by Isaac Hooke
Eric activated the concealed panels in his forearms, and deployed the P-21 plasma and a L-52 laser weapons in his left and right arms respectively.
“Dee, I want the mechs on the rooftop, pronto!” Eric ordered. “The gig is up!”
He rolled toward one of the forming defense platforms, and fired his plasma and laser at the same time. But an energy field had already activated around the unit, and Eric’s shots were dissipated by the half-sphere that flashed into view.
He heard repeated clangs coming from behind him as the Devastators scaled the two stories to the rooftop. The mechs would be zig-zagging while ascending to avoid any attacks from below, only deploying their ballistic shields if the attacks became too intense to dodge, because they couldn’t climb while the shields were active. He hoped the Devastators reached the top before either they, or the Cicadas, were destroyed.
Four alien defense platforms had emerged, and Eric and the Cicadas focused their attention on one platform each, drawing their fire away from the others. Eric dove to the rooftop and rolled upon the metal surface as he unleashed his weapons; he kept his time sense relatively high, and that, combined with his rapid-fire shots, was really draining the smaller battery of his Cicada.
Finally the Devastators arrived; they swung over the balcony railings, crushing them in the process, and launched their spears. The weapons smashed into shields weakened by the Cicada attacks, and penetrated to strike the turrets inside, sending electrical sparks passing up and down the surfaces of the four defense platforms. The mechs did all of this before landing so that by the time four loud thuds echoed in rapid succession across the roof, all four platforms were down.
Eric hurried to his mech and retrieved the collection gloves, then he rushed to the closest platform and ripped the spear from it. He retreated to his Devastator, jumped onto the rungs leading to the torso, and restored the spear to the slot on the waiting arm by slamming it home. He pulled himself into the cockpit, compacting his body into a sphere before the hatch closed behind him. He switched his consciousness to that of the mech, and awoke in the body of the Devastator.
He allocated a small portion of battery power to recharge the Cicada, and then turned toward the double doors embedded in the rooftop surface.
“Now we’ll be able to rip open those doors!” Slate said.
Eric rushed the center of the rooftop, right behind Slate. The latter’s Devastator dug his hand into the small crack between the two doors, and tugged toward his body, crumpling the metal in the immediate area. Eric joined him, doing the same on the opposite side, and peeled the door back from its frame, revealing a cylindrical drop lit by blue strips of light; it was like a well, of sorts, but without water at the bottom.
Overhead, the thermal signatures of airships were rapidly rushing in.
“I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore that we’re still emitting Sloth signatures...” Eagleeye said.
Incoming plasma bolts flashed toward the team from the lead airships.
“Nope!” Eric jumped into the opening.
Slate and Brontosaurus were right behind him, while Eagleeye brought up the rear, returning fire before the lip of the drop blocked his view of the airships.
Eric landed on the hexagonal tiles that seemed to permeate Banthar architecture. He was in a broad chamber of some sort, shaped like a hexagon. Walker style robots lined the walls, and they sprung to life when Eric hit the floor.
Knowing that the walkers were likely shielded, Eric deployed his Wolverine blades, and lunged for the closest. As expected, his spears struck an energy field, and the alien blades passed right through, draining the shield; he struck the walker underneath, and it collapsed in a shower of electricity. He deployed his ballistic shield as the next unit fired at him, and he ducked behind the metal; a red circle appeared on the inside, marking the impact. He ran at the unit and slammed his blades home, while Slate, Brontosaurus and Eagleeye attacked the other walkers behind him. In short order, the team had destroyed them all.
He glanced at the statuses of his teammates: the most damage any of them had obtained was to their ballistic shields.
A cylindrical tunnel at the far side of the chamber offered the only way forward, so he dashed into it. The width was big enough only for one Devastator at a time, so they had to advance in single file. Slate brought up the rear.
He heard loud clangs coming from the chamber behind him.
“Got Sloths!” Slate announced.
Eric piped Slate’s video feed into the upper right of his vision, and watched as Sloth units fell from above, no thanks to the airships.
Slate rushed forward to engage the three-legged robots. Slate had his ballistic shield held toward the newcomers, protecting him from the brunt of any gamma ray attacks. He fired his laser cannon into the closest Sloth, weakening the energy shield that enveloped the unit, and then stabbed his alien blades through it and into the alien mech. Another Sloth unleashed plasma bolts at Slate’s exposed side, but Eagleeye was there with his own ballistic shield to protect him.
“We’ll hold them off until you find Bambi and Crusher!” Eagleeye rushed the next unit, employing the same tactic Slate had used to take down the first.
“No!” Eric said. “I’m not leaving anyone behind!”
“You have to come back this way, anyway!” Eagleeye said. “Go!”
That was true, considering there was no way Eric and Brontosaurus would be able to exit the building at ground level, not with all those troops waiting for them below.
Reluctantly, Eric continued forward, while Brontosaurus faithfully remained close behind him.
Termites rushed down into the tunnel from behind, also unleashed from the airships no doubt, but the repelling devices embedded in the Devastators kept them at bay. It did make advancement slightly difficult, however, because Eric could no longer see more than two meters in any direction.
He fired his energy cannon, and it carved a cylindrical tunnel through the micro machines, but the hole was quickly replaced by other termites. He swung his ballistic shield in front of him, in case any unseen attackers should open fire.
Sure enough, a large red-hot area appeared in the center, and he knew he was taking fire. He gazed past the edge of the shield, and caught a glimpse of a fresh tunnel carved through the termites closing up.
He rushed forward, and abruptly his motion ceased as his ballistic shield hit an energy field. He stabbed his blades forward, piercing the shield and the Sloth hiding inside of it. The wreckage of the Sloth blocked his path forward, and he had to shove it to the side and squeeze past before he could continue.
He encountered two more Sloths and dispatched them in a similar manner. A defense platform also unfolded from the ceiling at one point, and he closed with it and stabbed it with the spears. The termites continued to surround and blind him and Brontosaurus the whole time.
He reached a grav elevator of sorts, because one moment he was stepping on solid ground, and the next he was floating in midair. Brontosaurus stepped into the air beside him, and together they hovered in place in the shaft. Meanwhile, the termites lingered in the corridor just beyond the grav elevator.
“Why aren’t they following?” Brontosaurus said.
“Dunno,” Eric said. “Could be their programming prohibits them from entering grav elevators—assuming that’s what this is. Or maybe they’re just not equipped to navigate zero G environments.”
“But we saw termites operating in space before…” Brontosaurus said. “During the last invasion.”
“Yes, but those could have been specially designed termites,” Eric said.
“Well, I’m not complaining,” Brontosaurus said. “So, a grav elevator huh? How do we use it?”
“Good question,” Eric said. “We don’t have access to whatever remote interface the Banthar use. So we’re probably going to have to climb.”
Eric bent his knees so that his soles were facing the round wall opposite the hallway, and activated the magnetic
mounts in his feet; he amped up the power output, and he slowly floated toward the metal surface. Mindful of the battery drain, he lowered the power level as he neared the surface, and when he made contact, he turned the mounts off entirely.
Selectively magnetizing different limbs, he swiveled his body around until his head was pointing downward, and then he alternately activated and deactivated his hands and feet to descend. Brontosaurus followed above him, and together they made their way down the tunnel that composed the grav elevator.
Eventually another opening appeared in the wall across from them. The next level, no doubt.
“I got a bead on Bambi and Crusher,” Brontosaurus said.
Eric glanced at his overhead map. The indicators for the two of them appeared to be about two stories down, and some distance to the left. “I see them. Bambi, Crusher, do you read?”
Nothing came back.
“That can’t be good,” Brontosaurus said.
“No,” Eric agreed.
They continued downward, passing another opening, until they arrived at the third, which lined up with the level where Bambi and Crusher were located.
Eric shoved off from the wall, and floated toward the opening. As soon as he passed out of the tunnel, gravity took hold once more, and he was glued to the floor.
“Nice.” Eric moved forward, making room for Brontosaurus. They continued forward in single file once more.
Three milk robots blocked Eric’s path ahead.
He promptly rushed them, and stabbed his spears repeatedly into the crystal shells of their bodies. Electricity sparked across the stricken robots, and they vibrated to pieces.
Eric unceremoniously stepped over the shards that littered the floor, crunching them beneath his metal feet.
The corridor curved left and right, and he had to face an attack from another Sloth, and a defense platform, but then finally he reached the door that led to his girls. At least, their signals emanated from beyond.
The door itself was hexagonal in shape, and offset from the surrounding wall so that it appeared embossed. He slid his fingers into the edges, and ripped it open.
Beyond awaited a large room. Three big slabs hovered above the floor, with several smaller ones beside them. Two of the big slabs were occupied by the lifeless forms of Devastator mechs, while the smaller slabs beside them contained Cicadas.
Bambi.
And Crusher.
Spherical metal shapes with long arms floated above them. Those arms ended in pincers, which they used to remove long cylinders from the bodies of each Cicada.
Those cylinders were the AI cores. Everything that made Bambi and Crusher who they were. Their minds.
In a fit of rage, Eric shot forward. He sliced through the arms of each robot with his blades, and caught the AI cores before they hit the ground. Then with his free hand, he unleashed his PR-97 plasma weapon at point blank range, and incinerated half the spherical bodies in turn. The wreckages crashed to the floor.
Eric gingerly lowered one of the AI cores to the table next to the body it had been removed from. Then he inserted the remaining core into the other body, and then attempted to activate the remote interface.
Nothing came up on his list of available access points.
Was he too late?
He tried again.
No interface appeared, other than his own and Brontosaurus’.
“Anything?” Brontosaurus asked.
Eric shook his head.
He went to the second body and inserted the remaining AI core. He refreshed the access point list; no interface appeared for that unit either.
He slumped.
Bambi and Crusher. My girls.
“Maybe the interfaces have been damaged in some way,” Brontosaurus said. “But both AI cores are otherwise intact.”
Eric nodded. “I’ll just have to carry their AI cores all the way back to Earth.”
He leaned over the closest Cicada, and was about to remove the AI core so that he could stow it in the storage compartment of his mech, when he decided to try one last thing.
He retrieved the cable needed for manual interfacing, and connected it to the chest area of the robot.
He was encouraged when an interface appeared on his HUD.
He selected reboot, and then connected the cable to the second Cicada and issued the same command.
“You think they’ll load up?” Brontosaurus said.
Eric didn’t answer.
A moment later the blue lights on the first visor lit up.
“Mon ami,” Bambi said.
Relief flooded him.
“Bonjour, mon amour,” Eric said. My love.
Her Cicada sat up. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear your voice.”
“And I yours,” Eric said. “All systems are operational?”
“They are,” Bambi said.
“Then head over to your Crab and get loaded up,” Eric said. “We have a few diversionary charges that will be going off shortly, and a nuke to outrun.”
“Merde!” Bambi leaped to her Crab. Without the carapace section, it looked almost like a Devastator, and for a moment Eric thought she had chosen the wrong unit.
Beside him Crusher’s Cicada activated. She lifted her upper body, and glanced first at Eric, then her torso. She raised a hand, and formed a fist. “Well, that was fun.”
“Are you good?” Eric asked her.
“All systems fully functional and ready to kick ass,” Crusher said.
“Good,” Eric told her.
“What are you waiting for?” Bambi said from her Crab. “We have a nuke to outrun!”
“Well, when you put it that way...” Crusher leaped to her feet and folded her Cicada into the cockpit of her Devastator. The unit arose a moment later. “Let’s show these Banthar that no one messes with the Bolt Eaters.”
19
Eric led the charge through the corridor. Two more milk robots attempted to intercept him, but he smashed them with his alien blades. Bambi followed behind him in her reduced Crab unit, while Crusher and Brontosaurus came after her in their Devastators.
Eric reached the grav elevator and leaped inside the shaft. His momentum carried him across to the far side, and he latched on with his magnetic mounts and began to climb. The others floated across in turn underneath him, until they were all scaling the shaft.
He glanced at his power levels. Forty percent. Good so far.
He reached the top floor, and glanced at the corridor leading away from the shaft. Termites rested inside, lining the walls, floor and ceiling. They swarmed upon seeing him, filling the passage with a black cloud of micro machine bodies. As previously, none of the termites entered the shaft of the grav elevator itself.
Eric released his magnetic mounts and shoved off from the wall so that he was hurtling toward the termites. When he entered the corridor, the cloud of micro machines cleared from his path, thanks to the repelling emitters built into his mech. Gravity pulled his feet to the ground with a loud clank.
He moved forward, making room for the three mechs behind him. He used his map to guide him through the dark veil those micro machines laid across his vision, until he heard the sound of combat up ahead. He glanced at his overhead map, and saw the indicators of Eagleeye and Slate up ahead. They were inside the first chamber, next to the entrance, with several red dots opposite them.
The corridor widened into that chamber, and the termites cleared in front of him until he found Eagleeye and Slate. The pair were crouched behind the piled bodies of several Sloth units. The micro machine cloud enveloped the space beyond that pile, blotting out the rest of the room. The two mechs occasionally fired their plasma and energy weapons past the edge of the wreckages, cutting a swath through those micro machines, and hitting the energy shield of some other unit lurking beyond them.
Slate looked over his shoulder. “‘Bout time you fuckers showed up. Our batteries are taking some major strain.”
Eric took cover behind the robot bodi
es, and glanced at their battery levels as displayed on his HUD. Slate and Eagleeye were down to fifteen percent each.
“We wanted to give you some me time,” Bambi commented.
“Me time,” Slate said. “Ha. If I wanted me time, I would have booked a trip to the dark side of the moon rather than taking this mission.”
“We can’t stay here,” Eric said.
“You think?” Slate fired his weapon past the pile of bodies. An energy beam smashed through the termites in return, and drilled a hole through a ruined Sloth in front of Slate.
“I guess I actually thought you had a plan to get us out,” Crusher said. She had taken cover beside him.
Eric studied the overhead map on his HUD. “Look at the grav shaft.”
“What?” Brontosaurus said. He leaned past the edge of the debris to let off a shot, tunneling a path through the micro machines.
“It looks like it follows the eastern side of the building all the way down,” Eric said.
The mapping sensors had recorded the entire eastern exterior of the building before the team had entered, and once inside, the software had overlaid the interior as the team explored the different sections. And like he just said, the elevator shaft bordered the eastern side of the building all the way down. Or at least, as far as Eric had explored it.
“So?” Brontosaurus said.
“So we shoot our way through it,” Bambi said.
“I like how you think, Woman,” Slate said.
“You would,” Crusher said.
“You’re going to let Slate get away with flirting with her?” Eagleeye asked Eric.
Bambi fired off a shot from the far side of their cover. “Actually, I’m not sure if he was trying to flirt with me or insult me. Probably a little of both.”
“In the middle of combat, I’ll let him get away with just about anything!” Eric said. “Retreat to the shaft!”
Eric left the wreckages, and returned to the corridor. The termites enveloped him once more, blotting out his view, so he relied on the map to retrace his steps. Via that map, he also confirmed that the others were following. Slate brought up the rear, keeping his ballistic shield angled behind him. Eric did the same, in case a stray shot managed to find its way through.
