Railgun: Earth under Siege

by Luis Robles

  “Let us fix our own wrongs. We can fix this planet… We will find a way. We, some of us, have done wrong, and some even worse. But you can’t judge a whole species by the wrongs of a few,” I said with a strong tone.

  “Oh, but we can, young lady… Just with the simple fact that the planet was a wasteland when we got here. This planet used to be a parasite in the middle of all these stars, and look at it now. You are all guilty in my eyes, and I will see to it that justice is made, with my own hands if I have to,” said Nuvsef, taking a step forward.

  “Is that what the Miriu stand for? Is that their way, destroying countless innocent lives across the galaxy? Is this what you are?” I asked, yelling at him.

  “They are not innocent!” he yelled, stretching to his full length.

  “I am Jaika Liu, and this is my Railgun.”

  Railgun continued when he did not respond. “Humans are so very intelligent. They have processors in their flesh, organically generated, calcium instead of metal supports. But they can make anything they need in order to fix any problem. Yes, many of these problems they make for themselves. The point, however, is that they fix it. They don't need to blame you or anyone else. They can own up to any mistakes they make, and through tireless trial and error, make everything right. They always have. If by their own consequence, they become extinct from this planet, that won’t be unless countless of them have given their own lives to try in saving it. Humanity is still young by universe standards, and they have much to learn. I will be damned if I don’t make sure that they do learn. But not by your hands, rather by their own mistakes,” Railgun said as his left cannon extended on to his arm. “I give you no right to harm another human.”

  “The odds are not in your favor, mechanical being,” said Nuvsef, scowling. “In fact, they greatly overwhelm you. You are strong, mechanical being, I’ll give you that much. You have managed to defeat so many of us in just a few days, something that not a single human was able to do in a decade. But you see, as the Miriu, our race goes away from the core, from our home, we grow weak and we become much more fragile by Miriu standards. It’s a risk that comes with the job, a risk that every Keeper in this ship is willing to take. This would be magnificent news for you and this girl. But, you see, here is your problem. This ship is directly connected to the core of the universe, sending us waves of constant energy from our home. This is what powers the ship and gives us all power, and nowhere in this ship is that connection stronger than in this very chamber, the engine of the ship,” said Nuvsef with a grandiose pose and fully extending his six wings.

  Railgun’s core began to hum even louder than before, with several of his body parts and joints lighting up. Nuvsef didn't seem to even flinch at the threat of Railgun powering up.

  “In this room, we are, what you humans call, gods. In all the history of the Miriu, no one has come into this chamber and survived.”

  “And you have not looked at your reflection. You are afraid, too, of this entire universe getting outside of your control. You cannot grasp all the possibilities, so you seek to limit them, stifle the process so that you can anticipate the results. That is not optimal. That is a sinful choice, made out of fear,” Railgun spoke so plainly.

  “Don't you speak to me like that! No one ever speaks to me like that!” the Miriu hissed.

  “A human made me, and it will be by me that you will be destroyed,” Railgun said just before firing.

  The Collision

  Railgun

  A muffled explosion took place behind Nuvsef. Immediately after, several apparatuses moved near the flames left behind by my gun, putting the fire out at once. It was then that I knew that the chamber was alive. I turned on all my available scanner and quickly began to scrutinize. The odd of winning this battle were bad at the beginning, just fifty-fifty, but after the preliminary completion of the scan, my odds dropped to fourteen percent—not good news by any standards.

  “Ha, you missed!” Nuvsef said as he walked toward me. “Aren’t you supposed to have flawless aim? Isn’t that what you are built for? Or perhaps your sensors could not see that I was not really there? Is that it? A human machine will never ever take down a real Miriu.”

  “I noticed the anomaly as soon as it began to happen. You seem to be able to distort space around your being while you are in this room and while you are paying attention,” I said calmly.

  “Oh very good, my dear garbage can, it seems that you are learning a few things as we go,” Nuvsef said arrogantly.

  “I was not aiming for you; I knew that a direct hit by my railgun while you were in that state would be impossible considering your capabilities in this chamber. I was aiming at your captain,” I said as I retracted my railgun.

  “You what? How… what? What?” asked Nuvsef, looking back and forth between me and where the former captain of the ship was located.

  He ran towards me fast, faster than anything I had ever seen move. I braced for impact with the full strength of my body. As he made contact, my internal system scrammed at me, alarms flaring as every mechanism in my body struggled to hold its ground. But my body managed, and I was able to withstand the impact. However, I knew that I was in serious trouble and that I could not keep up with this kind of fighting for long. The structure beneath my feet began to crumble and break apart but I did not. My systems calculated that he was pressing down at me with an 8-ton constant down force, nearly the maximum capacity of my body.

  “How is this possible? You should not have the strength to oppose us. You are just human-made,” said Nuvsef, mere inches away from my visor.

  He retracted his attempt to bring me down and fled back to the middle of the room. I immediately tried to cool my body down to normal operating temperatures. But before I could reach optimal body temperature, he launched an attack once again. This time, attempting to hit me with everything he had. Alarms and sensors were blearing all over my body. I felt as though each section of my body became critical. My system’s internal defense and everything I had learned about my body were being pushed to its very limit. Still, I blocked each attack with no time to spare.

  “After I am done with you, she will be next. But she won’t die a fast death like you. I will make sure she suffers for what she has done,” Nuvsef managed.

  In that moment, my internal alarms began to have less importance and I began to counter-attack. I gained the upper hand, and with the full might of my mechanical body, pieces of his armor began to fall.

  “I’ve had enough!” Nuvsef screamed as he backed away. “I will not be defeated by a human-made machine. We are meant to rule, we are meant for greatness!”

  “…Maybe somewhere else, but not here, not this planet. Humanity will always rise to the occasion. One way or another, they will always rise,” I said, braising myself as the word ‘danger’ flashed all over my HUD.

  Nuvsef extended his hand at full length and snapped his fingers. Almost instantly, two apparatuses from the chamber had taken a hold of me, and I was not able to move a single millimeter.

  “So you see, Railgun, we are gods in my world, and as god, I get to decide who lives and who doesn’t. I have decided that you will live to see the death of your precious Jaika,” Nuvsef said as he walked over to Jaika slowly.

  “Railgun! No!” Jaika screamed as she ran over to me and tried to break the grip of the strong apparatus that had pinned me. Watching her having no success brought an overwhelming feeling of sadness. My prime system began to power down and stopped taking care of itself. I felt useless. “Please, Railgun, it’s not over yet…please,” she beseeched, face covered in tears.

  “I am afraid it’s no use. Besides, the apparatus holding me down is functioning with a form of gravity that I cannot escape,” I said in a defeated voice.

  “You are right! It is gravity and nothing else that is holding you down. This is the might of the Miriu! The very reason we travel interstellar distances is because we have control over gravity. Just one of the few perks of being born in the c
ore of the universe,” Nuvsef pompously announced as he got closer to Jaika, dragging his sharp wings on the floor, creating sparks.

  “Nuvsef! You’ve done enough!” said another Keeper from the far end of the chamber.

  “Stay out of this, Biria. You were never a true Keeper! After I deal with them, I’ll make sure to deal with your treachery.” Nuvsef turned to face the newcomer.

  “This is not the Miriu way! This is not why we swore to be Keepers, you know that!” Biria said as he pointed a large weapon towards Nuvsef.

  “Guard! Come and get this defector out of my sight!” Nuvsef screamed. “Guards…”

  “They can’t hear you. I’ve sealed the chamber off. It’s just you and me! Let’s see how you do against your own kind,” Biria said as his weapon charged.

  “You think you are the first one to oppose me? Ha!” Nuvsef said as he launched an attack against Biria.

  Biria fired his weapon several times, but Nuvsef seemed to be just too fast and dodged every shot with ease. Once he got close, he disarmed Biria in a single movement and flung the weapon far away, reaching the other side of the chamber. Biria tried to take a hold of Nuvsef but to no avail; Nuvsef was far more experienced and far stronger than Biria.

  “Before I kill you, let me ask you something. Why do you think I am the Prized Lieutenant of the Keepers? Why do you think? Is it because I just wanted to be, or maybe I just showed them my big, wide eyes and they made me lieutenant? Of course not! It’s because I fought my way to the top, crushing weaklings like you,” said Nuvsef as he continued his attack against Biria.

  Biria’s helmet came undone rapidly under the onslaught and fury of Nuvsef. As his helmet fell, he screamed in agony. It seemed as though the chamber was too much to bear to the unprotected body of a Miriu. The attacks did not stop no matter how much he screamed. It was in that moment that my internal system became aware of the feeling of pity.

  “Leave him alone! Your fight is with us. Face us and spare his life. We are the ones you want, remember that,” Jaika screamed desperately and bravely, with sweat forming on her forehead. I was able to tell that her vitals were off.

  “Oh! Don’t you worry. I have plenty of this to go around for everyone. I’ll walk over to you just as soon as I am done with this traitor,” Nuvsef said as he dropped Biria to face us. “On a second thought, I’ll give you what you want. Let me just end both your lives. No more games. You will witness the full power of the Miriu.”

  Nuvsef rapidly appeared before Jaika, standing at his full length with his wings extended. He grabbed her from her jacket and tossed her aside with little effort. Jaika wept. I was helpless, pinned down to an apparatus that I understood very little about. But she looked over at me with pleading eyes. I reacted.

  The feeling of pain flooded my body. My cerebral computer struggled to comprehend it, but the feeling was real. It pained me to see that I was helpless, and the person I was built to protect was about to pay the ultimate price. My core began spinning three times as fast, pumping out energy to my severely broken body, energy I never knew I had. It was only because of that spontaneous burst of energy that I knew that I would be able to save her.

  I broke free and began running towards Nuvsef, straining my mechanical body to the limit, pushing it beyond the things I knew it could do. My core bustled loudly, pushing energy out to each one of my limbs. The ground beneath me cracked with the force that I was exerting. Rage was empowering me, and there was chaos in my system; comprehension of what was happening was secondary. Human emotions were thriving and I could barely hold myself together. I felt for the first time, in my short life, what it was like to be human—what it was like to be an angry human. I felt what it was like to put someone before all else in its entirety. In just seconds, I reached him, grabbing him and tossing him away from Jaika. My cerebral computer had already analyzed the best possible counterattack against this so called god on Earth. I unleashed it upon him with all the fury my mechanical body allowed me to.

  At the beginning, Nuvsef held his ground, countering me pound per pound and even managing to hold me back. I was ready for this; I was ready to pay the price. I was ready for it all. Parts of my body flew off with his equally powerful attacks. He wasn’t giving up that easy. No, he was ready for it also. My system became critical, and I knew I didn’t have enough time. I had to move fast. I knew that facing off with him in his own chamber would be the senseless thing I could do. This was his fight to win, but I had to change that. I concentrated my blows to his helmet, taking the risk of leaving my body wide open for his counterattacks. Pain was the only thing my cerebral computer was able to register. As parts of my body were failing, I thought for a second that no matter what I would do, I would lose to this so-called god. But in that instant, his helmet cracked and his attacks began to slow, and I began to win the battle.

  “No! I can’t lose like this… not to you,” Nuvsef wailed as he stopped fighting and tried to put his helmet together. “The vibrations are just too much! This can’t be happening. This is not over yet.”

  “It’s too late for you, I’m afraid. I won’t be sparing your life; you are too dangerous,” I declared as I extended my railgun and pointed it directly at him. Although my gun was a little damaged, it still extended to its full length.

  He extended his right hand upwards as he held his helmet with the left and said, “Please, spare me. We’ll leave your planet…we will leave you alone and never come back. So, please spare me. We’ll say that your planet has been cleansed, that we have saved humanity…just please, don’t kill me. If you kill me, they will come looking for us. Please don’t…” he appealed for his life.

  “Railgun! Wait! Perhaps we should consider,” Jaika said as my gun charged and electricity particles danced on the floor.

  “You fool!” Nuvsef said as he snapped his fingers.

  I prepared myself to be captured once again with the apparatus. But nothing happened. Even Nuvsef seemed to be surprised at the stillness of the room.

  “What? How can this be? How are you not being detained?” Nuvsef asked, completely baffled, snapping his fingers repeatedly.

  “Perhaps I might have something to do with that,” Amadeus said from the far corner of the chamber. “I got in before the doors closed. It seemed to be just in the nick of time.”

  “Amadeus! You’re alive!” Jaika screamed in gladness.

  “Indeed, I am,” he replied and managed to crack a smile. “It has been a horrible experience to get inside of this ship. Many times, I thought it would be impossible, but I was not gonna leave my family to face these horrendous creatures by themselves. And so here I am,” Amadeus said proudly with his tail hooked up to a control module.

  “I’m so happy to see you, Amadeus!” Jaika exclaimed. “But be careful! It’s very dangerous in here.”

  “It looks like you are done,” I said, looking down at Nuvsef.

  “No, no…this cannot be. We are the Keepers! We don’t lose against insignificant things like you. I am at least ending one of your lives, before you end mine,” said Nuvsef as he launched himself towards Jaika.

  Nuvsef moved fast, and I could not fire my railgun in the direction of Jaika; the risk was just too high. Even if I ran after him, Nuvsef only had to reach her to end her life. I was running out of options. In hasty moment, however, Biria appeared just in the path of Nuvsef and managed to kick him off the direct path of Jaika. As soon as Jaika was clear of the shot, I fired my railgun.

  Nuvsef disappeared from existence, and I fell to my knees as my body tried to repair itself. As my system checked itself over and over again, only two words continuously blinked in my HUD—‘repair failure’. I knew it wasn’t any good. The danger level remained the same, perhaps because of my broken body and the number of Keepers that were outside the chamber trying to get in.

  Escape

  Jaika

  I saw him explode into a million different pieces, and I allowed myself to feel hope once again. But I didn’t know what to
do next; I just knew that we were in a big mess and that we had to get out quick.

  “Perhaps it would be wise to leave this place,” Amadeus said as he approached me.

  “Oh, I am so happy to see you, Amadeus. We thought that the worst had happened to you,” I said as I reached out to him, holding him tight.

  “I am a little tougher than that,” he responded, looking up at me.

  We heard a loud clank coming from the direction where Railgun was. It looked as if he was trying to get up, but failed. I immediately ran towards him as I held Amadeus in my arms.

  “Oh my, this doesn’t look very good,” Amadeus said as we got closer.

  Railgun was in really bad shape. Many parts of his body were severely damaged. His core sounded as if it would turn off any second. His moves were agitated, and he looked sad even through his visor.

  “Don’t worry about me. There is still a little fight left in me, at least enough to get you out of here,” Railgun said as he managed to get up and looked over to Biria as he lay down the floor, holding his head. “We have other things to worry about right now.”

  We approached Biria slowly and with caution, Railgun with one of his cannons extended.

  As we got close to him, he muttered, “I am on your side, I am against everything the Keepers have done since they got to Earth.”

  “I sense no threat coming from him,” Railgun declared as he retracted his cannon.

  Once I was face to face with him and I saw him without his helmet, I could not believe my eyes. He was utterly beautiful. His screen was a light shade of green. He had long, silky white hair and a square chin. He looked so much like a human, though his eyes were a little larger. The only word that came to my mind to describe him was ‘perfect’; no other label would do justice.

  Shaking myself out of it, I eventually said, “Prove it. Prove that you are on our side!”

  I knew that he had helped us defeat the Prize-Lieutenant Nuvsef, which was perhaps the most dangerous of all the Keepers that had arrived here on earth. But I was in my right mind, and I was not about to trust anyone in a time like this, much more trust any one of their kind.