Last Call -- Chapter 12: What Does Not Kill....
The transponder thrummed, outlining Gideon's body with a purplish glow
in Galen's mind. The small device was mounted to the Captain's EVA
helmet and allowed the Technomage to keep an exact point of reference as
Gideon began the delicate operation of a space walk. To keep his flyer
in position while the Toledo drifted free, a grapple arm had been
extended, attaching to the ship's hull at anchor points used by space
tugs.
The approach had gone as hoped. Both men had waited expectantly for the
Drakh to notice the disturbance caused by Galen's ship, but as promised,
the flyer remained undetectable. Gideon had been into his suit before
the grapple arm even made contact and was ready to go whenever the
Technomage gave the word. Strapping on the additional pack with the
needed gear, Gideon had watched with mixed emotions as Galen left the
main chamber to a place further within the ship that was better suited
for what needed to be done. Matthew wasn't sure just how dangerous the
operation would be or if he would live to see the Technomage again.
Now Galen stood before the small cluster of necessary instruments on an
otherwise bare black wall. Through his ship and through the implants
throughout his body, he was able to see the individual Drakh ships
positioned around the freighter. Enhanced sensors back traced the alien
technology, following the signals received by the system directly into
the central computer, and from there Galen was able to decipher the
relays, quickly learning the foreign design. An impulse in one segment
would trigger an internal alarm and force the ship to run diagnostics.
A second could overload it completely and cause a collapse that would
cease functional use.
The deeper he probed, the more he realized it wouldn't be so simple.
Advanced technology had redundant systems, and the more important the
component, the more redundancy. For each sensor relay there were two
additional backups, less powerful than the first, but still able to
provide necessary information needed for navigational control. If he
could trigger enough of the sensors to enter an automatic diagnostic, he
had a chance of shielding Gideon from detection.
Unless the artificial intelligence system could be tricked into
believing one thing while it actually detected another.
Galen slipped off his heavy outer coat and pushed up the sleeves of his
knit shirt to his elbows. He lowered himself to the floor, not wanting
to expend energy in conjuring a chair, and sat crossed legged with his
hands folded in his lap. His implants began to display in extraordinary
detail the intricacies of the Drakh AI computer, pinpointing key areas
that would give him the access he needed.
"Nicely done, but I'm afraid that won't be good enough to keep me from
it." The system was not entirely unlike the Excalibur's in detail even
if the programming language was different. He was confident he could
trick it significantly, but times eleven similar systems, he wasn't so
sure.
And nothing could be done about old-fashioned detection methods. Galen
was a Technomage not a telepath; willing a mind to believe something
entirely different from perception was beyond his abilities. He could
make himself disappear effectively but only through his mastery of
technomancy. Nothing he was able to do would prevent one of the crew
from gazing out into the stars with a distance scope much in the same
way the pilot of the Toledo had.
Matthew's only chance of going undetected was if Galen could put the
flyer in direct line of sight. Galen instructed the ship to release the
grapple and move over the Toledo's bow till it was nearly above the
canopy, and the flyer tilted downward to allow the hatch to open at an
angle. Gideon would have a tougher time moving between the two crafts,
but the flyer would be perfect cover.
"I'm just repositioning a bit." The Technomage projected his voice back
to the main chamber, where the Captain had already begun to wonder what
was going on. "I wanted to make sure you would go unnoticed by
conventional means. We should be in position momentarily."
Galen felt a dull thud reverberate on the floor beneath him as the
grapple arm made contact, connecting the two ships together. Once again
Galen centered Gideon's transponder in his mind, making that central
amidst everything else. Probing again into the Drakh system on a random
ship, he isolated the central nerves that fed into the main AI
computer. Within his mind, each system began to hang like shapes in a
child's mobile off the mast of Gideon's transponder. Connected directly
beneath Matthew was the Toledo itself with its own four-member crew
attached. Slightly breathless at the sight of all he had to orchestrate
as it floated abstractly in his mind, Galen managed a smile.
"What doesn't kill, makes one stronger, or in the least, maims one
enough to make it seem like death." Already an ache began to seep into
his muscles and spawned a headache. If he did survive, he would be
exhausted to the point of needing several days to recover.
"It's now or never, Matthew. I've shown you how to use the airlock and
the rest is up to you. Please be quick about it." Galen corresponded
one final time with Gideon before he locked out everything from his mind
that didn't correspond to what would be happening in space. A distant
alert from internal systems told him the hatch had been opened and was
quickly cycling to allow Gideon into space. The Technomage moved the
information aside and focused all of his concentration on that mobile,
preparing to simultaneously cripple eleven Drakh ships.
*~*~*~*
Matthew tried to force his heart back down to its anatomically correct
position instead of where it felt like it sat in the back of his
throat. The initial step into space was the most crucial; if Galen
could successfully blanket him, then there was a good chance the flyer
wouldn't be targeted. Blood pounded in his ears, accompanied by the
sound of his own breathing in the helmet. He took a deep breath, as
deep as the controlled release of oxygen in his EVA suit would allow,
and closed his eyes. Releasing it, he made his pulse slow to something
near normal and opened his eyes. A gloved hand moved to the final hatch
release and pressed.
Gravity was significantly reduced but still great enough to give Gideon
a small amount of control without having to use his magnetic boots until
he got to the edge, and he pushed himself down the narrow tube to the
open port and space beyond. Even though his brain knew he wouldn't fall
from the edge unless he propelled himself in that direction, he still
paused at the end of the ramp, to first look out into the stars and then
down across the back of the Toledo. Galen's flyer had reattached itself
at a forty-five degree angle to the freighter's hull, right above the
command section. The hatch he needed to be at was clearly visible and
silently he thanked the Technomage for deciding to reposition the
flyer. The angular craft cast a shadow over the Toledo's hatch,
furthering Gideon's protection from being spotted.
Crouching slowly on the edge, he attached his tether to the ramp and
reached for the utility belt strapped to his waist. In one of the
pouches, he found a reel of thin tensile plastisteel, and carefully
Matthew hooked the locking clip to the same ring that held his tether.
The line would unravel from the spool on his belt as he descended to the
Toledo where he could clip it, creating a lead to follow on the return
trips with the crew.
Firing up his propulsion pack, Gideon unlatched his tether and dove from
the edge of the flyer's ramp, drifting towards the Toledo as fast as he
could with carefully controlled bursts in an effort to minimize the
amount of time Galen had to disguise his presence. Reversing thrust, he
slowed down and gently glided into the Toledo, cushioning the blow with
his hands as he reached out for the hatch. Another small burst from the
pack prevented his rebound and quickly Matthew attached the plastisteel
cable to the anchor point.
Luckily Earthforce emergency hatches hadn't changed much between the
dates of the Toledo's manufacture and the Excalibur's. Both had systems
with designs that forcefully blew out the door with pressurized air and
were generally used by those wanting to get out, not in. Gideon had to
be careful not to put himself in the line of trajectory when the door
blew wide, and silently he hoped Galen was prepared to mask the sudden
jettisoning of a piece of the Toledo's hull.
Matthew hooked himself to the anchor point and reached for the small
control panel in the middle of the hatch. He had left the pilot with
final instructions to override the system's safety locks and allow
outside access through the hatch, and with gratitude he realized that it
had been prepared as he keyed in the code. The panel flashed in a
series of quickening lights and Gideon took cover, pulling himself away
from the hatch to collapse his body against the hull. Holding on
tightly to his shortened tether, he waited for it to blow.
There was a thump and a hiss of air before Matthew felt the force of the
hatch rush past him away from the Toledo. He watched it move, never
slowing down as the unequal pressure applied made it topple end over
end. Mesmerizing to watch, the hatch performed an inanimate ballet as
it flowed gracefully through space, light dully shining off the worn
exterior while it sparkled from the smooth inside. Gradually Matthew
turned away to look above at the underside of Galen's flyer. He had
seen it from that angle before and the memory and its surrounding
circumstances sent a shiver up his spine. But it wasn't the appropriate
time to think about that. Gideon had the distinct mental impression
that the Technomage was making a demand not to waste time.
Lengthening the amount of tether attached to his belt, Matthew reached
for the edge of the hatch and pulled himself to it. Slowly leaning
towards the opening he looked down the small chamber to the second hatch
that contained the airlock. If the pilot had rigged the emergency hatch
for him, it was more than likely she also had all of her crew waiting on
the other side.
*~*~*~*
Even his fingernails ached as he sat motionless.
Nor did Galen want to breathe, fearing it would somehow interfere with
his concentration. If his body did breathe, air came in short ragged
gasps he didn't notice. Pale eyes widened in response to what the
implant lenses were rapidly feeding him in synchronicity with that being
impressed directly into his brain via the implants adjacent to his
spine.
It felt as if fire was consuming him, burning through the secondary
nerve system networked through his body, distracting him from the meager
control he had on the rapidly changing images in his head. Galen hadn't
expected the hatch to blow with the force it did and the resultant
tumbling was nearly picked up by the Drakh. Once it had flown beyond
recognizable distance, the Technomage released the illusion surrounding
it without hesitation, redoubling his efforts to tell the AI computer
that nothing was different.
But at that rate, he was bound to make a mistake. Fatigue approached
quickly and he used the time while Gideon was within the Toledo to
regroup and prepare to mask the appearance of five EVA suits in space.
Somewhere within, an unsettling feeling surfaced from his gut as he got
the distinct impression the AI system was getting smarter as he deceived
it, trying to punch holes in what it was being led to perceive. It was
still doing what he told it to do, but it was slower to act upon his
insistence, almost questioning the electronic impulses surging through
the circuits. If it became too questioning, the system would alert the
Drakh and run a diagnostic, locking the Technomage out. He hoped Gideon
was able to get the Toledo's crew aboard before that happened or things
would become exceedingly complicated.
Or worse, the AI computer would try to defend itself and back trace the
impulse directly to Galen, beginning a similar assault on the
Technomage. The thought sickened him and rightly so. Technomages did
not, as a rule, try to interfere with the programming in the implants.
Few had tried in the past and either died in the attempt or were
severely punished by the technology for the sacrilege. And Galen
certainly didn't want to know how similar his implants were to a Drakh
AI computer, or if it could mislead him as easily.
Galen licked his dry lips and tasted copper. Curiosity allowed him to
slowly raise a hand to swipe his fingers beneath his nose. The moisture
was tacky as he pulled his hand away and he slid his thumb over the tips
of his fingers. Beyond the superimposed images the lenses displayed,
Galen saw his hand and focused momentarily on his fingers. They were
smeared with blood.
The transponder thrummed, outlining Gideon's body with a purplish glow
in Galen's mind. The small device was mounted to the Captain's EVA
helmet and allowed the Technomage to keep an exact point of reference as
Gideon began the delicate operation of a space walk. To keep his flyer
in position while the Toledo drifted free, a grapple arm had been
extended, attaching to the ship's hull at anchor points used by space
tugs.
The approach had gone as hoped. Both men had waited expectantly for the
Drakh to notice the disturbance caused by Galen's ship, but as promised,
the flyer remained undetectable. Gideon had been into his suit before
the grapple arm even made contact and was ready to go whenever the
Technomage gave the word. Strapping on the additional pack with the
needed gear, Gideon had watched with mixed emotions as Galen left the
main chamber to a place further within the ship that was better suited
for what needed to be done. Matthew wasn't sure just how dangerous the
operation would be or if he would live to see the Technomage again.
Now Galen stood before the small cluster of necessary instruments on an
otherwise bare black wall. Through his ship and through the implants
throughout his body, he was able to see the individual Drakh ships
positioned around the freighter. Enhanced sensors back traced the alien
technology, following the signals received by the system directly into
the central computer, and from there Galen was able to decipher the
relays, quickly learning the foreign design. An impulse in one segment
would trigger an internal alarm and force the ship to run diagnostics.
A second could overload it completely and cause a collapse that would
cease functional use.
The deeper he probed, the more he realized it wouldn't be so simple.
Advanced technology had redundant systems, and the more important the
component, the more redundancy. For each sensor relay there were two
additional backups, less powerful than the first, but still able to
provide necessary information needed for navigational control. If he
could trigger enough of the sensors to enter an automatic diagnostic, he
had a chance of shielding Gideon from detection.
Unless the artificial intelligence system could be tricked into
believing one thing while it actually detected another.
Galen slipped off his heavy outer coat and pushed up the sleeves of his
knit shirt to his elbows. He lowered himself to the floor, not wanting
to expend energy in conjuring a chair, and sat crossed legged with his
hands folded in his lap. His implants began to display in extraordinary
detail the intricacies of the Drakh AI computer, pinpointing key areas
that would give him the access he needed.
"Nicely done, but I'm afraid that won't be good enough to keep me from
it." The system was not entirely unlike the Excalibur's in detail even
if the programming language was different. He was confident he could
trick it significantly, but times eleven similar systems, he wasn't so
sure.
And nothing could be done about old-fashioned detection methods. Galen
was a Technomage not a telepath; willing a mind to believe something
entirely different from perception was beyond his abilities. He could
make himself disappear effectively but only through his mastery of
technomancy. Nothing he was able to do would prevent one of the crew
from gazing out into the stars with a distance scope much in the same
way the pilot of the Toledo had.
Matthew's only chance of going undetected was if Galen could put the
flyer in direct line of sight. Galen instructed the ship to release the
grapple and move over the Toledo's bow till it was nearly above the
canopy, and the flyer tilted downward to allow the hatch to open at an
angle. Gideon would have a tougher time moving between the two crafts,
but the flyer would be perfect cover.
"I'm just repositioning a bit." The Technomage projected his voice back
to the main chamber, where the Captain had already begun to wonder what
was going on. "I wanted to make sure you would go unnoticed by
conventional means. We should be in position momentarily."
Galen felt a dull thud reverberate on the floor beneath him as the
grapple arm made contact, connecting the two ships together. Once again
Galen centered Gideon's transponder in his mind, making that central
amidst everything else. Probing again into the Drakh system on a random
ship, he isolated the central nerves that fed into the main AI
computer. Within his mind, each system began to hang like shapes in a
child's mobile off the mast of Gideon's transponder. Connected directly
beneath Matthew was the Toledo itself with its own four-member crew
attached. Slightly breathless at the sight of all he had to orchestrate
as it floated abstractly in his mind, Galen managed a smile.
"What doesn't kill, makes one stronger, or in the least, maims one
enough to make it seem like death." Already an ache began to seep into
his muscles and spawned a headache. If he did survive, he would be
exhausted to the point of needing several days to recover.
"It's now or never, Matthew. I've shown you how to use the airlock and
the rest is up to you. Please be quick about it." Galen corresponded
one final time with Gideon before he locked out everything from his mind
that didn't correspond to what would be happening in space. A distant
alert from internal systems told him the hatch had been opened and was
quickly cycling to allow Gideon into space. The Technomage moved the
information aside and focused all of his concentration on that mobile,
preparing to simultaneously cripple eleven Drakh ships.
*~*~*~*
Matthew tried to force his heart back down to its anatomically correct
position instead of where it felt like it sat in the back of his
throat. The initial step into space was the most crucial; if Galen
could successfully blanket him, then there was a good chance the flyer
wouldn't be targeted. Blood pounded in his ears, accompanied by the
sound of his own breathing in the helmet. He took a deep breath, as
deep as the controlled release of oxygen in his EVA suit would allow,
and closed his eyes. Releasing it, he made his pulse slow to something
near normal and opened his eyes. A gloved hand moved to the final hatch
release and pressed.
Gravity was significantly reduced but still great enough to give Gideon
a small amount of control without having to use his magnetic boots until
he got to the edge, and he pushed himself down the narrow tube to the
open port and space beyond. Even though his brain knew he wouldn't fall
from the edge unless he propelled himself in that direction, he still
paused at the end of the ramp, to first look out into the stars and then
down across the back of the Toledo. Galen's flyer had reattached itself
at a forty-five degree angle to the freighter's hull, right above the
command section. The hatch he needed to be at was clearly visible and
silently he thanked the Technomage for deciding to reposition the
flyer. The angular craft cast a shadow over the Toledo's hatch,
furthering Gideon's protection from being spotted.
Crouching slowly on the edge, he attached his tether to the ramp and
reached for the utility belt strapped to his waist. In one of the
pouches, he found a reel of thin tensile plastisteel, and carefully
Matthew hooked the locking clip to the same ring that held his tether.
The line would unravel from the spool on his belt as he descended to the
Toledo where he could clip it, creating a lead to follow on the return
trips with the crew.
Firing up his propulsion pack, Gideon unlatched his tether and dove from
the edge of the flyer's ramp, drifting towards the Toledo as fast as he
could with carefully controlled bursts in an effort to minimize the
amount of time Galen had to disguise his presence. Reversing thrust, he
slowed down and gently glided into the Toledo, cushioning the blow with
his hands as he reached out for the hatch. Another small burst from the
pack prevented his rebound and quickly Matthew attached the plastisteel
cable to the anchor point.
Luckily Earthforce emergency hatches hadn't changed much between the
dates of the Toledo's manufacture and the Excalibur's. Both had systems
with designs that forcefully blew out the door with pressurized air and
were generally used by those wanting to get out, not in. Gideon had to
be careful not to put himself in the line of trajectory when the door
blew wide, and silently he hoped Galen was prepared to mask the sudden
jettisoning of a piece of the Toledo's hull.
Matthew hooked himself to the anchor point and reached for the small
control panel in the middle of the hatch. He had left the pilot with
final instructions to override the system's safety locks and allow
outside access through the hatch, and with gratitude he realized that it
had been prepared as he keyed in the code. The panel flashed in a
series of quickening lights and Gideon took cover, pulling himself away
from the hatch to collapse his body against the hull. Holding on
tightly to his shortened tether, he waited for it to blow.
There was a thump and a hiss of air before Matthew felt the force of the
hatch rush past him away from the Toledo. He watched it move, never
slowing down as the unequal pressure applied made it topple end over
end. Mesmerizing to watch, the hatch performed an inanimate ballet as
it flowed gracefully through space, light dully shining off the worn
exterior while it sparkled from the smooth inside. Gradually Matthew
turned away to look above at the underside of Galen's flyer. He had
seen it from that angle before and the memory and its surrounding
circumstances sent a shiver up his spine. But it wasn't the appropriate
time to think about that. Gideon had the distinct mental impression
that the Technomage was making a demand not to waste time.
Lengthening the amount of tether attached to his belt, Matthew reached
for the edge of the hatch and pulled himself to it. Slowly leaning
towards the opening he looked down the small chamber to the second hatch
that contained the airlock. If the pilot had rigged the emergency hatch
for him, it was more than likely she also had all of her crew waiting on
the other side.
*~*~*~*
Even his fingernails ached as he sat motionless.
Nor did Galen want to breathe, fearing it would somehow interfere with
his concentration. If his body did breathe, air came in short ragged
gasps he didn't notice. Pale eyes widened in response to what the
implant lenses were rapidly feeding him in synchronicity with that being
impressed directly into his brain via the implants adjacent to his
spine.
It felt as if fire was consuming him, burning through the secondary
nerve system networked through his body, distracting him from the meager
control he had on the rapidly changing images in his head. Galen hadn't
expected the hatch to blow with the force it did and the resultant
tumbling was nearly picked up by the Drakh. Once it had flown beyond
recognizable distance, the Technomage released the illusion surrounding
it without hesitation, redoubling his efforts to tell the AI computer
that nothing was different.
But at that rate, he was bound to make a mistake. Fatigue approached
quickly and he used the time while Gideon was within the Toledo to
regroup and prepare to mask the appearance of five EVA suits in space.
Somewhere within, an unsettling feeling surfaced from his gut as he got
the distinct impression the AI system was getting smarter as he deceived
it, trying to punch holes in what it was being led to perceive. It was
still doing what he told it to do, but it was slower to act upon his
insistence, almost questioning the electronic impulses surging through
the circuits. If it became too questioning, the system would alert the
Drakh and run a diagnostic, locking the Technomage out. He hoped Gideon
was able to get the Toledo's crew aboard before that happened or things
would become exceedingly complicated.
Or worse, the AI computer would try to defend itself and back trace the
impulse directly to Galen, beginning a similar assault on the
Technomage. The thought sickened him and rightly so. Technomages did
not, as a rule, try to interfere with the programming in the implants.
Few had tried in the past and either died in the attempt or were
severely punished by the technology for the sacrilege. And Galen
certainly didn't want to know how similar his implants were to a Drakh
AI computer, or if it could mislead him as easily.
Galen licked his dry lips and tasted copper. Curiosity allowed him to
slowly raise a hand to swipe his fingers beneath his nose. The moisture
was tacky as he pulled his hand away and he slid his thumb over the tips
of his fingers. Beyond the superimposed images the lenses displayed,
Galen saw his hand and focused momentarily on his fingers. They were
smeared with blood.