by Isaac Hooke
The Red Tails on the plains behind them were also doing their best to dig in.
“Hang on to me!” Brontosaurus said.
The heavy gunner produced the tip from the spool of the carbon fiber cord at his utility belt, and shoved it toward Eric, who grabbed it in his free hand, wrapping it around his finger a few times.
Then Brontosaurus let go of the rock, and allowed the suction to pull him toward the plains. He halted the unspooling near a mother and her child; the mother was hanging on to a rock with one hand, and to her child with the other. Brontosaurus grabbed them both, then jabbed his toes into the ground, finding purchase. Then he walked, slowly but surely, against the wind, and drew the rope up against another group of Kurds who were huddling behind an outcrop, barely hanging on, and secured it around them so that they would stay in place.
Eric searched the plains for the source of that incredible suction. There, about three hundred meters behind.
“The hell is that!” Manticore said.
“Looks like a mini black hole or something,” Eagleeye said.
“Can’t be a black hole,” Slate said. “Or we’d all be dead already. Gotta be some kind of controlled wormhole. A rip in space time.”
“Even better,” Eagleeye quipped.
Eric stared at the plains behind him. About halfway between the front lines of the Red Tails on the plains, and the rise housing Eric and the others, hovered what could best be described as a “pinch” in midair. It was like someone had taken reality and pinched their fingers together around it so that the very air itself had developed crimps and folds nearby. Light bent around that pinch, so that at the edges, amid the folds, the plains and bioweapons could be seen as if viewed through a funhouse mirror type lens.
The pinch had already carved a sizable crater into the rocky ground underneath, and as Eric watched, that crater enlarged as pieces ripped away from the surrounding edges and were sucked into the central core, where they instantaneously stretched before vanishing. A screaming Kurdish woman was sucked in as he watched, and when she reached the center, Eric slowed down time and watched as her body distorted like the crimped air around it, stretching and compressing until nothing was left of her.
He let time snap back to its normal speed.
“Well, whatever it is, we need to find a way to get rid of it, now!” Marlborough said.
“What created it?” Dickson asked.
“There!” Dunnigan said. “Check out that Black Tail, mate. Look at what it’s carrying.”
A red highlight appeared on Eric’s map. He glanced in that direction, and on the plains behind him, he saw a Black Tail amid the other bioweapons that were dug in. This one had rammed its feet into the rock, breaking it so that it was firmly lodged in place. On its back was a large, silvery double-barreled cannon of some kind.
“That’s probably our source,” Hicks said. “Should we take it out?”
“No!” Eric said. “We need them to close the wormhole first.”
“And then we take it out…” Hicks said.
“I want that weapon salvaged at all costs,” Marlborough said. “Scorpion, as soon as the wormhole is gone, target that creature. Get that weapon.”
“Will do,” Eric said.
“Assuming the wormhole ever goes away!” Slate said.
“Maybe you should fire that energy weapon of yours at the rip,” Brontosaurus suggested.
“No,” Frogger said. “That will only feed the aberration. Especially if it’s some kind of black hole. They absorb all energy. You’ll make it worse.”
“Maybe that’s not such a bad thing…” Eric said.
He noted that the tear in reality was closer to the Black Tail and the other bioweapons on the plains, than it was to the rise harboring the humans and robots.
Their first mistake.
10
“Hang on!” Eric transmitted in both English and Arabic.
Eric charged his energy cannon for ten seconds, then released the beam at the wormhole. He zoomed in: the “pinch” became a visible, black sphere about the size of a human thumbnail, floating in the air.
“Yup, that’s a black hole,” Slate said. “Bitches have black hole generators. How are we supposed to fight shit like that?”
The pull increased along with the size. A few more humans were drawn to their deaths from the rise. More Red Tails lost their purchase on the rocky plains as well. The crater enlarged.
Eric charged his cannon, and fired again.
Once more the rent in spacetime grew subtly, and the pull increased. More humans were lost. A portion of the rock crumbled away below, and a Breacher unit was sucked to its doom.
The crater enlarged as the surrounding edges broke away, so that the pit now reached the front ranks of the Red Tails on the plains, causing a whole swath of them to be sucked upward.
The Black Tail realized then what Eric was trying to do: the growing crater would cause the bioweapons to be sucked into the wormhole before their prey.
The Black Tail tilted its centipede body forward slightly, and bent its torso forward, and then fired the double-barreled cannon. An energy beam emerged, striking the tear in spacetime, and instantly it winked out, ending the inexorable pull.
Before any of the extended bodies around Eric could slam back down into the rock underneath, he was firing his jetpack. He instructed his mechs to follow, so that they were all arcing over the plains and bioweapons in the vanguard, toward the huge Black Tail set well within their ranks.
Eric slowed down time.
“Bronto, I’m going to need your spear,” Eric transmitted, knowing that the heavy gunner would match his time when the transmission came in.
In slow motion, Brontosaurus retrieved an alien spear from where he’d shoved it into the back of his harness, and he threw it upward.
Eric sped up time slightly, and altered his motion so that he was flying toward the object; he pinched the spear out of the air, gripping it between two of his big fingers, and then accelerated forward once more.
As he arced down toward the Black Tail, he threw it toward the big tango.
Time was still passing slower, so he watched the spear gradually rain down. It struck the invisible energy dome, but instead of passing through, it bounced right off, and the outline of the dome flashed into view where it hit.
They’re adapting.
Eric swerved out of the way so that he wouldn’t smash into the energy field, too, and transmitted the order to his Ravagers.
He landed on one of the Red Tails, crunching into the carapace area, and the legs underneath collapsed so that the entire body smashed into the ground. The bioweapon swung its glandular sac down upon him, but Eric swiveled out of the way, and the sac broke upon the carapace, killing the creature while steeping its body in the sticky goo.
Eric fired his energy weapon at the encroaching bioweapons while spinning his body so that the weapon cut an arc around him and took down several at once. The Ravagers fought at his back, firing in autonomous mode, and either hamstringing or busting the sacs of other Red Tails.
Eric spun his torso toward the Black Tail, which was quickly bearing down on him. It held a spear in each of its four hands, that wormhole weapon balanced ominously upon its carapace; Eric didn’t think the creature would fire it at such a close range, but he supposed one never knew.
Eric unleashed the energy weapon, and the energy field surrounding the Black Tail lit up but otherwise the weapon didn’t get through.
Eric issued a scatter order and fired his jumpjets, arcing over the Black Tail before it could reach his position. Those four spears swung through the energy field and cut into the air behind Eric. One of the Ravagers was struck and fell in a stream of sparks.
The Black Tail threw one of its spears at Eric while he was still jetting away. Because Bullet Time was still active, he was able to alter his trajectory before the weapon hit, swiveling his body at the same time to ensure he wasn’t exposed. The spear passed underneath him,
just below his chest area.
Eric began charging the energy weapon.
“What’s the plan?” Dickson sent.
“I’m charging the cannon,” Eric said as he landed amid the Red Tails on the plains. “I think that energy shield can only absorb so much damage before it fails. Keep firing your weapons at the creature, whenever you can. Wear it down. I’ll finish the job with my cannon. Hicks, get ready to throw a spear at it.”
The Red Tails from the mountain had resumed their assault on the shared position of the Bolt Eaters and Kurds, while those from the plains also assaulted, circling the crater in the ground to besiege the rise. Eric kept a significant portion of those occupied with his Ravagers. And of course he kept the attention of the Black Tail, so that it wouldn’t fire another wormhole closer to the team.
Eric wondered why the Black Tail hadn’t created the wormhole right upon the rise; either the weapon had a limited range, or the Black Tail didn’t want to harm the other bioweapons. Maybe a combination of the two.
Eric continued to charge the cannon as he fought. It glowed a bright blue on his shoulder, until it became blinding to look at. His shoulder began to smoke, thanks to the heat emitted from that unit.
The bioweapons that charged him shielded their eyes, making them easy targets. Even the Black Tail backed off, no doubt intending to put some range between him and itself so that it could use the wormhole weapon.
Eric followed the big creature, wanting to prevent just that.
“Hicks, now!” Eric said.
“Don’t have a clean shot,” Hicks said.
“Then get one!” Eric said.
He and his Ravagers pounded the Black Tail’s energy shield with their lasers, and redirected their fire against any Red Tails that swept into their path. Laser beams from the Cicadas and projectiles from the Kurds also struck the big bioweapon’s energy shield, causing it to spark constantly.
The Black Tail threw two spears at Eric at the same time, and he bumped up his time sense to dodge out of the way. The big bioweapon lowered its torso, exposing the double-barreled cannon. It looked like it was going to fire the wormhole after all, close range be damned.
“Got a shot,” Hicks said.
“Take it!” Eric said.
He bumped up his time sense close to maximum, and watched as everything ground to a halt around him. The alien spear that Hicks had hurtled flew through the air, passing in between the different Red Tails on the plain.
Eric pointed the energy cannon at the Black Tail and fired.
The beam erupted from the shoulder-mounted weapon and almost instantly hit the energy field surrounding the Black Tail. The field lit up all around, and then faded, along with the beam.
The alien spear reached the bioweapon, and passed through the now inactive energy field, ripping right through the Black Tail’s neck. Electricity sparked all along its body.
Eric restored his time sense to normal, and fired his jumpjets as the big alien crumpled. Its tail hit the ground, and the glandular sac burst, oozing black liquid all over the ground, and trapping any of the nearby smaller bioweapons that couldn’t escape in time.
Eric ordered the remaining two Ravagers to join him on the carapace; he fired his ZX-15 at the exposed bioweapons from his advantageous position on that carapace, bursting several glandular sacs.
As more bioweapons came in, he unleashed the energy weapon, which was still quite hot on his shoulder. He realized he was pushing his luck with the weapon, and decided to let it cool down, restricting his firing to his two laser cannons.
But the Red Tails were broken by then. The remainder fled across the plain, scattering, while those that had attacked from the mountain were also retreating, scrambling up the rocky slope.
“Well, well, well,” Slate said. “Now that their big buddy is gone, they’ve lost the will to fight.”
“The Scorpion shows his sting once again,” Frogger said.
“Poor little aliens,” Slate said. “They didn’t have a chance. Almost makes me want to shed a tear for the little bitches.”
“They’re not aliens,” Eageleeye said.
“Poor little alien creations, then,” Slate said.
“You’re going to cry for the dead bioweapons?” Bambi said. “What about the humans? We won, but at what cost? Look at how many of them died.”
“Er,” Slate said. “Yeah. Poor humans, too.”
“He doesn’t really care,” Eagleeye said.
“Neither do I,” Crusher said.
“That’s because you’re heartless,” Bambi said.
“No,” Crusher said. “I just have my priorities straight. The lives of my robot brothers and sisters are far more important than the lives of these soft creatures.”
“You were once one of these ‘soft’ creatures,” Bambi said.
“But not anymore,” Crusher said.
“We lost Hank, too,” Manticore said quietly.
“But there’s a chance we can save him,” Tread said. “His AI core is mostly intact.”
“So, Scorpion, can you remove the weapon?” Marlborough asked. “Is it embedded in the brainstem like the energy cannon was?”
Eric knelt, and examined the edges of the double-barreled silver cannon. “Seems that way. I’ll try to tear it free.”
He folded away his shield and swiveled the ZX-15 out of the way, and then gripped the large cannon. He pulled.
“It doesn’t want to budge,” Eric said. “We might have to rope it, and use the combined power of all three mechs to tear it free.”
“Brontosaurus, get in there,” Marlborough said. “Manticore, Crusher, lend him your spools.”
“One ropin’ cowboy coming up!” Brontosaurus said.
Brontosaurus approached from the side, staying away from the pool of sticky black liquid that had flowed from the punctured glandular sac.
Eric used his jumpjets to land beside the heavy gunner, and he instructed the other two mechs to do the same.
Brontosaurus produced his spool of carbon fiber cable. Eric took the end, and returned to the carapace, wrapping the cord between the front portion of one of the cannon barrels. Then he jetted back beside Brontosaurus; Eric took care not to let the cord sag into the sticky fluid surrounding the Black Tail along the way. When he landed, the heavy gunner secured the other end of the cord to Eric’s waist.
Brontosaurus used the carbon fiber spools Manticore and Crusher had given him to secure the other two Ravagers to the cannon—each mech leaped onto the carapace in turn to attach their cable to the weapon before returning to the ground beside Eric.
Once all three mechs were roped to the weapon, Eric ordered the Ravagers to mirror his motions, then he stepped forward, as did the Ravagers, and the cables grew taut. Together, after much struggling, they finally ripped the weapon free. It hung from the edge of the carapace, connected to the torso at the front by a gory strand of neural tissue.
Eric released the cord that bound him and jetted onto the carapace to tear away the double barrel entirely. Then he thrust back to Brontosaurus so the heavy gunner could retrieve the cords. Eric’s jumpjet fuel was a little low at that point, coming in at forty percent. Well, it would last for a little while longer, anyway. Enough for at least two battles, he figured.
“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” Brontosaurus said.
“Again with the twentieth century colloquialisms,” Eric said.
“Hey, I told you I’ve been watching Star Trek and other classical shows,” Brontosaurus said. “I can’t help it if I’m starting to talk like you, gramps.” He stared at the weapon “Mm. A new toy to play with.”
“If I didn’t know better, I would almost think you were salivating,” Eric said.
“If I were human, I would be,” Brontosaurus said.
“Scorpion, load that up onto one of the mechs,” Marlborough said. “Brontosaurus, you can start experimenting on it when we’re on the road.”
“I’m not sure how wise it is t
o experiment with a black hole weapon,” Slate said. “You could end up swallowing the Earth.”
“I’m not so worried about that,” Dickson said. “But I am a little concerned that you won’t be able to shut it off afterwards.”
“I’ll just have to be careful,” Brontosaurus said. “Besides, if I can’t shut it off, we can just run away. Very far away.”
“Yeah, you saw how easily we were able to run back there!” Slate said. “As in, not at all!”
“Point taken,” Brontosaurus said. He turned toward Eric. “So, where do you want to put this weapon? On your opposite shoulder?”
Eric examined the weapon. This one had a sizable amount of brain tissue hanging down from underneath the front.
“I’m not sure how I feel about having more brains dripping down my back,” Eric said.
“It’s your choice,” Brontosaurus said. “If you want to give the power to create wormholes to another Ravager because you’re squeamish, then feel free.”
“It’s not so much that I’m giving away the power just because I’m squeamish,” Eric said. “There’s also the small problem regarding the weight: I’m not sure my servomotors will be able to handle the added strain. They’re rated to handle my weight, and a little above it. Beyond that, my servomotors will begin to burn out after an extended period of time.”
“Ah,” Brontosaurus said. “All right. We’ll give it to Slaughter instead.” That was another Ravager.
Brontosaurus went to Slaughter and attached his heavy gun mounts to the mech’s lower back. With his hands now free, he opened the storage panel in Slaughter’s leg and retrieved a bunch of magnetic mounts. He climbed the rungs on the side of the mech’s legs until he was on the upper back above the jumpjets.
“Help me load this onto its right shoulder,” Brontosaurus said. “We’ll orient it to the right, so that if I accidentally fire it during my experimentations, it won’t create a wormhole right in the middle of us.”
Eric positioned the cannon on the shoulder with the double barrels facing outward, while Brontosaurus applied the magnetic mounts.
“And it’s done.” Brontosaurus leaped down to examine his handiwork. Then he scooped up the lower section of the trailing brains, and climbed back onto the mech. He attached different electrical probes onto the tip of the bloody ganglia.