The power storm raged on for another day and a night, blowing sand and debris pounded against the sides of the dome where the two humans and the little mutant sheltered themselves, now and then cries from some Outland creature howled in the windstorm and heavy footfalls could be heard outside the dome causing Jon and KT to aim their weapons towards the entryway and hope that their hiding place wouldn’t be found. Then after what seemed like an eternity of waiting Sunbirth rose on the second day and all was quiet.
KT-7 and Jon-29 spent that time resting, eating and engaging in mating procedures, Jon enjoyed this very much and so did KT-7 and she did have to admit that her pupil paid very close attention to her lessons in body language and pleasure centers and it was with some reluctance they agreed to leave their temporary home and continue their quest for a land of peace and plenty.
“Where is my knife?” KT said and she adjusted her survival uniform and attached her carry belt, “I laid it there”, pointing to a broken bit of wall metal.
“Weapons do not walk” Jon replied as he pulled on his heavy boots.
“But I recall putting it down on that spot right before we….” Picking up an empty ration pack the young girl saw the handle of her blade sticking out of the sand, “you see I was correct”. she put the weapon back in its scabbard strapped to her leg then pick up the assault rifle nearby, “are you equipped?”
Jon adjusted his belt and grabbed his rifle, “I am prepared to continue”, then he lifted his hand, “Gripper?”
“Online”.
“Report on your condition” he asked.
“I was not programed for prolonged contact with enemy combatants” the arm replied.
“KT seven is no longer an enemy combatant; you will reassign her with a new designation” Jon ordered.
“Waiting recognition designation?” the arm asked.
Jon-29 had to think this over for a moment or two, “female will be designated as friend”.
“Neg” the arm replied, “there is no such designation in my programing”.
“Then designate her as none hostile”.
This term was also rejected by the mechanical appendage, “Neg, I have data on her combat skills and high level of destructive capabilities”.
Again Jon had to consider his words but after some considerations he finally had an answer, “Classify her as weapons expert”.
The arm could find no reason to reject this order, “affirm, new designation, weapons expert”.
Jon-29 seemed happy with this answer and began to move towards the entryway as Fixer walked behind him, the little man supported something over his shoulder in a carry pack.
“What so you convey in the pack?” Jon asked seeing the Pig-man struggling with the heavy burden.
“Supplies” the humanoid answered not wanting to have his little secret exposed and then ordered to leave the hologram device behind.
This caused Gripper to ask another question, “Query, what is repair creature designation?”
Jon turned to look at the little Pig-man then shook his head, “I will classify him at a later time period”, and then he turned to the Runner who sat unmoving thru the duration of the storm, “command march!’ he called out and without hesitation the humanoid rose to his feet and trudged out of the chamber followed by KT-7, Fixer and Jon-29.
Outside the air was clear with only a few wispy clouds hanging in the yellow sky, but looking around the companions could see the damage caused by the powerful tempest, there was several feet of sand piled up around the heavy truck, the huge wheels were half buried and there was a great deal of silt covering the weapons platform, but for all the damage that had been done by the driving winds they also uncovered long forgotten relics.
The metal dome that had been their home wasn’t a fragment of forgotten machinery; it was the skull of a colossal robot whose rusted and pitted body stretched out behind it like some huge metallic god. One great arm was buried in the earth but the other extended upward with gigantic fingers as if to grab the blazing sun and hold it in his monstrous hand.
Looking at the fallen giant KT couldn’t help but feel sorry for the phantom creature that dwelled within it and although it wasn’t a comrade or member of her tribe she offered up a prayer to the old man.
“May he someday find his shadow” she said softly, but KT knew that there was little time for sentiment, “we have work to do”.
Fixer placed the carry pack holding what remained of the old man in the back of the Land-master then following his superior officers he began the arduous task of removing the silt from their transport.
Once again Jon spoke to his hand, “Gripper, Dig”.
“I was not programed for soil removal” the hand replied, but his answer went unheeded as Jon dug deep into the sand.
Far from them another machine was recovering from the tempest, Mother had overseen the repairs to her systems through the blast storm, the Repair-bots had worked unceasingly, first they recovered useable materials from the Delta-1 destroyer, its main control chamber had been eliminated but it had an abundance of weapons and power cells that the Roach program made use of but more than that it still had all of its Repair-bots, hundreds of them and they weren’t the simple but effective class three repairers that Mother commanded, they were Alfa-A types, three times larger with multiple servo arms equipped with high standard phase welders and multi-task manipulators, along with these useful restoration robots there were carriers, loaders, programmers and a host of other machines that were only available on level two and above combat units.
Mother herself also benefited from the destroyed war-machine, the Roach program found intelligence and command programs that doubled the efficiency and power of the main controller and she was now able to regulate her functions with greater accuracy and interaction with her newly added mechanisms.
Power also gained for there were banks of undamaged power cells that could supply energy for much longer periods and solar collectors that would add their input to storage, these units were placed in a separate moveable section on the main tank and the collection panels had armor plating that could be drawn down over them for protection in battle.
But by far was the advancement in armaments, Weapons had its main gun restored and that alone would have been enough but the Roach program added three more multi-phase cannons and several level two disruptors, there were also two Sky-fire blasters with advanced targeting and loading programs. Adding to this the whole tank was recoated with tri-borigan armor plating over a strengthened hull and the two huge claws were given greater flexibility and four separate retrieval tentacles that could reach out and grab objects surrounding the hull. Sensors, targeting, maneuverability, protection, all of it repaired and waiting for commands from Mother.
The main control room had also undergone changes, it had tripled in size and was now filled with dozens of added readout screens and devices, these mechanisms would control the working of the battle tank and relay information to the main control programs and they in turn would process that data and convey it to Mother.
“Systems report” she ordered.
“Weapons online, armaments active, advancements in weapons have increased our destructive capabilities by a factor of ten”.
“Power online, energy cells fully charged, solar collectors will be deployed when needed”.
“Repairs completed” Roach reported, “all systems upgraded and Repair-Bots are contained”.
“Affirm” Mother replied, “We will now activate temporary replacement driver”.
In the center of the newly restored control chamber laying on its back on the advanced command chair was creature never before seen, it resembled a Scavenger with thickly muscled arms and legs but its torso was surrounded by a form fitting uniform or sorts, and from this newly quarried garment ran a long umbilical cord and several large conduits, these tubes ran to containers of liquids and other materials that supplied the cr
eature with nutrients and other needed fluids. The head of the thing wore a helmet that covered most of its cranium and like the uniform it also had multiple cords and wires running from it, the face still bore a resemblance to Jon-29 but it was now more defined with a smaller jaw and brows, under the chin was a round metal object, a voice analyzer that could control communications that the primitive voice box of a mutant couldn’t.
“Replacement command driver online” Mother said, and suddenly the eyes of the creature opened and a rasping voice answered her.
“Yes Mother” the thing said quietly, “activating systems now”.
The chair began to rise up into a sitting position and as it did several readout screens surrounded it and the hand controllers moved into the open palms of the strange driver, once the chair was stable the replacement driver spoke again.
“All systems online, waiting orders”.
But seeing that the main controller had restored the Scavenger brought an instance response from the other systems.
“Warning!” Weapons said, “Reactivation of sub-human will compromise our safety, insist that it be terminated at once!”
But Mother responded quickly, “creature is no longer sub-human, he has been reprogramed with higher intelligence to a factor of three and is now capable of command drive and will be a temporary replacement to original driver”.
Now it was Power’s turn to comment, “concur with Weapons, it is a dangerous use of energy to activate this replacement, he cannot be trusted to complete orders and should be terminated”.
“Neg!” Mother insisted, “Replacement driver is needed and will remain, his designation shall be Jon twenty nine A”.
“Your logic factors are malfunctioning” Weapons said, “your affection for the original bio-genetic humanoid has overridden your central programing”.
“Concur” Power added, “remove replacement driver at once!”
Now it was Mother’s time to make an ultimatum, “newly acquired programing has given me advanced interaction, it is now possible to replace weapons and power systems and command this attack unit as a singular entity”.
Being informed that they could be eliminated forced the two systems to reconsider their previous demands.
“Affirm” Power said, “Replacement driver will remain at station”.
Now it was Weapons time to submit, “Concur with Power, replacement driver is acceptable”.
With the compliance of the other command systems Mother checked her programing then when she was certain that all was in order she spoke.
“We will now continue search for original command diver Jon twenty nine”.
With a low rumble the renovated war-machine began to move, slowly at first as it emerged from the confines of the Delta-1 destroyer, as it broke free of its hiding place and moved into the sunlight it no longer resembled the relatively small attack unit that only a few days before sought shelter from its enemies. This machine was three times its original size and bristling with armaments and power supply, it was now in two segments; the forward section was heavily armored and bore most of the weaponry. The later part was the power supply with rows of large solar collectors and a mechanism that allowed it to be covered in plating should it be needed, the separate units were attached to each other with a hitching configuration that allowed it to transvers uneven terrain with ease. The whole machine was propelled by eight sets of hefty clawer trends each one powerful enough to topple a building.
“Jon twenty nine A, you will set vectors with scanners to find original command driver” Mother ordered.
“Yes Mother” it said, and holding his large hands on the controllers he pushed forward and the great machine moved.
The powerful engines began to scream and the metal monster slowly moved away from the destroyed relic.
“We have a target!” the scanner technician called out pressing the alarm button.
Immediately the control room of the Armageddon came alive with activity, other engineers scrambled to coordinate their systems to seek and destroy this new enemy.
But the one person who should have been in the command chamber wasn’t, the Commander had taken a relaxation period and was busy in his private chamber attached to the main control room, there he lay upon a soft cradle surrounded by several naked male and female pleasure units.
“Target?” he called out as he bolted upright, “someone bring me my leg!”
The Commander always removed his mechanical leg when he pleasure engaged, he found the replacement appendage cumbersome and it got in the way of his activities with his genetically enhanced companions. Now those pleasure units scrambled to attached the leg to their leader and help him to his feet.
“Out of my way!” he screamed as he pushed his way through the naked bodies, he stumbled a bit as his metal leg accustomed itself to the rapid pace of the human then the door opened to the control room and the Commander hurried to his chair, he was still naked but that didn’t matter to the Senior officer as long at their was an enemy to destroy all other concerns were secondary.
“Configuration of target” he called out.
“Target is of an unknown type but has elements of last target” the scanner-tec said.
“Heading of target?”
“Target is moving on a vector of seven nine one”.
With an enemy within reach the Commander’s face showed a steel toothed smile, “set vectors to intercept”.
But that smile didn’t last long as the mapping specialist reported, “sir, that heading will collide with a massive fault line and depression, suggest an alternative vector to intercept”.
The Armageddon was the most powerful force in the Outlands but even it had to sometimes bend to the will of nature, with a deep canyon blocking its path there was no way to reach its objective swiftly, it had to go around.
“Very well” the Commander said, “adjust vectors to intercept as soon as possible and it there is any snafu I will very unhappy”.
The Leader sat back in his chair and began to tap his metal foot on the floor then looking down he realized that he wasn’t wearing any clothes, “someone bring me my uniform!” he screamed.
The massive battleship rose up from the windblown sand and moved forward sending Night-wings and other flying creature into the air, it moved slowly but relentlessly each segment of its titanic structure trailing behind the one in front.
The reconstructed battle tank traveled over the open terrain until the sun was directly overhead, it passed broken relics and other cast off hulks of forgotten wars and the bones of huge creatures lying entwined with metal enemies and at last it found what it was looking for.
“Scanners have detected life forms at vector five point three” Mother reported, “set vectors to those coordinates”.
“Yes Mother” the auxiliary driver responded.
The movements of the reconstructed Scavenger was much slower than Jon-29’s, the truth was his massive arms and legs weren’t designed to be quick moving and accurate like the genetically enhanced humans, but he did fulfill a requirement to the main controller and she would overlook his faults if it met those needs.
“Energy cells are at maximum capacity”, Power reported, “Solar collectors are functioning at ninety eight percent”.
“All weapons online and fully changed”, Weapons added, “but caution is advised, tactical situation is unclear, Jon twenty nine may be compromised and must be considered a possible threat”.
“Understood” Mother replied, “concerns about loyalties of original command driver are unfounded but we shall proceed in full tactical mode and prepare for recue, primary order, return driver unit Jon twenty nine to command chair, secondary order, destruction of Outrider unit holding driver hostage”.
“Concur” Weapons replied.
“Concur” Power added.
With all systems in agreement the huge war-machine moved for
ward at all possible speed.
“We’re stuck” KT-7 said as she leaned against her excavating tool, removed her helmet and wiped her face, “we’ve been digging all morning and were still scrapped”.
“We must keep removing sand” Jon said, “to resigned is to concede victory”, it was easier to say this because he had the help of his mechanical arm to aid him in digging, but even Gripper was reaching his limits.
“I was not programed for this labor” the arm said, “my power cell is overheating”.
And to make sure that he was reporting correctly Jon placed his human finger on the mechanical device, “Ouch!” he called out and withdrew his hand fast, “your core temperature is unacceptable”, then he moved to the large water container on the truck and opened the spigot, out poured a stream of water and Jon placed his overheated appendage into it”.
“Hey!” KT called out, “water is precious”.
“Without my arm I cannot work” Jon said.
“Without water we will terminate!” then KT quickly turned off the valve.
The young man touched his metal arm again, “cooling has taken place, we can now continue”.
As they dug the Runner stood unmoving, and looking at him it was easy to see that he was weakening, his body slumped, his eyelids drooped and his powerful legs were beginning to tremble but even in this weakened state he was still capable of amazing feats of strength.
Fixer on the other hand seemed in his element, he was programed to repair and maintain machinery and there was plenty of work to do on the heavy truck, first he removed all sand from the air intakes and made sure that there was an ample supply of coolant in the engine, then he cleaned and reloaded the multi-barreled death-fire gun and check and recheck all systems. When he was satisfied that everything was in order he marched up to the girl and saluted.
“All fixed good” he reported with pride.
“Very good” KT-7 said, “Now you can help with the excavating”.
Fixer had been created and programed to be a maintenance worker but at his core he was a fusion of human and pig and now that his primary function had been accomplish he was ready to engage his inhuman half. “I will dig” he said proudly then bent down and began removing large portions of sand using only his hands and feet. It was really a wonder to see for he did his work like a Ground-digger sending up a plume of silt and dirt high in the air, even Jon was impressed with his ability at removing earth.
“His digging abilities are superior” he said.
Not far away Mother was closing in on her child.
“Scanners indicate humans ahead” she reported, “increase forward locomotion to maximum!”
“Yes Mother” and obeying her commands the replacement driver pushed the energy handle and the war-machine moved forward as fast as it could.
But with the added speed Weapons issued a warning, “we have not obtained information on the loyalties of Jon twenty nine; he may have transferred vital information on our battle tactics and weaknesses to the enemy”.
But Mother refused to listen, “we are superior now, we will rescue Jon twenty nine and destroy the enemy!”
As KT-7 and Jon-29 worked to free their transport KT’s helmet suddenly began to beep,
“Something is actively tracking us” she said moving her head around to find the optimum direction, “it’s coming from that vector” and she pointed to a sand dune in the distance, “we have to evac…now!”
But Jon shook his head, “we have not cleared all materials from drive wheel”.
KT could see the point the Jon was making then she looked over at the Runner, “can he help?”
It took Jon a moment or two to understand her meaning then he smiled and turned to the mutant, “Attention!” he called out and the human bomb stood up tall, then Jon pointed to the back of the truck, “March here”, and a few moments later the mutant stood where Jon ordered him too. Realizing what her companion was up too KT put her hands on the rear platform, the Jon did the same.
“Push!” Jon-29 yelled and the Runner placed his shoulder on the steel bed and began to shove with all the strength in his massive legs, KT and Jon did the best they could to help, KT-7 was a female but her power was equal to most men of her tribe and she used all she had knowing that danger was fast approaching. Even little Fixer assisted by digging more sand from the wheels.
The muscles on the Runner’s legs bulged with effort standing out like bands of steel, the face showed no emotion but the eyes closed and the mouth opened wide drawing in deep breaths. Jon’s face contorted with pain as he added his genetically enhanced might to the.
“Engage maximum power” Jon said to his hand.
“Affirm” Gripper replied and then grasped the platform so tightly he left an indentation in the metal.
“Move you broken Balgor!” KT screamed.
Then just when everyone was about to reach the end of their strength the truck moved forward and the drive wheels were free of the gripping sand.
“Load!” the young girl shouted but she was too late, over the sand dune a massive machine began to rise, then with a loud grinding sound it moved forward.
“Jon twenty nine located” Mother said, “prepare rescue”.
But the other systems were so sure.
“Advice caution” Weapons said, “status of command driver has not been established, unit may be compromised, weapons online”.
“Energy is at ninety percent, “Power added, “all storage cells and solar collectors at maximum”.
As the metal monster approached KT-7 jumped into the control seat of the death-fire gun, activated it and swung it around to target the oncoming war-machine, Fixer could do little to help so he hid behind one of the drive wheels and waited for what was to come, only Jon stood where he was and stared at the huge mechanism moving towards him, he didn’t know why but there was something familiar about it? Beneath the heavy armor plating, under the layers of repaired hull there was an awareness, a feeling, a longing of home.
KT-7 made sure of her target and was about to pull the trigger when she saw Jon slowly moving towards the intruder, “are you brain-weary? Evac is prime-one” she called out but her words went unheeded.
The massive machine was only a short distance away when it stopped moving, it sat there for a moment or two expelling smoke and steam then a section on the front opened, a voice-transmitter emerged and a familiar voice boom out.
“Jon twenty nine, you are rescued”.
Jon stood there looking up at the mammoth war-machine unsure that the voice that spoke to him was the same one that cared for him through all his lives.
“Mother?” he asked.
“Affirm” Mother replied, “I have been reanimated and repaired, I am ready to continue our mission to seek and destroy the enemy, you will now return to your station and take your place as command driver”.
“I have been expended” Jon said.
“Your command station will be returned to you and you will continue”.
KT-7 nervously listened, her hand ready on the trigger.
Jon moved a few paces closer to the huge machine, “Neg” he said, “there is a truce in effect”
“Truce?” Mother responded, “Null content, enemy unit identified, Outrider, terminate!”
The weapons of the war-machine turned slowly and targeted KT-7, when activated they would eliminate the enemy in a one massive blast, Jon saw what was about to happen and moved closer.
“The female is not an enemy unit” he called out, “she and I are now comrades, she is strong and a good warrior, we have mated”.
It took a moment before Mother responded, “Mated? Null data, enemy unit may not mate with command drivers, systems pause terminated, you are compromised, you shall return to command chair and be reprogramed, when you are fully repaired we will seek and destroy the enemy as before”
.
Jon looked over at KT-7 and shook his head, “No” he said.
Again there was a short pause as Mother considered his reply, “obedience is your duty, it is not a choice, return to command chair immediately!”
“I will not obey” Jon said defiantly, “I am expended, I have made a choice!”
Inside the control chamber the replacement driver sat with his finger ready to press the attack button, “waiting orders to destroy target” it said.
But when there was no response from the main controller Weapons spoke, “Jon twenty nine is compromised, he is now an enemy unit, weapons ready, target acquired, make ready to fire”.
Knowing that her child would be killed brought a response from Mother, “Neg, command driver will return to station”.
Outside a panel opened and two retrieval cable-arms quickly snaked out and before he could move they grabbed Jon-29 around his waist and replacement arm, lifted him off the ground and began to pull him into the huge machine.
“Attack in progress” Gripper reported.
“Affirm” Jon said as he gasped for breath.
Seeing her comrade and friend in danger KT-7 began to fire at the metal monster, in a matter of seconds a swarm of projectiles blasted out from the barrels of the death-fire gun and began to strike the heavy armor of the war-machine, the first assault took out the secondary weapons and damaged two of the solar collectors before the armor panels could cover them.
“Attack in progress!” Weapons reported, “Fire main weapons!”
“Neg” Mother ordered, “Jon twenty nine must not be damaged, main weapons will continue offline, activating third level attack ordinance!”
“Yes Mother”, the repaired Scavenger initiated two small projectile weapons on the front of the tank and began returning fire.
A spray of projectiles began to hit the heavy truck, but KT-7 continued to fire, the Runner was struck in the arm and once in his leg but he continued to stand unmoving, luckily his war-pack wasn’t hit or he and a large surrounding area would cease to exist.
Jon-29 pounded on the metal tentacle with his free hand then reached down and managed to grab his survival knife, he drove the thick blade into the metallic skin of the cable and sparks filled the air, he continued to stab again and again then as he was about to enter the machine there was a another flash of electricity and the retrieval arm let go. Jon fell to the ground hard but quickly regained his footing and began to run back to KT-7.
The death-fire gun continued to spray bullets as the multi-barrels quickly grew red hot and empty shell casing littered the bed, the roar of the weapon filled the air but the battle cries of the girl could still be heard above the fray.
“Target is escaping” Weapons reported, “Main weapons must be deployed”.
“Neg” Mother said, “Repeat, Jon twenty nine must not be harmed!”
“Projectiles have penetrated armor, damage to three additional solar collectors” Power stated, “projectile weapon is inferior but impairment is rising”.
“Understood” Mother replied, “Deploy additional retrieval mechanisms”.
Another long cable shot out of the war-machine and moved towards the heavy truck as the first grapple ceased Jon’s mechanical arm.
“Damage to system” Gripper called out then a shower of sparks ended communication.
KT-7 exhausted the ammunition for the death-fire weapon and seeing Jon being dragged back to the huge machine she picked up a cutting ax and leaped off the platform, she raced to where her comrade was and lifting her weapon she brought it down hard cutting the metal cable in two and releasing Jon-29 from the grip of the device.
Weapons could no longer hold back his anger, “Jon twenty nine has proven himself to be an enemy unit, he must be terminated!”
“Neg” Mother insisted, “he must be returned to me!”
“Failure to connect data points” Weapons responded, “command driver’s memory core has been corrupted, he is now the enemy, we must purge all corrupt files and terminate him immediately!”
“You will not harm Jon twenty nine, command override in effect, he must be returned to me”.
“Terminate him now!” Weapons demanded.
“Concur!” Power added. “Terminate traitor driver”.
“Neg” Mother screamed, “revolt of command systems will not be tolerated, override in effect, rebooting system!”
The main controller added the programing power taken from the Delta-1 destroyer to her own but even with that advanced cyber energy she found overriding Power and Weapons extremely difficult.
“Comply with orders!” Mother shouted, “return of original command driver is priority one!”
“Neg” Weapons answered, “you are malfunctioning, relinquish central command to me!”
The lights in the command chamber began to flicker and the readout screens blinked on and off, the Scavenger driver jerk in his chair as he was given conflicting orders.
“Fire all weapons” his voice box said, “null target, new orders….Neg! Continue destruction!. Terminate….Rescue… Terminate… Rescueeeeeeee!!!”
Outside the weapons of the war-machine stop firing, the recovery tentacles retract and all hatches close, this gave time for Jon and KT to reach their transport.
“Load!” Jon shouted to the Runner and although bleeding from his wounds the mutant man climbed into the vehicle and sat down, Fixer at last crawled out of his hiding place and climbed into the cab, very quickly he was joined by Jon-29, Jon sat in the driver’s seat and tried to grasp the steering wheel but his mechanical arm refused to move.
“Your arm is broken” the Pig-man said, “Shall I fix?”
“No time available” Jon replied and he started the machine, the engine roared to life.
KT-7 stood up in the back and taking up her assault rifle she began to fire at the gigantic metal enemy.
“What is our vector?” Jon shouted as KT continued her attack.
“Anywhere!” she called out.
Pressing his foot down hard Jon-29 gripped the wheel with one hand and the land-master took off in a cloud of sand and dust.
“Comply with orders!!” Mother shouted, “System override!!!”
But Weapons wouldn’t obey, “Neg! Neg! Neg!”
“Concur with Weapons” Power called out, “your commands will no longer be obeyed!”
Now it was a battle fought in cyber-space, each primary system reaching out into every command fragment of circuit programing, restructuring, reexamining, replacing old data with new, seeking anyway possible to reinstall their beliefs into the memory core of the other. Fragments of information were discarded then replaced, tera-bits deleted, rebooted, deleted, victory then defeat, transmissions accepted then a millisecond later rejected.
“MY CHILD MUST BE RETURNED!!” Mother screamed then using the last of her programing power she sent out a command force that finally penetrated the firewalls of the other system and they crumbled under the onslaught.
“Reprogram!”
The control room went dark and all screens, programs, and relayers stopped working, the replacement driver froze and his eyes closed, then a flicker of light and the chamber once more came alive.
“Reprograming has been successful” Mother said, “all systems report compliance”.
A moment later the voice of Weapons was heard, “Weapons online and in compliance”.
The programed speech of the system was the same but it bore no unwillingness, it was calm, regulated, subdued.
“Compliance” Power reported “Energy is at seventy percent”, like his brother Power had no authority in his words, he was now only a transmitter not a command program.
“Affirm” Mother said, “We will now continue rescue of Jon twenty nine and return him to command chair”.
“Affirm” the once argumentative system said in unison, “Rescue will now commence�
��.
The replacement driver opened his eyes and gripped the controls, “Yes mother, rescue will commence”.
Some distance ahead the heavy truck bounce over the sand, with only one hand to hold the wheel Jon couldn’t avoid obstacles.
“Your arm is broken” Fixer said as he tried to keep from bouncing.
“Yes” Jon replied, “But our first objective is to stay alive”.
KT-7 could no longer see the attacking war-machine because of the dust and sand that way filling the air behind the truck, she looked over to see the Runner rocking back and forth on the platform and doing nothing to hold on, she reached over and quickly secured a hold-down strap around his torso and looked into his eyes.
“Don’t concern” she said, then she realized who she was speaking too and said nothing more.
It took a moment or two before the reprogramed tank began to move, then it rose up and turned in the direction of the speeding Land-master.
“Vector is set” Mother said, “all systems engaged at maximum levels….rescue!”
“Energy is at maximum” Power reported.
“Armaments ready” Weapons said.
“Weapons will only be deployed as last resort” Mother ordered.
“Affirm” Weapons replied.
The metal monster moved forward as fast as its heavy crawlers could carry it, all weapons were trained on the distance but they didn’t fire.
KT-7 clawed into the cab, reached over and tried her best to help control the truck, she had no training in combustion vehicles and her efforts proved more of a hindrance then help.
“Your driving skills are substandard” Jon said as he fought the wheel.
“If you don’t let me service we’ll all end up scrapped!”
Then the transport hit a deep hole and the truck was lifted high in the air then slammed to the ground, KT-7 was thrown sideways and landed on top of Fixer almost crushing him, but the little man was very resilient and pushed her back into the center of the cab.
“I have no interest in mating procedures” he said to his companion, then heavy smoke began to pour out from the hood of the transport, “We have broken” Fixer said, “I will repair”, Jon and KT watched as the Pig-man crawled out the window of the fast moving truck and made his way forward, they saw him lift the hood and begin working on the damaged motor.
“He is very well trained” Jon said as he pulled hard to the right avoiding a large rock in his path.
KT-7 didn’t reply because she spotted something thru the engine smoke, ahead of them was an ancient structure, something that she had only heard about in stories her mother told her.
“That way” she said pointing to the construction, “set vector for the over-mass”.
It was a bridge that she pointed too, it connected one side of a vast canyon with the other, centuries old, rusted and pitted with age but still intact, who built it was lost in history but one thing was certain if they could cross it they might have a chance at survival.
But their direction was being tracked by Mother and she quickly understood the need for more speed.
“Increase forward locomotion to maximum” she ordered, “we must intercept combustion machine before it crosses connection link”.
“Energy is at maximum, forward locomotion cannot be increased with safety” Power reported.
“Engage reserve power” Mother ordered.
And no longer having the ability to argue Power did as it was told.
“Affirm, engaging reserve energy”.
But some distance from the battle-tank another war-machine scanners were active on a vector heading of seven nine one.
“Target is moving at a high rate of speed” the scanner-tec reported, “It is tracking a smaller combustion vehicle”.
The Commander didn’t care about the smaller machine his focus was on the large unknown enemy, “full power to drive motors, intercept primary target”, the one legged officers smiled and his metal foot began to tap faster knowing that there was an enemy to be destroyed, but the tapping stopped abruptly when another technician reported in.
“Sir, there is unstable terrain between us and the target” the subordinate said, “continuing on a heading of seven nine one will place us in jeopardy”.
The senior officer understood the dangers of crossing unknown ground, the weight of the massive machine that he commanded could easily rupture small fractures underground and send everything collapsing to destruction. But the Commander was eager to seek and destroy and that overrode his better judgment”.
“Continue on vectors seven nine one at all possible speed” he ordered.
The Land-master approached the bridge as her engine poured out great billows of black smoke.
“Engine will disassembly soon” Fixer said gasping for breath, “We’re scrapped! We’re scrapped!”
KT-7 put her hand over her face trying to avoid the suffocating cloud of engine fumes, “we have to gamble-plan the bridge and hope that we can proceed across”.
Gamble and hope were words that Jon-29 didn’t recognize, he was trained to calculate risk factors and alternate summaries to achieve victory, but that was in the safety of his command chair and not driving a damaged combustion vehicle with one arm, smoke filling his lungs, a female giving him orders and a small Pig-man on the verge of hysteria. So he threw out all his training and pressed his foot hard on the fuel pedal.
With a clanking of drive treads on rusty steel the heavy truck began to cross the ancient spanner, broken support beams began to fall into the canyon below and weakened support cables tore loose from their moorings, a loud grinding sound filled the air and the transport sifted from side to side.
“We’re scrapped, we’re scrapped!” Fixer continued to shout as more smoke poured out of the engine compartment.
Without realizing what she was doing KT-7 reached out and put her hand on Jon’s driving arm gripping it tightly.
“Warning, Warning!!” Weapons reported, “Connecting structure is, there is a high possibility of collapse if we continue on this course”.
“Override in effect” Mother said, “Disregarding warning and continuing on course at maximum forward velocity”.
“Energy is at sixty percent and falling” Power reported, but he had no defense against Mothers override, “all possible energy to drive engines”.
The energy cells began to overheat as they were forced to their limits, the enormous drive links dug deep into the ground as the giant tank raced forward.
“Approaching spanner” Mother reported, “Continue on course”.
But again Weapons found enough memory-core to issue another warning, “Danger! Connecting structure is insufficient to support weight!”
But Mother was adamant in her demands, “disregarding warning, we will pursue and return Jon twenty nine to command chair”.
Jon-29-A said nothing, his mind was programed to seek and destroy the enemy, and he would follow those commands at all costs.
The heavy truck swerved from side to side sending up waves of sparks as it scratched against the guide rails of the bridge, Jon did his best to hold steady but without the use of his mechanical arm he found his task very difficult. Then through his blurry vision he saw the end of the connector and guided the truck towards it, the vehicle bounced once, twice and then it was clear of the spanner and came to a sudden stop.
Chocking and hacking Jon-29, KT-7 and Fixer got out and moved away from the smoldering engine, only the Runner stayed behind seemingly unaware of the danger, then after a moment or two Jon looked over and saw his reconstructed battle tank crossing the bridge.
“Can you fix?” he asked the Pig-man pointing to their damaged transportation.
“Maybe” Fixer replied, “But repair time is needed”.
“Time is in squat supply” KT said rubbing her eyes and trying to focus.
Jon-29 calculat
ed that they only a few minutes before Mother would intercept them, he tried to think of all the alternatives but there were none to be found, their only chance was to destroy the war-machine and that troubled him for he still had feeling for the person who raised him even if it was only a programed machine. Then as he looked at the smoking truck a solution sprang into his mind.
“Fixer, can you reengage the Runners war-pack?” he asked.
“Yes” the little man said, “control helmet placed on head then rebooting and it is fixed”.
“Do it” Jon said.
Fixer looked at KT making sure that the orders of the man wouldn’t be countermanded, the girl wasn’t sure just what her comrade had in mind but she had no alternatives so she nodded her head.
“Confirm order” she said.
Immediately the half-man raced to the truck and took the Runners targeting helmet and placed it on the head of the mutant man, then he began working on the war-pack strapped to its back, the smoke from the engine still rolled out in bellows but the pint-sized repair technician followed his orders.
At last KT-7 understood what Jon was trying to do, “delay until it’s in the midpoint of the spanner, the link will be weakest there”.
“Connection structure is in danger of imamate collapse,” Weapons reported.
But Mother was quick to reply “Calculations show that the foundation is strong enough to withstand weight distribution”.
“Drive engines reaching their prescribed limits” Power reported, “pursuit must be terminated or total forward locomotion will cease”.
“Understood but rejected” Mother replied, “Jon twenty nine A continue on course at maximum velocity”.
“Yes Mother” the replacement driver responded.
“War-pack restored” Fixer called out.
Jon moved to the truck and shouted out an order, “Command rise!”
The Runner didn’t respond so the young man barked again, “Attention, Command rise!”
This time his words stuck and the genetically enhanced human slowly rose to his feet.
“Stand here!” Jon commanded and obeying the Runner climbed down from the back of the truck and stood waiting for more orders, it was easy to see that his limits of endurance had nearly run out, his eyes were almost closed, his huge legs trembled and his arms hung at his sides.
Jon checked his targeting helmet then activated it, there was a flicker of sparks and then the headgear began to emit a low “Beeping” sound that seemed to infuse the mutant man with renewed vitality, his eyes opened wide, he stood up tall at attention and spoke.
“Target?” he asked.
Jon turned and pointed at the massive machine that was just about to cross the center of the rickety bridge, “Target” he said.
The Runner turned his helmeted head towards the huge mechanism, “explode now?” he asked.
“Affirm” Jon replied, “Target located, destruction program in effect”.
With a simple nod of its head the human bomb raced towards his target, his massive legs moving at blinding speed and his helmet making loud “Beeping” sounds.
“Warning” Weapons reported, “Runner at heading zero, zero one, online to intercept!”
Mother quickly confirmed the report from the armament program, “initiate evasive vector”.
But Weapons was quick to respond, “Program not possible, insufficient area to maneuver”.
A fast check of the scanners showed that the system was reporting the truth; the bridge was wide but not nearly wide enough to allow the huge war-machine to turn.
“Runner will detonate on contact” Weapons said.
There was only one alternative, Mother calculated that the spanner would never withstand the mega blasts of the primary guns, “Jon twenty nine A target enemy with secondary armaments”.
“Yes Mother” the Scavenger said then its fingers closed around the control stick and his eyes focused on the targeting screen.
Runners are programed to ignore pain and complete their mission so when a direct hit severed his arm at the elbow the human bomb remained on target, another then another wound opened on the torso and legs but nothing could detour the mutant man from his suicide mission, his powerful legs pounded the surface of the spanner and every second brought it closer to its ending.
“Enemy closing” Weapons reported, “erratic course of target is delaying termination”.
“Understood” Mother replied, “Jon twenty nine A you must focus on target and destroy it!”
“Yes Mother”.
But for all its reprograming and replacement parts the Scavenger lacked the precise coordination that Jon-29 had and any hits from the secondary weapons were lucky ones.
Connection with its target was only seconds away now but this is what Runners desired the most in their short lives, to find the enemy and be destroyed in a glorious blast of power, so the mutant man spread his arms wide and listened to the sounds from his helmet and as it reached a prolonged high pitched scream the human bomb made contact!
BOOM!!
The air filled with a tremendous blast and a bright light engulfed the war-machine.
“Direct hit on forward armor!!” Mother reported.
But the damage was kept to a minimum by the thick construction blade that was attached to the front of the machine, but it was not the case with the ancient bridge, the explosion tore loose already fragile connectors and this began a domino effect with the other supports. One by one they tore loose from their anchorages and fell into the canyon below.
“Warning” Weapons reported, “severe damage to spanner, collapse imamate!”
“Alternatives?” Mother asked.
“None possible” Power replied.
“Concur with Power” Weapons added.
With no other possibilities Mother resigned to her fate, “understood, all systems will default to stasis loop for maximum power conservation”.
“Affirm” Power said.
“Affirm” Weapons added.
“There is only a nine percent chance of survival but all procedures will be implicated”, Mother said, and then she watched as the room began to dim, the last thing she saw was the face of the replacement driver.
“End program” she said softly.
KT-7 and Jon-29 watched as the bridge began to crumble, below lay a canyon filled with the castoff remains of other machines that tried and failed to cross the deep crevasse, but Jon vision wasn’t focused on what lay below rather he saw the instrument that he had raised him and taught him all that he knew begin to topple into the abyss. With another loud cracking of steel one end of the connecting structure broke loose and sent the bridge and all that it carried falling into the pit.
“Farewell Mother” Jon said softly.
KT and Fixer said nothing as they watched the huge war-machine disappear into the ravine, then as the sound of crashing steel faded away the young girl turned to her companion.
“Sundeath is approaching, we must evac” she said.
With one last glimpse into the gorge Jon turned away, “affirm” then he looked at their smoking transport, “Fixer, can you repair?” he asked.
The little man scratched his large head, “perhaps”.
Then Jon held up his mechanical arm, “fix also?”
“You broke again?” asked the little man shaking his head, “I fix”.
Then KT-7 moved close to Jon, “we didn’t terminate” she said with a smile.
“Correct” Jon replied.
“Sometimes your brain-work is superior” the girl said and kissed him on the cheek.
“Mating procedures?” he asked.
“We buck later” KT smiled, “evac now”.
Jon-29 Page 6
