Part 25 (1/2)

Bren picked the camera view from Meridian back up as the machines responded to the orders. The a.s.sAIL provided a slow, agonizing show for Bren, moving through the station corridors to clear rec areas, pools, and even two night clubs. Bren watched and waited for the alien to reappear.

The column moved through an empty cafeteria. The tables remained, but the food service area was covered in white sheets.

”The cafeterias are practically in mothb.a.l.l.s again,” Bren noted. He knew that for some reason, the aliens had made everyone wear the gear and enforced the rules that the helmets stay on everywhere but the personal quarters. As a result, the cafeteria s.p.a.ces were available for other miscellaneous use.

Boom. Boom.

The sound of 12mm fire broke out in the tight corridors, picked up by the machine's sensors, and transmitted straight into Bren's brain through his link.

”New fractures!” Hoffman reported.

Brrroom. Brrrroooom. Boom.

Bren saw Meridian shoot at least four rounds at an angle through the wall on its right.

”Neptune has fractures,” said a handler. The a.s.sAIL would be advised of the condition of its armor. It was hoped this new information could keep the a.s.sAIL units alive longer.

”Odin has fractures,” said the voice of another handler. ”d.a.m.n! Odin out of action.” A loud noise came from beside Bren in the Guts. He a.s.sumed the handler had smashed or thrown something, but didn't bother to look.

A person in gear popped around the corner in front of Meridian. He raised a rifle toward the a.s.sAIL. Before Bren could even swear aloud, he heard the report of one of Meridian's 12mm cannons. The black helmet exploded. A bright crimson cascade blossomed on the wall behind.

”Meridian,” Bren searched for words. ”Was that necessary?”

”The attacker had to be quickly neutralized to ensure the success of the current board and control operation,” Meridian said.

Bren considered asking more. If Meridian survived there would be a justification of the action in its mission report, but if the a.s.sAIL was destroyed, they might never know why the a.s.sAIL had killed the civilian. The mere presence of the rifle shouldn't be a threat to the heavily armored a.s.sAIL machine.

Bren traded glances with Hoffman. Bren could tell by the look on Hoffman's face that he was working on the problem as furiously as Bren himself was.

After a moment, Hoffman said aloud, ”Meridian has one of the circular microfractures in his frontal plate. A lucky shot with that rifle could take him out.”

Bren considered it. ”And the mission is likely to fail without Meridian? Maybe.”

”At this age, Meridian could even look at the vector of the barrel pointed at it and decide if the round would strike its fracture,” Hoffman said.

The a.s.sAIL units had stopped firing, but they still moved in careful circles like hunting sharks as if they believed enemies lurked nearby. Finally, Hoffman pa.s.sed along to Henley that they believed the cafeterias were clear for marines to move in. Lines of men ran into the room. The first couple of squads rushed in and sought cover behind overturned tables and unused food dispensaries. Then more men came in with equipment. Bren saw weapon tripods and more boxes of the smart mines.

”The machines are cl.u.s.tering closer to that wall,” Hoffman noted. Bren looked at the disposition of all the machines in his PV. At first, he'd thought the a.s.sAIL machines were stepping out of the way of the marine's equipment, but now he saw Hoffman was right. The a.s.sAIL units were edging in one direction.

He checked the incursion plan. A pane came up in his PV and displayed a map of the route ahead.

”There's a security hardpoint in the very next corridor,” Bren said aloud. ”The main security office is directly beyond.”

Suddenly the a.s.sAILs began to fire. The marine channel filled up with transmissions. Bren switched back to the camera view.

What he saw confused him. A section of the wall more than ten meters wide had opened up, although Bren couldn't tell which side had done it or how. People in gear on the far side fired at the marines and the s.p.a.ce force was firing back. Grenades rolled across the floor toward the marines. Many of them were hit, sending glue spraying across the white covers of the serving area.

Several handlers in the Guts reported fractures simultaneously. Bren used his PV to see for himself. The cutting molecules were hitting Nergal, Nemesis, Orion, and Oblivion.

”Orion is hot,” called a handler. ”We're taking laser fire!”

Bren knew that meant that the security hardpoint had been exposed by the sundered section of wall. It had a laser emplacement that must be under the control of Claw or its allies. He suspected the wall had been cleared by the locals to allow the laser to fire all the way into the cafeteria.

Bren's view had filled with smoke. Shots and explosions still rang out, although the frequency had dropped from the first ten seconds of combat.

”Frick. Orion is crippled. Nearly useless,” commented the machine's handler.

That's only five left, Bren thought.

Bren watched a map display to follow the movement of his machines. They had moved forward on the security hardpoint. The machines weren't firing much now. Only Orion remained behind, presumably out of action.

As Bren watched, Nergal's status went red in his PV. Bren checked for details. His information pane on the machine indicated the machine had been destroyed.

”Nergal's down,” came the dismal announcement. ”Unknown cause, but it had fractures on three sides, so ...”

So Claw probably did it.

Smoke cleared from Meridian's camera view. Bren saw marines in the wrecked area of the security hardpoint. The walls were heavily damaged throughout the area. The best walls had gaping holes the size of a man; the worst were reduced to a few smashed panels in the corners with only the support struts left to indicate any barrier had ever existed. Boulders of glue littered the area around the a.s.sAIL, with gear-clad arms and legs sticking out here and there.

Meridian didn't move much. It didn't fire at anything. Bren saw what he a.s.sumed must be a smart mine crawling down a strut. The thing reminded him of a big lumbering bug. A bug that could explode if it so wished, killing selected targets within seven meters.

”We have the security office,” Henley announced. ”This unit's taken more than fifty percent casualties. I'm setting them up to garrison the hardpoint. We'll send in another unit from the Vigilant to accompany the remaining a.s.sAIL machines to take the factories. The laser emplacement is toast. Looks like it's got a pretty twelve millimeter hole in it.”

”Is there any good news?” Bren asked.

”Uhm ... yes, actually. I'm told that we recovered our operative,” Henley transmitted. ”Wounded but still kicking.”

I wonder what happened before we got here. She didn't get Claw, I guess. That was a long shot.

”Bren, I've got a local here, says he wants to help out,” Devin said.

”What can he do for us?”

Bren didn't get an answer. He took the voice connection pointer she had left his link.

”I'm glad you guys are here,” said a voice. Bren's PV said it was the Bentra security head of Avalon. ”We've had enough of these f.u.c.kers. Let me onto our systems again, and I'll help you trap him.”

”We can use your help. Send me an authorized command channel and I'll pa.s.s it along.”

”I'll do that. But you should let us drive it. We know the station better than your people do.”

”You don't know my people,” Bren said. The man didn't know Bren would be giving the channel to an AI core.

”Okay. Here it is. Let me know if you need our help on anything else. Oh, yeah. One other thing. Some of the systems are experiencing oddities. I think Claw has some kind of control over them, at least we know he did when he first came here, and I have no reason to believe that he ever relinquished that access.”

Bren took the channel pointer and pa.s.sed it along to Meridian. If the a.s.sAILs hadn't already broken into the system, having a straightforward authorization for use of the station's internal sensors and security equipment could be critical. The UNSF could use it to track the spinner, lock hatches, or even deploy security checkpoint weapons. Unless Claw had an iron grip over everything.

”This authorization is no longer valid,” Meridian told Bren. ”Claw curtailed the command powers of the human security forces as soon as I destroyed the laser emplacement.”

”Can you track the spinner? Claw, I mean,” Bren asked.