by Brian Lewis
“Them,” Natia responds. Her face is expressionless and cold. “No doubt she has backup inside. Everyone, mind your surroundings. Acacia knows this place better than everyone not named Khalil.” Natia looks back to see a dozen nodding heads with rifles at the ready.
“Allow me to be the tip of the spear, ma’am? You’re too valuable to our success to be out in front.” Captain Jeska states, placing his hand on her shoulder. “I don’t know what Acacia has with her, but whatever bulldozed through this thick blast door is gonna be trouble.”
Natia nods.
Stepping in front of her, Jeska waves over another soldier; the two of them pull apart what’s left of the door. The corridor is dark with the only supply of light coming from the entry. The deactivated artificial interior lighting doesn’t put Natia at ease.
Jeska enters first, followed by a slow stream of C.O.M.M. soldiers. As they watch them enter, Michael turns to Natia and says, “no matter what happens Natia, it was an honor working beside you. Too bad our vision has been sabotaged by people like Khalil and this traitor. It’s amazing we got New Manden off the ground with people like him sitting at the table.”
“He’s deteriorated a lot. I’m partially responsible, Mike. For years, I ignored the warning signs. His attachment to SAR, the secrecy… all of it. All I cared about was my career and making history by any means necessary.” She shakes her head. “To think I once called him my mentor.”
“He was always an evil bastard Natia, but he hid it well. We’re just now realizing it, so you’re not the one at fault. The man helped found New Manden. No one can fault you for wanting to see the good in him. Though, this will blow up in all of our faces for sure. He’s ruined us.”
As the last soldier enters, Natia and Michael follow them in. Stopping as they enter into the hallway, Natia places her hand on Michael’s shoulder. “Not yet. I have an idea about how we may get out of this still. We have to keep our heads up for Alicia.”
He nods. “For Alicia.”
The group, now inside the compound in full, begins walking down the wide corridor at a slow, but steady pace. All that’s heard is the sound of boots on a wooden floor. Paintings of recreations of the Second Revolutionary War line the walls, they all depict Khalil in a glorious fashion.
“It’s too damn quiet in here.” A soldier mutters.
“Khalil’s living room is up ahead.” Natia points forward. A large double-door stands at the end of the corridor with two shorter hallways splitting to the right and left. They curve around to opposite sides of the main bedroom.
Stopping at the fork, the Officer waves his hand in the air directing his men to go down both ends. “When you’re all in place at your respective doors, set the charges and we storm in.”
Natia kneels onto one knee. “Now we wait.”
Though she tries to maintain her composure for Michael and the rest of the team, her stomach is in knots. The muscles at the front of her throat tighten as she realizes the possibility is real. They can lose the island. Her mind is dominated by thoughts of Subject Alpha and Araba. Despite all that can go wrong, she forces the negativity out of her mind. “The battle isn’t won by those who shoot the most but shoot smartest.” She mutters under her breath.
“I agree.” Captain Jeska, now kneeling as well, looks back and smiles.
“Been a while since people used quotes from the Second Revolutionary War. It’s amazing how quickly people forget the past.”
“I’m a sucker for history.” She returns the smile. “And Khalil indoctrinated me with that quote. So what I can say.”
Jeska puts a finger to the side of his helmet next to his ear where a transparent metallic device seems to materialize from the helmet itself.
He nods. “The charges are set.” He gives a thumbs up to the soldiers at the door in front of him.
“On my signal. Three… two… one. Go! Go! Go!”
Three explosions rock the compound. The blast blows the doors off of Khalil’s massive bedroom suite. A dozen C.O.M.M. soldiers along with Natia and Michael flood in. They all meet at the center of the room above the door that opens to the underground labs.
The room is eerily silent.
Natia looks to the ceiling and sees a circular projector twirling underneath metallic scaffolding. It stops and flashes a beam of light into the middle of the room. The light expands and takes the shape of a face.
It is Acacia’s face. It projects from the floor close to seven feet into the air.
“You were too slow, Natia. As I speak, all the secrets of the ECIC are being transmitted to the NAS.”
Captain Jeska curses and whips up his Orunmila. He taps Natia on the shoulder and shows her that a countdown has been triggered.
Acacia continues. “All this time Natia, you thought you were the smartest person in the room. How does it feel to be outsmarted by me? A regular NAS girl? A victim of New Manden?”
“Oh please! You’re no victim, Acacia.” Natia rebuts.
“Khalil took everything from my family. You won’t believe the number of days I thought about taking his life. Ending it all right then and there. That, however, would’ve spoiled something far greater.”
“There are many of us, and few of you.” Captain Jeska speaks up. “You won’t make it out of here alive. So just give up.”
“That’s what you think.” Acacia laughs. To the left of the group of soldiers, on the balcony outside, a towering and massive android phases into visibility. It takes a loud, bone-crunching step forward and raises its weapon.
Acacia speaks with glowing pride, “What was previously hidden is now seen. Say hello to Aren 7—a new battle android model. Unlike the DCI’s you’ve been seeing lately. The purpose of the Aren 7 is simple—total destruction.”
“So now we know what broke through the front door.” Captain Jeska says aloud. “Get into positions!”
The entire group jumps behind the nearest cover they can find. The seven-foot android begins walking down the steps and opening fire in all directions with a massive chain gun. It sprays out old-style bullets. Nothing like the more advanced MX-87’s used in New Manden—but still deadly effective.
Acacia laughs as the holographic image of her disappears.
“This is a distraction! We have to get down there.” Natia yells at Captain Jeska over the sound of gunfire. They both stand behind two adjacent stone pillars that connect to the ceiling. Natia peers around the column and notices that the android is covered in synthetic dark skin and appears as a giant human being. It wears metallic armor over its skin with a helmet that protects its face. She can see that most of the soldiers are pretty well covered. The thick armor of the android protects it from the MX-87 Shelly’s whose plasma rounds bounce off of its surface.
“That thing is standing right over the entrance, Natia and is eating every round we’re throwing at it,” Jeska yells back over the firefight. He bends around the corner and shoots several rounds at the back of the giant Aren 7 before returning to cover.
Natia peers around the corner as the Aren 7 turns to face the direction of the last shot it took from Jeska. She catches a quick glimpse of Michael who is tucked in a fetal position beneath a glass table.
Oh no… Michael is exposed. If that battle android notices him, he’s done. She thinks. Michael is also a material scientist. He may know how to take this thing down.
The giant android begins opening fire in her direction. Natia can hear the bullets peppering the stone column behind her. She looks over to Jeska who is screaming orders into his Orunmila as he attempts to coordinate a series of attacks on the Aren 7.
A C.O.M.M. soldier lobs a sticky grenade at the Aren 7 that explodes on its back. The giant android stumbles forward slightly and turns in the other direction.
Natia, noticing this, yells, “Michael! Over here!” She waves her hands in the air to get his attention.
Michael looks over, his eyes bulging in fear. Natia waves him over while the Aren 7 is distracted. He rises to h
is feet at a reluctant pace and begins jogging over to her with a limp. That’s when Natia realizes he’s wounded; blood trails every step and she can see that he’s been shot in the leg.
“Oh no, when did this happen?!” Natia screams as Michael limps behind cover.
“Just as it started shooting. I didn’t get down as quickly as I should’ve I guess.” He looks up into her eyes. His face signals defeat and sorrow. “I’m sorry I let you down, Nat.”
“As bad as things are right now, never give up.” She sits him behind the column and removes her long-sleeved shirt, revealing a crop top tee beneath. She wraps the shirt around Michael’s wound. “What can you tell me about that android’s armor?”
Sweat has built up and now covers the span of Michael’s entire face. He breathes laborious breathes and says, “if it’s resistant to those Shelly plasma rounds then it has to be built using Keletronium. Acacia must’ve found a way to funnel some of our minerals to whoever she’s working with.” Michael turns and looks around the edge of the column and notices the soldiers continuing to throw the sticky grenades at the android.
“They have to aim for the feet and freeze the sticky substance instantly to keep him in place. The bonds between Keletronium atoms weaken when frozen, a strong enough shot will penetrate its shell.”
Natia nods in agreement. “Sounds like a plan. Just sit here Michael, this isn’t over yet.”
Natia rolls behind Captain Jeska’s column and tells him what Michael advises based on his knowledge of materials. Jeska agrees and quickly pulls up his blue Orunmila and coordinates a series of grenade attacks on his order.
Natia collects herself as she knows the only gun in the room that can shoot through the Aren 7’s Keletronium armor is Khalil’s old MX-Alpha. It hangs in a transparent case on the wall next to the balcony. She’d noticed it when she first entered Khalil’s room a week ago. She never imagined she’d have to use it. To get to it, she has to run to the opposite side of the room behind each column along the way. I’m going to be in the line of fire, but I’ve been training for this. Natia you can do this.
She gives the thumbs up to Captain Jeska who nods back, so she turns to Michael and forces a grin. “Don’t you die on me,” She yells at him over the firefight.
“I got shot in the leg, Natia. I’ll be fine.” He assures her.
“Now! Now! Now!” Jeska yells into his device. Immediately, the soldiers on the opposite end of the room begin shooting. They mix up the shooting pattern in sync with each other to confuse the android. Natia begins to sprint from column to column until she’s in the peripheral line of sight of the Aren 7. It takes notice and turns, ignoring the other soldiers, and begins shooting at her. She stays a step ahead of the line of death that spits out of the chain gun that trails just behind her, blowing apart chunks of stone in all directions.
At the last second, she leaps behind the final column and protects herself from the android’s shots. Jumping to her feet, she opens the unlocked case and there rests the MX-Alpha. It’s a custom plasma rifle with an extended hand guard and an enhanced chamber. The chamber can contain a higher-than-normal ionic charge for stronger plasma blasts. It also contains a scope that’s heat sensitive and provides the vitals of any organic life form it’s pointed towards. Natia pulls it down from off the wall and uses her strength to heave it up, not realizing how heavy it actually is.
She steps around the corner of the column with no armor on. Just her sleeveless crop top and fitted black pants. “Now!” She screams.
In unison, every soldier in the room throws sticky grenades at the giant android’s feet. In an instant, as it struggles to turn to her, Natia lifts the MX-Alpha shoulder-high and looks through the scope. She presses a button on the lower receiver just above the trigger with her thumb. This activates a freezing component that will turn her plasma shots into bolts that will freeze the gooey substance on contact.
As she aims, she thinks of her team. Oba, Alicia, Michael and of course Araba. She thinks of Subject Alpha and everything she’s fought for up to this point. With the android’s feet in her scope, she pulls the trigger. An icy, blue laser bolts out of the barrel of the MX-Alpha and freezes the android’s feet. She switches the configuration back to default settings in haste. She shoots another round, causing the android’s frozen feet to shatter into pieces.
No longer able to stand, the Aren 7 falls forward onto its knees. Yet it can still return fire. Natia leaps back behind cover. “Somebody throw a grenade at its hands!” Natia yells out a command.
Hearing another series of explosions, Natia turns around and sees the android’s hands covered in the sticky substance. She takes aim using the same sequence as before and watches through the scope as the android’s hands shatter into dozens of pieces. The massive chain gun collapses to the floor. Noticing someone has already thrown a grenade at its head, Natia freezes the substance with her new plasma rifle. She ends the battle with a fatal shot to the head, causing the android’s head to explode.
They all slowly come from behind cover. Those who are still alive are glad to be. Jeska begins counting the dead. “Five. That damn thing killed five of our men.”
Natia walks up to the balcony and notices a panel on the wall leading outside with a button. After she presses it, the floor door to the underground labs opens up leading to Acacia below. “Not to sound careless, Captain, but we have to hurry.”
“You’re right. Four of you take our fallen brothers to the MediBay along with Michael, who is also wounded. The rest of you are coming with me and Natia.”
Natia notices Michael limping from behind cover.
“I told you.” She nods. “Follow them and stay safe until this is over.”
“See you soon,” Michael says. “Make sure you kill her good for me.”
Natia doesn’t hesitate. She begins descending the steps and enters into the subterranean underbelly of the compound. Bright white light emanates in the main tunnel lined with labs on each side. She waits at the bottom as Captain Jeska and a handful of soldiers follow her down. Despite the chaos of the moment, she can’t help but quietly marvel at the craftsmanship of the cavernous underground labyrinth. Glistening white labs dot the entire expanse. Her second time down, Natia notices things she didn’t see before. Sterile silver scientific devices hang from the walls and on top of bright white lab tables. The massive room amounts to a playground for an ageless old man with a God complex.
Natia sees triangular vials containing mysterious substances. Large schematics of mecha she doesn’t exactly understand. She wonders how it is that Khalil can do all this by himself but remembers she’s dealing with a man who has lived nearly 100 years. With the benefits of anti-aging, that’s a lot of time to learn many skills.
“Ready,” Jeska speaks behind her.
“Good. Let’s get this over with.”
Natia and Jeska lead the soldiers down the main tunnel. They don’t stop to gawk at the expensive equipment all around them, though, it crosses Natia’s mind. Everything lies protected behind glass walls in rooms locked by security doors they didn’t have access to.
“We have to assume Acacia has access to some, or all, of these rooms. We don’t, however.” Natia shakes her head with regret.
“Up ahead.”
Natia looks in the direction Captain Jeska is pointing. She sees that one of the lab doors has a flashing green light above it instead of a solid red light as the others. They hurry to the door, and it immediately swings open. Stepping inside, the group notices the room is lined with six rows of high-end computer servers. A single computer terminal is situated on the wall beside the entrance.
“Damn,” Natia says as she looks at the computer screen. “Looks like we’re too late.”
A solid white bar reads ‘100 percent complete.’
“It doesn’t look like this terminal is connected to the internet, thankfully. So she wasn’t able to transmit it like we thought.” Natia sighs with relief.
“It does mean she
has a data-file somewhere with who knows what on it that could lead to disaster if it gets in the wrong hands.”
Natia agrees with Jeska. “We have to find her immediately. She definitely didn’t leave the way we came in. So she’s either still down here somewhere hiding…”
“…or there’s another exit we don’t know about.”
Natia looks at Jeska and nods. She notices a Projection Drone on a table outside in the tunnel. She runs over to it, hoping it works. Pressing a sequence of activation buttons, the drone comes to life. Its pyramidal shape shifts like an old Rubix cube as it hovers in the air.
“Hello stranger, I am Messenger 11. Designed by Endonis Technologies in…” The A.I. begins the standard introduction it is designed to give. When coming into contact with a person for the first time, Projection Drones can be quite long-winded.
“…Yea, so we don’t have time for an introduction Messenger 11. I need you to patch me into Khalil Buhari’s Orunmila. It’s urgent.”
The A.I. calculates the request and accepts it as logical. “Give me one moment. Who do I tell him you are?”
“Natia.”
They wait silently for the sound of Khalil’s voice.
“Natia. What’s going on?” Khalil sounds tired and angry.
“Well, not much. Just the woman you hired stole whatever files you have on these servers down here. She has a data-file, and she’s escaped from what we can tell but we don’t know where to. How’s Araba and our new friend doing?”
There’s a brief silence.
“This isn’t good. We need to get that data-file back.” Khalil ignores her question.
“Tell me how they’re doing now, or you can handle this on your own if it’s so important to you.”
“They’re fine. Here talk to Araba.”
There is another moment of silence.
“Hello? Natia?”
“Araba! How are you? Is the boy well?”
“All things considered. We’re not dead. But Khalil is trying to indoctrinate him into—”
There is a scuffle and a scream of ‘let me go’ when Khalil comes back on. “We don’t have time for this. I’ve been alerted that a KWR aircraft is inbound and mere minutes away. You have ten minutes tops before this gets a lot worse for both of us. If you don’t see her down there, she likely escaped through a small corridor that leads…”
