Invaders: Dreadnought Ocelot (Invaders Series Book 4)

by Vaughn Heppner

  “Blow ’em away, Talus!” I shouted.

  The other robots still clanked forward with their glove-like hands raised. I guess they didn’t have chest cannons.

  The chest cannon roared, and Talus staggered backward.

  The Gigantopithecuses proved far nimbler than I or Talus had anticipated. Each giant ape dropped prone onto the floor. The shell flew over them and exploded against a bulkhead. The explosion caused much of the bulkhead to vanish, and whooshing sounds indicated air rushing out into the vacuum of space.

  This time, the hole was big enough and the atmosphere of enough volume that the rushing winds picked me up. I might have flown out into space, but Talus caught me in passing and headed toward the nearest hatch away from the apes.

  I held my breath, even though I knew that might not be enough to save me.

  I heard terrific explosions, ape roars—then I couldn’t comprehend what happened next. There were rushing noises, agony in my chest and a cold feeling, as I’d never felt before. There was a clang somewhere, and I seemed to float. I’m not sure how much time passed, but my head began to throb painfully. I must have groaned, because there was movement beside me.

  “Logan?”

  The word sounded robotic and as if from far away. I wanted to know what had happened, but I felt too miserable. So, I waited, and I grew hungry as my stomach twisted painfully.

  “Logan?”

  “Yeah, Talus?” I whispered.

  “Good. You live. Sand would be highly upset if you perished. He wishes to interrogate you. Thus, I must ensure your survival until we reach Earth.”

  “Nice speech,” I said, realizing I was lying on the floor, on the deck of an intact corridor. I raised my head, and that took almost all my remaining strength. Looking left and right, I saw intact bulkheads, Talus and nothing else.

  “Where are the rest of your robots?” I asked weakly.

  “I believe they have perished.”

  “What? Why?”

  “The Gigantopithecuses’ force fields were stronger, and they possessed heavier beam weaponry than your story had suggested. Perhaps the apes had received better equipment. In any case, before I reached the escape hatch, they had turned my robots into slag. Then, the Gigantopithecuses retreated as their force fields flickered due to the vacuum of space.”

  “They anticipated us, huh?”

  “If you mean us robots, I think that is correct.”

  “We have to get out of here,” I said. “They might be working around to attack us from a different direction.”

  “Can you walk?”

  “Negative.”

  “Then I will carry you,” Talus said.

  The giant robot picked me up and began clanking the way we had originally come. The enemy had once again blocked my route to the Tosks. It also seemed the Gigantopithecuses were hunting for me. That was a bad sign. Just what had Debby told them before and why? What did the giant apes want with me and presumably with Earth?

  I closed my eyes, resting a moment so I could think this through and come up with a better plan.

  -7-

  I was starting to feel like Wile E. Coyote of Roadrunner fame as we tried yet another attempt to reach the prison cells. I walked slowly beside Talus. We moved through a seldom-used area as I inhaled from a respirator. The robot didn’t need pure air, so he was okay.

  Suddenly, the giant robot halted.

  “Trouble?” I asked through the mask.

  “Do you not hear that?”

  I cocked my head, listening. “I don’t hear a thing.”

  “Undoubtedly, my sensors are superior to your hearing.”

  “Yeah,” I said, the respirator muffling my sarcasm.

  “I hear Gigantopithecuses tiptoeing toward us.”

  I tried to envision that. Tiptoeing might sound funny in theory, but inside a partly destroyed space station far from Earth with primeval giant intelligent apes stalking one, it did not feel funny in the least. Maybe this was how primitive man had felt on the Serengeti Plain as his hackles rose upon seeing cave lions creeping through the tall grasses toward him.

  “Which way are they coming?” I whispered.

  The giant robot looked one way down a cross corridor and then the other. “Both ways,” Talus said softly.

  “What?”

  “They must have baited a trap,” Talus said. “I suspect that means they desire to capture you.”

  That would jibe with old Group Leader Joe trying to get me to transfer onto the pirate ship. I was finally curious as to who ran the giant apes, but not so curious that I would willingly let the Gigantopithecuses take me to the enemy vessel.

  “Any ideas what we should do next?” I asked.

  “Several,” Talus said as he stared down at me.

  I didn’t like his look and backed up a step.

  “Can you truly escape from the space station?” he asked.

  That sounded ominous. “I think I can,” I said.

  “I need a positive statement one way or another.”

  “Yes, I can escape.”

  “How?”

  “You don’t believe me?”

  “How?” he repeated.

  “According to my memory, there’s a ladder nearby. I plan on scrambling up it to another level.”

  “If you reach this next level, how will you leave the station and return to Earth?”

  I laughed. “I’ll use the shuttle we found last week.”

  “There is no shuttle.”

  “We didn’t think so at first, but we scanned and found a shuttle parked on Titan.” I was making up this shit as fast as I could think it, realizing that Talus was contemplating killing me.

  “Why did you not speak of the shuttle earlier?” Talus asked.

  “I was too focused on defeating the apes. One thing at a time, you know?”

  “Logical,” Talus said. “I will assist you in reaching the ladder and provide covering fire against the apes if needed.”

  “Sure. This way.” I headed forward, skipping past the cross-section corridors.

  “Gigantopithecuses are in that direction.” Talus spoke from the other side of the cross section.

  I looked back at him, and suddenly, my hackles rose. Everything had been going wrong. I grunted, turned from him and forced myself to run, wanting to get away from him.

  “Logan,” the robot called, beginning to clank after me.

  Despite my grogginess, I ran faster, certain that Talus planned to tie up a loose end: me.

  “Logan,” he called again.

  I looked back. His chest plates swung open and the cannon poked out. I ran in earnest, heading for a turn. A spot between my shoulders tightened. I could feel the red targeting laser heating my back.

  Then I was around a corner. Far down the corridor, I saw the first Gigantopithecus. I also saw a nearby ladder between us. It was much closer to me.

  I panted, reached it and threw myself at the ladder. I scrambled up as fast as I could go. A rushing Gigantopithecus shouted at me to halt. I did not. He shouted again.

  A loud boom sounded. I was halfway up the ladder and saw Talus. He had clanked around the bend and fired his chest cannon. I reached the hatch above me and saw two giant apes explode backward from the shell. They had almost reached the ladder.

  “Flee!” Talus shouted. “I will destroy the apes.”

  The robot fired again.

  I madly scrambled through the open hatch, closing it as an explosion shook the bulkheads around me. That seemed like a bigger explosion than earlier. I actually expected the bulkheads to give way. Fortunately, they did not.

  I dragged myself upright and found that I was drenched with sweat. Which way should I go now? I chose left, staggering, mentally fanning options in my mind.

  Another distant explosion shook my corridor. I staggered, crashed against a bulkhead and fell down. I heard hissing, looked around and spied a crack in the deck.

  I scrambled upright as my vision wavered. Gulping, I weaved
along the corridor as the hissing slowly receded.

  What was Talus doing down there? Was he attempting to destroy the space station? I moved through another hatch and no longer heard the hissing, the escape of air into vacuum.

  I stopped running because my side exploded with pain. I panted like a bellows as I forced myself to continue walking. Sweat stung my eyes. I wanted to vomit. The emotional torture of all this combined with exhaustion had made me dead tired. I was finding it hard to keep my eyes open.

  How could I reach the Tosks now? I needed them more than ever, as I believed the chance to thwart the new menace was quickly disappearing. I wondered if the Gigantopithecuses had slain Jenna, the Director or the rest of the CAU people. What would Rax have suggested against the giant apes?

  My eyelids flickered. I yawned. I shouldn’t be this weary. What—?

  I noticed an air vent up near the ceiling. Green vapor hissed from it. That didn’t make any sense—

  “Gas,” I said.

  I held my breath and broke into a sprint, charging through the corridor as my eyesight blurred. I didn’t take a turn when I should have and crashed headlong against a bulkhead. That bounced me backward and drove the air from my lungs.

  I pulled in a gasping amount of air that tasted coppery. My eyelids quivered and I staggered in a circle. I had managed to remain on my feet—that was the second-to-last thing I remembered. The last was something slugging me in the chest. Maybe it was me hitting the floor as I fainted.

  -8-

  In time, I heard voices. They didn’t make any sense, though. I was groggy, but I still had my wits about me. If I didn’t understand the words…had the Gigantopithecuses gotten hold of me? Were they speaking their alien gibberish without any translation device around?

  I wanted to groan in despair. My head ached. The Gigantopithecuses had not only captured me, but slaughtered many of the people I had come to regard as friends. They’d slain Debby, too. Oh, Debby, dear Debby, she would have been my wife. Now, she was gone forever. If it were any consolation, I would likely join her soon in death. Was there life after death?

  I groaned then because I didn’t want to die. I hated the idea of this alien, supposed pirate overlord quizzing me about what I knew. Was I about to face hours of intense torture?

  I noticed that the voices had stopped speaking. They must have heard my groan. I’d wanted to delay this for a time, as I needed to harden myself for the coming ordeal.

  I unglued my eyes and tried peering around. All I saw were blurry shapes. What kind of gas had the aliens used on me?

  “Logan?”

  I frowned, which made my headache worse than before. They already knew my name. Wait a minute. That sounded like a feminine voice. The Gigantopithecuses had all seemed male.

  “Logan,” the female said, “I’m going to spray your eyes.”

  “Huh?” I said.

  I heard hissing and then something wet hit my eyes. I blinked furiously as stinging pain seared my orbs. The apes were trying to blind me. For some reason, that unlocked my rage.

  “You bastards!” I roared, sitting up, swinging and punching someone who grunted in a most gratifying manner.

  I snarled and climbed to my feet, swaying where I stood.

  “Grab him,” a voice said, one I should have recognized.

  I laughed—good luck trying to hold me. Then, warm, long-fingered hands grasped my arms. I struggled, but these savages were strong.

  “Logan, you must desist. We don’t have time for your emotional struggles. This is our moment and we must use it wisely.”

  “Rax?” I asked, finally recognizing that smug, know-it-all voice.

  “Yes, yes,” Rax said. “I cracked their ‘sleep’ code they radioed at me before. The process took longer than it should have. I barely revived in time.”

  I squeezed my eyelids shut and opened them wide, trying to see. It didn’t help. Everything was still blurry.

  “You are having an allergic reaction, I believe,” Rax said. “If you would wait and let the mist work, we could continue making plans.”

  “Who did I hit?”

  “Me, you idiot,” Jenna said. “Thanks a lot.”

  I turned away. I didn’t feel like saying sorry. I had begun to believe that Jenna had something to do with Debby’s jealousy. That meant Jenna might have caused Debby’s death. I was glad I’d hit Jenna.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Jenna asked.

  “I believe Earthlings call it an emotional crisis,” Rax said. “He is grieving.”

  “Oh,” Jenna said. “I forgot all about that. I’m so sorry, Logan.”

  I grunted. How could she forget? I struggled against whoever held me.

  “It’s fine,” Jenna said. “Let him go.”

  Whoever was holding me did not listen to her.

  “She is correct,” Rax said. “Release him.”

  The long, narrow-fingered hands released me. I realized Tosks must have been holding me.

  I wiped my eyes, but that didn’t help either. Everything was still a blur.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “In the station’s main transfer chamber,” Rax said.

  I frowned. That seemed wrong. Had the alien lord put me under some sort of hallucination machine?

  “Uh, you know that’s wrong, right?” I said. “The Gigantopithecuses hold the transfer chamber.”

  “Apparently they do not hold it any longer,” Rax said dryly.

  I bent my head. It was time to think. Until I could see, I would not fully trust this Rax-sounding thing. I could well be under a hallucination machine as the alien overlord attempted to trick me.

  “Okay…” I said. “How long have I been out?”

  “Seven hours,” Rax said.

  “What the hell?” I shouted.

  “You must calm down,” Rax said. “Much has transpired since you were rendered unconscious. All the robots are destroyed, but I think you already know that.”

  “Yeah, fine,” I said, with my head still bent. “I’m calm. Now, what all happened?”

  “You do not sound calm,” Rax said.

  “Listen, you little bugger. I said I’m calm. That means I’m calm. Now, get to the point.”

  There was silence until I became aware of rustling. It felt as if the transfer chamber was full of people, maybe of aliens too, if one included the werewolf-like Tosks.

  “You should thank Rax instead of berating him,” Jenna said. “It’s because of him that you’re still alive. You were busy trying to get the lot of us killed with your crazy ideas.”

  “What are you talking about?” I demanded.

  “You heard Rax,” Jenna said. “All the robots are destroyed, and all but two Tosks. And, fully half the CAU team are dead.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, but I didn’t kill any of them.”

  “Please, Jenna,” Rax said. “That is not the way to calm an agitated Logan. He is a warrior by inclination and training. He strikes out when angry. You must soothe his frazzled emotions if you hope to make him listen.”

  “Are the Gigantopithecuses coming?” I asked.

  “Indeed,” Rax said. “That is why you must calm yourself. I am about to implement our plan. I have used your excesses—”

  “What excesses?” I demanded.

  “Blowing up half the space station,” Jenna said. “What did you think you were doing?”

  “Hitting back,” I snarled. “You should try it sometime instead of just running away.”

  “Jenna, I must insist,” Rax said. “Logan’s blunders worked in our favor.”

  “Do you call the Tosks getting murdered in their cells our favor?” she shouted at me.

  “What?” I said.

  “Oh, shut up,” Jenna said. “You sound like an idiot. Do you want to die? You said you did before.”

  “I never said that.”

  “It’s on tape. Rax heard it. You did—”

  “Jenna,” Rax said. “If you cannot contain yourself, ple
ase step to the side.”

  “Why should I?” she said, sounding hysterical. “We’re all going to die.”

  “Not if my plan works,” Rax said.

  “Wrong,” she said. “You said each of us has less than a thirty percent chance of reaching Earth. That’s lousy odds.”

  “Some of you will survive,” Rax said.

  “Maybe Logan is right,” she said. “We should blow all the apes to hell, taking them with us.”

  “In this instance, Logan is wrong. There are events you do not understand—”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” I said. “There’s a thirty percent chance of surviving? What are you talking about Rax?”

  “It has nothing to do with you, you idiot,” Jenna said.

  “Quit calling me that,” I told her.

  Jenna did not reply, but I heard someone stomping off.

  “Well, perhaps I can get in a word edgewise now,” Rax said.

  “What’s wrong with her?” I asked.

  “I am not altogether familiar with human female psychology,” Rax said. “I have a few theories as to her present behavior—but we do not have time to discuss that. The Gigantopithecuses are approaching. We must all transfer this instant. The Tosks have already climbed into the second floater and are about to depart.”

  I opened my mouth to ask another question.

  “I am transferring the last Tosks outside the station,” Rax said.

  “What good will that—?”

  “From there,” Rax said, ignoring my interruption, “they will use the floater to attack parts of the space station. In that way, I hope to draw the Gigantopithecuses from here and possibly draw the spaceship toward them, too.”

  “We’re going to hit the spaceship?”

  “Pardon?”

  “This is a prelude to storming the alien vessel and capturing it?” I asked.

  “What a preposterous idea,” Rax said. “That is perfect madness for a variety of reasons. Whatever gave you that idea?”

  I opened my mouth.

  “Are you delusional?” Rax asked, “or is this some form of subterfuge on your part?”

  “Hey,” I said. “If we’re not trying to storm the spaceship, how will the Tosks get home if they transfer outside in a floater?”

  “The Tosks are sacrificing themselves. I thought that was perfectly obvious.”