A shiver shot up her spine as she said, “What do you mean ‘their home?’”
“The only reason Talos would scan your brain was for tactical data. Location of your people, analyzing your home’s defenses, and what advantage it might have over it. It wouldn’t do the scan for any other reason other than intel for tactical.”
Margo looked at Catcher who was still clipped on ZiP’s shoulder strap and for the first time since The 8’s ruling she felt alone. She hated this feeling, but her actions had brought her and those around her to this moment. It was then that she remembered the teachings of Structor Vyse: No single action in this world moves freely. Good or bad, there is always a cost. She lowered her head at the brashness of her and Catcher in Outpost 521 with the cube. The bravado and stupidity of the moment rumbled in her stomach with each step that Talos took. She raised her head and said, “How do we stop it?”
“Memory says that the payload won’t go off if it falls the distance it is tall, but if it were to fall off the mountain you two flew from to get here, it will ignite its payload. So we gotta stop it with my preferred method of stopping things: brute force. ZiP turned back toward the gaping hole in the ship and said, “Follow me.”
Chapter 14- BFG
As ZiP retracted his grappling hook they walked into the weakened hangar bay. Out of his bag came a circular device with a single button, pressing it sent a pinging sound. “Where are you?”
“What are we looking for?”
“What’s the best thing to fight a monster?” ZiP pinged again only this time a deeper ping sounded back. “...a giant.”
Margo followed the robot as they slid their way across the angled, pitted floor. Their movements seemed to affect the very precarious structure as echos of straining steel vibrated through the moist air and mossy floor they were sliding on. Talos’ awakening broke up the earth that had moved into the hangar when the ship crash landed. The newly revealed inventory that had been sitting under the dirt was a variety of flying and ground vehicles. ZiP clinged onto the beaten remains of a tank, caught Margo, and pulled her in toward the vehicle. She latched on and pulled herself up onto the rusted steel tracks. She turned to ZiP. “I’m sorry about…”
Holding up his hand he stopped her mid apology. “Later, right now we need you to spark up another heavy hitter.”
“Is that a good idea?”
Catcher chimed in. “What about the cannon?”
ZiP had already begun crawling over the tank and was hopping between the various other wrecks as he responded, “The only ammo that has survived that works with Susan are starbursts and those won’t do anything to Talos.” He stopped his hopping as Margo cleared the top of the tank. A digital whistle cut through the air as ZiP waved for her to move toward him. As she got closer she noticed a massive robot that was standing in a frame against the hangar wall. Its long and oddly organic looking legs held armor plates that looked like enlarged versions of what ZiP was wearing. The legs met an angular, thin rectangular platform which held two plated arms. “This walker is our best bet. These forward scouts got movement and some bite to them. Also, its the only one that still responds to my pings.” He walked up to the leg, banged on it, and the muscular looking metal peeled away to reveal a hooped ring attached to a cable and a flickering internal light. “Come on, it’s mostly manual, which means you’ll have to pilot it.”
Margo looked up at the 15 meter high chassis. “I’ve never piloted anything that big. Why don’t you drive?”
ZiP’s voice echoed down the chamber the ladder sat inside. “Because they don’t let robots pilot other A.I. based vehicles, because of reasons, soooo better get good fast.”
Margo took ahold of the clip that was dangling on a steel rope in front of her inside the leg cavity. Clipping it on her pack she yelled up the tube, “How do I make it go?”
“Pull on the line.”
Shrugging, she did as instructed and the wire began to pull her up through the smooth tube. Even though the situation seemed dire, she couldn’t help but to enjoy the ride even a little bit. The ring stopped and she exited into a navigation station that was sandwiched next to the pilot control seat. ZiP was already standing next to the seat with Catcher still clipped to his pack as he motioned toward the rectangular window that took up most of the front of the scout. “Stick your thumb against the glass there.” He pointed toward a thin rectangle that was attached to the seat.
Reluctantly, she pressed her thumb against the area and a loud beep shouted through the cabin that was followed up a female voice stating, “Ufld psdf. Ladf rfewq jhand gel lasdf utw saf.”
“ZiP, what’s it saying?”
“We are unidentified and this will blow up in 10 seconds without the proper passcode”
“Could you tell it to not do that?”
“Pasdf, Rewt, Voda, Fdes. Now use this language I am speaking, may the republic live.”
The voice female responded, “And our enemies burn.”
The phrases spoken by the two made Margo a little uncomfortable. “That’s aggressive.”
“Walker, please record thumbprint, DNA, and voice ID into matrix for Margo Flint, pilot.” A corresponding digital whistle made the robot nod. “Good.”
“You’re being polite.”
“Never be rude to a lady.” ZiP pivoted out of the way of the seat. “Get in the chair, now.”
“And there it goes the politeness.”
“We don’t have time. This walker won’t move until you are in this seat.”
Margo moved into the seat and felt the room begin to vibrate as the walker’s core ignited and the electronic systems came online. The seat then extended toward the glass as a ball with a series of divots floated from the bottom of the chair. “Uhh, what do I do?”
“For now, nothing. Walker, we need to motor, got a target on the move and the pilot is green. Get us out of the hangar and into the field, stat. She’ll learn on the fly.”
After setting itself in autonomous mode, the walker shook for a moment as the legs and arms were released from their bindings. Inside the cabin the ball that floated in front of Margo split into two hemispheres with holographic rings around the divots on the surface of the ball. Its first two steps were controlled with the right hemisphere. The machine’s legs took a cautious step forward onto the mound of vehicles in front of it and seeing that it could take the weight, it readied itself, and leapt over the massive mound of earth. While in the air the left hemisphere began to turn, bringing the arms into view and allowing the right arm to effortlessly grab a nearby catwalk in mid jump, pivot its inertia, and it toss itself out through the hole in the hangar. The walker came to a sliding stop in the debris field outside The Zenith.
Margo looked at Catcher and ZiP and said, “Whoa.”
Catcher even commented, “Remarkable.”
“Walkers are agile. I should know, it was modeled after me. Now walker, what do we have in the ways of weaponry?” On the left hand side of the glass a schematic showed what the machine held:
-No handhelds
-Mounted pulsar rifle
-80% charged
-Retractable driller gun
-800 driller rounds
“When we’re in range, I’ll pull up the driller, it’ll do the most damage.” ZiP turned to the fire control panel on the left side of the cockpit and pressed the button to activate the weapon. The effect was a harsh buzzing noise. ZiP tapped the panel and said, “Walker, I know its a friendly. I know, but right now its gonna do something bad and we’re the only ones who can stop it. HQ is offline. It’s on us to stop Talos before bystanders get hurt.”
A low whistle sounded from the walker A.I. as the ball floated into reach of Margo. “Why don’t you tell it where to go?”
“It’ll only listen to a robotic soldier for one order and usually that’s for emergencies only.” His head turned toward his pilot. “Hope you paid attention.”
Margo cracked her fingers, took a breath, and took hold of the control
ball. As her hand made contact with its surface she felt the forces inside the ball. It felt alive and as she turned the right hemisphere slowly the walker began to move forward. She twisted forward more and the walk turned into a trot and soon they were sprinting. Obstacles were highlighted in the project HUD on the glass and as they approached them, Margo would flick the left side and glide over them. She knew she wasn’t good at piloting the walker, but she was amazed by the technology; all of these actions seemed effortless.
“I need you to authorize me at the fire control station.”
“Okay, uhhh, walker? Let ZiP use the fire control station.” After issuing the command an alert in the HUD showed that the driller gun was being accessed. “Catcher, you doing okay?”
“Never better, this machine is simply inspiring! I’ve never seen something like this in all of my days.”
Margo cracked a smile at the excitement in Catchers voice. She shook it off and focused as they got closer to Talos. The 323 meter tall monster was getting into range with each step taken until finally a loud beep started and the fire control area of the HUD lit up red. ZiP yelled, “Okay, this is gonna get loud!” Finishing his warning, the room began to thunder with a whining sound that sped up with every second until a thudding began to fill in and drown out the whining. The driller gun fired off its rounds at the highlighted weakened points of Talos which included the joints and pieces of its armor that had rotted throughout the years. “Need to hit it where it hurts!”
“Margo, I’m reading an energy build up from Talos according to the panel here. Make us a hard target to hit!”
“Got it!” She began to twist and bob the walker as they entered a cleared field; pointing the sphere toward where she wanted to go. The walker was clearly adjusting to her erratic commands to keep itself balanced and upright, but nevertheless Margo felt like she was really starting to get a handle on the controls. As they weaved, the thunderous shots from Talos were making all sorts of creatures run for their lives and scatter. Creatures she never even got to see were fleeing sections of the forest that were being smashed into pieces. Even with the chaos surrounding her, Margo began to feel at ease with their situation until a crack of light from Talos caught them dead-on and launched the walker into the air. Adjusting, she landed it 4 meters away and felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins as Talos’ rear gun began to gather energy again. Warning sounds were clamoring nonstop and a display of their walker was showing different colors, none of them looking good.“Can you stop that thing?”
“One sec!”
The driller stopped firing as the pulsar rifle extended from underneath the bottom of the front window. A charge of electricity could be heard as a bulb of blue light formed at the end of the barrel and fired, striking Talos’ rear facing gun and causing an explosion. Margo shouted, “Yes!”
“It looks like that did more than just the gun.”
The portion that the rear gun was mounted to cracked open and fell off, revealing some of the inner mechanisms that were keeping Talos stable. Its left hand then pointed at the walker and began to spin. As the fingers blurred a hail of bullets flew out of them and peppered the ground, trees, and rocks around Margo. She dodged the best she could, but the walker caught a few rounds in its leg, and toppled over. With its momentum still going, the machine rolled for a few meters and came to a stop. Inside, Margo, Catcher, and ZiP’s chairs had kept them safe during the sudden stop, but everything not bolted down had been thrown wildly around the cabin. ZiP’s head whirled back to life; he looked over at Margo and shouted, “Get up! We gotta go!”
As he slapped the release on the emergency restraints a ball of light filled the cabin and once again, Margo was gone.
Chapter 15- Boom
Margo’s head throbbed as her eyes opened and saw nothing. “Wha…” She hauled her body slowly from the smooth floor as she took in her surroundings.
The only source of light in the black room was a yellow light glowing from the cube she had found at Outpost 521. As she approached it she felt the world around her sway, forcing her to stumble against the black wall of the small room. She shook her head and muttered, “Ow.” Righting herself, she made her way toward the cube again; it was floating. She waved her hands underneath and around it only to find it wasn’t a trick. A smirk crossed her face, “Cool.”
She reached out for the cube, was promptly shocked, and pulled her throbbing hand back grunting, “Owowowowowowow.” She wiggled the arm until it felt cool again and turned toward the cube, only to find it gone and herself alone in the black room. “That’s it.” The world shifted around her once more as she made her way back to her bag. She pulled it up only to have its contents spill out onto the floor. Investigating the pack showed the bottom was ripped out. Sighing, she bent down, caught her rolling lamp, extended it, and made her black room turn orange with its light. She turned to try and find the cube but there was nowhere to look; there were only four smooth walls as well as a floor and ceiling. “Where did it go?”, she mused.
It only took her five strides to walk across to the other side. And as she turned around again Margo froze; a person-like shape had emerged in the far corner of the room. It held no features, but looked like it was made from the same quick-sand-metal material that sucked her into Talos when it sat in the hold of the Zenith. She held the lamp out like a shield as she asked, “Where am I?”
A gentle voice rung through the room, emanating from the entity in the corner, that answered, “You are inside of me.”
She hesitated for a moment and realized aloud, “Talos.”
“I am Talos ArmorForce VG-31, mobile weapons platform, subterfuge generator, and maker of fine spaghetti.” The shape raised its featureless black arm toward the wall behind Margo. Turning, she watched a slot open in it and reveal a steaming plate full of blackened strings. Her nostrils flared as she dropped her lamp to cover her mouth. Talos inquired, “Does this not please you?”
“It stinks!”
“Oh...” The slot closed and the walls surrounding her turned white, illuminating the room. Talos watched as she adjusted to the light. “Pardon me, my food systems didn’t survive as long as I have.”
She lowered her hand, turned off the lamp, and looked around room. The surfaces seemed solid, but any area Talos crossed immediately became liquid. “What do you mean I’m inside you? I was in the walker last I remembered.”
“I phased you into the command chamber.”
“Wait, you brought me onboard, how?” She held up her hand. “Wait, nevermind, we’ll get back to that after I stop you from destroying everything and my home.”
“I wasn’t going to destroy your home.” Talos’ soft voice was very calming as it continued. “Who told you that?”
Margo considered her reply carefully, but decided to see where the conversation would go. She replied with the truth. “ZiP.”
“The soldier who thinks there’s still a reason to stay in this valley?” The shapeless body shook its head. “Wouldn’t trust his opinion.”
“Then why did you… phase me out after being activated?”
“Because I needed you to start me. That is it. I was going to go on my way after that.”
“Then why did you bring me here?”
Talos waved another featureless arm, extending along the length of the room. As it crossed, Margo watched the hardened walls turn liquid and leak into the room, taking the shape of a flat panel monitor. It solidified and turned on, showing an outside view of the valley’s gray skyline. The vibrant colors seemed to overload her mind as she stared at it, entranced, while Talos continued, “From here, my pilot can make course corrections, plot strikes, and even sleep. The soflet material that makes up this room allows for anything to be made at the request of the pilot.”
She reached out, touched the monitor, and pulled her hand back. All of this tech was intoxicating to her, her eyes had never seen anything like it in her classes or in her life. More than that, she had never even heard stories of a
nything like this. Margo turned her attention toward Talos. “You can make anything?”
“Anything.”
“Can you show me my mother’s tree?” In the corner of the room Margo watched the liquid pour out of the wall and form her mother’s thin ash. Awe struck, she walked over to it and touched it. “The leaves feel real.”
“That’s because the feeling of them is being accessed from your memory of the item. You see, in this room, I can make anything your mind pictures and wants.”
She couldn’t help but feel excitement starting to creep over her as she turned back toward Talos. “This is… amazing. The Before Ones truly were magicians in terms of technology.”
“The Before Ones?”
“That’s what we call the people who lived in the time before The Great Reckoning. The people who made you and all the wondrous tech my people have found out in the world.”
“Ah, I see, so you know nothing about the people who made me?”
“Other than the items we’ve found, not really.” Her face brightened up as she asked, “Do you know anything about them?”
The formless being stood motionless and silent for a moment. “It appears that data is lost. Other than ideology, I am lacking that information, and the memory loss is expanding.”
She looked at the monitor still showing the valley, felt the room around her sway, and returned her gaze to her black draped host to ask, “Why did you bring me here?”
“You had the sunset key on your person.”
“Sunset key?”
Margo Flint and the Last Soldier Page 9