Originally posted on fanfiction.net - Link.
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Cyberpunk'd
“Wow, look at this,” Tendi whistled gazing around a small room filled with numerous computer monitors and equipment. “It’s so cramped. It makes our bunks back on the Cerritos seem spacious.”
“Well, cultural observer outposts are built more for functionality instead of comfort,” Rutherford commented inspecting the equipment. “A smaller working space means smaller energy requirements and makes it easier for observers to prevent being detected by the local population.”
“Yeah, especially on planets like this,” Mariner said leaning against a console. “A post-industrial, pre-warp civilization with a surprising high technological development index and an absurdly low social development score.”
“Wow, you actually paid attention during the mission briefing,” Boimler remarked checking over a padd.
“Eh, what can I say?” Mariner shrugged. “It was actually almost interesting for once.”
“Really? I found it pretty depressing,” Tendi sighed looking at one of the observation monitors. “Pnyreckub II is a world without any real government and is instead run by a dozen or so giant economic conglomerates. The population is almost completely confined to megacities which, due to local atmospheric fluctuations caused by the urban microclimate effect and overexploitation of the planet’s natural resources, result in their constant cloud cover and causing everything to be perpetually enveloped in shadow and rain.”
“Pnyreckubs also sport near-ubiquitous levels of biotech and other forms of cybernetic implants,” Boimler added.
“Huh, sounds like Ruthy would fit right in,” Mariner quipped.
“Pnyreckub society also has widespread levels of violence, poverty, corruption and narcotics,” Boimler went on. “This place makes Farius Prime and Turkana IV look like Risa.”
“Ugh, sounds terrible,” Rutherford frowned. “Why would Starfleet bother to monitor such a primitive, dispiriting civilization? Aside from a little morbid curiosity?”
“To better research and understand an often-overlooked field of anthropology,” Boimler explained. “And to keep tabs on the population in case any of them ever get around to developing warp drive.”
“If that’s the case, why are we packing up all of the outpost’s equipment before erasing all traces of the outpost itself?” Tendi asked. “Did one of the cultural observers directly interfere with the local population?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Mariner remarked. “The last thing this planet needs is another John Gill situation.”
“No, it’s nothing like that,” Boimler assured. “The observation team developed some health issues due to being stationed here for so long and have already beamed up to the Cerritos. The planet’s environmental and atmospheric conditions are so poor that prolonged exposure negatively impacts one’s health.”
“Ah, I see,” Tendi nodded.
“Plus, the Pnyreckubs’ technological level has developed to the point where maintaining a terrestrial observation outpost is too risky,” Boimler continued. “That’s why the Cerritos is busy constructing a high-orbiting cultural observation station instead.”
“While once again leaving the Lower Decks to clean up somebody else’s mess,” Mariner rolled her eyes. “Typical.”
“Wait, the Pnyreckubs have satellites too,” Tendi pointed out. “Won’t they detect the orbital observation station?”
“Nah, a simple localized scattering field and shield modulation will deflect any detection attempts,” Rutherford waved. “Besides, all of the Pnyreckubs’ satellites are directed down, not up.”
“Yeah, the skies are so dark the locals barely manage to see the sun, much less the stars,” Boimler added.
“Aw, that’s too bad,” Tendi sighed sympathetically. “Poor Pnyreckubs. Directing all their technological efforts and energies towards inner destruction and oppression instead of outward advancement and enlightenment.”
“Yeah, it stinks. Boo-hoo for them,” Mariner drawled. “Course it wouldn’t have to be that way if someone happened to give them a hand up…”
“Hold on! You know we can’t do that,” Boimler said quickly. “It would be a major violation of the Prime Directive.”
“Yeah, because not helping to free people from suffering is sooo important,” Mariner mocked. “Long live the great, all-knowing, all-encompassing PD!”
“That’s not what the Prime Directive is about, and you know it,” Boimler scolded. “The Prime Directive is to prevent officers from deliberately interfering with a society’s natural development. You can’t force freedom onto people. Social stability and prosperity aren’t nearly as meaningful unless people achieve it by themselves.”
“Easy for you to say,” Mariner snorted. “You ain’t one of the billions of people stuck living in a primitive, dreary dystopia.”
“Hey, some of the outpost’s monitoring devices are still active,” Rutherford noted. “I’ll deactivate them now and trigger their respective self-destruct commands.”
“Wait. Let’s see what they’re recording first,” Mariner paused his efforts. “We can’t mix with the locals directly, so we might as well sneak a few peeks of ‘em. Maybe even spot a hot bar or three.”
“Okey-dokey,” Rutherford said.
“Oh no you don’t,” Boimler protested. “We’re supposed to be working here. This is no time to slack off.”
“Who’s slacking off? I’m simply going to watch a live transmission from one of the many hidden spy…I mean, observation devices the cultural observation team has in place in order to monitor all levels of Pnyreckub society,” Mariner whistled innocently. “For purely research purposes of course.”
“Of course,” Boimler rolled his eyes.
“Finally. The last retrieved coding fragments have been decrypted and amalgamated,” An oily, well-dressed Pnyreckub figure appeared on a screen surrounded by bodyguards while standing inside a combined high-rise office and command complex. “Begin the master integration process.”
“Yes sir, Mr. Gexco,” Several accompanying techs stationed in an adjoining computer lab acknowledged while working their consoles.
“Ooo, what’s this?” Tendi studied the scene curiously. “What’s going on?”
“I dunno,” Mariner shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. Hope it’s not some boring management meeting or something. Staff briefings about the Cerritos are bad enough!”
“Master integration progress has commenced,” One of the on-screen lab techs reported.
“Excellent,” The well-dressed Pnyreckub addressed as Mr. Gexco smiled in anticipation. “Once the entire program finishes compiling, initiate the final sequence for mass propagation and distribution…”
“Mr. Gexco,” One of his several bodyguards urgently addressed him. “Security is reporting a breech. A party of unknown intruders has infiltrated the building.”
“What?” Gexco frowned. “How is that possible…no way. It must be those glaffing crufts Rohe and Jufi!”
“You got that right, Gexco!” An armed, ragtag group dressed like underdogs, misfits, outcasts and malcontents suddenly burst into the room. “You and your entire evil corpo are being taken offline for good!”
“Whoa, what’s going on?” Rutherford blinked at the screen in surprise. “Are those laser-based hand blasters?”
“Yep, along with some big, old-fashioned, chemically-propelled projectile weapons,” Mariner whistled as a firefight immediately erupted between the bodyguards and the newcomers. “Man, those guys are packing.”
“Jufi!” Gexco snarled taking cover behind a thick, sturdy desk. “How the phek did you backgrid kludgers get in here? You and the rest of your nugatory crufts should be dead!”
“Not for lack of trying!” A furious outcast referred to as Jufi snapped laying down a curtain of laser fire. “How many good people have you had killed all to ensure Cniproc’s bottom line?”
“Obviously not enough!” Gexco shot back over the roar of firearms and laser fire. “Cniproc is already the largest corpo on the planet! In a few more centicycles it will be the only corpo on the planet!”
“How? By releasing a null virus to hack everyone’s biotech?” Another outcast shouted taking out one of Gexco’s bodyguards. “Reducing an already poor, depnyreckubed populous to nothing but Cniproc’s helpless digita slaves?”
“You idiot, Rohe!” Gexco snarled. “The Nifcam code isn’t going to take over everyone’s tech. It’s going to addict everyone’s tech!”
“Huh?” The scattered band of outcasts and misfits yelled.
“Nifcam is designed to be the digital equivalent of biological narcotics,” Gexco explained. “Far more potent, pleasurable, cheaper and easier to distribute. Tech and users everywhere will become dependent on it. Nifcam’s source code erases itself and associated rootbits after only a single use so users will have no choice but to continue purchasing it from Cniproc or else suffer from one hundred percent fatal tech withdraw.”
“You monster!” Jufi gasped in horror. “That’s barbaric!”
“That’s business, sweet sig!” Gexco laughed. “You can’t stop Cniproc and you certainly can’t stop me!”
“Wanna bet?” Jufi roared furiously unleashing a dozen more laser rounds from her blaster. “Yaaahhhhhh!”
“Okay, this is weird,” Boimler blinked as the onscreen firefight grew even more intense. “I’ve never read or experienced anything like this before. Thank goodness.”
“Eh, I’ve seen worse,” Tendi waved.
“Really?” Rutherford looked at her curiously. “Where?”
“Uh, in holonovels,” Tendi covered quickly. “Cheap, one slip holonovels. Not really worth running.”
“Oh, because they were poorly written?” Boimler asked.
“Uh, yes. Exactly,” Tendi laughed awkwardly. “Really bad plots in those programs. Even worse than the Pnyreckubs’ ‘turn technology into addicts’ idea. Is that even possible?”
“I don’t think so, but there is a certain plausibility about it,” Rutherford reasoned. “Computers can be infected with worms, viruses and other malicious entities just like living biological systems. They can also develop complex emotions, be affected by polywater intoxication and apparently even dream. Why not become addicts too?”
“Gee, an entire society of mindless computer addicts,” Tendi mused. “I wonder what that would be like?”
“Great, yet another nightmare to keep me awake at night,” Boimler sighed while gesturing to the screen. “Right along with this.”
“Master integration progress twenty percent complete,” An automated synthetized voice reported.
“We’re running out of time!” Rohe shouted as he and the other outcasts continued to exchange fire with Gexco’s bodyguards. “How’s that interface coming along, Rekcah?”
“Almost in!” A Pnyreckub sporting extensive cybernetic components reported while huddling behind a console. “I’ve accessed their main system matrix! I just need to bypass the remaining isolated lockout blocks and…”
BOOM!
“Huh?” Tendi blinked as the command center was rocked by an explosion. An imposing, heavily armed figure rushed in through the resulting smoke. “Who is this guy?”
“It’s about time!” Gexco snapped at the newcomer. “What took you so long, Ecrof? Get held up navigating a backlog in the skyloop?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” The figure known as Ecrof rumbled coldly opening fire on Jufi and her companions. “No need for complaints.”
“You’re a mercenary and I’m the one paying you!” Gexco yelled. “That entitles me to complain!”
“For now,” Ecrof muttered snapping off a series of expert laser shots.
“Ahhh!” Rekcah cried as Ecrof blew apart the cybernetic components comprising his arm and half his head. “My transdocks are blown! I’ve loss the interface!”
“No!” Jufi gasped taking out more of Gexco’s bodyguards. “We’re almost there! We can’t give up now!”
“Yes you can. It’s the only thing you can do!” Gexco laughed. “Did you pathetic backgrid crufts really think you could stop a corpo like Cniproc? Cniproc has money, power, intellect and influence kludgers like you can’t even dream of! And as Cniproc’s largest shareholder, once Nifcam is complete I’ll be the richest, most powerful person on the planet!”
“Wanna bet?” Gexco’s head bodyguard snapped pointing a blaster at him.
“What the?” Gexco yelped in surprise. “What the glaf are you doing, Ning?”
“Turning on you, of course,” Gexco’s head bodyguard Ning sneered. “Who do you think made it possible for Jufi and the others to access the building in the first place?”
“O-kay,” Boimler blinked. “That’s a twist.”
“What?!” Gexco yelled. “You’ve been a cruft spy this whole time?”
“No, they just recently bribed me,” Ning said. “You really should have given me a bigger end-of-hectocycle performance bonus.”
“What?!” Gexco yelped.
“Ha!” Jufi laughed. “It’s over, Gexco! Order your techs to stop compiling Nifcam. Now!”
“I don’t think so!” Gexco snapped making a gesture.
BAM!
“Ahhh!” Tendi gasped as Ning dropped dead with a large, smoking hole in his chest. “Oh my gosh!”
“Yuck!” Boimler and Rutherford made faces. “I think I’m going to be sick!”
“Huh?” Jufi gasped quickly locating the shooter. “Rekcah, what have you done!”
“What I had to,” Rekcah said pointing his weapon at her.
“What?!” Jufi yelped. “Are you crazy?!”
“Ha, you pathetic fool!” Gexco gloated. “Did you think you were the only one to make bribes?”
“What?!” Jufi gasped gazing at Rekcah in disbelief. “Rekcah, how can you do this?”
“What can I say? I like money,” Rekcah shrugged. “I never made anything but bent zeros working with you. Gexco’s going to make me a hexanaire!”
“You idiot!” Jufi yelled. “He’s going to kill you the millicycle after he gets what he wants!”
“Not with the slag I have on him,” Rekcah said confidently. “I rigged a deadman’s switch. Anything happens to me and my blackmail file on Gexco gets released over the entire planetary comm-grid in triplicate!”
“But if you’re really working for Gexco, why did you try to hack Cniproc’s main system matrix?” Rohe asked.
“So I could insert my own encrypted lockouts and charge Gexco even more money in order to unblock them,” Rekcah explained. “Obviously.”
“What?!” Gexco shouted.
“I don’t believe this!” Jufi roared in frustration. She shot a look at Ecrof. “I suppose you’re some kind of corrupt, greedy, backstabbing traitor too?”
“Of course,” Ecrof said before coldly taking out Rekcah and the rest of Gexco’s bodyguards. “I’m a Pnyreckub, after all.”
“What?!” Gexco yelped.
“Wow, this is nuts,” Boimler felt a headache coming on. “You can’t tell who’s betraying who without a score card.”
“I’ll say,” Rutherford agreed. “Even my implant is having trouble keeping up with it.”
“What an untrusting place,” Tendi commented.
“Are you kidding me?!” Gexco gawked at Ecrof in shock. “I’m paying you a fortune! Who are you really working for?”
“Suptel, for now,” Ecrof said. “Along with a loose coalition of other corpos. You should have paid me significantly more than just a fortune.”
“Suptel?!” Gexco and Jufi gasped. “Cniproc’s closest competitor?”
“Of course,” Ecrof confirmed. “Did you really think other corpos would just sit by as you attempted to wipe them out of existence?”
“I should have known,” Gexco cursed. “Those lousy cracks! They hired you to destroy Nifcam!”
“No, they hired me to steal it,” Ecrof corrected. “Though they also neglected to tell me exactly what Nifcam is. Now that I know, I may just steal Nifcam for myself and offer it to the highest bidder.”
“Steal this!” Rohe said popping up behind Ecrof before shooting him at point-blank range.
“Ew!” Boimler and the others made faces. “Not again!”
“Alright, Rohe!” Jufi cheered. “You did it! You saved the world! Now we can put an end to Nifcam and Cniproc once and for all!”
“Not exactly,” Rohe said pointing his weapon at Gexco. “Nifcam and Cniproc are both getting a new owner: me!”
“What?!” Gexco and Jufi yelped.
“What?” The observing Starfleet officers were stunned.
“Are you crazy?” Gexco yelled. “You can’t do that!”
“Yes I can,” Rohe sneered. “Ning already provided us with spoofs of your personal identify codes and accounts. All I need is to arrange a little backgrid genetic reconstructive surgery and, zern! I’ll become you! Literally!”
“What?!” Gexco yelped.
“Rohe, how can you do this?” Jufi gasped. “We’re on the same side! We’re fighting for social justice and freedom from the yoke of greedy corpos who exploit people solely for profit!”
“No, that’s what you’re fighting for,” Rohe corrected. “I’m just looking out for number one: me! I’m just as greedy and corrupt as everyone else.”
“Don’t say that,” Jufi pleaded. “I know you. You’re a good person!”
“How could you possibly think you know me? We just met each other three days ago!” Rohe snapped. “I was just a street-scrumming chip splicer before being unwillingly caught up in all this high-level power crunching. The only reason you approached me is because I happened to stumble upon a fragment of encrypted code to something I didn’t know about and didn’t even want to know!”
“That may be,” Jufi acknowledged. “But that doesn’t excuse you to become the very thing we’re fighting against.”
“Again, your fight. Not mine,” Rohe pointed out. “I only went along with you because you offered better protection against Cniproc’s mercs than trying to face them on my own. Do you really think I joined your doomed, insane attempt at achieving social justice just because you asked?”
“Well, yes,” Jufi blinked. “Freedom and justice are worth fighting for.”
“More like phantom code dreams,” Rohe snorted. “Face it, Jufi. The world is a cold, cruel, messed up place deliberately divided between the ‘have’ and the ‘have-nots’. It can’t be fixed, so I might as well be one of the ones on top.”
“Exactly! That’s my life rootcode as well!” Gexco cheered. Rohe pointed his weapon at him. “What? I’m agreeing with you.”
“I don’t believe it!” Jufi staggered in shock. “You played me for a quib! You planned all this from the beginning!”
“No, I just seized the opportunity and hung around long enough for the rest of you to kill each other off,” Rohe explained. “Now I just need to get rid of any remaining evidence. Not to mention witnesses…”
“Then start with yourself!” Ecrof snarled popping up and shooting at Rohe at the same time. “Before I do it for you!”
“Aaahhhhhh!” A surprised Rohe yelped and quickly dove for cover.
“You’re alive?” Gexco and Jufi stared at Ecrof in shock.
“Of course I’m alive,” Ecrof sneered. “I’m a meta-tier merc. I have the best armor and servo-tech money can buy. I don’t go down that easily!”
“We’ll see about that!” Rohe yelled firing at him. “DIE!”
“NO, YOU DIE!” Jufi roared shooting at Rohe.
“WHY DON’T YOU ALL DIE?!” Gexco roared grabbing a weapon from the clearly dead Ning and began blasting at Jufi, Rohe and Ecrof. “DIE! DIE! DIE!”
“Yikes!” Tendi winced as the four-way firefight picked up once again. “This is terrible. The violence never stops around here.”
“I’ll say,” Rutherford gulped watching the fierce free-for-all. “These people are like the worse qualities of Ferengi, Cardassians, Klingons and Romulans all rolled into one.”
“Sure makes me thankful to live in the Federation,” Boimler sighed turning away from the screen. “Ugh, I can’t watch anymore.”
“Oh, don’t be like that yet, Boims,” Mariner smiled hunched over a computer terminal. “You don’t want to miss what’s gonna happen next.”
“Huh?” Boimler blinked, confused. “What are you talking about? What are you doing?”
“You’ll see,” Mariner grinned wickedly typing away. “And here we go!”
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Cyberpunk'd
“Wow, look at this,” Tendi whistled gazing around a small room filled with numerous computer monitors and equipment. “It’s so cramped. It makes our bunks back on the Cerritos seem spacious.”
“Well, cultural observer outposts are built more for functionality instead of comfort,” Rutherford commented inspecting the equipment. “A smaller working space means smaller energy requirements and makes it easier for observers to prevent being detected by the local population.”
“Yeah, especially on planets like this,” Mariner said leaning against a console. “A post-industrial, pre-warp civilization with a surprising high technological development index and an absurdly low social development score.”
“Wow, you actually paid attention during the mission briefing,” Boimler remarked checking over a padd.
“Eh, what can I say?” Mariner shrugged. “It was actually almost interesting for once.”
“Really? I found it pretty depressing,” Tendi sighed looking at one of the observation monitors. “Pnyreckub II is a world without any real government and is instead run by a dozen or so giant economic conglomerates. The population is almost completely confined to megacities which, due to local atmospheric fluctuations caused by the urban microclimate effect and overexploitation of the planet’s natural resources, result in their constant cloud cover and causing everything to be perpetually enveloped in shadow and rain.”
“Pnyreckubs also sport near-ubiquitous levels of biotech and other forms of cybernetic implants,” Boimler added.
“Huh, sounds like Ruthy would fit right in,” Mariner quipped.
“Pnyreckub society also has widespread levels of violence, poverty, corruption and narcotics,” Boimler went on. “This place makes Farius Prime and Turkana IV look like Risa.”
“Ugh, sounds terrible,” Rutherford frowned. “Why would Starfleet bother to monitor such a primitive, dispiriting civilization? Aside from a little morbid curiosity?”
“To better research and understand an often-overlooked field of anthropology,” Boimler explained. “And to keep tabs on the population in case any of them ever get around to developing warp drive.”
“If that’s the case, why are we packing up all of the outpost’s equipment before erasing all traces of the outpost itself?” Tendi asked. “Did one of the cultural observers directly interfere with the local population?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Mariner remarked. “The last thing this planet needs is another John Gill situation.”
“No, it’s nothing like that,” Boimler assured. “The observation team developed some health issues due to being stationed here for so long and have already beamed up to the Cerritos. The planet’s environmental and atmospheric conditions are so poor that prolonged exposure negatively impacts one’s health.”
“Ah, I see,” Tendi nodded.
“Plus, the Pnyreckubs’ technological level has developed to the point where maintaining a terrestrial observation outpost is too risky,” Boimler continued. “That’s why the Cerritos is busy constructing a high-orbiting cultural observation station instead.”
“While once again leaving the Lower Decks to clean up somebody else’s mess,” Mariner rolled her eyes. “Typical.”
“Wait, the Pnyreckubs have satellites too,” Tendi pointed out. “Won’t they detect the orbital observation station?”
“Nah, a simple localized scattering field and shield modulation will deflect any detection attempts,” Rutherford waved. “Besides, all of the Pnyreckubs’ satellites are directed down, not up.”
“Yeah, the skies are so dark the locals barely manage to see the sun, much less the stars,” Boimler added.
“Aw, that’s too bad,” Tendi sighed sympathetically. “Poor Pnyreckubs. Directing all their technological efforts and energies towards inner destruction and oppression instead of outward advancement and enlightenment.”
“Yeah, it stinks. Boo-hoo for them,” Mariner drawled. “Course it wouldn’t have to be that way if someone happened to give them a hand up…”
“Hold on! You know we can’t do that,” Boimler said quickly. “It would be a major violation of the Prime Directive.”
“Yeah, because not helping to free people from suffering is sooo important,” Mariner mocked. “Long live the great, all-knowing, all-encompassing PD!”
“That’s not what the Prime Directive is about, and you know it,” Boimler scolded. “The Prime Directive is to prevent officers from deliberately interfering with a society’s natural development. You can’t force freedom onto people. Social stability and prosperity aren’t nearly as meaningful unless people achieve it by themselves.”
“Easy for you to say,” Mariner snorted. “You ain’t one of the billions of people stuck living in a primitive, dreary dystopia.”
“Hey, some of the outpost’s monitoring devices are still active,” Rutherford noted. “I’ll deactivate them now and trigger their respective self-destruct commands.”
“Wait. Let’s see what they’re recording first,” Mariner paused his efforts. “We can’t mix with the locals directly, so we might as well sneak a few peeks of ‘em. Maybe even spot a hot bar or three.”
“Okey-dokey,” Rutherford said.
“Oh no you don’t,” Boimler protested. “We’re supposed to be working here. This is no time to slack off.”
“Who’s slacking off? I’m simply going to watch a live transmission from one of the many hidden spy…I mean, observation devices the cultural observation team has in place in order to monitor all levels of Pnyreckub society,” Mariner whistled innocently. “For purely research purposes of course.”
“Of course,” Boimler rolled his eyes.
“Finally. The last retrieved coding fragments have been decrypted and amalgamated,” An oily, well-dressed Pnyreckub figure appeared on a screen surrounded by bodyguards while standing inside a combined high-rise office and command complex. “Begin the master integration process.”
“Yes sir, Mr. Gexco,” Several accompanying techs stationed in an adjoining computer lab acknowledged while working their consoles.
“Ooo, what’s this?” Tendi studied the scene curiously. “What’s going on?”
“I dunno,” Mariner shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. Hope it’s not some boring management meeting or something. Staff briefings about the Cerritos are bad enough!”
“Master integration progress has commenced,” One of the on-screen lab techs reported.
“Excellent,” The well-dressed Pnyreckub addressed as Mr. Gexco smiled in anticipation. “Once the entire program finishes compiling, initiate the final sequence for mass propagation and distribution…”
“Mr. Gexco,” One of his several bodyguards urgently addressed him. “Security is reporting a breech. A party of unknown intruders has infiltrated the building.”
“What?” Gexco frowned. “How is that possible…no way. It must be those glaffing crufts Rohe and Jufi!”
“You got that right, Gexco!” An armed, ragtag group dressed like underdogs, misfits, outcasts and malcontents suddenly burst into the room. “You and your entire evil corpo are being taken offline for good!”
“Whoa, what’s going on?” Rutherford blinked at the screen in surprise. “Are those laser-based hand blasters?”
“Yep, along with some big, old-fashioned, chemically-propelled projectile weapons,” Mariner whistled as a firefight immediately erupted between the bodyguards and the newcomers. “Man, those guys are packing.”
“Jufi!” Gexco snarled taking cover behind a thick, sturdy desk. “How the phek did you backgrid kludgers get in here? You and the rest of your nugatory crufts should be dead!”
“Not for lack of trying!” A furious outcast referred to as Jufi snapped laying down a curtain of laser fire. “How many good people have you had killed all to ensure Cniproc’s bottom line?”
“Obviously not enough!” Gexco shot back over the roar of firearms and laser fire. “Cniproc is already the largest corpo on the planet! In a few more centicycles it will be the only corpo on the planet!”
“How? By releasing a null virus to hack everyone’s biotech?” Another outcast shouted taking out one of Gexco’s bodyguards. “Reducing an already poor, depnyreckubed populous to nothing but Cniproc’s helpless digita slaves?”
“You idiot, Rohe!” Gexco snarled. “The Nifcam code isn’t going to take over everyone’s tech. It’s going to addict everyone’s tech!”
“Huh?” The scattered band of outcasts and misfits yelled.
“Nifcam is designed to be the digital equivalent of biological narcotics,” Gexco explained. “Far more potent, pleasurable, cheaper and easier to distribute. Tech and users everywhere will become dependent on it. Nifcam’s source code erases itself and associated rootbits after only a single use so users will have no choice but to continue purchasing it from Cniproc or else suffer from one hundred percent fatal tech withdraw.”
“You monster!” Jufi gasped in horror. “That’s barbaric!”
“That’s business, sweet sig!” Gexco laughed. “You can’t stop Cniproc and you certainly can’t stop me!”
“Wanna bet?” Jufi roared furiously unleashing a dozen more laser rounds from her blaster. “Yaaahhhhhh!”
“Okay, this is weird,” Boimler blinked as the onscreen firefight grew even more intense. “I’ve never read or experienced anything like this before. Thank goodness.”
“Eh, I’ve seen worse,” Tendi waved.
“Really?” Rutherford looked at her curiously. “Where?”
“Uh, in holonovels,” Tendi covered quickly. “Cheap, one slip holonovels. Not really worth running.”
“Oh, because they were poorly written?” Boimler asked.
“Uh, yes. Exactly,” Tendi laughed awkwardly. “Really bad plots in those programs. Even worse than the Pnyreckubs’ ‘turn technology into addicts’ idea. Is that even possible?”
“I don’t think so, but there is a certain plausibility about it,” Rutherford reasoned. “Computers can be infected with worms, viruses and other malicious entities just like living biological systems. They can also develop complex emotions, be affected by polywater intoxication and apparently even dream. Why not become addicts too?”
“Gee, an entire society of mindless computer addicts,” Tendi mused. “I wonder what that would be like?”
“Great, yet another nightmare to keep me awake at night,” Boimler sighed while gesturing to the screen. “Right along with this.”
“Master integration progress twenty percent complete,” An automated synthetized voice reported.
“We’re running out of time!” Rohe shouted as he and the other outcasts continued to exchange fire with Gexco’s bodyguards. “How’s that interface coming along, Rekcah?”
“Almost in!” A Pnyreckub sporting extensive cybernetic components reported while huddling behind a console. “I’ve accessed their main system matrix! I just need to bypass the remaining isolated lockout blocks and…”
BOOM!
“Huh?” Tendi blinked as the command center was rocked by an explosion. An imposing, heavily armed figure rushed in through the resulting smoke. “Who is this guy?”
“It’s about time!” Gexco snapped at the newcomer. “What took you so long, Ecrof? Get held up navigating a backlog in the skyloop?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” The figure known as Ecrof rumbled coldly opening fire on Jufi and her companions. “No need for complaints.”
“You’re a mercenary and I’m the one paying you!” Gexco yelled. “That entitles me to complain!”
“For now,” Ecrof muttered snapping off a series of expert laser shots.
“Ahhh!” Rekcah cried as Ecrof blew apart the cybernetic components comprising his arm and half his head. “My transdocks are blown! I’ve loss the interface!”
“No!” Jufi gasped taking out more of Gexco’s bodyguards. “We’re almost there! We can’t give up now!”
“Yes you can. It’s the only thing you can do!” Gexco laughed. “Did you pathetic backgrid crufts really think you could stop a corpo like Cniproc? Cniproc has money, power, intellect and influence kludgers like you can’t even dream of! And as Cniproc’s largest shareholder, once Nifcam is complete I’ll be the richest, most powerful person on the planet!”
“Wanna bet?” Gexco’s head bodyguard snapped pointing a blaster at him.
“What the?” Gexco yelped in surprise. “What the glaf are you doing, Ning?”
“Turning on you, of course,” Gexco’s head bodyguard Ning sneered. “Who do you think made it possible for Jufi and the others to access the building in the first place?”
“O-kay,” Boimler blinked. “That’s a twist.”
“What?!” Gexco yelled. “You’ve been a cruft spy this whole time?”
“No, they just recently bribed me,” Ning said. “You really should have given me a bigger end-of-hectocycle performance bonus.”
“What?!” Gexco yelped.
“Ha!” Jufi laughed. “It’s over, Gexco! Order your techs to stop compiling Nifcam. Now!”
“I don’t think so!” Gexco snapped making a gesture.
BAM!
“Ahhh!” Tendi gasped as Ning dropped dead with a large, smoking hole in his chest. “Oh my gosh!”
“Yuck!” Boimler and Rutherford made faces. “I think I’m going to be sick!”
“Huh?” Jufi gasped quickly locating the shooter. “Rekcah, what have you done!”
“What I had to,” Rekcah said pointing his weapon at her.
“What?!” Jufi yelped. “Are you crazy?!”
“Ha, you pathetic fool!” Gexco gloated. “Did you think you were the only one to make bribes?”
“What?!” Jufi gasped gazing at Rekcah in disbelief. “Rekcah, how can you do this?”
“What can I say? I like money,” Rekcah shrugged. “I never made anything but bent zeros working with you. Gexco’s going to make me a hexanaire!”
“You idiot!” Jufi yelled. “He’s going to kill you the millicycle after he gets what he wants!”
“Not with the slag I have on him,” Rekcah said confidently. “I rigged a deadman’s switch. Anything happens to me and my blackmail file on Gexco gets released over the entire planetary comm-grid in triplicate!”
“But if you’re really working for Gexco, why did you try to hack Cniproc’s main system matrix?” Rohe asked.
“So I could insert my own encrypted lockouts and charge Gexco even more money in order to unblock them,” Rekcah explained. “Obviously.”
“What?!” Gexco shouted.
“I don’t believe this!” Jufi roared in frustration. She shot a look at Ecrof. “I suppose you’re some kind of corrupt, greedy, backstabbing traitor too?”
“Of course,” Ecrof said before coldly taking out Rekcah and the rest of Gexco’s bodyguards. “I’m a Pnyreckub, after all.”
“What?!” Gexco yelped.
“Wow, this is nuts,” Boimler felt a headache coming on. “You can’t tell who’s betraying who without a score card.”
“I’ll say,” Rutherford agreed. “Even my implant is having trouble keeping up with it.”
“What an untrusting place,” Tendi commented.
“Are you kidding me?!” Gexco gawked at Ecrof in shock. “I’m paying you a fortune! Who are you really working for?”
“Suptel, for now,” Ecrof said. “Along with a loose coalition of other corpos. You should have paid me significantly more than just a fortune.”
“Suptel?!” Gexco and Jufi gasped. “Cniproc’s closest competitor?”
“Of course,” Ecrof confirmed. “Did you really think other corpos would just sit by as you attempted to wipe them out of existence?”
“I should have known,” Gexco cursed. “Those lousy cracks! They hired you to destroy Nifcam!”
“No, they hired me to steal it,” Ecrof corrected. “Though they also neglected to tell me exactly what Nifcam is. Now that I know, I may just steal Nifcam for myself and offer it to the highest bidder.”
“Steal this!” Rohe said popping up behind Ecrof before shooting him at point-blank range.
“Ew!” Boimler and the others made faces. “Not again!”
“Alright, Rohe!” Jufi cheered. “You did it! You saved the world! Now we can put an end to Nifcam and Cniproc once and for all!”
“Not exactly,” Rohe said pointing his weapon at Gexco. “Nifcam and Cniproc are both getting a new owner: me!”
“What?!” Gexco and Jufi yelped.
“What?” The observing Starfleet officers were stunned.
“Are you crazy?” Gexco yelled. “You can’t do that!”
“Yes I can,” Rohe sneered. “Ning already provided us with spoofs of your personal identify codes and accounts. All I need is to arrange a little backgrid genetic reconstructive surgery and, zern! I’ll become you! Literally!”
“What?!” Gexco yelped.
“Rohe, how can you do this?” Jufi gasped. “We’re on the same side! We’re fighting for social justice and freedom from the yoke of greedy corpos who exploit people solely for profit!”
“No, that’s what you’re fighting for,” Rohe corrected. “I’m just looking out for number one: me! I’m just as greedy and corrupt as everyone else.”
“Don’t say that,” Jufi pleaded. “I know you. You’re a good person!”
“How could you possibly think you know me? We just met each other three days ago!” Rohe snapped. “I was just a street-scrumming chip splicer before being unwillingly caught up in all this high-level power crunching. The only reason you approached me is because I happened to stumble upon a fragment of encrypted code to something I didn’t know about and didn’t even want to know!”
“That may be,” Jufi acknowledged. “But that doesn’t excuse you to become the very thing we’re fighting against.”
“Again, your fight. Not mine,” Rohe pointed out. “I only went along with you because you offered better protection against Cniproc’s mercs than trying to face them on my own. Do you really think I joined your doomed, insane attempt at achieving social justice just because you asked?”
“Well, yes,” Jufi blinked. “Freedom and justice are worth fighting for.”
“More like phantom code dreams,” Rohe snorted. “Face it, Jufi. The world is a cold, cruel, messed up place deliberately divided between the ‘have’ and the ‘have-nots’. It can’t be fixed, so I might as well be one of the ones on top.”
“Exactly! That’s my life rootcode as well!” Gexco cheered. Rohe pointed his weapon at him. “What? I’m agreeing with you.”
“I don’t believe it!” Jufi staggered in shock. “You played me for a quib! You planned all this from the beginning!”
“No, I just seized the opportunity and hung around long enough for the rest of you to kill each other off,” Rohe explained. “Now I just need to get rid of any remaining evidence. Not to mention witnesses…”
“Then start with yourself!” Ecrof snarled popping up and shooting at Rohe at the same time. “Before I do it for you!”
“Aaahhhhhh!” A surprised Rohe yelped and quickly dove for cover.
“You’re alive?” Gexco and Jufi stared at Ecrof in shock.
“Of course I’m alive,” Ecrof sneered. “I’m a meta-tier merc. I have the best armor and servo-tech money can buy. I don’t go down that easily!”
“We’ll see about that!” Rohe yelled firing at him. “DIE!”
“NO, YOU DIE!” Jufi roared shooting at Rohe.
“WHY DON’T YOU ALL DIE?!” Gexco roared grabbing a weapon from the clearly dead Ning and began blasting at Jufi, Rohe and Ecrof. “DIE! DIE! DIE!”
“Yikes!” Tendi winced as the four-way firefight picked up once again. “This is terrible. The violence never stops around here.”
“I’ll say,” Rutherford gulped watching the fierce free-for-all. “These people are like the worse qualities of Ferengi, Cardassians, Klingons and Romulans all rolled into one.”
“Sure makes me thankful to live in the Federation,” Boimler sighed turning away from the screen. “Ugh, I can’t watch anymore.”
“Oh, don’t be like that yet, Boims,” Mariner smiled hunched over a computer terminal. “You don’t want to miss what’s gonna happen next.”
“Huh?” Boimler blinked, confused. “What are you talking about? What are you doing?”
“You’ll see,” Mariner grinned wickedly typing away. “And here we go!”
