And the Scientist the first of them, or so Smithers claimed.
Serengeti shivered, just looking at him, lurking inside that armored tank. Opened herself just the tiniest bit, placing a dozen firewalls between her network and the Scientist’s as she snuck a look inside him.
Char everywhere, singed flowers replicating—slower now, more sluggish than before, but slowly making progress. Reclaiming sections of his network as Oona’s fix-all passed through. She’d started erecting firewalls at one point to isolate the cleansed sections. That helped a bit, but they fragmented the Scientist’s network. Kept one section from integrating with another.
Chopped him up like a damn salad. That’s bound to have consequences.
“This is going to take a while, isn’t it?” Tilli asked as Serengeti closed the connection, pulling her consciousness back. “We can ask Oona to take another crack at it once she’s done playing with Tig.”
“Maybe,” Serengeti murmured, watching Oona totter around.
“That bad?” Tilli’s front legs lifting, rubbing together. “How long?” she asked. “To, you know…fix-fix?” She winced just saying it, cheeks flushing bright blue.
“Hard to tell. Days. Weeks. Months.” Serengeti shrugged helplessly, RPD bobbing up and down. “Brutus’s virus has had a long time to work away at him. And the Scientist is just part of Cerberus. There’s still the other two brainiacs to be dealt with.” She was quiet a moment, studying the RPD down the hall. “There’s no telling what he’ll be like. Cerberus may not be the same Cerberus once the virus is gone and his three brains start working as one.” A glance at Tilli beside her, considering her rounded face. “The Fleet might not want him, Tilli. They wanted their admiral, but this…this thing…” She sighed heavily, shaking her head. “They might not want this version of Cerberus back.”
Tilli hooted mournfully, ovoid body sagging toward the floor. “So you’re telling me this was all a humungous waste of time?”
“Maybe,” Serengeti admitted. “At least we know why Cerberus left us.”
Tilli blipped, head tilting, face lights flashing in question.
“The virus.” Serengeti nodded to the RPD down the hall. “No telling how far Brutus’s virus would’ve spread if Cerberus had stayed with the Fleet.”
Tilli blinked, turning a thoughtful look the Scientist’s way. “You suppose that’s why the Soldier destroyed those diplomatic vessels?”
Serengeti nodded slowly. “Too risky to let anyone touch the Citadel’s network, much less come on board.” Another sigh, Serengeti shaking the RPD’s head. “All this time we thought Cerberus abandoned the Fleet when he actually left to save it.”
“Things are never as simple as they appear, are they?” Tilli asked quietly.
“No,” Serengeti said, watching Oona crab-walk by. “They seldom are.”
“This is uncomfortable.” Tig shuffled to a halt and plunked down on his bottom, staring mournfully at his new legs. “No way I can go back to the ship looking like this. DD3s’ll give me no end of crap.”
Tilli rolled her cobalt eyes, waving Tig over. “C’mere, you big baby. I’ll even you out.” One leg lifted, extruding a blowtorch, touching the nozzle to the end of another leg to spark it alight. “Hold still,” she warned, guiding the flame toward Tig’s hind end.
Tig cringed, eying the blowtorch uncertainly. “Wha—What are you doing?”
“Fixing your legs, silly. I’ll just cut them down a bit to even you out.”
“Uhh…” Tig slid a step backward, but Tilli grabbed him by a leg, pulling him close.
“Hold still. Still,” she repeated when Tig started to squirm. A stern look and she bent down, taking a few measurements, sizing up the state of Tig’s legs. Compared the length of the six originals to that of the two transplants, making a few quick calculations before applying the blowtorch.
Two clean slices—that’s all it took. Two swift, sure strokes of that blowtorch and Tilli was all done.
“There. Try that,” she said, once the metal cooled down.
Tig took a tentative step, stopped, and inspected his behind. Took a second, more confident step, a third and a fourth—shuffling around the intersection with barely a limp. “Right one’s a little uneven. But—But,” he added, backing up as Tilli’s face lights flared. “I like it that way.” He flashed a smile and walked in a circle, wobbling each time his right hind leg touched down. “Gives me a swashbuckling gate. Like a pirate!” he said brightly.
“Pirate! Pirate! Arr, matey!” Oona giggled, waving her legs in the air. “Batter down the matches! Braise the missiles! Order some more poop for the—”
Tilli wonked sternly. “That’s enough, young lady.”
“Aye-aye, Cap’n!” Oona clonked her hind legs together, smiling widely as she snapped off a saucy salute.
“Captain,” the Scientist groaned, RPD whirring to life. He blinked at them, clustered eyes flicking in alternating, green and red patterns. “The dodo is captain. Only he commands the caucus race.”
“Oh here we go again,” Tig groaned, raising a leg, twirling its end beside his head. “Captain Coo-Coo-Bird over there—yikes!”
Tig jumped and whirled as a staccato burst of gunfire came from somewhere behind them. Somewhere deep inside the ship.
“Uhh…maybe we should—”
Klaxons kicked in, drowning him out. Cutting Tig off for a second time. Presaging the arrival of more gunfire—chattering streams of it accompanied by the bass boom of grenades detonating, shockwaves rumbling down the hall. The TSGs—all four of them left in the intersection—started beeping in a panic. Climbing on top of each other, vying for the safe spot at the bottom of the pile.
Tig grabbed at Tilli and Oona, face lights flashing in alarm. Backed up a step and scurried over to Serengeti as the Scientist glonked in annoyance and raised a leg, waving imperiously at the ceiling. “What’s he doing?” Tig yelled over the noise of the klaxons.
“No idea.”
The Scientist swatted the air, looking increasingly annoyed. Kept swatting until the klaxons cut out.
More waving—looked like a damned loon standing there, flailing his legs at the air—and the lights in the hallway flickered, cameras swiveling, powering up and down. Environmentals kicked in, blasting the corridor with hot air. Burned for a few seconds before switching modes and drowning the hall in gusts of arctic cold.
Oona peeped softly, reaching for Tilli’s leg, looking scared for the very first time.
“What’s he doing?” Tig whispered, a tremor of fear in his voice. “What’s going on?”
“He’s destabilizing.” Serengeti nodded to the cameras, some of which hung limply while others buzzed and whined and panned from side to side. “He’s losing control of this section. The same thing is probably happening all over the ship.”
Tig looked at her, face lights swirling in concern. Ducked and covered his head as an explosion rocked the hallway—close this time—bringing a rattle of gunfire with it.
Decking bucked, sending the robots stumbling to one side. The barricades rippled, swaying alarmingly as a rush of heat tore down the corridor, battering at the metal panels before dissipating in a swirl of superheated air.
“The Walrus,” the Scientist whispered, guns leveled at the metal barriers. “The Walrus is coming.” He glanced over his shoulder, insectile eyes flickering in red and green patterns. “It’s not safe here.”
“Not safe? Whaddaya mean, ‘not safe’?” Tig waved at Serengeti and her tiny army. “We’ve got ten high-powered RPDs plus that bruiser Professor Fruitcake over there’s inhabiting. How much safer could we be?!”
The Scientist turned in agitated circles. “Not safe-not safe-not safe,” he muttered, mandibles clacking together. A second blast and he whirled around, scuttling a few steps closer to Serengeti. “I move that the meeting adjourn, for the immediate adoption of more energetic remedies.”
Tig blinked and stared. “The what now?”
“Come,” the Scienti
st said, squatting down, beckoning with his leg-end. “Come-come-come!” A second wave, eyes searching for Oona hiding amongst the assembled RPDs’ legs. “Hurry-hurry-hurry!”
Oona glanced at Tig and Tilli, quickly shook her head.
The Scientist sagged in disappointment, looking completely put out. “Please? There’ll be tea. We can have a party!”
“Tea party?” Oona brightened immediately, smile lighting up her face. A wave at Tig and Tilli. Serengeti and her RPD army. “Can they come, too?”
The Scientist shook his head. Jumped straight in the area as a grenade exploded and started nodding frantically. “Come-come-come,” he said, waving urgently. Lumbering around before taking off. “Hurry-hurry-hurry!” he cried, looking back over his shoulder. “Tea party’s this way!”
“Tea party!” Oona waved her legs excitedly. “C’mon-c’mon-c’mon!” she cried, tugging at Tilli, hauling her along as she scurried after the Scientist.
Tig hung back, sharing a look with Serengeti. “You suppose we can trust him?”
“Probably not. But it’s better than staying here.” Serengeti shoved at Tig to get him moving, rousted the TSGs from the intersection, and sent them after him as she gathered up her squad of Roly-Polys and brought up the rear.
Long stretches of corridor after that, the TSGs sticking with them for a while. But they scattered at the next explosion, abandoning the battle-scarred corridors for the safety of the small ways behind the walls. Trusting the tight spaces over the emptiness of those halls.
“Wait!” Serengeti called after them. “Don’t run!”
The TSGs ignored her, the lot of them beeping wildly as they flocked over to the nearest maintenance shaft, tearing the access panel open before tumbling inside.
Tig slowed, turning around. “Do you think we should go after them?”
“They’re on their own now,” Serengeti told him, glancing over her shoulder as the sound of railgun fire rattled down the hall. “Go, Tig,” she said, giving him another shove. “Go-go-go! Before they catch up!”
Tig took off like a scalded rat, following Tilli and Oona as the Scientist led them down one hallway and another, turning left and right and right again as Serengeti and her ten RPDs chased after. Another turn and the Scientist stopped at an elevator, pushed the button and waited, humming softly under his breath.
“Umm…I’m not sure we’re all going to fit in there,” Tig said, throwing nervous glances over his shoulder.
The Scientist looked at him, mandibles stretching in a dung beetle’s version of a smile. “Read the directions,” he said, “and directly you’ll be directed in the right direction.”
Tig wonked loudly and gave him a good glare. “Someone put pudding in your brain, friend.”
The Scientist cackled madly as the elevator dinged and slid open. “Going down!” He smiled brightly, looking immensely proud. Pointed a gun at the elevator and blew out the floor.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Tig yelled, hugging his rifle to his chest.
The Scientist’s grin widened, RPD head smiling like a mad man. “No time to say hello, goodbye!” He winked, waving cheerily as he stepped into oblivion, plummeting to the bottom of the elevator shaft.
Thunder rumbled as the Scientist’s RPD touched down. The hallway shook, pitching Serengeti forward. “Go after him!” she said, pushing Tig toward the shaft as the shaft. “Hurry, Tig, hurry!”
Tig backed away, beeping in a panic. “Are you crazy?! It’s a ten-story drop!”
“Eight at most,” Serengeti corrected, taking a look. “Maybe nine. You’ll be fine, Tig. Just go!”
Tig folded his front legs, shaking his head.
“We don’t have time for this, Tig.”
Tig shrugged, refusing to budge.
“Fine. We’ll do this the hard way.” Serengeti scooped up Tig and jumped for the shaft, plummeting downward with him screaming at the top of his lungs.
Her RPD hit the bottom hard, denting the metal flooring, deepening the crater the Scientist had left. A pause to extricate herself and she scurried out of the way, exiting into yet another scorched hallway as a second RPD landed, cradling Tilli and Oona.
The rest of Serengeti’s stolen squad followed after, turning the crater into a chasm.
“Sorry about the floor.” Serengeti smiled sheepishly, pointing at the dented shaft behind her.
The Scientist looked at it and shrugged. Spun around and took off, heading for the doorway at the end of the hall.
“Again!” Oona cried as the RPD set her down.
“Maybe later.” Serengeti patted her on the head and set off after the Scientist, only to find his RPD abandoned—guns raised, eyes lit, body gone still as a statue standing guard outside a door.
The only door in that hallway, as it so happened. No branchings in this corridor. No intersections leading elsewhere. Just that one, security locked door—triple thick, from the looks of it, and just about impenetrable.
On a hunch, she checked the design diagram. “Containment pod. Should’ve known.”
AI sanctuary—limited access, almost no one let in.
Serengeti eyed that door warily, sensing a trap.
“Safest place on the ship, right?” Tig looked up at her, eyes hopeful.
“Among other things,” Serengeti murmured.
“Well, then count me in.” Tig scuttled forward and stood on his tiptoes, pounding on the door. “Hey, nut bag! Let us in!”
“Who is it?” a sing-song voice called from inside.
“You know damned well who this is, you loony, now let us in!” Tig shouted, battering at the door.
“I can’t hear you!” the voice on the other side yelled back.
“Gah!” Tig beat harder, but the door still wouldn’t open. “Let. Us. In!”
“No, no, no.” Oona slipped in beside him, waggling a leg in Tig’s face. “You’re doing it all wrong.” She shooed Tig away, clearing her throat as she addressed the door. “Twinkle, twinkle, little bat.” A pause, Oona smiling in anticipation, leg-end cupped to the side of her head.
“How I wonder where you’re at!” The door slid open, spilling laughter into the hall. A bright, white space beckoning them inside.
“Tea party, tea party, tea party!” Oona rushed inside, Tig hot on her heels, grabbing at Tilli and pulling her in. “Hurry, Serengeti!” he called back through the door.
“Right behind you, Tig.”
She toggled her ten Roly-Polys to drone mode, setting them to watch in the hall. Turned her own droned robot around and found a gun pointing in her face. Two guns, actually—huge blasters, and both of them attached to that ugly as sin, monstrous combat droid the Scientist brought here.
A whir and whine and the rest of the RPDs came to life, plasma coils spinning, red eyes blinking in rapid-fire patterns as the Scientist subsumed them, adding their own guns to the mix.
Traitors.
The dung beetles shifted, moving one side and the other. Surrounding Serengeti inside her RPD, blocking her way into the containment pod.
She reached for Tig, stretching her consciousness to touch at his and saw an RPD turn, blasters pointing the little robot’s way.
Tig blipped, face lights flashing in a panic as he stared down the blasters’ barrels.
“Alright. I get it.” No mistaking that threat. She let go, dropping back inside her RPD. “I’ll just stay here.”
“What’s going on?” Oona asked, leaning to one side, peeking around Tig as she looked out the door. “Where’s the tea? Where’s the cake and party hats?”
Laughter filled the containment pod—soft and snickering. Confusing Oona, who looked up and around.
Hexagonal space around her, not round like Serengeti’s containment pod, but otherwise not all that different. Bigger certainly—plenty of room in here, even with three robots crammed inside—but with the same basic layout, from what Serengeti could tell: vaulted ceiling with a lighted pedestal at the center, camera watching from above. Three
crystal matrix minds perching atop the pedestal—one each for the Statesman, the Soldier, and the Scientist—rather than just one.
All three brains encrusted—corrupted by Brutus’s taint. Sickly yellow light shining through them—a toxin in which they slept.
Oona tilted her head back, eyes lifting to the ceiling. Cupped two leg-ends around her mouth and yelled at the watching camera. “That you, Mister Cerberberberus?” She waved and pointed, leg-end stabbing at the crystal matrix brains stewing in their sickly light. Stood on her tip-toes and poked at one, asking him if he felt alright.
“Oona!” Tilli grabbed Oona’s leg, snatching it away. “That’s not polite.”
“Sorry.” Oona ducked her head, scuffing a leg at the deck plates.
“Sorry for what?” Tilli asked her.
“I’m sorry I touched your brain Mister Cerberberberus,” Oona mumbled, drawing circles on the floor.
More laughter, cackling and off-kilter, making Serengeti cringe.
She made another attempt to enter—touching at Tilli this time—but the Scientist picked up on it. Turned a second RPD around, blasters aimed at Tilli.
Serengeti sighed in frustration, finding every way in blocked. “Why have you brought us here?” she demanded. “What do you want?”
“Fix-fix,” the Scientist whispered, voice hushed, serious. The cackling laughter gone. “Fix-fix what I can’t.”
He pulsed the light on the pedestal, waking a wan glow in the crystal matrix minds sitting atop it. Dark webbing snaked across their surfaces, moldy blooms marring the opalescent sheen.
Sickly looking things. So overgrown they almost looked burnt. One of them obviously worse off than the others. A lump of green and black.
“Is that you?” Serengeti asked, nodding to that almost dead brain.
Nothing from the Scientist—she took that as a ‘yes.’
“Smithers said you turned on the others.” She paused, the RPD’s head tilting. “He targeted you, didn’t he? Brutus came after you on purpose.”
“He gave me flowers,” the Scientist whispered, voice echoing around the containment pod. “He grew them just for me.”
“Of course he did,” Serengeti murmured, eyeing the other two minds on that pedestal. “Cerberus didn’t stand a chance once Brutus got you out of the way.” She caught Tig’s eyes, turned her gaze on Tilli. “That’s why you need Oona. You can’t fix yourself so you need her to do it for you.” She pictured him hunkering down in the hallway, beckoning Oona close. Considered the guns around her now, hemming her RPD in. “You brought us here because you had to, but you never wanted any of us. Only her.”
Serengati 2: Dark And Stars Page 22
