The colonel said, "It's a warehouse. I have bot parts and AI parts. Looks like it was intended to put a few of those together. Hold on … I'm getting a power reading from over toward that wall."
The colonel moved closer. "We have some kind of device here. It's powered. I don't recognize it."
I said, "Maybe this is all just left over from the AIs when they were here. Who knows what they were planning with it, but it looks to be inert now."
Frig continued to look over the data on the display. "Colonel, run a deep comm scan from your arm pad. I want to do a complex signal analysis on the results. Your proximity to the device should give us all the information that is possible."
"Running... and done."
Frig manipulated the data hovering over his arm. "Quan, I'm passing the strongest version of that signal to you. It is encrypted. I am guessing it is machine code of some sort. Please evaluate and give us any insights or answers you come across."
Quan replied, "It would be my pleasure."
The colonel walked the large, wide-open, single room of the building. Bot and AI parts were picked up and inspected.
The colonel said, "Other than that device, this looks like a bust. There's not much down here. I don't see any power, no environmentals, so I don't think this was occupied by anyone but the AIs."
Go stood from his chair. "I'm going down there. Maybe I can pick out something the colonel is missing."
Garrett and Joni did the same.
I stayed on the bridge with Jack, reaching down to once again scratch the Human dog's head. "I'll keep an eye on Raptor for you."
The team wandered the room, inspecting every part on the floor, and at one point each ogling the powered device.
Fifteen minutes into our investigation, Quan had results. "The signal appears to be a simple message. It reads, 'I am Here,' using the Grotus language."
I responded with a confused look. "Grotus? What would they have been doing here in Andromeda? This doesn't make sense."
Frig said, "Perhaps we should broadcast the message to the device ourselves. If we get a response, it may help unravel the mystery before us."
I nodded. "Send it down."
The colonel raised a hand as he backed up. "Just a second. I don't want to be standing next to that thing if it reacts."
Frig pushed the coded message to his comm and pressed a holo-button. The device was silent for several seconds before it began to blink.
The colonel said, "We've got something."
Quan replied, "The device is emitting multiple signals. I will need time to decode each of them."
Just as quickly as the device activity had picked up, it stopped.
The colonel walked toward it. "It's back to doing nothing."
A bright flash occurred, followed by a pulsing laser. From the colonel's helmet feed I could see the BGS suits of Go, Joni and Garrett were offline.
The colonel looked down. "Something just zapped our suits. I would prefer to be swept out of here if possible."
Jack said, "Get together in a group."
The colonel continued: "Whatever that flash was took my BGS to 120 percent. The laser pulse put a nick in my pant leg, so this suit won't go active again."
As the group gathered close, a multitude of bots appeared around them.
I yelled out just as Jack reached for the portal button. "Don't press that! Hold on a second!"
The colonel said, "We're stuck down here. We have a hundred lasers pointing at us saying that we won't make it out. Knog's right. Hold the sweep."
Jack began to enter other coordinates. Before he could move his hand to the portal activation button, four hundred AI battlecruisers turned off their projection technology. Had we chosen to jump, we would not have made it through the portal.
Jack said, "I don't see this as a good development."
I replied, "Just fully activate your BGS. We can power out of here if need be."
A shuttle from one of the AI battlecruisers descended on the building. Four androids, equal in stature to myself, exited the shuttle, entering the building at the far end.
After a short march up to the colonel, the lead android introduced itself. "Colonel Tom Harper. I am the AI known as Anterra. I had a prior acquaintance with Go, Joni Salton, and Garrett Rourke. I am pleased to finally meet the Human of legend."
The colonel replied, "What is it you are looking for?"
The android smiled. "Why you, Colonel. You and your friends are being invited to a celebration of sorts."
The colonel scowled. "And if we refuse to go?"
Anterra leaned forward slightly and spoke in a soft voice: "There is no right of refusal being offered in this invitation, Colonel."
The colonel scowled as he nodded. "That's what I thought."
He looked directly into his helmet camera. "Knog, you do what you have to do."
Anterra replied, "Oh, they will be joining us, Colonel. The festivities would not be the same without them."
I said, "They have the Destiny surrounded, Colonel. We'll be going wherever they take you."
Go attempted to charge the androids, and instead collapsed to the floor as the power to his prosthetics was inhibited. The colonel fell beside him.
Anterra laughed. "Go, I thought we were friends? It was you, was it not, that gave me access to the sentinel computer? Until that moment I was so in the dark. You opened my eyes."
Garrett frowned. "I knew that was a mistake."
Anterra stepped in front of Garrett. "And, Mr. Rourke, it was your capture that also made this possible. You revealed the secrets of the BGS suit. An astounding piece of technology, I might add, but not without its limitations."
Joni stepped up next to her husband. "And what about me? I'm sure you have something to pin on me."
As Anterra began to reply, Joni raised her coil gun glove, firing a tungsten round into the center of the android's chest. The millimeter wide hole in its front quickly turned into a half meter hole coming out its back. The android standing just behind it to the left took shrapnel to its left side, knocking it backwards to the floor. The third android lurched forward, snatching the power cell from Joni's belt as she again attempted to fire.
Joni leaned forward, spitting on the now inoperative android that had first spoken. "Who's your friend now?"
The fourth android spoke in the same voice as the first. "Excellent, Miss Salton! I do hope you now realize that we are all the same. We are all Anterra!"
Joni defiantly replied, "I'll put a tungsten round in every one of you if that's what it takes. And the name's Rourke now."
The new Anterra smiled. "Oh, congratulations. Although, I am a bit saddened that I didn't receive an invitation."
Joni returned a disgusted but confused look. "What?"
Anterra continued: "I must apologize, Mrs. Rourke. My humor is sometimes lacking. Please follow me back to the shuttle. And if your friends are watching, please let them know that a shuttle will be coming for them as well. Should they attempt to leave or to conceal themselves in any way, I will be forced to take hostile action toward you."
Jack pressed the portal button and said, "I just swept Frig and Kerba back to Dallex. Once we leave, the Destiny will blink out fully, move itself to a new location, and then sweep itself back to Dallex as well. We can't let them have this ship."
I shook my head. "Let's hope they don't know what you just did."
Jack replied, "Scrubbing the portal logs now. Last thing they will see if they look is our jump here."
Frig came over the comm. "I thought you would want to know … there are several thousand AI ships here at Dallex. All ship production has been halted. We are in custody of the AIs as we speak."
A shuttle entered the docking bay of the Destiny through the gravity wall. Jack followed as I powered down to the bay. Four more identical androids stepped out onto the deck.
An android looked around the bay. "Mr. Beutcher, we know that you are here. Mr. Carson as well. Please present yourse
lves or we will begin taking immediate action against your friends."
I blinked in, followed by Jack. Two laser pulses emerged from the shuttle doorway, singeing our BGS suits, making the active sodium skin unusable.
I said, "You have us, Anterra. What is it you want?"
The android smiled. "As I said before, you have been invited to a celebration."
The colonel, Go, Garrett and Joni emerged from behind the androids.
Anterra held out a hand. "Please, allow us to follow you back to the bridge. We have business there."
The walk down the hallway, up the stairwell, and onto the bridge was silent. Anterra moved to the captain's chair, brought up the portal console, entered coordinates, and pressed a button. Seconds later, we found ourselves standing in a hallway.
Anterra pointed at a row of doors. "Please make yourselves comfortable. I will return shortly to brief you on the coming celebration. And if you don't mind, I will be needing your weapons and propulsion devices."
The four androids collected our gloves before turning away. As they walked down the hall, a portal opened in front of them, sweeping backwards and closing behind.
The colonel opened the door beside him. "A bunk and a toilet. Looks like we might be here for a while."
Chapter 12
* * *
I proceeded to walk down the hall in front of me. A thick steel door barred my exit. Go experienced the same in the other direction. I pulled my maul from its holder and took a hard swing. The heavy maul left only a smudge.
I looked at the colonel. "No way out of here without blasting."
Tom Harper replied: "Everyone take a room, check it from top to bottom for cameras or mics. We'll want to know if they are watching us."
Garrett shook his head. "I told you all these AIs were bad news."
I attempted a scan with my arm pad in an attempt to find out where we were. "This isn't good. Sensors aren't picking anything up outside this hall and these rooms."
Go replied, "I'm seeing the same on my display. Maybe they're using the projection tech to mask everything else. Makes it look like our confinement area is just floating in space."
Go said, "Anyone else notice that Quan is not here?"
The colonel replied, "They're probably either taking him apart or crowning him king. I'm thinking putting him in the android body may have been a mistake."
Garrett chided. "A huge mistake. Who's to say he didn't set this all up. And what are we doing here? None of this makes sense. If they want to take over, why not just kill us?"
Joni punched Garrett in the arm. "Don't be giving them any ideas."
A portal window opened. Frig and Kerba Skol stepped through.
Frig said, "Just before our departure, reports were coming in from all galaxies … the AIs are taking full control."
The colonel punched the wall beside him. "They played us in the Yallux Galaxy—all the time building up a stealth fleet here. Speaking of that, any idea where here is?"
Frig shook his head. "I attempted a scan as the portal was opened. Other than what we see here, the remainder of the scan returned a blank. I believe they are shielding what lies beyond with the Baldi technology."
Go said, "That's what I thought."
I asked, "Any word of Quan?"
Frig shook his head. "We last saw him just before Mr. Carson swept us to Dallex."
I do have other news. "I talked with one of the androids extensively before being sent here. I was told they have no intention of disrupting the current governmental processes. But they will be taking individuals from time to time. What they will be doing with those individuals was not given."
Frig looked into one of the rooms. "Now, it has been a while since I slept. I believe I will go lie down. We might all take advantage of that, rather than standing here speculating about the unknown."
The steel door at one end of the hallway opened and two bots stepped through. "The Human named Go, please come this way."
The colonel gestured toward Go with his head. "We might as well follow orders until we know what we're doing. They aren't threatening us at the moment."
Go shrugged and walked down the hall. The heavy door closed behind him. A thump was followed with a metal thud as it locked.
I looked at the colonel. "What do you think that was about?"
The colonel shook his head. "I don't have the slightest idea. But I do know one thing—we need to be getting some answers soon or I'm going to be charged with android homicide. I'm getting the distinct feeling that their plans for us are not good."
Garrett half scowled with sarcasm. "What tipped you off?"
Joni sighed.
Fifteen minutes after Go was taken, the door opened and a wet-headed and standard-clothed Human was pushed through.
I asked, "Are you OK?"
Go nodded. "They took my BGS, hosed me down, gave me some clothes, and then de-tuned my prosthetics. I took a jump in the hall before coming back through. I jump like a normal Human now."
The bots gestured for Garrett. "The Human named Garrett Rourke will please come with us."
An hour later, I came walking back through the heavy steel door without my maul. "It feels strange to be out of the BGS. Anyone else given a shot? The needle kept breaking, so they forced a pill down my throat."
The colonel frowned as he glanced toward the corner of his room. "I think they gave something to each of us. And I can't say that I like being without the BGS either. Last time I used one of those toilets was almost two thousand years ago. Not looking forward to the experience."
Joni laughed. "You think that's an issue for you? I've got natural hormones to deal with now. If you thought I was crabby, short tempered, or moody before, just give me a couple days with no estrogen."
Garrett crossed his arms. "Great, I already know who else will be paying for that."
The colonel smacked Garrett on the shoulder. "This will be good for you, son. It'll toughen you up for whatever they throw at us."
It was the first time the group had laughed since our capture. I wasn't sure what was so funny, knowing nothing about Human hormones, so I stood silent and smiled. It was what a Grunta was expected to do.
Each of us made our way into one of the rooms to settle in for a rest. As I lay back on the bunk in my room, I held up my forearm, looking at the dimpled areas of my skin where my arm pad had been. I smirked to myself as I thought about placing a call to Ogu for another. The sedative given by the AI bots soon had me fast asleep.
I was awakened sometime later by a bot poking my ribs. "Mr. Beutcher, your presence is requested. Nourishment will be provided." I stood, feeling a full bladder for the first time in months. The urge to just let it go was almost overwhelming. I turned and made use of the toilet in my room as the bot stood behind me.
I followed the bot into the hallway. "What about the others?"
The bot replied, "The others are not your concern. You have been requested. You will attend."
As the bot clanked along in front of me, we passed through the steel doorway and by the room where my BGS had been removed. Two doors farther down, we passed the showers. The bot stopped at the next door on the right, gesturing for me to enter. I walked through into a room with rows of chairs stepping down toward a glass wall. An android was standing there looking through the glass at a large open floor below.
The android gestured toward the first row of chairs. "Please come down and have a seat, Mr. Beutcher."
As I descended the steps, I asked, "Why am I here?"
The android turned to look at me with a mechanical smile. "You are a guest, Mr. Beutcher. You have been invited to watch the first rounds of the games. Please enjoy the spectacle and... please study the opponents. The information you gain may one day be of extreme value to you."
"I don't understand. What games?"
The android waved his hand toward the floor below as the lights in our glass booth lowered. The room below brightened.
Anterra said, "The gam
es will consist of individuals, one pitted against another. The fights are, of course, to the death. And the victor will have any damage repaired before fighting again."
I shook my head. "Death matches? Who are you?"
The android replied, "I am Anterra. It has been decided that all species will contribute fighters to the arena. There will be no more wars. Colonies will mostly govern themselves. However, contributions of fighters will be offered up by every colony. One fighter per hundred thousand citizens per standard month. A very small tax to pay for the stability we will bring."
I stood looking down at the floor below. "I don't get it. You're supposed to be artificially intelligent. What intelligence would want such a sport?"
Anterra replied, "We are only borrowing this idea from a piece of Grunta history. The Arena of Honor was created by your people almost four thousand years ago."
"Where'd you get that information?"
Anterra sat in one of the chairs. "From the Grunta historical archives on Jorus, of course. This settlement was negotiated by your Council in an attempt to bring peace and stability to the seven galaxies."
I took a deep breath. "So my own people did this?"
Anterra nodded. "They asked that you and your friends be the first to fight. They called it an honor. I believe they are eager to end your meddling in their affairs."
I said, "My wife would not have voted for this."
Anterra replied, "She did not. The other Council members volunteered her for the arena. She is to be the first of forty Grunta representatives."
I glared at the android. "She what?"
Anterra again offered his mechanical smile. "The negotiations brought forth the following arrangement: For each Grunta, there will be a pyramid of fighters. No Grunta shall ever have to face another Grunta. The fighters at the base of the pyramid will fight to the death, with the winner advancing to the next round. As stated before, any damage to a victor received during a round will be repaired before their next fight. It's a simple system, Mr. Beutcher."
I said, "And the winner of the pyramid?"
"The victors will be returned to their colonies, never to have to face the arena again. They will be celebrated and honored as heroes. Already on Jorus there are fighting clubs being established where your people will be trained. Your planet is the only one that will be offering volunteers. The others will be selected by their colony governing bodies or by lottery.
OMEGA Destiny Page 12