It took almost exactly one second for Lizarddramon to dive and knock General Skot Homidon out of the way. A fifth of a second later, both laser cannons fired at once, incinerating two portions of the wall, and staining them with a charred ring. It took two more seconds for the spider-bot to turn and re-aim, but by then, Lizarddramon and Wex's sharp reflexes had their blasters drawn and fired. And fired, and fired. The robot refused to give up, firing randomly. The Andromon was hit square in the face, and the younger scientist took a laser in side of his abdomen.
Lizarddramon's gun depleted itself quickly, but he'd dumped all of his armor and equipment… and the power packs. Wex's puny pistol blaster did little to damage the robot.
"Head for the elevator. I will divert his attention." By some miracle, the Andromon was still functional. A gaping and probably mortal wound did nothing to stop him. While Lizarddramon, Wex, Homidon and the elder scientist helped the injured man out, Andromon pounced the spider-bot, wrangling like a bull and using his drill-arm to destroy important systems. In a heroic stand, he managed to keep the robot from attacking the five. By the time they'd gotten to the elevator, a gut-wrenching explosion filled the whole floor. Hopefully it was just a few chemicals that had mixed together in the tussle.
"Evacuate and lock down all people and Digimon in Laboratory sector C." Homidon ordered into his comm.
"Damn, that thing's just about impossible to kill." Lizarddramon struck the metal casing with his blaster.
"Morhin's probably got a million of these little critters running around." Wex said with ragged breath. Homidon, sir, we can't sit around any longer. Morhin's getting stronger every day. His monstrosities are multiplying every day. We have to take the offensive."
"What do you think I've been doing in my office all day, twiddling my thumbs and whistling? We have three allies now, ones that are all stronger. Including us, we have over two-hundred ships."
"Well, with things like that robot out and about, we'll need to make more allies than…"
Homidon's comm beeped. "Hold on. Yes, what is it?"
"Sir, I'm afraid we have some bad news." The young woman's voice was heavy.
"What is it?" Homidon's voice carried the same tone.
"There are thirty units and growing on radar. They're radio signature and build are similar to the unit we captured earlier today."
"Dispatch all available units and artillery. Inform our people to be generous with power packs and bullet clips, and that they keep their distance. Activate all turrets and missile launchers as well."
"Affirmative sir. Troops deploying."
The two scientists got off at the Infirmary level, while Wex and Lizarddramon tried to use whatever was left in the Armory. By the time the General got to the top level, flashes of light were already popping up. Homidon quickly went to the observation and command room located at the top of three-story building. From there, he located about four dozen dots that resembled spiders.
They were approaching fast on their spindly eight legs, and his men were doing their best to hold them back. Even so, the rapid-fire laser turrets, which roared above the roof, couldn't quite hit the agile robots. RAM lines were being broken faster than they could be set up. A screen showing enemies on radar finally beeped, and one of the red dots winked out, hopefully for good.
"Enemy units are within three hundred meters. E.T.A to arrival, two minutes." An elder war coordinator reported."
"Prepare to evacuate the upper floors. Set up turrets along the windows and try not to let them breach." The General ordered.
"Sir, we're suffering a lot of casualties. There are over fifty soldiers down, and three grenade launchers have been destroyed."
"Continue with defense, we can't let them get into the building!"
"One hundred meters and closing fast." The war coordinator chewed his lip.
"Sir, these things are impossible to kill! We're getting wiped out down here." An officer shouted over the comm, then screamed and was abruptly cut off.
"Fifty meters. Sir, our troops are turning and running!"
"All units, hold your ground!" Homidon ordered sharply on the public comm. "Keep fighting if you want to call yourself a member of RAM!"
"Sir, we've got almost a hundred dead or injured! We need to fall back or we'll all die!"
After a long moment, Homidon gritted his teeth and muttered. "All units, return to base, but do everything possible to keep those spiders out."
A multitude of dots on the radar rushed back to home. Only six of the now thirty-seven invaders were down. Homidon sighed. This was going to lead to a headache fast.
Space had a certain beauty to it. The vast emptiness, utter silence, and vast ocean of stars were a wonderful sight. There was a syndrome called "Spacer's Madness", which was supposedly caused by staring into space for too long. Caused all kinds of wacky things, like loss awareness, sleeplessness, loss of hearing, and eventually, insanity.
Right now, Taichi really wished he had that. Then the prison wardens would send into space without a suit, and he'd die. Quick and easy. But no, he was forced to work on putting up the metal coating of Omicron station in a skimpy enviro-suit with a thin lifeline cable that could be torn apart with bare hands.
Life doesn't suck much more than this
"Taichi, grab that laser welder, quick!" Sora had lost it while juggling a thick piece of titanium and a metal cutting saw.
Taichi leaned and reached with on hand while grasping a steel beam. His fingers grazed the handle and only caused it to start spinning. Wrapping his foot around the same metal post, he went out another half meter and hooked his finger around the trigger. If he hadn't grabbed it, a missing welding laser in inventory would land all of the slaves a punishment.
Though he never saw all of it, Taichi could guess what the space station looked like. A huge outer ring, easily ten kilometers in diameter housed most of the slaves, troops, hangars, and many other things. Four long tubes connected it to a long, wide station in the middle This was the more restricted area, with it's own private hangar, a scientist quarters, and the main core to Omicron Station. At the very front was a bridge, of which anyone within would have a splendid view of the carnage.
"Heads up, we have a meteor shower coming. Get under the shield." A gruff voice commanded to the three-dozen space walkers. Sometimes, they were given only a few seconds warning. A light green transparent shield focused over a fairly small area. The group crowded under it, uncomfortably waiting for the hailstorm of rock pebbles. A human, who had unluckily picked the most remote spot to work on Omicron station, scrambled to take shelter. A merciful guard pulled him in by his lifeline tube, but a flurry of meteors beat him to the shield.
A single nugget, traveling easily more than five kilometers per second passed through his chest. Blood poured out of both sides, then instantly froze in the sub-zero temperatures. Taichi was glad the victim's face was turned the other way.
Grunting, the guard tore off the lifeline, then kicked the dead man away. He spiraled away, soon to burn up in Earth's atmosphere.
It was just another accident that had taken another life, and Taichi never got used to it. His stomach shifted uncomfortably, but vomiting in zero gravity was one of the most disgusting things one could do. Besides, that bread was a generous offer.
"Get back to work, it's over." The same guard ordered. As though nothing happened, all of the slaves returned to work.
For several hours, all was quiet, and much progress was made. When the warden ordered everyone back in, he sort of complimented them. "Since you've been working so hard and we're ahead of schedule, all of you will be getting tomorrow morning off."
A wave of sighs passed over the exhausted group. They had really been working non-stop, and needed a break.
Taichi and Sora peeled off the thin, tight suit, and headed to the mess hall for a meager dinner of over-cooked pork, stale biscuits, and thin, off white soup. In the crowded, stuffy room, Taichi saw the familiar face of the Terriermon. He could barely make the effort to stop a person from snatching a piece of food.
Sora began peeling off a portion of the good side of the bread, when another person beat her to it.
"Here you go little guy." His blue hair and tan skin showed his Asian heritage, which made Taichi and Sora a bit more comfortable in the mostly American crowd.
"Bless you sir." The meek Terriermon croaked, then nibbled the half-decent biscuit.
"Glad to see I'm not the only generous one." Sora said with a small crack of a smile.
"Heh, yeah that's me, Mr. Nice Guy."
They continued with the meal, not asking names. After all, getting to know someone who could be the next casualty was pointless.
With a deafening bang, the reinforced doors to RAM burst open to the outside world. Taking their time, the two dozen or so remaining spider-bots ceaselessly fired burst after burst of laser fire. All around the floor, desks, tables, anything that would protect what was left of the troops, lay sideways. Grenades and laser shot from behind them, scoring hit after hit. Even so, the thick armor absorbed every attack. They were like giant walking cockroaches, nearly impossible to destroy.
Homidon fought valiantly with his men. The old-style six-shooter Grizzly Supermagnum packing .668 caliber firepower roared in his hand. Even multi-ton robots recoiled at its power. Even with it though, the RAM troops steadily lost ground. The elevators were completely jammed with people and Digimon as they tried to escape from the carnage.
"All personnel, report to the Dorm level, lock your doors, and find any weapon you can! This is not a drill! We are under invasion! Remain calm and please help fight in any way possible!" The voice continually repeated this message, though it did little to help. People were running around, looking for lost family or prized possessions.
There were at least fifteen robots still functioning and advancing. They moved with amazing efficiency, focusing on specific spots instead of randomly firing.
The General figured he had about five minutes before he'd be incinerated. It was then that he ordered the retreat to his soldiers. "Retreat!" He yelled over the din of combat. "Retreat to the next level. Seal all elevators once everyone's down!" He replaced the shells of his used bullets with fresh ones and fired all six in rapid succession, then herded the remainder of his soldiers to the elevators. When he figured it would take too long, he pointed to the emergency stairs and shouted, "Use the stairs! We have to get out of here!"
All of the soldiers scrambled to leave before they met an untimely demise. Several were gunned down and left behind, but most made it to the long flight of stairs. Homidon set up lines around the first wide corner. A dozen soldiers with mobile laser turrets checked and re-checked their equipment. Homidon reloaded his Grizzly Supermagnum, dropping a bullet twice in his shaking hands, and waited for the rumbles of battle to return.
A full minute passed, then another. Silence prevailed around the corridor. "What are they waiting for?" One soldier finally piped up.
"Shut up! I here something." One next to him craned his neck. Dull wumph sounds, barely audible, put the RAM troops on edge. It seemed to be coming from everywhere, then abruptly quieted. A tense moment passed, then a resounding crash echoed from behind the remainder of the squad. The spider bots had tunneled their way through dirt and rock to ambush the squad from behind. Homidon cursed. Then ordered, "Blast your way through! Keep going down!"
The weary troops somehow pressed forward. A deadly shower of lasers and bullets filled the hallway. Exhaust formed a thick cloud between the forces, and soldiers ran blindly into action. Many fell to the hail of fire, Homidon managed to plow through the blockade with about two dozen soldiers.
Even in his age, the General picked up the comm's chime. "What?" He yelled furiously into it. He had to be heard over the roar of laser fire and blast of guns.
"We got the Ram's Charge powered up and people in the turrets. Lure the spiders down to the hanger, and we'll be able to wipe them out."
"Roger, we'll be there in a few minutes." I hope.
Sora uncomfortably shifted again on the hard cot. Sleep was nearly impossible with the grotesque stench and lack of heating. What happened to those days in the flower shop with her mother? Why did she have to join that gang, start stealing, meet Taichi… Well, meeting Taichi wasn't really a bad thing. He was a good honest guy. Right? And his sister, Hikari, and Wex and Lizarddramon and Agumon, they were good people. Right? And getting a better job… As a sniper? Yeah right. But a freedom fighter sniper. This was for a good cause, Right?
She didn't know anything. Any question she asked to herself, she was unsure of what the answer was, or whether it was right or wrong. Nothing to do but keep going…
"Human, wake up." The voice of a Digimon so close to her ear made Sora jump. The Terriermon she had defended was bouncing up and down. "We need your help."
"What is it?" Sora was not as friendly when sleep deprived.
"We're planning a revolt, and we need you get something."
More awake now, Sora swung her legs over the cot and followed the Digimon, half-walking, half dragging her feet.
The door that was normally locked had been wedged up somehow, and was opened from the outside. No guards were in the vicinity, but Terriermon and Sora proceeded with all due stealth down the hall. At the other side was a door reading: "Soldier HQ. Restricted."
"Everyone's asleep in there. A Floramon used some sleeping dust. Go in, and put in these numbers on the safe." He handed her a tiny piece of paper, with sketchy numbers written into it by something other than a pen. "The knob's too high up for any of us, and you're the only human we can trust. Take out just one gun and a few magazines, or they'll notice!"
Sora grasped the paper between her fingers, then tiptoed into the open door. Four armorless guards snored away in dim light; unaware they were being robbed. Sora turned as she heard footsteps. A beam of light shone down the hall. The Terriermon dove into his room, shutting the door behind him.
Suspicious by the noise, the guard re-opened the door and peered inside, to find some slaves resting. He scratched his head, mumbled something under his breath, and then came into the Soldier HQ.
Sora had managed to hide under a table, and feared the troop would hear her pounding heart. Forcing her breath to cease, she waited. The soldier turned on the lights, then nudged one of his mates. "Allen, your shift." It took quite a lot of nudging, but the soldier named Allen did awake.
"Hunh? Oh yeah, OK, just gimme` a second… to, uh… suit up." He was still under the influence of the pollen and walked like a drunk to the closet. The soldier that just came in replaced the couch, tossing off his armor. After a moment, he stretched out and began falling into dreamland. The other soldier never came out of the closet, probably asleep again. Sora counted a full twenty minutes before she heard another snore join to the low chorus. Not daring to breathe, Sora crawled out from under the table, unraveling the piece of paper she'd unintentionally crumpled.
She approached the safe, barely able to grip the knob. Right to fourteen, left to forty, right to twenty nine… she went through the rest of the short list, then, as silently as possible, twisted the lever. Even a soft click sounded like a deafening crash in the still air.
Fortunately for Sora, someone had remembered to oil the joints. The safe noiselessly swung open. The guns were somewhat organized on racks, and clips and power packs were organized in boxes. Which one to choose… Sora had little knowledge of guns, except for sniper rifles. She selected a fair-sized blaster, and a trio of power packs, then closed the safe behind her.
The guard had closed the door behind him. Sora's finger shook so much; it almost missed the button to open the door. It swooshed open louder than expected, but failed to awake the slumbering troops. Sora didn't close the door behind her, and dashed back to her cell. Inside, she felt like her heart would explode right out of her chest, but the mission was complete.
Terriermon certainly seemed pleased. "You really are a Digimon's best friend. We'll remember this when we escape."
"Yeah, glad to help." Sora mumbled. She lay back down, but didn't expect to fall asleep after that episode.
After a couple minutes, Terriermon picked up a small piece of debris and went up to the wall. He tapped it lightly on the wall in a series of long and short pings. It was an old-style Morse code, that any self-respecting Digimon would know. He tapped out the letters: W-E-H-A-V-E-T-H-E-B-L-A-S-T-E-R.
A response came after a moment. G-O-O-D-W-A-S-I-T-T-H-E-H-U-M-A-N-G-I-R-L.
Terriermon confirmed this with a Y-E-S
The Digimon at the other side tapped some more. S-H-E-W-I-L-L-B-E-I-N-T-H-E-P-L-A-N
Terriermon wrapped up the secret conversation. I-L-L-T-E-L-L-H-E-R. He discarded the rock and crawled into the small pile of Digimon for warmth. None of them were asleep, until he reported: "We have almost everything ready. Just a few more days."
Homidon was nearly fired upon by the ready-to-strike gunners. He was followed by less than thirty soldiers, another hundred were waiting for him. All were setting up walls of whatever junk they could find, and setting up laser turrets.
"Get those grenade launchers ready! Make sure your gun is fully charged and re-loaded. I want the most capable marksmen in the freighter's turrets. Do not, under any circumstances, retreat until told to do so!" The General barked multiple orders into his comm, but one phrase repeated in his head: We have to keep this stand, or RAM will be captured.
It didn't take long for the spider-bots to make a grand entrance.
And grand it certainly was.
From three spots, the stairs, and two holes made in walls, two dozen spider-bots poured out in full-fledged assault.
The world in front of Homidon set on fire, lasers and bullets, intersecting each other, incinerating anything in between. Ram's Charge whirred to life, then all of the turrets fired at once. Fireballs popped up in random places, leaving smoking craters in the steel floor. Still, the spider-bots continued their inexorable approach. Lines began to get punctured. Brave soldiers unloaded every last bullet and squeezed every last drop of power out of their clips, but it still wasn't enough.
The turrets fired again, in complete unison. More explosions rocked Homidon to the bone. Only five spider-bots had been taken down. This was not going well.
One of the robots lumbered forward in a suicidal attack, but got eradicated by the grenade of a watchful officer. Other robots got the idea though, and began imitating their former comrade. Two more were destroyed before they could get too close, but one got dangerously close. The things went out with a bang, and sent some people back in the shockwave.
Homidon was down to his last six shots, and used them all on a single spider-bot, which sagged, as its major power core was breached. The enemy force was at less than two thirds, but the distance between armies was rapidly shrinking. Another wave of fire came from Homidon's ship. Two well-aimed shots left a pile of smoking circuitry and metal where a spider-bot once was. They weren't dropping fast enough. Already, a few robots were over the lines and wreaking havoc. Another burst of fire from Ram's Charge wiped out two spider-bots, but several troops were killed by friendly fire. Homidon had no choice. "Discontinue firing with the turrets. We're killing our own men!"
"Sir! We're getting pummeled out here!"
"Hold your position! We can't…" Skot Homidon's voice was suddenly cut off when the roar of a fighter's engines drowned out almost everything else. A lone figure in an Epee rose up about two meters then loosed a flurry of under-powered lasers. Dozens upon dozens of splinter shots fell like a hailstorm on the fourteen remaining spider-bots. In a stunning display, that number was halved in mere moments. The deadly robots began falling back, a joyous sight to many, as two more Epees rose up and added their own firepower to the melee. Three more robots went down before the spider-bots scurried up and out of the hanger.
In disbelief, Homidon flicked on his comm, to ask who was piloting the ships, but both had landed already, and a less-than-modest Lizarddramon jumped out, along with a slightly less proud Agumon, and Wex, who scratched the back of his head as a cheer went up for the heroes.
Two more days in this hell hole, and I'll be outta here. Xantos kept reminding that to himself as he frustratingly tried to drive in a screw with a faulty drill. The morning flew by faster than Xantos had wished, and in the middle afternoon, here he was back to the same repetitive work. Without warning, his lifeline was tugged on. He turned and saw a guard motioning for him to come. The steel superstructure allowed easy handholds. In a private channel, Xantos's receiver-only comm buzzed with the guard's voice. "There's been some funny business going on around here. I understand there's been talk of revolt. Your name is Xantos, right?"
Xantos nodded.
"And you were a Commander, but your squad got destroyed. So you were sent here for awhile."
Again, Xantos nodded.
"Listen, I could get you off this station a bit early if you do something for me, OK?"
Once more, Xantos nodded.
"I want you to check out the bunks, pick up gossip, you know, be my ears in there."
Xantos put up one finger.
"One… you want something else?"
Bowing his head, Xantos poked his ear.
"Hear… listen… sound… Sound? Sounds like…"
Xantos cupped his hands around his groin.
"Piss? Pee? Sea… tree… Lee. You want a guy named Lee? Get him off Omicron station with you? Well, all right. If he helps you, I could talk both of you out of here I guess."
Xantos and the guard shook hands, sealing the secret treaty.
Sora was becoming very popular with Digimon. In fact, the Terriermon who seemed to be everywhere she turned murmured "Join me at the border between human and Digimon sections." While they crossed paths. She and Taichi sat at the last row of the sections. Only Terriermon, a pale skinned Scubamon, and a Geckomon who looked utterly heartbroken without the little horn they treasured sat relatively close to them. That evening was just moldy salad, spoiled milk, and rice, but as the fourth meal in a row, that was all that could be spared for the slaves.
"Everything's coming together." The Scubamon mumbled. "Tonight, we just need… whose he?"
"He's with me." Sora confirmed.
The Divermon spit on the floor in contempt. "I don't remember letting these human slimeballs in."
"This one… these two are different. We wouldn't have that blaster if it wasn't for the girl." Terriermon reminded the sneering Digimon. "Listen, we can make this work. I just need the codes to get into the guard room."
The Geckomon shifted his eyes from one occupant to another, then turned away, made a coughing sound, and handed Terriermon a moist slip of paper. If he was revolted, he didn't show it. "MRHNRL… and something else. What's that last letter?" The Divermon impatiently tapped his claws. Taichi gazed at the paper, trying to make sense of the letters. They fit into a pattern somehow…
"Maybe this is an acronym, the last letter could stand for something that fits in with other letters." Terriermon put a paw onto his temple while choking down his last bit of lettuce.
They acted casual, as though it was a coincidence they were sitting so close.
"Couldn't we just try every letter until we get it?" Sora asked.
"Takes too long, and it would set off an alarm." The Geckomon said with a mournful tone.
Taichi looked around; searching for that little clue that would spark the answer. His gaze locked with a single blue eye.
He felt like he swallowed a boulder. Xantos… He's here! How… Why!? Act natural… yeah keep moving your eyes…
He's either blind or stupid. I know he saw me, we're just four meters apart. He shoved his paper plate away, not trusting the black-stained salad. He'd informed Lee of the little agreement, but his friend didn't sound very happy about it. Even so, he was glad the guards hadn't discovered his hearing implant. They should talk softer.
Taichi tried to destroy the image by thinking about… "I got it!" He said just a little too loudly.
After a stern hush from the Scubamon, Terriermon asked, "What is it?"
"The last letter is S. Because if you take all of the vowels out of "Morhin rules, the last letter is S."
After a moment, all three Digimon and Sora smiled. "For everyone's sake, I hope your logic is right." Terriermon shredded the paper into confetti.
Despite the happiness over their recent victory, the people of RAM were on edge. Five spider-bots still roamed the base. The captured one had never been found. The total death toll creeped near a hundred and twenty soldiers, and fifty civilians. Benningway and his crew were working twice as hard to get the recently installed turrets online. Every one of the near-four thousand occupants were crammed into the hangar while patrol teams escorted an hour long line of people to the dorm level to get possessions.
And Hikari couldn't wait that long.
A family she'd met, who was at the back of the line, had a missing little boy. He was in the Infirmary with a broken leg. They'd searched one corner to the other, and couldn't locate their son. Taking pity, Hikari approached one of the guards. "Listen, there's a family with a little boy who's missing. They think he's in the Infirmary. If I can just get…"
"Sorry ma'am, but you'll have to wait in line."
"This is a child we're talking about! Are you heartless!?"
"No, just fair. Get in line."
Hikari threw her hands up, turned, then swung her fist right at the troop's head with the power fueled by frustration. It landed square on the soldier's head, making stars explode in his vision. Hikari shook the pain off her hand, then grabbed his gun out of the holster, and rushed down the stairs.
"Look, there's something going on over there." Agumon pointed at the fuss Hikari was causing.
"Oh man, Hikari just slugged that troop!" Lizarddramon pointed at the scene.
"Go follow her, or she'll get killed!" Wex said. "I gotta stay here and repair stuff. You're the fastest Digimon here, go!" He slapped the back of Lizarddramon's Powerarmor vest.
"Me? Alright," The Digimon leaped down from Firescape and darted past the yelling troops on all fours.
He quickly caught up with his friend's sister, dodging a shot that came his way. Hikari instantly apologized. "Sorry, I thought those creeps were following me. Besides, it's on nonlethal."
"Yeah, whatever." Lizarddramon spent as much time crawling on the wall as he did the floor. His claws easily dug into the steel wall.
After about twenty flights of stairs, they hit the Infirmary floor. Hikari wasted no time kicking open the door. It was hauntingly quiet. The lights were on, but in the evacuation, papers were scattered and equipment left on. "The Children's Ward is that way." Hikari pointed the muzzle of the gun straight-ahead at an intersection.
Even Lizarddramon's strong, inherited legs could barely keep up with frantic Hikari. She called out, "Hello? Anyone here?" While making random turns. She skidded to a halt, waited for a response, then bolted off when a tiny cry echoed down the hall. "We're coming, hold on!"
When the cries got louder, Lizarddramon snagged Hikari's shirt and stopped her roughly. "Hold it!" Even though he was a hair shorter than Hikari, and slightly lighter, he easily prevented her from continuing. "I smell something. Burnt chips."
"So?" Hikari practically screamed. "Let me go!"
"No, it's a spider-bot!"
Hikari stopped fighting. She listened intently, but still heard the child crying. Stubbornly, she thrashed to get away. Lizarddramon held her fast, hissing in her ear to be quiet. The pleas for help broke Hikari's heart, but Lizarddramon kept his composure. An idea unfolded in his head. "How much voltage can you put on those… paddle things."
"The defibrillators? I dunno, maybe three thousand." Hikari began to understand the Digimon's aim. "It's not necessarily the volts, it's the amps. I can get four, which is pretty strong. Might take a little time to charge."
"We don't have much time. Got anything explosive?"
"This is an Infirmary, not a bomb factory."
"There's a lot of metal on him. Have any really big magnets?"
Hikari thought for a second. "The CAT scan! Those things will draw in metal like Agumon with food. It's the other way though, to the right, last door."
"Go get it warmed up, I'll be the bait at the end of the line."
"You'll be alright? You can't use your gun or anything metal."
Lizarddramon hadn't thought of this, but still insisted he lure the spider-bot in. "Go. Call when it's ready."
Hikari still looked doubtful, but another call for help from the child sent her running.
Few things pleased Xantos more than busting up other people's plans. At this point, he was ecstatic. When the guard he'd struck a bargain with approached him with a tough motif and grunted, "Follow me." He sang like a canary.
"You have to change the code on your door. They know what it is."
"And so do you. When will they strike?"
"During the sleep period, undoubtedly."
"Good, good. We'll plan a stake out, and surprise those little worms with a hail of stun shots. Heh, Xantos, you're as good as out of here."
"And Lee is too."
"Right, right. You know, you could act like you're part of the group…"
"Won't work. Only a handful of humans are in it. Besides, I don't want to be in the crossfire."
The guard chuckled. "You've got a good mind Xantos. That'll get you places."
"Uh huh. So do I have to go back to my meaningless task?"
"Feel like wearing electric cuffs for awhile?"
"I've seen this one. He's a good leader, and I think he's learned his lesson. We could use more agents like him on the field."
Director Russell Mesati, a young, fresh man who Morhin had hand picked to run Omicron Station, paid only half attention. "We always need good agents on the field, and we have lots of them. Why should I release him early? Even if I did I'd have to clear it with Morhin, which could take days."
"He really needs to sort things out." Xantos muttered.
"Excuse me?"
"I said… We really need to stomp things out. You know resistance factions? They must take up all his time."
Mesati sighed. "I could try to clear it up, but it's more trouble than it's worth. And that other man, Lee was it? It'd take just as long. I could have my associates see what they can do."
"Please… try to do it. He's a good man. In fact, he's been a good agent among the slaves."
That caught the Director's attention. "Is this true?"
Xantos quickly nodded. "There's been talk of a riot. The slaves are getting angry."
"I'll have security tripled and all the locks changed. And… perhaps I should put your parole on high priority."
"Thank you sir." The guard saluted sharply then escorted Xantos out. As they boarded the transport leading back to the outer ring. "That went better than expected."
"Better?"
"I expected to have to reason a lot more. He's a weak leader. Scares and bends easily. Other officers would just say: 'They wouldn't dare. And we could take care of it' So we got off easy. There was a long, uneasy silence. "I usually don't collaborate with slaves, but the name's Harold."
"You know my name." Xantos waved a dismissing hand.
"Hey, we may be working together, but I'm still the guard and you're still the slave."
"Heeeeere spider, spider, spider." Lizarddramon rasped. He tapped the butt of his gun against the wall. "Hang on kid, I just gotta get rid of some bugs." He assured the child. The smell of melted steel was unmistakable. Any second now, a big metal robot would spring out and try to kill him, but when?
The hall was deathly silent. A brief squeal of metal against metal made Lizarddramon's blood run colder than it already was. His itchy claw, barely contained, gently squeezed the trigger enough to make any more pressure fire the gun. He turned around to find nothing. He peered inside a door to the left, saw just a cluttered desk. The air remained still.
Lizarddramon relaxed a little, bringing the gun to his shoulder. "Huh where…"
A crash that echoed all around the Infirmary made Lizarddramon whirl around. Bits of tile poured off of the spider-bot. Lizarddramon quickly recognized this one as the first of the spider-bots they'd captured from its two useless legs. It had strategically tunneled and popped up so it blocked his path to Hikari.
"Oh you're a clever bastard aren't you."
Just as the Digimon finished his statement, a pair of lasers lanced out towards him. Expertly dodging them, Lizarddramon caught hold of the ceiling and launched himself up and over the spider-bot. Running like a mouse in front of a hungry Gatomon, Lizarddramon zigzagged a crazy slalom through the hall. Heat from the lasers incinerated places he'd just left. "Get ready Hikari! He's pretty pissed off!"
Hikari frantically rerouted every last ounce of power to the CAT scan. A metal table was already beginning to slide towards the room. "Warning. Electromagnet waves are nearing danger levels."
"I know, I know." Hikari mumbled to herself. Rumbles began pulsating through he ground. That spider-bot was going nuts.
"It's ready! Bring him in!"
Lizarddramon noticed his chaser was getting faster. Probably aided by the magnetism. The Digimon suddenly skidded and turned, just outside the CAT scan room. Unknowing, the enraged robot kept coming, then slammed against the wall. Cracks spiderwebbed outward. In the confusion, Lizarddramon sought shelter inside. The spider-bot only accelerated its fate by firing into the wall. It eventually burst, and the perplexed robot skidded into the machine. It crashed and left an impressive dent. Squirming like a trapped fly, the spider bot used all of its power to get lose, but the magnet overpowered it.
"Let's go!" Hikari might as well have said to empty air. Lizarddramon was already out the door.
"Human, wake up!" Sora had gotten used to the abrupt awakenings at night. "Tonight is the night. Everything's checked and ready. The blaster is loaded, and we're trusting you with it."
"Me? But I can't… I've…"
The Terriermon put his hands up. "These little paws aren't meant for blasters."
"Wait, my friend, Taichi, he can do it."
"No. We trust you because you protect us."
Sora sighed and had the blaster handed to her. She stuck the two power packs between her hip and her pants. She climbed down, roused Taichi, and joined the small crowd of assorted Digimon.
"I'll go over it one more time. We'll sneak out, ambush the humans at the Soldier HQ. The other Digimon and me will put on electric cuffs and shock collars. You two humans and the other one in another room will dress like guards, and bring us to that idiot Mesati. Say we were planning a revolt." The Terriermon locked eyes with Sora. "Our lives are in your hands. They'll send us into space without so much as a goodbye for uprising."
"You have nothing to worry about, we'll make sure no one gets hurt."
"Except the other soldiers." Taichi amended.
Terriermon tapped his fingers against the wall in some order Sora couldn't understand. The person at the other side did though, and after a moment, the locked door clicked and slid open. Sora and Taichi quickly remembered the blue-haired man from the cafeteria. Sora wasn't surprised.
"Let's go. Everything's prepared." The Scubamon they had met earlier led the way. Nine Digimon in all were in the group, dozens more probably waiting for the chaos to make their move. Terriermon and Scubamon were obviously the head of the revolt. The others ranged from the Elecmon and one-eyed Gazimon they'd met on Earth and the Geckomon from the meal, to a few others they hadn't met. There was a pair of Gotsumons, one noticeably lighter than the other, and a blue-shelled Crabmon, along with a bat-like Digimon none of the humans could identify.
A short distance away, the soldier's room lay in wait. Daring the team to enter. Sora glanced around, clicked the safety off of her blaster, and nodded towards Taichi. The pilot leaned against the wall and tapped the letter M on the tiny keyboard, followed by R, and the rest of the code. At the last letter, he held his breath, and gently nudged the S key.
A few beeps rang out in the air, then the door opened without so much as a squeak. Sora almost fired involuntarily, but lowered her blaster when she found no occupants in the room.
The Digimon looked among each other, inspecting the room, but found no enemies present. "This seems a bit easy." The Scubamon said as he snapped a shock collar around his leathery neck.
"I know, but we'll have to think of this as a fortunate turn of events." Terriermon narrowed his eyes at each of the three humans. "This is where we'll have to trust you. We'll certainly get killed if we're caught. Act tough, but don't get carried away. Understand?"
"I have one question." Lee spoke up. "You obviously hate humans, you would do this without them, yet you run the risk of dying if we turn you in. Why?"
"Because, we have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. We cannot go lower than this. And we think you're a good man Lee. You too, Taichi and Sora." Terriermon held out his little hands. "Cuff me."
Taichi did so, and got electric cuffs on the rest of the Digimon. Sora and Lee armed themselves to the teeth. The breastplate was full of holsters and equipment sacs, and most of them were became filled with power packs, clips, top of the line Jeron-Lasky C43 grenades. The C class grenades made small, concentrated explosions, and had variable fuses. The humans all gained at least twenty pounds with the armory of the weapons on them. Helmets, shoulder plates, and thigh plates were also equipped.
In five minutes they looked like a small band of Digimon slaves being escorted by three, gun-happy soldiers. As the group went outside, all twelve noticed it was utterly silent. No guards were patrolling the halls. It continued in that fashion all the way to the transport from the outer ring to the center of Omicron station. As they crowded into the shuttle, Taichi whispered to Sora and Lee. "I don't like this. I expected something to happen by now."
"Yeah, I'm getting suspicious myself." Sora replied.
Lee just nodded.
The drone of the transport dominated the cabin, but inside, every one of the passengers' thoughts were raging. Some brave, some timid, others unsure how to feel.
A full minute later, they docked at the main station. As the door opened into a large, decorated hallway, the three humans checked their guns and blasters one last time. At the end of the twenty-meter walk, a station where a guard would've been posted was empty, and the door was unlocked. Lee hesitantly opened the door.
It slowly opened to reveal a wide staircase going up. It branched off into several other doors, but the one labeled "Main Office" was their destination. At the other side of the door was a small anteroom, where a lesser officer sat watching a news channel on a TV in the wall. He didn't seem to notice the band as it came to the door leading to Mesati's office.
"Last door. Get ready." Taichi mumbled.
The door slid open.
Mesati sat at his desk, apparently working on some papers. "I thought I asked for no interruptions." He said without looking up.
"This is important sir. We found these Digimon conspiring against you."
He finally glanced at them. "Yes I know."
A lump formed in Taichi's stomach. "You… do?"
"Yes, there are many things I know around here. You think I wouldn't know when I have an enemy." He snapped his fingers. "And by the way, you're late. They already told me." Two other doors opened in unison, and dozens of guards poured out. Each had a heavy blaster pointed at the group. Among them, all three humans recognized Xantos.
"You're all going to pay dearly for this." Mesati's voice was dripping with hate as the band of revolters was tackled and forced down. Taichi was satisfied with getting a soldier in the kneecap before a foot made contact with his abdomen. Their armor was ripped off, and emptied of its weapons. Cuffs were roughly attached to their wrists, and they were forced to stand against the wall. Enemies began shouting out punishments; one of which was to shove a remote grenade into their mouths.
Mesati quieted them all. "This wouldn't have happened without Xantos. Let him decide the punishment."
Xantos approached the humans first. His chuckling sounded inhuman through the electric voice box. "Lee, why am I not surprised. You never wanted to be in the army did you?"
Lee declined his head and mumbled "No."
"You just wanted to live a good life, wherever your town was. "Where is that town anyway?"
"Old town, fifty kilometers south of St Louis."
"Mm, Mesati, your cannon is operational, correct?" Xantos asked.
"I could get it ready in ten minutes."
Lee's heart stopped as he conceived what Xantos was thinking. "You wouldn't." He whispered.
"You played with the wrong group Lee. You betrayed me, just like so many others have done."
"Betrayed you?" Lee suddenly became enraged. "I thought you were my friend Xantos. I thought you were different from all of the hot-headed power hungry monsters!" He launched himself at Xantos without thinking, charging into his new enemy. Xantos easily stopped at counter-punched, sending Lee to his knees.
"Lee, you're so naïve. If only you saw what this really is for." He looked down at Lee. "Morhin has already won. He's too strong for any of us to beat. Besides, he won't destroy everything. He'll bring order."
Lee broke down, tears streaking down his face.
"Of course, you could redeem yourself, and save your town. If you're willing to execute these Digimon, and Taichi and Sora yourself."
God help him, Lee's falling apart. Sora felt a strong pity for the Asian man. He faced a horrible decision; both would leave his hands stained with blood.
Lee breathed heavily. My family, or my kind of people. A moment passed, then Lee murmured, barely audible, "I can't kill these Digimon directly, or Taichi or Sora."
"Very well." Xantos nodded towards Mesati. "Prepare the cannon for approximately fifty kilometers south of St. Louis. And give the controller to Lee. He'll be firing."
Lee's flinched like he'd been shocked.
Xantos moved on to Sora. "Ah yes, Sora, the girl who was pulled out of the slums. I bet you'd rather be sleeping in a cardboard box in a rainy alley than sitting here now."
Sora remained silent.
"After Taichi came to save the damsel in distress, where did you go?"
"Boss Zubla's."
"And then…?"
Sora said with gritted teeth. "You know where we went."
Xantos grabbed her by the neck. Squeezing any more would choke her. "San Francisco." She managed to blurt out.
A satisfied look in his eye, Xantos released his grasp and moved on to the last captured human. "Well, well, well. We meet again Taichi. Told you I'd catch up to and your girlfriend. I was going to just going to launch you into a bare spacewalk, but I thought of something a little more creative. Escape pods are all over Omicron station. Normally, an escape pod is meant to get you away from the danger and recovered within forty-eight hours. But what if there was no recovery? What if you were left there to die?"
Taichi shot a glare that would've made even a Monochromon back down. "You God damned piece of…"
"Ah, ah. Careful or I'll torture you to the point where you're pleading for death. Just like you did to me."
The pilot raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, tortured you? I met you only six weeks ago."
Xantos laughed out loud. "Sometimes I forget that I swath myself in these robes. Would you like to know why I know you?"
It was a rehorticle question. Xantos was already unraveling the cloth around his head. A mat of unkempt, uncut hair fell down to Xantos's shoulder blades. He felt around his throat, and must have done something to his artificial larynx, because his voice became thin and raspy. "Remember me?" He whispered.
Taichi squinted, looking at his one, ice blue eye, and the gold tussle of hair. Then it hit him full force. "Oh God. Yamato?"
He arched a scar-ridden eyebrow. "Yamato? Yamato is dead and gone Taichi. He's rotting in the dirt of Japan with Windrider."
Now Taichi was thoroughly bewildered.
"Remember when you came to his family, bringing a piece of his ship to them? Do you remember an angry man who told you to never come back? A sobbing mother who accused you of killing her son? And do you remember, a scared little boy who sat in the corner, huddled in fear because his older brother, the one he looked up to and admired, was killed by his own friend?" His voice had risen enough to make veins on his neck visible.
"No, no it can't be." Taichi was in shock. "Takeru." He whispered the name in disbelief.
"I tried to commit suicide. Would you like to know how? I wasn't planning on having that grenade blow up in my hand, but it almost worked. I was in bed for a year and a half, and now I'm more machine than man!" His voice, weak but filled with anger, was heard by everyone in the room. "You ruined my life Taichi, now I'm going to get my vengeance and take yours!" His fury made even the most callous soldiers feel remorse, for both Taichi and Takeru. "Put him in a pod, send him into space! See how he likes a slow, choking death! And put his girlfriend in there too!"
Taichi and Sora were roughly dragged out of the room, Takeru storming at their heels. They were led through a separate door from the long line in the main room. Inside, two walkways, one leading up, the descending, led to separate escape pods. The door into the pod irised open from the center. Inside were eight seats with minimal restraints, and hardly any floor space. Small round windows revealed the curvature of Earth. The place I'll never see again. Taichi thought miserably to himself.
Takeru shoved both of them in the pod, smiling with cracked lips. "Forty-eight hours to reflect on your life Taichi. Enjoy."
"Takeru… please. If you do this, you'll be just as bad as I was. I learned from my mistake."
"You learned from shooting down my brother?"
"I didn't! It was a just a race gone bad!"
Takeru narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps I'll search for your pod after a month or so and find your starved, huddled bodies around each other." The door slowly closed like a shutter. It reminded Taichi of his feelings. Like the light of life getting smaller and smaller, until it disappeared. The sound of engines activating only doubled his grief as they rocketed away from Omicron station and into the dark abyss of space.