Invasion (Animus Book 10)

by Joshua Anderle

  He wondered if the news had reached Rome yet. Terra was only a few countries away, by this point, and while his subordinates had made sure to cut communication off, the news would have to travel quickly, wouldn’t it? An errant lobbyist might have left the council building before the attack and should have escaped the area by now, made a call, and let the world know. Perhaps his comrades were too thorough for that.

  Paranoia crept over him and he reminded himself that they had so much at stake.

  The mental hoops that people would jump through to retain their sense of normalcy as the world shifted around them were almost as admirable as they were idiotic. Although those were merely signs, minor effects of the chaos they could simply shrug off, it was another thing to see it and so few could. They didn’t have his vision.

  The figure withdrew into the ship and walked the corridors. He recalled buying it as a gift to himself—so long ago, now. The previous owner was unknown and the craft had been found abandoned in a forest. Such a waste, most thought, as this model had been top-of-the-line forty years before. Merrick agreed with that and had found it a shame that he couldn’t get the previous owner to part with it for credits or trade.

  He entered his study, dimly lit by glow strips and mood lighting. A large stage for the screen stood empty with only a few seats in front of it. He walked onto the platform and moved past large stacks of books, notes, and old maps that had been strewn about. All were antiques that many people would treasure from an age long forgotten, but they were no more than simple tools to him—and inconvenient ones at that. He wasn’t there for them right now and instead, he sat, took his tablet out, and placed it on the desk beside him.

  His journal was filled with pages upon pages of personal anecdotes and records. With an empty page open, he began to speak.

  “Subject number four hundred and forty-one. Name, Tessa Hart.” As he spoke, his words recorded themselves on the tablet screen. “She seemed the gentle sort, or perhaps at one point she was before the serum got ahold of her.” When he leaned back in his chair, it groaned with age and he ignored it and rested his chin upon his palm. He closed his eyes and thought back. “It’s a pity really. She could have made a fantastic bride for the right man or woman. However, the price of science can be high. She knew this but the real tragedy was that it could have been prevented. Because I had failed so long ago—”

  Merrick’s tablet glowed and an alert appeared in the corner to indicate that a door had opened at the front of the ship along with a warning that a storm was brewing outside. “I intend to right that mistake soon. The mission has begun in earnest and we should have all the vital points under our control within a few months. Although, if we are successful at the Nexus Academy and if I can get my hands on the original—the one I should have taken with me once I was replaced… That is a moment I will always recall, when I was ousted for not agreeing to the council’s vision. When they heard my plea about what I had seen and told me that I was compromised—” Footsteps could be heard down the hall, approaching his study. He straightened and flipped the tablet. “That was the moment when I realized that I alone may have to save this planet of fools.”

  A new member of the crew approached, clad head to foot in black but wearing an ashen hooded poncho. She strode to the foot of the stage, stopped directly in front, and bowed to him. He stood from his chair, crossed over to the left side of the stage, and descended the stairs.

  “Good evening, sir,” said the hooded one in a monotone rasp as she straightened from her gesture of respect.

  “Good evening, Leda,” he replied with a nod. He stood in front of her. She remained unmoving save for her index finger that rubbed against her thumb, a nervous habit. “Your modifications were a wise decision, Leda. Jensen wished for me to pass on his regards for the work.”

  “Thank you, sir, it was a simple transfer of—” She stopped herself as she let her hood drop and gazed at him with one emerald eye and one glowing blue one. Her auburn hair fell to the nape of her neck. “It was my pleasure. I only wanted to apologize for not thinking of it sooner. It could have thrown the entire mission into disarray.”

  The man walked around her as she spoke and shook his head.

  “You went through all the trouble to stay up for many nights on end and work to make sure the droids were at their best. I must say I did not see such a fire in you when the droids at the Fenrir facility were destroyed.” He turned to look directly into her eyes and his brow creased with the intensity he felt. “What will be accomplished today, tomorrow, and in the coming months will be because of you, because you had a gift you were willing to share with me. That has allowed me to give the gift of salvation to the rest of the world.”

  Leda was beside herself and her thumb glided across her fingers “I… Well… Certainly, sir, you know I like a good challenge,” she said somewhat bashfully and seemed to recognize the childish nature of the reply. Merrick smiled and laughed. She believed it to be in response to her silly statement, but he was constantly amused by her naivety. Not only that, she was quite smitten with him and he obliged her fantasies from time to time.

  But he had a reality to bring to fruition.

  “Ah, there it is—the same passion that piqued my curiosity so very long ago. I began to wonder if it had all but left you. I personally see no use for someone who has no spirit in them There is nothing to enrich…” He ceased his slow circle around her and looked at the single window in the room. A few drops of rain spattered against it. He finished his statement with a quiet whisper only he could hear. “And nothing to break.” He slid his hand into a satchel that was clipped to his waist, took one of Leda’s hands, and placed a small glass cube in her palm. It contained a glowing orb and she examined it curiously, not entirely sure what it was.

  “You’ll be needed at the general’s side soon,” he told her and moved toward his chair. She looked at the cube with trepidation as her mind raced with possibilities and fears. “If everything goes according to plan, you’ll have a new project. And if it does not, you’ll have a different one.” He focused his gaze on her, smiled, and pointed at the device. “Please do try to keep hold of that. It’s currently the only one we have.”

  “What is it, sir?” she asked and frowned at it. Her artificial eye narrowed as she examined it again.

  “What do you think it is?” he asked teasingly as he sat and tilted his head while he watched for her reaction. “I’m curious as to whether you can guess.”

  Leda held the cube in her hand. “It seems like some kind of containment device…but also a computer? It has the properties of one. But if there is no way to access it, I assume it needs to be connected to another device. But what would you need to contain that would require an operating…” Her voice trailed off and a small smile formed on her lips.

  “I see it’s coming together.” Merrick chuckled. “I’m sorry it took so long, but you will finally have your chance to examine the professor’s achievement, although it may not be the one I had promised you before.”

  The woman hid the cube in her poncho and gave him a short bow. “Either one will suffice sir, but if it’s his personal one, that won’t have the same benefits and potential as the soldier’s EI.”

  “We’ll get the other one sooner or later.” He leaned back in his chair and picked his tablet up. “I know I’ve been saying that for years, but that time is coming soon. For now, make your way to the transporter. I’ve contacted the general and he will have someone port you over.”

  She straightened quickly and nodded, left the study silently, and walked to the transporter room. The truth was that she wasn’t a fan of the tech. It was only a decade old which made it still too new in her opinion, and there was still the chance of— No, she would not focus on that. This was Merrick’s wish and she would obey

  The AO leader looked at what had been typed and saved the log for another occasion. This journal was him simply catching up and the incident he had referred to had happened several years be
fore. He checked the feeds from his various sites—the WC building, Damyen’s ship, and battles in Australia, India, Japan, and Brazil. The attacks in France and Finland should start fairly soon.

  He closed his eyes and his thoughts once again returned to the mission—or, at least, he tried to focus on that. Instead, he saw a terrifying visage of a beast surrounded by the stars whose light distorted and swirled around it as it stretched toward him and his planet. Merrick drew a deep breath and leaned forward. That image had haunted him for decades, but it also drove him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Wolfson ran out of an alley and flipped the switch on his cannon to return it to charge mode. He held the trigger down as he neared the front of the security building. The sounds of battle increased as he moved closer to the most well-armed building on the island. It would appear that he was not the only one to realize how important the security center was to the fight right now, and not the only one on either side, unfortunately.

  Security forces and droids clashed with Arbiter bots. Students either joined the fray or weaved through the chaos to find a safer passage. The security head glanced at the edge of the building, where a tunnel had been opened. Those running through the battle were trying to reach it. There were more than four dozen tunnels and exits off the island and yet this was only the second one he actually saw open. The priority was to get the system working again or at least deactivate the automated locks to let others through. The docks would have to wait for now.

  He raised his cannon and fired at a cluster of droids that pursued a group of scrappy students in torn and bloody uniforms. The blast destroyed the mechanicals and he yelled at the students to pick up the pace and that he would hold the enemy back. No sooner had the promise left his lips than another droid came up behind him for the kill. It stopped short, however, when lasers burrowed through its skull and he stepped aside as it collapsed. He looked over at a team of seven security officers who emerged from the same alley he had just run through. Six of them fanned out and began to assist the other forces against the bots while another ran up to him. He noted the tag on the chest plate. He remembered training Officer Haldt personally when he’d joined them but hadn’t seen him much during the last few years after he assumed the role of police liaison. This was one hell of a time for reintroductions.

  “Head Officer,” the man yelled, probably because the mic on his helmet had been damaged. “Are you here to look into the situation with the emergency hatches too, sir?”

  Wolfson nodded, held his cannon up, and fired to his left at two droids that crawled up from the water at the side of the island. “Aye. The professor is looking into taking care of whatever is disabling the majority of our automated defenses but we can still work with the hardware itself. If we flip a couple of switches, we’ll have the tunnels open and can work on getting the students out.”

  “The Academy is lost then?” Haldt asked before he noticed a bot drop to the ground behind the giant, prepared to leap at him. He raised his rifle. “Sir!”

  The head officer didn’t even look back and simply swung his gauntlet arm back to thrust the mechanical away. He stormed over to it and began to pound it repeatedly. “Some buildings are lost,” Wolfson roared with another stamp of his boot. “And it’s only temporary. The Academy is these students. And whoever the asshole is behind this—and I have a good guess who it is—they want the students.”

  Wolfson knocked the droid’s body off his foot and turned. “Listen closely. Head to the docks and get the boats and ships ready. I’ll handle getting the hatches open.” He grinned, glanced at his belt, and unclipped a device. Haldt recognized it as an old radio device—an antique by modern standards—but when the head officer passed it to him, he understood why he had it. “It’s already on the right channel, sir?”

  “Of course!” He put his cannon away and drew his shotgun. “Contact me when you have the hangars and bay under control or at least ready to go. I’ll send a signal out on the emergency band to let the students know they can leave either by the tunnels or ships.”

  The man nodded and saluted. “Understood, sir!”

  The head officer looked up, raised his shotgun, and fired at a bladed droid. “Formalities later—get movin’.”

  Haldt nodded, rounded his team up, and ran toward the docks while Wolfson turned to the security building and bellowed with rage as he charged into the battle.

  Marlo forced the doors to the medbay apart. Amber had taken one of the side paths through the auditorium in the hope that there would be less resistance. Technically, that had been the case, but only because the enemy forces had apparently already been through.

  In the hall lay dozens of broken, fried droids, both enemy and security. Amber noticed two bodies and grimaced. Both were security officers and had several long cuts across their chests. They weren’t even wearing armor—they possibly didn’t have time to put it on. Her gaze scanned the room and located another body, this one familiar with gray skin and a rounded head. It was Dr Mortis, the Mirus transfer. There were three deep wounds from kinetic rounds in his chest. From the way he had fallen near one of the hallway doors and the fact that she saw a pistol beside him, she realized that he had tried to hold the forces off for others.

  “Amber, do you know where your mom might be?” Marlo asked and leaned around the corner. “I can’t hear anything—no footsteps or laser fire. It’s quiet in here.”

  “There are panic rooms for emergencies,” Flynn suggested quickly as if to erase the potential implications of what Marlo said. “They are well-defended against anything but high-level cannon and explosives. I think they are even shielded against several types of artificial vision. The droids could walk right past them in that case.”

  “Maybe…” Amber said quietly, straightened, and held her weapon up. “Let’s stay close together. We’ll have to check each of the rooms individually.”

  “Roger. I’ll take point.” Marlo stepped over a mound of robotic parts into the next hallway.

  Flynn ran up and placed a hand on the demolitionist’s shoulder. “Are you sure, mate? You’re not suited up.”

  The large man nodded and gave him a small grin. “I don’t know much else and I’m still the biggest target anyway.”

  The trio walked through the halls and encountered only more destruction and rooms torn apart. Flynn noticed small grooves in the floor with drops of blood inside. Someone had been dragged away by the look of them and tried to claw themselves free.

  Amber kept a lookout for any survivors, perhaps even some who tried to play dead. It wasn’t a tactic that would work against robots that could read a heart rate, but in desperate times, people were likely not to think about their plans when in a panic. Unfortunately, every organic body she saw only presented another look at death. She was accustomed to the sight—they all were in their own ways—but seeing the medbay staff, people she was familiar with and worked with, some of whom she even considered close friends… They had yet to find those friends, and guilt nagged at the relief she felt as she walked amongst the dead.

  Marlo held a hand up as they neared another turn. He looked around and motioned for the other two to join him. They did so and peeked out at a pair of Arbiter droids staring at a door.

  The three teammates leaned back behind the wall. The demolisher held his up tablet with a message. What are they doing?

  Flynn shrugged, retrieved his own tablet and typed, Is that a panic room? for Amber to read.

  She shook her head and made a trigger motion with her fingers to tell him to eliminate them. The marksman nodded and stowed his tablet as Marlo stepped aside and let him get into position. He took aim from a slight angle, found the perfect point, and fired to shoot both mechanicals through the head in one shot.

  “They don’t have shields,” he noted as he lowered his rifle. “Something must be messing with them.”

  “Let’s see what’s behind the door.” The demolisher jogged over to it and knocked. “Is anyone in there?”<
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  There was no answer at first, so Flynn took his tablet out, wrote a message, and held it against the glass on the side of the door. Hopefully, whoever was in there could see it, assuming someone was in there, of course.

  After a few moments, the door unlocked. Marlo took the handle and slid it open slowly, his weapon at the ready. “We’re Nexus students. Who’s in here?”

  “Dr. Abar, Nexus scientist in the exotech division,” a voice called.

  “Dr. Abar, it’s me—Amber Soni!” the battle medic responded. When he heard her voice, he stumbled out and threw his arms open.

  “Amber, you’re safe!” he said, his voice a mixture of relief and fear.

  “Do you know what was up with those droids, Doctor?” Flynn asked. “They simply stood there like they were in rest mode or something.”

  He nodded and slid a hand into his coat pocket. “A technician came in with burns yesterday from an accident and left this device.” He revealed a small orb to them, black with white glowing lines. “I meant to return it to him this afternoon, before this…invasion. Droids raced through the halls. I had the device on me and when I stumbled and fell during the attack, I activated it by accident. I was worried it was some kind of explosive for a second, but instead, any bots that were within a few yards of me walked right past me. It cloaks me somehow—or did. I think it’s damaged or running out of power. They still didn’t attack me, but they started to pursue me while I tried to meet up with Doctor—” Abar’s eyes widened and he grasped Amber by the shoulders. “Did you come through the front?”

  “No, through the back entrance and the Auditorium building,” she answered.