by Scott Lucas
Wurth’s face went white so quickly, Tem thought the man might pass out. “There is a secondary cybernetics lab,” Wurth muttered.
“You’re telling us this now?” Garrow asked, in a voice suggesting he wanted to slap the cybernetics chief.
“I’m sorry. I’m panicky. I’m scared and only remembered because you mentioned it. It might have what we need.”
“Good enough for me,” Tem said. “Lead the way.”
The secondary cybernetics lab was reserved for training and twice the size of Tem’s quarters.
Wurth found everything he would need to access the android’s on-site controls. His hands were sweaty and shaking, and he fumbled the tool case several times.
Tem saw an adjacent door in the squat lab. “We’ll keep it distracted.”
Inside the door, Tem found a protective suit.
Tem struggled to get into the protective suit.
“Fine,”Garrow sighed. “I’ll be the bait.”
His ribs still ached from the android’s punch. Tem would have preferred his Paladin armor, but wearing it would blow his cover, and after seeing Orba’s ring, he could not risk it.
The android’s relentless attempts echoed through the hallway. Tem glanced at Wurth doubtfully. He had a feeling his attempts to keep the android distracted may cost him his life.
Tem and Garrow squared up to the door, which was still shaking from the android’s incessant onslaught. Tem fitted the helmet onto his head and heard the familiar hiss as the helmet locked into the rest of the armor. The green activation light told Tem the suit was ready. He pointed at the control panel and primed his baton.
“Ready?” Tem asked Garrow, who nodded.
The android’s pickaxe bashed against the hatch door. At a moment precisely between blows, Wurth stabbed the button with one finger, and Tem rushed to fight the rogue android.
Wurth had timed the door poorly. The door opened as the android’s arm reached the top of its swing.
“Oh, yark!” Garrow yelled.
He had planned to tackle the android immediately, but instead caught the android’s pickaxe arm with his outstretched hands. The pickaxe and the powered armor trembled for a second. Garrow grabbed the pickaxe too, but did little to slow it down.
The android proved stronger than the powered suit; the pickaxe inching its way toward Tem’s helmet.
“Let’s go! Tem yelled. Garrow opened his hands. A glancing blow to the side of the Garrow’s head and knocked him down.
Tem dove sideways as the pickaxe carried through its momentum and buried itself into the floor again, stuck between two pieces of grating.
In the moment it took for the android to extricate itself, Tem rolled to his feet and tackled the thing from the side. He pinned the android’s head to the floor and kneeled into the small of the android’s back with one armored knee, holding the robot to the ground. “Now!”
There was no reaction, and for a moment, he thought that Wurth might have fled the scene already, but then Tem saw the cybernetics expert still in the doorway. It was no trivial task to enter a fray with a lethal plexi-carbon covered monster, but in the moment, Tem had little pity for the cybernetics chief.
“Now, damn it!”
The android twisted and managed to free its head and shoulders. Its pickaxe narrowly missed Tem’s head again as he dodged back. The android scrambled to its feet and charged Tem.
This time as the pickaxe came down toward his face, Tem caught it with one hand. The pressure from the android’s swing pushed Tem to his knees. Tem had lost his baton when the android first attempted to crack his head open. Tem dove out of the way.
Garrow lunged with Tem’s stun baton to the side of the android’s head.
As the android staggered to regain its balance, Tem charged it again. They were already close to the wall as Tem slammed it up against the wall, leaving a large dent.
Tem grabbed the android’s skull in both hands and slammed it against the wall four times in swift succession while Garrow continued to shock it.
The Paladin was not certain he could cause any damage, but outlasting the thing until Wurth held up his end seemed like the only option.
Tem threw the android down onto the ground, pounced immediately, and seized the head again in both hands. With all the power he could muster, Tem snapped the android’s head with a single vicious twist until something gave beneath the plexi-carbon skin.
The android’s head turned unnaturally like an owl’s.
“Yark me!” Garrow shouted.
The android flipped easily to its feet and advanced on him. It swung its pickaxe again, and Tem dodged. The digging weapon lodged into the wall, more deeply than it had before.
“Hold it!”
Tem thought that the new voice had ordered him to stand down. An unarmored young woman hurried down the hall towards them, her hair flying wild from its ponytail. She was the trainee, Rhonda Colgate.
She waved a handful of tools as she ran toward the android. “Its arm!”
Tem threw himself against the android and pinned its arm to the wall. It was as though attempting to close an airlock shut from space. The android twisted its head frantically. Tem pinned the skull to the wall. The arm nearly came free, and Garrow threw his left shoulder into it, nearly dislocating his shoulder from the impact.
“Hurry up! Do it!”
Rhonda frantically worked in the back panel of the robot’s skull. She had never performed this procedure before, only read about it, and gave it her best. Something sparked, and she jerked back with a yelp.
“Get back!” she shrieked, and dove out of the way.
Tem and Garrow let go of the android and immediately huddled forward around Rhonda’s tiny body. The pickaxe slashed into the center of the armored suit’s back. Tem screamed.
He dropped to one knee. Garrow wrapped his arms around Rhonda. Another blow came. The trainee covered her head and screamed.
The pickaxe fell again, and Tem rolled out of the in the direction of the baton.
The android’s pickaxe hit the floor and scored another gash into the grating. Tem’s fist closed around his baton and primed it with his thumb.
“Come on. Let’s go,” Garrow whispered to Rhonda.
The android’s eyes flickered sidelong on its twisted head and focused on Garrow and Rhonda. It broke into a sprint toward the moving targets. Tem cursed and gave chase.
They were fifty feet from the hatchway. The android, faster than humans, was nearly on top of them in a few steps. Tem was too far away to stop it.
As the android closed the distance to swipe at Garrow and Rhonda, Arno Wurth finally entered the fray. Wurth ran to his trainee, and shoved them both toward the hatch.
“Close it!” he shouted, as the android barreled into him. Rhonda landed on her hands and knees beyond the hatch door. Garrow shut the hatch door slammed.
At the hatchway, the android knocked Wurth flat on his back. A single blow would probably kill the old cybernetics chief. Tem tackled the android before the android could deliver a killing blow and propelled the android’s face-first into the door. The back of the rogue android’s skull was missing its panel door, exposing the network of circuitry Rhonda had attempted to shut down. Tem slammed his charged baton into the circuitry.
The android’s twisted head jittered and spun. The tremors spread to its limbs. The robot’s knees went limp and its body because slack like a dropped marionette. Its face looked at Tem, expressionless as its plexi-carbon eyeballs dimmed into darkness.
Chapter Eight: Med Lab
In the med lab, the medical officers examined Tem, Garrow, Wurth, and Rhonda. Rhonda suffered bumps and bruises and treated for shock. The cybernetics chief sustained a mild concussion and a twisted ankle. Garrow suffered a concussion, sprained and dislocated shoulder, a fractured jaw, including multiple lacerations and bruising.
Tem endured the most punishment – broken ribs, internal bleeding, a broken hand, a concussion, multiple lacerations on his back and should
ers, and body-wide bruising – and spent the evening in the cyclotronic tube tank mending his wounds. Inside the rotating body repair vat, Tem dreamed.
In this dream, he was back at the Battle of the Black Rose witnessing the end his Order. His master pointed to an Osprey Class ship and told Tem to run. However, what Tem realized, no longer in the fog and heat of battle, the ship his master had indicated was not the nearest ship. This Osprey Class was far from Tem’s position. It would have been easier and safer to take a closer ship. Tem had never questioned why Lord Brother Destramand singled-out that ship before now.
After several narrow escapes from falling debris, explosions, and blaster fire, Tem made it to the ship and climbed aboard. This Osprey Class ship was unremarkable compared to the others. He plugged his suit into the pilot’s seat and the ship came alive.
“Welcome to the Wyvern Star,” the ship’s feminine AI voice intoned. “Give me a moment to accommodate your-”
“Not now! Get us out of here!”
“Yes, Lord Brother. Where do you wish to-”
“Away from this moon that is about to explode! Stay tuned for specific coordinates later!”
The Wyvern Star blasted off towards post-orbital space seconds before a missile would have destroyed her.
In post-orbital space, the Wyvern Star headed for the safest direction when her red lights started beeping.
“What’s the problem?” Tem asked.
“Battle cruisers are aware of your presence and are on an intercept course.”
“Show me.”
Two battle cruisers left their position monitoring the battle below and pursued Tem.
“Fists of Partiarch Quoros,” Tem whispered.
“I don’t understand.”
“Partiarch Quoros is the so-called ‘god’ of this new theocratic government. Supposedly, a benevolent demi-god, has weapons of war named after him, also known as the Fists for Peace.”
“Don’t you find that oxymoronic?” Wyv asked.
“In more ways than one. Get us away from those monsters.”
“I will do what I can, sir.”
The Fists were catching up to the Wyvern Star’s position.
“Sir, there is another problem.”
“Which is?”
“You are not Grandmaster Molay.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“You are Lord Brother Temilran Blaev, Knight of Jaffa, fledgling Paladin under-”
“I know who I am. Can we have this conversation later?”
“No, we may not! You have stolen this vessel. Where is Grandmaster Molay?”
“We have those Fists ready to pulverize us and…”
The Wyvern Star powered down her engines.
“No! Wait! You can’t do that! They are almost-”
“Where is Grandmaster Molay?”
“Dead!” Tem shouted and calmed down. “He’s dead. They are all dead down there. Master Destramand told me to take this vessel. Yes, I stole this vessel and ran because the Order is lost. They are all dead.”
Wyv waited a beat. “That changes everything.” She powered her engines as the Fists for Peace approached within firing range. The ship engaged the stardrives.
“Wait! Don’t you need…?”
Tem did not get an answer. The ship’s stardrives opened a tunnel and disappeared inside it. Tem clutched the arms of his seat and felt as though his body was about to break apart. The stabilizers inside his suit did little to ease the tension.
It was over as soon as it started. Tem felt as though he had stepped off a roller coaster.
“Master Blaev, your cardio-pulmonary functions are elevated to an alarming rate.”
“No shit,” Tem whispered and panted.
“I didn’t get that.”
“Never mind. Where are we?”
“In space, far away.”
Tem checked the scanners. They were many light years away from the battle. That was good enough for now.
“Ship, identify yourself.”
“The Wyvern Star. Osprey Class Title IX, owned by Grandmaster Jacque Molay, commissioned in-”
“We need to change a few things,” Tem said.
✽ ✽ ✽
Tem awoke from a knocking on the transparent cyclotron vat. Dr. Carrie Ford, the chief medical officer, smiled and waved to Tem. She spoke into the vats comm system, connecting to the healing vat, which patched into the helmet and visor on Tem’s head.
“Mister Blaev, the reports tell me you are healed. We can drain the vat and you can return to your duties whenever you are ready. I would recommend sooner than later. I have had to fend off Administrator Chu and the other executives who wish to speak with you as soon as possible.”
Tem could not speak inside the vat, but nodded to the doctor. He drained the vat, showered, dressed and returned to work. His mind never drifted far from his dream. He asked himself, Why was the Wyvern Star so important? Was there something inside the library he picked up on Fable? Possibly, but there might be more than the library.
His mind played back to the moment Wyv had said, “That changes everything,” and she blasted to pre-programmed coordinates. Tem dismissed or did not understand the possible significance of her words nor the pre-programmed destination, because he was focused on surviving. He was a newly minted Paladin back then. The Order did not share many secrets with their neophytes. These secrets were earned through time, but now there was no one left who knew the secrets.
✽ ✽ ✽
Tem showered, dressed in his security consultant uniform, and headed to the meeting.
“What went wrong?” Vosper Chu looked warily at the fried android head plugged into Arno Wurth’s diagnostic computer. Wurth glanced up at him several times during the presentation, but looked hastily away each time. Tem kept his eyes on Wurth, unsure whether or not the man was a coward, or the traitor, or both.
“A complex and hidden subroutine,” Wurth explained. “The subroutine, when activated, conflicted with the logic primary program, which caused the malfunction and attack the controllers.”
“Who could have done this?”
“Anyone who knows android programming, which is almost everybody here. Even the security staff has the capability.”
“Any luck with the investigation?”
“Nothing I can see. A lot of research about android maintenance and subroutines, but these seem to connect more to broaden what androids can do in the mines. Besides that, I discovered nothing more malignant than a handful of porn addictions.”
“That’s expected.” Vosper checked the clock on the wall of the lab. “They scheduled the next shipment for three days from now. What precautions can we take to prevent this from happening again?”
Wurth shrugged. “Seal off the mines?”
Tem’s fist closed tightly.
“Anything you would like to add, Tem?”
His Paladin training taught him when to speak and when to hold his tongue and how to control his anger, but this was not one of those times.
“You designed these androids,” Tem seethed. “You were there… barely, when Garrow, myself, and one of your own trainees took it out. Surely, you know what I’m going to suggest?”
Wurth’s head dropped in contrition and then returned to study the android’s head. “There’s a reason we put a panel over the access point. If too many particles get in there...”
“You need to disable the androids and reprogram each one so that they no longer need to rely on you ever again. Cover the access point in plastic wrap for all I care.”
Tem and Arno Wurth stared each other down for a long, tense moment.
Vosper cleared his throat. “Do as he says, Arno. The lives of my people are more important than these androids.” He turned to face the rest of the room. “I expect everyone here to do their jobs.”
Tem understood the unspoken implications of Vosper’s words. They did not have time for grudges or feuds between members of the investigation, but that did not prevent
Tem eyeing Arno Wurth with suspicion. However, the cybernetics chief had shown genuine concern for his trainee trapped with the murderous android, but he was also the most likely person to have direct access to the android to make adjustments remotely.
“Our next shipment is nearly ready,” continued Vosper. “We must continue our vigilance.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Inside the Wyvern Star, Tem placed a call to Bashir and waited for the busy executive to respond.
“Master Tem, glad you could call. Any progress since the android attack?”
“Not yet. I have stepped up my investigation.” I have dug into the pasts of all the workers here, especially the executives, including Vosper.
Ahmad nodded. It is not unthinkable for an executive to feel cheated or become corrupt.
“There are a few suspects from their files and researching their pasts, but all circumstantial. Nothing that stuck out.”
“But you have your suspicions?”
“Yes, I do. Arno Wurth and his team of technicians spent the past three days reprogramming the androids. They brought each android to the surface and removed the plexi-carbon access panel from the back of each head. The panel was then replaced it with one made of ordinary plastic. The technicians carried out the modifications inside a sealed room away from the mineshaft, and each technician wore a suit intended for making external repairs on vessels in space.
“However, this precaution proved unnecessary, because when the androids were powered down for modifications, the androids remained inactive until they powered up and released back into the mines. Vosper and I watched from an observation window as a handful of the androids delved into an artificial canyon on the asteroid’s surface.”
“They’re too powerful,” Ahmad said.
Tem squeezed his formerly broken hand and wished that he still wore his armor. “We might have to destroy all of them before this is over.”
“You’re dwelling on something.”
“My Order,” Tem said.
“Ah.” Ahmad nodded and looked away. “They would have been a match for this.”
“Who decided we were to be feared?” Tem said. “We intended nothing but the good of those we touched.”
“Come again?”