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Kira had uncovered way more than she had expected to so quickly. She
understood some vague concepts of the Separatist culture and their plans. But
she only had a few solid pieces of information. It was too early to attempt a
contact back to Langley. Her mission was going as planned actually it was far
exceeding any expectations already. For now, there was little to do but to
close her eyes and rest for a while. It had been a long day so far.
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- Chapter 10
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Framed
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- Chapter 11
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- Chapter 11
Chapter 11
12:30 PM Mars Tharsis Standard Time
"So BIL, have you seen any other people wander through here lately?" Sehera
tried to hold on to a handhold in the wall of the belly of the mechanical
beast. The several-ton robotic spider-thing sprang with tremendous agility
from one mound of garbage to the next and made its way toward the large
elevator, making it a bumpy ride.
"No, ma'am. You are the first humans I've seen in more than four years. The
union strike that started the pull out of the Separatist workers in 2379
caused the government to cancel the contract for the human workers here. It
has been . . . lonely since then." The AI garbage hauler vehicle sounded
almost sad. "I
am very happy to greet you. It has been a long time since my auditory systems
have been put to use."
"That's sad, BIL." Deanna pouted and stuck her bottom lip out for effect but
it was lost on the garbage drone as there were no optical sensors in its
belly.
"Yes, I guess it is," he replied.
"So BIL, do you have any communication with the outside world at all? I mean,
how do you know what to do?" Joanie asked the AI. The bouncing of the garbage
hauler launched the little Triton woman nearly a meter into the air with each
stride. It grew tiresome, but
Joanie and Sehera had managed to make it a game with Deanna. Alexander was
only paying them partial attention.
"Oh, it is simple. This pile of plastics over here must be moved to there and
that pile of metals there needs to be loaded into the smelting system. The
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piles are always there and so I always have plenty to do," BIL answered.
"But what about the outside world?" Senator Moore asked.
"Sure, I am connected to all the local and wide area network systems including
the infrastructure QM. I
have to schedule with the other domes on how much of what materials they need
or are sending here.
That way I can be certain which pile to work on first. And many times we get
orders from elsewhere for particular materials." BIL continued to explain his
mundane daily routine.
"I'm not sure I follow, BIL." Reyez laughed nervously. The expression on his
face plainly stated that he couldn't believe that he was talking to a garbage
bug, much less inside one hanging on for dear life as the thing skittered up
and down the mountains of garbage in the reclamation and redistribution
center. When this adventure was over and the war calmed down, Alexander was
certain that Reyez would work an adventure store angle on riding in, or maybe
on, a giant robotic garbage hauler. After all, the ride was invigorating and
exciting, if smelly. But, adrenaline junkies would endure serious discomfort
for a new thrill. What was a little stench?
"Yes, let me see. The naval vessels often need to drop waste here and I
schedule that a really good source for methane distillation and soil
composting that. Hold on," BIL warned his passengers just before he made a
quick squatting bend and then bounced high across a crevasse in the mountain
of refuse.
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- Chapter 11
"Wheeee!" Deanna screamed and touched her toes cheerleader style as she did
the splits in the air. The ride was more like a parabolic flight trajectory to
simulate weightlessness than it was a roller coaster. It was like putting a
children's moonbounce in the back of a flatbed truck and then driving it
across seriously unleveled and rocky terrain. Add to that the extremely dim
lighting in the belly of the robot spider-thing, accentuated by the bouncing
white lights of the e-suit helmets, and the effect was a full-up bouncing
disco on steroids. The only thing missing was the dance music. At least it
stunk.
"How much further?" Joanie asked. The bouncing was beginning to take a toll on
her physical strength.
She was sweating profusely in her suit, but the seal layer would absorb that
and reclaim the water and salts.
"Almost there." BIL replied over the speaker system.
"So BIL." Alexander was making a point to minimize his physical effort as he
might need his strength later so he had let the bouncing of the beast throw
him around and used his jumpboots to soften the landings. If the giant bug had
been equipped with seats this ride would have been a snap. "Tell me more about
your outside contacts. When was the last one you had?"
"Well, I get them pretty much continuously. It is a big system." It was
obvious that the AI had longed to talk because he took twice as long to say
what needed to be said. "This morning I received an alert that there were no
loads of frozen algae coming in from Elysium and a few seconds ago I was given
instruction that there was a need in Luna City for aluminum, iron, and
titanium. I've called the shipping companies trying to schedule a barge but
for some reason they are all grounded today." BIL's voice sounded as if he had
shrugged when he made the last statement.
"Wait a minute, BIL. You just a few seconds ago talked to Luna City?" Senator
Moore asked.
"Yes."
Abigail!
Yes sir, I heard it. I'll talk directly with him to get access to his
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communications protocols. Perhaps we could get some communications outside
this jamming phenomena.
Moore had confidence that his AIC
understood what she needed to do. She just had to convince the AI garbage
hauler to cooperate. The way the poor AI was longing for attention it probably
would agree to anything within the law and maybe even then some. And if he was
communicating outside the jamming field then that meant that the
Separatists techs had missed the infrastructure layer of communications.
Unless they had missed it on purpose.
Hull Technician Third Class Joe Buckley was reading over his current set of
orders that were continuously being updated by the brains up in the Looney
Bin. Typically, his orders were always the same whether or not the
Madira was going to battle or not. But then again, the
Sienna Madira was always going into battle, or at least it had been ever since
he had been on board her. His duties were actually quite simple. He was to
make sure the reclamation systems were not over flowing and that there were no
deficiencies in the materials bins. In other words, make sure the sewer didn't
get too full of shit and that the officers had plenty of toilet paper. He also
was in charge of keeping the ship's coolant flow systems operational. But,
also being in charge of sewer duties meant that he often had to put up with a
lot of shit in more ways than one.
Joe prayed for the days where his spot in the flight deck cleaning rotation
was due. On those lovely days he would get to walk back and forth on the upper
flight catapults picking up trash, removing bird shit
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