by Isaac Hooke
Except it hadn’t been Horatio mimicking her, but the Scorpion.
That tail swung its aim toward her.
Rhea dove to the side, and a steam of plasma cut through the desks beside her. The energy beam struck the nearby window as well, cutting through the glass. The wind gusted in from outside, swinging the blinds.
“Ugh!” the Scorpion said.
She risked a glance past the edge of the closest desk. The Scorpion was holding his chest, where apparently Horatio had scored a blow. As she watched, the robot ducked from view inside what looked like a kitchen.
The Scorpion fired at the entrance to that area, striking the doorframe.
Rhea aimed her pistol at the tail and squeezed the trigger.
The energy bolts struck, tearing into the weapon at the tip.
The Scorpion spun toward her, and she ducked once more. But no more holes appeared around her. Had she knocked the weapon out of commission?
She spared a tentative glance past the top of her cover.
The Scorpion was stalking toward her. His smoldering tail trailed behind him.
Apparently, she had scored a deactivating blow after all.
She released several more shots, targeting her foe’s power cell. She burned holes into the robes, but otherwise her shots seemed to have no effect on the cyborg whatsoever. It continued toward her without stopping. She stood up, and that tail swung forward, thwacking the weapon from her grasp.
She leaped backward, landing on top of a nearby desk, and activating the X2-59. Sparks of plasma shot up and down the weapon.
“Try that again,” Rhea said.
The cyborg stopped. That aristocratic face grinned with amusement, and he lowered his hood. The skin that covered his face ended on the sides of his head, where metal took over.
More plasma bolts fired at the Scorpion, courtesy of her friends. They came from all directions. He raised an arm to shield his face, then leaped toward the window. His tail shot out; Rhea leaped backward, slicing down with her X2-59, but the tail was aimed for her feet, and she missed it.
The hard metal appendage wrapped around the ankle of her right foot and pulled her out the window as the Scorpion jumped.
She descended, the building passing in a blur beside her. She vaguely noticed several Tasins lurking on the street below, huddling against the walls of the building, keeping a low profile. They were watching the unfolding scene with interest.
Rhea sliced down with her X2-59, aiming at the tail, but at that moment the Scorpion grabbed onto a protruding ledge and swung inside another level three floors down.
She struck the tail with her electrolaser-enhanced blade: the appendage was rather thin near the tip, and her blade easily penetrated, setting her loose. She went rolling away across the floor, righted herself, and scrambled to her feet.
The Scorpion stood towering before her, three meters away, his head scraping the roof.
“I see you’ve been upgraded since the last we met,” the robed man said, nodding at her body. Her clothing was tight-fitting, so he would have seen the outline of her new, thicker limbs and torso.
He doffed the robes, revealing a metallic body twice as wide as an ordinary human’s: he was so much bigger than he had ever been before. He had holes in the surface of his chest where the energy bolts had hit, revealing melted circuitry within, but he obviously had multiple backup systems, because he seemed entirely unharmed by the damage. His tail swayed back and forth behind him, hardly affected by the small section she’d amputated as well. “I’ve been upgraded, too, little girl.”
“Why are you hunting me?” she said. “What have I ever done to you?”
“It’s not personal,” the Scorpion said. “You simply have a high price on your head.” Small panels in his forearms slid back and rifle barrels deployed. He kept his hands pointed downward. For now.
“Are you employed by Veil as well?” she asked.
The Scorpion blinked but did not answer.
“Well, I’m not so little anymore!” she lunged forward.
Instantly those arms shot up. Rhea was expecting that, and she was already twisting her body to the side. Time seemed to slow as she retracted the blade and leaped to the side, landing behind a desk. Her feet slipped on a rug as she landed, and she slid forward. Grabbing onto one of the legs of the desk, she swung outward, and shoved off the floor at almost the same time, landing on her feet to the left of the Scorpion.
He wasn’t facing her, but that tail was already incoming. Retreating, she started to deploy the X2-59, but the stump on the tip of that tail struck her in the chest almost immediately, and she slammed into a metal beam that acted as a window support behind her. The beam bent inward beneath the blow, and the panes on either side shattered. She dropped, stunned, to the floor.
Horatio broke through the glass of another window and opened fire at the Scorpion. He targeted one of the rifles, scoring a hit. The Scorpion roared, turning toward Horatio and swinging that tail. The terrible appendage struck, batting the robot outside. Horatio was flung all the way across the street: the robot traveled in an arc, descending two stories, and crashing into a window on the opposite building. Momentum carried Horatio inside, and the robot vanished from view, leaving behind only shattered glass.
The Scorpion swung back toward Rhea, but she was already leaping at him.
She could have attempted to amputate the arm that wielded the remaining weapon, but she didn’t want to risk it; the armored metal was thick there, almost as thick as the base of his tail, and might prove stronger than her blade. Last thing she needed was the X2-59 becoming firmly lodged after cutting only halfway through.
So instead she struck across with her blade and targeted the point where the protruding rifle connected with the arm. She struck and severed the barrel.
The Scorpion flung his arm outward before she could bring the blade in for another blow, and connected with her chest, sending her across the room. She struck a wall and left a big dent in the surface before crumpling to the floor.
Before she could get up, the Scorpion landed on her, apparently having jumped from his last position, and pinned her with his feet and tail. With one hand, he grabbed the arm that wielded the X2-59 by the wrist. With the other, he latched onto the shoulder of the same arm.
He crushed his fingers together, crumpling her shoulder, and she screamed in pain. Then he bent the arm far back with his other hand, and tore it clean away, leaving behind only the empty sleeve of her uniform. She felt no more pain. She felt… nothing.
My arm, I’ve lost my arm.
He tossed the arm aside, along with the bladed weapon its fingers yet held in a death-grip.
Rhea struggled to push herself up with her free arm, but she was firmly pinned. She bashed her palm against his steel calves, tried to squeeze the fingers around the armored plates, to no avail.
The Scorpion chuckled. “Look at you. Struggling like a worm. This is the hero of Rust Town? The legendary Warden? I’m sorely disappointed. You fought so much better the last time we battled. Beginner’s luck, I suppose. Good-bye then, little girl.”
The Scorpion raised the tail, aiming the blunt end at her face. He slammed it down.
Rhea swung her arm at the tail, slamming it in the side with her fist; the blow was enough to steer it off course, and the tip smashed into the floor beside her.
“Interesting,” the Scorpion said. “You still have some fight left in you. Good.”
He stepped forward, crushing her body with his weight. Leaving one foot planted in the center of her body, he slammed the other down toward her face.
But she intercepted it with her hand, catching the foot. She slowed it down, but still wasn’t able to keep it off her face. The top of her hand pressed into her cheek, hard; the combined strength of her hand and arm was the only thing keeping her metal skull from collapsing beneath her opponent’s weight at the moment.
“Do I have to rip off your other arm?” the Scorpion asked. “Fine.”
He reached beneath his foot with one hand and grabbed her wrist. He pulled, attempting to rip her hand out from under him, but she knew the movement had put him off balance. She twisted her head and body to the side, shoving her hand out quickly. The sudden movement slid his foot outward, causing it to slip off her face and hit the wall; the rest of him quickly came tumbling down upon her.
But Rhea was already moving, and she rolled clear before he could pin her with his falling body. She scrambled to her feet and raced to the window.
“You little…” The Scorpion was already on his feet behind her. She kept an eye on him and was prepared when he leaped again.
He flew across the room. She waited until the last moment, then slid out of the way, letting him crash into the floor-to-ceiling window beside her. She spun her body at the same time, adding in a roundhouse kick that she instinctively knew. She hit his back above the tail quite hard, adding to his forward momentum.
He burst outside and tried to grab onto the sill with his longest appendage, but was too late, and plunged helplessly down toward the street below. He landed among the lurking bioweapons, who instantly perked up at this treat tossed into their midst.
The Scorpion fled, dodging between those deadly, stilt-like feet. One of the Tasins dripped acid onto him, and he screamed, increasing his pace. He leaped forward, bounding across the debris, until he reached a nearby skyscraper. He started to climb, but then plasma shots smashed into his hands: Horatio was firing at him from the windows of the adjacent building.
The Scorpion shouted in pain and let go of the building. He landed among the Tasins, and somehow avoided being chopped to bits. He fled down the street, rounding a bend with the creatures in hot pursuit.
The door behind Rhea kicked open, and she started.
“Prepare to die, Cyborg Monkey!”
She was never so happy to hear Will’s voice in her life.
She turned around. Will was standing there, pistol in hand.
When she met his eyes, she smiled wanly, and collapsed.
13
Rhea hit the ground hard and crumpled.
“Rhea!” Will rushed her. “Are you all right?” He held her in his arms and lifted her upper body.
“Yes,” she said. “You’re a bit late, but I’m fine. If a little tired.” She glanced at the stump of her right shoulder. “My X2-59…”
“What about your arm?” Will asked.
“What about it?” she said in retort.
“You seem more concerned about the loss of your weapon, than your arm,” he said.
To that, she merely shrugged.
She noticed Renaldo and Chuck standing at the entrance; the pair warily scanned the surroundings with their pistols.
“Did you see what happened to it?” Will asked, glancing at the rubble.
“My arm?” she said. “He tossed it aside. Should be around here somewhere.”
“There,” Chuck said. He stepped over to a broken desk and retrieved her dismembered limb. The X2-59 was still attached to the wrist, though it had retracted when the arm was pulled loose.
He tossed it to Will, who promptly shoved it into his pack. “I’ll work on it later, when we have more time.” He switched to the comm. “Horatio, you there?”
“I am,” the robot replied.
Rhea heard a distinct buzzing coming from beyond the broken windows.
Will pulled her behind a desk and ducked. Renaldo and Chuck also took cover.
She instinctively glanced at Gizmo’s feed. The drone had perched on a nearby rooftop and had a good view of the street beyond. But the feed promptly cut out before she could spot anything.
The buzzing increased in volume, and then receded again. Will peered past the edge of the desk.
“Aradne security drones,” he whispered.
She nodded. They would be investigating the bioweapons that chased the Scorpion. And perhaps the Scorpion himself, if he didn’t take cover soon. She doubted the Aradne forces would drop more of their expensive bombs, not now, considering the water was already lost.
“Just an FYI, but the forces have surrounded a building three blocks to the east of here,” Horatio transmitted.
“Searching for the tankers…” Rhea said.
Will nodded. “Sweeping the neighborhood, moving from building to building, like we guessed they would. We can’t stay here.”
“No,” she agreed. She instinctively pulled her hood low with her remaining hand. “Horatio, status on their eyes in the sky?”
“They have three spy satellites midway up the northern horizon,” Horatio transmitted. “Giving them a partial view of the street. I’d suggest hugging the southernmost walls of the skyscrapers during our retreat, as those areas are completely occluded to them. The Aradne forces also have drones patrolling the neighborhood… I’m retrieving their positions from Gizmo now and aggregating the data feed with that of the satellites: I’ll highlight the ‘go’ and ‘no-go’ areas on the map.”
She received a share request and accepted. On her overhead map, swathes of green appeared, rotating to follow the enemy scouts, and the distant satellites. The rest of the map was painted red. Like Horatio promised, there were sections on the southern sides of each skyscraper marked in green. Those sections slowly grew thinner as she watched, as the spy satellites made their way up the horizon.
“We don’t have much time,” Rhea said. She highlighted a mid-rise structure on the map, three streets away in a different neighborhood. It would give them a good view of this building, so they’d be able to plan their next move in case the security forces didn’t depart after discovering the empty tankers. “Let’s rendezvous with Horatio here.”
She stood up.
“Got this for you.” Will handed her the pistol she’d lost on the sixth floor when the Scorpion had knocked it from her grasp.
She nodded and grabbed it with her left hand. It felt unwieldy in her fingers. “Thanks. I’m not sure I’ll be of much use with it. I’ve been practicing right-handed. Or with both hands. Left hand only? Probably going to miss.”
“Doesn’t your mind-machine interface offer muscle memory mirroring?” Will asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “That’s the first I’ve ever heard of it.”
“Some cyborgs can flip a switch and mirror the muscle memory they learned for one side of the body, to the other,” he told her. “Saves a ton on learning.”
She pressed her lips together. “Interesting. I’ll have to search my menus for it.”
She retreated with Will, Renaldo and Chuck to the stairwell, and began the climb down.
While she descended, she absentmindedly browsed through the menus on her HUD, searching for a muscle memory mirroring option, but didn’t find one. Her aim was just going to have to suck for the next little while.
“Who the heck was that Monkey dude?” Renaldo said.
“Will didn’t tell you?” she asked.
“No,” the Wardenite replied. “He said to ask you.”
She sighed. “Someone who hunts me. The Scorpion, he calls himself. I suspect he’s in the employ of Veil.”
“Veil again,” Chuck said. “He’s never going to leave you alone, is he?”
“Seems not,” Rhea agreed. “At least until I can confront Veil myself and have a little talk with him. Convince him that it’s not in his best interests to send assassins after me.”
“Yeah, we all want to have that talk I think,” Chuck said, caressing his pistol. He and Anderson had been close.
When they reached the bottom of the stairwell, Rhea carefully peered past the stairwell door, searching for bioweapons or Aradne forces, but the second floor of the concourse proved empty.
Keeping the pistol held in hand, she emerged. Chuck took point and led them to the escalator at a crouch. He peered over the railing, searching the lower level for signs of enemy activity. He gave Will the “all clear” sign with his thumb and forefinger, then the two of them strode down the escalator.
Rhea remained on the upper floor with Renaldo; she was prepared to lay down covering fire, if necessary.
Will and Chuck fanned out.
Rhea glanced at her overhead map to get an update on Horatio’s position. The robot was crossing the street outside and approaching the red zone at that very moment.
She gazed past the floor-to-ceiling windows of the first floor and searched for Horatio out there. According to the map, he should have been right in front of her, but all she saw was the carcass of a beheaded Tasin. The asphalt around the creature was littered with feathers; the chlorophyll pigmentation had faded so that the plumes were all black. Its stalk-like legs were flopped to one side, the claws curling skyward.
“How are you doing out there, Horatio?” Rhea sent.
Movement drew her eyes to the base of the corpse, where a robot, diminutive-looking in comparison to the bioweapon, emerged from underneath the feathers. It was Horatio, moving at a low crawl. As Horatio entered the “no-go” zone that was exposed to the spy satellites, the robot slid underneath the upheaved asphalt next to a blast crater. There were enough carcasses and debris littering the route to give Horatio ample cover, all the way to the building.
“Doing fine,” Horatio transmitted. “I’ll meet you on the south side. Go.”
The concourse had two exits, one that opened on the north side of the building, toward Horatio, and another on the south.
“It’s clear down here,” Chuck transmitted a moment later.
She glanced at Renaldo, and the pair double-timed down the escalator and headed toward Will and Chuck, who were waiting near the south entrance. Will kept his pistol trained on the northern exit and its windows, while Chuck covered the southern exit.
Will went out first and vanished from view as he crept along the southern wall. “Clear out here.”
Rhea and the others followed. They made their way to the western edge of the building, which bordered the street. Bioweapon carcasses were scattered across it. Part of that street fell into the “no-go” zone; she had intended to use the debris, like Horatio, to cross it, but she noticed the bioweapons had carved a runnel across the road here at some point, one that had partially collapsed: the asphalt formed an overhang all along its length.