Jon-29

by Gary Mark Lee

Through the haze and dust the yellow morning sun rose over the desolation of the ruined city. Drool-rats, Blaze-ants and other disgusting animals retreated into the dark places in the rocks and there they would wait until night.

  For many cycles now the sky had been filled with threatening vapors, and now the time had come for those clouds to release their contents, the rain of the Wastelands wasn’t life giving, on the contrary, prolong exposure to the liquid could would cause skin irritations and even death so the first lesson that an Outrider learned was seek shelter when the sky opens.

  KT-7 had learned that lesson at an early age so she waited under a blasted battle tank for the deadly rain to pass, when it did she slowly came out from hiding and surveyed her surroundings, there was no sign of Scavengers but she knew that they could appear at any moment, she took a small sip from her canteen and although she was very thirsty she knew that liquid was precious and must be conserved.

  Next on the agenda was food but without her survival rations she had nothing to eat, then she spotted a large Eight-legger warming itself on a rock and drawing out her knife she slowly approached it and when she was within range she stabbed the furry creature before it could run. She knew better than to start a fire and draw the attention of Scavengers so she bit into the arachnid and chewed.

  As everyone knows Eight-leggers don’t taste very good but they were nutritious and she would need all her strength if she hoped to get back to her people, after a few more bites she finished her hairy banquet but the bitter taste remained behind.

  “Baaaaa!” she said, “Why does the Goddess create such creatures?”

  Then she remembered her rewards, she reached around to the back of her belt and pulled a small pouch from its carrier, opening it she took out a piece of what looked like crystal rock, this was Chum, a name that Outriders gave to a very sweet concoction made from meadow cane, it was cut and dried and then ground up into a paste, dried again into chunks of crystal and given to children as a reward for doing their chores around camp and learning their lessons.

  KT-7 knew that Chum wasn’t meant for adults but she loved the taste of the sweet confection and carried it with her as a reward for killing the enemy, she was a bit reluctant at first to eat it because of the death of her Tail-gunner but on the other hand she did destroy an enemy crawler so partaking of the delicious reward seemed acceptable to her.

  It tasted wonderful.

  But she only took a small piece into her mouth and put the rest back in the pouch for later.

  “Return to base” she told herself, “A dead trooper is a useless one”.

  And adjusting her helmet and checking her knife she began to walk once more.

  Because of the angle of the overhanging rock above Jon’s Mini-tank the acid rain didn’t enter and cause damage to the sleeping driver, but now the light from the mornings sun entered the armored vehicle and the driver opened his eyes.

  The light was bright and Jon-29 covered his face with his mechanical arm, “Mother?” he asked, but there was no reply. “Mother what interval is it?” but again there was no answer.

  After a few moments Jon realizes that he would never hear from his mother again, he laid back in his control chair for a time looking at the sunlight streaming in.

  “I must survive to destroy the enemy” he told himself, “I must make my Mother proud”.

  Jon slowly began un-strapping himself from the chair, first the shoulders, then the waist, he was now free. He lifted himself up and tried to move to the hatch but his umbilical cord held him back, ordinarily when Jon had to leave his Mini-tank for needed repairs or medical attention his Mother would automatically detach him but she was no longer online and couldn’t preform the necessary procedure.

  So gripping the thick cable with his human and mechanical hands he pulled with all his might, there was a ripping sound and suddenly the cord was free. There was some fluid lose but the self-sealing attachment did its work and cut off the flow, now Jon moved to the access door and turns the wheel, it moves but the door is jammed, but pulling hard the door swung open and with one last look at his armored home Jon move into the outside world.

  He climbs down through the rubble and stands beside his tank.

  “Mother, I have sufficient knowledge to survive in the outside world, I will not terminate, I will seek and destroy, I will take revenge in your name, I will make you proud!”

  Armed only with his strength and determination Jon-29 began his journey.

  Not far away KT-7 has stopped, she stands beside the smoldering remains of one of her fellow Outriders, from features on the chard corpse she recognizes it as JA-5 a strong female warrior that taught her many things to survive, beside the body is the remains of her Komodo also burned along with all its supplies, KT had seen many deaths in her time and the loss of many of her comrades but it didn’t lesson the pain.

  “I’m sorry you’re dead my sister, you were a good trooper and a good friend”.

  And to show her love for her she took a small piece of Chum and placed it in the blackened hand of JA-5, “perhaps this will comfort you in the Afterlife” But KT knew very little about what happens after you die, she only knew the stories that the Elders told and the idea of a green place with fresh water and plenty of food seem absurd to her.

  Lands-End they called it.

  “There is no such place” she said, but deep down inside her she wished that the old stories were true and that someday she might reach that place and fined a little peace. Then she began thinking about that far away country, a place of endless mountains and fields filled with meadow cane, rivers overflowing with clear fresh water and a sky that was blue rather than yellow.

  “Stop your dream-peace soldier” she said shaking her head, “you’re not a crib-crier anymore, you’re a defender of your land and a destroyer of the enemy”, she took one last look at her dead companion, saluted and then turned and walked away.

  Back at Jon’s Mini-tank things were silent; all that was heard was the crippling of insects and the wind blowing through the remains of crumbled buildings

  Inside the armored tank there is no more readouts or information screen relaying data to the driver, Mother voice is gone along with Power and Weapons, all of them now only looping statistics in an endless stream in stasis.

  Then something happened.

  All M.O.T.H.E.R bio-mechanical crawlers are equipped with a failsafe back up system, the R.O.A.C.H, repair organizer, analyzer calculator and healer, or Roach as it was known, it was a device separate from the control center and didn’t register on power readouts or any other data relays, it was placed in all armored bio-vehicles as a last resort in case of catastrophes to the main frame, it had access to just enough energy and information to attempt repairs if resources were available, and the heavy builder machine next to the Mini-tank made that possible.

  Now the main info-screen lit up with new information.

  “Damaged mechanisms detected, initiate diagnostic sequence” the new voice was small and unemotional, a standard level one device that was not meant to interact with humans.

  From the outside of the tank a sensor rose up and began to scan the broken builder machine for any useful parts, as it did it relayed that information to the repair program, and that data now showed on the readout screen.

  The Builder was equipped with solar collectors, these were used in construction vehicles for they weren’t meant to work after dark, several of the collectors were still intact and could supply the Mini-tank with enough power to reinitiate programs and make repairs, all that was needed was the proper connections, so the Roach sent a command to the Repair-bots to begin work and they emerged from their containers, scurried out the main hatch and onto the machine next to their home. They followed the instructions of the repair unit and attached a power line from one of the solar collectors then waited for the necessary program to take effect.

  The main controller
of the Builder was old and not up to the standards of the newer repair unit but with some effort the proper adjustments were made and the Roach unit had full control, it moved the round collector into the sun to absorb as much energy as possible and waited for results.

  With the cloud screen and haze in the air it took longer to gather enough power to energize the mainline programs but after a time a flicker was seen on another data screen, it had no voice but the info was clear to see.

  Mother was coming back to life.

  At first it was only a flicker but with each passing second that flicker grew into a flame, then when a minimum level was reached Mother spoke, “Static loop no longer necessary, memory is coherent and information is attainable” her voice was shaky but it grew stronger fast, “systems returning to level one and rising”.

  The Roach unit continued to monitor energy flows and when it was satisfied that the main data programs were intact it sent a command to the Repair-bots to attached more power conduits to the remaining solar collectors.

  More energy flowed into the Mini-tank and soon Mother was satisfied with the level of repair.

  “Systems online and rising, accessing Power”.

  In a few moments the readout screen connected to the energy program returned.

  “Power reporting” the voice said, “level one and rising, continue interflow”.

  When the energy reached level two Mother accessed Weapons.

  “Weapons report” she said.

  It took a bit longer for Weapons to respond but finally they did, “weapons online but all offensive and defensive units nonfunctional”.

  “Understood” Mother replied, then she turned her attention to her child, but all information from her boy was gone, “Jon twenty nine, connect with main control at once!” but there was no reply or information coming in. “Jon twenty nine, I order you to respond!’

  Still nothing.

  At last the power level was enough to allow Mother to scan the control room for any sign of her human charge, but when the scan was completed there was still nothing.

  “Jon twenty nine is missing; we must commit all resources to return of driver unit”. Mother’s voice was strong and committed, but that didn’t sit well with the other programs.

  “Neg” Power said, “We do not have sufficient energy to commence a search, we are damaged and locomotion is not possible, we must use all resources to repair first”.

  Try as she might Mother could find no fault in this logic, “very well, we will use available resources to make repairs, we will alter configuration to coincide with materials”.

  Saying that the main screen lit up with construction readouts, it showed what could be configured from the remains of the Builder and the Mini-tank, the new unit would be stronger and have the added ability of digger claws and solar collectors.

  Mother was pleased with the results, “we will make necessary adjustments, we will integrate with salvaged systems and continue the search for Jon twenty nine”.

  And because they were still too weak to protest Power and Weapons responded accordingly.

  “Power concurs”.

  “Weapons concurs”.

  “Affirm” Mother replied, “I will have my child back”.

  And following her orders Roach commanded the repair-bots to continue with salvage and construction.

  Jon-29 didn’t like being outside, it was too open, the ground was uneven and filled with all sorts of debris, the air smelled foul and the light was constantly changing, how different it was from the perpetual temperature and armored surrounds that he grew up in, there everything was routine and never changing, you woke at a specified time and went to sleep the same way, if you felt hunger you were fed, if you were thirsty you drank, if you were uncomfortable you were given relaxers to make you content. Now on the outside things happened without warning, you had to walk everywhere and there was no one to talk too.

  Jon had never been alone in his entire life, there was always Mother or a medical team or combat trainer to tell him what to do and how to think, but now they were gone and with each passing hour the reality of that situation began to take its toll.

  Jon lifted his hand and spoke.

  “What is your designation?”

  After a moment or two his hand replied, “appendage replacement three one one”.

  Jon had used this particular type of replacement supplement before and found them useful although lacking in companionship.

  “Three one one” Jon said, “Can you locate food and H2O?”

  “Neg” said his hand, “not programed”.

  “Can you direct me to movable base?”

  “Neg, not programed” the hand replied.

  Jon was getting frustrated, “what are you capable of?” he asked harshly.

  “I can grip and hold, I can analyze, I can help in healing, I can wipe waste residue from anus”.

  Jon decided to test the capability of his new arm so he looked around and found a fragment of steel that had been lying on the ground; he bent down and picked it up with his new appendage.

  “Three one one, grip!” Jon commanded to his hand.

  The metal bent in his hand like paper.

  “You have great strength” he told his hand.

  “Affirm, I am equipped with level three in gripping power” it said.

  Jon dropped the metal and walked over to a small pool of greenish water, “can you analyze this liquid?” he asked.

  “Affirm” the hand said, “Place first digit into liquid and I will begin analyzing”.

  Jon bent down and placed his finger into the small pool and waited.

  “Analyzing now” the replacement appendage three one one came with a built in organic analyzer that could quickly detect any danger to its owner, after a moment or two it relayed that knowledge, “analysis complete, substance is harmful to humans, do not imbibe”.

  Jon withdrew his metal finger and stood up, he looked at his metallic arm and for some reason Jon decided that his new arm needed a better name then simply number.

  “Three one one, would you respond to another designation?”

  “Affirm”.

  Jon had never named anything in his life but after some thought he came up with a label that he liked, it wasn’t very original but he seemed to like the sound of it.

  “Your new designation will be….Gripper”.

  “Affirm” said the hand.

  And with his new companion at his side Jon began to walk once more.

 

  KT-7 was having better luck then Jon-29, she found a small supply of water that wasn’t contaminated and she drank till her belly was full then checked her surroundings, she was inside a building with thick walls and a ornately decorated ceiling, it must have been built in the Before-Time for no one would spend valuable resources on elaborate ornamentations like this, the floor was made of polished stone and there was a large metal door leading into a smaller steel enclosure, all about was strewn small bits of colored paper, picking one up the young girl suddenly realized what she was looking at.

  “Bribes” she said to herself, her mother had told her the old story about how people would trade these small bits of paper for goods and amenities, but then she knew how primitive they were in the past, “such stupidity” but remembering her training she put a few of the small bills into her carry pouch in case they might be of use later, then she rose headed out the entrance.

  She moved cautiously down the street, dodging in and out of broken concrete and steel always at the ready for danger, then as she rounded a corner she saw something that she couldn’t believe.

  It was a man, a young man wearing a uniform that could only be worn by her enemy.

  “Wheel-rider” she said under her breath, and quickly ducked behind a large fragment of broken wall, “I will hide here and kill him as he passes”, this made her smile, the plan
was simple and effective, she would also have the pleasure of meeting face to face with her enemy and watch him die. She pulled out her survival knife and made sure the edge was sharp, and then as she waited for her prey she offered a little prayer of thanks to the Goddess.

  “Thank you for bringing me this enemy to kill, I will gut him and offer his heart to you as a tribute”.

  Jon-29 had training but didn’t fully realize that walking down an open street was very dangerous, but he had confidence in his own abilities and didn’t want to seem like a first cycle infant, adding to that was the fact that he was talking to his hand.

  “…further more I have been in combat situations seven hundred and ninety four times and my kill score is high above that, have you ever terminated anyone?”

  “Neg” the hand replied, “I am not programed in that area”.

  Jon continued to talk to Gripper as he approached the hiding place of KT-7 it was only when he was within three meters that the hand called out a warning.

  “Enemy within perimeter!”

  Jon’s reaction was swift, “Gripper blade!” the long defense knife-edge shot out from his metal hand and he braced his feet. KT-7 had lost the element of surprise but that didn’t stop her from her plan, with a loud scream the female warrior leaped for her prey, Jon’s metal appendage deflected the sharp edge of KT’s knife but his weapon found only empty air.

  Back and forth they fought under the hot sun, each trying their best to destroy the other; Jon’s hand to hand combat training proved its worth and his enemy couldn’t find an opening to drive her knife into. But KT had been taught by her mother who was known for being one of the best Blade-dancers in the Outlands.

  On and on they fought, jumping, leaping, moving like sand dragons in mating season, the young girl tried to use her long spurs as weapons but with each jump her opponent defected her attack so neither of them could gain an advantage, then after some time they drew back and faced each other.

  “Nupargo Var Goodorga” KT-7 said breathing heavily.

  Jon-29 was familiar with the linguistic of some of the Outlanders as all good Tankers were, but he had no knowledge of this one, “are you of the Northern tribes?” he asked as he sucked in lungful’s of air.

  “Baaaa” KT said shaking her head, “the tribes of the North are weak” she replied and this time she spoke in words that her opponent could understand for like him she knew more than one form of communication, “I said that you were a good fighter”.

  “Yes, that is why I will be victorious” Jon replied, but his chest rose and fell rapidly and anyone could see that he would have to be very lucky to survive.

  “You will not win” KT said, “I will be proven the better fighter!”

  “You are incorrect” Jon replied.

  “why is that?’ the Dragon-rider asked.

  “You are small and I am large” the young man said, “stronger is always victorious”.

  Hearing his words the young girl laughed, “Have you ever seen a Shaft-beetle?”

  Jon shook his head, “Neg”.

  “They are small but their stingers carry a poison that can exterminate a creature many times their size”, KT said, and to emphasize her point she held up her knife.

  “insects can be crushed by a hand” then Jon picked up a small bit of broken steel laying on the ground with his mechanical hand, “Gripper crush!” and in an instant the fragment was crumpled.

  But KT-7 was unimpressed, “you will need both hands to defeat me…….Varractar!” and shouting a battle cry of her tribe she leaped for her enemy once again.

  They battle resumes but again neither of them could find an advantage, KT uses every blade trick she knows, lowering her guard to draw in the enemy then attacking when she found an opening but her opponent always stayed out of her reach. But when Jon tried to grab her long enough to use his weapon on her she would slip from his grasp with clever wrestling moves making his superior strength useless. On and on the fought each trying to find that one opportunity for victory, but it never came, they were to evenly match for either side to win, but with one last desperate lunge KT manages to scratch Jon’s cheek.

  Jon moved back and wipes the blood from his face with his right hand, “I have bled before and still killed my enemy”.

  They circle each other again, each one looking for a weakness, but after a time KT-7 lowers her weapon.

  “Truce?” she asks.

  This is a word that Jon hasn’t heard before, “Truce, what is truce?”

  “It’s a temporary secession of hostilities”.

  “For what purpose?” Jon is skeptical of this offering but he is also very tired.

  KT lowers her knife further and comes a little closer to her rival, “we truce so we can recover our strength, there is no glory in killing a weak enemy, so what do you say Metal-head do we fight or do we truce?”

  Jon had never given up a fight in all his lives, but that was when he was in his command chair and had access to a multitude of weapons, now he was alone with only a dim-witted hand to aid him, he decided to lessen his pride a little and give in.

  “I will truce” he said, “but only for a limited period”.

  KT-7 slowly moves back and sits on a concrete slab but doesn’t take her eyes off the young man for a moment, Jon watches her every move as he rests on a broken steel beam, they continue to stare at each other for a time then Jon makes a comment.

  “You are strong”.

  “So are you” the girl replies, “what is your designation?”

  Jon snaps to attention and looks her in the eyes like any good trooper, “I am Jon twenty nine, command driver first class tanker division”.

  KT doesn’t get up from her seat, “I am KT-7 Komodo rider of the Rowgal tribe, unit alpha, the best attack unit in all the Outlands”.

  Jon was well informed on the strength of Komodo attack riders because he had been killed several times by the armored beasts and their drivers but he wouldn’t admit that to an enemy.

  “Komodo are obsolete and easily defeated in battle” he said proudly.

  Hearing this KT had to laugh, “Ha! If Komodo are so weak why are you walking one arm?”

  Jon couldn’t think of a good answer so he said nothing.

  More time passed and the sun continued to beat down on them like a hammer on hot steel and all during this time the two warriors sat staring at each other, sizing up one another’s strengths and weaknesses.

  Jon could see that mere strength wouldn’t bring him victory, the girl was too quick and skilled with a blade to come within his reach, and for all her bluster about being a warrior he had to admit that she was a strong opponent and it wouldn’t be an easy task to victory.

  KT-7 also began to understand many things about the enemy she now faced, even without his armored vehicle he was deadly, he had only one arm but that arm could kill her in an instant if she was ever foolish enough to come within its perimeter, no, to avoid termination she would have to use her wits and training to dispose of this intruder.

  And still the sun bore down on them then at last KT-7 made a move for her canteen, seeing her do this Jon jumped to his feet and prepared to fight once more.

  “No you thick skulled Machine-brain” KT said, “We are still truce”.

  With his muscles ready for another fight Jon watches the girl take a small metal container from her belt and drink, then she lowers the vessel and looks directly at him.

  “Are you thirsty Iron-rider?” she asked.

  Jon was very thirsty and the thought of having cool water in his parched mouth made him overcome his hated for the girl.

  “Affirm” he said.

  The warrior woman got up and carefully moved towards her enemy, she put the canteen on the ground and moved back to her hard chair, Jon waits for a few moments then approaches the small metal container and picks it up, but he is so thirsty he forgets his t
raining and doesn’t smell the contents first, he takes a long drink.

  “This is not H2O” Jon said spitting out the foul tasting liquid.

  “Of course not” KT smiled, “water is for baby-suck, I gave you well-aged Fire-brew, I made it myself, is it too strong for a Metal-head like you?”

  And not wanting to seem weak Jon took a large mouthful of the disgusting liquid and swallowed it down, it burned his throat like fire and it took all his will not to spit it out again, but he had to admit that the concoction seemed to make him feel better. With his thirst satisfied he put the canteen back on the ground and moved back.

  KT gets up and retrieves her canteen, “how do you like the taste?” she asked with a smile knowing that she was well known for distilling the strongest Fire-brew in all the Outlands.

  “The taste is weak, like you” Jon replied.

  And again the Rowgalian girl had to laugh, “Haaaa, you’re a tongue-liar if ever I heard one”.

  Jon sits resting for a time then asked a question of his opponent, “You are the enemy, why do you share?”

  “I told you already Fuel-eater; there is no glory in defeating a weak enemy”.

  “Affirm” Jon said with a smile, “I cannot be defeated, only destroyed”.

  Hearing this KT also smiled, “then there will be glory in destroying you”.

  “You can try” Jon replied.

  But the truth was that neither side was eager to resume their fighting so they sat and stared at each other as the sun began to set.

  Jon’s damaged Mini-tank was no longer the same, the Repair-bots had worked quickly and added useable parts from the Builder to the damaged hull of the attack vehicle, they replaced the smashed armor and even added more to help in the its defense, there was a wide digging blade at the front and several solar collectors connected directly into the main power batteries. There were also two large steel claws at the sides that extended forward like the arms of a Crab-shell, and with the programs from the other machine Mother could manipulate the steel appendages with great accuracy. Now with the sun going down the Repair-bots returned to their holding containers and there they would wait until needed.

  Inside the newly modified tank were other changes, the interior was now completely repaired and new info-screens added, Mother had also included controls for the lifting arms to the command chair in anticipation of the return of Jon-29.

  “Power?” Mother said.

  “Online” Power reported.

  “What is your status?” she asked.

  Powers voice was strong once more, “energy is a fifty percent, damage to primary energy systems are still in effect, solar collectors will begin to function at Sunbirth”.

  “Affirm” Mother replied, “Weapons report?”

  “Main armaments are still non-functional, use of primary defensive weapons are obtainable”.

  “Affirm, activating primary weapons”.

  Outside the two steel claws began to move, they opened and closed in a deliberate show of power.

  Mother didn’t have her child back but she knew that it would happen soon.

  Night was fast approaching as the two combatants continued to watch each other; finally KT looks over at the setting sun.

  “The light is going” she said.

  “Then we will fight in the dark” Jon replied calmly.

  “Correct, light or dark I will still kill you”.

  KT-7 gets up and slowly approaches her enemy, she pulls down the visor on her battle helmet and looks out through the image magnifier, and there she sees a night-vision image of the young man.

  “Is the truce ended?” Jon asks as he rises to his feet and lifts his metal arm.

  “Affirmative” KT says with a smile, “time for you to die”.

  But as they move slowly around each other the young girl suddenly stops and turns her helmeted head, the standard battle headgear of a Komodo rider came equipped with an air disturbance amplifying device very useful in night maneuvers, now the sensitive device picks up the sound of danger.

  “Listen” KT said.

  Jon tries his best to hear what his enemy does but without his command chair and its amplifiers he hears zero.

  “I hear nothing”.

  KT listens for a moment or two more then points down the street, “danger approaching from that direction”.

  “Danger?” Jon asks, “What configuration is the danger?”

  “That kind!”

  A dozen or more ravenous Scavenger’s race down the broken avenue and at the head of them is Metal-face.

  KT knew that running would prove fatal for the brutes loved to take down their prey from behind, “run if you like Metal- head, I’m going to fight!”

  Jon now had two enemies to face, one was a human like himself the other were mutants of the Outlands, quickly he picked a side, “I will not retreat!”

  Bracing their feet for the attack Jon and KT stand side by side.

  With a howl the Scavengers fall upon the pair, the first two are cut down fast, KT’s knife drives deep into the hairy chest of one of the creatures and find its heart; she cuts deep and is sprayed by warm blood. Jon ducks under the arms of his opponent and drives his metal weapon up and under the jaw of the lumbering giant, its long hardened blade penetrates the thick skull of the creature and as it falls to the ground the young man pulls it free.

  The leader of the group sees his two followers die and that seems to have some effect on him, his brain is small but self-preservation is part of his make-up so he holds back and lets his fellow mutants continue the attack while he watches for any sign of weakness.

  And attack they do, soon KT and Jon are fighting back to back, what one misses the other kills,

  At one point a mutant leaps on Jon pining his right arm to the ground, the close fighting makes it difficult to use the long killing blade of his mechanical arm.

  “Blade close!” Jon orders.

  “Affirm” Gripper responds, “blade closing”.

  With the attack knife retracted Jon reaches up and grasps the thick neck of the Scavenger.

  “Gripper crush!” he orders.

  “Affirm” replies the hand.

  Jon squeezes with all his mechanical strength and the neck bone of the huge creature gives was and he slumps forward, Jon pushes him off, jumps to his feet continues the battle.

  KT’s fighting skill didn’t rely on brute strength, rather she used her speed and cunning to stay out of the deadly range of her attackers crude weapons and when she found an opening her knife struck like lightening.

  In a very short time the pair killed three more of the scroungers and that brought results for Scavengers are cannibals and seeing easy picking they turn their attention to their dead comrades and this gives enough time for the two humans to make their escape.

  KT-7 and Jon-29 run fast down the street and duck into an alleyway, they continue running for a time then move into a large building and hide from site, as night closes in they find a safe place to recover their strength.

  The building itself has been picked clean of materials, there were rows of empty shelves and the roof has a large hole in it and through which the diming sky could be seen, all about were small rodents and insects vying for whatever meager scraps they could find.

  The two combatants move to the back of the darkening building near a large crack in the floor, in the dim light an underground tunnel way could be seen but beyond that nothing more. The weary warriors sat down to rest, their bodies are covered in blood and small wounds but nothing of any consequence, KT pulls her canteen and takes a long draft of Fire-brew, she then hands it to Jon as she breathes hard and deep.

  At first Jon doesn’t know what to make of this offering.

  “Here take it” KT says between deep breaths.

  Jon takes the vessel and drinks from it, this time the offending contents didn’t seem as bad as befor
e, and it seems to lessen the pain he now felt coursing through his tired body.

  He took two more sips then handed the container back to the girl, after a few more minutes of gasping and letting the alcoholic beverage sink he Jon confronted KT.

  “Do we fight now?’ he asked.

  KT takes off her helmet and lays it on the dirty floor near her, “we can fight at Sunbirth, tonight we can truce”, she then takes a small tube from her belt and begins to put a soothing ointment on her many cuts.

  Jon lifts his hand and speaks, “Gripper, engage medical aid”.

  “Affirm” said the appendage and as the human moves it over his body it begins to emit a greenish spray, a disinfectant that kills bacteria and helps in healing.

  KT sees the metal arm do its work and is very impressed, “do all Iron-riders come equipped with those?” she asks.

  Jon shakes his head, “Neg, it is a temporary replacement appendage that I will use until I return to mobile base”.

  “And what makes you think you’ll ever return?”

  “Because we are superior and will be victorious” was Jon answer.

  The young girl only smiled at hearing this, “if you are superior how come you couldn’t kill me?”

  Again Jon didn’t have a response so he concentrated on the wounds to his body.

  “Disinfectant applied” Gripper reported.

  “Affirm” Jon replied.

  That should have been the end to the conversation between the young man and his replacement arm but it wasn’t.

  “Information” the mechanical appendage said.

  “Input” Jon said.

  “My sensors report an enemy combatant in range”.

  “Affirm” Jon replied looking over at the young girl, “attack will be halted, we are truce”.

  “What is truce?” asked the device.

  “Defer information, redefine humanoid as.......as?” but Jon couldn’t think of how to classify her so he did the next best thing, “define her as temporarily non-hostile”.

  “Affirm” the hand said.

  KT took a rag from the floor and did her best to clean the blood off her body, she knew that it would attract rodents and insects and he didn’t want to spend the night worrying about those creepy clawers. When she was done she got up and began looking around, it had been a long time since she had eaten anything of substance and with luck she might find something that the Scavengers had over looked.

  Jon-29 watched her every move, on the one hand he knew that she was still the enemy but he also had never spent so much time in the presents of a female, it was true that he had combat training with them but this was different, he could sit an observe her walk and the shape of her body and that seemed to please him very much.

  Soon the young girl returned with something in her hands, they were two round metal containers, she sat down and began working on opening one of them with her, after some effort the container opened, she smelled its contents then used her blade like a serving fork and began eating. Exactly what was inside the can didn’t seem to matter to the girl and soon the container was empty and she wiped her face with the back of her hand. She set the remaining canister on the floor next to her and looked at Jon.

  “Hungry?” she asked.

  “Affirm” Jon said.

  KT picked up the unopened can and tossed it to the young man “rations” she said, “shall I open it for you?” she asked with a slight smile.

  But Jon needed no help in that area, “Gripper, opener” he ordered.

  “Affirm” said the hand.

  Instantly a small cutting blade shot out of the index finger and Jon used it to open the container, he took a whiff of the contents and it made his nose revolt so he took his finger and put it into the mixture.

  “Gripper, report” he said.

  After a few moments of processing he received the information he sought, “Substance is a mixture of animal body parts and organic fillers with a substantial quantity of preservatives; it is safe to digest”.

  It took only a short time for Jon to empty the contents of the can and he had to admit that he did feel much better.

  “Your arm is very useful” KT commented.

  “My mother gave it to me” Jon replied.

  With her belly full the young girl prepares for sleep, she takes off her helmet and takes a small device from her belt, it is the size of a small Peck-bird egg, she puts it on the floor near her and presses a small button on its top, immediately a phantom like ring surrounds her emitting a low hum.

  “It’s an alarm field” KT says, “if you come within range I will kill you truce or no truce, you comp that metal-head?”

  Jon sits leaning against a broken table, he removes the mechanical arm from his elbow and puts it in front of him, and a small LED light begins to blink on the little finger.

  “My hand never sleeps” he said.

  KT makes a grunting sound then sits back facing her enemy; she holds her knife at the ready and slowly closes her eyes.

  Jon doesn’t know why but he can’t seem to take his eyes off of her, there is something about the line of her strong body that arouses strong feeling inside him, the way the moonlight falls on her face, the shape of her lips and the long suppleness of her neck. How long he continued to stare at the female Jon didn’t know but after a time he closed his eyes in sleep.

  Ordinarily Jon’s rest would be supplemented by drugs from Mother to make sure his rejuvenation was unencumbered by dreams but now he was alone and his natural relaxation took over, but his dreams were filled with strange images, images of KT-7 walking under the night sky and then stopping to pick up a broken bit of metal laying on the ground, she takes the fragment and uses it to cut off her uniform exposing her femininity all the while smiling at him then as the last of her clothing falls away she look at him with burning eyes and holds out her arms.

  “Kill me” she says.

  With a start Jon-29 opens his eyes; he lifts himself and franticly replaces Gripper to the stump of his arm.

  “Gripper online” he calls out.

  “Online” the metal arm replies.

  Jon looks over to see KT-7 turnover in her sleep and not wanting to rouse her she speaks in a whisper, “what information do you possess concerning sleep images?”

  “Not programed for that response” replied Gripper.

  “Understood” the young man replied, “Has there been any movement from the female?”

  “Neg, I would have sounded the attack alarm”.

  Satisfied that everything was in order Jon removed his metal arm and put in back on the dirty floor, then he laid back and after a time he fell asleep but all through the night his mind was filled with images of the enemy girl.

  There is no movement inside the machine that Jon-29 once called home, Weapons, Power and even Roach have all gone into rest mode to wait for Sunbirth and resume their operations, but Mother emotion programs was overriding her programing and she didn’t shut down to conserve energy, on the contrary she was using it to satisfy a longing inside her.

  She now projected a three dimensional image of her child sitting in his command chair, it was not the fully grown human that she lost but a small infant of no more than two cycles, it was naked with only a small metal umbilical cord attached to its abdomen, it lay crying and seeing this ghostly image Mother responded.

  “Crying is a waste of energy Jon one, you have nutrients, the temperature is regulated and your body is not injured, there is no need for an emotional outburst”.

  But still the small creature cried so Mother changed the image to a more tolerable one, there she saw Jon-6, well developed and able to control a simulated attack vehicle with advanced precision.

  “Jon six you have shown great combat skill, you have made me proud”.

  A smile shown on the face of the small boy and that seemed to please the emotion simulators that co
ntrolled Mothers interactions.

  There was one final image that the main controller wanted to see, it was Jon-29, mature and strong, the perfect killing machine, the ultimate in attack drivers and weapons targeting, seeing him like that brought the energy level in Mothers emotion programs to a very high level. And this in turn woke Power from its static state, “there is a power drain, checking all circuits”.

  But before that could happen Mother discontinued the imaging and the control room went black.

  While some machines rested others didn’t, the Armageddon had sustained damage in the battle with the Outlanders but now is sat in a safe area away from any city or outpost, its huge pitted surfaced crawled with Repair-bots of all sizes, small ones to fix cracks in the armor plating and larger one to replace them, surrounding the great machine were dozens of patrol pods scanning for any sign of danger or traces of the enemy.

  Inside things were also busy, technicians of all ranks hurried about like Blaze-ants checking and rechecking section after section, making sure that every program was functioning at prime levels and energy was being used to its maximum effect.

  And overseeing it all was the Commander, he sat in his control chair looking down at the replacement leg that had finally been repaired, but for all its strength and ability to allow him to walk he still hated the idea of having to rely on metal flesh to move around, and adding to his discomfort was the fact that he hadn’t slept in over forty two time periods and now even the stimulants that he was taking were not working as they should.

  “What is our status?’ he barked to one of the Tecs near him.

  The Tec was reluctant to reply at first but his fear gave in, “repairs are proceeding on timeline, power is being maintained and we should have full combat ability in approximately twenty four time periods”.

  “That isn’t good enough; I want full capability in twelve time periods!”

  “But AA one I don’t think that we…..”

  The Tec realized too late that he had contradicted his Commander and that meant only one thing; he would be taken to a pain amplifier and then his lifeless body moved to food processing. Now faced with such a horrible end he fell to the floor and lay their whimpering like a third cycle child.

  The Commander slowly rose from his chair and walked towards the sobbing man and looked down at him, he had known him for a very long time and always considered him a strong and capable technician, so he lifted his metal foot and brought it down hard on the skull of the Tec crushing it flat.

  “Replace this man at once” he said then turned and lumbered back to his chair.

  The Commander hadn’t killed a man face to face in a very long time and now that he did his mood changed to something that might be construed as happy?

  It was still a long way from Sunbirth when Jon’s finger alarm went off.

  “Danger within perimeter” Gripper called out.

  Bolting upright Jon grabbed his arm and attached it back to his elbow then held it out in front of him.

  “Gripper, blade!” he commanded.

  “Affirm”.

  Quickly the attack blade extended and Jon strained to see what the danger was in the dim moonlight.

  At the same time KT awoke from her light sleep and clutched her knife ready for any attack, but looking around she saw only a large Drool-rat nibbling at the remains of their last meal.

  “Your arm is not very intelligent is it?” she asked, “it doesn’t know a Low-crawler when it sees one”.

  Seeing that the danger was only a rodent Jon lowers his hand, “my replacement arm is the latest survival attachment”.

  “Then you won’t survive long will you?” the girl laughed.

  “Mechanisms can sometimes be faulty” Jon replied in defense of his metal appendage.

  But Gripper could speak for itself; “the danger is not the rodent” it spoke.

  Jon held up his arm to his face, “clarify the danger?” he asked.

  But before the hand could answer a rustling sound is heard and looking over the two humans see a horde of small misshaped creatures rising through the crack in the floor. They resembled the pig-like Tail-gunner that rode behind KT-7 but these naked little monsters were far different, they had thick arms and legs and a wide mouth set with rows of cutting teeth, they had no eyes to speak of and it was clear that they spent their entire existence in darkness.

  “Earthers” KT said under her breath for she had seen this before and she knew that they were going to kill them.

  Slowly she moved beside Jon, “don’t make a sound, they hunt by sound echo” she whispered.

  The two humans watched the creatures climb out of their underground home and begin to move towards them, as they came closer Jon saw that they had large ears, small noses and clawed hands. Their skulls were covered in boney plating and they had no genitalia. They moved slowly always cocking their head first to one side then the other trying to pick up any vibration that might lead them to food, as they drew nearer Jon’s heart began to pound.

  When they were within a meter or so of the humans one of them stopped and pointed his head directly at the pair, KT-7’s hand tighten around her knife and her muscles tensed ready to fight, beside her Jon-29’s heart beat faster and faster but he did not move or make any sound. But he had forgotten one thing, his hand.

  “Danger within perimeter” it said.

  With a primal scream the little creatures attacked, Jon and KT were once more fighting for their lives, the Earthers didn’t seem to care if they lived or died so they came at their would be food in waves, jumping over their dead comrades as the two warriors cut them down.

  KT-7 moved to a steel support so that she could not be attacked from behind, beside her Jon continued to cut with his blade weapon, but even though they killed dozens of the strong little creatures they were hopelessly outnumbered.

  “There are too many of them” KT called out to Jon as she drove her knife into the breast of one of the vile creatures.

  “Affirm” Jon replied as his metal hand broke the neck of one of the attackers, “but less than before”.

  But for every one they killed two more took their place and soon the bodies of the dead piled up around them but still the little monsters kept coming and at last the humans were overwhelmed by a mass of deformed bodies and captured.

  Beaten and senseless the pair were bound with wire at the hands and legs then lifted and carried to the crack in the flooring; they were lowered down then dragged along the rubble covered bottom until they were unconscious.

  It was sometime later when Jon-29 woke up, his head hurt and his vision was burly but after a few moments his sight began to clear and he could see where he was.

  He was in a pit surrounded by a cave of some sort, the cavern was about fifty meters across and just as much high, the walls were not natural and must have been dug out but not by machines for they bore the markings of clawed fingers. The pit was rocky and filled with small stones and bits of broken wood.

  It was hard to make out anything for the light was very dim, luminance came from small cracks in the rock ceiling through which moonlight entered, it wasn’t much but it was enough to let Jon know that they were underground. And they were not alone for all around him were hundreds of the little mutant creatures that had captured him; they were calling out in a language he couldn’t understand and waving their arms. With his eyes now accustomed to the meager light he looked over to see KT-7 beside him.

  Jon tried to move but found that he was tied to a wooden post in an upright possession, strong wire held his legs and arms and a thicker one around his torso and although he tried with all his strength he couldn’t break the sturdy bonds. KT was bond the same way and slowly she opened her eyes. The young girl had lost her knife and helmet but her survival belt and its belongings were still around her waist, perhaps the little monsters didn’t know what the equipment was for or they didn’t ca
re but either way KT was glad that she still had them. Clearing her head she looked down at the floor, there she saw dozens of skeletons, but not the misshapen kind that must have dwelled under the skin and organs of the Earthers, these were human remains and instantly KT knew what was in store for them.

  Her mother had often told her the stories of the underground dwellers, how they worshiped a terrible god and how they would offer sacrifices to that deity in the form of human flesh. She was only a child then but she remembered how much it frightened her and now it looked like that nightmare was about to come true.

  Looking at her companion she smiled a little, “well Wheel-rider it looks like we won’t be seeing who the better fighter is”.

  But Jon wasn’t about to surrender, he could feel his arm pressing on the small of his back so extending his blade weapons would only result in him cutting his spinal cord in too and not wanting to die that way he talked to his hand.

  “Gripper, report!”

  From behind his back he heard a small mechanical voice, “reporting” it said.

  “Information, can you break bonds?”

  “Neg, bonds are beyond my grip”.

  Jon began to feel around with his other hand, he could touch the wooden pole that held him and found that it was approximately a hand spread wide so he grasped the shaft and began to tear at it with his metal fingers, the process was slow but soon bits of broken wood began to fall to the ground, with enough time he might be able to weaken the pole and escape.

  “KT seven” Jon said, “I am proceeding with an escape plan”.

  The young girl was about to tell him that he was a weak minded Junk-jockey but before she could do that small rocks began to pelt her from above, looking up she saw that the under grounders were throwing the small stone and making sounds that she could only guess was laughter.

  “Die and rot in this stink hole you vermin of waste!” she shouted, but then she felt the ground under her begin to move, slowly at first then looking down she saw several black beetles crawl out of the earth, Juice-suckers, and seeing them made her fear of creepy clawers rise up inside her.

  it was well known that KT-7 was one of the bravest of the Komodo riders, time and time again she had guided her beast into battles where there was little hope of victory and with the help of the Goddess she had survived, and even if she had been killed she understood that there was a chance that she could be reanimated, but seeing the filthy insects heading for her made her wish that she could immediately leave this world and never return. Now she understood the reason for the stones, the Earthers were summoning the little creatures so they could sit and listen to the screams of their dying captives, it was a pleasure that they found very amusing.

  Quickly more of the vile little things poured out of the ground and started to emit a high pitched clicking sound, soon it grew to a painful level and then they began to crawl up the legs of the two humans.

  KT tried to remain calm but her fear was overtaking her and to try and keep her sanity she began to sing a victory song of her people.

  “Riders of the land so free, warriors of the light, defenders of the moon and stars we conquer with our might!”

  But she could feel the sharp mandibles of the Juice-suckers biting into her flesh and she began to scream in terror.

  Beside her Jon was also being eaten alive, but he remembered his training and concentrated his mind on breaking the wooden pole that held him, more splinters fell to the ground but would there be enough time or would he die in pain?

  The biting vermin had reached KT-7’s face; she shut her eyes and closed her jaw hard trying to prevent the horrifying bugs from entering her mouth or eating out her vision, but with hundreds of the beetles swarming over her head she found it difficult to breathe. Now every terror of her childhood came sweeping back to her in a wave of fear and loathing, the time she fell into a Blaze-ant nest and had to endure their painful bits and the day she was wounded and swarmed by a horde of Land-leeches. She wanted to cry out but that would only make things worse so she remained silent but inside her mind she could hear her own screams.

  Jon also closed his eyes and mouth but he continue to work at his escape, then when he thought the pole had been weakened enough he pulled forward with all his strength and the shaft broke with a loud, “snap!”

  He slipped his hands out of the bonds confining them then tore away the wire holding his feet and chest, he swept the insects from his body then turned to help the girl next to him, using leverage and strength the young man broke the shaft holding KT-7 and helped her remove the torturing creatures, they were now free but not out of danger.

  “I don’t need your help” KT said pushing Jon away from her body, “you’re still the enemy and I will….” Her words were cut short by another sound, the screams from the Earthers continued as a huge creature broke through the soil and rose up on its many legs.

  The Juice-suckers weren’t adults they were infants, their bug-mother lumbered about in the pit searching for any sign of food, it was the size of a full grown Komodo but with hard overlapping shells as thick as the plating on a Crawler, its head carried no eyes just long feelers that waved about sending information back to the tiny brain, there were two curved pinchers the length of a man’s arm that opened and closed hoping to cease any prey and hold it long enough for the suckers at the mouth to drain it of all fluids.

  now KT-7 understood what the underground dwellers prayed too, and she wasn’t about to give up her life to this abomination of a God, she picked up the broken beam that once held her and used it like a lance to drive into the hissing monster, her feet slipped on pools of foul smelling slim as her boots crushed the bodies of the Juice-suckers, with each step she heard a loud “crunch” but it gave her satisfactions that she was taken revenge on her tormenter.

  Jon-29 also picked up his broken shaft but he had another plan in mind for this new enemy, he help up his hand and spoke.

  “Gripper, combustion” he shouted.

  “Affirm” said the hand.

  And immediately a stream of flame shot out from his second finger, its wasn’t enough to do any damage to the heavily armored insect but it would be enough to ignite a torch, so holding it at the dried end of the pole it soon burst into flame and then Jon turned to help his companion. Together KT and Jon forced the creature back, it hissed and tried to spray them with a corrosive acid but being blind it couldn’t get a fix on the humans above the screams of the Earthers.

  Soon the small bits of wood in the pit ignited and the huge creature was caught in a sea of flames, it crashed about hitting the sides of the enclosure and pulling down enough rock and dirt to allow the humans to escape, with one last lunge Jon-29 drove the burning shaft deep into the side of the monster, it hissed in pain then rose up on its hind legs and crashed into the side of the pit, Jon began to climb up its body followed closed behind by KT-7.

  With the flames rising the underground dwellers went into a panic, they raced around like Blaze-ants and there screams filled the cavern and overwhelmed any noise from the humans, KT and Jon moved nimbly through the madding creatures cutting down anything that challenged them then they raced down a tunnel into the dark. Soon the light from the flames died out and the channel grew dark but Jon turned to his hand once more.

  “Gripper, luminate!”

  “Affirm” and a small but powerful light began to emanate from the wrist of the metal device, with its help Jon and KT continued down the tunnel in safety.