THE TENTH DISK
By blackhart
copyright MM Abacus Fiction, revised 6/26/2001

Chapter Five

Zero

As the dropships hurried away, our group of Hunters spread itself out. Our little brigade here numbered about forty. I drew my Z-Saber from its holding place and let the blade fly out. The green energy seemed a safeguard for me against the unseen evils within the fortress. The saber was my most cunning and devious weapon--while wielding this blade, I could do immeasurable damage. Using it gave confidence as well as an edge. I listened to my instructions over the Hunters' neural network as I looked for an opening target.
I noticed, after scanning the scene, that there were many less Wily-Bots than had been present at Pi's fortress. Whether Delta's higher rank or need of tougher security nixed them, I do not know.
"Hunter Units 0 and 17," began the recording of instructions through my radio, "your objectives at Delta's fortress are as follows: bypass any and all outer-core security as you make your ways into the inner core. Once there, you will find a series of traps which you must avoid to advance into the inner sanctum. Unfortunately, we have no details on the nature of these traps, so proceed through the inner core with extreme caution. Once inside the inner sanctum, a team of five Hunters will rendezvous and make their way to Delta's keep. After they have arrived, they must incapacitate Delta in some way, or in an emergency of extreme urgency, destroy her."
I tensed on those final words. No way was I going to destroy Delta, and neither was anyone else; I'd make sure of that. She was too important to Iris to be destroyed. They needed each other too much.
"10-4, HQ," I said back, confirming the receipt of the message. "X," I radioed across the way, "do a quick scan of the interior, will ya? We want to know what we're up against when get inside."
"Will do, Zero," he replied. After a pause, I heard: "Can't scan through the wall. There's some kind of field blocking my radar."
"Thanks for trying, buddy. Tell everyone to buckle down, and I'll begin security cleanup."
"10-4, Zero."
Outer security wasn't that tight at all. I guessed the inner security made up for it. Dashing quietly past the drones assigned to protect the exterior of the building, I radioed for the others to follow. I always liked trailblazing on mission like these. Gave me a thrill to be the first to evade the enemy defense, I guess.
As the rest of the group sauntered up behind me, we easily trotted into the fortress. Inside laid a huge room, lit by only two lights: one at the peak of the ceiling, and one at the base of the floor. The room was in a semi-spherical shape, a dome. My heat sensory suddenly went nuts--there were countless "secret" trapdoors in the room, all hiding Wily-Bot and drone armies. I asked X to the front. "Any way you can figure out what opens these doors, X?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Dunno. I would've thought proximity triggers, but..."
I shook my head, interrupting him. "Laser-activated. The shortest route from one point to another is a straight line. An intruder wouldn't take a winding course around the walls."
"I see your point. I'll get on finding those lasers."
"Thanks, bud."
"Switching sight mode to infrared," he commented as his eyes closed, then opened, red. I could see him visibly concentrating. "Definitely lasers. You were right. Just tell the others to stay tight and follow me."
I nodded, following his sudden dash to the floor. Twisting our way around the room, we eventually made it to the center of the room. X cursed. "I swiped a laser! Get back!" As soon as he had finished saying those words, he was encased in a great cylinder of white light, then fired up through an open panel in the ceiling.
I instinctively drew my saber. The trapdoors along the walls flew open, revealing a veritable army of drones. Wonderful, I thought. X, this'd sure be a lot easier if you were here...
I radioed him quickly. "X, X, this is Zero. Where are you, bud?"
I heard an irritated response. "Where d'ya think I am, Zero? That stupid tractor beam sent me onto the roof."
"Are you okay?"
"I guess so. Not hurt, just shook up. You know, I didn't think it was physically possible for your stomach to turn in knots, but I was proven wrong."
I rolled my eyes. "Anyways, we've got drones up to our ears down here, any problems up there?"
"Nothing I can't handle..." X said, then I heard a crashing from his radio. "Bass...."
"Who's that?" I asked. Bass wasn't exactly a familiar name.
"Bass. Wily's answer to Mega Man. Power-hungry robot."
"Right. Just take him out and get back down here, please."
"Easier said than done. Ground defense wasn't bad, but aerial defense could clean my clock."
"Just be stealthy," I said as I dodged to avoid a shot. "We'll meet up at the inner sanctum. Find a way to get there."
"Done," he said, ending the link.
I swished my saber, striking a robot in the gut. "Now then, anyone wanna play, gentlemen?"