We Are Legion (We Are Bob) Book 2: Chapter 30: Found Something

Bashful

November 2187

Gliese 877

We’d all taken off in different directions, per Mario’s orders. I picked GL-877, a nondescript star in a forgettable patch of sky. For all we knew, these Others might not be planet-based, or even system-based. But we had to start sowhere. At minimum, we’d be mapping their path of destruction.

[We have radio traffic]

Guppy pushed a window toward . As I examined the readings, my eyebrows climbed up my forehead. The radio noise coming from this system was clearly artificial. One way or the other, sothing intelligent lived here. Sothing noisy.

“Every possible caution, Guppy. Let’s take it slow. I don’t want to attract attention.”

[Understood]

“And prep the stealth probes.”

I’d have been cautious anyway, but given the possibility that this was the Others, I was going to give paranoia a brand-new level of definition. I had spent my ti during transit building a couple of stealth probes. I’d had to sacrifice so busters and so roars, but the result was a couple of probes that would be almost undetectable unless they cranked up to full power. I had constructed them out of carbon-fiber-matrix ceramic and non-ferrous tal wherever possible. The Others would have to be specifically looking for one of these in order to detect it. I’d already squirted the plans back to Mario as part of my continuous reporting.

I was still going about 5% of light speed, so I lined up just below the ecliptic and released one probe. I altered my line slightly, then released the other. It would take just under two weeks for the probes to free-fall through the system. anwhile, I would take a powered flight path, which would take to the rendezvous point on the other side without my going anywhere near the inner system. Unless the residents had far better detection systems than we did, they’d never know I was here.

I had carefully laid out paraters in which the probes would run for it and conditions in which they’d self-destruct. There would be no chances taken. In either case, once discovered, a probe would abandon attempts at stealth and squirt all teletry to my calculated position.

With my powered flight plan, I arrived at the rendezvous several days before the probes, on a vector straight outward from the system. The probes hit the brakes and activated their beacons as they ca within range.

I downloaded their data and transmitted the whole bundle in Mario’s direction before beginning my own analysis. It took about two days to build a coherent picture of the inner system. There were two lonely inner rocky planets and a single small Jovian farther out. The inner of the two rocky planets appeared to have an atmosphere. The other had been too far away from either probe to get details, but it appeared to have a surprisingly high albedo.

The system seed to be particularly free of debris, except in an orbit about 80% of the orbital radius of the inner planet. At that distance from the sun, there was a truly spectacular amount of mass—and activity—spread right around the orbit. That whole area was, in fact, responsible for most of the electromagnetic activity in the system.

I turned to Guppy and pointed at the mass concentration. “What the crap is that?”

[Insufficient information. But we can rule out a natural satellite]

“Not a planet?”

[Correct. The mass is too diffuse]

I wished I had soone besides Guppy to discuss this with. The plan had been to build a second wave of Bobs back at Gliese 54 and send them to catch up with the first wave. So within perhaps six months, I could be getting company. Hopefully the new Bob had been picking up my transmissions and had a good idea of how to approach.

I was sitting more than six billion kiloters from the local sun, in so of the emptiest space I could imagine, so it was a shock when the proximity alarms started sounding.

I fra-jacked up to maximum and started to evaluate the readings. Sothing was approaching at high speed. And the sothing apparently had a very well shielded reactor, because it was SUDDAR that had picked it up. A quick set of calculations showed that I wouldn’t be able to win a straight foot-race—it or they were approaching too fast. It was ti for our tried-and-true doubling-back tactic. I had no idea what their maneuverability was like, so I calculated a conservative option and began accelerating at a thirty-five degree angle to their approach vector.

The other ships reacted almost imdiately, which told they had SUDDAR detection capability. Light-speed limitations would have ant almost an hour’s delay before they could respond to my movent. 𝐑𝒶NȯBÊ𐌔

The tableau developed slowly over the next several hours. Like a ga of chess, everything was on the table. There would be no surprise tactics. The laws of physics would decide if I got past them. However, it was already obvious that closest approach would be, well, pretty close.

It took almost a day to reach that point. I spent the ti scanning them with everything at my disposal. SUDDAR and visuals confird six vessels: five very similar to the wrecked cargo ship and one that honestly reminded of a miniature Death Star. “Miniature” being a relative term—the thing was almost a half-kiloter in diater. Instead of an inset dish like the Star Wars prop, it had a flat section with what looked like a grid. I hoped the purpose wasn’t similar.

Finally the laws of physics and reality made themselves clear, and I realized that I was going to sail past them, less than ten kiloters away. That was cutting it a little fine, but I’d take it.

As I was nearing closest approach, and getting ready to thumb my virtual nose at the pursuers, I saw the Death Star-wannabe start to rotate, bringing the grid-wall to bear on .

This is not good.

“Guppy, anything we can do about shielding?”

[All resources are at maximum]

I calculated that I could do a certain amount of jinking without losing my lead. I imdiately started evasive maneuvers. However, the others had made the sa calculations. The Death Star simply waited until I ran out of slack and zeroed in.

The grid started to glow, then there was a p—

[Alert! Controller replicant offline. SURGE drive offline. Requirents for self-destruct protocol have been t. Reactor overload engaged…]