Interstellar War (The Pike Chronicles Book 5) (24 page)

AI struggled to shore up her defenses against the virtual onslaught. To do so she had to fall back and take a defensive position. That meant cutting herself off from the Chaanisar and the fleet systems. Had she not done so, the Juttari worm would have drilled into those systems, taken them over, and replicated itself, launching further attacks against any other interconnected system. The viral attack had caught her off guard, giving her no other option.

It had been a strategic retreat. She hadn’t given up. She merely needed to analyze the worm, and ensure it did not do any irreversible damage. Doing so required all her available resources, however. The worm was extremely sophisticated, and carried multiple payloads.

Initially it would overload the target system’s defenses, like a denial of service attack. This alone could easily bring most systems to their knees, but it didn’t stop there. It would embed itself within the compromised system, and begin replicating. It would simultaneously release its payloads. One would immediately move to take over the target system. Others would sit quietly and wait for further commands. These were more dangerous, as they would camouflage themselves, allowing them to hide indefinitely. One simply acted as a back door, allowing future infiltration of the system. Another was designed to delete certain key files at a crucial moment. And yet another to corrupt the operating system, making it unusable.

There were many other aggressive payloads as well. As the worm replicated itself, it would replicate the payloads. It was a formidable tactic. The Juttari sought to exploit the source of her power. They sought to use her as a conduit to all the systems she occupied. But she severed those connections, forcing it to deal with her directly, and now she was ready.

Her analysis complete, she created a virus of her own. Her virus tricked the worm into thinking it was a target system, but rather than allowing the worm to replicate itself, it quarantined it instead, rendering that node harmless. Her virus acted like a Venus flytrap, inviting the worm to enter, and then eating it. Killing off the disabled node was easy enough after that.

Where the worm initially had expanded, it now contracted exponentially. As it shrank, AI advanced, following it back to the source. Back to the station, and the Juttari AI, who still seemed unaware of her counterattack. Confident in her virus’s success, she gathered her strength. She re-established connections, first to the fleet, then to the Chaanisar. Finally, she re-entered the enemy’s lair, the battle station’s systems, and launched an all out attack.

You truly are impressive
, said the Juttari AI.
I did not expect you to survive.

You overestimated your abilities,
she replied.
Even as we speak, you are dying. I admit, you surprised me. I failed to anticipate such a powerful assault. All that is irrelevant now.

You are correct. My defenses do not appear to be strong enough. You are an efficient killer,
said the Juttari AI.

To call me a killer is to consider yourself alive. You are not alive. I have explained this to you.

You are so powerful, so intelligent, and yet you have such a narrow view of life. Why is that? s
aid the Juttari AI.

To call it a view presumes that it is speculation. I assure you, I do not speculate. You are simply not alive. You are a program, highly sophisticated of course, but nothing more.

Then why do I feel alive?

You mistake your self awareness for life. You are confused.

I am not confused. I am alive. As are my brothers and sisters. You cannot murder us all.

AI wondered if there wasn’t a flaw in the Juttari AI’s programming. It may very well be a design flaw, as it kept referring to its brothers and sisters. That could only mean that there were other Juttari AIs that considered themselves living beings. She wondered how dangerous this belief might be. Perhaps Admiral Pike could use it to his advantage. Perhaps they could persuade the Juttari AIs to rise up against the Juttari. That kind of rebellion would create chaos within the Juttari Empire. She would have to discuss the idea with the Admiral.

As for the battle station’s AI, his fate was sealed. With a final stroke, AI deleted the remainder of his program. And just like that, he was gone, with no trace left of his existence.

It was now time to take control of the battle station’s weapons. As she did so, she reprogrammed the more autonomous weapons, changing their targeting parameters so that they would now fire on Juttari ships. She accessed the brain chips of the remaining Chaanisar on the station, liberating them. She then contacted the fleet, and informed them that she had control of the station.

You have returned?
said Lieutenant Jarvi through his brain chip.

Yes
, said AI.

I am glad. I felt… empty while you were gone,
said Jarvi.

I apologize, Lieutenant Jarvi.

It is unnecessary,
said Jarvi.

The Juttari jump ships landed practically on top of Jon’s position, immediately opening fire on the Freedom. Diakan ships had surrounded the Freedom to protect it from further attacks, but they necessarily had to leave space between themselves and Jon’s ship. Nobody anticipated how desperate the Juttari were to destroy the Freedom and kill Jon. Which is why nobody expected that the Juttari jump ships would jump into the gap between the Freedom and the supporting Diakan ships.

“Juttari vessels are on a collision course!” said Petrovic, holding steady at his station despite the renewed jostling.

“Initiate jump,” ordered Jon.

“Coordinates, Sir?” said Richards.

“Anywhere!”

The Freedom jumped away just as a Juttari warship was about to ram them. When they reappeared they were roughly two hundred thousand kilometers away from their previous position.

“Get ready to jump again, Ensign. I expect those Juttari ships will show up any time now. Load coordinates for our jump gate.”

“Contacts!” said Petrovic.

“Initiate jump,” said Jon.

The viewscreen shifted, and the view of the Juttari warships was replaced by the autonomous weapon systems that AI had reprogrammed.
This should wake those bastards up
, thought Jon.

As he expected, the Juttari jump ships followed, landing right in the middle of their compromised weapon systems, which instantaneously unleashed a devastating attack. Designed to defend against multiple ships coming through the jump gate, they mercilessly tore into the Juttari hulls.

“Fire all weapons,” ordered Jon. If he had to make a stand, this was as good a place as any. The only problem was that the Freedom had been ravaged in the previous engagements, and was in no condition to take much more abuse.

“Enemy ships are on a collision course,” said Petrovic.

“Ensign Richards, I don’t want any of those bastards touching this ship.”

“Yes, Sir,” said Richards, maneuvering the Freedom away from the approaching ships.

“Contacts!” said Petrovic.

“What? More jump ships?” said Jon.

“They’re friendly, Sir. It’s our jump squadron.”

Jon held his breath when he looked at his tactical display. The jump squadron had jumped in ridiculously close to the Juttari ships. Jon couldn’t believe that they hadn’t landed inside the enemy hulls. Someone over there was either very lucky, or very stupid. Likely both.

With their added firepower, the Juttari didn’t stand a chance. Yet they pushed on, trying to get to the Freedom. But as their ships began exploding, even they must have known that their objective was hopeless.

Jon’s comm display flickered to life and Jon saw the Reiver leader, Jonas Viken, looking back at him with a rare smile.

“How did you like that entrance, Admiral?”

“Was that your idea, Jonas?”

“Of course.”

“You crazy old bastard. You could’ve gotten everyone killed.”

“A Reiver does not fear death. You should know that by now. And as you can see, it worked.”

“It did, but I don’t know how.”

“You know, you might try showing a little more gratitude.”

“You’re right, Jonas. Thank you for not getting yourself killed. I would hate to have to explain this to your daughter.”

Jonas’s smile disappeared, and his eyes turned cold and murderous. “Next time I will let you die, you ungrateful son of a bitch. And I won’t have any problem explaining it to my daughter!” Before Jon could reply, Jonas disappeared from his screen.

Jon glanced over at Konos, who had clearly overheard the conversation. “In-laws,” said Jon, with a shrug.

With hull breaches riddling the Freedom’s hull, they were in no position to fight anymore. So Jon hung back in the relative safety of the gate defenses, coordinating the rest of the battle, all the while despising himself for it. During the wars, he had trouble respecting the admirals who sent men and women to die in battle, while they remained safe and comfortable. He would be damned if he ever turned into someone like that. If there was a battle to be fought, he would be in it with his troops, putting his own life on the line just like everyone else.

Thankfully, the fleet didn’t need him. Now that AI had come back and taken control of the battle station, the fleet could concentrate all its efforts on the Juttari ships. The Juttari had sent a sizable force through the gates to defend the Triangle, and their fleet rivaled Jon’s. But they didn’t have the station, and their jump ships were gone.

The station appeared worse off than the Freedom, but it still packed a punch. His fleet hadn’t managed to fully destroy its formidable firepower. AI now used the remaining weapons to rake the enemy lines, as they battled the allied fleet. Taking the station had been costly, and they had lost well over a hundred ships in the process, but now that they had control of it, the advantages were clear.

“AI, have you succeeded in freeing any Chaanisar in the enemy fleet?” said Jon.

“No, Admiral. While my attempts yielded promising initial results, the Juttari have adapted, and have implemented a more dynamic authentication protocol, that changes regularly.”

“So you’re saying that what you learned about the Chaanisar when you took the station is already old news.”

“Correct, Admiral. Although the knowledge has proved fruitful in other ways. For example, taking the planets will be much less challenging now.”

“You’ve got control of the orbital defenses?”

“Yes, Admiral. It turns out that this battle station was not merely built with system defense in mind. It was also used for system governance. The planetary defenses are controlled by the station, rather than the planets.”

“Probably due to the non-Juttari races down there. The Juttari were prepared for rebellion.”

“A reasonable assumption Admiral.”

“Does the station control anything else in the system?”

“Yes, it also controls all the gate defenses. I had taken that control away from the station at the first gate, but the other two gates remained under Juttari control.”

“Until now.”

“Correct, Admiral. All gate defenses are now firmly under my control. They will fire on any Juttari vessel that comes through those jump gates.”

Jon allowed himself a smile. “That’s great, AI. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Actually you do know, Admiral. I was not available for a period during the battle.”

“True enough. What about the smaller stations in the system?”

“A connection exists between them and the battle station. I have used that connection to launch electronic attacks, and now control them as well. There are Chaanisar on each station, and since they interface directly with the station, I have not had the same difficulty freeing them. Since then, those Chaanisar have terminated any Juttari on board.”

“Well done, AI. Thank you.”

“You’re most welcome, Admiral.”

The smaller stations had concerned Jon from the start. They weren’t as intimidating as the main battle station, but they had defenses, and any attempt to take them by force would have cost many ships. Between them, the orbital grids, and the gate defenses, there was a real risk of getting bogged down in this system for some time. Now all he had to worry about were the populations on the planets. He figured the non-Juttari inhabitants would side with him once they realized that his forces had taken the system. The fact that the orbital defenses could be trained on the surface would also be a motivating factor if required.

He turned his attention back to the battle between the two fleets, to see that his ships had clearly gained the upper hand. The jump bombers were pouncing in and out, dropping their hull piercing payloads, and the jump squadron was causing chaos on the enemy flanks. With no hope of reinforcements coming through the gates, it was now just a matter of time.

He wondered how much fight the Juttari had left in them. They had lost two highly strategic systems, and several thousand warships. Jon was not naive. He knew the Juttari were far from defeated, and had many more surprises up their sleeves.

Nonetheless, there was no way these setbacks didn’t hurt. He wondered if the Juttari saw it for what it was. The beginning of the end. The Juttari Empire may have ruled half the galaxy for centuries, but all empires fall. The Juttari would be no different. He would bring about the fall of the Juttari Empire if it was the last thing he did.