Ally or Alien: A Sci-Fi Novel

by Dorian, Mars

  One body, one function.

  This was war, the eLoom way.

  Wasn't she the Newtype woman who had previously said 'harmony before hate'?

  And now here she was, controlling a droid armada consisting of bombers, floating tanks and artillery units. Wreaking havoc on the 'harmless' life form, like there was no sol after tomorrow. In-between the explosion-filled surround screens, Bellrock flicked a glance at her face. She was 100% into the moment but flinched once. Her eyes closed in nano-seconds before she was able to concentrate on the warfare again.

  Was this a result of being connected to the facility, or something else?

  Bellrock couldn't tell, because as a PAN-less human, he couldn't just enter her mind like eVax. So he stood idle, wishing he could participate in the battle instead of holding still and having his jaw dropping down. Besides the impressive robotized army, the alien marched on and devoured the droid wreckages like goddamn cancer on legs.

  This was no soldiering for a veteran like Bellrock.

  His fingers itched, his right leg started to shake.

  Despite the hundreds of target pointers, graphs and stats on the screens, he realized eLoom's full frontal assault wasn't as effective as it looked. The explosions shared the same characteristics as their CGI movie counterparts.

  They distracted from the story.

  And in this moment, the narrative was: the biomorph closed up. It had taken down the bombers and the hovertanks, heck, even converted some of them. One screen displayed a 24.3 kilometer distance between the station and the alien, which was way too close for Bellrock's taste.

  He couldn't stay silent anymore.

  "You're not bringing it down."

  For the first time ever, eLoom sounded aggravated.

  "I'm doing what I can. Droid capacity is at maximum, I'm sending and firing everything we got."

  Well, it wasn't enough.

  So he moved closer to her left side until he was only one breath away from her ear channels.

  "Don't you have something bigger?"

  "As in?"

  He longed for the right words. If a droid armada wasn't slowing down the alien, they needed area-damage of the grandest kind.

  "You know, a nuclear warhead or something."

  eLoom kept her eyes glued to the screens while multi-performing her ballade of destruction.

  "We do not have, and never had, nuclear warheads. That goes against the WMD treaty of our race.”

  Taken straight from the peace talks. Well, having a droid armada wasn't probably pro-treaty as well, but who cared about the details at this point.

  "I'm just saying."

  His eyes rolled back to the remaining aerial droid squadron. Only the agile interceptor-style drones with their weak kinetic impactors and the now stationary artillery units around the base offered resistance at this stage.

  We're going to get swarmed, Bellrock thought.

  Biomorphed the fuck out.

  This rotten creature probably didn't even know the meaning of surrender—it attacked like a suicidal animal with nothing to lose.

  "If that thing reaches our base, we're all done for."

  The itch inside Bellrock increased.

  But watching the creature nearing the base cooked up every cell in his battle-hardened body. If he could, he would have broken through the screen walls, jumped down to the base entrance to go full Rambo on the biomorph. A holo-stabilized AM rifle with armor-piercing 35mm rounds and a couple of scatter frags was all he needed to single-handedly blast the alien back into the cosmic void.

  "Do not worry, soldier," eLoom said without turning around.

  She couldn't possibly read his mind, but she was a master at reading his facial expressions.

  For the first time since the start of the skirmish, she craned her neck toward him and glowed her optical sensors in blue beauty.

  "We have one last defense option that involves you."

  52

  "Tell me," Bellrock said.

  "We still have an armory depot from the Separatist War. It’s part of this facility and stores firearms from the first generation. You should be able to use them."

  Armory depot inside a so-called science facility?

  It was unbelievable how much intel they kept from him. But one quick glance at the screens showed this topic was set for later. The biomorph was still the top priority.

  "Every hour you spit out another secret that wasn't supposed to exist in the first place."

  "There was no reason to reveal that information earlier."

  Hesitation lingered on her side.

  This was hardly the moment for confessions.

  "Fine, whatever. Show me the way and I'll get to it."

  The second eLoom confirmed the destination, Bellrock dashed off...

  53

  Her last sentence never reached Bellrock. He leaped into the tube transportation capsule, took it to the lower central floor and followed the blinking arrows that eLoom projected into his environment. She seemed to be part of every aspect of the station.

  Almost...godlike.

  The captain from Earth raised his head and talked to the ceiling while running with his lungs on overdrive.

  "How much longer?"

  "47 seconds. You are almost there."

  Thanks to the exoskeleton, Bellrock blasted through the pathways in no time. He followed the arrows and stopped in front of a round-shaped door in the middle of a neighboring station segment. eLoom's voice reverberated.

  "It is okay. You can go in now. I'm going to unlock everything."

  The second Bellrock stepped into the armory depot, his mouth dropped. The light switched on and illuminated the armor lockers as they flipped open at the same time. The treasure chamber of firearms looked like its counterpart from Earth, only more impressive. He recognized...

  Modular flechette-based machine pistols.

  Melta grenades.

  Short-ranged plasma guns.

  Smart beam rifles.

  And even a personal shield drone device that Bellrock remembered from the Separatist War.

  This was truly a museum of mayhem.

  A goddamn gun shop paradise.

  So much for the peace treaty, Bellrock thought. The Newtype may have never used these weapons, but merely owning them was a direct violation of the contract.

  Why didn't they dispose of them?

  Surely they knew how to recycle old technology.

  Bellrock rummaged through the open showcases and geared up to the max. Thanks to his exoskeleton, he could carry up to five times the amount of equipment. He used the adaptable mag pouches and attached them to his HULC.

  His preferred weapon layout:

  1) The particle-beam rifle called the smartLZR—X32. This baby was pretty light for its elongated barrel, weighing only about 2.1 Kg. The rifle carried the best auto-assist technology known to humanoids. It was even superior to the holo-stabilizer tech on Earth. But the main bragging right? The smartLZR used electromagnetic fields to accelerate and direct charged particles along any chosen path, with an effective shooting range of about 1200 meter on the Martian surface.

  2) Six homing Melta grenades which could blast through fortified hulls, just like the station's corridor walls, using an invisible laser pulse which, upon impact, ablated the surface and created exploding plasma.

  3) Three smart, autonomous 'Needle Shepard' turrets that could be attached to walls and ground alike, firing armor-piercing 15mm high-velocity darts.

  4) A personal shield drone, dubbed the 'Carapace', which could be hooked to the sockets of his HULC exoframe limbs. Bellrock saw his reflection in the slick walls and grinned—he looked like a heavy assault unit from the Orbital Spec Ops.

  Locked and loaded, baby.

  Bellrock The Soldier, finally back in demand.

  He stomped out the armory when eLoom's crisp voice echoed from the corridors.

  "I'm so sorry."

  She repeated the statement ad nauseam.

/>   A giant roar erupted. The explosion was muffled by the walls. Inside the armory, it felt like a minor earthquake. Bellrock’s glance glued to the ceiling.

  "What happened?"

  "The biomorph has breached the east front. Only four turrets remain active and fire at max capacity. The life form seems to be splitting up again—I still cannot read its movement pattern. It is a mystery."

  The pressure was on.

  Bellrock groaned and talked to the ceiling because that seemed to be the origin of eLoom's voice.

  "What are you waiting for? Get the hell out of the CoreCommand."

  "Not yet. I still have 9% of my droids left. Three turrets keep firing."

  "eLoom. Don't be ridiculous. Your droids are done. Same goes for this base. Let's leave while we can."

  She ignored him, as always.

  "Dr. Rao is ready for transport. You can pick him up at the repair station. I will show you the way back to the hangar. Also, your hoverglider is ready for lift-off. eKazumi has calculated the route back to the port where the space elevator is. Everything is taken care of."

  Bellrock pondered her words.

  Sriniva Rao.

  Partner from another planet.

  The only reason why they still stayed at the base.

  To buy him more time, making sure he could return to the ringstation in one piece. Bellrock kissed the cross chain around his neck and slipped it back underneath his exoframe armor. He stormed toward the repair station where eKazumi opened the med pod's hull and helped Sriniva out. Some kind of straps disconnected, the bionic arms retracted to the tech table's rear. The asset herself looked as impartial as ever.

  Must be sweet to be emotionally detached from turmoil, especially in dire circumstances like these.

  eKazumi noticed Bellrock the second he traversed the doorframe.

  "Dr. Rao isn't fully operational, but he’s fit enough to board a glider without suffering irreparable long-term damage."

  Bellrock repeated her words in his mind.

  He wasn't fully operational.

  Typical Newtype term.

  Sriniva wasn't a goddamn machine, but a real human being. Still, she did save his life, so he wasn’t going aggro.

  "Can you carry him?"

  "Sure."

  "We'll go to—“

  “—the glider in the bay area, I know. Remember we Newtype are what you call telepathic."

  "Right."

  That B2B connection between their units seemed useful. Maybe the AC would find a way to adapt the same tech in the future, while avoiding the whole hive-mind mentality of course.

  But now, Bellrock approached his weakened buddy and said,

  "We're going to get you out of here."

  Dr. Rao stammered. He looked a tad better than before; somewhere between feverish and Ready To Take a Walk In The Park. At least his body was moving.

  "You s-should have left without me."

  "Yeah, well, you know how the saying goes."

  No man left behind.

  They both knew.

  "Let's do this."

  eKazumi carried Dr. Rao who seemed to be twice as big. But with her artificial strength, she was able to lift him up like a plastic puppet and put him down on a mobile stretcher unit.

  "Off we go."

  She pushed Dr. Rao's carrier and continued the path toward the hangar bay. eVax joined them out of nowhere.

  "I'm coming with you."

  "What about eLoom?"

  "She can handle herself."

  Whatever.

  Bellrock readied his smartLZR directed-energy rifle and guarded the escape route from the rear. He looked around and spied for incoming aggressors. Nothing entered his vision.

  Yet.

  Another rumble shook up the complex.

  He said,

  "This place's falling apart."

  "Indeed, it is the perfect time to leave."

  They ran around corners and darted into the adjacent hallway leading to the hangar bay. At least this facility was small. You had to be a moron to get lost.

  Bellrock gazed upwards and said,

  "eLoom, how are you shaping up?"

  "I'm down to my last duo of droids. Only one turret remains active."

  "Then leave. We're almost at the bay."

  Her reply never arrived.

  eKazumi mind-opened the final gate to the hangar and targeted the nearest garage spot that opened its doors. The hoverglider opened its hatch and came alive with a hum.

  "I am going to lay him down on the ergo backseats. Do not worry—my driving style is devoid of major vibrations. Besides, his organs have been successfully replaced. He is just weakened from the process."

  "Thanks."

  Bellrock looked back to the hangar entrance where they came from.

  The hall seemed to be eerily quiet.

  Not a single unit remained.

  "How is eLoom supposed to leave her CoreCommand?"

  "Oh, she will not."

  "What?"

  His eyes focused on eKazumi's neutral expression. She couldn’t have been any more detached from the moment. Maybe she lacked the ability to express feelings, because her next words flushed out with no change of intonation.

  "eLoom is going to sacrifice herself for our wellbeing.”

  "You're kidding."

  "I am surely not."

  Bellrock bit his lips.

  "I thought her respawn rate was limited."

  "It is, but eLoom does not seem to mind."

  He shook his head. The asset's serenity infuriated him.

  "Why are you standing around like a puppet instead of helping your compeer?"

  "Because eLoom has ordered me to accompany you and the Exec has directed me to assist her. Besides, better her than all of us. Imagine the material waste."

  These Newtype were....whatever. This wasn't the time to question their modus operandi.

  Bellrock saw Dr. Rao cringing in the backseats of the hoverglider.

  "Are you okay?"

  He lifted his head and cracked out a faint smile.

  "Feel like shit...as you would say, but hey. I'm still alive."

  Bellrock smirked.

  "And it's going to stay that way."

  He hit the hull and told eKazumi to man the vehicle, but she was already in the front seat, controlling the vessel through her mind connection. Her head rotated toward his direction.

  "Now is a good time to step inside."

  Even eVax, who sat next to her, urged him to enter.

  Bellrock knew.

  "We can't leave eLoom alone."

  eKazumi shrugged.

  The captain from Earth shouted and hoped the last Newtype in the CoreCommand would hear him.

  "eLoom. Get the hell out of there and leave with us."

  The shout echoed into the farthest corners of the hangar hall, but no answer returned. Only the humming of the glider reverberated.

  eKazumi sighed, at least that's what it sounded like.

  "Oh, she does not answer anymore. Her channel is set on private."

  Bellrock closed his eyes.

  Damn you, eLoom.

  Rao raised his head inside the glider again and coughed.

  "Captain, come on. This station's done for."

  Smart words.

  Simple words.

  But they brushed by Bellrock as he made the most foolish decision of his career.

  "Captain?" Rao said, as he saw Bellrock running away...

  54

  He did it.

  Brain: lost.

  Heart: won.

  Bellrock stormed away from the hangar and ignored Dr. Rao calling his name.

  Bellrock stomped.

  Twap-twap.

  The servo-mechanism of his HULC exoframe morphed him into an armored gorilla on steroids.

  Twap, twap, the sound of exo-enhanced boots romping on the slick floor ground. Goddamn, this has to be the most idiotic decision he has made in his entire life, and Bellrock made plenty. Bu
t after everything that happened, he just couldn't leave her alone.

  He and her.

  They worked together.

  They helped each other.

  It was an unwritten law to take those home who fought by your side, no matter the race...or material.

  Besides, there must have been another glider to escape with. Newtype always had alternatives. All Bellrock needed to do was grab eLoom and take her back to the hangar.

  Sounded easy, but wasn't.

  All the way back in the central node point of the Farsight complex, Bellrock detected movement on his motion scanner, attached to the right arm of his exoframe.

  Red triangles flickered on the radar screen. Someone, or something, was creeping his way.

  Instinct kicked in, the warrior mode switched on.

  Bellrock activated the smart beam rifle. The display on its digiscope identified five targets crawling toward his direction.

  Distance: 23.5 meters.

  He marched around the tables and chairs when a strange fizzz sound roared from afar.

  Bellrock glanced into the corridors.

  Something wicked this way.

  It was time to activate the Carapace shield. The mini-droids hovered around his front and projected a curved, semi-transparent shell before his eyes.

  Zzzzooom.

  His very own personal electro-magnetic shield, now fully operational.

  The battery display of his rifle showed him a good 96% charge. Pretty high count for a weapon that was supposed to be a decade out of commission. It was hopefully strong enough to deal with whatever the biomorph abomination was going to throw at him. Speaking of which, the jeepers-creepers lurked around the corridor's corner.

  What the hell was that?

  A squadron of droid creatures crawled in an arrow-shaped formation. Bellrock detected a HVR Hornet hovertank chassis with legs taken from the artillery units, enhanced with various firearms.

  All merged together to take out the life forms of this station.

  I.e., all humanoids.

  Not in a million millennia, Bellrock thought.

  He nudged the trigger of his smart rifle with the index-finger and charged up the shot till the digital scope display encircled the incoming crawlers. When 98% accuracy was possible, the beam unleashed. A straight thunder of directed-energy that burned everything in its way.

  Invisible, like all lasers, but powerful.