“All right, got it, Pepper. Thanks.” X took the controls. “I’ve got it from here.”
“Wait, sir, I thought you wanted to see photos of the D—”
“We do,” Magnolia interrupted.
A beeping came from the dashboard. Magnolia looked at a monitor displaying an old-world video of a factory. An assembly line of humanoid-shaped robots rolled out on a conveyor belt inside a massive room with a high ceiling.
“These are the DEF-Nine units,” Timothy said. “As you can see, this is in the beginning stages of their design.”
Robotic arms along the track welded parts onto the frame as the machines continued down the line. Anatomically shaped plates were applied to their extremities and torsos, making them look a bit like Roman warriors from the picture books. Visors were fastened over the slits where their eyes would have been. Finally, a battery unit was inserted into the chest socket. It flickered on, emanating an orange glow that also flickered out of the mouth and visor.
“The DEF-Nine units were built for one purpose,” said Timothy, “to kill their enemies in barbaric ways so as to strike fear in future enemies. Here’s a video I found in the archives of a prewar mission.”
A video showing three of the machines in a jungle came online. Their plated bodies were covered in camouflage… and something else.
“What are they wearing?” Magnolia whispered.
The machines slunk through dense foliage surrounding a small fishing village set on a coastal beach. Smoke billowed out of chimneys into the sky as the robots fanned out. A fourth robot’s video feed captured the scene. Numbers and data scrolled across the bottom of the screen.
X leaned closer to the monitor. “Is that human flesh?”
Magnolia looked closer, confirming the answer with a nod. All the machines were wearing bloody patches of skin over their armored bodies. Blood and mud dripped down their metallic hides.
The pack entered the village, screeching in electronic frequencies as they approached a group of men and women standing around an open fire and roasting what looked like a pig. The first robot grabbed a man reaching for a rifle and tore his arm off in a single pull.
Screams followed, both human and electronic.
None of the machines used the weapons attached to their extremities. They didn’t need them. Their powerful hands were all they needed to tear the first group of humans limb from limb.
They quickly moved into the village. A shirtless man with a shotgun emerged from one of the huts. He fired off several shots, but the bullets only dented the armor.
The closest machine picked the man up by the throat and, with its other hand, ripped away his nose and face like a hunk of cheese. Then it dropped the still twitching man and smoothed the skin over its metal face.
The video feed from the fourth machine zoomed in on the glowing orange eyes that burned through the eyeholes of the stolen face.
“Katrina sent Tin, Layla, and Giraffe to a place with these things?” X snorted. “What was she thinking?”
Magnolia remembered to exhale. The guilt continued to sink through her as she watched the machines sweep through the village, slaughtering anyone they came across, even the children and animals.
“We have to turn around and head back for Cuba,” she said. “We can’t leave them to die there.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” X said. He looked up at the overhead. “Pepper, how far away from Red Sphere are we, and how long will it take to get there?”
“Approximately seven hundred forty miles away. At this speed, it would take us about thirty-four hours to reach Red Sphere, assuming the damaged mainmast doesn’t break. If that occurs, then—”
“We get it,” X said. “They won’t last another hour out there if they don’t escape. But there’s nothing we can do. Their fate rests in Katrina’s hands. Only she can save them, but doing so would likely put Deliverance at risk if she tries to lower through that storm they reported on the dive in.”
Magnolia saw the pain in his eyes. The despair. She felt it, too. You killed your friends, she said to herself.
“I’m going to see if I can get hold of Katrina,” X said. He picked up the radio handset. “Deliverance, this is the Sea Wolf. Do you copy?”
Static crackled.
He looked over at Magnolia again, but she turned to wipe away a tear.
The video continued playing on-screen, but she tapped the monitor to shut it off. She couldn’t bear to watch any more.
“Deliverance, this is X, aboard the Sea Wolf. Do you copy? Over.”
“Roger. This is Ensign White. Go ahead, X.”
“Where’s Captain DaVita?”
“She’s not here, sir.”
“What do you mean, ‘not there’?” X’s brows scrunched together, almost closing the gap left by the scar.
“She dived to the surface with several other divers,” Bronson replied gruffly.
“What?” Magnolia said.
“Captain DaVita dived to help the other divers.”
X lowered his head in defeat. “Have you heard anything from them?”
“Negative. They’ve been out of radio contact for about an hour now. How are things on the open water?”
“Shitty.”
“Stay safe out there, Commander. You’re our last hope.”
X slammed the handset against its cradle, startling Miles and making Magnolia flinch.
“This is why I didn’t fucking want them going to Cuba!” he yelled. “Now Katrina is putting her life in jeopardy, God damn it.”
It was the second such outburst Magnolia had seen, but this time, she deserved it and more. She remained calm, holding his fiery gaze.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
He snorted again and wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Sorry don’t cut it, kid.” He unlocked his harness and stood. “Flesh guns won’t do shit against those AIs. Their only chance of survival is using their boosters to get back through the storm. And those ain’t good odds.”
X stormed toward the hatch.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“For some fresh air.”
“It’s a monsoon out there.”
Miles got up and followed X out into the passageway, but he turned and said, “Sit and stay.”
The dog obeyed and watched his handler leave, letting out a low whine.
“Don’t do that, Miles,” X said over his shoulder as he climbed the ladder to the second deck, vanishing from sight.
A hatch opened and slammed shut, and a few minutes later, the hatch of the staging room opened and slammed.
Magnolia tried to control her breathing. She felt as though she might throw up. After counting to ten, she tried to meditate. But nothing worked.
She was definitely going to be sick.
Unbuckling her harness, she decided to go back to her quarters. She grabbed a plastic pail and made it out to the passageway before throwing up.
She got down on both knees, her stomach roiling and wrenching.
The acid burned her mouth.
She vomited a second time.
A hatch above opened and closed again, and footfalls clicked above her. She clutched her stomach with one hand and closed her eyes to block out the stars floating before her vision.
Behind her, Miles let out another whine. The dog nudged up by her side, sniffing and then licking the salt off her arm.
“Mags!” X shouted. “Mags, get up here!”
She opened her eyes to see him looking down from the staging area.
“Kid, you got to see this shit. Hurry.”
She wiped her mouth off with her fist and stopped in the bathroom to dump the pail of vomit. Then she grabbed a drink of water and slogged down the passage to the ladder. Climbing made her dizzy, and by the time she got to the staging room, she was seeing stars again.