Ancient (Earth 50,000 BC Book 1) Read online

  X4 had been prime etherreal on the Thorik for many cycles before Odessa had procured X7 and E7 four major cycles ago.

  X7 outloaded to the ether to pause E7’s crossloading ability. He knew she would resent the move, but it was one of the advantages of being prime.

  For good measure, he also paused X4’s crossloads at the same time in case he needed to be able to claim bipartisanship later.

  He had received the defensive posture upgrade before Logan or Odessa only micro cycles sooner, but that was a lot of time to an etherreal.

  X7 was running scenarios and working to decide upon a strategy for deployment. The defensive permission from the Machi circle did not come with any information about why they were on the higher status or what the potential threat might be that they needed to prepare for.

  The ship was still at high elevations using its magnetic drives.

  As such, X7 could query the ether until the ship lowered into the stratosphere, where he would have to switch over to the local etherhub generated by the ship itself.

  He crossloaded millions of datagrams but did not find anything helpful.

  There were no known indigenous threats in their area.

  Hostilities with other moons were nonexistent, given the great resolution.

  His wetware had evolved sufficiently to avoid paradox loops, but he was still doing a lot of recursive crossloading just to be sure.

  After a near eternity of processing (a few micro cycles in the physical world), X7 decided that the only course of action that could bring success in any situation was full loadout. He concluded that since there was no risk of unintended conflict with other races because of the great resolution, there was no negative variable in the equation.

  He also surmised that they would not have been given permission to defend themselves lightly.

  A real threat must exist.

  Just because it was unknown did not reduce its chance of occurring.

  He terminated his connection to the etherreal. This would be the last communication he had with it until the mission was over or the defense protocol lowered to one or zero from the current state of two.

  To protect against electronic warfare, future orders could only come from one of the two onboard guardians.

  The scout ship Thorik was designed as a peacetime excursion vessel. It had defensive-oriented light armaments and weapons—enough to dissuade a pirate or thief from attempting to board—but little more. While there was an agreed peace in the luminary circle, there were still dangers—illegal cartels and syndicates, for example—that could attempt to inflict violence on civilians or take their property.

  While the ship's weapons were defensive in nature, its internal armory was well stocked with light and medium offensive-oriented single user personnel equipment. That was largely because of pre-resolution dangers, also in part because Odessa kept it well stocked for her own reasons. She liked to use the equipment and enjoyed being proficient with it.

  X7 opened a private channel with Logan. “Sir, I have been monitoring traffic and, per orders, will be moving the E2 units to a defensive posture, Level Two. Also, noting Level Two dark command has been initiated.

  “Will we require the E2s to assist in camp setup while in this configuration?”

  Logan outloaded a red status letting X7 know he would be checking with Odessa and would return a response once that crossload was complete.

  After a few moments, his voice filled the frequency. “No, not initially. We are going to scout the area and make landfall. Once there, we will deploy a perimeter. If everything checks out, we can transition to a work schedule. There is no rush on this one, X7. By the teachings.”

  “Yes, sir.” X7 switched back to the primary frequency, irritated that Logan, as ship prime, did not make the decision by himself.

  X7 knew what it meant to be prime.

  He paired up the E2 models with available ordinance, dividing the thirty-one units into four squads of seven units each. He then assigned two additional units to E7 as her personal escorts and one to X4 as his. Three of the seven-unit squads were under E7’s command, one under X4’s.

  Each to themselves by their needs, he pondered from the teachings.

  X7 crossloaded scenarios then changed his orders to two squads under E7 and two squads under X4. E7 would still have command appropriate to her rank but would be irritated that it was only by one unit

  He watched as the E2s started to mobilize and procure the equipment from the arsenal.

  It was a very orderly process.

  Each unit attached a quick-flight magnetic belt to its waist. They took four quick-stun throwers, a hand shooter, and attached additional plating to their more vulnerable areas. Half of the units procured heavy shooters, the other half hand-to-hand bracings.

  X7 walked over to the immobile E7 and stood unnecessarily close to her, observing her deactivated form. He looked over to X4, then back to E7 again. He then turned and walked out of the cargo hold, heading to the command center.

  The Thorik was two levels. The hallways were large and wide on the ship. X7 made his way past the digger living quarters on level one and went up a level to the command bridge using the slowly sloping ramp that connected the two floors.

  When he entered the command area, he saw the two guardians, Logan and Odessa. Logan was prime on the ship, but X7 felt he did not take advantage of his position. Logan would often waste valuable time consulting with Odessa on decisions. X7 felt that showed weakness, and it made it hard for him to treat Logan as ship prime sometimes.

  The two guardians were engaged in a conversation with the female digger prime Adyamo.

  Diggers were the working class of Machian society and made up the bulk of the small moon’s population. All Machians were born as diggers. A select few were offered the chance for ascension.

  Ascension for a digger could be to either the warrior caste or the deliberative caste. If the warrior caste was chosen, after serving one full term, the warrior was encouraged to attempt ascension to a deliberative body. Encouraged is the polite way to say the cogitate circle required it. It seemed a form of control, not to allow warriors to grow older and be wise, instead initiating them into the upper class.

  Diggers were sometimes called doers because they got the physical work done.

  Diggers were slightly shorter and wider in size than the truth-tellers, similar in height, and slightly smaller in stature than the guardians.

  Adyamo was short even for a digger. But she was wider than most diggers, which gave her greater strength. Unlike Logan, she constantly took advantage of her position as digger prime. She never actually did any digging. Always ate first. Took the best of the accommodations and provisions for herself.

  X7 respected her. Even though she was just a digger, she understood what it meant to be prime.

  He paused at the entryway and outloaded a request to enter the command bridge on the general frequency. Both Logan and Odessa looked over at him. Odessa nodded and motioned for him to come in and join the conversation.

  It was infuriating to X7 to be summoned by a second, not a prime. He would follow tradition even if the two guardians did not.

  X7 outloaded in audible voice as he approached, “I have configured the E2s and am awaiting your command to deploy, Captain.”

  Logan looked from Adyamo to X7. “X7, Adyamo is suggesting that her diggers be used as the defense configuration and that your E2s establish the site and begin the mining work.”

  X7 was shocked. He almost paused a micro cycle to crossload calming datagrams but was able to reject the inload before it was actualized.

  He stopped and looked down at Adyamo. He was standing just slightly too close to her, so his height was emphasized. He responded with the teachings, looking over at Logan, “Each to the circle by their abilities, which would make this a waste of talents. It would further place diggers into a role they are not equipped for, sir.” The last part said just quick enough to not appear as the afterthoug
ht it was.

  Logan’s face remained calm and stoic. Odessa, though, started to laugh and reached over to pat X7 on the shoulder. “That was a joke, X7. Always so serious!”

  X7 accepted the inload of calming datagrams. He crossloaded them three times in succession, then responded, “Of course, ma’am. Humor. When a Machian outloads an ironic datagram that is counter to good facts in an obvious but shocking way.”

  X7 double-checked he was on his private frequency, then crossloaded several datagrams of himself attacking Odessa. In some datagrams, he crossloaded her decapitation. In others, he reached into her chest, pulling out her still-beating heart while she screamed and fell, helpless.

  He outloaded to the general frequency a purple laugh datagram. The three Machians smiled at him, assuming he was in on their joke.

  Snow

  Alethia had vastly different climate zones that each changed as the planet wobbled around the luminary center.

  The assigned mining location was at an elevation well above sea level and in a zone currently with a climate similar to Machi, just below the freezing point of water. The colder cycle had just started and would last two full Machi cycles, which was the length of the mission.

  The off-limits area was at a higher elevation, more towards one of Alethia’s two poles and the center of the non-dominant landmass.

  The Thorik descended through the troposphere, targeting a high, flat plateau.

  The magnetic drives allowed a controlled descent and precise touchdown. The plateau was treeless and held an excellent view of the surrounding terrain in all directions.

  There were mountains to one side of the plateau with a heavy forest on them, in the direction of the off-limits area. On the other three sides, at substantial distances, there were large drop-offs into ravines that had been cut by liquid water flowing in the off-seasons after it had melted.

  A slight distortion was visible as the ship touched the ground from the magnetic drives. The drives pushed against gravity and could propel the craft at extraordinary speeds once inside the atmosphere of a planet with high gravity.

  Alethia had a high gravity.

  Propulsion drives were needed outside and between worlds.

  The back of the Thorik opened after touchdown, and X7 led his etherreals down the walkway. To his left was X4, and to his right was E7, each followed by their contingent of E2s.

  The etherreals descended quickly and formed out left and right into a defensive formation around the rear of the craft. E7 made a hand movement, and one of her squads of seven units activated their quick-flight belts. They shot up into the air in a vee formation and established a sightline to the front of the ship and beyond.

  X7 continued to walk straight forward. The leader of the parade. Prime.

  E7 and her second squad sprinted right. X4 sprinted forward with a squad in front of X7. His second squad deployed to the left.

  These quick moves provided sightlines and fire zones in all directions. E7’s airborne group also had a view of the sky.

  The deployments were quick and impressive.

  Behind the etherreals walked Logan, Odessa, and Adyamo.

  Logan and Odessa were in their combat loadouts: shining white armor with built-in quick-flight capability and large, impressive shooters. Odessa’s suit was equipped with hand-to-hand bracings. Logan carried a heavy shooter on his back.

  Adyamo walked at the head of the sixty diggers. Driving massive machinery on a grand scale, some diggers rode on the machines carrying site flags. Several others walked alongside carrying clan flags.

  The flags waved, and the machines roared. The scene was a spectacle.

  Adyamo did not carry anything; her hands were free. She gave directions here and there as the work teams deployed and started quickly setting up permanent structures and organizing the new site. The directions were more show than anything else. The diggers knew their jobs well.

  If these activities were being observed, which they were, the impression was one of competence, experience, and grandeur.

  The sky was a bright blue. The different brightly colored flags blew sideways in the strong wind.

  It started to lightly snow crystallized water, a welcoming sight and something Logan knew was a good omen.

  X4 and a squad of E2s established their far rear defensive position.

  Logan, Odessa, and X7 continued to walk forward as each of the other crews eventually stopped and started their preparations. They walked past X4’s etherreals and paused several measures farther out, studying the vast landscape.

  Viewed from above, the defensive deployment was symmetrical and well thought out. All positions were accounted for, given the size of the contingent.

  X7 looked to Logan. “Sir. I suggest we dedicate one etherreal squad to reconning the area.”

  Logan made an approving face, with an affirmative nod of his head.

  X7 outloaded the command to E7 then issued a pause command as Odessa spoke to him. “X7, why don’t you split the squads into two-unit teams so you can send one group out in each direction.”

  It was an order. This blasted second. Who did she think she was? As prime, Logan had already approved X7’s plan.

  E7 outloaded a mocking green datagram. X7 believed she knew he had just been overridden by a second and believed she knew he was infuriated by it. She sent a second datagram with the same green heading to see if she could get a rise out of him.

  X7 responded to Odessa, “Of course, ma’am. Excellent suggestion. I will need to pull one of E7’s personal escorts to add one to the seven etherreals in a squad to achieve the eight-count for this strategy.”

  Odessa looked over to Logan, who nodded the same affirmative nod of his head again—effectively changing his mind in X7’s eyes. More proof he was ineffective.

  X7 outloaded the datagram to E7, instructing her to pair one of her escorts up with the other seven units in one of her squads. Then she was to send two etherreals in paired teams in each of the four cardinal directions.

  He sent the datagram with a green header, even though it should have been red, as a way to mock her as a return for her earlier outload. He also knew she would be upset that her local command was now only half that of X4’s.

  Logan looked at X7. “Monitor the situation for the next set of micro cycles. Make sure the perimeter is secure. Recall the recon teams before dark and let me know if they find anything of interest.”

  X7 had a small flash of relief. The captain could apparently sound like a prime by accident from time to time. “Yessir.” He returned and activated his quick-fight belt, launching into the air and landing quickly back near the center of the new compound.

  Logan and Odessa watched him land. E7 and X4 landed at the same place at the same time. X7 must have crossload commands to them peer-to-peer during the quick-flight.

  Odessa switched to a private frequency with Logan and said, “I really like the 7 series. They are quick and able to improvise well.”

  Logan looked at her. “I agree. It is nice not having to worry about security down here.”

  Odessa touched a control area on her arm pad. “Logan, did you review the briefing transmission? I keep getting an anomaly sensor.”

  Logan repeated the action to call up his technical message queue. “I see it. I think it is just a packet anomaly. Not a datagram anomaly. I don’t think it affected the datagrams themselves at all.”

  “Sure. If you are okay with it, I am going to have the localhub reprocess the transmissions. Just in case,” Odessa said.

  “That’s fine; I’ll look at the results when I head back in and let you know if I find anything,” Logan returned, looking back up at the mountain peak in the distance.

  Recon

  E7 flew over the mountain landscape.

  She had convinced X7 to have her be the eighth etherreal to explore instead of using one of her personal escorts. She knew how X7 thought. Anything that reduced her presence or reduced her command, he would agree to with almos
t zeal.

  He was exhibiting some odd behaviors. Returning her deployment inquiry with the same outload header as she had sent, for example.

  It was logical to divide the work up this way, anyway, making it an easy choice for X7 to agree to once he finally crossloaded it.

  Now, X4 had command of the entire defensive perimeter. E7 had command of the reconnaissance teams.

  Her command was now seven units; X4’s command twenty-four units.

  X7 was so excited with this idea, he nearly burst with purple header outloads.

  Unlike X7, E7 did not have emotional swings. She was not able to relate simple, necessary, prime crossloads with some larger, alternate agenda of point keeping.

  She did, however, enjoy the quick-flight belts and seeing so much of the new landscape.

  Her flight path took her closest to the forbidden area, which seemed exciting. This path also offered the most diverse terrain to explore. She had a good part of the luminary light remaining in the day so she could explore a lot of areas.

  Her crossload queue had constant inloads from the other three recon teams.

  With the connection to the ether terminated, all communications ran through the localhub. This was really just the ship acting as a router between endpoints. She could communicate with the E2s using peer-to-peer, had she wanted, but that would require her monitoring the queues constantly instead of being able to accept exemption updates.

  The ship’s localhub contained a deep set of datagrams, current to the moment they had entered the stratosphere. But it was not a substitute for the ether. Just knowing the data might be stale made all the difference.

  The ether connected everything. All datagrams. All etherreals. All etherholos. All alterreals.

  All sentient life forms, both ether and bio.

  You could outload, crossload, and inload to and from millions of sources all at once. The power to crossload and exchange information was near limitless for an etherreal attached to the ether via the fabric.