Chapter 650: T-6 (1/2)
This time Dex entered the stealth pod by himself. The rest of the Bottom Feeders felt that he was the best candidate for proposing a more active alliance with Syntax. While he jumped into what they were now referring to as v-Earth, Darsi began tagging low-orbit satellites for Thumper and Stiletto to commandeer. Gadget and Mongoose were using the tandem jumper for a quick cash grab on some low-level Floridian drug dealers.
Dex laid out his plan in detail since Syntax's retention abilities were a hundred percent. During the course of two hours, they were able to work out several kinks while coming up with viable alternatives. To his surprise, the AI had approached the navigation platform, sitting in one of the empty chairs while they formed the framework for the Hive Alliance.
[I will have to allocate a large number of my personal resources while I am actively engaged in the net.]
From talking with Syntax, Dex discovered two things. First, it was very curious about the world and people in general, and although Syntax was scared, it really wanted to be plugged in.
”It will take the Bottom Feeders a few days to prep everything. After that, we'll need you to create the software necessary for the T-6 overflow.” Dex considered their plan as a whole and went through the details in his head.
Syntax would use v-Earth to assist real-world missions by streaming the mirror reality in real-time during their operations. In return, the Bottom Feeders would start unraveling the mystery of the Gladis Corporation and their surviving affiliates. The Hive's highest priority would be the protection of Syntax. Only the Bottom Feeders were aware of its existence. In the event of a security breach, a fallback plan was already in development.
[Your defensive ICE is very impressive, Dextron. I don't believe anyone could break it apart without a lot of effort.]
Dex smiled at the compliment; Syntax had blasted his ICE apart within a few seconds. It came as no great surprise, but he was confident that he could last longer if he applied his trump cards. ”We plan on being up and running in ten days. So whatever preparations or safeguards you want to employ should be in place by then.”
[I understand. Ride the wave, Dextron.]
”Er… Ride the wave, Syntax.” Dex logged out of v-Earth, the last words of Syntax echoing in his ears. 'Ride the wave' was a friendly greeting among the hackers. It was kind of like 'Aloha' and could be used when arriving or leaving.
Since the Tandem jumper was being used by Gadget and Mongoose, Dex had used a general-community jump capsule on the 10th floor. He pushed open the door, only to find someone waiting for him.
”All done?” A young woman with dark hair and even darker makeup leaned against a nearby wall, obviously waiting for the capsule. She was dressed entirely in black, a condition that only amplified her pale skin.
Dex glanced up at her words. Every room in the Hive had at least one capsule, so if she was waiting for this one, then something was wrong with hers. ”Yeah…”
She moved to the guard rail, giving him more space to exit the capsule. ”The neural to network interface (N2N) on my room's jumper is bad.”
Dex didn't comment; the N2N was a fairly easy fix.
”I'm Nova, by the way.” The goth-looking hacker smiled slightly.
Dex pointed a thumb at his chest, ”I'm Dex; nice to meet you.” Normally meeting an attractive female would cause a countdown to start running in his head. He referred to it as the 'clock of inevitable awkwardness'. But, since it didn't seem to engage, he didn't retreat the way he normally would have. ”The N2N is a fairly straightforward fix.”
Nova nodded with a frustrated sigh. ”That's not my specialty. I'm an infiltrator.”
Dex paused to reevaluate the goth hacker. The Bottom Feeders could be categorized as all-rounders, meaning they are good at everything. Within the Hive, various specialists were peerless experts within their focused fields. ”Infiltrator? Like breaking into systems?”
Nova shook her head. ”I hide in systems for the long term, watching, evaluating, and recording.”
Dex smiled politely. He couldn't think of anything more tedious than that. ”I see…”
The young woman's dark eyes narrowed slightly. ”You think it's boring….”
”Yeah. No offense.” Dex found her easy to talk to, and because of that, was able to speak bluntly. Unfortunately, the words escaped before he had a chance to censor them with tact.
Nova crossed her arms in front of her chest. ”Sure… Why would I find that offensive?”