the fleet of speeders drove over the ice encrusted fields surrounding the capital, Aki stared at the view which came as a result from University Base's high altitude. To theEast of the base was Zakharov's cabin and yet higher mountains while to theWest was smaller hills and the long, narrow inlet of water which led to Peacekeeper territory. The West presented a view that had astounded the most powerful rulers of Chiron, and left the greatest minds speechless. During sunrise Alpha Centauri A would slowly rise over the far horizon and wash the snow with it's light. It would shine on the water inlet, until the grey liquid filled with a rich golden glow. The cold water attracted a lot of low pressure, so citizens were treated to the spectacle of white, fluffy clouds roaming the sky. The sight of so many plants and trees coming into blossom in the valley below would satisfy even the most extremist of ecological malcontents that the environment was alright.

At the moment the sky was darkening and think, inky clouds were obstructing any remaining light from getting through. The driver of Aki's speeder called her to come forward. Someone was trying to communicate with them.

Aki walked upfront and stared at a small screen. Zakharov's tired and lined face stared back.

"I should have though you would be behind this Luttinen. Such improvisation, such cunning. I salute you. Where are you headed to?", Zakharov's voice cracked with awe. He believed she had taken it upon herself to rescue some of his citizens.

"We are headed to Otkrietia Discovery".

"Very good, I shall send for you after I have finished here", Zakharov had optimistic prospects over how the drone rebellion would end.

"You do that. Aki out".

-

Hawk of Chiron

Santiago could still hear the cries for help, the shouts of alarm, the screams of terror. The cries could even be heard here, a half kilometre distant, the middle ground between the base and the fort- Santiago insisted her personal speeder should stop before it got to the fort. The Colonel was standing outside the speeder, staring at the base. The four other occupants of the speeder were freaked out at her worrying behaviour.

Behind her ominous brow was a feud of contesting emotions. A cold hatred circulated her head, a severe self loathing of how she could have let this happen, she had been given a new respect for the mind worms, and newfound fear. Santiago could feel a headache coming on.

With a jolt she awakened to the heated and scarred world around her. She turned towards the speeder and reached out for the radio. The other soldiers stared at her in fixed horror.

"Hello?", Santiago asked.

"Hello, this is Command G, what is your unit's position?", came the reply.

"That is not to be discussed now", Santiago clipped, "get me Sergeant Gibson immediately".

Within a few moments Sergeant Gibson's worried voice crackled through the radio.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"This is Colonel Santiago reporting. I must request that you send medic units into the base immediately".

"Why so, Colonel?", he foolishly enquired, "there may still be mindworms in the base".

Santiago waited a few minutes for his last words to seep into his brain, "I would have thought the reasons should be obvious, Sergeant".

The sergeant did not know what to say to this.

Santiago continued in her most venomous voice, "my good sergeant, if you do not send all available medic units into the base I shall personally see to it that you track down and confront the offending mind worm, for good or for worse!"

With that said she switched the radio off and climbedout ofthe speeder. The other occupants had not moved an inch throughout the exchange.