The Ashes of Worlds - Kevin J. Anderson [136]
After a long silence, Basil snapped to the guards, “Please clean up the mess.” He glanced at the vomit on the floor. “All of it.”
* * *
94
Sirix
The black robots worked together in space. Earth’s blue-and-white sphere was a target tantalizingly out of reach, though probably not for long.
Watchdog EDF engineers flitted along in inspection shuttles and scanning pods, while crew “supervisors” observed the industrious black machines gathering more debris to repair the damaged EDF ships. They tried not to interfere, but their very presence hindered Sirix’s efforts.
The human inspectors paid particularly close attention to the angular new robot vessels being assembled from scrap and structural components that were too damaged to be placed back into service for the EDF. Methodical robots worked in small teams to cobble together enormous vessels of radically different configurations. The inspectors could look all they liked. They had no hope of understanding the vessels or the hidden offensive weaponry.
Without remorse Sirix could have given a command for his robots to turn on the meddling humans, crack open the inspection pods, and pull their bloated bodies out into the cold vacuum. But he didn’t want to do that yet. He still had much to gain from them, so the deception must continue.
Sirix boarded one of the nearly complete Juggernauts, where overworked Hansa quality-control teams and EDF engineers were combing over the systems, anxious to give their stamp of approval. When the inspectors ran their diagnostics, they would see exactly the readings they expected. The microscopic booby traps were far too subtle to be found.
On the clean, sterile bridge of the giant ship, Sirix scuttled forward on fingerlike legs to stand before the pleased-looking team. “I am ready to pre-sent this vessel to your Earth Defense Forces, if it meets with your approval.”
“Oh, indeed! It’s as good as new.” The man clutched his electronic clipboard as if it were some kind of holy book. “Things are looking up.”
“You and your robots have our gratitude for the work you’re doing,” said the second inspector. “Faster and more efficient than our own crews could ever manage.”
They wanted so badly to believe that the robots really intended to help them. Sirix found it ironic, even amusing. “Then I look forward to the release of another one hundred robots from your manufactories.”
“We’ll put in the request. Everything seems to be in order here.”
The new robots would join existing work crews to keep the production moving at a rapid clip, which greatly pleased Chairman Wenceslas. As each new batch of robots was shipped up from the surface, four of Sirix’s comrades saw to their indoctrination, uploading true programming so that the new replacements were as close to real Klikiss robots as possible. They even installed shared memories in the new robots’ woefully empty storage modules. The new machines were like infants, but they were being educated rapidly.
Every one of them understood the overall mission.
For the first time since the end of the hydrogue war, Sirix actually began to feel strong again. Ah, yes, he and the humans, perfectly cooperative allies . . .
* * *
95
Adar Zan’nh
Even though they had provoked the Ildiran Empire, the Hansa would never be prepared for such an overwhelming attack by the Solar Navy—especially not now. With his own warliners and the nearly complete cohort led by Tal Ala’nh, Adar Zan’nh surely had enough firepower to resist the human military.
Even so, he also incorporated the five damaged warliners from Designate Ridek’h’s processional septa that had been burned by the faeros. After leaving Ildira, he had found two other maniples of warliners patrolling the outskirts of the Empire, guarding splinter colonies there. Now, his fleet swelled as they