Immediately after that, with a slight change in plans because Midnight doesn't have a forcefield
"Thank you, Sparky, Jeph." Noah voice wasn't wistful, though - it was filled with determination. He turned to his own PDA. "Katz? Yayoi? We have permission to open fire. Begin the hostage rescue."
As Noah plugged his PDA into the speakerphone, people in the room considered the phrase "hostage rescue" and started looking hopeful.
'-rstood, Yayoi." Kohran's voice came from the speakers. "Warhead yield is set to what the JMC engineering models indicate will take out the engine, and no higher."
"Target acquired. Transmitting coordinates. And I really should be the one firing the missile." Trigon's voice was unmistakable, even through two audio relays and the remaining jamming.
Yayoi was stoic. "Missile launched."
Then there was seven seconds of near-complete silence, ended by a bright flare visible through the windows and the dome.
Yayoi was the first to speak. "Blue Midget 15's engine has been destroyed." A cheer went up throughout the room, but the SMOFs didn't join in. "Blue Midget 15 still on collision course with Serenity Valley." The cheering stopped as quickly as it had started.
"Confirmed. Now let us show the weaklings on the surface what ships commanded by AIs can do."
Jeph looked at Noah in alarm. "Is Trigon flying solo?"
Noah shook his head. "No, Katz is up there too. Trigon's just monopolizing the Uncertainty's bandwidth again. Sparky, it's going to get a little rough up there."
"What, it's going to get worse than being shot at?"
"I'm afraid so," Yayoi answered. "The last time we did this, we had three ships and hours to get ready. This time, we have two ships and mere seconds. I apologize in advance."
As sounds of ship-to-ship collisions came over the speakers, someone in the room asked, "What are they doing?"
"They're modifying the asteroid-deflection protocol we used to save Auckland a few years ago," Noah replied after a moment, when it became apparent everyone involved was too busy to talk.
There was a burst of static over the speakers, followed by Yayoi's voice. "Phase 2 complete. Blue Midget 15 has been deflected and is now headed for open space."
Noah put an arm around Jeph's shoulders to steady her.
"Incorrect." Everyone looked at the speakerphone in alarm. "The target has been deflected, but is not headed for open space. It is going to impact - correction, it has just impacted Serenity Valley security satellite 23-B."
Sparky's voice came over the speakers. "Whee! Can I do that again?"
Noah turned to Jeph. "Sorry about that - I think you might now have the AI equivalent of an adrenalin junkie on your staff."
"He's still alive; I can live with that."
"Yeah. Yayoi, Kohran, come back, please. Katz, Trigon, thank you for your assistance."
"I'm sorry, Noah," Kohran replied, "but we took some damage and cannot land. We'll have to return to home port to make the necessary repairs. You're going to need a ride home, dad."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
"Thank you, Sparky, Jeph." Noah voice wasn't wistful, though - it was filled with determination. He turned to his own PDA. "Katz? Yayoi? We have permission to open fire. Begin the hostage rescue."
As Noah plugged his PDA into the speakerphone, people in the room considered the phrase "hostage rescue" and started looking hopeful.
'-rstood, Yayoi." Kohran's voice came from the speakers. "Warhead yield is set to what the JMC engineering models indicate will take out the engine, and no higher."
"Target acquired. Transmitting coordinates. And I really should be the one firing the missile." Trigon's voice was unmistakable, even through two audio relays and the remaining jamming.
Yayoi was stoic. "Missile launched."
Then there was seven seconds of near-complete silence, ended by a bright flare visible through the windows and the dome.
Yayoi was the first to speak. "Blue Midget 15's engine has been destroyed." A cheer went up throughout the room, but the SMOFs didn't join in. "Blue Midget 15 still on collision course with Serenity Valley." The cheering stopped as quickly as it had started.
"Confirmed. Now let us show the weaklings on the surface what ships commanded by AIs can do."
Jeph looked at Noah in alarm. "Is Trigon flying solo?"
Noah shook his head. "No, Katz is up there too. Trigon's just monopolizing the Uncertainty's bandwidth again. Sparky, it's going to get a little rough up there."
"What, it's going to get worse than being shot at?"
"I'm afraid so," Yayoi answered. "The last time we did this, we had three ships and hours to get ready. This time, we have two ships and mere seconds. I apologize in advance."
As sounds of ship-to-ship collisions came over the speakers, someone in the room asked, "What are they doing?"
"They're modifying the asteroid-deflection protocol we used to save Auckland a few years ago," Noah replied after a moment, when it became apparent everyone involved was too busy to talk.
There was a burst of static over the speakers, followed by Yayoi's voice. "Phase 2 complete. Blue Midget 15 has been deflected and is now headed for open space."
Noah put an arm around Jeph's shoulders to steady her.
"Incorrect." Everyone looked at the speakerphone in alarm. "The target has been deflected, but is not headed for open space. It is going to impact - correction, it has just impacted Serenity Valley security satellite 23-B."
Sparky's voice came over the speakers. "Whee! Can I do that again?"
Noah turned to Jeph. "Sorry about that - I think you might now have the AI equivalent of an adrenalin junkie on your staff."
"He's still alive; I can live with that."
"Yeah. Yayoi, Kohran, come back, please. Katz, Trigon, thank you for your assistance."
"I'm sorry, Noah," Kohran replied, "but we took some damage and cannot land. We'll have to return to home port to make the necessary repairs. You're going to need a ride home, dad."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012