‘I agree,’ Strider replied. ‘Maybe we can split up to cover more ground. Boys against the girls?’
Micah nodded, smiling as she made eye contact with Braden. He frowned as he looked at his companions.
“I don’t want to embarrass you,” Braden started. Micah punched him in the chest, his armor protecting him from the force of the blow. “The men will take the Android.”
“A second Android has already been dispatched and will meet us in the first corridor.”
“Looks like we’ll have one, too—for marking and sealing doors, if needed. We have no way to weld and that’s what they do. I trust Holly.”
“I trust Holly, too, but it’s the Androids I don’t trust. Last time, Holly told us they were okay and they weren’t. And the Android that attacked Young Tom and Zeller. That wasn’t far from here!”
“You’ll give yourself gray hairs worrying about stuff out of your control,” Micah told Braden.
“Maybe so, but as long as I’m still alive, I’ll have hair that can turn gray.”
“Boys and girls,” Micah started. “Jocelyn, Fea, Strider, and Zyena are with me, along with this Android here. Hey you, what’s your name?”
“I am designated Beta Theta Seven Four Six One Niner.”
“What was that? Beta who’s a miner?”
The Android repeated his designation in the same unwavering tone of voice.
“Fine. We will call you Betafor. Put that in your memory bank,” Micah told the Android.
“Yes, Master President,” the Android replied emotionlessly.
“As soon as Zyena arrives, we’ll be off. We’ll take this corridor right up here.” Micah pointed at a door on the catwalk.
‘What about the rooms on this level?’ Pik Ha’ar asked.
“I don’t know,” Braden replied. “Holly? Can you tell us about the rooms that we can access from the main floor of engineering?”
“Of course. Most of the rooms are workshops of various sorts for fabricating the pieces necessary to keep the equipment functioning. There are break rooms, dining facilities, and two research laboratories.”
Braden blew out a long breath. “Sounds like we’ll be making the circuit down here while you’re doing the same thing up there.” Braden nodded toward the catwalk about ten meters over his head. “I’ll have you outnumbered, so we’ll probably accomplish twice as much in half the time.”
“You think so?” Micah said, squaring off with her partner.
“The fight is out there,” he said smoothly, pointing toward the forward end of the ship. “Out there, with people who aren’t me.”
Bounder and Strider nuzzled as their way of saying good-bye.
Fea nodded toward G-War and Treetis. The Golden Warrior yawned. She reacted instantly, slapping his head with a paw, and he was on her in an orange flash. The two rolled around on the deck until they ended by licking each other’s faces.
Braden and Micah kissed.
‘Are you sure it’s best to split up before we know?’ Aadi asked.
“I was worried how we were going to handle the corridor. With a dozen of us jammed in? Only half of us would be able to respond if something happened, half at the most. Splitting the group will help keep us engaged, otherwise I expect that G’s complaint of boredom would come true.”
‘It’s already true. BORED!’ the ‘cat remarked.
“Stop it!” Braden shook his finger at G-War and Fea, still locked in their embrace.
‘Nothing, Master Braden. Besides a couple Maintenance Bots, there was nothing all the way around. No Androids, definitely no life of any sort, besides those crazy vines. But we were past them in a heartbeat,’ Skirill reported as the Hawkoids raced overhead, banked, and landed gently, side by side, on the catwalk railing.
“We decided a plan of action while you were gone. What do you think of boys against girls?”
‘I hate it,’ Skirill replied.
‘I love it,’ Zyena said simultaneously.
“Sorry, Ess. You’ve been voted down.”
Skirill cocked his head, twitching it back and forth, as birds do. ‘Okay,’ he conceded. ‘Be careful and don’t get hurt. I can’t live without you,’ he told his mate over the mindlink where all could hear.
“Come on, Ess, you’re making us all look bad...”
‘Speak for yourself,’ G-War replied, finally unclutching from Fea and standing.
“At least I didn’t get punched in the head.” Braden started walking. “Women up the ladder. Men, with me.”
“We’ll take the elevator,” Micah said, pointing behind her with her thumb. They headed that way. Braden watched Micah go. It had never been his intent to be apart from Micah. He’d expected the Wolfoids would lead the second team.
Bounder put his paw-hand on Braden’s shoulder. ‘It will be okay, my friend. They are in good hands, because our mates are formidable fighters. No one will stand before them, not for very long anyway.’
“I hope at the end of the day, we’re able to say the same thing. Come on, guys, let’s clear this space. We have a long way to go.”
Braden waved at the group walking down the catwalk before picking the closest door.
“Wait up!” Micah called. “You forgot somebody.”
An Android appeared from the corridor that Micah and her group were preparing to enter. She pointed at the group below and the Android hurried to the nearest ladder and climbed down.
Braden tried to calm his breathing, but his heart raced as the Android approached. A phantom ache appeared in his hand where his fingers had been burned off.
“What’s behind this door?” Braden asked, pointing.
“A machinery room. It is unoccupied.”
Braden removed one of his blasters and nodded to Bounder. The Wolfoid waved his bracelet before the access pad and the door slid open. G-War looked in and sat down. Treetis trotted inside, still drifting to one side before over-correcting.
Pik held his trident before him.
“Anything?” Braden asked the group. No one replied. He carefully pushed the Lizard Man’s trident out of the way before entering the space. It was well lit and filled with machinery making soft sounds and flashing a kaleidoscope of lights. A quick survey confirmed what the Android had said.
“Do you know what occupies each space?” he asked.
“In nearly all cases, yes.”
“Take us to a place where the inhabitants are a threat.”
“I’m not sure how you define the word threat,” the Android responded.
“Something that wants to kill us. At one time, that would have been every Android on board this ship.”
“Almost anything can kill you if you don’t take the proper precautions. As to the Androids wanting to do you harm, I wouldn’t know anything about that. I have no programming that would allow me to harm a living creature. My programming is quite the opposite. I will do everything in my power to protect you from harm.”
“What do we call you?”
“My designation is Beta Omega One Three One Eight.”
“We’ll call you Andy,” Braden declared. “Come on, Andy, show us where there are living creatures or robots that are working out of Holly’s control.”
“Using those parameters, there will be three spaces that will interest you. Two with off-grid mechanicals and one with a biologic that feeds on the mechanicals.”
“A living creature that eats machines? Let’ go there first.”
Andy started to walk briskly away. It accelerated until Braden was jogging. Pik ran with his odd shuffle, pulling Aadi behind him. The ‘cats ran to the side.
‘This is going to get real old, real fast,’ G-War said.
“Andy,” Braden called. “Is there a quicker way without running, like shortcutting through the interior?”
The Android slowed to a stop.
‘Holly? Can you save us from this thing?’ Braden asked through his neural implant.
“Yes. If we take the next corridor to th
e elevator, we can travel on an angular vector to arrive less than a kilometer from where the creature can be found.”
Andy climbed the next ladder to the catwalk. Braden put G-War over his shoulder as he followed. Treetis clung to Bounder’s harness. Skirill landed on the railing.
‘I prefer to fly. Can I meet you there?’ the Hawkoid asked.
“I don’t want anyone going alone. I’m sorry, Ess. I’ll carry you.”
‘I understand,’ the Hawkoid replied.
Aadi floated up and over the railing, then swam ahead. The Android abruptly stopped and turned. Aadi backpedaled, but was eye-to-eye with the mechanical creation. He could feel the focused thunderclap building within.
“Do you speak, and what are you?”
Braden hurried to the front and worked his way between the two. “His name is Aadi and he’s a Tortoid. He only speaks telepathically, so we’ll translate if you need to talk with him, but you won’t.” Braden turned Aadi to show the repairs to his shell. “Androids did this to him.”
“But it wasn’t me and would never be me,” Andy replied in his level tone.
“Androids respond to programming. Maybe we shouldn’t be angry at the tool, but we’re not sure that you are completely under Holly’s control.”
“I assure you that I am.”
“That is no assurance at all.”
“Master Braden,” Holly said from a nearby speaker. “I can assure you that I have one hundred percent control over this Android. I have blocked all input to him from the ship.”
“Then why did an Android attack Young Tom?”
“I never had control of that one. I suspect that there may be other rogue Androids roaming the station, and those will need to be subdued somehow. I will let you know whenever you will encounter an Android based on my tracking of your group through the ship. Will that alleviate some of your concerns?”
“It would, Holly. I like the term subdue. It suggests that we aren’t going to melt them into scrap, so you keep using that term if helps put your mind at ease.”
“I do need the Androids to help me run the ship.”
“If an Android is off the grid, then it’s not helping you and won’t be missed. Thanks, Holly. We’re heading in.”
The Android waved at the panel beside the door and it opened. The corridor beyond had some debris, but nothing that screamed their death was imminent. Skirill stood on Braden’s shoulder. Bounder was next to him while Treetis and G-War scurried ahead. Braden didn’t try to stop them.
“If there’s shooting, make sure you duck,” Braden told the ‘cats.
‘If there’s shooting, you won’t see much of us,’ G-War confirmed. ‘And for the record...’
“I know, you don’t need to say it, because excitement is coming. I can feel it! A creature that eats machines. That’s a first. If you could talk with such a beast, G, what would you say?”
‘Deliver me from my staid existence,’ G-War replied.
“Say what?”
“I didn’t say anything,” Andy said.
Bounder and Pik chuckled.
“What are you guys laughing at? We’re going to be in real trouble if that goes bad.”
‘Like when you thought of a Bot as a Mirror Beast and tried to attack it?’
“That was a long time ago, G.”
‘Seems like yesterday.’
They reached the elevator and the Android stopped in front of it and stood perfectly still. Braden started to pull his blaster. “What are you waiting for, Andy?”
“Androids do not have access to the elevators. Those are for human crew use only except when we are in the company of humans.”
G-War stood on his back legs, letting the bracelet he was wearing as a collar activate the door.
‘You are in the company of humans and their betters,’ G-War suggested. Treetis was all eyes and getting better at walking, but still not vocal.
Braden wondered if the Golden Warrior’s snark was aimed at taking Treetis’ mind off his concerns. Braden smiled at the two orange ‘cats as he hunched sideways to keep the edge of Aadi’s shell from jabbing him in the face. Pik squeezed in, and with all on board, the elevator went where the Android told it to go, up, invert at the point of zero-gravity, then head back down.
“If we started at position zero, we will end up at position one seventy, almost exactly opposite where we were.”
“You were going to run the perimeter of engineering? What is that, fifteen kilometers? You flew it, Ess, how far was that? It took you forty-five minutes to get around and you were flying! I was starting to get worried.”
‘It is a long way,’ Skirill confirmed.
“I think you’re trying to kill me, Android,” Braden stated flatly.
“I am not,” the Android countered.
The elevator arrived and the doors opened. The group piled into the corridor. A Cleaning Bot was making its pass.
“How come some corridors have Cleaning Bots and others don’t?”
“Bots had been programmed for specific areas of responsibility. As they broke down over the years, they were not replaced. Maybe you can make that one of your priorities?” the Android asked.
‘Getting the ship in tip-top shape seems to be what you are going for, Master Braden,’ Aadi suggested. He started to swim through the air toward the engineering section. ‘A clean ship is a happy ship.’
“A clean ship is a happy ship? I want a safe ship. Then maybe we’ll start looking toward what it takes to make for a happy ship.”
“I can help with that,” Holly said into the corridor.
“Why haven’t you done that before now?”
“I never thought of it as it isn’t critical to the ship systems, but then it is critical for human habitation, which is what you are seeking. I fear that I have failed you in not foreseeing this.”
“No failure, Holly. If the Androids aren’t attacking us, then you’ve been successful at the most important thing. Did you hear that there’s a creature in engineering that eats machines?”
“I did. I hope you are able to deal with the creature appropriately. As a machine, such a beast terrifies me.”
“The war of the ancients couldn’t destroy you, Holly. I doubt a little bug will give you grief.”
“I hope that you are correct, Master Braden.”
“We will see shortly. We’ve reached the catwalk and are not far now. I’ll be back in touch when we’ve taken care of business.”
“I shall watch the encounter through the Android’s eyes.”
“That’s too weird to think about, Holly.”
The First Death
Micah asked Jocelyn to activate the doors and then stay out of the way while Strider and Micah covered the opening with their weapons. Zyena rode on the governor’s shoulder, while Fea stayed to the side. She was a big ‘cat and took up a great deal of space when she went through the doorway. Betafor stayed back, almost like a casual observer.
At the last door before access to the Livestock Level, Micah crouched and studied the floor. The claw marks were still there where the electric creature tried to fight its way back into the space.
“Seal this door. No one gets in. No one gets out.”
“That’s pretty harsh. Is there no way to help them?”
“The entirety of their existence is in there. They are toxic to humanity, so they get to stay in there. Maybe scientists will study them someday, but that will be after they figure out a way to neutralize them.”
The Android activated his finger laser and welded a bead where the door recessed into the bulkhead, sealing it, preventing it from being opened without cutting the weld. He pulled a small can from a pouch he carried and painted an X across the door.
“I guess that will work.” Micah looked at it for a moment before turning away. “Only thirty-five more corridors to go, on this level that is.”
She accessed her neural implant. ‘Holly, at this rate, how long will it take to check and clear the aft end of th
e ship?’
‘Seven years.’
Micah held her face in her hands. ‘Just the aft end. Not the whole ship.’
‘Seven-point-one-four years, to be exact, Master President. I’m sorry. The Traveler is a big ship and there are a great number of levels, at least ten per deck. I factored in eight hours of sleep per day. If you didn’t sleep, you could get it done in four years.’
‘Thanks for that clarification. Connect me with Braden, please.’
***
The Android pointed to a door. “The last information available to me indicates that the creature is in there.”
“You don’t have up-to-date information? We could be walking into a trap.” Braden’s lip quivered as he started to get angry.
“Holly has disconnected me from the ship to put your mind at ease.”
Braden gritted his teeth. “Holly, how do we resolve this, because my mind is not at ease.”
“If you trust me, I can restore the connections and the Android will have information available from all sources in real time. As long as I’m connected to the Android, it will be under my control.”
“I don’t like that caveat, Holly, but let’s give it a shot. I’ll keep my blaster in hand, just in case.”
The Android froze for a few moments before turning toward Braden. He leveled his blaster at the Android’s chest.
“The creature is still in there.”
“Do we know how it attacks? How can we defeat it? Do we need to defeat it?”
“It is very fast and lashes out with tentacles at approaching machines. It shorts their power supply and devours them slowly. It consumed a Maintenance Bot less than two days ago, so it has no need to feed for some time.”
“Looks like we’re going to catch it sleeping. Bounder, be ready. I think that Pik and I may be the only ones who need to avoid this creature because of the chips in our heads. If it can’t sense those, maybe it’ll go after our weapons.”
“Andy, you open the door, Everyone, be ready.”
The light started to flash before Braden’s eye. An incoming signal from Micah. He started to raise his hand, but it was too late. The door slid open. They looked into the darkness beyond, unable to distinguish between dark blobs. “Lights!” Braden yelled.
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