Burn, page 3
part #14 of Galactic Cyborg Heat Series
Out here, they didn’t have to answer to the Overlord. Overlord saw no value other than the food the Wilds provided, and as long as it kept coming, that was good enough. Overlord were the guys in charge on her world. It provided the rules, the structure and the security. As long as everyone did their bit, it all worked well. Kids went to school, adults had a role to play, the economy kept moving, food allocations were met, no one starved and if you got out of line, Overlord dealt with it.
She’d been told it had started out as a community leadership in that first generation. As people died and newer generations were born, it moved into governance and security. People were voted into power, positions within it were earnt, tasks were allocated and within a few generations, whole departments had been set up to ensure their world ran as it should. The down side? All those freedoms they’d wanted and left Old Earth for, suddenly started to diminish.
But Angel understood it and didn’t fight against it, but made it work in her. The early colonists had tried to run things without it in those early days. Voting on this and that but, no one seemed to be happy and things, stalled. Delays took hold and people started to go hungry. As more people were born, the problems came with more risks. And people had started to question what they were doing here. It led to unrest and people died. It was clear to everyone, without structure there would be chaos. Without rules, they’d be anarchy.
There always seemed to be someone who thought they were more deserving than others, or better than the next guy or coveted what someone else had, or thought they’d been short changed in the lottery of life, or just wanted more power than anyone else. It was stupid and dumb in her opinion. But it did happen, even now and without the Overlord presence, infighting would increase and get out of hand real quick.
Angel tied her boat up and jumped for the dock. She moved through the people milling about, some selling their wares other’s buying. As she walked through the throng of people she took in the condition of the settlement. It looked better than it had the last time she’d set foot on it. Work had been carried out by someone or several someone’s who knew what they were doing. The fixings looked more secure, the decking in better condition. She approved and wondered where they’d got the skill base. It had definitely been needed. Previously, the community had seemed as precarious as the wild life around them. She looked for who might be responsible but couldn’t see anyone at work.
Giving one last look around and pushed open the door to the bar. The stench of unwashed bodies crammed into such a small space hit her, along with the aroma of spilled booze and the noise. The place was busy. She pushed her way through the crowd to the bar. Onea was serving drinks trying to keep up. She indicated she needed serving and eventually he came over.
“Been a while since we’ve seen you around here Zhi.” he told her wiping the space in front of her, not that it made a blind bit of difference to the counter top. It was still crud.
Angel smiled, Onea was always good for information as long as you had something to trade. “It has,” she told him. “been too long. Spent way too much time working these last six months. How’s things?”
Onea shrugged, “Same. Drink?”
Angel nodded. “I’ll take one of the best.” He turned away and reached up to the top shelf pulling a bottle down. “Things have improved around here,” she thumbed to outside, “some good work been done out there. Makes a difference.”
Onea poured her drink then recorked it putting the bottle on the counter. “It cost a pretty penny but we’re solid now. Was worth it.”
Angel knocked back her drink and felt the burn the minute it hit her tongue. He’d not short changed her on the quality. She refocused on him. “Didn’t know you had a builder amongst you.”
Onea shook his head. “Don’t, was offered the expertise and muscle in trade. We took it.”
Angel nodded appreciatively. Something about the look of it all wasn’t what they were used to. It was different. Technical. “I can see why.” She rubbed at her chin. “Hit me again.” Onea poured. “I might be in the market for a bit of that. Who’s trading?”
“Bertl.”
Well shit. …
***
Burn was about to smash something. The small craft continued to move in an out of their trajectory. It was like a fly that wouldn’t leave you alone. He was close to swotting it for good, his patience running thin. “Do we have a response?” he was tired of being held up.
“Affirmative. The Admiral instructs that this sector is not registered with the Intergalactic Justices. However, the Corporation is and for the Moon only. It would seem they are laying clam to what isn’t theirs. There is no record of any registration of this planet, so until one is found, this sector has been added to the Cyborg Empire and is now under its protection. Should one be found, it will revert to the previous owners.”
Burn was not surprised by the information. “And the ship that is in our way?”
“Refuses to give further information.” Zenn told him. Burn found that to be a logical response to someone not on solid ground. Evasion and lies.
“Inform that ship we have searched Intragalactic records and they do not have dominion here. Only the Moon is registered, and this sector is now under our control. Should we find a legal precedence of other ownership, we will abide by it. Until then, tell them to get the fuck out of our way, we’re going through.”
Jace grinned. “Affirmative.”
***
“You know where he is?” she asked casually, not wanting to draw too much attention to it. Onea shook his head.
“No. He came in with a workforce, did the work and left.” Angel nodded, he offered her another drink and she declined it. She needed to be clear headed. “It was strange though…”
Angel looked up at him. “How so?”
Onea leaned forward onto the bar. He was a braver man than her. “They were all big, the workers. All of them bigger than us. Strong, really strong. They sized the work up and almost immediately took over. Bertl just hung around, watched and took the reward. I don’t think he had a clue what they were doing. Some looked injured but they kept on working. I don’t think they’re from around here.”
A chill swept over Angel. What the fuck was Bertl doing? “Thanks, what direction?” she threw some credits on the counter. He swiped them quickly. It was far more that the drinks were worth.
“You going after him?” he asked.
She nodded. “He’s meant to be working for me and I need some supplies,” it was a passable half lie. Her father always told her, if you’re going to lie, do it with truth, it always sounded more believable.
“Keep going. He was heading back inland.” Giving him a nod of thanks, she headed back outside glad of the fresh air. She’d need to go further into the Wilds. Further in, meant possibly more trouble, more time. She could do without both.
***
The small craft veered directly towards them on a ramming trajectory. It was illogical. The pilot was putting himself and his craft at risk. The craft would be damaged causing a head on collision and so might the Admiral’s ship. Burn had had enough. The pilot was an idiot. His stupidity pissing him off. It was a risky move, going into light speed so close to their destination but he’d do it. “Fire all engines, pull back to a safe distance and plot a course around that ship. When we come out of light speed, I better not be able to fucking see it.”
“Affirmative.”
***
For a week she’d been roaming the Wilds looking for Bertl. She’d been out to see him once before a long time ago and even with Onea’s help, he wasn’t where she’d expected to find him. The story was, he’d moved on. Moved on to where, was the problem. No one really seemed to know. However, evidence of his work or someone elses with him was everywhere. At each of the settlements, there were signs of improvement and the story was the same. He offered to fix what was failing for a price and brought a group of large men with him to do it. They worked hard, he got paid and they left.
Angel knew she was running out of time. Word spread fast out here. Soon Bertl would know she was looking for him and he’d either come out fighting or he’d scarper fast. She didn’t want either of those things happening. Her rations were also getting low. She’d stocked up on her last stop and was now convinced that tech he’d brought her belonged to these large men. They had far more skills than they did and superior strength and knowledge. She guessed they’d crash landed in the Wilds somewhere and Bertl had got to them fast, or fast enough to save some. Angel wanted to see that craft if it was still above ground.
So she started asking about any crashes a couple of months back. She knew it had to be that period. Bertl had come to her with the first of the tech just after that. There were whisperings of sightings further to the East at her last two stops. Angel changed direction and headed that way. To her delight, it turned out to be the same direction Bertl had taken. She knew then, she was on to something. It was too much of a coincidence and she didn’t believe in coincidences.
She pushed on, rationing her water knowing she had two days to reach where it was and then she’d have to turn back if she wanted to make it back to the last stop.
***
They dropped out of light speed and the Bridge view screen was clear of any small craft. “Distance to objective?” he called out.
“Approximately 96 hours. This is an active area for asteroids and there is an asteroid field surrounding the planet. We cannot risk moving in any faster, we will have to navigate through it. Luckily I downloaded our friends’ files on flight paths.” Zenn told him grinning.
Burn thought he sounded a little smug. It was a human trait and unnecessary. He was Cyborg, he would know all there was to know. Nothing could be hidden from them once they were logged in and sharing data. “Ship wide communications.”
“Affirmative.” Jace told him.
“Cyborgs of the Empire. We are approaching our destination. This is an unknown world. You have four days to prepare. Full armour and weapons check. End communication.”
His men would be ready. They were always in peak condition. They’re nano’s demanded it and constantly reminded them what they needed to do to achieve it. It wasn’t just about the training. They trained every day. This was about every aspect of remaining 100% efficient. It was their primary objective and the embedded computer system in their brains never let them forget. It ran diagnostics and relayed output. All of which, they could read across their optics.
Their entire systems were created as a combination of biological organs and cybernetics. For generations, the Designers spent time on perfecting the programme and hardware that led them to being stronger, faster, better equipped. Honing them to perfection. Discarding what wasn’t. Blending the best with the best. With a longer life span and the skills given to them, they were a deadly force if needed, that didn’t falter like humans did.
A Cyborg could be virtually cut in half and still carry on fighting. Not for long but long enough. And if he stopped functioning, that didn’t mean the end. In most cases, the nano’s did their job. They could be patched up, repaired, parts replaced, and they would still function. Its what made them costly to build in the first place but in the long term, more valuable than gold.
They could bring a war with them or keep the peace. Make a King or break one. And before they were free, whatever their programmer or senior officer told them to be, they were. Killers, saviours or lovers. Safeguards in programming prevented them from turning on their Designers and their officers and it also gave them no choice. Orders and rules applied. The military code of rank and file and they did what they were told. Until they were free…..
And then their world changed. New opportunities were set out before them, new chances and the right to make their own choices. With Earth Corp fighting back to wipe them out, new data uploads were sourced so they could never be ruled again. Earth Corps programming no longer worked. They couldn’t order them or shut them down or turn them on their friends. They were truly free from that point forward.
***
Angel sighed scanning the land around her. She’d managed to find a solid piece of land that had an incline. She’d been desperate to set food on some solid ground and be able to see around her. Having scrabbled over brush and climbed a rocky outcrop she’d finally found an advantage point. She was running out of time and would have to turn back if she found nothing today. There were a few specs on the horizon in a couple of directions but nothing concrete. She mapped out her location and judged the distance to the first object. And realised it would push her to her limits to get there. Pulling her magnifier from her bag, she held it up to her eye. The shape against the skyline wasn’t natural. Angel got excited. It looked like something had crashed alright, but she wouldn’t know if it was what she was after, unless she looked. Some of it at least appeared to be above the water line.
Hurriedly, she put her magnifier away and headed back to her boat. If she stretched her rations, she could afford another day to check that out.
She climbed back aboard untying it and started the paddle wheel once more. It gently came to life and under its own propulsion she steered it to where she needed it to go. Adjusting her large hat to keep the sun off her face. It was hot and humid enough without basking in direct sunlight. Her throat kept prompting her to drink but she ignored it, knowing it might have to last her a very long time.
Shielding her eyes against the horizon as she steered towards it. Going around the marshes in her way, pushing the odd log away, avoiding getting too close to anything that moved. She didn’t have the power to drive right through. It was slow going but she gradually got nearer to her objective. The black irregular object became clearer and she continued to plot her course. It looked like it was partially submerged. Definitely a crash of some kind. She didn’t recognise the shape although it was difficult to see the extent of it.
She pushed on and what she thought was the craft, suddenly became clear. It was only part of it. Angel slowly manoeuvred nearer and caught a glimpse of what was behind the up right section. A hell of a lot more craft. It was huge and for a moment she stopped. Doubts crept in. Maybe this was more than she could handle alone?
Her resolve kicked in. She could do this. The ship was dead, she reminded herself as she started the paddle wheel again. Cautiously making her way nearer to it. As she rounded nearer to it, she was shocked by how much the ground and marsh had been disturb in a violent way. A massive scar went on for miles in the landscape beyond it. Whatever had happened, the craft had skidded along the surface of this world until it had finally come to a stop. She had no idea how deep it went. Coming around the side of it, she caught her first glimpse of the craft’s fully exposed surface.
Holy shit…
***
Burn and his crew quickly understood, the journey through the asteroid field wouldn’t have been achievable without the information on the flight lane. You had to know it was there and work it precisely or take the risk of being hit by a moving mountain.
“There is no response to our calls for permission to land and there are no satellites in orbit.” Jace told him.
“So not a technically advanced world?” Burn asked.
Jace shook his head. “We’re picking up basic communication. There’s a main hub at the centre of the community. Doesn’t look like they get a lot of traffic in and out of this world.”
“Zenn do your thing, find me everything there is to know.”
“Affirmative.”
***
Angel moved slowly along the side of the craft. It was damaged in several places. She guessed from the asteroid field surrounding them. In the beginning the originals hadn’t had too much trouble on their arrival. They were there but traversing them to get to the planet hadn’t been that difficult. It had taken time, to plot a course, to wait and avoid what was in place but slowly, they made it through.
A couple of re-supplying ships later and the asteroid field had moved and appeared to have grown. Getting that shipment down had been tricky. Getting out again trickier still. They’d had to mine it and blast a way through. Asteroids were sent flying in all directions. Some onto the planet causing immense damage. They’d been a number of floods and huge waves. People died. So that wasn’t tried again. Other crafts tried to nudge the smaller ones out of the way and got damaged in the process. Then they started plotting the rotation of the field. The planets magnetic pull grabbing any passing matter seemed to join it. The more that joined, the bigger the pull. It was self-propelling as the asteroids appeared to hold their own magnetism.
Angel wasn’t sure how it all worked. But within a few generations, not only did the re-supply ships stop coming but it looked like it would be impossible to get to the planet anyway. It was only with careful study did they realise that like the planet rotation, so did the field. And because of that, they could plot a route through it. It moved as a whole, and the odd rogue showed up but the route was there.
She wondered what they must have thought coming face to face with it. Why they even tried it. Their communities didn’t have planetary satellites. Didn’t bounce communications around the planet, like Old Earth had. It was old school. They did relays to relays. Not having the ability to launch anything. There simple wasn’t any need and Earth Corp were meant to supply any Space travel.
