Chapter 16
No one died this time. The rush of Trangrods from the ground did resemble a fire ant colony, Rhys thought, as gridnet propagated with hostile symbols, and the roach-like biosynthetic machines began to scurry. It must be a natural reaction to a perceived threat instead of a well-thought-out tactical response because the shuttle could have taken them all out in seconds or less. There were seventeen of them that had been just beneath the surface, and they swarmed toward Kiania's position. Her team was deployed just outside the perimeter of destruction, the boundary between the Om nest and everything living. The border had grown daily, now approximately 1.3 km in diameter. Rhys had no idea how many Trangrods were in the nest, nor what other defenses the Om might have, but that was the purpose of today.
Rhys winced as their own drones proved ineffective, the tiger-like bodies and weapons no match for the Om, who had continued improvements to the Trangrods. The twenty tiger drones were fast and agile, but the Trangrods were close to the ground, armor overlapped their legs, and the rounds fired at them were proving ineffective. At a command from Rhys, Kiania committed five of their new heavier versions, these armed with small auto-cannon. Rhys watched with concern as the Trangrods instantly changed tactics against the new threat, maneuvering in groups of three to outflank and isolate individual drones. Kiania controlled them, drawing the Trangrods out as the drones savaged each other. The auto-cannons were more effective, and they destroyed a few more, but the Trangrods responded by flattening themselves, looking more like flat pieces of metal moving swiftly across the broken ground. Whatever projectile weapon they were using was more effective than anticipated as he watched another tiger drone take several rounds to the torso and come apart. The Trangrods nearby would swarm it, tearing it to pieces whenever one was damaged. "We will have to booby-trap them," he told Thea.
Kiania and her team added their fire as the last of the drones went down, and the Trangrods immediately turned on them. The auto-cannons had accounted for five more, but nine were still left, so they resumed the attack. They were two kilometers away when Sarge and his men began firing. William Boom Boom, as he liked to be called, cut loose with his new chain gun. Explosive projectiles powerful enough to take out a modern battle tank flew from his weapon downrange into the nearest machine. The first burst hit it, causing it to slow, but the Trangrod immediately flattened, barely a foot off the ground with sloping armor covering the legs. William had to bring his fire down to the bottom edge, just above the ground, before he could stop it. Anthony then brought his weapon into play, an upgraded autocannon firing short bursts at the quick-moving bugs.
"That's something we haven't seen before," Kinia said as the roach-like Trangrods responded to the fire with short, swift jumps making hits even more problematic. The Trangrods were learning and becoming more formidable opponents, unfortunately. Issac added his own fire, sharp bursts at targets about one and a half kilometers away. Their position provided cover against incoming fire, but the Trangrods had their range now, and he had to be quick to avoid returning fire. With his rifle's arms computer tied into either the shuttles or drone targeting system, exposing his head to see his target wasn't necessary. Still, the Trangrods were now concentrating their fire on his position, swiftly reacting to any movement.
They wouldn't hit many at this range, Rhys knew; they were just too fast, and the movements appeared to be random, but that was something else he wanted to know; how much individual initiative the Trangrods had and how they were controlled. Even ants used chemical signals, so there had to be some kind of comms coordinating them.
"It's a swarm intelligence," Leslie/Amancia replied to his query, "I can hear them communicating with each other. It's constant, but there does not seem to be a unit in charge. When we kill one, it just drops out of the network. I have not detected any active communications between them and an Om."
"Could you jam it?"
"I don't know; we haven't tried it yet. Do you want me to?"
"Not yet; wait until they get closer. Then, just test it; I don't want the Om to know that we can disrupt their communications and possibly the swarm intelligence guiding the Trangrods."
The Binaries focused inward on the signals they were receiving. The Leslie half of the interlace could sense, taste the data-flows around her. The Trangrods were not using quantum communications; instead, their swarms communicated on a frequency disguised as background radiation. It left a foul taste in their mouths, rancid, like spoiled mushrooms or fish left out too long. When interlaced like this, the sensation was much stronger than usual. Their ability to pick up Om communications was enhanced, almost like a giant antenna that sucked in signals on every wavelength. Analyzing the signal took only a second; the pair was able to break down the communication pattern, splitting apart the encryption in their minds.
They decided they could jam this with little trouble if they had to; breaking their ability to operate as a swarm would severely limit the Trangrods' combat capability. The binaries felt an almost sexual thrill as they reported their results to Rhys.
The Major fired his weapon at the Trangrods with little success. They would have been challenging targets due to their speed, but the severely low profile made hitting them difficult, even with targeting information spread over his faceplate. His rounds were hitting but seemed to have little effect. He understood that he and the rest of them were bait in a sense. Still, it was disconcerting to see how dangerous the alien machines were and know they wanted to kill and eat him. Other human enemies had tried to kill him on several occasions, but he had never worried about being eaten afterward. Kiania was giving him and Amanda pointers, correcting their fire and targeting, which was needed, he hated to admit. Simulations were one thing, but even those run by the AI were not the same. He was getting the hang of it when he heard the chain gun cut loose, and one of the Trangrods faltered, then was blown to pieces. There were only four left, but they kept coming, uncaring about casualties like mindless insects.
"Okay, let's hit them with the new missiles," Kiania said, designating targets. Two things happened when she gave the order. First, small missiles streaked out from her team's backpacks, each assigned to a different target. But instead of hitting it, the rocket exploded just centimeters above the armored back, sending twenty-five smart metal spikes down, which instantly penetrated the armor, destroying three of them and damaging the fourth. At the same time, Sandy shouted out a warning, new incoming; they are still underground but approaching your position. Tacgrid propagated with the new target designations. The Major thought tacgrid was the most crucial innovation he had ever seen; it gave them an ability to coordinate fire, increasing its lethality tenfold. He would have given his left nut for something like this in Afghanistan. The display inside his helmet showed the approaching bugs moving underground, and he watched as the ground erupted on both sides as new Trangrods came swarming out of their tunnels.
The major felt a moment of panic as these new enemies came out of the ground and began firing from approximately seventy yards away. Still, instead of confusion or panic, Kiania's commands were sharp and clear as they turned to meet the sudden threat. This was the first time he and the Captain witnessed the "Deadly duo in action; before the warning registered, they were already in action, moving and firing with inhuman speed and accuracy. The two weapons fired as one, short bursts that converged on one of the Trangrods, tearing them apart. Rhys had joined them, adding his fire, then the remaining drones and the auto-cannons cut loose. The major and Captain had received targeting information and managed to get off a few shots before the cease-fire order. The major whirled around, looking for the other half of the Trangrod attack but realized they were destroyed." The Shuttle took them out," the Captain stated, still focused on the remaining Trangrod.
"One last test," Kiania said. She had several drones about the size of small birds circling above her head. One of them launched itself at the remaining Trangrod, flying low to the ground and moving in a random pattern toward the target. As it approached the Trangrod, the drone made a short, swift ascent before diving down, striking the target in the middle of the back. This drone did not carry explosives, and when it hit, part of the drone transformed into a single meter-long thin blade that was driven through the Trangrod and into the ground, pinning It there. Then another flew into it and exploded. "The small ones seem to work great; the Trangrod couldn't target it," Kiania said excitedly.
"Okay," Sandy said with concern in her voice, I am detecting more incoming everyone, but the signal is different, more extensive, and more complex. Plotting it now."
"Time to pull back and get out of here, "Rhys told Kiania as the new threat propagated on gridnet. "The binaries and I will take the rear, get everyone moving back. Sandy, stand by; I want to see what new surprises the Om have been hiding."
Kiania and the men began a rapid move toward the shuttle; however, it was nothing like the major had ever seen. The degree of command and control and communications were so far advanced compared to what he was used to that the withdrawal was more like an exquisitely choreographed play where each actor knew their place and never missed a step. Jack mentally shook his head; he had much to learn and not much time to do it.
"I have new power sources to your left and right; movement is underground but approaching your position. Do you want me to take them out?" Sandy asked.
"Be careful, Rhys; the power and movement signatures are different from anything we have seen before; I think it's something big," Thea added.
Rhys directed Leslie and Amancia to follow him to his left; better to confront just one of the unknowns than getting trapped between them. As he did, something enormous with numerous legs pushed up out of the ground creating a mound of dirt opening as a half centipede half praying mantis seemed to rear up out of the earth. The first third of the body lifted up vertically, its head turning left and right as if searching for a target. Three weapons opened fire, Rhys letting off a burst and letting his armors' backpack fire two fist-sized missiles. Leslie/Amancia both fired, their rounds hitting the same spot on the creature's head, then they jumped away in opposite directions. Return fire from the new Trangrod was instant; a violet beam lashed out from a weapon mounted near its head, hitting where the pair had just been.
The second one burst out of the ground to their right, approximately one kilometer away. Watching from above, Sandy could see the ground begin to bulge as a black and gray head pushed through. The head was arrow-shaped and flat at the top but broadening quickly while becoming rounded on the sides. There were seventeen pairs of short legs to aid in its quick movements, sinuous like a centipede she had seen in Hawaii that moved in short, fast bursts of speed, but with the first third raised up as if looking over the battlefield.
Then the second one began firing, and Rhys found himself tumbling head over heels through the air as the explosion knocked him sideways. That saved his life as the violet beam tore through the air missing him by only a few centimeters.
Rhys rolled desperately to his feet, springing away in short leaps, changing direction randomly, trying to stay alive. Thick beams flared as the shuttle came down almost on top of him, shielding him from the energy beams. Lasers tore into the new Trangrods, slicing through them; the machines exploding violently as their power core ruptured.
"That's all of them for now," Sandy said; "I think we have what we came for."
