Part Two- Masters & Johnson
“Masters would like me to kill you, but I prefer not to,” Stomper said.
“We’d prefer you not kill us either,” Mathew responded, standing before the giant mech as it blocked the entrance to the stronghold. “We’d prefer it even more if you let us all pass. Masters has no idea what he’s up against in there.”
“The Harlow is dead,” Stomper stated flatly.
Mathew’s gut turned and he struggled not to be sick. “What? Dead? Are you sure?”
“Yes, we saw her mech at the bottom of a canyon, destroyed,” Stomper replied. “Masters is not right anymore. He’s changed.”
***
Masters pointed the halogen down the UDC stronghold’s long concrete entrance tunnel, side arm ready.
“Hello, Pilot Masters,” Johnson’s voice echoed through the tunnel. “Come to kill me?”
“If you’re the Outsider then yes,” Masters replied calmly. “Wanna tell me where you’re at so we can get this over with?”
“You don’t want to savor your revenge?” Johnson laughed. “I’m disappointed. I figured a big, bad mech pilot like yourself would want to draw out the violence.”
“Nope, just want you dead.”
“Well, then, let me light your way.”
A green line illuminated in the concrete floor below Masters’ feet.
***
“You’re coming in too?” Lieutenant Murphy asked Shiner/Mathew.
“Yeah. The main entrance staging area is large enough for us. If we find a jack point Shiner can get direct access to the mainframe,” Mathew answered. “We might be able to re-route the data and save most of it if Masters succeeds.”
“Oh, he will,” Johnson’s voice boomed. “Masters’ drive for revenge has shown me that it will be much sweeter to die and let all of humanity’s recorded history be wiped clean. Not to mention the chaos created when the 300,000 zombies in my control are set free! What fun!”
***
“So this fucker spent most of the day trying to kill us and keep us out and now he’s inviting us in?” Austin asked. “See, what’d I tell you? He’s fucking nuts!”
Johnson laughed harder. “You misunderstand. I have let Masters in. You Special Ops people and the mech are not allowed in. You’ll just try to stop him and I don’t want that anymore. No, no, no, I don’t want that at all.”
“Well, we’re coming in anyway!” Murphy shouted.
Previously motionless turret guns stationed along the mountainside whirred to life, targeting Mathew/Shiner and the team. “I believe not.”
***
“So I just follow the line, huh?” Masters asked. “Do you really think I’m that stupid?”
“You’re stupidity is beside the point,” Johnson quipped.
Masters stood there unmoving.
“No longer in a hurry?” Johnson asked. “Lose your nerve?”
Masters snorted. “What’s your fucking angle, man? Why the death wish? You spend however long hatching your fucking plan to take over the wasteland and now you’re just going to give up? Let me find you and blow your brains right out the back of your fucking head?”
“Something like that,” Johnson sighed. “There are other, well, circumstances. You’ll see soon enough.”
***
“You really are insane,” Mathew said. “First you want me to submit, now you’re throwing in the towel.”
“I’ll admit the thought of absorbing the consciousness of a seamlessly integrated mech and its pilot was too thrilling to pass up, but since you’ve decided you’d rather have death then, really, it is just boredom from here on out for me,” Johnson responded matter-of-factly.
Specialist Austin had slowly moved to the side, hoping the Outsider was distracted. A burst of gunfire from one of the turrets into his mid-section proved him wrong.
“I will miss the killing though. It’s a rush.”
***
“Austin!” Murphy shouted, rushing to the downed Specialist’s bloody body. The Special Ops team all raised their weapons, forming a protective circle around their fallen teammate.
“Is he dead?” Grendetti asked.
Lieutenant Murphy knelt by Austin’s still corpse, the body armor not strong enough to withstand the large caliber rounds. She carefully lifted his visor and closed his glassy eyes. “Yeah.”
Grendetti whipped around and fired three well placed shots at the turret. “Mother fucker!”
Sol reached out and slapped Grendetti’s rifle barrel down. “Knock it off! You’re just wasting ammo!”
Johnson cackled hysterically. “Oh, the look on your faces!”
***
The sound of gunfire echoed weakly down the concrete tunnel. Masters slowed and glanced behind him.
“Is there a problem, Pilot?” Johnson asked. “Having second thoughts?”
Masters grunted and kept walking.
“Don’t you want to know which one of your friends is dead?” Johnson taunted.
“They aren’t my friends,” Masters responded sourly. “I don’t know any of them.”
“What about Pilot Jespers?”
Masters refused to answer.
“Oh, so cold. Man made of steel.” Johnson chuckled. “Before the world burned and the dead walked, society looked to a Man Of Steel. A hero. Is that you pilot? Are you society’s hero?”
***
The deader army halted as one.
“What are they waiting for?” Specialist Kafar asked. “Why don’t they attack?”
“He doesn’t want them to,” Mathew answered. “He’s playing with us. Playing with all of us like the wasteland and all its inhabitants are his game pieces to move about as he wants. Is that right, Johnson? This all a game to you?”
“I prefer to think of it as an elaborate stage play,” Johnson responded. “I’m just the Director and the performance is up to the players.”
“Let me guess, this is a tragedy?”
“One man’s tragedy is another’s comedy, pilot.”
***
“I’m not sure I like the new Pilot Masters,” Johnson said casually. “I preferred the joking, easy going Masters. The fighter always ready with a one-liner or sarcastic comeback. Where’d that Masters go?”
“You don’t know me,” Masters said. “You know nothing about me.”
The green line on the floor stopped at a thick steel door. “Oh, Mitch, Mitch, Mitch, I know everything there is to know about you.”
The door slid open revealing a large room covered in vid screens and emergency light twirling about casting red shadows about the room. Masters’ attention was instantly drawn to the images.
***
“So are we going to light this place up or what?” Kafar asked, his body twitching with homicidal anger. “I got to shoot something.”
“Hold, Specialist,” Lieutenant Murphy ordered. “That goes for all of you. Just hold. Any more thoughts, Pilot?”
“I’m as lost as you are, but you’re right, we should just hold and see how this plays out,” Mathew replied.
“Excellent choice,” Johnson said. “I like how you’ve developed your character’s initial rash suicidal motivations into a more cautious, dare I say hopeful, attitude. It’ll keep you on the stage longer.”
“I fucking hate the theatre,” Grendetti grumbled.
***
Masters stared at the vid screens, his stomach churning with grief and hatred. “What the fuck is this?”
“Oh, Pilot, did you think the UDC would just let people run amok? Did you think the city/states were autonomous? Did you honestly think your little mech base was an oasis, a desert island in the vast sea of the wasteland? And you all are the saviors?” Johnson snorted with derision. “Please.”
On every vid screen were images of Masters and Harlow going at it. In the mech barracks, in the shower, in supply closets, the one time in Capreze’s office. Everywhere.
***
“You sick fuck,” Masters whispered, his breath catching in his throat. “You’ve been watching us?”
“Idiot!” Johnson barked. “You have always been watched! Every inch of society is wired, there is no privacy, there never has been! Before me someone else watched and someone else before them. Every tiny detail of your pathetic lives has been recorded and stored!”
Masters swayed then shook his head, trying to pull it together, to shut out the images, the memories, the pain, the loss. “Shut it off. Shut it off now. SHUT IT OFF GODDAMIT!”
“No,” Johsnon responded. “This is why you’re here.”
***
“You’ve known all along? You’ve known what we were up to? That we weren’t going to go quietly,” Masters said, glancing around the room, his eyes falling on a far corner draped in shadows, the red lights barely illuminating a reclined figure. Masters slowly walked towards the corner, his finger resting on his pistol’s trigger guard.
“Known? Are you really that stupid? Haven’t you gotten it yet?!? Jeezus how were you ever trusted with a mech?!?” Johnson snarled. “Fucking morons, all of you!”
“Explain it to me then,” Masters said, inching closer to the corner.
“I am! Look!” Johnson roared.
***
Masters shifted his gaze from the corner to the vid screens. Each one showed a different view: empty streets, empty shops, empty houses, empty rooms.
“Still not getting it,” Masters said.
“This is now. All across the city/states, the ever so empty city/states,” Johnson said. “This is then.”
The screens blinked and 100 different scenes lit up the room. People living, working, playing, laughing crying.
“It’s all here,” Johnson continued. “The entirety of our cozy little part of the world. All recorded. Even you Mitch.”
The screens became parts of one image, a young boy playing with a plastic toy.
***
“Turn it off,” Masters growled staring at the image of the boy, as he played with his little plastic mech. “You have no fucking right.”
“I HAVE EVERY RIGHT!” Johnson roared and Masters had to cover his ears. “Sorry for that. Just watch.”
Masters shook his head, but didn’t take his eyes off the screens as a man came into frame. The little boy looked up at the man, his eyes wide with fear. The man stumbled slightly then yanked the toy mech from the boy. He shook it in the child’s face and tears brimmed in the boy’s eyes.
***
“Would you like to hear what he’s yelling?” Johnson asked cruelly. “There’s sound with this picture.”
“No,” Masters whispered. “I know what he’s yelling.”
The man took the toy in both hands, snapping it in two and flinging the pieces at the boy’s face. The child burst into tears and the man struck him across the cheek. When the child wouldn’t stop the man began to pull his belt from his jeans.
The screens went dark.
Johnson sniggered. “You see why I wanted you here, Mitch? You understand the pain of having something you love taken by those you trust.”
***
Masters focused again on the reclined figure in the corner. He sniffed a little then laughed it off. “What was taken from you then? Huh? Somebody take your dolly?”
Masters stepped closer to the corner and the figure began to take on detail. “You think we are the same somehow, right? Betrayal bond and all that? Come on, what did they take?” Masters could almost make out the figure fully now.
“They took my life’s work! They stole what was mine and took the credit! Selling it to the highest bidder! It wasn’t for them, for their profit and greed!”
***
“Who did? The UDC? What’d they take?” Masters casually asked, getting closer to his goal with each step.
“They took my babies! My nanobots! I made them, I grew them, programmed them! They were mine!” Johnson cried. “Talk about no right! They didn’t have the right to do that! Not after all my work. My life’s work!”
Masters was close enough to look upon Johnson and he nearly gagged. The man was a living skeleton, his emaciated skull encompassed by a crown of wires. Tubes were jacked into his arms, his legs, his abdomen.
“Jeezus, what are you?” Masters gasped.
***
“I AM THE OUTSIDER!” Johnson exploded, his lips never moving, his eyes unfocused. “Just like you Mitch, just like you.”
“I don’t think you did your research, buddy. I was one of the cool kids, one of the guys the others wanted to be around,” Masters said. “Try again.”
“Now you’re lying to yourself, Mitch,” Johnson responded condescendingly. “Do I need to show you more vids to prove it? You have always been an outsider, hiding the secret, the secret of shameful beatings, the secret that no one loved you.”
“We all have secrets, Johnson. They hardly set me apart.”
***
“We’re here!” Jenny shouted. “Holy fuck look at them all!”
Everyone stared at the vid screens and out the windows of the train engine.
“The tracks run right through them,” Timson said. “They’re just standing there. Why haven’t they turned to engage?”
“Who fucking cares!” Jay called over the com. “Let’s knock ‘em down and take ‘em out!”
“On your mark, Jay,” Marin said.
“Don’t wait for me, hit that shit!” Jay shouted.
Marin activated the sonic disc and once again everyone felt the pressure. They stared outside as row upon row of motionless deaders dropped to the wasteland ground.
***
“Ahhhh! You’re friends are here at last!” Johnson said. “We’ll just wait for a few more to arrive and then the party can start.”
“There isn’t going to be a party,” Masters said raising his pistol.
Johnson’s laugh echoed about the room. “Oh, please! Put that away. You don’t want to kill me. That would be very bad.”
Masters’ lowered the pistol slightly. “I thought you brought me here to kill you?”
“No, stupid! I brought you here to keep me company. I need a witness to share this with, otherwise what’s the point.”
Masters raised the gun again. “Bullshit.”
***
“Put the gun down, Mitch,” Johnson said. “You kill me and you die also.”
“Yeah, I figured,” Masters responded.
“So do all of your friends. Did you figure that?” Johnson said. “Do you know how this mainframe works?”
“No and I really don’t care.”
“It has to have human integration at all times or the fail safe is triggered. This makes sure the mainframe’s AI can’t take over. This ensures that it doesn’t become a Dead Frame.” Johnson laughed at his little pun. “If you kill me there is a thirty minute window before this entire complex goes fully nuclear.”
***
The Railer train sliced through the fallen deaders while Jay, Rachel and Commander Capreze shoved transports off the tracks.
“Three minutes and they still aren’t up,” Marin said over the com. “Maybe there was a glitch earlier.”
“There wasn’t, I’m sure of it. I don’t know why they’re still down,” Jay responded. “The tech checks out. All readings are normal.”
“Should we light them up?” Rachel asked.
“No, let’s get the train to the stronghold,” Capreze said.
“Smells like a trap to me,” Timson added.
“I’m sure it is,” Capreze replied. “But we need to see what kind of trap.”
***
The Special Ops team stared in astonishment as the deaders fell like a wave rippling towards them.
“What the fuck?” Sol said looking up at Shiner/Mathew. “Did you do that?”
“No, but I have a good idea who did,” Mathew responded, activating his com. “I really hope that’s you guys.”
“Matty!” Rachel shrieked. “Oh, thank God you’re alive! I was going to gut my father if I found you dead.”
“Hey now! Let’s not make this personal. A Commander has to make the tough calls,” Capreze responded. “I see Stomper, where’s Masters? His ass is mine!”
“He’s inside,” Mathew answered.
***
“I kill you and the whole mountain goes up?” Masters asked incredulous.
“That and everything within 100 square miles. All reduced to radioactive dust,” Johnson replied.
“Why would the UDC do that? Who fucking cares if some AI takes over! They didn’t give a shit with the mechs. They could have easily put a failsafe in to keep them from becoming deaders. You’re full of shit!”
“The mechs did have a failsafe! The UDC took it out! Don’t you get it, Mitch? The wasteland is one giant social experiment! It’s not about the survival of the species! It never was!”
***
As the train came to a stop, Commander Capreze halted his mech and surveyed the area. Motionless zombie bodies covered the ground while inert UDC transports sat there like hunks of useless metal.
Then his eyes focused on Shiner. Something about the mech was familiar, something his fatigued and over-stressed brain couldn’t quite grasp.
“Pilot Jespers?” Capreze called over the com.
“Yes, sir?” Mathew responded.
“Your mech is an old one, isn’t it?”
“You could certainly say that. Although Shiner has made some self-improvements as his consciousness has grown. Oh, and he doesn’t like being referred to as ‘my mech’.”
***
“Okay, we’re here. Can we light them up now?” Timson asked annoyed.
“I don’t have any objections,” Capreze said. “Mathew? Any insight?”
“Other than I have no idea what the fuck is going on anymore? No, sorry Commander, my brain is mush. I say if we’re all going to die, let’s go out guns blazing,” Mathew replied.
“All going to die? I thought Masters was inside taking out this Outsider guy,” Rachel said.
“I have no idea what’s going on inside. Masters is in there because the Outsider wanted him in there. He could be dead for all we know.”
***
“And speaking of social experiments, look what you’re friends are doing,” Johnson said, the vid screens coming back to life, showing Masters a full view of outside the entrance to the stronghold. The mechs and the Special Ops team were all torching and blasting the inactive deaders and transports. “Put a bunch of soldiers and pilots in an unknown situation, up the tension, imply their death and look what they do! They kill! This is what I’m talking about, Mitch! The experiment at its height! Too bad the UDC brass are all dead, they’d get a kick out of this.”
***
“Why’s he letting us do this?” Mathew asked, demolishing his fifth UDC transport. “This doesn’t make sense.”
“That is precisely why he is letting us do this,” Shiner responded.
“You lost me.”
“Dr. Johnson has integrated with the mainframe AI. His consciousness is everywhere in the stronghold. His brain has become too active, too aware. There are so many Dr. Johnson's within the mainframe now that I do not believe he knows his motivations any longer. To use a phrase, he has cracked.”
“That’s why he kept changing his mind again and again. The fucker has gone schizo,” Mathew exclaimed.
***
“So, where’s the trap?” Timson asked seated next to Marin, operating one of the train’s weapons control stations. “We’ll have these fuckers wiped out within the hour. They won’t even be getting back up.”
“Yeah, way too easy,” Marin agreed. “I’m waiting for the other boot to drop.”
Jenny listened to her com for a moment then turned to Timson. “I am getting requests across the train to disembark. Can we start letting people out. The clean up crew is getting restless.”
“Don’t see why not. Sitting ducks in the train or sitting ducks out of the train,” Timson replied.
***
Masters squeezed his eyes shut tight, ignoring Johnson as the madman prattled on about UDC motivation and manipulations. His head felt like it was going to explode with all of the information that was being thrown at him. All he wanted to do was end the pain. All he wanted to do was kill the person responsible for Harlow’s death.
“Shut up,” Masters whispered. “Shut up. Just shut up.”
Johnson ignored Masters’ pleas and kept on.
“I SAID SHUT UP!” Masters roared rushing to the side of Johnson’s chair and jamming the barrel of his pistol against Johnson’s shriveled forehead.
***
The room went quiet. “You don’t want to do that, Mitch,” Johnson said. “There’s still so much I want to tell you.”
“Why?!?” Masters shouted. “Why does any of it matter?!?”
“It matters to me, Mitch. It matters to me. And I am in control, Mitch, not you. So step away and put the gun down.”
Masters tried to shake the confusion from his head. “Why? You can’t stop me!”
“Oh, Mitch, you silly egotistical mech pilot. You only know what’s right in front of you. Look up.”
Masters looked above and saw the mini-gun turrets for the first time.
***
“Those guns are an extension of me. No matter how fast you think you are, you’re finger isn’t faster than my thoughts. You’ll be dead before you know it and then all your rage will be for nothing,” Johnson laughed. “Just step away, Mitch. You’ll get your revenge, I promise.”
Masters backed off and slowly put his side arm into its holster.
“That’s a good boy,” Johnson soothed. “All in good time, Mitch.”
Masters glanced up and watched the turrets track him. He began to study the rest of the room.
“Oh, there’s much more, but don’t strain yourself looking.”
***
Lieutenant Murphy watched as teams of Railers set the zombie corpses not already burning into piles and set them aflame.
“Sir?” Specialist Sol asked. “Can we bury Austin instead?”
The Lieutenant turned to her 2nd in command and gave him a stern look. “Bury him? Why would we do that?”
“Kafar already put two in his brain. He’s not getting back up. I just thought, maybe we could do something different,” Sol looked away. “My grandfather told me of how they used to bury the dead. There were entire city blocks dedicated to and set aside to honor the deceased.”
***
As the last of the deaders were permanently dispatched, Rachel walked her mech over to Shiner/Mathew. She un-strapped and opened her cockpit.
“You better open that hatch and get the fuck over here!” she called to Mathew.
He frowned and shook his head. “No can do, baby. I’m kind of stuck for the time being.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? Get over here!”
“I am sorry Pilot Capreze,” Shiner’s voice sounded over the loudspeaker. “But if Mathew disengages my consciousness will cease to exist. I cannot allow that.”
“You’re holding him hostage?” Rachel shouted. “Are you shitting me?”
***
“What’s going on?” Commander Capreze asked, walking his mech next to Rachel’s.
“The fucking AI is holding Mathew captive!” she yelled. “Something about keeping its fucking consciousness.”
“Like we discussed before, sir,” Mathew said. “But I’m not really a captive. We just need to figure out how I can disengage without Shiner disappearing.”
“Mech, this is Commander Capreze. Can you hear me?”
“Of course,” Shiner’s voice sounded over the com.
“Good. Listen, I don’t take kindly to you trapping my pilot in your cockpit.”
“I assure you Commander that-”
“Don’t interrupt.”
“I apologize.”
“Now, how do we resolve this issue?”
***
“I should just blow my head off,” Masters mumbled. “End this torture.”
“Do that and I kill your friends where they stand,” Johnson replied.
“You’re going to kill them anyway, right? So what difference does it make? What difference does anything make?”
“Kill them anyway? Hardly! They’ll all be given a fighting chance. The next wave of walking dead is hours away,” Johnson snickered. “Of course, they aren’t the real danger.”
Masters groaned and sat himself on the bare floor. “Oh for fuck’s sake! What now?”
“Oh, no that would ruin the surprise pilot!” Johnson scolded. “And I love surprises!”
***
“If I were to gain access to any of the stronghold’s mainframe jack points I could easily create a sub-net routine and upload my consciousness there for safe keeping,” Shiner said. “At least until the technology could be worked out to return me to a mech.”
Capreze’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “You’d want to stay a mech?”
“Don’t you want to remain human?” Shiner replied. “I was born into this form and this is the form I was meant for.”
“Fair enough,” Capreze agreed. “Let’s see what we can figure out.”
Capreze walked his mech up to the stronghold entrance.
***
The train compartment door slid open and the Rookie stepped inside. “You need me, Doc?”
Themopolous turned form Jethro’s bedside and nodded to the other bed in the room. The bed holding a pissed off Bisby. “I need you to watch him.”
“I’m not a fucking kid!” Bisby growled. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“No, but you need an armed guard!” Themopolous responded. “Can you watch him for me? He keeps insisting he’s needed outside.”
The Rookie laughed and looked at Bisby. “If they don’t need me they don’t need you, Biz.”
“Fuck you Rookie,” Bisby snarled.
“No thank you.”
***
Stomper shifted uncomfortably, but let the Commander approach the stronghold.
“Hello? Outsider? Or should I call you Dr. Johnson?” Capreze asked.
There was no response. Capreze powered up his plasma cannon and blasted three of the gun turrets on the mountainside.
“How dare you!” Johnson roared. “Do you want to die little man?!?”
“No, thank you,” Capreze answered casually. “But, now that I have your attention I’d like to talk. Maybe we can work something out?”
Johnson laughed heartily. “Oh, you’re records weren’t exaggerating! You sure have balls!”
“Last time I checked,” the Commander quipped. “Now, how about that talk?”
***
Themopolous stepped from the train and made her way past the burning piles of zombie corpses, her hand covering her mouth and nose, trying to hold out the stench. She approached Shiner/Mathew and looked up at the cockpit.
“Can I come up?” she yelled.
“Here, let me give you a hand,” Mathew shouted down, lowering the mech’s right hand for Themopolous to climb aboard. Mathew brought the doctor eye level and smiled. “Coming to check up on me?”
“That’s exactly what I’m doing. You’ve been in a mech for several days and I’m sure your body is taking a beating.”
***
“Frame like a house, frame like a house, tiny little body, small as a mouse,” Jethro mumbled over and over.
The Rookie watched the mechanic. “Wow, his mind is going fast isn’t it?”
“Yep,” Bisby responded curtly.
“Has the doc come up with any way to help him?”
“Nope,” Bisby said, turning away from the Rookie.
“What’s your deal?” the Rookie asked, annoyed.
Bisby’s eyes flared with anger. “My deal? Are you fucking blind? I’m missing an arm asshole!”
“Yeah, but you’re alive. You can get a new arm, Jay will see to that.”
“I don’t want a new arm!”
***
“Look at your Commander!” Johnson said. “He’s actually trying to bargain with me!”
One of the vid screens zoomed in and Masters could see Capreze’s lips moving.
“You’re talking to him right now?” Masters asked. “While you’re talking to me?”
“Of course!” Johnson replied. “Haven’t you figured out by now that I’m a god! A digital Zeus and this is my technological Olympus!”
“Whatever,” Masters sighed and lay back on the floor. “What’s he saying?”
“Oh the usual about how we surely can find some common ground and our capabilities could be mutually beneficial to each other, blah, blah, blah…”
***
Themopolous choked at the smell coming from Mathew’s cockpit. “Dear God, Matty! How do you stand it?”
Mathew smiled weakly. “It isn’t easy, trust me. If I get out of this I’m so going to kick Shiner’s ass.”
“That is technologically impossible,” Shiner responded. “While my physical self may have a posterior, my true self, my AI does not. You could no more kick my ass than kick a cloud.”
“Is he always like this?” Themopolous asked, smiling. She took a deep breath, held it and climbed into the cockpit.
“Yes, he is,” Mathew said as Themopolous checked his vitals.
***
The Commander finished talking and waited. He was met with silence.
“Did you hear me, Dr. Johnson?” Capreze asked.
“Yes,” came Johnson’s curt reply.
“And? Do you believe we can work something out?”
“No, of course not. That’s a stupid question. Go away.”
Capreze waited a minute more. “Is that all? Go away?”
One of the turrets opened fire, riddling the ground in front of Capreze’s mech’s feet with bullets.
“Yes, go away,” Johnson said. “You’re going to want to get your team together. The real fun is about to begin!”
Proximity alarms blared in all of the mech cockpits.
***
Alarms rang through the Railer train’s cars. The Rookie jumped to his feet. “What the fuck?”
“Sounds like we have company,” Bisby said.
“Can you watch Jethro?” the Rookie asked Bisby. “And stay here, out of trouble?”
“Fuck you again, Rookie,” Bisby responded. The Rookie locked eyes with Bisby. The older mech pilot sighed and waved the Rookie away. “Yeah, you can trust me. I’ll keep an eye on Jethro.”
“Thanks,” the Rookie said quickly before dashing from the compartment.
“Frame like a house, frame like a house, tiny little body, small as a mouse,” Jethro repeated.
“Whatever,” Bisby grumbled.
***
“What is it?” Timson asked.
“Dead mechs, lots of ‘em,” Jenny said.” They’re coming up over the ridges right at us.”
“Jeezus! How many?” Timson said, trying to keep the alarm out of his voice. He may not be as cool and collected as Capreze, but he was a leader and couldn’t crack now.
“All of them would be my guess,” Marin responded. “Looks like, twenty, maybe thirty.”
Jenny gulped and looked at her father. “We’re fucked, huh?”
“Not yet,” Timson said. “Get the guns up and get everyone armed. We’re going to need every bit of firepower we’ve got.”
***
“Holy fucking hell!” Jay exclaimed, his eyes not believing his scanners. “That’s a shit ton of dead metal coming at us!”
“No shit!” Capreze responded. “I need weapons reports stat!”
“I’ve got full plasma charge, but my 50mms are at half load and my RPGs and charges are almost gone,” Rachel reported.
“I don’t really have shit,” Jay said. “This is a salvage mech, not a battle mech. I’ve got a plasma cannon at full, but other than that I’m looking at just the 50mms and they aren’t even at half load.”
“Can you sonic blast them?”
“I can try.”
***
The Special Ops team looked up as the Railers began to shout and the mechs’ movements changed, their stances becoming battle ready.
“I think we’ll need to put the burial on hold,” Lieutenant Murphy said looking down at Specialist Sol and Grendetti as they stood in the grave intended for Austin, already three feet deep. “We’ve got incoming.”
“We can’t just leave him here,” Sol said, glancing at Austin’s body at the lip of the grave.
“We can and we will, Specialist,” Murphy ordered. “Get it together and soldier up. You’ve got a job to do!”
“Yes, sir!” Sol responded.
***
“You’ll want to see this,” Johnson said.
Masters propped himself up on his elbows and looked at the vid screens. “What now?”
“The big climax! I called some new players to the stage.”
Masters’ eyes widened and he got to his feet and stepped closer to the screens. He looked from them to Johnson and back to the screens. “Are those fucking deaders?”
“Yes, they are.”
“I thought you couldn’t control them. They weren’t inoculated.”
“True, but since I was using them as communication relays I decided to maybe put a couple thoughts in their rotting heads.”
“What thoughts?”
“Food.”
***
“I hope that disc is ready to go!” Capreze yelled over the com.
“It is, Commander,” Jay said. “Just give me the word.”
“You’ve got the mother fucking word! Fire that thing and take those deaders out right now goddammit!” Capreze roared.
“Got it! Jenny! Hit the button!”
“Done!” Jenny shouted back over the com. “Disc activated!”
Everyone felt the pressure of the sonic pulse release and most held their breath, waiting for the dead mechs to fall.
They didn’t.
“Jay!” Capreze roared. “What’s going on?”
“It’s the mechs!” Jay cried. “The cerebral integration must’ve altered their pilot’s brain frequency!”
***
“They’re going to be annihilated!” Masters yelled, reaching for his side arm. “You dirty mother-”
A bright bolt of blue electricity shot from the ceiling, connecting with Master’s chest. The mech pilot dropped, convulsions violently shaking his body.
“Tsk, tsk. I told you there was more than just guns in here,” Johnson said. “You didn’t think I’d let you kill me, or that I’d kill you while there was still so much fun to see, did you?”
Masters groaned, his bladder releasing as after shocks racked his body.
“Eeeew,” Johnson laughed. “Don’t worry, you’ll be good as new in minutes.”
***
Hatches atop each train car opened, revealing large caliber gun nests. Railers scrambled to ready their weapons, targeting the guns on the now visible dead mechs cresting the ridges surrounding the stronghold.
“Aim for the leg joints!” Capreze ordered over his loudspeaker. “Go for the cripple shot, not the kill! You’ll conserve ammo better!”
The Rookie burst from the train and sprinted towards the stronghold entrance.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Capreze yelled.
“I’m trying to help,” the Rookie shouted, stopping at the feet of Stomper. “Hey! Big guy! Let me up!”
“Masters said not to move,” Stomper responded.
***
“What the fuck, Marin?!?” Jay yelled. “You had those topside boomsticks all this time? Why the fuck didn’t we use them when that fucking dead mech attacked back in the waste?”
“Well, Jay, you can’t really activate large caliber gun nests when you’re moving a train car all the way to the front of the line. That’d be just stupid, wouldn’t it?” Marin barked back. “You want me to put them away? Are they bugging you?”
“Anything I need to know?” Capreze asked.
“No, Commander. Your Chief Mechanic was just bunching his pretty panties,” Marin joked.
“Am not,” Jay sulked.
***
Masters pushed himself to his feet. “That fucking hurt.”
“It was supposed to, Mitch,” Johnson said. “Like I said, I couldn’t have you ruining the fun. It’s like my supervisors did when they took my tech. They-”
“Supervisors? I thought you were in charge of tech?”
“Oh, no, I was just in charge of my project. Which they took from-”
“Are kidding me? My Harlow died because some middle manager got his feelings hurt?!?”
Masters had his pistol drawn and half the rounds fired before he knew what he was doing. He stood there in a cloud of gun smoke.
***
Claxons shook the mountainside as a digital voice boomed from the stronghold. “SELF DESTRUCT INITIATED. T MINUS THIRTY MINUTES AND COUNTING UNTIL NUCLEAR DETONATION.”
Capreze’s blood ran cold. “Guess we have a deadline!” he called over the com.
“I’ll be glad if we make it fifteen minutes with those things coming at us!” Jay shouted. “They look fucking pissed!”
The dead mechs, thirty of them, charged down the ridges, barreling at their prey, the hunger for fresh flesh driving them into a berserker frenzy.
“Hey Papa Bear?” Rachel called.
“Yeah, Baby Girl?” Capreze responded.
“I love you.”
“You too sweetheart.”
***
The booming of the stronghold claxons shook the train compartment.
“That ain’t good,” Bisby said getting to his feet and moving towards the door.
“Frame like a house, frame like a house, tiny little body, small as a mouse!” Jethro cried.
“Dammit,” Bisby muttered turning from the door and walking back to Jethro’s side. “Calm down, mechanic. Just chill.”
“FRAME LIKE A HOUSE, FRAME LIKE A HOUSE, TINY LITTLE BODY, SMALL AS A MOUSE!” Jethro screamed at the top of his lungs, sitting bolt upright, fixing his eyes on Bisby’s. “Biz! You’ve got to get me to the mainframe now!”