Warden 3

by Isaac Hooke

  Even though the vehicles were now accelerating in their forward directions, some of the faster Tasins were still able to gain upon them. The convoy continued to bombard the creatures, at least for the first few moments: unfortunately, the plasma turrets bolted to different technicals began to overheat and stopped firing. The indicators of the effected vehicles flashed blue on the overhead map.

  One of the big bulls suddenly leaped into the air and came arcing down toward Rhea’s SUV.

  “Swerve!” she yelled as she fired at the incoming creature. The other Wardenites leaning outside similarly targeted it with their rifles, but it wasn’t like they’d be able to stop that huge blob of feathers and legs from coming crashing down upon them.

  The SUV turned and narrowly avoided being crushed beneath the bull. The creature landed hard, collapsing, but then crawled to its feet a moment later, dusted itself off, and rejoined the pursuit.

  Turrets continued to overheat, causing more technicals to cease firing. This allowed more of the Tasins to approach vaulting range.

  “I want the overheaters to draw them off!” Rhea transmitted. “Have them break away one at a time. Slowly. The goal is to bring as many Tasins with them as possible each time.”

  The pick-up trucks that had stopped firing began to swerve away from the group, one at a time as she requested. Each departure drew some of the bioweapons. The defenseless technicals were often quickly overtaken and destroyed.

  There were only about ten Tasins pursuing now. They were still closing. Two of them tried to vault toward the convoy, like the bull had, but the SUVs and technicals scattered each time, and the creatures smashed only into the hard rock of the ground.

  “I want the remaining technicals to concentrate their fire on one Tasin at a time!” Rhea ordered. “As designated by my pistol!”

  She targeted the closest creature and the vehicles joined in, as did the Wardenites. The bioweapon went down shortly. She switched her aim to the next creature, and the next: sometimes the blows killed the targeted Tasin outright, other times the blast merely debilitated it, but the effect was the same: the creature would drop out of the pursuit.

  When there were only four Tasins still pursuing, none of them bulls, the creatures lost heart and gave up the chase.

  Rhea exhaled in relief as the bioweapons receded and pulled herself back into the SUV.

  “Well, that was fun,” Will said.

  Rhea nodded, her gaze intent on the distant smudge of the semi ahead. It was fast approaching the northernmost hills of the highlands.

  “I sense sarcasm in your voice,” Horatio commented. “But I must admit, I particularly enjoyed it. There’s something satisfying about terminating a biological abomination.”

  “Just like there’s something satisfying about terminating machine abominations?” Miles hinted.

  Horatio looked at him with that expressionless face.

  “Don’t give me that look,” Miles said.

  “What look?” Brinks said. “He’s got no expression.”

  “My point exactly,” Miles said. “Hey Tin Bucket, stop looking at me.”

  Horatio didn’t comply. The unblinking gray visor that served as the robot’s eyes bored into him.

  “Horatio, calm down brother,” Will said. “He’s only human.”

  The robot nodded at that and looked away. “Only human. I can’t blame him for that.”

  “You’re lucky I’m sitting between you two,” Brinks told Miles. “I don’t think the robot likes you.”

  “The feeling is mutual,” Miles replied.

  Rhea felt the need to interject. “I’m part robot. Ninety percent.”

  “Yes,” Miles agreed. “But you have a human brain. And that makes all the difference. Because of that, I’d argue you were actually ninety percent human, and only ten percent robot.”

  Rhea couldn’t disagree with that. “My point is… try to be nice. We’re all on the same team here.”

  Miles nodded. “I got you, Warden.”

  The convoy was gaining on the semi; however, the target was still well out of range of any meaningful plasma fire, so Rhea could only watch helplessly as it reached the outskirts of the highlands and vanished behind a hill. However, Gizmo, pursuing far above, continued to track their prey, ensuring the convoy wouldn’t lose Veil.

  “This is where the drone we sent north vanished,” Will said.

  “I know,” Rhea said. “Has Gizmo spotted anything out of the ordinary among the hills?”

  “Not yet,” Will said. “But if there are men here, or weapons, they’re likely camouflaged.”

  As they neared the hill beyond which the semi had vanished, the ground unfolded, and a wicked quad-pronged turret emerged. Multiple energy bolts erupted from it.

  The vehicles in the convoy automatically activated their evasion algorithms. Will took control of the SUV, and turned far to the left, then right, zigzagging.

  The plasma cannons bolted to the truck beds had mostly cooled down by then, and across the convoy those weapons opened fire. In seconds the opposing turret was reduced to so much slag.

  “Well, I guess now we know what eliminated the drone we sent north!” Will commented.

  “I want the technicals to take the lead,” Rhea said.

  “Still using machines as cannon fodder…” Horatio commented as the pickup trucks pulled ahead.

  “If they were men, I’d do the same,” Rhea said. “Because we’re only losing one entity if those technicals are hit, versus the five who reside in each SUV.”

  When the vehicle passed by the wreckage of the turret, she commented: “A good little defense against bioweapons and other intruders.”

  “Yeah,” Will agreed. “But you know, the last time I visited a Black Hands outpost in the Outlands, it was surrounded by sonic maskers to prevent bioweapons from ferreting them out. Guess they’ve updated their defenses since.”

  “I’m sure there are sonic maskers here if we look closely enough,” Horatio said. “It’s better to be preventive, when it comes to bioweapons, than reactive.”

  “Speaking of which, what’s the point of having a drone scouting ahead if it can’t detect enemy turrets!” Miles said.

  “In case you haven’t noticed, Veil’s turrets are fairly well hidden,” Will said.

  “It’s quite the setup our friend Veil has for herself here,” Miles said. “Whenever Aradne security forces come knocking, her minions merely hide in their caves, and the turrets disappear underground.”

  The convoy passed between two of the hills and officially entered the northern highlands. Space became tight, as the slopes on either side were far too rocky to drive upon, and soon there was only enough room for the vehicles to travel two abreast. Rhea gave the order to advance in single file, so that the vehicles would have space to maneuver if an attack came.

  “Will, I want you to cede control of the vehicle to the AI,” Rhea said.

  “But I don’t trust it,” Will told her. “I’d rather have my life in my own hands.”

  “I know you would,” Rhea said. “But if a turret emerges nearby, and targets us first, you won’t necessarily know what direction the bolts are coming from. You might turn directly into the attack. This route is too cramped. Even if you keep watch from Gizmo’s perspective, there’s still a good chance you could mess up. It’s better this way.”

  Will sighed, and reluctantly ceded control of the vehicle to the AI core.

  “All right, but if the machine kills me, I’m blaming you,” he quipped.

  She smiled indulgently.

  Unsurprisingly, more turrets unfolded from the ground ahead, usually farther up the slopes. They often targeted the SUVs; the AIs always swerved them out of the way, sometimes only just in time. Meanwhile, the remaining members of the convoy shot down the attack platforms.

  One of the lead technicals was taken out by a surprise turret that emerged almost directly in front of it. After the attack platform was eliminated, the following technicals were
forced to slam into the wreckage of the broken pickup truck, scattering its broken pieces out of the way.

  “Gizmo is reporting a cave entrance of some kind, not far ahead,” Will said. “The semi is pulling up in front of it.”

  Rhea nodded.

  No further attack platforms emerged to molest them. Rhea didn’t really find that reassuring. For all she knew, some of the turrets were remaining hidden, perhaps intending to spring upon the team during the retreat. If the convoy was being pursued at that point, the results wouldn’t be pretty.

  As the SUV pulled around a bend, she spotted the semi ahead, parked next to a small cave entrance. The doors were closed, but the vehicle otherwise looked abandoned—she saw no one lurking past the windows. Then again, she couldn’t properly see inside from the lower height of the SUV.

  “Full stop,” Rhea said. “Will, get Gizmo to perform a preliminary scan.”

  The convoy stopped and Gizmo descended. Constantly weaving back and forth so as to avoid becoming too stationary of a target, the drone darted in front of the different windows. Then the drone swooped low, sliding to and fro next to the undercarriage.

  “The cabin is empty, according to Giz,” Will said. “And the underside is clear.”

  Rhea nodded. “Send Gizmo into the cave. Fifty meters.”

  Will gave her a hesitant look. It was obvious he was worried about losing the drone.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Unless you’d rather one of us scouted?”

  “No,” he said.

  The drone darted into the cave a moment later.

  Rhea tapped into its video feed, and saw the LIDAR generated walls, floor and ceiling pass by. The cave proved empty, at least near the front.

  At the fifty-meter mark the scout halted.

  “Nothing up to fifty meters,” Will said.

  “Bring us in,” she ordered. “Slowly.”

  The technicals approached slowly, and the SUVs followed.

  “Should we destroy the semi?” Brinks asked.

  “What, and waste perfectly good salvage?” Will replied. “I don’t think so.”

  “Leave the semi,” Rhea agreed. “We’ll hack its ignition system later.”

  The technicals formed a half circle in front of the cave and semi; some of them kept their turrets trained on the bigger vehicle, as if expecting it to come alive at any moment. Rhea didn’t blame the machines: she half expected it to detonate or something, too. The remaining technicals scanned the surrounding hills with their weaponry, and the cave entrance.

  “We’re going to clear the semi,” Jairlin announced.

  “Careful,” Rhea said. “The door might be rigged.”

  “Should we stay back?” Will asked.

  “Probably a good idea,” she replied.

  Their SUV halted while Jairlin’s continued into the protective ring of pickup trucks. A couple of the technicals backed up to act as shields around Rhea’s vehicle.

  Jairlin and the Wardenites emerged from the second SUV; while some of them stood watch, keeping their weapons trained on the hills and cave, others searched the semi. The doors were unlocked, so they made short work of it.

  “The drone was right,” Jairlin announced. “It’s empty. There are no obvious charges or bombs in the cabin.”

  One of the Wardenites lay flat on the ground next to the semi and scanned the underside of the vehicle with a small flashlight. “Undercarriage is clear as well.”

  “All right,” Rhea said. “Let’s go.”

  She opened the door and stepped out. Then she approached the cave.

  “We keep having to enter caves…” Will said.

  “I have a feeling this will be the last of them,” Rhea said.

  Jairlin and the others took the lead, while Rhea’s group followed next.

  Beyond them, Gizmo led the way into the long dark.

  17

  Rhea stepped carefully across the pitch-black cave. The walls, outlined in white wireframes courtesy of the LIDAR bursts Gizmo released, were fairly tight around them; while she didn’t have to crouch, Will and some of the taller men did. And while there was room enough for them to travel two abreast, they moved in single file, slightly offset from one another so that they formed a zigzag pattern when viewed from above on the overhead map.

  She had sheathed her pistol and instead was ready to deploy her Ban’Shar at a moment’s notice.

  “I should be in front,” Rhea said over the comm. “I’m the only one who can protect you all against unexpected plasma attacks.”

  “There won’t be any unexpected attacks,” Will sent between what sounded like gritted teeth. “We’ll have ample warning, thanks to Gizmo, who’ll be the first to go down.”

  She tapped into Gizmo’s feed and positioned it in the upper right of her vision.

  The walls eventually fell away around the drone as it entered a wider cavern.

  Just like that the feed winked out.

  “And there’s our warning,” Will transmitted. “Gizmo is down.”

  “Everyone, drop,” Rhea said. “Turn on local LIDAR.”

  The men dropped and activated their own LIDAR so they wouldn’t be deceived by outdated data if enemies decided to approach.

  Jairlin led the way. He reached the opening and scanned the room.

  “Lots of places to hide in here,” he transmitted. “Stalagmites everywhere. There’s a bunch close to the entrance. My men and I are going to take up positions behind the nearest.”

  She glanced at her overhead map and watched as the Wardenites split up, separating to take cover behind the aforementioned stalagmites.

  She reached the entrance with Will. The chamber was wide, with stalagmites scattered across the floor, and matching stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

  Will crawled inside past the entrance. At first Rhea wondered what he was doing, and then she spotted the wreckage of Gizmo not far from him. He reached it, retrieved the drone, and retreated back to the entrance. When he was safely crouched inside, he shoved the drone into his backpack.

  “Is it salvageable?” Rhea asked softly.

  “Looks like Giz took most of the damage to the power cell region,” he replied. “I think he’ll be fine.”

  “Good.” Rhea returned her attention to the cavern.

  She activated her Ban’Shar and stepped out. The blue glow lit up the surrounding rock, and her body.

  “Wait!” Jairlin said. “You’ll—”

  Incoming fire immediately came from the stalagmites. Smiling wickedly, she swung her Ban’Shar into place. This was exactly what she had wanted: for her enemies to reveal their positions.

  “Open fire!” she sent. “Take them out while I distract them!”

  She walked calmly forward, being careful to deflect any incoming bolts upward and away from the Wardenites crouching behind the rock structures before her.

  When she stepped through a gap in the stalagmites and passed her men, she attempted to bat the energy bolts directly back toward those who launched them. Her attackers had to partially expose themselves to fire out from behind their cover, and she succeeded in causing a few of them to topple. Humanoid shapes, one and all. Black Hands, no doubt.

  She stopped her advance when incoming fire came from the sides, and realized she’d walked a little too far. She quickly crouched and retreated, moving the Ban’Shar through a half-circle pattern around her to protect her front and sides.

  When she was close to her Wardenites once more, she dropped to one knee and continued to deflect the bolts at her enemies. Meanwhile, the men behind her provided backup. She considered simply rushing the enemy, but decided it was too risky. Not only would she have to worry about an attack from the sides, but there could be enemies lurking within the stalactites overhead, waiting for her to commit such a mistake so they could mow her down. She’d essentially have to rotate the Ban’Shar through a half sphere if she wanted full protection—a very tricky maneuver, in her mind.

  And then a large, glowing ell
ipse arced through the air toward her. It lit up the surrounding cave with its blue light. She attempted to bat it aside, but it detonated as soon as her Ban’Shar touched it, and she was thrown back. She had to shut down the Ban’Shar, otherwise the disks would have cut into her face.

  “Energy grenades!” Will said.

  When she heard those two words, something instinctual activated in her mind.

  Two more energy grenades came in. This time, instead of waiting for the grenades to come to her, she scrambled to her feet and rushed toward them. With gritted teeth she reactivated the Ban’Shar and held the plasma disks before her, so that when the grenades impacted, she met them with her full forward momentum.

  She braced her arms against her abdomen as the devices detonated, and this time she was only shoved backward a half pace.

  A few more grenades came in. She noted that the men who had thrown them slumped a moment later, shot down by her Wardenites.

  She rushed these new grenades, braced her elbows against her belly, and similarly absorbed them.

  More incoming fire came in, and she segued into her deflection routine. It was like some artistic dance from the Far East, except instead of weaving fans through the air, she wove Ban’Shar. Deadly bolts bounced back into her enemies by the dozens.

  “Enough!” Veil shouted.

  The incoming fire ceased.

  Floodlights clicked on across the room. In the light, she could see where the Black Hands were hidden behind some of the stalagmites ahead. They crouched lower.

  Rhea left her LIDAR mode active, just in case her enemy decided to unceremoniously shut off the floodlights again. It meant she could still see white wireframes outlining the fully lit objects of the cave.