Nanotroopers Episode 14: The HNRV Factor Read online

Galileo departed Phobos Station on schedule but she was an uneasy ship. Opinions varied as to how well the new and upgraded ANAD could be trusted. The intercept burn lasted nearly an hour, putting the refurbished cycler ship on a curving course through the solar system, on track to catch up with Hicks-Newman after a flight of some six weeks. It was a high-energy burn that would place the ship in a loose station-keeping orbit around the asteroid when the rock was less than three months from Earth impact.

  The 1st Nanospace Detachment had a very narrow window to accomplish their mission.

  Johnny Winger soon put the troopers to work running sims, checking their gear and training for what had to be done at the asteroid.

  “I want to finish testing ANAD,” he told them in a briefing not long after the initial burn was over. He had gathered the nanotroopers in the crew’s mess on the Hab deck, the middle of Galileo’s three spherical compartments that were strung along her central mast like so many onions on a kebab skewer. “A full-up systems test, including basic operations and combat tactics. We’ve got room aft on the Service deck…those crates can be unfastened and moved out of the way. I want every config checked and verified. I want to make sure ANAD can replicate what he’s commanded to, when the command is sent.”

  Al Glance figured such a test would likely be the best opportunity he would get to load the Red Hammer virus into ANAD.

  Turbo Fatah fingered the trigger guard of a HERF pistol in the pocket of his coveralls. “Skipper, until we know what we’re dealing with here, I recommend we set up some kind of shielding or at least, arm everybody with mag guns and HERF.”

  Just after Galileo’s burn, Winger had ordered that ANAD be released from containment. The crew needed to become accustomed to working with the swarm, getting used to all its idiosyncrasies and peculiarities. The ANAD swarm floated like a puff of cigarette smoke in the back corner of the crew’s mess. There was no observable reaction by the swarm to Fatah’s suggestion. Other troopers gave ANAD a wide berth, watching the formation uneasily out of the corner of their eyes as it drifted on faint air currents.

  “We’ll take normal precautions for testing,” Winger agreed. “ANAD, it would help if you would go back into containment…we could check effector operations, three-axis configs…it would make things a lot easier.”

  Winger’s request caused a visible brightening of the swarm, as if it had lit up to think about the idea. The voice came back tinny and hollow, a small child talking from inside of a barrel.