Tron 2.34 – Signal Injection

Jet watched the Datawraith tanks as they approached through the viewing console of the tank’s main gun. Every few seconds, there would be a glow that lifted up around the incoming shell as it arced towards the system forces, now closing to retake the Datawraith occupied sector.

For a while, the shells came in singularly, then Jet saw the telltale glow rising from the Datawraith ranks suddenly increase in size and spread.

“Jade, take evasive action, they’ve fired a volley” Jet called out, as Jade realized herself where the trajectories were intersecting locally and the tank lurched beneath Jet as several rounds of incoming shells struck near them, ripping into the ground and damaging the rear end of one of the Kernel’s tanks.

Once the vibration of the volley subsided, Jet’s first thought was of the transport which would have been within range of the fire as they moved forward.

Spinning the turret, Jet looked around frantically until he located the transport Ma3a was driving moving in behind some other tanks, but unharmed.

Now the Datawraith tank applications were firing openly, although not at the same time, and there was another loud crash that shook the interior of Jet’s tank as it struck nearby.

Jet lost sight of Ma3a’s carrier and returned his turret to face the oncoming front.

“Jade, can we communicate directly with Ma3a?” Jet called over the noise of the shell’s near impact.

“Routing inter-program communications packets through common memory,” called back Jade, as she made some changes on her console.

“That should be more efficient than using the communications stack.” Continued Jade as she adjusted the settings from her console. “I believe you now have a direct channel.”

“Ma3a, can you hear me?” Jet spoke out, not sure how this worked.

“Jet, you just opened a direct stream to my core communications application, of course I can hear you.” came back Ma3a’s blunt response.

“Ma3a, are you able to stay away from the Datawraith fire and protect the shells?,” Jet asked her.

There was a pause, followed by a calm voice coming over the communications channel.

“Presently I’m only avoiding the impact zones,” said Ma3a. “Is there something I should be observing the fire for?”

“No, Just keep the shells away from danger – hold back out of range until it’s safe if necessary,” said Jet, realizing then that these programs were veterans and in this area, he was the beginner in this environment.

“You’re friend has a higher processing capability for trajectories than I do,” said Jade. “She has active algorithms for laser control so should be able to track the position of all incoming shells.”

Jet pulled his face from the turret display.

“How do you know that?” he asked.

“Logfile entries from the algorithms during digitization,” came Jade’s response.

“I didn’t think of that,” said Jet, then returning his attention to the viewfinder, looked around.

“Jade, why aren’t the Kernel’s forces returning fire?” he asked.

“Range limitations,” said Jade.

Around him, the tanks were no longer moving in a clean formation and were scattered almost randomly in their positioning relative to Jet.

“That doesn’t make sense. If they can hit us from there, we should be able to hit them from here.”

Jet lifted his face from the visor once more and looked back at Jade and Mercury. They were both spinning around him now, Mercury having stepped up to assist in the process of calculating drive vectors.

“Jade, what’s the range to the base entrance?” Jet asked, hoping to get an idea of the scales involved.

“Approximately fourteen thousand, six hundred and two units at the moment you asked,” said Jade, looking up briefly at a slate attached to the column she stood before.

“And the range of the tank main weapon?” Jet asked.

“Maximum range is ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine units, however effective scope resolution drops that to two thousand units for programs and eight thousand units for tanks.” Jade’s voice came back.

“Jade, do you think that the Datawraith have a longer range aiming capability?” he asked.

“No, my user. If we were within range of their aiming routines, the first shells would have impacted with far more accuracy,” said Jade.

Jet looked back through the scope and attempted to align on a Datawraith tank. Jade was correct about the range. The aiming mechanism simply didn’t seem to be able to lock onto the opposing vehicles.

Lifting the base of the aiming reticule to touch on a tank, Jet fired without the benefit of the auto-aim and watched as his shell arced into the ground harmlessly well before it got anywhere near the enemy.

“My user, our ammunition is limited and firing before we are in range will only reduce our energy and alert the Datawraiths to the fact we are out of range.”

Jet ignored her.

“There’s something I learned from playing video games in the real world,” said Jet.

Jet lifted the aiming reticule higher yet, making an estimate as to the height of the original impact, then allowed a little more that felt right.

“What is that, my user,” Jade asked.

“Kernel, we just just tank 4F,” A voice Jet didn’t recognize came across the communications channel. The Datawraith shots might not be well aimed, but they sometimes got lucky. Even if Ma3a could calculate incoming trajectories, it didn’t mean that she would be safe. A lucky shot might still strike home.

Jet lowered his thumb onto the firing button, loosing a shell in the direction of the Datawraith forces.

The shell arced high, lifting well above the other system tanks and followed a ballistic arc through the space between the two approaching forces.

As it came down, the shell found it’s mark, driving deep into one of the Datawraith tanks and immediately blowing it into primitives which bounced around the Datawraith formation.

“Bullseye,” said Jet, and then the Datawraith formation started to break up.

“My user, how did you?” Jade started to ask.

“Corrected by eye. It’s something I learned to do a long time ago with light-gun games where the aim point wasn’t properly calibrated,” said Jet. “You just need to aim a little higher, find an impact point, then use that as a reference to fire your next shot.” Jet responded.

Some of the other tanks in the System formation began firing now, all of their shots hitting even lower than Jet’s original shot had, but it seemed that these programs were capable of learning.

“Jade, did the other tank drivers hear what I said then?” he asked.

“Common memory communications service.” Jade said. “

“Public chat server?” Jet asked.

“I believe the designation of the routine is IRC, my user,” Jade said.

“I must remember that this isn’t a private channel,” mumbled Jet to himself, then was about to offer advice to the other tanks when the Kernel cut through the channel.

“Cease fire until in range,” came the command.

Jet felt the need to correct him.

“Kernel, the method works acceptably,” Jet said. “I recommend that you allow the tank drivers to attempt to maintain fire. It will keep the Datawraiths fire off us also.”

There was a brief pause, during which one or two tanks actually opened fire, as if pushed on by Jet’s comments.

The shots arced high this time, and came down in the Datawraith formation, although there were no direct hits.

“Cease fire,” came the Kernel once more. “Save shell charge for later when we engage at correct tracking distance.”

The tanks all lowered their main guns.

“Well I don’t have to obey the Kernel’s command do I Jade?” Jet said absently to himself and squeezed off another shot, this one also missing.

“No my user,” came Jade’s response as she continued to do her best to evade the slightly lessened incoming fire as the two tank groups approached.

Working his way through the almost darkened corridor, the stroboscopic effect of the emergency lights made it difficult to see through his night vision goggles.

“It would be easier if they could just turn on the lights.” He called out to the others with him as he made his way carefully avoiding wiring and other snares.

His rifle was shouldered at the moment, but the limited field of view of the night vision monocle made it difficult to see, so his movements were still constrained.

“What is this shit?” asked the soldier behind him, looking around.

“This was some kind of research lab,” said the point soldier, making exaggerated movements as he ducked around equipment.

“Government?” asked the soldier behind.

“Fuck knows. Private I think.” Said the point soldier.

“Right in the middle of this city too. Do you think anyone had any idea?” asked the one behind.

“Why would they,” asked the point soldier.

“Because this kind of stuff is kind of weird, like nuclear or some kind of shit, isn’t it?” said the soldier following.

“Nah, this is more like a hospital,” said the one in front. “But I heard one of the guards say this place made computers.”

There was a pause as the soldier following absorbed it.

“Like the one in my kid’s room?” he finally said.

“Nah, like old, when they were the size of fridges.” Said the point soldier.

“So how big is this one?”

“About the size of a couple of semi’s I reckon. Maybe they were like, NASA.”

The point soldier reached a T-intersection.

“Anyway, I think I can hear some sound coming from that way,” he said, pointing, before moving off in that direction.

Firing off another round that hit the ground just in front of a Datawraith tank, Jet could feel something wrong. The holdover from the targeting display had almost vanished now, but the system forces were still coming under Datawraith fire, but were yet to open fire themselves.

“Jade, do you have the range data to the Datawraith tanks?” Jet asked.

“Estimated range, nine thousand three hundred and fourteen units. Base entrance, Ten thousand, seven hundred and two units.” Responded Jade crisply, even as she changed direction once more to avoid an incoming array of fire.

The implications were that although the Datawraiths were moving, they were not advancing. They had remained near the entrance to the base, waiting to defend it.

Jet estimated that the system forces had lost one in ten tanks to the volleys from the Datawraith tanks and they still had not moved into the range where their targeting systems.

Jet himself had only destroyed two more tanks in the same time, but it still kept the Datawraith forces moving and that kept their heads down and made their firing less accurate.

Jet cycled the weapon, preparing to fire another round.

“Main weapon at eighty percent charge,” said Jade, as some threshold for reporting must have moved through the syslog archives, or perhaps appeared on a screen before her.

Jet paused for a moment, to remember that his firing at a distance may be helping them, but it wasn’t going to help his situation once they closed if he used all their ammunition before arrival.

Still , he aimed more carefully before waiting himself for the range to drop, this final shot arcing high above a Datawraith tank that had been sitting stationary for a few second, subjective time.

The shot was good and another Datawraith left the field as the rear end of his tank was blown into small fragments before the remainder, shifted sideways, derezzed.

Jet was sure he could almost make out the light purple of a Datawraith running from the rubble as the tank derezzed, so perhaps the Datawraith within had made it out.

They were close now, to actually engaging the Datawraith. Though the firing scope, Jet could see other System tanks reduce their evasive actions and now they drove directly at the Datawraith tanks, cutting the distance between them rapidly.

In response to that, and perhaps Jet’s last successful shot, some of the Datawraith tanks broke formation and began wheeling around to return to the base behind them.

“I bet the Datawraiths were surprised to see system tanks,” said Jet. “Have you ever encountered their tanks before?”

“At times,” said Jade. “I was involved in the original defense of Sector one.”

“And the Kernel didn’t try to repel the Datawraiths then?” Jet asked.

“We lost half the tanks in the attempt to engage the enemy that time,” said Jade.

“Half? You mean this isn’t the first time?” Jet asked, wondering why it still seemed so easy at the moment.

“Both destroyed system tank driver applications were good friends,” said Jade, talking of the past as if she was wary to let her thoughts return.

Jet listened to her words carefully, realizing the difference.

“So the Kernel only sent four tank programs to defend sector one?” Jet asked.

“Yes my user. The Kernel did not anticipate that anything in Sector one would have the capability to engage a tank program.”

Swinging the turret around, the field nearby was covered with tanks. If the original attack was four tanks, would the Datawraiths be expecting a full array of more than two hundred tank programs?

There were quite a few Datawraith tanks, but they didn’t seem too keen to engage at all.

As Jet watched, the main body now started to turn around and run for the safety of the main base entrance.

The ones at the back must have been a little slow, because as Jet continued to watch, several system tanks at the front of the group moved their turrets and opened fire, each beginning to engage the running Datawraiths.

The Datawraith tanks were all turned and moving away now, zigzagging to avoid the incoming fire to them that was starting to build in intensity as more system tanks moved across the aiming threshold.

That was when Jet looked on past the base entrance and noticed clearly the tower that Simon had pointed out to him earlier.

Watching it briefly, a resolution field began to form around the top of the tower as something started to be formed there.

“I don’t think the Datawraiths finished the tanksmasher,” said Jet, watching as the field appeared around the tip of the tower. At this distance though, it seemed to be a matrix of material, with a small object at the very tip, like a tiny ball.

“Tanksmasher?” asked Jade.

Mercury also looked up at Jet, leaving behind her navigational assistance to Jade as she did so.

“Are you familiar with that weapon?” Jade asked.

Ahead now, the resolution field started to shimmer as it brought in more and more data, then the tiny ball at the tip filled in.

“Not at all,” Jet said. “Another user told me of its existence but I have no idea beyond that how it works.”

By now, the Tanks around Jet were all targeting the fleeing Datawraith forces who were trying to move behind cover through the entrance to the base.

Now the tide of the initial opening battle seemed to be turning in favor of the system forces as several Datawraith tanks fell to the delete shells from the Kernel’s tanks.

Jet occasionally glimpsed the fall of Datawraith tanks, but maintained his focus on the assembling data occurring around the tanksmasher.

“My user, the Datawraith tanks are now within tracking range of the main weapon. You may open fire,” Jade’s voice came through clearly to Jet.

Just then, the top of the tanksmasher – the small ball, shot straight up into the air, vertically rising from the top of the device.

“Not Yet,” said Jet. “I’m concerned about that weapon.”

“Ma3a,” Jet then called. “Can you see the tanksmasher?” Jet called over the public channel.

“What am I looking for?” Ma3a came back.

“That inverted funnel shaped tower over to the right,” Jet called.

There was a pause.

“What is a funnel shape?” came Ma3a.

Jet paused for a moment, his memory of maths at school failing him briefly, then coming clear.

“It approximates the Y axis function of one over X as a profile, rotated axially around the Y axis,” Jet called out.

“I see something that approximates that at the far quadrant of the approximal base section,” said Ma3a. “Something appears to be rezzing in at the tip”

“Yeah,” said Jet. “That would be it.”

Then Jet noticed what Ma3a had seen. Where the small ball tip, like the top of a biro, had been there was now a new ball rezzing in.

“What happened to the ball that was there before?” Jet asked, then his answer came without warning.

A huge shudder went through Jade’s tank and the controls either side of the viewscreen seemed to try to pull themselves from Jet’s grasp.

The capability of the unknown weapon became immediately apparent.

Barely five tank lengths away, a tank at the rear of the formation, between Jet’s tank and the Kernel, became the first target.

Without warning, a huge sphere primitive dropped like a ball of solid concrete, obliterating the tank program in a shower of primitive shards that ricocheted of the surrounding tanks like shrapnel, each impact with a system tank taking shards of digital armor from its otherwise smooth surfaces.

Where the tank had once been now sat a huge sphere, roughly the same size as the tank and embedded into the ground to the mid-point, having shattered its way through the surface of the pathway.

There was no way that the ICP inside could have survived the impact.

“Damn it all, Jade, why didn’t that tank take evasive action? The sphere must have been following a ballistic arc for at least a quarter of a cycle. Why didn’t it move?” Jet called.

Jade looked back at Jet’s face with a look of shock on her face.

“My user, even my own screens did not tell me of the weapon’s trajectory,” Jade explained, clearly shocked that such a thing could happen.

Mercury stepped into the circle at the centre of the tank and leaned over Jet, looking through the viewfinder over his shoulder.

“Jet, I don’t think the tanks can track the objects.” She said.

Jet considered the implications. Had the Datawraiths been able to find a vulnerability in the tank program code?

Jet tried to get an idea of what was happening as another impact, this one distant, sounded the deresolution of another system ICP.

“Jade, what is the inclination tracking capability of the tank evasive routines?” Jet asked.

“Forty Five Degrees,” said Jade back.

Jet swiveled the tank turret around to look at the tank-smashing tower that was launching the destructive balls.

“Damn, the Datawraiths must have worked that out. The balls come in over the higher ballistic trajectory so you can’t see them coming,” Jet said.

As he spoke, a third huge sphere came crashing down midway through the tank formation and pounded another victim through the data surface and into digital oblivion, this impact also taking out a nearby tank that took too much shrapnel and simply came to a standstill, too damaged to move.

“Kernel,” Jet called out, hoping that the Kernel was still monitoring the communications. “The tank-smasher is using high-angle attacks to defeat the tracking routines in the tank application.”

There was a delay, then the Kernel’s voice came back quietly.

“You may be correct, Program. If we return to the Terminus, we can avoid further attacks and prepare a new strategy,” came back the response.

The Kernel sounded very unsure all of a sudden.

“Damn it all Kernel, you had the Datawraiths on the run – you can’t pull back now,” Jet screamed. “Take evasive action by eye.”

Jet wasn’t even sure how that could be achieved, but it seemed logical that if they faced one tanksmasher now and it was working so well, they could end up facing dozens when they returned and time was running out.

Another sphere came down, raining kinetic data hell as it clipped the edge of a tank on its way down into the surface of Sector 1, flipping the huge tank into the air like a gigantic tiddlywink.

The tank span up and out from the embedded ball, the front left corner completely smashed open, sparks spewing from the hole as the remaining primitives started disconnecting and coming apart as it rotated upwards.

As it reached an apex high above the battlefield, the ICP piloting the vehicle came tumbling out of the tank’s ruptured carapace, then all the components floated briefly at the apogee and began derezzing before they even had time to fall.

“Kernel,” came a panicking ICP voice. “We have no capability for tracking of this new weapon. Request instructions to execute.”

There was a pause that seemed to permeate the battle as tank programs stopped firing, only the purple fire from the badly outmatched Datawraith tanks still tracking through the carnage.

Then another sphere came down right between two tanks, hitting each of them at the edge and blowing both sideways like skittles, tumbling side over side as they bounced along the ground, one hitting another tank and coming to a rest before all three began to derez.

The Kernel’s voice crackled over the command channel almost as if in sympathy with the derezzing tanks and ICPs.

“ICPs, pull back,” called out the Kernel. “Regroup array out of range of Datawraith weapons and await further instructions.”

Jet looked around frantically at Jade.

“Jade, we need to press the attack,” Jet said. “Otherwise we won’t be able to take the out of band connection.”

Jade’s face betrayed her fear, but her voice showed the depth to which she would trust Jet.

“My user,” she said, then opened up the communications channel to the array.

“All ICPs in array, this is General Syslog. Proceed into Datawraith compound now and take command of all Datawraith directories.”

Jet was stunned by the command. Acting on his request, she had openly challenged the order of the Kernel himself.

On hearing the command, the ICPs began to turn around, their tanks coming about as they moved to obey the new instruction.

There was a brief crackle over the communications line as Jade’s channel was overridden, then the Kernel’s voice came back with the presence Jet had come to expect from the old program.

“All ICPs, ignore or abort command from General Syslog. Do not retry.” Came the authorative response.

Jet looked at Jade.

“Can you override the Kernel?” he asked.

“My user,” exclaimed Jade. “I have already tried.”

Cursing, Jet swiveled the turret to see if any tanks would follow Jade’s command, but to an element, each tank and it’s ICP began to wheel again, preparing to disengage even as Datawraith tank fire ripped another system tank apart.

As he watched, yet another ball came down, this one missing all the tanks, but still shaking several close to the impact as it embedded itself in the ground as had all the others.

“Why did they miss that time?” Jet wondered, then realized it with a clarity that came from the pressure he was under.

“Jade, change direction each time they fire. Calculate the time between firing and known estimated impact time and project this time against the current vector of the tank. Feed this location into the evasion algorithm as the next strike point and continue into the compound.” Jet called.

“Acknowledged, My User,” came Jade’s response and reflected in her eyes as she looked at him, Jet could see the terror a program must feel when it believed it was about to derez.

“Jade, don’t worry – we’ll be safe,” Jet called, trusting that his insight was correct, then he turned to face Mercury.

“Mercury, transmit the course evasion routines to Ma3a and bring in the shells. We’re staying even if the others are leaving. Then transmit the algorithm to each element of the array so that if they do come back, they can avoid being struck.”

“Transmitting algorithm now,” came Mercury’s voice and as Jet swung the turret around, he saw the small transport swing through some of the fleeing tank programs and towards them.

Ahead, the ball firing monstrosity again launched its lethal payload, causing Jade to suck in her breath. As the other tanks were all leaving now, there would be little question about the target of this shot.

“Now, feed that into the course computations and locate the impact point based on current vector,” commanded Jet.

Jade hammered in the details as he spoke.

“Complete,” said Jade, omitting the usual “My user” in her haste.

Jet smiled at that change alone, then realized she needed to be talked through this first one.

“Now feed that location into the evasion computer and get some distance between us as that point,” said Jet.

Jade hit a panel on the spinning console column and the tank slewed around as Jet had expected.

The everyone in the tank was silent.

“I believe they might be targeting us with the next shot,” said Jade.

“I’m sure they are Jade,” said Jet. “In fact, I’m counting on it.”

Jade looked down at the floor, stopped the spinning of the columns around the turret control then looked directly at Jet’s face as if she wanted to say something.

“My user, if we,” she began, then there was a huge crash to the side of the tank as the sphere of devastation demolished the pathway exactly where Jet had predicted it would, this one smashing through the the ground completely and plummeting down into a small ravine that sat beneath that small section of track where it formed a bridge of sorts.

Jade jumped at the sound, the realizing she was still alive and processing, smiled. “My user, it is exactly as you said.”

“Kernel,” called out Jet over the communications channel. “You just observed that the algorithm changes implemented by General Syslog are effective in avoiding the tanksmasher. I request that you turn your chicken-assed array around, implement the changes and take these interlopers on for once and for all.”

Another sphere fired from the tower and again, Jet felt the vehicle he was in change direction randomly to avoid the impact, this time slewing to the left and making a final beeline for the compound.

Datawraith fire came in now as they rounded the edge of the compound and Jet swung the turret around and lined up on the offending tank, firing a deresolution spike directly into the intersection of the turret and base, blowing the turret clear off the tank before it derezzed.

Another Datawraith vehicle came from the other side and was coming in directly on Jet’s flank, ready to open fire when a huge sphere came in and smashed the Datawraith vehicle into dozens of shards of primitives before itself derezzing around the embedded ball.

Jet swung the turret around to see what the Kernel was doing and just then saw one tank unit swing around and re-vector to engage the Datawraiths.

Then a voice that was familiar to Jet came over the radio.

“Array unit two one five, processing General Syslog request, retry,” came Section’s voice.

Then another broke away from the rest to follow the first.

“Array unit two one six, retry,” came Crypto’s voice.

Jet swung his turret around to re-engage a Datawraith lightcycle that had come driving out from the side of the gate, taking it apart with a single shot that shifted the vehicle directly sideways before it derezzed.

“Thanks, guys, I really appreciate this,” said Jet.

“Unit two one five, two one six, disengage,” came the Kernel’s voice. “Acknowledge.”

In the background chatter, Jet could hear the Kernel now attempting to regain control of his troops. His voice was coming through a lot quieter now however, as if something was lost from his command.

There was the slightest of pauses in the background chatter as the vertical canon of the tanksmasher fired again and each tank returning to the fight readjusted its vector.

“Kernel, checksum error on last instruction received, please retransmit,” came Section’s voice, as he openly defied his commander.

As soon as another sphere smashed down almost harmlessly beside the two tanks that had broken off to re-engage the Datawraiths, the comms line started to come to life.

“Unit one three six, Retry,” came the first voice, followed by a cascade of others.

Looking back at Jade, Jet noticed a surprised look on her face.

“They are disobeying the Kernel’s command,” she said. “Each of them faces summary deresolution. Why would they do that?”

“Because I think deep down, each of them wants a piece of Datawraith ass to hang over their mantle,” said Jet, smiling.

Jade cocked her head at him.

“It’s also because you led by example, Jade. Don’t ever underestimate the affect that can have on those who respect and follow you.” Jet added.

Jade’s confused expression lasted a moment longer, then she smiled as she picked up on the compliment and Jet returned to the turret.

Now well inside the base, Jade was doing her best to take advantage of the brief confusion a single tank entering presented while Jet continued firing the main cannon with devastating effect. Despite their earlier effectiveness, it seemed that the Datawraith tanks were no match for the system tanks up close.

Realising that all of their advantages were now diminished, the Datawraiths were running for the out-of-band connection and the way out.

Somewhere in the background of the comms chatter, Jet could still hear the Kernel trying to regain control of his mutinying troops.

Behind and around them, the huge spheres still came down with devastating force, but there were no more system tank hits. The algorithms were intended to address non-adaptive tank applications, not the adaptive algorithms that Jet had come up with at the higher level that the programs operated on.

“My user, your instructions?” came Jade’s voice through the cockpit as a short barrage of fire from a Datawraith tank removed fist size chunks of primitive from the side of her tank.

Jet aligned on the tank and briefly traded shots with it, surprised at how the now close-in Datawraith tanks had little capability to take damage.

“To the tower that houses the tank smasher. It’s still a threat at the moment.” Jet called.

“Syslog formation in place,” came Section’s voice across the comlink. Swivelling the turret briefly, Jet noted that the other tanks had fallen in behind them in a Vee formation.

“Section, nice to have you with us,” said Jet.

“Just following orders,” said the Section leader that Jet had walked across three sectors with. “I see reinforcements on the radar.”

It was apparent to all however that they were doing anything but following orders.

As the front-line Datawraith tanks fled, a new formation appeared from the middle of the base, heading towards the rapidly regrouping system forces.

“Formation, engage enemy tanks. These are fresh vehicles, and may have adaptive routines, so could be a lot harder to take down. Crypto – I want you on my six while we take out that tower. Then we can mop up.” Jet called over the command channel.

“Array unit two one six, request retransmission of last instruction,” came Crypto’s confused voice.

“Crypto, just stay behind us and protect us from taking any further damage. I’m not sure how much we’ve taken already and we need to destroy the tower.” Jet clarified.

“Unit two one six, Acknowledge,” came Crypto’s voice.

The remainder of the unit moved out now to engage the sixteen odd reserve tanks that had remained further in-base and out of the way of the tank battle so far.

As Jade continued to turn towards the tower base, moving them and Crypto’s tank out of the core of the formation, the opening of the tower at the base began to appear.

“Unit two one five, you have command of array formation Alpha,” Jade handed off, then returned her attention to the opening.

“What do you intend to do in there?” Jade asked.

“Find a way to stop that weapon. We can’t move forever and we need to make this place to bring the evacuees through.”

Despite the small arms fire, the system tank had little trouble moving through the lightly defended gap and into the opening at the base of the tanksmasher funnel and tower.

Jade pulled behind some box primitives and sat out of the line of fire of any tanks that might come through the entrance after them. The individually armed Datawraiths on the other hand had little trouble tracking them.

“My user, we are now inside the enemy weapon. Your instructions?” Jade asked.

Outside, the sound of Datawraith small-arms fire could be heard bouncing off the tank hull.

“Jade, can I rez in a lightcycle inside the tank?” Jet asked.

“That should be possible,” Jade reasoned. Jet reached out to Mercury to hand him the handle, then stepping to the rear of the open space in the tank, activated it, rezzing in the modified lightcycle.

“Jade, lower the rear hatch just until we’re clear, then back up and cover us.” Jet called.

Jet looked over at Mercury, who immediately took her cue and stepped in, in front of Jet, swinging her leg over and mounting the lightcycle as the driver before the canopy rezzed in.

As the hatch came down, Mercury gunned the drive of the lightcycle, causing the wheel to spin.

As the hatch further dropped, fire began to enter from the Datawraith hand weapons, and a Datawraith soldier stopped directly behind the tank and aimed into the cavity exposed by the opening hatch.

Without waiting for Jade to finish lowering the hatch, Mercury let the lightcycle surge forward over the half-open ramp, striking the Datawraith with the back wheel as she did.

The Datawraith’s head, now providing the only traction, shot forward into the open ramp of the tank, dragging his body along with it, before both derezzed in a purple disc of translucent energy that floated up briefly.

The lightcycle came down facing towards the opening as the tank turret started to turn, Jade now at the controls, and system tank shells started to fire into Datawraith held areas within the building. Cubes and other items that would have provided protection against a LOL or disc scattered and exploded at the touch of the high potential tank delete shells, which ripped through the objects very existence to get at the Datawraiths taking cover behind them.

Mercury spun the lightcycle around on the spot and the now-two-place vehicle sped into the open area under the base of the tank smasher tower, Datawraith small-arms fire flashing off it as it moved.

Inside, Jet pointed over Mercury’s shoulder in the cramped confined of the canopy.

“Mercury, there’s an access point over there where we should be able to make out way to the top of the tower.

On the side of the tower inside wall, on a walkway about four subjective meters above the ground, sat a bit access point and a small opening that led into the structure itself.

Mercury twisted the lightcycle through a very analogue turn, so as to take the cycle around the outside of a group of datacubes, running through two Datawraiths as she did so, before hitting a wedge shaped primitive ramp that launched them over the edge of a walkway that connected to the access point.

Coming to a stop, Mercury derezzed the canopy just short of the bit that controlled the access point, allowing Jet to jump off.

Jet placed his palm over the bit and fed energy into it, activating it and opening the portal shaped door beside it.

“Mercury, cover me while I activate the bit!,” Jet called to Mercury, who nodded and then began throwing her disk at anything that moved near where they stood.

Ducking Datawraith fire from the inside cavity in the tower, Jet finished feeding energy into the bit then stood back waiting for the door to slide open.

Finally, the door moved, only to reveal around two dozen Datawraiths standing in the corridor beyond. For a moment, they stood looking at each other, then the Datawraith in front brought his weapon up as Jet’s disk loosed, cutting him down as it struck him in the chest.

Immediately, the other Datawraiths ran out from the portal as Jet tried to take cover and immediately began to fire at him.

Ducking back, Jet took cover behind the lightcycle as Mercury dropped to the protective side with him.

“Where did they come from,” Jet called out rhetorically.

“From the inside of this structure,” said Mercury, removing her rod primitive and converting it into a LOL.

“I know that,” said Jet, then realizing this wasn’t the time for conversation, said “Never mind, just how do we get rid of them?”

Purple energy rained down on the lightcycle behind them, slowing ripping free primitives and derezzing the lightcycle in the process as Jet and Mercury sat with their backs to it.

Jet lifted the sudo to his lips.

“Jade, we need a little help here, if you’re not too busy,” Jet called.

Out across the open area inside the cavernous entry, the lead tank stopped engaging the nearby Datawraiths and realigned the turret.

“Acknowledge my user, recommend you take cover, minimum radius overlap error.” came the response.

“minimum radius overlap,” repeated Jet, then grabbed Mercury by the wrist and dragged her up as Datawraith fire turned the air around them purple.

“Mercury, Run,” Jet called, dragging his online lover behind him through the charged air around them.

Jet threw himself behind a wall pillar on the outside of the path, where it met the wall. Mercury was right behind him.

As he pressed his back against the wall, he saw the shimmer of a Datawraith as it moved rapidly to the location directly in front of him, decloaked and held the blaster directly to Jet’s face, between his eyes.

“Reassign user privilege,” called the Datawraith to Jet in a voice that sounded like a broken mobile phone screaming in some arcane language.

Neither Jet nor Mercury could respond with force, having just moved back behind cover, when Jet noticed the tank re-align the barrel slightly.

“Minimum distance locus check acceptable. Firing,” said Jade, then the tank shell seemed to come directly up at Jet, before arcing slightly to the right a split second later.

Then there was a huge flash and the Datawraith standing in front of Jet was struck by the still-derezzing body of another Datawraith that seemed to ride on the surface of an expanding field of energy that moved out from where the large number of Datawraiths had been.

“Wow,” said Jet, blinking as the last pieces of blast-shattered primitive bounced around the surface of the walkway. “I’m definitely glad not to be on the receiving end of that.”

To Jet’s side, the body of the Datawraith that had cornered him began to derez.

Jet stepped over a shattered piece of data and looked through the portal. Inside was a control room that appeared to have several activating bits and access to a short balcony on the outside of the tower, but little else that appeared like a weapon control room.

Still, there had been a number of Datawraith in here, so Jet considered that it must be important. He looked over the room, then realizing he needed to find a deeper way in, placed his hand against a panel to read the code directly.

For a moment, Jet closed his eyes to absorb the information, then opened them again as Mercury put her hand on his shoulder.

“What does this do, Jet?” she asked.

“The main control room is at the top of the tower, Merc.”

“These bits control the activation gates on the surface of the tower,” said Jet, then looking up, “And we need to get to the top of the tower to shut it down.

“I think the gates are a part of the tracking system that allows the weapon to fire, but I think they have a mobile mode of operations also as they refocus. If I can activate that mode, they might allow us to move our way up the outside of the tower.”

“Can you activate the alternate mode?” Mercury asked.

“I don’t know, Merc,” said Jet. “This looks almost like a puzzle. I think it may have been like a back-door access to the system once, but now it only represents a sealed point on the way to the control room.

“But the notes in the code suggest that this provides a way up.”

Jet then placed his palm against a bit and fed it energy, before activating a control.

The bit came loose of its mooring and sped off, Jet guessed to somewhere at the top of the tower. He walked out on the balcony and looked up. One of the gates started to move.

He then looked down and ducked back into the control room as two Datawraith tanks passed by on the outside, watched them go, then started counting.

“What are you doing, Jet?” Mercury asked.

“Counting – it’s something users do to measure time flow,” said Jet.

“Counting what?” Mercury asked.

“How long before I need to push the next control over,” said Jet, then apparently satisfied, went back to the control and activated the second one as he counted down to zero.

Outside, another gate started to move. Moving outside to watch it, Jet smiled as he worked out what he needed to do.

“It’s like a basic puzzle, Merc. I just need to time it right and we’re off,” Jet said.

A voice came through the Sudo.

“Jet, Datawraiths cleared from the inside of the facility,” Mercury’s voice came.

Jet nodded and smiled. “Good work – how’s the Kernel doing?”

“Still trying to regain control – the troops have all gone standalone,” she responded.

“They’ll listen if he engages the enemy. Can you keep us covered? We need to find a way to the top of this tower.”

“Yes, My user,” came Jade’s reply.

It made Jet smile as he started counting.

Next: Chapter 2.35 – Escalated Permissions.