once and for all.”
“And get back to normal life again,” said Jacob.
“Normal, yeah,” said Brent, looking down at where his legs used to be. “Whatever that is.”
“Come on,” said the nurse who’d been assigned to Brent. “Let’s get you boys hooked up to that contraption of yours.”
The nurses wheeled the two high-tech soldiers over to the control station, sat them in the body-contoured chairs, and helped them attach the various suction cup electroprobes to their freshly shaved heads. One nurse helped Jacob step into the SimulBoots while the other assisted Brent with his SimulGloves.
With the receptors in place, the two together would have complete control over the lead drone, and, by extension, the entire platoon would be at their instantaneous command.
Finally, they put in their earpieces, and turned on the command monitor array. General Shorter appeared on one of the screens, along with two other generals Brent and Jacob had never seen before on separate screens to each side of Shorter’s image. Three maps of varying scale appeared on other screens, as well as several drone POV images, real-time satellite infrared, and a number of indicators providing readouts of drone status and overall mission status.
Brent and Jacob were familiar with the display configuration – they’d designed it – they’d just never been in the “hotseat” for a live event.
“We’re plugged in and ready to commence on your order, Sir,” said Jacob with a little shiver, fighting back a gulp of trepidation.
Shorter nodded curtly. “Do it.”
Jacob engaged the drone force with his mind, and the fleet exited the underground hangar through an eight-foot wide tunnel that led to the surface, shooting off into the night at over a thousand kilometers per hour toward the targets.
Since Brent had hand control, he took primary physical interface while Jacob handled tactical. Within minutes, the drones reached the assault zone and touched down, transforming from flight configuration to bipedal in moments, then fanning out in small battalions to cover all strategic sites in the area.
The G23 drones picked off enemy Chi-drones with ease by reading their programming and anticipating their moves. In some cases they sent out jamming frequencies that fried the enemy circuitry, or implanted a virus with confusing orders that made them destroy each other. The G23s also eliminated the human enemies by reading their intentions with a neural interface and staying one step ahead. Within two hours of intense battle, the enemy around the first subtransmitter was neutralized and nine thousand four hundred G23s remained operable. The remaining friendlies took out the subtransmitter installation, terminating it with extreme prejudice.
“Yeah!” yelled Brent triumphantly.
“Excellent work,” said Shorter. “But it’s not over yet.”
The second target went down with the same ease as the first. Only two hundred three additional G23s were lost. As the fleet moved to the final and most important objective, General Shorter delivered some distressing news.
“We’ve just received word that the enemy is sending reinforcements.”
“I think we can handle them,” said Jacob, feeling confident.
“They’re sending two hundred fifty thousand drones into your area,” said Shorter.
The blood drained from Jacob and Brent’s faces. “A quarter million of ‘em?” said Brent in disbelief.
“Yes. You’ll be outnumbered thirty to one,” said Shorter.
“Yes, Sir, we know – we’re the mathematicians, remember?” said Jacob.
“I know, son. But you’re also soldiers, and I know you’ll do your duty.”
“We will, Sir,” said Jacob, struggling to remain calm.
“I don’t understand,” said one of the nurses, a tall brunette named Anne who had been standing by in the DAS room. “I mean, I know the mission is very important, but what’s the danger to you? Why do you both look so scared?”
“If the lead drone is destroyed, depending on how it happens, we could suffer some feedback, and that can be very painful – and it can cause brain damage,” said Brent.
“And if the lead is captured, they could do a lot worse – invasive feedback – where they probe our minds, steal our secrets, and leave us dead,” said Jacob.
“If it’s captured, can’t you just unhook this stuff before they do that to you?” asked the other nurse, a young blonde who called herself June.
“It’s not that simple,” said Jacob. “Once we’ve established a neural link with the G23, it takes hours to safely disconnect. By that time, they’d already be burrowing into our minds and shredding our brains in the process.”
“That’s why the DAS crew gets paid the big bucks,” said Brent.
“You need to initiate the final strike now,” said Shorter. “ETA for enemy reinforcements is thirty minutes. Godspeed.”
Brent and Jacob aligned their robotic soldiers according to the prearranged strategy and moved in on the primary target. A fierce battle ensued in the streets of an ancient city that hadn’t been occupied by humans in at least a decade.
“We’re hit,” said Brent. “It took out our left arm and jammed the head rotation.”
“We need to switch primaries,” said Jacob. “Bring over a healthy Level Four for a direct download!”
The lead drone and one of the L4s crouched behind a line of Level Two G23s for cover. The two robots faced each other and locked arms, their heads only a few inches apart. Jacob initiated a password-protected protocol and a complete download was performed via an infrared beam transfer in under ten seconds, moving command functions and data to the other drone and making the L4 the new lead.
“Download complete, lockdown transfer of primary control protocols,” said Jacob.
“Lockdown done, let’s move on,” said Brent.
A second later, the old lead drone was cut down by a bolt of high-energy electric weapons fire.
“That was close,” said Jacob. “That would’ve hurt.”
The new lead drone took over where the previous robot had left off, charging forward through the sandstone ruins, cutting through enemy lines, and sending specific tactical orders to each of the thousands of other drones on the ground.
“We’re running out of time,” said Brent. “Their backup is going to be here any minute. I’ve got them on scope at less than ten clicks.”
“We’ll need to make a break for it,” said Jacob. “Send two flanking groups out to slice a wedge, and we’ll go straight up the middle to the target.”
The drones moved in unison, responding to Brent’s commands. A fierce fire fight at the front neutralized dozens of the G23s. Just as the quarter million Chi-drones swarmed in like a wave of locusts, the last remaining two hundred thirty G23s penetrated the central processing core complex and destroyed the power grid with high-grade charges in a brilliant flash of power. The lights on the enemy drones flickered, and then they all crashed – dropping from the sky or slumping to the ground like marionettes with the strings suddenly cut.
But two human enemies inside the processing core facility remained, and with little G23 defenses left, the humans took advantage of the confusion and took the lead drone hostage.
“Disengage! Disengage!” yelled Shorter.
Both nurses frantically started to remove receptors from the two soldiers.
“Not that one!” said Jacob, lifting his padded hand to stop the nurse. “The left temple must remain connected – for him and for me – the rest can come down. I’m running an accelerated disconnect sequence right now. We’ll be able to cut the final link in . . . one hour and twenty six minutes.”
“But by then they might already be –” said Anne.
“I know,” said Brent. “We’ll have to take our chances. If we disconnect without running the sequence, it’ll kill us for sure.”
“Well done, men,” said Shorter. “Mission accomplished. The entire sector is shut down for the enemy. We’ve got another unit on the ground finishing the job on the subtransmi
tters. Before long the whole theater will be free of enemy drones, and the way cleared for the A16 team to go in.” His face brightened slightly – not quite a smile, but no longer a frown. “Gentlemen, you’ve just turned the tide in this war.”
“Now all we can do is sit and wait,” said Jacob. “And hope they don’t enter our brains and tear us apart before we can sever the link.”
“We’re sending in air units to try to recover the lead before that can occur. But whatever happens, you’re both heroes,” said Shorter. “This operation couldn’t have happened without you.”
The general’s words were edifying, but they didn’t take away the sting of knowing they may not live to see the medals pinned on their chests.
The time ticked away. At one hour, twelve minutes, both men flinched at the same time.
“What is it?” asked June.
“They’re probing,” said Jacob through clenched teeth. “It – hurts – so –”
“Much,” finished Brent. “But, they’re not getting –”
“In,” said Jacob. “They’re – confused. They can’t figure out what they’ve got. They don’t –”
“Realize we’re two brains – two minds – controlling the lead drone,” said Brent. “They don’t know how –”
“To handle it.” Jacob smiled through the pain. “Twelve minutes to go.”
Brent laughed. “They must think they have a two-headed monster on their hands!”
“I guess they do,” said Jacob, unable to control his shaking body. “Eleven minutes. Hang in there, buddy.”
The sweat poured down their