Artificial Exile

by D S Emerson

  “We should be quiet and remain undetected. You have your Iorine batons…If you see robots, hit them to deactivate them. Don’t fire your guns. It’s a good thing we came to Earth when the robots aren’t working this place,” Malok said, then got up and started to slowly climb down the mountain in the direction of the huge facility. Everyone else followed him closely, keeping their eyes on the enormous facility. When they had almost reached the base of the mountain, and were aligned in the direction of the export center, they saw some robots working in the area. They were busy moving and placing the big water containers.

  “There are some workers here, but we can take them,” Malok said to them quietly as they continued their cautious walk down the mountain. Suddenly, to one side of the facility, a huge gathering of robots appeared in the distance. Among the newly visible robots, transports were also coming and going as blocks of robot units were formed on the ground. “Stop!” Malok said as the rest of the team got a glimpse of the robot army formations.

  “They must be preparing another assault on Cennan,” Valeena said.

  “Cennan was colonized to send them energy; they won’t be abandoning it without a fight,” Bek told them. “They can’t survive without energy. It was inevitable they would prepare to attack again.”

  “We will destroy their energy storage,” Malok said. “They won’t last long without it. Follow me.” The team continued downwards, finally arriving at the base of the mountain where the vast export center stretched in front of them. They equipped their batons, and Valeena grabbed her Iorine sword. They rushed toward the complex to avoid being seen in the open, and managed to arrive at the first containers closest to them. They moved among the containers until they found a couple of robot workers in the process of transferring one. “We should take these robots out before we proceed. They might come in our direction,” Malok whispered to them as they were observing, hidden.

  Malok and Valeena approached them slowly from behind while the others watched. They had their hands on their rifles as Malok snuck behind the first one, and struck it with an Iorine-filled baton. Valeena plunged her sword in the second one, and it shook for a second and then collapsed on the ground. Malok waved for them to continue following him, and they continued sneaking ahead until they arrived near the area where the cargo shuttles were getting prepared for export. Another group of robots was working in the area, moving the containers to where it looked like they were getting filled with water.

  “We will take care of them,” Bek said, and along with Abel, they moved toward them. Moving in between the containers, they waited until the robots grabbed one of the empty containers. With a swift move, they both rushed from behind and hit them to deactivate them with their Iorine batons. Malok, with the others, didn’t waste time and, after seeing the robots deactivated, they proceeded toward the parked cargo shuttles. Bek and Abel moved quickly to rejoin them as they went near them. There were two shuttles ready for export, but the robots didn’t appear to be sending them.

  “They are just sitting here, starving us out of water. But they must be in a hurry as well because they’re preparing another assault on Cennan,” Malok told them as they observed the two shuttles in front of them. “Come, Taner. We need to access the hatch below,” Malok instructed. Taner proceeded below the shuttle and searched for the maintenance hatch. The others gathered around, watching out for anyone who might come close.

  “I can open it, Malok,” Taner reported after working on it for a while with his equipment. He climbed inside and started to work on launching the shuttle along the route to Cennan.

  “Hurry,” Valeena told him, going below the hatch. “We can’t be here for long.”

  “Finished!” Taner said, jumping down the ground. “Help me lock the hatch, because it is going to launch soon.” Everyone went to the hatch below and pushed it to close. The shuttle then started its boosters, preparing to launch, and so they headed for cover behind the containers. They saw the shuttle lift slowly from the ground and then accelerate upward as it left Earth.

  “Good job,” Malok told them. “We managed to send the first water shipment. Let’s try for the second one.”

  “The Iorine shuttle still hasn’t arrived,” Bek replied. “Sending water is meaningless if the robots start another assault on Cennan and kill everyone.”

  “When it arrives, we will use it to destroy their energy storage. While we’re waiting, we should send the other shuttle containing water,” Malok said. They agreed, so they all moved toward the second shuttle that was parked in the area. Taner immediately went below to open the hatch and, after managing to open it, climbed inside. They continued to guard the area around them. “Spread out,” Malok instructed. They went all around the shuttle in order to cover the area surrounding the cargo shuttle as best they could. While Taner was inside trying to initiate launch, an approaching shuttle drew their attention; it was getting closer and closer.

  “Is it hostile?” Bek asked.

  “Don’t know yet…Could be the one that was being sent after us,” Malok replied and went to hide below the shuttle so that he could peek to observe the incoming shuttle.

  “Its route is programmed for coming to this export center, so there is a chance it is ours,” Abel said while looking toward the approaching shuttle. The shuttle appeared larger and larger as it approached. They all noticed it was the one they had specially marked to show that it carried Iorine from Cennan.

  “It is ours!” Malok said as the shuttle went to a nearby area to land. Incoming shuttles from Cennan landed close to the energy storage to transfer energy, and afterward, they were headed to this area to load with water containers for Cennan, Bek figured.

  “We will need to head over to the energy storage area in order to control it. Or do you think the remote can control it from here?” Malok asked Abel as the shuttle landed in the area opposite the complex they occupied. Malok took the remote he had placed in his backpack and tried to control the shuttle.

  “It doesn’t work from this distance. We will need to go closer,” he announced after trying to move it for a while with no results.

  “We should wait for Taner to finish readying this water shuttle,” Abel said as they observed from their cover behind the containers. After a short while, Taner emerged from the hatch below the shuttle, closed it, and approached them.

  “It should be also launching soon,” he reported.

  “Good,” Malok told him while keeping his eyes on the shuttle that had just arrived. The boosters from the shuttle next to them ignited, and it started to lift higher. “It’s on its way as well. Time to hit them with Iorine,” Malok said as he left their cover and headed toward the landing area of their modified shuttle. He tried using the remote every few steps. Everyone else was looking around as they followed him. “We need to get even closer,” he told them while accelerating his pace. However, a piercing noise that grew steadily louder and stronger forced them to halt.

  “It sounds like the big flying drone on Cennan,” Bek told them when they had stopped completely in order to figure out what it was. The sound grew even stronger, and soon, three huge flying drones arrived in formation and passed blazingly fast above them, heading for the second shuttle that was now on its way to the warp gate. The flying drones took up positions behind the departing shuttle and all three fired at the same time, reducing it to burning pieces in the blink of an eye. All that was left of the cargo shuttle were its burning pieces falling to Earth, along with a downpour of the water it was carrying.

  “They must know something is abnormal now, even if they never expected humans to come back to Earth!” Malok said as he watched the burning pieces, along with water, coming crashing down to Earth.

  “We won’t be leaving with those things flying above us,” Bek said to them. “We need to destroy their energy storage—and them with it.”

  “I believe that the AI transports, along with the energy storage, are the priority. We need to leave them without energy and with n
o way for an immediate attack on Cennan,” Malok said, thinking while looking around them.

  “If we try to launch the Iorine shuttle now, it will be shot down by the AI flyers over us. It needs height for the Iorine to spread effectively,” Bek replied while watching the flyers going over the area in circles.

  Then a sound they had heard in Cennan during the robot assault—that of many robots moving–was heard in the distance.

  “They are moving their forces toward us!” Valeena said. “We could be discovered if they send more robots here.”

  “All right,” said Malok acknowledging the worsening situation. “We never expected it to be easy,” he said, turning to face everyone. “We need to create a diversion so that the flyers and the AI army head in another direction. I will get close to the Iorine-filled shuttle while they are preoccupied, and launch it high enough for the explosion to cover as much area as possible.”

  “The team that creates the diversion—how are they going to escape?” Bek asked.

  “They should head toward the mountain and create a diversion in the outskirts of the facility. When the Iorine shuttle is in the air, I will reveal myself, to draw the robots toward the shuttle. This will give you time to get back to the transport shuttle in order to leave.”

  “We should all go and help escort the cargo shuttle, and then leave as a group,” Taner replied.

  “If we are discovered while moving it, they will kill us all and then head to Cennan,” Malok replied. “We need to send them in another direction first. After I detonate the Iorine shuttle, I will come to join you on the transport shuttle.”

  “Let me come with you, Mr. Malok,” Abel urged. “If the shuttle movement is dependent on only one person, it is very risky. Let me come as backup.”

  “I’ll join you, as well,” Bek said, realizing that the plan had a greater chance of success this way. Also, he didn’t want to leave the always-in-a-rush Abel to be Malok’s only backup.

  “Very well. More people escorting me are welcome,” Malok replied to them. “Valeena and Taner, take the rest of our rogues and head off to create a diversion. You have more combat experience and training than these two guys, so you can handle it.”

  “Understood, Malok. Let’s move.” Valeena turned and directed the others to follow her after hesitating for a moment. Taner followed her and, behind them, the other rogues. They carefully headed away toward the outskirts of the facility. After giving Valeena’s group a head start, Malok, Bek, and Abel continued slowly and carefully in the direction of the Iorine shuttle. They eventually arrived at the landing area for the shuttle. It was parked among other shuttles that had made the trip back and forth to Cennan.

  “I think you should be able to communicate with the controller from here,” Abel told him while they all stayed hidden. “We don’t need to risk exposing ourselves in the landing area.”

  “I will try it,” Malok said as he took the controller again. He tried to initiate the shuttle boosters, and after some attempts, he managed to get them operating in low power. “We have a connection,” Malok reported. “When the robots head in the other direction, towards the diversion, we will initiate launch.” Malok kept the shuttle operating in low power until explosions were heard on the outskirts of the facility. Grenades and firing from the rogues’ rifles started shook the entire area, and drowned out the sound of the flyers made passing overhead. It didn’t take long for the robot flyers to make a turn, and head in Valeena’s direction.

  “Let’s hope they got some cover,” Bek said while as he watched the flyers leaving their area.

  “We should climb onto a container to see what their army is doing,” Malok replied, and Abel quietly headed toward the nearest one. Bek pushed him up to help him climb. Abel took a good look in the distance where the army and the transports were.

  “Units are headed toward the rogues,” he said from his vantage point atop the container. “More and more robots are heading toward them.” Malok waved for him to get down, and Abel went to the side of the container and jumped. The firing from the rogues had stopped now that they had the robots’ attention. When the flyers approached them, firing resumed as the rogues started to fight the approaching robots.

  “I don’t think Valeena’s group will last long once the majority of robots get near them,” Bek said to Malok. “The Iorine weapons should help hold them off—but not for long.” Malok nodded and used the remote to increase the power to the shuttle boosters. The shuttle started to gain height, and he pointed it toward the energy storage.

  “Come with me,” he said to them, and all three followed the shuttle as it moved. They entered the landing area, passed by the other shuttles that were parked there, and headed toward the edge of the facility. They stopped when, in front of them, the area was completely clear with no cover. “We need to move farther along,” Malok told them. “We have to risk it without cover.” Both Bek and Abel hesitantly agreed. All three checked their portable shields and weapons and decided to head toward the energy storage. “Let’s go!” Malok said to them swiftly, pushing the remote for the shuttle to head in front of them; they followed it, running at full speed while still watching the army that was headed toward the rogues from the open field.

  The firing from the rogues became more frequent. More units from the robots must have approached them, they figured. Explosions from grenades packed with Iorine were heard, and the flyers were making rounds over them after firing some rockets at the base of the mountain. Malok pushed the shuttle to gain more height: they were approaching the energy storage. They started running faster with their rifles in hand, and the energy storage came into view right in front of them. Huge batteries organized in blocks with big wires headed in many directions, including to the area where the robot army was stationed.

  The shuttle continued to gain height when suddenly, the flyers who had been circling above the rogues turned sharply, and headed toward the Iorine shuttle.

  “They are going to shoot it down!” Bek shouted to Malok when he heard the noise headed toward them.

  “There is no other choice,” Malok said as he continued running toward the energy storage. In the distance in front of them, robot soldiers started to appear. This area was obviously monitored, compared to the water export center that was not. “Use your shields!” Malok screamed as he powered on his portable shield. Just in time, Bek and Abel powered their shields as well. Robots began to fire at them from a distance. The shields did a good job of absorbing the shots coming from the energy storage, but when Malok turned to see where the flyers were, the robots had an opening to hit him. He fell to the ground, badly wounded. “The shuttle…needs to get closer,” he said with effort, lying there facing the sky. Bek and Abel came to his side, covering him with their shields. “It needs to approach them more closely,” Malok said to them while breathing heavily.

  Abel grabbed him by his arm while holding the shield in front of them. Bek saw the flyers approaching and took the controller from his hands. He stood still for a while, watching the flyers. Then, with his shield deployed, he continued running toward the robots’ energy storage. He used the controller to lift the shuttle even higher above the battery stores. He looked behind him to see Malok in the arms of Abel and the flyers gaining on them from behind. Bek continued running as fast as he could, eventually running out of breath. When he heard the flyers firing their missiles, he pressed the button to detonate the shuttle.

  The explosion was enormous. The shuttle had been packed full of explosives, and its Iorine payload was blasted out over the whole area. The missiles following the shuttle were deactivated midflight and descended toward the ground, exploding when they fell. The flyers were caught in the explosion and fell like bricks hitting the ground in front of them. Bek saw that his shield was deactivating as he stopped, watching around him as the Iorine cloud fell. Smoke from the crashed flyers was rising while the Iorine cloud descended. In the eerie silence, he walked back toward Malok and Abel.

  “You
did it, Mr. Malok,” he heard Abel said to Malok as Bek approached. “You came to Earth and hit the robots that took our planet.” Malok was breathing slowly, but a smile was clearly formed on his face. He was seeing in the sky the Iorine being spread all around them.

  “You did well,” he said to them slowly. “Thank you for helping humanity survive. You just needed to believe more in humans.”

  “We need to get you back on the transport shuttle,” Bek said to him.

  “I was hit too many times,” Malok replied to him. “You need to run to esc—” Malok took his last breath on Earth, as he had always wanted.

  Bek turned to Abel. “We need to leave now, it’s dangerous staying under the Iorine cloud” he said as he saw Abel not letting go of Malok. “The rogues didn’t stop fighting. They won’t last long there. Malok wanted people to survive!” Abel looked around and gently let go of Malok. Then he stood up as they looked around them. They could still hear the sound of rogues fighting in the distance. At first, they walked, but then they began to run as they headed toward the mountain. Bek glanced behind him to see Malok’s still body getting covered with Iorine and starting to become one with Earth. He then turned back around and continued to run as fast as he could, seeing the export center approaching.

  They continued running until they came out from the Iorine-filled area. They hid among some of the shuttles parked in the export center. Sneaking between them, Bek and Abel came to the edge of the complex. They looked toward the side of the mountain, and saw that it was overrun by robots. The rogues were nowhere to be seen, and few fighting sounds could be heard.

  “You think they didn’t make it?” Abel asked him.

  “Don’t know…Maybe they retreated. It is hard to fight so many robots,” he replied. They agreed to sneak around the mountain in order to reach the transport shuttle behind it. They kept crouching, rifles in their hands, as they slowly took the long way around the mountain. The robot army was everywhere, and Bek and Abel knew they had to take care not to be discovered. They were proceeding with caution when they heard the sound of the transport shuttle launching. They stopped where they were crouched and looked up. The transport shuttle lifted off, and headed upward. The robots headed in its direction, trying to shoot it down.