The Legion and the Lioness

by Robert D. Armstrong

  “Primary target coming back around again! Get ready!” I shouted. Despite the enormous risk, this was admittedly exhilarating.

  “Fire!” Xena and I both fired at the port side dome.

  “Effect on target?” I asked.

  “N-not enough. O-one more pass,” Drake replied hesitantly. I could see flashes of light erupting behind us as Xena unloaded on the vessel’s guns. In front of me, drones were dipping in and out of formation.

  “Now it’s down. Both targets down,” Xena confirmed.

  “Alright, now—”

  “Goodbye,” Xena said. I glanced behind us as thrusters ignited from the back of her armor. She dismounted from the XU-97, rocketing straight down at the destroyer.

  “Xena?” I asked the shipboard AI.

  “My counterpart will now assume a direct-action mission against the android flagship. Please use caution as some of the vessel’s defenses are functional,” Xena replied.

  “Captain Belic, assume a safe distance from the battlegroup, we’ll take it from here,” Corvin responded.

  “What about the other destroyers?” I challenged. I waited several seconds with no response. I did as I was ordered, blasting away from the combat area. I reengaged chameleon mode to further ensure our safety.

  I throttled away from the battle. Drake cycled through a series of cameras, projecting a small, unobtrusive video feed inside the corner of my visor. The video was from Xena’s perspective, a helmet camera. She was scorching through a section of the hull with the massive laser cannons on her arms, like a welder on steroids.

  “Can you see her?” he asked.

  “Yeah, onscreen,” I answered.

  She burned a circle beneath her, then stomped through the hull. Debris fell through as she quickly clambered in. From inside the ship, Xena glared up as a metal plate sealed off the intrusion automatically.

  “What’s the strategy here?” I asked.

  “Take control,” Drake said.

  “Hack their system?” I snapped toward him.

  “Yeah.”

  “Couldn’t this alert the androids of our plan for later?” I asked.

  Drake glanced up at the ceiling, waiting for the AI to chime in. “Xena will use a lower level hack to break into their flagship’s controls. There is a massive disparity between this cyber-attack and the one we will deploy to send them into a civil war. It is impossible they will have the ability to forecast our true capability from this attack,” she explained.

  “Is there any chance we could send them into a civil war now? I mean, why not if we have an opportunity?” Drake posed.

  “Extremely unlikely. The flagship would need a specific terminal onboard, an engineer’s infrastructure grid. But yes, if that option does present itself, a plan is in place,” the AI responded.

  “I’ve breached the flagship. Headed to the bridge,” Xena confirmed, interrupting my thought.

  I immediately scanned over at her camera feed in front of me. The interior of the ship maintained gravity, allowing her to plant her feet firmly on the metallic floor. She peered inside the dark hallway that stretched for dozens of meters both ways.

  The inside was not unlike human naval ships I was accustomed to. Cramped quarters and oval hatches were spaced every several meters. Naval vessels had air flow tubing and electric wiring tucked away on the ceiling, but there was none of that here. It was mostly flat gray surfaces throughout. Cigar shaped red lights strobed on each side of the floor that ran the length of the hall.

  Xena picked up the hull debris she’d chiseled out from above, tucking it under her arm. The circular disk reminded me of a manhole cover but several times thicker. To my surprise, she started sprinting down the corridor, her boots creating a loud clacking sound that echoed down the hall.

  “What the hell is she doing?” I muttered. Drake shrugged with his mouth open.

  As she stampeded forward, a humanoid figure popped its head around a corner. I noticed its signature blue eyes piercing through the darkness. It was an android, possibly a crewman. I assumed it was attempting to make sense of the unusual situation.

  There was no time to react. Xena spun around three hundred and sixty degrees in the hall, hurling the hefty debris at the crewman like an Olympian discus thrower. The projectile was tossed with so much force it appeared as a blur on my screen.

  The trajectory was perfect. The impact sounded like a booming gong as it smashed the android in the face. The force snapped its neck backward, lifting it from the floor as it tumbled three times in midair before landing with a thud. The disc continued on, ping-ponging off the corridor walls for a dozen meters before rolling into the middle of the floor, spinning like a coin on its edge.

  “Damn,” I muttered with my mouth open. Drake glanced over at me as I continued watching. “You saw that, right?” he asked.

  “Yeah, but I’m not sure I believe it,” I replied.

  Xena approached the enemy. Her head tilted to the side as she laid eyes on her first enemy android. I wondered how she processed the interaction. Was there any degree of curiosity beyond intelligence gathering?

  The android was wearing dark gray working coveralls. Its blue eyes slowly dimmed from blue to black. I observed a black coil like structure where the human throat would have been, the material was frayed and splintered, poking out of the neck erratically.

  To me, it appeared identical to the units from my day. She continued staring at the neutralized android, its face illuminated by red alarm lights pulsating.

  “Xena?” Drake chimed in. She immediately turned toward her objective.

  “Proceeding to the mission target,” she confirmed.

  She barreled down the narrow corridor, I couldn’t believe the speed and athleticism she possessed, considering the amount of armor she was carrying. She had the bulk of a tank and the speed of a fighter jet rolled into a humanoid form. Ahead, the hallway widened into a ramp, then up to a large red door, possibly the control room bridge.

  There were imprints on both sides of the door. White lights arranged in the shape of a face were indented into the hull just under two meters high. I assumed this was some form of entry security procedure. I got the feeling Xena wouldn’t follow the rules.

  I heard what sounded like a door opening as small wisps of smoke appeared on the hull all around Xena.

  “Taking small arms laser fire,” she said, she butted against a small cargo bin just before the ramp. She leaned around, aiming her arms up toward the open door, unleashing a fury of energy. The door warped from the barrage, filling the corridor with smoke. I could hear muffled voices from inside the room.

  From what I could tell, two shooters were directly behind the door with more figures scrambling around inside. The guards at the door were wearing red armored exoskeletons with no helmets. This led me to believe they were some sort of special security force.

  Xena rushed the door like a stampeding bull, slamming through it. The collision was like a car crash as hunks of metal grinded and slammed together. Her camera feed flickered. One of the androids directly behind the door catapulted across the room like it was shot out of a cannon, blasting against a large viewing glass and cracking it.

  The android on the other side of the door had toppled over. He was still firing at Xena with a pistol from his back. She took two large steps, then stomped on his chest, twisting her foot. The impact seemed to seize up his limbs, causing it to drop the weapon as his arms and legs stiffened.

  All at once, an army of about thirty-five red armored androids burst through a door on the opposite side of the bridge. They were holding heavy weaponry that reminded me of jackhammers. They funneled inside as Xena quickly ducked down behind a control station.

  “Oh no,” I muttered.

  “It’s possible that I am outgunned. Redirecting,” Xena said.

  “Redirecting?” I glanced toward Drake as Xena swiped a control panel on her wrist. She snapped her head up as something rocked the ship. Behind the door where the a
ndroids entered, a screeching sound erupted that caused the androids to stop in place.

  Several androids turned around as a blur of silver rocketed through the door. It reminded me of a flurry of buzz saws zipping across the bridge, cutting androids in half as fragments of red armor were flung across the room. The speed was frightening and difficult to fathom as thrusters blasted across the bridge.

  “The drones, she called them on her position,” I observed.

  Xena peered up as one of the fleeing guards ran in front of her. It stopped, raising his massive weapon at her. Before it could fire, one of the drones clamped over its body, covering the android with its jagged wings. The drone fired its thrusters and melted the android into a pile of goo that splattered unto Xena.

  “Holy shit,” Drake said.

  “We lost the video feed,” I noticed the flickering camera.

  “Maybe that boiling sludge damaged her camera?” Drake suggested. I glanced at the other three destroyers in the distance, they had begun to take strategic positions to cull the drones into a kill box possibly.

  It reminded me of a group of whales using angles to cull krill as they formed a triangular position, boxing in the drones. To counter, the drones formed a figure eight symbol that stretched outside the kill box, continuing their attack as they looped around the colossal craft.

  Our new machines against our old machines.

  “How many are left?” Drake asked.

  “Ninety-eight thousand four hundred twelve...ten,” Xena said.

  “Half of our drones are gone and this is only four destroyers,” I replied.

  “Yes, but reports show significant damage to the orbital weapon systems in this battle group,” Xena said. I wasn’t impressed. A full attack from them would have obliterated us in seconds.

  “Looks like a change of plans!” Drake pointed.

  What was left of the drone army converged on the flagship Xena was on. They were attacking the rear of the ship, possibly to disable its thrusters. An explosion erupted aft, the fireball was nearly half the size of the ship itself. “Whoa!” I turned my head as a flash of light filled the cabin.

  “Yeah!” Drake cheered.

  “General Corvin, should I engage, full attack?” I asked. I waited with no response. My hand shook around the flight stick as I awaited his order. I wanted to finish them off.

  “The flagship’s main propulsion appears to have been disabled,” Xena said. All at once, the flagship’s nose tilted down at Titan.

  “It’s still moving, though. What’s it doing?” I questioned. A small pulse fired from rear thrusters.

  “Oh no,” Drake said.

  “Some type of emergency surge,” Xena speculated. I noticed the flagship’s outer lights dim in color as it seemed to hurl itself at Titan in its dying breath. To my surprise, the other three destroyers were retreating in a hurry.

  I throttled toward the flagship despite a confirmation from Corvin. As we came near, the destroyer began to roll erratically. I cautiously approached it, noticing sparks and flames engulfing most of the hull. Our drones continued swirling around the flagship like a school of piranhas circling bleeding prey, dipping in and out of formation while slicing into the ship.

  “It’s heading into the atmosphere,” I said.

  “Can we stop it?” Drake asked.

  “Xena?”

  “No. Considering its speed, mass, and trajectory, the flagship will enter Titan. At just over a quarter million tons, it will cause significant damage,” Xena calculated.

  “Any word from your counterpart inside the flagship? What’s going on in there?” I demanded.

  “Engaging multiple hostiles in a confined space,” Xena said. I followed behind the flagship as it entered Titan’s upper atmosphere. It tipped, end over end slowly, then began to tumble.

  “Xena, how far away will it impact from the colony?” I asked.

  “Impact estimation will be nine hundred kilometers away, thirteen hundred kilometers is the minimum safe impact based on my calculations,” Xena replied.

  “Not good,” I said.

  An orange-red umbrella of fire encased the tip of the flagship as it nosed downward into Titan’s atmosphere, it was gaining speed. I pushed forward, matching its course at a safe distance of about 5 kilometers.

  “Corvin? What’s the plan?” I charged.

  “We’ve got people working on it!” he replied.

  “You better think of something fast!” I shouted.

  “Captain, can you nudge it away from the colony? Our gravity is much weaker here on Titan,” Corvin measured.

  “Nudge? I doubt that. Xena?” I asked.

  “No. The output of the XU-97 while extreme, would only alter the trajectory of the flagship eleven to fifteen kilometers,” she said.

  “Captain, this is Xena, I’m on the bridge. I have several dozen androids outside the doors, but I’ve sealed them out. They’re attempting to get through. The erratic nature of the situation is aiding me,” Xena said. I could hear loud explosions and objects crashing into one another, yet her voice remained calm. I gathered the ship was falling apart around her.

  “Wait one, Xena!” I shouted.

  A light bulb went off in my head. “How many drones do we have left?” I turned toward Drake.

  “What?” Drake asked.

  “Sixty-eight thousand, two hundred and ninety,” the shipboard AI replied.

  “Get them all over here! Now!” I ordered.

  “Xena, do you have any control of the flagship?” I questioned.

  “Limited control. I have the bow thrusters, which might provide some lift, but I’m not sure how much,” Xena replied.

  “Drones are on the way.” Drake spun around.

  “Get ready, every degree counts.” I glanced behind as thousands of drones looped in at a distance.

  “Captain? What’s your plan?” Corvin asked.

  “Get all the drones under that flagship, we need the bow tilted up, we need it to glide away from its original impact,” I explained. There were a few moments of silence, then the drones seemed to flow around me. They swooped in, clamping themselves underneath the hull of the falling wreckage.

  “Looks like they’re in agreement with your plan,” Drake concluded.

  “We’ll use their tiny thrusters for lift! Tens of thousands of them might help in Titan’s low gravity atmosphere, right?” I asked.

  “Possibly,” the shipboard AI hesitated.

  “Hey. Wait, what’s going here? Look!” Drake pointed. To my surprise, several thousand drones began to attach themselves to each side of the flagship’s bow, forming together. The drones extended outward, creating massive wings on each side of the wreckage as they interlocked their structures together. This began to stabilize the wreckage’s tumble.

  “Look at this. They get it!” I stared in awe.

  “Captain, I have an estimate,” Xena said.

  “What?”

  “Considering this extra lift, it will push the impact zone almost fifty-two kilometers out.”

  “That’s not enough,” I said. I crept the XU-97 from behind the ship. I eased under the hulking, burning mass as the drones began to stabilize its tumble.

  “Um, Captain, this is extremely risky considering the integrity of that hull. It could blow at any moment,” Drake said with his eyes wide. Streaks of fire longer than a city block whipped around us violently. The visceral sound of the wind, the fire, the destroyer’s mass creaking and swaying under the turbulence overloaded my senses as the XU-97’s shields attempted to absorb the scorching temperatures.

  “This is nuts,” Drake mumbled. He placed his hands out to each side as if to brace for impact. As we approached the bow, I noticed dozens of drones burning. With every passing moment, the bots were flaking off the formation under the heat. No sooner than a drone melted away, another would take its place from underneath the hull.

  “They’re like ants,” I said.

  “Like what?” Drake asked. He obviou
sly had no idea what the insects were.

  “Never mind!” I scooted toward the burning hull. We were within ten meters of it.

  “Captain Belic, this is Corvin, we approve of your plan. Our operators are ready to fire the drone’s mini thrusters, but we’re not sure how much lift it will create,” he said.

  “Anything is better than nothing! Wait for my command!” I shouted.

  “Xena, are you still on the bridge?” I asked.

  “Awaiting your orders,” she said.

  “I’m going to need you to fire the ship’s bow thrusters on my mark, ready?”

  “Roger,” her voice garbled as flames seemed to sear through the bridge tower.

  “All right, everyone. Go! Fire all thrusters! Now!” I ordered, lightly tapping the XU-97’s nose against the destroyer’s bow.

  “Come on!” I yelled, throttling upward.

  Drake glared behind us. “The drones are engaging lift, all of them!”

  “That’s it, give me everything you got!” I shouted. I could hear Corvin and company back in the control room cheering us on.

  “Captain, the trajectory is being altered. Impact estimation is now extended sixty-one additional kilometers and rising,” Xena informed. I sensed the front tilting upward drastically. Instead of a straight dive downward, it now felt more like a horizontal glide.

  “Eighty-nine kilometers extended,” Xena said.

  “We have to hit that four hundred mark,” I said.

  “Go, go, go!” Drake yelled. Xena projected the numbers onto our visors.

  “121...”

  “R-rrrrgh!” I yelled.

  “158...”

  “199...”

  “201...”

  “Halfway!” I glanced back and noticed the drone’s thrusters were dying one by one. Apparently, they weren’t designed to sustain such durations of boost.

  “We can’t push it any further?” I asked.

  “Negative. The drones are rerouting all power to their thrusters, but it’s disabling them,” she said.

  “An additional benefit from this course of action is the impact detonation will not be as severe. A glancing blow is far less drastic than a straight on impact. We might have a chance,” Xena reminded.