by Trevor Gregg
Emanating from all over, a voice rang out, “This night, we settle our disputes. This night, we resolve our challenges.”
The screen displayed the images of the two bots, and the crowd cheered.
“So what dispute are we settling tonight?” Kyren asked Leicara.
“A long running disagreement on the boundaries of the farmlands between us Nevthifar and the opposing Halifax. We shall settle it this evening, and no Azorian blood will be spilled. Such is our way.”
The crowd hushed as music began to play. Kyren had a moment of deja-vu, and realized Joraq had shown him this. He shook his head and watched as a door opened and Omega strode out into the arena, greeted by a rising cheer. Another door, directly opposite Omega also opened and another bot, the other one from the displays, strode out. It was armored similar to Omega, but had three arms instead of two. According to the holoscreen this was “Havoc.”
Ovia stood behind Omega and initiated mimic mode. She flicked her wrists and two shimmering blue blades of energy formed, extending forward from the back of each wrist. She dropped into a combat stance and performed several fighting moves. The crowd roared.
Havoc’s controller did the same, eliciting more cacophony from the crowd. Ovia and the other bot fighter returned to their respective booths, and the bots began to circle each other. The screens showed two different maps, each indicating possession of a contested region.
Leicara stood and took a small device from a pocket. She spoke into it and her voice rolled over the crowd.
“People of Azoria, welcome. Tonight we resolve a dispute between Nevthifar and Halifax. Tonight we determine the rightful owner of the Ebran region.” Leicara spoke boldly, then screamed, “Bot fight!”
Without a millisecond of hesitation the bots broke into a whirling dance of death. Their blue energy blades clashed, sending out showers of blue and white sparks. Havoc seemed to have the advantage, bearing one more arm and weapon than Omega.
Kyren expected the fight to be over quickly, but Omega was fast. Faster, in fact, than Havoc was. Havoc whirled and struck, but Omega parried each blow. Riposting, Omega drove Havoc backward as it lashed out with its own wrist blades, a flurry of blows raining down on the defending bot.
He spotted Ovia through the booth window, she was frantically programming, he assumed trying to find an attack routine that would break Havoc’s defenses. And then she found one. A darting slash from Omega elicited a shower of sparks, as one of the bot’s three arms tumbled to the arena floor, its energy blade extending from the wrist going dark.
Omega reversed a slash and drew a huge furrow across Havoc’s chest plates, sending out a shower of sparks. Havoc used the opportunity to drive a blade down through Omega’s shoulder. More sparks exploded as liquid fire streamed from the wound.
Ovia switched to mimic mode and performed a brutal double-strike with both wrist blades. The blades punched into the other bot’s side, releasing a gout of liquid fire along with the shower of sparks. Havoc staggered, left leg appearing to be disabled. Omega darted around, slashing and striking until Havoc fell.
The crowd erupted into a raucous cheer as Ovia entered the arena. She stood next to Omega and raised her hands in victory. Omega mimicked her. Kyren spotted it, but it was already too late. Havoc had risen to its feet and now stood an arms reach from Ovia, who seemed entirely absorbed in her victory.
Havoc lashed out with its remaining functioning energy blade and severed Ovia’s head from her neck. At that same moment, the door to their private booth burst open and several Dras darted in, panicked looks on their faces. Following them through the door were several more Dras, but these were armed. They bore small blades comprised of a blue energy, similar to that of the bots’ weapons.
One of the new Azorians lashed out and plunged his blade through the nearest of Leicara’s attendants, her sister, Elcidaria. Kyren grimaced as he saw her body fall limp. Kyren heard Leicara scream.
Several of Leicara’s entourage scrambled to their feet, drawing small silver cylinders. Pressing buttons, the cylinders flared to life, blue energy blades shimmering into existence.
Before they could respond, the booth was shaken by a tremendous boom, a massive crack of thunder as Alis unloaded her sonic emitter. The forces attempting to stream into the room were driven back long enough for Leicara’s defenders to move to engage.
Kyren looked around, rapidly analyzing the situation. They needed to get back to the shuttle, and fast. But their exit appeared to be blocked. He turned and looked over the railing. Yeah, it’d be possible to drop down to the arena floor, probably, he noted.
“Kyren, look,” Alis pointed at Havoc’s controller, who had just entered the arena and was striding over to Ovia’s body.
“Hit him now!” Kyren cried, and Alis discharged her wrench.
The wall of sonic force hit the Azorian squarely in the back, sending him sliding out into the center of the arena. Kyren climbed over the railing, then held on as he lowered himself over the edge and dropped the remaining several feet. He landed hard and felt his ankle give, sending him into a pile.
As he scrambled to his feet, he saw the opposing bot fighter also beginning to stand. Kyren knew what his only option was. He knew he had to make it to the only weapon available or they were doomed. So he went for Ovia’s body. Dropping to his knees he immediately stripped off her gloves and began to put them on. They fit awkwardly, due to his five-fingered hand, but he managed to don them anyway.
He hit the only button he recognized, the mimic mode, and Omega’s hands snapped up. Kyren lashed out at opposing bot fighter, spearing him with an energy blade even as he was attempting to program in a kill routine. Havoc’s controller fell to the ground, still. The bot remained standing, motionless.
Kyren commanded Omega to stand, then swung his arm in vicious strike, completely decapitating Havoc. The destroyed bot fell to the ground in a tremendous shower of sparks. He turned to the balcony to call to Alis and Leicara, but they were already descending to the arena floor. Now they just had to make it back to the shuttle in one piece.
31
Evac
Kyren quickly switched to programming mode and began to scramble through the holopanel looking for recognizable routines. He quickly swept through pages of commands and located a category labeled “stances.” He found one that sounded defensive and activated it, and the bot dropped into a fighting stance.
Continuing to scroll through the unfamiliar interface he looked for more behavior protocols. If he couldn’t get this thing up and programmed, they’d never make it back, it’d be a losing battle with only manual controls.
Ka-wham! Alis’ sonic emitter discharged again, a thundercrack flowing over the arena. He looked up to see several Halifax warriors, armed with short blue energy blades, get flung against the far wall by Alis’ blast.
“C’mon Kyren, I can’t hold them off forever,” Alis said desperately.
He struggled to get the programming completed, combining the chosen attack stance with an order to forge a path back to their shuttle, along with the behavior to protect himself and the others. Complicated enough programming, but in a foreign interface, it was beyond difficult.
The attackers stood and picked up their blades, hesitant, not advancing, but certainly not retreating.
As more attackers dropped down to the arena floor from the balcony, Alis called out, “Um, yeah, now Kyren, let’s go.”
“There!” he cried triumphantly as he initiated the programming. Omega sprinted past them, whirling into the attackers, energy blades slicing through flesh like butter, blue blood slicking the stone floor.
Kyren keyed in the next waypoint in the map he had built and directed the bot. It sprinted across the arena. He grabbed Alis and Leicara and ran after. A large door stood impassable and sealed. He switched to manual control and directed the bot to rip the door from its hinges.
Turning, he made a flinging motion behind them and Omega chucked the massive stone door down the
arena at the advancing Halifax warriors, sending them scattering. He reinitialized the bot’s autonomy and it led the way down the passage. They exited the arena and stepped out into a mild evening breeze.
“Leicara, there were several aerocars in the cargo hold on your shuttle, right?” he prompted.
“Yes, there were three. Perhaps we can contact the shuttle through Omega’s interface. If they are still intact they could pick us up,” she said hopefully.
Kyren paused a moment and accessed the holopanel again, looking for communication features. Dammit this interface was like wearing someone else’s shoes. There, after some searching he found it.
“Um yeah, guys, I’ve got Leicara and we’re coming in hot. We’re gonna need an extraction, okay?” he said, and waited, breath held.
“This is Major Compolo,” a voice responded. “We are attempting to maintain defensive perimeter around the shuttle. Where do you need the aerocar?”
“We’re on the east side of the arena, in the courtyard. I’ll hold them as long as possible but you’d better get here quick or we’ll be overrun,” he responded to the major.
Alis’ emitter thundered several more times as he updated Omega’s programming. The bot sprang into action, charging into the emerging throng. Halifax warriors fell to the bot’s onslaught, but they were not without their successful strikes.
The glowing energy blades tore chunks out of Omega’s armor and sent showers of sparks raining down, but none found vital purchase. Unfortunately, another throng was advancing from across the courtyard. They would be upon them in moments. This is going to get hairy, he thought.
Queuing up more programming, he located some more complex routines and fighting moves and added them to the current runtime. Omega reversed course and bolted around them, interspersing itself between them and the advancing throng.
“Just keep our back clear, okay Alis?” Kyren instructed.
“Sure, I’ll just pin them…” Ka-wham! Her emitter fired again, drowning out her words.
It was effective but everyone in the region knew they were here because of it. Oh well, couldn’t be helped, he just had to hope the aerocar would reach them in time.
Omega squared off against the first wave of attackers, wading in and dealing death without hesitation. But not without cost. Much of the armor was damaged now, and several deeper gashes leaked hydraulic fluids. Each wave fell, but not without leaving its mark.
Suddenly, crowd began to part, as another figure began to stride forward. Another bot, almost identical to Omega, but entirely undamaged, strode through the crowd, followed closely by its controller, an Azorian bot-fighter gloved as Kyren was.
Hmmm, this could pose a problem, he thought. He queued up some more programming and sent Omega into full offensive mode. His only chance was to end it before it could start.
The bot dashed toward the newcomer, leaping into the air and driving down with its blades. The enemy parried and sidestepped, launching an immediate counterattack before Omega had even landed. Several blows drew furious sparks and metal shrapnel, Omega staggered.
The enemy bot came in with a flurry of blows, and Omega attempted to block. Only one of its arms didn’t respond, so it parried a couple of strikes before taking an energy blade to the chest compartment. The control holopanel went dark as the bot toppled to the ground.
Shit! He had just lost the bot. He quickly scanned around for a weapon, spotting a dropped energy blade mere yards away. He dashed and snatched it up, scrambling back to Alis and Leicara.
“Where’s our evac, Kyren?” Alis asked as she fired her emitter again.
He looked up and was amazed to see an aerocar streaking toward them. It skidded to a halt beside them, door springing open. Two of Leicara’s Nevthifar warriors leapt out and sprinted to engage the enemy bot as it dashed toward them.
“There, you asked for evac?” he said snarkily as they scrambled aboard.
32
Dual Timeline
Benjam was getting excited. This was the last analysis of his final results from the time-bomb simulation. Soon he would have an answer. Well, at least one within tolerable margins of error, anyway. He knew it wouldn’t be exact, but hopefully it would be a close enough approximation.
He slowly squiggled around the room, pacing the circular interior past the consoles lining the walls. What did he know so far? There were two timelines, one where the Epsilon Computer exists, and one where it does not. And he knew the divergence could be at any time.
They would have to accomplish all they could in the one timeline before it shifted to the next. All he could do was hope they would have enough time to accomplish everything. There were some tall orders to fill. Brain scan Tharox and program him to upload to Isa? Locate a space station and reprogram its AI? Find the giant robot? Locate the destination of the Kirugi?
Those would likely be very difficult questions to answer, and at this time he had no idea how to go about them. Hopefully Kyren and Alis would get back soon so they could discuss all of it. Either way, he didn’t have much else to do, so he began to browse some historical files given to them by Leicara.
It didn’t take long for him to get the feeling these records were reading like propaganda. The picture they painted was too black and white, too uncomplicated. The Halifax couldn’t really be that much worse than the Nevthifar, could they? They were the same people, after all, just divided into two opposing factions.
According to the documents, at one time in their distant past, the Azorians warred amongst themselves. But as time passed and losses mounted, they searched for a way that would be less destructive to their society. They settled on bot fighting. As good a contest as any, he thought. Certainly better than slaughtering each other on the battlefield.
Wondering if he could find anything about their primary questions, he began a search for giant robot. Soon he found record of the Gaidan, giant bots that were used for titanic bot fights. It seemed they were reserved for only the most major of conflicts. According to the documents, they hadn’t been deployed in over a hundred years.
It seemed both sides possessed one each, and the technology to build more appeared to have been lost to the ages, a casualty of the forgotten wars. It was going to be next to impossible to get ahold of one, since there were only two to speak of, and neither’s location was even hinted at in the data he had access to.
Benjam’s simulation finally stopped, and results began to spit out. He examined the mathematical analysis of the time-warp functions, and was relieved to see the final number. One hundred days before the time shift, give or take three point seven five percent.
Well, that would give them time. Hopefully it would be enough for what they needed to accomplish. But most of what they would need to do would require access to the Nevthifar’s military systems. He didn’t think as strangers they would get such access.
He heard voices filtering in from the open door and moments later Kyren, Alis, Leicara, and another Azorian, a male, entered. The male was larger in stature than Leicara, large for an Azorian. He was dressed in a white toga-like robe.
“Hello Benjam, have the computational resources been sufficient?” Leicara asked.
“Yes, indeed it has been sufficient. In fact, I’ve never worked with this magnitude of processing power before. Your technology is truly advanced, more so than anything I’ve encountered,” he responded, too much awe slipping into his voice.
“Does that mean you’ve got results?” Kyren questioned.
“I sure do,” Benjam happily squeaked back.
“Let’s hold off on discussing your work, okay Benjam?” Alis interjected.
Benjam recognized Alis’ distrust of Leicara right away. Perhaps they shouldn’t trust Leicara implicitly. She hadn’t shown them anything but hospitality, but by the look on his companions’ faces, he knew something had changed.
“Yeah, we’ll talk about the results later. For now I need to fill you in,” Kyren said, hesitating before continuing. “Yo
u know the Azorians are in a civil war, but they use bot fighting to resolve their conflicts, right? So while they are divided, violently, they’ve done away with the need for warfare.”
“Yes, I understand. It is a truly civilized system,” Benjam concurred.
“Those days are no more, I’m afraid,” Leicara interjected, sadness evident in her voice.
“The Halifax attempted to assassinate Leicara,” Alis informed him. “We fought off the assassins and barely escaped being overwhelmed.”
“So you see, we are now engaged in an actual civil war. Many are going to die. But we have an advantage that the Halifax do not. We have you three,” the male Azorian finally spoke.
“This is Dralok, chief of my warriors. He has been elevated to General of all my forces,” Leicara explained, seeming to want to say more.
“Meager as they are,” Dralok finished the sentence for Leicara.
“What of your advanced tech, your weapons like the Gaidan?” Benjam queried.
“Yes, we are mobilizing our forces and regaining access to our ancient tech, but I’m afraid we are outnumbered by the Halifax,” Leicara admitted.
“So how can we help? We are not war-fighters,” Benjam conceded.
“We’re going to help fight the war, but we’re also going to help fight the Kirugi. Even now, a single Kirugi is heading here. In return for our help, I’ve asked Leicara to grant us full access to their network. All of it,” Kyren said, looking pointedly at Leicara, who nodded.
“We will leave you to discuss your business. We shall send for you when we are ready,” Dralok replied, nodding slightly and exiting with Leicara.
They waited some moments as their hosts left, before Kyren excitedly asked, “okay, what are the results? What did you find out, Benjam?”
“I have determined that we have one hundred days until the timeline shifts, give or take about four days either way,” he replied confidently.