The Piranha Solution: A Hard Science Fiction Technothriller (Ace of Space Book 1) Read online

  Menard punched up the com-link for the suit interface. “Katsumi, can you hear me?”

  “Loud and clear,” Katsumi said. “Detaching suit from airlock … now.”

  There was a green lighted indicator on the HUD of the Mwev, and Menard activated a virtual map on the dashboard, which showed where Katsumi was relative to the vehicle and the stricken robot up ahead of him. “Okay, I have you on the map,” Menard said before shifting in his seat and checking the side mirrors of the vehicle. “And I can see you visually. All clear.”

  “Roger that,” Katsumi said as he jumped down onto the ground by the side of the vehicle. Gravity on Mars was only thirty-eight percent that of Earth’s, so a slow walk on Earth would equal to a fast run on Mars. Katsumi felt unimpeded with the weight of the crab suit, and was thankful for the lower gravity, otherwise he would have been a little tired by now. Fully turning his entire body, Katsumi used his stubby gloves to reach up for the robotic tool kit and detached it from the sides of the Mwev. With the tools in hand, he began to make his way towards the downed robot.

  Menard watched silently as Katsumi trotted over to where the bot was and saw him get into a kneeling position. He had hoped the young guy could somehow repair the bot quickly so they could get back to the task of finding out what happened to the other robots assigned to the transport corridor. Menard had a feeling that it would take days to sort everything out, and was pondering whether to call in for additional help, but just before they left the outpost, Ron had told him that they were already behind schedule, and if the work wasn’t finished soon then they would all say goodbye to their company bonuses. That was the hardest news to take. Menard’s straying thoughts were jerked back to reality when he heard Katsumi cry out. Menard quickly pushed the reply button. “Katsumi, what happened?”

  Katsumi had his back turned towards him as the young man knelt by the downed robot. “I … I cannot find the robot’s CPU. It is missing!”

  Since they could see each other’s faces with the smartglass interface, Menard had a confused look. “What do you mean it’s missing?”

  Katsumi’s narrow eyes had opened wide. “It looks like something tore out the processing core. Whatever did this, must have used some heavy machinery. There is massive damage on the robot’s body.”

  “Hang on,” Menard said as he switched viewpoints and linked up the vehicle HUD with the cameras on Katsumi’s suit. The dashboard’s video feed showed the front part of the robot, which had been facing away from him when viewed from the vehicle’s windshield. Menard gasped as he could see that the front part of the robot had been completely gutted. The entire chest plate had been ripped out. The central control box which contained the robotic AI was missing, along with the solar battery which had given it life. All that remained was a metal skeleton of torn wiring, inoperative joints and lifeless actuators.

  Katsumi was silent for a whole minute before he said something again. “What could have done this?”

  Menard just sat there, stupefied. This was a problem never experienced by all previous crews on the planet, and it was something that they were completely unprepared for. Then a loud beep suddenly jolted him back into reality. He started running through the vehicle dashboard commands, wondering what it was. A screen popped up in his display, indicating that the vehicle AI had detected something fast that was approaching them. His palms started to sweat. There weren’t supposed to be any other vehicles out here.

  Katsumi stood up. This was something that he had never trained for. “What is going on?”

  Menard’s chin started to tremble with fright. He considered himself a religious man, and he did pray a couple of Our Fathers and a Hail Mary when he was first lifted off into space. There were times when he was asleep in his bunk and he would hear strange noises coming from the outside, but he never told anyone just how scared he was, lest they make fun of him. He was the kind of guy who believed in ghosts and monsters, and being mostly alone in a largely unexplored world spooked him out a lot. It took Menard a few seconds to think about it, but in the end he knew he just couldn’t believe it. “Get back here, hurry!”

  Katsumi didn’t need to be told twice. The young man quickly ran over to the side of the vehicle, turned his back on it, and activated the ancillary lifts to bring the rear of his crab suit in line with the airlock. The platform lifted him up slowly as he grabbed the handholds along the sides of the small elevator. The moment Menard saw that his partner was already being lifted up into the vehicle, he wasted no time and he instantly gunned the accelerator. The Mwev lurched forward, before Menard angled the steering away from the downed robot, and the vehicle began a bumpy drive along the ancient gully.

  Sweat began to pour down Menard’s forehead as he pushed the accelerator up to maximum speed. The rover could accelerate up to a maximum 120 kilometers per hour, but it wasn’t recommended due to the chaotic terrain all around them. The Mwev’s six wheels were small compared to its body, and the entire vehicle tended to be top heavy. Driving protocols had forbidden everyone to traverse steep-angled cliff sides, but he needed to get away from whatever it was that was coming straight for them. They were rapidly moving south along the narrow part of the channel, and the sloping walls around them were too steep to drive up to. The HUD readouts were explaining that there wasn’t enough battery power for them to make it to the predicted destination of Eridu Colony, and popped up an alert, telling the driver to turn around and decelerate. Menard ignored the flashing warnings on the dashboard and concentrated at the desolate landscape ahead, pushing the Mwev onwards as he drove through wisps of grey dust, occasionally making a sharp turn to avoid crashing into the walls of the gully.

  Katsumi grimaced as he kept trying to position the back of the crab suit to attach it to the airlock, but the constant bumps and sudden turns kept him off balance. When the rover drove over a slight protruding rock at the bottom of the gully, Katsumi was nearly thrown from the side of the Mwev and only hung on by the skin of his teeth. Just as he was able to position himself back into the side of the airlock, another sudden turn nearly threw him off again, and he ended up hanging on with just one hand, as the stubby fingers of the crab suit had made it doubly hard to hold on. “Please,” he said through the com-link. “Give me a chance to attach!”

  Menard scowled as he looked at the virtual map and noticed that the object behind them had also accelerated. It seemed to be moving along the ground, and yet it could somehow keep up while the gap was slowly narrowing. There was a rearview camera at the back of the Mwev, but it had been caked with dust, so all it gave was a hazed-filled look at something huge behind them. The channel ahead was beginning to slant to the right, which meant that the massive Aram Crater was located just to the south, with a second, twisting channel that led into it from the Ares Vallis gully. At the vehicle’s current speed, Menard knew it would be next to impossible for him to safely make the ninety-degree turns that were needed to drive into the crater without slowing down, so he had to make a choice. He could continue on the present course at maximum speed until he reached the end of Ares Vallis, where the channel would gradually rise up until it melded with the high terrain, though the vehicle would have to eventually slow down due to the elevation. Menard decided to continue along the channel and they would take their chances on higher ground. If they could just get past the incline on the southern outflow delta, he could drive the vehicle up to the stable flatlands of Meridiani Planum to the west.

  Katsumi had decided to do something risky. From the smartglass display on his suit visor, he could tell when the vehicle needed to make its turn at high speed. All he had to do was to lift himself up and push backwards, hoping that the sudden bump would throw him up and attach his backpack into the airlock niche in one swoop. Bracing himself, he kept his eyes peeled on the map and calculated the timing at the last second. When the bump finally came, he let go of the handholds along the sides of the lift while he pushed up with his legs. The sudden bump brought the top edge of the airlock�
�s alcove in line with his backpack and the magnetic seal accepted it, but the lower part of his life support pack was still stuck partly outside, and he ended up being partially wedged on the airlock, unable to remove the backpack, yet still attached to the vehicle. Katsumi frantically waved his arms and legs out in the night air. He was like a little bug that had been placed on its back- wriggling, helpless, and scared out of his wits. “Help me!”

  It was all too much for Menard. His colleague’s screams for help, coupled with the fear of that thing behind him had finally made him lose his self-control. Menard ignored the collision and speed warnings on his dashboard. Instead he kept his eyes focused on the rearview camera feed, which showed their pursuer was only meters away from the rear of the Mwev. Glancing at the hazy imagery in the rear camera view, he noticed that it looked like something out of the darkest part of his nightmares. For a brief instance all he could think about was how that thing could even come into being, and his mind tuned out everything else.

  There was a small hill in the middle of the channel delta, which divided the gully into two separate trenches. Menard wasn’t keeping attention, and the rover drove into the side of it at close to maximum speed. He sensed the collision a split second before it happened, as the terrain made a sudden incline. Menard turned the wheel, but it was too late. Rover-14’s right front wheel hit an outcropped boulder at the edge of the incline and the whole vehicle suddenly tilted to its left side. There was a loud crash, before everything faded to black.

  When Menard woke up, his face was surrounded by air bags, which had deployed the moment the Mwev landed on its side and had come to a sudden stop. The lights in the cabin were still on, as well as numerous alarms that were beeping. Unbuckling his seatbelt, Menard pushed his arm past the air bags and used the dashboard to get them deflated. The vehicle was lying on its left side and everything was titled down. Catching his breath, Menard suddenly remembered his colleague. He punched up Katsumi’s vitals, and was bombarded by the flat lined readouts in regards to his partner’s heart rate. Katsumi was dead, crushed to death when the rover turned over to the side and pinned him underneath while he was still in his suit.

  A shadow loomed over the windshield. Menard looked up and screamed. The doubled layered glass was smashed in, and the thing that had caught up to them made a grab for him.

  Chapter 2

  She ran her tongue along the upper part of her red, luscious lips, and he knew she wanted it. All around them was the rolling surf, but the private beach was off-limits to anyone but the two of them. She ran her hand down to his boxer shorts and gave a little pinch, and he was instantly excited. He could feel the Pacific sun’s heat on his back, and it seemed like it was twelve noon. The cool sea breeze just wasn’t enough to expel the waves of heat all around him. She had already taken off the top of her bikini, and he could see the tan lines that resembled pale triangles over her breasts. The pressure on his throat felt tighter, and he sensed that he would soon climax in a matter of seconds.

  “I’m here for you, handsome,” she said, while sliding down her hand until it reached his crotch. She slid off his shorts and began touching him down there. The tightness in his throat was now evident, and he was starting to black out. Oh yeah, not too long now, he thought.

  In less than a second, the heat cascading over his body had stopped, and the pressure on his throat was loosened. Even the once soothing voice became more machine-like. “I’m sorry, Stil, but Drone-Seven just picked up something.”

  The scene around him suddenly stopped, and was replaced by a blank white field. The girl who had been with him was gone, along with the cliff sided beach, the warm sand and the roaring sounds of the California surf. “Goddamn it,” he said. “Couldn’t you have waited for just a few more seconds, I was nearly there!”

  The flat, droning voice was trying to be apologetic, but it came off as more like an alarm clock. “I am sorry, Stil, but you did ask me to interrupt you the moment the video link came through.”

  Stilicho Jones grimaced as he took off the virtual helmet and threw it on the bed beside him. It was early afternoon in San Diego, and his break time was over. Using both hands, he unstrapped the asphyxiator from his neck and placed it on his desk. Before getting up on his feet, he slipped out of the sex harness and left it on the divan, its dangling uplink cables still attached to the desktop computer near the other side of the room. He needed to add new commands to Maia so that she would prioritize his private time ahead of any other task that was needed to be done from now on. Working for the man left him with so little free time, he had to make do with what he had.

  Walking over to the drone station in the middle of the room, he sat down on a high backed chair and looked at the multiple 3D monitors on top of the desk. “Okay, Maia, which one am I looking at?”

  The third monitor began to blink and he shifted his eyes over to it. The scene showed a glass house in Point Loma, surrounded by concrete dividers nearly eight meters tall. Maia had deactivated the anti-drone field and several of her units were hovering just outside of the abode. The smartglass walls of the house itself had been opaque, but it was clear that Maia’s drones were able to hack through the security systems, and the inside of the building now looked transparent when using the infrared scanner. The interior showed one heat signature, that of an adult male. It looked like he was brewing some coffee.

  Stilicho ran his hand along the top of his head to straighten his dark hair. “Okay, who am I looking at?”

  “Frank Campos, ex-employee of ACE Corp,” Maia said. “One of his uplinks was unsecured, so I was able to sneak inside and take a look at his files. It seems that he was able to download a number of projects into his personal server before he left the company’s employment.”

  Stilicho took a deep breath. “What projects did he copy?”

  “He’s got schematics for the reactor,” Maia said. “Errol will be pissed off if it gets out on the open market.”

  Stilicho stretched out his arms. “Other than the charge of corporate espionage and violating his non-disclosure agreement, what else can we nail him on?”

  A number of images began to float around in the monitor at the far right of the desk, while a video started up in the one next to it. His AI assistant was thorough, and that’s what he liked about her. “Take a look at those,” Maia said softly.

  Stilicho’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh wow, can you get me a cup of coffee, please?”

  “With pleasure.”

  Stilicho got out of the Flux S227 sedan before engaging the autopark beside the street. Point Loma was a seaside community, and one of the more exclusive areas of San Diego. The gate to the Campos house was closed, but he knew it wasn’t going to stop him. As soon as he strode over to the sensor, the main gate instantly unlocked and opened inwards, revealing an old, internal combustion sports car parked in the incline of the driveway. Stilicho gave a pouty look as he passed by the car and walked up to the front door. He had thought about scratching the paintjob on the old Ferrari, but he figured Mr. Campos would be better off selling it when he knew what was about to happen to him. The front door quickly opened the moment he got to within a meter of it, and Stilicho briskly walked inside.

  The living room was immaculately clean. White marbled flooring, Doric columns and a massive stone staircase led to the upper landing. Ivory leather sofas and a huge Persian carpet occupied the center of the room. An antique grand piano lay at the far side of the place, with a rectangular swimming pool out in the back garden area. At the opposite side was a stainless steel kitchen, with a free-standing 3D food printer and a mini-bar with black marbled top. Stilicho rolled his eyes. The idiot had smartglass walls, yet the interior was furnished more classically, and the whole thing felt like an architectural chimera.

  A shout from above made him look up. Standing at the top landing was Frank Campos, wearing only his bathrobe. “Hey, what are you doing in my house?”

  Stilicho made a wide smile. “Good afternoon, I’m Stilicho J
ones, from ACE Corp.”

  Campos started walking down over to him, there was barely suppressed rage in his eyes. His fists were balled up. “I don’t care who you are, how in the hell did you get in here?”

  Stilicho pointed at a 3D monitor embedded in the wall near the sofa set. “Let’s talk about something more important, shall we?”

  “Why you—”

  Campos’s rant was quickly interrupted when the monitor suddenly activated. Virtual files containing numerous three-dimensional models and once secret email memos were instantly on display. Campos’s eyes remained glued to the screen while he just stood there in silence.

  Stilicho crossed his arms. Campos’s psychological profile indicated he wasn’t the violent type, so there was no need for physicality this time. “You were a trusted systems manager for ACE, and this is how you repay the company that gave you this silly-looking, but expensive house?”

  Campos slowly turned to face him. “H-how did … you?”

  Stilicho pointed at a black-painted drone that was hovering just above the garden. “Let’s just say this wasn’t the only thing I uncovered. If your ex-wife found about those naughty pics and vids you took of your little girl during her sleepovers here, let’s just say she wouldn’t be too happy about it, yeah?”

  Campos’s face turned pale. “I-I don’t know what … you’re talking about.”

  Stilicho chuckled. “Ah, come on, don’t insult my intelligence, dude. You may have the money to bribe the cops taking you away, but can you take the loss of your reputation when all this goes public on the internet? Think of the never ending-lawsuits that are going to be filed against you, not just from your wife, but from ACE and the company that was supposed to employ you after you sell these plans you’ve stolen from us. You’re gonna lose this ridiculous house and your antique car, that’s for sure.”

  “Please,” Campos said softly. “Don’t do this.”