"I was the last of us to leave the Alamo down corridor two. As I was departing, I saw a large number of the enemy enter through corridor five. Among them, I saw Freya. Tall, blond, blue eyes, sehr schön...er—"
"I know Dolph, very beautiful."
"Ja, but hers is a schrecklich schönheit, a terrible beauty. We all made it back here with no more problems. The colonel allowed me to rest after a debrief. When I awoke, that's when Walker had the news."
I looked at Walker. "What news?"
"It, ah, it—well…somehow, Freya got into Ava's room down there—don't ask me how. About an hour or so later Ava contacted us, told us she had made some deal with that bitch and wanted Doc and a 787 kit down there. Doc was to come alone. He did…and we've not heard from either since. That was twenty-six hours ago."
"No word from Ava or Doc? No demands from Freya?"
"Nothing."
The loss of Ava was a devastating blow both strategically and tactically. I felt her loss like a sledge hammer to the gut. My mind was being pulled back into the pit of grief and sorrow. I could not let that happen.
It was a struggle to maintain my composure, but when I spoke, my feelings were audible in my voice. I knew the others all heard it. "What, exactly, is a 787 kit?"
A CYB-tech robot, Phil, answered that question. Phil had a British accent for some reason. "A 787 kit is a mobile major surgical kit for SUBs, you might say it is a hospital in a box."
"So Freya is injured?" I asked.
"She looked in good health when I was departing the Alamo, Matt," Dolph answered.
"Something else you should all know," Phil said. "During Matt's time in the recharge tube, I made several visits here to monitor his progress; not that such was necessary, but with the knowledge that Ava was not present to monitor every little function in the BSC, I had become concerned enough to make these little visits.
"The room containing the recharging chambers is kept dark when lights are not required. Of course, the various lights on monitors and control panels do cast some dim light about the room. Staff Sergeant Strum's tube emitted a dull, pale yellow glow that would not be visible to the human eye." Phil glanced up at Walker and Dolph. "Even with my enhanced night vision, it was but a slightly lighter area in the darkness. The room was almost silent, but with my enhanced hearing the muted sound of a deep-toned, electric hum was audible.
"In the darkness, I thought I perceived a shadow. It moved like a wisp of inky smoke, silent as the approach of death. The shadow neared Sergeant Strum's tube and made slow velvety circles around it. From the gliding phantom, a black, delicate hand emerged, silhouetted against the glow of the sergeant's translucent sarcophagus. In a relaxed, almost sensuous manner, it seemed to caress the side of the vessel; as it did so, a distinctly sultry, feminine voice cooed. As silently as the apparition appeared, it vanished."
There was silence for some time after Phil's account of his late night encounter. Then Dolph cleared his throat and said, "By Göt Phil, you tell a good story."
"It is all true gentlemen, told exactly how it happened without embellishment," Phil proclaimed.
"No, of course not," Walker said.
"How could Freya have gotten in here?" I asked.
"I have asked that of myself," Phil went on, "and so I have taken it upon myself to study not just the map of the BSC but her very bones, her vessels and arteries, her lymphoid system, her—"
"We get it, Phil—you looked her over closely," I stopped him.
"Indeed, I did. I have concluded that there are several possibilities; however, all are quite complicated and would require an entity with a detailed knowledge of the BSC that surpasses even that which I now possess. The hidden routes here from sector zero are serpentine—nay, labyrinthine—I must conclude that it is virtually impossible for Freya, with what limited knowledge of JILL she might possess, to have gotten here by any means, save those regular avenues, which are now barricaded."
"Uh-huh—" Walker rubbed his chin. "So Shakespeare, what did you see in here?"
"Gentlemen, I really have no idea. Being a bot, I do not see things, have visions, or mistake one thing for another. But I did see something I cannot account for."
"How long ago was this?" I asked.
"Three hours forty-two minutes ago."
"And who did you report this to?"
"To the XO himself."
"He told the colonel?"
"I assume so."
"Well," I said, "I think I'll just call him up and ask him."
"We can't, Matt," Dolph said. "COMs are down all over JILL."
"Where is the colonel?"
"He and the XO set off into dome one headed to seventeen in an attempt to restore COMs with Earth," Walker said.
"The colonel and the XO, personally? Just the two of them?"
"No, they took Mathis with them; he's a sig spec, a signals specialist."
"Mathis, he a SUB, Bio, or bot?"
"Bio."
"How long ago did they depart?"
"Almost two hours ago."
"And whose idea was this?"
"The XO's."
"The colonel and Mathis are in danger; they might already be dead," I said, as I attempted to gain my feet.
"What?" Walker was incredulous.
"The XO is our mole," I told him.
"How do you figure?"
"He was privy to everything that the enemy knew just before they knew it. But it was something he said when I first met him. It stuck in my head, and it's been rotating there, just annoying the hell out of me until a minute ago when Dolph mentioned the Alamo. The XO said he was in the Air Force and had flown a relief mission to the Crusaders. He said he'd flown over some tight spots, but that ours looked like the Alamo. That didn't make sense to me.
"The colonel said that Pegram was a military historian. If that were true, he would never have made that comparison. Our defense was more like the First Army's at the Elsenborn Ridge during the Battle of the Bulge in WWII. We were dug in on a series of low hills, not holed up in a single redoubt. Also, he said he’d flown relief missions to us. Our relief came from Naval air assets. I didn't see an Air Force plane until after the siege was lifted.
"The XO received the report that Freya had been seen deep inside sector nine and he took no action. Obviously, he didn't even tell the colonel.
"And now, with the COMs down, he takes the colonel out of here, without security? That's just what he was waiting for, so the colonel wouldn't be able to call for help."
"Why would the colonel just walk out of here with Pegram like that?" Walker asked.
"Pegram's his XO," I said, "they've been together a long time. The colonel thought he knew him, and he trusted him."
"We have to get to the colonel!" Dolph said.
I tried to stand, but felt weak. "Hey, Doctor Louie, I thought I had just received a power charge?"
"You did, sir. A certain amount of disorientation is to be expected. I hope you've learned not to allow your power to fall below twenty percent."
"Yeah, good advice, thanks," I said, as I staggered to my feet. Walker reached out and grabbed me just as I was about to fall.
"You all right, tin man?" he asked.
"Are we all right?"
"I told you man, you're my best friend."
I smiled. "Let's go get some weapons," I said softly.
"Would you like an axe?"
"No, thanks, Toto." We headed for the door, Walker all but carrying me.
Just as we reached the door, he said, "Hey, Matt, how long can you stay fresh in that can?" He chuckled. "Ya know…I've always wanted to say that."
"So now it's robot jokes?" Oscar spoke up for the first time.
"Is this your new friend?" I asked Walker.
"Ah, hell, Matt, all my friends are battery-powered."
Chapter 15
EPW
By the time we got to the Armory, I was feeling much better, stronger than ever and well rested.
Inside the
Armory, a bot was welding on a weapon. His identifier popped up. It was Sanyo.
"Hey, Sanyo!" I shouted. "I'm pleased to see you made it."
He looked up, his eyes spinning around his chassis to look at me. "Matt! I am absolutely amazed to see you standing here; it's nothing less than a miracle!" He then rushed over to me and hugged me around the knees. "We all thought we'd lost you. Except Ava, that is…she never lost hope."
"I'm happy to see you too, buddy."
"Buddy: A good friend or chum, a comrade, a partner, especially one of a pair or team. Yes, Matt, we are buddies. We have a beautiful friendship, like Rick and Captain Renault."
Oddly, I felt a little embarrassed. But that only lasted a second. Sanyo really was my buddy. I felt sure he would do anything I asked of him, and that he would—we would—die for one another, as I would for Walker or Dolph. I felt toward Sanyo, and all the bots, that rare bond I had only ever felt with the buddies I served with in combat. I realized that I had crossed a threshold. My perception had changed, much like when I was on board the lander in space—'up' was a subjective concept.
"What are you building over there, buddy?"
"I have modified an ASG-12 for my use. It is a semi to full auto 12-gauge shotgun. It fires three hundred rounds per minute and uses a thirty-two round drum magazine. Available ammunition ranges widely from buckshot and slug to special fin-stabilized rounds such as High Explosive, High Explosive Anti-personnel, and High Explosive Air Burst fragmentation. I can load a variety of ammunition in this weapon and then select the type round I wish to fire by means of the ballistic computer. It can also determine the range to the target and—"
"Okay, I'm sold, I'll take two!" I said, and laughed.
"No, wait a minute." Walker stepped forward. "I really will take one."
"Ah, a discriminating shopper!" Sanyo laughed and pulled an unaltered ASG-12 off the rack. He handed Walker a box that contained two more drum magazines and several boxes of the various types of ammo.
"What about you, chum?" Sanyo said looking up at me.
"Chum? You know that word also means fish guts?"
"Oh, yes, I see your point."
"Let's just stick with Matt, okay?" I suggested. "Do you have an AK-110?"
"The weapon the enemy is using? There are piles of them upstairs. The colonel had us collect the dropped serviceable ones to use as back up, just in case."
"I'll get one of those."
"Suit yourself. What's up? Where are you headed?"
I brought Sanyo up to speed. He, too, could not believe the XO to be the spy, but he trusted me. I turned to face everyone and asked, "Do we have any idea what the bad guys are up to currently?"
Walker slung his new toy over his shoulder. "We've been keeping eyes on 'em since we lost Ava—"
"Hold on," I stopped him. "We don't know that we lost Ava. As far as I'm concerned, she's MIA." I glanced down at Sanyo. "She didn't give up on me, and I'm not giving up on her."
"All right, Matt." Walker went on. "Since we lost contact with Ava, we've had bot eyes on them from every possible direction. We are in communication with the lookouts by means of runners. The enemy is consolidating their hold on the Alamo. They're reinforcing the defensive works, sort of digging in. We estimate there are somewhere around two hundred of them left.”
He paused and face went blank, “And Matt, they have painted the knife and eyes all over the place in there."
We veterans all froze. We knew what he meant. They had slapped their emblem on everything, a vertical scimitar with two stars to its right. We'd both seen it before, in Oceania. It was the sign of the death cult fanatics. The Hamba-Ular, the Servants of the Serpent.
"Knife and eyes?" Sanyo asked.
"Yeah," Walker said, "the stars are supposed to represent the eyes of their god and the sword is the justice of god. Those bastards say they are god's eyes on Earth, and he has told them to slay all those who don't believe as they do. These guys stop at nothing short of victory or death, literally. They are full-fledged fanatic freaks. I've seen 'em run into hospitals, churches, orphanages, all kinds of crowded public places and blow themselves up, killing hundreds of innocent people."
"So there will be no negotiated peace despite their being cut off from their base of supply and abandoned?" Sanyo asked.
Walker shook his head. "Not a chance in hell."
"Come on," I said, "we're wasting time."
"Matt," Sanyo asked, "Can you give me fifteen minutes to attach my ASG-12 and I'll come with you?"
"Meet us on the path to dome seventeen, I have to stop and get a rifle anyway, okay?"
"I'll be right behind you."
Upstairs, I grabbed an AK and ammo and picked up another body armor vest. Looking at it, I noticed it had a hole in it. I looked at Dolph.
"We are starting to run low on everything," he said. "I replaced the damaged plate. That vest is okay."
"Low on everything—like?"
"Ammunition, explosives, medical supplies, food, water. We are having a lot of spare parts for the bots. However, some of the wounded bots refuse to accept parts from their killed brothers. It is understandable."
A question crossed my mind and I turned and looked at Walker.
"What?" he asked, looking back at me.
"Dolph said we have a lot of spare parts for the bots. How many have we lost since I was out?"
Walker looked at Dolph then back at me. "We have three hundred fourteen surviving bots in various conditions,” he said. “Of that number, two hundred sixty-eight are combat worthy."
"We've lost eleven hundred and eighty-six?"
"Yeah."
"Hell of a commander I am. I've lost almost eighty percent of my force."
"Come on now, Matt—"
"What are our other losses?" I demanded. Walker hesitated. "Walker?" I shouted, grasping his arm.
"To include you, we're down to nineteen SUBs."
"I lost twenty-three in the last thirty-nine hours?" I was dumbstruck.
"Well, technically," Dolph added, "the colonel lost them; all the SUBs but you were under his command."
"That doesn't help."
"Sorry."
"What about the civilians?"
"Most of them picked up weapons after the third assault," Walker said. "We lost thirty, and had sixty-two wounded. Three of them subsequently died."
"Shit!" I looked at Dolph. "You said the colonel suffered probing attacks."
"They were very determined probes."
"Matt," Walker added, "Chief of Security Linderman is down. He suffered a severe concussion."
"Is he gonna be all right?"
"Doc Louie said he's trying to control the swelling on his brain, but he doesn't have the equipment or the drugs, so he's doing it old school; he performed a decompressive cran-i-otomy. He cut out a section of Linderman's skull."
I nodded slowly then turned and started toward the doors that exited the Barbicane Science Center and entered dome one. Behind me were Walker, Dolph, Oscar, and three other bots. I was walking fast, and stewing on the condition of my so-called command when Dolph came jogging up next to me. "Matt, I am sorry."
"About what?"
"I think perhaps you see me as taking the situation lightheartedly, as if to say I am not serious."
"I don't think that at all, Dolph."
"You see, Matt, I have never seen combat like this before. I served in a Kommunikation Abteilung. I am a signale spezialist, a signals specialist. I never fired a round in anger until I came to here. I am trying to deal with all that I have seen. It is very difficult."
"Dolph, I would never have guessed you were a cherry. You have conducted yourself like a well-trained and experienced soldier. That raid I sent you on was a very tough assignment, and you did a great job. Walker and Sanyo tell me that Ava thought your final defense of the Alamo was courageous, and your leadership inspiring. You have nothing to be sorry for.
"And as for dealing with what you've seen, we all handle t
hat differently. I've seen men clam up and go nuts, and some act as if it never happened. There are a few who really don't seem to be affected, but everyone who enters battle leaves a piece of himself behind. Don't worry Dolph, you've joined the club is all, and my confidence in you remains high."
"Danke mein Freund. I really needed to know that."
I stopped, and brought everyone together. "Okay, we gotta get tactical. Walker, you take point. Oscar, you're next—"
"Pete!" Oscar shouted to Walker, "I got your six!"
"I'll be next," I continued, "then Dolph." I looked at the identifiers of the three bots with us. "Adam, you're next, then you, Jeff. Ed, you have rear guard. Keep a six meter interval, alternate your muzzles and keep your heads on a swivel."
The bot called Adam had a question and he raised an arm into the air.
"What is it, Adam?"
"Sir, we don't have heads."
"I'm sorry, guys. By that, I meant keep your eyes open, be alert."
I had put my friend, Walker, on point because I needed an experienced man there. I was worried we'd walk right into Pegram and maybe he'd have several of the Servants of the Serpent with him. They could take several of us out before we knew what hit us. But then again, we might just encounter Pegram and the colonel standing around in seventeen having a chat. I could be wrong.
Just as we cleared dome one and were headed into five, Sanyo caught up with us.
We were now at that place where McGregor had pulled up with the jeeps last time I was headed this way. I wondered if he was among the surviving SUBs.
The tunnel ahead was clear, but the dome beyond was dark. I ordered a halt. "Take five."
Walker came jogging back to me. "Hey, man, don't stop on my account."
"Just drink some water and grab a little rest. I'm going to recon the dark area ahead of us."
"Did you bring a NOD?"
"Walker, I don't need a Night Optical Device, remember?"
"Oh, yeah."
The Battle of Broken Moon Page 20
