The No Names

by Frank Albelo

  “I have been wondering how exactly Marvin can use his repulsor legs and I have a theory. It works just like a sound system! The signal from the repulsor is like a transducer outputting electromagnetic waves as oppose to sound waves. In theory, this magnetizes the ground and it causes the levitation-like effect. I think that if I can redirect and amplify the signal from the repulsors I could… well… cause a fissure like the one that killed Eta.”

  He fell silent suddenly. It took my brain a moment to consider what he had just told me. I had been following the general science of what he suggested, but I didn’t know enough to speculate. When he mentioned the effect he could produce however, I was taken aback.

  “Wait, but that could backfire severely. How would you control something like that Epsilon?” I asked, scenarios starting to run through my head.

  “Well, it’s not certain but I estimate it will be a ‘point, shoot and run’ type of plan. I believe the effect will be directed, but I can’t guarantee anything. There is also the manner of the requirements, Boss…”

  I broke out of my contemplations and narrowed my eyes. “ What do you mean, ‘requirements’?”

  “Well…” Epsilon definitely looked uncomfortable with the pressure I seemed to be exerting so I sighed and took a step back.

  “It’s alright. I’m sorry. Just a tad on edge.”

  The man nodded before elaborating, “I would need two more repulsors for Marvin. He would also probably need a bigger battery. I am not sure I can get the desired effect with something less than that.”

  I didn’t dismiss the plan right off the bat. I was sure that having a massive crevasse cut a swath through the USG base would give us a good advantage for taking it over, but I had to be realistic.

  “I will see what I can do about the parts. I appreciate the idea, Epsilon, it’s the best we have at this point.”

  The man patted my shoulder and headed back upstairs without another word. I felt a bit bad that I was intimidating the others without even trying, but I convinced myself it would all be worth it in the end. I stood at the entrance of B1 until the sunlight passed the ridge of the ice sheet above and the flickering light began to fade. I made it to the pitch black stairs just as the first floor lost all illumination.

  ● ● ●

  Over the next several days our group of survivors made astounding process in clearing the Calforn city. After a day, Koma insisted he was well enough to resume combing the buildings. After clearing a total of forty six buildings, in addition to the dozen or so we had cleared previously, the Digits had still not found evidence of the ship.

  I was not overtly concerned about the missing ship but instead focused on collecting resources for our group. While the majority of the group split into two roaming parties of scavengers, I took Beta back to our wilderness camp. I kept my senses on the highest alert as we tended to and harvested the fields as Gamma instructed us before leaving. It was arduous work for Beta since I had to stop fairly regularly to deal with some kind of threat.

  I easily fought off long limbed mutants, bone mutants and a few aliens that looked like oversized badgers. The last had been the toughest to deal with since my mental link to the Calforn had not alerted me to their presence, but after hacking through the pair of animals with my claws no other beasts tried to attack us.

  I knew whatever ‘call’ Koma and the Overmind said I had was the cause of the constant mutant attacks; I simply wished I knew how to stop it.

  With the crops tended, we returned to B1 with our harvest and added it to the stockpile. This went on for over a week. Releasing my hold on the Overmind, whispers of information sounded in my head. My Conditioning, Metabolic Hyperburn and Cerebral Maturation had risen to 7%, 12% and 25% respectively. My Autophagy was also up to 75%; I was slowly repairing the damage my evolutionary rampage and the fight against the experiment had done.

  I took the opportunity that the Digits intended to have a slow day to exchange some of the many mutant corpses we had accumulated from defending B1. None of the Digits were keen on taking a trip through the snow plains on the surface. I had Koma remain on watch for the others and loaded Marvin with two of the mutant dog corpses the Digits had dispatched while clearing the city. I also grabbed the bodies of two long limbed mutants and dropped them onto my shoulders.

  I spent the full, human speed, jog to the USG base running through calculations for Epsilon’s plan. On my downtime I had installed another battery pack into Marvin, raising the ATC’s total charge capacity to nearly thirty days. Based on our conversation I assumed the tinkering Digit would probably need at least another pack’s worth of charge to run four repulsors. I had a plan for getting the repulsors, and the charge was just a matter of getting the battery packs installed.

  Before long I was making my way through the snows cape of Dun Lund. Meandering thoughts kept the more acute bite of the cold from affecting me. Thanks to all my antics inside the underground city my armoring and suit were no more than a rigging system. I had warm butt cheeks and toes, but my shoulders and arms were freezing. The combination of warm and cold along my body almost made me want to turn off the heating system but I wanted to converse my energy. Arriving at the usual snowdrift, I plopped down for a second.

  I could see the base glinting in the distance even through my shaded visor. I scanned the surroundings and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. I felt shivers run up and down my spine but I couldn’t pinpoint the cause. Taking another moment to look around me, I trudged forward through the snow. Just two minutes later I stood a hundred feet from the hill of the holding area. There were no mechs to meet me so I hollered into the wind.

  “I have more mutants for rations, Starden!”

  There was silence for several minutes. Just as I was about to shout some expletives at the sadistic prick, two of the camouflaged ATC rounded the holding area and moved closer. They each held a rations container, which they dropped just at the base of the hill. I had Marvin move closer and dump all four bodies next to the crates.

  The ATC moved to collect the corpses, but before they could load up the mutant dogs I shouted another demand, “You owe me, Starden! I haven’t gotten to ask any more questions you coward! You left us out here to rot, you may as well help us some. I need replacement repulsors for my ATC, they have been misfiring and it can’t do jumps with those. It’s only fair we have the same advantages we started with.”

  I noticed the mech pause, corpses in hand. I stayed still while the ATC likely received further information. After a brief moment the camo mechs grabbed the body and repulsor jumped into the holding area. Without me noticing, one of the hulking ATC had moved there also and was holding a crate that looked about four feet long: the repulsor limbs.

  I crept slowly forward when the machine jumped over the fence and landed at the base of the hill. I was wary about approaching the ATC, but as I waited, it remained. I had Marvin set the ration crates down and approach the robot cautiously. Just a few feet from the mech I felt the shivering in my spine turn to goosebumps and immediately tensed.

  Out of the corner of my eye, one of the snowdrifts started to inch ever closer. I did my best to remain impassive as I grabbed the container with the parts and loaded it onto the cart morphed ATC.

  As soon as I had the crate loaded, my back partially turned to the hulking ATC, all hell broke loose.

  The ten foot ATC tried to bring down it's grappling arm on top of my head. It took all my speed and a significant pull on my Hyperburn to react fast enough to block the blow with my wrench. I pulled it from my cross belt and caught the limb right on the teeth. I felt blood vessels pop in my arms as they worked to hold back the massive weight the robot was throwing down.

  “Marvin! Go! You are under Koma's command until I say otherwise!” I shouted while straining under the mech.

  I could almost see the ATC hesitate, so I commanded it directly, “Full jump. NOW!”

  The next instant I felt a bone crunching blow come from my left as the hulkin
g robot struck me with its other limb. My hand slackened and I flew through the air, landing in a heap in the snow. I tried to take a freezing breath and pain racked my body. I heard the whirling of repulsors seconds before and just barely rolled out of the way as the mech landed where I had been laying. Flakes shot up into the air and drifted around in the wind as the repulsors pushed away the loose snow and ice.

  I grit my teeth and activated Adept Autophagy. The familiar burning in my veins alerted me to its effects.

 

 

  Focusing my thoughts briefly on my ribs, I felt the burn concentrate on them as the fractures and bruising were healed and my breathing eased within a second.

  The next breath I was already leaping onto the hulking ATC. The huge machine was fairly fast, but with my enhanced speed and strength I easily clambered onto its back before it could catch me. I mutated my right hand, feeling the last remaining shreds of my suit tearing, and pummeled the joint on one of its upper limbs. The metal groaned in protest, but held. They must have improved the mechs, I thought while hitting the limb twice more. As soon as I got the repulsor separated, one of the camouflaged ATC’s launched into the air above me. With only one hand on the mech, I lost my balanced dodging the smaller robot and fell to the ground. Without waiting to be crushed I did my best to roll forward down the hill to get away from the mechs.

  With a moment to concentrate I inverted my knees with a pop and launched across the snowscape towards Marvin in the distance. I hoped to get out of range of the base’s ATC, but only a few seconds later whirling alerted me to their pursuit. I spared a look behind me and noticed four of the nimbler mechs on my tail.

  “Fuck,” I breathed, as I turned on a dime and headed away from our ATC. The machines immediately veered to follow me.

 

  I heard the Overmind in my head. I need to finish this before I lose too much mass. I knew the ATC would chase me down, but I doubted my Autophagy would outlast their power cores. Focusing on my arms, I mutated both and extended six inch claws from either hand. Digging my boots into the snow and stabilizing my slide with my claws, I turned to face the incoming machines.

  The four machines looked surprised by my sudden stop and flew by next to me. I managed to catch one of them as it pulsed by me, my grip bending its light metal frame. The momentum threatened to throw me off when it stopped but I clawed my way through the outer metal and ripped the power core and one of its repulsors off before we had come to a complete stop. The sparks coming from the machine would have blinded me if my visor hadn’t already been darkened. Dropping the limb to the ground , I turned to the other three mechs.

  One of the machines had transformed from its cart form into upright and had large pincer claws on their free limb. The other too flanked that one, their repulsors whirling madly as they readied to jump in as soon as there was an opening. I eyed each of the machines carefully and moved slowly forward.

  Having crossed some invisible range boundary, the cart-form ATCs launched forth. I jumped forward to intercept one before they could both get me. Putting my enlarged palms out, I felt the impact run through my body but my inverted legs managed to dampen most of the force. Having stopped the machine I retracted my claws and punched a hole through the display on the ATC.

  Bingo

  The moment my fist pierced the screen and entered about halfway up my forearm the mech fell. Deactivated. I ripped my hand out of the machine and was immediately knocked forward. My right arm that had been inside the mech got pushed up against it and bent at an unnatural angle. Shooting pain blossomed from my dislocated and bent limb. I wasn’t sure if it was broken in addition to dislocated so I couldn’t risk healing the limb without rightening it.

  Gritting my teeth in preparation for what I was about to do, I spun my body to the left, bending my right arm even further. I stifled a yelp long enough to cave in the display of the ATC that had pinned me with a trio of punches. The machine sparked and collapsed as its repulsive force stopped.

  I painfully extracted my arm from the wreckage and frantically looked for the remaining mech. It was already flying towards me. I grabbed the repulsor limb I had managed to rip off the second mech and held it up defensively. The nimble ATC landed on me, knocking the air out of me, but thankfully I had been expecting the blow. I remained focused enough to ward off the pincers with my unwieldy weapon. I bought myself enough time to reposition my legs and push.

  I had managed to place one of my legs onto the bipedal machine. The moment I pushed off, it tipped forward. Had it not been for the momentum my push gave me with my other leg, it would have landed on top of me. I scooted back, half burying myself in the snow and hitting the ice below.

  I didn’t waste the respite. I gulped down a breath and straightened my arm as much as I could. Darkness clouded my vision and I felt bile rise up my throat as I stretched out my arm. With sheer force of will I commanded my Autophagy to kick my healing into overdrive. Within seconds, and following riveting bone grinding and echoing bone pops, my arm was restored to a semblance of functional.

 

  “Shit. Shit. Shit,” I scrambled to my feet and jumped as far from the tangled mess of robots as I could. I could see the other mech already rising over its inactive brethren. The distance I had managed to put between us gave me just enough time to push my body for more healing. I could feel sharp tingling sensations running up and down my arm, what I could only assume were nerves healing, and I had full control over my arm again.

  The final mech pushed away from the ground at breakneck speed. I reverted my legs to normal, hoping to conserve some energy and knelt in the snow. I supported my uninjured arm with the other and focused my strengthening mutation. I only had one chance to halt the machine. Even if I had some percentage of Autophagy left, my body was beginning to tire from the ambush and healing; my vision had been blurry since my arm dislocated. The inedible mechs also made it that I couldn’t restore myself slightly while letting the Overmind take over. Clearing my head, I focused completely on only my arm and the mech; a strange itching sprouted from my hand. Not having the time to inspect what it was, but hoping it wasn’t my body starting to tear from all the sudden mutations, I shifted slightly to meet the robot’s charge.

  The collision pushed me deeper into the snow, the only thing slowing me was the grip my knee pad armor and boots had on the ground. I tried to keep my focus during the impact, but when the ATC’s clamps hooked onto my shoulder blades I felt the world spinning. The pain accompanied by a crunch as the ATC crushed the shoulder of my injured arm brought an iron tang to my mouth. The sudden jerk of pain narrowed my focus and I instinctively closed the fist that had stopped the machine. The tingling sensation that had been on my arms turned into pins and needles and jagged bone protrusions sprouted from my skin. One of which punched through the display into the ATC.

  The mech whirled for one more second before collapsing, my shoulder still in its grip. I yelped in pain once again as the ATC pulled me to the ground and the world continued to swim. Using my uninjured arm to pry the pincer off I managed to pull back and lay in the snow.

  I could see maroon and black coating the normally pristine surface of Dun Lund. I closed my eyes and , this time, gently focused my energy on healing bleeding and getting my shoulder operational. I felt the burning of my Autophagy jumping back and forth from my chest to my arm. I could only assume it was consuming different parts of my body to recover the damage the ATC had done.

  After what felt like a grueling eternity, I could breathe a little easier. I rose to my feet as my wounds finished closing. I mentally shouted for the Autophagy to end.

 

  I felt haggard as I scanned my surroundings. I needed to get away, so I began to trudge as quick as my still healing body allowed. I only glanced back once to inspect the wreckage of the battle. I wasn’t sure why the USG had attacked
, but it definitely put a damper on our ration acquisition plans. Taking a moment to center myself, mostly because my vision was still tilting from time to time, I failed to notice the snow covered shadows approaching.

  I heard a rustling beside me and then five sets of arms grabbed a hold of my body. Immediately spinning, I took the head off a multi limbed mutant that had somehow sneaked behind me. I dropped to the ground crouched. I took in the sight once I had turned around. A dozen multi armed, four long limbed and two boney mutants had all somehow surrounded me. Putting up my guard I tried to reactivate my Autophagy.

 

 

  I cursed under my breath as I slowly started to move back. Pushing through my leg mutation as the normal speed without Autophagy to enhance it. As I backed up, I heard another whirring sound. I didn’t want to turn my back to the mutants, but I already knew what was behind me. The next second I felt the grip of the hulking ATC clamp around my neck and I was lifted into the air. Well this is definitely a problem.