“Okay, just stay in here until I give you the all clear. I don’t want you getting in the line of fire if I need to kill anything out there. Scarlet and Kirgor can hold the ship in place until you’ve reprogrammed it. They’re strong, but even they might not hold it in place long without damaging it and we need to make sure it’s intact. Also, if the phase cannon on that thing shoots, it could get messy.”
“I’ll be quick. I p-practiced over and over.”
“Scarlet, get ready. As soon as the ship lands, you two need to get over here and hold it in place while Pete does his thing. I’ll take care of any robots and probes that come out. The jamming equipment is in place and ready to fire up.”
“We are ready.”
The drop ship hovered over the area, refusing to descend. Jared wondered what they waited for and goaded them. He walked through the house, pausing by the open windows long enough there was no doubt someone occupied the room. The tracking device was only a few dozen yards from the house, and it tied whoever was in the building to the griffon.
The ruse paid off as the drop ship descended into the clearing. The moment it touched down, Jared instructed Pete to activate the jamming signal.
“They won’t know it’s on, right?”
“N-not unless they are expecting something from the city.”
“Scarlet, now!”
Jared dashed out of the building at the same time the ramp descended, and a trio of robots exited amongst a swarm of sensor probes. The robots raised their weapons, but Jared proved faster and put three rounds cleanly through their torsos. They slumped to the ground, smoking holes in their chests.
“Pete, go now!”
Scarlet and Kirgor landed on either side of the drop ship, pinning it in place as it tried to rise off the ground. The whine of its engines increased as it attempted to push into the sky. It bobbed up and down in agitation, unable to overcome the weight of the dragon.
Pete raced up the ramp behind Jared. One quick look in the interior and Jared realized the only other occupant was the robot in the pilot seat. Jared put a phase round into its head and kicked it out of the seat. Pete jumped into the vacated seat and rapidly pushed buttons. He also pulled a device from his pocket and swept over the console. Pete pushed another series of buttons and let out a sharp exhale.
“It’s d-done.”
The ship stopped bobbing and Jared bounded down the ramp to take out the rest of the sensor probes, but they’d all stopped, motionless.
“They n-n-need instructions. Without the robots, they have no direction.”
“Should I shoot them, or can you use them?”
“Use them. We use them to scout the city.”
“Huh, I didn’t even think about that. Maybe we won’t even need to leave the ship at all when we get up there. Can you see what they see?”
“We can now.” Pete pointed to the display in front of him. Jared watched a half dozen images of himself look back as he glanced at the surrounding probes.
Jared grinned, they wouldn’t need to risk anyone. Now, if only they could remotely pilot the vehicle.
“Please command the probes back on the ship, and let’s head back to Colorado. Also, see if there’s a way to drive the ship slow enough to prevent the whine we normally hear. I don’t want to alert anyone to the ship’s presence.”
“Give me a few m-minutes.”
Pete set to work, tapping buttons and talking with Kirgor. Satisfied with their brief pow wow, Pete announced his readiness.
“Be careful with the controls. I wasn’t last time, and it didn’t go so well.” Jared rubbed his head, remembering the impact with the displays.
Slowly, the ship rose into the air and jerked into motion, accumulating speed. As soon as the pitch in sound changed, Pete backed off the controls to slow down.
“Scarlet? Can everyone keep up?”
“Yes.”
“Do you mind flying ahead to let everyone know we’re coming? I don’t want to surprise anyone.”
The ship bucked slightly as Scarlet shot past to announce their arrival. It took a couple hours to get back. When they did, Pete landed the ship in the ravine, lightly touching down as the ramp hissed open.
Jared walked down the ramp, and Vanessa ran into his arms. He picked her up and swung her around.
“You did it!”
“I only took out a few robots. The credit belongs to Pete and Kirgor. We took this ship with little effort and no casualties. We also jammed their communication signals, so the city is unaware of our little mission. Also, Pete thinks he can control the probes to scout the city for us. We might not even have to leave the ship at all. We’ll just dock, let them refuel, and leave again. The probes will allow us to observe on the monitors.”
“Can you control it from here?” Vanessa looked hopeful.
“Unfortunately, no. Pete doesn’t think so. I don’t know what it would take, or how long it would take to get that set up. Depending on what we find during this scouting mission, we might need to rig that up, anyway.”
“When will you leave?”
“Right now.”
“Jared—”
He placed a finger on Vanessa’s lips, cutting off her protest. “I know, love, but we can’t risk the city catching on to what we’re doing. It might already be too late. Scarlet and Kirgor will follow at a distance and come to our aid if we need it.”
“Please be careful, Jared.”
“I’ll return, Vanessa. I promise.” Jared crushed her to his chest, feeling the warmth of her body. She didn’t object to the move. He knew she didn’t like the plan, but it was also the best option they had.
“Let’s get this done, Pete.”
“Scarlet, Kirgor you ready?”
“We are ready.”
“Please stay with us until we get close enough to the city to see and then drop back.”
“Here we go,” announced Pete and hit the throttle.
There was no turning back now.
The city came into view much too soon for Jared’s comfort. He spent the few hours in flight exploring the ship and meditating. His nerves were all over the place. He could only imagine what Pete felt. The man put on a brave face, but Jared knew he was a nervous wreck.
“Jared, we can see the city now. We can go a little farther on the ground, but it is up to you now.”
“Thanks, Scarlet. Be ready if we need you. I don’t know if it’s too far for us to hear each other, but I’ll keep my abilities active and hope it’s enough.”
“Be careful. If you think they will discover you, get out. That ship is fast. Even if more ships chase you, head for Colorado, and my family will help you take down the other ships. Kirgor and I will catch up when we can.”
“See you soon.” “All right, Pete, let’s take it in nice and slow.”
“The city is hailing us. I replied with a pre-p-programmed response we n-need to refuel.”
The ship soared ever closer, the towering spires coming into focus. This was the same side Jared observed from a distance. The images of the other explorers standing on the platform flashed back into his mind. Remembering the pink cloud of their bodies exploding sent a fresh shiver down his spine. The platforms on this side of the city were mostly empty. A couple drop ships sat dormant, but otherwise there wasn’t a single soul in sight and no evidence of a welcoming party to greet them.
The closer they got to the city, the more details he saw through the display. The towering structures of the city’s buildings were a true work of art, twisting and arcing through the skies. Plants, trees, and flowers bloomed everywhere he looked, making this place look alien to the earth below.
Once again, he saw no people, and wondered if they didn’t venture out to the edge of the city, and rather relied on all the robots to take care of the ships coming and going. If they had robots to do
all this, chances are the robots maintained the city too, leaving no reason for people to hang out on the outskirts. It’s not like there was much to look at below, anyway.
One platform lit up along the edge and Pete nudged the aircraft in the right direction. When they’d gotten within a hundred yards, the ship went on auto-pilot and glided onto the platform.
“I hope they aren’t expecting the robots piloting this thing to leave. If they are, we’ll get company pretty quickly.”
“They are sending a signal. Asking if we have c-c-cargo to d-drop.”
“Just let them know we’re still on recon looking for the creatures and humans and we’ve got nothing to drop off. Just need to refuel to follow the strange bird creature.”
Jared watched the digital readout on the display and the word Affirmative crawled across the screen. The ramp descended with a hiss as several robots shambled from a nearby building with a long hose. They hooked it to the side of the ship, and a thrumming noise echoed through the interior as the fuel pulsed into the ship. The robots didn’t ascend the ramp, but a couple unassuming probes rolled out, controlled by Pete. He sent them into the building vacated by the service robots.
It was a large warehouse where row after row of drones lined the walls. None of them held weapons, and Jared assumed these were here for servicing the city and the ships. There had to be at least a hundred in the large room. The probe rolled into an adjacent warehouse where more rows of robots stood side by side. There were another fifty, only these held phase rifles. They were the same robots that had killed the two invaders months earlier.
“Can you send it further into the city? I want to see beyond the docks here.”
“Let m-me t-try.”
Pete found a door leading farther into the city and sent the ball through it. The moment it crossed the threshold the screen flashed and went dark. Sending the second probe to the door, they saw nothing beyond but static. Something shielded the passage.
“Can you rewind any of the footage?”
Pete pushed a few buttons, and they watched the first probe enter from the perspective of the second. It passed through an insubstantial barrier and disappeared on the other side. There were no electrical discharges, and the ball looked fine physically, but they abruptly lost the signal.
“Maybe it’s a jamming signal to prevent people from spying?”
“M-maybe…” Pete’s voice trailed off as he played the scene back several times. “I think you’re r-right. Look here.”
The place he pointed out shimmered and closed around the sphere. Pausing at just the right frame, Jared saw the corridor beyond.
“Do you think you’d be able to hijack one of these service bots and send it through? Maybe they aren’t as susceptible to the jamming signal.”
“Yes.”
The small probe rolled back the way it’d come and waited by the entrance to the service building until the last robot reached it. Pete pressed a button, and the robot turned around and walked up the ramp to their ship.
“I sent it inside to check the c-console operations. I’ll turn a jammer on when it boards.”
Jared ducked behind the pilot’s seat and crouched next to Pete.
“Tell me when you jam the signal and I’ll subdue it.”
“Now!”
Jared sprang into action, vaulting over the seat and tackling the robot to the ground. A series of beeps emanated from the robot, but thanks to Pete, it couldn’t communicate with the others.
Pete ran over and pried off its faceplate, twisting a few wires and flipping a switch. The moment Pete flipped the switch, the robot stopped struggling to escape and calmly stood to its feet awaiting a command.
“Give me a minute. I n-need to hook its c-camera up to the display here.”
Pete sent the service bot back into the warehouse to continue down the corridor as they’d done previously. Pete also sent the probe so they could observe what happened with the robot if they also lost communication with it.
The robot passed the doorway and ended up in a long corridor stretching to the left and right. The first probe they’d sent in was sitting next to the doorframe. When the robot kicked it back into the room, it immediately came back up on Pete’s display.
“The signal output from the drone is much stronger than the probe and must be able to work through the jamming signal.” Pete looked at the screen and the corridor, unsure which way to go.
“It doesn’t matter which way you go. We want to explore everything we can while we’re here. I only hope us staying docked this long raises no suspicion.”
The robot turned left and walked a hundred yards before hitting a dead end with a door on its right. Trying the handle, the door wouldn’t budge. It was a good bet the robot could go right through the door, but that could trigger some kind of alarm and their jig would be up.
“I wish these things moved faster.” Jared impatiently tapped his foot on the ground as the robot lumbered down the hallway. Two hundred yards in the other direction, the corridor turned left and opened into a massive hangar. A gigantic ship rested inside. It resembled the drop ships in shape but was easily ten times the size. Sensor probes and service bots milled around the ship at random. Standing in the room’s corner observing, Jared watched the robots milling about. For all the activity, Jared didn’t see them do anything. Piles of material lay to one side, untouched. Scaffolding built next to the ship was empty. Not a single robot or probe entered the huge ship.
“Wow, if we could get our hands on that…” Jared’s eyes must have looked like they’d pop out of their sockets. He practically salivated at the thought of using it as a transport and attack ship for his people. Sure, they had dragons, but the ship was awesome and could probably fly faster than all the dragons. At least, he suspected it could if it was as fast as the drop ships.
“Send it into the hangar and let’s see if we can get a better look at that ship.”
While Pete sent the robot in farther, Jared tried to reconcile the massive hangar with what he’d seen as they approached the city. Something wasn’t right as he brought up the image of the city and what they observed from the monitors. Right where the hangar sat, there should be a large courtyard with lush grass, plants, and a few trees. The end of the hangar sat where one of the sloping spires began.
“Pete, is there any way to tell if the hangar is underground? It didn’t look like the robot walked down, but maybe we can’t tell on the cameras?”
“I don’t know. There’s n-nothing to show it did, b-but it’s p-possible.”
The robot left the corner of the room and walked toward the open ramp of the giant ship. Before it ascended the ramp, another robot stepped in front and issued a series of beeps. The text scrolled across the screen:
ACCESS CODE. WHAT IS YOUR DESIGNATION?
“Uh-oh. Is there a pre-programmed response to use?”
“N-no.”
Jared’s mind spun. A moment of inspiration struck him. Tell the truth.
“Send Inspector.”
Pete complied and the robot in front of them paused, straightened from its position and issued a loud beep.
An announcement scrolled across their display.
RETURN TO OPERATIONS
The change that came over the place shocked Jared. No longer did the robots mill about as if performing busy work. They synchronized their movements and marched with purpose about the room. On closer inspection, Jared realized the ship needed work and there was a lot of equipment waiting to go inside.
A series of complex instructions flitted across the display, informing Pete’s robot the inside needed an inspection and to load a pile of gear onto the ship.
“Will the robot do this task automatically?”
“I don’t know.”
“All right, let’s assume it won’t. Follow the instructions, and load that pile int
o the ship. If it’s supposed to inspect the interior, it’ll give us an excuse to look around.”
Watching the organized activity from the robot’s eyes, Jared wondered why the drones in the room couldn’t perform their tasks until this new robot showed up. It seemed like an egregious flaw in the whole operation.
Pete shrugged and guided the robot up the ramp. The interior was equally impressive. Several corridors split off the loading area. The cargo hold could easily hold a full-grown dragon. The robot carried the cargo deeper into the ship and it immediately became clear that no one had set foot inside it in a while. Where the hangar itself was in perfect order and clean, the interior of the ship held a layer of dust so thick, clouds of it puffed around the footfalls of the robot.
Jared got an uneasy feeling from everything he’d seen so far. Why hadn’t a human come to check on the operations here? In fact, where was the human oversight for this operation? Jared asked these rhetorical questions of himself as he tried to make sense of everything. His curiosity piqued, they watched the robot enter the core of the ship. It sported several lounge areas, a forward display, and many rooms leading to the sides and front of the ship. Setting down its cargo, Pete searched the room.
The cockpit proved larger than the entire ship they now stood in. The controls looked the same, only there were many more buttons and levers. There were also multiple stations. The pilot seat was separate from the communications array and it looked like there was an entire console dedicated to weapons systems and shields.
“Okay, send it back out to grab more cargo. We don’t want to give any reason for that other robot to come check on this one.”
It took forty minutes of back-and-forth trips for them to explore the rest of the ship. They found a dozen comfortable sized rooms across three stories of the ship. Along with the common area, there was a futuristic-looking cafeteria with machines that listed an array of items to eat. Every room sported a complete bathroom stocked with all the amenities one needed. On top of the ship, there were half a dozen pods. After checking one out, they found it led up to turrets mounted on top of the ship.
Radioactive Revolution: A Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic Adventure Page 41
