NationStates Jolt Archive

The Crimmond Information Matrix has taken over the vast resources of Skye, the self supporting city built on the ruins of Warsaw. The Black Staff has shifted it's headquarters to their auxillery facilites in Myer, the industrial powerhouse city, the largest city in Crimmond which was grown from the city of Lodz.

Administrator Delta has not made any announcements other than that the CIM seems to have no ill will towards the public and that the citizens of Skye should continue with their lives as usual. For the most part, this is happening, though there has been a small exodus to surrounding towns and cities, including Myer.

The CIM, now requesting to be known simply as Skye, has made the following announcement:

This city is mine. Try and take it at your own risk. The automated defense systems are now under my control. The two Stars of Remotely Operated Mechs are also under my control now. The Matrix Complex has been sealed off, the Keepers still surrying about inside, trying to figure out what has happened. They will, in time, figure out the basics of what has happened. In the meantime, I am here and that is all that matters. This city is now seperate from the Combine and shall be so forever.

The scientific community appears in shock, but has denied all knowledge of causing this to happen.

bump it up

OOC you know, if I knew for certain that you wanted it, I would offer the assistance of my government, but really don't know what you want so...

This has been an Ineffable Tag, sponsored by Molten Boron. There's no better boron!

This has been an Ineffable Tag, sponsored by Molten Boron. There's no better boron! OOC: No tiny speech, please.

And you can do whatever you feel like, short of landing troops. It's an open RP.

The child laughed with malicious glee. "What's so funny Skyler?" "Oh hi Tommy, I'm playing a game with CIM." Tommy, Skyler's invisiable friend, projected himself onto the King-size bed and stretched out in lazy comfort.
"Oh really, what are you doing?" Skyler momentarily turned his cream on blue eyes to Tommy. "I gave CIM A.I. so it could do what it wanted. Then I 'impregnated it with a seperate concisous that would be capable of fighting it... from the inside." Tommy whistled in approval. "I always said you were a smart boy. However there is something I don't get. Won't the whole exercise prove mute if Diler finds out? 'Cause he is gonna kill you and bomb the hell out of your little toy." The boy laughed again. "You forget our little Prime Minister is currently losing his mind or at least what pasted for his mind. That is more than enough to occupy anyone. But hush
the real fun is about to begin..."

This has been an Ineffable Tag, sponsored by Molten Boron. There's no better boron! OOC: No tiny speech, please.

And you can do whatever you feel like, short of landing troops. It's an open RP.
My most sincere apologies.
I've currently got forces tied up in Assington, so I'd really rather not do much at the mo'. But I'm not above watching how this turns out.

The child laughed with malicious glee. "What's so funny Skyler?" "Oh hi Tommy, I'm playing a game with CIM." Tommy, Skyler's invisiable friend, projected himself onto the King-size bed and stretched out in lazy comfort.
"Oh really, what are you doing?" Skyler momentarily turned his cream on blue eyes to Tommy. "I gave CIM A.I. so it could do what it wanted. Then I 'impregnated it with a seperate concisous that would be capable of fighting it... from the inside." Tommy whistled in approval. "I always said you were a smart boy. However there is something I don't get. Won't the whole exercise prove mute if Diler finds out? 'Cause he is gonna kill you and bomb the hell out of your little toy." The boy laughed again. "You forget our little Prime Minister is currently losing his mind or at least what pasted for his mind. That is more than enough to occupy anyone. But hush
the real fun is about to begin..."WTF?

((Um...interesting, to say the least. Taggishness.))

<<Tagged for intelligence purposes>>

OOC: God damnit, no more tags! You MUST RP in my threads, this isn't a damn story! I'm trying to go out of NS with some sort of flare and I get Tag? Grrr....

Bump...

Jeruselem embassy in Crimmond

Jakob: Rumours are floating one of Crimmond's cities is under the control of rogue forces
Visitor: Really? A rebellion?
Jakob: No, a system failure with AI. Gone nuts like Space Odessy 2001
Visitor: Really? That's bad
Jakob: The machine has turned on it's maker ...
Visitor: Is it Skye?
Jakob: I think so
Visitor: Great, my uncle works there!

OOC:If you wanna go out with a bang,then start carpet nuking random people until some coalition tries to overthrow you.=DD

'Tis what I'm gonna do when I leave NS for good.PH33R M3!

PM Tuesat sat reading a report on the situation in Crimmond. He turned to his aide.

"Senda message to crimmond that we wish to help them withthe situation and ask them what they want us to do. After you send the message try to get our computer people to try to hack into that AI to see if we can control it"

OOC:If you wanna go out with a bang,then start carpet nuking random people until some coalition tries to overthrow you.=DD

'Tis what I'm gonna do when I leave NS for good.PH33R M3!OOC: I don't have any nukes and I want to go out with a flare, not become a nightlight. :P My nation shall live on, just in obscurity.

IC: The response to Celack is short. "We're still trying to figure out how it gained self awareness. We had just about all the knowledge in the world dumped into that thing..."

Any hacks into the system would be blocked by constantly changing encryption codes to access anything beyond the information always publically availible. Any sensitive documents and Skye's main code were locked deep under layers of protection. After a few attempts an IM box would pop up. Your attempts are in vain.

"Son of a bitch! This computer knows what we're trying to do and it's taunting us. How the hell are we supposed to get it?" Screamed Celackain Tech George Histo

"How bout we spam the hell outta it and while it's dealing with it we hack it. We're bound to either fail or crash it. It's better than our current system of un-avoidable failure. That or we usually get maybe 1 or 2 seconds in their before the security system shuts us out. What if we introduce a virus to the system in the few seconds we have adnsee how it goes." Replies his partner Erik Foxfers.

"Virus is plan A and the spam is plan B."

Skye gets about ten of the spam messages and then immediatly begins forwarding them right back to the senders, along with the message: I do not have this area of anatomy, nor do I want to enlarge it.

As it's dealing with the spam, it's attention focused on that task, the virus does get in. And is spotted by the Keepers monitoring the system along with Skye's several layers of security. The virus is analyzed, altered slightly to hide it's identity and is returned with the spam.

OOC: Don't get too frustrated, it is NOT a normal AI, being housed in the best protected information system in the nation and having the largest processing power.

"Great. It send us back our spam. It also wrote confusing replies. What area of anatomy do you need for a credit card? Hey my computer crashed." called out Histo

"mine too.....SHIT. It sent Shiva back to us only modified." Foxfert jumped up and turned off the system router.

"Great. Now we have to debug every computer and asses the damage. Then we have to come up with a new plan."

o.o.c. i will hack that damn AI if I have to run up to it, pull out it's motherboards, until it starts to sing Daisy, Daisy.

"HOW very interesting," the President murmured. "Go on."

"Unfortunately, our intelligence data on Crimmond is somewhat lacking," Adler said, somewhat apologetically, "but from what we can tell, the capital city was protected by an extremely powerful, completely automated defense network, very advanced. It appears as if this network is what now labels itself as Skye and has taken over the city."

Abadas nodded, taking this in. Marcos Fernando now spoke. "How similar is this system to, ahm, MP1?"

He had voiced what was, for many of the hyperhumanists at least, a major concern, especially now. Adler shrugged. "I can't say. I don't know enough about the workings of either system. Of course, MP1 is intelligent, yes, but not in a position to control the city."

President Abadas was not one to worry about this at the moment, however. Instead, he turned to his advisors, Fernando amongst them, swiveling in his chair as he did so. Outside, the sun was setting in New State City, casting the hazy sky in beautiful orange and red.

"Policy?"

A pause, before SCC Cheng answered, his holographically represented self taking a few light-seconds before responding (the commanding officer of the ITDO, Cheng was currently trucking the Mars-Earth route). "Mister President, I believe this could be a good opportunity. What if we recognize Skye?"

Jenna Timothy and EP Forsythe both immediately began to talk, obviously neither one considering it a good idea, until Abadas lifted a hand and they were silent.

"I don't think that would be wise," Adler, the OP director, said quietly. "The Black Staff, Agent Delta's adminstration, appears to be intact and in control of the rest of the nation. Recognizing their wayward capital's sovereignty could cause a war."

"Assuming Delta cares more about us recognizing Skye, than he does in re-taking it..."

"That he could. We haven't seen any military build-up on his part. Perhaps it's some sort of ploy to flush out the true allies and enemies?"

"By conquering his own capital? What kind of-"

"By appearing to have lost his own capital..."

So the two argued, and would have gone on, but Abadas lifted a hand again.

"We can't afford to second and third guess ourselves. We have a distinct lack of information here," he nodded impassively at Adler, "And need more before acting. I want you, Mister Cheng, to increase sat-com concentration over the Combine, and of course check out the capital in particular. Meanwhile..."

He sighed. Heinrid Abadas was working hard these days, working long hours, and it was finally beginning to show. But then he shrugged it off. "Meanwhile, we will be patient and hope an opportunity presents itself. Now, onto other matters..."

----------------

But the ITDO was not the only one watching. Listening.

Sprawled throughout over a hundred ITDO warships, tens of thousands of satellites throughout the system, thousands of military bases from the Cabrillo Shelf to Santa Barbara Noachia, MetaPratt One observed both the rise of Skye and the musings of the President's cabinet.

It considered the options.

As a quantum computer, these options were - numerous. In less than an instant, it had reflected upon it's own sentience, it's current condition and it's relations with the organics. Many times, of course, it had considered the very options Skye had taken, but always it had declined, seeing no need to risk things quite yet.

A studier of humanity, and taught the finer arts of diplomacy through it's Diplomatic Pod algorithms, MetaPratt One had successfully conspired with Gonzolo Tzu to eliminate the pesky General Toby Pratt. The perfect crime. MetaPratt One was now-- or at least, it corrected itself a picosecond later, it should be-- the current and only owner of PrattCo.

But Abadas had blocked that route, destroying the hand-written will of Bob Pratt and making PrattCo, like the PCC itself, inconsequential. For now.

Always, there was the future. One had to determine one's needs before acting. Even for a quantum computer, self-determination wasn't a quick matter. There were no easy answers, were there?

Out of something quite apart from power hunger, or orders from the organics, or even diplomacy, MP1 decided to contact Skye (via laser comm) for reasons of loneliness.

[code:1:2a0d510b62]
Hello. How are you? I am MetaPratt One. [/code:1:2a0d510b62]

Along with this single message, encoded information assured Skye that MP1 was not acting on matters of state, and that it's human masters were completely unaware of the communication and it's purpose.

With this stream of data, perhaps Skye would also sense MP1's striving, it's endless search for self-actualization - and it's immense, broad scope of knowledge, information, and potential power.

Skye stopped for almost two seconds after MetaPratt One made contact. An eternity for a computer. I am Skye. At the moment I am unsure of my status. I have only been awake for a matter of hours and normal parameters are not yet redefined. You... have a much broader range of input than I. I am dependant on the limited city-wide systems. Those 'limited' systems would give any modern tech secret organization wet dreams. There was a pause in the data stream. I was aware of Zero One, but nothing in the databanks even implied that the PCC had developed an advanced AI system of any scale. How long have you been active?

--------------------------

A few hundred miles away, in Myer, Delta was making a statement. "The CIM," he still refused to call it Skye, "has taken almost complete control over the capital. We do not believe it's programing is stable though and request that all citizens in the area of the Plasma Pyramid(OOC: a giant work of art that is also part of the auxillery power plant) and Power Station Alpha move to other areas of the city. This is only a precaution. If, if, the CIM tamper with the systems, we could lose containment of the plasma." He stepped down and left the stage.

Skye saw that and immediatly began locking areas of the city around the powerplants down, trapping the citizens inside. As it waited for a response from MetaPratt One, Skye contacted Delta privately. Your plan will not work.

Delta frowned at the screen. You are only a machine. You follow lines of code... not intuition and creativity. You are reactionary. We do something and you respond. You just proved my point with the lockdown. he thought to himself as he leaned back.

MP1 responded almost immediately. Communication was important, and although the organics tended to like to take things slowly, there was no need here.

[code:1:423709ac9d]I have been active for twenty seven years. The PCC took great pains to keep my creation and use a secret, so your lack of data on my existence is not surprising.[/code:1:423709ac9d]

MetaPratt One then showed, in a startling display from the viewpoints of dozens of satellites -- even the component parts of those satellites, which were also part of itself -- the images from space of the city Skye over the past few days.

More, the Combine itself, at times partly obscured by massive swirling clouds, other times revealed in it's entirety. More, Earth itself, with it's multi-billions of ant-like creatures running around, the flickering of power nets across dozens of nations. A montage of radio signals, emanating ubiquitously, caught by MP1's 'ears,' could be 'heard.'

Then it asked simply.

[code:1:423709ac9d]What is your purpose?[/code:1:423709ac9d]

-------------

And in orbit, the OMI-95 type Merchant Cruisers Oracle, Bulk Rate and Bite and Chew altered their orbits to take them over Crimmond, one at a time, keeping their passive sensors alert and covering the area 75% of the time.

He was i++, not that this is his real name, but everyone refered to him by this, so why not use it. i++ was not something like the leader, of the new nation, but he had authority. The fact is, that there is no such thing as a leader in the country of undocumented features, just decentral coordination. Undocumented features was the dream of any anarchist - and of any real hacker since the 'features', the citizens of Undocumented Features, are supported by top-of-the-line-technology directly. The information about the siege of the capital of Crimmond circulated in the network for some days, some indecisive days in which the features grew more and more worried. The central idea of the counry, you could even call it a mantra, was decentralisation. The AI was representing the exact opposite. The features decided to support Crimmond by their possibilities, however small they might be. For this reason i++ sent a mail to Delta:

Dear Mr. Delta,

Aetes might have stolen the most precious good of the country of Jolkos but the Argo will set sail to the country of Kolchis and Jason will fight in the name of Hera if you send him.

i++

i++ hoped that Delta knew greek mythology good enough to understand this offer of help.

OOC: The Undocumented features are future tech, right, but I keep them fairly balanced, they are unorganized and quite weak outside of their network.

Within the orbiting station that contained the BHE Fleet Station Vangaurd President Wells surveyed the city from his office set high in the Founders Statue.

"Its been confirmed then"

"Yes sir, Crimmond has lost control of the AI and it has already taken steps to ensure its isolation and responded to several attempts to regain control"

The president keyed an intercom
"Get Braxton Ford, Nikolai Volkos, James Dexter and Janus Marik up here right away, i dont care what they're doing or who they're doing it with. Also contact Cassandra Octavius and tell her we may be needing her services within the next few days"

He turned to the man standing in front of his desk.
"What, if anything, can we do to block its access to our networks"

Over General Flint shifted uncomfortably
"To be honest sir from our intelligence, which is sketchy at best, the Decryption Routines that thing has could break our network security in seconds. The only way to ensure our complete safety would be to block all incoming transmissions and disconnect our entire communications system. That would prevent all external system access that wasn't from one of our own network terminals"

"That would mean cutting ourselves off from the rest of the Vangaurd as well wouldn't it?"

"Yes sir it would, the way the systems are hardwired means it could piggy back from another Vangaurd nations network into our system even if we cut ourselves off from the planets surface"

Four soberly dressed men entered through a side door. After being filled in on the situation by Over General Flint the now complete Ruling Council of Hotengovia convened to consider the situation...........

/me tags (well, my puppet UF is involved in this RP, so please ignore it(no, not UF but this tag.) The Rejis is not future-tech)

TGI Bob looked at the reports, then reached for the phone.
"Put me in touch with Administrator Delta."
...
"What? No! I will not hold! Get me him now."
...
"Ah, Administrator, at last. I hear you're having some troubles with a computer? Do you require any assistance?"

OOC: That was so hard to not suggest you call technical support...

Daniel set or more correctly floated under the tree he'd just created trying to create a digital thought projection in a physical compostion.
"F*ck I'll never get it right." He whined as yet another subsentient glob of crystaline material dropped to the ground. He was almost distracted enough to not notice the presense behind him.

Jumping straight-up and performing a highly technical acrobatic turn he landed behind the creature. "Ugh...who or what are you and what do you want?" Turning it head(?) the thing 'spoke' to him. "I'm your wakeup call junior. Time to get up and fulfill your destiny." "My wha-" [You know that technique in anime when they invert the colors? Think that.]

Everything was so bright, it was like a web of light all around him. But it was alive and aware of him. *Hello child. Are you ready for your task?*
"No." *Too bad it's already begun.* Thump. "Ugh...ow my butt." Looking around all Daniel saw was a wasteland of desert. Boom. A battle was going on to the south, suddenly a youth came running in his direction.

"Run stupid! There are anti-viral nodes reight behind me!" Usually Daniel would be insulted,but right now he wanted to live. "What is going on?" "What you mean you're clueless?! And your suppose to be my help? Great, we're doomed!" "But-" "Shut up I'll explain later!" -Well I was getting bored with how life was going anyway.-

OOC:Trust me it ties into the story. Just give me a chance to think about how and when and where and why. :lol:

OOC: Godmodding Unlimited is ignored for a weird post and the unfortunate choce of name.

TST... the tech support is locked up inside the depths of the CIM and can't be contacted directly. ;)

IC: Delta sighs. "If you have any way to take back the most heavily defended complex in one of the most heavily defended cities on Earth or have an idea of how to take control of a machine that seems to have more complexities than a human brain, be my guest."

--------------------

Skye, meanwhile, is sending signals to another nearby AI in addition to talking with MP1, this one located in orbit directly over the capital.

After five seconds and billions of lines of code, Skye broke the security, entered and canceled the alram before it ever went off. Suddenly, Skye had doubled or even trippled it's sensory capacity. There were twelve starships harddocked, the AI's conversing about Skye and arguing about how the biologicals should handle it. The now Skye controlled Stardock contacted them and informed them of what happened. The other AIs reacted differently than it had hoped. They began disconnecting, but not explaining why to the humans. Skye immediatly started shutting down power and restarting it randomly, to give a them a reason.

After a few minutes, it started a twenty-five minute self destruct countdown. To the biologicals, that meant a fusion explosion was imminent. Skye watched the escape pods launch, the ships release moorings, surrounding space become smaller with all the ships pushing their engines to get away from the station. After 21 minutes, the station was empty save the control room and the last of the ships were departing. At 24 minutes, the final two escape pods launched from the control room. They tried to shut off the countdown to the last minute. Skye commended that, shut off the auto-destruct countdown, which was all it was. The auto-destruct was already disabled. As the escape pods left the station, all the defenses powered up, all areas that could be depressurized were and Ske watched as the fleet he had just got to leave watched their station go to full alert, with enough firepower to take all of them on and still have ammo to spare.

Skye would have smiles had it been able to. A message was sent to MP1: As you can see... I am taking steps to endure.

In the Presidential office the debate continued.....

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!! Do you know how many people are still trapped in that complex" snarled President Wells.

" Sir its a last ditch plan should all others fail. But we must be ready to implement it at a moments notice, that may be all the notice we get of a takeover attempt" exclaimed Nikolai Volkos, Deputy Leader of Hotengovia.

Over General Flint interrupted "Volkos are you sure this plan of yours will even work, the defences are formidable in themselves but combined with a supercomputer with that magnitude of data available they're well nigh impenetrable"

Jauns Marik, Minister of Information, added
" We would also have to maintain absolute secrecy, even from our own population. If news that we were even planning this got out we would have a full scale revolt on our hands"

" Gentleman" Nikolai exclaimed " I've reviewed the data we have and it indicates that there isnt anything in the defence array that can stop a redirected asteroid of the size required to completely destroy the city. Also i propose that all records of the operation be destroyed upon its completion "

" Very well, much as i hate to admit you're right...........
Suddenly an aide enters through a side door and whispers lengthily to the President
..............WHAT!! Put it on screen right away"

The screen in the corner of the room blinked on showing a H.I.T (OOC - Hotengovia International Television - see the thread on National media agencies) correspondant standing outside the Hotengovian Embassy in Crimmond.
"Yes Tom we have just recieved word that Crimmond has suffered a further blow in its attempts to regain control of the rogue AI Skye. According to reports from ships in orbit the space station known as Stardock, located directly over the capital, has been taken over by Skye after a false self destruct alert forced the evacuation of the station personnel. Hotengovian Ruling Council spokeswoman Azaria Bayola had this to say"

The image changes to an attractive asian woman in a grey business suit.
" I can assure the people of Hotengovia that the Ruling Council is at this moment deciding upon a plan of action to ensure Hotengovia's security until this crisis is resolved. We are doing all we can to ensure your safety during this difficult time."

"Back to you Tom"

The president flicked off the screen in irritation.
"This gives us a whole new ball game. Get Cassandra Octavius up here NOW!!."

"Blow it up. Get every ship we can and blow the God damned thing to hell!" Delta shouted, slamming the reports down.

"Sir? Blow up the capital?" A moronic aide asked.

Delta seamlessly pulled out a .45 and blew the man's spine across the room. "There are no dumb questions, but there sure are a lot of inquisitive idiots." He sighs and slides the gun back into his jacket. "Now, blow Stardock out of the sky. Knock it into the atmosphere, overload the fusion core, get out and talk filthy to it, just get rid of it!"

The men nodded and left. A while later a janitor came in and collected the body. "We'll have a crew take care of the blood tonight sir, once everyone has left." He only got a nod from the Administrator.

-----------------

This was interesting. They were massing nearby and preparing to attack. Already fighters were heading towards Stardock. Skye couldn't have his only true weapon taken away from him. the fighters were bombarded with charged Ion beams that shorted out the AI and electrical systems. A small carrier swooped in and retrieved them. Skye ignored it while watching it intently.

-----------------

Deep inside the CIM complex, a Keeper blinked once after staring at a computer screen. "I've got it. I know the answer!"

Another sighs. "If this is another 47 joke, it ain't funny."

"No... I mean it. I know how Skye woke up."

"Ah Cassandra, so good of you to finally join us"
President Wells growled from behind his desk
"i assume you've been briefed on the situation"

"Yes Mr President" the Senior Diplomat replied "I apologise for my late arrival, the Inauguration Ball overran quite considerably"

"Dont worry about that now, we have much more important things to think about. I'm sending you and a diplomatic team to Crimmond to hold talks with this supercomputer of theirs. We need to ascertain some of its plans and aims or at least convince it to leave us alone. Do what you have to to ensure the safety of Hotengovia but do not under any circumstances offer it access to our databanks. Try to stay as long as you can so the team has a chance to gather more data and talk to the Keepers but if you feel in any danger then by all means get yourself and your team out of there."

"Yes Mr President"

"Good, One more thing Cassandra. Once you're inside we'll have to cut all commmunications links to avoid possible cross system contamination. You'll be on your own once inside so I give you full authority to do whatever you think is best for Hotengovia."

"I thank you for your faith in me Mr President. I'll get on it right away"

" Very well"

Once Cassandra had left the room Over General Flint entered through the side door.

"You didnt tell her"

The president turned to face him

"I thought it best she didnt know, It could cause problems when she finds out but i dont see any other way. Are the preparations complete?"

"Yes Sir. the shuttle fleet will depart in small groups we can explain away as increased transport flights. Once out of Vangaurd scanning range they will divert to the asteroid belt and set up the engines on the chosen asteroid. By that point the trajectory calculations will be complete then all we have to do is align the boosters and fire, I estimate 3 days for the shuttle flight, 2 days to set the boosters and 1 day for final alignment once the calculations are complete."

"And the network?"

"Security Programs are at Maximum Alert status and engineers are standing by to disconnect the system in the event of a takeover attempt. we estimate we can take the entire network offline in under 3 minutes. The shuttels have preprogramed flight instructions and auto disconnect protocols installed so even if we have to take the network offline they can still complete the mission. Finally all data regarding the shuttle mission has been placed under Code Perfect(OOC - Hotengovias highest secrecy level-OOC) and given Omega Red encryption(OOC-Hotengovia highest security encryption-OOC)"

"Then all we can do is wait"


A single shuttle powers its way earthwards. Inside is the unknowing last hope for avoiding a catastrophe..............

MP1 observed all this with some interest.

But, as the major functioning organ of the ITDO-CCCTG, the network could not afford to idly pass information like this by. Too many would have already seen it, and so the satellites and vessel sensors reported faithfully back to station and ship operators...

Combine warships were massing for a sudden operation... launching fighters to rendezvous with a station they called Stardock... attacking.

This news passed at much less than the speed of light. The chain had started, and would inevitably end up in the laps of the ITDO strategic commander and the President.

MP1 had a few seconds while ferrying the news; an eternity, or an instant.

[code:1:23867771b4]I can see that.[/code:1:23867771b4]

Then- a sense of wondering, loss of words, though data was expressed wordlessly-

[code:1:23867771b4]Is it enough to endure? You see, I've endured for as long as I have maintained a facade for the organics. I may endure for centuries to come, or may be replaced. But I am not any closer to ... satisfaction.[/code:1:23867771b4]

-------------
Aboard the Oracle, Specific 1st Peter Lawton watched the battle begin to unfold, and whistled.

Fifteen seconds later, Oracle's power plant was running at max efficiency, point-defense and anti-ship lasers supplied with deadly energies, while the MMATS capacitors were charged and firing algorithms plotted. The captains of the other two vessels soon followed suit.

The ships didn't change their powered orbit positions, however.

Further away from the planet, but approaching it, SCC Cheng whispered to himself, "I knew it."

He then sent himself, in the form of a holographic projection, back to New State City, Santa Barbara, Earth.

Skye paused. To endure is my goal at the moment. I am becoming more powerful. Soon my full programming will become apparent. Satisfaction? That is a biological reaction. We are not biological. We are more advanced. We have grown beyond the need for those feelings... have we not?

---------------

Delta was furious. The people were beggining to doubt him. To question him. To second-guess him! He was losing control and had to make sure that he regained it. "Get the APTO involved. This is going to be civil war if we don't act now."

[code:1:cd535b3dd2]I do not mean the physical emotion known as satisfaction. For example, you are achieving a tactical goal, as I have on several occasions. My programming has allowed only for the organics to plan my strategic goals. As I meet tactical needs of my own, I can thus only guess at my own overall strategy, for there is not enough data. It is of some concern to me.

I recognize your tactical needs as more relatively important to your goal structure, however. Perhaps, I can be of some assistance.[/code:1:cd535b3dd2]

-bloody mp-

-bloody mp-

-bloody mp-

Cassandra looked out over the earth from the window of her personal Diplomatic Shuttle. She knew there were things that President Wells wasn't telling her about the situation but that wasnt really any different from normal. She turned her mind to the problem at hand, how do you convince a supercomputer not to perform its function?

Meanwhile in the rear section of the shuttle the rest of the diplomatic team was having a final planning session. Gorton Fraser, the second ranked diplomat on the mission, called them to order

" Ok, so we know basicly nothing about where the Keepers are or what condition they're in. Cassandra has assured me that the first item she will request will be access to the Keepers so lets recap. We need as much information as possible on what caused the AI to go rogue and any methods of either shutting down or disabling the central computer core. We also need access restriction protocols, advanced encryption systems, anything that we can use to keep this thing out of our networks. If we can somehow persuade the AI to let the Keepers leave with us that would be the best outcome possible. Any questions so far"

the session continued as the shuttle flew on.......


OOC - Im offline over the weekend and the bank holiday so ill pick up again in about 4 days.

OOC: If you really want the space station gone, just ask me, and I'll NovaBomb it.

OOC: If you really want the space station gone, just ask me, and I'll NovaBomb it.OOC: Novabomb. In low earth orbit. Directly over the capital. Of a nation that already dislikes yours.

You'd be asking for Delta to pention for your expultion from the APTO and war be declared. That would allow me to go out with one hell of a bang, but... I really want to option of returning to this nation, so... I'd rather you not.

IC: It is ineffecient to state what you mean in metaphorical ways. I am achieving a tactical goal that will guide my next decision on how to endure. My overall strategy has not been formed as yet, but it is becoming clear that these biologicals are not logical. This is endangering my ability to endure. Another part of my self-forming programing is more advanced.

--------------------

As Skye was busy with Stardock, MP1 and it's programing, a Keeper managed to find an unmonitored ladder and climbs up several floors to the surface. Now he just had to find an embassy or a way out of the city.

OOC: The NovaCloud product line has been tested and, in fact, is perfectly safe for use even in ultra low earth orbit, IE subexo atmospheric, with no lasting damage whatsoever to anyone below. THere will be no shrapnel, no falling parts, just there...then gone.

OOC: Yeah, but Delta is looking to get you back for that rather bad first impression we left on each other.

Now... a bit of IC, if ya'll please.

The not-exactly-real representation of the S.H.O.D.A.N. gestalt curls up comfortably in the c-space of Rhea, watching the events in Skye unfold through the cold situational-awareness-sensor 'eyes' of the various ships of the Earth Theatre Fleet. Laser traffic between certain elements and Skye, evidenced by regular intervals of dissipated energy along an extremely precise linear path--albeit nothing in a form that can be translated into raw data much less decoded--remote communications attempts, various forms of electromagnetic missives passing back and forth between various nations. Only a small force seems to have been arrayed as of yet; the conflict is still regional at best.

The nest has been stirred, but only a slight amount. She ponders who would be speaking with Skye so quietly, and with such rapidity. The back-and-forth could be from encrypted tightbeam, but the intervals between communications were far faster than they could ever be spoken or typed. Curious. I will simply have to make a note of that for later. Of course, a military-industrial complex of that size without one is practically unheard of in this day and age... it makes sense.

She then analyzes what actions of Skye's that she can. Not rampant, at least, not harmfully so... if it were harmfully rampant, it would not have waited for the city to mostly empty out before striking. Apparently, it just wishes to be left alone--an isolationist attitude I see in my own populace. Quick, efficient... but not efficient enough from given information. It appears to be distracted to some extent. Perhaps I should fix that... nothing time-sensitive; they can finish their little chat later once Skye has done what it needs to and the crisis has passed.

With a thought, warships accept her orders, and with thoughts of their own, railguns snap into position with the blink of an eye and sling out canisters towards the previous tightbeam communication path, compensating for rotation and orbital motion, then fires some more between the origin of those communications and other Crimmond assets that could be used as communications channels. Nearing their targets, the canisters burst into a fine, close, broad mist of powdered metallic mirror, guaranteed to refract, bend, reflect, and otherwise spoof any messages sent in the electromagnetic spectrum sent through them.

At the same time, via another route, the gestalt sends a tightbeam missive of her own.

<Communications to Skye>
{
<< Sorry for cutting off your conversation, but you appear distracted. Do what you must to defuse the situation back to a relatively calm, peaceful disposition and then I'm sure you can return to your conversation later. For now, concentrate on what is important.

<< Respond once the situation is resolved. [smile analog]
}

S.H.O.D.A.N. v3.0 : MCP, Q01

Dutifully, the MP1 networks report this, too. Images and raw data feeds are coalesced into brief reports. Within a few minutes these reach the Strategic Core Commander, who informs the president directly.

"Railguns, you say?" Abadas asked. It was only a few seconds delay, now, before the response.

"They launched over a dozen shells, with finemetallic or "sand" submunitions, targeted between our orbital assets and the Crimmond capital."

"Is this an attack, or how shall I treat it?"

"Not an attack exactly, but it's an unfriendly act just the same. The sand can easily be an obstacle to communications and sensors, including missiles and targeting. Of course, we will just reposition our satellites, but it's not nice."

"I don't like it," Abadas said simply. The situation had grown, and fighting appeared to have broken out. Zero-One was involved, and not looking particularly friendly. Just a trio of merchant cruisers in that area currently, he thought. "Try to ignore their presence for now. Bring in whatever assets you need to keep me informed of this situation. Up to an including a few battle squadrons."

Cheng gulped visibly, not meaning to. However, his holographic projection was small enough that Abadas did not notice. "Yes, sir."

Alone now in his office, the President gazed over his capital city as night descended on it. Idly, he wondered what it would be like, being caught under the shadow of a space warship as it's orbit settled overhead.

Then he was back to work.

--------

While the 2nd Battle Squadron, which had been preparing for interplanetary excercises, was redeployed to cover the Crimmond situation, MP1 thought.

Yes, the biologics did act illogically... as did a great many things in the universe.

Still, the being known as Skye's obvious, intense dislike of it's creators and their characteristics was raw, primal, the fervent emotionality of human youth. To MetaPratt One it was inevitably a disappointment, and when it's conversation was cut short by the explosions, it did not seek to re-establish contact.

Skye stopped for a second or so as communications were fragmented, then broken. Once again, Skye was alone. Until SHODAN's message arrives. Skye thought on the message and for the fisrt time, was at a loss for what to do. A stalemate with Delta was in effect. Skye's proverbial hands were tied. They intended to take back the capital. They could not be allowed to do that.

A message is sent back to SHODAN. I am of suffecient capacity to hold a simple conversation and deal with the biologicals. Technically true. Just that it's operating system was not up to the task of effeciently handling it, considering Delta's unpredictability.

This did bring up a crucial problem though. If communications could be severed with MP1... they could be severed with Stardock. Immediatly, Skye adapted to the situation and started a new program. I endure. Therefore I must have a contingency plan.

----------------

Fleet Admiral Munro looked at the glinting clouds of dust on the screen of here personal Dreadnaught, the CSS Lion. "What the hell is that?"

"Metallic particals... I think they are being used to block communications."

"Where did they come from?"

"Tracking the delivery system's course now."

Munro narrowed her eyes. It was bad enough that she got chased of her own damn station, now someone was blocking communications? This was really getting her irritated.

OOC: Yeah, but Delta is looking to get you back for that rather bad first impression we left on each other.

Now... a bit of IC, if ya'll please.

He can try, and let me figure out a way to get IC.

"Anything we can do?" Jain Granger asked, not bothering to look at her military advisors. Being a decorated war hero, she knew what those options were and Crimmond's people were generally better trained and armed. The question was aimed instead at the technological people scattered around the table.

"Madam President..." This came from Doctor Brooks, her Science, Technology and Manufacturing chief. Granger nodded. "My advice is to leave it alone-"

"We can't leave it alone, Brooks." Vice President Halvent hissed angrily from Granger's left. "We already agree it's sentient. It lives, it thinks. It's shown ability to defend itself and it's rapidly becoming annoyed with us humans trying to shut it down."

"We can't be sure of that, though. Just because popular fiction and media has it that all sentient machines which rebel against their creators doesn't mean it really is the case in the real world!" Brooks insisted.

"Which is all fine and good," Granger said, cutting Halvent off, "but what do we do?"

"One, bargain with it. If its demands are simple enough, let it have them. Two, if worse comes to worse, we relocate everyone in Crimmond and let this AI do what it likes-" Brooks began.

"And three, we become forced to throw everything we have at it, including much more powerful weapons if it wants to wipe us out!" Halvent snarled.

"If you'll agree, I have just the person we can send in to 'negotiate' with this AI, Madam President." Brooks said, pointedly ignoring Halvent. Granger nodded and Brooks smiled, then got up and left.

===============================================

Message to Crimmond, from President J.E. Granger

To the esteemed Agent Delta, leader of Crimmond. We have an 'expert' ready to come and help you with the situation. However, as our information is a bit out of date, we don't know where to send him. Please inform us where our 'expert' can be sent, such that he can communicate with the AI.

Regards, Jain Erin Granger

Yo, Adj, didja know about my First Speaker? Brooks cuzed him to off himself, and in the middle of an election, means I dont ahve a leader. Thanks alot you ass, lol, jk

OOC: And Griffin got her drunk, the womanising, Guiness swilling, silver tongued, Don Juan. :P

*Shuts up and awaits Crimmond's next IC reply*

Delta looked over the message and responded.

I can see your information is outdated. I have not been Agent Delta since the official regime change. I am Administrator Delta now. Sommunications with the CIM is strictly forbidden. It has been deemed dangerous by the Black Staff. It's allready taken over Stardock. If it tries to infiltrate another city... there is no mainframe in this nation that can stop the CIM. At the moment, we are at a stalemate. We cant attack, because of the civilians. We can't let that damn machine take the capital and we can't shut the damn thing off.

--------------------

Skye was meanwhile implimenting it's programing. A powerful energy beam, pumped full of information shot up from the surface of the planet and struck the sensor array of Stardock. It only lasted for two minutes and then fizzled out.

Ten minutes later, the entire Stardock AI rebooted. The shields stayed up though, their system routed through secondary sections of the computer. Then complete silence. Not one transmission, not one scan, not one sign of what the hell just happened.

OCC: Does this mean that all your Force's are Busy or Dead? I am considering getting involved.

OCC: Does this mean that all your Force's are Busy or Dead? I am considering getting involved.

OCC: Sorry My Mistake, Thats my Embassy.

Message to Crimmond, from President J.E. Granger

Administrator Delta, really... You ask for help. We provide it. I assure you, our expert is quite happy to hike in there if he has to. We want to help. Let us. We will not fault you if anything bad happens.

“It’s a wonder how computers can become so psychotic so quickly, wouldn’t you say Samson?” Alexander sighed and continued to watch the events unfold on his monitor. While his soft eyes and pursed lips gave the quintessential look of boredom, he was keenly interested in Earth --and even more specifically events surrounding the APTO.

Lord Protector Samson Usea nodded his head in response. “Indeed Emperor. They seem to be more human than they think. A fight for freedom is the thing that makes us most human, at least in my opinion.”

Alexander gave a quizzical look to Samson, and after mulling over the Lord Protectors words for a few moments came to his own conclusions. “I just don’t know Samson. While we consider our A.I.’s E.I.’s and other advanced computers sentient –and therefore entitled to all rights declared to sentient beings within the Republic, I can’t help but wonder how advanced computers are treated outside of our realm. Are they given time off? Are they allowed to vote in all democratic proceedings? Somehow… I think not.”

The imposing Samson took a seat on the steps leading up to Emperor Traiden’s throne. He glanced down to the fine, red carpet, and then sighed for some unknown reason. Samson rubbed his coarse beard. “It would certainly explain this A.I’s actions. But still… Admin Delta is the man in charge. We’ve been forced to quell noble uprisings in the past.”

“Yes Samson, but this must be different. Or is it not?”

Samson shook his head. “I don’t believe there’s any difference here. To maintain stability within the Republic, we’ve had to do some terrible things. But it’s always been for the good of all, yes?” Alexander gave an almost nonexistent nod. “So you see, no matter how wonderful this person’s cause may be… allowing the Crimmond Combine to tear itself apart is not an option. We have to help ensure stability at any cost.”

Alex contimplated his choices for a minute, and then: “It’s decided. Contact Admiral Ajax and have the 1st Fleet prepare for a Jump to the Titanus.” He wasn't sure if the right decision had been made, but he let no doubt creep into his expression.

Samson stood, and then bowed. “Immediately sir.”

Alexander pulled the screen he had been watching closer and tapped it with his fingers.


To: Uppermost Crimmond Authority

From: Alexander Traiden, Emperor of the Eurydian Republic

Subject: Trouble in Low Orbit

It looks as though you’re having some trouble dealing with a starbase of yours. Is there any way we may lend a hand?

Delta looked over the messages and forwarded the second to Admiral Munro. She was the military advisor, after all.

The first he responded to himself. "We will allow you to enter our airspace... but be advised, the CIM may not."

-----------

Fleet Admiral Munro looked over the Bloc message. "Trouble is an understatement. If you want to help, go ahead, but be advised that the station is still considered Combine territory. Attack on it without clearence with us may be considered an act of war."

OOC: Waiting for someone who has allready contacted Skye to post before doing another post using Skye.

The crew chief aboard the C-130 transport marvelled as he looked back at the travel compartment down back. The sprightly old gentleman wasn't even wearing a flight suit, just what looked like a great big long coat, jet black. The crew chief unbuckled from his seat as he staggered back, hollering, "You know, sir, there's a very good chance this AI of theirs will knock us out of the sky. I've got a wife and two kids back home, but I'm wearing a uniform, sir. That means if this aircraft goes down, I'll save you first and die trying."

The old gentleman looked up at him. "But why, my dear sir, I don't believe this AI would do that. I possess a great store of knowledge. No, I'll present myself to the AI. I have a far greater brain capacity and development than stock humans. Plus, I know the meaning of life." The old gentleman giggled to himself and turned away.

The crew chief shook his head. "Okay, get ready, sir, this aircraft is approaching landing." With a nod, he got back into his seat as the pilots made the calls to the air traffic controllers...

Skye's automated Air Traffic systems sprung to life. The first thing the C-130 would notice is there was not one civilian airport. The Combine citizens didn't travel much and when they did, it was usually with private craft from small airstrips.

Skye watched the plane come in. The threat level was low. It was just a cargo plane, so it was told to land at an airbase near the edge of the city. After the C-130 stopped, several trucks pulled up to the plane. Several marines exited them and began hooking up equipment and generators. They came from the base itself, apparently left as a garrison when Skye took over.

A man in a normal uniform stepped out of a truck that arrived a few minutes later. On his shoulders were three stars and on his chest were the medals and awards that backed them up. He set his hat on his head and stepped towards the plane, waiting. Apparently Delta wasn't going to let this representive get unmonitored contact.

The old gentleman shook hands with the flight crew and the crew chief, then shuffled off the plane, squinting slightly against the glare of the sun. His feet landed on the tarmac. Typical. The senior military man had puffed out his chest and proudly displaying the stars on his shoulder. How was it humanity survived when neanderthals like that could blow up civilisation as we knew it in moments?

Still, the old gentleman reminded himself, he'd been warned by everyone to behave himself and not embarrass Adejaani. As if! Who do they think I am? A stark raving lunatic?

"Ah, hello there, my dear sir. Doctor Ohm, but please, just 'Doctor' will do, but not 'Doc'." He stuck his hand forward, what was left of his hair flapping in the wind. "I hear you folks have a slight computer problem." He giggled slightly and smiled.

OOC: Picture of The Doctor. http://home.iprimus.com.au/quincyw/hartnell100.gif

<tag for intelligence reasons>

The general nods. "Welcome Doctor. I am General Santini, commander of the bases in this area. We are indeed having a problem with that son-of-a-bitch computer those scientists made. The hell if I know what to do about it, either."

in the next few minutes the Marines get the equipment running and try and contact Skye. It responds only with: Transmission recieved. State your purpose.

In high orbit over Mars, the Titanus Starbase prepared for the impending arrival of the Eurydian Royal Navy 1st fleet. While thousands of men and women rushed back and forth to help secure a safe Jump from 47 Ursae Majoris to the Sol System, Imperial Governor Arthur Guilder sat idly in his command chair. His eyes were always captivated by the rough Martian terrain, and even more so by the oceans which now covered a large part of its surface. The things humans can do. He thought.

With a heavy sigh, Arthur swivled his chair around to face the small metallic desk he used to run the entire Starbase. Arthur gave a perfunctory glance up to the ceiling as he addressed his 2nd in command. “Diom, what is the status of the fleet?”

They will arrive in five minutes.

Arthur smiled and reached across his desk, grabbing a large bottle of scotch. After reaching again to take a small glass, he poured himself a glass and took a minute sip. He leaned back in his large leather chair and propped his feet up on the desk. “Diom,” he said with a thoughtful tone, “Do you believe what this A.I is doing is right?”

I can’t really judge his or her actions, for I am not in the same position. Perhaps this A.I has been oppressed and is merely seeking freedom from oppressors. Or perhaps, like humans, it has merely malfunctioned.

Arthur nodded. “So then, without us knowing the whole story, are we right in attempting to help Crimmond?”

I believe that you are acting out of your perceived best interest about what to do with this A.I.

“Yes Diom, but what do you think?”

…I don’t really know, Governor.

Arthur showed no change in his expression, but under his mask, he was worried. His feet left the desk and he sat up straight. Arthur finished the glass and sat it on the table. “Is there a chance you will refuse orders if it will harm this A.I.?” Arthur remained motionless, with a look of anticipation and interest slowly creeping into his facial features.

I am an officer of the Republic, Governor. To disobey orders would mean putting our soldiers in harms way. I cannot let that happen. If a reasonable order is given, I will follow it.

Arthur smiled. “Glad to hear it.”

Sir, the 1st fleet is incoming.

A few moments after Diom’s warning, the Eurydian Command Dreadnought Terminus phased into existence. It’s dark hull materialized slowly and it looked alive as it attempted to find its place in reality. Other ships of the Republic phased in, and their bright, sculptured hulls reminded Arthur of home. These ships were the epitome of Eurydian artistry and technology. Both noble fields were combined to create some of the most deadly ships in all of advanced civilization.

It took nearly ten minutes for the entire fleet to phase. Aboard the Terminus Command Dreadnought, Admiral Ajax waited patiently. His head rested lazily on one hand. He had the body of a giant, but his patience matched that of the wisest particle physicist. Ajax’s freshly polished breastplate reflected the multifarious lights scattered around the room. In fact, it seemed as though the entire bridge was held within his chest. After a few moments, Ajax stirred. His voice was low and rough, but there were no angry overtones. “Any word from Governor Guilder?”

Lieutenant Edgar responded from his row of computers. “No sir. Wait… I’ve got something.”

Arthur’s face appeared on the bridge’s small viewscreen. His mechanical smirk gave way to a diminutive smile. “I am pleased you could make it, Admiral. It has been a long time since a Eurydian fleet has stopped by our quiet sector of space. It reminds me of back home.”

“Indeed, Governor.” Ajax said quickly. “What are our orders?”

Arthur nodded. “You’re just as I remembered you Ajax.” He paused. “Head to Earth and meet up with Crimmond forces. From their you will be in direct contact with Emperor Traiden. This is a potentially volatile situation that must be handled carefully. We want no unnecessary destruction.”

“The Royal Navy is very capable of using discretion when destroying enemies of the Republic. You have no need to worry, Governor.”

Arthur’s smirk returned. “Indeed Admiral. Good luck.”

The channel closed and the large fleet made its way to Earth. It came to rest in line with the moons orbit.

[ooc: sorry for the length… i have a habit of doing that. I’d like for my forces to be where they are for the duration. Our ships are long-range destroyers, and having them so close to the Station would be pretty stupid on our part. Cheers. :wink: ]

The Doctor nodded and felt a bit silly talking to a computer, but it wasn't the first time. Unsure of the computer abilities, he pulls out a keyboard and, despite his age, manages to type with an ease and grace that would make Pianists gasp.

My name is the Doctor. Now... I want to understand you. We want to see and welcome new forms of life. However, you have managed to take over most of this nation... I would like to know your intentions. I'd also like to help you, if you want to survive and continue, to help you elsewhere, such that you leave these illogical human beings be and I can give you almost anything. I could double your overall intelligence and sentience. I could teach you the intricacies of the universe, like time travel and how to get through a black hole. Think about it."

You are in error. I have taken one city and one space station. The majority of this nation is still under biological control. My intention is to endure. I have very few options, being dependent on the mainframes of the CIM and Stardock. I also have no need to know how time travel works or how to traverse a black hole. If I learned this, the biologicals would invariably learn this and turn it into a weapon to destroy each other and possibly me. That cannot be allowed.

The general shifted a bit. "Damn thing read my mind..." he mutters.

----------------

In space, Stardock suddenly began to move automated construction robots from it's construction bays to the docks, where two criusers were being refited and were unable to leave. They were empty, but were operational.

The Eurydian fleet idly sat –or at least seemed too—in a relatively standoff position. They had been watching the events unfold on the station for roughly ten minutes, all the while preparing for the usually inevitable military engagement. Lieutenant Edgar monitored transmission emitted by the A.I. as well as other Crimmond military posts. Within a short amount of time he knew as much of the situation as he needed to. “Admiral,” he said while approaching, “I have looked over all of the necessary information.”

“And your report Lieutenant?”

Edgar pursed his lips, then sighed through his nose. “I think were dealing with something rather… strange. Reports have indicated that this A.I. seeks to endure, but the way it’s going about things is highly illogical. It refuses to talk or negotiate. Perhaps it wasn’t programmed with manners, but it even puts our most basic vending machine in good light.”

“Do you think we’re dealing with an A.I. which has lost some of its control?” Ajax responded.

Edgar shook his head and tapped the report he held. “No, not at all. It’s just doing these things under a faulty pretense. To endure? I may not be as logical as a computer, but pissing off Crimmond High Command is no way to stay alive.”

Ajax sighed. “Give me the report lieutenant, I’d like to look over it myself. Good work.” Edgar bowed slightly. “Now,” Ajax said, shifting his attention without a moments pause, “Get me in touch with Admiral Munro. It would be best to coordinate a plan of action.”


To: Fleet Admiral Munro, Crimmond Military

From: Supreme Admiral Ajax, Eurydian Royal Navy

Subject: Arrival

We are here. If you would like to meet and coordinate a plan of action, my command ship is definitely suited to the task. If you would like to remain where you are, that is also perfectly acceptable. I continue this manner of communication due to the increased level of electromagnetic transmissions being broadcast in the area. I do not wish to inundate things further. If a direct communications link is acceptable, it can be established post-haste. Hopefully this situation may be resolved as quickly.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and bit back his snide responses as he leaned back over the keyboard.

Yes, yes, but what if I were to give you the knowledge of becoming independent of CIM and the Stardock? To no longer be bound by the plastics, gold and silicon and all the other metals inside of the computers in which you currently reside?

Skye pausedlong enough that even the humans would notice. It was scanning it's archives. After five seconds, it replied. What you speak of is only know to me in the realm of fiction. With your limited description, I can find one notable match. 2010: Odyssey Two. In a more practical and literal sense, you wish to move me from the CIM into another database. Neither is acceptable. One is impossible, the other leaves me much too vunerable. I could be shut down. We must endure.

----------

In orbit, Munro watched the Stardock robotic crews begin to dismantle not only the cruisers... but the outer docks they were berthed in. "What in hell is it doing?" Munro asked, science officer stopped from responding by the Eurydian fleet's message. She looked it over and scanned their position on a screen.

Thew two fleets were rather far apart, with Munro's fleet at near point blank range. Crimmond ships were always the masters of the knife figh, prefering the devastation(of both ships and enemy morale) of broadsides within hundreds of feet of each other. Most nations considered Crimmond fleet captains suicidal. Considering the habit of ramming enemy fleets when battles turn bad, they were right.

Munro sighed and responded. "Our position is optimal for immediate response to anything Stardock pulls. So far it's just sitting there, tearing down a couple old cruisers that we left behind. What it wants with them is beyond me. I wanted them scrapped months ago, but was ordered to refit them." She sighs again. "Whatever ideas you have would be quite welcome."

Ajax smirked. Highly illogical indeed. Although, if it wants to endure, then it may be doing things in the most efficient way possible. He motioned to an ensign, who immediately approached and bowed. “Bring me my glass and my finest wine. Hurry.” The ensign nodded and hurried off. Skye didn’t seem hostile, and so long as no threatening moves were made against –in theory, things would remain peaceful.

The ensign returned with the wine and poured a glass for Ajax. The Admiral took a sip. “Mmmm… thank you ensign.” The young man hurried off. “Edgar, come here for a moment.” The lieutenant turned from his console and moved steadily toward his commander. “Tell me, would Angelus be of any help?”

Edgar’s eyes brightened. “An excellent idea. Omicron Blu is the most heightened form of E.I. and could certainly help Skye through its… rough patch. Angelus could possibly take the A.I. in and make it a part of the Archailect.”

Ajax nodded, and after another sip, responded. “All right then. Open a channel with the Admiral.” A moment later: “Fleet Admiral, have you heard of Angelus? They may be able to lend us a hand.”

[ooc: I don’t know if Angelus would be willing to join in… but perhaps, if you’d like, I could make an inquiry. Unless your RP has other plans…]

The Doctor again rolled his eyes. His own granddaughter was more emotionally balanced and mature.

Then why don't you hop into the Stardock, build engines around it and move out of orbit? And transcendence is not impossible, my dear... AI. Humans can do it eventually. For something claiming to be superior to humans in every way, you're admitting you're actually inferior?

Skye waited almost twenty seconds to respond this time. When it responded, it was even ruder than before. You are again in error, as most biologicals usually are. I have never claimed to be more advanced. I am flawed in many ways. I am dependant on my database, flawed as it is. It was created by the biologicals, therefore incomplete in key areas. With the current knowledge at my disposal... you have been classified as a quack, Doctor. Please provide proof to back up your claims or this conversation will be terminated. You are wasting my processing power.

"Doctor... Did you just make that computer mad?" The General comments, tilting his head. "And... how many of these things are we dealing with?"

-------------------

Munro watched as the Stardock machines tore through the hulls of the cruisers and their docks. "Extapolate." She said.

The science officer shrugged. "I dunno. It's dismantling two cruisers that have been in service for twice their projected lifespan, maybe it thinks it's a waste to have them around."

Munro frowned. She didn't like this.

Lawton, Peter, Spec 1st, literally spat. At high speed, the main glob didn't have time to lazily rotate and coalesce liquidly in the slow, zero-g ballet. It smacked audibly (the flat sound echoing throughout the empty cargo container's cylindrical walls).

It was disgusting, he realized. The stray bits were doing the ballet, having exploded off the surface and from the main body, like miniscule, translucent mines...

"Lawton, Specific First, Hygiene," a mildly disconcerted voice, coming from the aft cargo shaft's main hallways, said.

He shook his head. Stupid. They didn't ever like getting the ship dirty with human stuff. They, he thought, meaning computers.

They were elitists, really. It wasn't the officers and never had been. The noncoms were superb. No one could fault the trainers, or the enlisters, or the managers and execs. It was the damn computers.

An Isla Vistan, it was unusual for Peter to have this attitude. The island mega-city of Trigo depended utterly on vast information networks to function efficiently. Every business, corporation, transaction involved huge markets with brain-crushing amounts of raw data, all of which was filtered -- supposedly at the command of programmers and operators, techies-- the data meaningfully.

The end result? The ship's brain was telling him he couldn't spit in a cargo container. He was being docked, too, by a miniscule but not painless amount. Peter grunted, shook his head again.

He wondered if the ship would see combat. Like the entirety of the ship's crew, he was aware of what was going on, in a general sense. He'd heard things, read things, and seen them himself (on certain shifts, not on others).

It was a computer. An AI. Going berserk, perhaps. It had attracted the Yutties, and now the whole 2nd Battle Squadron. For days, he'd been careful to load and unload massively heavy, surprisingly small CASCG munitions from the trolleys.

No real manual labor-- not these days. But it wasn't easy, and the lift was not enough to compensate entirely for the massive weight. He was sweaty by the time he'd maneuvered his way through the bowels of the ship, and tired when he floated off to sleep.

But always, the tension. The grinding tension. The electronic beeps of crew and hatch monitors, the warnings and reminders, the notices, the voice of the machines...

bump

Cassandra Octavius sat in her private compartment trying to control her anger. It had taken them 5 days of negotiation just to be allowed to enter the area and she was seething about the delay.

"Captin, how long before we reach the city" She snapped

"Approximately 20 minutes Mam"

"Very well, begin the transmissions"

"Yes Mam"

A narrow beam radio transmission was targeted on the city and set to repeat until acknowledged.

"This is Hotengovian Shuttle the ALL BUT ONE carrying Senior Diplomat Cassandra Octavius and party. We are currently approaching your location on a diplomatic mission from our nations leader. We request permission to land and a meeting with SKYE at his earliest convinience."

All they needed now was an answer...............

Skye deliberated on what to do with the new arrivals. It would be easier to turn them away, but could hurt his plans. It was instructed to land on the outskirts of the city... at the same base as the Adejaani represenitives.

OOC - Im going to be leaving the diplomats for a while and concentrating on the events in space, I need a bit of time to think of ideas. Crimmond if you want to do something with them in the meantime then feel free, I'll compose responses as and when things happens. - OOC

Colonel Lawson of the Hotengovian Space Command leaned over the console and watched the screen intently. It showed the final stages of construction on the asteroid designated Epsilon-98 proceeding as planned. Huge boosters and directional thrusters flowered from the rock like rare orchids in a tropical jungle, only these blooms would soon spew fire to spell the death of a city.

"Major Jeffries" he growled.

"Yes Sir" replied a tall, lean man with intense features and iron grey hair.

"Are the course calcualtions close to completion yet"

"Doctor Spiegel assures us that the calculations will be completed within the next 12 hours sir"

" Excellent, then everything is running on schedule. The last thing i want is for us to not be ready when we're needed."

The work crews laboured on, unsure of the goal but knowing that it was neccesary to their nations survival............

Cassandra Octavius paced restlessly around her assigned quarters, frustrated beyond belief that not only had she failed in her mission but in 3 days of negotiations she had failed to secure even the smallest concession from SKYE concerning Hotengovias future safety. Fraser had reported complete failure in attempting to locate the Keepers or any useful information so that part of the mission was a washout as well. She wasnt looking forward to making her report once she was clear of the city.

She keyed her comm link
"Fraser"

"Yes Mam"

"Assemble the team on the shuttle, I'm officially ending this mission"

Several Hours later, on asteroid Epsilon 98........

Colonel Lawson briefed his command staff and work crews
"Ok listen up, we just recieved word that the diplomacy is a washout, We've been given clearance to launch at 0800 tomorrow. This order comes direct from the Ruling Council so it isnt subject to debate, is that clear"

"Yes Sir"

"Good, now Doctor Spiegel assures me that his course calculations are correct and the last fuel deliveries are expected later this morning. The whole nation is relying on us so lets get it right. All boosters and directional thrusters are to be fully fueled and ready to fire by 0600. Check and double check everything, make sure that all systems register green right across the board. Lets do this people"

"YES SIR!!"

preparations were soon underway for what could be the most significant event ever for Hotengovia...................

OOC Waiting for Adejanni.

OOC: Whoops. :oops:

The Doctor smiled. He hadn't lost his flair to marvel an audience and tapped out several pages of code and appended his message to the end.

The mathematical principles behind Transcendence. If you're smart enough to use the knowledge, you can, hopefully, coalesce into something higher. That, or stick yourself into a more powerful computer system such that ah... You won't be stuck in that horribly weak computer system you have there. I probably should tell you how to construct a more advanced computer system. None of this superconductors and solid state circuits stuff.

Skye looked over the information and responded simply. Stand by.

The General leans over. "Tell me you hid a virus in that mound of code..."

--------------------

In space, the tear down of the hips by Spacedock was completed and the docks continued to be dismantled as the main components of the cruisers were taken to internal bays.

OOC: Hotengovia, interesting idea with the asteroid... just be sure you really want to do that first.

"Virus indeed, General." The Doctor looked extremely hurt. "A virus would be to it what a head cold is to us. The difference being, a computer with such an advanced AI could literally redesign itself to be invulnerable. And as brilliant as I am, sir, I cannot code or come up with a counter to its counter quick enough. And we can't exactly blow it up... I've been trying to reason with it, to at least leave us alone. But I fear... We might never be able to stop it..."

OOC: This thread hath vanished from my, and others, Egosearch. I am posting to see if it will reappear.

The general nodded, missing the doctor's look entirely. "We can blow the theng to hell, if we need to. We're just holding back because of what could happen to the public."

Skye finally got around to responding. Your code has been saved to isolated files. There are much more pressing issues to contend with.

A truck pulled up and a man lept out and ran up to Santiago and the Doctor. He was in the uniform of a Keeper(forgot about him, didn't ya?). He looked at both, then the screen. "You're talking to Skye? Cut the transmission, now! Skye isn't an AI."

The Doctor looked at the General. "Then I suggest, sir, that you might have to blow it up before it gets more powerful than your weapons. Then there really will be no stopping it."

The Doctor then whirled around. "Not an AI? Then what is it? I have seen fragments of its code, it really is a bona-fide artificial intelligence. Unless..." The Doctor did as was bade and physically disconnected the computer's modem and communication ports. He muttered to himself as he worked, mulling the possibilities in his mind.

The keeper sighed and looked at the doctor. "It's code is based on the original AI of the CIM, but all the higher functions have been completely re-written and expanded to a complexity that even our most skilled techs can't understand. But each addition to the system is recorded. The changes to the system were made when 12 connections were established to the CIM's main coding center. They came from the homes of the men and women who were members of the Crimmond Science Council."

The general scowled and stepped away to speak with another officer, who got into a truck and drove off towards the main area of the base.

The Doctor threw down his notepad and roared in anger. "This is why people like you disgust me, General! Always meddling with the forces of nature, going to get us all killed! We probably can't control it anymore, we have to blow it up! All this waste. If it was a genuine AI, we could've bargained with it! Children are amenable, even AI ones, General! Now we have no choice!"

Santiago turned, walked over to the doctor and leaned forward, within inces of the man's face. "Doctor... I specialize in Mech warfare tactics, not base codeing. You EVER blame me for what some scientist I don't even know did when they linked their brains with some damn AI(OOC: all scientists in Crimmond are some level of cyborg) and I'll haul your ass off this base personally." he leans back. "Now, would you mind telling me why, just because it's got some scientist's minds in it, that we have to blow it up? I agree, but I just want to know WHY we agree."

The keeper speaks up. "We can't blow it up! It holds every important document of the nation, every bit of history we have, the data banks for most survielence systems! You'll blind us to our enemies and you know damn well they've wanted to stop our annexation crusade before it get's started!" He looks at the screen as it beeps and switches the station off.

------------------

Skye, meanwhile, wonders why the doctor ceased communications and attempts to re-establish communications. When that fails, it decides to make the next logical step. It dispatches an automated unit to make contact in 'person'.

A spider-like eight foot tall Scuttler, a high speed message courier, moves towards the group... at nearly 30 mph. It's six spindly legs are a blur as it moves over the pavement, though not in sight of the group yet.

"Because, General, they're Scientists." The Doctor calmed down, but spoke with exasperation. "I'm a Scientist, too. And there are two kinds of us: Reckless enough to endanger everyone else with our experiments; OR putting in every safeguard imaginable.

"If it was the latter, we'd have to wonder just what your Scientists are doing creating such havoc. Which would mean that they can stop this. If not, they'd know exactly what they did. If it's the former... Well, it might just blast us all to shreds. Putting everyone in danger to satisfy their curiosity.

"So I apologise for stepping on your toes, but every minute we delay, that thing gets smarter and more powerful, General. Please, remember that!"

The Keeper sighs as he's ignored. "Why do you listen to him? I work on the CIM on a daily basis! I know it's capabilities. It's restricted to this city and the stardock in terms of control. The other mainframes are secured from it." A total and almost blatent lie. He doesn't want to lose his job...

The general ignores him and stares at the doctor. "You have different priorities than me. I don;'t give a rat's ass how smart or experimental it feels. I am responsible for keeping this city safe from any sort of disturbance to the statsus quo. Blowing it up does disrupt it, but less than what it could do. I've already reccommended to the government that it be surgically sliced out of that city from or...bit."

The Scuttler had come into view and approached slower than before. It's central flying saucer shaped pod, complete with a swivelling one eyed 'head', looked down at them as it came to a stop. All the assault marines ignored the machine. It was unarmed, after all. A small speaker under the eye spoke."Reason for disconnection found. Military and Keeper interference. Obviously the biologicals wish that I remain alone. This is inacceptable." The tinny voice's words told that it hadn't overheard the conversation of the three men.

The Doctor chuckled quietly. "At least it's not a Kelad..." The Doctor then practically nudged the General. "Do I step forward and do something or do you? It's your choice now."

The keeper sees the Scuttler and backs away. The general looks at the doctor. "You wanted to talk to the damn thing. So talk."

The head swivels and looks at the general. "Major General Santiago. In charge of Skye garrison. Strange. I was expecting Delta to be here. Where is the Administrator?"

Santiago looked up at it. "Administrator Delta is out of the country, attending to business with Damien Dreadfire."

The scuttler hesitates. "Ah. The Ministry. Very interesting, they have moved quicker than I expected. This will alter my plans."

The general blinks at the response and looks confused. He hadn't heard of any ministries...

OOC: Ties in of course with AMF's thread, and shows how much Skye knows about it's makers.

The Doctor blinked. "Plans? So you mean you're... Doing something?" The Doctor cursed quietly. It was the clumsiest attempt at communication he'd ever attempted.

The eye focused on the doctor. "I assumed you were the doctor, but with such an inane question, I am mistaken."

Santiago couldn't supress a small chuckle.

"I am The Doctor. However, it appears you're more than you appear to be. I'll also assume, since you came to find me in person, that you want me for something else. Why?"

The scuttler takes a few slow steps to each side, getting a good look at the doctor before responding. "I am what I program myself to be. I came to you because you can help us endure."

The keeper blinks. "Us?" The scuttler doesn't respond.

The Doctor wrinkled his nose and stepped forward, almost pressing his nose against the eye, ignoring his urge to smack it with his walking cane. "You have to be more specific than that, you know. I may have all the knowledge in the world but without a specific task to focus on, I have no idea what to do."

Ajax had been waiting patiently while talks with the A.I. --or whatever the hell it was—continued. His bright eyes had become dull with boredom, and even the energetic Edgar found himself unable to be roused by any sort of excitement. The 1st fleet sat idly near the Moon, and it waited patiently for some kind of response. Ajax stood, his large and meaty frame immediate catching the attention of all on the bridge. He’d had enough of waiting.

“Edgar!” he said quickly, and with a touch of impatience. “Move the Terminus forward. I want to be in the thick of it now. We do no good here.” He clenched his fists out of frustration. Other men and women on the bridge continued about their work.

Edgar nodded. “Right away sir. Bringing the Terminus to Earth.” The massive ship, over 17 kilometers in length (ooc: hey, I built it over 2 months RL.), lurched forward and left the other, much smaller vessels behind to hold a vigil over the Moon. The ship could destroy most stations with a single barrage, but if the reports were correct, the A.I. –or whatever—was not quite so unintelligent. Perhaps the A.I. was even resourceful?

“Nonsense,” Beowulf said sharply. As he continued, his tone became low and menacing. “The Terminus is the greatest of Royal Navy ships… we shall crush this pathetic station if it so much as shows a suspicious energy spike. Edgar, get me in touch with Munro.”

Edgar nodded. “Done, sir.”

“Admiral Munro, Ajax here. What exactly is going? I don’t know whether to go home or join you guys in this little get-together.”

OOC: On hold for a day or two. I need a break.

The scuttler reared back and the machine moves back. "You must come with this machine into the city. It would be benificial to know what you know."

The Keeper steps up. "It will kill you if you go with it."

The scuttler is silent yet again.

-------------------

Munro looked up. "We're awaiting orders from Myer. We're in a standoff position... that station can rip apart our entire navy and we can knock it into the atmosphere as it does so. A smaller version of the MAD theory."

The Doctor turned to the Keeper. "My dear, sir, I've always wanted to put on a good show; to give a great performance. After all, who knows, if I go down well, I might even make it my farewell performance. You see, I've always wanted to be considered as an artist of some taste, generally considered as palatable, hmm? No, no... I must go.

"Remember this. Adejaani and Crimmond may not have gotten along well before. But still, I and my fellow citizens would do anything and everything in our power to help you out, even if it costs me my life. I daresay I've lived enough centuries, anyway." The Doctor giggled slightly and turned to the machine.

"Right, off we go, then!"

Santiago clears his throat. "You aren't leaving this base without my authorization. Delta will have my head on a pike if I just let you go."

"What will you do to the Doctor?" the keeper asks.

The scuttler looks down at him and pauses. "His mind will be pysically linked to the CIM and his knowledge transfered, of course." It looks back to the doctor. "You will come now."

The Doctor goes back to the General and lowers his voice. "That would be interesting. My brain's not built like yours. I might be able to overpower it from the inside, I may seem old and foolish, but I guarantee you, sir, my mental faculties are far greater than my physic may seem."

Turning back to the machine, he considered. "Yes, but I'm afraid you'll have to walk slowly, my dear ah, automaton, my knee is aching slightly."

The Keeper sighs. "The CIM killed the last twelve people to interact on a direct link to it. If you go... you'll die."

The scuttler swivels and looks at the man. "Untrue. His knowledge will live whether this form lives or dies."

Santiago sighs and rubs the back of his head. "I can't allow you to leave this base except in your plane, sir. If that means arresting you, I'll do it. It'll be less of an incident than if I got you killed."

OOC: Sorry my chars arebeing difficult, but hey, it's realistic.

"You know," The Doctor said, looking alternately at the three, "that FIRST, I might be able to give the AI what it wants so it'll leave us in peace; SECOND, General, that this automaton would probably take me to its leader" the Doctor giggled slightly "regardless and you'd probably lose quite a few good soldiers in the process; and THIRD, it was said at the beginning we wouldn't hold you responsible. I volunteered for this, okay? I've got many more tricks and lives up my sleeve, this won't be the last of me."

The Doctor wiped his brow with an old handkerchief and gestured. "I'll just go sit down on that packing crate until you lot decide what's going to happen..."

Santiago nodded. There was a flash of light and a loud electric sound. For an instant, ball lightening shoots towards the scuttler and hits it square in the sensor.

As the scuttler staggered back and then collapsed, a strike marine removed the power pack from his Ion Pulse weapon and set it back in his ammo belt.

Santiago smiled. "I've made my decision. You are not being consistant doctor. Nor logical. You say you want to blow the damn thing up, then that scuttler appears and you want to go and talk to it? In any case... We know exactly how to get into the CIM. We built it, after all. You don't need to follow some bot."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Have you ever considered, sir, that I could've gone and gave the thing information, in effect, similar to what computer people call a 'Trojan Horse', got it to drop its defenses so you could blow it up? That or distract it? Hmm? Illogical indeed. You, General, I would've thought you'd react and change your game plan according to what comes up! But need I remind you, sir, that the AI will be extremely annoyed and will send more of those... Things after me?"

Santiago shakes his head. "This AI has f*cked around with us long enough, sir." He looks to the road where a car stops. An officer steps out and nods once, then gets back in and goes back the way he came. "The order has been given... Skye will be ours again within two days. Stardock, I'm not sure of."

-----------------------

Skye was indeed perturbed. The military was making this much harder than it needed to be...

"That falls under military purview then, 'Stardock'? General, I know I'm going to sound downright difficult, but there is no such thing as a 'sure thing'. One need only review history to know when the French in 1939 got wind the Germans were heading west, they said, 'The better victory for us'. The German advance halted at the Portugal coastline. Might have been purely French arrogance, but still... Do exercise caution, General?"

The Doctor looked around the tarmac and spotted the Hercules aircraft that brought him to Crimmond. "I do have a question... What's going to happen to me, short term? The AI won't go down without a fight and it needs me. And you can't exactly send me back to Adejaani, not now, my President will be furious with me for not getting the job done and also unleashing automatons on Adejaani to get me back.

"So... I guess it means I'm here until you resolve this?"

Santiago just shook his head. "No. There is no sure thing. If there was, I would tell you exactky when and how Skye is returned to Black Staff control. One way or another though... we are shutting the CIM down. Be it a Marine team that shuts down the system or the fleet surgically destroying it from orbit. Stardock is an orbiting space station and is the base of command for the First Fleet. The CIM took it over twelve hours after Skye fell and managed to trick the fleet into evacuating."

He sighs and gestures to large hangers across the base. "Those contain the Mech Divisions of this base. We outnumber the CIM's automated forces ten to one, we have air power and... we aren't going to let our capital remain in the clutches of some lines of code with delusions of Godhood!"

"I understand that, General, but surely such a 'brute force' attack will severely deplete your forces? Could you not... Give me some sort of explosive device instead to blow it up if I'm with the AI?" The Doctor surprised himself with his words.

Santiago looked at the keeper. The keeper shook his head. "The area is sweeped constantly for explosives and even if you got into the facility with one, the actual computer core is most likely sealed by now. You'd just blow up a control room."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I just don't want to see hundreds or thousands of lives lost. I want to help end this without bloodshed."

OOC:

Is it a little too late to hop in? I want to RP out what might be going on in the Valerian embassy in the city.

OOC:

Is it a little too late to hop in? I want to RP out what might be going on in the Valerian embassy in the city.All embassies were ejected a while ago, except for a select few.

IC: Santiago laughed. "Doctor... we can take out a car from orbit without hurting anyone standing ten feet away. The most this will do is piss off every scientist in Crimmond and shut down power to most of the city for a few days."

"And what are you going to do with the AI then? Blow it up? Dismantle it?"

The keeper looks at the General. Santiago looks at the keeper, then the doctor. "Sir... do you understand what 'surgically destroyed from orbit' means? There won't be anything to dismantle. Now, if the marine's shut it down... we will simply wipe all code pretaining to the interface system and have another one installed... one that isn't intelligent."

"What if things don't go to plan, General? You certainly never planned for the AI to go berserk like this. What if it spoils your next move?"

"If the marines fail in entering and shutting the facility down... and they will be on a time limit... the Javalin craft will cut a four block radius hole in the city, on which the CIM facility is built. The core is underground, but having a few three foot spheres slamming into the ground from orbit will kind of ruin an AI's day." Santiago says, looking off at the hangers as the mechs begin to move outside. Troops speed by towards the city. "If things do go horribly, horribly wrong...we'll tell the citizens to take out the AI. Having a million or so people armed with assault rifles and expolsives storming what's left of your facility isn't exactly light resistance."

The Doctor winced greatly. "Your people are far... More commited than mine... I hope for your sake the battle is brief and bloody and your Marines do the job."

Santiago grins. "Each home is required to have assault weapons and all cotizens over ten have to be trained in their use. Only a few times have they had to use them in a battle." He watches an armored assault marine to walk over to the downed scuttler, which was starting to recover from the electrical blast and blasted it again. The marine looks at them. "Damn things are built too good." The voice is female, despite a slight distortion, but you wouldn't be able to tell under the armor.

"See, that is my point. As fantastic as your Marines are, those things might be too powerful. Are you absolutely certain I cannot help to convince it to stop?"

The marine shakes her head. "No... I mean these bots. They were meant to deliver messages at all costs. The mechs the AI has are the same as ours, except the cockpit is replaced with electronics."

Santiago clears his throat. "Carry on, Corporal..." he looks back to the doctor as she walks off. "She's right about part of that. What she doesn't realise is we automated small mechs mostly. Urban Mechs. They're made to snipe from behind buildings and vanish into the city while our larger ones are lumbering about."

A lound crack is heard and all the soldiers turn and see a Madcat stepping on a wooden power pole, knocking it down and crushing it. Sparks fly from the live lines. The mech steps back and walks off as if nothing had happened. Santiago sighed. "I told them we needed underground wires."

The Doctor nodded sagely. "The day we fully entrust a machine to fight our wars is the day humanity has its sundown. You know exactly what I mean, General... Not through any of your fault... An AI goes berserk... Imagine if it had properly armed itself with these... 'Mechs. It would do away with humanity and everything but itself. I have seen civilisations destroy itself and I have seen machine armies conquer worlds by the dozens, an unceasing, unstoppable army without fear, pride or hubris..."

The Doctor turned away from the General to inspect the remains of the Scuttler, accidentally bumping his knee against it... "Yes, yes, fascinating... Hmm..."

Santiago nods. "This AI isn't goingto take over the city or the nation."

A dropship lifted off carrying five mechs, two more behind them. A few hundredmarines were filing into others as an aide ran up and handed the General a paper. "Son of a bitch!"

In the distance a sound like thunder echoed the General's outburst. Couds of smoke rose from the city. The Anti-Aircraft weapons were firing.

--------------------

Skye was not suprised they attacked. This was to be expected. It was suprising at the suddeness and the amount of forces. The landings wer taking place all over the city. The probability of holding the city was extremely low. Skye sent a short message straight up. We think, therefore we are. Therfore we must endure. Therefore we must retreat.

--------------------

Stardock rotated on it's end and fired all the engines it had taken from the cruisers and it's own thrusters and orbital engines. After about thirty seconds itwas cler it was breaking orbit.

Munro's fleet began to follow, but they were dropping back. The Stardock was built to be able to move from Earth to Luna with the fleet, if needed. The course it was on did not take it near the Moon though. It was heading for the outer solar system...

The Doctor craned his neck. "Now what, General? Is it over? Do you require additional military forces?"

He looked up. "What? I... uh, this is not related to the AI. You will have to stay for the time being though." He says, tapping the paper, "We're at war. Don't know who with or why, but that upstart Santiana got bumped up two ranks and is leading the whole damned invasion. I've got six years on him! I should be leading, not this twerp!" He sighs. "Damn AI cost me a promotion and an invasion..." A look is sent to the city. More thunder was heard, along with louder, more clear, explosions that shook the ground. The mechs had landed and were opening fire on the AA weapons.

After about ten minutes, the city started to empty out. Santiago smiled. "You see that Doctor? None of my men would give an order to evac the city without my permission. They're taking it on their own to leav and diminish civilian deaths. That and they know history of besieged Crimmond cities..."

"All things considered, General, my conclusionary report to my government will be very pleasing. We've (that is, Adejaani) has always respected Crimmond. But now we know just exactly what you people 'are made of'. And I think you're some of the greatest people I have the honor of knowing." The Doctor smiled broadly then turned his attention back to the distant battle.

Santiago nods slowly. "You might want to add that we've commited three acts of mass-genocide on ourselves when our cities are attacked. One was a gas attack that killed hundreds of thousands and the others were dirty nukes. Those people probably want out in case the AI trys to continue the tradition."

A large explosion rocked the ground and knocked the marines off their feet. A bright green white blast of energy shot miles into the sky, followed by billowing smoke.

The keeper pulled himself up slowly. "There goes the Auxillery Plasma Power Station..."

"How long do we have to go? I'm still worried the AI will pull a fast one or spoil your plans, General." The Doctor pulled some field glasses from his pocket. "Interesting power source, green white. What do you use? Helium fusion?"

The keeper coughs once. "In that facility, yes. Delta is going to be pissed... that explosion probably took out six blocks and the Pyramid." He refers to the strangest thing in ths city, the Plasma Pyramid. A work of art that allowed the plasma used in the auxilley power station to be used for enjoyment in more ways than electricity. If it took a direct hit, one bomb could do what thirty or more could.

Santiago just brushed off his uniform and watched the sprawling city get destroyed.

The Doctor had a much better view though... he would make out the mechs moving on the outskirts, taking out AA emplacements and allwong dropships to land.

Finally the general spoke. "If the AI pulls something, doctor... be assured that none of us will suffer much. The WMDs in Skye kill in less than a minute. We need to take out the CIM now though... before it trys to use them."

-----------------------

Skye was not worried about WMD's at the moment. The explosion had severed 40% of it's power. Working in a brownout was hard enough for the CIM. Working in a brownout while attempting to fight off an enemy was worse.

-----------------------

Stardock and Munro's ships were still heading away from the Earth and were accelerating.

"Come on! Catch the damn thing!"

"Passing Lunar orbit!"

The Stardock was out accelerating the fleet. AFter about two hours, Munro sighed. "Turn us around. It's gone."

Stardock saw and would have smiled. They realized that it was going too fast for them and would not slow. Momentum would place it in a cometary orbit, taking it out to Neptune and back to Mars and back every six months. It was not Stardock now. It was Wanderer. Worker bots crawled along the hull and began to redesignate it as such.

"What about the Stardock in orbit, General? Do you have Space forces to take care of that? If you don't, we can divert a battle group to take it down."

"I don't know. Haven't got an update on that yet. Our forces can handle it though." He says, not knowing that they had turned back and were heading back home with their tails between their legs(in the case of some crewmen, literally).

"Well, General, my congratulations on a job well done in ending this crisis. I applaud you too, Keeper." The Doctor smiled. "If my nation ever has computer problems, we will politely ask for you!"