Quantum Troopers Episode 16: ANAD on Ice

By Philip Bosshardt

Episode 16, Quantum Troopers. The Red Hammer cartel is using their own nanobotic swarms to melt the ice caps and alter the atmosphere. They’re doing this at the behest of their alien benefactors so the cartel will continue to have access to the aliens’ archives. The nanotroopers are assigned a mission to confront the enemy swarms in the Antarctic. ANAD isn’t working right but Johnny Winger has developed a relationship with Doc II, the nanobotic essence of old Doc Frost. The mission fails when Doc II isn’t quite up to the task. Worse, the cartel has a new device, called a pulser, that can create swarms at great distances or corrupt existing swarms remotely. Doc II has an idea: use killsats in orbit around Earth to contain Red Hammer. But when the pulser is used to create swarms aboard several killsats and the cartel takes command of them, cities around the world are threatened with a new ultimatum: pay up and allow the cartel a free hand, or else. The source of the pulser waves is traced back to the Red Hammer base in Hong Kong. Now a desperate assault is mounted against the cartel base but the mission stalls when Doc II is nearly obliterated by the new weapon. Winger and his nanotroopers have to fall back on an unreliable ANAD in an attempt to locate and destroy this new weapon, before the cartel lays waste to scores of cities.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Philip Bosshardt
• Release date: Nov 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370393602

Philip Bosshardt

Philip Bosshardt is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. He works for a large company that makes products everyone uses...just check out the drinks aisle at your grocery store. He’s been happily married for over 20 years. He’s also a Georgia Tech graduate in Industrial Engineering. He loves water sports in any form and swims 3-4 miles a week in anything resembling water. He and his wife have no children. They do, however, have one terribly spoiled Keeshond dog named Kelsey.For details on his series Tales of the Quantum Corps, visit his blog at qcorpstimes.blogspot.com or his website at http://philbosshardt.wix.com/philip-bosshardt.

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Quantum Troopers

Episode 16: ANAD on Ice

Published by Philip Bosshardt at Smashwords

Copyright 2016 Philip Bosshardt

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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A few words about this series….

*** Quantum Troopers is a series of 15,000- 20,000 word episodes detailing the adventures of Johnny Winger and his experiences with the United Nations Quantum Corps.

*** Each episode will be about 40-50 pages, approximately 20,000 words in length.

*** A new episode will be available and uploaded every 3 weeks.

*** There will be 22 episodes. The story will be completely serialized in about 14 months.

*** Each episode is a stand-alone story but will advance the greater theme and plot of the story arc.

*** The main plotline: U.N. Quantum Corps must defeat the criminal cartel Red Hammer’s efforts to steal or disable their new nanorobotic ANAD systems.

*** Uploads will be made to www.smashwords.com on approximately the schedule below:

Episode # Title Approximate Upload Date

1 ‘Atomgrabbers’ 1-14-16

2 ‘Nog School’ 2-8-16

3 ‘Deeno and Mighty Mite’ 2-29-16

4 ‘ANAD’ 3-21-16

5 ‘Table Top Mountain’ 4-11-16

6 ‘I, Lieutenant John Winger…’ 5-2-16

7 ‘Hong Chui’ 5-23-16

8 ‘Doc Frost’ 6-13-16

9 ‘Demonios of Via Verde’ 7-5-16

10 ‘The Big Bang’ 7-25-16

11 ‘Engebbe’ 8-15-16

12 ‘The Symbiosis Project’ 9-5-16

13 ‘Small is All!’ 9-26-16

14 ‘’The HNRIV Factor’ 10-17-16

15 ‘A Black Hole’ 11-7-16

16 ‘ANAD on Ice’ 11-29-16

17 ‘Lions Rock’ 12-19-16

18 ‘Geoplanes’ 1-9-17

19 ‘Mount Kipwezi’ 1-30-17

20 ‘Doc II’ 2-20-17

21 ‘Paryang Monastery’ 3-13-17

22 ‘Epilogue’ 4-3-17

Chapter 1

The Mentor

U.N. Quantum Corps Base

Table Top, Idaho, USA

July 5, 2049

0600 hours U.T.

Johnny Winger finished dressing himself in front of the mirror. It was early, light just leaking into his tiny O Quarters room around the curtains and he knew Major Kraft had called a briefing at Mission Ops for 0630 hours. He snapped the last buttons on his tunic and spied the shimmering veil of the angel drifting like smoke by the door.

Doc, you’re just like a dog ready for his walk. Any scuttlebutt on what all this is about?

The Doc II swarm brightened noticeably, an effect that Winger had noticed from the beginning. Like a dog wagging his tail, he figured. Only this wasn’t just any old ANAD swarm. This was something Doc Frost himself had concocted and left for others to discover after he’d been consumed in the Containment accident a few months before.

***Parsing interrogative from Config Winger, J…I have been inspecting all available sensor logs, comm sessions, satlinks and vid footage that I can access…no clear patterns of activity, Johnny…there are some indications of Red Hammer activity in Greenland and Antarctica…this from Solnet reports in recent days…perhaps a new threat is arising***

Winger grabbed his wristpad and snapped it on. No doubt you’re not even cleared for half that stuff. Doc, you can’t just drift around, diving into computers and grabbing bits left and right. We’ve got rules and regulations about that around here. General Kincade approved you to stand outside containment in loose config for awhile. Don’t blow it, okay? That’s what ANAD did and now he’s all cooped up in my shoulder capsule like a pet.

This made the Doc II swarm brighten even more. It flickered and strobed by the door in what Winger had long thought was some kind of swarm equivalent of a thought.

***ANAD made mistakes, Johnny…I can see that now…his processor is too sensitive to upsets and glitches…my processor is more advanced, more reliable…I have self-healing algorithms and multiple logic paths for ninety-five point two percent of all operations***

Yeah, and your coat is all shiny too. Come on…let’s go. We’re late as it is.

They departed the O Quarters barracks and hustled along the graveled path that cut across the quadrangle in front of Ops. Other troopers from 1st and 2nd Nano were already up ahead, all of them heading straight for the Mission bunker at the north end of the mesa. It was just dawn on top of Table Top, but already stiff mountain breezes were blowing across the grounds. Overhead, a crescent moon shone hard and bright in a cloudless sky.

Winger felt a presence coming up from behind. It was Lieutenant Gabrielle Galland, c/o of 2nd Nano. The Doc II swarm trailed them both, drifting toward the bunker on its picowatt propulsors like a patch of morning fog.

Taking your pet for an early morning stroll, Wings? Gabrielle sprinted to catch up. I don’t see any pooper scooper…you know how Ironpants is about messing up his grounds.

Very funny. Doc said he’s picked up a scent, by the way. Maybe something stirring down south, in the Antarctic. Could be that’s what Kraft’s briefing us about.

Brrr… Galland gave a mock shiver. Why is it nanotroopers can’t ever catch a break…like getting a mission in the south Pacific…some place warm and cozy?

Yeah, some place like an asteroid. I felt pretty warm and cozy when we’re plunging down through the atmosphere at seven kilometers a second.

I’m just glad none of those rocks landed on our heads. Galland looked back at the approaching swarm that was Doc II. I’ll have to admit I’m still having trouble getting used to clouds of bots floating around the mountain like smoke. It’s a big mistake, if you ask me. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I like my swarms in containment, where they should be.

They came finally to the security station at the front of the Mission bunker and were scanned inside, going through all the biometrics and checks for about the millionth time.

Gabby, you’re just a troglodyte, that’s all. Loose configs…it’s all the rage. Plus this is no ordinary garden-variety ANAD. This is Doc II.

They waited a few minutes for Doc II to catch up. At the security station, the swarm hovered patiently while it was quickly scanned and probed. Pronounced cleared, Doc II wafted forward into the vestibule outside the briefing theater. Two dozen nanotroopers had gathered in the small space, and a din of good-natured kidding, bad jokes and raucous laughs filled the air. When Doc II seeped in among them, though, the commotion died off to a few murmurs and mutterings. All eyes turned to Winger and Galland.

Sheila Reaves spoke first, a bit more correctly than was normal for the DPS tech. Good morning, Lieutenant. Both of you. I see that Doc II will be with us today.

Winger knew there was still a lot of skepticism and even a little anxiety among the platoon about allowing botswarms to wander around in loose config, outside of containment. It’s okay, fellas. He won’t bite. He just came through full security screening, so he’s copacetic. Just treat him like ANAD, like another trooper.

Yes, sir, but you can’t normally see right through other troopers, sir. That was Sergeant Hoyt Gibbs, one of the newbies. Policy’s always been to keep the bugs in containment. Sir.

True enough, Winger admitted. But times change and policy better keep up. Look, I know what you’re all thinking. Your ANADs went berserk on Hicks-Newman. We nearly lost some good troopers. But it was bad quantum signals, Keeper signals according to Q2, that did that. The basic design’s sound. We’ve used ANAD for all kinds of missions over the last few months. And besides, Doc II here is not really an ANAD swarm. He’s got capabilities we’re just beginning to explore.

That’s what worries me, sir, said Nicole Simonet.

Winger had long felt disappointed that his fellow troopers didn’t see the value of Doc II or even ANAD beyond their immediate mission needs. Major Kraft had once reminded him that being in command was like being in a fish bowl. You were isolated but every little burp and fart was scrutinized for meaning. There seemed to be a growing disconnect with the platoon and it had only gotten worse with the problems ANAD had given them on Hicks-Newman. To many in 1st Nano, ANAD was only one more piece of gear or another weapon. And it was worse with Doc II…he might as well have been a circus freak…or a curiosity.

Briefing time was at hand and the crowd filed into the briefing theater. Moments later, Major Kraft came in. As one, the troopers rose abruptly to attention.

Kraft waved everybody back down. At ease, troopers. Make yourself comfortable. Word from Q2 is we’ve got a real clusterfuck brewing near the South Pole.

For Major Jurgen Kraft, the commanding officer of 1st Nanospace Battalion, briefings at Table Top were always a royal pain in the ass. It wasn’t so much the formality and the time involved in ‘putting on a show’, as it was all the little things you had to do whenever the brass linked in from remote sites…the special details like side presentations to expand on certain points, enhanced video and animation, sim packages from SOFIE to help with decisions.

At least, nobody’s figured out how to do coffee and doughnuts over the WorldNet yet, he told himself.

If anything, today’s briefing would be worse…half the command leadership of UNIFORCE was vidlinked in to the briefing theater. Whatever it was, it was big.

CINCQUANT himself, in the person of General Wolfus Linx was on one screen, linked in from Paris. The Commander in Chief was a bearded,