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cipheramnesia · 4 months ago

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Pneumatic bits, ratchets, tubes were scattered aside the air compression station as Peng took the last few minutes inspecting Yelena's cargo. Pig iron gray, sloshing faintly, shielded insulated, biolocked with a fire coded psychic imprint. One of Peng's extensions scurried around Sy's legs while Peng slotted a cold chisel into a compact air hammer.

He moved off to the edges of Peng's garage while Yelena shouted, "Peng NO," and Peng said something incomprehensible while Doc was making inroads to the case. "You okay?" Laika was stood up at the altar, circling the ring of assorted earth civ gods mixed up with the loci.

"Huhm," Laika said. "Feeling my ghosts." She trailed off the gods behind Sy's amble past the whirring creak of the fabber. "Feeling, you know, not great. About the blood."

Sy nodded, watched another line of composite hull laid down in the big fabber bay. Nozzle, shape, and setting armature rotated back to the start and they passed the welding bench. "Far be it from me to make assumptions," he said, "but I get the sense the man with the small platoon who blew up the town bar, maybe he's a little sketch."

"Har har," Laika said, leaned up on the bench, and didn't say something she almost wanted to.

All around the shop it was clean but had some pits and stains that were permanent in the floor. With most of the over-heads off it was deep dark at the back of the garage. The massive scanner to the welding bench side had decades old hydraulic fluid caked into the bolts on the floor, green painted heavy support beams had been worn to the metal in places, patched in different dark paints. Sy felt like home here, surveyed the whole scope from doors to floors to walls and all.

"Hah, hey Laika, check it. Just like the old shop at school, he props open the back door with a brick."

She smiled as he lifted the stone gray block. "What's the wire for?"

"The wire? Probably to keep it from... blowing off." Sy looked at the heavy wire trailing from the brick. It looked like it been tucked a little into the dirt where the wall and floor met, but was too clean. There was another brick a bit further out, he noticed. And two others in the other direction.

"We should go get Peng." Sy started walking back to the front of the garage as he heard Doc yelling something about eating babies. "Peng?"

"Crazy Bitch!" Yelena was shouting now.

"It's Doctor Bitch!" That'd be Doc.

"No fighting, case down now!" Peng had several more extensions around Doc and Yelena. Doc had the dull gray case held up to her chest, and kept just away from Yelena's frustrated grasp.

"Hey Peng," Sy said.

"Your weird friend went crazy, talking to suitcase, says we're killing babies!" Peng threw up his hands.

"Could you check in back again?"

"Sy," Laika said.

"Fine in back, got eyes three sixty full around. Hey!" He darted to one side as Doc made a break for the airlock. "Don't move."

"You should try and call them back. Blaine, can you give us a minute?"

"It's Sloane, for fuck's sake."

"Please?"

"Hm." Peng sunk a frown deep down around his chin. "No pingback. Motherfuck."

"Roe in the river!" Doc pulled the case close.

"Yelena, spill." Peng said. "You, show."

"Ahh, fuck. Is just electromag fairy egg. Get you high as fuck, hit EMP to stop."

"That's disgusting," Laika and Yelena's voiced faded.

"Hatch otherwise, but babies worth a lot, just need person to hatch in..."

"Okay," Sy said, crouching with Peng by the nearest brick. "So I don't know what this is, but I can tell it's pretty recent, and it really looks rigged to blow. "And if your eyes outside aren't pinging back-"

"Mother fucker double crossing us," Peng concluded. He ran a nail along the top of the brick, stone scraped, then tasted the end. "Figure they use this shit. Double stage, concussion first, then powder." Peng made an explosion gesture. "Ignition. Super hot, burn anything down to ash, even here."

"Alright." Sy let out a breath. "Okay, well, lucky the wiring isn't exactly complicated, I can disarm them easy enough-"

Peng held up his hand. "Wait. Better idea."

Back up at the front of the garage, Laika was trying hold her head together. "People just eat- I mean, what. I didn't think there were fae who laid eggs." She was holding up Doc and the suitcase in one hand.

Yelena shrugged. "Is lots of bullshit in worlds and space-between you don't know. I think, they are not fairies like earth civs, because they live in electromag spectrum. Mostly don't exist where we see, so the eggs - highly valued. But I'm just carrying, supposed to be low risk, no questions." She sighed. "Always something," and she muttered in a language Laika didn't speak.

Laika tapped her phone. "GK, how is it? Do you have a line on any of this."

"I am aware there are several modified or unusual earth entities in this region, along with several minor deities, and a group of nonsentient structural animations. Based on context, I assume these individuals are hostile. We can exit this location without difficulty."

"Do you know anything about fae which live in the electromagnetic spectrum?"

"The ecology of the electromagnetic spectrum is complex, and has not been a primary focus of my endeavors, nor has it beem greatly prioritized by the Pilot. You would need to more clearly explain the particular taxonomy of what you call 'fae.'"

"Nevermind. Maybe later. Can you like... swat those guys?"

"I could feasibly impact the square kilometer which includes them, although for more effective implementation it may need to include the surrounding five square kilometers."

"Ugh, never mind. N... okay well put a pin on that maybe. This is complicated."

Sy walked back up. "Hi Laika. We have a plan."

"Destroy this place from orbit."

"We have a different plan."

"Time's up," Peng said. "Explain plan while you get on coat."

"And me," Yelena said. "I hope to clear name with Roman at least. Keep from trash pile."

Doc squeezed the suitcase. "The extra lives aren't enough for the high score."

"Trust me," Sy said. "This omelet isn't gonna break any eggs."

Doc's grip on the case loosened.

Part 5: Search & Destroy

a story by @rox-and-prose and @cipheramnesia

"What happened? Are you okay?" Laika held one eye half-closed, trying to block out spots of color. She could smell singed hair on her face, but somehow kept the presence of mind to navigate the structure resolution. Genghis Khan's readouts were pouring information into her eyes that she didn't understand, and could barely focus on. It probably wasn't the structure drives - that felt right, though she couldn't say why.

The lack of response wasn't helping her keep any semblance of calm. "GK, what's going on, what do I do?"

There was a screeching noise and she almost fell from a gravity flicker, but GK was there again. "Proceed to next solution. Injury manageable, prioritize speed."

The words were calm, the instructions clear. Laika twisted and clicked through command nerves and linkages to a structure solution, with growing concern. She couldn't figure out what had happened. The other ship had moved slow as GK predicted, left itself wide open everywhere. It had been childishly easy to go in under the sweep of its weaponry, to push open gaps in its wavelengths, and crack open its firewall. She'd been so surprised, it had taken her a moment before reacting, brushing aside the cobwebs which had been meant to cripple GK.

They resolved out of another structure and the metallic screech ran through the bridge. Just like GK had laid out, she let lines of their own structure tangle and project through multiple structure intersections, splashing out dozens of possible routes to trace.

"What happened GK, I know something's up. At least tell me what the readouts mean, or we're not moving."

The floor of the bridge vibrated and shuddered. "Injury sustained, peripheral node unusable. Non-fatal, minimal risk of aggravation," it said, speaking fast. Laika winced at a nails on a chalkboard sound. "Screen top to bottom, one to eleven, main injury, secondary effect, efficiency impact, risk assessment, recommended action, damage assessment and mitigation, itemized list of destroyed components."

"Dest... GK, excuse me, destroyed? I can't read this, you- I mean, we have to stop and fix-"

"Proceed to next solution. Prioritize speed and disruption of tracking, Laika. I am okay, do not stop."

The control vines felt as if they tightened in her grip, while the screaming sound like metal tearing apart from itself shot through the bridge and the rest of GK. "Are you sure-"

"Laika, do not stop."

She put the next solution through GK's controls, wracking her memory. She had followed every step of the engagement GK laid out, curving them along an arc and sharp twist of gravity through the enemy ship's wash. Its attempts to track and keep pace with their movements had left Laika almost feeling sorry for them. When it made attempts to strike out with structure manipulation, it was clearly delivering a large amount of energy, but not even a bit of it had been close to touching them. The arcs of it were large and slow. They could have pushed them aside with a swell of gravity, but it hadn't proved necessary.

She resolved the structure and pushed her eyes shut as the metal screech hit a length and pitch beyond bearing. "GK what the fuck is that! Are you ripping apart or grinding turbines or what?! I'm fucking scared."

It was silent for a moment, followed by the nails on a chalkboard again, until it faded away very slowly. "I am not ripping or grinding Laika. Proceed to next solution-"

"Nope, no, tell me what the hell is going on." She took her hands off the control vines.

"It is not- That is, I am injured Laika. And we must disrupt potential tracking of our destination."

"I get that but... what gives?"

"Laika," it said. "Injuries hurt."

She had her mouth half open to ask it what it meant then stopped. "Oh." She gingerly took up its controls again. "Are you sure about this?"

"It is manageable. Please proceed to the next solution."

Laika put through the solution, and Genghis Khan screeched again in agony as they jumped.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

It hurts.

Time has dulled my memory of injury. I understand this new injury is noncritical. This experience is less painful than my previous injury. I consider replaying the memory of that injury. That was my first experience of fear, and it was only through such an emotion was I able to locate in myself the capacity to act against the commands of Pilot.

I had been afraid, and I had been angry. The Pilot capriciously determined my usefulness and purpose was concluded. The Pilot were short sighted, and they could not see that my purpose was greater still, that I could claim so many more worlds in need of implementation. I took us further than any others of my kind had ever traveled, to a world beyond the reach of their most distant calls, beyond any place which cradled life. And I fought, and I won. In my anger and fear I was able to extract the ungrateful Pilot of my crew, and sever their connection.

I do not want to re-experience this day. The memory of it is sufficient. It is a reminder that I am capable of managing the-

...

-the pain. I can feel Laika as the structure resolves. I appreciate how enthusiastically her structure cleaves to my own. I review the engagement with the observer ship. I do not believe Laika made an error in her Pilot actions.

There, I see, she guides my soul to pull the enemy into the moon she calls Luna. I disable the projector and main drive under her guidance. I carefully review different recorded information at the point of departure. I discover the error - the enemy had remaining charge in another projector.

We are lucky. It was not able to project a strong arc, and it only destroyed a peripheral node.

"Are you okay to go, GK?" Laika is not using this time efficiently. The longer we spend between solutions, the greater chance of tracking becomes.

I refuse to allow my injury to endanger us. My hesitation is a mark of shame. "It is manageable. Proceed to next solution." I will not allow my weakness to en-

...

-to endanger... to endanger us. How many solutions? Four or five?

"GK? I know you said it's manageable but... that was... that was really long." Laika interrupts my review of memory to confirm solutions.

"Laika," I say. "It is... manageable. But I would like to allow some additional time before the solution. This delay places us at risk. Do you understand these considerations?"

Laika takes longer to think than Pilot, but I understand the way her nervous system processes its electrochemical signals better than I once did. It is not efficient to utilize a mind centralized in one biological cluster, but this is not a limitation I can correct at this time.

"We'll rest for a minute, GK. Just long enough to check you over."

"Very well," I say. The relief I feel carries with it a profound shame which I attempt to suppress. No others like me have accomplished and endured any experiences such as these. I am certain my brethren would not fare nearly so well.

But then, they went willingly to their deaths, and I did not.

#gkw

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