A few small chunks of scrap metal and composite still floated in long, lazy orbits that occasionally required point defense to eliminate. However, the emptiness of the void dilutes anything into nothingness, given enough time.
The Peacekeeper and Relativity had spent the past few weeks in radio silence, coordinating solely with their encoded IR bursts. They masterfully maintained discipline, orienting their reactor opposite to the inhabited planet and silently coasting in a wide orbit.
They made occasional corrective burns when hidden in the shadow of the other planets but were otherwise silent, drifting ghosts.
>Trail the Peacekeeper, Auditor-72-A9-M5 commanded to the Relativity.
>Acknowledged, a resigned thought replied.
Their new trajectory was a masterpiece of celestial mechanics: a wide swing around the star, reorienting their reactor in its shadow, and then burning in a hyperbolic intercept course straight for the planet. A small braking burn was performed right as they emerged for final velocity correction while they were still in the shadow. They’d emerge with the system’s sun to their backs as invisible javelins hidden in the glare.
In the distance was the fragile sphere of Gamma Centauri c, its primeval oceans a deep shade of purplish-blue and ice caps extending halfway to the equator. There was no settlement visible on the day side, but there were a few lights near the equator at the day-night terminator.
It was only a few days of coasting once they swung around the star, but it felt agonizingly long. There was no need for the crew to be at the CIC; their trajectory had almost guaranteed their perfect safety and any threat would be visible from hours away. There was a sense of near normality forged by their collective helplessness at the auditor’s true power. The auditor herself had spent the past days floating in her stasis pod and staring off into space, only leaving to sustain her waking biology.
“That was some battle,” Okeke said, seeming almost oblivious to the dread experienced by Liu in the CIC.
“Do you-” Liu suddenly looked over his shoulder, as if to check whether the auditor was watching. “Do you know what happened in the CIC?”
Okeke shook his head. “Nope. That’s above me now. I just fix stuff.”
Liu looked at him, baffled. “You felt nothing over the Neuronet?”
Okeke looked down at his hands. “I am a good engineer, but the Neuronet implant doesn’t work with me well. It’s been costing me promotion back in planetary defense. I can hear orders, but I prefer these,” he said, tapping his tac glasses.
>Alert. Terminal approach to Gamma Centauri c. All crew rank major or above report to CIC.
“That’s you, Liu. Make me proud,” Okeke said cheerfully.
The CIC quickly filled up, with everyone terrified of being late and possibly incurring the auditor’s wrath. Even Commander Sanchez crawled hurriedly in the corridors like a newly promoted major. Auditor-72-A9-M5 entered last. She glided effortlessly to her perch and strapped in.
>Major Liu Yang. Initiate Doppler compensated signal modulation. Apply 5 ms delay. Radio tight beam towards Gamma Centauri c.
Why can’t she just do it herself, Liu thought to himself. He immediately realized his mistake as a light pressure manifested in his head and the auditor’s gentle voice rang out.
>I have higher value things to do with my mind.
Liu shuddered. Every time she invades his personal thoughts it sends shivers down his back. It was quite a disgusting sensation, as if someone jammed an impossibly thin wire into his brain through the spine.
He carefully entered the parameters for Doppler compensation. It was an advanced technique that would mask their velocity in a transmission.
>Velocity Doppler shift being masked. We will appear to travel at 2% nominal speed. Added delay of 5 ms per message, Liu thought into the Neuronet. The auditor gave him a dismissive glance, then made her announcement to the CIC.
>I will be engaging in diplomacy with the planetary governor. Do not disturb me.
She then stared into space with downcast eyes, rapidly shifting as if she was looking around somewhere else. Her breathing became slow and shallow. At one point, she almost seemed to smile a bit, before her face returned to her usual dour expression. None of the transmissions were broadcast to the CIC Neuronet. It was understandable - diplomacy was above the fleet’s paygrade.
After what felt like eons, Auditor-72-A9-M5 looked up again and took a deep breath. She muttered something nearly inaudible with her real voice that hit Liu like a bolt of lightning.
“...offers no value. It presents only systemic entropy. The pathology will be excised in its entirety.”
She immediately followed up with a much clearer demand over Neuronet, one that had no trace of ambiguity or hesitation.
>Launch 5 cruise missiles, imaging IR seekers. Arm and terminal on auditor command only.
A cold dread washed over Liu Yang. He knew that command. It was the same command in the same language she had used in the CIC a few weeks prior during the initial skirmish. But there were no military targets in sight. There was only the planet rapidly approaching them..
Another series of slight springs were felt as the cold launch system imparted added velocity to the missiles, each an arrow gliding silently through the black.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
The crew glanced at each other, confused. They had finished off this system’s miserable defenses already. What target could possibly require a first-strike with cruise missiles?
She then gave another command, as if reading their minds.
>Relativity, this is Auditor-72-A9-M5. Launch 18 interceptor missiles and transfer command of them to the Peacekeeper for cooperative engagement.
Interceptors? Liu thought to himself. Is she expecting a counter-attack?
Silence. Then, a flicker of IR from the Relativity signalled their confusion.
>Peacekeeper, this is unprecedented. Colonel Meng said with her thoughts.
Auditor-72-A9-M5 brooked no dissent. She immediately fired back with her thoughts.
>Your cooperation will be most appreciated, Colonel. Otherwise, your value of continued existence is rapidly approaching zero.
The crew who were physically connected to the tactical Neuronet winced as they almost felt Meng being mentally suppressed.
>Major Liu Yang. Confirm Relativity weapons release and datalink transfer to the Peacekeeper.
Liu was terrified. What the hell does she want with me, he thought. The auditor heard his plea and grinned for a fraction of a second.
>You are the sensor officer, are you not?
He sighed in resignation.
A few small neutron flickers appeared at the planet’s day-night terminator. There was no natural source of neutrons on planetary bodies capable of flying that fast, especially over the uninhabited poles. These were the bursts of nuclear pulse engines. The swarm stopped their burn immediately before crossing the terminator, a clever attempt at obfuscating their signal. However, the defenders failed to account for neutron transmission through the atmosphere.
>Missiles incoming, surface to orbit, Liu typed to the entire CIC.
>Lost tracking during glide phase. Only saw the end of stage 1.
Commander Sanchez was about to give an order, but the auditor shut his mouth, literally.
>They are no threat.
The first missiles harmlessly flew in a wide arc around them before disappearing from their sensors into the glare of the star’s corona. The Doppler modulation and deliberately added signal delay had led the colonial defense forces to wildly miscalculate the Peacekeeper’s velocity and current position.
Why would they need to launch interceptors if the incoming missiles were harmless? Liu thought. He immediately realized his mental mistake again as the auditor glanced at him with amusement, as if his brain was simply too small to comprehend her grand design.
Gamma Centauri c was now looming larger and larger in their optical sensors. They could resolve some gray smudges along the equator in the glaring sun. Cities. Liu looked down on them through his Neuronet electronic vision. He used to live in one like that, long ago. He could almost imagine their lights and streets, the towers filled with families like the one he left behind. He remembered that as a young boy, he would look up to the sky with wonder and dream of flying.
Suddenly, he felt a bright flash of radio with the ship’s sensors. Radar scanning. Within a fraction of a second, dual IR and neutron signatures emerged from the day side. A barrage of missiles had just been launched from the planet. It looked like an attack, but Liu quickly realized the insidious and monstrous genius of the Auditor’s plan. The trajectory showed the surface missile batteries were not aiming for the Peacekeeper. They were defending themselves from the cruise missiles.
>Arm all interceptors. Intercept surface to orbit missiles, Auditor-72-A9-M5 commanded. All interceptors lit their engines in Liu’s vision, tiny stars against the planetary background. They spiraled around like fireflies in the night. Then, they faded to black, before igniting into spectacular full spectrum fireworks. The day side insurgent missiles had been defeated.
Everyone was just about to cheer, when the next auditor command came and all color drained from their collective faces. She issued the command without any flinching, anger or hesitation in her gentle, calm voice.
>Arm cruise missiles. Target day side urban regions. Imaging IR. Priority: Government palace. Remaining interceptors: arm warhead. Target launch silos.
Brilliant flashes of neutron and infrared appeared in Liu’s vision again. The CIC staff erupted in shock and disgust, but were immediately silenced. Liu felt the same overwhelming pressure over the Neuronet that he did during the battle. He finally realized this was why the civilian casualties allowance was not released: no such allowance existed. It was unlimited.
Sanchez struggled to draw his gun, even as a blunt force weapon, but he couldn’t even move his fingers enough to unplug himself. His mouth eked out a low groan. The auditor struggled more than ever to contain the crew’s fury and guide the missiles at the same time.
Liu looked on with horrified eyes through the sensors. The cruise missiles began their terminal burn. It would be too late for an intercept now. They had plenty of fuel to dodge any more surface to orbit defense missiles.
The interceptors struck the colony’s defense missile silos first with their smaller nuclear warheads. They were cleanly deleted in a small burst of neutron, X-ray and infrared radiation. Then the cruise missiles struck. A brilliant full spectrum burst emanated from the primary urban region of the planet. Then more, each a dazzling nuclear blaze.
The pressure was finally relieved. The entire CIC was numb. They didn’t need to be suppressed anymore; they now knew resistance was futile.
>Confirm neutralization of insurgent orbital defense capability.
Liu looked at the smoldering infrared readings on his tac glasses. Yes, they've been neutralized all right, along with most of the urban regions. He didn't need to say anything though. She would know.
>Take us to low orbit.
The Peacekeeper swung around in a wide arc and reoriented to decelerate. They then slowly burned propellant to lower its orbit. The urban ruins grew clearer and clearer in their infrared imaging sensors, though billowing, searing ash was still obscuring the area near the detonation points. The devastation of a 20 MT warhead is something that is only conceptual, until you see the results face to face.
After what felt like ages, the burn stopped. They had entered a low orbit, rapidly circling over what remained of the primary urban belt of the planet.
>Initiate purification protocols. Authorization: Auditor-72-A9-M5.
Liu screamed out in Neuronet.
>They've been wiped out already. What is the point?
The auditor looked at him with that same mix of pity and amusement he experienced earlier.
>No, they have not been wiped out. But they will be.
Liu’s eyes widened in horror.
>Why woul-
The auditor cut him off with a single, chilling thought.
>This was a failed experiment in autonomy. Their corruption and pathological technology were dangerous.
She paused a bit, as if to think of the future.
>They will be replaced by more compliant settlers.
