by Arthur Byrne
Less than five minutes later, they were back and winded.
“What happened?” Sasha asked.
PJ replied, “I climbed up the ladder first, and the moment I got to the top, I freaked out.”
“The bodies, they were gone,” Ronnie said.
Nash asked, “What did you do?”
“We ran back as fast as we could.”
PJ said, “I figured they must have had friends.”
“I wonder if it could have been cadaver bots?” Sasha asked.
Nash said, “I’ve never seen one, but the nearly complete lack of bodies from after the attack makes me think there must be some bots working. I’ve always wondered about that.”
Sasha went back to one of the smaller consoles on the main floor and started searching.
“I don’t see any signs of robotic activity in the logs. If there were some in this sector, their charging stations would have indicated the bots had left and returned.”
Ronnie said, “How do you know so much?”
“I liked to sit in the front of the class at the academy.”
Ronnie nodded and said, “I’m glad you did.”
PJ asked, “Should we go out and patrol?”
Nash said, “No. It isn’t worth the risk. We’re safe in here, and if they are scavengers trying to avenge their friends, it might get ugly.
Ronnie said, “So, how do we know when the coast is clear?”
Nash said, “The first thing we need to do is determine when the coast isn’t clear. Sasha, are you able to access the cameras?”
Sasha hit some keys, then a few more, and said, “Not at present, and I don’t have that level access. Hacking isn’t my strong suit, but I’ll keep looking for a way into those controls.”
“What about the lights? You managed to turn them all on when we first got here.”
“Lights I can control.”
“Are you able to put them on a motion sensor?”
“You are so clever,” she said and entered a few commands. “They are all off now. If anyone crawls through the duck hole, the lights will come on and we’ll know it.”
PJ said, “If there is someone out there, then what?”
Sasha said, “It might be worthwhile to play a little D.”
Nash asked, “What were you thinking?”
Sasha said, “I wish we had comms working between our suits, but since we don’t, Ronnie, you need to stay here, and don’t take your eyes off this screen. If you see anything happen, hit this button twice, here.”
Ronnie said, “What will that do?”
“It will override the motion sensors and turn everything off, then the second time will put the motion sensors back on. Hit it like this,” she said and hit the desk twice to show the beat. “We’ll know the duck hole has been breached.”
Sasha started typing as she talked. “I’ve locked the doors such that we have a path the long way around to the production floor. We’re going to take a page from PJ’s bunker and build us a little secure area just before the four-way intersection that we can defend, and we’ll have the control room as a fallback.”
“Got it,” Ronnie said.
Nash asked, “Okay, let’s go.”
It turned out that Sasha had built her own fair share of defensive walls and knew exactly what to pick from the production floor. Nash and PJ hauled each piece back until she said they had enough.
They built a three-wall system with the walls staggered across the ten-foot-wide hall leading to the control room. Sasha used a heavy pushcart and a cable to build a door that was easy to push forward, so they could get out but then easily pull the door closed to seal off the first wall. There was only one cart, so the other two walls were less secure, but if the first was taken out, they could still defend.
The hall itself was almost two hundred meters long, and she positioned the front wall ten meters before the four-way intersection. PJ wanted to block the intersection, but she said that meant they could potentially have to defend up to three fronts. They finished and returned without any flashing of the lights.
Nash said, “Okay, if the duck hole is tripped, we man—or woman, as the case may be—the wall.”
Sasha said, “Remember, we play defense. Any sign of them getting the upper hand, we retreat back to here and lock ourselves in until they get tired and leave.”
Ronnie asked, “What if they don’t get tired?”
“We’ve got food. We can last a long time.”
***
Bhat stood on a table and addressed his men. “We are going to clear out this section, starting with this deck and the one below.
“We are going to move in teams of six. The moment you spot anyone, send one man back while you take up a defensive position. I want to know where the people are who killed our soldiers. I say it again, our number one priority is to find those responsible, chase them into a hole, and then smoke them out. If you discover any valuable weapons or food caches, tag them with a beacon and continue on. Once we’ve avenged our brothers, we will worry about the other stuff.”
Omar read a list of nineteen names and asked them to come forward. Each of them was given a roster sheet with five more names and told to get their squads together.
When all were present and correct, Bhat said, “Let’s go hunting!”
The roar was deafening.
***
Ronnie looked at the log. Someone had just dropped down into the duck room. He yelled, “Someone just entered the hole, the duck room lights are on.”
Everyone gathered around the holoscreen. The next light would be in the hall, then, depending on the direction they went, the production facility would light up or the hall to the left.
A minute passed.
Ronnie said, “Maybe it’s a mistake?”
Sasha said, “It’s not.”
The log said the hall light had just come on and then the production facility and the hall beyond it.
Nash said, “Ronnie, stay on the monitor. PJ and Sasha, let’s move out.”
They ran to the wall closest to the four-way intersection. All three had heavy weapons and intended, if they were shot at first, to make a lot of racket.
They heard what sounded like a couple dozen men shouting and banging on the doors in the halls. Sasha had locked them all down. The first scavenger rounded the corner and stopped when he saw the barricade. He turned and ran.
PJ said, “Wasn’t that a little weird?”
Nash said, “I think it was the smart move. He wasn’t going to win coming at us. I’m guessing he has a backup plan. If you see a grenade, get behind wall two.”
Sasha said, “Or shoot the bastard before he can toss it.”
Nash said, “That works, too.”
There were clearly voices down the hall and then quiet. The silence lasted well past the point of comfort. Looks between Sasha, PJ, and Nash all held no clues as to what was coming.
Five minutes passed, the lights in the hall that the scavenger had just come out of went off again. Sasha said, “PJ, go ask Ronnie if the lights are still on anywhere else.”
PJ ran back into the control center and returned a moment later. “The duck hole, the hall outside, and the production floor are all on.”
There wasn’t any point in speculating. The truth was going to come down one of those halls, whether any of them guessed what it might be or not.
Sasha said, “They’re organized.”
Nash nodded and added, “And likely planning something.”
“Back inside,” Sasha said as she turned and jogged around the wall.
Nash and PJ weren’t about to question her judgment and followed. Nash locked the door and then yelled, “Is the front door secure?” Just to be sure.
Ronnie said, “Secure.”
“I have an idea,” Sasha said as she typed. “I’m creating a command that will cause the motion sensors to check for movement every tenth of a second, and if something is detected, turn the lights on, but only until the ne
xt check.”
“What will that do?” Ronnie asked.
“It means that the moment someone is not in a hall or room, it will go dark. The lights are in banks of ten and the sensors are turning on five before and five after the spot where the motion is detected, but I’m going to narrow that down to just the single light over the motion.”
She hit enter.
The log started spitting out reports. The production floor remained at 100 percent of the lights on, but the hall outside of it showed people moving from the duck hole room into the larger production area.
Sasha said, “I think I’ve figured out a way for the holoscreens to show us in real time which lights are on.”
Nash said, “Any way to tell how many there are?”
“Not the total, but I can tell you that twelve people have joined the others in the main...make that thirteen...and fourteen. It seems that a small army is gathering.”
Ronnie said, “I do not like the sound of that.”
Sasha said, “I saw this earlier, and I have an idea.” She ran up to her bag and returned with a sensor. “This is going to be loud, so you might want to cover your ears.”
She picked up a headset and said, “Please exit the production floor.”
The people continued to file down the hall.
Ronnie said, “I guess they find your request worthwhile.”
“Let’s see how many stay in there now. Cover your ears.”
A piercing scream grew out of the sensor. She opened the mic, turned up the volume, and covered her ears.
Nash and PJ put on their helmets, and Sasha’s shoulders sank. “I should of thought of that. The scavengers probably just did the same thing.”
She turned off the microphone and stopped the sensor.
PJ said, “Not everything can work.”
Nash said, “It looks like one person is trying to go around. He left by the other door.”
Nash, PJ, and Sasha stared at the output log and watched each line show where he was heading.
Ronnie, who had been messing around on a keyboard and using a regular monitor said, “What if we just watched them on the cameras?”
Sasha said, “The cameras are locked down, and I haven’t figured out how to get them up and running.”
Ronnie spun the monitor and said, “Remember when I said I was quick at learning things?”
“I spent hours trying to unlock those cameras. How did you do it?”
Ronnie said, “What I did...wait...look!”
A skinny man crept along the hallway. He kept looking back. He poked his head around the corner.
Nash said, “Where is he?”
Sasha said, “He’s past the four-way and straight down from the wall.”
The man swung out, kneeled down, and raised the rocket launcher to his shoulder and fired. They saw the man give a triumphant fist pump and heard the explosion as the missile struck their barrier. Ronnie changed cameras and there was a pile of former barrier in pieces all along the hall.
Nash asked, “What would that weapon do to our front door?”
Sasha said, “Not a thing, and if anyone tried to fire such a short-range shot, they probably wouldn’t survive.”
Nash said, “I think we’re greatly out-gunned.”
Ronnie stood up and said, “I feel like staying in today, anyway. Cards anyone?”
Within a minute the second wall was gone. Ronnie had started shuffling the decks.
After the last of their carefully prepared barriers had been turned into twisted metal chunks, Ronnie asked, “Who wants to deal?”
PJ said, “You seem awfully calm.”
“If Sasha says they can’t get in, then I’m calm. That is what you’re saying, right?
“We’re safe.”
Nash and Sasha joined Ronnie. PJ said, “I think I’ll just keep an eye on them.”
Ronnie led with an axe but was countered by Sasha’s rose. Nash had to draw.
PJ said, “They’re creeping up to the barrier.”
“I’m creeping up to total domination,” Ronnie said as he played the jade handle on top of his axe.
Sasha laughed. “Well-of-life for ten, and someone loses a turn, who shall it be...oh I don’t know...Mr. Total Domination.”
Nash had acid clouds in his hand but instead went with roaming wild mynars. Sasha killed them.
“There is someone about to knock on the door,” PJ said.
Three heavy bangs followed. Ronnie, who was waiting on Nash to play, got up and grabbed the microphone. “Nobody’s home. Please come back tomorrow, unless you’re selling cookies. Are you selling cookies?”
The guy who was pounding seemed to have little sense of humor and after two steps back, opened fire.
Everyone looked at the door. The door seemed unimpressed with the bullets. PJ said, “The guy’s down. The ricochet got him...twice from the looks of things.”
Ronnie clicked on the microphone and said, “Let that be a lesson to you.”
PJ continued his play-by-play. “It seems the entire team is coming into the game. The halls have filled with scavengers, and they look ready.”
Nash played another wild roaming mynar and smirked at Sasha.
Ronnie returned to the game and threw down a summoning beast, which meant he got to draw a card from each deck.
Sasha said, “Nice play.”
Ronnie said, “Thanks? Why do I feel like you’re about to drop a Gregorian chanting gem on me?”
“What are the odds, with two 100-card decks, at this early point in the game, that I would have...”
Nash said, “Oh, that’s gonna leave a mark.”
PJ announced, “A medic is tending to the fallen scavenger, and it looks like it may not be too serious.”
Nash played a set of gilded boots on his wild roaming mynars and cast random slumber.
Sasha rolled the eight-sided die and lost a turn, while Ronnie threw a five and was fine. He drew a card, and it was Nash’s turn again. He could attack, but the question was whom. If he went after Ronnie, it would leave him crippled and vulnerable. Sasha, however, would make more sense because he suspected it would take Ronnie and him to take her down.
Nash turned his mynars toward Sasha, who said, “Be careful, it’s pretty early in the day to start stepping on the toes of someone who is prone to holding grudges.”
“With the gilded boots, it’s ten.”
“I’ve noted your hostile attitude and am planning a reprisal that will strike fear into your army going forward generations.”
Ronnie played a geodesic dome of protection in blue and took another card.
Sasha played a hardened veteran with a doppelganger on top of a hover den. The grin on her face sent chills down Nash’s spine. It wasn’t just what she could do on her next turn, it was what she might have in her hand to complement what he was sure would be a brutal attack. He needed a good draw.
“That’s not going to help,” but he played a mystical moat anyway.
Sasha looked at the table and picked up the card. “That’s interesting.”
“I don’t think it’s going to help,” Nash said.
PJ said, “I think I found their leader.”
Sasha got up and went to the screen. “That’s Bhat. He’s king of the scavengers and brutal.”
PJ said, “You sound worried.”
“He’s clever and persistent.”
“You think he can get in?”
“No, but I think he might be willing to starve us out.”
“We’ve got enough food for a year.”
“He’s got over a year’s worth of patience.”
Sasha started to pace.
“It looks like he’s talking to his troops. I can’t tell what he’s saying, but there seems to be a lot of cheering going on.”
Sasha sat down and began banging furiously on the keyboard. Lines of code grew on the screen like an aggressive mutation.
PJ continued to report and said, “It looks like he’s leav
ing.”
“Where is he going?” Sasha asked.
“It looks like he’s heading back to the production area.”
A moment later PJ said, “No, he went into the duck room. Hey, Ronnie, do you know how to use the cameras on the deck above us?”
“Not yet, but if you let me in there I’ll give it a shot.”
Sasha said, “I think I’ve got it.”
Though muffled, the sound of hallway doors locking could be barely heard in the command center.
PJ asked, “What did you do?”
Sasha said, “I’ve locked them in here with us, more specifically in the hallway outside our door.”
Ronnie said, “I know you have another card you’re about to play.”
“Yes I do. It’s called the Finger of No Oxygen.” She hit a button, grabbed the microphone and said, “Due to cutbacks in the budget and our need to replace the recently destroyed walls, we are, regrettably, unable to provide life support for a few areas of the ship. We hope this won’t be an inconvenience...and that your tanks are full...not that it will matter.”
“Now that’s going to leave a mark,” Ronnie said, as he sneaked a peek at Sasha’s cards.
PJ asked, “So, we are just going to watch them suffocate?”
Sasha said, “I’m lethal, but not cruel. We’re going to witness them lose their enthusiasm for this fight.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
The first half hour, they watched the scavengers begin the five stages of “We’re probably screwed.”
Ronnie chuckled and ran off to his room. He returned with his wrist computer and said, “I know it’s a really old song, but...” He jacked the wrist unit into the microphone port and hit play and repeat.
Nash laughed. “The Girl from Ipanema.”
Almost in unison, the scavenger heads looked up and then shook in defeat. Some of them laid their weapons on the ground.
Sasha said, “Well played, Ronnie.”
“Thanks. It’s no Gregorian chanting gem, but it will do.”
She reached forward and picked up the microphone. “We have some good news. It seems that we’re able to offer a special on oxygenated private rooms. This is how it’s going to work. There are about fifty rooms along the halls out there, so some of you will have to double up. Now, find a room buddy, and pick your door.”