by William Wood
When they got back to the big room with the floating debris, Calvin was relieved to see Astra was right where they left her. She was standing at the bottom of the stairs examining pieces of burned metal.
Dev held his scanner in the air. “Come on, little guy. You can do it.” Then he hit it several times. “Stupid thing,” he complained.
“What’s wrong with it?” Wexton asked. Dev turned it on its side and gave it another solid hit.
“It’s not working,” Dev said.
“Hey,” Astra said. “Stop that. It’s not the scanner’s fault.” Then she pointed to the strange device in the middle of the room. “I think it’s that thing. I have no idea what its main purpose is but I do know it’s emitting a suppression field that's messing with our gear. Unfortunately that includes our scanners and communications."
“That’s perfect,” Dev said sarcastically.
Calvin ignored the remark and watched what Astra was doing. She had several long pieces of metal in her lap, and she was scanning each one carefully.
"Are those what I think they are?" Calvin asked. Astra held up a long thin piece of metal for Calvin to see. He took it and examined it closely.
“Yeah, I'm afraid so. This is all that’s left of the sixth segment.” Calvin handed the fragment back to her, and she put it into a hard square container with the rest of the pieces she’d found. Then she handed it to Sierra Two.
“Is everything all right?” She asked, looking around. “Where’s Petori and Freks?”
“They’re gone,” Dev said sadly.
Astra looked at Calvin; her expression changed from inquisitive
to serious.
“What does that mean?” Astra asked, mildly irritated. “They’re dead,” Calvin said bluntly. “They ran off on their own and were killed by Gorebots.” Wanting to change the subject, he asked, “Did you get all the pieces?”
“Gorebots?” Astra asked.
“That’s what Petori called them,” Calvin answered. “I liked it.”
“Well, I don’t know if I have all the pieces,” Astra said. “Look at this,” she held up a broken piece of metal. “This tiny piece of metal has a super weapon signature, meaning that it’s part of the sixth segment. I’ve found fifteen other pieces just like it. The problem is I don’t know if I have all of it or not.”
“Any bigger pieces?” Calvin asked.
“No,” she answered angrily.
Calvin helped her stand. She pointed her scanner all around the room again.
“This is horrible,” Astra moaned. “Do you realize how bad this is? The sixth segment isn’t merely damaged, it’s probably destroyed beyond repair!” She sounded desperate and lost; exactly how Calvin felt.
“I love your optimism,” Dev said sarcastically.
“I don’t wanna hear it!” Astra snapped.
A loud crash made Calvin jump.
“It’s all right,” Wexton said. “A large piece of debris fell through the gravity field and hit the floor on the far side of the room.”
That was quickly followed by another one. Several fragments shot across the room, narrowly missing Dev. Calvin saw one tiny piece dart past his vision; way too close for his liking.
“I think it’s time to go,” Calvin suggested.
“But we can’t,” Astra insisted. “There could be more fragments here. I have to make sure.”
“Sorry, but we’re out of time for that,” Calvin said urgently. “Whatever you’ve got will have to be enough. Come on; pack it up so we can go.” Several more pieces of junk reached the gravity line and fell through various parts of the room; some quite close. Astra hurriedly picked up her tools and put them in a pocket of her space suit. Calvin looked up at wreckage floating above them. The gravity field was shimmering.
“It’s time to get out of here!” Dev shouted, pointing up at the tons of razor sharp objects that were about to fall on them. They all moved at the same time towards the way out. Two combat robots, Sierra One and Two went first. The other two dutifully brought up the rear. Calvin lagged behind. He told himself it was to keep an eye on the rest of the group, to make sure they were safe. But the truth was, his suit felt heavier and he was having a difficult time walking.
Suddenly there was a loud revving sound, like an engine roaring to life. A pulse of energy swept through the room that made Calvin’s hair stand up.
“Power surge!” Dev shouted. The main lights in the room flashed, and the sound of massive distant mechanisms activating filled Calvin with dread.
“Run!” Astra shouted. Much to Calvin’s disappointment, the slow, steady yet painful walk back to Azure Frost turned into a violent, terrifying run. Gravity reasserted itself to full strength, but to Calvin it felt like twice that of normal. The debris that was floating above their heads began to rain down on them all at once. Astra screamed; everyone started running. Calvin staggered forward in his bulky space suit.
Pieces of metal and plastic rained down on them, smashing onto the floor and causing even more flying projectiles. Calvin felt several small pieces hit him on the head and back, but he kept going. Red lights flashed in his visor, but he was too busy running and dodging objects on the floor to pay much attention. He saw the words ‘suit integrity breach,’ but he kept going. When he began having problems breathing, he assumed it was because the suit was heavy and he was getting very tired.
A large slab of the ceiling broke free and landed on Dev’s back, nearly knocking him down, but Sierra One caught him and dragged him forward.
The air was choked with dirt and dust. Calvin could barely see but he could hear cries and shouts competing with the deafening sound as everything that had been suspended in the air now smashed into the floor, and tiny pieces of shrapnel shot in all directions.
Calvin was shocked that everyone made it safely out of the room. Once out, they didn’t look back, not even for a second. If they had, they would have seen the strange-looking device in the middle of the room glow and pulse like a giant strobe light, then light up the room with lightning bolts. Calvin thought he saw something, just as he was leaving the room, but assumed it was nothing important.
With gravity on full, they stomped their way back towards the shuttle. Wexton, Dev and Sierra One ran ahead, and didn’t seem to notice that Calvin and Astra were lagging behind. Calvin was tired and struggled to keep up. His space suit was beginning to feel very heavy.
“Clearly these suits were designed for zero gravity,” Calvin complained.
“Don’t stop,” Astra said.
A loud hiss of static from the radio made Calvin jump. “Is
anyone looking at the scanner?” Dev asked, his voice clearly
heard over the radio.
“What?” Calvin asked. Wasn’t there enough to worry about?
“The scanner!” Dev said sharply. “You need to look at it!”
“I see it,” Astra said.
Calvin felt blind without a scanner, especially in the situation they were in. He waited for Astra to tell him, but she didn’t.
“Dev, what’s on the scanner?” Calvin asked impatiently.
“Red dots,” Dev answered. “Lots of ‘em, and they’re coming this way. You guys might want to hurry up.”
Calvin couldn’t see the others, they were too far ahead. At least they still had the two combat robots with them.
“We’re going as fast as we can! Don’t wait for us,” Calvin said, but even as he said it he knew it was a mistake. He should have asked them to stop, but he didn’t want to be the one to say, ‘wait for us,’ when there was no reason to. A few seconds later, a massive blast erupted from somewhere behind them; that was followed by the sound of laser pistols. Calvin realized too late; there was a very good reason to ask for help.
“Wait for us!” He shouted. But there was no reply.
They turned a corner, and found themselves facing the last long corridor.
“Five hundred meters,” Astra said. “Come on, Calvin! You can make it!”
<
br /> Five hundred meters? Not very far? After the first fifty he began to feel the incredible strain on his legs and back. Each step was a struggle. He wanted to sit down and rest, but his fear of dying proved stronger. He willed himself forward. The sounds were frightening. First came heavy footfalls, then pounding of robot feet on the metal floor. It started quietly and grew louder very rapidly. Next came laser fire from Sierra Three and Four, then an explosion, then the sound of robot body parts flying in all directions, hitting the walls and bouncing away. This repeated over a dozen times. More than once he wanted to look back, but fought the urge.
Ten minutes passed; ten minutes of grueling, exhausting running. He was happy to have the combat robots behind them; they were the only things keeping him and Astra alive, but he still felt helpless; dependent on the two robots to protect them. The sounds of battle were much closer now, and it aggravated him that he couldn’t see what was going on.
Explosions burst around them. Calvin flinched every time he was hit by shrapnel from an explosion. He imagined that each blast ripped open walls and broke the floors apart behind them. Even with all the noise and chaos, the alarm on Astra’s scanner made him jump.
“What is it?” He asked.
“More robots!” Astra exclaimed. “Up ahead; they’re trying to cut us off! Ion, we need you to come back; hurry. We’re about to be overwhelmed!”
They reached a cross corridor, and in one horrific moment, Calvin understood what Astra meant. He looked left and right and got a massive shock. In the darkness, lit only by the high powered lights of their space suits, were dozens of shadowy Goremog combat robots streaming down both corridors. Astra was right. They were about to be overwhelmed.
His mind raced. Should he stop and open fire, or run forward and let the Alerian robots deal with the Gorebots? He made a snap decision and sprinted forward with energy he didn’t really have. He was grateful to see that Astra followed his lead.
Halfway through the intersection, he realized his mistake. Several laser shots rang out, narrowly missing them both. The robots were on top of them. Two large shapes collided with Calvin from the left side. He was shoved face first into the floor. He heard Astra scream and a torrent of laser fire and explosions rang out all around him, none of which he could see. Calvin tried to roll over with every single bit of energy he had, but he was being crushed into the floor by the massive body of a robot. He couldn’t move. Time seemed to stop, as the violence above him raged on.
Suddenly the pressure was lifted off of him, and Calvin was able to roll over. When he did, he saw a Goremog robot towering over him. It stepped on Calvin’s chest with a very heavy foot, and put the barrel of its laser rifle in his face. He couldn’t move, and there was nothing he could do. He saw Astra lying on the floor next to him, and she wasn’t moving.
Calvin was sure his life was about to end; unceremoniously shot in the face by a Goremog robot. Then the most remarkable thing happened. A giant shape slammed into the Goremog robot, pushing it away from Calvin. His rifle slid across the floor. Calvin thought Ion had come back and saved him, but he was wrong. It was another Goremog robot. The two fought hand to hand, savagely beating the other with metal fists. A third Goremog robot came up behind and picked one of them up and savagely threw it across the corridor into a wall. It fell to the floor in a heap and didn’t move again.
Calvin didn’t know what to think, but didn’t have time to dwell on it. The last two Goremog robots stood side-by-side in front of Calvin. One reached down and offered a hand to Calvin.
“Calvin!” the robot shouted in a robotic, metallic, gravelly voice. Calvin recoiled away from the robot, completely confused and intimidated by the monster. He’d never been this close to one, they were usually kept at a distance and for a good reason. The Goremog robots were at least eight feet tall and had thick black and gray armor plates; there wasn’t much of a face. A thin blue light bar for eyes, and a sensor port where the mouth would be.
“Sir, it’s me!” The robot said, bending over. It picked Calvin up off the floor and put him back on his feet.
“He doesn’t know yet,” the other robot said.
It could have been the most awkward moment Calvin had ever been in. The two robots, clearly Goremog robots, stood in front of Calvin. It looked like they were standing at attention.
“Sir, it’s me, Freks!”
“Freks?” Calvin said, astonished. “That’s impossible, you died. I saw your body. Are you controlling the robot from somewhere else?”
“Your name is Freks, you dope,” the other robot said and pushed the first one playfully.
Astra sat up, and tried to stand. One of the robots helped her to her feet.
“Not dead,” Freks said. “At least, I don’t think so. I feel so strange. At least, I think it’s a feeling that I’m feeling.” Freks giggled.
“And you’re Petori,” Calvin said. It was more of a statement than a question. This had to be a bad joke. Petori and Freks were in a control room somewhere having a good laugh.
“Yes sir,” the robot said. “It’s me, I’m Petori, and yet, I’m not Petori. Does that make sense?”
“Not really,” Calvin said. “How did this happen?”
“I’m sorry to interrupt this,” Astra said. “But we have to go. There’s more Gorebots coming. You can tell us about it later, and believe me, this is a story I want to hear.”
As they turned to leave, Calvin made a quick check, and saw they were two bodies short. The area was littered with dozens of destroyed robots. Unfortunately Alerian and Goremog robots were both black, but only the Alerian robots had red stripes. That’s how he was able to find Sierra Four. It was lying on the floor, face up. It had a fairly large hole burned through its chest, and its left arm was missing, ripped out of its socket and sitting on the floor not far away.
Sierra Three was on the other side of the corridor, trying to stand. After several attempts, it managed to get up, but didn’t look like it should have been able to. Its left leg was bashed in above the knee joint; circuitry was dangling out of a nasty-looking gash. As a result, the robot was leaning heavily to the left. Its chest looked equally abused. The metal was crumpled and there were several large holes.
“Sierra Three, can you walk?” Astra asked firmly.
“Yes mistress,” Sierra Three answered.
“What about Sierra Four?” Calvin asked.
“Leave it,” Astra answered. We can’t carry it back, and it probably isn’t repairable.”
The group hurried off as quickly as they could, but that turned out to be not very fast. Astra was walking with a noticeable limp, and the robots that were Petori and Freks were having a hard time keeping up.
A sense of dread grew over Calvin. According to Astra, more Goremog robots were chasing them, but it seemed they were slowing down. Petori and Freks were holding each other up, and Sierra Three was making so much noise. His servos and joints were grinding and whirring so loudly Calvin was sure every Goremog robot could hear it.
It felt like it took forever to get back to Azure Frost. They floated back into the hanger bay and closed the door. As soon as gravity was reinstated, Petori and Freks collapsed onto the floor. Once oxygen filled the room, they all removed their helmets and gloves.
“So weak,” Petori said. “I don’t understand. I’m a robot. I should never get tired.”
Astra had her scanner out, and ran it over the big robot’s body.
“Your power is low,” Astra said quietly. It seemed strange to hear her speaking so gently to a Goremog combat robot.
“What happened to you? What do you remember?”
It took a moment for Petori to respond. “I was surrounded by Goremog robots. They ambushed us. I was hurt; everything got dark, very dark. I must have fallen asleep. When I woke up, I felt different; no wait, I didn’t feel anything at all, but I could see. It was hard to move at first. I was surrounded by more Goremog robots. Then the robot next to me started speaking, with Freks’ voice. Then
I realized; we were both robots, trapped inside these bodies. Don’t ask me how it happened, I have no idea. When we realized what happened, we both got mad, and went crazy. We destroyed all the enemy robots in the room with us. Then we bashed our way out of the room, and ohhhhh,” Petori made a gurgling, wheezing sound. “The rest is kinda a blur. I remember running, and shooting, and chasing a bunch of Goremogs. Oh, wait, we ran into a fire fight, the Goremogs were trying to kill you! We stopped them. We killed the Gorebots attacking you. We did good, right?”
“Yes, you did very good, Petori,” Calvin said.
“But now I’m tired; can’t move. Need sleep,” Petori moaned.
Astra scanned Freks. She looked at Calvin and shook her head. The blue lights on Petori’s eye components blinked and went out.
“It’s dark,” Petori moaned. “Where ammm…..” Astra stood up and put her scanner in her pocket.
“They didn’t deserve this,” Astra said sadly, wiping tears from her eyes. “You know they only wanted to help.”
“I know,” Calvin said sadly. He didn’t say it, but he felt guilty.
Sierra One and Two helped Sierra Three out of the hangar bay.
Calvin, Astra, Dev and Wexton stood over the robot bodies of Petori and Freks quietly.
After a minute, Calvin broke the silence. “How could this happen?” He asked. “They died. I saw their bodies. How did they wind up in Goremog robots?”
“Gorebots,” Wexton said. “That’s what he called them.”