Luther gazed ahead. “For a moment, I considered telling the nomads the truth about the Warden’s death,” Luther said so only Leo and I could hear.
“What?” I asked as Leo and I met eyes.
Luther exhaled, staring out at the young general. “Their hearts are filled with vengeance. That’s part of the reason for this insane plan they’ve cooked up,” he said.
Leo shook his head. “But even then, there’s no guarantee General Haik would retract his decision to destroy the ship. Not only that, it would put us and every single person at the Legion in danger. The truth about my father’s death could spark a war between our two colonies.”
“And this is exactly why we must remain silent,” Luther said.
After a few minutes of deliberation, Haik approached the Mauler again. Luther opened his door and stood up.
Haik looked up at Luther. “Engineer, we’ve taken your advice into consideration. and you’re right. The likelihood of innocents being onboard that vessel is quite high,” he said, holding up a small square device about the size of his palm. There was a small red button in the middle. Haik moved his thumb over the button and pressed it.
“No!” Luther shouted. A series of fourteen consecutive booms shook the ground.
Haik stepped closer. “We’re at war, Engineer, and you should know better than most that casualties are part of the equation,” he said. The nomad soldiers behind Haik cheered, pumping their fists into the air. I could hear large slabs of ice breaking as steam and smoke poured into the sky.
“Dammit,” I said. Another single loud blast erupted, this one much louder than the others. It caused me to flinch as debris was ejected into the air. It was followed by the sound of twisting and creaking metal as the ship broke in half. Even at this distance, the sound was intimidating. The ship rocked back and forth, tilting on its side.
“Now, finish them!” Haik ordered. The mortar teams begin firing rounds at the ship. The men close to the launchers covered their ears as the mortar guns blasted. Haik pointed at the Mauler. “Engineer, after we unload our armament, we have a way you can assist us. I want you to wipe out any android stragglers that may remain. We must not let any of them escape!” Haik yelled over the booming mortars.
Without saying a word, Luther sat down and shut the door. As the mortars continued to fire, Luther never flinched as he gazed ahead.
“Sire? Are we helping them?” Neona asked. I grabbed Luther’s hand. I didn’t know if he felt a sense of guilt or if he was contemplating our next move. Maybe both. He turned his head toward the android ship as the last mortar fired.
“Take us down to the shoreline. Stay off the ice for now,” he ordered. I turned the Mauler around as the nomads watched us carefully.
There was a huge hole in the ice now. It was several hundred meters across. The vessel was split in half. One section was capsized and sinking rapidly while the other was barely visible. I could only see the control tower antennas sticking up from the frigid waters as huge plums of steam continued to rise high into the clouds.
“I have my doubts about the future of the nomad army with this General Haik in charge. Not a good first impression,” Corporal Dinu said.
“I agree with Dinu. Haik could pose a threat to the Legion someday with his irrational behavior,” Leo said. I couldn’t help but think that removing the Warden from power replaced him with something worse. I gathered that the thought crossed both Luther’s and Leo’s minds as well.
Luther stared ahead at wreckage while leaning forward.
“What are our chances of falling through the ice? This vehicle is heavy and maybe the bombs and mortar fire weakened the sheet of ice,” I suggested.
“Just go exactly where I tell you. There, drive up beside the ship, but keep a distance of fifty meters from the edge of the ice,” Luther said, pointing. Everyone’s eyes shifted toward the vessel. “I could make out people sprawled across the ice lying down,” Luther confirmed.
“What’s going on over there?” Leo asked.
I zoomed in with my helmet’s optics. I could see two androids swimming in the water and handing up human bodies to several androids on the ice. They carried the victims and placed them on the ice gently.
“Some of them are alive,” I said.
“Negative. No human survivors,” Xena replied. The androids were covered in black grime and a few of them had missing limbs. Their heads shifted toward us as we approached. One of the androids put its hands on its hips as it stared at us, then glanced at the sinking wreckage.
“Slow down. There, what’s that?” Luther asked, pointing beyond the bodies.
In the distance near the shore, I could see a figure limping across the ice. I focused in with my optics. “It’s an android,” I said.
“Drive up next to it,” Luther ordered. As we came up behind the android, I noticed that its left leg was mangled and twisted. The android was dragging it and cradling something in its arms.
As we came up beside it, I looked at its face. There were no signs of the classic synthetic layer of skin on its face. “Wait. Is that—”
“That android is Sylass, Captain. One hundred percent confirmation,” Xena said.
“I thought so,” I replied.
“Pull in front of him and stop the vehicle, Xena. Get on the chain gun,” Luther ordered.
“Roger,” Xena answered. I could hear her rummaging around behind me as I gulped. Sylass lifted his long face at us as I parked the Mauler right in front of him, cutting off his escape. He stopped and dropped to a knee. As we piled out of the vehicle, I noticed that he was carrying something inside of a plastic sheet.
Luther led out in front and stopped a few paces in front of the android. He crossed his arms and looked at the bodies on the ice. “After all this, you turned out to be no better than the androids that destroyed our world,” Luther said.
Sylass looked up at Luther. One of his glowing blue eyes had faded to black. He fell forward, bracing his hands against the ice as a transparent blob-like matter spilled out of his arms and divided into three smaller globules. As I examined it closer, there appeared to be blood vessels inside them. “No,” he said, attempting to corral the substance.
“What the hell is that?” Dinu asked, scrunching up his nose.
Sylass slumped his head. “It was the beginnings of the only person that ever cared for me. And you took her away!” he shouted, digging his metal fingers into the ice. His voice echoed off the mountains.
“Mrs. Raymond’s clone. His owner from before the war. He told Victoria and I about her,” Leo mumbled.
“That’s right, and do you feel a sense of satisfaction for watching me suffer. Do you? We were so close.” The exposed muscles in his face morphed, giving him an almost demonic look as he glared at us.
“I’m not the one that bombed your facility,” Luther said.
Sylass pointed at the sinking ship as the dark blue water bubbled where the ship once was. “But the Legion murdered the Warden, and the nomads attacked us because they thought we were responsible. I could have easily told them the truth! I have the evidence, but to prevent bloodshed between humans, I opted not to,” he said, running his fingers through the slimy goo that was to be the clone of his former master.
He closed his eyes. “I failed her all those years ago, and now, I’ve failed her again,” he said, staring at the organic matter.
Luther stepped forward and pulled out his sword. “Sylass. You betrayed the nomads and you betrayed the Legion. You concealed your intentions by masking them under the guise that you wanted to form an alliance with us.”
He shook his head. “That part was true. I wanted an alliance. Just because we’ve heard nothing out of the android Moderator doesn’t mean we shouldn’t address it as a threat! The Moderator destroyed your world decades ago, and taking every precaution is only logical,” he explained.
“But what isn’t logical is double-crossing me and expecting to get away with it. I asked you to assist our medical
staff and you stole our DNA. You experimented on, kidnapped, and murdered human beings because you wanted to help us? No, you wanted to help yourselves and recreate your master’s likeness,” Luther insisted, stabbing his finger at the blob beneath Sylass.
Sylass put up his hand. “Please. I can still help your species. Just because we had our own agenda, it doesn’t mean we’re useless.”
Luther looked out at the sunken ship and ignited his sword. “You are now,” Luther said, stabbing the scorching hot plasma blade toward Sylass.
The android put up his hands to protect his head. “No! Please!” Sylass begged. Luther drove it through his hands and into his metallic skull.
Sylass’s single blue eye faded to black as his lower jaw dropped. His arms fell to the side as his body crumbled over. His plea for help was surprisingly heart-wrenching. Luther looked up at Xena. “No human survivors, correct?” Luther asked.
“No,” Xena said.
Luther raised his hand and dropped it. “Cut the androids down,” he ordered. I covered my ears as the chain gun spooled up and mowed down the robots within two seconds, turning the androids into piles of scattered debris. One of them tried to jump into the water, but it was too late. The ice cracked and splintered near their bodies and headed toward us slowly.
“Load up.” Luther casually walked back to the Mauler. “Get us to the shoreline,” he said as he boarded the Mauler. I punched the throttle, powering away from the warship as a large section of the ice broke apart and dropped the human and android corpses into their watery grave.
As we approached land, I noticed a small jeep headed our way. I could see General Haik riding in the passenger seat. Luther sighed. “See what he wants,” he said. As the jeep pulled up, Haik opened the door before it stopped. He seemed hurried as he stormed toward the Mauler.
Luther opened his door. “Satisfied?” he asked.
Haik nodded slowly. “That depends. Did you destroy them all?”
“They’re gone,” Luther replied.
General Haik peered inside the Mauler. “What about the one you hijacked. The one you brought with you? For peace of mind, we need to make sure they’re all decommissioned,” Haik insisted.
Luther looked to where Xena was sitting at the back of the Mauler. I glanced in the rearview mirror as Xena panned back and forth. “He’s talking about me?” she asked.
Luther shrugged. “We’ll handle the decommission of our android once we return.”
Haik raised his arms to this side. “What better time than now? It’s better if I can go back to my people and tell them with absolute certainty that all the androids are gone,” he explained.
Luther stepped toward Haik. He stopped three paces from him and crossed his arms. “General, you tell your people whatever you like. I have my own uses for the machine unrelated to your peace of mind.”
Haik turned away from Luther. He glanced at his grizzly, bearded comrades waiting in the jeep. “You know, with your removal of the Architect, her Mave don’t hold a presence in this region anymore. That’s a big change. Have you considered what that means?” he asked.
“Enlighten us, General,” Luther said.
Haik gritted his teeth. “It means we’ve made way for an enemy just as dangerous.”
Luther paused, staring straight ahead.
Haik nodded. “Humans. This area will soon be more populated with wanderers and God knows what else. Even now there is a threat. We have a sniper named Kodiak, a relic from the old world like yourself. He speaks of a certain group of raiders, a convoy of military vehicles that were kept at bay by the Mave presence. Now that your Legion has destroyed the Mave, we’re hearing rumors that they’re migrating south—toward us,” Haik said.
“What type of vehicles? How are they sustaining their fuel source?” Luther asked.
“Five jeeps and an anti-aircraft vehicle,” Haik said.
“We don’t have any aircraft, so that’s less of a threat,” Luther said.
Haik shrugged. “They’re likely just using it for transportation, but that brings me to my point. The raiders stumbled on a Russian military stockade. They possess advanced solar panels that power their vehicles. Because of their hypersensitivity, they can operate almost indefinitely with little sunlight. If we could work together, we could acquire their technology for ourselves and eliminate the threat in the process,” Haik said.
Luther shook his head. “Not interested in chasing convoys down.”
Haik glanced back to his comrades. “Kodiak says three of their solar panels is enough to power our entire colony. In case you didn’t notice, we don’t even have electricity in our home. We’re still using torches for light,” Haik said.
Luther turned away from Haik and climbed onto the Mauler. “That’s not my problem. I have far more pressing matters to attend to than your quality of life,” he said.
“I wasn’t finished,” Haik said.
“I am,” Luther replied.
“What if we split the loot. You can take half the solar panels,” Haik offered.
Luther glared at Haik for a moment, then got inside and slammed the door.
“Sire, that’s not a bad offer. We could use those panels to power more vehicles for the hunters or construct more military vehicles. Not only that, they could power the new tunnels and living quarters you’ve built,” Leo said.
“Living space is less of a concern now since we fought off the Architect. Over four hundred beds are now unoccupied,” Luther replied.
“Yes, but eventually we’ll need the space,” Leo said.
“Let’s go home. I’m not interested in negotiating with this buffoon. I don’t trust him to begin with. I’d rather wait until he’s assassinated by his peers and bargain with his successor,” Luther said, pointing toward the Legion.
I drove past the nomads as they stared at us, unsatisfied. As Luther looked up at the roof, I got the sense he was emotionally drained. And for good reason. I gathered Haik’s reckless strategy caught him completely off guard. I knew my husband, and he came here with every intention of saving those hostages before dealing with the androids. Not only did he want to preserve human life; he didn’t want their blood on his hands.
I took one last look at the hole in the ice where the ship was. I could see bodies floating in the water. I thought about how sincere Sylass’s emotions seemed regarding his master.
Then it hit me. These androids called themselves the Reclamation because of their desire to reclaim their previous owners. I’d never put it together until this moment.
“Huh,” I muttered as the lightbulb went off in my head.
“What is it?” Luther asked.
“Uh, I’ll tell you later,” I said, driving through the snow drifts as we passed by the nomad camp. Several of them stopped to look at us. They were all smiles, celebrating their victory over the androids.
The Reclamation were bizarre machines, but we couldn’t have stopped the Mave without them. I considered what Sylass said about taking the fall for us. He chose not to reveal that we killed the Warden in order to prevent more human bloodshed.
I wasn’t sure if he was lying, but if he truly believed that helping humanity was important to him, he accomplished that. Perhaps not in the way he would have preferred, but forcing him to assist us against the Architect was vital for our survival.
Chapter 8
NEARLY AN HOUR LATER, back at the Legion...
As we neared the front gate, Luther pointed at the entrance. “Just park the Mauler here for now,” he said. I could hear everyone gathering their things to disembark. The ride wasn’t the most comfortable and I didn’t blame them for being antsy.
I stopped the vehicle. Everyone but Luther and I got out. The others stretched their legs and backs out.
I looked over at Luther as he watched them. He gazed forward. “You’re thinking about going back now, after that convoy?” I asked.
“I’d ambush that convoy while they’re not expecting us, not to mention have the
support of the nomads. The problem is that General Haik is nearly impossible to deal with,” he said.
“But do we even have the firepower to stop them?” I asked.
Luther leaned back. “No idea. We would need more intelligence on their capabilities.”
“You know, as much as I didn’t like that General Haik, he has a point about more and more nomads wandering into our region, doesn’t he? We’ll always be dealing with this from here on out?” I asked.
“Highly likely,” he replied.
I held my stare at Luther and grabbed his hand. “As much as we’ve been through lately, I wouldn’t give any of this up, Luther. I don’t care if we’re fighting depression, androids, or whatever. I want you to know that being with you is the most important thing for me,” I said.
I felt him squeeze my hand.
“But,” I said. He turned toward me.
“But?” he asked.
“I have to be honest, Luther. I do look forward to a time when we don’t have to constantly look over our shoulders. Maybe that’s a fantasy. I know we’ll never be able to make up all the time we lost, and I understand it’ll never be the way it was between you and me, but I’ll take what I can get. Even the small interactions, the moments of affection you and I’ve had, they mean the world to me.”
Luther slumped his head briefly. “Listen, I’d be lying if I said that I don’t fight even harder for what you speak of. I want that time with you, too. We both deserve it, but as I’ve said time and time again, our responsibility lies with them first,” he said, pointing at the Legion’s entrance.
“And that’s fine. I’m just telling you how I feel, that I looked forward to the possibility of us recouping anything resembling a relationship. I’m human and—”
He sat up tall, touching his chest. “And I’m not?”
“Of course you are. That’s not what I meant,” I said.
“Let me explain something to you. Under these cybernetics is a man that desires you more than on the day we were married. I blocked those desires for eighteen years, and then you showed up, and even now I’m still unable to fully express my love for you. I hate it, but I accept it. So don’t tell me about being human. I know what you meant, but if anyone understands what it’s like to willingly suppress their humanity, it’s me, and I would ask you to do the same for a little while longer. Help me so that we can rest easier and eventually get to that place where we both want to be. I don’t know when that will be, but I’m fighting every single day for it,” he said.
The Reclamation and the Lioness Page 22