Les moved closer to the main monitor. “Switch overlay to infrared,” he said.
The screen imagery turned greenish, with red blotches scattered across it.
“Zoom in.”
Timothy tapped into Cricket’s cameras and magnified on the cluster of Siren nests. They formed a sort of honeycomb on the eastern and northern slope of the sinkhole.
At the bottom of the ten-story pit, a group of larger Sirens slept amid a graveyard of bones and carcasses.
Les walked up to the screen for a better look. Arlo was on the southeast side, almost directly above the sleeping beasts on the ground, backed against the wall and looking up at the other divers.
“Switch back to Team Raptor,” Les said.
The camera climbed to the top of the hole, where Michael and the other divers were crouched down, still not doing anything to get Arlo out of there.
“Sir,” Eevi said, “I’ve got movement on the drone’s scanner.”
“Where’s it coming from?” Les asked.
“The bottom of that pit.”
“Show me, Timothy,” Les said.
The video feed returned to the sinkhole. In the mass of limp, slumbering bodies, several Sirens were stirring awake.
“We’re running out of time,” Layla said. “We’ve got to do something.”
“The ones on the ground all seem to be males,” Timothy said.
“What’s your point?”
“They can fly,” Timothy said. “What if we use the drone as a decoy and try luring them away from the sinkhole? That could give Arlo a chance to get away with Team Raptor.”
“Or it wakes all the beasts and they swarm the divers,” Les said.
He looked to Layla and then to Eevi. They both had loved ones on the surface, and he wanted them to weigh in.
“It’s our best shot to save the kid,” Layla said.
Eevi didn’t seem so sure, but she finally nodded.
“Okay, do it, Timothy,” Les said. “And take us down to one thousand feet.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
The airship began lowering toward the ocean. Les returned to the captain’s chair to watch the screen.
“If this doesn’t get their attention, I don’t know what will,” Timothy said.
“If what doesn’t?” Les asked.
Timothy smiled proudly. “I’m going to play some Led Zeppelin. I believe they are one of Xavier’s favorite old-world bands, right?”
“If the defectors are hiding down there, they’ll hear it, too,” Les said. He thought on that for a moment. “Maybe that’s another upside to using Cricket as bait. If it draws out the defectors, we can take ’em out from the air.”
“What about Team Raptor?” Layla said.
Eevi rolled her chair toward Les, waiting to hear his response.
“We won’t put them at risk, don’t worry,” he said. “They are my priority, but if we have a chance to kill the Sirens, and especially the defectors, I’m going to take it.”
He nodded at Timothy. “Proceed.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present ‘Black Dog,’ by the one and only Led Zeppelin,” Timothy said. “I listened to these guys a few times in my day, back at the Hilltop Bastion.”
His mood seemed to brighten at distant memories of his human past as the ancient song thumped over the speakers inside the bridge. Les checked the main screen footage from Cricket’s cameras, which were now focused at the bottom of the pit.
The Sirens all seemed to jerk awake, their eyeless heads looking skyward. Dozens of the beasts stood, and then a flurry of motion filled the bottom of the pit as they took to the sky.
“Oh, shit,” Timothy said. “Please pardon the expletive,” he added, and his hologram vanished.
The feed moved as Cricket fired its thrusters away from the hole.
“Good luck, Commander Everhart,” Les said under his breath.
He looked over to Layla, who watched the screen with wide eyes, one hand on her tummy. This stress wasn’t what she needed, but he knew that she wouldn’t go and rest in her quarters even if he ordered it.
The drone’s camera feed showed a skyline full of flying monsters. More beasts joined them from across the metropolis, taking to the air on leathery wings to pursue the drone.
“Sir, should I find a place to land Cricket?” Timothy asked.
“No,” Les said. “Full speed ahead to our location.”
Both Layla and Eevi looked over, and Timothy’s hologram reemerged. This time, he was right in front of the captain’s chair.
“Captain, you want me to draw them right to us?” asked the AI.
“Yes,” Les replied. “Weapons hot, Lieutenant. I’m heading to the combat information center.”
“On it, Captain,” Layla said.
Les stood and walked across the bridge. “Timothy, you have the helm. If those Sirens make it past my gunfire, get us out of here.”
“The Sirens are gaining, sir,” Timothy said.
“How long until they’re within view?” Les asked.
“Two minutes, sir.”
“Can that tin can fly any faster?” Les asked. “I thought Michael souped up the thrusters.”
“He did, but it still isn’t fast enough,” Timothy said. “I could shed some of the new armor, though; that might help.”
Les thought on it for a moment. Losing the armor would leave the robot vulnerable. Then again, if it got hit by a round from the 20 mm Miniguns, no amount of armor would save it.
“All right, lose the armor.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” Timothy replied.
Les counted the seconds in his head as he dashed through the passageways. He made it to the launch bay within a minute and punched in his access code to open the hatch to the combat information center on the deck below.
A ladder led him into the operations center, which looked a lot like a large cockpit of an old-world airplane. He pushed a button on the dashboard to open the hatch over the windshield. Lightning forked through the dark, scalloped clouds, but he didn’t see anything moving in the airship’s wake.
“In position,” he said into his headset. “Timothy, use the turbofans to start backing us away, but hold as steady as possible.”
The airship began to reverse.
Les opened the hatches belowdecks to deploy the 20 mm Miniguns and then grabbed the controls. On the dashboard, a screen with crosshairs came online.
Multiple webworks of lightning sizzled downward, capturing motion on the horizon. The bat-like images swarmed behind a blue light, chasing it out over the open water.
Les moved the joysticks and lined up the targets with the two Miniguns.
He had done this only in training, but he had scored high marks. It shouldn’t be that different in real life.
I hope ...
“Timothy, hit them with the lights,” Les said.
Several beams shot out from the ship, lighting up the strange, rubbery skin of the flying abominations. Black maws opened, and claws reached out toward Cricket as it led them on a merry chase toward the airship.
Les squeezed the triggers on the joysticks. Green tracer fire lanced away from the ship, punching holes through mutant flesh. The beasts spun away or simply blew apart in the sky. But those that evaded the first spray of lead dived or tried to climb.
Les went after them. Firing a hundred rounds per second from each weapon, he needed to conserve ammunition as best he could, and he had to be careful not to hit Cricket.
Swooping away from the fountain of tracer fire, a squadron of the beasts formed a V, following a powerful leader.
“Come on,” Les said, taking two more down with short bursts. He aimed one of the weapons at the flock coming toward the airship. This time, even the fastest fliers couldn’t avoid the spray. A one-second burst obliterated almost the entire V formation.