by Isaac Hooke
“We understand the risks,” Rade said.
“Perhaps I can mitigate that risk somewhat,” Surus said.
“How so?” Rade asked.
“I still have several smaller sub antennae remaining from my quantum Slipstream experimentations,” Surus explained. “There are enough for each of your mechs. With the help of the Argonauts, I can weld them to the individual Hoplites, wiring them to the power sources in the mechs. Because of limitations in the materials and the available power sources, the antennae won’t be as strong as the telemetry drone, but it should be enough to protect the Hoplites from the swarm robots at the very least.”
“What kind of protection are we talking?” Rade said.
“Any micro robots that come within a two-meter diameter will be disabled,” Surus said.
“That’s actually not bad,” Rade said. “But where are these antennae? When did you have time to salvage them from the Molotok?”
“They’re quite small,” Surus said. “So I stowed them in Sprint’s storage compartment before leaving the Molotok at the free port.”
“How much time do you need to install them?” Rade asked.
“With help, between thirty to forty-five minutes,” Surus said.
“Too bad she didn’t tell us about this before, so we could have installed them earlier!” Manic said.
“There was no obvious need,” Surus replied.
“Shaw, how long until we reach geosynchronous orbit above the colony?” Rade said.
“About fifteen minutes,” she replied.
“All right,” Rade said. “I want you to hold that position until we’re ready to drop.”
“What if the behemoth tries to shoot down the Argonaut with that particle beam weapon?” Shaw asked.
“Once you’re in geosynchronous orbit,” Rade said, “begin evasive maneuvers immediately. Stay roughly centered above the colony, and keep a telephoto lens focused on the behemoth at all times so you’re aware of the turret’s position in relation to the ship. Fret, alert the governor of our plans. Algorithm, proceed to hangar bay two. Secure the telemetry drone to the rear of one of the Dragonflies.”
“I thought we needed to attach it to the dorsal area?” Manic asked. “To protect it during atmospheric entry?”
“We do, but there isn’t room in the hangar bay,” Rade said. “The shuttle will have to release the drone after launch, and then reattach it. Now, everyone down. Time to install those antenna.”
The Argonauts leaped from their Hoplites and accepted the quantum Slipstream antennae Surus gave them from the storage compartment in the leg of her mech: the devices were essentially white, hand-sized, helical tubes. As the team worked, they were well aware that every passing moment only enabled the behemoth to get larger as it fed upon the colony below.
“I’ve attained geosynchronous orbit,” Shaw announced over the comm, “and begun preemptive evasive maneuvers.”
Rade paused what he was doing to tap her in directly. “I almost forgot to ask you, do you want to come on this mission? I merely assumed you wanted to remain aboard...”
“Good assumption,” Shaw said. “Let Tahoe pilot Nemesis. My place is here, protecting the twins.”
“Thank you,” Rade said.
“Try not to sound too relieved or anything,” Shaw said.
“You see what we’re facing down there,” Rade said. “One of us has to survive, for the twins.”
“You’ll survive,” Shaw said. “You have to.”
Rade didn’t answer her, instead disconnecting to get back to work. He glanced at his external camera feed occasionally, and watched the battle unfold between the colony’s security forces and the behemoth. Large walker-style mechs perched on rooftops, firing at the giant robot, but they were taken out either by the particle beam, or when the swarm reached them and engulfed them.
Helo-style gunship drones were pounding the behemoth with lasers and missiles. The giant robot slammed its head into those that got too close, smashing them into nearby buildings. It shot down others with its weapon.
Only one fighter drone remained, and it flew past in another carpet-bombing run. The behemoth took the impacts stoically, and as the drone flew in front of it, the particle beam eliminated the fighter.
“So much for the colony’s defenses,” Rade muttered as he worked.
“Should we deploy the Raptor?” Shaw asked a moment later, referring to the air support drone that was still intact aboard the Argonaut.
Rade shook his head. “Its Hellfires and lasers won’t really make a difference. I can’t justify the cost.”
“So what’s the plan?” TJ said as he opened up a Hoplite’s power panel nearby. “We deploy the drone, and let it fire the quantum Slipstream interference device at random areas like we did in space?”
“It wasn’t random,” Surus said. “The spiraling you noticed was simply me running a quick scan until I detected the control center: a spike in quantum Slipstream activity near the core. When my signal hit that region, it was picked up by the core, which transmitted the interference frequency to the outlying units, disabling them all. Attacking the core won’t be so easy here, given the massive extents of this behemoth. It’s likely to be buried deep inside.”
“Why don’t you just focus the quantum interference on the extents, then,” Fret said. “Disable it a little bit at a time. A war of attrition.”
“The telemetry drone can bring down robots along the outer edges, certainly,” Surus said. “But there are so many out there, new ones will instantly replace them. Plus, more are being generated all the time as the micro robots digest and reconstitute the colony’s raw materials... it’s equivalent to pruning a tree or shaving a beard as it grows in realtime under your blade. However, I will continue to analyze the quantum Slipstream emissions during our descent, and I should have a better idea of what to expect once we get closer.”
The crew finished the Hoplite modifications ahead of schedule, at the thirty minute mark.
Rade tapped in Algorithm. “Board the Dragonfly. You get to fly with us.”
“It will be an honor,” Algorithm replied.
“Once you leave the hangar bay,” Rade continued, “release the telemetry drone, and reposition the shuttle underneath. Secure the drone to your dorsal section via the magnetic mounts.”
“Will do,” Algorithm replied. After a minute, the Centurion reported: “It’s done.”
“Hoplites, we drop!” Rade said. “Algorithm, proceed to the colony. Follow our launch vector.”
“Be careful down there!” Shaw transmitted.
Rade and the others loaded into their modified mechs. Tahoe took Nemesis once again.
Secure in his Hoplite, Rade took a running leap outside and fired decelerating thrust.
twenty-nine
Rade quickly descended in his mech. The cone-shaped aeroshell heat shield fell away after atmospheric entry. Rade glanced at his overhead map; he saw the blue dots representing the main group of Hoplites, and the rocket booster indicators following them down. The Dragonfly was near the middle.
Rade could see the colony in the distance ahead. The Hoplites were targeting the southern section of the city for their landing, and would fall within a one kilometer radius.
“You know,” Lui said during the descent. “This is essentially the same extinction-level weapon that our original foe, Zoltan, created, but instead of biological it’s robotics-based. A planet killer.”
“The Phants have a penchant for creating planet killers, don’t they?” Tahoe said.
“Don’t worry,” Fret said. “The United Systems will have its own planet killers someday.”
“Maybe we can use them against you,” Bender said.
“Bender has his own planet killer,” Manic said. “After landing on a new world, all he has to do is take off his underwear, and as soon as the smell seeps out...”
“That’s the smell of a powerful dick,” Bender said. “Least I got one.”
“Po
werful dick, tiny balls,” Fret commented.
“Bitch, it not balls that are the true measure of courage,” Bender said. “It’s toe size.”
“What?” Manic said. “Where do you come up with this stuff?”
“It’s true,” Bender said. “A bunch of scientists came up with a theory correlating the size of the big toe to one’s bravery. And I have very large big toes.”
“Seems like a bogus theory to me,” Lui said. “I’d like to see the reference papers.”
“Later,” Bender said. “The gist: they tested out the theory on chickens.”
“Chickens, dude?” Fret said.
“That’s right,” Bender said. “In cock fights, those chickens with the biggest spurs on their toes ended up being the bravest.”
“Cock fights,” Manic said. “Now we know what you do in your spare time.”
“Well of course chickens with big spurs are going to be brave,” Tahoe said. “That’s like saying a man carrying a sword is braver than a man armed with a dagger. It has no relation at all to the size of the actual toes.”
“What’s the length of your big toes?” Bender asked.
“I don’t know,” Tahoe said. “Five centimeters?”
“Ha!” Bender said. “Mine are seven!”
“I got seven point five centimeter big toes,” Manic said.
“Eight centimeters here,” Fret said.
“Yeah right, you lying sons of bitches,” Bender said. “When this is done, I’m going to measure your damn toes, and kick your asses for lying.”
“I’m going to kick your ass, period,” Manic said. “Though I’m a bit worried my big toe will get stuck inside your tiny crack.”
“Yeah, big words, bitch,” Bender said. “You’re lucky I got a battle coming up, or I’d serve those words right back to you on an ass-stuffing platter.”
“Bender eats ass-stuffing?” Fret said. “Is that like turkey filling of some kind?”
“I notice a pattern here,” Bender said. “You two bitches are always taking the same side. You and Manic should make a movie. The title could be: Let’s Be Gay Together.”
“Why don’t you join us?” Fret said. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“Oh I do,” Bender said. “I really do. I’d make that movie with Surus, though.”
“No you wouldn’t,” Surus said.
“Guys, please,” Rade said. “Enough. I need you to focus.” He knew the banter was meant to distract and calm them from what lay ahead, but there came a time when concentrating on the battle overruled all else. And that time was quickly coming up.
“Sorry, boss,” Bender said.
As Rade made his final approach, he almost regretted silencing his Argonauts. His heart was beating faster than ever, and he felt the fear deep inside of him growing, threatening to overwhelm him. The fear that always came before battle, when he knew he faced his own death. So far he had always fought that fear, and controlled it, but he knew it would be so easy to let go and let the fright unman him.
Remember who you are.
Another thought came into his mind.
The twins aren’t going to grow up without a father.
He smashed down onto a medium rise building on the southern edge of the colony.
On the overhead map, Rade confirmed that the other Hoplites had landed nearby. The behemoth resided several blocks to the northeast of their position, razing its way through the colony’s eastern quarter.
“Surus, what do you have?” Rade said.
She operated Sprint on the rooftop just across the street from him.
“With the help of Harlequin and Algorithm, I’ve been analyzing the quantum emission patterns during our descent, and have an update on the control center,” Surus said. “It’s not buried deep inside the behemoth like I originally believed, but appears to be located near the base of the neck, maybe seven meters inside, so not too deep. As in the previous swarms, that center appears to be amplifying the signal and redistributing it to the entire mass of robots in realtime. If we can bring the telemetry drone close to that spot, and fire the interference signal inside, we can bring down the whole entity. I’ve estimated that the drone will have to close to within at least ten meters for the interference beam to penetrate to the necessary level.”
“So sneak the shuttle up behind it,” Manic said. “And drop down from at height.”
“Unfortunately,” Surus said, “because of the nature of the individual robots composing the behemoth, it won’t be possible to ‘sneak up’ on the enemy, as you say. The body is essentially covered in a million eyes. And while I agree that dropping down to attack from above might seem like a viable strategy, I’ve been observing the enemy as it attacked the security forces... their sensor array will detect an approach from that vector long before the shuttle arrives, given the enemy ample time to reposition or fire its particle beam.”
“So what do you suggest?” Rade said.
“The best attack vector is to fly in low, from the side, remaining close to the buildings,” Surus said. “Ideally, the Dragonfly should follow the line of the street if possible, staying hidden from view, and emerging only at the last possible moment. I would suggest sending in the Hoplites first as a distraction.”
“Hoplites, proceed forward,” Rade said. “Let’s see what we can do about occupying our enemy while Algorithm moves the Dragonfly into position. Do what Surus suggested, Algorithm: circle out to the east side of the city and come in low, between the streets, using the buildings for cover. Do not engage until we have the enemy occupied. We’ll try to draw it’s attention away to the west, giving you a clear path to the base of its neck.”
“Understood,” Algorithm said.
Rade and the others moved northeast, heading toward the source of the destruction. Here most of the buildings were intact, as the enemy had not reached these neighborhoods yet. Rade jetted from building to building at first, and as he grew closer to the behemoth, which towered over the buildings ahead of him, he leaped down and proceeded forward on foot. He deployed the anti-laser shield in his left arm. It wouldn’t help much against the particle beam weapon, but it was better than nothing. It might buy him a few milliseconds. Meanwhile, he rotated the cobra into his right arm.
Rade neared the towering behemoth. Up ahead the buildings fell away where the neighborhood had been damaged in one of the earlier particle beam attacks. Rubble filled the street.
The beam unexpectedly came sweeping in as Rade approached—apparently the behemoth had spotted him already.
Rade ducked inside an alleyway between two of the buildings that remained standing. On the street opposite him, a mid rise apartment toppled, fanning across the street.
Something struck Electron in the side. Rade’s mech was sent hurtling from the alleyway. He realized it was another Hoplite. Manned by Harlequin.
Rade glanced back at the alleyway, and saw that the particle beam had hewn through the area, right over the spot where Electron had just been standing.
“Thanks,” Rade told Harlequin.
But the Artificial was already racing his mech away across the ruined street, weaving left and right as the particle beam focused in on his Hoplite.
Damn thing can certainly fire longer than the weapons the original behemoths employed.
Rade used the distraction to fire his jumpjets; he leaped onto the rooftop of a low rise building, and dashed forward. He jetted onto another building, and another, racing toward the behemoth that loomed over him and blotted out the sky.
Rade glanced at his overhead map and saw that the other Hoplites were converging on the area.
“Now, Algorithm!” Rade sent. “Take the shuttle in!” As he continued to race forward, he added: “Cover me, Argonauts!”
Ahead, the roof was covered in the swarm. Rade took a deep breath.
Time to see if these portable interference antennae work.
He sprinted directly toward the micro robots. The horde swarmed to meet him,
but then deactivated and collapsed where he passed.
Well that’s a relief.
Rade continued running, crunching over the bodies of the deactivated robots, making his way toward one of the behemoth’s massive limbs. He fired his cobra laser at its underside. Other Hoplites were similarly firing from hides throughout the neighborhood. Someone was launching grenades from a clocktower. When the grenades impacted, large clumps of micro robots fell away from the behemoth.
“Like throwing rocks at a bee hive!” Bender said on the comm, giggling away. “That’s right, shake those titties, bitch!”
The surface became loose and uneven beneath Rade. He reached the edge of the roof and jetted over the street, which crawled with micro robots. Overhead, the behemoth’s form continued to block the sky.
Rade landed on the adjacent rooftop, which was also covered in the swarm. The horde members continued to deactivate within a one meter radius around him. The micro bots had done a much better job of ingesting this building, and it was structurally unstable. The roof gave shortly, unable to hold his mech: in moments Rade found himself plunging through into the room below.
Rade clambered to his feet amid the deactivated micro robots and shucked off those that had fallen on top of him. He leaped into the side of the weakened structure and easily burst through, landing on another building below that similarly swarmed with robots. He quickly jetted onto the adjacent street, not wanting to fall through that roof as well.
The behemoth lifted one of its massive limbs to swat at Rade as he grew near.
“Algorithm...” Rade sent.
Rade jetted to the side in an attempt to avoid the impact, but the appendage caught him in a glancing blow. The robots composing the extremity likely deactivated a meter away from his mech, but Rade couldn’t tell, because their momentum still carried the metal bodies into him. The blow sent Electron arcing backward over the rooftops. He saw particles fall away from the tip of the receding limb in front of him—likely the micro robots his local interference device had knocked offline.
He landed on his back upon the bare asphalt of the street behind him, and slid across the surface. He cut a five-meter long runnel into the road before coming to a halt.