Phantasy Star: Mechanical Error
Chapter 5
Written by Sarah Schoenlaub
Laurie jumped into the passenger seat of the spaceship, Landale XI. She quickly fastened her shoulder harness and lap belt, then turned on the main engine to let it warm up. Wren joined her quickly, barely throwing on his lap belt and shoulder harness before the main boosters ignited.
"I brought a doctor from the medlab. She's a little angry at being so suddenly pulled away, but we'll need her here on board. Did you get your laser charged?" Wren glanced at Laurie as he steered the spaceship away from the port.
"It's charged to full. I've got a backpack of first aid kits, repair kits, and trimate. Are your weapons units charged to full?"
Wren gave a little nod. "Affirmative. Good to see that you prepare yourself well."
"You trained me to be ready for everything. You and Don…" Laurie's voice caught in her throat as she trailed off.
"I'm sorry, Laurie. I know that Don was not only a great teacher to you, he was a great friend. Zelan will miss him, indeed. But I want you to be strong." Wren turned his head from the main window, looking at Laurie. "I need your help."
Laurie looked up at the android. She had a few tears on her cheeks, but she wiped them away quickly. "Right. I'll be okay."
Wren nodded. "We're about to enter the Motavian atmosphere. Radio back to Kera and tell her to make sure she's strapped in."
Laurie picked up the comm. "Kera, we're entering Motavian atmosphere at this time. Are you strapped in back there?"
"Yeah. I'd love to know just what the hell is going on here, but I suppose I'll find out when we get there. I've got bags of medical and electrical supplies loaded on the Hydrofoil in back. I even turned on the main power grid and made sure all weapons were charged."
Laurie gave Wren a look. He focused on steering the spaceship, but said, "I chose her not only for her skills in medicine, but also for her ability to react quickly."
Laurie answered Kera through the comm. "Excellent work, Kera. Take a break, we're entering the atmosphere now."
* * *
"How many of these damn Browrens are there?" Feria fired another blast at a group of Browrens.
Erick fired a few shots from his laser, then pulled it back inside the window to recharge. "Don't know, but you better watch your weapon count. You're at half charged on this Hydrofoil. We've also taken some damage. We might need to pull out."
"And piss Wren off? Have you ever met this android, Erick?"
"I'll try to radio him. What did he say the comm number was?"
"Triple A, 3567, F-U-O-R-E-N-1. Got all that?"
"Yep."
Feria fired another blast. "Better mask the signal so those Browrens won't notice."
"I already did. You think I forgot everything already?"
Feria gritted her teeth. "I wonder."
The comm crackled. "This is Fuoren. Is this the hunters? We are nearing your location at approximately 100 miles per hour. We should be there shortly."
"Good, because my Hydrofoil's going to overload if I don't watch it."
"We're on the land. Fuoren signing out."
Wren pulled his Hydrofoil next to Feria within a few seconds. He took a second to fire a few blasts at any stray robots, then unhitched his harness. "Kera, you stay in contact with me and Laurie at all times, no excuses. I want all medical and electronic supplies readied and an input device and rewire kit ready. Got it?"
Kera nodded. "I've got your comm numbers plugged in. I'll monitor your location and stay in contact."
"Watch out for robots," Laurie added. "The weapons units on here are ready to rock."
Wren took the lead at the fort itself, sweeping the area with his visual scanners to their highest sensitivity. "I'm detecting a lot of electrical pulses. Someone reactivated this place."
"I thought you and Demi put a lockout code on the main computer. I also thought the main doorway was secured," Laurie said, pushing the button for the elevator.
"Apparently this person was smart."
"Apparently." Feria shivered. "Haven't had adventure like this in awhile."
The elevator met the group with a slight surprise of a few Bowrens, but a good Spark from Wren halted their function quickly. "Their numbers appear to have dwindled. Good work Feria, Erick. You seem to have destroyed most of them."
"That's what I'm getting paid for," Feria said dryly. "Here, we're on the second floor."
"Keep back from the door," Wren warned. "Kera, are you still in contact?"
"Yes. Do you know your way around in there, Wren?"
"Yes. I've been in here a few times and have blueprints in my internal database." Wren spotted a few Bowrens and fired a few shots from his plasma rifle. "Watch behind us, Feria."
Feria nodded, gripping her laser. "I got it."
They made it to the elevator without incident. "I hope they don't know we're here," Laurie said.
"I think they do." Wren entered the elevator first, carefully checking it. "All clear. They've pulled their robots back."
The third floor proved that the Vahal Fort was running. "Someone has reactivated this place."
"Is Daughter back on-line?" Laurie asked.
"That's highly improbable. They wouldn't have destroyed Piata if it was Daughter."
"Then who is it?" Erick asked. There was a silence. The group pressed forward. Everyone was nervous about the answer.
Wren suddenly halted. "I'm picking up a weak electrical pulse from Demi. She's near here."
"We've got to find her," Laurie said. She peered carefully into a room.
"Look out!" Wren dashed ahead of Laurie, firing a Burst Rocket. Several Warrens fell.
Feria and Erick picked off the remaining Warrens. After the smoke cleared, Laurie dashed ahead. "Demi! Wren, I found her."
Wren knelt by his fallen comrade. "She's damaged a bit. We have to shut the Vahal Fort down before we can tend to her."
"I don't think her reserve power will hold out that long, Wren."
"Then what would you suggest?" Wren asked.
"I'll stay here with Erick as a guard. You and Feria find whoever it is who reactivated this thing. I can tap into Demi's main CPU board in a few minutes." Laurie pulled out an input device and monitor.
Wren was hesitant. "Be careful." He and Feria left to go upstairs.
Laurie unscrewed the main screws and pulled off the dented Laconia chestplate. She deftly hooked a few wires into the CPU board's input ports. She began typing commands on a little keyboard, squinting into the monitor.
Erick glanced over her shoulder. "How do you do that?"
"What?" Laurie asked, typing.
"Just… fix androids like that."
Laurie shrugged. "I've done it a bunch of times. Demi used to internally jam her system so I could learn. She was good. Wren helped me, too. I can fix both of them, if it's necessary."
"Amazing." Erick looked carefully through the door. "No robots yet."
"Good. Better that way." Laurie tapped a button, then smiled. "I'm in."
"What?"
"I've tapped into Demi's main CPU. Her 'brain' really. Here I can isolate the damage."
"Okay…"
"Hmm… looks like her main board was slightly damaged. She played dead to fend off the robots. Apparently her main power drained till she was down on reserve. There may be memory damage…" Laurie frowned. "Erick, will you get me that black box in my backpack?"
Erick nodded and opened the backpack. He was fumbling through it.
"It's a power charger… Oops, look out! Flaeli!" Laurie sent a burst of fire at an invading Warren, then finished it off with a couple of shots from her laser.
Erick looked at her in shock. "I should have noticed you were an esper." He handed her the power charger.
"Still haven't lost my touch. Thanks a bunch." Laurie wired it to Demi's power base. "This will take a few minutes."
"I hope Feria and Wren are alright."
Laurie smiled. "They are. Nothing has stopped Wren yet."
* * *
"I hate Warrens," Feria said, shooting at one. "How many did we kill now?"
"I lost count. We're near the main computer. Watch out, there may be traps."
"Got it." Wren and Feria continued slowly. "Think Laurie's alright?"
"Laurie probably already diagnosed Demi. She's astonishingly quick," Wren commented.
"STOP!"
A loud voice stopped both of them. "How could you, Wren? Who did you think you were?"
"Keri? Is that you? What in Algo are you doing?" Wren's voice showed a strange anger. It was not like him to get mad.
"Yeah, it's me. The rich, untalented brat. I'm still around, and working." Five Warrens ran out. Wren knocked two out with a spark, but the other three fired at him, knocking him back a step. Feria fired her laser and brought down two more. Wren shot the last one. He started his recovery systems and stepped forward to see Keri in front of Daughter's old monitors.
"You idiot, Wren. You have no idea what you are dealing with," Keri growled.
"We have defeated your robots. If you do not cease and desist, I will kill you."
Keri laughed. "Wren, kill me? Please. You don't even know. You can kill me, but it won't be over."
A huge loader jumped out and used Spark. Wren froze as his systems locked up. He toppled over. Feria screamed and fired at the loader. It barely flinched.
"There we go… even a hunter is scared of technology."
Feria fired wildly. The loader stopped for a moment, but it didn't give up.
Feria cursed under her breath when the buzz of the laser indicated it was out of charge. She fell to her knees as the loader neared.
"It's over," Keri said with a cackle.
"No it's not!"
A massive, firey windstorm hit the loader. Laurie and Erick stood behind Feria, arms raised as they combined their power. The loader stopped moving.
Keri frowned. "Laurie."
Laurie closed her eyes and lifted her laser. "I'm sorry."
The laser hit Keri before she could react. The woman hit the ground with a dull thud.
Wren buzzed.
Laurie ran over to him. "Yes! His internal recovery systems are in good working order. He'll be coming around soon."
Feria was frozen on her knees in shock. Erick pulled her up slowly. "Come on Fern, easy now."
Laurie called Kera on her comm. "Get ready, we're coming out."
* * *
Wren recovered fully within minutes. In the Hydrofoil, all injuries were bandages and there were Trimates all around. Laurie finished her work on Demi. "She'll be coming around."
Demi's green eyes soon flickered back to life. "Internal scan," Wren said.
"Laurie got most of it," Demi replied with a slight mechanical buzz. "Vocals are damaged, recovering."
"How about memory? Laurie mentioned that there was partial damage to your database."
Demi paused, scanning. "A little past information is lost that can be restored in Zelan."
"What happened in the Vahal Fort, Demi?" Wren asked.
"What? The Vahal Fort?"
Laurie groaned and cursed.
"You don't recall?" Wren asked.
"No data matching that description has been found. The newly recorded memory sector was corrupted," Demi reported.
Kera was driving the Hydrofoil. "We're nearing Spaceport."
"Do you recall going to Motavia recently?"
"What is the date, Wren? My timekeepers are off."
"5/8/3284. Any records?"
Demi frowned. "One record of being sent to Motavia, boarding space shuttle… nothing after that."
Laurie sighed. "Of all the memory to be damaged…"
The Hydrofoil stopped. "We've reached Spaceport."