Micah was systematically knocking down the Androids from her precarious position behind a bank of small pipes.
Three. Now Two.
Braden leaned out. Took aim, adjusted, let the arrow go. One left. The last Android ran forward, faster than any human could. Braden snap-fired at his chest, hoping to slow him down. Aadi started to turn. No time.
He launched himself at Micah. She pulled the trigger as he landed on her. She grunted from the impact She pushed forward, rolling the Android away. She stayed on her knees until Braden helped her up. Then they went to Pik, carefully rolling him to his back.
He was alive, barely breathing. They used the last of their numbweed to seal the laser holes and help start the healing process within his green body. They dragged him back into the break room where he opened his eyes, surprised that he wasn’t dead. He looked at the wounds, numbweed packed into them.
‘Nothing important there, or there,’ he said as he pointed with a finger. He made to stand up.
“What are you doing, Pik?” Braden asked incredulously. Moments ago, he thought the Lizard Man was dead.
‘We can go. I will be fine. If it doesn’t kill us, then we recover quickly. We need to go, so you can get back to your planet,’ Pik said without flair. He stood and flexed his waist and legs. The wounds on his chest seemed forgotten as he ambled toward the hallway. They thought back to Akhmiyar and the rescue of the Bliss villagers. Within heartbeats after sewing up a horrendous spear wound to his leg, Akhmiyar led the group out of the rainforest.
Lizard Men were tough. If they weren’t killed, they kept going.
‘Holly, where did that bunch come from?’ Braden asked.
‘They exited the elevator ahead. They came from Subdeck 7. If you take the elevator down, you’ll be within twenty meters of an area that is glowing with activity. I believe the Android’s base of operations is Subdeck 7, Frame 7115. If you can destroy that location, they will lose the ability to communicate, coordinate, and conduct future attacks against you. And me for that matter.’
‘You want us to go to Android Central? And fight them all? Micah has her blasters and I have my bow.’ Braden wanted to find another way. He wanted a way to the matter transfer chamber where they wouldn’t run into any Androids. Deep down inside, he knew that was impossible. As long as the Androids could communicate, they would stay one step ahead of the companions. They’d send more and more Androids until the companions could no longer fight them off. And then they’d all die. The Androids weren’t trying to capture them.
‘We need better weapons, Holly. We can’t do it with what we’re carrying. Is there an armory on this ship, hopefully within fifty strides of where we’re standing now? That would be best. Outside of that, we’re farged.’
“Pik, hold up. If we want the Androids to stop chasing us, we have to take the war to them.”
‘Where you go, my friends…’
“Thanks, Pik.” Braden slapped the Lizard Man on his back as they retreated back into the break room. Skirill and Zyena continued flying up and down the hallway, looking for more Androids. Aadi swam to the elevator and positioned himself across from it. If the door opened, he’d thunderclap those inside.
‘That’s good thinking, Aadi. We’ll be talking to Holly for a bit. Stay sharp, everyone.’ Braden hadn’t needed to say that. The companions were on edge. The Androids hurt them every time the two groups encountered each other. The new plan was that they enter the hornet’s nest and destroy everything.
The hornets wouldn’t be happy about that.
‘Master President. There is a fabrication facility not far aft of your current position. I can reconfigure it to produce a few things that will help you against the Androids. I suggest you hurry there now. It will take the President’s bracelet to start the production process.’
‘Okay, everyone! We’re moving to a fabrication facility down the hallway. Once there, Holly’s going to provide us some super weapons to help us take down the Androids,’ Micah told the group over the mindlink. She was afraid the Androids would hear them if they talked. She didn’t know how, but she didn’t want to take any more risks.
They left the break room at a dead run. Aadi stayed where he was. This was the closest access for the Androids to enter Subdeck 1. And it was probably what they’d use to attack Subdeck 7. Aadi would keep it open for them.
The runners ducked as Skirill and Zyena flew past. This was a hallway, but instead of walls, there were pipe racks and conduit systems. There was a great deal of open space on Subdeck 1.
They ran a full kilometer before coming to a large room set off from the main hallway. The door opened for Micah and she held it open with her hand as they entered.
‘Aadi. If anything happens, I think you’re too far away. Maybe you should join us. Ess, can you watch his back as he makes his way here?’ Braden stayed in the doorway as Micah went to work on the industrial-sized fabricator. That meant she waved her bracelet past it and pressed the screen as Holly told her.
Aadi started swimming toward Braden.
The elevator opened and laser beams slashed outward. The Androids were sweeping the area before running into the hallway. They ran from the elevator in both directions, but immediately spotted Aadi. Their speed was incredible. Two of them had Aadi in hand before the Tortoid could turn. The other rushed in, firing lasers down the hallway toward the Hawkoids. Skirill and Zyena were far away, but they took cover.
Braden saw everything from where he stood in the doorway. He’d never felt more helpless in his life. “Aadi!” he yelled, as he watched the Androids drag his friend toward the elevator. Two Androids tried to push from the front, but Aadi wasn’t giving up. He dropped them both with a thunderclap from point blank range. They weren’t dissuaded. Other Androids took their place, stepping on their dead brothers as they pushed the Tortoid into the elevator.
The doors closed and they were gone.
50 – The Android Nexus
“Noo!” Braden howled as he ran a few steps down the now empty hallway. Far in the distance, the small cube that marked the elevator stood, white against white. The Hawkoids were behind him, apologizing for not being able to act. “There’s nothing you could have done. It’s like they knew the perfect moment to attack.”
“They could have killed Aadi, but they didn’t. Why?” Braden asked himself.
“Bait,” Micah said from behind him in a dangerous tone. “Hang on, Aadi, we’re coming.”
Braden hung his head, shuffling after Micah. He stopped in the doorway so he could punch the wall. It didn’t help.
There were machines churning and whining as they fabricated what Micah had ordered. Braden watched a blaster slide into an end bin. He picked it up, noting that it had no power. Micah was already pulling the recharger from her backpack. It would be ready soon. Braden itched in anticipation, the anger seething within. The red rage floated before his eyes.
“Relax. We’ll go as soon as our other gifts are ready. I’ll ask Holly to tell us more about them.”
‘Yes, Master President. Besides your blasters, you’ll be armed with concussion grenades and sonic disruptors. Your challenge is to destroy the Androids without destroying their computers. Some of their systems are linked to critical components of the ship. With the loss of the equipment, I may lose control of the ship or if the Androids feel they are going to lose, then they could cause the destruction of the ship. In either case, they need to be killed quickly, without destroying their equipment. I have to say you did a magnificent job of that on the Bridge. Other places, not so much.’
‘Thanks for your candid review of our work, Holly. We’re going to destroy the Androids, make no mistake about that. Some equipment may suffer if it gets in the way. You figure a way to run the ship without it. We’ll do the hard work. The Bridge, huh? We had the element of surprise there. We’ve already lost that. Aadi is bait and they have to know we’re coming…’
Holly suggested using a vertical man-shaft that provided physi
cal access to all ten subdecks. There was a ladder, which meant that the humans, the Lizard Man, and the ‘cat were the only ones who’d go. The Hawkoids would have to stay.
Skirill and Zyena didn’t even attempt to fight the decision. They knew already they weren’t effective against the Androids. But what they could do was go ahead, all the way to the Engineering spaces where they could meet the first group of survivors from Cygnus VI. Skirill’s ability to speak the human tongue made him the best choice. Without waiting for the others, the Hawkoids flew aft, quickly disappearing into the distance.
The humans watched them go. Aadi was gone and now Skirill was, too. Braden looked down. G-War sat there, watching the pair fly away. His ear with the bite mark twitched as if there was a breeze bothering him. Pik stood, looking fore and aft down the hallway. He had taken it upon himself to be the group’s protector.
‘Holly, we need blasters for Pik.’
‘I don’t recommend providing the Lizard Man with a blaster, Master President.’
‘Just shut up and do it. We need firepower, not a spear. We’re going to be outnumbered. We need every blaster we can fire and we need every finger to pull triggers.’
The fabricator churned out three more blasters. Everyone would carry two. They waited impatiently while the blasters charged. They drank, ate little, and paced. There could be no rest. At Braden’s urging, Micah contacted Bronwyn.
The twins weren’t walking, but they were fully capable of climbing on top of Brandt’s great head. Micah forgot their problems on the ship as she thought about her children dangling precariously from the King’s horns high above the ground. Bronwyn didn’t share the same concerns. The children were well cared for, but they missed their parents. ‘We’ve got a couple things left to do and then we’ll be on our way,’ Micah said firmly. Braden jumped in and said some kind words, too, but he could only think of the vast distance left between where they were and where they wanted to be.
Once the blasters were charged, they dialed the weakest setting and showed Pik how to aim and fire. He was a really bad shot. He pulled the trigger with his whole hand, which ruined his aim. Then they suggested he keep the trigger pulled and wave the blaster back and forth, throwing the beam over his intended target.
They settled for that, topping off the charge before they geared up for war.
They activated a scrambler that Holly provided which interfered with signals. They wouldn’t be able to use their neural implants, but if the Androids placed any listening devices in the shaft, those wouldn’t transmit either. They might gain the element of surprise. They found the man-shaft access and pried the door open. Micah shined her flashlight inside. That was a long way down.
Braden stepped in first, G-War clinging to his pack, and started down. Then Pik, with Micah last. She pulled the door closed behind her, sealing themselves away from the light. Braden held his flashlight in his mouth, trying feebly to light the way. He methodically descended, one rung after another. At least they didn’t have to climb, although with the spin of the ship, up was a relative concept.
They continued past the hatches for Decks 2 through 6 before slowing. Once Braden reached the access hatch for Deck 7, he stopped, because the ladder ended. The others joined him as they wedged into the area. He expected it to continue, but the shaft was sealed below him.
‘Aadi?’ Micah ventured. They heard his jumbled thoughts after he was captured, but he must have passed out or been knocked out. They hadn’t heard anything since. G-War assured them that he would know if Aadi had died. Aadi was alive and not far away.
‘Keep the grenades close. We start with blasters until we know where Aadi is, then we can use grenades to keep them away. Once we have him, we take the elevator to Deck 1 and run aft. Pik, you have the rope. You are responsible for pulling Aadi to safety. We’ll keep the Androids away from you.’ He slapped Pik on the shoulder. ‘Ready?’
Each of them wished they were somewhere else. Pik thought of his rainforest home. Micah thought of her children climbing on the King of the Aurochs. Braden thought of New Sanctuary, being on the beach with Micah. When he dreamed, they didn’t have scars. They were young and there was nothing to fear. In reality, they were still young, barely twenty-two cycles for Braden, less for Micah, but now they were mature and wise, which meant they knew there was a great deal to be afraid of.
Micah lifted his chin, the flashlight’s beam cast a reflection across his eyes. ‘There’s something to be afraid of, all right. Those Androids in there are keeping us from our children. They’re the ones to be afraid. We go in and wipe them out. No mercy.’
‘No mercy,’ he and Pik replied together. He pushed all other thoughts to the back of his mind. Never get between friends, and never ever get between parents and their children.
No mercy. Braden held one blaster and the others held two. With his free hand, Braden pulled down on the long handle, releasing the lock. Driving his shoulder into the door, he burst through, going to one side while G-War darted to the other.
Micah and Pik aimed, ready to fire.
They were inside a small unlit room, empty except for shelving against a wall and boxes piled haphazardly throughout. The others froze as G-War told them to stop before they stumbled into something. Braden fished out his flashlight, shining the way ahead. There was a normal door with an access panel. They moved to it and regrouped, ready for round two.
They knew they’d enter the hallway that ran the length of Subdeck 7. At one point they’d been in that hallway, but three and a half kilometers forward of this point. Braden pocketed his flashlight and pulled his second blaster. He waved his bracelet past the panel and the door opened. He rushed left, Micah right, and Pik straight ahead.
There were Androids in the hallway, surprised at the sudden appearance of the humans and Lizard Man. The Androids raised fingers, ready to fire their lasers, but the fraction of a heartbeat it took them was too long. The companions had already fired with devastating effect.
Pik launched the first wave of fire as he danced his beams across the chests of three Androids, standing too close to each other. Braden and Micah fired shorter bursts at random targets along their field of view. In less than a heartbeat, seven Androids were down and the hallway was clear. G-War shot toward a door, not far. He stood there as the companions joined him.
‘Aadi’s in here.’
Without hesitating they took their positions and opened the door. They ran through and bumped into two Androids who were preparing to leave the room. They led with their blasters and pulled the triggers instantly, burning holes through both the creatures. They renewed their push into the room. Pik stepped through the doorway and stood tall as he waved both his firing blasters toward a mass of Androids standing near the center of the large room.
Others moved about, but stopped at the companions’ violent entrance. Laser beams fired back and the fight was on.
Braden rolled to the left, seeking cover behind a desk as he lined up targets and fired. Laser beams pinned him down, skipping off the desk and scorching the wall behind him.
Micah had better luck on her side, but soon, laser beams pinned her down, too.
Pik continued to fire into the mass of Androids as he walked forward. Laser beams shot from around the room, hitting him in his torso, his legs, and arms. He hesitated, limped forward one step, one arm dropped. One blaster continued to fire until he fell over backward, tracing a line over the heads of his targets and into the ceiling. When he hit the floor, the blaster skipped away from him. Braden looked at the blank expression on the Lizard Man’s face, his body smoking from the myriad of laser burns. The only thing Braden could think was that they were out of numbweed.
No amount of numbweed could have made a difference. Pik Ha’ar was gone.
They had no time to grieve. G-War pointed toward the far corner where Aadi was. He looked at Micah and nodded.
“Grenades!” Braden yelled as they tossed two in a direction away from Aadi. Micah threw hers long wh
ile Braden picked a spot not far in front of the desk he hid behind. The explosions were intense within the closed room.
Braden dodged around the desk and popped up, looked around, then dove back down. He didn’t see any Androids, but the smoke from the explosions still billowed.
He continued to dodge to the side, away from the last Androids he’d seen. Micah moved right.
‘Get to Aadi,’ he told her and G-War. Micah looked in alarm at the mass of Androids in the middle of the room, thinking they’d been nearly cut in half by Pik’s attack As she passed, she saw that they probably weren’t operational. They looked dead, even those without blaster marks on them.
Two Androids jumped in front of her, breaking her from her reverie. As one aimed at her face from point blank range, an orange body flew past, knocking the thing’s arm away. Its laser beam burned harmlessly into the wall. She shot it then dove aside to avoid the other’s beam. She rolled and held the trigger, letting the beam track across her target. There was no time for subtly.
Braden took a laser beam to his chest armor, then another, before he was able to get behind cover. He pulled another grenade and tossed it. He was able to cover his ears this time before it exploded. While the concussion still echoed, he was up and running.
He blasted each Android he saw with a short burst and kept moving. He shied away from the mass of Androids standing in the middle of the room. Then he remembered the sonic disruptor. He pulled it and fired quickly at the Androids. There was a popping sound from within the group, but nothing spectacular, not like when Aadi delivered his focused thunderclap.
Braden threw it aside. He didn’t have time to try that again. The smoke from the grenades created a haze in the room that wasn’t going away. Obscured targets favored the Androids.
‘I’m stuck on this side of the room. I can’t get past that group in the middle,’ Braden told Micah over the mindlink as he fired repeatedly into the group. Then he realized they weren’t shooting back.
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