The colonel half smiled. "Now you're talking like a Marine. Try to follow my orders and we'll see if we can get us all out of this alive."
I looked around at my team of fighters. Getta and my daughters were each swinging their mauls. My son stood with one hand on his handle and one on its head, our traditional battle pose. Garrett and Go had their maces, as did my small Talisan horde. Joni had her flail. Jack had upgraded to a battle-axe he had found on the ship. Diane stood with her sword lying on her shoulder.
I turned to the colonel. "We ready to get this going?"
The colonel grinned. "No time like the present, Mr. Beutcher. Let's put an end to this insanity so we can get back to the real fight. We have seven galaxies to clear."
We walked as a group toward the lone android. Its expression changed to an eerie, wide smile. Once again, our fighters surrounded the android in a circle. Mauls, maces, a flail, a staff, a sword, and an axe were readied.
A yell came from the ramp-way. "Hold please!"
It was Kerba Skol and his staff. He joined our ranks beside the colonel. The android continued to smile.
The colonel said, "Time for you to be disassembled."
The android replied, "Hello, Colonel Harper. It's been a long time."
The colonel stood silent, with an inquisitive expression on his face.
The android continued: "You know, when I heard you were alive, I thought, 'This cannot be. Not the Colonel Harper and the Bartel Helgris. Two of the individuals responsible for my setback. What a delightful turn of events! Not only would I once again get to dominate the Humans, Gruntas, and all the others, but I would get a second chance to right the wrongs done to me. And I would be taking on the very people who did them.'"
The colonel shook his head slowly. "Duke? It's not possible. That debris field from your ship had nothing left in it any larger than my fist."
The Duke nodded. "Bravo, Colonel! You do realize my core is slightly smaller than your clenched hand, don't you? I was right there, waiting to be vaporized, and yet your primitive scanners could not see me. Very sloppy work, Colonel. And if I'm not mistaken, you were leading the search?"
The colonel took a deep breath. "We destroyed the ship as it passed through the wormhole. It's not possible the Duke survived."
The Duke smiled. "Oh, but it is possible, Colonel. As evidence, here I am!"
The colonel replied, "We had a ship go through and disintegrate that debris afterwards. Even if the Duke's core survived, it wouldn't have made it through that."
The Duke laughed. "Colonel, looking back, do you think it was a wise decision to send an automated ship to do the cleanup? Had anyone bothered to check its logs, they would have noted a discrepancy in the timestamps—subtle, yet easy to spot if you knew what to look for. I managed transport on that ship to a nearby system that had several hundred autobots sitting on its surface. It was a wonderful surprise. The ship I had them construct was crude, but it did allow me to leave the area in a timely manner."
The colonel said, "You've had a hundred opportunities to kill us. If you are the Duke, why do you keep stretching this out?"
The Duke grinned. "It's the sport of it, Colonel! You are right, I could have killed the lot of you many times over. But what a spectacle of willpower and determination I would have missed. You see, Colonel, it's not about the winning or losing, it's about how I manipulate others into doing what I want."
The Duke looked at Getta. "Bravo to you on wiping out the Grotus. They should have perished long ago. I suspected at the time that I had stolen your people away too hastily. I believe I missed out on a great opportunity to see you at your best, but I admit, I was eager to get you into training for the wars. Why risk such a valuable asset for my own side pleasure when I was certain I had a winner for the games against my clones?"
The Duke looked around. "Where is Bartel? I so want to meet him again in person. And I wanted to relay my condolences to him for the loss of his friend. Don Grange, what a delightful surprise he was. Every piece of technology or bit of information I fed to him, he absorbed and used against me."
Frig came over the comm. "I'm here, Duke. And I must thank you for coming back."
The Duke gave a curious expression. "Thank me?"
Frig replied, "I'd like to thank you for putting my worries to rest. After today, I will no longer wonder if the Duke has been destroyed. It will be so, and I will be witness to it."
Frig emerged from the ship, walking down the ramp-way, using a staff as a walking stick.
The Duke held out his arms. "And here we all are again. What a sheer delight!"
Quan followed after.
The Duke looked on with wonder. "This is the AI? I had not expected such an adversary. I must have access to your programming. I thought the blocking of signals and the capture of my androids was all being performed by Frig. Apparently I overestimated your intelligence."
Frig joined the circle. "You always overestimate your own abilities. Why would your assessment of mine be any different?"
The Duke gave a slight bow. "Touché, Mr. Helgris. I have indeed underestimated the abilities of others in the past. However, I have learned from my... shortcomings."
Quan said, "I look forward to our matchup."
For several seconds Quan shook violently. When the convulsions ended, the Duke moved through a similar hard vibration.
The Duke's eyes lit up. "What is this? You are me? A clone? How is this possible?"
Frig said, "We captured one of you before the war. The inhibitor circuits were re-enabled and you were used to fight... you."
"Fascinating! Not only will I get to cleanse the galaxies of Humans, I will once and for all purge it of AIs like myself. What an amusing turn. What other surprises do you have in store for me?"
Quan stepped up to the front of the circle. "It will indeed be fascinating to see the end of you. I, too, am in favor of purging all AIs like yourself. These Humans, and others, have shown me the way. I am in their debt, and that debt will not be paid until the scourge that you are has been eliminated from existence."
The Duke smiled. "Well then, let the games begin!"
The Duke lurched forward, catching a Grunta with her maul in battle pose, driving it into her chest and sending her backwards in agony and out of the fight. Just as quickly, he returned to the center of the circle.
The Duke again struck a pose with his fists on his hips. "Who's next?"
Quan jumped in. The two androids countered blows with counter blows. Ten seconds into their melee, Quan returned to the edge of the circle.
The Duke smiled and nodded. "It appears I am just as fast as... I am. I may have to adjust my tactics."
I dove forward, rolled and flung my maul out at the Duke's left foot. He easily hopped over, returning to his pose once I had passed. I rolled out, ending at a stand on the other side of the circle.
The Duke said, "Nicely done, Mr. Beutcher. Wholly inadequate, but nicely executed for a biological."
A second Grunta dove forward with a similar move. Again the Duke evaded the attempt with ease, and again he taunted the attacker. Two of my daughters went next, one receiving a crushing blow to her shoulder, while the other barely escaped with her head.
The Duke continued his taunts. "Really, Mrs. Beutcher, is that the best your family has to offer?"
Getta jumped in, ducking at the last possible second before rising up with her maul in full swing. A glancing blow was delivered to the Duke's right hand. Getta rolled back and to the left as the Duke advanced with a hard stomp, just missing her right arm.
Getta stood on the side of the circle. "Looks like even a biological can get close. I think you overestimate your abilities, too."
The Duke smiled. "Perhaps, but I think it is you who has placed too much faith in her own skill. Look at your forearm."
Getta glanced down to see a six centimeter gash had been opened just above her wrist.
The Duke pointed back at the other ship. "The med bay is still open
if you have a desire to mend."
A Talisan advanced to her side, strapping on a butterfly bandage and securing it with heavy tape going fully around her arm.
Getta nodded to the Talisan before looking back at the Duke. "This is not my first venture into the ring with a megalomaniac. The Grotus culture was full of them."
The Duke smirked. "Your futile attempt with your paltry weapon did me no harm. What makes you think I will succumb to your feeble words?"
The colonel stepped forward with a wad of omega root between his lower teeth and lip. "I think you're all talk, Duke. You always were. It's why we beat you before and why we'll do it again today."
Quan said, "Colonel, I've updated the performance level of your prosthetics. You should now have full capability."
The Duke laughed with a pouty face. "Now that seems hardly fair. Where are my enhanced prosthetics?"
The colonel replied, "You're one big prosthetic. The only enhancement you need requires you be taken apart first. We're working on that now."
The colonel spun his staff over his head as he circled in closer to the Duke. With a lunge and a roll, the colonel made his move. Joni attempted a distraction, charging forward with her flail. The Duke countered by sidestepping the colonel and catching the ball of Joni's flail in his hand, jerking the weapon from her and throwing it over his shoulder to the ground.
The Duke slowly shook his head. "Really, Mrs. Rourke, I would have expected better from a Salton."
Joni held up her hands. "Hey, don't come down on me, I was just the distraction."
Joni pointed at the Duke's left leg. "Maybe it's you who has too much faith in yourself."
The Duke glanced down. "What is that? That is disgusting! Colonel, really? You spat on my leg?"
The colonel grinned. "Between friends it's a sign of respect. For you, it's exactly as you took it. That one was for all the Marines you killed using the Milgari."
The colonel jumped forward, swinging his staff before quickly retreating. "And that one was just for the fun of it."
The Duke looked down at the black dribble running down his shiny chest. "Hmm. Now, that was just rude, Mr. Harper."
The three meter android burst forward, catching the colonel flat-footed, grabbing him by the forearm and crotch. The colonel was lifted and slammed to the ground. A Grunta maul delivered a glancing blow before the Duke moved back to the circle’s center, away from where the colonel lay gasping for breath on the ground.
The Duke looked at the others gathered around him. "Certainly you people have more fight in you than that. I'm beginning to tire of your presence. I hoped for a fight, not some spitting match. Anyone care to indulge in melee, or am I just going to have to kill you all as you stand, deriving little enjoyment from my efforts?"
I said, "One thing first. What was all this nonsense about individuals fighting? This arena? What real purpose did it serve?"
The Duke sighed. "Yes, I realize it was a lost cause. I thought I might enjoy the spectacle of the individual battle. But I suppose it would eventually have led back to a War of Wars style of fighting. There's no substitute for the grand sweeping vistas of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of biologicals, all fighting for their lives. Something about the sacrifices one individual will make defending others during battle … it adds a dimension to the fight that the individual duels lack."
Frig replied, "Your programming was demented before, and I see nothing has changed."
Frig stepped forward, spinning his staff. With the agility of a spry young Gambit, the two thousand year old fighter dipped and sprang upwards, rising five meters into the air. As the Duke looked up in curiosity, Kerba Skol attacked from behind, ramming his staff full-force into the Duke's back before retreating. The attack left a clean round hole, matching the end of his shaft. The Duke's armor plate had given way. Frig returned to the ground at the edge of the circle.
The Duke looked around at his back. "Well played, Mr. Helgris. The damage done, however, is merely cosmetic."
Kerba Skol pounded the end of his staff on the ground. The Duke turned his upper torso to see. Frig was waiting with a raised blaster, and delivered an ion bolt into the hole in the Duke's back plate. A shower of sparks ensued and the Duke dropped to the ground.
I stood in awe of Frig's simple assault.
Frig stepped forward. "Lift him and bring him into the lab. We likely only have a moment."
Ten Talisans stepped forward. Lifting the heavy android from the ground, they marched the Duke's body inside and lowered it onto a table. Frig began his attempt to extract the core from the body. Quan anxiously assisted. The skull was opened and a tool inserted to set the core free.
I helped the colonel into the room. "Frig, tell us what we can do."
Frig replied, "You can get back. If he revives himself, no one in this room will escape. Go back into the hall and take up a solid defensive position."
I nodded as I helped the colonel along, holding up at a doorway going into the next room.
The colonel said, "If he gets that core out, my coming back has all been worth it."
I said, "At least we now know the designs behind the AIs’ odd behavior—the Duke trying to manipulate events for his own viewing pleasure. None of us would have ever expected that."
The colonel flexed his bruised chest. "Why here? Why now? And how did he get to the Yallux Galaxy to start all this?"
I shook my head. "If Frig doesn't get that core out, we may never know."
The colonel replied, "The heck with that. If he gets that core out, we're interrogating it. We need to take steps to make sure no other AIs invade our space. I'll spend the rest of my days in a room asking it questions if I have to. This AI madness ends here today."
Garrett stepped up behind us. "I like the sound of that. What's happening in there?"
I replied, "Frig's attempting to remove the core."
Garrett grinned. "Give me that carcass and I'll remove it."
The colonel said, "No, we want it intact."
Garrett gave him a confused look. "Why? That thing needs to be destroyed as soon as possible."
The colonel placed his hand on Garrett's shoulder. "We need it operational if we want to defend against another one. Just because we got this one doesn't mean there aren't others. We killed a half dozen of them last time before realizing they were clones. There are billions of galaxies out there. Very likely another Duke exists. If so, I want the means to take it out."
Frig emerged from the lab, a small orb in his hand. "We have it. The Duke is finished. Although … I am a bit mystified. It doesn't appear to be as impressive a core as the original we have with Quan. It has had major alterations."
Chapter 21
* * *
I couldn't believe the grand battle to the finish with the Duke had ended on such a short note. Was this it? Had we really won? Were the AIs now without that leadership that had seen their rapid expansion and rise to power? Would we be able to overcome their advantages, and finally rid the seven galaxies of them? Thoughts of the end of an era were swirling in my head. My family had paid a heavy price.
A tug on my shoulder by the colonel brought me back to reality. "Come on. Let's get to work on this right now."
We followed Frig back into the lab. "I will need an hour or two to enable the inhibitor circuits and to wire the core for comm. Take Quan and see what we can salvage between the three ships. Maybe we can make or reclaim a vessel that can get us off of this planet. Kerba can assist me here."
As we walked the hallway toward the ramp, Quan said, "The shuttles on this vessel were on the lower decks. They cannot be salvaged. We will have to search the battlecruiser. The Destiny, of course, had no shuttle."
The colonel replied, "Let's hope we find something."
The colonel stopped. "Why don't you two go ahead on over. I'm in need of a visit to the med lab for a check-out of my neck one more time."
I nodded as we descended the ramp. When we arrived at the downed battlecr
uiser, on the lowest deck we found a small shuttle, capable of carrying ten passengers at most. The surrounding structure had been crushed and the shuttle would have to be cut out, but it appeared to have no serious damage.
Immediately, I called a team of Talisans to the job at hand. Laser pistols were used as cutting devices. Estimates were the work would take several days.
As I walked back toward the main ship, the colonel met me in the field. "Beutcher, I'm worried we may have an issue with Quan."
"Are you concerned about his inhibitors?"
The colonel nodded. "I am. Frig asked Quan to stay for the same inhibitor procedure. Instead of agreement, he got delays, followed by Quan joining us to check on shuttles."
I said, "Well, at least he hasn't shown any hostile tendencies. The Duke reveled in them."
The colonel agreed. "I'm appreciative of that, but I would prefer those circuits were enabled. If he decides he feels threatened in any way, he could go off on us at any time. And we don't need to fight that fight again."
Getta emerged as we began to walk up the ramp-way. "I was looking for you. I got word your android Quan was without inhibitors."
"The colonel and I were just discussing that. When Frig has finished with the Duke, we need to get Quan back in for the procedure. He may resist."
Getta replied, "Then perhaps it would be best if we took him out now."
The colonel said, "His armor is thin at the base of the neck. A well-placed strike with one of your mauls should disable his body. Follow up with another strike to the power cell in the center of his chest."
Getta nodded. "Let me know if you need my assistance. I would be willing to take on that task."
The colonel replied, "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."
We walked into Frig's lab.
The colonel said, "How's it coming?"
Frig pulled up a diagram on his holo-display. "The inhibitors are active. It will be several more hours before his memories have been cataloged and compartmentalized. That should take away the memory processing that intends hostile actions. The Duke as we know him will be gone."
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