Time-line Update and time progression: Northern Japan Friday August 23rd, G.U. Headquarters & Northern Japan, Tuesday August 27th
Chapter 9: Framed
Ryou ungracefully fell out of his bed when Skeith's voice suddenly bellowed in his head. He'd startled his cat Shira and banged his head on the bed stand on his way down as well. Clutching his head, Ryou groaned and pulled himself back up as he looked around to try and find a clock.
"What time is it?" Ryou asked and the answer immediately popped into his head thanks to Skeith.
2:30AM. In other words it was far to early to be doing anything but sleeping.
There's serious trouble going on in South Africa and it looks like the trouble is spreading. Rhodesia and Kaoru have been recalled and are flying back to Japan now, Skeith said as Ryou grabbed some clothes out of the closet and quickly got dressed. Shira had given him a dirty look before slinking off to a more stable place to sleep.
"What kind of trouble?" Ryou asked as he slipped into his shoes and laced them up.
Aihane type trouble. It looks like he's finally made his move and in a way we never could have imagined, Skeith provided as Ryou hurried through his room and out of the front door. Chigusa was just getting ready to knock and he nearly bowled her over. Grabbing her by the waist he steadied her and gave a breathless apology.
"You're up! I don't know what's going on exactly, but Innis said that there's serious trouble brewing in South Africa and it's slowly heading north throughout the country. I don't know what Aihane did, but this isn't looking good," Chigusa said as they hurried down the hallway towards the elevators.
Once they finally made their way to the central room far below ground they saw that all the other staff was already there. Ryou and Chigusa spotted Ren and Kisho and moved over to stand next to them. Everyone was talking in hushed tones and tension hung heavily in the air. Ryou was about to ask what was going on but his attention was drawn to the giant screen down at the other end of the room. An international news station was playing and the words Breaking News were scrolling across the bottom in bright red and yellow letters. Everyone fell silent as the news caster started talking.
"We go back to South Africa where a large city has become the victim of an unexpected and unstoppable attack. The power grid, water grid, and cell phone towers were all attacked and taken offline early Monday morning. For the first few hours police were able to maintain order, but now the situation is becoming increasingly volatile in a country that is already infamous for its violent crimes. Police stations have been attacked and set on fire. Shops have been ransacked and riots have spread throughout the city and now the countryside as the power outage spreads throughout the rest of the country," she said showing aerial footage of the city. Fires were spreading everywhere and some sections of the city were completely and totally flodded. Cars were bumper to bumper on all the major streets and huge fights were breaking out everywhere.
"Authorities have confirmed that the attack was been done by rogue A.I.'s. The World Network Commission is investigating the matter now but we have little else to go on. So far we don't know why these A.I's have attacked although there are rumors that they may have some association with the AIDA virus. Possibly even having been corrupted by it themselves thus causing their aberrant behavior. The military is deploying every machine at their disposal to try to maintain order. South Africa has closed its borders and within the matter of a few hours has set up strict checkpoints and is confiscating any and all electronic devices from those who wish to leave the country," she added showing ground footage of soldiers wrestling a laptop away from a man and using their guns to make him back off.
"The response from the South African government has been swift and while some have condemned the harsh actions at the borders the WNC has praised the action. According to them if this was caused by a virus or rogue A.I. then it could spread to other countries by something as simple as a cell phone signal," she said reading a report in front of her. Ryou frowned at those words and turned to Ren who was chewing on the edge of a pen.
"Aihane? Using the Epitaphs to attack the city infrastructure? South Africa has a terrible crime rate already. A situation like this a perfect storm. Aihane knew exactly what would happen," Ryou said as the news reporter droned on about the situation.
Kisho rubbed his chin and looked up at them as he said, "The real question is what's going to happen after this. This is spreading throughout the entire country and the countries just above it have reported increased trouble with their own power, water, and cell phone systems. If its proved that A.I's did this then its going to cause people to panic. A.I.'s are being used in all sorts of areas of public service. In major cities A.I.'s are used to run public transport and answer customer service calls. I mean there are robots in all aspects of people's lives now. Mechanics use them to operate machines that fix other machines, surgeons use A.I. guided robots for precision surgery and more. All it takes is one person suggesting that A.I.'s are dangerous and it will set off a chain reaction," he paused and nodded towards the screen. "Then again that may be what he wants. We're trying to bring the online world and real world closer together. If Aihane plants doubts in people's minds then he'll undo everything that we've worked so hard to do here at G.U.," he said as Chigusa fidgeted uncomfortably.
"Not only that, but a lot of the machine's we've created are made for military purposes too. South Africa has already deployed theirs to help handle the spreading violence since it's safer then sending in human soldiers. Those A.I. controlled machines will have to take firm action and that could lead to resentment towards them as well. This is really bad," Chigusa said turning to Ryou who nodded in agreement. They all fell silent as they watched the news and saw a group of men mercilessly beating down a police officer in the street before taking his gun away and running off with it. Ren shook her head in disgust and threw her pen down.
"But why? I mean other than causing chaos what is this possibly going to accomplish?" Ren asked, but no one could even begin to think of what the answer to that might be.
One by one the lights all around them started to wink out. When all the lights on the road behind them had gone out Shino started up the truck and slowly drove off the road and pulled on to a wide wooden ramp that led down to the beach. The tide was in and the water was up pretty far so there wasn't very much beach to drive on, but there was enough for them to get where they needed. Cutting the wheel to the right Shino drove quietly for two miles before a light blinked at her from up ahead at the water's edge. Flashing her headlights in response, Shino looked over at Masato who reached over and squeezed her free hand.
Ok let's do this, Shino thought as she drove forward until a huge boat came into view near the boat ramp. It was one of those vehicles that could drive on land and then go through the water like a boat. However seeing one this massive took her breath away. This would be their ticket out of here. It was floating several feet out. Close enough for them to be able to get on, but far enough out that it wouldn't get stuck in the sand or get caught on the asphalt ramp. Two tanks, a few other vehicles and assorted other machines were already loaded on. Dim lighting lit up the deck and a spot light illuminated the water and them moved back towards the boat. They were signalling her to drive closer and get on.
Moving herself into place she drove into the water until it was up to the bottom of the doors. The truck engine compartment was clearly filling with water, but just when she was starting to get worried she felt a bump as they hit the end of a long ramp. Hitting the gas, Shino pressed down on the gas and drove up the ramp and out of the water. Once fully on the boat she drove forward until the spotlight blinked and shut off. The boat barely shifted under the extra weight.
Looking in the mirror, Shino could see the ramp retracting and lifting up behind them. Several long minutes passed before her stomach lurched as the boat moved forward into deeper water and began heading out. Sighing in relief she sank back against the driver's seat and reached back to rub Mera's head when the dog started whining anxiously.
"Looks like we've made it. Whether we'll make it out safely or not is another matter, but so far so good," Masato said his eyes focused on the mirror as the coastline began moving farther and farther away. They were moving at fairly good speed, but it would still be about 15 minutes before they arrived at the aircraft carrier. Shino grunted but didn't answer. She wouldn't be comfortable until they were on safely and heading out into the Pacific. Thankfully Masato didn't press her and instead sat there in silence. The tarp across the back of the truck had already been pulled back slightly and the mechanical body Aura was using was up staring out at the water alertly.
The time on the truck's clock ticked by painfully slowly and it was all Shino could do to sit still and nod get out and paced back and forth. The dogs were already agitated and she didn't want to get them more upset. Finally the large shape of the Kyodaina Nami loomed above them and the boat they were on moved forward towards a large opening at the back of the carrier. Shino could hear the chugging of the boat change to the roar of an engine as they powered up a huge ramp and into the bowels of the carrier. Everything was pitch black and remained that way as the ramp lifted up behind them until it stopped at an angle. A loud hissing noise sounded around them as the ramp sealed shut against the side walls of the carrier to keep the water out. Once that was done lights flashed on along the sides of the carrier.
They were clearly inside a holding area and it had more than enough space for the vehicles and machines they had on this barge. It took a while before the barge turned around and finally started the process of letting all the machines off. The ones with legs simply walked or ran off. Some of them clearly happy at being on somewhat solid ground again. Or at least one that didn't shift around as much. Shino turned the truck back on and backed off as well. Hesitating for a moment, she tried to figure out where to park and then realized that it really didn't matter just so long as they were out of the way. Especially since the tanks were starting to move.
Driving over to the far wall, Shino backed up and put the truck in park. Getting out she opened the passenger door and let the dogs jump out, but firmly commanded them to 'heel'. Being guard dogs their first instinct was to run off and scan the entire area for anything or anyone that could pose a threat to their master's. However, doing that would almost certainly result in them being hit or run over by one of the other military issue machines.
Masato climbed out as well and went around the back of the truck and put the tail-gate down. Immediately Aura skittered out and onto the ground and lifted herself up to look around. Long antennae twitched as she scanned the area before turning back to look at Masato.
"Hurry. We must find the command center and find out our course and how long it will take to get there. I feel there is not much time left," Aura said impatiently. Masato agreed and looked over at Shino who seemed distracted. After a moment she finally realized they were waiting for her to reply.
"What? Oh, go ahead without me and take Raiden and Nezumiiro with you," Shino said referring to the rottweiler and german shepherd who were calmly waiting for a command to follow. "I... I want to stay here for a bit and talk to the other machines. You know find out why there were abandoned out there and see what else they might know. I mean you don't just leave a bunch of A.I. controlled machines behind to rust away," she said still partly distracted. Masato watched her but realized after a moment that she obviously wasn't ready to share whatever it was that was bothering her.
Abigail sighed and stared at the tablet she had resting on her legs. Currently she was sitting cross-legged on Terra's hood typing up detailed mission report. After getting break they had handed over their rescued hostages and immediately gone in for questioning about what had happened. Several hours later they had all been released with orders to have their mission reports ready in the next few days. The guys had already finished theirs and were off sleeping or getting something to eat. Abigail had excused herself saying she hadn't finished her report. In reality she had finished it a few hours after they'd been released from their debriefing and just wanted an excuse to be in this area of the hastily built army base.
During the long, detailed, and rather aggravating debriefing session the tiny scorpion machine that had been nestled under her clothes had snuck out and quickly disappeared. Abigail didn't have the slightest idea of where it was now, but she suspected it was over here next to the electronics tent and War Room as they called it. Both were huge tents and every drone and machine was tracked from in here. All the missile controls were operated from in here, all aerial footage and ground footage was processed here, Terra's progress and status were broadcast live on one of the computers there, radio and phone signals went in and out, all troops were carefully accounted for, monitored, and more. In the War Room all the mission plans were created and sent out to each team or to individual people. Anything that was going on was or had been through one of these two areas at some point. It was also just down from the spot where they kept their military machines parked.
I'll bet almost anything that little machine is in there soaking up information right now, Abigail thought and her stomach churned at the thought. My God... what have I done? I mean maybe one could argue that I didn't really have much of a choice but I doubt that will appease any of the military commanders here. I brought a foreign and unidentified machine in here. We don't know much of anything about it or the larger Assassin that sent it here with me, not to mention that people at large aren't even supposed to know of the Assassin's existence. Instead of turning it over for inspection and examination I let it run around and check... no... steal all of our military plans and data so it can do who knows what with them, she considered with a heavy sigh.
"I am so screwed," Abigail said with a groan as she flopped back and banged her head against the windshield. A small beep came from the tablet and Abigail lifted it up above her so she could read it. It was a message from Terra.
Don't worry. I'm sure you'll only get a dishonorable discharge, be stripped of every accomplishment you've ever made, possibly end up in jail, and disgrace everyone in your family. I mean it could be worse right?
Abigail couldn't help but laugh. Stretching out her legs she twisted around slightly to look up at the tiny camera that she could see up above the front windshield.
"Thanks Terra. I'll make sure to write to you when I'm in jail," she said with a smile. Another beep came announcing a response from Terra.
Email only. I don't read print, she responded and Abigail chuckled and settled back into a more comfortable position.
"Will do, my friend. Will do."
Abigail stared at the tablet screen for the millionth time and finally closed out the document. Her report was just fine. It was accurate enough and didn't reveal anything about the Assassin machine they had seen. None of the guys had mentioned it and it had even been scrubbed from Terra's camera footage although how she did that was impossible to discern. The rescued hostages had been warned that it would be best not to speak of the massive scorpion machine either and they apparently had adapted their story to comply with that warning. So their tracks were covered, but only for now. The commanders here were clearly suspicious but there was nothing else they could do but continue investigating by other means.
A tiny clicking sound pulled her attention away and Abigail looked down to see the scorpion machine frantically speeding across Terra's hood. It all but dove at her and scurried into her right boot where she could feel it grab her ankle tightly enough to hold on, but not enough to hurt her.
"What the...?" she started but was interrupted when Terra's engine roared to life and her headlights flashed on. The humvee gave a loud honk and the driver's side door swung open. Now that was one action that did not need translating. Scrambling frantically Abigail rolled of the hood and onto her feet as the base camp came to life, alarms blaring in warning everywhere. Turning around she quickly grabbed her rifle off the hood and threw it in the vehicle first before jumping into the driver's seat. Terra's wheels were spinning before she even had a chance to close the door. Leaping forward, Terra swung out from her parked spot and flew across the concrete passing several soldiers who had run out to see what was going on. Then just as quickly as she had started, Terra slammed on the brakes nearly slamming Abigail's head against the wheel. The passenger side door and right side door both jerked open as Harry and Andre jumped into the vehicle their faces flushed with fear.
Before anyone could say anything flash of light lit up the area followed by an explosion and shockwave that rocked Terra's heavy frame.
"What's going on?" Abigail demanded as she turned around. What she saw took her breath away. Flames and smoke were leaping up towards the sky. Something had hit the area where they had just been. Even Terra wouldn't have survived a direct hit like that. Several other vehicles had been flung away or been twisted horribly by the explosion. Someone or something was firing at them. Harry shook his head and ran hand through his buzz cut as Terra took off again towards a figure that was standing a few hundred feet away waving their arms. When they got closer Abigail could see that it was Alex. Once again Terra screeched to a stop and he ran around the left side of the vehicle and threw himself in desperately. More explosions sounded in the distance as they pulled off.
Alex was gasping for breath, but still managed to explain. "We've been set up. Everything we've done here... no... our whole reason for being here at all was a lie. The insurgents and the Egyptian government were both working together. The government here has been siphoning all of our information and data so they can sell it to Russia and China. The insurgents acted as if they were trying to overthrow the government, but it was just a distraction. We focus on the insurgents and we don't focus on the Egyptian leaders who are wandering around our base planting bugs, phone taps, computer viruses and more. They've been after our newest machines this whole time and been using our own computer systems here to do it. That's how they knew where Terra was gonna be and how they were able to ambush us," Alex stopped for a moment to take some more gasping breaths.
"The commander's here figured that out and have been quietly removing all the devices and traces while they figured out how to deal with the situation. Naturally the Egyptian's figured out that we had caught on to them when they started getting their flow of information cut off. Now they've launched a full-scale cyber attack and hacked our missile systems. I don't know who they're working with, but they made it look like the orders were coming straight from a nearby A.I. System. I was in the electronics tent to discuss some things Terra had picked up on her sensors when the news came over and the Major stormed in announcing the news," Alex said as Abigail leaned forward to look out of the window. More streaks of smoke were flying through the sky towards them.
"He ordered someone to go and take you into custody for questioning, Abigail. Everyone has seen how close of a bond you've developed with Terra so you were the first suspect. I thought you were off in the living quarters so I snuck out and went running to tell you what was going on when the first missiles were spotted," Alex was finally starting to calm down a little. "I don't know what happened in between when I heard the order to take you in and the first missile sightings but everyone was running around grabbing things and packing up as quickly a they could so I assume an evacuation order was..." he was cut off when a missile shot straight over their head and exploded behind them.
Harry swore and twisted around in his seat as he stared at the aftermath. There was no time to think about it because three more missile flew around them going all different directions. Explosions boomed all around them as Terra drove as fast as she could to the edge of the base. They were almost there and Terra clearly was not going to stop for the check-point or the fence that had been set up all around the perimeter of the base. Other military vehicles were leaving the base as quickly as they possibly could as well. Tanks were moving out and helicopters were lifting off as well. Everyone was fleeing the area as quickly as they could.
Looking through the window, Abigail could see more missiles firing off from the base here as well.
"There's another American military base several miles away from here. That must be where the missiles are coming from and it looks like some of ours are going back over there in return. This is madness," she muttered bracing herself as Terra slammed though the gate and made a sharp turn to the right. Mountain-like sand dunes loomed on the horizon and they were heading straight for them.
"This is hell on earth that's what it is..." Andrea whispered as he turned back to stare at the base. Or where it had been at least. Smoke had obscured all view of it now aside from the vehicles and personnel who were evacuating from it. Some were loaded with supplies and equipment while another tank was covered in soldiers and had a relatively empty military jeep following close behind it. Two helicopters circled the destruction from a safe distance taking evasive maneuvers when more missiles came streaking into the area and peppered what remained of the base and the ground around it with fire and shrapnel. Everyone stared for a moment as they pulled farther and farther away. They weren't following along with the rest of the soldiers who were evacuating. They were all heading towards the capital while they were heading straight for the windswept dunes of the Sahara Desert. Harry fidgeted uneasily and spoke up.
"Terra where are we going? Maybe I can't read your mind like Abigail can, but I do know that there's no way you could have done this. She wouldn't have either. So why are we running?" Harry asked but the display screen was dark and didn't activate.
Alex leaned over the seat and said, "If they didn't think we were guilty before then they're going to be assured of it after this. We need to go back," he nudged Abigail's shoulder and she chewed her bottom lip but didn't answer him. Instead she looked through the windshield at the missile trails crisscrossing their sky.
"I don't know guys. If someone can set up something like this... then who know's what's waiting for us back there? In this kind of chaos the usual rules of law and order aren't exactly going to apply. How many soldiers died? How much equipment was lost? How much of a setback had the US suffered just in the past half hour? Terra isn't just rare, she's the first A.I. driven military humvee of her kind in action right now. It's no secret around the base that she prefers my company and we work well together," Abigail said as her face set into a firm mask. "No. Until we know who did this and where they're at I say we keep going as far away from them as possible. If someone captures her then they could steal her technology and reverse engineer it just like with the other drones and the new style of tanks that were deployed here and were selected for A.I. modification," she added and rubbed her hands on her pants to wipe off the sweat on them.
Harry looked torn while Alex looked ready to argue, but it was Andre who broke the tension.
"Our girl here has a point," he said. Everyone turned to stare at him as Terra continued driving and Andre explained.
"Think about it. The military finds out the Egyptian government has deceived us the entire time. Then a missile attack 'conveniently' destroys our base and by destroying the base they've destroyed the best evidence we have that the government here was doing something wrong. Not only that, but they or likely someone working with them has made it look like an A.I. instigated the attack. The only one around is Terra and any evidence that could have been used to clear her name is either going up in flames behind us or is sitting in her memory banks right here," Andre explained to them.
Alex frowned at that and said, "And someone could argue that anything Terra knows is biased or cannot be trusted especially if they think she's responsible for the attack on the base."
Andre nodded and continued his explanation. "We go back there and chances are we're screwed. Their best evidence is gone and the military will have no chance but to take Terra and all of us into custody while they investigate the matter. With this missile attack it has become an international disaster. The United States is going to be furious and the Egyptian government is going to try their best to cover their tracks. We go back there and we are screwed for sure," he said firmly and Alex grumbled and sat back in his seat. Harry turned back around and stared through the window as the looming sand dunes got closer and closer.
"So what do we do? We can't just run away forever? I mean we have no way of getting back home and we can't leave Terra here alone. I won't do that," Abigail said with a worried look back at the dashboard and the constantly moving steering wheel. A second passed before she let out a scream and reached down into her boot for something. When she pulled her hand out she had the tiny scorpion machine in her hand. The one Death Reaper had given her earlier. Of course none of her team had seen it before. Abigail rubbed inside her boot with one hand while the little machine settled itself on her other palm.
"What in the world is that?" Harry demanded as he leaned over to get a better look at it. Immediately the tiny machine backed up on Abigail's arm and snapped its claws at him until he backed up.
"It's not important. What is important is that this may be the key to solving part of this mystery," she replied as she held the scorpion closer to her face. "That is why you pinched me isn't it? Did you get the information you needed? Something that will help prove what's really going on here?" Abigail said and the machine clicked its claws together and lifted them in a gesture of victory. Looking up at her teammates she grinned at them. "I think we have our ticket home boys. This little one..." she paused for a moment and thought better of what she wanted to say. "Well that doesn't matter. But it has what we need to prove that Egyptian government was lying us and that the missile attack wasn't Terra's fault... don't you?" Abigail hesitated at the last part, but relaxed when the machine in her palms lifted its claws again victoriously.
Everyone was distracted by a sudden beep and Terra's dashboard screen lighting up. Maps and information flashed across the screen at blinding speed.
"What's going on?" Alex peered around the back seat to get a better look.
"I think all that is what Terra is doing right now. Missile trajectories, the locations of the rest of the soldiers, where they're heading now, any possible missile heading out way. Oh man it's making my eyes hurt. No wonder she's been so quiet. That's a lot to keep track of in addition to figuring out what happened, running away, and keeping us puny humans from getting blown up," Andre said as he rubbed his eyes.
The screen minimized as a message popped up.
I've been contacted by Death Reaper. The Assassin machine we met before. We must meet up with her and give her the data contained on that little machine Abigail has in her hands. Once that is done arrangements will be made for us to be airlifted out of here. When the information is in Death Reaper's possession it will be given to G.U. who will initiate an investigation, Terra said as a few more missiles streaked by behind them.
"Wait? G.U.? Who is that and what can they do about anything?" Harry asked in confusion.
The World Network Commission handles cyber related crimes and laws as they apply to humans. G.U. handles cyber related activity as it applies to A.I.'s and A-Life systems. Since this attack right now is believed to have originated from an A.I. it falls under the jurisdiction of G.U., Terra paused for a moment before adding. Of course if you bothered to keep up with the international news feed like Abigail and Alex have then you would already know that. It the only thing people have been talking about in the news for the past three days, she said and though she couldn't say the words aloud her snarky tone was all too obvious.
Harry flushed and looked away as Abigail interrupted.
"So where are we going now?"
Death Reaper informs me that the government here is aware of our survival and escape and is sending a group of insurgents out to kill you and capture me. She is too far away to help us and so she is sending us out deeper into the Sahara along with a mission plan to follow, Terra said as she shifted gears and started heading up one of the giant sand dunes thus taking them into the deep desert.
Abigail was obviously not thrilled at the prospect but swallowed any objections. Lifting her palm up to her shoulder she let the tiny scorpion machine crawl on and asked, "So what are we supposed to do? I mean they could be scrambling jets and tanks against us. You're tough, but you're not allowed to fight. We can't kill them with the rifles we have. If we have any here at all," she reminded Terra.
Of course we can't. That's why we're going to summon an Assassin who will, Terra said before her display screen clicked off again.
AN: And that concludes another chapter! Amazing how quickly things can change isn't it? Next chapter you'll get a look at a brand new Assassin and believe me that is going to make for one heck of a battle sequence. Next chapter will be up soon!
