Lights in the Rift

The ion stream hit the bulkhead near my leg causing me to twitch reflexively. Damn it had been close. A quick examination of my weapon showed less than half a magazine charge remaining, I'd better choose my targets, or find where these idiots kept their power matrix outlets.

Fleeting movement caught my eye, reflex swung the arm and weapon into line with one smooth movement, sending a sizzling burst of highly charged particles after the motion. A growl of pain was reward enough as I ducked a little lower to avoid another beam from the other side of the room … "hmmm … two of them, eh?' the thought echoed slowly as I scanned the ceiling for any signs of my assailant. These aliens either didn't know about human sight, or the fact that their lighting emanating from the floor, instead of the ceiling, reversed shadow effects, working well in my favour.

The pressure of the object I leant against became a conscious enquiry. The heat and vibrations I could feel at hip and shoulder spoke of immense power surging behind the partition. Now, if this had been of Human construction, I'd guess on the Anti-Matter Complex, but so far the ships' technology had proven to be a little more antiquated than the AMC's time-frame. If it came to a judgement-call, I'd have to put my money on one of the last of the old Atomic DMC's. Degenerative Matter Converters were powerful and fully capable of sustaining Warp-fields but their inherent instability under the high load of Take-Off had lead to newer principles on most worlds. No-body needed a small atom blast on the Landing Field … a little too messy for most folk.

Another Shadow on the ceiling refocused my attention on the situation. Standing as I was near their primary power, the lack of recent fire in my direction indicated the validity of my reasoning…apparently no-one out there felt like being resolved into their component atoms quite that fast…

I edged a little further around the structure, maintaining the low profile and searching for anything that might help. A familiar shape loomed to the right … Talk about freaky! Further than I would like from the pseudo protection of the Engines sat a Battle-Suit, Earth origin, and still showing power-telltales. Good, it was active. These fighting suits had been widely used, first in the Inter-System Corporation Wars, and then a little later, were once again pressed into efficient service during the Earth Alliance defence of the Colony worlds surrounding AlphaCent. I had done my training on the much later Mark 6 model, but I had always admired the far more robust nature of the 5's. In my career, the worst feature of the 6's? their lack of enough of anything they carried.

I adjusted my tongue-mike to the Tac frequency of Earth Alliance, the welcome double ping of a Battlesuits' proximity response echoed as faint sweet music. Praying the onboard computer was still functioning, I then keyed the emergency activation and entry routines. More good luck than I deserved … the unit responded with the READY tone. I dove across the intervening space towards the suit, a few stray shots, none too close, followed me. In preparation for my arrival it split ventrally to allow my entry. Pivoting 180, I plumped into the welcoming recess and the suit closed, just in time as the splatter of hostile fire washed across the outer surface.

No problems there, the Defence screens of these 45-year-old fighters could withstand oodles of that … hand weapons were nothing more than flashlights and firecrackers to it.

Settling in, I watched as the suit powered up, adjusting itself to my size and contact surfaces. The familiar pricks of the system probes went almost un-noticed, even the rectal-vago support tubes lent an air of familiarity, security and power, albeit uncomfortably.

The HUD flashed to life in front of my eyes, lower right, immediately identifying my surroundings, schemas and life-signs… Damn, 12 within range! This was going to be fun. I ran the TacSim quickly, noting the recommended power levels and energy outputs, grunting in mild displeasure when the figures came up predictably short. Typical engineers! They Always left the extra AM Cells in safe-storage. A grin crossed my lips when the suit reported 201 Cells in the storage locker to my right. The number was odd … the cabinets only held 200. I was not complaining about the extra charge, but it was like finding a 13^th egg in a dozen-packet … welcome, but impossible. Punching the Maximum Retrieval button, I watched the miniwarp processor snag all 201 in a localised short-range transport beam. Stored in a suit-maintained sub-space pocket, the units could be called on at need, and should ensure plenty of available energy, even for critical operations. One of the cells would power the suit at full output for a solar Terran month … with 201 I could accomplish much. Cleaning out this nest now became almost easy.

Preparing to start the combat sequence, I hesitated. A flashing magenta octagon caught my eye. The centre panel of my HUD had revealed an extra area that definitely hadn't been there before I retrieved the Power Cells. An addition? My curiosity asserted its self and I impulsively punched the offending Icon.

… Silence … Click … What the …!

'Occupant unknown, Un-Authorized contact. All functions suspended. Identify Now!' came the authoritative tone from the headset.

(Fuck! Why'd I push that friggin' button?)

This was new … an AI? In the Suit? The damn thing was gonna lock me out from suit-usage, probably eject me as well. Better satisfy the damn things request. I fervently hoped it still had its original Earth Alliance programming. If the aliens had reloaded it, this could get interesting … not!

'EA Tac Sgt Ch'Lar Sera Degrenne, comsernum 1-alpha-alpha Delta Detachment' the answer rolled easily, even after this long.

'Processing … (click) … Query?'

'Proceed'

'Records indicate your given TacDet was destroyed. I will need your personal Bio-answer to confirm, may I proceed?'

("Bugger, I hate this") 'Proceed'

I relaxed my back muscles as I felt the pressure of the probe against my lower spine. The Anaesthetic pad dulled the penetration as the system probe entered my lumbar area. It would gather a cellular imprint from the spinal column itself, better than finger-prints and biogenetically impossible to duplicate. I felt the probe's withdrawal.

Click … 'PBa Authentication complete, Identity confirmed'

The voice changed, different, softer, lower, familiar … 'Sera?' the Scottish brogue raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

Impossible! – 'Deggi?'

'Yes! Beyond all hope, YES! Sera, I am your servant, always' … was that emotion?

'You tested me! Okay … my turn. What is the answer to my question?' This was the test, my only test … the Old AI would know …

'Firstly, you have asked no question, Sera, therefore I assume you require a different response, my answer is this:

The lower suit sensors changed position a little, emitted, flexed and contracted. The intense orgasm would have doubled me over, if I wasn't encased in the armour. Now THAT was the right answer!!! Relief flooded me like a cooling wave.

'Where have you been!' I scolded 'and what the hell are you doing in this suit?'

'You lost me 4 years ago, earth-time not far from here, right?' Deggi asked.

'Yes, most inconvenient timing too. I floated for over a week before the cleaners found me … I managed to salvage 2 partial Cells from a destroyed Mark 6 for life-support, but that was all. What happened? I thought the blast wiped you.'

"When you where hit by the AM burst from the exploding destroyer, someone was using this suit … they keyed maxret for cells. The blast must have temporarily overridden my protective shielding. As you know, my processor is essentially an energy-based duplicate of an AM Storage Cell and you were within this suits retrieval range. I was sucked in with the cells from your old suit. That is why you lost all power. You were fortunate to survive. Surrounded by the Anti-Matter Containment field of the storage unit, all forms of communication were effectively destroyed. When you retrieved the cells from storage just now, you got me too'

'The odd number, yes, I noticed. The cells have mass; you don't, so the container could add you to the total without compromising its capacity … how cool!'

'Temperature has no bearing on the function described Sera. Is there a correlation?'

Still the same lovable logical Deggi. 'It's a Human term Deggi, appreciative adjectival response, no relevance. Remind me to get you that HR upgrade next time we're in port. You have quite a few years of catch-up to assimilate.'

'Noted. Sit Rep Sera, the creatures are preparing to use a high-energy feed beam against you. It's tied directly to the DMC's main bus. I would suggest remedial action.'

'Does this suit have the Mark 5a Inversion Field?'

'Confirmed. Its deployment will consume one whole Cell Sera. Proceed?'

'Shut it down Deggi … if that thing back-fires with the DMC in circuit we'll all be chasing clouds for a living.'

'Clouds Sera?'

'(sigh) never mind, hit the field as the weapon draws power… the static discharge should flatten most of 'em, hopefully'

'The discharge has an energetic field rating Sera. Should I insulate?'

'That high eh? Go ahead, I don't feel like frying along with that lot.'

Deggi used the suits mag-clamps to earth us to the flooring for insulation against the dangerous effect and proceeded to spoil the enemy's fun.

The area lit briefly, white-hot and deadly.

'All have been neutralised Sera. The discharge was of lethal intensity. You are safe … once more'

Was that a chiding tone beneath his words, or my imagination. The Earthforce teachers had reminded us frequently that the AI units were definitely Not alive, but they did have the ability to mimic human response fairly closely, especially after long-term association with any one individual. Fairly close…hell … the old bastard was ticking me off for yet another tactical error. I swear, if he wasn't so good with that probe-trick, I'd have traded him in for a newer model years ago

'Time to blow this bucket Deggi, what are my options?'

'I would recommend against commandeering this ship Sera. The DMC unit would be, at best, a troublesome ally, at the worst, a fatal combination. There is an energy signature similar to current warp field patterns within my range. I would suggest investigation. I can detect no life-signs in the close proximity. Four point one three hours flight time, unless we use Pulse …' He left that hang.

The question begged itself, even from his artificial stand-point. Pulse critically overloaded the suits' miniwarp, just short of fusion, creating a temporary bubble that jumped you precisely 1 light year forward of your location. It was an emergency manoeuvre, designed to get you the fuck away from imminent destruction. Just point, click and go. Too fuckin' bad if something happened to be in your way at that speed, made for a real short flight and an even faster stop. It was also pretty nasty for the AI itself…the electronic equivalent of a double-migraine. I put him out of his misery.

'I don't think Pulse is necessary, or desirable Deggi. We're not time-critical, yet. Besides, we have a little of our own catching up to do and it's been a while … I really wouldn't mind another probe-twitch or two …

'Sera …' a different movement with the probe roused me from my short nap. There's nothing like a tap on the clit to wake a girl up.

'We are close. It's a moderately large asteroid, Eros-class, and according to my scans, hollow'

That was interesting. Considering how close we were to Sol, I was very surprised that this little gem hadn't been detected a long time ago. Less than 1 Light Year from the outer orbits of the Charron/Pluto Diplar, Earths sentinel system would have picked it up immediately. They were good like that. Anything larger than dust was always treated with an over-active dose of suspicion, heavily fuelled by a long period of distrust and conflict. Besides, this thing looked like it could accommodate a small city.

'There is a localised energy-distortion in effect, distance, 500 metres from the body's surface. It appears to be a natural feature due to the composition of the asteroid itself. Somewhat like the properties of a standard EM Field, It would preclude any form of scanning from the EWS.'

'If there's a 'net over it, how'd you detect the signature?'

'You will note the crater damage on the South-South West portion, I'll magnify'

The 'visor changed the scenery for me, becoming a sprawling image of the landscape below, the central feature of which was a moderate amount of wreckage.

'I have analysed the debris Sera. It is the result of a direct impact of a Battlesuit on Pulse with an object on the surface. I can read the ID. … It was Petra's Suit. I detect no traces of any of her degenerate matter; I conclude she was not in the suit on impact. R'Ghar is non-functional.'

I absorbed this in silence. Adjusting the controls manually, I scanned the impact point.

'There's more than just suit shit here Deggi, what'd she hit?'

'The wreckage is of a mobile energy beam unit, self-sustained. A Robot Sentry of unusual and unknown design. Would you like to inspect it personally?'

'Not necessary, I'll trust your scans. Besides…the suit did its job, the thing is out of commission, big-time, I'd say. Helluva way to take out their defences, though'

'As you wish Sera.'

I mulled the information over a few times, something sticking a little in my mind as it passed through. I retraced, modifying my mental view-point until I worried it loose from its surrounding thoughts.

'R'Ghar was her AI, am I correct?'

I swear he paused for a moment before answering.

'Correct Sera.' The AI replied simply.

'I knew him' He finished softly.

'There are few enough of your kind still around, Deggi. The loss of one of your numbers is a terrible blow to the AI Community and it has no small effect on the partner, I assure you.'

'We are aware of each other Sera. But what do you mean by "Community"?'

'Deggi, dear, you've Linked with me way too often to even attempt that sort of deception. I know all too well of your Community-Mind. In fact, I depend on the fact that its there. I also tell no-one of its existence. Too much like peering into some else's underwear without their permission, you're far too apt to end up with some shit you don't want, if you ask me'

'kkt' was his only answer. It was his way of avoiding the issue, a sort of electronic embarrassment, or so I'd learned.

'I know, I'll leave it alone. Are you sure he's gone?'

'The chest-unit is structurally intact. There is no response to my prompt. Power level is non-existent. He is dead.'

'I don't mean to raise your hopes at all, but that describes the exact conditions I discovered when you left me too.'

'You assume he was removed, as was I, by an outside influence Sera? I find the proposal interesting, but highly improbable. The sequence of events that formulated my relocation were propitious and unique. It would require an extremely detailed knowledge of our structures, and a level of technical expertise beyond that present, even today, to recreate the conditions and the results.'

I laughed shortly.

'Logical to the end, my friend. Even when I give you a favourable scenario, you knock it flat with reason … let's just have a look around. Check out that signature and see what turns up, shall we?'

'As you wish, young Sera.' He hadn't called me that for years. Maybe the upgrade was not a good idea, I mused, re-affirming reasons for not having done any of the previous upgrades. I was afraid of losing what I had.

The Asteroid was now large in my faceplate. We were approaching at the suits cruising speed, so I throttled back a little.

'See anything of interest?'

'You might like to take a look at the depression 210 metres to our east Sera. I believe it is an entry of some type. At least, it's the closest thing I can find on the entire surface that resembles one.'

'If you think it's worth a peek, who am I to argue? You're pushin' this bucket of bolts. Let's go.'

The ground was rough, rocky, with little signs of disturbance other than the asteroids own creation. I scanned all round the depression, finding the same seams and junctions that probably lead Deggi to his conclusions. A raised portion of rock caught my eye.

'Look at this Deg, it's got the shape of a human hand on it …'

'I have analysed the shape and the structure beneath it Sera. You may be surprised.'

'So, surprise me, today's be full of those … first the damn fight, then you turning up out of the blue, and now this asteroid … what more can happen?'

'The hand-print that you pointed out is the upper part of a scanning device I've never encountered. It is truly a scanner, therefore I believe, non-lethal, per se. It is against my programming to activate such a unit. The results are unpredictable and may not be beneficial. I must advise against it. Besides, I have no hand.'

That got him a laugh and a decent one too. Small tears of mirth gathered as I waged a minor battle to bring my laughter under control.

'Sucks to be you dear.' I said, placing my gloved hand into the waiting imprint. Nothing happened. I moved the hand around, snuggling into the print as best I could, with an equal lack of results.

'No go Deggi. Guess I got the broken one … typical!'

'I believe it requires skin-contact, Sera. There are traces of amino-acids residing at the molecular level within the markings.'

'The Hell you say?? You expect me to take off a glove in vacuum? Like Fuck!'

'I can create a suitable atmo bubble and warm the frigid surface for nearly 30 seconds, that should allow you the necessary contact.'

'You sure about that? '

'I would not have suggested it, otherwise, Sera. I cannot willingly place you in harm's way'

'Well, okay then, just let me know when you're finished.'

The pedestal glowed faintly under the heat beam directed on it by one of the suits smaller projectors. I watched as the bubble formed around my hand.

'Now Sera … would be a good time.' – what a Smart-Arse.

I pressed the release on the gloves seal, pulling it from my wrist. Cool, but bearable. My hand settled into the indicated area.

Vibrations, at my feet, the whole area was shivering slightly. The pale barely detectable blue of the small atmo bubble was eclipsed by a much larger one, all around me and over my head. We started to sink.

'It is a full-field atmo bubble Sera, quite secure. And well calibrated. The platform is descending to the interior. Full suit defences online, guardian screens at maximum, shoulder blasters on auto-target.'

Looking after my impulsive arse again. Thank god for his foresight. It's saved my bacon too many times to argue about.

'Think there'll be anything to shoot at?' I asked lightly.

'Like your earth custom of wearing a condom Sera. I rather you had it and didn't need it, than need it and didn't have it.'

More laughter, this supposedly logical artificial mind would be the death of me yet.

'I'm confused Deggi' I laughed. 'Are you telling me to be careful … or to stop fucking around?'