Read Online Code Breakers: Beta by Colin F. Barnes - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Colin F. Barnes
Tags: Science-Fiction, Literature & Fiction, Thrillers, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Genetic engineering, cyberpunk, post apocalyptic, Dystopian, Thrillers & Suspense, Technothrillers
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welts. They’d really gone to town on the poor kid. But it showed a lot of spirit to stand up to that kind of abuse. And to stay hidden the way he had for this amount of time showed he had some degree of survival skill.
Once Steven had left the house, Gerry rearranged the basement into a more usable office space. He pulled a desk out into the middle, arranged a number of lights around the surface, and rigged up one of his old holoscreen control units. He didn’t really need it. With his new upgrades he could manipulate the networks around him with ease and send his very consciousness into the code if he had to, but after everything that had happened, there was something comforting about a slower, more physical approach.
He scanned for the Jaguar’s ID, and found it. The wreckage lay not far from the Dome, half way to GeoCity-1. It broadcasted various error signals: damaged control systems, inoperable engines, hull integrity breaches. The odd thing was it had been sitting there on the dusty ground for nearly a fortnight. Why hadn’t Enna recovered the wreckage?
He wanted to avoid speaking with Enna, or any member of The Family, for as long as possible, but knowing the wreckage was there meant that either Petal was dead, or she had escaped, but if that was the case, why not salvage the tech of the Jaguar? Even the Bachians would have scrapped it for resources.
Gerry sighed, succumbed to the inevitable. He’d have to call Enna via his AIA’s direct communication tunnel: a secure setup given to him by The Family. Of course, he knew full well that they would be listening in to everything he said, but that was the plan: take their attention away from his other ways and means.
He sent a message and waited.
Chapter 7
W hat she could give for a shot of NanoStem right then. She sat there for hours, watching the sun arc across the sky to the west into the evening, willing the pain to die. When it was clear it wasn’t going to shift, she gritted her teeth, pulled herself to her feet, and approached the craft.
It was similar to Enna’s Jaguar, so much so, Petal wondered whether Enna had developed hers from their designs or vice-versa. This one however appeared to be armed far more heavily with particle cannons on each snub-wing, and twin machine guns.
She neared the cabin door, noticed her smashed slate amongst the protruding rocks. The screen had broken into a multitude of fragments of glass held together by the nano-threaded circuits. The rear case was dented, scratched but still in one piece. She thought she might be able to recover the data. At least she remembered the coordinates of Criborg’s location, and now she had proper transport. Not such a bad compromise. And her weapons cache had swelled. Soon she’d have enough to arm a small militia.
Once inside the cockpit of the craft, she found a tube of NanoStem in a medical supplies box under the pilot seat. The syringe slipped through her skin easily, and before she pushed the plunger, her body reacted to the thought of receiving that wonderful drug. At first her skin became clammy and a sheen of perspiration covered her face, then that blissful feeling of the ‘Stem sliding into her blood.
Millions of nano-machines swarmed through her blood system until they found the source of pain: her broken ribs. It’s a curious and unusual experience feeling one’s bones knit back together. It was like a deep tissue massage on the skeleton.
She closed her eyes, let the ‘Stems do their work. It’d be an hour or so before the pain was subdued enough to move, but right there and then she didn’t want to go anywhere. She just wanted to revel in the blissfulness. The pilot seat was as comfortable as anything she had sat on in weeks. Her head tipped sideways onto her shoulder. A slick of drool slipped down her chin. She didn’t bother to wipe it away. The darkness that cradled her told her everything would be okay. All she had to do was rest.
An hour passed, the sun
Once Steven had left the house, Gerry rearranged the basement into a more usable office space. He pulled a desk out into the middle, arranged a number of lights around the surface, and rigged up one of his old holoscreen control units. He didn’t really need it. With his new upgrades he could manipulate the networks around him with ease and send his very consciousness into the code if he had to, but after everything that had happened, there was something comforting about a slower, more physical approach.
He scanned for the Jaguar’s ID, and found it. The wreckage lay not far from the Dome, half way to GeoCity-1. It broadcasted various error signals: damaged control systems, inoperable engines, hull integrity breaches. The odd thing was it had been sitting there on the dusty ground for nearly a fortnight. Why hadn’t Enna recovered the wreckage?
He wanted to avoid speaking with Enna, or any member of The Family, for as long as possible, but knowing the wreckage was there meant that either Petal was dead, or she had escaped, but if that was the case, why not salvage the tech of the Jaguar? Even the Bachians would have scrapped it for resources.
Gerry sighed, succumbed to the inevitable. He’d have to call Enna via his AIA’s direct communication tunnel: a secure setup given to him by The Family. Of course, he knew full well that they would be listening in to everything he said, but that was the plan: take their attention away from his other ways and means.
He sent a message and waited.
Chapter 7
W hat she could give for a shot of NanoStem right then. She sat there for hours, watching the sun arc across the sky to the west into the evening, willing the pain to die. When it was clear it wasn’t going to shift, she gritted her teeth, pulled herself to her feet, and approached the craft.
It was similar to Enna’s Jaguar, so much so, Petal wondered whether Enna had developed hers from their designs or vice-versa. This one however appeared to be armed far more heavily with particle cannons on each snub-wing, and twin machine guns.
She neared the cabin door, noticed her smashed slate amongst the protruding rocks. The screen had broken into a multitude of fragments of glass held together by the nano-threaded circuits. The rear case was dented, scratched but still in one piece. She thought she might be able to recover the data. At least she remembered the coordinates of Criborg’s location, and now she had proper transport. Not such a bad compromise. And her weapons cache had swelled. Soon she’d have enough to arm a small militia.
Once inside the cockpit of the craft, she found a tube of NanoStem in a medical supplies box under the pilot seat. The syringe slipped through her skin easily, and before she pushed the plunger, her body reacted to the thought of receiving that wonderful drug. At first her skin became clammy and a sheen of perspiration covered her face, then that blissful feeling of the ‘Stem sliding into her blood.
Millions of nano-machines swarmed through her blood system until they found the source of pain: her broken ribs. It’s a curious and unusual experience feeling one’s bones knit back together. It was like a deep tissue massage on the skeleton.
She closed her eyes, let the ‘Stems do their work. It’d be an hour or so before the pain was subdued enough to move, but right there and then she didn’t want to go anywhere. She just wanted to revel in the blissfulness. The pilot seat was as comfortable as anything she had sat on in weeks. Her head tipped sideways onto her shoulder. A slick of drool slipped down her chin. She didn’t bother to wipe it away. The darkness that cradled her told her everything would be okay. All she had to do was rest.
An hour passed, the sun
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