Replica (Original Work)

Chapter 19 - Survival Game

The calm before the storm. Something about that ride we all found ourselves on resonated with me, even through all the trappings of the ruthless killer that had so stubbornly torn through my head to the forefront of my psyche. Perhaps it was more properly the calm-before-the-calm as we were only heading to the staging ground, but the same familiar feeling set in none the less. In the moments immediately after boarding that VTOL I knew every man there was experiencing the same things. Uncertainty, a bit of regret and a bit of helplessness, fear... A sort of silent emotional symphony carried along above the fleeting wastes below to the almost melancholy whine of the rotors.

Looking over the insertion team, they by and large wore the composure I'd expect. Soldiers are soldiers after all, predictable despite their differences. The sole standout was O'Donnell, but I'd have expected him to wear the slight tinge of disgust that covered his face at least until the operation and maybe all the way through after what I'd done, assuming any of us lived that long. It didn't matter how he felt anyway, we had surviving to do.

I opened a secure channel to the man, deciding I'd rather get my answers and what little belligerence he had left in him out of the way before we landed, and waited for his gaze to meet mine. "So, Lieutenant, how are we navigating that killzone to get to our target?"

O'Donnell spat on floor. "What, now you're gonna treat me like one of your lackeys?"

"You really are slow aren't you? I don't have lackeys. I have friends, and I have not-friends; by now you should realize what I'm willing to do to not-friends. Next time it becomes an issue I'll snap your spine like a twig. Now, I'll ask nicely one more time. What is your plan?"

He shook his head and broke eye contact. O'Donnell could talk a big game all he wanted but he was already broken of real resistance, loathe as he doubtless was to admit it. "It's less a plan, more a new toy. You heard of FSAC?"

"FSAC as in Hybrid Dynamics vaunted Full Spectrum Adaptive Camouflage FSAC, or FSAC as in some internal south branch acronym that may as well be meaningless? You know what, I'm just going to assume you're not being smart with me and are talking about Hybrid Dynamics latest plaything. What is Hexadyn south branch opsec doing with it? "

"Those HD boys were transporting stuff through our security zones down here a few months ago, so naturally policy being what it is we imposed a little forcible taxation." O'Donnell actually smiled, he was obviously proud of this one. "In any case I'll assume you know what it does, if not how it works."

"I know what Hybrid Dynamics claims it does lieutenant, but the idea of something making you invisible to the full spectrum of modern scanning devices is dubious to say the least. Still the way you're talking this up it seems you've used it before. Enlighten me."

Savoring what little weakness he could find in my lack of experience, he took a slow and authoritative tone. It was obnoxious. "It's actually a clever trick on Hybrid Dynamics' part I have to admit. Being that they designed about ninety nine percent of modern thermal targeting software, they figured they'd just design an adaptive camo that blocked everything that isn't heat and have one guy carry around an AI core and signal broadcaster that exploits security holes in their own product to trick thermal scanners. The shit runs hot as hell, but it doesn't matter if nobody's thermal picks it up anyway."

"So that's their big breakthrough? Just another exploit based on everything running wireless these days? What if one guy is using a thermal optic that doesn't involve a wireless NI interface? We just get hosed?"

"Well, yeah. That's the thing though, at a high end corporate facility, who's going to be using technology that wasn't made in the last twenty odd years? How many of the latest gen optics don't have that functionality built in? None. And Hybrid Dynamics, apparently being long term planners, built in exploits that let them remote activate wireless connections even when they appear offline to the operators."