A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 85

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 85

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Arksoul

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Naturally, the plan changed when it became clear that the pseudo-aristocracy at the center of Canada was going to get attacked if we kept the main communication terminal. As great as it would be to tell whoever’s up there to fuck off, it would be better for them to have no idea who attacked their proxies. Their large group of larping Nazis in power armor just gets wiped out without reporting a damn thing back to them.

Meaning that the initial strike had to be done by someone unknown.

Namely, me.

Yep, it all comes back to me infiltrating a dangerous area alone again to gather information and perform sabotage.

I hated the fact that if I got trapped, I’d have no choice but to use the gizmo that Parvati cooked up.

Anyway, while everyone else waited for the signal, I popped onto the deck of the ship, and let Parvati guide me in.

“All security cameras have had holographic lenses attached to them. The feedback the security rooms see are nothing but optical simulations. You must be wary only of the guards.” The guards in question patrol in squads of four and are in power armor. Meaning that they carried a lot of firepower, were fast, and most importantly linked with communication with the rest of their forces. According to Parvati, they were constantly sending an all-clear signal, too. That meant taking one of them and sending them away wasn’t an option. Signal goes off, then the alert turns on. “I will warn you when the stealth system needs a new battery.”

Right, the power armor also had a lot of sensors on it, ranging from ways to just supplement the MK. 1 Eyeball’s ability to see farther, all the way to thermal scans and x-ray. The latter was why I didn’t just get into one of their returning vehicles and get inside. There was a high likelihood they’d have scanned the insides of the vehicle. With all those sensors and abilities at play, I had no choice but to rely on Parvati, and that meant a prototype backpack that was based off the optical camouflage we encountered at the manufacturing base. To call it optical camouflage was a misnomer, honestly, since it also worked against nearly all sensors. The backpack had a shimmer effect that could be faintly discerned if you looked at it with your regular eyes, but anything else failed against it.

Someone who can detect life signs or mental energy or some other bullshit can probably see through it, though.

We were banking on the hopes that the people up in space would keep those guys up there, since detection in space is far more important.

The fact that I haven’t been caught yet made it look like that guess was correct.

“A service hatch is to your right. Providing visual.” Since I was already wearing a backpack full of gizmos and gadgets, I went ahead and got a little eyepiece for Parvati to transmit images for me. With the ship infiltrated, the AI could give me access to rooms without having to open the door. I went ahead and entered the ship, catching myself on a ladder, and descending into the service hall. It was wide enough for a cart to drive through. I had to wonder how bulkheads would work with such wide and open halls, but with this much tech, they probably had shields for that task. “Proceed southward for a hundred meters to this location.”

Once inside, I jumped to position after position through the ship, making my way towards the communication terminal at the center.

Why couldn’t I just jump there?

Because there was an inner zone to the ship, which was shielded and protected. A secured area which the lackeys avoided unless necessary. Taking up the space of a three-story building at the center of the long, wide cargo vessel, it was the same place that held the manufacturing center of the ship, which took in raw materials and churned out high-tech armored vehicles, aircraft, and gear. The power source of the ship was also there, and anything else that was vaguely vital.

We suspected that it could probably detach from the ship and just lift off if needed, though with its estimated weight, doing so would destroy the rest of the ship. But it would any attacker of the ship the technology used to mass produce so much highly-advanced tech. Parvati only managed to get in and infiltrate it thanks to latching onto the armor of people going in and waiting for hours for them to enter the place, so that the security systems in there could be compromised, too.  Even then, there was a faint, protective field surrounding it that I could just get through. My power couldn’t reach the sightlines of the drones inside.

Meaning that I’d need to use the same method Parvati did to get in.

Through the doors, as they open to let somebody else in.

Sounds suicidal, but Parvati has also had time to infiltrate some power armor and figure out how their identification systems work.

So, our first mode of operation was to get me into some power armor.

“The security checkpoint up ahead is compromised. Head on through.” I did as instructed by Parvati, and went through a faintly aglow hallway. No buzz and no alarm. Just me going through without any issues. “The room to your left is empty.”

I got into a supply cabinet, and I took that as my cue to get a new set of batteries for the backpack. Two car-sized batteries slotted into the backpack, and gave me ten minutes of activation time. The stealth system was robust, but it ate up power like crazy. Then again, I was evading ludicrously high amounts of security and am no invisible to the naked eye. Having to constantly replace batteries isn’t that bad, especially when I could just reach out and grab one from Parvati’s base.

The room in question was empty of life, but not empty of signs of life. It was a simple bedroom. Given the fact that most people bunked on the ship, and this was close to a checkpoint, this room was used by an officer. An officer who had a spare ID, because he’d asked for one. I snatched it and got out of the room. Where was the officer in question? On patrol and set to be ambushed before he could get back. While they go and send out a force to find him, I’ll be using his spare card modified by Parvati.

“The card has been modified. You are now able to access the armory. Go here.” Parvati advised and I obliged, going to the other side of the ship in a blink, and finding myself before two large doors. I pressed the card on the surface of the scanner, while Parvati came forward with the drone that accompanied me, which promptly projected a perfect optical hologram of an eyeball. With the retina scan completed, we gained entry to the armory, which was an automated suite with numerous suits in various stages of maintenance around a central podium. “I am now accessing the armory. Please step into the central podium.”

“Hey, make sure that its electrical field can be turned off instantly.” I took off my coat and the backpack, sending both over to Parvati’s base, and got onto the podium, stepping into power armor legs that swiftly propped me up and provided a base for other parts to attach to. Servo arms whirred, armor connected with one another, and soon enough I was swaddled in power armor. Parvati’s icon came up on the interface in the corner of my eye. Great, I’m basically surrounded by Parvati. It can turn off the beacon and keep the electronic field on this thing on, and I’m basically trapped. “Just so you know, if you try anything fishy, I will find a way out of this thing and work with these people to see your base smashed. I’m not above being stupid and petty for revenge.”

“Noted. Now, please move normally. I’ve calibrated the system to remove the limitations set by its creators.” I gave a noise of affirmation and moved. To Parvati’s credit, it really was like I was just moving my own body, despite being in such a large piece of machinery. The visor of the massive machine came down, darkness came up for a moment, then a high-clarity optical feed took over, while sealing me off against chemical and biological threats. “I’ve disabled the electric field that the suit is designed to emit. Can you try jumping with it. No more than a single step. The movements of this armor is being logged.”

I tried to do as Parvati asked, and grunted as I went through with the entirety of the armor around me without any losing bits and pieces.

“So, did you get some fascinating data besides what you usually get?” I dryly asked the AI. Given how it created the beacon, it was obvious that it used its sensors nonstop while traveling with me. “Does this thing even have sensors that you don’t?”

“It does not. I do want a copy of it, though. Consider returning with it as a favor to me.”

“Sure, alright.” Parvati kept its word regarding favors. Mostly because it was easy for it to return them. When you can just make bodies, make any tech, and literally build shelters on Mars, you can owe favors easily. “You can have your super-advanced, space power armor when this is over.”

“…It can hardly be called super-advanced. I’m merely interested in how this power armor has branched off from the forms of power armor found in India where they are all custom-made.” Parvati, as usual, reacted differently when it came to technology. If it ever displayed need or a want, it was always thanking to some new technology that it didn’t have access to. Though I wouldn’t call it obsession, it wouldn’t go out of its way to kill or steal tech from allies, its moral compass pointed at ‘loot everything’ if the enemy we faced together had some new technology. “Any difficulty?”

“It’s like going around with all that I can carry on hand. Not as difficult as carrying around shipping containers. The tonnage on this thing is higher than I thought.” Parvati noted my words with a hum, before bringing up an image. “That the door that only officers can enter?”

“Correct.” With Parvati’s confirmation, I moved ahead towards the door in question. Unlike the rest of the doors in the ship, this was looked more like a sealed hatch, which gave the idea that the whole mid-section of the ship could evacuate more credibility. The scanners activated on my approach and the doors hissed open, briefly showing that they connected into each other past the surface, to make breaking through them that much harder. Not only that, but the doors were almost half a meter thick. It wouldn’t hold up to Maelstrom, but most, regular superhumans with super-strength would probably get stopped. “We’ve crossed the first threshold, but you can no longer teleport anywhere besides my beacon.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” I grunted as I walked the power armor disguise through the empty hallways. Most of this section was automated. The officers who went in solely used one route, and I followed that route, while doing my best to emulate the gait of the officer I was mimicking. I headed only towards the communications array. That’s when I took note of the weapon systems on the armor. “Hey, Parvati, you’re the one who turned off the weapons, right?”

“Correct. All weapons were disabled upon entry by a subsystem. The engine and power source have also been powered down significantly. The builders of this zone were very thorough in their security.” Unfortunately, they didn’t count on hundreds of small drones piloted by an AI across the world being teleported into the ship. Or, you know, someone who could just skip past most of the security measures. Even though they had a field around this section of the ship that prevented me from getting in, now that I was in, I could still get out with Parvati’s beacon. Well, if I went loud, I could just rip through the ship and get out, but that would’ve led to me being detected. “Head swiftly to the communication terminal. It’s best to get out of her swiftly, despite all signs pointing to our safety.”

I obliged with a nod, and made my way to the communication center.

If this were some sort of contrived movie or comic, I’d probably get found out on the way there, or the computer would address me the moment I arrived. However, Parvati had control over the surveillance systems, showing only what it wanted them to see, and we weren’t fucking around. It’s only been a handful of hours since we’ve found the place, they had no reason to think they were in danger, and we were moving fast.

Naturally, once I reached the computer, I went ahead and left several surprises all over it and its room, before setting the timers and leaving quickly.

No muss.

No fuss.

Just a teleporting saboteur doing what a teleporting saboteur does.

I got out of the med-section of the ship without another word, then teleported away to a safe house in the Antarctic, where Parvati already had gynoids and drones waiting.
I popped out of the machine, went to another safe house to get scanned for bugs, and then went back to the Himalayas to get my coat.

Then, when I got back to the where the rest of the team was waiting, the bombs exploded and a general alarm rang out from all over the dilapidated city.

Maelstrom took charge, while in the bay, a sub rose up and started disgorging missiles and mechs onto the shore.

“Egress focus on getting more people on the field. Coordinate with Parvati to rescue any civilians. I’ll be going high. Everyone else, stick together, and focus on vehicles.” Given her experience with leading, it was only natural that she took on the task. Everyone else just nodded at her words and got ready to move. When she turned back to me, I gave her my full attention without even thinking. “Egress, if things go south, and they somehow send someone who can match me… please, send them away as swiftly as possible. I cannot afford to lose anymore, and I can’t hold back when I have a people to lead.”

…Looks like my job’s not going to be as easy as I thought.
Whenever Maelstrom has a bad feeling and thinks that way, shit tends to hit the fan.