AMP Colossus (7 page)

Duane spoke. "Sir, are you OK?"

I replied with a pained voice, "I’ll make it. Get that hold door closed so they don’t get out into the ship!"

Duane replied, "You blasted the door, Sir; it can’t be closed. We’ll have to take up position there and pick them off one by one."

I turned back to a dying Wallie as he lay on the floor. "Man, what did you do? You just dove in there. You saved my life!"

A weakening Wallie replied, "Until this day, I have been a slave for my entire life. I saw that action as possibly my only chance to die free, Mr. Grange. My body is broken beyond repair—I can feel that—but I will not die as a servant to these machines. Thank you for liberating us, Mr. Grange. I shall forever be gratefu…"

Wallie was dead.

After a short chase, the escaped Colossun androids were put out of commission. As I stood where the fight had begun, I looked down at Wallie’s crumpled body. Another free citizen had given his life for the cause. I shook my head as I wondered if it would ever end.

News soon came from Grid command. One of our last transports was being sent out. A dozen crewmen were coming to assist the Tribuk. A shipping container of androids would be transferred to the transport for study back on the Grid. Duane and I would be home within a day.

The Colonel spoke. "It will take us three weeks to empty that ore hauler using that transport. I say we use that ore to build a Raider so we can take their ships out if needed."

Admiral Zimmerman spoke next. "We need defensive ships. We don't know what firepower the Colossuns have available to them. That ore hauler out there may be ancient technology to them. From the sounds of it, the Tribuks just don't know."

I stood. "Gentlemen. I would propose instead that we take that planet first. If it takes the Colossuns months to respond, we can have enough ore to build the ships we want for both of you. I am thinking we use this first load of ores to modify that transport for a larger carrying capacity. We send troops in with it and start hauling ore out after things are secure. Then we begin building our fleet."

The discussion continued for another hour before a vote was taken. My idea won out. Modification to the transport
Pendleford
would begin immediately. Admiral Chaulk would command a landing force of Marines with the new hybrid battle suits and blasters. The Colonel and his men were itching for a fight, but the regular Grid Force would have the first crack at the Colossuns on Ponik.

After the meeting broke up, I stayed back to talk with the Colonel. "I know you want to be right in the mix of this, Colonel, but I want to save you and the Ghouls for fleet combat. Let Chaulk handle the ground pounders and the hassle of securing the planet. And Zimmerman will command the fleet once it is built. The Gray Ghouls will be stationed on Raiders, with the job of boarding and taking over ships."

The Colonel replied, "It's not that I disagree with any of that, Grange; it's just that the boys will be disappointed. Now that York has her prosthetic arms and legs under control, she is dying to get back out there."

I replied, "I'm sure she will get her chance, Colonel. From what I understand, the Colossuns have a large army."

The Colonel smacked my shoulder with his hand and held tight. "That's what I'm counting on, Grange. And if we are fighting on their turf instead of ours, all the better!"

I spoke. "Do you think we will ever get a chance to rest from all the running and fighting, Colonel? This galaxy seems to have more Durians and Dakar than Grell or Tribuk. It seems like we are the ones who are always standing up for everyone's freedom."

The Colonel replied, "Sheep need shepherds, Grange. Otherwise, they would all get eaten by the wolves."

I spoke. "Sheep, Colonel? From the archives? I don't remember those. What do they look like?"

The Colonel replied, "Well, they look like sheep, Grange! I don't know, like goats, only fluffier!"

Ashley entered the room. "Good, just the two men I was looking for. I have something to show you down in the science lab with one of those Colossuns."

As we walked, Ashley talked. "Don, make sure you thank Michael Felix for assigning me to oversee the android investigation. It has been fascinating work. The team he has assembled there is nothing short of brilliant!"

I replied, "Great, I have to suck up to Felix."

My attempt at humor drew nothing but silence.

I continued, "What kind of headway have we made? It's only been a couple of days."

Ashley replied as we walked into the room, "We have the core, Don."

There in front of me stood a three-meter-tall Colossun android. It was intimidating. Only the black powerlessness of its eyes gave me comfort. Without power, it was of little danger.

I turned to Ashley. "You said you have the core? The brains? Have we made any progress on tapping into it?"

Ashley replied, "Yes, we have. It is a remarkable piece of AI, Don. Simplistic, and yet able to handle complex thought. We are only beginning to get into the programming. Dr. Jon Touchstone says the code structure, and its neural mappings and patterns, are like nothing he has ever seen. And best of all, he understands them."

I replied, "So we have a good shot at controlling one of those things?"

Before she had a chance to respond, the Colossun came to life. Its bright blue eyes seemed fixed on me for only an instant before it took a step in my direction. Without the protection of my battle suit, I fell backwards in an attempt to get away.

The android stopped its movement and powered down. A scientist from Ashley's team then stepped out from behind the beast.

The scientist spoke. "Oh, sorry, Mr. Grange. I was just testing out some of its motor functions. Didn't mean to scare you."

I stood and brushed off my pants and elbows. "I wasn't scared. Just startled."

The Colonel laughed. "From the look on your face, Grange, I would say the scientist had it right. Hahahahaha! And way to step in to protect your girl here!"

Ashley put her hand out. "OK, Colonel. Let him be. It was a normal reaction."

I spoke. "I would listen to her, Colonel. If you want to know fear, just get on her bad side!"

The Colonel slapped me on the back as he smiled and winked at Ashley. "This little lady? She wouldn't hurt anyone. She is just a cream puff!"

The lab team had made great strides, just as Ashley had said. I began to wonder what an army of androids who were fighting for the Grid would do to the Durians we had tangled with before our jump. An android with a hybrid battle suit and a blaster—it was a scary thought.

Over the following two weeks, Admiral Chaulk's Marines were briefed and trained for their assault on Ponik. The Embry hub would be the first to feel their fury. Once it was secured, the Admiral's men would spread outward from Embry Central like a virus. As each mine fell and was secured, the operations would be geared towards acquiring the ores that we were most in need of.

I would be going along in an attempt to establish relations with the resistance. If the Grell were on our side, the ore mining could be quickly redirected to fit our needs. I was eager to return to offer Feldew the position of liaison. Things would be changing quickly for the Grell. This time Ashley insisted on going along. The converted transport had been readied, and we sat in the cargo hold with the troops.

I spoke. "Did you hear if the Tribuks got quarters?"

Ashley replied, "I did; they have them in Beta section. They all received the translator implant, and the captain got a new prosthetic hand. He was quite pleased with it."

I replied, "Yeah, I felt kind of bad about that afterward. I just wasn't sure at the time if he was fiercely loyal to the Colossuns or not. I think he was just a little too set in his ways."

The flight to Ponik was a quick ride. The transponder had been removed from the ore hauler and placed on our transport. The hope was that when we arrived at Ponik, the bay doors on the spaceport would be opened for us as we approached. After that, it would be all-out fighting.

As we began our descent, I turned to Ashley and spoke. "I want to say this is going to be a cakewalk, but a little voice in my head is saying ‘Watch out.’"

Ashley replied, "That's just a natural reaction when you are going into the unknown, Don. We won't know until those doors open if there are five Colossuns or five hundred waiting for us."

Ashley looked at the AK-47 that was slung over my shoulder. "I can't believe you brought that thing. How many rounds of ammo do you have for it? It can't be much."

Before I could answer, the captain of the transport came over the comm. "Looks like we have been given clearance to land. The port doors are opening, and we should be on the ground in less than a minute. Good luck out there!"

The transport came to a stop. The doors were soon open, and the battalion of Marines under the command of Colonel Rachel Calder streamed out in succession.

After each of the company commanders reported in, Colonel Calder spoke. "Once we go through those air locks, I want every compartment, closet, and container checked over. We do a clean sweep as we go, and we'll have no surprises coming at our backs after. We are the First Battalion of the Ninth Marines, and they don't call us the Walking Dead for nothing. Now let’s go kick some ass, you ragged-ass zombies!"

Grunting sounds could be heard across the comms as the Marines began their mission. As the first squads made their way into the air locks, the fighting began. Four heavy gravity pulsers came to life. The transport was taking heavy fire.

The Colonel yelled into the comm, "Bravo, company! Focus on those pulse cannons! If they take out that transport, we may be stuck here for an eternity! Alpha, push through that main lock!"

The blue sun of Ponik shone down with an eerie light. As we crouched against a wall, the transport began to lift out of the port bay. The pulse cannons were doing damage, but the transport was going to make it. As it rose just above the bay and began to move out of the line of sight of the pulse cannons, two ships appeared in the sky above it. In an instant, an intense beam of particles streamed out of each of the ships.

Bzzzzzzzzzrp! Bzzzzzrrrrp!

The beams ripped through the sides of the escaping transport, sending it crashing hard to the ground. The columns of smoke that followed told of the transport's demise.

I pointed towards a smaller air lock door as I spoke. "Let’s try through there!"

Ashley replied as we moved, "Those Colossun ships—why didn't we see them coming?"

I pulled on the door handle. It was locked. "They have a metal alloy that our sensors have trouble with. It's why we couldn't see the tunnels or this port with the harvester. They must use it on their ships as well. And I'm beginning to think they were expecting us!"

The pulse cannons were silenced by the Marines, but not without casualties. Twenty-six of our Marines had been taken out in a single blast as a cargo container they sought cover behind exploded. A pulse cannon shot had ignited its contents.

The Marines pushed hard at the main lock. Their efforts were repulsed. Colonel Calder continued to bark out commands as the battlefield shifted. We were stuck in a spaceport with no ride out. It was either fight our way in or die!

I spoke as I grabbed Ashley by the hand. "Come on!"

She replied, "Where are we going?"

I stopped at the small locked door. "We are going to try to get through here."

I removed my satchel and fished around until I found a grenade. "If we get lucky, maybe we can knock this door open."

Ashley looked around and then ran.

I shouted over the comm, "Wait! Where are you going?"

She held up her hand as she ran. Seconds later she was aboard a wheeled cargo hauler. The machine was started and spun around in my direction. The two large forks that were used for lifting were moved in close together as the hauler came barreling towards me. Ashley waved her arm at me in a gesture to move away.

I sprinted to one side as the large machine crashed into the air lock door. The door and the surrounding metal buckled under the tonnage of hardened steel as the hauler made contact. A rapid outward rush of air followed. Ashley backed up the hauler and climbed out of the cab.

Ashley spoke. "No need to waste a good grenade. Let's see what we've gotten ourselves into."

I smiled as I followed her through the door. The rush of air made it difficult to move forward. Once we were around the corner from the main opening, the winds slowed.

Ashley spoke over the comm. "Colonel, we have an open door over by that hauler to the left of the main door. We are just entering an interior hallway. If you could send a squad or two this way, I am sure we could use their assistance!"

Calder replied, "Gallagher! Reeves! Take your squads through that breach to the left. Give the Granges whatever support they need!"

As we reached the second corner, I was blown backwards onto my backside by a gravity pulse.

Ashley spoke. "You OK?"

I replied, "Yeah, those hits kind of feel like doing a belly flop back in the Grid pools. It's like a hard smack, but I'm fine."

Ashley reached into my satchel as I stood up. "I'm commandeering one of your grenades."

The pin was pulled and the grenade flung around the corner of the wall.

Booom!

Ashley dove out onto the floor and began to fire. Before I could react, three Marines from Sergeant Reeves’s squad had joined her. The Colossun that blocked our way was quickly eliminated.

Ashley stood and spoke. "Let's move! If we can work our way towards the main air lock, maybe we can pry it open a little for the Colonel!"

Again, before I could react, she was sprinting down the next hall. As I made my way around a corner, an air lock door at the end of the hall began to close. I ran towards it using every muscle in my legs. I did not want to be cut off from my wife. I dove and slid through as the air lock door clanged against the wall and sealed shut. Ashley, myself, and five members of Reeves's squad had made it through.

The hallway opened into a large storage area with a high ceiling. Crates of various sizes lined the floor. Hallways exited in three directions from the room.

I spoke. "Let's hit that hallway to the right. Keep working in that direction."

As we began to move, three Colossun androids entered the room through the hall on the left. Sergeant Reeves was the first to fire, leaving himself exposed as we ran for the cover of a steel crate.

Reeves's first two shots hit their marks, but the Colossuns were unaffected. A return gravity pulse caught Reeves as he turned towards us. I expected him to be knocked in the opposite direction from where the pulse was fired. What happened next was unnerving.

The gravity pulse entered Reeves's battle suit at his upper left thigh. Instead of the suit hardening and distributing the effects over the outer surface, the pulse passed through. Reeves’s left leg violently expanded within the suit. As the suit hardened from the expanding pulse within, Reeves’s leg was pushed up through the suit and into his torso. It was an instant and crushing death from within.

As Reeves fell to the storeroom floor, I spoke. "Crap! They dialed down that pulse velocity. These active suits are worthless if we take a direct hit. Colonel! The pulses from those Colossun guns are lethal! They come right through these hybrid suits!"