Chương 401: Book 6 - Chapter 62 - Satellite tracking

"We've finally got an update for you," Bandit declared when the pair finally got back to me several hours later.

"Do you always let your troops barge in on meetings like this?" Dial-Up asked. I was in the back of my Kodiak, talking to Dial-Up and Lag via hologram, trying to coordinate our offense. The pair's weapons were powerful enough to collapse any Antithesis tunnels not directly beneath the central armored carapace, so we were coordinating. My bears would clear tunnels, then the boys would collapse them. It didn't prevent the Antithesis from retaking those areas, but it really slowed them down.

"I'm connected to my entire force through a complex neural interface," I said, tapping my head.

"So the bears would never interrupt something without my express permission. Besides, this is important."

"If that's true, couldn't you just pull the data from them remotely, instead of having them interrupt?" Lag asked.

"Because they're full AIs with their own thoughts and personalities," I said.

"That would be rude." Lag raised an eyebrow but didn't reply.

"Okay, what did you find out?" I asked Bandit and Deadbeat. The pair shifted uncomfortably for a moment.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" Deadbeat asked.

"Ugh… I'm really not going to like this, am I?" I muttered. Bandit smiled guiltily.

"Sorry, Boss. The good news is, we found the thing. We had to scour thousands of hours of footage to do it, but we finally managed to find a couple of blurry images of it." Now it was my time to raise an eyebrow.

"Blurry? Shouldn't all the bears have advanced optics?"

"They do; it seems like the thing has some sort of optic camo, or the ability to distort electronic surveillance systems. I'm sure it would have been able to pass directly in front of a bleeding-edge Earth camera and appeared as little more than a camera distortion," Bandit replied.

"Well, at least we found it," I muttered.

"So, where do I have to go to finish this thing off?" I asked.

"That's the thing," Deadbeat said slowly.

"It's not here."

"What? What do you mean it's not here?" I shouted.

"Where'd it go?"

"Remember that flock of Model Elevens that erupted out of the hole the Model Fifty-One-S created when it shoved its way to the surface? The Gene Tender hid itself in that swarm, and when it dispersed, the Tender took off. The image that we found was from one of the gunnery stations on Bear Force One during the fight," Deadbeat explained.

"Then how do you know it's left? It could be skulking around," I asked hopefully.

"Because once we found the thing, we used our access to the Family's satellite network to track where it went," Bandit said. I turned and looked at the fox.

"There weren't any satellites over this area until after the Fifty-One died," I said.

"So how did you…"

"It's like you said, there weren't any satellites over this area," Deadbeat said, "but there WERE satellites over the surrounding regions. Take a look." If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. She passed me a small file through the network, which I immediately ripped open. There were several dozen still images, linked to both a map and a timeline. The first image showed the Tender leaving the combat zone and heading west.

As I progressed through the timeline, I could see that it dropped down low and maneuvered quickly through the mountains. The final few images were of the creature hovering just off the coast as an unfathomably large Antithesis slowly surfaced, opened its mouth, and let the Tender fly in before diving beneath the waves again.

"Please tell me that didn't really happen," I moaned.

"So, you want to fill the rest of us in on what happened?" Dial-Up asked.

"From what I understand from the conversation, you assigned these two to track down the Tender, correct? I assume they found it."

"Take a look," I groaned before passing the file to the other two samurai.

"Damn, that's a little bit of a problem," Lag muttered.

"You think? From what I understand, the aquatic-based samurai can't monitor every part of the ocean, which allows waves of aquatic Antithesis to build up over time. Although they're strong, the coastal defenses are usually enough to deal with them," I said.

"But if that thing gets a chance to settle in, and starts messing with the Aquatic genomes, we could have serious problems."

"So, you going to call the Family, let them know the situation?" Dial-Up asked.

"I thinkI'mI better. That leviathan was huge, and if we get some aquatic-based samurai into the area, they may be able to track it down before it gets away," I muttered.

"Fuck! I can't believe I let that fucking thing get away. I screwed up hard."

"What? How the fuck did you come to that realization?" Lag asked.

"It used the Fifty-One as a distraction to get away, so no one's going to blame you for overlooking a single Antithesis slipping past our defenses."

"I'm not talking about when we were fighting the Fifty-One; I'm talking about earlier, when we were down in the tunnels. I may not have known exactly what it was at the time, but considering that it managed to take off my arm, I should have known it wasn't normal. I should have ordered the bears to hunt it down there and then instead of retreating once we injected the phage into the hive," I said.

"You're being too hard on yourself," Dial-Up said, "About half the Antithesis we've been facing over the last few days have been abnormal. I mean fuck, even the Model Fives could punch through heavy armor. That thing probably just looked like just another fucked up Antithesis at the time."

"Still, I hate that I had my chance to finish this thing and I blew it. Who knows how much damage it could cause now that it's on the loose," I growled.

"Relax! Keep in mind that it brought most of the worst antitheses we faced with it from Mars, and it only managed to change half a dozen others. Without an established base, it'll take it some time for it to start breeding the real monsters," Lag said.

"And if we don't manage to block it somehow in and kill it, it'll get that chance," I said.

"I'll talk to you guys later; I really need to call the Family."

"Yeah, no problem, talk to you later, Teddy," Dial-Up said before ending the call. I sighed and turned to Deadbeat and Bandit.

"Thanks for tracking that thing down for me. I appreciate it."

"No problem," Deadbeat replied.

"You going to be okay, Boss?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I know I shouldn't feel guilty for letting that thing escape, but I do. Still, there's not much I can do about it besides letting the right people know and doing everything I can to make sure it doesn't get away," I said.

"Dismissed." The pair saluted hesitantly before finally stepping out of the vehicle. With a sigh, I flipped open my augs and called up the one person I knew I could trust in the Family.

"Evelyn? I must say you're the last person I expected to call. I thought you were finally getting a handle on things down there," Charlotte said.

"We were. I mean, we are. There's just an itsy-bitsy problem. The Gene Tender that came down on the moon seems to have slipped away and escaped to the coast," I said.

"Gene Tender?" Charlotte asked.

"It's a long story, and your AI can probably explain it a hundred times better than I can. Just know it's bad if this thing gets away- really bad. I'm sending you satellite footage which shows the path it took, as well as the exact coordinates for where it rendezvoused with an aquatic Antithesis," I said.

"We need to contact every aquatic samurai in the area and see if anyone is close enough to intercept this thing. We can't let it escape."

"Alright," Charlotte replied hesitantly.

"I may not understand exactly what's going on, but if you're sure this is a problem, then I'll contact the Family enclaves on the coast and get the ball rolling."

"Thanks, Charlotte," I said.

"I'm sorry I've had to impose so much over the last week; remind me to treat you to dinner or something when I get home."

"That won't be necessary; you did all the hard work, but I appreciate the thought," Charlotte said.

"Now I don't want to rush this call, but if this is as serious and time-sensitive as you say, I really should get the ball rolling ASAP. Do you need anything else?"

"A couple of days off and a long nap," I replied tiredly.

"Well, with the hive crippled and a ton of samurai converging on the area, I'm sure you'll get it soon. I'll talk to you later," Charlotte said.

"Later," I repeated, before ending the call. I sat down on the nearest bench and pulled up the surveillance photos again and slowly began scrolling through them.

"I can take a break soon, huh? Unlikely. I still have work to do."