by Ehsan Ahmad
She then encountered two more Palanians kneeling in front of a compartment. At first, she thought they were praying. Then she realized they were pleading with their son. Cerrin recognized him: Maxis, the youngest child in Mine Three. The Vitaari sometimes used him to clean inaccessible parts of their machines.
The father turned toward the light and stood.
Cerrin had attached a strap to the top half of her spear. She hung it from her shoulder as she approached. “What’s wrong?”
“The tunnel,” whispered the man. “He can’t do it. He can barely stand the mines.”
“He must.”
“He can’t. He will scream.”
“You cannot stay here.”
“You think I don’t know that?” hissed the Palanian. “Thanks to you and your friends, we have no choice.”
“Gag him—do whatever you have to. But we are all leaving. Now.”
“You really are a heartless b—”
Cerrin felt something brush past her. She turned the light and watched Yarni go and stand with the mother, in front of Maxis.
“You can do it,” said the girl. “I’ve been through the tunnel. All the way.”
In fact, she had only been through half of the first section: a test to see if the eight children in Block A could manage it. But even she had found it difficult, and Cerrin knew that only fear and relentlessness from her and the others would ensure they got the children and everyone to the river.
Realizing she could do no more good there, she continued her search.
Sonus placed the rifle and the pack in the storage space inside the shell. The main fuel tank was full, and the extra tank attached, along with the other modules. The deflector field pod didn’t look particularly impressive: a circular device studded with bronze-colored nodes that had attached itself to the top of the shell. The assault cannons were double-barreled units mounted on the forearms, each with a loading tube running back to the magazines. Affixed to the rear of the shell on one side of the exterior storage pod was the seeker missile system. Sonus had watched as each of the five projectiles was loaded. The half-meter long cylinders were green apart from a single band of orange around the middle; they appeared rather innocuous.
With a final glance at the shafts of sunlight now filtering through the high windows of the main door, he stuck the com-cell into the top pocket of his overalls. He then stepped up into the voluminous interior of the combat shell. His first job was to locate the left-hand sensors, which controlled the vehicle’s basic functions. As soon as he reached into the upper arm, a flexible ring fitted itself around his middle finger.
The language was set to Vitaari. There were two steps to complete before anything else. He moved the finger, which in turn moved the indicator on the main screen across a series of option boxes.
security>safety>ally restrictions DISABLE
Sonus had permitted the shell to fire on those carrying ID cards. It unfortunately meant that any other shell could also fire on him, but he didn’t plan on leaving any of them usable.
security>command>exterior control override DISABLE
Sonus knew from the manual that shells could be remotely controlled via not only the support station but another hub. He had no idea if the Vitaari had such equipment in the tower, but he wasn’t about to risk it.
pilot>position>comfort ENABLE
The flexible padded interior of the shell moved like something organic, fitting itself to Sonus’s frame. Straps snaked across his chest and around his legs to hold him in place. He was lifted up at least a foot so he would have a good view through the cockpit window and the main screen mounted beneath it. The arms came up until they were horizontal.
control>terrain ENABLE
Sonus felt movement around his feet—the walking sensors taking their place. He could now move the shell simply by lifting his feet: the machine would replicate the movements.
His next command closed the cockpit door. Sonus took his last few breaths of unregulated air, which reminded him to make a further adjustment he had forgotten.
pilot>environment>detect MODIFY
After hours of studying the manual, he’d eventually realized this was the way to make the shell adjust to the breathing habits of a body type it might not recognize. The door clicked shut, and the interior lights came on.
Sonus paused for a moment. His first few breaths seemed normal, but then his throat became tight, as if he wasn’t getting enough air into his lungs. Then it seemed as if there were no air in the shell at all. He glanced at the screen.
modifying…
He began to feel faint.
control>cockpit>
The next breath was better, though the air tasted odd. He left the controls alone and waited until his head cleared.
“Nullerik? Where are you? We cannot see you. Nullerik, report.”
Sonus knew there was no use continuing the pretense. He reached into the right arm. Two rings attached themselves to his hand: one to his thumb, one to his middle finger. Movement of the thumb dictated direction commands in all three dimensions. Movement of the finger indicated the pace of that movement.
He double-checked that he hadn’t yet enabled the flight controls, not knowing what effect that might have while still on the ground.
flight motivator>status
-active-
As soon as Sonus enabled the controls, he could take off.
The broad window seemed go hazy, then abruptly cleared itself. Dread gripped him as he spied a beam of flashlight light outside the armory door. Soon there were several. Any one of the Vitaari could open the door with their IDs.
display>tactical
Green symbols and lines appeared on the window.
weapons>all ARM
equipment>defense>field ENABLE
The field could run for five hundred seconds at full power. Sonus wanted to be away from Fourteen without using more than half of that.
control>automated evasion sequence ENABLE
The last command instructed the shell to switch to auto-pilot in the event of an incoming missile or other heavy ordnance. Sonus knew some of the guards’ rifles fired more than just bullets. With no time to consider navigation, he made one more command.
sensors>audio>exterior MAGNIFY
He could hear the Vitaari shouting.
He lifted his left foot, then the right. His legs barely reached into the top of the shell legs so there was little sense of walking, only moving forward as if suspended in mid-air. A sideways movement with the right foot initiated a turn in that direction, which the shell carried out independently.
When they entered, the Vitaari would be looking ahead, toward the support station. He would attack them from the side.
Cerrin knelt beside Yarni. She, Sadi, and the girl were standing together in darkness beside Block A. Kannalin had just taken another group of five to the tunnel. He’d reported that sixty were now with Erras, waiting inside the mine for the others. No one would make for the surface or head for the river until Cerrin and Sadi began their attack. Those who could not face the tunnel had taken themselves to the back of the queue. Trantis was inside the block with the last few.
“You can go to the tunnel now,” Cerrin told Yarni. “To help that boy and anyone else you can.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be along soon.”
“Will you show me the forest?”
“Of course. Now go.”
The girl was soon swallowed up by the darkness. Cerrin stood. “By the time we’re ready, they should all be underground.”
As well as their spears, both women were also carrying two signal flares. They had already discussed their route many times. Cerrin, who had crept around the compound during previous escape attempts, led the way.
There were small lamps placed at regular intervals upon the wall and more powerful lights illuminating the space around buildings, but whole swathes of the compound wer
e left dark. The Vitaari generally deployed only three sentries outside the mine, and Cerrin and Sadi were yet to see any of them.
They ran along the side of the block, then cut across to the landing strip. Reaching the cover of a loading machine, they paused and looked up at the tower. They saw no Vitaari at the windows; it was almost as if they were the only ones in the compound.
“The guards?” whispered Sadi.
“I know. I don’t like moving farther until we know where they are.”
From what she’d observed, one would always patrol near the armory, also keeping watch on the generator station and the barracks. Another would stay fairly close to the tower, and the third wouldn’t stray far from the main gate.
“Come on.”
Hunched low, they used the endless rows of fuel barrels to hide them as they jogged along the side of the strip. These containers were no good to them: hard to move and impossible to lift.
Cerrin suddenly felt a hand slap her back. As she halted, Sadi came up beside her. “Look there, past the corner of the warehouse.”
The two Vitaari were standing together, half-illuminated by a lamp. Their position was roughly halfway between the tower and the gate.
“That just leaves the armory guard. He won’t move far. Let’s get the barrels.”
They hurried across the middle of the strip, straight to where they knew the smaller barrels were kept. Though a quarter the volume of the standard containers, the women were only just able to lift them—but they could easily be rolled along on their side.
“Remind me again,” said Cerrin, who was never confident with anything complicated made of metal.
Sadi took her hand and put it on the lid of the closest barrel. “Find the cap—turn it twice clockwise, then it should detach.”
Cerrin had told herself to think of clockwise as to the right.
“Make sure it’s laying on its side first. Some of the fuel will leak out, which is what you want. Drag it away to create some distance for when you light it. Then the flare. Take the end with the hollow. Reach inside and pull off the protective strip. Then just push down on the stud. Make sure you’re well away from the barrel when you do it. And remember how bright it will be. Throw it onto the fuel and get out of there.”
“Got it.”
“Remember where you’re going to leave it?”
“By the side door, where the protection is weakest.”
Cerrin glanced up at the sky. The first smudges of dawn light were beginning to appear. She had a lot farther to travel than Sadi.
“I should go.”
“Cerrin, listen, if I have time, I’ll move some more barrels in—we might be able to put the tower out of action permanently.”
They had agreed Sadi would act first.
“With the two guards near the gate, I’ll have to go the back way.”
“Agreed.”
Sadi gripped Cerrin’s shoulder. “See you at the tunnel.”
primary weapon>assisted aim>threat identification ENABLE
Sonus waited until the last possible moment. The tactical display superimposed green boxes over each of the Vitaari guards as they approached the armory. The door finally reached the top with a metallic thud.
A large red circle appeared at the bottom of the main screen. Sonus moved the indicator over it.
He heard shouts. One of the Vitaari had seen him—he turned his weapon toward the shell.
Sonus tapped his finger down.
The shell’s arms juddered. Artificially dimmed flowers of light bloomed from the assault cannons.
The green boxes turned to green Xs as the cannons shredded the guards. The weapons readjusted constantly, moving to the next target, then the next. The Vitaari bodies were blown backwards. Limbs, weapons, and helmets flew through the air.
Sonus tapped on the circle again, and the firing stopped.
Somehow, one of the Vitaari was still standing. He lurched into the armory and fell face first onto the floor. His rifle spun away into a corner. His outstretched left arm was missing a hand. Black blood seeped out from under him.
Sonus moved his feet, and the shell stomped out of the armory. He closed his eyes and cringed when he realized he was walking across the bodies, but it made no difference to the vehicle.
Feeling suddenly vulnerable once outside, he checked the main screen. The shell’s sensors were picking up what looked like dozens of Vitaari on the move, but he couldn’t actually see any of them.
The side of the tower was dead ahead. The door opened, and administrators ran—in several different directions. The tower would have to wait: that was not his first target.
Turning the shell to the right, Sonus walked it toward the mine to get some distance. Just as he began to turn back toward the armory, he heard a tapping somewhere behind him. A beep sounded, and the display showed a flashing target to the rear. Realizing the tapping was probably rifle fire striking the shell, he continued the turn.
The guards found cover quickly, running straight into the armory. That helped him.
secondary weapon>target select
He aimed the indicator at the center of the armory. Another green square appeared, then the red dot. He tapped down.
At first, he thought the system had failed. Then he heard a popping sound from above him, and something orange streaked straight through the doorway and into the building.
The blast lit up everything in front of him, and he felt the shell rock back. By the time he’d opened his eyes and the window had adjusted itself, flames and thick black smoke were pouring out of what was left of the armory. A ragged hole had been torn in the roof.
-target destroyed-
By the Maker. The power of this killing machine is incredible.
Again came the popping sound of rifle fire hitting the shell.
control>flight ENABLE
Sonus moved his thumb upward. A cold hollow formed in his stomach as the vehicle rose off the ground. The noise and the display told him that the shell was still taking fire, so he pushed his finger forward.
Too fast.
His head was thrown back but protected by the cushioned interior. Stomach twisting, head buzzing, he heard a different tone of warning. A voice spoke in Vitaari.
“Proximity warning, proximity warning.”
Only now did he realize he was still flying up. The quickest method of stopping was to tap the rings together.
The shell halted itself smoothly.
All Sonus could see was snow. Then he looked to the right and spied gray slabs of stone: he was staring at Mount Origo.
He checked his altitude: one hundred five meters.
The tower.
The Vitaari would be alerting the other mines of the attack. He had to strike now.
The tactical display wasn’t showing any targets. He looked at the main screen. It also showed nothing but darkness and sheeting snow. He couldn’t remember how to instruct the sensors to focus on a distant target.
In desperation, he simply moved his thumb down, descending slowly at first, then quicker to a height of forty meters. By then the shell had automatically worked out what he wanted to see.
Lights were coming on all over the compound. He glimpsed figures running from every building. The armory fire seemed to have already spread toward the generator station.
He aimed the missile at the base of the tower and fired.
This time, he followed the streak all the way in. The blast sent flame, dust, and material in every direction.
-target destroyed-
The shell swayed slightly. Sonus remembered he could alter the pitch and adjusted it so he was looking down at the compound.
The lights at the top of the tower seemed to be moving. They lurched one way, then the other, then the entire structure fell. The top landed close to the main gate, debris smashing into the wall. A section of scaffolding bounced across the compound and came to a rest on the generator stat
ion fence. The resulting cloud of dust actually dampened the fire at the armory, but there were now pockets of flame all over, some not far from the landing strip.
Suddenly, Sonus could hear how hard he was breathing. He knew only two or three minutes had passed since the armory doors had opened. The destruction he had wrought seemed beyond comprehension.
The alarm pierced his ears.
-auto evade-
The shell seemed to drop out of the air. It hadn’t fallen far when Sonus felt as if he had been kicked in the back. Snow streaked past the cockpit as the shell blasted itself forward. Then it veered away to the right. Sonus spied the streaky surface of the mountain coming closer.
Closer.
Too close.
“No!” He actually put his hands up, as if that would do anything.
The shell abruptly dropped straight down again, then he heard a booming explosion from above. What he guessed to be fragments of rock showered the top of the shell. One cracked the window, but it didn’t break. The shell swayed from side to side again, then stopped.
-auto evade sequence complete. move to regain control-
Water sprayed onto the screen and a small rod moved across it, cleaning off dust.
Sonus found himself looking at a shadowy hollow within the rock face. He noticed now that the shell did not quite hover smoothly but bobbed up and down as if it were in water.
He spun it around and adjusted the pitch. Far below him, Mine Fourteen burned. He counted eight pockets of flame, the worst of which was where the tower had stood just seconds earlier.
He was so far above the compound that the shell was taking its height reading from the plain—one hundred three thousand meters.
With a moment to breathe, all he had studied began to return to him.
sensors>long-range FULL SPECTRUM
While the systems did their work, Sonus eased the shell away from the rock face and began to descend. He spied the most southerly light on the plateau: the one at the top of the walkway. He imagined Orani hearing the first explosion, the others running out of the caverns.
