Read Online Archives of the Frontier Universe: An Assassin's Assignment by Christopher Villanueva - Free Book Online
Authors: Christopher Villanueva
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to the server room. “I’ve found it. Okay, Captain, is there anything you need me to save before wiping the system?” She threw the door open and made a beeline for the first terminal.
“No. Everything my installation needs is already in our databanks. Crash the system and get back here. Command is . . .” He trailed off. And then, addressing someone there with him, he spoke again. “Inform them that Posteritor Byruhme is on her way back! The mission is on schedule. The device is in our control.”
Rose pushed Meyer’s other conversation to the edge of her mind. She began typing away at the terminal. Surprising her at first, the primary few prompts she met proved trivially simple to bypass. But then she encountered one she could not crack in time. Damn it! She cursed internally. Because of these delays, this particular layer has hurt us almost as much as an actual breach would! Altogether uninterested in fighting the system, she instinctively pulled her glass slate from her skirt. After powering it on, she connected to the system and began devising a workaround.
“No, I’m still running this op!” said Meyer sternly. “Command must wait! She still needs direction!”
“Sounds like they’ve grown even more impatient, am I right?” said Rose sassily.
“Too impatient. It didn’t take them long to catch wind of the Court invasion there. Now, I’ve got assistants flooding the command room, trying to monitor communications and keep Command apprised. They’re bugging the hell out of me! You?”
Rose defeated the security finally and hacked into the Pirate databanks. “Almost done. That despicable layer of security had me held up for a moment. But I’m in. And you were right, by the way; the Court’s already in the system.”
“Yeah, probably assigned their people to it the moment floor one was clear.”
“Well, it doesn’t seem like they’ve retrieved too much intel. And they’re not going to be able to use what they did get. I’m uploading the virus now—”
Suddenly, Rose detected footsteps coming up the hall. It sounded like at least a dozen men. She hit a button on the slate, completing the virus and then stowed the device again. Backing behind a stack of equipment, she put a hand over her mouth to hush her voice. “Contacts! I’m going dark.”
“Oh . . . okay, be careful,” whispered Meyer.
Rose pushed against the wall as far as she could. Out in the hall, the Court approached. “ What the hell ?!” sounded a soldier, out of the blue. “ I’ve just lost radio uplink with Command !”
“ Me too, Lieutenant ,” replied another. “ All I’ve got is static .”
“ Yeah, me too .”
“ What the hell ?”
“These terrorists must’ve jammed our comm. systems,” said the first, now very clear. “Try a short range frequency.”
“This is Charlie Squad, can anyone read me?” called another. A small second passed but the soldier spoke again, obviously reaching someone. “Affirmative, our long range connection has been knocked out.” He turned his voice on his commander. “Sir, Alpha and Bravo report the same malfunction. Apparently, though, it was an attack on all our systems.” They reached the doorway, and the subordinate spoke again. “They say it was not a defense already in place . . . meaning it was not set off. Someone just recently uploaded it in the system.”
“There must be someone still in the building,” assumed the Lieutenant. “Keep alert! And clear these rooms.”
“ Oh, man, sounds like they’re closing in ,” said Meyer. “ Radio silence seems to have cut them off from the rest of the Court, however. You should be able to put them down without retaliation. Assuming you can take them all. ”
Rose sort of tossed her head, displeased with the situation. Over at the computer terminal, however, the system was still standing by for deletion. She needed to purge the databanks or they would eventually extract the intel. And then it occurred to her.
“No. Everything my installation needs is already in our databanks. Crash the system and get back here. Command is . . .” He trailed off. And then, addressing someone there with him, he spoke again. “Inform them that Posteritor Byruhme is on her way back! The mission is on schedule. The device is in our control.”
Rose pushed Meyer’s other conversation to the edge of her mind. She began typing away at the terminal. Surprising her at first, the primary few prompts she met proved trivially simple to bypass. But then she encountered one she could not crack in time. Damn it! She cursed internally. Because of these delays, this particular layer has hurt us almost as much as an actual breach would! Altogether uninterested in fighting the system, she instinctively pulled her glass slate from her skirt. After powering it on, she connected to the system and began devising a workaround.
“No, I’m still running this op!” said Meyer sternly. “Command must wait! She still needs direction!”
“Sounds like they’ve grown even more impatient, am I right?” said Rose sassily.
“Too impatient. It didn’t take them long to catch wind of the Court invasion there. Now, I’ve got assistants flooding the command room, trying to monitor communications and keep Command apprised. They’re bugging the hell out of me! You?”
Rose defeated the security finally and hacked into the Pirate databanks. “Almost done. That despicable layer of security had me held up for a moment. But I’m in. And you were right, by the way; the Court’s already in the system.”
“Yeah, probably assigned their people to it the moment floor one was clear.”
“Well, it doesn’t seem like they’ve retrieved too much intel. And they’re not going to be able to use what they did get. I’m uploading the virus now—”
Suddenly, Rose detected footsteps coming up the hall. It sounded like at least a dozen men. She hit a button on the slate, completing the virus and then stowed the device again. Backing behind a stack of equipment, she put a hand over her mouth to hush her voice. “Contacts! I’m going dark.”
“Oh . . . okay, be careful,” whispered Meyer.
Rose pushed against the wall as far as she could. Out in the hall, the Court approached. “ What the hell ?!” sounded a soldier, out of the blue. “ I’ve just lost radio uplink with Command !”
“ Me too, Lieutenant ,” replied another. “ All I’ve got is static .”
“ Yeah, me too .”
“ What the hell ?”
“These terrorists must’ve jammed our comm. systems,” said the first, now very clear. “Try a short range frequency.”
“This is Charlie Squad, can anyone read me?” called another. A small second passed but the soldier spoke again, obviously reaching someone. “Affirmative, our long range connection has been knocked out.” He turned his voice on his commander. “Sir, Alpha and Bravo report the same malfunction. Apparently, though, it was an attack on all our systems.” They reached the doorway, and the subordinate spoke again. “They say it was not a defense already in place . . . meaning it was not set off. Someone just recently uploaded it in the system.”
“There must be someone still in the building,” assumed the Lieutenant. “Keep alert! And clear these rooms.”
“ Oh, man, sounds like they’re closing in ,” said Meyer. “ Radio silence seems to have cut them off from the rest of the Court, however. You should be able to put them down without retaliation. Assuming you can take them all. ”
Rose sort of tossed her head, displeased with the situation. Over at the computer terminal, however, the system was still standing by for deletion. She needed to purge the databanks or they would eventually extract the intel. And then it occurred to her.
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