Reforged (Bolt Eaters Trilogy Book 2)

by Isaac Hooke

But nothing happened, and no further drones came to investigate them.

  “These things must have the same visual acuity as the termites,” Brontosaurus said. “Our emissions fooled them.”

  “Yes,” Eric said. “Lucky for us. But while the smaller units might not have the acuity to differentiate Devastator mechs from alien units, if we let anything bigger than these scouts get close, I think we’re done for.”

  Despite his comment, Eric wasn’t entirely convinced they hadn’t been detected. Time would tell…

  As they continued forward, the ground became coated in a layer of thin metallic hexagons linked end to end to form a smooth surface, like some kind of cobblestone, or maybe solar tiles. He could see the hexagonal outlines clearly on the thermal band, which told him that the edges were seeping heat.

  “Some kind of geothermal collectors designed to collect heat energy produced by the ground?” Brontosaurus asked.

  “That would be my guess,” Eric replied.

  The four mechs stepped onto the metal tiles, their feet clanging softly. Eric cringed with each footfall, certain that the noise would draw Banthar attackers, but still no ambush came.

  Maybe we’re actually going to get away with this…

  They reached the line of buildings and passed between two of them. Now that he was close to the cylindrical structures, he realized they were coated in the same hexagonal tiles that covered the ground—the heat seeping out from the edges of each of them clearly demarcated the individual six-sided shapes on the thermal band.

  “Look at this shit,” Slate said. “Have to be solar tiles.”

  “Maybe,” Eric said. “But why would they still be emitting heat so long after the sun has set?”

  “Could they be heat sinks?” Brontosaurus asked. “Helping to recycle and dissipate heat generated within?”

  “No, I think they’re probably some variant of solar collectors like Slate says,” Eagleeye commented. “When you have a sun giving you energy, you might as well take it. We do it. But you’re right, Scorp, I’m not sure why they would still be emitting heat.”

  “Anyway, who gives a vole’s ass about it?” Slate said. “This whole city is going to be nuked soon. Nuclear incineration, people. It’s going to be a beautiful sight.”

  “Nuclear destruction is never a good sight,” Eric said. “Regardless of whether it’s to a friend, or a foe.”

  “When it’s aliens who ruined half the Earth, it’s a good sight,” Slate said. “Trust me.”

  The hexagonal tiles coating the ground continued into the city so that the mechs still clanged with each step. When they emerged on the other side of the two buildings, there were still no enemy units waiting in ambush.

  The team continued forward between the buildings, heading toward the distant silo where the flyer had deposited Bambi and Crusher.

  “What do you suppose the aliens are doing to them?” Eagleeye commented.

  “I don’t want to think about it,” Eric replied.

  The metal cylinders were arranged in hexagonal groups, with six buildings at the points of each shape, with a seventh in the middle. Those hexagons were essentially equivalent to city blocks, with roads zig-zagging alongside the outer edges, forming intersections made of three streets each. It was like looking at the cross-section of a giant beehive.

  “None of those escargot are out and about,” Slate said. “Too bad. I was looking forward to dining on some snail tonight.”

  “You might get your chance, yet,” Brontosaurus said.

  “I wonder why they all have two shells on their backs,” Eagleeye said.

  “Looking at it from an evolutionary perspective,” Slate commented. “I’m guessing one shell serves as a decoy, while the other holds their real body when they retreat under duress. It probably improved their chances of survival back when they were still evolving.”

  “That was a smarter comment from you than usual,” Brontosaurus told him. “I was expecting you to say the shells exist to hold their two dicks.”

  “Yeah, a momentary lapse,” Slate agreed.

  “He only makes dick and fart jokes in front of the rest of the team,” Eagleeye said. “You know that by now.”

  “Das right,” Slate said. “I have an image to maintain.”

  “Though why one would want to maintain the image of the team’s go-to dick joke man, is beyond me,” Brontosaurus said.

  A diamond formation of three-legged Sloth units appeared in the distance, emerging from a cross street.

  “This way!” Eric immediately swerved to the right, between two of the hexagonal blocks, taking the team out of sight: as he told them earlier, he didn’t want to let those bigger units get too close.

  After passing four hexagonal city blocks, he swerved left, turning onto the path toward Bambi and Crusher once again.

  Overhead, his attention was drawn to the thermal signature of one of the big airships, which was rapidly approaching.

  “Take cover!” Eric immediately dodged behind the closest silo, flattening his body against the surface. The others took up positions beside him. He shut down his comms.

  The airship passed by. It didn’t slow down or change direction, and in moments had vanished from view.

  Eric reactivated his comms.

  “What do you think?” Brontosaurus asked him.

  “If we were detected, we’d already have aliens bearing down on us,” Eric said. “Let’s continue.”

  Eric and the others left their cover from behind the silo.

  “Where’s a little snow when you need it,” Slate commented.

  “It’s certainly cold enough,” Eagleeye agreed.

  They advanced through the aisle between city blocks, and in that way continued to make their way toward the silo housing Bambi and Crusher. They evaded two more Sloth patrols, and took cover as three more airships passed overhead, until at last they were near the hexagonal city block that harbored the target building.

  “So, according to the location you marked on the map, the building is at the center of the hexagon these buildings form,” Brontosaurus said.

  “That’s right,” Eric said. He began to round the closest silo: a towering, expansive affair. He hugged the wide surface as he did so, wanting to keep his profile to a minimum. The others followed in single file behind him. Ahead, the building at the center came into view.

  It was a little taller than the surrounding buildings, and maybe a little broader, but the biggest difference was the series of defense platforms and other units arrayed in a protective circle around it, all visible on the thermal band. He discerned Sloths and crystalline robots, among other units.

  Eric waved a halting hand.

  “Uh, not sure we’re going to be entering that building any time soon,” Slate said from behind him; he’d obviously accessed Eric’s feed.

  “Not at ground level, no,” Eric said.

  “So what are we going to do?” Slate said. “Time’s a-ticking. We got a nuke waiting to go off.”

  “I know,” Eric said. He surveyed the building in front of him, lifting his eyes toward the distant top. “I don’t see any evidence of turrets anywhere along the building exterior, nor the rooftop.”

  “You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you?” Slate said.

  Eric glanced over his shoulder. “We climb these buildings, and then leap across.”

  “I was afraid you were thinking that,” Slate said.

  Eric touched one of his arms to the surface, and activated his mounts to confirm that the surface was magnetic. He felt the suction immediately, and released the magnetization.

  “When we reach the top, will our servomotors provide enough power to leap across?” Brontosaurus said.

  Eric studied the distance involved between the current building, and the target, as well as the width of the overhead rooftop. With Dee’s help, he performed a quick calculation.

  “If we make a running leap,” Eric said. “Then yes, we’ll make it. Barely. We
’ll land about two stories down from the roof, and have to climb the rest of the way to the top.”

  “And hope to the hell the Banthar machines below don’t notice us,” Slate said.

  “What’s with the negativity?” Eagleeye said. “You’re like Mickey now.”

  “Only being a realist,” Slate said. “Think about it. We hit the building two stories from the rooftop, we’re going to make a bit of a loud clang.”

  “Not if we provide a distraction,” Brontosaurus said. “We still have some demolition blocks in our storage compartments.”

  “He’s right,” Eric said. “It’s time to retreat to the buildings across the street, and plant a few charges.”

  Eric and the others retreated to the front of the silo, and reverted to their previous diamond formation to cross the street. They approached the closest building on the other side, and hugged the exterior as they passed out of view of the street. Then they ejected their Cicadas from the mechs, retrieved the demolition blocks, and applied them to different locations at the base of the structure.

  “So, is the goal to knock down this building, or what?” Slate said. “If so, we don’t have enough charges.”

  “Goal is just to distract,” Eric said. “And cover the sound of our impact against the building.”

  “Fine,” Slate said.

  “You know that the blast won’t be enough to conceal the sound of our ascent,” Eagleeye said. “They’ll still hear us as we’re climbing the two stories to the rooftop. Sure, we’ll be using magnets, and the clangs will be hella soft, but the whirring of our servomotors will give us away.”

  “Not if we eject,” Eric said. “And climb the rest of the way in our Cicadas.”

  “Do we really want to enter an alien building equipped only with Cicadas?” Brontosaurus asked.

  “Not sure we have much choice,” Eric said.

  Brontosaurus sighed. “You’re the boss.”

  “Hey, since when did we elect Scorp boss anyway?” Slate said.

  “Since he took command of the situation,” Eagleeye said.

  “Oh,” Slate said.

  “You can take over if you want,” Eric told him.

  “Uh, that’s all right,” Slate said. “As you were. Boss.”

  Eric nodded. “Thank you.”

  “By the way, how do we know we’ll be able to enter that building once we reach the rooftop?” Brontosaurus asked.

  “Bambi and Crusher were transported from the airship and to the rooftop,” Eric replied. “So there has to be a way.”

  “Well, sure,” Brontosaurus said. “But how do we know we’ll be able to open it?”

  “I guess we’ll find out.” Eric affixed the final block. “We’ll have to set the blocks on a countdown, since we’ll be too far to remotely detonate the charges, given the reduced range of our transmitters.”

  “We could switch our antennae to directional mode and amp up the range…” Slate said.

  “I’d rather not risk giving away our position,” Eric said. “Even with a directional burst. As far as I’m concerned, the only reason we haven’t alerted the Banthar to our presence so far is because of our reduced transmission range.”

  He returned to his Devastator, and folded into a ball as the cockpit sealed behind him.

  They continued to eject, placing the remainder of their charges on the exteriors of random buildings scattered alongside the street. The team members set the timers on these ones far higher: the goal was to mask their eventual retreat.

  When they’d placed the last of the charges, the team returned in their mechs to the buildings ringing the target and rounded the exterior of one of them in single-file until the street was out of view. They stopped before the target was in sight, and proceeded to climb, using their magnetic mounts to secure them to the surface.

  Eric was conspicuously aware of the soft clangs produced by each attachment of the mounts, and the even louder whirring of the servomotors that the surface reflected.

  “Isn’t anyone else worried that they’re going to hear our servomotors?” Brontosaurus said.

  “We’re too far away at this point,” Eagleeye said. “Because of the way sound is echoing from the buildings, they won’t be able to pinpoint the source. If they do hear us, they’ll think some Sloths are passing by on the street beyond.”

  “Wouldn’t the direction of sound be similarly obscured if we were climbing the silo at the center of the hexagon?” Brontosaurus said. “So maybe we don’t need to abandon our mechs for Cicadas after all.”

  “Yes, but the noise would be louder, and we’d be in plain view if they decided to look around,” Eagleeye said. “Do you really want to take that risk?”

  “No,” Brontosaurus admitted.

  The four of them continued to climb. Eric kept an eye on the demolition block timer the whole time, and paced himself accordingly. He also glanced downward constantly, looking to see if any Banthar units were approaching to investigate the disturbance. None came.

  Finally, he and the others reached the top. There was a balcony railing running along the edge, which any Banthar residents no doubt used to feel safe while they leisurely viewed their city from above.

  Eric carefully peered over the edge and confirmed that the rooftop was empty before pulling himself over the railing. The bars bent under his weight, but he wasn’t too worried about the damage. When he was over, he scanned the sky for signs of airships, but none were nearby.

  At the center of the rooftop, he spotted a pair of double doors embedded flat in the surface, likely providing entry into the building.

  “See, we’ll have a way in,” Eric said.

  He turned toward the far edge of the rooftop, where the target awaited beyond. He could just see the upper tip of the building.

  “Stay back.” He approached the round ledge at a crouch, and dropped down entirely when he reached it.

  The entire destination building was in view. He surveyed the troops at its base, then retreated, rejoining the others near the center of the rooftop.

  “Okay,” Eric said. “None of the troops have moved. We’re good.” He glanced at his timer. “The first charges are going to go off in thirty seconds.”

  He and the others hurried to the far side of the building, and waited. Dee had computed the optimal speed and angle for the jump, as well as the timing required so that his impact coincided with the detonation.

  He gave control of his mech over to Dee, and four seconds before detonation she amped up his servomotor output and dashed across the rooftop. Eric was worried the relatively loud clanging from himself and the other mechs would alert the Banthar units, but there was nothing for it now—he was committed to the plan.

  He reached the edge of the rooftop, and Dee leaped off. He arced over the courtyard below, between the space separating the central building from the surrounding, and the wind streaked past his ears.

  The target came up fast—he would hit precisely two stories down from the rooftop; he glanced at his timer a moment before impact, and watched as it reached zero.

  He struck the building and ejected from his Cicada at the same time; he heard the loud clang of impact and detonation. A flash momentarily lit the courtyard below: according to his timer, the charges had detonated at the same time he and the others had hit.

  He flew upward as the momentum of jettisoning carried him a full story into the air, and then he activated the magnetic mounts of his Cicada unit and latched on. He and the others were extremely vulnerable now—without the emitters built onto their mechs, they wouldn’t be recognized as Sloth units.

  Eric glanced downward nervously.

  Beyond his mech, which had flattened itself to the building, he could see the Banthar units far below: none of them had moved from their positions, nor did any of them seem to be glancing upward.

  An alert sounded somewhere nearby, and airships rushed over the buildings, toward the adjacent block where the charges had detonated.

  Eric exhaled in
relief.

  He began to climb, as did the Cicadas of the others beside him.

  The servomotors on these units were far softer than those of the mechs, as were the gentle clanks as they removed and reattached their magnetic mounts. Even so, Eric kept glancing downward as he climbed, but the guard units failed to notice them, to his relief.

  He gazed over his shoulder, toward the building on the adjacent street where the detonation had taken place, and saw several airships had gathered. In the street there, he could also see a slew of Sloths and other alien mechs gathering.

  He wondered if those mechs would spot the other charges the team had laid.

  Well, no point worrying about it now. The first part of the plan had worked. It was time to save Bambi and Crusher.

  He reached the upper railing, and confirmed that no enemy units or defense platforms were waiting on the rooftop. He silently pulled himself through the railing, as did the other three Cicadas.

  18

  Eric left the edge of the rooftop so that he wasn’t in view of the units far below. Not that it mattered overly much, considering the mechs still hanging on to the exterior would probably stand out, even if the Devastators had flattened themselves against the surface as much as possible under the control of the Accomps. The distraction would only keep the Banthar occupied for so long. Plus, he still had the secondary charges to worry about. If the team didn’t make it back to the roof before the explosives started detonating, the diversion would be wasted.

  Have to move quickly...

  Eric studied the pair of horizontal double doors embedded in the center of the rooftop. They were bigger than the doors he had left behind on the adjacent building, capable of fitting two or three Devastators at the same time—not that he had to worry about fitting, given his current size. Bay doors was probably a better description.

  “Any ideas on how we’re going to pry those bitches open in these bodies?” Slate said.

  “With difficulty.” Eric approached the doors.

  At the corner of his eye, movement caught his attention—he amped up his time sense, mindful of the battery drain that would cause. In slow motion, alien defense platforms deployed, unfolding from panels hidden beneath the surface of the roof. Muzzles shoved upward, and joined with focusing lenses that swung into place from behind.