by Isaac Hooke
“Do you get anything?” Brontosaurus asked.
“Just a second,” Eric said. He scanned for new interfaces. His HUD populated with one addition, labeled Spock’s Brain.
“Funny,” Eric said.
“Thought you’d like it,” Brontosaurus said.
“I didn’t know you had been keeping up on twentieth century space shows,” Eric said.
“Frogger convinced me to check out the series a while ago,” Brontosaurus said. “It’s hilarious that people actually believed we’d be gallivanting across the stars by now.”
“Yeah,” Eric said. “It’s too bad we haven’t achieved spaceflight yet. Might have saved us from a bunch of problems. Specifically, the current one.”
Eric pulled up the interface for Spock’s Brain. There was only one option. Fire.
“There’s no targeting data?” Eric asked.
“Sec.” Brontosaurus attached a laser site to the top of the device, and a moment later a functional crosshairs overlaid Eric’s HUD.
Eric spun his torso once more, aimed the crosshairs at a group of Red Tails behind him, and focused on the Fire option.
The energy weapon began to glow blue.
One of the Red Tails threw a spear at him. Eric adjusted his aim slightly, so when the energy beam emerged a moment later, it included the incoming spear in its trajectory.
The weapon was completely incinerated, and when the energy beam hit the creatures, they exploded in a pleasant cluster of body parts.
“Nice,” Eric said. “This thing does more damage than a Hellhawk.”
“I’d rate it at about the same as a precision bomb,” Brontosaurus said. “Also, I think it has different charge modes.”
“What do you mean?” Eric said.
“Well, the longer you charge it, the more damage it will do,” Brontosaurus said. “I’m comparing it to how much damage you did versus the Black Tail… when the creature was in control of the weapon, it took a lot longer to release the energy beam than you did, with the glow slowly becoming blinding.”
“Yeah, I remember,” Eric said. “Must have a hell of a power source.”
“Definitely,” the heavy gunner agreed.
“When we get back to the cave, I want you to remove the sparker and do some more experimentation,” Eric said.
“Sounds like fun,” Brontosaurus said.
Eric reached the top of the cave. The Cicadas and combat robots were already inside, while the tanks and mechs remained surrounding the lip.
“Hey, you bitch!” Slate said. “How come you get the fancy ass energy weapon!”
“Because I’m the one who risked my skin to rip it from the alien’s brain?” Eric said.
“Ah, you did at that, I s’pose,” Slate said. “Can I borrow it?”
“Nope,” Eric replied.
He spun about and aimed into the fray. He gave control of the weapon back to Brontosaurus, so the heavy gunner could experiment with the weapon and try to figure out how to charge it. Brontosaurus occasionally fired it, necessitating that Eric keep the cannon pointed at enemy tangos at all times. Eric took control back when things began to get hectic, but the energy cannon needed thirty seconds between firings, so not even that weapon was a panacea.
Eric, as well as the tanks and mechs with him at the entrance, held off the enemy for as long as they could, but the onslaught was relentless. As weapons began to overheat across the board, the armored units pulled inside the tunnel one by one.
Eric was the second last to back into the tunnel. Doing so allowed him to stay near the front, next to another mech, a position he preferred.
The relatively tight tunnel was the perfect chokepoint. He and his team would be able to last here for hours.
Eric used his shield to bash enemy Red Tails backward, and then followed up with a ZX-15 shot. He didn’t bother with the energy cannon of course, because firing it at that close range would cause a shockwave affecting himself and the other nearby members of the platoon.
When his weapon overheated, he swapped places with the mech unit just behind him. Cicadas, who fired between the legs of the mechs, also swapped places when their own weapons overheated.
The enemy units slowly pushed them back, but they paid a heavy price: the bioweapon bodies piled up. At first, while they were still near the cave entrance, the Red Tails had done a good job of clearing out the bodies of their companions. But as they forced the Bolt Eaters deeper into the cave, they began to have trouble emptying the dead, because those who were in behind couldn’t take cover past the external walls just outside the cave entrance. They tried to keep their legs hidden behind the bodies of those in front of them, but Marlborough had Bambi and Traps send the Savages crawling onto the dead, where they’d be able to rain fire upon the joints of the bioweapons that were attempting to drag the corpses away. Though the damage they caused was lighter than the tanks and mechs, it would inevitably cause the stricken Red Tail to panic, and the creature would rise up or flee, and Eric or one of the others would finish the hamstring job.
They also targeted the glandular sacs of the dead bodies, spreading the sticky red goo along the cave floor. That caused trailing Red Tails to get stuck, and made them easy pickings for the platoon.
Soon, the platoon had formed a wall of compacted bodies, illuminated by their headlamps. Many of the Red Tails were still alive, caught in that wall, with the surface a creepy mass of sharp carapaces, elongated heads, and wriggling limbs.
Finally the attack ceased when the plug of bodies became too thick, and all that the Red Tails behind it could do was slowly force the plug forward. Eventually it stopped moving inward entirely, as the Red Tails in behind were no doubt crushed to death, and the mass of dead bodies became too great for the horde outside to budge.
“Well then,” Marlborough said. “Another crisis avoided.”
“Look at those things,” Slate said. “Disgusting. I hate aliens.”
“These aren’t aliens,” Hank said.
“Yeah fine,” Slate said. “But they were made by aliens. Same diff.”
“You got an alien between your legs,” Eagleeye said.
“I’m not surprised you think that,” Slate said. “Considering how long my dong is compared to yours and everyone else’s.”
“Bro, you don’t have a dong,” Brontosaurus said. “When’s the last time you actually looked at your body?”
“That’s right, go and remind me I’m not human,” Slate said. “After I’ve had my emotions forced on me. I should kick your ass for that. And in fact I would, were the circumstances different.”
“Emotions,” Crusher said. “Yes. I feel such… relief. I just want to sit down and cry. But I can’t. I don’t have tear ducts.”
“I’d be crying with relief right now myself if I had ‘em,” Traps said.
“You would,” Slate said. “Are you sure you were a man when you were alive?”
“Pretty sure, yes,” Traps said.
“Okay Bolt Eaters, I want some scouts sent deeper,” Marlborough said. “Some of those Red Tails will no doubt be searching for another cave entrance so they can come at us from behind. We can’t let that happen. I want advance warning if they show up.”
Bambi sent three Savages forward to act as scouts. She strung them out so their comm nodes could act as repeaters.
In about five minutes she reported: “My lead Savage is reporting a blockage.”
“A blockage?” Marlborough asked.
“That’s affirmative,” Bambi said. “Looks like the roof caved in. Though there’s a small gap near the top, forming a crawlspace. We could probably send the Savage inside.” She paused. “Scratch that. I just lost contact with my Savage.”
“Well that’s… interesting,” Marlborough said. “All right, looks like we’re going to have to secure our rear quarters. Prepare to move out, Bolt Eaters.”
4
They retreated in single file down the passageway, letting the tanks go first, followed by the mec
hs, including Eric, and the support robots. The Cicadas brought up the rear, with one of the Jupiters following on drag. Meanwhile they left a few of the Savages strung out behind them to monitor the collapse, in case the Red Tails managed to break through.
The long line of Bolt Eaters passed the first Savage robot Bambi had left in place to scout. When they reached the second scout, Bambi had it move forward.
Eric accessed the video feed of the lead unit and placed it in the upper right of his vision. In a few moments the broken body of the lead Savage came into view, lying on the floor up ahead. Currently, the cave-in was not in view.
“Hold,” Marlborough said. “Zoom in on the body.”
The scout zoomed in on the wreckage of the Savage. The AI core area had a laser bore hole drilled straight through.
“Who did this?” Dunnigan asked. The only survivor of the English battalion had a distinctly British accent. “The Russian?”
“Dunno,” Marlborough said. “Could be. Bolt Eaters, move up.”
The rest of the Bolt Eaters approached, taking up a position behind the scout.
“Bambi, pull back the scout,” Marlborough said. “Tread, I want the lead tank to take its place. Have it send out a transmission on all frequencies. Identify us and our platoon.”
“Roger that,” Tread said.
Eric switched his feed to that of the lead tank, and watched it approach.
A figure abruptly appeared on the video transmission: a man, carrying a laser rifle strapped over one shoulder. His face was covered in a balaclava, and he wore thick goggles—no doubt the augmented reality kind, so he could share data with any others with him.
“Insurgents!” Hank said.
The man tossed something toward the tank and retreated from view.
“Grenade!” Tread said.
The bomb detonated, and the view momentarily filled with smoke.
“The tank’s armor was weakened, but it’s otherwise unharmed,” Tread said.
“All right, looks like we got some survivors,” Marlborough said. “It’s too bad they’re on the wrong side.”
“The mountains apparently protected them from the gamma ray burst that killed all life in the region,” Crusher said.
“What, are the rocks made of lead or something?” Slate asked.
“I’m detecting concentrations of lead in the walls, yes,” Mickey replied.
“What do you want to do, Sarge?” Tread said.
“If we were to follow our mission parameters, we’d destroy this nest of insurgents,” Marlborough said. “But seeing as they could be some of the last few humans alive in this part of the world, I’m reluctant to do so, despite their toxic ideologies. Tread, keep sending out a transmission. Tell them we don’t want to hurt them. That we’re here to help. Include some footage from our Cicadas, to show them what the world looks like out there. Make sure to include some of the bioweapons.”
“They’ll probably think it’s a trick?” Brontosaurus said. “That we doctored the footage.”
“I don’t know about that,” Frogger said. “They’ve probably seen a few things themselves, otherwise they wouldn’t have barricaded themselves inside.”
“We’re getting a comm request,” Mickey said.
“Put it through,” Marlborough said.
A few words of Arabic came over the comm. Eric’s translation chip converted the words into something he could understand: “You are with the allies? Don’t fire! We’re Kurds!”
“You’re not insurgents?” Marlborough asked in Arabic.
“No!” came the reply. “We thought you were aliens. That is only why we fired.”
“Last I checked, we weren’t aliens,” Marlborough said. “Can we get your guarantee that you won’t try to attack us again?”
“You have my personal guarantee, yes,” the man said. “I am Al-Khayr. I run this region.”
“Well lookee here,” Slate said. “I just checked the dude’s name in my local database. If he’s telling the truth, he’s one of our main allies in the region. A warlord. He used to own quite a few poppy fields until the foreign fighters started burning them. He didn’t like that. These caves are a part of his territory, and he uses them as his base of operations to stage attacks on groups of roving insurgents. Or at least he used to.”
“Yeah, he’s not doing much foreigner hunting now, is he?” Bambi said.
“Bambi, send another Savage forward,” Marlborough said.
“You got it,” Bambi said.
Eric piped the video feed from its viewpoint into his HUD and positioned it in the upper right of his vision.
He watched as the robot approached the wreckage of the first Savage, slowly rounding the bend until the collapse was in sight. An armed man in a balaclava stood in front of it, along with another man. No wait, that was a woman, judging from the anatomy. Though her face was also masked.
“We are sheltered inside.” The masked man beckoned toward the wall. “You are welcome to join us, if you wish.”
“Send the Savage through,” Marlborough said.
The Savage climbed the cave in, and pulled itself into the small gap between the roof and the top of the debris, which proved little more than a crawlspace. The robot pulled itself forward three meters, until it reached the other side.
Another man was waiting there, this one not wearing a mask; his face was covered in a thick beard. He helped the robot down.
“I am Al Qat,” the man said. “I’ll take you to Al-Khayr.”
“Qat?” Bambi said through the Savage’s speakers. “Like the addictive leaf?” It was a nasty habit that had survived through the centuries. Eric had met his share of human allies in the region who were addicted to the stuff; they kept thick lumps of the leaves shoved under one cheek at all times, which made half their faces look like chipmunks.
“Exactly like,” Qat said. “Though we don’t have any left, unfortunately.” He brightened slightly. “Perhaps you have brought some?”
“Sorry, we have no Qat,” Bambi said.
The man led the Savage through the tunnel, which soon opened into a wider cavern. The two armed guards by the entrance nodded when they saw Qat.
He led the Savage into the cavern. Floodlights provided illumination, so the Savage was able to deactivate its headlamp. Men, women and children were huddled in what Eric thought were groups of extended families. The faces of young and old alike were covered in grime, and weary. Most of the younger men had laser rifles close at hand.
Each group usually sat near several crates, which likely contained food stores.
There was a sickly scent of sulphur suffusing the area. And it grew stronger as the moments passed.
When Qat passed a common latrine, Eric knew the source. He quickly muted the olfactory data returned by the Savage.
“I thought I smelled shit,” Slate said. “Whew! This is one of those times where you remember why being human sucks.”
There was a fan spinning nearby, but evidently it didn’t help.
A small hydroponics area had been set up beyond the latrine, inside a miniature geodesic dome. It looked like they were growing carrots.
There was also a small atmospheric generator next to it, responsible for scrubbing the carbon dioxide from the cave environment, and adding oxygen. A power cord led away along the floor. Eric couldn’t see where it terminated, because it passed underneath a pair of crates, and he lost site of it.
“How are you powering all this?” Bambi asked the question on his mind.
“Batteries,” Qat answered. “We used to have solar panels lining the mountain, but we lost those, in the attack. We have enough power stored to last us a week, though.”
When the video signal began to degrade, Bambi sent another Savage forward to act as a repeater to bolster the comms.
Qat led the first robot to a group of men seated on the cave floor. They were sharing a piece of flatbread about the size of a manhole cover. As Eric watched, they broke pieces from the bread and bit i
nto them.
They all looked up as Qat and the Savage arrived.
“Ah,” one of the men said. “Our American friends. I am Al-Khayr. Join us.” The man pointed to the ground beside him, and Bambi directed the robot to sit.
“Give me control of the robot,” Marlborough said.
“It’s yours,” Bambi said.
“Have you sealed off this entire cavern to the outside world?” Marlborough asked.
“We have,” the warlord said. “When communications went down, I sent men to the surface to investigate. They discovered that all of our livestock had fallen dead. We sent men to the nearby village. The locals weren’t answering our comm pings. When the men arrived, they learned that all of the inhabitants were dead… suffering radiation burns.
“That was when the first swarm arrived: the devil machines swept over the land, devouring all metal. My men leaped into their vehicles, and raced back here as fast as they were able, sending a transmission of warning before they arrived. We sealed the cave entrance shortly after they reached us. All entrances. That prevented the devil machines from devouring us, too.
“We waited a day, and then dug a small hole through one of the sealed entrances. Our scouts on the surface reported strange bands of alien creatures roving the plains. We set up remote cameras to observe the cave entrance, along with a repeater to boost the signal, and then retreated here, resealing the cave-in. The devil swarm arrived a half day later, and it destroyed our cameras. We had only just dug ourselves out to explore, when we encountered your scout. My men panicked—wouldn’t you, if you were us? And opened fire.”
“It’s understandable,” Marlborough said. “If I was in your place, I would have probably fired, too.”
Al-Khayr sat back, and examined the men seated with him. “My advisors.”
Marlborough nodded at them, via the Savage.
“How many humans are with you?” the warlord asked.
“We’re a completely roboticized unit,” Marlborough replied. “Operated by Mind Refurbs. We call ourselves the Bolt Eaters.”
“Ah,” Al-Khayr said. “Bolt Eaters. This means, you eat bolts, no?”