Homestar Saga

Chapter 98: Trust

"Zhukov, this is Mims." The Captain stared at the holodisplay as he spoke into the comm. Millions of Klaath buzzed all over the sector. The Pixen forces were firing nonstop. So far, they'd been able to keep the invaders at bay, but Yvian didn't think that would last. Klaath clusters were still appearing at random in large numbers, numbers a meager fifty thousand defenders weren't making a dent in.

"Zhukov here." Admiral Ender Zhukov was the Peacekeeper unit in charge of protecting New Pixa. He was identical to Kilroy in appearance, save for a white band he kept in his fedora. "Has Kilroy spoken to you about the Stingers?"

"He has." Mims spared a glare for the other machine. The human had an odd way of communicating facial expressions perfectly despite wearing a visored helmet that concealed his face. "Don't activate them."

"Our forces are insufficient to protect the system without the Stingers," Zhukov informed him. "I calculate a 99.897 percent chance the Klaath will kill us all."

Mims took a breath through his nose. "How much better are our chances if we recall the rest of our ships?"

"Not much better. There will still be a 86.143 percent chance the Klaath will kill us all," said the Admiral. "Our forces are insufficient for an invasion of this size. That is why the Stingers were constructed in the first place."

"We can't use them," Mims told him.

"Why not?" asked Zhukov.

"Because there's no trust," said the human. "Do the best you can, but keep the Stingers out of it." He terminated the transmission.

"No trust," Kilroy mused. Red light flooded into his eyes. "This unit should have known. You meatbags will always fear the Peacekeeper units."

"The Peacekeepers are morons," the human declared. "And you're more scared than we are."

"This unit is not afraid."

"Of course you are." Mims delivered the words with cold, casual precision. "That's what this is all about."

"Our military capabilities were insufficient," said Kilroy. "This unit saw an opportunity to correct that deficiency."

"Building the fleet isn't the problem," said the human. "Hiding them is."

The red in Kilroy's eyes flickered out. "It was necessary. We need the increased capability. Reproduction has not been discussed. An autonomous military force might not have been approved."

"In other words," Mims pointed at the Peacekeeper. "You were afraid how we'd react."

The Peacekeeper's eyes flashed, alternating between purple and red. "Meatbags are not known for placing their trust in Synthetic Intelligences."

"Kilroy," Lissa stepped in. Her tone was dangerously mild. "That fleet," she gestured at the holodisplay. "All of our ships. Who's flying them?"

"Peacekeeper units." The frequency of red flashes in the machine's eyes decreased, leaving more of the purple.

"Peacekeepers," Lissa confirmed. "And who has control over our infrastructure? So much control that they can build an entire fleet without anyone the wiser?"

"Peacekeeper units." The red flashes disappeared entirely, leaving only the purple light that signaled concern.

"Peacekeepers," Lissa repeated. "Right now, if you wanted to, the Peacekeepers could kill every man, woman, and child in this sector. We gave you this power because we trusted you."

A cloud of Klaath clusters appeared a dozen kilometers from the shipyard that housed the Random Encounter. The clusters erupted, releasing tens of thousands of Klaath Raiders and Fighters. The fleet guarding the shipyard and it's surrounding stations reacted with inpixen speed and precision, blasting the motherless sons out of the sky faster than Yvian could track. It wasn't fast enough.