Ally or Alien: A Sci-Fi Novel

by Dorian, Mars

  "Open the goddamn door."

  "I can not. It is on lockdown."

  This useless shell.

  Lives were on the line, and he still refused to help. Bellrock wanted to ram eVax' plastic face into the wall and stomp on it, but getting his partner out of the lab prison was the priority. He released the PEPS from his side-holster, stepped back and aimed the firearm at the wall.

  eVax sighed with faint annoyance and slumped his shoulders.

  "That will not help you break through the hull."

  "Shut up."

  It was Bellrock's only choice.

  He squeezed the trigger and heated up the air before him. The invisible blast impacted the wall with no discernible effect.

  Of course, it didn't.

  It was non-lethal.

  Bellrock ground his teeth.

  If only he carried a real firearm...

  Useless thoughts.

  He ran toward the see-through wall again and hit it with all his might. eVax looked like a bored bystander now and crossed his arms. He seemed to suffer from a severe loss of reality.

  "That is even more useless."

  Bellrock gnarled at the Newtype's direction.

  "My friend's getting slaughtered inside. Either you shut the fuck up or you help me out."

  "I am afraid I cannot do anything about it."

  So shut up, then.

  Inside the lab, the biomorphed arm spidered up Rao's back and smashed the poor guy into the half-broken tech table. The doc's eyes screamed in terror, his body cringed in agony. It tumbled over to the ground like a lifeless piece of meat.

  Bellrock shouted.

  "Sriniva."

  The young doctor crept toward the table and tried to lift himself up, but the blood wound leaked. He slipped and hit his face on the floor tiles first. More of the crimson liquid bubbled out and created a lake around his body.

  Bellrock couldn't take it anymore. He ran back to the direction where he came from.

  eVax craned his neck.

  "Where are you going?"

  "I'm going to armor up."

  "Is this violence really necessary?"

  Bellrock pushed his legs and focused on the shortest distance back to his exoframe equipment. The critical thinking vanished, only the battle instincts burned. As he dashed through the corridor maze at full throttle, asset eKazumi came his way.

  "The biomorph—“

  "I know," she said, "we are all synced, remember?"

  "Then where the hell were you?"

  "I was recharging. When eLoom is working in the lab, she almost never requires my assistance."

  Worst timing ever.

  Bellrock passed her.

  In less than a minute, he reached the cargo section and aimed for the crate with the HULC equipment, the Human Universal Load Carrier, a third generation model. Normally used to transport and lift heavyweights at disaster zones and construction sites, now a device to increase his physical strength and speed for CQC.

  Close-quarters-combat.

  The exoframe way.

  Seriously, the HULC was the best mobile armor that didn't count as military gear, although its variants were used in almost every infantry-based conflict. Bellrock attached the wireframe to his joints and slipped into the mobile armor. Activated its UX and felt like a raging titan.

  HULC, online.

  Hell yeah, Bellrock thought.

  Five times his body weight.

  Five times his physical strength.

  Ten times more likely to kick some alien ass.

  With the power of the suit, Bellrock readied his PEPS firearm and marched all the way back to the lab section. During the speed stomping, he prayed for his partner's survival.

  Stay strong, Sriniva.

  I'm going to get you out of there.

  Bellrock realized he should have never let the young man go alone. His instincts proved him right.

  On the quick run, he activated a fast-beat, hammering sound piece from Shibuya Burn to get into the right mood. The ooz-ooz-ooz hardcore beat made his blood boil. Back in the lab corridor, he saw the biomorph arm creature slipping through a hole in the wall. It carried new mechanical attachments to its body, probably assimilated from the lab, which made it look like a cybernetic swiss knife monster. Bellrock recognized sharp cutting tools and even hull pieces from the crates and the tech table.

  The horror.

  This creature was a parasite through and through, snatching up every tool that helped its killing spree. The ugly thing leaped onto eKazumi and swung one of its laser-sharpened body blades...

  41

  The biomorphed arm-creature cut through eKazumi's left arm with ease. Her limb snatched off and whirled around the slick ground. A bright blood-like liquid splashed out from its tubed veins and spat against the walls. They swallowed up the neon crimson substance and looked clean again.

  Bellrock shook his head.

  This was turning into a fetish now. To his amazement, eKazumi didn't scream. She ducked and rolled sideways as the mechanical creature assimilated her arm and made it a part of its ever-growing body. A strange liquid splattered the wound like a meteor trail. It looked like a damn SFX.

  "Hey, ugly bitch."

  eKazumi rotated her doll-like head.

  Bellrock groaned.

  "No, I meant the biomorph."

  The mechanical creature let go off the asset and crept toward him, now with two cybernetic arms attached.

  The captain was ready for it.

  He trained his PEPS at the creature and squeezed the touch-sensitive trigger. The pressure wave knocked back the biomorph spawn by ten meters. Kicked the sucker off its legs and stunned it.

  Bellrock approached the grounded Newtype.

  "Are you okay?"

  eKazumi looked at her left rear. Some of the bloody liquid still leaked out, but the arm stump sealed itself to prevent further spilling. eKazumi's face remained devoid of emotion.

  "It is just one arm. I can reprint it once this situation is dealt with."

  "Good. Stay here for a sec. I have to check on my buddy."

  She nodded.

  Bellrock kicked open the rest pieces of the see-through wall and jumped into the demolished lab. The place looked as if a splitter bomb had blown apart the whole interior.

  Didn't matter, only his partner did.

  He found his buddy in the corner, laying in the fetal position, crying in pain.

  Spilling blood left and right.

  Bellrock hoped the injuries weren't as grave as they looked like.

  "Doc, I'm gonna get you out of here."

  The young man looked up and forced out a smile. Blood mixed with tears and ran from the corners of his eyes.

  "C-captain."

  Bellrock took a deep breath.

  "Not gonna lie—this is going to hurt a lot."

  He carefully lifted the doc and gently carried him under his left exo-arm. No problem with the help of his HULC, but Dr. Rao screamed his lungs out. The pain must have been excruciating, especially to a civilian with no anti-fragile training. Bellrock made sure he didn't squeeze. Thank tech the finely-tuned mechanics allowed for millimeter-tight accuracy. Still, it sucked to see the young man wince.

  "I know, buddy, but we don't have the luxury of a stretcher."

  Bellrock was about to step out the wall-hole when he noticed eLoom on the other side of the lab. She tried to push herself up and slipped on debris.

  "Are you okay?"

  She was more resistant than her human counterparts, but even shells were susceptible. No one deserved to die by the biomorph, or its twisted offspring.

  Bellrock knelt next to eLoom and said,

  "You're coming with me."

  She nodded but was unable to speak.

  The captain grabbed her with his supported right arm and carried both her and Dr. Rao out the lab wall’s hole. In the corridor, he saw one-armed eKazumi staring at the east section of the corridor.

  "The biomorph creature is
coming back."

  She was right.

  The little bastard crawled on the wall. Ripped the fingers of its assimilated arms through the ceiling's hull and snaked at their direction. Bellrock felt the urge to fire, but with both arms carrying his folks, he was out-armed. That's when he looked at eKazumi and said,

  "Asset, take the PEPS gun from my side-holster and use it to keep the creature at bay."

  She followed his command with no hesitation, activated the gun and aimed it at the incoming ceiling-hugger. Bellrock watched her raise the firearm and expressed his doubts.

  "Do you even know how to use this?"

  "I'm Newtype. I know everything."

  Of course she did.

  "Well, then cover our asses."

  She bowed, directed the gun and squeezed the trigger at the blink of a nano-enhanced eye. The blow caught up with the biomorph creature and threw it meters down the east corridor. It looked as if an invisible foot played rugby with it.

  Low on damage, high on pushback.

  Bellrock whistled.

  "Good shot."

  But this wasn't the time to drool over accuracy.

  He cranked the servo-mechanics of his HULC exoskeleton and marched away from the hotzone. eKazumi covered his escape route by firing controlled bursts every time the biomorph crawler neared the duo by five meters.

  "It is not lethal," eKazumi said.

  "Because of your damn anti-firearm demands. I would have brought a smart assault rifle with a holo-stabilizer."

  "Maybe next time."

  "There won't be a next time."

  He marched faster.

  Stomp, stomp, exo on overdrive.

  Dr. Rao, aching under Bellrock's left arm, leaked a blood trail, which was soaked up by the ground. Not a single drop remained on the surface.

  Bellrock swallowed.

  "Where's the nearest medstation?"

  "Medstation?"

  She hesitated.

  "Oh, you mean a repair bay."

  "Where is it?"

  She pulled the trigger again when the biomorph creature threatened to creep closer.

  "It is next to the hub intersection."

  "Good. Let's blitz."

  During the getaway march, he looked at the ammo counter of the PEPS gun eKazumi was firing.

  "Only three shots left."

  "It is good. We will shut down the section now."

  Right the second they traversed the corridor frame, the shutter mechanism closed and separated the escapees from the predator.

  Close timing.

  eKazumi said,

  "Aggressor successfully detained in lab section E-2."

  She put the PEPS back into Bellrock's side-holster. Bellrock realized every shot she had fired was a direct hit, probably aided by her internal aim-assist. Now she looked at Bellrock pushing his exo-legs and said,

  "Do you need help carrying your partner?"

  "Aren't you supposed to take care of your compeer first?"

  Her eyes remained neutral.

  "Oh, eLoom will be alright. It is your friend that is facing death."

  42

  Bellrock walked with determination. Made every step count and avoided rash movements to lower the vibrations. Every hefty move could have had fatal consequences for the doc.

  Couldn't let that happen.

  eKazumi danced next to him. She almost tiptoed over the floor with a humming silence.

  Bellrock said,

  "Where's the station?"

  "Over there."

  A hole in the wall opened up sideways. The light inside the chamber switched on. Medical machines came alive with mechanical sounds, followed by a symphony of beeps.

  "Put him in one of the pods," the asset said, "we're going to scan his injuries while I produce the right amount of tranquilizer fluid to keep him quiet."

  "Are you are a doctor as well?"

  She narrowed her eyes.

  "Of course."

  "Ah right, you guys know everything."

  With her one arm left, eKazumi helped put Dr. Rao into one of the pods. Three cybernetic arms extracted from the tech table and circulated over the wounded scientist. One seemed to scan him, the other cut open his suit while the third took a blood sample and sprayed his wounds with some kind of disinfectant. eKazumi explained the process.

  "The system is going to evaluate his damage and will repair him under my watch.”

  She looked up at Bellrock.

  "Do you mind putting eLoom into the adjacent repair pod?"

  Bellrock averted his glance from Rao.

  "Sure, sorry."

  "Oh, please do not feel guilty. You humanoids are often distracted by your emotions."

  Another one of these off-putting remarks, but the Newtype female was the only thing that could save his partner's life.

  "Right."

  He put eLoom into the second pod and watched its three arms unleashing the same spiel as with the doc. eKazumi joined his side and elaborated on the process.

  "She has received only minor injuries that are 100% repairable."

  At least some good news.

  Bellrock paid attention to his doc and remained less optimistic about his state.

  "What's his injury?"

  "Three broken rips, one broken shoulder blade and a fracture in the clavicle. I'm also detecting heavy internal bleeding in the solar plexus area. Wait there is more— his spleen was penetrated.”

  Bellrock swallowed.

  Seeing Dr. Rao in the pod, bleeding out, it tore at his psyche. Half an hour ago, the young man was on fire, ready to analyze the alien. Helping out Earth with his sharp sense and curiosity.

  And now? Facing death.

  The fragile fate of humans?

  No, Bellrock couldn't even think about it.

  The next words stumbled over his lips.

  "Can you fix him?"

  "We try our best."

  "That won't be enough. You need to do more."

  Like, everything even remotely possible.

  Half-assed measures wouldn't do.

  They never did.

  eKazumi eyed him with curiosity. She looked like a little Japanese girl when her white hand stroked his.

  "I know you are upset. What happened to your partner is mostly unfortunate. But when I say we are doing our best, that is a 100% correct statement."

  "I guess I have to trust you on this one."

  "That would be sound."

  Meanwhile, eLoom regained the ability to talk and spoke from her pod.

  "Do not worry, Bellrock. Your friend will receive state-of-the-art treatment. He will be fine, it is only a matter of time."

  Her head tilted inside the pod, while the bionic arms worked on her body as if they were building an auto-ride in the factory. There was warmth in her voice, and her blue eyes seemed to ooze empathy. Or maybe it was the first time Bellrock had noticed it.

  "What happened back in the lab?"

  "The extra arm must have been corrupted when we approached the biomorph structure. It was shortly swallowed up by the life form, which seemed enough for the assimilation process. We have found out that the biomorph is using a smart liquid consisting of millions of programmed nanobots to infiltrate the tubes and cables from our electronic equipment to manipulate its functions."

  She paused.

  "Then, when I and Dr. Rao were working on the footage samples in the lab, reprinting a 3D model for the analysis, the nanobot-infected arm detached itself from the tool showcase and attacked us."

  She paused but kept her eye contact.

  "It dismantled the lab and assimilated the electronic tools. Unfortunately, both I and the doctor were in the way."

  "Well, the thing's contained. I hope it stays that way."

  eLoom smiled through the semi-transparent pod hull.

  "Do not worry about that. Our quarantine protocol has wiped out the aggressor."

  Quarantine protocol? Sounded like bureaucrat jargon again, but whatever killed the c
reature was a plus in his book. Bellrock let the thought linger on his mind when eKazumi's squeaky voice sounded from behind.

  "I will now survey the repairing process and overtake control where I see fit."

  She walked toward a monitor that was connected with the repair pod and its three cybernetic arms.

  Bellrock thanked her in silence.

  "Is there anything I can do?"

  "Unfortunately, your mindset is too limited to assist me in any medical venture. You can take a pause in the community center. The couch ring awaits you."

  "Gotcha."

  He rotated around a 180 degrees but kept his head pointed at eKazumi's direction.

  "Please. Do your best."

  "I will. It is a guarantee."

  Bellrock switched to eLoom's position and gave her two thumbs up.

  "Same goes for you—get well soon."

  She narrowed her eyes till her glowing blue orbs disappeared. Her smile seemed warmer than the light from the centered source on the ceiling.

  eLoom said,

  "I will. Double-promise."

  Bellrock nodded before he left the repair station. He faced the central area with the couch ring where eVax awaited him. The shell tried to smile but it couldn't have looked any more fake.

  Plastic face, plastic grin.

  eVax to the max.

  Probably the only 'person' Bellrock wished the biomorph creature should have killed.

  The anger surged inside the captain.

  Rage pushed into his fists.

  "Which hole did you creep out of?"

  "I was looking for a way to be useful."

  "BS. You ran away like chicken shit."

  "Please, watch your mouth. Vulgarity is of no use to anyone. Besides, I have some bad news to share."

  Bellrock nodded.

  "Yeah, me too."

  He marched toward the Newtype and gave him an uppercut...

  43

  Thanks to the HULC exoskeleton, Bellrock's punch brimmed with primal power. Felt like he owned a rocket arm.

  Aim, fire, forget.

  The Newtype flew five meters over the ground floor and rolled sideways upon impact. Pushed himself back up and brushed off invisible dust. His facial expression remained neutral.