by Frank Carey
Everyone except Resh stopped and listened as a sound came from the direction of the shuttle bay. At first, no one could identify it. Fiona pulled out a monocular from her vest and looked down the corridor. She saw the source of the sound. It was from hundreds of metal feet running on the deck, walls, and ceiling. “Incoming!” she yelled as she fired a grenade toward the approaching horde. It arced down the corridor and exploded amongst the leading robots, shredding them. Unfortunately, there were many more bots behind the leaders.
“Go help them,” Resh said as he took the pad from Andromeda. “I've got this.”
Andromeda stood up and fired down the corridor, taking out bots left and right, but there were hundreds of them. In seconds, they would be overrun.
“Got it!” Resh yelled as the massive door opened. He threw the pad through the opening as he stood up and fired into the oncoming horde while the others backed into the dark room. With the others inside, Resh activated a grenade and threw it at the robots while jumping through the closing door. He landed on the floor in the dark as the hatch slid shut behind him.
“What part of 'not a threat' did you not understand?” Andromeda yelled as she pushed Resh against the sealed door.
“Sorry. Got a little impatient,” he said with a smile.
Andromeda dropped him on the ground, then straightened his fur. “Impatient!” she said. She patted him on the shoulder and smiled.
“Where's the light switch?” Fiona asked.
“Computer, lights,” Andromeda ordered, filling the room with illumination from recessed fixtures along the top of the wall.
Saul whistled. “Damn, look at this place,” he said as he walked over to one of two medical beds near the wall. “State of the Art.” He tapped one of the panels inset in the foot of the bed. “Looks like we have a live one here, Captain.”
Andromeda ran over and tapped commands into the control pad. “Procis Hallas, female, about my age. All functions normal, though heart rate and blood pressure are elevated.” She tapped a code into the panel. “I've locked her out of the command sequencer. That should stop her from doing any more harm for at least a short time.”
Sheila walked over and looked at the readouts. “Ohhh, she is not happy. Saul, are you wearing that cologne again?”
“What? I think it makes me smell manly.”
“You got that half-right.”
Andromeda moved to the other table and tapped in more codes, but this time she was gentle, as if afraid she would break something. “Romulus Galactus, thirty years old. Heart rate, BP, both...normal,” she said while running the palm of her hand over the top of the casing enclosing him. She tapped another code in before gently pressing a red, mushroom-shaped button.
Lights on the table blinked rapidly as vapor emerged from vents on the side of the unit. When it stopped, the lid pivoted upward and toward the wall, revealing a young man in a one-piece coverall. He opened his eyes and looked at Andromeda. “Andie, it's really you, isn't it?” He asked as he sat up and looked around the room. “And you've brought friends.”
Andromeda reached over and hugged the young man while struggling to hold back twenty years of tears. “Romy, you're alive!”
“Yep,” he replied as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He slowly slid to the floor and stood there on unsteady legs. “Amazing what clean living can do.” She shook her head and hugged him some more while fighting back more tears
“Captain, what about the other one?” Resh said as he glared at the second bed. “I vote we take a blaster to her and be done with it?”
“Mr. Resh, I don't think that will be necessary,” Romy said.
“This bitch killed my Nyla. She dies,” Resh said.
“No one has died,” Romy said as the sound of explosions and gunfire came from outside the door. A moment later there was silence followed by someone knocking.
Everyone in the room froze.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Maddie led the way down the dimly lit service corridor using her scanner to detect any danger ahead of them. She stopped and raised her fist.
Keeping an eye out for danger, Kira walked up and peered over Maddie's shoulder at the scanpad screen. “What's up?”
“Not sure. I'm now reading several hundred life signs between here and Engineering. All female and all but one human. Wait. All but one of the human life signs are leaving the ship.” She stopped as muted kathumps could be felt in the deck plates.
Akira put his hand on one of the walls. “Escape pods?”
Maddie kept scanning. “I think so. The life signs are moving away from Annihilator, but no reaction from her yet.”
“This is getting real odd,” Joanie said as she looked over Maddie's other shoulder while Maddie adjusted the pad. “Odd...”
“What?” Cora asked as she looked at the screen.
'Two life signs have separated from the others and are headed this way. Both female. One is human and one is...” She stopped and stared at Cora.
“Go on?” Cora said as she went back and forth between Maddie and the scanpad screen.
“The other is Tralaskan.”
“Tralaskan?” Cora whispered. “Nyla is Tralaskan, and she's the only member of her race aboard Hippolyta. Nyla's alive.”
“Cora, stop. We don't know that for sure,” Maddie said, but it was too late. Before they could stop her, Cora ran down the accessway toward the stern of the ship only to be stopped by a security bot as it stepped into the corridor directly in her path. She hit it and bounced back, landing on the floor with a thump as her gun went skittering away down a side corridor. She sat there and stared as the mechanical horror emerged from the darkness.
As bots go, it was perfectly designed for its patrol environment. It was about twenty-feet long and four-feet wide. It resembled a large centipede with ten segments, each with two pairs of legs. It stood there and watched Cora.
“Cora, don't move,” Akira said while he, Maddie, and Joanie raised their weapons.
“Boss, she's too close for us to use these,” Joanie said.
“I know, I have an idea.” Akira unslung his weapon and leaned it against the wall. He reached under his coat and pulled out three shuriken, each with a red light at its center. “I'm getting Cora. Kill that thing when we're clear,” he said while he continued to watch the bot.
“Boss? What the hell are you going to do?” Maddie hissed while trying to keep the bot in her sights.
“Watch,” he said as he slowly walked up to Cora with the bot tracking him every step of the way. When he was close, he reached down and helped her off the ground. “Back away slowly,” he said as he gently pulled her hand.
She got off the floor and slowly walked away from the bot, but when they were a few feet away, it reared up in attack mode. Akira grabbed her and put his body between hers and the bot while throwing the shurikens.
“Fire in the hole!” he yelled just before the throwing stars exploded, sending the bot tumbling backwards. Before it could get up, Maddie and Joanie finished it with blaster fire.
Seeing the coast was clear, Akira stood up to survey the damage. “Anyone hurt?” he asked.
“We're good, Boss,” Maddie said as she ran her scanpad around while Joanie kept watch for more bots.
“I'm okay,” Cora said as she got up and brushed herself off. “Exploding ninja stars? Really?”
“Yes. Fiona gave them to me for my last birthday,” he said while picking up his and Cora's weapons. “See anything, Maddie?”
“No robots down here, but I'm getting a shit-load of energy signatures from the direction of the control center. I think Capt. Fiona has a bot problem.”
“What about the two life signs?”
“Still heading this way. Boss, they may be heading into a world of hurt.”
“Copy that. Let's go.”
They quickly made their way down the accessway while Maddie scanned for more bots. “Boss, I've got bogeys all around us, but they're acting erratically. First
they approach and then they pull back.”
“Like they're changing their minds...” Cora said.
“Or changing their controllers. How far to an exit?”
Joanie pulled out her scanpad and aimed it down the access way. “I show a ladder and hatch one hundred feet ahead. The two life signs are close-by.”
“I see it,” Cora said as she ran ahead.
“Poor kid,” Joanie said as she watched Cora run down the corridor. “She and Nyla were close. Nyla even asked Cora to be her Honor Attendant when she and Resh get married. For Cora's sake, I hope that’s Nyla up there, though I can't see how that's possible.”
“After the events of today, I believe anything is possible,” Akira said. “I think we all hope that's Nyla up there.”
They caught up with Cora who was literally jumping out of her skin. Akira climbed up the ladder and twisted the hatch’s latching mechanism. The door swung upward to reveal a hallway illuminated by emergency lights. Akira popped his head up and looked around before climbing out. Seeing it was clear, he reached down and helped the others.
“Maddie, where are we?”
“We overshot by about five hundred feet. We need to back-track that way,” she said, pointing down the corridor heading forward.
“Where are the two life signs?” he asked.
“We're right behind you, Boss,” a familiar voice said from the dark hallway.
“Nyla!” Cora yelled while running up and grabbing the Tyen in a death-grip hug. “We thought you were dead!”
Nyla gave up trying to pry Cora loose, so she just stood there and hugged her back. “I missed you too, kiddo.”
Akira walked up and clasped arms with Nyla's companion. “My name is Akira Hisakawa, First Officer of the League Transport Vessel Hippolyta.”
“Freya Heranna, Captain of the Olympian Republic War Ship Artemis.”
“Artemis, Cmdr. Andromeda Clyemne's ship?”
“Yes. Thank the gods Andie's okay. She was the only one missing from the crews of our task force’s three ships.”
“I assume there’s an explanation of how you, your crews, and Nyla are all alive, that will have to wait. Several members of my crew are in your Control Center, and I think they're being waylaid by security bots.”
He pushed the captain aside and threw an explosive shuriken at a security bot coming toward them from down the corridor. The bot exploded in a shower of sparks. “Sorry. We should be going.” He turned and headed back toward the Command Center with the others quickly following.
“What just happened?” a shaken Freya asked.
“He just saved your ass,” Nyla said. “I need to get me some of those.”
“It's good to have you back, sister,” Joanie said.
“Amen to that,” Maddie said as she went back to scanning. “Boss, we're clear to the next junction.”
“Copy that. Cora, try comm.”
Cora pulled out her commlink and tried calling the Control Center team, but only got static.
“It's the bots,” Freya said. “They're programmed to jam comm frequencies when they're hunting.”
“Robots hunting people. Now that ain't right,” Cora said.
“Your League doesn't use hunter bots?”
“No, we do not,” Joanie replied. “It's forbidden by every treaty and compact in the League. By law, every robot must abide by Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics which means they can't harm or kill sapient life forms.”
Akira raised his fist, bringing them to a halt just before they reached the main corridor leading to the control center. He slowly peered around the corner, but quickly withdrew it. “Too many bots to count,” he whispered. “They're crawling on the walls, ceiling, and floor. Captain, anyway we can shut them down?”
“No,” Freya whispered. “Not from here. We can only disable them from inside the Control Center.”
“We have to get past them to shut them down?”
“Correct. It's a very secure system.”
Nyla peeked around the corner and watched for a moment. “No shields, most of them have open access ports,” she said.
“Part of the shakedown cruise was to be spent finishing work on a number of systems including the security bots.”
“Did Fiona ever tell you about what happened right after I joined the Crew of the Hippolyta?” Akira asked as he reached into his jacket. “I had a run-in with a rather unfriendly crew, just like these bots...”
###
The ship sat in its berth, silent and empty except for Akira who sat on the bridge reading an old Japanese text from the mid-twentieth century. The captain and crew were at a dockside bar celebrating her birthday while he sat having volunteered to watch the ship as was befitting the newest member of the crew. His hating birthdays really had nothing to do with his decision, at least that was what he told himself.
The text Akira read was about Yokai, creatures of Japanese folklore, a subject he had been interested in since childhood. He had just settled in when an alarm sounded simultaneous to a report of trouble at a bar in the local sector--the bar the party was being held at--flashed across the bottom of the muted news feed running on the main viewer.
Akira got up and placed the book down on a table before leaving the bridge. As he walked out into the cold dark air of the dock he said, “Computer, Security Level One.” Behind him, the hatch closed and sealed as defensive screens and weapons powered up. Now, any unauthorized persons would find a surprise waiting for them if they tried to board the Hippolyta.
At the Long Shot Tavern, the crew of the Hippolyta was being held at gunpoint by members of the crew of the League Transport Vessel Mancuso, a Tralaskan ship which had fallen on hard times and blamed the Hippolyta for their troubles. The First Officer, one very drunk Narst Harzal, was pointing a blaster at Fiona with drunken murder in his eyes.
“You witch! You stole that haul right from under the captain's nose. We needed that job, and you took it from us.” he slurred more than said.
“Now, Narst, put that gun away. Security is on their way. They'll be here in moments. Put the gun down, and we'll forget this ever happened,” she said as she thought about jumping him.
“Security is finding their way blocked by a few bulkheads my engineer accidentally activated. You and your motley band of misfits will soon be talking to their makers, right lads?” he said.
There was no reply.
Narst turned only to find his crew unconscious on the ground, while the crew of the Hippolyta was all holding fully activated blasters aimed directly at him. He swung back to Fiona and screamed, “What did you do to them witch?” But someone stood between her and Narst's gun.
It was Akira. He stood there like a tense spring with something shiny in his right hand. “Narst. One warning. Put the weapon down, and no one will get hurt,” Akira said calmly.
“Screw you, Hisakawa,” Narst said as he brought the gun up to firing position. He never completed the motion. Instead, the gun clattered to the deck as the First Officer dropped to his knees screaming while trying to pull the hira-shuriken from his shoulder.
“Are you injured?” Akira asked the shaken Fiona.
“No, I'm fine,” she replied. She watched as he walked over to Narst and picked him up by his jacket front using his left hand while pulling the throwing star from Narst's shoulder with his right. The first officer hung there gasping for breath. Akira wiped the shuriken clean on Narst's shirt before returning it to a pouch on his belt.
“I warned you,” Akira said as he unceremoniously dropped the wounded man to the floor.
A large knife appeared in Narst's hand as he lunged at Akira. Before Akira could react, a glow enveloped Narst, rendering him unconscious. He hit the floor against Akira's boots.
Akira looked up to see to see a squad of ship's security standing in the doorway with one holding a still glowing blaster. They all wore the insignia of the LWS Nova. The one who shot Narst walked up and introduced herself to Fiona, ignoring Akira completely. “Capt. O
'Hara, my name is Lt. Kamiko Matsumoto, LWS Nova Security. Capt. Hisakawa sends his compliments. It seems someone accidentally sealed this section off from the rest of the station. Since we are berthed nearby, Station Security asked for our help. We will take these...people...to lockup. Are you or any of your crew harmed?”
Fiona looked over at Cutter who gave a thumbs-up. “No, no one hurt, except for Narst.”
“Yes. Such a shame he fell on his own knife,” the lieutenant said, still not looking at Akira. “We shall take our leave then,” she said as she turned to look at Akira. For a moment, they stood there, silent. As if given a telepathic cue, they both bowed and spoke to each other in Japanese before she turned and walked out of the bar behind her team and their captives. In a moment, the crew of the Hippolyta found itself alone in the tavern.
“What the hell just happened?” Fiona asked.
“Ma'am, I should get back to the Hippolyta,” Akira said hoping to avoid answering questions.
“Not until you tell me what just happened,” she ordered.
“The computer alerted me to trouble at the Long Shot, so I locked the ship and came down to check on you and the crew. I saw our people being held at gunpoint by the crew of the Mancuso, so I persuaded the Mancuso crew to lower their weapons. The rest you know as you experienced it first-hand.”
“You persuaded them? All twelve of them?” she asked not believing a word of it.
“Yes, Ma’am, they were very cooperative when I made my request.”
She sat down at a table and threw-back the drink she found there. “What about Narst? I didn't see your hand move, just the star sticking out of his shoulder.”
“A hobby of mine. Some people throw darts. I throw shuriken.”
“Hobby my ass. Mister, you could have gotten yourself killed.”
“Yes, Ma’am, I may have. But you would have certainly been killed if I had not done what I did. That is unacceptable on so many levels.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she barked.
He stood silent.
“You and Lt. Kamiko Matsumoto, you two have history?”
“She is my cousin on my mother's side,” he replied. “It's a long story.”