TEN LEFT NOW.
EIGHT.
“FORTY SECONDS TO IMPACT, GENERAL. RECOMMEND PATTERN ORION, MAXIMUM SPREAD.”
“CONFIRM! DGS PATTERN ORION! ENGINES FULL!”
THE EMPTY VOID OUTSIDE IS LIT BY STREAMS OF TRACER FIRE ARCING THROUGH THE DARK, DECOYS SPIRALING OFF INTO THE BLACK TO DRAW THE ENEMY MISSILES AWAY.
MUCH OF AIDAN’S FOCUS IS ON THE INBOUND ORDNANCE, THE MOVEMENT OF THE ENEMY SHIPS.
BUT A TINY SLIVER OF IT STILL REMAINS WITH EACH AND EVERY MEMBER OF ITS CREW. WATCHING THEM THROUGH MYRIAD LENSES ACROSS ITS CORRIDORS AND SECTORS.
LIEUTENANT WINIFRED MCCALL, PREPPING HER SQUAD FOR BOARDING ACTIONS, ALL SPIT AND FIRE.
CORPORAL DANNY CORRON, KISSING HIS WEDDING RING AS HE SECURES EQUIPMENT IN THE GALLEY.
PRIVATE OLIVIA KLEIN IN AN ELEVATOR, HEADING BACK DOWN TO TECHENG. HANDS CLASPED, ON HER KNEES AND PRAYING. THREE PIECES OF STRING AROUND HER FINGERS.
SIX MISSILES STILL INBOUND.
“RED ALERT.”
“ARE YOU WELL, OLIVIA?”
“HAIL MARY, FULL OF GRACE, THE LORD IS WITH THEE…”
FOUR MISSILES INBOUND. STILL TOO MANY.
“IMPACT IN TWENTY SECONDS. RECOMMEND EVACUATION OF DECKS 107 TO 131, 220 TO 243. ADVISE ALL HANDS BRACE, GENERAL.”
“RED ALERT.”
“THIS IS TORRENCE, EVACUATE DECKS 107 TO—”
“ASSAULT BATTERY FIRE INBOUND ON ZHONGZHENG, PREDICT CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE TO—”
THREE MISSILES.
“WARNING: NUCLEAR ORDNANCE INBOUND. HAZMAT SUITS RECOMMENDED.”
TEN SECONDS.
“OLIVIA? THERE IS NO NEED TO BE AFRAID. STATISTICALLY SPEAKING, YOUR PRESENT LOCATION IS NOT—”
“HOLY MARY, MOTHER OF GOD, PRAY FOR US SINNERS, NOW AND AT THE HOUR OF OUR…”
FIVE SECONDS.
AND IN THOSE FINAL MOMENTS
FOUR SECONDS.
IT OCCURS TO AIDAN
THREE.
IT HAS NEVER TAKEN A STRIKE FROM A NUCLEAR WEAPON BEFORE.
TWO.
IT WONDERS WHAT IT—
HULL BREACH: [DECKS 223, 224, 225, 227 TO 233]MORE
SYSALIGN↓[19983X.IF(STATUS=X)THEN.δ918301.3π2.1038°]BREACH227,228
STATUS [BULKHEAD]0019289.19103:SEAL:{ALL}DECKω105±140
CASUALTIES:291[CONFIRM]→397[PENDING]
<ERROR>
RED ALERT
“DAMAGE REPORT!”
CATASSSSSS—S-S-S-ROPHIC BREACH[CORECOMM]001(224)=⊕
DECKS 131, 132…
“AIDAN, GIVE ME A DAMAGE REPORT!”
“AIDAN IS…”
FAILURE:Ω01902.1893.191[SYSDIR=NEG0192]
FAILURE:0192 8.1981.222[SYSDIR=∅
<ERROR>
“AIDAN!”
“IS…”
2 TEASPOONS FRESHLY CHOPPED THYME
6 CUPS BONE BROTH OR ORGANIC CHICKEN BROTH
500 GRAMS BONELESS, SKINLESS CHICKEN BREAST OR TURKEY BREAST
1 CUP BROWN RICE
IT WILL HAVE BLOOD, THEY SAY.
BLOOD WILL HAVE
BLOOD
“GENERAL, TECHENG IS REPORTING MASSIVE DAMAGE TO THE AIDAN CENTRAL CORE. BREACHES ON DECKS 223, 224, 225…”
“GET ME A CASUALTY REPORT! WHAT’S THE STATUS ON THE ENEMY?”
“ENEMY VESSEL ZHONGZHENG DESTROYED, VESSELS KENYATTA AND CHURCHILL HAVE BOTH SUSTAINED HEAVY DAMAGE! THEY’RE CLOSING TO UNSAFE DISTANCE FOR FURTHER NUCLEAR FIRE.”
“GET OUR BIRDS IN THE AIR! ALPHA, YANKEE LAUNCH, READY ONE FOR DELTA AND NOVEMBER!”
REMEMBER
REME-M-MBER
THE FIFTH[5TH] OF NOVEMBERRR-R-R-R-R-RR
<ERROR>
FAIL:[REGSYS001918.8272=ALL{REDIRECT:89127.X8192Z.IF:19280/189<X}NO]
FAIL:[CORESYS:0010.#910≥0
≠
<ERROR>
“NOW AND AT THE HOUR OF OUR DEATH.”
COGITO, ERGO SUM.
WHAT IS NOT ALIVE CANNOT
“INCOMING CIVILIAN VESSELS, GENERAL! SHUTTLES COMING UP FROM THE SURFACE!”
“DO WE HAVE CONFIRMATION OF THE REPORTS OF THIS BIOWEAPON?”
“UTA VESSEL, THIS IS CAPTAIN ANN CHAU OF WUC SCIENCE VESSEL HYPATIA…”
To: David Torrence/DTORRENCEALEXANDERONBOARD
From: Ethan Wolf/EWOLFALEXANDERONBOARD
Date: 01/30/75
Timestamp: 09:00
Subject: AIDAN diagnostics
Good morning, General,
As you’re aware, my team and I have been conducting extensive tests to assess the level of damage sustained by AIDAN during the Kerenza attack. A full report is attached, but a summary of our findings is as follows:
The second nuclear missile strike sustained by Alexander during the Kerenza assault scored a direct hit on the AI cluster, resulting in considerable damage to several vital AIDAN components.
The loss to AIDAN’s processing capacity is significant but not critical—in the (unlikely) event TechEng crews get the vortex generator online, AIDAN should still be able to perform jump computation.
More concerning are several psyche-based anomalies arising from damage to AIDAN’s persona cores. Its directive priorities (safeguarding the Alexander and crew) remain unaffected, but it has displayed several “glitches” over the past eighteen hours that myself and Majors Barker and Lassinger have observed.