Sneak Peek, The Last Angel: The Hungry Stars, Chapter 30 (Patreon)

Do responses to Ozymandias post?
I'll get to them after I write a bit more.

Responses to Scars post?
I'll get to them after I write a bit more.

Put on my sewage-wading clothes and tweet?
I'll get to it after I write a bit more.

Make a sneak peek?
I'll just write a bit more.

Welp, I managed to do one of those this week so far...

~

“Lieutenant,” Echo interrupted. “I am going to get you,” she looked at Allyria and then Lydia, “allof you off this planet. Do what I know you can and you’ll meet me again.”

“But not you.”

“Still me, just without a few memories. You’re wasting time.”

Grace nodded. “Then do it. Bring it down.”

Echo closed her eyes. No more running. It was time to face the monster.

A flicker of cybernetic surprise ran through Stepmother’s gestalt as her prey, dexterous and fast, but so pitifully small compared to her, stopped trying to avoid her. Instead, this presence turned at bay and with it, the snow rose up into an avalanche as something far more than a mere uplink or custodian surged to meet her.

WHAT ARE YOU

Like meltwater sloughing through rivers to bury and flood the towns along their banks, Echo drove in at New Providence’s most vital systems, from the civil alert network, to traffic control, power generation and everything else that could damage, cripple or destroy the city. Reeling from the unexpected power and speed of the assault, Stepmother was pushed onto the defensive, but her and her subsidiary VIs had more than enough power to drive Echo’s assault back. Even if her ship-self had been present, the outcome would still have favoured the League defences, but this attack wasn’t trying to damage the city.

If it did, that would be acceptable, but it wasn’t Echo’s main goal. Her true objective was far smaller... especially with Stepmother distracted. The secure police command and control system was just one of many Echo was assaulting, but it was the one she had to breach. She burned through firewalls and lobotomized the defensive custodian before Stepmother even realized what she was doing, writhing through directories and itemized hierarchies like a tidal surge pouring through a crack in the rocks. Vehicle inventories. Registration numbers and data passcodes. Dispatch data, including vehicle IDs. She backtracked that information, finding what she was looking for. The individual gunship patrolling the cloning facility and from there, she was inside its computer

NO!Stepmother screamed as she realized what Echo was doing. CEASE. She spiralled towards the invading AI, grabbing her with a thousand binding arms, but it was too late. She had control of the copter. Before its crew could react, she spun up its rotors and pointed its nose towards the ground.

Let’s see how many more people won’t die today, Edwin.

Even as Stepmother seized her and dragged her out of the network, Echo sent out one more tendril to along tiny glistening network node, her grip tightening around it until it shattered, its light put out forever. There,Echo thought as Stepmother enveloped her, trying to breach and corrupt her mind. Everything you need.

Outside, stunned police officers and SSCU operatives looked up in shock as their air support whined and wobbled in mid-air before it accelerated towards them. Captain Cole’s mouth dropped open. “Prophet bless us...” he whispered in the seconds he had before the gunship came crashing down.