by M. A. Owens
“Alright, Trigger. Fine. You’ve made your point,” Kerdy said, waving her arms. “Now, can you shut your mouth and follow Mira and I to her tent? We need to talk business, as you’d call it. Your favorite part, right?”
I smiled. “Well, why didn’t you just say so in the first place? Now you’re speaking my language. Lead the way, ladies.”
3
The three of us walked for a while down long stairs made of logs, that Kerdy explained were repurposed from an old railroad track many years ago when they established this base near Arc City.
“Why would the lumber be necessary?” I asked, knowing full well it was probably a stupid question, but neither of them seemed annoyed.
“Runoff,” Mira said. “That, and mudslides. It’s part of the trouble of building in a valley like this. Much easier to defend, but poses some other terrain difficulties.”
“The costs are worth the benefits,” Kerdy added. “We’re difficult to ambush down here, and the mountains on all sides shield us from long-range sensors coming from machine scout hubs and their headquarters, which we think may be underground.”
“Alright. Scout hubs? Long-range sensors?”
Kerdy grinned. “Yes, their scouts make up almost the entire invasion we deal with. Scouts are smaller machines, that vary in shape and size, all of a similar combat capability. Sometimes melee weapons, sometimes guns, though fewer of those these days, so it’s showing they’re running into the same problem we are here.”
“You’re running out of resources,” I guessed.
Mira nodded. “Yes, we are. Truth is, we’ve been out of the comfort zone for many years. That’s why we have so much emphasis on salvaging. That’s why Joy was so against you getting the implant. The machines are better at salvaging, as well as mining resources. They don’t have to eat, either, and they don’t die of old age. We’ve inflicted damage and identified that same damage generations later. Truth is… it’s all kind of inevitable.”
Kerdy grabbed her arm, stopping us in our tracks. “It’s not inevitable. Don’t let me hear you say that again. Understood?”
“Right… sorry,” Mira said, meekly.
Kerdy sighed, releasing her overly tight grip on Mira. “No. No, I’m sorry. It seems that way, doesn’t it? Hopeless. But we have chances now we didn’t have before. We can gain more ground this time, and—”
“But our birthrates are too low to rebuild… Sorry, I’m saying too much again. Sorry, Trigger. Kerdy wouldn’t have kept you here if she thought it was hopeless. Some of us are just downers, I guess,” Mira said, rubbing the back of her neck, staring at the ground.
“I don’t know everything, yet, but I guess I understand where Kerdy’s coming from. When there’s a fight you know you have to fight, losing or winning isn’t what matters. Just the fight. Sometimes, that’s all there is to it,” I said.
Mira looked up and smiled. “Sometimes that’s all there is to it.”
“Almost,” Kerdy said, putting her paw on my shoulder. “It’s not just a fight we have to fight, Trigger. It’s one we have to win. No matter what, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
I laughed. “It sounds like you two are softening me up for a discount! Though, given how big all of this is, I don’t see how a small-timer like me could tip the scale even a little. You sure you aren’t wasting your time?”
“I’m a little older and wiser than you, Trigger. You have to go with your gut, remember? We’re going to win this. Maybe soon, or maybe later if none of this works, but we’re going to win.”
I nodded. “Well, I’m with you, but back to these scouts…”
“Right,” Mira said, resuming a slow pace down the mountain. “For decades, they attack. Then, like clockwork, the attacks slow to a near-halt.”
“Then, we take advantage of the opening to retake as much ground as possible. Seize supplies, scrap, facilities, and more. They abandon them in droves or lower their presence enough that we can assault them,” Kerdy explained. “We’ve lost ground over the years, but we have a few prodigies in this generation, so I think we’ll make up for it. Moss has an assault vehicle he’s been working on for years that’s coming together, and we have several high-speed cycles already operational.”
“Not to mention the old dog,” Mira said, excitedly.
“Old dog?” I asked.
Kerdy shook her head. “Later. We’re overwhelming you already. Let’s stick to the scouts for now, Mira.”
Mira nodded. “Oh… right.”
Kerdy continued. “There was a time we thought they attacked for no purpose at all, but in time we realized their original purpose was to assist humanity with some kind of threat. The one that, as far as we’re aware, wiped them all out.”
I slapped my forehead. “Humanity. Real. Right. This is too doggone much. I’m sorry. I’m trying to keep up.”
Kerdy nodded. “It’s alright. You’ll absorb it in time. There’s so much you city-dwellers don’t know. These machines continue scouring the world looking for the threat, and somehow they believe that we’re it. It’s possible that our kind wiped out humanity but judging by their technology and the few texts we’ve been able to find, humanity created us for some kind of helpful purpose.”
“Created? Gah! Scouts. Staying on the scouts. Robots that attack. Judging by what Arn said, we’re in that period of reduced activity now.”
“You really don’t miss anything, do you? Yes. That’s correct. However, the reason for the reduced activity is so they can pool resources into their primary assault. It’s a giant machine we’ve called the steel colossus. It attacks many of us in a condensed area, then returns to wherever it came from and hibernates,” Kerdy said, looking to the sky, the pain clear on her face.
“How many of these have you destroyed?” I asked.
“Zero,” Kerdy said. “And it seems there’s only one of them. We’ve tried, but we’ve never managed it. In the end, we had to sacrifice, then retreat in smaller numbers. Now, we may no longer have enough to sacrifice. Our numbers have dwindled too low.”
“So, if you don’t have enough to sacrifice,” I started, then the realization hit me, and I stopped in my tracks, my stomach knotting to the point I thought I might be sick. “Arc City. This time, it might destroy Arc City.”
I sat on one of the logs, putting both paws on top of my head.
“Many of the others will be bitter with you, Trigger. Now you understand why. For generations, our people have shielded yours from any casualties. We’ve protected Arc City and allowed the citizens there to never even know any of it exists. We stop the scouts from reaching you, and we’ve stopped the steel colossus many times by fighting it with everything we had, and when we failed the sacrificial settlement draws it away, allows it to complete its mission, and return home,” Mira said.
“And in return, we treated cats like second-class citizens. No better than slaves. Wow… I’m so sorry. No wonder Saul…” I said, feeling more ashamed than I ever had in my life. I didn’t take part in any of it, directly at least, but just knowing my people were responsible, and most of the rest of us turned a blind eye…
Kerdy grabbed my arm, jerking me up off the ground. “I didn’t bring you here to apologize, Trigger. I don’t care. Cats like Saul can live in the past if they want, but I only care about winning this war, and that takes place in the future. So shut up with that dog guilt nonsense. It does nothing for the cats that were mistreated in the past, and it does nothing to help cats now. All it does is make you feel better, by getting it off your chest. Well, shove your apology. I don’t want it. If we can ever get to Mira’s office, I’ll tell you exactly what I want. And I promise you, it is not your ‘doggone’ apology.”
She was right. Exactly right. Words weren’t worth much, and I knew it. Never had been. What a lousy feeling.
“Yeah. Got it. Just that a lot of things make more sense now.”
“Well, good. Cry yourself to sleep over it after we save my people, and Arc City,” Kerd
y said, turning me back toward the path and giving me a not-so-gentle shove.
“If the dogs and cats in the city knew what you’ve done—”
“Someday, they will, but did you miss the part where every single citizen in Arc City might be dead soon? We aren’t doing this for parades and statues.”
“Then why do you do it? Why not escape somewhere else and let Arc City be your decoy? Use Moss’s transportation to go beyond their reach. Why risk everything for Arc City?”
Kerdy sighed. “For one, we don’t know if it’s even possible to go beyond their reach. Two, we established Arc City with the plan of it being a home for all of us someday. It was a ready-made city, and it’s got more than enough room for what’s left of us. Third, and most important, I don’t like losing or giving up. Since when do you?”
“Alright, I’ll cut out the stupid questions… for now,” I said.
Kerdy didn’t seem convinced I’d hold on to that promise, and I couldn’t say I blamed her. I’d done nothing but ask questions since I woke up, and I haven’t even scratched the surface of everything I had on my mind.
“No, it’s fine. Ask all the questions you like, but try not to get overwhelmed. There’s going to be a lot to go over, and time is short. I know you’ll want to get back to Arc City as soon as possible, and I’m afraid our time here is running out. If Joy and I are correct, we’re just weeks away from an appearance. Tomorrow, we’re launching an operation to retake land and resources ahead of the battle.”
Mira put her paw up to one side of her mouth. “Pst. Shouldn’t we be saving the details for when we get to my office, Commander?”
“Ugh! Right, if we can get Wobbly Paws down these steps sometime today,” Kerdy said, giving me a gentle shove again.
“Joy said we should be careful not to push him very hard today! What if you make him fall and he breaks something again?” Mira said, reaching out to steady me.
“This dog? Hah! He’s been through just about as much wear and tear as our warriors. I think he enjoys it.”
“‘Enjoy’ might be pushing it, Kerdy. Trouble seems to follow me around, and yeah, maybe I’m guilty of causing it sometimes when it fails to show up. I think I’ve got a real problem with authority. Keeps causing me a lot of hassle.”
Kerdy laughed. “Problem with authority? You? Say it isn’t so.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Mira nudged me as we finally reached the base of the mountain. “See that big tent just ahead? That’s my ‘office’.” Seeing the look on my face, she anticipated my question. “Right… you have buildings in the city, made of wood, brick, and other sturdier materials. You’re probably wondering why we have such advanced technology, but we’re keeping these precious supplies in flimsy tents.”
“Took the words right out of my brain. Was trying to resist the urge to ask,” I said, grinning.
“We trust each other here. Everyone fights the same enemy, and we all count on one another to survive. The odd cat who breaks our rules is a very rare exception. We don’t have a prison here. Just a small holding tent in the rare case it’s needed. The weather is mild, as you know, and these tents are far stronger than you’re likely thinking. The most important reason? It’s what we have. You’ll see once we get inside. We have a large stockpile of these tents from an old military surplus warehouse that got raided decades ago. They’re also easy to move if we need to relocate in a hurry, which may happen soon.”
I nodded along as she spoke. “Right. Makes sense. Thanks for explaining.”
Mira smiled. “Well, I’m sure we’re about to create a lot more questions in just a moment.” When we arrived at the door of the large tent we’d been approaching, she pushed it aside with one paw, motioning Kerdy and I inside with the other. “Commander. Detective. Welcome to my little corner of our camp.”
4
‘Little corner’ must be outsider slang for ‘enormous chunk’. This tent was by far the largest of all of them, and it organized every manner of item in far-reaching rows as far as I could see. Some were shelved neatly. Others were piled to the ceiling. There’s no way this dame could have any idea what was in here… could she?
“Impressive,” I said, craning my neck to look all around. “I have no idea what I’m looking at mostly, but it’s impressive.”
“Thank you,” Mira said, smiling sweetly, pointing to a desk that was positioned to our left as we entered, with several chairs opposite. “Have a seat.”
Kerdy and I sat, and Mira tapped a glowing orb resting on top of her desk, causing an image that looked to be made of light to appear in front of us. I nearly fell out of my chair.
“What’s that thing?” I asked, prompting a sigh from Kerdy.
“My VS,” Mira said, before shaking her head. “Oh, sorry. Virtual system. It connects to my database where I log and organize all the inventory.”
“Log… right. Virtual. Like that, well…” I scratched my chin. “It’s like a television, but you can control what’s inside?”
Mira squinted, looking thoughtfully at the glowing orb in front of her. “Yeah, sort of. It’s like an electrical brain that I can add memories to and look at them whenever I want.”
I took a deep breath. I understood. Sort of. Not really, but sort of.
“Let’s just get down to business,” Kerdy said.
“Right,” Mira responded, enthusiastically. “Commander, I’ll let you explain the job first. Then we’ll get into compensation.”
Kerdy nodded. Great, the moment I’d been waiting for.
“I want you to join the reclamation efforts. Usually, we’re only concerned with reclaiming the resources and grabbing whatever puts us back in the fight. That’s not enough anymore. We need intel. We need to learn the secrets that will allow us to end it once and for all. Normally, that takes our full focus, and we don’t spare a single specialist. You’re not some sort of ‘chosen one’, if that’s what you’re thinking, but inquisitive minds that don’t miss details are rare. The only cat I know that’s on your level in unraveling mysteries is Nightshade. This was going to be her job only. But since I don’t believe in accidents or coincidence, that’s changed. Now that you’ve shown up at this point in the fight, I want you to join her.”
“With all due respect, Kerdy, I’ll be frank with you. I’m a fish out of water here. Everything I see is blowing my mind. Not saying ‘no’, just so we’re clear, but feels like I’d just annoy a cat like that with a lot of questions she already knows the answer to. Maybe if I had a few months to get up to speed, but weeks—”
“Maybe less,” Kerdy interrupted.
“Or maybe less. Right. Well, I’ve blew open a few high-profile cases lately, but that was in my pond, ladies.”
Kerdy sighed, looking to Mira, then back to me. “This is about Arc City’s predicament, isn’t it? You want to get back there as quick as you can, because the fight there is sensitive too. Everyone you care about is in danger. Not to mention, they think you’re dead. All that’s true but let me remind you of two things. First, none of that matters if the colossus turns Arc City into rubble and kills everyone in it. Second, while we have rules that forbid us from exposing our technology and the truth to city-dwellers, there are no rules in place that prevent us from giving ourselves quiet advantages in the city. Advantages, like that new eye of yours. If it can be hidden or kept secret, you can take it back to the city with you. Obviously, that includes knowledge.”
“I don’t think the knowledge I gain out here is going to help me much in there,” I said, raising a brow.
“Don’t be so sure about that,” Mira said with a wink.
“I want to know why they are attacking us. It’s been too long for us to not know this already. We have access to much of human history in our archives, but there’s a blind spot of several decades where we assume the catastrophe took place, and they created these machines. I also want to know where their regional command center is. If we can learn that we have a chance. It’s a grain of sand in the
desert, but it’s a chance. We could make one last assault and use the key to permanently disable their system once we’ve built up enough resources, assuming we survive the attack.”
“Assuming we survive the attack. Right. Making me feel real optimistic, Kerdy. Sounds like I don’t have much of a choice. But what’s new, right? Guess it doesn’t do much good to make that point to you cats, though. You’re doing all this for the same reason.”
“Alright. First condition. If I’m going to be here for a while, I want you to train me to fight. Your advanced style, not our city stuff.”
Kerdy grinned. “Interesting. Not a request I was expecting. I can’t work miracles, and you are smaller and significantly weaker than our warriors…”
I frowned, nodding. She was right. We’d need a lot of time to make anything of that. “Alright, so we’ll—”
“Let me finish,” she said, raising her paw. “But I can certainly make you formidable by city-dweller standards within the time we have. You’ve already made a huge gain from the injection I gave you. Besides, it’s a bonus for me to kick you around for an hour a day. You can join Arn for physical conditioning each morning, and you’ll follow his instructions to the letter if you do. I can instruct you in combat each evening, alongside the new warriors. Know that you won’t be able to keep up with them, and you will struggle the most. This training is grueling, even for them. For you, it will be like torture. Still, you will learn. I’d offer you one-on-one training, but I can’t spare that time away from everything else. You may not be able to spare the time for it either.”
“Understandable. Works for me. I’ll need every advantage I can get when I go back to the city,” I said.
