Steel Apocalypse

by Rodney Hartman

  Tilley snorted and scrambled up the ladder. “Well, all I can say is I’m glad Jason and I were able to get our beauty rest while we were on the Solaris. I’ve got a feeling we’re going to be up all night getting Maggie ready.”

  Jake had a feeling his friends were. Unfortunately, he wasn’t going to be able to help them as much as he’d have liked. He’d need to get some sleep to be ready to fight the next day, plus there was the other thing. He glanced at the wrist-timer on his arm.

  Only two more hours until Old Man Gegorma’s party, he thought. I’ll help for another hour, then I’ve got to get cleaned up and see what the Gegormas have in store for us tonight.

  He thought about his conversation with Creao Gegorma the night before. He glanced up at Maggie’s hologram sitting on the Paladin’s shoulder near Jason. From the rough-looking texture of the octopod’s skin, she was obviously giving him a lot of unwanted advice on how to replace the missing rocket pod.

  Maggie glanced down. When she saw Jake looking at her, she smiled and waved.

  He waved back.

  His AI turned back to Jason and resumed giving him more advice.

  Jake continued watching her. Maybe I should’a told her what that old man told me, but I’m not sure whether it would do more harm than good. If what Gegorma said is true, they wiped Maggie’s memory for a reason. She already acts half-crazy sometimes. What if telling her she’s a living being screws her up even more. I don’t want to lose her. She’s a good AI.

  He knew that wasn’t the whole story. She was more than a good tactical computer to him.

  She’s also my friend. I need to protect her as much as I can.

  Jake sensed something to his left. Looking over, he saw Casey standing two paces away.

  She makes even greasy overalls look good, he thought. He was tempted to reach out and wipe a dark smudge off her left cheek but thought better of it. “Casey, I didn’t hear you walk up.”

  The Trecorian pilot laughed. “Thanks for the compliment. My family started me in warrior training the day I turned five. You wouldn’t believe how many hours my instructors made me practice sneaking up on people without being heard or seen.”

  “Were you sneaking up on me?” Jake said, smiling to let her know he wasn’t serious.

  She returned his smile. “Do I need too?”

  He shook his head. “Never. I like having you around. The longer the better.”

  Her eyes grew serious. “Is that a proposal, Mister Striker.”

  Jake’s face grew warm. “Err…I mean…”

  Casey laughed. “Relax. I’m not quite ready to settle down yet. For all I know you’ve been laying on the old Striker charm so when I win the Steel Apocalypse and become instantly wealthy, you’ll be able to live in the lap of luxury with me for the rest of your life.”

  Nodding his head, Jake laughed. “My plan’s out. But since we’re both part of the same alliance and will be sharing equally in the winnings, I’ll be plenty wealthy on my own.”

  “So you will, Mister Striker. Kinda makes me wonder why you keep hanging around me. Maybe we can find some place quiet later, and you can remind me.”

  Jake’s face heated up again, but he ignored it. “I’ll tell you what, Ms. Bistoria. Once we win this tournament, I’ll show you why I hang around, and I’m not going to limit it to just one night. I’m liable to show you for the rest of my life.”

  “I look forward to it,” said Casey. “In fact—”

  “Hey!” shouted Tilley from the top of the ladder leaning against the Paladin’s chest. “You’re keeping Jake from his work. Your Macron may have come out of the fight with nary a scratch, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

  Casey laughed, then eyed Jake. “Duty calls. I’ve got to get cleaned up anyway. I’ll see you at the party.”

  Nodding, Jake said, “I’ll be there.”

  With that, the dark-haired Trecorian returned to the next maintenance bay where her Macron was parked and gave a few last minute instructions to her mechanics. Despite what Tilley had said, the four-legged UHAAV had taken more than a little damage, although it was nowhere near as bad as that of the Paladin’s.

  Jake stood watching Casey until something hard hit the center of his back. He spun around.

  Tilley was at the top of the ladder with another bolt in her hand. “For crying out loud. You’re a mercenary cat pilot, not a member of the Lonely Hearts Club. You don’t pay Jason and me enough to do all the work ourselves. Now how about tossing me up one of those replacement servos before I bean you?”

  Jake rubbed his hand over the left side of his head. The feel of the slight ridge where the medics had put on the plastic skin to seal the gash from the day’s fight was all too obvious. He didn’t want to have to get another.

  “One servo coming up,” Jake said as he picked the servo up off the table and ran for the ladder, laughing all the way. “My poor head can’t take any more damage.”

  Chapter 26 – Revelation

  _________________

  The ballroom was nowhere near as crowded as it had been the night before. It wasn’t just the fact that very few civilian guests were in attendance. The missing one hundred contestants made it all too obvious that the morning’s battle royale had taken a toll.

  Casey nudged Jake in the side with her elbow and nodded at a group of pirates by the main bar, led by none other than Commander Donalis.

  Jake nodded back. “Yeah, I see him. I was hoping you’d killed him off this morning.”

  Casey drained the cup she was holding. “It wasn’t for lack of trying. I was a tad busy keeping my crew and me alive.” She set the empty cup on the tray of a passing waiter. “If you hadn’t taken so long messing around with your playmates up north, maybe you could’ve gotten down to the swamp and helped us out a little.”

  After eyeing the pirate leader for a couple more seconds, Jake turned to Casey. “I did try.”

  After brushing some imaginary dust off the sleeve of her dress whites, she looked at him. “I know you did. Maggie told me how you took out the Macron. She also told me why you did it.”

  “Maggie told you?” he asked, trying to figure out how the Trecorian had gotten inside the Paladin’s cockpit to talk to his AI.

  As if sensing his thoughts, Casey said, “Relax, big guy. Our cats are parked next to each other. Maggie’s hologram wandered over and spent a good fifteen minutes talking my ear off. This’ll probably sound strange since she’s a computer, but she’s very fond of you.”

  Jake eyed Casey, tempted to tell her what Creao Gegorma had told him the night before about Maggie being a living being, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. It’s not that I don’t trust Casey. I do. But…I’m not even sure I believe it.

  “Well,” he said. “I’m a little fond of Maggie myself, even if she does have a big mouth.”

  The sounds of the crowd died down. Jake noticed the contestants around him turn to face the main doorway. Turning, he saw Creao Gegorma with his daughter. Phyllis was poured into another tight-fitting suit that made it all too obvious she was a woman. The Gegormas were flanked by four muscular, lizard-looking attendants dressed in blue business suits.

  “Congratulations to you all,” said Creao Gegorma as he grabbed a glass off a nearby waiter’s tray and raised it in the air. “I drink to your continued health.”

  Most of the contestants raised their glasses and drained them dry.

  Jake noticed Creao Gegorma didn’t take a drink from his.

  Once the crowd settled back down, the old man walked to the center of the room. The contestants drew back, giving him room.

  “You are the lucky ones,” said Creao Gegorma. “Those with UHAAVs that proved less than adequate are shipping out on transports tonight.” He turned full circle, seeming to make an attempt to catch everyone’s eye. “A few will never be leaving our planet. What body parts we could find after the battle have been disintegrated, and we’ve salvaged what’s left of their cats for spare parts.
”

  Phyllis Gegorma walked over to her father and took up a position on his left side.

  Jake felt her eyes on him. She gave the barest of nods.

  “My father has congratulated you, the survivors,” said Phyllis. “Unfortunately, it’s come to our attention some competitors decided to hack into the controllers’ network and circumvent security.”

  Murmuring came from all around.

  Phyllis locked eyes with Jake for a second before looking to her left at a familiar, dark-haired man wearing the dress uniform of a Covian major. “In fact, we found more than one instance of dubious actions by contestants. To make sure no one gets an unfair advantage tomorrow, the controller network will be shut down until after the battle.”

  More murmuring came from the crowd.

  A tall blue humanoid from the Erorian alliance stepped forward. “If no one’s watching, then what good are the strobe lights you had us install on our vehicles? If one of my cats activates their ‘Out of Action’ lights, what’s to keep another contestant from firing at them anyway?”

  Quite a few in the crowd murmured agreement.

  Creao Gegorma raised a hand. “My daughter said the controllers’ network will be shut down. However, our tele-bots will be recording everything that happens in the battle area. We’ll be replaying the videos after the battle. If we discover any contestant violated the rules by firing on an ‘Out of Action’ cat, they and their entire alliance will be immediately dragged to the nearest disintegrator unit and thrown in like so much refuse.” He made another 360 degree turn. “Do I make myself clear?”

  When no one said anything, the elder Gegorma smiled. “Very well then, enjoy yourselves. We have plenty of food and drink. Our medics will be standing by with anti-alcohol pills for those who partake a little too much.” His smile grew almost friendly. “We wouldn’t want anyone’s abilities less than perfect tomorrow, now would we?”

  A few of the cat pilots raised their glasses and cheered.

  “Now about tomorrow,” said Phyllis. “You’ll be divided into teams of three cats each. Every team will be given an objective. Any team that fails to accomplish their objective will be removed from the tournament, so it will behoove you to work together…at least for tomorrow.” She started to turn away but looked back over her shoulder. “Oh, and by the way. Any of the contestants you might encounter from another team should be considered an enemy vehicle. I’d recommend handling them accordingly.”

  Both of the Gegormas left the room the way they’d come. Two of their lizard-looking attendants remained behind. Jake noticed one of them head toward Major Maksim. The other came straight for him.

  “Excuse me,” said the lizard in perfect intergalactic standard. “Mister Gegorma would like to speak to you in private.”

  Glancing at Casey, Jake shrugged. “I guess I’ll be seeing you later.”

  “Actually,” said the blue-suited lizard. “Mister Gegorma has requested the lieutenant to come as well.” As it looked at Casey, the lizard parted its lips to reveal a double row of teeth that might’ve been its version of a smile. “I assume you will accept his invitation.”

  Shrugging, Casey said, “Do I have a choice?”

  The lizard didn’t bother giving a reply as it turned and made for the exit at a fast pace.

  Jake and Casey hurried after it.

  “I wonder what we’ve gotten ourselves into now,” Jake whispered out the corner of his mouth.

  When Casey didn’t say anything, he glanced at her. She looks scared. What’s going on?

  Once they were out of the ballroom, the attendant led them through a long, meticulously white corridor with plate-glass windows instead of walls. The rooms beyond the windows were filled with electronic equipment, computer screens, and more orange-suited technicians than Jake had ever seen in one place. He reached out and touched one of the plate-glass windows as they went by.

  “Glass-steel,” he whispered out the side of his mouth. “Why the security?”

  Casey’s face was no longer white, but apparently she wasn’t in a talkative mood.

  Shrugging his shoulders, Jake kept walking. At the sound of steps behind him, he glanced over his shoulder and saw another of the blue-suited lizards leading Major Maksim.

  “We’ve got company,” Jake said.

  “I know,” Casey replied. “I’m not surprised.”

  Jake was about to ask her why when the escort stopped in front of an elevator.

  “I’ll be leaving you here,” said the lizard as he waved a clawed hand at the elevator.

  More than a little suspicious, Jake didn’t step through the door. Neither did Casey.

  “I thought we were meeting the Gegormas.” Jake nodded at the open elevator door. “Where’s this thing taking us? Why should we get in?”

  A laugh came from behind Jake. Turning, he saw the second lizard with Major Maksim.

  “Relax, my suspicious friend,” said the Covian major. “If my great uncle intended you harm, he wouldn’t have to secret you away to do it.” He stepped into the elevator. “Come. I’ve been here many times. I think you’ll find the next few minutes—how shall I put it?—interesting.”

  Before Jake could reply, Casey stepped into the elevator. With little choice, he took up a position between her and the major.

  The elevator door shut.

  Jake glanced around. “There’s no controls.”

  Maksim laughed. “No. There isn’t.”

  Jake’s stomach rose in his chest as the elevator dropped at a rapid rate. After dropping a long way, it finally slowed and then stopped. The door slid open to reveal a massive cavern. Overhead lights fifty meters above lit up the area as if it was full daylight. The cave extended as far as the eye could see and was crammed full of thousands upon thousands of olive-drab crates and boxes, some the size of large trucks. Above the stacks of boxes could be seen the cockpits of dozens of UHAAVs.

  “What the hell?” Jake said before he caught himself.

  “One man’s hell is another’s salvation,” came the voice of Creao Gegorma from the left of the elevator.

  Major Maksim led the way out.

  Jake and Casey followed.

  “So what is this place?” Jake asked. “There must be enough equipment here to outfit an army.”

  Creao Gegorma laughed. “Hardly, Jake. What you see here is only one of hundreds of such caverns on Lastreo. When you put them all together, yes…there would be enough to equip an army. Several armies, in fact.” He looked at Casey. “Is this what you were looking for, Lieutenant?”

  It took a moment for Jake to realize what the elder Gegorma had said. He looked at Casey. “What’s he mean by that?”

  Casey said nothing. Her face was lighter than it had been a moment before.

  “Perhaps I can explain,” said Phyllis who came walking out of an aisle between stacks of cases. “You see, our good lieutenant didn’t come here just for the tournament. She’s here at the request of her sister and uncle.”

  Thoroughly confused, Jake glanced from the younger Gegorma to Casey. “I don’t understand, Casey. What’s she talking about? I thought Freeta and Dresh were your cousins, not your sisters.”

  Phyllis laughed. “Oh, they are, Jake. The truth is they’re as much in the dark as you. They actually think Lieutenant Casey brought them here to compete in the Steel Apocalypse. My father and I know better.” She looked at Casey. “Will you tell him, or shall I?”

  Casey glared at the other woman. “You’re doing such a good job. Why stop now?”

  Phyllis returned the glare for a second before looking back at Jake. “Her sister is agent Trish Bistoria, AKA Lieutenant Fisher and a thousand other names. Trish Bistoria works for a Trecorian organization so secret we still haven’t figured out who they are. I doubt even she knows.” She looked at Jake and smiled. “But we do know what they’re trying to do and how they’re trying to do it.”

  Glancing at Casey, Jake waited for her to say something. When she didn’t, he l
ooked back at Phyllis Gegorma. “So what is it they do?”

  Creao Gegorma answered, “Why, they get unsuspecting buffoons like you to do their work for them. Trish Bistoria gave you a container of inactivated tele-bots, did she not?”

  A queasiness grabbed hold of Jake’s stomach. He had a feeling his face was as white as Casey’s had been earlier.

  Creao Gegorma shrugged. “Oh, no use denying it, Jake. My technicians haven’t detected them yet, so I assume you still have them hidden somewhere on your Paladin. I suspect that’s why our good lieutenant’s sister picked you. Your Paladin’s armor is embedded with energized titanium, or creallium, if you prefer that name. Between the creallium and Maggie, no known form of security in the galaxy could detect something inside that cat of yours without disassembling it piece by piece and destroying your cat in the process. It’s the perfect smuggler’s vehicle.”

  “So that’s why you wanted me here?” Jake asked. “To smuggle things for you?”

  Creao Gegorma laughed. So did his daughter and Maksim.

  “Oh, Jake,” said Creao Gegorma. “You think too small. I want Maggie and you to work for me, but nothing so small as smuggling. I watched the videos from today’s battle. Maggie’s abilities are evolving. She’s becoming more human, more emotional. The longer she’s around you and the more intense the danger, the closer the link between the two of you becomes.”

  “So?” Jake said. He glanced around for an escape route and saw only armed guards gathering at all the exits. The elevator door was closed, not that he’d have wanted to be trapped in there anyway.

  “So?” said Creao Gegorma, smiling. “I told you last night Maggie was unique. Computers, even the living gas-based versions I told you about, are based upon pure logic. The best AIs actions are logic based. They may try to emulate randomness, but believe me, they fall short. Their decisions can be anticipated by other logic-based entities, living or otherwise. Maggie, on the other hand, is a unique mix of emotion and logic. As she becomes more emotional, her decisions become a mix of logic and illogic, which you can think of as another word for randomness.” He laughed. “That’s not something most governments want. They want the steadfastness and predictability of logic. The Empire canceled your grandfather’s and my project because Maggie was becoming emotional. They feared she would contaminate other computers on the tele-network. Even Jacob grew concerned. But what the Empire’s technicians and Jacob thought were a weakness, I viewed as a strength. With Maggie on my side, I’ve got no doubt that I could do…anything.”