Chapter 4

"Hunter"

The GOBLY-N just sat and stared at the force field. It didn't move, didn't ask question in machine code. After its arm had been reattached, and the force field bonds removed, it had taken to sitting silently in the center of the cargo bay. Occasionally it would fiddle with the steel cap that had been fitted over its destroyed arm, or move the supply crates around, just toying with them. Once it jumped up and tried to see in a vent, crashing back to the ground with a crash.

Jan hadn't looked up from the card game in the last three hours. She'd lost a good deal on the game. Several piles of dust-stained BNL dollars were scattered among the players, the dealer, a repair bot named Tesk, currently in possession of the largest stack. Two stewards and another guard, Jakes, were all rather ahead of her in the game. Tesk shuffled the cards again. The old poker cards flipped between his manipulators, while a second set of hands dealt out cards, which slid across the table easily. Jan picked up her hand, and tried not to grimace. Nothing useful at all, just a useless hand of random numbers.

Jan cast a glance at the GOBLY-N. The orange camouflage had disappeared along with the primary mission core. It was almost hard to compare the docile robot with the monster that had ripped through several dozen stewards. The robot turned its head to watch her. She quickly turned back to the game, where Jakes had just made a raise.

There was a click of metal on metal on the ramps leading into the Axiom. The wind blew, hot and dry, scattering dust and trash. For a moment, a piece of paper halted in mid air as if it had come up against a wall, and then fell slowly to the ground.

For the second time in two days, McCrea was in the repair wards. He hadn't slept for the past day, since getting the Axiom's system under control without a skilled operator was a struggle. The command deck was now filled with people who were learning the job on the…well, job. He was frankly amazed the Axiom hadn't just shut down, or something hadn't malfunctioned. He knew that at least a dozen techs and repair bots were still trying to fix half the bridge displays.

TYP-R and Auto twitched on the repair table. Auto would spin slightly from side to side, while TYP-R's hands would spasm from time to time, clicking the stressed joint. Both were hooked up to back up batteries, and diagnostics had shown that all systems were in the green for both. But neither seemed inclined to speak. Their optics were shut down, and no one in the repair ward had any luck getting them to activate. At McCrea's side, Senior did a passable impression of a sigh.

"I've tried everything. Manual reboots, full diagnostics, replaced everything that was even close to needing to be replaced has been pulled out and a fresh part put in."

"Do robots ever twitch like that?" McCrea asked, as TYP-R flexed his hand.

"If there's something wrong with the circuit, that's possible. But we've done everything to fix that problem. It's simply coming down their impulse link and there's nothing we can do about that,"

"Could they be dreaming?"

Senior looked at McCrea.

"You know, dreaming. When you sle-"

"Captain, I'm aware of what dreams are, but I do not as such, dream."

"Well, sometimes when people are really deeply asleep, they'll twitch like Auto and TYP-R are doing. I don't pretend to understand it, but I guess you could say the brain is still sending messages to the limbs, trying to get them to act."

Senior turned this over in its head for a moment.

"Entirely possible, but I'd have to check with my colleagues in the medical suite to get a clear idea."

McCrea nodded.

"How are the rest of the robots down here?"

"Recovering, Captain. A good deal will be up and running by tomorrow."

"And Eve?"

"Prospects are looking good. We might be able to move her from the nano tank in the next few hours. We could even have her fully repaired by week's end."

"That's a breath of fresh air, Senior. You wouldn't believe the worry we've been getting from people about her."

"I couldn't imagine, sir. But if I my advise you, you need to rest."

McCrea yawned at the thought of sleep.

"Probably should, but I've got a few more things to check in on before I turn in again. Call me if anything comes up."

"I will, sir."

Mo was cleaning the halls of the Axiom. It was part nostalgia, part boredom. He couldn't bring himself to try cleaning the residential and administrative building of the colony, since any work on the exterior was usually erased by a new layer of dust from the next sand storm. Mo noted he tended to drag more dust into the Axiom when he went in, but it was all about the look of the thing. Some appearances should be somewhat maintained, even as fewer people had less business with the Axiom. The corridors of the sub decks where the menial robots used to work were always particularly empty, since most robots did their work outside the Axiom.

Another reason was Wall-E. The rogue robots had taken it upon themselves to have someone waiting nearby by for him, just in case he was needed. Eve being damaged had hit the group hard, and Wall-E was nearly inconsolable. Mo knew he needed space, but a friend close by was always a good thing. That the thing that had harmed Eve was only a few hundred feet from the repair wards made the little cleaning unit angry. Mo started to scrub a wall, scratching a bad scuff from years past.

There was a click of metal behind him. Mo was halfway through turning around to see what it was before he was grabbed by the head in a pincer like grip and lifted into the air. His movement ball buzzed as he panicked and tried to flee. He saw nothing in front of him except an incredibly complex set of transparent blemishes on the air, making everything beyond it fuzzy and distorted. He was aware he was being watched by something. The blemishes moved and something was pressed very close to his face.

There was a chirrup of machine code, quiet and urgent. Mo shuddered slightly.

"No," Mo answered back.

The demand came again.

"No," Mo said again.

The blemishes moved again. There was a little crackle.

Another longer burst of machine code, followed by the same demand.

"N-," Mo began, and then the world was filled with blinding pain. His entire body shuddered, as he felt like he was being crushed. He felt one of his arm actuators short out; saw a small spray of sparks fly through the air. The pain stopped as suddenly as it had started, and was followed by silence.

The demand again.

Mo was silent for a moment. There was a click. Mo suddenly spoke.

"Y-y-yes"

He was placed very gently on the ground. There was another beep of machine code, and something pushed mow slightly. Mo shuddered and began to move down the hallway, something following closely behind him.

Tesk had won. Again. Jakes folded as the repair bot laid down his hand, and Jan laughed. There wasn't a way to bluff a bot, especially the really advanced ones. Tesk was analyzing every twitch, every hidden grimace; every word was played against an audio file. The repair bot could even tell when the stewards lied, and it could play their bluffs just as well. If Jan was honest with herself, it was a little creepy, but she honestly didn't mind, and nothing was lost except a little pride.

"Another game?" asked Tesk, already reshuffling the deck. He was partially hidden behind his stacks of winnings.

"We're broke; unless you want to split the pot up again," Jakes aid back, leaning back in his chair slightly," I mean we need something too."

"Sure, sure," the repair bot said with a dismissive gesture. He began to divide up the stacks of cash in front of him.

"This is a real easy job. Just watch a giant robot huddle in a corner, and play cards," Jakes said as Tesk slid him a wad of cash.

"You weren't there, Jakes. That thing is a killing machine, no insult intended," Jan replied back. She shuddered involuntarily." It took out a lot of stewards."

'I know, I know. But it looks harmless now. Aren't you stubby?"

The GOBLY-N looked up momentarily from the stub of its arm, but made no effort to respond.

The personnel entrance opened, and Mo rolled in. Jakes spoke first.

"Hey, no unauthorized visitors, little buddy."

The little robot ignored him, quietely rolling towards the group. The card players got up. Jakes started to walk towards the little cleaning droid.

"What's this guy's name?'

"Mo, I think, you know, one of the rogues," Tesk said.

"Listen, Mo, you can't just come in here. This area is restricted," Jakes said, standing in front of Mo. The robot was like a toy before him.

"Now, just turn yourself around and-"

Mo fell over on his side with a thud.

"What the hell?"

There was a beep. The force field went down. The GOBLY-N stood. Jakes was reaching for his stunner. Jan called into her inter-comm.

"Axiom command, we have a breach in security. The force field is down," she said as she also reached for her stunner. Jakes was approaching the control panel, keeping one eye on the GOBLY-N which seemed to be watching a point of the air with an intent air; it seemed to brace itself for something. It seemed ready to sprint.

The all was chaos. The air in front of the control panel was suddenly filled with a robot. It looked like the GOBLY-N, only slightly smaller, smoother and covered in a coat of blue paint that seemed to reflect dazzling sprays of light. Cold green eyes regarded the members of the security detail. Then it shot Jakes.

A silver blur shot out of an arm mounted launcher. It hit Jakes in the leg, right in the thigh, knocking him to the ground, where he slid five feet across the deck. He started screaming, blood pumping from the wound. The robot took a step forwards. Jan took a step back, goggle eyed.

The GOBLY-N tackled the hunter from the side, throwing it up against the wall, and slamming a fist into its face. The newcomer growled something in machine code, and delivered a flurry of blows into the GOBLY-N's chest, forcing it back. The GOBLY-N lashed out with a kick at the other robot's chest. The hunter caught it, and swung him against the wall like a sledgehammer, leaving a dent. As the GOBLY-N fell to the ground, the hunter launched itself into the air, coming down feet first like a diving hawk. The GOBLY-N rolled out of the way, desperately regaining its feet.

Jan was dragging Jakes away from the frantic fate, a blur of clashing steel and mechanical roars Jakes was till screaming, part shock from the wound, partly because of the fight. The two stewards were trying to block the humans off from the combatants, while Tesk had flipped the card table for some cover. Jan pulled Jakes behind it.

"Axiom control, we need help now! We've got a man down, and another one of those things just let the GOBLY-N loose," she said desperately into her intercom.

"Crisis teams on their way, just stay calm," said one of the Axiom radio operators, voice strained by the static of the intercom. Jan looked over the table

The GOBLY-N was losing. The hunter delivered another kick to its chest, followed by a punch to the head, causing the GOBLY-N to stumble slightly. The hunter lunged again, smashing one of the repair plates on the robot's side, causing it to groan. The GOBLY-N jumped aside another series of blows, and then spun around, running for the exit. The hunter followed, launcher spitting grey blurs, one striking the GOBLY-N to moan again, but it kept running. It smashed through the personnel door in a shower of glass and plastic, fleeing down the corridor. The hunter followed close behind

The alarms were sounding. Red lights flickered and suffused the air with a hell like atmosphere. Every holo screen had shut down, every door locked down. Senior was nervous. No one had mentioned why there was a lockdown, but he what it was. The GOBLY-N was loose on the sub decks. There was a crash somewhere beyond the entrance to the repair ward. A few remaining stewards had risen from their repair tables, and were positioned around the entranceway. Repair bots were clustered around a few others, pretending nothing was wrong.

There was a shout of anger, causing the robots in the room to jump slightly. A repair bot was forcing the EVE probe, Ariel to stay n its repair table. The probe still was missing its ion canon, which was only half repaired. The probe tried to rise again as Senior rolled over.

"You need to calm down," he said as the probe tried to push the other repair bot away. The probe spoke.

"I'm… fine," the probe said haltingly.

"I'm sure you think you are, but the professional in me says you should really stay in the table."

"But-"

'I'll take no buts, miss. Just stay calm everything will be fine.'

And to prove him horribly wrong, the GOBLY-N cashed through the repair ward door. Glass flew across the room, scattering everywhere. It ran past the stunned stewards and repair bots without a second glance. A grey bolt flew over its shoulder, embedding itself in the wall. The hunter came through the shattered door seconds later. It made a lunge at the GOBLY-N, missing by mere feet. It slammed into a repair table, sending the table flying into the wall. It got up within a second, roaring.

The GOBLY-N ran blindly, dodging and weaving down the corridor that led to the morgue. He ran to the very center of the room, and turned quickly, bracing himself. The hunter charged through the door, the launcher spitting death

A line of bolts was stitched down one side of its chest, eliciting a scream of machine code. The hunter received a vicious uppercut for its trouble, cracking one of its optic units. The GOBLY-N made a grab for the hunter's head, but his hand was knocked away quickly, and knocked back by a kick to the chest. It fell onto a cargo crate, cracking it open. A wrecked MV-R spilled out onto the icy floor. The hunter kicked the GOBLY-N again, denting the robot's chassis.

The GOBLY-N slashed at the hunter with its clawed hand, cutting into the shoulder armor, ripping off one of the shoulder bolt launchers. The hunter grabbed the GOBLY-N around the chest, picking it up. The GOBLY-N punched the hunter in the back, but its struggling didn't matter. It was lifted into the air, and then thrown like a child's toy against the rear wall.

It went through the nano repair room door, taking part of the wall with it. It smashed to the ground, rolling. It began to crawl to its feet, but the hunter slammed into it, causing it to hit a nano tank. The glass cylinder cracked, the nano bots spilling out over the GOBLY-N and the floor. The hunter stalked over, bolt launcher aimed squarely at the downed robot.

A blade folded out of its arm. It was long and straight, a punching blade made for a special kind of execution. A power field glowed faintly on its edge, crackling with energy. It aimed the blade right over the GOBLY-N's power core. It tensed, and began the downward stroke. There was a yell, just a string of unintelligible sounds. A red light flickered.

The hunter stumbled, its left leg missing a foot. It turned, raising its blade. It saw Wall- laser active, burning into its leg. Molten steel ran like blood to the floor, hissing as it cooled. The hunter stabbed down at the robot, but the little droid had moved out of the way. The hunter aimed another blow.

The GOBLY-N kicked it with both feet in the face. The hunter was thrown into the air, landing with a crash against a console, crushing it. The GOBLY-N hobbled over as the hunter slowly got up. It brought down a fist into the hunter's face, completely smashing the cracked optic unit. The hunter yelled something in machine code. The GOBLY-N punched it again, knocking the hunter's head back.

With that blow, the hunter finally shut down. Its remaining eye flickered off and its limbs went slack. Its reserve power lights flickered on, emitting a low orange light. The GOBLY-N sighed, shoulder seems to sag. It sat down very slowly next to the hunter. It pulled a cable from an interface in its head, the same one that had allowed it to access the mind of the steward. It very solemnly inserted the interface cable into a slot on the hunter's back. There was a click and a whir, and very slowly, the GOBLY-N collapsed.