Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Far Beyond the World
Part XXV - You Reap what you Sow
Half a year ago, amidst the decimated ruins of Earth's capital...
He lay on his back, half his body covered in grit, a length of rebar lying across his legs, while blood slowly seeped from the two shards of glass that stuck out of his right shoulder like the quills of a long extinct porcupine.
He wasn't dead, nor was he unconscious, but he was far from fully cognizant, floating in-and-out of a mostly dream-like state in-which things were fine. There was Buck, sitting on the edge of his desk, regaling everybody with a recounting of the mission he'd just completed for the Defense Directorate. Twiki stared up at his hero enraptured, while Wilma chuckled in humoured confusion at one of the Captain's seemingly endless 20th Century idioms.
Good times, yes they were...
...but now they are over...over...finished...
His face convulsed for a moment, his eyes moving beneath the clenched lids.
...their ship...Searcher...it's gone......lost...where did they...go...dead?
The eye movement became more rapid and his lips moved, no words came out, but they moved.
...Wilma? Twiki......Buck...I...I have to...
Good times. But not like...not like now...things are...bad...
"Dr. Huer?" asked the dream Buck from the edge of a desk that most likely no longer existed, thanks to the Draconian bombings.
"Y-Yes...? What...what is it?"
The phantasmal 20th Century astronaut stood and gripped him by the shoulders, the right one throbbed with pain, "Dr. Huer! Are you there? Can you hear me?"
"Of...of course I can hear...hear you, Buck." he said out-loud.
"Buck?" frowned the ghost, "What do you mean? This isn't Captain Rogers, it is-"
"-Theopolis!"
Elias sat up fast, his eyes fluttering open, and he blinked in the dull haze of the basement room, mouth opening and closing at the stiffness and pain shooting through him, especially from his shoulder. He turned his head and stared down at it dumbly and beheld for the first time the two glittering spurs protruding from it.
"That...that isn't good..." he muttered to himself, trying to focus past the aches and throbbing.
You know, I could have sworn I heard the voice of Dr. Theopolis, but that doesn't make any sense-
The comlink on his collar buzzed again, "Dr. Huer? Hello? Are you there?"
His eyes went wide, "Theopolis!" and he pressed the stud with a shaky hand, "Come in, Doctor! I am here!"
"Thank goodness!" replied the Quad over the channel, "I have been trying all the frequencies for hours, to no avail."
Huer pushed the rebar off his legs and climbed unsteadily to his feet, leaned against the basement wall for support, "But how the devil did you find me? My com was turned off, if I remember correctly. Uhhh..." he rubbed at his pulsating scalp and scraped blood off his face from a mostly healed cut on his forehead.
"Yes, your comlink was indeed turned off, Doctor." replied Theopolis as Huer gripped one of the shards and gritting his teeth pulled it out of his shoulder.
"I wrote a subroutine to access the Medical Directorate's Scanners and paired them to one of the Defense Shield satellites in orbit. Through it I scanned for any Federation comlinks that were still active and looked for the Defense Directorate ones that were still with bodies giving off life-readings. Sadly, I could only find yours, Dr. Huer."
Elias yanked out the second spur and dropped it onto the floor to shatter beside it's mate, then scowled, "Are you sure? I'm the only member of the EDD still living?"
"Unfortunately, Doctor, it appears that the Draconians are hunting down any Directorate members they can find and either executing them or transporting them back up to their armada for interrogation."
"But why?"
"They are enslaving humanity, Doctor." came Theopolis's grim reply.
Huer let this sink in, "So...we have lost."
"Yes, it would seem that we have. Doctor, you must not allow yourself to be captured. Your knowledge must not be allowed to fall into Draconian hands."
"I agree with that assessment completely." frowned Elias, "And neither can you, Doctor. Where are you?"
Theopolis told him and his eyes went wide, "But what if you are found?!"
"Most likely I will be. It is not like I have the ability to run. But do not worry, Dr. Huer, I shall not allow myself to be taken. Like the rest of the Council has already done, I am about to activate my self-destruct circuit."
"What?!" Huer was taken aback, "The entire Computer Council is gone?! No!"
"Alas, it is true." replied Theopolis, "I am the only remaining Quad in existence now. They transfered all their data and subroutines into my memory, as I had the only working drone at the time, and then they sacrificed themselves. And now, sadly, I must do the same. I just wanted to warn you, Dr. Huer, and to say good-bye."
"No! You can't destroy yourself!" growled Elias, fury boiling up from deep within him, "You are too important! Your loss would be catastrophic! And--And I won't lose you. You're my friend!"
"And you are mine. I shall miss our conversations, Elias."
"And we'll have them again!"
"Sadly, I think not. One last thing, Doctor, when the invasion began, I was in the Science Directorate, updating the latest colonial exploration reports. And before I disconnected I downloaded all data on Searcher and her mission. I've changed the information on Captain Rogers and the others, making it appear that they were killed in a training exercise."
"An excellent move!" cheered Huer.
"Yes. Perhaps the Draconians will be fooled and not prepare for their return, if Searcher is still out there."
"I think she is." said Huer, "Perhaps they are lost in some way, but I just can't believe Asimov, Wilma, Buck and the others have perished. I feel it in my bones, as Buck would say. But I refuse to allow you to destroy yourself, Theopolis! Do not do it unless the Draconians find you."
"But why? It's too much of a risk."
"It's one we have to take." replied Dr. Huer as he finished bandaging his shoulder with cloth torn from his uniform tunic. He turned about and eyed a door, made for it and pulled it open, revealing steps leading upwards. He sprang up them, taking them two at a time, adrenaline pouring through his body.
"I'm coming for you, Theopolis! This I swear!"
* * * * *
Ten blocks away, twenty minutes later...
"Over here!"
The Draconian looked up from the smoking wreck of a tram he'd been investigating and jogged over to stand beside the other warrior, who was holding a circular palm scanner over a pile of fallen bricks and masonry.
"Have you found something?"
"Yes!" the device bleeped and it's tiny screen flashed with scrolling data, "I'm reading gold and platinum components, as well as optical subprocessors that are functioning at...Gravitonic levels!"
"A Quad!" breathed his bearded companion, "All the others that have been located were burned out. But this one is active?"
"So it seems!" he clipped the scanner back on his belt and stooping began to dig. Together they worked fast, and a minute later they had uncovered the cold casing of a squat Ambuquad. It lay splayed out on it's chest, scorch marks painting it's back, and it's head was gone, leaving behind a gaping neck of twisted wires and charred circuits.
"Drones are only Positronic." frowned the other warrior, "And this one is far from active."
"Wait! Sometimes they carry the Quads. Turn it over! Turn it over!"
The other Draconian grasped the shoulders of the drone and heaved it over onto it's back, revealing the chrome and crystal disc of a Quad. It's photoreceptors glowed amber-and-red and it stared up at them.
"You will never take me alive!"
"Quick!" growled the Private, "Deactivate it before it can terminate itself!"
The Draconian quick-drew his blaster and flicked it to the Freeze setting, pointed it at the Quad which was starting to glow brightly as it cycled it's micro-plasma cell up to destruct levels, and sliding his finger over the trigger he--"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
The two Draconians looked up in shock and the one with the pistol got nailed across the jaw with a flying piece of rebar, he bowled over backwards in a spray of blood! The other soldier gaped in astonishment at the sight of the bedraggled and bloodstained human that was charging down the sidewalk toward him, he went for his sidearm, but Huer was faster and throwing back his good arm he heaved the chunk of thermal brick he'd carried all this way. It flew down the sidewalk and struck the Draconian in the chest, he staggered to the side with a grunt, dropping his pistol as he fell down onto his knees, Dr. Huer soared up and threw an elbow into his face.
The Draconian cried out and threw up his hands, the Doctor ducked and came up with the other warrior's pistol and zapped him frozen, pivoted to the side and did the same to the gun's owner, who had been just starting to clamber to his feet.
Gasping in relief, Huer lowered the blaster and bent over the fallen Quad, whose lights had faded back to normal. "Are you okay, Theopolis?"
"Just barely, Doctor. You arrived in the nick of time. I was two seconds from destruction. Thank-you."
"It was nothing. You would do it for me."
"Yes! I would!"
Huer gathered him up and hung him over his shoulder like a satchel, "Now we have to get out of here."
"I completely agree. And if you will plug one of the warrior's comlinks into me I will endeavour to clear a path between their patrols so we can make it to the Forbidden Zone."
"The Forbidden Zone?!" Huer gaped down at the AI, "You cannot be serious!"
"It is the only logical recourse for us now, Doctor. None of the Inner Cities are safe anymore, the Draconians have conquered all of our civilization. All that is left that could possibly offer us shelter is the hazards of the Zone."
"But the odds against us surviving are-" a blaster bolt sizzled out of nowhere and smacked into the wall beside him!
Huer looked round and saw a group of soldiers running in their direction, three blocks away.
"The Forbidden Zone it is!" and he dived into a nearby alley, vanishing into it's darkness.
A minute later the soldiers charged up and piled into the alleyway, but they did not find Huer, as with Theopolis's help he had vanished into the maze of back streets that wound their way throughout the Inner City. And two hours later, under the cover of darkness, they fled the city aboard a transport tram, while the diverted patrols tore the rest of the city apart looking for them.
And into the Forbidden Zone the human and Quad fled...
To be continued...