“Yeah, I suppose,” Jake conceded. “Must be nice. All I know is that some of these cats wouldn’t last long in a mercenary outfit.”
“No, they wouldn’t,” agreed Maggie, popping another cracker into her mouth. “Pretty little things, though, ain’t they? If looks were skills, some of these pretty boys would win the tournament hands down.”
Glancing out the windscreen, Jake had to agree. While the Trecorian UHAAVs and a good number of other cats looked scratched, dented, and battle-hardened, more than a few had a too high-shine paint job and looked like they’d just come off the factory floor. He spotted a couple with elaborate design details resembling racing stripes complete with flourishes. One Long Cat medium UHAAV even had flashing lights on the side, surrounding the logo of a major company that produced alcoholic beverages.
Jake shook his head. “Are those guys serious? That one looks more like a walking billboard than it does a combat vehicle.”
Maggie shoved the last of her crackers in her mouth and leaned back in her seat with her feet propped up on the console. “Oh, there are plenty of highly trained killers out there, so don’t go letting your guard down. The battle royale tomorrow will weed out the riffraff who are just in it for the exposure. Our job is to make sure we’re one of the cats left standing at the end of the day.”
“I hear you.”
One group of five UHAAVs standing a hundred meters away were painted in a matching dull black-and-gray camouflage pattern. There was a six-legged Leviathan, two Long Cat medium UHAAVs, a Macron long-range artillery cat similar to Casey’s, and a Warcat scout. All five of the cats had Covian insignias painted on their left shoulders.
“That’s right,” said Maggie obviously noting where Jake was looking. “It’s your friend Major Maksim.” She took her feet off the console and turned her chair to face him. “I don’t want you trying to turn this into a personal vendetta. I’ve dealt with his type before. He’s a vicious killer. You can’t let your emotions get in the way during a fight. That’s a fool’s errand, and it will only get us killed.”
“Fine,” Jake said, forcing his eyes away from the Covians. He glanced around the staging area. “I haven’t been in the middle of two hundred cats packed this tight before. I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a little crowded tomorrow.”
Maggie laughed. “That’s for sure. As it so happens, there are only a hundred and eighty-five cats here. We’re short fifteen. From what I’ve picked up over the local network, the alliance that won last year will be joining us inside the arena. I calculate their group will consist of fifteen cats.”
Jake gave a laugh of his own. “Guess the old winners don’t want to rub shoulders with us peons, eh?”
“Who knows?” replied Maggie. “Just curious, but when are you going to release those tele-bots your Lieutenant Fisher gave you?”
Jake stiffened in his seat and glanced around. “Maggie, keep it down. The Gegormas might have tele-bots of their own inside our cockpit.”
Maggie’s eyes took on the bright blue that usually meant, ‘What do you take me for, a novice?’ She smiled. “The fact is there are currently three tele-bots in the cockpit with us. They came in when you did.”
“Then—” started Jake.
“Relax, Tiger. I hacked into them ten nanoseconds after they got here. I’m feeding them images of us discussing the other cats. The armor around the Paladin’s cockpit is embedded with flecks of titanium. So is the glass-steel in our windscreens. There isn’t a sensor made that can penetrate inside here. You can tell me your deepest, darkest secrets, and they’d be as safe as an ice comet passing between the twin-suns of Therimal Major.”
Jake narrowed his eyes. “Doesn’t sound all that safe to me.”
“Nor to me,” laughed Maggie. “Guess I picked a bad example. In any regard, you’re safe to talk while we’re in here. So what about those tele-bots of yours? Do you want me to open up that secret compartment of your dad’s?”
Jake glanced out the windscreen before looking back at Maggie. “No, not yet. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do. I don’t trust Fisher, or whatever her real name is, any more than I trust the Gegormas. I’m going to hold off and get the lay of the land before I make a decision about releasing the tele-bots.”
Maggie sat back in her seat and let one leg dangle over her armrest. “When were you going to let me in on your plan? You know, it wasn’t easy keeping that little container of Fisher’s from being detected by the Gegorma’s security teams. They scoured me from one end to the other. They had some of the best sensor equipment I’ve ever seen. If their computer’s security programs weren’t so logical, I couldn’t have kept your secret safe. As it is, I think at nanosecond speed. My logic is superior to even—”
“Careful, Maggie. I wouldn’t want you to hurt your arm.”
Maggie cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. “I’m a computer. How would I hurt my arm?”
Jake smiled. “By patting yourself on the back too much, that’s how.”
“Humph! Not funny. Just so you know, it’s not bragging if you’re only stating a fact. The end result is that I was able to out-logic the security team’s equipment. You’re lucky I’ve got a knack for hacking into other computers.” She crossed her arms and glared at Jake. “You should be thanking me instead of making fun of me.”
“Oh, I do th—”
“Pilots, start your engines,” came a loud voice echoing over the dozens of speakers attached to the walls of the arena.
Loud roars sounded all around the Paladin.
“Paladin zero-five,” came Casey’s voice over the headphones built into Jake’s flight helmet. “Kick the tires and light the fires. It’s showtime.”
“Roger that,” Jake said. “Maggie, do you wanna do the honors?”
“Compliance.”
No roar sounded, but from the vibrations coming through the metal deck to his booted feet, Jake knew the engine was up and running.
“Ain’t these new Stremar model mufflers nice?” laughed Maggie. “I wish you could’ve afforded to put them on me years ago. When we go into stealth mode, I swear we’ll be harder to detect than a Warcat.”
“Doubtful.” Jake gave his AI a wink. “And please don’t swear.”
Maggie snorted, but Jake thought he saw the hint of a smile.
“Your jokes aren’t that funny, hotshot,” Maggie said. “Better keep your day job.”
“That’s the plan.”
“Paladin zero-five,” came Casey’s voice through the headphones. “Take up position behind Kraken five-one. I’ll take the lead.”
“Wilco,” Jake responded as he took hold of his control stick and moved the Paladin behind the Trecorians’ twelve-meter-tall Kraken.
A large 51 was painted in black on the cat’s camouflaged side. Like all the cats in the staging area, a series of inactivated strobe lights were attached all along the cat’s top, sides, and legs, basically outlining the UHAAV. Jake glanced down at the icon on his armrest that controlled the set of strobe lights Tilley and Jason had hastily installed on the Paladin a few hours earlier. A piece of paper with the words ‘OUT OF ACTION’ scrawled on it was taped below the icon.
“Hope I don’t have to use that,” Jake said, nodding his head at the icon.
Maggie shrugged. “Speak for yourself. If we’re surrounded by cats that are getting ready to blow us to kingdom come, I think having a way to say, ‘Don’t shoot. I surrender,’ could come in handy.”
“I suppose,” he said. “Assuming the cats getting ready to shoot obey the ‘don’t shoot the cats with strobe lights activated’ rule.”
Maggie pointed a finger in the direction of one of the large phase cannons mounted on the arena wall. “I’ve got a feeling that’s where those things come in. It would turn into a blood bath out there if there wasn’t a way for pilots to surrender before they’re killed.”
“Well, I guess we’ll find out if it works tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I guess we will.”<
br />
Jake was just closing the distance to the Trecorians’ Kraken when a dull black-and-gray camouflaged Warcat scout cut between the Kraken and Paladin. Through the three-meter-tall Warcat’s windscreen, he made out the features of Major Maksim slicing a finger across his throat as he looked at him.
Moving the control stick forward, Jake aimed the five-meter-tall Paladin straight for the smaller Warcat. The Paladin accelerated and then slowed down as the control stick jerked back.
“Hey,” Jake said. “I’m driving this thing, not you, Maggie.”
“Then drive,” said Maggie as she released her grip on the copilot’s control lever. “I already told you there’s no place for emotions on a battlefield. Our dear major there is baiting you. You’ve got to keep your emotions under control. Look at me. You don’t see me losing my cool, do you?”
“You’re a computer. You don’t have emotions.”
Maggie’s eyes took on a green tint. “Oh, I’ve got emotions all right. You just don’t get to see them very often.”
Jake was about to ask her what she meant when he noticed the barrel of one of the phase cannons on the arena wall pointing at him. Two turrets farther down the wall were also pointing their weapons at him.
“Uh, I guess I see what you mean about him baiting me,” Jake said. “They’d have fired if I’d attacked him, wouldn’t they?”
“I calculate they would’ve,” replied Maggie. “Just stay cool. Once the competition starts tomorrow, they’ll be plenty of time to take out your frustrations on your major friend.”
Apparently seeing he wasn’t going to take the bait, Maksim moved his Warcat out of the way and joined the rest of his team just ahead of the Trecorians.
Jake did his best to memorize every nuance of the recon cat for future reference. He’s dead meat if I see him during the battle royale.
With that, Jake followed the Kraken through the gates to the arena beyond.
Chapter 18 – Grand Entrance
_______________________
The inside of the arena was a thousand meters across with a shimmering field of energy separating the dirt floor from the tens of thousands of screaming fans in the massive stands surrounding the arena proper. From what Jake could tell, every known race in the galaxy was represented. Opposite the entrance to the arena through which the formation of UHAAVs marched was a section of stands guarded by companies of soldiers wearing heavy armor. In front of that section of the stands stood a line of UHAAVs all painted in blue-and-black with Transporters International logos painted on their chests. A double force field shimmered between the cats marching in and the guarded section of the stands.
Jake zoomed his windscreen in on the guarded part of the stands. He spotted the blonde-headed Phyllis Gegorma sitting in an elaborate chair next to an old man with white hair. He guessed the man was in his late seventies or early eighties. The man’s chair was even more elaborate than Phyllis Gegorma’s.
“I’m guessing that’s Old Man Gegorma,” Jake said as he glanced at Maggie.
“Good guess,” Maggie laughed. “Give the man a cigar. That is none other than Creao Gegorma, CEO and sole-owner of Transporters International. He’s Phyllis Gegorma’s father. According to the information I dug up on the tele-network, Creao Gegorma is eighty-three. Your Phyllis is forty.” Maggie grinned. “Ain’t plastic surgery wonderful? Of course, some of us don’t need a surgeon’s plasma-knife to stay young. Look at me. I’m over fifty, and I still look good.”
Reverting the windscreen’s zoom back to normal, Jake adjusted his line of march before glancing at his AI. “You’re a hologram. You can look however old or young you want to look.”
Maggie folded her arms across her chest. “Now that hurts, Jake. After ten years together, I’d think you’d realize I’m not just a hologram. I’m an advanced computer. This form is just how I choose to interact with you.”
“Fine. You’re more than a pretty face. So what’s that got to do with Old Man Gegorma?”
Maggie shrugged before bursting out in a laugh. “Not a thing. Still, I’d say he’s done all right on a government retirement pension, wouldn’t you?”
“He owns his own planet, so yeah, I’d say he’s done all right.”
“He owns a lot more than this planet, Jake. According to the information I downloaded from the tele-network, he’s got his fingers into just about every major empire, alliance, and federation in the galaxy. He’s definitely a bad one, and his daughter’s no better. You be careful when you’re talking to them.”
“I doubt I’ll be talking to either of the Gegorma’s any time soon. Let’s forget about them for right now. It’s all I can do to maintain my place in formation. A hundred and eighty-five UHAAVs take up a lot of room.” He took a moment to glance at Maggie. “By the way, how’s this going to work tomorrow? There’s not enough arena for all these cats to fight. We won’t be able to dodge. There’s not even any cover.”
Laughing, Maggie said, “None of the fighting will be done here until we get to the one-on-one contests. Until the tournament weeds out a lot of the competitors, we’ll be in the main battle area. According to the local computer network I hacked into, there’s a twenty-by-twenty-kilometer area located a hundred kilometers from here that’s the primary battle area. It’s complete with urban, swamp, and waterfront sections. There’ll be plenty of room to dodge. Our main worry will be making sure we see what’s coming at us so we’ll know to dodge.”
The Kraken ahead of Jake stopped after lining up at the side of Casey’s Macron. Jake took his place to the left of Kraken 51. The Trecorians’ Long Cat lined up to his left. Through the Long Cat’s windscreen, Jake made out the dark-skinned, white-haired female Casey had introduced as Estoria. He’d only gotten to talk to her for a few seconds and wasn’t sure of her age, but her fighting spirit had impressed him nonetheless. All of the Trecorians had impressed him. Casey had picked a good team.
Once every UHAAV had lined up side by side, Creao Gegorma stood. His image appeared as a fifty-meter-tall hologram above the arena floor. “My friends, my guests, and my honored competitors. I give you the contestants of the Steel Apocalypse!”
Cheers arose from the crowd as they jumped to their feet. Many waved signs with the names of their favorite competitor or alliance. Jake didn’t see any with the name ‘Jake Striker’ on it.
As the cheers began to die, Creao Gegorma waved a hand at a section of the arena wall to his left. A previously hidden, twenty-meter-wide door opened. “Now I give you the winners of the last Steel Apocalypse, the Balorian pirate alliance led by none other than our own Commander Donalis.”
The crowd erupted in a new round of cheers. A rugged-looking group of spectators sitting to either side of the gate jumped up and down shouting, “Donalis! Donalis! Donalis!”
Through the gate lumbered a ten-meter-high Leviathan heavy UHAAV painted in white and black camouflage. An insignia of a skull with blazing red eyes and a gold nose ring overlaid on top of a set of crossbones was clearly visible on the heavy cat’s chest. The skull image looked like the face of death. Behind the Leviathan lumbered an even bigger Kraken also painted white and black with the same skull image on its chest. In all, fifteen UHAAVs marched through the doorway. The pirate alliance’s cats included everything from the extra-large Kraken to a couple of three-meter-tall Warcats. All in all, the assembled cats looked impressive and deadly.
“Fearsome-looking lot, ain’t they?” Jake said as he turned to look at his AI. He was going to say more, but the strained look on Maggie’s face and the dark-blue color of her eyes that reminded him of storm clouds, froze the words in his throat.
“He did it!” Maggie shouted. “I’ll kill him. I swear I’ll kill him.” With those words, she shoved the copilot’s control stick forward and punched the icon to power-up the 30 megawatt plasma cannons.
As the Paladin lurched forward, Jake caught sight of every gun turret along the front wall of the arena turning in his direction. He jerked back on the pilot’s
control stick. The cat continued to move forward, picking up speed.
“Override off!” Jake shouted using command voice. “I’ve got the controls. Power-down the plasma cannons. Now! That’s an order.”
Despite his commands, Maggie’s hologram continued to push forward on her control stick as she began pulling the trigger of the plasma cannons. Nothing happened. Fortunately for Jake, her internal programming was too good and once he’d deactivated the Paladin’s override, she’d been forced to obey orders and power-down the plasma cannons.
Jake pulled back on his control stick, bringing the Paladin to a halt. He pulled back even harder, backpedaling to his position next to Kraken 51. He breathed a sigh of relief when the turrets on the arena wall turned their large megawatt cannon barrels in directions other than at him.
Glancing over at Maggie, Jake prepared to chew her out, but the green color of her hologram’s eyes and the tears running down her face made him stop. “Maggie, I…I don’t understand. What were you thinking? You almost got us killed.”
Maggie turned to him, her eyes taking on a color more in line with turbulent storm clouds. “I’m begging you, Jake. Switch the override back on. Give me the controls. I’ll kill him here and now. I swear I will.”
Unsure what was happening but well aware of the plasma cannons mounted on the arena wall, Jake did the only thing he could. “No. The override stays off.”
Maggie glared at him for two heartbeats. “All right, if that’s the way you want it, then you can keep the damn controls. I’m outta here.” Her hologram disappeared.
“Maggie, this is crazy. Get back here right now. That’s an order.”
Silence.
Although he knew he could use command voice to force his AI back, he chose not to do so. I’ll find out what’s going on later. I’ve just got to get through this ceremony without getting myself killed.
Taking another glance at the arrays of weapons mounted on the UHAAVs surrounding him, Jake sighed. Thank the Creator I don’t have to do any fighting today. I’ve got a feeling I’m going to get more than my share tomorrow.
Steel Apocalypse Page 14