Code Breakers: Beta Read online

  She opened the connection, heard his voice inside her head as clear as if he were sitting next to her. It had a worried edge to it, though. She secured their private connection behind a 256bit encryption and, via her newly updated mind interface, spoke with him.

  — Gez, is that really you?

  — Hey, Petal. Yeah. It’s me. Are you okay?

  She trembled like a nervous schoolgirl. A flood of emotion and words rose up within her, threatened to overwhelm her senses. She detected the same trepidation in his voice. That meant what she felt wasn’t made up, conjured in the heat of a traumatic situation, that they were potentially more than friends, comrades, fellow-hackers, whatever.

  — I’m great, she said. The doc here’s really fixed me up. Petal 2.0 you could say.

  — That’s great to hear, really. I’ll let Enna and Gabe know. They’re here with me actually. We’re heading for the Dome. Something terrible has happened, is happening.

  — Something? You mean The Family, right? What’ve they done now?

  — They’re evacuating the Dome. Well, a damned tiny portion of it. They learned about the Red Widows, but there was something else. Some attack or threat. It’s pushed ahead their plans.

  A tight knot gripped Petal’s stomach. Any time The Family had plans always meant something bad was going to happen. Sasha and Robertson must have realised something was up. They’d stopping talking to each other and were now staring at Petal, trying to divine what was going on in her head, what the contents of her secret conversation was. They’d have to wait. Petal turned in her seat, avoided having to look at their concerned faces.

  — What is it, Gez? Just tell me.

  Gerry seemed to take a long breath, a deep, heavy pause, laden with a bombshell.

  — They’re planning on nuking the Red Widows, and the Dome. You’ve gotta turn away from Darkhan, it’s too late for that place. We have to—

  And there it was.

  She’d been waiting for this time for the last two years. Ever since she and Gabe found themselves inside one of Seca’s early AIs, they had found snippets of code that appeared to be triggered within a phased plan. One of the phases was off-world development, and another was a scenario to deal with a threat to the Dome and their technology. Petal could never tell what that was exactly. But given how The Family decided to end the war, creating the Cataclysm, it didn’t take a wild jump of the imagination to guess that was on the cards again. The Family didn’t like to share their tech. They would rather see the world burn than let anyone benefit from their work, such were the levels of their disdain for ‘simple humans’.

  — It’s okay, Gez, we’re on our way now. We already noticed them moving out. We’re dropping troops at GeoCity-1, setting up a defensive position. Where are you exactly? We could come get you.

  — You remember the old city that Len and the Upsiders were hiding out in? We’re about ten kilometres east of there. We were going to skirt around GeoCity-1 and head straight for the Dome. I have to get there. I need to stop them from creating another Cataclysm. Damn, we’ve got so much to catch up on.

  — We’ll be in GeoCity-1 in about thirty minutes. Why don’t you rendezvous with us there? We’ve got a ton of combat ‘droids, three heavily armed transporter planes, and a squad of infantry. Oh, and my sister.

  — What? You have a sister?

  — Three of them, man, you’re right. We do have a lot to catch up on. About Jasper, what happened? How? Are you okay?

  — I’m fine, really. I’m so glad to hear your voice though. The Family took me up to their space station. Kind of gave me a new lease of life. Listen, they wanted me to bring you back with me, take you to them. But I can’t do that.

  She could tell he wanted to say something, but whether it was the situation, or perhaps whom he was with, he stumbled, and hesitated with his words. Before she could keep her emotions in check she blurted out across their private network connection:

  — I really miss you, Gez.

  There was a delay in the response. Had she gone too far? Got too personal? Time stopped as she waited for his reply. A few more seconds ticked by, and she received his response.

  — I miss you, too, Petal. More than you probably realise.

  She blushed, closed her eyes, hoped no one was watched her at that moment. Her smile was probably a huge give away, but when she opened her eyes again and looked around, everyone was too interested in their various slates and holoscreens, preparing their plans.

  — I’m really glad to hear that. Wait, not that you miss me, but that you, oh, well you know. I’m not good at this kind of stuff. All I know is I’ve been worried sick about you. I thought you, well, you know. I didn’t think you would be coming back.

  — I’m here. Don’t worry. Listen, can Criborg be trusted?

  — I think so. From what I’ve seen so far they’re a good bunch. Been stuck underground since the Cataclysm, but they’ve got some great tech, and the Doc, my father, knows a great deal about the servers. Crap, that reminds me. Did Enna and Gabe secure them before the Red Widows got hold of them?

  — It’s been a wild ride these last few days. But don’t worry. The servers are safe. I’m looking at them right this minute.

  — Well at least that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about.

  — Okay, we’re going dark for a while. We can see activity up ahead at GeoCity-1. We’ll hang back for now until you guys arrive. Give me a heads-up when you’re close. Just to let you know, the place is crawling with Red Widow fighters. They’ve got the place locked down at the moment.”

  — Got it, Gez. I’ll give you the channel to our General, and you can liaise direct with him as he’s heading the military ops.

  She buzzed Vickers a quick message explaining who Gerry was and his location. Vickers looked across to Petal. “Can he be trusted?”

  “Yes. Absolutely.”

  “Okay.”

  Petal went back to her connection with Gerry.

  — Okay, I’m sending you the General’s comm details. I guess I’ll see you shortly.

  — Take care. It’s great to hear your voice again.

  — You too, Gez.

  Petal shut down their connection. Sasha and Robertson both stared at her.

  “What?” She asked.

  “Someone’s got a secret, huh?” Sasha said, elbowing Petal gently in the ribs.

  “It’s not like that,” Petal said.

  Robertson had a smile on his face. “I’m guessing someone has found their friend?”

  “Yeah, something like that, Doc.”

  Petal couldn’t help but ignore the situation they were in and focus on the thought of finally catching up with Gerry again. Despite the dangers that lay ahead, she’d finally see him again. Would he be the same though? She remembered how naive and innocent he was when they first met, and then how quickly he adapted to his new life. And how he saved her, twice.

  She shared an entirely different dynamic with him compared to Gabe. Although she respected and looked up to Gabe as a father figure, she’d often question whether he only looked out for her for what he could gain from her skills. Gerry, however, was an open book. No secrets, no subterfuge, just kindness. He respected her for who she was, not only what he could get from her. Not that he needed them. He was a cut above anyone and anything she had seen when it came to coding.

  “GeoCity-1 ETA ten minutes,” Vickers said. “We’re drop-shipping the ‘droids first, but buckle up just in case they have any ground-to-air defences set up.”

  This was it then. She hoped Vickers was the man everyone thought he was and he could lead them to a successful victory, and that they’d survive long enough to meet up with Gerry and the others.

  ***

  The dense black smoke of a city being burnt to the ground gathered in the morning sky like great dark vortexes messaging to the world that change was afoot, a smoke signal that indicated a new chief was in town. Petal gripped the armrest of her seat as the transporter banked
hard, towards a landing spot.

  Sounds of metal striking against metal echoed throughout the hull of the plane. Short, sharp, and sounding very much like machine gun fire.

  “We’re taking damage!” Vickers yelled into his comm. “Land this instant, drop the ‘droids.”

  The transporter dropped vertically. Petal pushed her legs out into the seat in front. Her guts lurched. Outside the window, tracer fire blistered through the sky, trying to find its target. The pilots displayed greater skill than Petal realised they had, and within seconds, the transporter levelled out and landed with a short vertical drop juddering her teeth together.

  “Hard landing, much?” she said, easing her lower back, waiting for the blood to return to her legs.

  Vickers shot up. He raced down the aisle to the back of the craft. He gestured across his slate, and the wide ramped door at the rear opened, dropping to the ground. “Everybody follow me. Don’t do anything stupid. Grab a gun on your way out.”

  A squad of fifteen soldiers were the first to follow, each taking a rifle from the weapons rack on the sidewall of the craft as they exited. When Petal finally followed Sasha and the Doc, Vickers had arranged his small squad of men into a tight and efficient-looking group.

  “You three stay here in the protection of the planes,” Vickers ordered, pointing to Petal and the others. She took a rifle and hopped off the ramp. Sasha and the Doc followed. The doc held his weapon like it was a poisonous snake. The three of them remained near the bottom of the ramp, ready to defend their position.

  The machine guns within the ramshackle settlement of GeoCity-1 cut through the air. Their rat-tat-tat rhythm created an intimidating war beat. That didn’t bother Vickers and his squad. As one they moved away from the transporter. Fifty meters either side were the other two planes: Condor and Vulture. To the side of those vehicles were the various ‘droid pods, their contents now standing in four groups of one hundred, ready for orders. The deadly machines were equipped with the Criborg-designed high-calibre, fully automatic smart-rifles, and EM, smoke, and frag grenades.

  “Impressive,” Petal said, looking on.

  “Let’s hope they perform as well as they look,” Robertson said.

  “You worry too much,” Sasha said. “They worked great in the simulations.”

  Vickers liaised with the infantry leaders and returned. His face set like stone.

  “What’s the plan?” Sasha asked.

  “We’re going to send the ‘droids in via both entrances to take out the machine guns. We’ll follow up once they’re neutralised. We’ll be able to monitor what’s going on via their ocular feeds. I want you three to remain in cover until I give new orders. Understand?”

  Sasha groaned. “General, this is what I’m made for.”

  Robertson put a hand on her shoulder. “Just wait, girl, let the General do his thing.”

  “That’s an order,” Vickers added. “No need to be—”

  A huge explosion erupted near the rearmost transporter. A great belch of dust and dirt flew into the sky in a ball of bright flame and black smoke.

  Petal pulled Sasha and Robertson back up the ramp, avoiding the hot fallout from the super-heated sand. The General rushed to his infantrymen and ‘droid squads, readied the attack. Above them, from within the settlement, a lone Jaguar flew out of the thick black smoke, aimed its guns at the ‘droids, and opened fire.

  “Disperse and return fire!” Vickers yelled.

  The Jaguar’s machine gun fire smashed into the ground, creating hundreds of tiny explosions. A couple of ‘droids were hit and went down, their arms hanging limply by wires, and one droid’s head cleaved in two. At Vickers’s orders, the men and the ‘droids broke formation, spread out into a spiral pattern. They looked up in unison, raised their rifles, and almost as if shooting as a single entity each fired a single shot.

  Hundreds of shots slammed into the Jaguar, simultaneously sending it crashing into the ground with an explosion that sounded like thunder. Shrapnel flew through the air with a whine. A fragment of Jaguar fuselage, as large as Petal’s fist, embedded itself inches from her face into the side of the transporter.

  “Shit!” she yelled and dove out of the way as more fragments slammed into their craft.

  Sasha screamed, fell to the ground.

  A molten piece of metal, an inch long, struck her on the thigh, burning a hole through her combat trousers. Robertson was the first to react, dropping his rifle and scrabbling over to her. He pulled her hand away as she squirmed in pain. A dark charred piece of skin had come away, showing the red raw flesh beneath it.

  “Petal, quick! Fetch my bag,” Robertson called out.

  Petal dashed into the transporter, reached up to the storage boxes, and grabbed Robertson’s medical bag. By the time she reached Sasha and Robertson, she’d stopped squirming, but her face glistened with sweat.

  “You’ll be okay,” Robertson said as he took the bag from Petal.

  He rummaged inside and pulled out a spray can. He depressed the cap, covering her wound with grey foam.

  “It’s an anti-bacterial, ‘Stem-based healing agent,” Robertson said to Petal. “Builds new skin cells within seconds.”

  Before Petal had time to say anything, the General was shouting at his troops to regroup and enter the compound. At the same time as they were heading towards GeoCity-1’s gates, the rumble of a heavy truck came from behind the burning wreckage of both the downed Jaguar. Petal armed her rifle, moved into a kneeling position in front of Sasha while Robertson continued his medical attention, and looked down the scope ready to open fire.

  Chapter 28

  The truck stopped, still partially obscured by the smoke. Petal’s heart rate jumped. The gun hummed with energy waiting to be released. The scope had a night-vision mode, but even activated, the fire and smoke blocked her view. She could tell there were at least three, maybe four, people on the other side, but beyond that she had to wait.

  Come on, you bitches.

  The amorphous blobs became more refined as they moved closer. They were holding weapons. Petal could tell by the hang of their shoulders.

  Closer now. There were definitely four of them.

  Her finger twitched a fraction as the first person walked out from beyond the smoke and at the same time her implant buzzed.

  Gerry!

  She accessed the message.

  — Where are you? Gerry asked over their VPN.

  — By the transporter on the far side of the group. Is that you walking through the smoke?

  Through her scope she saw the lead person drop their weapon, look up and wave. It was! It was them.

  She dropped the bulky rifle and sprinted across the ground until she barrelled into Gerry, surrounding him in a hug. He pulled her into a warm embrace.

  “Screw me, am I relieved to see you, Gez,” Petal said aloud, her face buried into his chest.

  “It’s so great to see you again,” Gerry replied, hugging her close.

  Eventually he let her go and stood back, taking a good look at her. “You’re looking real healthy,” he said.

  “All the Doc’s work.” Petal appraised him, replied, “And you ain’t looking so bad yourself. New eye I see. No pun intended.”

  “One of the various upgrades courtesy of them up there.” Gerry pointed into space.

  As they looked at each other, both grinning wide, the air split with a new barrage of machine-gun fire, and the sub-bass thwump of the laser rifles. The battle sounded well under way, and via her comm channel she heard the General lead the troops and ‘droids into the main areas of the city, catching the Red Widow fighters in a pincer movement.

  “Well? Ain’tcha gonna say hi or something, girl?” Gabe stood out from behind Gerry. She rushed him and hugged him tight.

  “Thanks for springing me from the clink,” she said. “And sorry I doubted you.”

  Gabe shrugged, “S’ok, girl. No offence taken.”

  “We should get going,” a female voice said
. “I don’t like standing out here so exposed.”

  Enna, along with Cheska came out of the smoke.

  “Enna, Cheska!”

  After sharing formalities, Petal informed them what had happened to her, who Sasha and the Doc were, and what was happening in the city. She patched everyone through on to the same comms channel. At Gerry’s request, Petal led Jess, Malik, and the other injured citizens into the transporter, along with the two servers.

  The young girl, Jess, was immediately familiar. Petal recognised her as the girl she saw when she first escaped the Red Widow compound. Gerry had explained her involvement with finding the server. She wanted to talk with her, find out more about her, but she needed to be alert while the General led the ‘droids and his men.

  By the time they had arranged everyone and regrouped, Vickers had shut down the machine guns and mobilised his force to storm the various buildings, flush out the remaining fighters. He confirmed it over the comms. “Gun installations neutralised. Red Widow fighters are retreating to defensible positions inside. I’m sending in the ‘droids. Everyone outside stay calm and wait on my orders.”

  Petal and the group were standing by the ramp awaiting his next communication. Sasha stood, limped only slightly. The healing compound had done its job remarkably.

  Robertson talked with Gerry and Enna, getting acquainted, while Gabe told Petal of his adventures of infiltrating the Widows. Vickers addressed the group and said. “I need you lot to stay outside, mop up any escapees. We’re in full control. Wait—”

  A loud explosion of simultaneous rifle shots crashed out from within the rough stone city walls, followed by screams and shouts. But they were not by Red Widow fighters.

  Vickers’s voice took on a panicked edge, tight and desperate, “Jesus, they’ve, oh God, there’s a problem... the ‘droids! We’ve lost control of the ‘droids—”

  The General screamed at his squad to fall back, find cover.

  Petal grabbed Gerry and Gabe, pulled them into the transporter before ushering the rest inside. Jess sat at the bottom of the ramp, wide-eyed and confused. Petal picked her up and with the help of Malik got her seated securely into the plane.