Liet was still out and Kala wanted to wait for her, but Adira told them that she would be checked out first and then brought to their quarters. “You need to get some rest before tomorrow—or today, rather. It’s going to be a big day. Just go inside, someone will take care of you.”
The new agents—those who were awake—obediently filed into the building, and an agent showed them to their sleeping quarters. On the way, they passed the entrance to a large wing that had been designated as quarters for the beta human protectees. A few of them, wearing nightclothes, stood in the entrance, watching everything curiously.
Kala got her first good look at a human as the new agents passed. Again she was shocked by how small and feeble they appeared, how thin and wasted. All three had skin that was paler than the typical Unathi light-brown; one had the palest skin Kala had ever seen. Her yellow hair was almost white, and she had light-blue eyes. Kala smiled at her, but the woman just looked back at her dully.
Kala, Crisfer and Rami were given a room that was small, but looked comfortable enough. Four bunk beds were neatly made up. Kala went straight to a bottom bunk and sank down onto it gratefully.
Crisfer took the other bottom bunk, flopping down onto it without bothering with the covers.
Rami climbed to the one above him and wormed underneath the bedding. “Well, we’re here—we made it,” he murmured with a sigh. “Now I’m going to sleep. ‘Night, guys.”
Kala wanted to ask the other two if they had seen what she had as they were leaving the lab, but Crisfer’s eyes were already closed. She reached out with her drones to find Liet.
I’m on my way up, Liet said, and a minute later she came through the door. Kala hugged her and got her settled into the bottom bunk, then climbed up into hers and stretched out, trying to relax. Her mind was a churning sea of impressions and images, but she was asleep before she could think about any of it.
Chapter 10
SanFran Guardian Refuge
June 8, 2079
KALA WAS ABRUPTLY WOKEN by her sym.You’re all wanted downstairs, he said.It’s oh-eight hundred hours.
She sat up, blinking and confused, and then everything clicked into place. Oh yeah... back to the waking nightmare, she thought. She dragged herself from bed and roused the others.
Kala looked around as the four roommates walked downstairs. She had never been inside a building such as this before, and it was all quite different and strange. Even the lab building in Chandika had been homey and attractive. This had walls of a rather unappealing pale green. Thin, worn carpeting stretched wall to wall, and uncomfortable-looking seats filled various waiting areas. The window panes were covered with thick slats of wood to black out the lights at night.
They found the dining room, which was packed. There must be well over a hundred agents here, Kala thought. Finally the trio found a table and were served a breakfast of strange human food. According to Araka, it was dehydrated chicken eggs reconstituted with water, strips of fried pig meat, and wheat crackers. The Unathi were a vegetarian people, but Kala noticed that some of the older agents who had been here for a while were eating the meat. Neither she, Liet nor Crisfer touched it. Kala wondered what the food would do to their health in the long run, but then realized it hardly mattered.
After breakfast, the new group of agents were directed to a conference room where Jaff, a jovial first-wave agent, was waiting for them. As there wasn’t enough room to fit everyone inside, many of the agents listened in on the Dronet from wherever they were.
“First, I’d like to welcome our newcomers, who just arrived last night,” Jaff began, smiling at Kala and the others. “They were part of the last wave here to SanFran, so we’re pretty much up to our full complement of agents now. There are lots of duties you can volunteer for; any tasks needing to be done will be announced over the Dronet. We always need people to help run the Hub, and I know you can’t wait to serve in the kitchens.”
He waited for them to chuckle. “We have a drone watch going at all times around the clock, with drones radiating out from the refuge up to a mile or so, at your discretion. If any humans approach, pacify them and then announce it on the Dronet. We might have to pick them up and move them away from the area. We have another twenty-four-hour watch strictly for tracking Ghal movement in the city. If any Ghal seem to be heading toward the refuge, announce it.”
He paused, and a rather basic map, more like a diagram, coalesced into the air next to him. “I know it’s lacking in detail, but there aren’t enough drones to spare for good holos at the moment.” He pointed at a glowing red dot. “Right here’s our refuge. Today’s expedition will be our first large, coordinated effort.” He shifted his finger to another glowing spot east of the refuge, nearer the city center. “We’ve received drone reports that there’s an epic party going on over here”—he used the English words—“and we’re going to go and gate-crash it.”
When the laughter subsided, he continued, “No, seriously. There’s a large congregation of humans there, in the district they call Tenderloin. It appears to be some sort of stronghold. That’s our target for today; we will pacify any resistance we encounter, terminate the epsilons, collect the betas, put them on the cargo truck and bring them back here.”
He paused, crossing his arms, and looked around at them. “In this, the early part of the mission, we are focusing our efforts on bringing in betas. We’ll let the virus take as many epsilons as it can before we start dealing with them. So find and bring back betas in any condition, as long as they’re alive, and terminate epsilons only incidentally as you come across them. Understood?”
“What should we do with humans carrying the other strains—alpha, delta and gamma?” Rami asked.
“Nothing,” Jaff answered. “Neither rescue them nor terminate them. None of those strains are supposed to survive the aftermath to live into the future, so they are of no concern to us. We don’t want to interfere with them, so just let things take their natural course.”
The agents nodded, and Jaff said, “Okay, then, please go and put on your body armor, including your helmets, and then get aboard one of the vehicles out back. May the Oneness guide our actions today.”
Everyone flooded back to their quarters to get their armor on. The helmets were tight caps that covered their necks and everything but their faces. Liet grumbled when she had to take her hair down; it sprang out into a wild black mass until she got the helmet pushed down over it.
The three went back downstairs, out through the back entrance, and joined the others as they piled into the back of various vehicles. Kala saw that many of the older agents carried pipes, clubs and metal rods.
In case we run into any Ghal, an agent told her subvocally when he saw her looking.
In the parking area, Kala noticed a large, heavily armored transport truck with lettering on the side that read:
North American Union
Homeland Security Defense Forces
She wondered how the agents had gotten hold of it. There were smaller military transports, a few SUVs, a boxy cargo truck, a couple of small buses, and a lightly armored all-terrain vehicle with a hard back. A metal emblem on the front of the latter spelled the word Jeep; another on its side read J10. It was fitted with a wicked-looking metal guard.
The agents filled almost all of the vehicles except for the Jeep, the cargo truck, and one bus; Jaff and a few other agents went over to that and climbed into the driver’s seat. After receiving the go-ahead from those on drone watch, a guard opened the gates and the procession drove off.
The street traffic was a little heavier this morning. The vehicles split up, each taking a separate route to their target destination. They used their drones to help them avoid any official vehicles, again forcing them to take a convoluted route to their destination. Riding in the back of the transport, Kala noticed that the vehicles seemed to be constantly traveling either up or downhill. Gradually the convoy came back together, parking on the edge of a narrow street running uphill,
and the agents climbed out.
Kala gawked at the graffiti-covered tenements that loomed up on both sides of them, like the walls of a bizarre canyon. Uphill, about a hundred yards away, the street appeared to come to a stop at a wide intersection. Looking closely, Kala saw that the street did continue on, but had been completely blocked off by a makeshift wall composed of car hulks, tires, and scraps of various other materials. Her sharp eyes caught sight of several long gun barrels poking up above the top.
Be ready to release your drones when we give the word, Charis said, using the Dronet so everyone could hear. Have your attack drones sample everyone and terminate the epsilons, while your scout drones mark the locations of the betas. We won’t go in until after the drone sweep is completed.
“What about those guns?” Kala asked, pointing.
Before Charis could answer, shouts rose up from the barrier. Kala felt the air vibrate as something small flew by her, and a loud bang made her jump. The humans were shooting at them! The tang of gun smoke reached her nostrils.
The agents were standing fanned out on the street, clear targets for the shooters. Kala frantically tried to think what to do, but the topic hadn’t been well covered. The instructors must not have believed it would be much of an issue.
Gunfire spat out again, and Araka helped her dodge with lightning speed, but there were too many bullets. She felt a hard punch to her solar plexus and went down, gasping for breath.
Send out your attack drones, now! Pacify those shooters! ordered Antar, sounding panicky.
Still lying flat on the street, Kala released her drones. The sound of gunfire quieted. She struggled to her feet, feeling for her injury with her hand. It burned like it was on fire, but there was no blood. Her body armor had repelled the bullet. The girl next to her lay unmoving; a thread of blood trickled from a neat round hole in her forehead.
Kala’s heart was slamming against her ribs, and Araka worked hard to ease her pain and calm her. Screams and shouts rose from within the stronghold, followed by more scattered gunfire from the top of the barrier. She directed her drones to find and pacify anyone with a firearm, and then go on to search for beta humans.
The other agents had run to the wall and were crouching at its base. Staying low, she scurried over to join them.
Liet crawled over to her, her eyes glassy with fear. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, just bruised. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” She sent this message to Crisfer as well, a short distance away down the wall, and he nodded, white-faced.
Kala’s drones sent back information on betas as they found them, attaching a few of themselves to each one to mark their location for the agents.
Then the report she had been dreading arrived: her attack drones had found an epsilon carrier. She took a deep breath and instructed them to terminate. She was waiting for them to confirm that it was done when a heavy weight landed upon her, knocking her flat. Pain lanced through her from her bruised midsection. She looked up at the big human male on top of her, catching a glimpse of wild eyes and bushy facial hair. He raised a meaty fist to strike but never got a chance. Using her legs as leverage, she threw him off. He landed on the pavement with a loud grunt and then lay still, pacified by her drones.
Panting, Kala struggled up and jumped on the back of another human who was attacking the screaming Liet with a baseball bat, holding him until her drones could pacify him. Looking around, she saw that the rest of the attackers who had jumped down on them from the wall had been pacified.
Her drones had already reported termination of the epsilon they’d found, and were spreading throughout the stronghold, searching for more betas. Before Kala could gather her thoughts, there were more deafening gunshots from the top of the barrier, and the agents scattered, running back to get behind the vehicles. The shooters were quickly pacified.
They’re picking up their fallen comrades’ weapons, Kala thought. She went back and swiftly climbed the barrier, poking her head up over the top. Crisfer saw what she was doing and joined her.
Humans milled about in the open area on the other side of the barrier. One had a gun.
“I’ve got him,” Crisfer said, and a few seconds later, the man dropped.
Kala noticed a small, thin male lighting a rag that dangled from a bottle in his other hand. She wasn’t sure what this was, but thought she could safely assume it was a weapon of some kind. She pacified him, and he dropped.
There was a flash and a small explosion, and the two agents ducked back down behind the top of the barrier. When she put her head back up, Kala realized with horror that the pacified human who’d held the bottle was on fire. He lay there, mercifully unconscious as he burned. The stench of charred flesh wafted over them, making them retch.
Kala tore her mind away from the burning boy. Shaking and fighting nausea, she concentrated on helping Crisfer monitor the open area for threats while also keeping tabs on her drones. They had marked a few more betas found by her attack drones.
Come on, everybody, over the wall, Charis said. Kala’s attack drones returned to her and she realized that all the epsilons must be dead. The initial sweep was complete, and it was time to collect the betas. She scrambled over the top and dropped down into the compound next to Crisfer, checking the Dronet to find Liet and make sure she was okay. The girl hadn’t made it over the wall; she was still huddled at the bottom of the barrier, on the street side. Good, she’ll be safer there, Kala thought.
The agents advanced slowly, collecting any guns they found as they went so they couldn’t be used against them. The humans in the compound seemed to think the agents were trying to kill them all, and were fighting back with everything they had. Rocks and bricks whizzed at the agents. More of the burning, rag-stuffed bottles flew at them from windows; they dodged and the bottles exploded on the street.
Kala couldn’t blame the humans for fighting; it certainly would look from their perspective like they were experiencing a hostile invasion. In a way, they were right.
Humans began to drop everywhere as the panicky agents began to pacify everyone in sight, whether or not they were attacking. Slowly, the noise and activity died down.
All right, let’s spread out and collect those betas before the pacified ones start to wake up, Jaff said. The agents spread out in teams of three or four, stepping over the bodies of humans both pacified and dead.
Kala, Crisfer and Rami headed for a tall building with clusters of betas on every floor. All the aggressive ones had been pacified; they passed groups of humans huddled together on the landings, whimpering. They scurried away into their quarters when the agents drew near. Screams and cries rang throughout the building, and Kala realized that these must be humans discovering that a loved one was dead. Each time, Kala cringed. What are we doing? she thought. How can we do this?
The betas proved difficult to round up. They tried to run away from Kala and Crisfer when they approached, and other non-beta humans—family or friends, Kala thought—tried to stop them when the agents attempted to take the betas.
She tried to talk to one of the betas, using halting English to assure her that she wouldn’t be harmed, but the woman cowered away from her, refusing to meet her gaze. She kicked and screamed when Kala tried to take her. The other agents encountered the same reaction. They ended up having to pacify most of them and carry their limp bodies to the bus.
As they were loading up the vehicles, two agents picked up the body of the girl who had been shot. Kala had known the moment the girl had died; Kala’s drones had sensed her drones escaping her body. They would spread out and join the cloud, enhancing its functions.
The agents were silent on the ride back to the Guardian refuge. There wasn’t even much chatter on the Dronet. Kala sat in the back of a transport, trembling and trying not to be sick. Her fingers felt like ice. She had killed today; it didn’t seem real. Araka spoke soothingly to her and released endorphins in stages. Liet sat next to her, silent and pale. She hadn’t said a word since
they had gone over the wall. Kala took her icy hands and massaged them between her own. Crisfer sat opposite them, his face empty and hard. He refused to talk or meet her gaze.
Kala’s mind was spinning. She couldn’t seem to get control of her thoughts and emotions. The same words kept going around and around in her mind: I can’t do this. I can’t do this.
Chapter 11
Liet's Journal
SanFran Guardian Refuge
June 8, 2079
I can’t bring myself to talk to anyone. It’s like I’m completely locked up inside myself.
After we got back from the “expedition” (maybe I should call it what it is—a raid), I went straight to our room and lay down. After a while Kala came and tried to get me to come downstairs for some lunch. I just turned over and stared at the wall, and after a while she left.
The afternoon dragged by, but I had no intention of getting up. After supper, Kala came back to the room, sat down on the bed and pulled my head onto her lap. She kissed me and stroked my hair and asked me if I was all right. I kept my eyes closed and didn’t answer. I heard Crisfer come in and whisper something to her about my needing more time. She grew quiet and I knew she was listening to the discussion on the Dronet. I listened in, too.
All the betas had been safely stowed in the beta wing. After what they’ve been through and the number of times they’ve been pacified, the poor things are pretty docile now. They’ve been given food, water, showers and clean clothes, and the sick and injured have been treated. The agents who speak the best English have tried to explain to them that they’re safe here and will be well looked after, but they don’t seem to understand or accept this, and keep asking to go home.
I don’t think they fully connect the deaths of the epsilons to us—after all, when a human falls by attack drones, the agent is usually not right there—but they seem suspicious. Some of them have tried to fight and had to be pacified again. Others won’t speak or eat. I think they’re grieving the death of an epsilon they cared about.
The X-Variant (The Guardians Book 1) Page 8
