Cyber Shogun Revolution

by Peter Tieryas

  “Not with moves like that,” Niijima said.

  Reiko chuckled, getting quickly back up. “Nice punch,” she said.

  Bishop watched as the two battled back and forth. Every time it looked like either side had the advantage, the other would reverse the move and the titanic struggle continued on. Everything around them was shaking. Reiko got a series of blows in, puncturing the wires in the other’s arm. The hand appeared to go limp. Reiko was about to pierce through the Syren’s stomach. The Syren put its arms in front of it and curled up, like an armadillo. The armored plating was too strong, and when Reiko tried to hit it, she was repulsed by a defensive charge. Kamakiri struck it harder, but that only caused an even stronger deflection.

  “Sorry to cut the dance short,” Niijima said.

  “I thought we were just getting to the fun part,” Reiko replied.

  Farther away from them, the Legion was having a battle of their own against the construction bots.

  “Bishop,” Nori called.

  “What’s up?”

  “We’re in trouble.”

  “Why?” Bishop asked.

  “I’ve been analyzing the Syren. When the Syren transitions into its defensive armadillo mode, the plating absorbs the kinetic energy and will fling it back at any attacker with equal force. It’s basically impossible to attack right now, and it can stay in this mode until it can make full repairs. We can’t allow that.”

  “What can we do?”

  “You up for a delivery?” Nori asked.

  “Sure, as long as it’s not pizza.”

  “I need to access your portical and put a disruptive system on it.”

  “What’ll it do?” Bishop wanted to know.

  “It’ll reprogram the Legion so that I can activate them from inside the Syren.”

  “You want them to eat the Syren from the inside out?” Bishop figured.

  “Exactly.”

  “Why can’t you send the program directly to the Syren?” Bishop asked.

  “Niijima’s mecha is closed off to external porticals. You’ll have to directly connect to it,” Nori explained.

  “Um. How do I do that?”

  “That’s the tricky part. In the head, there’s an access port for maintenance. If you can directly connect your portical to it, I can take care of the rest.”

  “You want me to land on the Syren and plug my portical into its head?”

  “Let’s put your rocket pack skills to the test.”

  He granted Nori access to his portical and turned in the direction of the Syren. While the mecha was in its defensive, and stationary, mode, it might be possible to land safely. But all it would take was one stray bullet to kill him. Landing directly on its head would probably get their attention. If he could time his landing so that it would occur exactly when the Kamakiri next struck, then ride the rest of the way up, he might be able to mask himself better. He checked the Suzuki boots. The magnet seemed functional, as did the wheels. But was he pushing his luck too much for a single day?

  What do I have to lose? he asked himself. The sober answer came to him: My life.

  “How long does the program need to completely download after I’m plugged in?” Bishop asked, not wavering in the face of mortality.

  “Thirty seconds,” Nori said.

  “Sounds easy,” Bishop commented sarcastically.

  “I’ll let Reiko know. Ready?”

  “Not really. But I have a plan I want to explain to both of you.”

  Bishop explained what he wanted to do.

  Reiko answered, “Good luck, rocket man. When do you want to do this?”

  “Now.”

  Reiko immediately went in for another attack. Bishop watched the trajectory of the Kamakiri’s attack, gauged the flight path he should take, and waited. Just as Reiko struck the Syren’s plating, the counter-jolt pushed the Kamakiri back. Bishop confirmed the brunt of the shock had been absorbed by Reiko, then used a burst thrust to land almost exactly where the sword had hit. He engaged his wheels and magnet to align himself as soon as he hit its armor. He fired the rockets so he could skate all the way up the Syren. It was a trick some of the Djangos had taught him, the best way to get back on board a mecha, as the launch doors were so small. The armadillo plates were smooth and easy to skate on, and unless someone was visually looking at the exterior of the mecha, it would be hard to register him on scans.

  The Syren was huge, even in its curled state, and there was something serene about skating on its metallic planes. Bishop reached the Syren’s head, turned off the jet pack, and disengaged the wheels. He clambered toward its apex, looking for the panel with the portical connection.

  “You get there yet?” Nori asked.

  “I’m looking for it.”

  “Permission to look through your portical sensors.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “I should be able to spot the access port with thermals,” she replied. “There, toward the back of its head.”

  Nori helped him spot it on his portical and he was on his way toward it when the Syren shook. There was heavy movement as it stood, and Bishop realized it was coming out of its defensive pose. He was about to turn the magnets on in his boots via the control, but the force from its rise was too sudden and hurtled him back. Just as he was about to go into a free fall, he toggled the magnets on his boots. They snapped him to the surface of the Syren’s head, though he was perpendicular to it.

  “You okay?” Nori inquired.

  “I’m not sure,” Bishop replied.

  “You weren’t able to plug in?”

  “Not yet. But don’t worry about me. Just do your thing against the Syren.”

  The Syren and Kamakiri began another round of sword attacks. Bishop noticed the Syren had fixed the rupture in its armored sleeves and, while not at full force, seemed to have recovered during its curled state. The two mechas attacked each other relentlessly, the sword blows and parries making the entire surroundings shake. This time, the impact of blade hitting opposing blade was too strong for him, and even the magnets were having a hard time keeping him attached. Bishop was cautious about moving his boot off the surface.

  “I don’t know if I can get there,” he conceded.

  “Disengage, then,” Nori said. “We’ll try something else.”

  Bishop felt it would be a waste to leave now. If only there was a brief reprieve in the combat.

  Something caught Bishop’s attention. He looked over to where the Legion had been fired into the construction Taro bots. Robot corpses were piling up at breakneck speed. Since self-fabrication allowed both sides to reproduce infinitely, it was getting huge. Their private battle was just as brutal, if not more so, than the fight between the two opposing mechas. One side, represented strangely enough by Reiko and the Taro bots, was the status quo, while the other, blazing chaotically forward through Niijima and the Legion, wanted to destroy everything in its wake.

  The Kamakiri jabbed with the sword, piercing the Syren’s shoulder. It withdrew and jabbed again, spiking its sword through the Syren’s right chest. “You’re not getting out of this!” Reiko declared. It seemed like the battle was going to be decided when the Syren clutched the hand holding the sword, refusing to let it go, leaving itself impaled.

  “Don’t intend to,” Niijima replied.

  The Syren raised its other arm and prepared a new Legion shell with the two of them locked.

  “You fire that now and we both get infected!” Reiko yelled to her.

  “You think I expected to survive the day?” Niijima asked.

  “A dance isn’t supposed to end with both dancers dying.”

  “Welcome to my ball of death.”

  Bishop had only one option he could think of that could get him into place. He had to time this carefully. He heated up his jet pack. He triggered the rocke
ts as he simultaneously switched the magnets to wheel mode. It thrust him upward, but he was able to control the throttle of the rocket so that he could ride along the curve of the head instead of straight up into the air. He cut the jet pack off when he got to the spot Nori had marked, toggling the magnets again. The panel was just three meters away. He stomped toward it and tried to open it. The panel was stuck tight. Bishop bent down, pulled on it again, heaving with both hands. It came loose and he pulled it out. There was a console with several plugs. Bishop inserted his portical and contacted Nori just as the Legion was warmed and ready.

  “How much more time do you need?” Bishop asked.

  “I’m connecting to their internal kikkai right now. Why are you still attached?”

  “My portical.”

  “I’ll get you a new one! Get off!”

  Bishop complied, turning on his rocket pack and flying away.

  “Did we get her?” he asked.

  “It’s going to be close,” Nori replied.

  He watched from midair as the Syren tried to fire the Legion. If Niijima succeeded, it was over for both of them. Instead, a small explosion took place in its armored sleeve. Then another in its elbow. Its fingers went limp and it released the Kamakiri.

  “Reiko! Disengage from her!” Nori ordered.

  Reiko let go of the Raiden Fusion sword as the Legion began to swarm all over the Syren.

  “You let the bugs out of the cage?” Reiko asked.

  “Didn’t want to hog them all for ourselves,” Nori replied.

  From within the Syren’s arm, they could see the armor rupturing and thousands of the parasites cannibalizing the entire arm.

  “Can they do the same pulse thing you did to get rid of them?” Reiko checked with Nori.

  “They might. But at the pace their Legion is going, I don’t know if they’ll be able to salvage anything,” Nori replied. To Bishop, she said, “Get back in here. I’ll open up the exit on the shoulder pad.”

  Bishop saw the opening and flew in. After he landed, he threw off his rocket pack, struggled his way out of his suit, and then climbed back up to the bridge.

  “Nice flying,” Reiko said.

  “Glad the major’s plan worked.”

  Niijima came up on the visual display. Her bridge was on fire.

  “Good fight,” Reiko said. “I got the upper hand this time, but I’ll admit, I had a little luck on my side. We can do a rematch some other day. Raise your white flag so we can continue this later.”

  “You know that’s not possible.”

  “Don’t be hardheaded. You don’t have to die today.”

  “You think I don’t know what’ll happen to me if I surrender?” Niijima asked, shaking her head. “I won’t dishonor the cause with any discussion of this. But I would like to say one thing to the soldier called Bishop Wakana. I won’t apologize for my actions. I own up to my choice, as I believed it was for the greater good . . . But belief and good intentions don’t excuse actions that cause great harm. I hope you find your peace.”

  The Syren took its sword and impaled itself in the neck, causing the BPG to overload. Its head, and the entire bridge crew aboard, exploded.

  Reiko sighed, put her hands together, and did a short bow. “It’s a strange world where everyone is convinced they’re doing good even though all they do is cause each other a lot of pain.”

  Bishop was torn by Niijima’s decision. He knew if the Tokko got her into an interrogation room, she would have wished for death anyway. Even if by some miracle the Tokko took it easy on her, she’d killed too many people to escape public execution or imprisonment in Shayol, which was the fate of most political prisoners under Yamaoka.

  What would he have done in her place?

  They moved back toward the Endersby.

  Captain Samuel Saito hailed them. “I didn’t think you stood a chance. Congratulations. That was spectacular.”

  “There isn’t anything spectacular about seeing another mecha pilot go down,” Reiko replied coldly.

  “It is when that pilot’s trying to take your head,” Saito said, trying to be lighthearted. “I’d invite you over for a beer, but I think you got other things on your mind.”

  Reiko nodded. “That’s right. Need a hand?”

  The Endersby, whose left arm was missing, replied, “You have a dark sense of humor, friend.”

  “You think this is funny?!” Bishop roared.

  “Didn’t say it was,” Saito replied.

  “You’re getting drunk on duty while the whole city burns. What the hell’s wrong with you? Haven’t you got any sense of shame?”

  “Bloody Mary can’t be stopped,” Saito said.

  “You don’t deserve to pilot a mecha.”

  “Be careful of your tone with a higher-ranking officer, navigator.”

  Bishop snorted in disbelief. “I’m a Tokko agent, Samuel Saito,” he said. It took Saito a second to realize what Bishop had said, and there was an immediate change in the coloration of his face when he did. “Watch yourself,” Bishop warned.

  He ended the communication and looked over at the Syren, which was a heap of metallic bones on fire.

  “What an asshole,” Reiko commented.

  “I can’t believe that guy’s supposed to be on our side.”

  Nori messaged them from below: “The Kamakiri’s arm needs a replacement. The temporary articulation fixes I put in place won’t hold, at least not in another fight. And your armament supplies are low too.”

  “What can we do?”

  “We need to head to the Culver City Umegra Mecha Station.”

  “A mecha station survived?” Reiko asked.

  “It’s a civilian station, so it wasn’t one of their targets. I’ve sent one of my OWLs to confirm and have communicated with their chief engineer. They’ll have a new arm and leg replacement ready for you.”

  They changed course for Culver City.

  Bishop said, “After we get to Culver City, I may have to separate with you to find my niece.”

  “I understand,” Reiko replied.

  “All this time, I was so angry at Niijima, thinking she’d betrayed me at Texarkana. I should have known better. You saw what I suffered in my Cyber Bubble. If that was all for nothing . . .”

  “You can’t take everything she says as truth.”

  “Why would she lie?”

  “We were fighting,” Reiko points out.

  Bishop lowered his head. “I almost wish she hadn’t told me.”

  “Sometimes stuff happens, and there isn’t any reason for it,” Reiko said. “Doesn’t make us stronger, wiser, or better. It just sucks. I hate that fact. But we have to be able to move on or it can consume us with so much anger to the point where we no longer even care what happens to the people around us.”

  “Too late,” Bishop says.

  “Not for your niece.”

  Bishop took a deep breath. “The only thing that’s keeping me going is finding my niece.”

  “We’ll find her,” Reiko assured him.

  Bishop watched the city falling to ruins before his very eyes and felt rage through every muscle of his body. They’re alive, he said to himself to try to calm his nerves. They’re alive.

  REIKO MORIKAWA

  CULVER CITY

  I.

  Reiko thought of Taiko City and the night she was sent to assassinate Governor Tamura. Her decision then was coming back to haunt her with a bloody fury. How had things turned out so badly? Wasn’t Tamura’s assassination supposed to be the beginning of a new era?

  She looked over at Bishop, who was at communications, still trying to get a signal through to his family. She could not imagine what must be going through his mind after Niijima’s revelation. Reiko was scared of what truths of her own she’d find the further she went, especially when it ca
me time to confront her old friend Daniela Takemi.

  Bishop groaned in pain.

  “Something wrong?”

  “I’m just suddenly feeling very weak,” Bishop said. “I think maybe the painkillers are fading. You got another dose?”

  “I do,” she replied, and directed him to the medical cabinet.

  Nori plotted the route to the Umegra Station using her OWLs so they could avoid any combat zones.

  Nineteen kilometers northwest of where they’d defeated Niijima, they came across five Labor mechas that’d been cut up like pineapple slices. They’d been working on an infrastructure project, building out a new highway extension by adding two lanes. Now there was a gaping crack in the highway and a pile of destroyed cars. The Labors were sending out SOSs, requesting aid. Reiko plowed ahead, knowing there was a chance they were being used as bait by the enemy. Even if these were genuine pleas for help, there wasn’t much they could do in their condition.

  Eight minutes later, they got to Inglewood and changed course to move north. Inglewood had been spared the devastation of the other parts of Los Angeles. The advertisements were still playing on the massive buildings and shopping areas even though there were no patrons. Chez Haluna, the most famous chef in the world, was broadcasting announcements about her latest food journey to the Underwater Ice Fortress in the South Pole. The Natalia Cervera exhibit, a showcase of space war machines reconstructed out of clay letters, was opening next month. The Sowards Pop Music Festival was starting up again, with the best singers from all over the Empire coming for a week of festivities.

  A surprising sight awaited Reiko. Three Labor mechas were still working on the construction of the expansion wing for the Gakushi Shopping Arcade, acting like it was business as usual. The shopping arcade was a complex designed to attract students from the nearby Shinji Maki University, which was famous for its architectural marvel of a gigantic monkey-shaped central building.