52 Book 3 - Chapter 110 (2/2)
”Can I stay with Daedalus when the mission is over?” Mace asked.
”Ameline you're our daughter, not an agent. You're merely an asset. If you want to quit this work, it is better to do so now” Adele replied.
”Mother,” Mace said softly, ”I will complete this mission and then I will stay with Daedalus. If that means quitting. So be it.”
”Ameline!” Adele called in concern as Mace closed the connection.
Mace slammed down her helmet and wiped tears from her eyes. She wanted to scream but she could not. What gave her parents the right to sign her up to a commitment to the organisation and if she wanted to do something else, her life was under threat.
She remembered when her Father had asked her to help. But did they seriously think a child of eight would realise what they were signing up for?
The other cadets were studying, researching or working on projects.
Picard leaned over and asked softly, ”Is something wrong?”
Mace had uncharacteristically slammed down her helmet. Praying that the no one noticed her wiping away tears, she replied, ”Just frustrated with the latest plasma tests. I can't beat the off average off the shelf stuff, let alone the premium.”
Picard nodded slowly. ”We have so many innovations, it doesn't hurt to have a few that are merely premium generic products.”
Mace looked at Picard seriously, ”I know. But lithium plasma is one of our key materials. A small improvement with it is better than a massive improvement with a minor element.”
Picard patted Mace on the shoulder in a comforting fashion, ”Keep at it. You'll crack it. You always do.”
Mace was a consummate liar. But she still felt guilty when her friend supported her for a non-existent problem.
”I'm going for a walk. Need to
reset the problem in my head,” Mace said as a way to extricate herself from the room. She was going to have to throw everything at Master Nader which meant using Daedo as a mule.
She went to her personal belongings and fished out one of her specialist kits. They would return to the Academy tonight, so she needed to do this now. Once on Academy grounds the chance that Master Nader's surveillance would detect her actions heightened exponentially.
She decided on one bug. If she used three to increase her chances - Master Nader could discover one and then she would be on high alert. She would keep looking for the others and halt any incriminating conversations with Daedo until she was sure he was clean.
It had to be her best spy bot. The ingestible biohybrid. It was tiny, on the microscale. To most scans it was organic. All she had to do was get Deado to ingest it, and it would be undetectable. She would not access its data until he was a safe distance from Master Nader.
If Master Nader was able to detect this Spybot, she had to possess alien technology. Nothing the organisation had could detect it. Not until it transmitted its information - in that scenario it was like any data connection. Encrypted but detectable.
She approached Daedo as he listened to his Father list off the results of their Sahara trip on the Exos and Mechs. They still needed work on their anti-ingress systems and life support.
”Thirsty?” She asked Daedo and Ikaros. She held a tray with two drinks of water.
”Thank you Mace,” Ikaros declared, ”You are so thoughtful.” He reached and took a glass.
”I'm good,” Daedo stated while distastefully blowing some sand from the neck of an Exo.
Mace grimaced at Daedo. She had to get the biohybrid into him, and they would leave for the academy within the hour. She cursed that it wasn't a simple swipe onto his skin or bodysuit. The biohybrid-spybot was too large to penetrate through the skin.
Daedo stood. ”Why isn't the flushing system working?” He asked himself out loud.
”Sand is a demon son. It gets into everything,” Ikaros replied unnecessarily. ”Maybe you should look at a system which enables a full flush every time you return to base. You allow the sand into to certain areas but flush it out with a sonic or liquid shower when entering an airlock.”
Daedo nodded. ”That could work. We retain the crevices and seams in the outer armour, seal the second layer and widen the gaps between the plates and mesh attachment to allow the flushing.”
Ikaros displayed a small smile. ”Sometimes you surrender to the inevitable and just work around it,” he said from experience.
Daedo looked around to see Mace still standing there. ”Did you need me for something?” He asked politely.
She walked up to him and stuck her fingertip inside his mouth then proceeded to pretend to brush sand off his lips. ”You've got sand all over yourself.” She stated.
Daedo was too stunned to respond.
His father turned away, slightly embarrassed and giving them a modicum of privacy.
Mace proceeded to hand Daedo the water, ”Drink,” she commanded. She realised only at that moment she didn't have to stick her finger in his mouth. Forcing him to drink the water was something she did spontaneously to cover her action.
”You need to review so soon?” Master Nader enquired. It was her way to asking if he wanted to enter the VR from for mystery box review or confidential discussions.
”No,” Daedo responded. ”I would like you to review the security plans for our operation in North West Africa.”
”The mine?” She asked. ”Or is it more than a mine?”
He nodded, ”Yes, it is more than a mine.”
”Do we need to use the VR room to properly assess the plans?” She enquired.
Daedo shook his head. ”The displays in this room are sufficient.” He also wanted to have access to Myrmidon. When they were cut off from each other, it was hampering and disconcerting. After years of symbioses, his brain and Myrmidon divided tasks naturally. Information flowed back and forth without conscious thought let alone requests.
Daedo proceeded to bring up the current stage of the base before moving on to future plans.
”The surveillance shielding is a nice touch, but you should capture all incoming and outgoing communications. Use underground fibre to exit remotely and then use a rotating set of repeaters to hide your location from cybers assessments and intrusions. I would also advise moving the repeaters at random times,” Master Nader stated.
Daedo nodded.
”Have you considered an expanded aurora shield for the base, or critical infrastructure at least?” Master Nader asked.
”No,” Daedo replied sheepishly. ”But the power requirements would be astronomical for a large protection area.”
”Prioritise the areas and limit protection critical to the defence and life support systems only. You should increase your max demand target to allow for this.”
Daedo nodded. He would approach this more like a tower defence game than he had. Protect every aspect and add redundancy for all critical systems.
”What is your ultimate goal for this base cadet?” Master Nader enquired.
”This is information that I do not wish reported back to any authority,” Daedo stated.
”Understood. That is within my purview,” Master Nader replied.
”And I would like the location to remain a secret,” Daedo said.
Master Nader thought for a moment before nodding slowly. They were not in the secure VR room, so she said nothing further.
Daedo drew in a deep breath, ”It will be the base for the Daedalus Private Military and our defensive position when the invasion hits.”
”Oh. That was obvious. I thought you had a remarkable revelation,” Master Nader stated in her flat, robotic voice.
Suddenly Master Nader went stiff. Stiffer than usual. In a lower tone, she asked, ”Cadet, have you made any technological alterations to your bodysuit or implant?”
Daedo shook his head.
”Are you recording this session?” She asked.
Daedo slowly shook his head becoming apprehensive.
”It is acceptable if you are. Your answer is unchanged?” Master Nader reiterated.
Daedo nodded before asking, ”What's wrong?”
”Turn off all your bodysuit functions,” Master Nader ordered before adding. ”Everything. Power down your cybernetics.”
Daedo could not see the scans Master Nader was performing, but he was certain she was hitting him with everything she had based on her tone and line of questioning.
She turned and retrieved something from the wall. ”Drink this,” she ordered.
The liquid was clear, but as soon as he tasted it, he almost gagged.
”Now hold this,” She held out two rods. ”Do not worry it will not hurt and if your cybernetics is off, it should not damage it either. Is your AI backed up? I know you are attached.”
”Yes. He backups continually and we updated before switching off just now,” Daedo stated.
As soon as she let go of the rods a humming went through his body. He experienced a tingling sensation, but as she stated it did not hurt. They humming's cadence continually changed to a higher pitch.
”It will be over soon. The nullifier is hitting a range of frequencies.” As she took the rods from his hands, she asked, ”Did you meet any strangers over the weekend. Where did you eat and drink? List all occasions and who prepared or delivered the food and drink.”
Daedo listed off his movements since friday until it dawned on him. Mace had acted strangely this evening. She forced her finger into his mouth and gave him a drink that he didn't want.
He had moments to decide. Would he inform Master Nader about Mace or would he omit the event?