Maria didn’t get the joke. All she could do was stand there, overwhelmed at everything that was slamming into her. She took a deep breath and considered the implications. Like pieces in a puzzle, things started falling into place, and as they did, the general’s parting words echoed in her thoughts. She understood it now.
“When?” she asked, looking at the genies. “When are they going to kill him?”
“Two days,” Angel added.
“That means we’re next,” Maria said. “All of us.” The plan she’d been formulating resolved quickly in her mind. Could it be done in two days?
“There’s some good news,” Carmen said.
“I could use a little of that,” Maria replied.
“We have a plan for getting the Gen2s out of Escuela de Guerra, and there are already several troop transports assigned to the base.”
Maria breathed a sigh of relief. “That just leaves a few other small details…” she said wearily. Like winning a battle against hardened Republican Guard troops and getting nearly three hundred Gen3s out of their maturation chambers and loaded onto a troop transport on the other side of the city.
“Were you able to find a ship?” Maria asked. Everything else was merely details, planning, and execution. Between herself and Angel, they had access to resources at both PSG and within the military, which would cover a lot of ground. But without a starship, they were dead in the water.
Carmen and Angel both smiled at her question.
“Then let’s put this all together,” she said. “Tomorrow night we rescue your brothers and sisters.”
* * *
Part 4
Altra sat at the controls of the shuttle as they entered the airspace of Escuela de Guerra. The sun was setting over the mountains, and a cloud-darkened storm front promised rain in the near future. Maria sat next to her, wearing her most expensive suit as she monitored the comms. Carmen and Angel sat behind them, wearing their custom-issued matte-black combat armor. They’d had to wash the blood off, and there were still a few bullet holes in the back, but they would pass anything but a close inspection. They both carried standard issue 4mm Tamaki assault rifles that fired magnetically-accelerated, high-density rounds with little more than a whisper of air. They wore combat vibroknives in breakaway scabbards over their left breasts, and Angel had a 3mm Ramirez y Rodrigo “Ram-Rod” pistol strapped to his left thigh.
Maria checked the time. It was eleven-thirty P.M., and the clock was ticking.
They’d planned everything and put the various pieces into motion over the past thirty-six hours. Once they got inside the base, things would happen very quickly…and if anything went wrong, they would get very, very bloody. Maria felt her conscience well up inside her. For years, she’d felt guilty about what she’d done to the genies. She’d made her children slaves, although she wasn’t alone. Humanity was pursuing genetic engineering like hers all over. She’d just been better at it. And now, what they were about to undertake would cost lives. She thought back to the day she agreed to work for PSG. From that moment on, she’d been able to put off the decision between endless slavery for her creations or wanton murder on a large scale for those who would enslave them.
When the decision was finally forced upon her, she chose her family.
“Echo Bravo Seven Niner,” a woman’s stern voice called over the comm. “This is flight control at Escuela de Guerra. You are about to enter restricted airspace. State your business or turn around immediately. Over.”
“Flight control,” Maria said. “This is Echo Bravo Seven Niner carrying an inspection team from PSG. We have been ordered to review the health and condition of the Gen2s in preparation for an evac. There should be an authorization listed for us, and we are requesting clearance to land and disembark. Over.”
“Roger that, Echo Bravo Seven Niner. Stand by. Over.” The comm went quiet for a few heartbeats. “Echo Bravo Seven Niner, clearance to land has been approved. Turn to one-eight-four and make your approach. Note that any deviation could result in you being fired upon. Over.”
“Understood, control,” Maria replied. “Making our approach now. Over.” She cut the comm and turned toward the genies. “I wish it didn’t have to be like this,” she said. “Sometimes I wonder if I ever should have…” she shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to say something that had been eating at her since the first Gen1 was conceived. She was suddenly wracked with guilt. “I’m sorry,” she said suddenly. It was first time those words had ever crossed her lips for the guilt she’d felt from the very first day.
“Momma,” Angel said slowly, placing her hand on Maria’s shoulder. “You gave us life. You made us smart and strong. And here you are now, risking your life to free us.”
Maria opened her eyes to see both genies looking at her with compassion in their eyes.
“No apologies,” Angel added.
Maria took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Nodding, she smiled weakly. “Alright,” she said.
“We’re coming in for our landing now,” Altra said, the youthful, childlike voice incongruous with the fact that she was piloting a military shuttle. “Please ensure your safety belts remain fastened until the shuttle comes to a complete stop,” she added.
The shuttle descended quickly, dropping into the shadow of the mountains as it came in at a steep angle as Alta reduced their speed dramatically. The wide tarmac came into view, illuminated by bright floodlights surrounding the entire area, where three large troop transports and a half-dozen shuttles identical to Maria’s squatted in the growing darkness.
“Time for you to get out of sight,” Maria said over her shoulder.
Both genies rose out of their seats, moved to the back of cockpit, and slipped through the rear hatch into a personnel bay big enough for eight troopers. They closed the hatch behind them just as Altra came in over the landing pad and dropped with a whine of repulsors. The wheels rotated out from under the airframe and the shuttle settled onto them with a hiss of hydraulics. The shuttle rolled forward and moved into a parking position beside the row of shuttles that were already there. When it was in position, Altra cut the engine and powered the shuttle down as if it had been piloting them from the day it came off the assembly line.
Looking out through the windscreen, Maria saw three Republican Guard soldiers marching with purpose across the tarmac straight for the shuttle. The first appeared to be an officer, while the two flankers were regular soldiers with rifles slung over their shoulders and their sidearms holstered. Maria took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
“Come on, Altra,” Maria said. “It’s time.” She rose out of her seat, moved to the back of the cockpit, and opened the side hatch. She walked down the steps and started toward the approaching soldiers as Altra clicked down behind her.
With Altra walking only a step behind and to her right, Maria closed the distance with the soldiers, who she could now see had grim expressions on their faces. All three of them reminded her of the General Valdez’s captains. Lifeless, humorless, and grim.
The soldiers came to a stop in front of her, with the officer in front and two troopers off to either side.
“Good evening,” Maria said, “I’m here for—”
The troopers pulled their pistols and leveled them both at Maria.
“Save it, miss,” the officer said. “You’re under arrest for treason.”
Maria got a surprised and fearful look on her face. “What are you—?”
“Enough!” the officer barked. Glancing over his shoulder, he said, “Search it.”
The trooper on his right holstered his pistol, unslung his rifle, and jogged over to the shuttle. Maria looked over her shoulder as the trooper cautiously stepped up into the cockpit. The officer, a lieutenant, stepped forward and patted Maria down, searching for weapons.
“I’m unarmed,” Maria said.
“We don’t take chances, miss,” the lieutenant said, searching her thoroughly.
As he stepped away again, Maria hea
rd boots coming up behind her.
“It’s empty,” he said. “Nothing in the cockpit or the deployment bay,” he added as he slung his rifle again. He drew his pistol and aimed it at Maria.
“Don’t worry about it,” the lieutenant said. “There was just supposed to be the two of them.” The lieutenant turned back to Maria. “Follow me. Any attempt to escape will be met with deadly force. This is the only warning you will receive.”
He turned on his heel and began marching away. Maria and Altra followed, with the troopers close behind. Maria did everything she could to keep the panic off her face. She needed to remain calm, or they’d kill her instantly.
The lieutenant led them off the tarmac and past a control tower where two guards stood watch outside a pair of double doors. Beyond that were several administrative buildings and a row of five barracks, one of which had a pair of armed guards standing outside it. Off to the other side of the large compound was a long building Maria guessed was a mess hall, and a short distance from that stood a thick, armored-looking building with a chain-link fence around it topped with concertina wire. A pair of guards stood outside it, rifles slung.
As Maria cleared the last barracks, she spotted a small, isolated building further back from the main street they’d been walking down. It looked to be about the size of a large house, and there was a single light over the outer door at the top of a small set of steps. All the windows of the building were barred and appeared to have the shades drawn, with pale light shining through them. A pair of guards stood watch at the base of the steps, rifles over their shoulders.
The lieutenant ahead of Maria marched straight up to it. The guards saluted as the lieutenant approached. He returned the salute and then walked past, straight up the stairs. He opened the door and walked inside, holding it open for Maria and Altra. They entered a small office space with desks and filing cabinets on either side, and the lieutenant walked down a hallway running down the middle of the building with a door on either side. He strode up to the one on the right, opened it and motioned for her and Altra to go inside.
“Wait here,” he ordered. “Sit in the far chair. There is someone coming to see you shortly.”
As she entered, she found a small table and a small, folding chair on either side. She did as she was told, taking her seat on the far side, and Altra remained standing, staring into space like a statue. There was the sound of a lock turning.
Maria waited for about twenty minutes, and then heard voices in the main room.
There were footsteps outside the door. The lock turned, and the door opened.
She recognized the first captain immediately, then the familiar, grim face of the second of General Valdez’s aides appeared. Both of them now wore sidearms. A moment later, they were followed by General Valdez, himself. The general took up the seat across from Maria and sat there for at least a full minute, as if he were examining a piece of art.
Finally, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“What did you hope to accomplish?” the general asked. “Did you really think the two of you could somehow free those wretched genies from the barracks without someone reporting it? There’s an entire company stationed here,” he said. “I was under the impression you were an intelligent woman,” he added, shaking his head. “This,” he motioned to the room, “this doesn’t look like any sort of plan at all.” He gave her a condescending smile. “Hope is not a strategy, Doctor Fujimoto,” he added.
“You’re right,” she said, “it’s not. But my plan doesn’t rely upon hope. It relies upon human nature,” she said, and she let a slim smile cross her face.
“What makes you think you’re getting out of here alive?” He frowned. “You were dead the second you got out of that shuttle.”
“I’m sure it looks that way from where you’re sitting,” she said. “The truth is, I expected you,” she smiled.
The general frowned, and the lights went out for a second. A few seconds later, an emergency light above the door glowed a pale blue. There was a shout from outside the door and a muffled yelp of pain. The two captains exchanged nervous looks.
“What makes you think you’re getting out of here alive?” Maria asked, and the smile on her face was suddenly more menacing than the President’s had been.
Both captains suddenly looked terrified and reached for their sidearms, but it was already too late.
Altra’s mechanical reflexes were faster, and her new software was more than up to the task. The hatch on her leg popped open and her right arm darted to where another Ram-Rod pistol had been sequestered. Before the captains could pull their pistols from their holsters, Altra’s Ram-Rod made a static-hiss, almost like a whisper, and the hyper-accelerated round splashed the back wall with the first captain’s blood and brains. He started to topple. The second captain’s pistol cleared the holster just as his brains decorated the back wall. Their bodies hit the floor on either side of the general only a half-second apart.
The general sat there, a stunned, terrified expression on his face.
“I’m taking my children, General,” Maria said calmly. “With both you and El Presidenté gone, your troops will be more worried about filling the power vacuum and killing each other than they will be hunting down a group of genies who are no longer on Montoya III.” She glanced at the robot. “Altra?” she asked, cocking her head to the side thoughtfully.
“Yes, Doctor Fujimoto?”
“Kill him,” Maria said.
There was a static-hiss, and a neat hole appeared in the center of the general’s head, splashing the wall with crimson, and he toppled forward, his face slamming into the table. A pool of blood started spreading across the table.
The door to the room exploded inward as a tall rhino in black combat armor crashed through it, hit the floor, and rolled to the side as two tabby felines, also in combat armor, appeared in the doorway with assault rifles leveled.
Maria smiled.
“It’s good to see you,” she said, a smile spreading across her face. She recognized three of the Gen2s she’d raised to maturity. The rhino was Dolan, and the two felines were Isabella and Valeria. Maria rose out of her seat and moved toward the door. “Carmen and Angel got to you?” she asked.
All three genies nodded. They had comm-sets in their ears and mics over their throats.
Isabella stepped forward. She wore captain’s bars on her collar but no other insignia, and one of her hands was bloody. “They used a sleeper code, and apparently they’ve all been busy here for weeks while we slept.” She smiled. “Everyone is awake now, Momma.”
“Good,” Maria said. “We’re almost there,” she added.
Valeria, a sliver lieutenant’s bar on her collar, bent down and picked up both of the pistols that had fallen. She checked the chamber of one, ensuring it was ready to go, and handed it to Maria. Maria wasn’t all that familiar with firearms, but she knew which end to point at an enemy. As Maria took the pistol, she saw that Valeria had blood on one of her hands as well. The blood had gotten onto the grip of the pistol, and there was now blood on her hand as well.
“Just aim and pull the trigger,” Valeria said in a lower but similarly mewling voice as Carmen’s. Valeria checked the other pistol and slipped it into her empty holster, securing it.
“All of our weapons are in the armory,” Dolan said in a deep voice, “but the felines are going through the barracks, slitting throats and policing up any rifles and pistols they find.” He had three gray chevrons on each forearm, indicating he was a sergeant. “The canines are out on the perimeter, hunting down the sentries.”
“Angel told us what you wanted to do, and thanks to what we had all done as sleepers,” Isabella said, “we pretty much own this base, all the way up to the airfield. The power has been cut, and the generators disabled. The comms are down, the tower is ours, and the barracks are being cleaned out. We’ll be hitting the armory shortly. There’s part of a platoon holed up there, but it shouldn’t be too much trouble. We
have all the codes, and the humans are no match for us.”
“Kill them all,” Maria said, and a pang of both guilt and remorse hammered into her heart. She looked at the blood on her hand, realizing what was going on around her. “We need to buy a few more hours,” she added, “and I won’t take the chances that any of these soldiers might get a message out.” She was committed now, and although every single drop of spilled blood was on her hands, if there was one thing she knew for certain, it was that her children would never be free without the sacrifice. “I need to get back to the shuttle,” she said.
Isabella placed a finger on her comm-set. “Kolos, we’re coming out. Is the area secure?” there was a brief pause, and she nodded once. “Follow me,” she said, hefting the rifle. She turned on her heel and walked out of the room and down the hall.
Maria followed, and when she got to the main room, she found the lieutenant and both troopers lying on the floor. The troopers had three bloody holes in each of their chests, visible because they lay face-up on the floor. The lieutenant’s throat had been torn out where he sat, leaning back in a chair at one of the desks, his lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling.
Maria exited the building to find both guards crumpled on the ground. Their throats had been torn out, and wide pools of blood had spread across the concrete where they had been standing only thirty minutes earlier. A dozen genies in black combat armor stood a few meters away from the steps. There were four unarmed felines and six rhinos, as well as two canines armed with pistols.
They all turned and nodded to her, then returned their gazes out into the compound.
A muffled explosion echoed across the compound from the beyond the chain-link fence. She saw a dozen shadowy figures, feline, canine, and rhino, disappear through a set of double doors, and then there was a series of distant shouts and screams.
Maria took a slow breath, knowing more were dying, then strode down the stairs and walked through the group of genies. Altra walked behind her a few steps, and both Isabella and Valeria stood off to the side, their eyes scanning the compound with their rifles held at the ready. Dolan took up the rear, and as they passed the other genies, the group of twelve dropped in behind then in a wide line, each one scanning for any sign of trouble.
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