by Rod Walker
“Gentlemen, select your shots,” said Mulger, kneeling by the window and taking aim. “I have the leftmost pair.”
The others confirmed their choices. The eight soldiers stood there, little realizing they had all been marked for death.
I scrolled through the options on the tablet. Once the location had been configured, you could also program the drones to the specific kind of cleaning needed. The drones would use a different set of tools and solvents on, say, a banquet hall table than on a carpeted hallway.
For the soldiers, I selecting the cleaning profile best suited for cleaning a soiled hotel bed soaked in the bodily fluids of a drug-addled rock star with impulse control issues. This profile came with various warnings about toxins and improper ingestion, accompanied by a long list of all the terrible, horrible, very bad things that would happen to anyone who happened to inhale the industrial-grade cleaning solution.
Fortunately, I had root access, so it was easy to override those warnings.
“We are in position and ready,” said Mulger. “Hammond?”
“Ready,” I said, resting my finger on the EXECUTE button.
“All right,” said Tanner. “Good luck, gentlemen. We go in three… two… one… now!”
I tapped the EXECUTE button as I heard the sound of gunfire erupt in my earpiece.
The lobby doors swung open, and fifty cleaning drones exited the building and rolled out towards the EMSO soldiers, wobbling a little as their treads gripped the asphalt. That got the soldiers’ attention, and they turned towards the motel, leveling their guns at the drones. Once they saw that the newcomers were in fact harmless cleaning drones, they lowered their weapons, and two or three of them laughed.
Then all the drones started speaking in unison.
“Good afternoon!” they announced, rolling towards the soldiers. “At Outpost Town, Safari Company wishes all our guests to have an enjoyable and pleasant stay. We are delighted to maintain clean facilities for all our guests, and will now be cleaning your rooms. Gratuities are not required.”
The drones divided themselves into eight groups, each group heading for one of the soldiers.
“Hammond,” said Mulger. “Are any of those cleaners and solvents flammable?”
“Probably,” I said. “I don’t actually know.”
“Guess we’re about to find out,” said Mulger.
The eight groups of drones rolled towards their soldiers, and right about then I think the EMSO guys realized that something was up.
“Hey!” shouted one of the EMSO soldiers, backing away from the approaching drone. “Go away, get back!”
“Cleaning,” chorused the drones, “will now commence.”
In perfect unison, all fifty drones sprayed the EMSO men with foaming cleaner.
We were thirty yards away and one floor up, with closed windows between us and the drones, but even through all that, the odor of the chemicals made my nose tingle and my eyes water. The soldiers were wearing combat suits, and their masks must have filtered out the worst of it, but some of the smell must have gotten through, and the foam covered the faceplates of their masks anyway.
They started shooting at the drones, which masked the initial shots taken by Mulger, Thompkins, and Charles. They had taken down four before the EMSOs even realized we were there. One of them got off a shot that shattered a window, and Charles responded by shooting him in the chest. We ducked and took cover as the surviving EMSOs started shooting at the motel, their powerful weapons chewing through the windows, but they found out that it’s really hard to shoot straight when your visor is covered with cleaning foam and your respirator is jammed with extremely poisonous fumes. Charles popped up five times and fired single shots, and with the last shot, the sound of all resistance stopped.
“All targets down,” announced Mulger. “Repeat, all targets down.”
I waited for a response from Tanner and Argent and Mr. Royale but didn’t hear anything. Guess they were busy. The cleaning drones busied themselves by cleaning the downed EMSO soldiers. They might be dead, but the drones would make sure they left sparkling clean corpses behind for the funeral.
“Let us proceed to Hangar One and direct Technical Writer Tanner and the other survivors to the shuttles,” said Charles.
“Who?” said Mulger, straightening up as Thompkins checked his gun.
“Kayla, Tanner’s wife,” I said, sending a command to the tablet. The drones stopped spraying cleaning solvent over the dead men. “She can fly one.”
We hurried downstairs and exited through the lobby, jogging towards Hangar One.
The chemical smell was overpowering. We were in the open air, and the smell of cleaners was nearly overpowering. In an enclosed space, it would have killed you in your tracks. The chemical reek probably killed all the bacteria on my skin, which was just as well, because I didn’t smell so great after all our adventures in the jungle.
I was pleased, but not surprised, to see that Director Hoskins and Kayla had taken charge of the prisoners. Kayla had already helped herself to one of the dead soldiers’ guns, as had Hoskins, and the rest of the prisoners were starting to stream out of the hangar. Charles and I took the lead, walking in front of Mulger and Thompkins, since Kayla and Hoskins and the others would not recognize them.
“Sam? Hiram?” said Kayla, looking from me to Charles. “Did you do this?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said. “We should probably hurry.” I jerked a thumb at Mulger and Thompkins. “These guys are here from the Security Ministry. Their colonel is with your husband, and they’re breaking into the communications room to call to a SecMin gunship in the outer system. Once they do, the ship will come, arrest Valier and everyone else, and we’ll get everyone to safety.”
“What about all of us?” said Hoskins, sweating profusely in the muggy heat of Arborea. “Where should we go?”
“The shuttles,” said Charles. “Security Director Tanner suggested that we take the employees aboard the shuttles and get them into the air. That way they will be safe from any crossfire between Colonel Argent’s men and Ecology Minister Valier’s soldiers.”
“That’s a good plan,” said Hoskins. “Kayla, can you fly one of the shuttles?”
“Yeah,” she said looking at me. “Fisher and Ramirez are rated on the shuttles too. Between the three of us, we can get everyone into the air. The sooner we go, the better.” The skin around her eyes tightened. “Those EMSO guys shot fifteen of us getting us rounded up in Hangar One. They said they were going to release us into the jungle and let the guests hunt us for sport.”
Behind her, the employees were streaming out of the hangar and were directed towards the landing field as Hoskins shouted instructions.
I nodded. “This whole thing is Valier’s idea. I think Alexander Toulon paid a couple million credits for the privilege of shooting down our quadcopter.”
“What happened?” said Kayla.
“Mrs. Tanner,” said Hoskins, “we had better move now. If there is going to be shooting, most of our people don’t have weapons and will be sitting ducks. The sooner we are in the air and out of missile range, the better.”
“Yes, right,” said Kayla, shaking her head. I could almost see her pulling herself together. “Sam, when you see Winston, tell him…”
“Hey,” I said. “No time for that. Whatever you have to say to him, you can tell him yourself once this is all over.”
Kayla smiled. “Thank you, Sam. Good luck.”
She turned and followed Hoskins, helping to herd the employees along to the landing field and the waiting shuttles.
An idea came to me, and I jogged after Hoskins. “Wait!”
He turned and blinked back at me. “What is it?”
“Before you go, I need access to the control for the sonic fence,” I said.
He frowned, sweat trickling down his jaw. “Why? Aren’t you coming with us?”
“No,” I said. “If this goes bad, you’ll need a distraction to escape, and changing th
e frequencies on the fence will make for a pretty big distraction.”
His frowned deepened, and then I saw him get it. He started to speak, thought better of it, then took my tablet and entered a few commands.
“Only use this if you have to,” said Hoskins, handing it back to me. “And only once we’ve got the shuttles in the air. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
He offered a tight smile. “Well, Valier wanted a hunt. We’ll see how he likes being on the other end of one.”
He turned and hurried to join the others, and I returned to Mulger, Charles, and Thompkins.
“We’re going to go help the colonel, I assume?” said Thompkins.
“That’s right,” said Mulger. He looked at Charles and me. “We haven’t heard from him and the others since the shooting started.” He was right, come to think of it. I had been so focused on our own situation and getting our people moving towards the shuttles that I hadn’t realized it. “I hope that doesn’t mean…”
My earpiece crackled, and Tanner’s voice came into my ears.
“Charles? Spraycan?” said Tanner. “You there?”
“Yeah,” I said. His voice sounded strained. “We’re good. We took out the EMSO guys and got the employees on the way to the field. Kayla’s okay, and so is Director Hoskins. They’re getting the survivors to the shuttles.”
“Good,” said Tanner. “Here’s the problem. We need help. We’re pinned down outside the communications room.”
“Wait,” said Mulger. “Did you contact the ship?”
“Negative. Our objective has not been completed,” said Argent, his voice tight. There as a burst of static in the background. No, not static, gunfire. “I repeat, our objective has not been completed. We have not been able to summon reinforcements.”
I swallowed. Our whole plan was based on calling Argent’s gunship down on Valier and his men. If we didn’t get reinforcements here in time, Valier could shoot down the shuttles. Heck, he didn’t even need a functioning ship to do it. He could send out his quadcopters out after them and shoot them down.
And once Valier realized that people were escaping his twisted hunt, he would realize he couldn’t leave any witnesses alive, which meant he would have to kill us all.
“How many are there?” said Charles.
“At least ten, they’re in two groups and they’ve got us in a crossfire.” Tanner’s voice was drowned out by a series of rapid gunshots. “Make that nine; the colonel just nailed one.”
“Hang on Tanner,” I said. “We’re on our way.”
“Which way?” said Mulger.
“This way,” said Charles, pointing towards Outpost Town. “If we cut through the primary HVAC building, we can enter the administration building through the service corridors and flank them.”
“Lead on,” said Mulger.
Charles jogged towards the HVAC building, Mulger and Thompkins following him. I hesitated, tapped a command on the tablet I still held in one hand, and then ran after them.
A moment later, the survivors of my drone army turned and rolled after me.
Chapter 8: Tactics For Beginners
No one saw us as we hurried across Safari Town and made our way into the HVAC building. Charles didn’t have access to the HVAC building, but my maintenance codes were good throughout the town, so I unlocked one of the side doors.
“I wonder why Valier didn’t send anyone here,” I said.
“I think,” said Mulger, opening the door and peering around. The sound of laboring air handlers came to my ears. “I think this is a one-time deal.”
“What do you mean?” I said.
“He’s been so sloppy,” said Mulger, sweeping his Avenger back and forth as he checked for hostiles. “EcoMin can’t possibly be planning a permanent facility here. Without constant maintenance, Outpost would fall apart in a week.”
He had no idea how right he was.
I tapped a command on the tablet, telling the drones to enter through the service doors of the administrative building and take up position in the corridors outside the communications room.
Mulger beckoned, and we stepped through the door. The HVAC building provided air and heat for the entire town and consequently, was the size of a small sports stadium. Of course, machinery filled most of the space, and the hums and rattled and groans of stressed metal filled my ears, accompanied by the constant whine of the fans and the vibrations in the floor.
“So you think he plans to kill everyone and let Outpost Town rot?” I said.
“Yeah,” said Mulger. Charles pointed, and we hastened down a narrow corridor between two massive machines. “He probably made ten billion credits or so off this. Keeping a permanent facility here would be like leaving out a big box with the words INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE on the lid in bright red letters. So he kills everybody, collects his money, and leaves. Then EcoMin announces that some sort of disaster happened to Safari Company, and the tromosaurs ate everyone, declares the entire planet an off-limits Red Zone, and the evidence is buried for his lifetime and beyond.”
“Evil, most evil, and yet inspired,” said Charles, almost admiringly.
I gave a dismayed shake of my head. It made a horrible amount of sense. Maybe Valier had known all along that people within the Ministry had been attempting to sabotage his plans, and maybe he hadn’t cared. After all, if he was going to kill everyone and abandon Arborea, what did a few equipment failures matter in the end? All that he cared about was ensuring that all the evidence of his atrocities was completely hidden.
Well, that wasn’t going to happen. He would have to kill all of us first, and we weren’t going down without a fight.
“No more talking,” said Mulger as we reached the other end of the HVAC room. “The noise from the machines will have drowned out our voices, but I don’t know how far any noise will carry in the administrative building.”
“Pretty far, actually,” I said.
“Right,” said Thompkins. “So, shut up unless it’s mission-critical.”
“Ready?” whispered Mulger.
I nodded. Then I locked the tablet’s screen and hooked it to my belt. I shifted my Avenger to my left hand and used my right to enter the access code on the door. It beeped and released, and I stepped back. Charles opened the door, and the two SecMin soldiers leveled their weapons, pointing them at the corridor beyond the door.
It was empty. The lights were on, but the corridor was deserted. The doors on either side of the corridor opened into large rooms lined with cubicles, where the workers responsible for the day-to-day paperwork of Safari Company toiled at their computer terminals. Mulger and Thompkins moved forward in a brisk, efficient, military manner, clearing both of the office rooms.
“Clear,” said Mulger.
“Tanner?” I said, tapping my earpiece. “We’re in the admin building. Where are you?”
“Employee lounge across the hall from the communications room,” said Tanner. More static crackled over the earpiece as someone shot at him, and I heard Argent swearing in the background. “The EMSOs are at either end of the hallway now, and they’ve got us caught in a crossfire. If we try to step out of the lounge, we’re dead. The walls are thick enough to stop their bullets, but if they bring up any heavier weapons or find some grenades, they can blow the lounge and take us.”
“Roger,” said Mulger. He looked at us. “Suggestions?”
I shared a glance with Charles.
“The communications room is on the ground floor by the network rooms,” said Charles. “If we cut through the office wing, through server room number three, I think we can take the southern group off guard.”
“What about the northern group?” said Mulger.
“I think I might be able to distract them,” I said, pulling the thick tablet from my belt and unlocking.
“What?” said Tanner. “How?”
Thompkins snorted. “Sam Hammond, drone commander.”
“What did he say?” said Tanner.
> “You heard him,” I said, tapping in some commands. “I brought my drone army.”
“All right,” said Tanner. “Make it fast. They’re calling for reinforcements. If they get here, we’re finished. Get a move on!”
“You heard the man,” said Mulger. “Let’s go. Charles?”
“This way,” said Charles. “I shall take point. I may need Indentured Worker Hammond to unlock a few doors along the way.”
We hurried through the maze of corridors in the administration building. I had spent so much time here repairing things or doing banal tasks like filling out forms that it felt seriously strange to run around in hunting armor and toting an Avenger rifle. Charles led us through a wing of offices and conference rooms and across the main lobby. The lobby was the biggest room in the building, and for a hastily-constructed prefab, it looked pretty nice, with a fake marble floor, a big fancy desk of fake wood for the receptionist, and massive doors of reinforced, transparent metal that could stop anything short of a tankstrider from getting in.
Right about then, our luck ran out.
Four EMSOs came through the massive doors just as we entered the lobby, and they saw us before we saw them, thanks to the position of the lighting in the ceiling. Charles shouted a warning, and we dove for cover just in time. Mulger, Thompkins, and Charles ducked back into the corridor, firing to keep the EMSOs at bay. I couldn’t make it back in time, so I sprinted for the receptionist’s desk, vaulted over it, and landed on the floor. I suppose it looked really cool, but landing on the hard floor hurt, and nearly knocked the breath out of me. Still, it hurt less than getting shot would have, and the desk kept the soldiers’ shots from hitting me.
I crawled to the edge of the desk and squeezed off a few shots to no effect. The EMSO soldiers were using the half-opened transparent doors as cover, and our Avengers didn’t have the kind of firepower we needed to punch through the doors. Worse, I saw one of the EMSO men wrestling with a long black tube. He had a rocket launcher, similar to the one Toulon had used to bring down our quadcopter in the jungle. One shot from that thing would kill Charles, Mulger, and Thompkins.
