“Perhaps he has good memories,” Rose interjected, walking toward them. As ever, Rob dogged her footsteps, but she’d become used to it and ignored him, “Have you stopped to consider, Colonel, your Frankenstein creatures may retain something inside their brains, some vestige of humanity? They may be more than just the killing machines you intend them to be.”
He shook his head. “I doubt it. I very much doubt it. What you have to bear in mind, Mrs. Romero, is that he could go rogue at any moment. Kill you, and kill everyone around him. If there’s a glitch in his programming, the best way would be to deactivate and…”
She glared at him in rage. “Part of my husband is inside his head, I know it. What you’re talking about is tantamount to murder.”
There was an awkward silence, and it looked for a moment as if she was about to attack him. Jamison stepped between them. “Hold it, there’s a lot more going on here than a disagreement about a Janissary. We should make a decision about these creatures. Can we use them or not? RedCorp is about to lose the battle to the Titans, and they’ll come gunning for us as soon as they’re done. If we don’t deploy them, we’ll go down along with RedCorp.”
Travers glanced at the silent ranks. “They’re not ready. If you commit them to the battle against the Titans in support of your rebel army, they’d be wiped out. They’re just not ready to respond to orders. It would be like sending children out to fight.”
The rebel leader scowled. “Screw them being not ready. I need them now.”
Cage held up a hand to stop the squabble. “You’re pulling yourselves apart, when we should be working together to defeat the enemy. I have an idea. Colonel. Can Rob communicate with these creatures?”
He threw him an irritated glance. “Of course he can communicate with them, to a limited extent. You should know they’re programmed to obey any senior manager or officer of RedCorp. Rob is designated as a military officer, as he was in life, so that’s the way I programmed him. What’s your point?”
“So he could direct them in battle?”
“Not direct them, but he can make them follow him, like a flock of birds might follow those in front. He has no concept of tactics or strategy. All he can do is pass on orders and shoot a gun. He can’t provide leadership, not in the conventional sense. Any half decent platoon could flank them, or outfight them using the rudiments of combat training.”
“I can lead them.”
Travers gave him a sharp glance. “Against the Titans? Suicide.”
“It has to be that way. Remember, I was a Lifer. I’m better equipped to deal with these cybernetic creatures. With Rob as my Company Commander at the head of the Janissaries, he can pass on my orders to one hundred soldiers. They’d be unstoppable, but the question is, can you do it?”
His eyes widened, and he gave a slow nod. “Give me a minute. I need to check something first.”
He returned to his console and began to interrogate his systems. Rose moved next to Cage. “What you’re talking about is crazy. You can’t stand up against those monsters, the Titans. They’ll kill you.”
He shrugged. “It’s that or we all die. I’m not unlike them. Remember, I’m part creature, too.”
She put her arm in his and smiled. “I can live with that.” She looked at Rob, “I was married to a Lifer, remember. I know the commitment.”
“Yeah.”
The tension grew as Travers hammered at the keys, shouted at the console when he got a response he didn’t like, and sat back to wait. Less than thirty seconds later, his face lit up in a smile.
“It’s possible to establish a command chain, like you suggested. But remember, without leadership, they’re just idiots with guns, nothing more. They’ll obey Rob and you.”
“How did you manage to program them to obey me?”
He grinned. “I enlisted you into RedCorp as a senior officer. I wish I’d thought of it before. I’ll give you a demonstration. I programmed Rob to take orders from me, and now he’ll take them from you as well.”
Cage inspected the silent ranks, and then turned his gaze on Rob. “Tell them to turn through one hundred and eighty degrees.”
Rob didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. Communication was by signal beamed wirelessly. They turned as one, and a drill sergeant would have wept tears of joy at their precision. Travers regarded his creations fondly. “It works! I’ll send them to the armory to collect their weapons, and they’ll be ready to go out and fight at a moment’s notice. Rob will pass on any order you give him, and they’ll carry on until either they’ve completed their objective, or they are destroyed.”
They noted he was careful not to use the word ‘killed’ so as not to humanize them. Machines could be destroyed. People were killed. He gave the order to the Janissaries.
“Rob, order your men to report to the armory and collect weapons. Then return here and await Cage’s orders.”
It was uncanny. Rob stared at the hulking soldiers, their faces blank, and they moved as one. They looked a lot like Lifers, though bulkier, their skeletons exaggerated and massive. Each was covered in a honeycombed layer of armor and fabric, and their heads in dull red helmets that hid their features. They left the room and returned minutes later carrying M61 railgun cannons, the same weapons used by the elite RedCorp units decimated by the arrival of the Titans. In their hands they looked puny, nothing more than conventional rifles. They held the weapons at the slope, as though on parade. Travers gave Jamison a triumphant smile.
“They’re ready. Good luck with them, Colonel. You, too, Cage.”
“Thank you, Colonel.”
Jamison looked at Cage. “The Titans are still fighting the Martians, and it’s too early for us to get involved, otherwise we’ll be fighting two enemies. I have a job for you. Take Rob with you. There’s a bunch of gunships on the surface, their RedCorp crews have abandoned them. I have some pilots with us to fly them, but I need to check first they’re not guarded. We can’t afford to lose pilots.”
“Copy that.”
“Your helmet comms should all be working. We’ve aligned the channels and the encryption. Keep me informed about what’s happening. And don’t get yourself killed.”
“Copy that. Rob, come with me.”
To their astonishment, he didn’t move. Not at first. He looked around the room, and at Rose, and waited. Each of them looked at him, but Cage raised his voice.
“Rob.”
Again nothing.
“I guess he’s not happy about leaving me,” Rose said into the awkward silence, “I’m coming along.”
She picked up a rifle, and he nodded. There was no choice. “Helmet on, let’s do it.”
They left the room and threaded out through the tunnels. On the surface, the noise of battle came faintly from several kilometers away. The thump of heavy weapons, the reverberations from crashing aircraft as they hit the ground, and the incessant automatic fire told its own story. The battle still raged, meaning they had a little time before the invaders reached their position. Several grounded gunships lay less than a kilometer away in the center of an untidy mess of abandoned equipment; aluminum crates, weapons, and a destroyed gunship, evidence of a ferocious air attack. They hiked toward the nearest gunship, and when they were less than ten meters from the open ramp, a man stepped out. Red biosuit, RedCorp flashes, but he wasn’t holding a weapon.
They brought up their guns. Rob stepped in front of Rose and leveled his rifle ready to fire.
“Rob, no!” Cage shouted. He walked toward the man. “Who are you?”
He returned a bitter grimace. “I was attached to this squadron. Right now, I’m the last pilot we’ve got.”
“What happened to the others?”
“Dead. The Titans hit us with an air raid, and they didn’t make it.” He turned and pointed to a heap of red biosuits, the remnants of their wearers still inside, half hidden by the fuselage of a gunship, “They’re over there, what’s left of them. The bastards came in low and fast before they could g
et under cover. They knew exactly where to hit us.”
“What about the aircraft, the gunships?”
“The Titans hit them with precision missiles. They’re destroyed, all of them.”
Cage looked at the wreckage and cursed. “What about your ship?”
He hesitated. “Yeah, this one survived. I was just checking it out when you arrived. You plan to kill me?”
“No, but we need your ship. Dammit, we needed all of the gunships.”
“There’re around twenty on the ground at Tharsis Spaceport. The crews disappeared like water down the drain when the attacks got out of hand, and I don’t blame them. It’s chaos down there. Suicide, going up against the Titans.”
“Twenty Ares gunships?”
“That’s about right.”
He made the decision in seconds and called Jamison.
“I need pilots now, Colonel, twenty if you can find them. We have to take those gunships at Tharsis. They blasted the ones here into wreckage. I can cram some in the sole surviving gunship, but you’ll need a carrier to take the others overland. The Martians are running. They’re in chaos. We can walk in there and fly them straight out.”
“Yeah, but that’s a lot of men, Cage. We’re shorthanded enough as it is. You know what the odds are against us.”
“Twenty gunships would put a dent in those odds.”
He heard a sigh, and moments later, Jamison gave him the go ahead.
“I’m sending four guys out to you. They can all fly a ship. I’ll round up as many more as I can find and send them in a carrier. Make sure they don’t walk into an ambush, and bring me those ships.”
“Count on it, Colonel.”
“I am.”
Minutes later, the four rebel pilots arrived, along with more troopers in support, men who would act as gunners. A former RedCorp pilot, Lars Andersen, who’d defected to the rebels after RedCorp had carried out a massacre that sickened him and made up his mind to quit, led them. They boarded the gunship, took off for the short flight to Tharsis Spaceport, and made their way over the spaceport. It wasn’t difficult getting landing clearance. The former RedCorp pilot called an emergency, and they cleared them for an immediate landing.
The gunship touched down on the fringes of a forest of unguarded ships. Immediately, the rebel pilots gleefully spread out and took possession of the first four. The other men clambered aboard and took up positions in the small rear compartments, to man the guns. Cage glanced around the spaceport, and it was more chaotic than he’d have believed possible. The vast area was bustling with red biosuits as the RedCorp troopers raced from place to place, panicked, and leaderless. If they decided to check out the gunships, it would all be over, they’d swamp them.
Yet no one seemed to be taking any notice. Cage could see the flashes of light far in the distance as the battle edged closer. He knew he needed every single man and woman in this fight, yet there were hundreds here, and they had no intention of joining the battle. In less than an hour the Titans would be all over this part of the facility, and with the spaceport gone, the colony would be in serious trouble. Tens of thousands could die if the defenses finally fell. Yet they were running.
I need to get some kind of attack organized. We need these soldiers.
He called Andersen and then pointed at the tall building behind him. The structure consisted of multiple stories, topped by a control tower, and studded with antenna and dishes.
“I’m going up there. We need to get someone to order the RedCorp units to stop running and join the battle.”
Andersen looked doubtful. “It won’t be so easy. They’ll be desperate to block access to anyone who doesn’t belong. Non-RedCorp personnel won’t stand a chance.”
He looked at Rose. “Reckon you and your pal can get us in there? Maybe we can get a patch through to their officers.”
“Maybe,” she answered, “But why would they listen to you?”
He grinned. “Because I’ll offer them a chance to live. With any luck, even a chance to win.”
She didn’t seem convinced, but she nodded her agreement. “Okay, we’ll give it a try.”
“You can’t do more than that. Andersen, stay here and guard these ships like they’re worth their weight in gold.”
A chuckle. “If we can use them to hammer the Titans, that’s exactly what they’re worth. Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
He turned to Rose, “Stay behind me, behind Rob, and make sure you’re locked and loaded.”
“We are.”
He smiled, wondering if there was anything of her husband in that impassive creature. She treated him more like the son she’d never had.
“Let’s go.”
They raced across the hard surface of the spaceport, making no effort at concealment. The chaos was so overwhelming, if anyone noticed their biosuits were not standard issue, they weren’t prepared to take the time to ask any questions. The milling crowds of troopers and ground crews had abandoned all discipline to wide-eyed panic. They reached the main command and control building, and he pushed through an airlock, past an unopened door, and into the entrance lobby. A squad of armored security operatives with green flashes ran past and disappeared into the rabbit warren of passages.
“This isn’t good,” Rose murmured, “The spaceport is sure to fall. I doubt we have enough time. They’re running like scared rabbits.”
“They need organization and leadership, that’s all. We need them. We have to get the troops into battle.”
The entrance was unguarded, and he led the way inside. Up a wide staircase, they reached the second floor, and they had two options. Continue upward to the top floor, which would house the main observation and monitoring section, or to check out this floor. Make certain they didn’t have an armed squad about to cut them off.
He pushed open the door and walked inside. A second later, he knew he’d made a mistake. A hard rifle barrel rammed into his belly, and he fell to the floor, gasping for air. The door slammed shut, with Rose and Rob on the other side. A voice snarled, “It’s a rebel. Get his helmet off, Sergeant. Let’s see what we’re dealing with here.”
Rough hands unlocked his helmet and pulled it off his head. He was staring at a hard-faced man, with eyes as cold as a bill collector or a killer. He wore the insignia of a top sergeant, and the unit flashes of an MP. The soldier behind him wore General’s stars on the shoulders of his suit, and Cage recognized him immediately. He’d aged since he’d first seen him up close, years ago, at the start of the Third Martian War. The lined, tired face wore a look of astonishment as he stared at his quarry.
“Damn if that don’t beat it all. Lieutenant Cage.”
“General Hartmann.”
The older man nodded. He was dirty and disheveled, and his biosuit bore the evidence of hastily repaired tears. “Yeah, Cage, it’s about time. You’ve been a hard man to track down, Lieutenant. A pity it has to end like this, but you don’t leave me any choice now, do you? I have to kill you.”
“You mean like you tried four years ago, except I didn’t conveniently die with my men. It doesn’t matter now, though, does it? We’ve seen your Janissaries, and your plan for Earth is over. So who cares?”
The General hesitated, and then his thin lips parted in what could have been a wintry smile. “You’ve caused me a lot of trouble, Lieutenant.” He snapped an order at the man covering him with a handgun, “Finish him off, Sergeant Guzman. It’s way past time.”
“Yes, Sir!”
He raised the weapon, aimed it at his head, and the door exploded inward. It fell apart in a shower of plastic and aluminum, and Rob was standing in the empty doorway. His face was impassive, but his intent was obvious, the gun searching for a target. Hartmann was fast, recognized the Janissary, and sized up the situation in a fraction of a second.
“Kill Cage! That’s a direct order, soldier, from a senior RedCorp officer.”
The gun swung away and pointed down at him. Behind the creature, Rose’s
voice was strident with fear. “Rob, no! Don’t kill him. Rob, please!”
The gun wavered, Sergeant Guzman looked away, and Cage took his chance. He snatched his fallen weapon off the floor and catapulted to his feet. Swung the muzzle toward Guzman, who kicked out with his boot. The blow slammed into his hand, enough for him to lose the grip on the weapon. The Sergeant snatched out his handgun, took aim, and Cage twisted away at the last minute. The shot punched a hole in the ceiling and exited somewhere two floors up. Air began to hiss out, then the self-sealing material stopped the leak, and the noise stopped. The breach gave him a temporary advantage, as Guzman stared up in panic. Cage punched the soldier hard, and he grunted with pain.
Behind him, Hartmann was screaming in rage, bellowing orders at Rob to kill him. The Janissary still wavered, but Rose hung onto his arm, begging and pleading for his life. Guzman began to recover, and Cage wrestled the weapon from his hand. The Sergeant was tough, and for several minutes they fought with grim ferocity for possession of the gun. At last, he found an exposed place in Guzman’s crotch, and he brought up his knee hard. Cage’s cybernetic muscles slammed hard into the groin, and something internal broke. The Sergeant squealed in shock and agony, and his eyes began to glaze. He was out of the fight, with more important things to worry about.
Cage turned his attention back to Hartmann, who was trying to line up a shot on the man who’d defied him and escaped his clutches for so long. The man he’d traveled to Mars to track down and kill. He was seconds away from making his wish come true, and in desperation, Cage looked at Rob for help. The Janissary was standing in front of Rose, protecting her in case the General tried to shoot her. The idea came to him in a flash. It was stupid crazy, reckless, all of those things, but he was desperate. He pitched his voice to make sure there was no mistake.
“General, you’re an idiot. It’s the woman who’s stopping him from carrying out your orders. Kill the girl, and he’ll do what you want. You never could make the right choices, just like your son.”
He didn’t want to go further, but he could see no other choice.
Last Life (Lifers Book 1) Page 31
