Drop-Pod Landing Zone
"6, this has to be the worst idea you have ever come up with. People have done this in the past. Need I remind you that they didn't exactly survive?"
"You want to check your energy levels again? If you have a better idea, then say so. Otherwise, quit whining and let me work on this."
6 took her hand away from the panel of the drop-pod cluster and pointed a finger in 5's face when he got too close. He lifted his hands up in surrender and backed away with his mouth firmly shut. The rest of the amborgs that had gathered watched in stunned silence.
6 had dragged their drop-pods into a giant horseshoe formation and was setting up wires connecting them all together. Per her instructions, they had also managed to acquire a large generator.
"Look 6. I was only trying..."
5 was interrupted once more.
"That has to be the lowest power level I have seen in your databanks since the time you played videogames nonstop for fifteen days," she said observantly and in a very condescending tone. "You want to talk about insanity? Come at me bitch."
6 stopped what she was doing and looked at 5 with an apologetic look.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to curse. I'm tired."
"No apologies are necessary," 5 replied. "But look at this, you have taken several drop-pods, hooked them up together, and this is supposed to harness power and refine it so we can properly recharge? We are being struck by lightning."
"Not directly," 6 said. "Have some faith and do something stupid for once in your life 5. It should be in our job requirements."
"It's not a job requirement. It's an occupational hazard."
But she didn't hear his last comment. 6 stepped back away from her pod and admired her handiwork. She had attached some sort of make-shift lightning rod to the roof of the pod. Somehow she had also managed to make twelve kites and they flew in the sky, heavily attached to the roof of the pod, and they were now floating and waiting for the storm to hit. 6 turned to look at the amborgs that were currently with her. Her enthusiastic smile faded at their looks of skepticism.
"Oh come on," she protested, "Benjamin Franklin did something like this with one kite in order to experiment with the theory of a lightning rod. That worked, didn't it?"
"Yes, that is correct 6," 5 said. He seemed to be the only one willing to speak up from the crowd, "However... we aren't sure if that bit of history is accurate. And another thing..."
He pointed a finger up at the kites as thunder rang out in the sky.
"...You have the lightning rods all ready," he continued, "...and the wires necessary to harness the power into the generator to form a backup power supply for those of us not here. But still, you are asking us to attach ourselves to the ends of those wires from our pods and be the ground rods... we are the receivers. This is not going to work."
"Sure it is!" 6 exclaimed confidently, "LTO is an especially good conductor for any forms of quick charge and we are designed to run on basic forms of power. Except we can't exactly run on car batteries so... yeah. And even if the technicality of it is not sound for you, it will be fun to have a taste of Zeus' wrath. Wouldn't you agree?"
"But did we ever test if LTO inside a genetically modified human is capable of withstanding such a large power surge at once?"
5's question instantly caused them all to shiver.
"Well if we lose power, we won't have any time to return home for a charge," 6 argued as she held up the wire. "If we did, time's still running out and that lunatic who forced us to run this long is still out there. SO I'm going to be electrocuted whether anyone likes or not!!"
"No you are not!"
6 froze as 1 stepped out of the group and walked up to her.
"I will volunteer my life for this..." he said taking the wire from 6's hands. The rest of them moved in and began protesting but 1 waved a hand and they all became silent. He held the wire tightly. "Be reasonable 6, you're our best doctor. What would we do without you if you killed yourself? By accident?"
"Um, every amborg has medical training 1," she said bluntly. "You would all be fine."
"I was being rhetorical..." 1 mumbled. "Anyone here thinks that they can do this better than me better pry it from my hands, because I will not let more people risk their lives."
All of them didn't dare try to oppose him. But before anyone could even consider talking this out, lightning flashed across the sky. 1 looked up to the sky and all of sudden, they saw the sparkles of electricity flowing around the kites and down the wires but the charge wasn't powerful enough. Then, a lightning bolt crashed down above them and they saw the rods light up brightly and instantly, power surged down the wires towards them. In that quick moment, 5 put a hand on 1's shoulders.
"What are you doing?!"
5 grinned.
"Two of us have a better chance at this than one. You are not doing this alone. We face Zeus together!!"
"What does that even mean?!"
"Too late..." 5 said gritting his teeth. He slowly gazed up and watched the stream of electricity approach, "Oh this is going to hurt..."
***
"Give me your head!"
117 had his arms wrapped around the behemoth's head and was not letting go despite its flailing arms hitting him repeatedly in the back. Based on his analysis of the design, the arms weren't built to reach all the way around but it could still strike with its elbow joints based on the damage he was taking. After a few more seconds, 117 almost lost grip until finally, there was a snap and the neck joint was yanked out. Triumphant, 117 dropped to the ground with the head intact in his hands. The behemoth, without its key component powered down and hit the ground as well.
"Mandy," 117 gasped as he dropped the head, "I hid the reading from my own HUD but I think now is a good time to ask. What's my current power level?"
"You are at six percent power David," her voice replied quietly as 117 began running to find the survivors. It was starting to feel very exhausting just to lift his knee joints. "Why don't you try taking the power reserves from the behemoth?"
"It will not work," 117 replied as he stumbled over a rock, "These things are run solely on diesel fuel. The design was elaborate but the fuel tank is heavily armored and protected. At first we almost thought they were electric but they are not compatible with our circuits."
"This bad guy is conveniently and really resourceful..." Mandy said with a worried tone, "First he runs you out of power and then strands the amborgs in a place where you can't take it from others."
"Even if we did take power from vehicles per se," 117 said as he leaped over a fallen tree, "Not only would it not be enough, but there are others who need it more than we do. We don't take from the less fortunate."
He tripped and fell into some grass. Dirt stuck to his face as he stood up and kept moving. Ignoring all the mud stains and how dirty he was getting, he desperately made the attempt to ignore the pain in his feet.
"You sure pick a really fine time to be nice David."
"Who am I to claim credit? A long time ago, someone said the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
"Stop quoting Leonard Nimoy and finish the job. We got to be in Pennsylvania yesterday. It's not over yet."
117 shrugged and his scans located the survivor's footprints. As he ran towards a small hill, he looked at the heat residue in the ground. It was hard just to maintain infrared vision so he stuck to old fashioned tracking. The students had gone over this area and proceeded to find shelter...
"... that way," he finished his thought out loud.
Eventually, he found a small clearing surrounded by trees. Someone was crying. Adjusting his hearing, 117 found the group clumped together but immediately deciphered what was happening.
"Mandy, stop recording the live feed," 117 spoke softly in his mind. "It is not good. I do not think this should be archived."
"Yeah. I was thinking the same thing. Switching the feed to your own personal drive."
"Thank you Mandy, I accept responsibility for the black out. No one else can see this?"
"Only me," Mandy replied. "As well as whomever we choose to disclose it too."
He walked forward and heard the following conversation. He was close enough now that he didn't have to adjust anymore.
"Audrey, I'm not going to make it out of this one..." he heard someone say.
"Don't say that," Audrey's voice was barely discernible but 117 knew immediately what was happening. "The drop-ship will be here any minute now. Just stay with me please."
117 stopped walking and watched from a distance. He could see Audrey Wright kneeling next to her brother Thomas who was still lying on the ground but awake. There was blood flowing from his lip.
"No Audrey..." he coughed, "Not this time. I got careless... I didn't see that trap when I was driving. I did what I could to save you."
"It isn't your fault," she said as tears flowed down her cheeks, "We're all still alive. We'll make it through this together."
Thomas brought his hand up to his neck and tugged at a chain. It was a necklace with four dog tags and a small lucky charm attached on a silver keychain. 117 looked at the tags with his long vision and recognized the names on the tags from the Academy records but the charm was unfamiliar.
"Take it," Thomas held out the necklace for Audrey, "These were our parent's and... here's my lucky charm. It's yours sis. It's not lucky if it gets buried and left behind."
"Don't say that! You keep it! Thomas?"
Thomas smiled, breathed once more and spoke softly as she held his hand.
"Mom and Dad," he said, "They're proud of you. They always will be... I'll say hi to them for you. I hate to do this Audrey... but you'll need to be tough on your own. Keep believing..."
At that point, 117 returned his hearing level back to normal. He had already heard more than enough. Making his presence known, he stepped into the clearing. None of the other students said anything. A few turned away and looked down. Others tried to offer condolences but they didn't know what to say. Deliza didn't say anything either. She lowered her rifle to the ground and closed her eyes.
"Thomas?" Audrey whispered but there was no reply. "Brother?"
The tears were pouring in a steady stream. Through his head, 117 could hear Mandy also beginning to sniff.
"Oh no," she whispered in his head.
"Man down," 117 replied privately.
117 walked forward. Audrey looked up when she heard his footsteps but kept her gaze fixed on her brother's silent figure.
"I'm sorry," 117 knelt down and placed his hand on her shoulder. "He fought well and died peacefully."
Not saying anything, she moved and sunk her head into his chest. He instantly calculated the proper response and slowly held her.
"My condolences for your family," he continued, "I too have lost people I have learned to care for."
Before Audrey could respond however, a loud whoosh appeared overhead. One of the air transports from the Academy was hovering overhead. It all happened in a blur. A couple of soldiers with jet packs stepped off the ramp and landed smoothly next to the group and began to establish a defensive perimeter. Minutes later, the transport touched down in the clearing and two more soldiers walked out and gestured for everyone to get on. As the students began pacing up the ramp, 92, 93 and 18 stepped off and walked over to 117 who was still holding Audrey.
"117," 18 exclaimed as the twins began moving Thomas towards the transport. "Are you alright?"
117 nodded and both he and Audrey stood up. She went on ahead and boarded the transport while he observed the area.
"One casualty," he reported grimly, "Everyone else made it out alright."
"You did what you could," 18 replied reassuringly, "We must return to the drop-pods. 6 has successfully found a way for us to... recharge."
"Why do I feel this is not going to be safe?" 117 replied skeptically.
"When has it ever been safe for us anyway?"
The two of them followed by the rest of the soldiers stepped onboard and the transport rocketed into the sky and began flying. 117 looked around the transport. His group of survivors were sitting in the seats on the starboard side. 92 and 93 sat on the ground, clearly exhausted. Thomas' body was lying among another pair of bodies which turned out to be 35 and 57.
"Are 35 and 57 alright?" 117 asked but before he got an answer, 57 woke up and tried to sit up but instantly clutched her chest in pain.
"Just trying to nap," she muttered. "It's not really easy though without our sleeping tubes back home."
Checking his power levels, 117 sat next to 18 on the floor as the seats were all occupied by the survivors of the school and by regular soldiers. Two minutes into the flight, the lights of the transport lit up illuminating the whole compartment.
"We are now outside the combat zone," the pilot announced over the P.A.
All of the troops breathed a sigh of relief and the students all relaxed. The amborgs however, didn't even move. They all still maintained a battle-worn but strong sense of alertness. It wasn't over yet. 117 sighed but was not smiling, they still had plenty of work ahead of them.
"Thank you."
117 looked up. Audrey had left her seat and sat down in front of him.
"I did lose my brother but you also saved my life many times," she said quietly. "No I meant... You saved all of us and I just wanted to say umm...No I..."
She stopped and looked at the floor. 18, noticing Audrey's loss of words, gently nudged 117 in the shoulder with her hand and shot him a private message.
"She has been through quite an ordeal. Assist her."
117 reached a hand out. Audrey looked at it and slowly grabbed his hand in response.
"My name is David 117," he said formally, "If you require any assistance, please... ask. I am here."
Audrey smiled as she shook hands. Her other hand came up and wiped her eyes.
"Thank you..." she whispered, "What did you mean when you said that you lost someone you cared about?"
"Someone I loved," 117 replied casually, "However, this love was probably not the same as the love you had for your brother. I am truly sorry, had the circumstances been different, I would have tried harder to save him."
"I don't blame you," Audrey said empathetically. "None of it was your fault."
All of a sudden, the engines began whining down and the pilot's voice spoke up again.
"We are now landing at the Amborg Drop-pod LZ. Prepare to disembark. Medical teams are standing by and all amborgs onboard are to head over to Amborg 6's drop-pod for... a recharge. Whatever that means."
"Duty calls," 92 exclaimed.
He and 93 both bent down and helped 35 and 57 to their feet and they walked out. 57 paused for a moment and looked back at Audrey. She was about to say something but proceeded without a word after the twins. All of them seemed eager to try out 6's recharging technique. 18 clenched 117 on the shoulder and walked out. Deliza patted Audrey on the back and exited as well. 117 turned to give Audrey a farewell when the two of them stepped off the ramp.
"It has been a pleasure Ms. Wright," 117 said, "I apologize for leaving you in these circumstances. On a brighter note, I believe I see several of your classmates."
Audrey turned around to see where he had pointed. In the distance, she recognized a few of her classmates and dorm mates but she also couldn't help but notice how few of them there were. She didn't want to know how many people lost their lives along with Thomas. She wasn't ready for the pain. But in the distance, she could see Joey had made it through the encounter. He was sitting in a wheel chair, under the care of some medical staff. But it looked like he was ok.
117 watched Audrey slowly beginning to smile. The transport lifted off and flew away sending a large current of air in every direction. Unprepared, Audrey felt the air push her forward. 117 immediately stepped in front of her, blocking the wind. She was about to say thank you again but he held up a hand to stop her. The pair then moved towards another group of students. 57, having escaped the grasp of the twins, walked up to 117 and quickly exchanged a few words.
"I'm glad that Joey is alright!" Audrey said happily, while 57 rapidly sent 117 a private message, "He shouldn't have been forced into this. None of us should have."
"And that is also not all," 117 continued as 57 walked in front of Audrey.
She stared up at the tall female brown headed amborg labeled 57. Audrey watched as she extended her hand out. Puzzled, Audrey looked and saw a standard computer chip in the tall girl's hand. Then she remembered.
"You're Katie 57?"
"You have a very interesting artificial intelligence..."
57 placed the chip in Audrey's hand. Her tone of voice sounded strained. Being polite was clearly difficult for the female amborg.
"Although he did give me quite a headache, he is very unique," she muttered. "I believe that it is time for him to be returned to his owner. Finally... if you do not mind my hastiness to eject him from my care."
Audrey held the chip in her hand which lit up and Carter's voice spoke out.
"Miss Wright!" his disembodied voice cried out, "It is so delightful to see you! Or to be accurate, perceive you! They told me that you were alive but I couldn't help but worry! When the attack first occurred, I rewrote my programming so that I could provide some sort of defense but you locked me out from all the school servers so I was trapped in your room!! If it hadn't been for this amborg, I wouldn't be here!"
"You're talking?" Audrey stared in amazement. "Without a computer..."
"About that," 57 sighed. "In order to transport him out of the computer he was in, we offered him a ride in one of our own standard computer chips. It has a format that is able to house all known artificial intelligence. We had to reformat his basic structure algorithms and we upgraded him to our own specifications. We are unsure though if this was the best idea."
"It's true!" Carter flashed brightly in Audrey's hand. "This storage unit they let me jump into is amazing! I can talk to you whenever and wherever you go! I was absolutely mortified when the campus was attacked. I worried so much."
"Talked too much is much more accurate," 57 said shaking her head in pained agony.
"CARTER!" Audrey yelled and the chip instantly became quiet. "I'm fine. Calm down. Would you mind speaking slowly?"
"Oh... well you will be happy to know that I am still perfectly in my prime condition," he said normally, "And I got to spend a lovely amount of time with the charming Miss Katie 57. What a darling. I got to be inside an amborg's head. A female one's head. It was like a trip to heaven in her brain."
"Great," 57 flatly rolled her eyes and walked away, "Now the A.I. thinks he has a chance with me... What I put up with in this line of work."
Audrey chuckled nervously and pocketed Carter. Suddenly remembering one small detail, she pulled the chip out and muted it despite Carter's protests. 117 looked on with a surprised look.
"You know how to mute an A.I. Industries computer chip?" he asked.
"Uh well," Audrey chuckled. "I did consider working there as an option. You know how schools have you consider all career options right?"
"I am afraid not. I have never been to a real school."
Audrey stopped smiling and realized that 117 was being serious. She had almost forgotten that he wasn't like a normal person. He already had a different life from hers. But several instances made him seem exactly like a human. Knowing he had to return to his duties, she felt it was time to properly bid him a farewell.
"You and your amborgs saved me and the only things I have left of my family."
117 had begun to walk away when he felt it had gotten a bit awkward but he stopped when she spoke up. He turned his head briefly to acknowledge her and smiled.
"It is what we do Audrey. I would advise you to not introduce your artificial intelligence to the programs at A.I. Industries. He has an odd bedside manner according to 57. Imagine what the female A.I.s would say about him."
"And that is what I keep telling him," she chuckled.
As he began to leave, she couldn't help but feel that there was something being taken away from her now that she was safe. She quickly called after him.
"Will I see you again?!"
117 stopped, turned and waved. He kept smiling and replied with a thumbs-up.
"When this is over, I would like to."
117 left Audrey with Carter in the middle of the evacuation zone. He felt her eyes on him as he walked towards where they had parked their drop-pods. It was now time to go their separate ways for now.
Several amborgs who had regrouped with the main group were all commenting about the changes made to 6's drop-pod. As 117 joined the rest of them, he realized he was the last to arrive. The battle was ending and the army was able to establish the means to clean up the area. Thankfully, all of the amborgs were alright and surrounding the pod in one large circle. They were all looking towards the center at the pair lying on the ground. 117 stepped into the ring and realized that it was 1 and 5.
"What happened to them?" 117 asked as he stared wide-eyed at the two first group amborgs sprawled across the ground.
6, who was scanning them, looked excited and slightly demonic at the same time.
"Oh this?" she gestured to the two amborgs as if nothing had happened, "Well to be blunt, they were the first ones to try out my charging station. And from what I have found out, it worked wonderfully! Complete and one hundred percent chance of thunderstorm recharge with a generator of energy for everyone with a side of success and additional seasoning of 'called it'!"
"And?" 117 looked at 5's face which was staring wide-eyed towards the sky. "If it was successful, what's wrong with them? Why are they on the ground like that?"
"Their energy levels have spiked!" 6 yelled out triumphantly in a maniacal fashion, "Full power with currents of it evaporating in the air! We just need to wait a few more seconds for the energy to redistribute back to their brains!"
"Hang on!" 297 said sharply. "We shorted out their brains?!"
6 ignored him and kept scanning.
"They should wake up in approximately... three... two... one!"
"YAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Both 5 and 1 instantly bounced to their feet and began running around the group in a frenzy. As an unfortunate side-effect, streams of electricity shot out from their bodies which began shocking anybody unfortunate enough to be in their path.
Everyone else flinched and fell backward, including 117 and 6, at the sight of 5 and 1. For a moment, it looked as if they were ready to continue on their rampage until the two smoking amborgs looked around curiously and stopped for second.
"Wow! That was great!!" 5 yelled, "Power levels exceeding to infinity and beyond at one hundred and eighty four percent! Come on where are the robots?! Let me at them! I can fight them all day! All week! All month! For the rest of my life! Oh wow, I feel like I might barf..."
1 was not as energetic as 5. Instead, he clutched his stomach and also looked as if he was going to hurl. Despite the fact that his energy was emanating like an aura around his body, he didn't look so good even if he had just defied the rules of science.
"That was much needed..." 1 leaned forward but steadied himself. He moaned in pain as he looked ready to burst, "Power at one hundred and seventy two percent. But why do I taste... chimichangas? When did I have those?"
He burped and straightened up. Everyone all looked approvingly at what they were seeing. Despite how sick they looked, everyone was disregarding the second thoughts about the recharging technique. 6 was looking very excited despite her sudden Dr. Frankenstein personality adaptation.
"Heh. They're... They're ALIVE!! Perfect! Who's next?"
She had asked no one specifically but her outburst made several third group amborgs flinch in terror.
"Yikes 117," 6 remarked as she scanned 117's power levels before he could even reply. "Five percent power? You obviously need this. Just stand there, and don't move a muscle. There technically is a line and unfortunately, you do not get to plug into the generator. Just let the machine do the work. Here take this and just think happy thoughts. I want to see if that makes a difference. Ooh here comes another one!"
Before 117 could blink, 6 had placed a wire into his hands and was rapidly briefing him but he could barely comprehend what was going on. He barely had time to hear what 6 said to him.
"This may sting a little. Have fun!"
"What??" 117 asked in bewilderment.
Everything was going too quickly. He looked at the wire in his hand and followed the trail slowly with his eyes. He saw it was connected to the drop-pods and he subconsciously looked up at the storm clouds surrounding the kites. Before anyone could answer his hysteria, another lightning bolt hit the kites and surged down the wire. 117 saw the electricity coming towards his hands. At the same time, at least three other hands were placed on his shoulders. 117 gulped as everyone latched onto him as a three way battery.
"Oh son of a..."
Conveniently, the electricity hit them all before he could finish his sentence. All of them yelled out in pain as the energy coursed through them.
"Ok, that was good," 5 said watching on in amusement at the sight of his siblings screaming. "However, remind me to give 6 a sedative when we get back. She has gone just a little crazy with this and I'm not feeling ok with it."
***
Surprise! Chapter 21 is up and posted too!
I was in a really productive mood so I revised and polished an extra chapter. I hope you liked reading this chapter!
Find out what happens next! Although, if you remember when Dr. Kendrick got the flashback wrong, according to Mandy, you should be able to know where the amborgs are going to next in this incident.
Enjoy everyone!