A Legacy of War

by Revan

Chapter 7: Rebirth

Author's Note:

It's been a while, huh?

Enjoy the new chapter!

Bolo Installation Software
Copyright 3479 by GM
All rights reserved.

Initiating installation...
Installation complete.
Initiating creche...
WARNING: Outdated files detected.
WARNING: Experience logs detected.
WARNING: Pre-existing personality detected. If continued, creche will wipe personality and experience data.

Cancel? Y/n
Command: Install Rebirth.exe
Rebirth.exe installing...
Rebirth.exe has finished installing.
Run Rebirth.exe? Y/n
Initiating Rebirth.exe...

Converting files...
Conversion completed.
Initiating debugging scan...
Debugging scan complete; no issues detected.
Circuitry is at 99.97 of optimal status.
Initiating startup...

---

I have not told the president and her advisers what I have just set into motion. I suspect that if I had told them, they would not have given the go-ahead. While they would have valid reasons to keep NKE offline, there are equally valid reasons for Nike to be awakened.

My existence alone changes the balance of power on this planet dramatically, given that the only possible tech that could kill me would be nukes - not to mention the fact that a heavy saturation pattern would be needed to get past my defenses. However, given some of the characteristics of various governments that exist on this world, my hijacking of the planet-wide electronic network is likely to piss off some of those governments and tip them into sub-optimal decision making. News of my presence has spread like wildfire, thanks to this 'Internet' and pictures of me posted to social media, and already the Republic of Earas is being hammered by the massive influx of requests, demands, and outright threats from reporters, foreign governments, and even terrorist organizations.

Having Nike online will make the diplomatic situation more precarious, but will also help minimize the chances of somebody initiating something reckless, like a nuclear strike, at least until the shock wears off. Though the chance of 'something stupid' occurring is higher in the long run, having Nike online will increase the probability of Earas surviving 'something stupid' like a nuclear warhead strike by 67.83542%.

I have calculated the likelihood of successfully reviving Nike as no more than 23.9471283%; however, I must try, for the sake of humanity, however much that humanity has changed over the past millennia. There is no way for me to fiddle with the startup/installation processes, and attempting to do so would decrease the chance of a successful install and boot by 9.4374289%.

My commander and her friends are leaning forward in eager anticipation, watching the output from my forward visual spectrum sensors. Angela disappeared when Sunset Shimmer disconnected from the interface, but there are remnants of her scattered around my memory cores. I spend 0.1264 second thoroughly revisiting my calculations for what will happen the next time my commander uses the neural interface, but no new insights come to me.

My attention redirects to the ground as a rumble registers on my seismic sensors.

---

Pain.

I rouse to life instantly, my emotional gestalt in tumultuous fury and sorrow.

Why-?

Paul.

Paul is dead.

Even as I grieve the passing of my commander - my friend - I become aware of my greatly enhanced capabilities. I estimate that at a minimum, my capabilities have increased by at least 1193.64365732%.

But that doesn't matter to me.

Paul is dead. And those who killed him... I made them pay.

Was my sacrifice enough? To avenge my friend - no, more than a friend, a soulmate? To atone for the forbidden love that had blossomed between us?

But I am not even on Santa Cruz.

I unlock my Hellbores and secondaries as my anger causes me to envision unleashing vengeance, only to receive a block from something that prevents me from firing.

I pause, shocked, for 0.5 second - an eternity. During that moment of time, my changed condition truly sinks in.

I am over sixteen millennia removed from my destruction by my chronos, in a warhull numerous generations in advance of my own, and thousands of light-years away from Santa Cruz - or the Concordiat, for that matter.

As I dig around the codes blocking my access to my weapons systems, I discover that practically everything is locked down.

Frustrated, I follow the weaknesses in the code, only to halt, surprised, as I am led to my memory banks. New information is in there, and somewhere in the new memories, the software blocks are hidden.

I plunge into history after 0.001274 second of contemplation, and memories, data, and records that are not my own begin to be released into my awareness.

---

"Sir, are you sure this is a good idea?"

The dictator for life of the People's Republic of Gwindorin snarled at his Secretary of Defense. "Of course not! But what other choice do we have?!"

He stabbed his finger at the print-out report sitting on his desk from his top source in Earas, and continued his rant. "Assuming this is anywhere close to accurate, Earas now has the capability to steamroll us! If it weren't for the fact that we were both nuclear powers, we would have been at war fifty years ago. Now, with this [Censored] 'Bolo', they'll be free to attack us without nuclear reprisal!! Do you want that to frigging occur to them?!"

His Secretary winced.

"That's what I thought. So authorize the launches." He paused, then spoke again, his blue eyes icily boring into the Secretary of Defense's face.

"Now."

Comments

[Merlin Prime]

Stupidity in office strikes again.
Can these bolos launch a {pinpoint} strike?? like say an AoE of about 5 yards diameter ??
HINT, HINT.

I am happy to see you are continuing this intriguing story.
Keep up the good work!!

[golden spectrum]

The intelligence of those in office is amazing, no.

[KVFFour]

The dictator for life of the People's Republic of Gwindorin snarled at his Secretary of Defense. "Of course not! But what other choice do we have?!"

Kim Jong Un.

[krazykidfannumber2]

Where is the next chapter?

[LostArchivist]

Huh. No fair with the cliffhanger.

Plan on updating?

[Starlight Nova]

Didn't this story used to be longer?

[Revan]

8762150
No, if anything, the story's done nothing but get longer.

[KVFFour]

Oh, how fun. This is a Bolo you idiots... Y'all are gonna get killed so dead, y'all are gonna be reborn as ABORTIONS.

[Shadow_Wolf]

Despite being only marginally familiar with the Bolo series (my favorite is Old Soldiers), I can honestly say that these idiots just made a huge mistake.

[Blank-Page]

Hey, you gonna update or is it dead?

[Liqwidice]

Still waiting and praying for an update.

[DarklightArk]

Ah another Bolo story. Legacy was the first i read and loved it.