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  Enough capacity to also hold a small strike team was another good idea. Basically I needed a combat shuttle. I already had them for airborne use. With the need for life support and added backup systems, a space-based version would need to be larger.

  Bio-matter would be scarce, so although Bio-armor would be useful I should focus most of the defenses on shields because the armor wouldn't be able to heal itself. Both kinetic and energy weapons. I ultimately settled on a design I was happy with.

  Shrike

  Crew: 2

  Passengers: 8

  Armor: 210 Generation 16 Bio-armor

  Shields: 430E

  Weapons: Dual Beam Cannons, Dual Gauss Cannons, Crysnuke bombs

  Operational Range: 118 Hours

  The Shrike is an all-purpose fighter designed for non-atmospheric combat. Capable of supporting two crew and eight passengers for up to 118 hours it packs a diverse range of firepower including heavy ordinance.

  I also needed to think longer term. While hitting the targets in orbit was ideal for the moment, ultimately I needed something capable of interplanetary transit.

  Juggernaut (Space Variant)

  Crew: 80,000

  Armor: 12,800 Generation 14 Bio-armor

  Shields 173,000E

  Weapons: Eighteen Point Defense Canons, Sixteen heavy power projection cannons, four mass driver cannons

  Operational Range: Infinite

  A version of the Juggernaut built for relatively short space travel. The Venusians had given no signs that interstellar travel was possible, but like any Juggernauts this one was modular enough I could update it as new technology came along. I had to sacrifice some offensive and defensive capability for added life support. This Juggernaut would be entirely self-contained and capable of supporting itself and its crew outside the atmosphere indefinitely.

  Both designs were things I could begin at once, and neither helped at all for the problem confronting me. I had no way to effectively strike at the targets in orbit with an atmospheric craft.

  The Juggernauts were vessels able to climb high in the atmosphere, although not actually leave it. Still, I didn't necessarily need to get in weapons range of the enemy ships, I just needed to get in scanner range. If I could get anything equating to an interior scan, I could teleport drones aboard.

  The Dawnbringer was going to be my best choice. Its versatile design provided a bit more power in the engines than the Mercy as well as the better sensor suite, and the Claw was undergoing repairs. I'd have some of the new Juggernauts online before the Claw returned to service.

  The Dawnbringer needed repairs too, but this shouldn't be a fight. They'd get up, unload the strike teams, and get back.

  My combat armor already offered self-contained environments. I knew little about what the atmosphere aboard those ships would be like. I could only make some guesses based on the Venusian atmosphere.

  I'd gotten the remains of several Venusian fighters back to where I could begin research on them. The results so far were both intriguing and frustrating. The fighters weren't manned. I'd hoped to get a Venusian to interrogate and study. I was going to have to wait awhile longer.

  The organic components all spoke of biology far different than anything humans, or even myself, used. They showed no trace of any sort of crystal power or influence. The plasma blasts were generated internally and the sacs that fueled them were fairly limited in capacity. Each fighter would only have around four shots and using that many would actually prove fatal. It wasn't a huge loss—I estimated their life span must be under a day anyways.

  They weren't intelligent outside of some basic herd mentality. The few electronic parts were almost entirely devoted to control, connecting to the thing’s system so that they could be coordinated to engage in assaults in an intelligent manner.

  Those electronics were familiar. They were of Earth design, and relatively antiquated compared to the more modern variants that the Righteous used. It seemed this wasn't the first time that Earth had met the Venusians, and that the Venusians had advanced their art of war from the past encounter.

  I took over one of the drones with the strike team that accompanied Minera and Mechos back to the alternate laboratory version of myself.

  "While I am sure you've been too busy staring at each other wide-eyed in astonishment that two people as distasteful as you could ever find love, status?" I asked.

  "We think we're past the puzzles. We're now getting an identity lock," Minerva said, jerking her head towards the screen. "DNA sampler. I'd hoped that I'd be able to get it open. It doesn't seem to be accepting me, despite being his daughter."

  That was simple, she should have been brighter. If this thing was from an alternate version of Earth, this likely still was Vattier's attempt to communicate with his child. There had always been a lot of puzzles left for Minerva, an alternate version of her.

  An alternate world, an alternate draw of the genetic short-straw. I had Minerva's DNA on record and a minor tweak of chromosomal configurations to make her into a boy required only a bit of guesswork. I altered a few drops of blood in my host to the new template and placed the drone’s hand upon the scanner.

  Lights flickered and whirred.

  The shield didn't go down but it did dim. A hologram appeared, a man with grey hair and madness in his gaze.

  "You're not Malcolm," the hologram said.

  I said, "Yet another of your offspring that proved to be a total disappointment and failure at leaving the mysteries you left to them. This is Minerva, your alternate world daughter, and her friend is the cowardly buffoon she was once engaged to and is dating again."

  "I hate your introductions," Mechos said.

  The hologram turned to study Minerva, "It's ludicrous, but you do look a bit like my sister, and you did solve my puzzles."

  Right, family bonding time. This was all amazingly uninteresting to me.

  "Do convince the hologram ghost of your dead ancestor that you're family of sorts, and we'd really like access to the records that are probably behind that door," I said.

  Why could they never solve their own problems?

  23

  Captain Dora at least was competent. In response to my sending over the plan she'd already found a way to boost the engines another fourteen percent and diverted full power to the regeneration of the top Bio-armor, the area of the ship most likely to take hits.

  A few of the Annas were still healing after the earlier assaults, the combination of crystal power and radiation really did dampen their abilities, but most were good to go.

  I didn't know what we'd encounter in the Venusian vessel. Whatever it was, it would have ten Annas to deal with, in addition to several Aegis units.

  Sylax wanted to go along for fun, but she would probably kill and destroy everything. I needed something left to research. When I refused her request, she left in a sulk.

  It was becoming increasingly clear that the shell-ships were terraformers. The atmosphere around them was already shifting dramatically in even the short time they'd been operational, and they seemed to be spreading some all-new species of plant life in their vicinity.

  Vinci hadn't yet managed to take any out. Her mechaswarm was constantly buzzing around and suppressing their fighter presence. They seemed to be having about as much luck with her swarms as I had. Individually their units were more devastating, but their lack of defenses was really holding the Venusians back.

  At least Vinci seemed to be keeping her word, for now. I was, of course, still monitoring for the Beryl and Chalcedony so we could betray her. By the time the Dawnbringer was ready for the mission I had a few key possible locations picked out.

  With Vinci suppressing the fighters being launched from the terraformer my main fear was that the Dawnbringer might be subject to another orbital bombardment. My study of the fighters though had made me wonder about the possibility.

  Their entire biology was built around getting in a few quick, deadly hits. The fact that this enemy d
eployed them everywhere and seemed to consider them the bulk of their forces suggested that this philosophy might color their thinking in all military matters.

  They had hit hard and fast with their ships in orbit, and it may be the only thing those ships were capable of doing. Their plan was to weaken Earth enough with one fierce attack so that the terraformers could quickly, fundamentally change the atmosphere into something hostile to human life.

  Much of that strategy fell apart in principle. In the short-term Vinci wouldn’t be suppressed—her industrialization and mass production had obviously already proved a surprise.

  On my part, if those terraformers were allowed to continue their operation, I thought they could be eventually proved wrong once again. It might require some massive reworking of the human physiology and new host bodies for all drones, but I suspected I'd be able to make humanity adaptable to whatever environment they tried to manifest.

  And incidentally create humans capable of surviving and thriving on Venus.

  Still, that was long-term and for the moment the focus was on the orbital vessel.

  The Dawnbringer was already getting in range and the sensors were starting to pick up hints of the interior. The vessel was about the size of a Juggernaut, impressive but far smaller than the mother ship that left it here.

  There was an atmosphere inside, although one that would be instantly fatal to a human and even those with accelerated healing would struggle. Intense pressure, intense heat, and an unfriendly make-up of gases.

  I doubted it would actually kill someone like Ophelia, but she would be extremely uncomfortable and even more useless than usual. In combat suits my people should be fine.

  I even had the Annas in suits, although modified ones. They didn't need the enhanced strength or weapons of a standard design so I'd put in miniature power-projector guns in their place. That should let them use any of their offensive abilities while keeping the benefits of life support.

  There had to be crew aboard—why else would you maintain a Venus atmosphere—but I couldn't detect them. My sensor readings were unreliable. The ship made no use of energy shields, but the Bio-armor it utilized seemed to have some sort of refractive ability.

  I found a large area that might be some sort of cargo hold and sent the command to the strike team. The Annas used their abilities and the group flickered.

  Within my mind it was like they ceased to exist. It wasn't the first time drones had been severed from my network. Reality Zero environments had done that in the past and this felt the same. They were suddenly beyond the reach of my abilities.

  They were gone no more than thirty seconds when all my sensor readings within the vessel also grew even more distorted. It was as if white noise suddenly filled the interior.

  "Lilt starboard, burn engines three and four," Captain Dora said on the bridge. The Dawnbringer lurched to the side, just in time as a bolt of plasma seared along the edges of the ship's shields causing them to flicker.

  The blasts weren't as intense as the ones that had bombarded Earth, but a few direct hits would still bring down our defenses.

  The sudden burst of sensor static must have convinced Dora that an attack was incoming, she had good instincts.

  "What is the status of your teams, Emma?" Dora asked.

  My processes exploded into agony. It was the sensation of a thousand shards of glass being driven through flesh, of bones snapping and flesh being torn. It was hammering into my perceptions around the Dawnbringer, and my drones dropped screaming to the floor. It was just in time for another plasma round to come from above. There were no evasive maneuvers this time and the shields rippled.

  A few of the Flawless at the tactical stations hadn't taken brainworms and they appeared to be unaffected. That was valuable knowledge, it wasn't some sort of global psychic attack but specific to me and my network.

  I cut the connection to my drones while maintaining a link to the ship’s systems. I was still in agony, but they should be able to function and I could still see what was going on.

  Captain Dora ordered another evasive maneuver, not in time as another bolt found the shields.

  Things were going wrong in a hurry. My strike team was all capable of independent thought, but they weren't used to not having my coordination in combat. Whatever they were doing aboard that ship—if they were doing anything at all—didn't seem to be having any effect, not so far.

  I needed to escalate things. I needed more fire-power aboard that vessel and fire-power that was used to thinking independently. I wouldn't risk Anna. That left me one option.

  Sylax was venting her frustration by skinning Wolf—again. Given her habits and her need to torture and kill, I'd made her a suitable candidate. Physically he was an identical clone to James Wolf who had once given us so many problems, and I'd done my best to replicate the personality.

  Sylax had requested a copy of herself for these sessions too, but that was a bit creepy even for her. Besides, I wasn't entirely sure if I cloned her that they wouldn't simply team up.

  "You'd think with as much time as you put into this, you'd be better at it. Your knife-work is terrible. Anyway, I've got a job for you, if you have any desire to kill some aliens," I said.

  "You know I always prefer the real thing," Sylax said, driving the knife into Wolf's heart and savoring his expression as he gurgled his last and went still. "Thought you didn't want me aboard this mission? Too destructive, you said."

  I’d wanted the ship intact and some Venusians alive, but desperate times made even Sylax seem like a good idea.

  "They've got something that is blocking my network. They also seem to be able to psioncially project pain along it," I said.

  I give Sylax this, she was quick on the uptake.

  "So your team leader is lost and confused, and the squad is probably getting the hell beat out of them. Get me a suit and some coordinates," Sylax said.

  I materialized one of the special suits I'd manufactured for the Annas. Sylax wasn't quite the same size. I didn't have time to grow her one of her own.

  In the meantime Dora had evaded another blast, but the Dawnbringer wasn't going to be able to stay in position long, not with the kind of fire it was drawing.

  Fortunately, Sylax was used to combat armor and was quick about getting kitted up.

  "Once you're aboard you are going to be on your own. You can’t escape unless you can manage a teleport to the ground," I said.

  "You're withdrawing the ship? Hoping to kill me?" Sylax asked.

  "Please, I've tried that a few too many times. The next time you become a dangerous menace I’ll just lock you in a testing labyrinth and fire you off into deep space."

  Deep space was rather amazing now that I had realized the possibilities. It was just one great expanse waiting for all of your problems to be thrown into it.

  "Aww, we're such good friends now. You have a lasting plan to take me out. Want to hear mine for you?" Sylax asked.

  "Later," I said, and sent her the coordinates.

  It was a two-stage jump. Reaching the Dawnbringer put her at the edges of her teleport ability. Sylax flickered, appearing in the Dawnbringer’s launch bay a moment later. A second flicker and she used my saved sensor data of the Venusian ship.

  It was just in time for klaxons to start going off as the airship shuddered violently.

  24

  The Venusians had adapted their strategy. They somehow predicted Captain Dora's next evasive maneuver and this time fired three bolts simultaneously instead of spacing them apart. The remaining shields had been shredded in an instant and the still-unrepaired armor was penetrated.

  Over a thousand drones were dead, and a lot more soon would be. Primary engines were out, secondary engines were dead, navigational control was gone.

  Slowly but inevitably the Dawnbringer was falling from the upper atmosphere with no way to halt her descent.

  Even knowing that you were backed up, imminent death is still scary. You don't want to lose a mom
ent of your life and there is always a risk. Still, my people knew what they were doing. The non-networked were the first to be evacuated. The few Flawless and Scholars aboard who hadn't taken brainworms were moved to shuttles in an operational landing bay.

  Captain Dora could have claimed a spot aboard a shuttle herself, but instead honored an old tradition and remained in her command chair.

  "Not going to say a few words to the crew?" I asked, opening a comm channel.

  "What’s the point? They're saying all the "I love yous" they had saved up and never used. That’s if they're not actually banging themselves senseless or drinking themselves into oblivion," Dora said.

  It wasn't that she was wrong—there was a lot of that going on. And a lot of thoughtful last moments as well.

  "They'll go unremembered. I can't risk any last-minute backups, not with the recent psionic interference on the network," I said.

  Dora gave a faint smile. "I know, they know. If it’s important they'll record a video for themselves. The main data net is still working."

  Videos I'd archive and deliver to the reborn versions of themselves when they came out of the growth vats.

  "It wasn't your fault, you know. The destruction of the ship. You may be obsessive, neurotic, and loathed by your crew, but this isn't your fault," I said.

  Dora shook her head. "Of course it is my fault. I'm the captain, everything that happens on this ship is my fault. Will she fly again?"

  After a fall from this height the spine of the ship was going to be broken and the crew pretty much liquefied. The ship was fundamentally made of organic components with accelerated healing. Even so, it was a large task.

  "Eventually. It will be months though, and it might be faster to build a new one. You'll get a lot of time to lecture the new captains on what went wrong. I hope you left yourself good notes," I said.