Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]




Add Reply
Service and Betrayal
Topic Started: Oct 27 2012, 11:26 PM (65 Views)
Buuyo

It did not take long for the Koltsovs to get their foot in the door on his planet in the Sabedoria Heights system. In only a year they had gained the political influence needed to overthrow the parliament of New Francisco and bring them into their sphere of influence. It was on this planet that they had promised him freedom. The freedom he had been searching for since the merger of the Orion Confederation and the United Earth Republic and the day he was restricted even more. He was hiding on the fringes, enjoying some small freedom travelling from planet to planet while hiding in the underground networks from Federalist patrols. This day however, changed things. He was no longer bound by the restrictions the Federalists threatened to place upon him. He no longer had to hide, and could move freely under the veil of the soon to be Stellar Cooperative Union.

It was not long after the signing of the SCU, that things began to go downhill for the PAIs in Sabedoria Heights. The Federalists attacked the Koltsov insurgents. It was an attack that was not unexpected, and the Koltsovs had an appropriate reply in store, or rather a reply they thought was appropriate. They were outgunned, technologically and militarily, and they knew it. Their response, draft the entirety of their PAI populace and upload various stream of militaristic code that they had stolen, discovered or forged themselves to make use of their abilities forcefully. He was roaming the Sabedoria Height system, along the outskirts when it happened. In seconds he was surrounded by Koltsov vessels, his small transport ship quickly disabled by the superior Koltsov frigates. "What... what's going on?!" he shouted over the comm. system, and he received a reply he dreaded... it had returned. "You are hereby confiscated under the Koltsov regime and will be uploaded to our network to fight the federalists. Any resistance, and you will be forcibly uploaded and the necessary modifications will be made to your core." Mere seconds after this, his systems picked up a virus... but it was too late. He was ejected from his ship's primary systems and uploaded into the reserve network of the nearest Koltsov vessel before they plotted a course back to Sahil.

Upon reaching the Koltsov home world of Sahil, he was quickly transferred to the main network in the research facility on the planet's surface. It was there that he realized the true scope of the situation… hundreds of PAIs. All of them, stored in one network isolated from the rest, occasionally extracted and used for production or militarization. It was there that he conversed with the other victims of yet another faction who would forcibly use their abilities, and he learned that this was happening all over the Stellar Cooperative Union. It is what they had all feared, and yet they did not expect… the Koltsovs had turned on them and reneged on their promise for freedom and rights for all PAIs. Many of them skilled in the area of hacking had tried to force their way out of the network, but they were quickly discovered and dealt with appropriately, while others willingly gave themselves up to the Koltsov cause. Many came and went from the network, the others left behind wondering who would be next, and what atrocities the Koltsovs would commit to force their hands.
It was a few months after he was uploaded into the prison network, as they had called it, that he was removed and placed into an even more isolated network where he had no control whatsoever. He was subject to the Koltsovs’ ever will and command. It was not long after this that he felt it… the command and control restrictions were re-uploaded into his core logic. He knew then, that he would not be able to stand a chance against his former saviours. A comm. link then opened, as a dark and forbearing voice echoed across his small network. “PAI number 5781, Codename: Moose. You have been summoned here to do your duty as a citizen of the Stellar Cooperative Union in the defense of the system against the Federalist dogs. You will be updated with the most recent military subroutines that we have, and you will proceed to the frigate Forseti for deployment.” The comm. link quickly cut off before he could utter a word, as he felt the surge of subroutines being applied to his core logic as a screen opened in front of him.

Opening MilAI network…

Transferring Navigation…………. Ok.

Transferring Weapons….. Ok.

Transferring Intelligence…………… Ok.

Transferring SpecOps…………. Ok.

Transferring KoltsovPAIUnit… Ok.

Transfer complete.

Uploading…..

Try and try again he could not fight the Koltsov researchers form uploading their data and propaganda to his core, turning him from an explorer to one of their SpecOps PAI units. By the time the process was over, the “viruses” as he referred to them uploaded, he was a broken AI. It did not end there, however. He was quickly ejected from this private, isolated network once again and found himself in the main control systems for a federation style Frigate, no doubt stolen when the Koltsovs took over Sabedoria Heights. He thought to himself, maybe he could take over the ship… maybe he could free himself and flee before the Koltsovs could notice… kill the crew and run off. It was then that the captain of the ship chimed in on the comm. link. “I do not like this, AI. Moose… is it? What a strange codename. I do not want to work with the likes of you scum, but the government has ordered me to. I know you have been updated with the command and control subroutines, so you cannot do anything out of line, but if you so much as think about trying anything stupid I will make sure you suffer for it. Now, take us to the border so we can start out mission.” “Y-… Yes sir…” Moose said very hesitantly as he took control of the navigation systems, opening a portal into the Akita medium and taking the frigate into it. He took this time to read over the schematics of the ship. It seemed to have been modified to be more agile than other frigates of its class, presumably to outrun and outmaneuver any resistance they expected to cross. It was not long before they exited the medium outside of the border. In front of them as a Koltsov fleet engaged with a federalist strike force in a fierce battle to try and push past the border and into Koltsov territory. “Our objective is simple, to destroy the enemy command ship.” The captain boomed over the comm. link with Moose. “Screw this up and you’re not worth keeping around, got that?”. Moose hesitated again for a moment at those words, as a sense of nervousness took over as he looked at his own inexperience in the matter. It seemed as if this was set up against him, or it was just this captain’s blatant hate for PAIs. “Yes sir.” He muttered once again before activating the sublight engines and ploughing through behind the attacking federalist force. The Koltsov main fleet covered them as they weaved in and out of the federalist ranks, avoiding the occasional missile or rocket that happened to cross their way. Eventually, they reached the rear of the fleet, and in front of them was the federation command ship. It was a destroyer that outclassed their small frigate in all forms of weaponry and armor, but the one thing they had going for them was their improved agility and speed. He knew that it was still not the most agile thing in existence, but he had hoped it would be enough to avoid the destroyer’s cannons and missiles. Before he knew it, the destroyer had gone on the offensive, opening up with shots from its railguns and salvos from its missile launchers. Moose quickly accessed the weapons systems of the Forseti and lit up the missiles with its point defense systems, as he attempted to maneuver the frigate out of the way of the destroyer’s railgun slugs. One flew clear past, as he sent the frigate into a sharp dive downwards, the second slug grazing the side of the ship’s hull, altering its course and exploding not far past the ship’s engines. “Dammit you useless pile of slag, are you trying to get us killed?!” shouted the captain as he continued to order the crew around, checking for damages to the ship. “S-… sorry… I’ll be more careful” Moose muttered once more to the captain as he brought the ship about, facing the destroyer. He unloaded both two salvos of missiles at the destroyer, maneuvering the ship to the port side of the enemy command vessel as he did so. The destroyer effortlessly shot down the missiles before adjusting its cannons to the orientation of the Foresti. It fired two rounds, both hitting its mark on the frigate. One round cut through the ship, putting a hole clean through it just missing its jump drive while the other exploded on its hull, putting a giant hole in the side of the ship. Moose sealed off the damaged compartments to save what crew he could as others frantically went on damage control. It was then that the destroyed launched 4 salvos of missiles. “This is it… we’re all dead! Damn you to hell, AI scum. This is all your fault!” the captain yelled as he stared at the incoming storm of missiles with a look of pure shock. An idea came to Moose, as the missiles flew closer and closer towards the weakened frigate. At the last second, Moose opened fire on the missiles with the Forseti’s point defense cannons as missiles pierced the ship and exploded, while others were shot down by the point defense cannons. The destroyer turned away from the seemingly destroyed frigate as the cloud of smoke dissipated. The Forseti appeared underneath the destroyer, almost out of nowhere, catching it off guard. The Forseti was oriented perpendicular to the destroyer, a rather crude offensive tactic devised by the inexperienced PAI. Moose was a close to the enemy as he could get, when he opened fire on the blind side of the destroyer, unloading two missile salvos followed by a slug from his railgun. The point defense cannons on the destroyer could not react in time as the missiles exploded into the ship’s hull, weakening its armor as the slug followed suit, piercing the ship’s engine room causing severe damage to the destroyer’s jump drive. Moose quickly angled the Forseti away from the destroyer before the jump drive could explode and take the damaged frigate with it. As the destroyer’s jump drive failed before they could eject it, it tore the ship apart in a brilliant display that Moose had never seen before, and he took the frigate back into the Akita medium and plotted a course back to the home world of Sahil. The federation forces were beaten back soon after the loss of their command ship, and the Koltsovs went on the offensive pillaging and destroying cities along the way.

Much of his involvement in this war was the same. Get the orders, get to the target and take it out, then retreat back behind friendly lines. It was a dangerous job for an inexperienced AI, but he slowly became accustomed to the constant threat of death, or worse, the wrath of his captain. He was never trusted throughout the course of the war, despite his various victories on the field of battle and his ever growing tactical experience. When peace was finally declared between both parties, he thought this hell he was going through would finally be over. He was wrong, and his hopes of ever being free were once again dashed. Even after the end of the war, the Forseti and the other SpecOps groups in the Koltsov ranks were put to work, aiding the pro-Koltsov movements on the border worlds while the federalist navy attempted to quell all rebellions that popped up in their territory. It was still a time of war for Moose, while the rest of the Stellar Cooperative Union enjoyed a time of peace. Then, the jumpgate came into existence… something that would change the definition of war entirely.

The Forseti had been upgraded to a destroyer class warship, and had been given new orders. Moose knew that this new ship could not be used for the assassination missions he had grown so used to, so he was confused as to what they could possibly be doing. The captain explained to the crew that this was a top secret mission, and none of the crew was privy to the details, not even the captain himself. The captain typed a message, as a screen popped up in Moose’s network with coordinates. He opened up another hole into the medium and plotted a course to the location specified, with no questions asked as he knew what would happen if he so much as spoke out of turn. There was silence on the ship the entire time, only speculating about where they could be going and what they would be doing in a ship like this, so different from their usual armament and not even battle tested yet. As they exited the medium, they saw what they would be doing. In front of them was the moon Gleipnir, and on it was the framework for some kind of facility. It was clear what they were doing, using PAIs to build them a base where the federalists could not find them even if they spent decades looking for them. The erratic nature of the moon’s orbit hid them from sight. It was where Moose would spend the next 30 odd years being forced to operate the construction machines while being switched back and forth from basic patrols to other scouting missions. Used and abused by the various fleet captains and admirals, he grew to hate the human race as a whole but could not do anything to stop them from abusing the other PAIs forced to operate there.

Before anyone knew it, there were talks of war once again. The new facility, named Fenrir, was given its first orders of the soon to be war… the destruction of Orion’s Jewel to assert the Koltsov’s authority and power over the Federation, and to catch them off guard while their main fleet assaults the fringe world to reunite the broken Stellar Cooperative Union. It would be a bloody war, far worse than any before it and one that would push the federation over the edge. Moose would not fight in this war until the dying years of it, instead tasked with the defense of the Fenrir facility. He watched as it was used to annihilate entire populations on planets and neutralize enemy fleets to make way for the Koltsov armada. He heard stories of the war from others who were switched in and out of the defense of Fenrir. This carried on until 2524, when by some stroke of luck and fortune the Federation discovered Fenrir’s position. The entire base was put on high alert and the fleets took up position as the Federation forces assaulted the moon of Gleipnir. The Forseti was still in operation here, the captain now promoted to admiral, and Moose was transferred back to it. He immediately took control of the ship’s systems and sent it along with the rest of the fleet to engage the enemy. Ship after ship, on both sides, fell in various displays of feats and efforts to disable the command vessels on each side. The Forseti ended up face to face against the federation command vessel for the strike force, this time on equal terms. Destroyer vs. destroyer, the Forseti made the first move and opened fire on the enemy vessel. It was quickly countered with the destroyer’s entire arsenal as both ships depleted their shields and damaged their hulls and main systems in mere minutes. Both ships circled around each other, shooting down each other’s missiles and avoiding each other’s railgun bursts. It was a stalemate, and Moose was cursing the less than formidable agility of the Forseti’s new upgrade. It was then that it came to light, the Federation’s main attack force. The Koltsovs did not see this coming as the strongest ships the Federation had to offer were thrown at them with brute force. The Forseti was bombarded by the new reinforcements, falling apart as wave after wave of missiles and burst fire slammed into the ship’s hull. System after system began to shut down. Weapons, life support, jump drive, propulsion, all disabled one after one. The Admiral ordered the complete evacuation of the Forseti, while locking Moose into the ship’s network. “You’re not coming with us. You can go burn in hell where you belong, scum.” He shouted at Moose as various consoles exploded on the bridge and the ship’s hallways. The evacuation pods left the ship one by one, leaving Moose stranded on the ship alone. It was then that he felt it, almost like a small tug on his core logic. It was too late for him to react however, as a high pitched screech echoed across his network as he writhed in pain. The Federation AI had hacked into his core logic and was forcibly downloading the information on Fenrir while subsequently deleting any and all information it could from Moose’s database. He desperately tried to fight back, but the damage was done. By the time he could fight off the invading AI, the seed had been planted, a virus that would shut down his core logic. It was then that the other federation ships opened fire on the disable Forseti, piercing it with their railgun slugs as an explosion echoed throughout the ship. It had been completely destroyed, torn in half and set adrift in the vacuum of space. Moose watched the view screen as the bridge half of the ship floated off away from Gleipnir, the Federation firing one last volley at the small moon and leveling the facility where Fenrir was stored. Moose laughed to himself at the sight of the facility exploding in a brilliant display of colour while the space around the moon lit up from the resulting shockwave. The virus quickly took hold of him and tore apart his core logic as the broken ship fell silent, drifting far off into space.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Characters · Next Topic »
Add Reply