by D S Emerson
“You did fine, Abel,” Denec told him, and he saluted them all as he entered the shuttle slowly from the maintenance hatch.
“Everyone—get back!” Bek and Abel told the crowd around them. “Go back!”
The crowd moved away as the shuttle started its vertical boosters, forcing everyone to move well away. The cargo shuttle turned toward the direction of the city and started moving toward it—slowly initially, but then it gained height, going steadily higher and higher. Everyone turned toward the city to have a clear look, some climbing on top of rocks in the area, straining to watch as Denec piloted the shuttle toward the city. Soon, he had disappeared in the distance. Suddenly, an enormous orange cloud appeared, and the loud shockwave of the blast followed, forcing them all to cover their ears.
Chapter 9
The sounds of the fighting had stopped. After some scattered noises, nothing could be heard anymore from their location on the outskirts. Everyone there was looking to their friends and family, wondering if the invasion had stopped.
“Do you think Denec succeeded?” Abel asked Bek.
“I don’t know; I don’t hear anything,” Bek told him. “We should head back to the city to check. It would probably be better for the rest of the people to remain here for now.”
Jaina approached them. “Some people started heading to the city to find out what’s going on. We should go as well,” she told them, so they agreed to leave the factory area and return to the city. Bek saw some people taking their vehicles and heading back to the city. They went to their own vehicle and climbed in. Bek drove, with Jaina next to him and Abel in the back. They slowly left the factory behind them and the people there, moving in the direction of the city. Other vehicles were in front of them, and some came behind them, all heading for the city.
The line of people still headed to the outskirts of the city stopped, and looked back. Bek, Abel, and Jaina soon passed all of them as well. After a while, it was just them and the other vehicles racing to see what was left of the city. They still didn’t hear any fighting as they approached. Bek chose his route, and he aligned the car towards one of the entrances to the city, right behind another vehicle. Entering the city, he drove carefully as they moved along the empty streets. It had never been more silent here, free from people and from all the fighting that had been going on previously. They proceeded to the square where some people were already gathered, and looking around. “We should continue to the fighting front,” Jaina told him, and Bek accelerated once more, leaving the square behind and continuing to the opposite side of the city.
Moving along the quiet streets, the buildings around came into view. They were covered with spots of Iorine—small sections at the beginning—but as they moved farther, the Iorine spots grew larger and more numerous, and eventually, their vehicle stopped working due to Iorine interference. “We have to walk from here,” Bek said to them, and they left the vehicle they had used in order to continue walking the rest of the way to the edge of the city. Buildings appeared to have been hit by heavy fire as they progressed. They realized that without Denec, they wouldn’t have been able to stop the advancing forces of the AI from clearing the city of its population. Demolished buildings started to appear next to them, and after a while, they came across the first disabled robots, immobilized in the streets. From smaller robots, to big bipedal mechs lying against the walls of buildings, the Iorine cloud that had been dropped and spread all over the area had forced them to shut down.
Bek, Abel, and Jaina kept walking, and eventually, they arrived at the edge of the city. The view of the plains outside the city appeared in front of them, with countless piles of disabled robots stretching away from them for miles. All around the area next to the city, puddles of Iorine had formed on the ground, and the piles of robots had been colored orange. The rogue forces were working in and among the piles, inspecting the enemy robots. Bek, Abel and Jaina climbed over the first piles of robots lying in front of them and entered the vast plains littered with many more disabled robots. They made their way toward the rogues, who were a bit farther away, and soon they saw Malok and Valeena looking inside a huge, disabled tank. They headed toward them, and when Malok realized who was approaching, he looked excited, and turned toward them.
“Your plan worked!” he said to Jaina, grabbing her hand to shake it.
Valeena approached them as well. “Thank you for providing the solution to the invasion,” she said to her.
“You did all the fighting, holding them off while the shuttle was loaded and piloted toward the city,” Jaina replied to both of them.
“‘Piloted’ you said?” Malok queried. “How, and where is Denec?”
“Denec flew the shuttle,” Bek replied sharply to Malok. “We didn’t have any way to program a course, and there was no time to figure anything else out. Denec volunteered, flying it with the maintenance panel to save us all.” Malok and Valeena became upset, and a melancholic aura soon enveloped them. They looked at the ground next to the piles of robots around them while Malok began to inspect them again. Bek knew that Denec had been one of the initial members of the rogues and that, together with Malok, they had recruited the group of people ready to fight the AI oppressor.
“Denec said he would have given his life to save thousands of people who faced extermination under the oppression of the robots,” Malok said. “We now know he meant it. He showed that our struggle can have success,” he said as he comforted Valeena, who took the news harder than Malok and was so upset that she couldn’t speak. Taner, seeing them all together, approached them from the piles that he was searching through. He came and thanked them as well for executing the plan involving the Iorine shuttle. When Malok told Taner that they had lost Denec, he also agreed that Denec had always been determined to do whatever was best for the future of mankind. “And so are we,” said Malok. “Go tell the others about Denec and organize the burial of all our dead who went down fighting honorably, and not as slaves. We will salvage what we can from the robots later.” Taner headed to talk to the other rogues, and Malok, with Valeena, walked toward the city.
Bek, Abel, and Jaina resumed walking, following them. “People have begun to return in bigger numbers, but they still need to be informed that they can safely return to the city now,” Bek remarked to Malok as they walked together slowly toward the city.
“Yes, we have to let the people know about the situation we are in now. Even if the invasion is over, we can’t rule out a new one. And water will have to be conserved as much as possible. People should try to consume very little until we find a way to secure a new supply of water,” Malok told them as they entered they city.
Some city residents who had returned were looking at the destruction around their homes. Some were homeless because their whole residential building was destroyed. Malok and Bek’s group continued walking slowly among collapsed buildings, pools of Iorine, and disabled robots. The crowds of people grew as they progressed toward the center of the city. Some started to recognize Malok from the speech he had given while in the government tower, and they approached him.
“You were the ones who overthrew the government and made the robots attack us!” two people shouted at Malok as they passed. More people stopped in the street, recognizing Malok and shouting against him for starting a new war. Bek and Abel pushed them the angry citizens away.
“Whatever we did, it was for the good of the people!” Malok shouted back at them as the crowd continued to form around them. “We couldn’t live as slaves forever!”
“We didn’t need saving! Some of us were happy doing our work and being alive,” many people shouted back to them as they pushed through the growing crowds trying to enter the square. Eventually, after fighting their way through the protesters, they arrived at the city center.
The square was starting to fill with returning residents; they either stood talking in groups, or heading off to check their residences. It seemed that the news about the quashed robot invasion was spreading, a
nd everyone was coming slowly back to the city. As Bek’s group entered the square, they were still being followed by people shouting at them. Many more people took notice and approached, also showing their displeasure by shouting at Malok. He stood firm, however, and continued until he climbed the stairs at the entrance of the destroyed government tower. Below him, big crowds were forming, and everyone looked worried. It was understandable, since from the time they had come here, they had been allocated a place to stay and a job to attend to, and many older people who remembered the massive slaughter that had taken place on Earth didn’t want any more wars.
“My friends and fellow humans,” Malok said to the crowd that formed below him. “We managed to win a battle against the AI armies after they forced us here, to our prison.”
“But this is now our home!” an elderly man shouted back at him. Malok simply shook his head in disagreement.
“I understand that some of you were comfortable here. I will try to make it so that you are comfortable once more. But remember: we lost people in fighting the AI army, and all the people who gave their lives were willing to do so because they believed in the liberation of human beings. We were never intended to serve another species, as these robots that took over our planet would have us believe. We experienced an important victory here, defeating the AI forces, and leaving them without energy shipments. No shipments of energy have left this planet since we took over. They came here to get their energy, and we destroyed them.”
“We won’t be getting water either,” a woman calmly said to Malok.
He agreed with her, but continued trying to reassure the gathered residents who were worried about their future, and not at all sure how to go forward from here. “We will bring you water…We are going to travel to Earth, and will send water back. There is a way now to defeat the AI, and we must try to do it.”
While Bek knew that the rogues had always hoped to go back to Earth, he realized they didn’t have a specific plan. Bek now realized that after they had seen the cargo shuttle filled with Iorine detonated over the robots, their plan had been shaped involving this new weapon. People began to break away, and talk in small groups amongst themselves. Everyone probably realized they didn’t have any other options considering the lack of water on Cennan, and the intention of the AI oppressor to replace them.
“Valeena, take some of our people and help those who lost have their residences to find available housing,” Malok said. Valeena nodded, and motioned for some of the rogues to follow her. She then headed into the crowd, asking for anyone who needed help to follow her. Guards who were among the crowd approached the rogues, and offered to help as well. Malok then turned toward Taner. “Grab some of our people and go to the plains outside the city where the robots are lying. Gather any working weapon, part, or explosive you can find. We will have great need of them,” he told him, and Taner, without hesitation, headed with other members of the rogues toward the edge of the city. Seeing the crowd a bit calmer now but still worried, Malok came down the tower stairs. The fire on top of the remaining tower had gone out, leaving that section a darker tone than the rest of the building.
“We want to help, as well,” Bek said as he approached. “We are all in this together now. We want to help as much as possible,” he explained.
“The operation for attacking the AI forces on Earth needs planning and more work to be done before proceeding,” Malok told them. “But we definitely need more members, and you three saved the people here from another slaughter. You are welcome to join us,” he said. “We will need to repair the abandoned transport shuttles that brought people to this planet decades ago. We will also need to work on the cargo shuttles and find a way to control them. A lot needs to be done. I will be heading to our base for planning. Come and join me there,” he said to them.
After a moment of thinking, all three looked at each other, and they all agreed to go with him. The crowds started to disperse—some headed to their residences, but many people headed toward the edge of the city where the fighting had taken place because they wanted to witness the fallen robot army. Malok found one of the rogues’ trucks on the side of the square, and they entered it. Malok, in the driver’s seat, and Bek, along with Abel and Jaina, now willingly took the road toward the rogue base to try to find a way to stop the robots on Earth, and save humanity.
Chapter 10
Bek awoke inside the barracks of the rogue base. He, Abel, and Jaina were now part of the rogues, and so were allotted better accommodations than the cell he and Abel had previously stayed in. The barracks in the base had space for all the rogues, and as a result of the casualties suffered during the battle, Bek, Abel, and Jaina had all been offered beds. He got up and saw that Jaina was the only other person in the big room with him. Everyone else had already gone for training, or was helping with the preparations for the journey to Earth.
“You slept late,” Jaina said. “Malok is waiting for us.”
“I was too tired with all the training here at the base,” he answered as he got up and started to get ready.
“Thank you for your help in the fight with the robots,” he said as he approached her.
“We are all in this together. I am helping any way I can, as are you,” she replied.
Once Bek was ready, they both started to walk toward the base planning room. They entered the hallways filled with rogues going about their jobs, preparing their equipment. They stopped in a wide room where the funerals of Denec and the other rogues who had lost their lives in the AI invasion had taken place. They were now buried, and Bek and Jaina paid their respects. Bek remembered the first time he met with Denec when he and Abel had been brought to the base. He now appreciated Denec’s determination towards his goal of freeing the people who had been enslaved by the robots. They continued their walk, passing the area where Abel and the other rogues spent their time training. It was empty now because everyone was working on preparing the shuttles—gathering supplies and equipment for the Earth mission. Moving farther, they arrived in the planning room where Malok and Valeena were waiting for them.
“How is everything going?” Bek asked them as they entered the room. Malok and Valeena welcomed them. They had been here many times before, trying to find the best way to go to Earth, to get water shipments, and to inflict as much damage as possible on the AI forces.
“Our plans are being finalized,” Valeena told them. “We are progressing with the points we discussed before. We plan to put a small group of people inside a repaired transport shuttle, along with a cargo shuttle filled with Iorine and explosives. We can’t know what the situation is on Earth until we arrive, but we will try to send water back to Cennan, as well as hit the AI installations with Iorine.”
“This is the only plan we have,” Malok told them. “Using your idea—filling cargo shuttles with Iorine—we now have a big weapon against the robots. The energy that we export from Cennan is probably being stored close to where the shuttles arrive on Earth. That area will be our primary target to hit.”
“The robots could be preparing to attack again,” Bek told them. “They came to this planet because they wanted the energy shipments to resume. They seem to be needing them and haven’t solved their energy problem. They didn’t wait for us to die from lack of water. With recycling, we could go for a while, but they must be needing a lot of energy to operate. I believe they will definitely be preparing another attack—and in greater forces. We shouldn’t delay.”
“The area where the shuttles arrive on Earth after the warp gate could be filled with robots preparing to assault Cennan again,” Jaina added.
“We agree,” Malok replied. “We should not waste time. I have people repairing a transport shuttle. They were left parked for a long time, but were not damaged. They can be fixed to make the trip to Earth using parts from the transports that brought the AI army here. The cargo shuttle that we are going to fill with Iorine is being worked on to operate remotely and to be controlled from short distances. We are
using remotes that the guards have for their flying drones, trying to connect them with a cargo shuttle. Also, Taner gathered a lot of explosives from the inactive robots.”
“The city—is it being repaired?” Jaina asked him.
“Of course, now that it is peaceful there, city guards are helping as well. The guards are using the functioning part of the remaining tower as their depot and base. We moved the people who lost their homes, and we are now trying to fix up the parts of the city that were damaged. The area where the AI army was attacked is filled with rubble and Iorine, so vehicles and equipment can’t operate there—it’s going to take time. Right now, everything in that area is offline. There is Iorine that needs to be cleaned up, but that task is moving along. Also, we need to remove the dead robots from the city streets to the outskirts. Thankfully, we are alive to be doing these tasks…it’s better than being dead, and having the robots cleaning the city of our bodies,” Malok told them in a serious tone.
“That is what I prefer, as well,” Bek replied. “The AI coordination module mentioned they have people on Earth to replace us, if needed. Do you believe this?”
“It could be true,” Malok said to them. “We were sent here decades ago, after a war that cost us billions of people. We were in prisons for years before being sent here. The robots could have people in different areas that they didn’t send here, in order to use them if needed for working here. No new transports of people arrived after us. They created the city in blocks on Earth and sent us here with our orders. Everyone was in shock from the collapse of humanity. They were glad to be alive, and accepted working here. But now that we know we can hit them back, we will hit them as hard as we can. And if there are people on Earth, they are prisoners of the robots as well, and we must try to free them.”
“They must have assaulted us because they would need time to eradicate our people and spend time preparing humans to be sent here to work on the planet,” Jaina remarked. “The AI wouldn’t wait until after we run out of water because they have great need of energy. After so much time being free to roam the Earth, they must have grown enormously.”