2317 AD. The Marines At War. (eBook)

Book 1 Walkabout and Watson

Donald F. Todd Jr. (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2018 | 1. Auflage
370 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-5439-4105-0 (ISBN)

Infos

Reconnaissance Marines. AIs. Their ships. A war. Who is the enemy? Silent in - silent out collecting intelligence information for the Earth Alliance and setting the table for the Navy. Walkabout is part of an elite group of Marines who work with AIs to find the enemy and document their equipment. The story involves these men, their peers, their officers, and their lives in and outside of the Marine Corps.

Textauszug

Chapter 1 – An Unexpected Reconnaissance

September 13th, 2317 1023 hours in the gym at Marine Base Tarawa

Walkabout was working through a progression in the gym when Biggs arrived, did the Marine martial arts stretches, and then started his weight routine next to Walkabout. “Bad news, Walkabout. The corvette Hansen is four days overdue here. Nobody knows what happened to that ship. The word is that the Navy is doing a reconnaissance in force with some of the big ships, tracing the patrol route of the Hansen, but there is no word yet. There is some scuttlebutt that there have been attacks on some of the outworlds as well. No landings, at least yet. I wonder what they are doing?”

“Biggs, whoever they are, they are probably doing what we would do. They are attempting to understand how we operate, and how we would defend a planet, a base, or a ship. If they manage to figure that out, they’ll move to the next stage and attempt to implement a takeover somewhere, to test their tactics.”

“Walkabout, I am busy prepping Watson for you. You’ll be going out soon. I’ll finish loading the packages for you in about three or four days. No clue about where you are going but I think that they are weighing things based on attacks on corvettes and challenges to planets or bases. We really need to find these people and put paid to them.”

“Biggs, how do you get to know about this stuff?”

“I found a connection. Big Lips in Building 1. Big Lips passes me the info, I do a bit of horse trading, and the info I get has pretty much proven to be true. Just keep it between you and me and no one will get in trouble.”

“My lips are sealed, buddy, and thanks for the info.”

September 14th 2317 1220 hours, an unexpected reconnaissance

Walkabout was in Watson in space checking out some changes in the ship’s operation when the Alpha warship appeared. It hovered over Tarawa for 120 seconds, and was starting to depart when Walkabout said, “Watson, if you agree with me, attach yourself to that ship. Let’s see where it goes. Keep silent. If this ship doesn’t know we are here, that is good.”

September 16th, 2317 2053 hours in Watson

“Walkabout, we’ve arrived in a system. The Alpha has dropped out of jump.”

“Do you know where we are at?”

“I’m taking pictures of the sky and feeding them to the mapping program. No response yet and I’d suspect that we won’t know for several hours.”

“Watson, what you are doing now?”

“I am following the ship we rode on as it moves further into the system. Using passive sensors, I am looking for technological artifacts, and as the system’s layout becomes obvious, I am mapping the system itself. At this point I can tell you that there is a Kuiper Belt at the edge of the system. I have identified a planet or a planetoid, the distance is too great for me to know yet.

The ship is continuing to move in-system. We’ll continue following it at a distance. The reason for moving more slowly is for us to identify any devices which are intended to identify us.

Now I’ll suggest that you grab some sleep. If there is anything of importance, I’ll wake you immediately.”

September 17th, 2317 1113 hours in Watson

“Walkabout, I’m creating a window for you. Do you want to sit or stand?”

“Stand, please. I’d like a cup of tea. Watson, what am I looking for?”

“Find the red dot on the window. We are about 0.0054 of an AU, roughly 500,000 miles, from a planet. This planet is where the Alpha terminated its travel. By my count, there are several satellites in orbit and there appears to be a base on the planet. As we close the distance I’ll be able to provide you with better information.”

The reconnaissance team settled in for the duration of their stay, and the AI recorded everything her passive sensors could recognize. This included images and any kind of broadcast from the ship, the satellites, or the planet that arrived at Watson’s position.

October 7th, 2317 1107 hours in Watson

Not quite three weeks had passed when Watson saw the new ship appear and she notified her Marine. “Walkabout, a new ship has entered the solar system. It is behind you on your left at a slight up angle. I marked it with a red dot. It will pass at a range of 0.0033 AU, about 306,900 miles. We are operating silently, and I’ll monitor any scans directed toward our position in preparation for an emergency jump if necessary. I have designated this ship Bravo 1. It is significantly different than Alpha 1. Bravo 1 does not appear to see us, and I am now collecting information about both of the ships.”

Walkabout could see outside the ship. Depending on what the Marine saw, he could include observations and assessments that would be included in the reports, for there are still things that the human mind might recognize or question, for wonder or for a pattern, that aren’t immediately recognized by the best and brightest artificial intelligence. His utterances would be recorded and included with all the other material, time stamped. Should further observation be noted or considered by Walkabout, it could be attached to a previous observation or assessment if Walkabout indicated that need.

The Marine made a request of the ship. “Watson, could you magnify the inbound ship, please?” A magnified view was provided to the Marine.

Watson was hovering at 0.00434 AU (about 403,000 miles) from the planet under observation. That ship, designated Alpha 1, was deemed to not be aware of Watson or her Marine. Other than some solar dust, there was nothing to impede Watson’s recordings. Passive sensors were examining the ships, the satellites, the planet, its occupants and the space inside this solar system, collecting as much information as passive sensors could collect.

Watson spoke, “There has not been much happening on the planet, or with the satellites in orbit around it. We will see if anything transpires with the new arrival.”

Reconnaissance 14 was very near the end of its reconnoitering of the Alpha ship and the planet, which was believed to be occupied by the same forces which had engaged Earth forces in several battles in space, usually in the locale of a human-occupied planet or military base. Walkabout and Watson had a serendipitous success in piggy-backing on one of those ships to this solar system. Whatever happened, it would be necessary for them to return to the nearest Marine or Naval Base with the information associated with this planet and its visitors. Both knew that if Walkabout could not make it, Watson would have to deliver the information without him.

“Walkabout, I have managed to identify several sensor arrays, antennas and pods, none of which seem to recognize us. Additionally, I have identified a forward communications array on Bravo 1 which is transmitting and the satellite which is responding to the transmission. I do not recognize the language in the transmission, but we are recording it.”

By the end of the third week the Marine was psychologically depleted. He would have done everything that human beings do by themselves, as well as observing whatever he and his ship could observe during the reconnoiter, all the while talking to an artificial intelligence for company.

October 8th, 2317 1100 hours on Watson

Watson had some sets of primary instructions. First, she was to determine if any items near her were active in their searches, and if so, to try to determine if any of those items could penetrate her stealth to destroy her, her Marine, or the data they had accumulated. Second, she was to deliver any information she acquired to the appropriate authority; and third, she was to protect the Marine she was assigned to as well as she could, with the recognition that he could issue her orders under specific conditions which would affect the third item.

In making preparation to leave the solar system based on considerations recognizing the limitations of the human person, and the Marine experience derived from too-long-in-space by one’s self, Watson recognized an event happening. “Walkabout, I think that there is a problem. The in-system ship seems to be targeting Bravo 1.”

Then Watson invisibly winked out of the space it was in and that observation was left unfinished.

October 11th, 2317 0700 hours near Tarawa

Four days after departing the enemy-occupied solar system, Watson winked into space 10 AUs out from Marine Base Tarawa, woke Walkabout, and began searching the surrounding area to determine if the base was operable, and was still under control of the Earth Alliance.

October 13th, 2317 1030 hours at Tarawa

Thirty-three hours after Walkabout and Watson returned to Tarawa, a meeting was called by the base commander at the request of the intelligence people. Captain Tradzuski and Reconnaissance 13 and 14 were in attendance. ...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 23.7.2018
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Science Fiction
• ISBN-10: 1-5439-4105-2 / 1543941052
• ISBN-13: 978-1-5439-4105-0 / 9781543941050