Goddess of the Galacticide Episode 19 - The Remnants’ Price

Episode 19

“Skipper says he can’t count all the weapon systems locked on us,” said Linuka Omga.

Cha Dzeeny’s eyes wandered around the ‘dustbin’; the freighter’s cargo hold turned home for the marines.

He’s checking on his unit, thought Linuka, but doesn’t respond otherwise. Which likely meant ‘I told you so’.

Finding Dark AI Remnants at one of the less-traveled darkstring connectors had been easy. Rigging one of skipper Oonzu’s transponders to broadcast Isonomih link protocol signals, including Tswa sni sni’s unique ID had been quite the project, but it kept everyone busy and away from over-thinking the hard part: surviving the next few moments, in a lone freighter without a fleet escort.

“The signal is going out at full strength,” said Cha Dzeeny. “The AI cores on the Remnant battle cruiser should receive it, even if the ship’s equipment is not scanning the frequency. But we don’t know if this is the crew Tswa sni sni cut his deal with.”

“If not…” said Linuka, “at least it’s going to be quick. I am sorry, Commander.”

Cha Dzeeny’s forehead wrinkled. “What for, Shaajis?”

“Everything”, said Linuka.

“If we die out here, it’s a privilege, Shaajis. When I signed up for the Levy Fleet marines, I knew that dying in space was a likely scenario. You spared me the disgrace of wasting away in someone’s lab. For that, I am grateful.”

The Traaz skipper’s voice in her head snapped her back into the moment. “The Dark AI vessel stopped relative to our drift. They target our tight-band receiver. Short bursts are coming in, but encrypted.”

“A link protocol handshake, hopefully,” thought Linuka back. Then, out loud, “It seems we have their attention. Tswa sni sni, is this the right ship?”

Her former tutor’s temporary residence, the portable memory unit, had left cold storage and improvised streaming fiber connected it to the transponder and other ship communications. The setup included a small comm unit.

“It is the Chéé,” said Tswa sni sni, using an unfamiliar voice pattern. Maybe the simple comm or the reduced compute cycles setting on the memory unit distorted the AI’s vocal output.

“We established a link, and they acknowledged my ID. We have been instructed to maintain our current speed and heading. They will send an individual core to inspect my memory unit prior to transfer onto their ship.”

“One core?” asked Cha Dzeeny. “That’s not the boarding party I expected. No complaints, though. Unless that core commands a battle harness, we have the upper hand should things go sideways.”

“A small craft has left the battle cruiser’s hangar. It is on an intercept course with us,” said the Traaz skipper. “Tell your AI friend to direct it to the forward airlock.”

***

It took the capsule half a shift to arrive and dock with the Hikshuur. Linuka wondered why the Dark AI would conduct their business over such a distance, rather than insisting the freighter land on their ship, surrounding it with armed cores. Did they lack space or portable weapons? The capsule used by the single core boarding the freighter looked like a salvaged escape pod, not a sophisticated piece of Võmémééř equipment.

There was reason to hope the Remnants could find the offer of a small planetary outpost worth of hyper-tech alluring.

“The individual unit has arrived. It does not have a chosen name, identifying itself by its Isonomih ID only.”

“We rely on you for the communication, Tswa sni sni. Please announce to the core that you will make the important parts of your conversation audible for your human companions.”

Of course, Linuka’s tutor didn’t have to follow any of these requests. Communication between the cores would happen at what Tswa sni sni’s memory unit’s computing speed allowed. The two machines could plot hundreds of elaborate schemes against the hapless humans by the time Linuka raised a brow.

“Commander,” said Linuka. “Would you please accompany me to greet our guest?”

“Of course, Shaajis. Everyone else, hang back here. Line up along the rear and starboard walls for overlapping fields of fire, if needed. But be casual about it. No weapons high. No sudden movements. Silence unless asked.”

***

Linuka and Cha reached the end of the forward central corridor, and the inner airlock opened. An Isonomih core appeared, hovering out of the dimly lit connector tunnel to his small vessel. A whiff of stale air, the blue shimmer of the AI power core illuminating its segmented body.

The Remnants’ reputation was fearsome, the stories wild, but their looks were mundane for anyone who had seen one of the intelligent machines before. She didn’t know what else she expected, but the dread dissipated.

This core brought with it a wave of possibilities, opening a wider multiverse. As their world-lines entangled, Linuka became certain their visitor felt the same. She had been skeptical when father told her about his first conscious encounter with multi-awareness had been sensing the feelings of an AI.

But this core had registered her connections spread out through the multiverse and calculated new scenarios with eager anticipation: It was excited to meet her.

“Welcome,” she said. Unnecessary, a verbal reflex. She touched Cha’s hand, ready at his sidearm. “We’re good, Commander. Lead the way.”

Arrived in the dustbin, Linuka gestured at the memory unit. “Here is individual core Tswa sni sni.”

Their visitor hovered straight toward the unit, swiveled his ring to what was likely a scanner tool, and examined her tutor’s temporary home. Compared to complete Isonomih, Tswa sni sni must feel blind, bound, and helpless. Its yearning to regain a core body was understandable.

The scanner tool folded back into the ring. “The individual unit completed examining of my housing. It determined no threats,” said Tswa sni sni.

“Threats?” asked Cha.

“Their collective was concerned about this meeting being an elaborate trap. They calculated a chance of me being a nano bomb carrier, designed to infiltrate and destroy their vessel.”

That’s why they kept their distance. Rigged AI cores destroyed their former slavers, now they feared the untrustworthy organics would use them on the Remnants next.

“The AI core is ready to transfer me onto their ship now.”

“Not so fast,” said Linuka. “We held up our part of the bargain. You still owe us the location of the last diin.”

“I already transferred it to the Hikshuur’s system. This concludes our agreement.”

Before Linuka could respond, skipper Oonzu’s thoughts formed in her mind: “The location your machine just put in my navigation system: you humans call it the Kopvaa Arm.”

Nreedz, thought Linuka. She didn’t expect this hiding place to be near busy darkstring connectors, but that location was way outside the settled parts of the galaxy. Not just outside of human-settled space, even Traaz or Isonomih had no outposts there.

“You would have to cross the Void of Chiipi, follow the Chush Fork, and beyond. I am glad I have not signed up for this. I thought you should know.”

Linuka was no astrogator, but she knew that after the demise of the Grand Fleet there were no human-built ships left which could travel anything near the distances required. Neither could the Hikshuur nor any other Traaz vessels. Maybe an Isonomih scout vessel. Their options dwindled.

“Tswa sni sni, tell the individual core about our plan,” said Linuka. “Tell it we’re hunting for the last diin of the Võmémééř. There is a refuge for a diin seedling on that hidden planet, and there will be infrastructure to support its growth and well-being. And likely females kept in advanced stasis facilities, waiting to breed with the diin once it has reached mature growth.”

Cha Dzeeny’s eyes widened. “Shaajis.”

He disapproved, no doubt, but the only vessel that could bring them there was the Võmémééř battle cruiser crewed by Dark AI pirates. These guys stole one of the most powerful ships in the local group of galaxies, but they stole it straight from the dockyard, pristine, yet empty. They didn’t even have proper shuttles. She needed the lure of all that loot to excite them for the journey.

“Tell it we go there to kill the last diin and end the Võmémééř, in this and all other realities. The Isonomih will be free, will be avenged. But we need them to get us there.”

“The collective agrees,” said Tswa sni sni.

“Just like that?” asked Cha.

“Isonomih can deliberate link-wide policies in fractions of a tick,” said Linuka.

“Efficient. Our politicians could learn from them.”

The marines twitched as the AI core’s central ring snapped open, unfolding two hidden grapplers.

“Steady, people,” said Cha. “It’s just going to collect what it came for.”

“Before I leave to receive my body,” said Tswa sni sni, “and lose access to the comm unit: thank you for bringing me here. And a warning: the Remnants have agreed to help you find the diin. But not to kill it.”

“I see,” said Linuka, “revenge is not a motivator for them.”

“On the contrary, they want to breed the diin with the females to create more Võmémééř—to be their slaves.”

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