Deep Hydra Read online

  She felt a buzz through her chest, but only nodded in return. She needed to wait until they were on the ship and out of danger. She was excited, though, and it seemed that maybe this was a genuine turn in their luck.

  Once more the hum of the ship drowned out the horror beyond its walls as they drifted slowly over the carnage of the street below. Gathered on the bridge, they watched the live feed Daedalus was sending to his Praetors in the center of the bridge.

  “There’s no one left in the Palace?” Kae asked.

  “Cylus’ manservant killed them all as far as I can tell. He might have killed me but he was running late or something,” Meia responded.

  Cygni ground her teeth, hardly able to believe it.

  “Do we know if Siren is being controlled from the lab?” she asked.

  Meia shook her head. “Like I told you before, we never breeched it. It might be, or maybe Daedalus is controlling its release. To be honest, it doesn’t need a control. It seeks targets independently.”

  “Daedalus will have a plan for neutralizing it,” Athame stated. “Siren was meant to convert the population into cybernetic organisms under Daedalus’ control. Your data indicates that Doctor Suman Rega altered the nanomachine, and now the population is dying and going berserk instead of the orderly conversion Daedalus wanted. There will be a plan to limit the damage.”

  “If that’s the case, why is it still out there?” Cygni asked.

  “It must be serving Daedalus’ purposes for now. I calculate the attack will not continue indefinitely,” Athame stated.

  “So, if it’s going to stop anyway, we should make our priority getting to Nero,” Meia said.

  “I second that,” Sorina added.

  “The last mention of Nero Graves in the record indicates he was acquired at the Palace,” Iapetus stated over the comm. It was back in the airlock and connected to the ship’s internal systems. The hologram focused in on the image of Xur’Quon Island as viewed from above. “There is no mention of his location after that.”

  Sorina’s ears vibrated.

  “Hang on a second, what about the rest of what we got from the brain cores?” Cygni asked. “Daedalus is going to deploy Siren all over the Confederation using the Cephalon Spheres. Don’t we have an obligation to stop that?”

  “If we stop Daedalus, we stop it all.” Sorina’s voice was menacing.

  “Great, so all we have to do is find Daedalus’ base of operations, which no one has been able to do in sixty-years.”

  “It is mobile, but I think I know where it is,” Athame stated. “Nero was to be brought to Deep Hydra.”

  “Okay, but that doesn’t help,” Meia said.

  Kaeden, already starting to look a bit better, nodded from his seat beside one of the lateral terminals.

  “This will assist,” the ex-Praetor stated. “I was to take him here to the Matre’s Glory System from Taiumikai. Daedalus is not one to waste resources. Conclusion: Deep Hydra is close by. Even by AlCas Drive, not enough time has elapsed to leave the system. They are presently undetectable, and Captain Starblood stated they departed in a C-37—which does not typically have stealth equipment. Conclusion: there is a high probability Deep Hydra is in the system.”

  “But where?” Sorina asked. “There are seven planets, innumerable moons…”

  “It would have to be a location that could conceal Deep Hydra’s large magnetic signature and its high neutrino output,” Athame stated. “The sun would do both, but not allow for the traffic of ships in and out Daedalus would require. Furthermore, maintaining an aegis field against the extreme temperatures would not be efficient.”

  Sanul licked his thick lips. “The Matre. Its magnetic field would conceal even an FTL ship’s, but not the neutrino output, though. Never mind.”

  “Wait a second.” Kae held up his hand. “That’s not a bad idea. Who scans the Matre for neutrinos?”

  All eyes went to Meia. She closed hers and accessed the ship’s sensors.

  “There’s too much interference from the ships in orbit. We’ll have to go up and get clear of it to scan the Matre—and that brings me to my point. The bombardment’s stopped and the city’s aegis field will allow ship traffic again, but we have a second problem. There’s a huge space battle going on up there. If they catch wind of us I’m willing to bet both sides will consider us hostile.”

  “Doesn’t this ship have a stealth system? Aren’t we using it now?” Cygni was incredulous that a battle above them would even present such an obstacle.

  “We’ll be detectable when we burn into orbit. It requires too much thrust and power for the stealth system to work,” Meia said. “And there are no other ships taking off right now to hide among.”

  “We won’t have to,” Kae said. “If we get a message to the Peleus we might get some cover from her, or at least it identified as a friendly in the Orion battle-group’s tac-com.”

  Now everyone was looking at him.

  “Like I told you before, Nero’s sister was her C/O, you see…” He trailed off. “Hopefully she still is.”

  “We were going to try and get her help anyway. You said she would, right?” Cygni piped up.

  Kae nodded.

  Meia gestured and the hologram shifted to show the blue arc of Kosfanter and the ships battling above it.

  “Both Confederate naval groups are attacking the Kageryū. We look like we’re in with her. What are the odds, do you think, they’ll even listen to a message from us? Not to mention, we guarantee they’ll detect us if we transmit one.” She paused as the battle played out in the air before them. “Goddess that’s a tough ship.”

  “Bodes well for us, right?” Kae tapped the Fukuro’s terminal. “Come on, Meia. I saw you risk your life to do what was right on Calemni. Nero’s been my buddy for decades now. He saved my sorry ass more times than I can count, and that’s just who he is. I know he’d risk it all to save you. We owe it to him to try.”

  She stared at him with an expression somewhere between guilt and anger, then shook her head.

  “Meia, please?” Rune asked with big, green eyes focused on her.

  “Fuck—”

  “Language,” Kae snapped.

  Meia rolled her eyes. “Fine. If we get atomized I’m blaming you, Kae.”

  “Fair enough,” he said with a wink.

  “Iapetus, patch into the external comms. We’re going to have to send this message at just the right moment. The Peleus,” she paused, shifting the tactical display around. “Ah, there it is. Three light-minutes away from orbit. Everyone strap in. This is going to be the longest six minutes of your lives.”

  The ship tilted its nose upward and Cygni heard its engines fire up. With a rush of motion that shoved her into her seat they shot past the tops of the towers and headed for the stars. It would have been exhilarating if their destination wasn’t so goddess-damned terrifying.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Kageryū-Maru, Matre’s Glory System

  J2400:3326

  [BOOTUP SEQUENCE COMPLETED…]

  [INITIATING SOMATIC FUNCTIONS…]

  [SOMATIC INPUT…100%]

  He shivered, becoming aware of the cold air in the room and the warm metal pressing into his back.

  [GUSTATORY PERCEPTION…100%]

  His mouth filled with a bitter, metallic taste.

  [OLFACTORY INPUT…100%]

  He gasped in a deep breath of sharp, ozone-heavy air.

  [AUDITORY INPUT…100%]

  The sound of breath seemed to come from far away. As he exhaled it grew louder, like someone was turning up the volume in time with the contraction of his lungs. By his next breath he knew it was his and that he was alive.

  A distant explosion shook the room and was followed by a series of rising hums.

  [VISUAL INPUT…100%]

  His eyes snapped open. Above him loomed a set of robotic arms rising like spider legs from around the curved arches girding his body. Each ended in a delicate, sharp-looking implement. An ele
ctric hiss preceded the whir of machinery and his field of view panned down with the trough-like table beneath him. A moment later he knew two things: one, that he was in a small gray room with a door emblazoned with three white lines in a circle, and two, that he was not alone.

  There was an athletic woman floating in front of him in a black uniform decorated with several metals over her left breast. She had short, tawny-brown hair just long enough to conceal the river-like puckered skin of the jagged scars leading down her face and neck. One blue eye and one brown stared at him eagerly from over an upturned nose and ruddy cheeks. At her side, held to the floor with a set of magnetic boots, was a large brown and tan canine with a broad head and glowing green eyes. The cerberai barked the moment his gaze fell upon it.

  “Shush, Tengu,” the woman said in a low voice with a heavy accent. “We don’ want anyone to know he’s back yet; if it is him.”

  Another explosion shook the chamber.

  “It is him, and yes, that wouldn’t do,” a female voice said. A tall woman with cropped blond hair and blue eyes floated into view over him. She was lean and well-muscled beneath a form-fitting green and red suit.

  “If they discover us too soon it will all be for naught,” a male voice said.

  “Who…” he began.

  “Here, let’s finish this.”

  [CONNECTING TO GEMINI NETWORK…CONNECTED. DOWNLOADING PERSONA FILES…]

  His vision lit up with a neon-green UI displaying a dizzying array of numbers and letters. He blinked several times with the strange sensation of information filling the cup of his brain almost to overflowing. It was so abrupt and unexpected that he gasped, but the sensation ended moments later.

  He looked at the woman floating above him. “You killed me.”

  She smiled.

  “Actually—” the male voice preceded its owner.

  “Enéas,” Ichiro said with a frown.

  “—we saved you,” Europa’s twin said.

  “Father was going to use you to take Shiragawa from your sister,” she explained.

  He reached up, surprised at seeing two flesh and blood arms grab the raised lip of the VEM, and pulled himself out. His skin sounded like peeling tape as it came free of the table.

  “Here,” Enéas offered him a folded uniform from behind the machine.

  With a nod he accepted and activated the magnets in his feet, dropping to the cold metal deck. That’s new, he thought as he dressed.

  “Armstrong,” he said.

  She gave him a crisp bow. “Sir?”

  He stared at her, processing the unexpected response in milliseconds.

  “You’re in the TSDF now.” Information was flowing through his connection to the Gemini System, filling in gaps in his knowledge. “You joined soon after I was murdered.”

  “Your old body was destroyed—” Enéas said.

  “—but your mind was replicated into the Gemini network,” Europa finished.

  “—without father’s knowledge.” Her brother smiled and Ichiro knew that he was particularly proud of that detail.

  “He still thinks you’re dead.”

  “I joined up rather than get killed,” Armstrong said.

  Tengu wagged his tail.

  “She is a very convincing orator. She even talked father into accepting Tengu as her companion,” Europa stated.

  “I’m glad to see you both alive,” he said.

  “Father was going to analyze your old body, but the strange nanomachines within it disintegrated it,” Enéas said.

  “He was furious,” his sister added.

  He could remember what relief felt like, but the experience he had now was more akin to knowing that he was relieved without actually feeling it. He almost frowned but stopped himself. This was not the time to alert the others to the difference; not before he knew more.

  “What is the situation?” he asked.

  “We’re on the Kageryū in orbit of the capital,” Armstrong said. “We’re under attack by two Confed battle groups.”

  More information came to him from the ship’s computer, which was now tied into the Gemini. They were 122km over the capital, traveling at 7.834 Km/s, and under attack by four cruisers evenly distributed between the Laocoon and Orion battle groups. That explained the periodic explosions rocking the ship.

  “Where is Captain Hamasaki?”

  “The brig, along with the rest of the loyalists,” Enéas stated.

  “Who is in command?” he asked.

  “Einaga,” Europa said.

  He took a millisecond to process that and frowned.

  “Is this all we have?”

  Armstrong gave him a look that registered as disturbed concern.

  “Affirmative,” Europa stated. “We could free your supporters but—”

  His mind analyzed the possibilities as she spoke. If they did so it would create an alert throughout the ship and security would respond. It would result in an unbalanced conflict where the possibility of success was below 10%—unacceptable given the present mission parameters. They could attempt to disable the ship’s security sensors, but given the heightened state of alert due to the battle that would result in a less than 7% chance of success—unacceptable given mission parameters. The third option was to proceed as part of the crew, move onto the bridge with Europa, Enéas, and Armstrong, and eliminate Einaga—78% chance of success and the clear optimal path.

  “It is better to proceed to the bridge where I can challenge Einaga,” he stated.

  The LeRoux twins nodded.

  “I don’ like it,” Armstrong said.

  The three of them turned to look at her.

  “There’s somethin’ wrong with him.” She jabbed a finger in his direction. “He talks funny. He looks funny. You said he would be the same.”

  The twins shared a look.

  “The differences are minor,” Enéas said.

  “Likely brought on by the difference between his former shell’s biological brain and his current shell’s cybernetic one,” Europa finished.

  “You said it would be him, but it’s just a copy.” Armstrong sneered.

  Tengu whimpered.

  There was a long pause during which the only sound was the hum of the engines and the distant explosions in other parts of the ship. Ichiro knew the twins were processing what she said. He could feel it in his head like a whispered conversation consisting of numbers and letters. He turned to them.

  “Is it true?” he asked.

  The twins looked at him.

  “Am I?” He was neither disturbed nor pleased. Knowing was a matter of filling in missing data in his profile.

  “The VEM replicates your memories, your physical engram patterns, and the data stored in them,” Europa said.

  “It makes a perfect set of that data and compresses it for download,” Enéas added.

  “Which occurs when your physical body is remade by the VEM,” Europa stated.

  “Sounds like a copy to me,” Armstrong muttered.

  “Are you two copies?” He asked the twins.

  They both hesitated. Through the Gemini system’s data sharing he became aware that they were only one set of LeRoux twins. There was a second on the planet surface—and their father was in Revenant Tower.

  “We had to deceive him or he would have blocked us from bringing you back,” Europa stated.

  “What?” Armstrong asked.

  “So I am dead,” Ichiro stated.

  “No.” The twins looked at each other.

  “The original me.” He looked down at his hands, turning them over as though he could determine if his conclusion was correct by staring at them.

  “You are the sum of your memories and your present processes. Those are stored in the Gemini network,” Enéas stated.

  “The body is just a vessel for those memories and processes. By this definition you have just become harder to kill,” Europa said.

  “Like we are,” Enéas added.

  “But the being that
generated that data is gone,” he countered. “I am not Mitsugawa Ichiro, but his reflection.”

  The twins pressed their lips together. He felt the urge to do the same like it was a primal instinct.

  “So, he’s a clone,” Armstrong said. “Makes this whole thing sorta moot.”

  The ship shuddered again. An alarm sounded and the lights turned red.

  “Regardless, he remains our only chance to save the lives of the crew on this ship,” Enéas stated.

  “And it is my understanding that having his sister in charge of the Shiragawa is undesirable,” Europa added.

  “That is correct,” he stated. “For the lives of others, including yourself, it suits us to behave as though I am the original.”

  “Fine.” Armstrong crossed her arms before her chest. “For them.”

  Initiating optimal pathway, he sent to the others. The twins nodded.

  They headed out into the hexagonal corridors using their magnetic skeletons to move through the ship. Muscles a thousand times stronger than his old body’s propelled him through the ship at a startling speed. It was so quick that many of the damage control officers racing through the air to their assignments only glanced at them as they passed by.

  Just before they arrived at the bridge a loud explosion shook the ship, slamming it to one side hard enough to detach Ichiro from the corridor’s floor. The wall hit his body hard, though the density of his new artificial muscles absorbed the impact and he experienced only a moment of disorientation. He was about to ask what that was when his cybernetic brain’s connection to the ship revealed they just took a bad hit from an enemy HEXL that blasted one of the supports for habitat ring two to atoms. He thrust himself back onto the deck. Making sure Armstrong and Tengu were okay trailing behind them, he turned and stalked to the bridge.

  The large, circle of the bulkhead door irised open at his approach. His eyes fell upon the flashing hologram hovering over the control pit. Seated in the center chair behind the semicircle of the railing above it, was a man with gray-streaked hair floating in a tight queue over his head. He leaned forward with fingers meshed below his chin. Ichiro recognized him without having to see the man’s face. Beside him, occupying another of the three chairs, Tanaka-san sat in a TSDF uniform with a passive expression. The sight of him reminded Ichiro of his betrayal on Venus, and he revised his attack plan.