by M. R. Forbes
Mitchell winced as his foot came down on the edge of a broken machine, his boot catching, and his ankle turning. He cursed himself for his clumsiness as he fired another amoebic round, watching the counter drop. He didn't bother to track the flight or the explosion. There was no time for that.
He looked down, his boot covered in the spider's blood, thick like oil but red like a human's. It wasn't having an effect on his boots, but when he looked forward he could see the signs of corrosion and degradation on the bottom of the mechs, their legs slowly crumbling beneath the chemistry.
"Mech one, you have to move faster. Your ride is disintegrating beneath you."
"Roger, " Teal replied. "You'll have to pick up the slack."
"We will. Let's move it, Riggers."
The mechs started walking faster, firing at the ground only a foot or two ahead of them and then crushing spiders below as they waded into the mess. The spiders started latching onto them, detonating a moment later, spraying fragments of hot metal ad splattering the sides of the mechs with the poison.
"We can't hold them back, Colonel," Cormac said.
"You keep fighting until you're dead," Mitchell said. "APC one, be ready to abandon the transport. It isn't going to hold up under this."
"Are you kidding, Colonel?" Tio replied. "Pulin can barely walk like this."
"Then we'll carry him."
"Shit," Shank said. Mitchell whipped his head around, seeing that Shank's exosuit was breaking down in the muck.
"Ditch it, Shank," Mitchell said.
Shank didn't look happy, but he unhooked himself and jumped down, grabbing his rifle from the side of the augmentation. The other Riggers began to do the same, separating themselves from the metal suits as they started to fall apart.
"Try to keep your rifles clean," Mitchell said.
Another minute passed. It seemed like an hour. They had covered enough ground that Mitchell could see a large cavern up ahead, an entryway to Watson's internals. It gave him a renewed round of strength to put eyes on the destination, but he was nowhere near convinced it would be enough.
Teal's mechs had come to a dead stop ahead, their legs nearly brown from the degradation, the rest of them slowly becoming the same. The toxin was eating away at the mechs, breaking them down as effectively as any missile or laser. The spiders were climbing all over them, covering them like ants, leaving little room for the pilots to try to escape. At the same time, their slowdown had given the enemies at their back time to catch up, and they were almost back into the fight, while the spiders on either side continued to close in. The Riggers were doing their best to keep them away, but their heavy armor was gone, and their weapons were running out of ammo. The APC was out of action, leaving Tio on the ground beside Cormac, who was helping move Pulin along.
Mitchell checked his own weapon. He had thirty rounds left out of two hundred. They had killed more of the spiders than he could imagine, and yet there were still so many more coming. Could they force their way through?
They were damned well going to try.
"I need volunteers," Mitchell said into the comm. "You all know we have no ride off this shithead, which means this was most likely a one-way trip. We need to make it to that tunnel, which means we need to keep these things back. I want a wall. A wall of frigging Riggers. A wall that those bastards aren't going to get past. Who's up for it?"
"Riiiggg-ahhh," the soldiers replied, nearly in unison. It was enough to bring a little bit of hope back into Mitchell's head.
"Shank, Cormac, Sunny, you're with me. We need to get Tio and Pulin through this shit and into that cave. Everyone else, give us a path."
"Yes, sir."
The Riggers moved forward, spreading out, taking up a position on either side and behind them, creating a wall against the incoming machines. They fired away while Teal and the other mech pilots abandoned their vehicles, popping the hatches and jumping down into the spiders, shooting them point-blank with their rifles. They gained the front, leading the way, charging against the wave of spiders as they climbed into their forces, a massive wave crashing against a tiny island.
An island whose shores had no chance of withholding the surge, though they tried their hardest to do it. Mitchell shuddered every time he heard one of the Riggers scream or curse, shout or cry out in pain. It happened all around him, some of the best soldiers in the universe being crushed under the weight of sheer numbers, unsurprisingly unable to counter the masses. They were still a good four hundred meters from the entrance, nowhere near close enough.
And even if they had made it, what then? The spiders could follow them inside. They could chase them anywhere they went, with numbers in the thousands. They had never had a chance in this fight. Not when Watson was so prepared for them. The intelligence had been smarter this time. He hadn't assumed that they wouldn't make it to the surface. He hadn't assumed a small force would be enough. He had thrown everything he had at them, and it was more than enough.
"Mother frigging son of a bitch," Shank said behind him as his rifle ran out of ammunition.
He started swinging it like a club, knocking spiders back, pushing them away. Cormac shoved Pulin along behind Mitchell, still trying to reach the end of the line, while Tio used his knives to stab into the machines, their blood eating away at the edges of his weapons. Sunny was beside the Knife, having produced a sword from somewhere, which was also slowly falling apart as she sliced into the spiders.
Mitchell moved ahead, catching up to Teal and then going beyond him, firing the last of his amoebic rounds into the thick, and then copying Shank and using his weapon as a club. He slammed it into the spiders, one after another, his Teegin-enhanced strength knocking them back and clearing a little space.
"Riggers," he shouted, as loud as he could, loud enough that it echoed within the chasm. A spider jumped at him, and he kicked it solidly, sending it tumbling back.
The remaining Riggers broke toward him, rushing to fill the space he had made. They were all filthy and bloody. They had all been cut and bruised and scraped.
They weren't dead yet.
They kept going, one step at a time. Mitchell kicked and punched and swung the rifle, batting spiders aside, crushing them against the ground, ignoring the pain as they tried to pull him down. He was nearly knocked down as a machine jumped him from the side, but then Sunny was there, burying what was left of her blade into it and pulling it off.
They made it nearly one hundred meters that way. It was an impressive accomplishment, but it wasn't enough to get the job done.
It was over. He knew it. The Riggers had to know it too. There was no end to the spiders. No break beyond the horde. Their last stand was going to end with all of them dead, and Watson in control of humankind's destiny.
He swung his rifle as hard as he could, knocking a spider aside. He kicked another and then hit a third with the weapon. He was fighting on instinct, his mind numb. He had never imagined he was going to die like this.
"Colonel," a familiar voice said in his p-rat, a slight static behind it. "Colonel, is Rain. I am approaching your position. Please, take cover."
"Take cover?" Mitchell said, barely able to process the sudden appearance of her voice.
"Do it now, Colonel," Teegin said. "I do not want to harm you."
Mitchell turned his head, a part of him thinking he had already died and was stuck in this nightmare with his version of hell. He saw the few remaining Riggers dropping behind him. Then he saw the piranha swooping down toward them, a humanoid figure hanging from the bottom of the fuselage.
He felt his legs get pulled out from under him, thin, delicate fingers wrapping around his ankle and dragging him to the ground. He fell face-up, able to watch as Teegin fell from the fighter, landing in the center of the group with a loud thud before standing up and spreading his arms.
A green field exploded from his center, a ring that spread from him, washing across the field, passing only inches over Mitchell's head. It cut through every spider
it touched, neatly slicing them in half as it radiated outward. It only lasted for a few seconds, but a few seconds was all it took.
Mitchell stayed on the ground, staring up at the bluish-purple of Watson's atmosphere, giving his body a few seconds to rest. Then Teegin was standing over him, offering him a hand up.
"We aren't finished yet," Teegin said.
49
Mitchell accepted the offered hand, letting himself be pulled to his feet. He took a moment to look around. Cormac, Sunny, Tio, and Pulin were in motion, picking themselves back up. The sea of spiders had been reduced to a wide pile of motionless parts, the green energy field having destroyed nearly all of them in the blast. One half-operative machine was limping toward Cormac, who laughed when he saw it and then proceeded to bash it to the ground with the butt of his rifle.
"Shank," Mitchell said, moving over to the Rigger. His eyes were open. He was alive. His leg was in bad shape, his knee hanging onto the rest of him by a muscle or two. "Shit."
"I'll live," Shank said. "Maybe. Might have to take my leg, damn it." He smiled. "I'll keep an eye on things out here. Just give me a rifle, if you have one."
"I think we're out of rifles," Mitchell replied.
"Then I'll wait. Any of those friggers come near me; I'll beat them down with my ass-kicker." He pointed to his leg. Then he reached out and grabbed Mitchell's ankle. "Colonel." He used his other hand to grab something from his waist. "Take this. Firedog says you should always keep one on hand, in case you're out of options."
He held out a grenade, dropping it into Mitchell's hand. Mitchell considered refusing it, but he wasn't going to turn down was was likely the soldier's dying wish.
There was a soft whine behind him, and Mitchell turned as Ilanka's piranha touched down, crushing the dead spiders beneath the gear as she landed. The cockpit opened, and she jumped out, rushing over to them.
"We have to hurry. There are more coming this way. Four klicks out."
"I thought we lost you," Mitchell said.
"No. After the Corleone crashed, I get emergency signal from that way, followed by message from him." She pointed at Teegin.
"How did you survive?" Mitchell asked, turning to Teegin.
"I abandoned the Goliath," Teegin said. "I'm sorry, Mitchell. I had to. I could not protect it, and I knew you would need help."
"Kate?" he asked, hopeful.
Teegin shook his head. "There were no other survivors."
Mitchell had an urge to punch the Tetron, for all the good it would do. He couldn't argue that they had needed his help, and in this case, he had done the right thing.
"I have rifle," Ilanka said, dropping it from her shoulder.
Mitchell smiled as he took it from her. "All right, Riggers," he said, loud enough for the others to hear. "This is it. We're going in, and the only way we come back out is if Watson is dead. You read me?"
"Roger," Cormac said.
"Agreed," Tio said.
"Go get 'em, Colonel," Shank said.
"How is he?" Mitchell asked Tio, motioning to Pulin.
"Well enough."
Mitchell nodded and took the lead as the few remaining Riggers made their way toward the cavern ahead. They were halfway there when it started to close, a wide door sliding down to seal it.
"He is worried," Teegin said.
"Ilanka," Mitchell said. "Get back in the air, take care of that for us."
"Yes, Colonel," Ilanka said, running back to the piranha.
She was in the cockpit within twenty seconds, and they moved aside while she fired two amoebics from the ground. They streaked across the space and slammed into the closing door, blowing it apart. Then the starfighter whined as repulsors lifted it back into the air, and she was off once more.
"Let's move," Mitchell said, rushing into the cavern with the others.
The inside was a sea of pulsing lights, running around them in every direction. It was a huge space, easily one hundred meters around, a massive tunnel that split the middle of the planet-sized Tetron.
"I don't understand what this is," Mitchell said as they moved along it.
"Access to the factories, where he is producing the machines," Teegin said. "His strength his also his weakness. Because he is networked, we will be able to access his core from the terminals there."
"This is a launch tube?" Mitchell asked.
"Yes. For the hybrids that attacked us in orbit."
"You were going to accept his offer."
"To save your life, and the lives of as many humans as I could, yes. It was the logical choice."
"But not the right choice."
Teegin turned to him. His eyes flared slightly. "I am young, Colonel. I am still learning the difference between making choices based on logic, and choices based on the vagaries of emotion. I will do better the next time."
"If there is a next time," Mitchell said.
It was five minutes before the tunnel changed, leading them to the largest hangar Mitchell had ever seen. It was many times larger than the Goliath's space had been, and would have easily fit six or seven of the massive starships inside. It was almost empty now, though there were tendrils moving in the corner, lifting newly minted hybrid ships and placing them into racks along the top of the space. Those racks held a dozen or so of the weapons, dangling like bats and ready to launch when needed. There were lights visible at the far end of the hangar, a small corridor where the humans Watson was minting could pass.
"He has become too large to manage all of his systems internally," Teegin said. "He must rely on configurations to handle some of the load. We need to make it through that passage and deeper into the complex. We will find a terminal there."
"You're sure?"
"Positive."
"Watson isn't stationary, is he?" Mitchell asked, looking back at the hybrids above them. He could just barely make out the faces at the head of the torpedo-like ships, feeling a chill wash over him as he did.
"No," Teegin replied. "He has an eternal engine, and with it enough power to push himself into FTL. I imagine his intent is to confront the Naniates himself, at the head of his fleets."
"A bit risky, isn't it?"
"If he fails, he will use the engine and try again, and you will be unable to stop him. You must win today, Colonel, or you will never win. Not for all of eternity."
Mitchell nodded. "Then we will."
They kept walking, crossing the hangar. Mitchell half-expected the ships to launch at any moment, to drop on their heads and get rid of them once and for all. He was curious about the lack of response from Watson, especially now that they were drawing closer.
"Why isn't he trying to stop us?" he asked.
"Again, he is too large. His senses do not cover every area within this construct. That is why he sought to keep us out."
"He doesn't know we're in here?"
"He knows we are inside," Teegin replied. "Though he won't know precisely where. I expect he is repositioning his defenses to block us. If his configurations can see us, then he can see us."
"Roger that."
They reached the end of the hangar, moving into a smaller, human-sized corridor. Teegin had to bend slightly to enter, his nine-foot frame barely fitting in the space. He pulled himself inward, shrinking slightly in front of them.
"Neat trick," Cormac said.
They made it another three hundred meters or so, into an adjacent corridor. Mitchell didn't know where they were headed, but Teegin was moving as if he knew exactly where to go. They passed a section of transparency in the corridor a moment later, with a view to the surface outside. Mitchell drew back at the sight of even more of the spiders wandering the area, thousands of them circling as if they were on autopilot, waiting for a threat to attack.
Then one of them nearest the transparency paused, turning still for a few seconds before rushing over. It pressed itself up against the clear material, only a foot away from Mitchell, a small lens shifting and focusing.
It was immediate
ly followed by a sharp clang from somewhere up ahead, which was joined a moment later by similar noises all around them.
"I don't like the sound of that, Colonel," Cormac said.
Teegin paused, turning back to first look at the spider, and then Mitchell.
"Run."
50
They did, following Teegin as he rushed forward, quickly gaining speed. The noises were getting louder all around them, coming from everywhere at once now that Watson had pinpointed them.
They reached a fork in the path, breaking to the left. Mitchell looked back as they did, catching a glimpse of the enemy approaching from behind. He was expecting spiders, but that wasn't what he saw.
People. Humans. Men and women in a crude aggregate of flesh and metal. Unsightly, twisted things. They were moving fast, too fast for them to outrun, which meant they would have to fight them at some point.
"Cormac," Mitchell said, tossing Ilanka's rifle back to the Rigger.
Cormac caught it with a smile, bringing it up and facing the rear, releasing the first round.
The amoebic slammed into the lead configuration, digging in deep. The creature looked down at the fresh hole in its chest before exploding, taking out the others around it.
"Hell, yeah!" Cormac cried. "Wooo."
Mitchell faced front again, trailing behind Teegin as they headed down the hallway. They made it twenty meters before more of the configurations appeared in front of them, forcing them to pull up short.
"Mitchell," the lead hybrid said, smiling. "I give you a lot of credit for making it this far. I never thought you would. Never in my wildest dreams. I'm impressed. Very impressed. But this is as far as you go."
"We'll see about that," Mitchell replied, moving past Teegin toward the configuration. Its smile grew larger, and it pounced on him.
He grabbed it by the arm, turning it, putting his hand on its head and shoving it into the wall as hard as he could. He could feel the strength of Teegin's enhancement behind the maneuver, and he let out a visceral growl as the creature's head hit the side of the wall, cracking against it.
