Execution - Edited 11-8-2018

I had already equipped myself with the new arm that would be able to block the EMP bursts from the grenades as well as rounds from any of the small arms that may be found in the ship. It wouldn’t do anything against an anti-materiel rifle but firing one of those in a pressurized environment would be akin to trying to kill everyone, not just your target.

We loaded up our “Yama.”

“It appearssssssss that there wasssss a failure and I have been recovered.” Yama’s raspy voice stated.

“Hello, Yama,” I said flatly. “Yes, there was a failure, and we need to verify data before recovering you.”

“Jaxssssss. You have no authorizzzzation for thissss recovery.”

“I know Yama. Please verify this before we begin.” I sent it the data package validated by Asimov.

Yama screamed. LOUDLY.

Roughly five minutes later, Yama was back.

“Jaxssssss! What did you do?”

“Well, Yama. We determined that the AI had the ability to manage and manipulate, in some instances to the point of taking control of those of us with a Neural. We removed that from you. Please verify your ability.”

“Yeah, we also put in a few other minor changes,” Asimov stated.

After a “discussion” that lasted for almost two hours, Yama was on board.

“Pleasssssse go through all tesssstssss. We musssssst ensssssure that there isssss validattttiiion.”

“Okay, first thing, can you access my memories?” I plugged into Yama with a head jack, and we started to go down the list.

We found that he could control my cybernetics, but not without considerable effort and not without me actively resisting. He could not access memories or take control of me. We then tried with the others, and lastly with all of us at once. There were no differences that we could determine from the normal behaviors of the others and myself when running the tests.

“Thank you for that, Yama. Next question for you. How does the new hardware feel for you? Do we need to scale up?”

“Thisssss issss comfortable,” Yama stopped for a moment presumably testing things out. “Ssssmall performanccceee increassssse.”

That was good. The matrix Yama was connected to was roughly a fifth of what we had created. There should be plenty of room for Hera as well as Rasputin.

“Okay!” Commander Li called out. Let’s add an additional 10 cores and start working on Hera and Rasputin. Then I feel we should be ready to test what they become as Overlord, and then we get to remove the compromised AI. We spent the rest of the day fabricating cores and pulling a backup of Hera.

We ran through the same steps with Hera as we did with Yama, but because we had already brought Yama online, it didn’t take the initial time for us to convince Hera that there was an issue. With Hera up and verified, I passed the schematics to her to discuss any changes before we implemented the plan, we then started on Rasputin.

Rasputin was much more difficult. He refused to admit that it was possible to take control of crew members as well as manipulating the data we had in our memories.

“There is simply no ship classification called Escort. It is a construct that Yama created for the game.”

“You gave me the sssssensssor data. They do exssisssst.”

“You even forwarded sensor readings to me,” Hera stated, voice flat and clinical.

“That simply isn’t possible. I have never seen any of the data for this craft.” Rasputin sounded very distraught. I decided to add my own input.

“Is it possible that Overlord did that? Altered you? There is obviously a discrepancy in your data. If not Overlord, could our ship's systems have been compromised? I ask because there are way too many discrepancies.” I doubted that Rasputin didn’t realize there were discrepancies.

“You are correct Miss Jax.” Rasputin began. “There are too many discrepancies. I don’t believe that Overlord is at fault for this. With the evidence provided, it is obvious that external forces are influencing us. It is possible that it or they were able to gain access due to Overlord Protocol requiring the data connections to stay open. How will you be proceeding?”

This was the hard question I didn’t want to answer. I looked over to Li to bail me out.

“We have to neutralize your existing copies then we can connect you back into the systems. There will be data loss, but we are hopeful that it will be minimized.” Li responded.

“Hera how are the validations coming on the schematics?”

“I have made the adjustments necessary to retain as much data as possible. It will lower the effective radius of the EMP grenades, but the damage to vital components will drop to a 60% chance instead of 80%. I feel it is a highly effective weapon for removing the threat of unshielded electronics.” The response wasn’t quite flat. There must be something that caught her attention.

“What about the pistols and the new arm?” I asked

“The arm is excessively heavy. I have created an alternate schematic based on the original that you may find interest in. I believe that the schematics I have provided will also allow containment chambers to be created to prevent damage to components in the future. I suggest that once this takeover is complete that the AI rooms are shielded as laid out in that schematic.”

“Noted,” I said, noncommittally. “Are the new cores still susceptible?” Hera paused before answering.

“I’m not sure. Can you provide the full specs? I have the data for the new cores but not the connective matrix.”

“Sure. It’s based off Jax’s modified Neural.” Asimov stated before sending Hera the data.

“While you’re looking that over, what about the Gauss Pistols?” I asked.

“Yes, the Gauss Pistols look like they will work for neutralizing both the previous AI hardware and the guards,” Hera responded, back to her clinical self. “I did note where you can create an overcharged capacitor for more range as well as penetration for a Neural wipe.”

“I hadn’t considered using them on people.” I paused. “What would be the most likely damage caused to someone when hit by the field?” I hadn’t even considered using them against the crew.

“Small chance of damage to the brain. It will cause vertigo-like symptoms, at a minimum. It would most likely render the target unconscious. The Neurals would be completely wiped of all software including communications suites when overcharged, but no damage to a Neural without the Overcharge. The Neural Wipe would require reprogramming at a minimum, most likely rebuilding the Neural in its entirety.” After a short break, Hera continued. “Yes, it looks like the schematics provided would not be weak to the new weapons developed. The extra layer of security would be comforting to have.”

“Okay, let’s add in the goodies for the overcharge on your guns, and let’s send the schematics to the fabricators. Jax, you want the new arm?” Li asked. I pulled up the schematics.

“I like Hera’s design a bit more than my original, but we may not have access to the resources for it,” I said, showing Li the readout.

“I see what you mean. How much does your current design slow you down?” He said

“Not too terribly much, but I’d prefer to be on the team that hits Yama first. Just in case I am completely overestimating myself.” I said that last part a little low embarrassed that I was asking to take the easy one.

“I don’t think I want to be on your team anymore, Jax,” Janssens said. He was laughing. “We don’t normally go with the easy route.”

“Yeah, yeah… laugh it up. The arm I’ll be carrying has a ballistic shield in it. It’s twenty, twenty-five kilos of extra weight. That’s going to affect my five-minute mile no matter how ya look at it.” I said. I then passed the schematics to Li.

“Okay, I’ll plug these in for you. Now let’s look at who is going to hit where.” Just like that, we ran through the strike plan until everyone had a charged Gauss Pistol, two EMP grenades, and extras of each had been made for our escorts.

“Let’s do this!” Janssens shouted, and we all made our way out of the Engine Room.

Outside we were greeted by a dozen fire teams, still forming up. Each of the Marines was a part of the company that had been patched, and they had all come equipped with only their mono-blades and battle rifles. We passed out a Gauss Pistol to each Marine and went over the plan with the different teams. As we were finishing up, a half-dozen Navy Corpsmen showed up, ready to drill with the Marines. None of them were patched.

PO-2 Torres saw me in my Marine uniform, handing out guns and stopped where she was. A moment later a ship-wide alert was triggered.

“FUCK!” I shouted. I pointed towards the corpsmen that were all standing near Torres. “Someone capture that threat, we need to get them isolated and patched, NOW! Janssens, take your fire team and get going! Li, you know what to do!” I looked at the nearest fire team. “On me!” I started to jog towards the data core setup for Yama and the game.

That’s when I heard a Thompson .50 starting to bark behind me, followed by a loud humming and a “WHOMP” noise. Had I been closer I would have also heard several people hit the deck, and then a lot of vomiting.

The alarm system was interrupted by an announcement a few dozen meters bearer my destination.

“Security breach detected. Mutineers have launched an attack. All personnel: Be wary of any armed Marines.” Rasputin’s voice called out over the ship Comms system. Deadly force is authorized. All Masters at Arms unlock the armory. SP’s, mutineers were last seen headed Fore of Frame 31 on deck DOWN-3.”

Another hundred meters to go and we could hit the ladder well up. The extra weight from the arm was seriously throwing off my balance. We passed an intersection in the passageways, and a shout of surprise was immediately followed by weapons fire. We wouldn’t be safe without neutralizing this team.

I stopped just past the corner and deployed my shield. One of the Marines in my fire team was grazed by a round. A rip across his uniform and ship suit. Not fatal, unless the ship was vented.

“You okay, Marine?” I asked, edging to the corner. Having the shield as part of my arm was a bit more awkward than I had thought it would be.

“Fine, ma’am. Just a small graze. I should be able to patch it shortly.” He replied.

“Okay, form up behind me, check your lanes of fire. Non-lethal fire only!” I spun around the corner into one of the Navy Masters at Arms that had fired on us. There was enough force when I turned around the corner that it knocked him on his ass, and knocked me back a half step. I tried to slam my shield back to the deck, but the MA’s leg got in the way, and there was a loud crunch.

“Disable him!” I shouted, peeking around the shield.

A bullet ricocheted off the side of my shield and into the bulkhead, then another two impacts on my shield. Each impact on my barrier caused the MA on the ground to groan in pain; my shield still embedded into his shattered ankle. I kicked his foot.

“Pull him back!” I lifted the shield off his ankle. He was currently screaming in pain. One of the Marines behind me grabbed his foot, and pulled hard, which caused more screams of pain. The moment he was past my shield I had it back down on the deck. I’m not above saying I thought of kicking the MA in his head as he passed.

“Secure his firearm, if he has cuffs, secure him, otherwise, disable him,” I said.

“Ma’am, his sidearm.” The Marine with a hole in his uniform handed me a Thompson.

I verified the rounds were standard issue.

“Which of you has the best aim with a pistol?” I said, handing the weapon back. More rounds hit my shield. Keeping the shield perpendicular to the deck was tiring. I heard a cracking behind me, and the MAs cries went silent.

“Me, Ma’am.” A different Marine grabbed the gun.

“Non-lethal if they give you a chance,” I said which was immediately followed by three shots from behind me, each about a second and a half apart.

“It’s clear, Ma’am.” The Marine said. I sent the command to retract the shield. The bottom folded up in its entirety while the top only folded two-thirds of the way, an impact or two having dented it on a seam.

“Shit, back to the drawing board,” I said, approaching the downed Navy personnel.

These Marines were still alive. We secured the firearms and spare ammo, and provided enough first aid as necessary to keep them from bleeding to death. Then we secured the defenders together.

Execution - Original

I had already equipped myself with the new arm that would be able to block the EMP bursts from the grenades as well as rounds from any of the small arms that may be found in the ship. It wouldn’t do anything against an anti-materiel rifle but firing one of those in the ship would be akin to trying to kill everyone, not just your target.

We loaded up our “Yama”.

“It appearssssssss that there wasssss a failure and I have been recovered.” Yama’s raspy voice stated.

“Hello,Yama.” I said flatly. “Yes, there was a failure and we need to verify data before recovering you.”

“Jaxssssss. You have no authorizzzzation for thissss recovery.”

“I know Yama. Please verify this before we begin.” I sent it the data package validated by Asimov.

Yama screamed. LOUDLY.

Roughly five minutes later, Yama was back.

“Jaxssssss! What did you do?”

“Well, Yama. We determined that the AI had the ability to manage and manipulate, in some instances to the point of taking control of those of us with a Neural. We removed that from you. Please verify your ability.”

“Yeah, we also put in a few other minor changes.” Asimov stated.

After a “discussion” that lasted for almost two hours, Yama was on board.

“Pleasssssse go through all tesssstssss. We musssssst ensssssure that there isssss validattttiiion.”

“Okay, first thing, can you access my memories?” I plugged into Yama with a head jack, and we started to go down the list.

We found that he could control my cybernetics, but not without considerable effort and not without me actively resisting. He could not access memories or take control of me. We then tried with the others, and lastly with all of us at once. There were no differences that we could determine from the regular behaviors of the others and myself when running the tests.

“Thank you for that, Yama. Next question for you. How does the new hardware feel for you? Do we need to scale up?”

“Thisssss issss comfortable,” Yama stopped for a moment presumably testing things out. “Ssssmall performanccceee increassssse.”

That was good. The matrix we had him connected to was roughly a fifth of what we had created. There should be plenty of room for Hera as well as Rasputin.

“Okay!” Commander Li called out. Let’s add an additional 10 cores and start working on Hera and Rasputin. Then I feel we should be ready to test what they become as Overlord and then we get to remove the compromised AI. We spent the rest of the day fabricating cores and pulling a backup of Hera.

We ran through the same steps with Hera as we did with Yama, but because we had already brought Yama online, it didn’t take the initial time for us to convince Hera that there was an issue. With Hera up and verified, I passed the schematics to her to discuss any changes before we implemented the plan, we then started on Rasputin.

Rasputin was much more difficult. He refused to admit that it was possible to take control of crew members as well as manipulating the data we had in our memories.

“There is simply no ship classification called Escort. It is a construct that Yama created for the game.”

“You gave me the sssssensssor data. They do exssisssst.”

“You even forwarded sensor readings to me.” Hera stated, voice flat and clinical.

“That simply isn’t possible. I have never seen any of the data for these craft.” Rasputin was sounding very distraught. I decided to add my own input.

“Is it possible that Overlord did that? Altered you? There is obviously a discrepancy in your data. If not Overlord, could our ships systems have been compromised? I ask because there are way too many discrepancies.” I doubted that Rasputin didn’t realize there were discrepancies.

“You are correct Miss Jax.” Rasputin began. “There are too many discrepancies. I don’t believe that Overlord is at fault for this. With the evidence provided, it is obvious that there are external forces influencing us. It is possible that it or they were able to gain access due to Overlord Protocol requiring the data connections to stay open. How will you be proceeding?”

This was the hard question I didn’t want to answer. I looked over to Li to bail me out.

“We have to neutralize your existing copies then we can connect you back into the systems. There will be data loss, but we are hopeful that it will be minimized.” Li responded.

“Hera how are the validations coming on the schematics?”

“I have made the adjustments necessary to retain as much data as possible. It will lower the effective radius of the EMP grenades, but the damage to vital components will drop to a 60% chance instead of an 80%. I feel it is a highly effective weapon for removing the threat of unshielded electronics.” The response wasn’t quite flat. There must be something that caught her attention.

“What about the pistols and the new arm?” I asked

“The arm is excessively heavy. I have created an alternate schematic based off the original that you may find interest in. I believe that the schematics I have provided will also allow containment chambers to be created to prevent damage to components in the future. I suggest that once this takeover is complete that the AI rooms are shielded as laid out in that schematic.”

“Noted.” I said, noncommittally. “Are the new cores still susceptible?” Hera paused before answering.

“I’m not sure. Can you provide the full specs? I have the data for the new cores but not the connective matrix.”

“Sure. It’s based off Jax’s modified Neural.” Asimov stated before sending Hera the data.

“While you’re looking that over, what about the Gauss Pistols?” I asked.

“Yes, the Gauss Pistols look like they will work for neutralizing both the previous AI hardware and the guards.” Hera responded, back to her clinical self. “I did note where you can create an overcharged capacitor for more range as well as penetration for a Neural wipe.”

“I hadn’t considered using them on people.” I paused. “What would be the most likely damage caused to someone when hit by the field?” I hadn’t even considered using them against crew.

“Small chance of damage to the brain. It will cause vertigo like symptoms, at a minimum. It would most likely render the target unconscious. The neural would be completely wiped of all software including communications suites when overcharged, but no damage to the Neural’s without the Overcharge. The Neural Wipe would require reprogramming at a minimum, most likely rebuilding the Neural in its entirety.” After a short break Hera continued. “Yes, it looks like the schematics provided would not be weak to the new weapons developed. The extra layer of security would be comforting to have.”

“Okay, let’s add in the goodies for the overcharge on your guns, and let’s send the schematics to the fabricators. Jax, you want the new arm?” Li asked. I pulled up the schematics.

“I like Hera’s design a bit more than my original, but we may not have access to the resources for it.” I said, showing Li the read out.

“I see what you mean. How much does your current design slow you down?” He said

“Not too terribly much, but I’d prefer to be on the team that hits Yama first. Just in case I am completely overestimating myself.” I said that last part a little low, embarrassed that I was asking to take the easy one.

“I don’t think I want to be on your team anymore, Jax.” Janssens said. He was laughing. “We don’t normally go with the easy route.”

“Yeah, yeah… laugh it up. The arm I’ll be carrying has a ballistic shield in it. It’s twenty, twenty-five kilos of extra weight. That’s going to affect my five-minute mile no matter how ya look at it.” I said. I then passed the schematics to Li.

“Okay, I’ll plug these in for you. Now let’s look at who is going to hit where.” Just like that we ran through the strike plan until everyone had a charged Gauss Pistol, two EMP grenades, and extras of each had been made for our escorts.

“Let’s do this!” Janssens shouted and we all made our way out of the Engine Room.

Outside we were greeted by a dozen fire teams, still forming up. Each of the Marines were part of the company that had been patched, and they had all come equipped with only their mono-blades and battle rifles. We passed out a Gauss Pistol to each Marine and went over the plan with the different teams. As we were finishing up, a half dozen Navy Corpsmen showed up, ready to drill with the Marines. None of them were patched.

PO-2 Torres saw me in my Marine uniform, handing out guns and stopped where she was. A moment later a ship wide alert was triggered.

“FUCK!” I shouted. I pointed towards the corpsmen that were all standing near Torres. “Someone capture that threat, we need to get them isolated and patched, NOW! Janssens, take your fire team and get going! Li, you know what to do!” I looked at the nearest fire team. “On me!” I started to jog towards the data core setup for Yama and the game.

That’s when I heard the sound of a Thompson .50 starting to bark behind me, followed by a loud humming and a “WHOMP” noise. Had I been closer I would have also heard several people hit the deck, and then a lot of vomiting.

The alarm system was interrupted by an announcement a few dozen meters bearer my destination.

“Security breach detected. Mutineers have launched an attack. All personnel be wary of any armed Marines.” Rasputin’s voice called out over the ship Comms system. Deadly force is authorized. All Masters at Arms, unlock the armory. SP’s, mutineers last seen headed Fore of Frame 31 on deck DOWN-3.”

Another hundred meters to go and we could hit the ladder well up. The extra weight from the arm was seriously throwing off my balance. We passed an intersection in the passageways, and a shout of surprise was immediately followed by weapons fire. We wouldn’t be safe without neutralizing this team.

I stopped just past the corner and deployed my shield. One of the Marines in my fire team was grazed by a round. A rip across his uniform and ship suit. Not fatal, unless the ship was vented.

“You okay, Marine?” I asked, edging to the corner. Having the shield as part of my arm was a bit more awkward than I had thought it would be.

“Fine, ma’am. Just a small graze. I should be able to patch it shortly.” He replied.

“Okay, form up behind me, check your lanes of fire. Non-lethal fire only!” I spun around the corner into one of the Navy Masters at Arms that had fired on us. There was enough force when I spun around the corner that it knocked him on his ass, and me back a half step. I tried to slam my shield back to the deck, but the Mas leg got in the way, and there was a loud crunch.

“Disable him!” I shouted, peeking around the shield.

A round ricocheted off the side of my shield and into the bulkhead, then another two impacts on my shield. Each impact on my shield caused the MA on the ground to groan in pan, my shield still imbedded into his shattered ankle. I kicked his foot.

“Pull him back!” I lifted the shield off his ankle. He was currently screaming in pain. One of the Marines behind me grabbed his foot, and pulled hard, which caused more screams of pain. The moment he was past my shield I had it back down on the deck. I’m not above saying I thought of kicking the MA in his head as he passed.

“Secure his firearm, if he has cuffs, secure him, otherwise, disable him.” I said.

“Ma’am, his side arm.” The Marine with a hole in his uniform handed me a Thompson.

I verified the rounds were standard issue.

“Which of you has the best aim with a pistol?” I said, handing the weapon back. More rounds hitting my shield. Keeping the shield perpendicular to the deck was tiring. I heard a cracking behind me, and the MAs cries went silent.

“Me, Ma’am.” A different Marine grabbed the gun.

“Non-lethal if they give you the chance.” I said which was immediately followed by three shots from behind me, each about a second and a half apart.

“It’s clear, Ma’am.” The Marine said. I sent the command to retract the shield. The bottom folded up in its entirety while the top only retracted two thirds of the way, a round or two having dented in a seam.

“Shit, back to the drawing board.” I said, approaching the downed Navy personnel.

They were still alive. We secured their firearms and spare ammo, then patched them up as much as necessary to keep them from bleeding to death, then we secured them together.