The Reclamation and the Lioness

by Robert D. Armstrong

  Behind him was, other than a few flickering ceiling lamps far in the distance, pitch blackness. The boy’s legs were crossed as he muttered something on the track.

  The knights cautiously approached to within thirty paces as the boy looked down. Luther stepped ahead of his men. He kneeled ten paces away. “Child, look at me,” Luther said.

  The boy turned his head slowly and faced Luther. The hidden side of his face now revealed a bloody mess. His thick curls were matted with dried blood. His right eye was white and the other was brown.

  Luther sighed as the boy showed him his right hand. It had been chewed on and bits of metal were forming around the bone. “Look at it. It hurts. My mommy couldn’t carry me... and I wasn’t fast enough to get away. They got us both.”

  “My lord, his eye. The infection has set in. Whatever he says, be mindful,” Renheart reminded the Engineer.

  The boy snarled as Luther approached. Luther lunged forward and wrapped his massive arms around the child as he squirmed and hissed, displaying his fangs as he attempted to chomp at Luther’s arms.

  “Sh-h-h.” Luther attempted to calm the child as he kicked his legs.

  Luther dropped to a knee and held the boy around the throat.

  He paused, and with a quick jolt, Luther snapped the boy’s neck. He held him in his arms for a moment, tucking his mask tightly to the back of his head.

  Luther picked up the boy’s body and gently placed it on the ground outside the tracks. Luther returned to formation as many of the knights hung their heads low. No one said a word for minutes as they continued down the tunnel.

  “Ahead.” Renheart pointed. There was a checkpoint station. There was a large sliding metal wall that extended the length of the tunnel that was opened. To the left of the gate was a wooden guard booth. Blood was spattered inside the walls. Beside the guard station was a large minigun turret.

  “Since the Mave came from within, that gun was facing the wrong direction and it was too heavy to turn around,” Renheart observed.

  “Not that it would have mattered,” Dinu muttered.

  “Can we use it?” Clovess asked.

  “No. It’s too heavy to lug around,” Renheart replied.

  As they approached the guard station, Luther peered inside. “There’s a body. Check him for weapons and ammo,” he ordered.

  One of Dinu’s shooters entered the small fortification and searched the surroundings. He kneeled and checked the body. “There’s a forty-five-caliber sidearm with two magazines,” the soldier said.

  “Better than nothing. Take care of the body. If we don’t, he’ll turn into one of them,” Dinu ordered.

  The soldier shrugged as he walked back into formation. “He already did that himself. Self-inflicted gunshot to the head,” the soldier said.

  Howls came from down the tunnel. Dinu peered into the darkness. “The Mave are regrouping,” he said as shadowy forms scurried on the ceiling near the lights.

  Luther hurried over to the minigun turret and sized it up. It was nearly three meters long and almost the diameter of a watermelon.

  “That weapon was removed from an aircraft. It took eight men to place it there. I was one of them. I know you’re strong, sire, but it’s too much,” Renheart said.

  Luther stepped closer to it and gripped under the gun’s barrel. His legs wobbled as he lifted the turret placement several centimeters off the ground. Several knights’ eyes widened at his incredible strength, despite his injuries. The weapon was welded to a large stand attached to a swivel for aiming.

  “Hold on!” Renheart ran up to the weapon and ignited his sword. Sparks flew up as he sliced through the swivel, detaching it. “There, now you can move it, and it’ll be lighter without the stand,” Renheart said, backing away.

  “Whatever we’re gonna do, we better do it now,” Dinu said, aiming his submachine into the darkness.

  “Save your ammo,” Luther said. He squatted low, hoisting the monster machine gun under his arm as Renheart layered the ammo belt on his shoulders.

  Luther turned, pointing the weapon into the darkness as his arms shook. Growls and snarls echoed off the walls. Hundreds of white eyes locked on them as the knights stood behind Luther.

  “Three hundred meters and approaching fast, sire. There’s lots of them,” Dinu said.

  “Hold your fire,” Luther said.

  “Two hundred meters!” Dinu shouted. He held his stare at Luther.

  Then the gun whined like a jet engine at maximum throttle. The six-barrel chain gun spooled up for two seconds, and then a meter-long flame shot out of the barrel. Thunderous booms erupted in quick succession as the knights moved away from Luther.

  “Protect the Engineer’s flank!” Clovess yelled.

  The deafening roar made Renheart cover his ears. Bullets sprayed the tunnel in a hell storm as several shell casings were ejected every second.

  Luther leaned the weapon on his legs as he assumed a low, athletic stance, slowly sweeping the weapon back and forth as his body shook violently.

  “Kill them all!” Dinu chanted.

  The bullets punched through the Mave like steel fists moving at thousands of kilometers per hour.

  The tunnel lit up like daylight as hundreds of rounds of ammunition sprayed. Luther focused on the clusters of Mave, concentrating on the swarm on the ceiling. Plumes of black blood showered the tunnel as the shell casings piled up around Luther’s feet.

  “They keep coming!” Dinu shouted over the earsplitting gunshots. Luther kept firing in a rage, killing what seemed like an endless onslaught of Mave. Dinu and Renheart rearranged the ammunition belt on Luther’s shoulders so it continued to feed properly.

  For nearly a full minute, Luther mowed the vermin down as shrieks of agony echoed down the tunnel.

  “They’re retreating! They’re turning back!” Renheart yelled.

  Luther stopped firing, panting heavily. He took an awkward step forward with the heavy weapon and then dropped it. The six-barrel chain gun was orange from overheating as smoke trailed from it.

  “We’ve got them on the run. Come on!” Renheart yelled, leading the way as he rushed toward the gun. “Let’s pick it up, Come on!” Four knights got on each side of the gun. They hoisted the weapon up on their shoulders and carried it like a log.

  “We went through about half of the minigun’s ammo, so we’ve got roughly enough for another minute,” Dinu said, carrying the thick belt of ammunition.

  Luther brought up the rear. He pressed in his eyepiece as a static transmission came in. Corporal Dinu turned around. “Are you making that out, sire?” he asked.

  “Negative,” Luther replied.

  Renheart raised his hand, clenching his fist in the air. “Halt. Put down the gun, now!” he shouted. The knights lowered the weapon as Renheart hurried toward Luther. Renheart, breathing heavily, wiped the sweat from his brow.

  “What is it?” Luther asked Renheart.

  “The population is under heavy attack,” he replied.

  Luther panned around at the hundreds of Mave corpses littering the tunnel. “The Architect flanked us.”

  “Yes. I heard part of the transmission. It was from the sentries at the front entrance. The Architect must have divided her forces and sent another element around behind them. They’re doing everything in their power to hold them off.”

  Knight Clovess ignited his sword, holding the scorching hot blade underneath Luther’s neck. The rest of the knights pulled out their swords in confusion.

  Clovess glared at Luther. “You see? I told you. There comes a point when submission isn’t cowardly. Ever since Vlad destroyed our knight order, we never had a chance—”

  “That wasn’t Vlad’s doing. It was the Architect,” Luther interrupted.

  Clovess shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is you wanted to go down in a blaze of glory, drive your train into the belly of the beast?”

  Luther shook his head. “That’s not it at all.”

  “Then ma
ybe it’s because you realize you’ll never see your son, daughter, or wife again. But you denied us our final moments with our families. I wanted to die defending my wife and my son, to be by their side at the gate, not here. You stole from that me, from us. You stole precious time!” he shouted.

  Renheart stepped forward. “Knight Clovess, lower that weapon. You speak of precious time? Then why is it you waste it? We must devise a plan to—”

  “A plan? What plan? We’re at least thirty minutes from the population. They’re being devoured as we speak!” Clovess shouted.

  “You don’t know that,” Renheart said.

  “I know enough! I heard part of the transmission: the sounds of gunshots, screams from women and children!” Clovess disengaged his sword and dropped to his knee. He began to weep. “We’ve lost everything!” he yelled. The knights’ eyes glossed over.

  “Oh, but you haven’t lost everything,” the Architect’s voice howled from down the tunnel. The knights peered into the corridor as she stood under a light about two hundred meters away. She appeared to be alone.

  “My forces are holding their position at the entrance. There was a small skirmish with the sentries, but they’ve halted at my command. But all I have to do is say the word and my Mave will flood inside and overwhelm them. You’re cut off from your people and you’re alone. You have only one option: kneel before me now and proclaim the Mave as the rightful successor to humanity. Do it and prevent the suffering of thousands,” she explained.

  Clovess looked up at Luther. “My lord, please. We’ve fought long enough—”

  “Shut up!” Renheart yelled, stabbing his finger at Clovess. Luther glanced back down the tunnel and toward the innocents. He turned around and glared at the Architect. After a few seconds, he took a step toward her.

  “Sire?” Renheart said, confused.

  “Drop your sword,” the Architect said. Luther stared at his sword for a moment, then dropped it. He walked down the tunnel, leaving his knights behind.

  “Halt. That’s far enough,” she said, stopping him thirty paces away. “Now, Engineer... kneel!” she commanded.

  Chapter 5

  BACK AT THE ANDROID colony...

  “Is this all of them?” I asked Xena, panning around the hangar bay.

  “Yes, Captain. Seven hundred and nine androids. Every android of the Reclamation is here with the exception of the medical staff attending to the injured nomads,” she replied.

  Leo, Xena, and I stood in front of the dozens of ranks of Kelton androids. Most were dressed in black battle armor and holding assault rifles. They were completely motionless, staring ahead. The room was dead silent.

  “And we have complete control over them, right? No way around it?” I asked Xena.

  “As long as we can protect this body I’ve hijacked, yes. Sylass was for all intents and purposes their commander, so until he’s destroyed, I can control them,” she replied.

  It was odd hearing her voice come from Sylass’s mouth. Even though they were both technically Kelton androids, I had grown accustomed to Xena’s look: her signature short white hair and feminine facial features paired with her tall, powerful build gave her a unique, superhero look. Sylass was cruder and worn down by comparison. He even smelled old, like a pile of dingy clothes.

  I glanced at Leo. “Any word from the Legion?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I’ve heard some static from the sentries. Something about Luther and the knights taking a train back inside the colony? I couldn’t make it out completely.”

  “What? If they’re taking a train back to the colony, that means they left? Why?” I asked, confused.

  “No idea,” he replied.

  “We have to hurry,” I said. My heart raced as I considered the possibilities. What were Luther and the knights doing? There were only a handful of knights and they were old men. It didn’t make any sense to me.

  I nodded slowly. I knew the Legion was under attack, but I had to make sure I wasn’t making a big problem even bigger by forcing these androids to help us. I stepped forward, panning across the sea of android faces.

  I pointed at Xena. “As you are likely aware, I have complete control of Sylass. If you attempt to regain command by reacquiring Sylass by any other means, we will delete the remainder of your cloning research. That’s right. Everything you’ve worked so hard to learn, decades of study, will be lost in an instant,” I threatened.

  Xena leaned toward me. “Uh, Captain, this isn’t accurate. It would take me nearly half an hour to delete all their research files regarding cloning. It’s quite a lot of data,” she said, lowering her voice so only I could hear.

  I grinned. “Thank you, Xena, but they don’t know that,” I replied.

  She paused. “Oh. Oh, of course, Captain. Carry on.”

  I paced back and forth. “The Legion is under siege as I speak. Every android in this hangar maintains the position that the future of mankind is important or else you wouldn’t be here. But I’m curious: why is our survival important to you? Since we’ve discovered your cloning research, I question the true nature of your motives. Does humanity’s survival matter to you because of your own selfish needs, your agenda to reestablish a human bond with your owner, or is it something more? Do you really care whether our species survives outside of your own desires?” I asked, shrugging my shoulders.

  I stared at their ranks for a moment. “I have no doubt that if you wish to disrupt my plans to seize control of your colony that you’ll eventually find a way. But I’m curious: are you in this only for yourselves? I think you could care less about humanity’s survival. Prove me wrong and help us save the Legion and maybe we could renegotiate an alliance. For now, I can’t promise you anything other than you’ll be doing exactly what you claim to be here for—helping humanity. Now, I want those two freighters loaded up with the best android troopers we have! Do it now!” I ordered, raising my voice as it echoed throughout the hangar. I pointed at the two ships behind the androids.

  Xena stared over at me. “We’re holding them hostage, Captain. They don’t really have a choice until they figure out a way around my firewalls, but I have my doubts they found the speech inspiring.”

  I sighed. “Well, did you find it inspiring?”

  “Goosebumps, Captain,” she replied. I smirked as I looked at her skinless features. Dozens of androids hurried toward the ships and filed inside.

  “What about the androids that can’t be transported on the two freighters? That leaves over six hundred android troopers here,” Xena asked.

  I glanced at Leo. He arched an eyebrow. “March them to the Legion. We may need them.”

  I nodded at Xena. “Do it. Order all nonessential android combatants to the Legion. Tell them to double time,” I said.

  “Understood. Relaying your orders now,” she said.

  The remainder of the troopers funneled through a door behind us as I stepped toward the freighters. “Open those bay doors. We leave immediately,” I ordered. Admittedly, I felt a great sense of power with these androids under my thumb. I just hoped we weren’t too late.

  My speech was mostly a lie. I knew the Legion would have no intention of allying with these machines after discovering their cloning ambitions. I wanted them to believe the Legion would be open-minded when I knew otherwise. I needed to repel any ideas they might have of reacquiring Sylass by force. They were likely going to use us as guinea pigs in their research, but not before I used them first. It was a risk, but this entire situation was falling apart at both ends. I had to take drastic measures.

  I quickly marched into the freighter with Xena and Leo in tow. I stopped, glancing over my shoulder as the android troopers crammed inside the cargo bay.

  I noticed the port-side gun I used against the nomads was unattended. I pointed at one of the troopers close to the weapon. “You, get on that gun turret and await my orders,” I commanded. The Kelton obeyed immediately. I was testing their willingness and reaction time.

  Xena
stopped behind me. I turned and stared at her. She cracked a smile. “What is it?” I asked.

  “Captain, I would like to inform you that Titan command is obviously aware of my assistance here,” she said.

  “Oh, I imagine they are,” I said.

  “Yes, well, they would like to spectate using Sylass’s eyes and transmit a video feed back to Titan command,” she said.

  I sighed. “I figured they would simply order you to monitor the situation without telling me,” I replied, wading toward the freighter’s cockpit. There were several android troopers in my way. Their bulky battle armor made it even more crowded. “Excuse me. Pardon me,” I said.

  Xena slumped her head. “Titan did not request permission to monitor these events, Captain, but I am. If you don’t approve, well, I can inform them that the transmission failed,” she said.

  I grinned. “Thanks, Xena, but it doesn’t bother me. As far as I’m concerned, Titan’s contribution to this mission makes all this possible. Without you, these androids wouldn’t be under my command.”

  Xena paused. “Very well. I imagine it’s quite fascinating for our colony on Titan to see what’s going on here, and I want you to know they’re happy to help in any way they can.”

  I nodded and plopped down into the pilot seat as Xena entered the cockpit. “I’m getting déjà vu,” she said, looking over at me as she put her hands on the copilot’s headrest.

  “Not for long. I just had a thought: who’s going to fly the other freighter?” I asked her. I looked to my left and noticed an android stepping into the cockpit.

  “I’m not sure I trust them to pilot that ship,” I said.

  “Fair enough. What about me? Do you trust my piloting skills?” she asked.

  The bay doors opened. “Go ahead. Take the controls away from them,” I ordered.

  Xena’s blue eyes flickered. “I already have. Assuming control over the pilot,” she said. I glanced back at the freighter beside me as the android pilot gave me the thumbs-up and smiled. She was flying in the ship beside me and copiloting right next to me.

  Xena stared over at me. “Multitasking at its finest,” she said.