Steel Apocalypse

by Rodney Hartman

  Chapter 19 – History

  _____________________

  The Grand Entrance ceremony was all pomp-and-circumstance combined with a whole lot of talk. A few of the competitors put on some firepower demonstrations. The most impressive was the demo by the Kraken with the skull insignia. The disintegrator ray mounted on the pirate’s top turret turned an old junk of a Leviathan into a pile of metallic dust in nothing flat.

  At the end of two hours, the dog-and-pony show was finally over. The UHAAVs were led to their various maintenance hangars by orange-suited ground personnel in hover-cars.

  Once Jake was safely back in the hangar he shared with the Trecorians, he shut down the Paladin. Not once during the two hour Grand Entrance had Maggie reappeared. Despite his many attempts to start a conversation, she refused to acknowledge his existence. He was about to use command voice to order his AI to present herself when Casey floated up in front of his windscreen with the aid of her anti-grav belt.

  She pounded on the windscreen until he looked at her. “Hey, I’ve been trying to contact you. Let me in.”

  Nodding, Jake pressed the icon on his control panel to open the access door.

  Within seconds, Casey was inside the cockpit and wasted no time getting to the point of her visit. “I want to know what the hell happened out there. That little stunt of yours could’ve gotten us all killed.”

  Jake motioned at the empty copilot’s seat. “Yeah, tell me about it. I was just about to try and get to the bottom of it.”

  Once Casey sat down, Jake steeled himself to have it out with his AI. He didn’t get the chance.

  The hologram projectors in the upper corners of the cockpit flickered. A hand-high Maggie appeared on the control console. Her eyes were a subtle shade of green that matched the light-green, full-length dress she wore.

  That’s different, he thought. I rarely see her in a dress. She can be elegant when she wants to be.

  Maggie sighed before speaking in a voice that was almost a whisper. “I know what you’re going to say, Jake, and you’re absolutely right.”

  Jake was silent for a couple of seconds. “Actually, I don’t know what to say. I’m concerned about you, Maggie. Something’s obviously wrong. We’ve always been able to talk things through and come up with a way to help each other. Don’t shut me out. Tell me what’s wrong? What set you off?”

  Maggie bowed her head for a half dozen heartbeats. When she returned her gaze to Jake, her eyes were more like a gray sky after a hard rain. She glanced at Casey sitting in the copilot’s seat. “I suppose since you’re involved as well, it is only right you see what I’m going to show at the same time as Jake.”

  Jake leaned forward in his chair. “What are you going to show me, Maggie?”

  Maggie stared at Jake. “It’s a bit of history I think you need to see. I want both of you to get up and move to the back of the cockpit. Then I want you to watch. I want you to see what happened ten years ago.”

  When Jake glanced at Casey, she shrugged, got out of her chair, and moved against the access door. He got up and stood next to her.

  Beams of light shot out from the corners of the cockpit, interlacing and covering the cockpit with a near duplicate cockpit. The hologram even covered Casey, replacing her form with empty space.

  She’s still there, he thought. I can feel her shoulder against mine. What’s Maggie up to?

  The scene outside the Paladin’s windscreen changed from the inside of the maintenance hangar to a narrow canyon filled with a haze of black smoke. Within the haze could be seen the burning hulks of a score of blasted-out Ultra-Heavy Ambulatory Assault Vehicles.

  Jake glanced at the seats Casey and he’d just vacated. They were no longer empty. In the copilot’s chair sat an older version of Maggie resembling a woman in her thirties. In the pilot’s seat was a man Jake hadn’t seen for over a decade.

  “Dad!” Jake shouted as he stepped forward and grabbed at his father’s shoulder. His hand passed through, causing his dad’s image to flicker.

  “Go back where you were,” came Maggie’s voice but not from the version of Maggie sitting in the copilot’s chair.

  Somewhat reluctantly, Jake stepped back. He bumped into warm flesh.

  “Hey, watch it,” came Casey’s voice out of the empty space next to the access door.

  Shifting left a half-step, Jake concentrated on the two forms he could see in the cockpit. Mostly he looked at his dad. His father was wearing a standard flight suit and helmet. What he could see of his dad’s face was red and blistered. Droplets of blood trickled out his nose, onto the front of his gray flight suit.

  The older version of Maggie glanced at Jake’s dad. Her eyes changed from blue to green. “You’re dying, Robert. The radiation from the anti-armor mines you had the settlers set is too much for my shielding. Paladin’s are recon vehicles, not heavy assault cats. We’ve stayed here too long. If we don’t leave the area soon, it’ll be too late.”

  Jake saw his dad shake his head.

  “I’m not dying, Maggie. At least not yet. We’ve got to stay just a little while longer.” Wiping his sleeve across his nose, Robert seemed to pointedly ignore the red stain it left on the cloth. He straightened in his seat as if coming to a decision, then touched an icon on the armrest.

  The tactical hologram located between the pilot and copilot seats flickered, showing a miniature version of the Paladin. The hologram also showed a miniaturized version of one of the pirates’ six-legged, ten-meter-tall Leviathan heavy cats standing a thousand meters away, at the opposite end of the canyon.

  “Status report,” he said.

  The older Maggie glanced at a computer screen on her console. “The Leviathan’s daring you to leave cover. We don’t have enough firepower to get past its force field and armor. We decimated the first wave of the pirates’ assault. The anti-armor mines you had the settlers plant caught them by surprise. This last pirate is being more careful. You’re outgunned, and you’re not going to catch him unawares.” She turned and stared at Jake’s dad. “It ain’t lookin’ good, Robert.”

  Robert touched another icon on his armrest. The windscreen’s magnification zoomed in on the Leviathan. An insignia of a white 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 painted image looked like the face of death.

  Jake stared at the insignia. “Hey, that’s the same insignia that was on the pirate’s Leviathan we saw today.”

  “Yes, it is,” came Maggie’s voice. “You’re watching what happened to your father ten years ago. Commander Onstott and the rest of the 57th were tricked into deploying on the far side of Celon Three. Your father was left behind to organize the settlers into a convoy and get them to safety. The main body of pirates trapped the settlers in a canyon before they could get to their extraction point. Robert fought the pirates to buy the settlers time to get to safety. Just watch.”

  Jake watched.

  His father pressed the zoom icon on his armrest. The windscreen’s magnification returned to normal, giving a view of twin cannons mounted on top of the Leviathan’s back. The heavy cat’s double-barreled turret turned until it pointed directly at the Paladin’s windscreen. Two beams of green plasma energy shot out.

  The Paladin rocked back on its heels.

  Even though Jake knew he was watching a hologram, he instinctively grabbed for something to hold onto and accidentally grabbed soft flesh.

  “Watch what you’re grabbing, Jake,” came Casey’s voice.

  “Sorry.”

  The older version of Maggie moved her hands across the copilot’s control console. “Our forward force field’s down to thirteen percent. The radiation seeping in from the mines you set off is getting worse. You’ve reached critical. Engage my override authority so I can get you out of the contamination zone and back to the medics.”

  Jake watched his dad shake his head.

  “We’re not leaving. Those are Baloria
n pirates. Balorians murdered my brother and sister. They were just kids. I’m not going to let them murder the settlers’ children.”

  Tightening his grip on the control stick located on his chair’s armrest, Robert shoved the stick hard left. The Paladin tilted to the side as the agile cat ducked behind a large boulder. He raised his left hand to his mouth and coughed. When he pulled his hand back, the palm of his flight glove was speckled with red.

  The older Maggie stared at his glove. “Robert, we need to—”

  “There’s no use arguing. We’re the only thing standing between the settlers and those pirates. There are children in the convoy. I gave them my word I’d protect them if they got in the trucks.” His eyes took on a pleading look. “We’ve got to give them more time. We’ve just got to.”

  The older Maggie grabbed the control stick on her seat’s armrest and pulled back. The Paladin didn’t move. “Robert, please. Reengage my override so I can get you out of here.”

  Jake saw his dad shake his head and move his own control stick. The view in the windscreen changed as the Paladin peeked around the corner of the boulder. Another set of double beams of green plasma energy shot out from the Leviathan. The energy beams were followed by a dozen missiles flying out of rocket pods mounted on either side of the Leviathan’s articulated head.

  Shoving his control stick to the side, Robert ducked the Paladin behind the boulder just before the green beams hit. Chunks of stone blasted high into the air. The incoming wave of missiles took out what was left of the boulder.

  The lights in the cockpit dimmed for a second before steadying.

  The older Maggie’s image flickered but returned to normal as she straightened in her seat. “Look, I know I’m only your AI, but the Paladin’s not designed for this. Taking on the pirates when you had surprise was one thing. Slugging it out with a Leviathan is another. Those last plasma beams nearly took out my engine. My force field’s down to five percent. It’s time to leave, I tell you.”

  “No!” he said. “We’re staying where we are. That’s an order. We’ve only got to hold them for another minute. The convoy will be clear by then. We can’t let those pirates box them up in here. The children will be slaughtered.”

  “I don’t give a crap about the settlers or their children. You’re my friend. You’re more important to me than any of them. Maybe you don’t care about your own life, but what about your wife and kids? What do you think’s going to happen to them if you die?”

  Jake noticed his dad’s hands freeze on his controls, then his left hand reached out and touched a photograph taped to the armrest. Jake recognized the photograph. It was a picture of his mom holding his sister Cathy as a toddler and his brother and he standing on either side of her. They were both wearing tattered jumpsuits and smiling. His mother wasn’t. If anything, her eyes looked sad.

  His dad pulled his hand away from the picture. “Betty’s tough. She’ll make sure our kids are taken care of. Besides, this fight’s far from over. Just a few more seconds and I’ll leave.”

  Jake saw his dad tighten his finger on the trigger of his control stick. Two beams of red light shot out from either side of the windscreen and struck an invisible barrier in front of the Leviathan.

  Dozens of rockets shot out from the Leviathan, heading straight for the Paladin’s windscreen.

  “Activating countermeasures,” said the older Maggie as her hands touched icons on her console.

  Scores of small rockets shot out from below the Paladin’s windscreen, headed straight for the incoming missiles. Explosions filled the air. Rocks and house-sized boulders tumbled down both sides of the narrow canyon.

  Maggie spun in her chair. “That was the last of our countermeasures. We’re out of anti-armor missiles, and the autocannon’s out of ammo. My isotopic batteries are almost empty. I’ve barely got the power to run my engines long enough to get us out of this canyon if we leave now. If you fire our plasma cannons again, even that option will be gone. It’s time to go.”

  Jake’s dad shook his head. “Thirty more seconds. We only need to buy them thirty more seconds.”

  The older Maggie slapped the armrest of her chair with her right hand. Her eyes changed to an angry blue. “What is it with you Strikers? You’re a mercenary, for Creator’s sake, not some holier-than-thou fairytale hero. You’ve earned your pay. It’s time to leave. The rest of the 57th is on the other side of the planet. Your job was to get the settlers into a convoy, not—”

  “Don’t you understand, Maggie? I gave the settlers’ kids my word. They only need another twenty seconds. That’s all.”

  The Leviathan charged up the canyon, firing every plasma and phase weapon at its disposal.

  “You don’t have twenty seconds,” said Maggie as her hologram jerked back on her control stick. Again, the Paladin didn’t move. She spun in her seat. “Don’t you want to live? Reengage my override. Give me back control. I can still save you.”

  “No. That could be my wife and kids in the settlers’ trucks. They need fifteen more seconds to make their escape. I’m going to give it to them.”

  Without waiting for Maggie’s reply, Robert pulled the trigger on his control stick. Another set of red beams streaked past either side of the windscreen. The plasma cannons’ lines of energy struck the invisible energy field in front of the Leviathan again. This time the pirate cat stumbled, but it recovered quickly. When it did, it unleashed another salvo of beams and missiles.

  Green filled the Paladin’s windscreen as a dozen plasma beams hit all at once. The Paladin shuddered and fell to its knees.

  “Our force field’s out,” said Maggie. “So are my engine and balancing gyros.”

  The Paladin leaned forward until all that could be seen through the windscreen was the stones on the canyon floor. The rocky ground drew closer at a high rate of speed. The cockpit shook and grew dark. An emergency light came on, illuminating the inside of the now smoky cockpit.

  Jake found himself facing downward. Although logic told him it was just the hologram and that he was still standing upright, he couldn’t help but grab hold of the handle on the access door. He heard a gasp behind him and felt Casey’s hand grab onto the handle next to his.

  Getting his bearings, he looked around for the older Maggie who was no longer in her chair. In fact, she was nowhere to be seen in the cockpit.

  Jake turned to his dad in time to see him unstrap his safety harness and fall onto the windscreen that was now the floor. When his dad rolled onto his back, Jake saw the blisters on his face. Blood poured out his nose and the corners of his mouth.

  Robert tried to raise his hand, but after a moment, he let it fall back onto his chest. “Maggie, are you still here?” he said.

  “I’m here, Robert,” came Maggie’s voice out of the cockpit’s intercom. “We’re on emergency power. My holographic projector’s out. Life support’s down. I failed you. I’m sorry.”

  Jake’s dad gave a weak smile. “You didn’t fail me. You’ve been a good friend over the years. I shouldn’t have put you in this position. We took out twenty of them with those mines before they got us. That’s not a failure.”

  “Actually, it was twenty-two, not that it matters. You’re dying. I failed you, just like I failed your father.”

  He coughed. “Did the convoy get away?”

  “My sensors are out. Insufficient data to tell.”

  Jake saw his dad make a poor attempt at a smile before saying, “I choose to believe they made it.”

  He coughed again, spitting up blood. “Maggie, I left instructions with Commander Onstott that whatever happens, he’s to make sure you get back to Aretillo. He owes me. He’ll make it happen. My family’s going to need your help. Jake’s strong like his mother. He’s only twelve, but he’s got the makings of a good cat pilot. He’s more like my dad and me than he knows. He’s not a bad mechanic either. Just give him a few years. I want you to guide him until he’s old enough to make decisions for himself. That’s my final order.”


  “Compliance.”

  “Promise me, Maggie.”

  “I promise. I’ll do all I can for him.”

  With a supreme effort, Jake saw his dad reach up and pull the picture of his family off his seat’s armrest. His dad stared at the image and smiled. He coughed twice. Spots of blood splattered on the picture. His smile faded as his hand fell onto his chest.

  The photograph fluttered onto the windscreen as the emergency lights dimmed.

  The hologram of the duplicate cockpit blinked out.

  Jake found himself standing next to Casey by the access door.

  She looked away and wiped a sleeve across her eyes.

  Looking at the control console, Jake saw the hand-high Maggie sitting there. She was no longer in a dress, having switched to a gray flight suit.

  “So that’s why you went crazy on me today?” Jake said. “You thought it was the same Leviathan that killed my dad?”

  “It is the same,” said Maggie. “The man I saw in the Leviathan’s cockpit ten years ago was the same man driving the Leviathan in the arena.”

  “They said his name was Commander Donalis,” said Casey. “I’ve heard of him. His band of pirates have been killing and looting from one end of the neutral zone to the other for the last twenty years. He’s a bad one.”

  Maggie stood up. “I’m going to kill him, Jake. I’m going to make him pay for what he did to your dad.”

  Jake eyed his AI for a full ten seconds. Finally, he nodded. “You won’t have to do it alone,” he told her. “Activate override. When the time comes, we’ll do it together.”

  Chapter 20 – Confrontation

  ___________________________

  The sound of pneumatic wrenches and hammers echoed off the walls of the maintenance hangar as the crews of the five Trecorian UHAAVs and the Paladin hustled to get last minute modifications done on their cats before the next day’s battle.

  Noticing the crew of the Kraken was adding extra plates of armor to the lower parts of the big cat’s legs, Jake stopped helping Tilley remove the Paladin’s left gun appendage long enough to yell at Casey working on the Macron in the next work bay. “The extra weight’s going to slow her down,” he said, pointing at the Kraken. “Kraken’s are the largest and toughest UHAAV made. Who’d be stupid enough to try and slug it out with her except another Kraken. I’m just surprised one of the smaller cats won the last tournament.”