Cyber Witch

Chapter 1 - Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, there was a sweet, innocent little girl who fought an interstellar war — something a little girl should never do. Her name was Avia.

Aboard the Stalk Ship Nimbus, Avia scanned her fellow passengers lining the jump-seats. Everyone wore jet-black space suits with dark helmets laid ready at their feet. The stealthy ship had the latest in anti-reflective coating, making it virtually invisible against deep space. Also, special technology hid it from radar and displacement sensors.

Silent tension hung thick in the air. This mission must be big, really big, Avia thought. As usual, the mission briefing didn't provide her with much information — not the forest view, only about the tree she would cut down — even though she was perhaps the most sophisticated weapon system ever developed. But then, Avia was only a fourteen-year-old girl.

"Here," the man sitting next to her said with a smile, handing over a plastic drink bottle. "You need to fuel up."

Flint, a tough-as-nails career marine sergeant with a powerful square jaw and the battle scars to prove it, was Avia's military handler. He stayed close with her on every mission, providing protection and guidance. But over the years, he became the nearest thing she ever had to a father. Gray hair, cut in a stereotypical military buzz, and wrinkled forehead displayed an age many decades older. He had an intense laser glare that cowered enemy and new recruits alike, but for Avia, it was always warm as morning sunshine.

"Thanks," Avia said, returning his smile. Her trimmed dark-brown hair flowed back as she lifted the bottle, squeezing the overly sweet fruit-flavored liquid into an upturned mouth. Simple sugars powered the advanced cybernetic implants in her head, so she consumed an inordinate amount of carbohydrates.

Many years ago, the implants were surgically fitted into Avia's brain, one of many expendable orphans in the cyber program. Only young children below eight Earth years old had a malleable enough brain to accept the implants, but even at that, nearly half suffered severe brain damage or death. Those that survived and then passed the following intensive four-year training became part of the elite Cyber Assault Force — children soldiers in the ongoing Boundary Wars.

The cyber implants allowed them to mentally override most control systems and AI's. In a typical mission, the enhanced child would hack into and disable an enemy starship, then leave it for others to finish, whether capture or destruction. But there was a catch — it could only be done by direct connection within the ship, thus boarding was required. And the enemy always vigorously resisted this with lethal force.

One by one, Avia's fellow child warriors, friends she laughed and played with, would leave on missions and never come back. Little explanation was offered, only that they 'went to a better place.' Most never made it to adulthood.

But this mission seemed different to Avia, starting with weeks of special training, a long journey on a support ship, followed by days in the stealthy stalker. She used her cybernetics to access the navigation system, discovering they were many light-years within enemy space with no backup. And now the time was nearly upon her.

Avia looked up into Flint's eyes, imploring, "What do I need to do?"

"Mostly the same, but with a twist." He took out a com-viewer and tapped on the transparent screen, sending data to Avia's cyber implants. "Instead of powering down the ship, we want you to take over navigation and propulsion. Send the ship on the heading I just gave you at full thrust. Then we get out."

Avia wrinkled her forehead as she mentally examined the heading. "Into the atmosphere?"

"Right," Flint answered. "And right down on a command bunker on the planet below. If this works, kiddo, we will take out the enemy leadership." He wrapped an arm around her and drew her against his side. "And maybe turn the war in our favor. That would be good."