E-Day III: Dark Moon (E-Day Trilogy Book 3), page 20
“This could be how it starts,” Micky whispered.
“Now that I think about it, what if the people on that MOTH knew something we don’t?” Bradley asked.
He shifted from Micky to Ronin.
“What do you mean?” Ronin asked.
“Maybe they know what’s coming,” Bradley said. “Maybe they think Earth is actually safer than here.”
“That’s nuts,” Micky said.
“Maybe they weren’t headed for Earth, maybe they went somewhere else,” Bradley said. “Like a mining colony or something.”
Ronin hadn’t considered that.
For the next hour, the platoon stood there, waiting and watching the shuttle. Finally, the side hatch on the port side opened. A trooper emerged, then started down the ramp.
“Okay, listen up!” Ortiz shouted. “I just got word they are going to start evacuating passengers from the shuttle. We’re on security detail.”
Micky raised his rifle and leaned over to Ronin and Bradley.
“Get ready,” Micky said. “I don’t trust these people for a second.”
An aboveground pressurized tube extended toward the shuttle from the concourses. It latched on around the hatch that the trooper had just exited.
“The passengers are going to cross through these bridges,” Ortiz said. “Our job is to make sure everyone gets safely to their destination.”
The Machine Slayers were just one platoon of many assigned to security. But they were the only cadets from what Ronin could tell. He suspected the reason they were here was because they were close by for their training exercise.
The door to the next concourse opened, revealing ten troopers standing guard in the open room. Beyond them, another bridge connected to the final concourse where the passengers were heading.
Another group of twenty troopers stood guard there.
That door opened too, disgorging two Juggernaut mechs.
“Here they come,” Bradley said.
The hulking mechs blocked the refugees mostly from view, but Ronin could see people walking. He noticed short legs and then…
Kids.
Fifty of them, maybe more, the youngest ones clinging to the older kids. A few teenagers carried babies in their arms. All wore filthy clothes covered in ash. Fearful eyes flitted back and forth as they began to pass. But none of these kids were crying.
They all seemed relieved to be here.
To have escaped the machines.
Ronin could only imagine what they had been through. Some of the kids had bandages wrapped around their limbs or heads. Others had bruises or scabs and scratches.
Strangely, Ronin had yet to see any adults, until he looked back to the entrance to the tube they had used. A group of older refugees huddled behind a wall of troopers as the kids were escorted away. Troopers began binding their wrists together.
Ortiz came walking back into the tunnel and over to Zlaner. She said something that Ronin couldn’t hear.
A few minutes later, the mechs started down the bridge with the adults in tow.
“Keep alert,” Zlaner said.
The adults slogged forward. They appeared in far worse shape than the kids. Many of them coughed and limped in the nearly two hundred strong group. The first of the refugees trudged past Ronin. Their tattered clothes hung from their emaciated frames. Dust and grit clung to their filthy flesh, nearly concealing the tattoos tracing up their limbs.
Now Ronin realized why they had their hands bound. The LDC didn’t just fear these refugees had been sent here by the machines.
These people were Coalition survivors.
Ronin couldn’t believe it. Every single one had the Nordic tattoos and markings of the enemy.
“Shit, we got to feed and house these assholes?” Micky asked.
One of the prisoners looked in his direction. He was an elderly man, maybe seventy years old, with wrinkled, weathered flesh from too many years in the sun. Perhaps in his past, he had been a fighter. Maybe even a good one.
He glared at Micky.
There was still fight in his eyes.
“More people to stand with us when the time comes,” Ronin said.
“Or to shoot us in the back,” Micky said.
They watched the group for anyone that might seem hostile, but these people all looked exhausted, injured, and broken.
If there was an enemy among them, Ronin didn’t see one.
When the last man finally walked by, the platoon helped escort the prisoners deep underground where it seemed they would be held for now.
The distant alarms went silent, and the security level went back down from orange to yellow. Ronin finally began to relax. By the time he got back to the armory and turned in his rifle and armor, he was exhausted.
Next, they went to the mess for a dinner of gelatinous protein slabs.
Ortiz and Zlaner stood at the front of the room as they ate.
“I hope you all got some good shooting in today, despite the distraction,” Ortiz said. “The timeline for graduation has been moved up due to recent events.”
Murmurs spread through the cadets.
“Earlier today, a group of terrorists led by former Sergeant Tadhg Walsh kidnapped pilot Captain Jake Harback,” she said. “They stole a MOTH after slaying six of our comrades. They also damaged two King Cobras during their escape to Earth.”
Ronin felt his heart skip a beat.
It couldn’t be…
Tadhg was still alive?
He didn’t understand how…
Ortiz paced in front of the group and then stopped, her features stern. “Tomorrow, you will graduate as troopers. After you swear your oath, you will face more enemies than just the machines and Coalition terrorists. There are people among us that do not believe in the LDC. We must remain vigilant in flushing them out. Our survival depends on it.”
Ronin swallowed as he tried to keep calm. In his peripheral, he could see Micky glancing over at him. The other boy knew he admired and respected Tadhg.
“Always ready, always vigilant!” Zlaner shouted.
The cadets all repeated the motto. Ronin could barely mutter the words, too gripped by shock.
Ortiz and Zlaner exited, leaving the cadets to their meals.
“I thought Tadhg was dead,” Bradley said.
Micky looked at Ronin again as if waiting for a reaction.
But Ronin held strong. He knew better than to give into emotion right then.
They ate their food in silence. Ronin forced his down, but hardly had an appetite. After dinner, they went to the barracks and climbed into their bunks.
He thought about pulling out the Warrior Codex, but he simply had too much on his mind to concentrate on reading.
Closing his eyes, he tried to rest against the pillow.
Had Tadhg gone to find Uncle Akira, like he had promised?
Was the LDC lying again?
The lights clicked off as his mind wandered.
“You okay?” came a hushed voice.
Ronin looked over to Bradley but said nothing.
“It’s going to be okay,” Bradley said. “We’re going to stop the machines when they come. We just have to stick together. Just like Ortiz and Zlaner said.”
“Yeah.”
“For what it’s worth, a lot of the other cadets look up to you.” Bradley sat up. “They know what you did on E-Day, how you helped save Orson, and… they trust you.”
Micky looked over, then turned away.
“Thanks,” Ronin said.
He wanted to unload all his worries on Bradley, to admit he was scared. But he recalled the lessons from the Warrior Codex that Akira had left for him.
The role of the leader was to set an example for his troopers. Ronin needed to do the same now, despite the turmoil raging inside.
“Get some sleep,” Ronin said. “Tomorrow, we become troopers.”
— 17 —
Bloated bodies floated in the water treatment tank.
Men, women, children.
The sight of grisly death shook Akira to his very core.
The machines had spared no one, killing without prejudice throughout the Life Ark. Akira kicked across the pool to Kobe, who gripped the edge, keeping his head just above the surface.
For the past two hours, they had hidden down here. It seemed Kobe was right about the beasts not liking water.
Akira wasn’t sure why, but he was sure the monster remained in the Life Ark.
“It’s out there,” he whispered.
Kobe kept his head above the surface with Akira. Both of them listened to the distant clatter. The wailing screams were sporadic now, as if the beast had calmed the enslaved heads—or whatever they were.
Okami waited on the platform, shifting his gaze from the doorway down to them like they were idiots.
“Fuck, man, I’m a goddamn raisin,” Kobe said. “I need out of here.”
“Better than getting crushed to death by the Conda,” Akira said.
“No doubt.”
Okami suddenly stood. Metal scraped against metal outside. This was close. Close enough that Okami abandoned his post to jump in the water.
Akira pulled Kobe under before he could protest. The tanks weren’t deep, but Kobe didn’t have oxygen reserves like Akira did.
Akira looked up at the surface, watching for the snake. He thought he felt a vibration but wasn’t sure.
Now he was second-guessing the idea of being underwater.
They should have pushed on, found Apeiron, and retreated to the shelter.
Suddenly, a multi-faced head dipped into the water. Five sets of human eyes searched the dark pool for several agonizing seconds.
Kobe pulled on Akira. Not because he could see the Conda. At least not from his vantage. But more likely because he was running out of oxygen.
Akira considered raising his rifle and firing but decided not to move. Not unless he absolutely had to.
So far, the deformed human faces hadn’t seemed to see them.
All at once, those faces parted in the middle, three on each side pulling back like the petals of a flower to reveal a maw lined with knifelike teeth.
The snake lurched, swallowing the upper half of a corpse floating in the tank. It yanked the woman out and vanished again above the surface.
Akira held Kobe. The man was squirming in a blind panic now.
After another three seconds, Akira let go and kicked up to the surface. He poked his head through to make sure it was clear.
The Conda was gone, leaving a black trail of goo behind.
Kobe broke through next, taking in a deep gasp as Akira climbed out with his rifle aimed at the exit door. The trail of black led outside.
He slowly approached, hearing the clank of metal echoing down the passages. It seemed it was coming from above, rather than below now.
Keeping his rifle up, Akira checked on Kobe. He was on his knees, still trying to catch his breath. After another moment, he got up and followed Okami over to Akira. They took a left out of the chamber, away from the tar trail, and in a direction that they had yet to search.
A barrier blocked the way ahead, built from supply crates, doors, desks, anything these people could get their hands on when they were running for their lives.
The blocked passages had done very little to stop the Hummer Droids and Canebrakes.
On the other side of the scattered crates and bent door were the sprawled bodies of two men. Both of their heads were crushed, the footprints of Canebrakes left on their caved-in skulls.
The dead men still clutched pipes in their hands.
Pipes…
Pipes against a Canebrake.
These poor men had been helpless against those mechanized monsters.
Akira stepped around the corpses, saying a mental prayer for them both. He respected their bravery. Although futile, perhaps they had bought their families or friends a few seconds to hide.
But Akira doubted any had held on very long.
He said a second prayer, that maybe, just maybe someone was still alive.
Two floors lower, Akira stopped again to listen for the snake. He heard only the soft tap of Kobe and Okami until they both stopped.
The facility was as quiet as a coffin.
That was exactly what this place was—a tomb for so many people.
They took another stairwell down. At the next landing, on the tenth level below the main chamber, he saw what he was looking for—the server farm. The door was closed.
He tried the handle. It was still locked.
Apparently, no one had made it down here. Or if they had, they had locked it and the machines never broke through.
Akira checked the keypad. He didn’t feel like waiting for one of Juno’s programs to hack him into the room.
Reaching over his shoulder, he drew a katana. The energy blade warmed to a blazing red before he thrust it into the locking mechanism.
The door hissed from melting metal. Internal locking mechanisms gave way under the heat until the door swung open.
Akira sheathed his sword and unslung his rifle again. Kobe brought up his shotgun as they entered a room with ten rows of backup servers. They all appeared undamaged, but none were humming with life.
Akira crossed through with Okami and Kobe to the control room. Inside, were two chairs facing four dashboards, each with a holo-screen port.
Nearly twelve hours after returning to Tokyo, he had reached his destination.
Please, please be here, Apeiron.
Akira stepped inside, resting his rifle against the wall. Then he opened the armored crate on his right thigh for the secure tech kit. Inside was the backup power source, a nano-drive, and the comm-pad with the infiltration program.
Kobe watched silently, but Akira knew what he was thinking.
“Apeiron,” he finally admitted. “I’ve come to extract her and bring her back to command with me.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
“Figured as much.” Kobe snorted. “How long will it take to get your savior out of her prison?”
There was skepticism in his voice, and Akira didn’t blame him for that.
“I don’t know, but keep an eye out,” he whispered to Kobe.
“Yeah, yeah, okay, man.”
Kobe huffed and left the room to hold security with Okami.
Akira took a seat and hooked up the backup power source to the main server. The holo-screen activated with a login request. This was the part he wished Juno was here for, but her programs and devices would have to do. He hooked up the comm-pad.
A female voice crackled out of unseen speakers as the command center came to life.
“Rebooting critical systems,” she said.
All four holo-ports began to glow.
Akira moved from side to side, watching anxiously as the systems came back online. A red X pulsed on the middle of the comm-pad screen.
“User cleared for entry,” said the same female voice.
Akira tensed up in front of a holographic female that appeared on all four ports.
This wasn’t Apeiron.
“I am system administrator Michelle,” she said. “Please standby. Initializing security protocols.”
Come on. We don’t have time for this…
The X continued to pulse. Akira couldn’t tell if the program was working. For all he knew, the security protocols protecting the servers had blocked it.
Footsteps tapped outside.
Kobe returned in the doorway, his gas mask hanging around his neck. “How’s it going?”
“I need more time.”
A distant but familiar wail resonated through the facility.
“We don’t have much more time,” Kobe said. “Hurry the hell up.”
Akira picked up the comm-pad but didn’t have any idea how to speed things up.
“Where’s Okami?” he asked.
“Still in the hall,” Kobe said.
Akira looked around at the holo-screens, trying to decide what to do. They could hide again, but if the noise of the system administrator or its energy signature was drawing in the Conda, hiding was no longer an option.
They were going to have to fight.
He waited a few more minutes, Kobe cursing as he watched.
The hologram of the system administrator flashed.
“Intruder verified,” Michelle said. “Access granted.”
Akira almost let out a sigh of relief. The red X on the comm-pad turned blue. A download bar stretched across the screen as the extraction began.
The image of the woman was replaced with layers and layers of code. He wasn’t sure if this was part of INN or elements of the program Juno sent him here with.
Five percent. Eight percent. Ten percent.
He reached for his rifle when the screaming grew closer, the high-pitched wails filling the command center.
Okami strode inside. The little fur that remained on his back stood up straight, and his metal tail was tucked between his legs.
A metallic rattle interrupted the sounds of the Conda. The mutant snake wasn’t alone.
There were Canebrakes out there.
“We have more than the Condas to worry about,” Akira said.
“What?” Kobe asked. “You hear something else?”
“Canebrakes.”
“Ah, hell… man. What do we do?”
Akira checked the comm-pad. It was at twenty percent.
“We got to leave like now,” Kobe said. “We can’t wait until that thing hits one hundred.”
“Go, then. I’ll catch up with you. I’m not leaving without Apeiron.”
“Digging your own grave, man.” Kobe pulled his gas mask down. “Good luck, Captain. If I make it out, I’ll wait for you with Fish and your pet, er, horse for as long as I can.”
Akira nodded.
Kobe took off, running out of the command center. His footfalls faded away under the relentless screaming and rattling.
“Come on, come on,” Akira whispered.
Okami paced as they waited.
The comm-pad showed thirty-five percent.
A maelstrom of screams was followed by distinct electronic wails from not one, but two Canebrakes.
