Throughout the ebb and flow of the Jihad, Omnius update ships continued to fly predictable, endless courses, from one Synchronized World to another. The unchanging nature of the sentient evermind created its greatest vulnerability.

Agamemnon and his unified cymeks knew exactly where to wait for the incoming vessel on the fringes of the Richese system. The general had left Juno on Bela Tegeuse to continue to rally and convert the deluded population there. After nine years, their rebellion now had plenty of neo-cymek fighters who owed everything to the three surviving Titans.

And Omnius had not taken the threat seriously.

While waiting in ambush, Agamemnon and Dante detected the arrival of the silver-and-black update ship as it flew obliviously along its route between Synchronized Worlds. The programmed robot captain was doing his job, never seeing his part in the overall conflict.

Six neo-cymek warships hovered, ready to strike. All of Agamemnon’s vessels had been augmented with heavy armor and superior firepower, built by the restored industries on Bela Tegeuse. Omnius had added small batteries of defensive weaponry to many of the update courier vessels, but it was only a token gesture, completely inadequate to protect the data spheres from cymek attack.

Agamemnon knew his rebels could pick off this one with ease. The neos converted from the Tegeusan population were anxious to show their worth and strike blows in the continuing fight.

Beowulf lumbered along with them. The oldest neo-cymek had been severely damaged by Hecate’s traitorous attack, his ship nearly destroyed by the bombardment of kinetic spheres. While he’d tried to escape, the heavy impacts sent power surges through delicate thoughtrodes, searing portions of his organic brain. The aftermath left the damaged Beowulf drifting in the asteroid belt of Ginaz, where he was rescued by a cymek scouting party. Because of the injury, he could no longer function at his previous level. His mind would never be the same.

In a rare and uncharacteristic show of compassion, however, the Titan general had allowed the crippled and sluggish cymek to accompany this attack, though Beowulf would be of little assistance.

Though the earlier strike against Zufa Cenva and Aurelius Venport had not turned out as planned, Agamemnon knew that his two intended human victims were dead… as was Hecate, thus preventing her from further interfering with his plans. An acceptable result.

Agamemnon was also finding it increasingly useful to sprinkle eavesdroppers and fully trained spies throughout the prominent League Worlds. Given a taste of immortality with the promise of becoming neo-cymeks, the people of Bela Tegeuse had volunteered to act as observers and data gatherers, which enabled the Titans to fight this two-front war much more effectively. Omnius, too, used human spies, though cautiously, since he feared that exposure to free humanity would corrupt them beyond repair— as had occurred with Agamemnon’s own son Vorian.

“We are ready to move against the target, General,” Dante announced.

Beowulf made an eager noise and finally adjusted his communication systems so that his words were distinct, though slow. “Time to kill Omnius.”

“Yes. Time to kill Omnius.” Agamemnon gave the order for the ambush ships to swoop down and converge upon the update vessel.

Agamemnon and Dante observed from a safe distance while the neo-cymeks charged in to surround and detain the update ship. They had instructions to inflict no damage that could not be repaired quickly. Within moments their precise shots had taken the update ship’s engines off-line and burned out the implanted transmission systems, leaving the vessel to drift free.

The robotic captain would attempt to send a distress signal, but the Richese-Omnius would never know what had happened. Agamemnon and his team would finish here, commandeer the ship, and streak toward the unsuspecting machine planet before any delay could be noted.

“Hurry,” he said. “We don’t have much time.”

The cymek ships forcibly docked with the update vessel. One of the Tegeusan neos boarded first, stalking with clattering mechanical footsteps across the chill metal decks. Agamemnon followed and headed for the pilot chamber, eager to crush another silver gelsphere in his metal claw.

Inside the cockpit, the copper-skinned robot captain utterly surprised the bold neo-cymek. He fired an explosive weapon, and a dense projectile slammed into the neo’s brain canister, ripping it open and splattering the gray matter and electrafluid in a broad splash across the walls of the cockpit.

Agamemnon reared up, raising the weapons implanted in his articulated walker body. The robot turned a mirror-smooth copper face toward him. “Ah, it is Agamemnon. I suppose I should have fired at you first. But then Vorian might have been upset with me.”

The Titan general hesitated, recognizing the independent robot Seurat, who had taken Vor as his copilot on innumerable update missions. “On the contrary, Seurat. I believe my son would have been delighted if you’d done the difficult work for him.”

The robot captain simulated a chuckle. “I do not believe so, Agamemnon. He seems to prefer facing his own problems, and savoring his victory.”

Other cymeks had crawled aboard the update ship, crowding in behind the general. The other update captains had been tossed out of airlocks, dumped still-smoking out into space, but Seurat might actually provide valuable information.

“Take this robot as a prisoner,” Agamemnon instructed the armored neos. “I want to debrief him.”

Seurat stood firm. “I cannot allow you to take the update sphere. My programming prevents it.”

“Run an analysis and consider your options. I can easily fire a pulse burst and shut down all your systems, then remove you from the update ship. I can fire a projectile and destroy you entirely. Or you can follow me now and suffer minimal physical damage. No scenario exists in which you can protect your copy of Omnius.”

The neo-cymeks clattered forward as Seurat pondered the choices.

“Your assessment is correct, Agamemnon,” the robot said. “I would prefer to remain undamaged. Perhaps other options will arise.”

“Don’t count on it.”

As two neo-cymeks hauled the robot pilot away to one of the waiting ships, Agamemnon went forward and ripped open the containment chamber that held the Omnius update. Though it was not a necessary component of his plan, he crushed the silvery gelsphere, squeezing the evermind into a glittering lump of circuitry.

While he enjoyed himself in this manner, other cymeks moved through the update ship, and vacuum-hardened robots crawled over the outer hull like metal insects. They repaired the damage their weapons had done and installed new transmission spikes, hurrying to get the craft moving again toward Richese.

“The engines are functional again, General Agamemnon,” Dante reported. “This update ship can now proceed.”

Using their knowledge of the evermind’s predictable routes, the cymek rebels had already tracked down and intercepted ten update ships. They had destroyed enough copies of Omnius that the widely separated Synchronized Worlds were already becoming fragmented. The scattered evermind incarnations were no longer acting in a coordinated fashion.

“Install the new programming and turn our latest weapon loose.” Agamemnon worked the piloting controls the robot captain would have used.

The update ship still had its appropriate password signals and approved linkages for the Richese-Omnius. After this vessel passed through the next set of defensive perimeters, a new course would kick in. The engines would accelerate the update vessel until, like a fast-moving hammer, it swung down through the atmosphere, and delivered an incredible crushing blow to the citadel nexus of the computer evermind.

Then the cymeks could swarm into the vulnerable Synchronized World. Agamemnon already had a large military force waiting to pounce, assimilate, and mop up— massive ships constructed on Bela Tegeuse, joined by the recovered and reprogrammed robotic fighting force they had originally stolen from Omnius. As soon as this juggernaut update ship slammed into Richese, cymek marauders would rush down and complete the destruction. The Richesian thinking machines might attempt to rally, but the Omnius substations could never unify them quickly enough.

The Titan general climbed back aboard his own ship, and all the cymeks watched the reprogrammed update vessel descend into the planet’s orbital plane. Richese would soon be under cymek rule, another step in creating a new Time of Titans. There, Juno would again work to convert the downtrodden, hopeless humans into faithful cymek allies.

And perhaps the captive Seurat would provide some insight into how the Titan general could deal with his traitorous son Vorian….

“Prepare to make our move,” Agamemnon said. “This time there is no doubt of our victory.”