by Adam DiSalvo
“They are already in the city.”
Dread took over Marcus. He placed his face in his hands pressing the little doll to his mouth and nose. He made no sound. The transport rocked back and forth as they raced over the ancient asphalt.
“They’ve seized command of Terralat’s network. The repeating message has stopped broadcasting. The final report claimed they broke the lines of the security forces and were assaulting the civilian quarter. Unknown number of casualties. Switching networks.”
Chandra paused again.
“The snatchers were not prepared for the size of Terralat,” she went on. "They need to collect one hundred and fifty units before the Imperial soldiers arrive in the city. I’m sorry Captain I don’t know what they mean. Whatever it is they’re taking, they’re trying to get it before Imperial forces enter.”
“Marcus do you have any idea what they’re after?”
Marcus shook his head.
“It seemed the only thing they were after before was people. But if they’re assaulting the civilian quarter, I don’t know what they’re after.”
The smell of city grew stronger and they soon came upon the first switch back. Jaithen maneuvered through the hairpin turn at speed. The TIGR drones raced ahead down the corridor.
“Marcus can you send a map of Terralat and Lilyth’s location to Chandra?”
“Sure.”
“Include the second P.O.E.” added Jaithen as he pulled down his face mask. “And where the potential second set of transports are."
Marcus opened his PDC on his forearm. He swiped at his screen and turned to Chandra.
“Did you get it?”
“Yes, I have the file.”
Data began streaming through Jaithen’s HUD. A fly though video began in the top left corner of his view.
“Captain,” came Chandra’s voice through Jaithen’s eaerpiece. "Terralat is over 13 miles across. With over 38 P.O.E.s and the buildings stand as high as three hundred feet. Running water is provided by the mountain's natural springs and geo thermal energy is collected from beneath the city's streets. An interlinking tram system connects the far points of the city.”
“Marcus, Terralat is incredible."
Marcus looked up at Jaithen.
“I hope we find it still standing. The people of Terralat are good people. We are helpless against an all out assault.”
The distant thump of explosions echoed through the passageway followed by the creeping sound of gunfire. The faint smell of smoke joined the slow rising crescendo of warfare.
“We’re getting close,” muttered Jaithen.
Marcus looked back down at his PDC. He swiped through a few screens.
“I can’t remotely access the gate at the end of the tunnel. I’ll have to get out to manually open it,” explained Marcus. “Once we get through though, we’ll be coming out into the interior of one of the hangars for heavy construction drones.”
“Do they have power?” Chandra inquired.
“Yes. Although the ones in the hangar haven’t been used in many years. Most might be derelict. Why?”
“Captain. If we find a direct connection to their hardware I can rewrite their protocols. We could repurpose them to fight for us. The upload would only take a few minutes”
“They’re running on core-128 systems,” Marcus clarified.
“CPUs? Holy shit that’s old. Chandra, can you translate the programming languages into binary?”
“I’m already working on it.”
“How many of them do you think are working?”
“I have no idea. The hangar holds more than one hundred but, the units in that hangar haven’t been used or maintained at all.”
“Well, we’ll take what we can get.”
Marcus turned back around to face the back.
“Chandra. When we get inside Terralat can you take back control of the city’s network?”
Chandra smiled.
“Yes. Should be simple enough. Your systems run on binary correct?”
Marcus nodded.
“Well then. Unless they’ve uploaded some type of malicious AI to the system,” she explained. “It shouldn’t be difficult. Is there anything you’d like me to do or look for once I’m inside?”
“I want you to close all the points of entry where Imperial forces are grouping up.”
“If I can gain access to the gates once I’m in the system, yes. I’ll also tap into the city’s sensor grid to coordinate a better evacuation plan. Are the citizens connected to an emergency broadcast system?”
“They are.”
Marcus held out his wrist, palm up. A small black and gray bracelet was wrapped around his arm.
“These bracelets are how we interact with everything in the city. We can use them to connect to the network or any other device that’s also connected. You could send an updated evacuation plan to everyone in the city as long as you have the credentials. I’ll send you the logins now.”
The sounds of battle were now audible. The smell of inner city and explosives filled the air.
“I see a light up ahead,” Jaithen announced.
They soon came upon lights set into the ceiling of the underground passage.
“Slow up,” suggested Marcus.
Jaithen reduced speed. The headlights soon reflected off of the gate. On either side were small buildings built into the side walls of the tunnel. The windows smashed ike the transport they currently occupied. The vehicle came to a stop and Marcus climbed out. He turned on his light and attempted to hide his limp as he walked towards a small panel sticking out of the wall next to the gate.
“Hey, Marcus are you alright?"
“Yeah,” Marcus called back. “I’m alright!”
Jaithen turned to Chandra in the back.
“Chandra, can you go check on him? Make sure he’s actually okay? “
“Sure.”
Chandra hoped out of the vehicle and hit the ground with a heavy thud. She jogged up behind Marcus.
“Hey!” Chandra called out. “Marcus, wait!”
Marcus approached the panel and reached into the pocket of his BDUs.
“Hey,” came Chandra’s supernatural voice.
Marcus looked up. He forced a smile.
“Marcus, are you alright?”
Marcus pulled out a set of keys and inserted one into the lock.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” he winced.
Chanda approached with a look of concern.
“Marcus. Hey, Let me see you.”
Chandra reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. Marcus paused and cocked his head.
“Chandr—“
Chandra pulled Marcus around to examine him. She looked down to see his charred flak jacket, ripped and filled with holes. She lifted his shirt exposing his chiseled torso. His right side was covered with terrible abrasions and dark bruises. Chandra looked up.
“You’re bleeding. Are they broken?”
Marcus nodded his head.
“Yeah. I think so.”
Chandra released his shirt.
“We need to clean the scrapes and bind your ribs at least.”
“No. Chandra, I'm fine.”
Marcus stepped back and turned to the console. He rotated the key and opened the cover revealing a ten-key input. Marcus punched in a six digit code and the gate’s motors groaned. As the gate lifted, light slipped in underneath the edge accented with hints of gunfire.
“What the hell?” muttered Marcus.
The sound of voices came from the other side of the thick gate.
“Contact! We got contact!” screamed a man on the other side as the gate continued to rise.
Chandra grabbed Marcus and fell into the shadows. A heavily armed soldier came creeping out with his weapon drawn. The lights behind him stretched out his shadow along the ground.
“I got one transport!” he shouted as he approached the old vehicle, his weaponed trained.
Another man appeared from behind him adorning
similar gear. Then another. A voice called out from beyond the bright lights behind them.
“Upload is almsot complete!"
The lead soldier approached the driver side door and reached out with his hand, weapon at the ready. He grasped the handle and ripped open the door. The soldier froze.
“What’s in there?” called one of his comrades.
The lead soldier looked back to his squad.
“Nothing,” he called out.
“This place is all fucked up Lieutenant!” yelled another.
“Then lets get the fuck out of this place! We don’t want to be here when these drones wake up!” proclaimed the voice from behind the lights.
“I know that voice.” muttered Marcus.
“Hush,” whispered Chandra. “Stay silent."
The lead soldier looked back into the cab one more time before turning back to his fellow soldiers. He lowered his weapon and jogged back to his squad.
Chandra released her hold on Marcus and engaged her cloak.
“Wait here,” she whispered
“Chandra! Where are you going?”
“Captain. Where are you?” came Chandra's voice though Jaithen’s earpiece.
“Left side of the gate. Opposite your position,” Jaithen responded. "That was a close one.”
The soldiers moved back though the drone hangar with Chandra cloaked and close behind.
“Captain these are snatcher units. Not Imperial regulars.”
Chandra stopped, peering an active console.
“Wait. Captain, stand by.”
Jaithen peeked his head around the edge of the archway peering into the hangar beyond the lights. The immediate area was clear.
“Jaithen!” hissed Marcus gripping his side.
Jaithen looked over across the archway and held up one finger.
“Captain. It appears the snatchers and ourselves had the same idea.”
“What?” Jaithen screamed catching himself halfway. “Chandra, what do you mean?” he whispered.
“Jaithen!” Marcus squawked again.
Jaithen shook his finger.
“Shut the fuck up!” he mouthed.
“Captain. We need to get out of here. They beat us to it.” Chandra explained.
The hum of activating power supplies filled the air.
“Chandra?” Jaithen repeated.
“They’ve repurposed the drones. They’re powering up!”
Jaithen sprinted across the archway to Marcus.
“Marcus. Do you know the way through the drone hangar?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been inside but I think I—“
“Great, you can drive.”
“What?" Marcus stammered.
“C’mon. Let’s go.”
Jaithen dragged Marcus towards the vehicle at full sprint. He tossed Marcus the keycard.
“You’re on brother.”
Marcus caught the key card and stood still in confusion.
“Get the fuck in the truck!” Jaithen snapped.
Chandra came sliding around the corner as Marcus entered and turned the motor over. Chandra's TIGR drones folded into her as she closed in on the two men.
“Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!” Chandra screamed.
“What’s happening?” cried Marcus.
“The snatchers commandeered the drones before we could get to them!” Jaithen exclaimed.
“Fuck!"
Marcus punched the vehicle into drive and slammed the accelerator. The transport lurched forward and took off. Chandra grabbed onto the edge of the rear side door as it passed, leaping in through one of the broken windows. The vehicle raced over the threshold at break neck speed. Red activation lights onboard the fifteen foot tall robots blinked on as they sped by. The great machines woke one by one.
“Go faster!” demanded Jaithen through the rushing air.
The old metal joints creaked and groaned as one of the heavy drones deployed from its hangar. Another followed, releasing from the opposite bay across from it. Then the drone next to it.
“Marcus those things are fucking huge!”
“I know!” Marcus barked back.
“Where in the goddess is the damn exit?”
Marcus slammed on the brake, swerving hard to avoid a collision. The transport knocked aside a catwalk's support as it slid over the concrete floor.
“Get us out in one piece!” screamed Jaithen.
“Shut the fuck up!” Marcus yelled back.
One after another the massive machines deployed from their hangars. They each stepped into the wide walkway and turned to engage the fleeing vehicle.
“Captain. Fourteen drones have been activated with more coming online.”
The calamity of pursuing drones crushed equipment beneath their feet and crashed through the overhead catwalks. The steel beams snapped like twigs before them. Marcus slalomed the vehicle back and forth through the steel supports as the construction drones closed in.
“Marcus! They’re gaining on us!”
“Then get out and push!” Marcus snapped back.
The vehicle pitched right as Marcus made a hard left.
“I see the exit!” Marcus bellowed.
The vehicle careened toward the hangar doors as the drones closed the gap with each stride. Every footstep shook the ground as it fell.
“Brace yourselves!” warned Marcus.
Sparks and metal splintered into the air as the vehicle smashed through the gates of the hangar and flew into the underground city streets. The drones slammed through the gate behind them pouring into the road. Underneath a sky of stone, artificial lights projected intense blue and pale orange hues that lit up the underground metropolis. As the drones exited the hangar they broke off from one another into small groups heading for the POEs. A single drone continued the pursuit.
“Marcus! We still got one on our six! Get us the fuck outta here!”
“We’re good! We’ll be able to lose it out here!"
Marcus swung the transport hard right down a narrow street. The giant machine followed.
“How far are we from the labs?” called Chandra.
“We’re only a few blocks away."
Marcus made another hard turn putting them out of the drones line of sight.
“Up there! Just ahead!” Marcus pointed.
Marcus smashed the accelerator to the floor catapulting their ride forward.
“Get ready to jump out! That thing will give us no chances if it keeps following us!"
Marcus brought the vehicle to a screeching halt. The seatbelt pressing against Marcus’s chest made him grimace in pain.
“Still alive?” Jaithen cracked. “C’mon lets go!”
Jaithen slapped Marcus on the back and leaped out of the vehicle. Chandra followed him with haste. Marcus stumbled out. He regained his composure and limped along behind them.
“Chandra, go inside ahead of us and search for Marcus’s family. I’ll stay with him. We’ll follow up behind you.”
“Captain. There’s no time,” she replied pointing over them.
Jaithen and Marcus turned to see the heavy drone barreling toward them. The ground trembled as it strode. Chandra’s cloak activated as she deployed her guns and charged the giant machine.
“Fuck this mother fucking planet!” Jaithen screamed.
He turned to Marcus as he pulled his rifle around and racked it.
“If I die here Marcus, I’m gonna fucking kill you!” Jaithen threatened.
Marcus changed magazines and racked his own weapon, following Jaithen’s lead.
“I’m glad you came all this way just to die here with me Captain.”
“Ha! Looks at us!” Jaithen let out. “Bonding, right before we die!”
The drone gathered speed as it closed in on them. Jaithen fanned out to the right with Marcus as they fired their weapons down range. The rounds impacted on the charging machine sending sparks into the air. It was now within two hundred yards. Chandra dropped her cloak and dove to the s
ide as she maintained her field of fire. The drone careened forward. Jaithen held his ground and continued engaging with his weapon. Marcus back pedaled toward the transport still firing.
“Captain we lack the firepower to bring down this drone.” Chandra warned as she pursued the drone from behind.
“Get back in the truck!” Marcus screamed as he clamored over the vehicle to get into the driver seat.
“Marcus you’ll never outrun it!” Jaithen shouted.
Rounds smashed against the machine’s exterior plates as the space between them closed. Marcus turned over the transport motor. Jaithen was relentless. They were now fifty yards apart.
The engine roared to life and Marcus slammed it into gear. He opened up the motor squealing the tires trying to take off. The steel behemoth bore down on Jaithen. The killer robot was within twenty yards.
“Captain!” Chandra cried.
Jaithen side stepped the metal menace, firing up into the operating systems as it took an arching swipe at him. His rounds missed their mark.
“Shit!” he remarked.
Marcus tore off as the drone pursued. With in a few steps one of the drone’s giant claws grabbed the rear end of the vehicle, crushing it in its grip. The drone lifted the transport into the air. Jaithen continued his assault as Chandra scaled the back of the robot. Her weapons protruding from her back fired into the beast as she climbed. With the other arm the machine reached around and grabbed Chandra. It pulled her from its back and threw her to the ground.
“Chandra!” Jaithen called.
The drone grabbed the vehicle with the other arm while Marcus struggled for his weapon inside.
“Get the fuck off me!” he yelled as the mandibles carved into the transport.
Marcus grabbed and steadied his weapon. He fired from inside the cab into the drone’s main optical sensors.
“Marcus get out of the truck!” Jaithen screamed.
The mechanical beast was not deterred. It continued tearing the vehicle apart. Jaithen kept firing with no effect.
“Marcus!"
As the homicidal drone tore into the cab of the transport its claws came to a grinding halt. The internal pistons and drivers hissed and whined, straining against an unknown force. Jaithen lowered his weapon, mouth agape in awe. The drone and transport lifted from the ground, rotating in mid air. Bursts of electricity exploded from the drone's center, arcing to nearby metal surfaces. Before Jaithen stood a young woman in her mid twenties with her palm faced out in front of her. Her long black hair had a prominent crimson streak with thick curls that fell from under her dark hood. Her skin was mocha colored and she was coved from head to toe in dirt and blood. The machines separated as they rose. The arms of the drone pried from the vehicle and ripped off, followed by the legs and head. Electricity snapped between each piece of the drone as they sundered. Lightning vaulted forth from the woman’s hand, striking into the shredded monster’s pieces as they came apart. The carcass burst into flames and the smell of smoke and melted metal filled the air. The mangled transport sank back toward the ground coming rest on the cold concrete. The burning pieces of the construction drone fell to the ground and the woman ran towards the metal husk encapsulating Marcus.