Author's Note: To all those good people who reviewed the last chapter,
thank you very much. Here's Chapter 9.
Disclaimer: Refer to first chapter
Chapter Title: The KND Strike Back
Nerd Star Space Station, low-earth orbit
Alden's knuckles went white as he gripped his command chair's armrests in fury. Out of the sixty SQUID units the KND had destroyed forty-seven, FORTY-SEVEN! Time and again the KND had mocked their efforts, vanquishing their robots seemingly with ease.
Alden suddenly felt a familiar tightening in his chest. He reached for his asthma inhaler and took a deep puff. 'Calm down' he told himself mentally. 'Calm down, it's not over yet. You now have only one KND craft to worry about'
"Order the surviving SQUIDs to attack that remaining KND vessel." He ordered. "And send out the ASPs to capture Numbahs 1 and 5."
Jane and Maria nodded curtly and started tapping commands on their terminals. Jane redirected the SQUIDs while Maria prepared the ASPs. Alden stared at the main monitor and pressed a button on his command terminal. A communicator activated, he keyed the KND frequency into it.
"Very good strategy, 274." Alden said. "But you will find that it just wasn't enough."
"Yeah?" 274 replied. Alden could almost see the smirk on 274's face. "Well, our strategies have gotten us this far. And kicked the butts of your vaunted robots I might add."
"We shall see, 274." Alden said. "We shall see."
The SPIDR, KND Antarctic Base
Klaus smirked as the SPIDR's laser finished cutting through the wall. He mentally commanded the robot to in the slab he'd cut into the wall. The robot reared up its leg and kicked hard the slab fell backward.
The SPIDR stepped in through the hole. From its cockpit, Klaus looked around. He activated the robot's loudspeaker. "Oh Kids Next Door, von't you come out und play?"
He walked the SPIDR over to the base's command center, there was no one there. The base seemed to be abandoned. But Klaus knew that it wasn't, his comrades on the Nerd Star had confirmed that at least three operatives were in this base. He would just have to find them.
Mentally controlling the robot's sensor grid, he adjusted the visual sensor to pick up bodily residue, down to a single skin cell or hair strand. His helmet's visual displays fizzled for a split-second as the sensors readjusted. Klaus smiled, he activated his robot's loudspeaker again. "You can run, KND." He taunted. "But you cannot hide."
The SPIDR lumbered on, following the bodily traces of the operatives it was hunting.
The remaining SHARC
274 gritted his teeth in frustration. He had tried to pick up 1 and 5 after he saw their SHARC fall apart, but the SQUIDs that had wrecked 1 and 5's craft started to come toward him. He tried to fire missiles at the robots, but they were too small to lock on to.
"Get in here, 30C" he said.
"You don't have to tell me twice." 30C answered. He crawled over to the cockpit and pulled himself inside.
"Grab another weapon," 274 ordered. "You gotta get those remaining robots off our backs."
"What other weapon?" 30C asked. "That was the only one I had."
274 grimaced, he would've handed over his weapon to 30C but the cockpit's configuration made that impossible. His chair was in the way, and crawling out to give it to 30C was impractical if not, stupid.
"Okay then, just hang on. I'll try to blow these guys to space dust myself."
274 pulled his craft into wild maneuvers. If he could just line the SQUIDs up in his sights he could use the SHARC's beam weapons on them. That, of course, was easier said than done since the drones were small and very fast.
274 jinked the craft to his left and fired. His beam caught two SQUIDs, destroying one and severely damaging another. The other SQUIDs scattered and started doing evasive maneuvers. 274 tried to keep them in his sights, but they were just too small and moving too fast.
The eleven undamaged SQUID units literally flew circles around 274 and 30C. One by one they dove toward the SHARC and latched on. They started to drill themselves in.
"Argh!" 274 screamed in frustration. "It's no good, I can't shake 'em! We'll just have to try and make it to the Nerd Star before we fall apart."
274 wheeled the SHARC around. "Let's find 1 and 5. We'll pck them up and head for the space station."
"We won't have to." 30C said. "They're already heading there."
"What?" 274 said, confused. 30C told him to look to his upper left. 274 looked. He saw 1 and 5 being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the Nerd Star by snake-like robots. 274 cursed as he pointed his craft toward the Nerd space station and sped after them.
KND Antarctic Base
Numbahs 2, 3, and 4 opened the weapons locker in Sector A-6. 2 and 4's mouths hung open, the weapons storage locker was stocked with 2x4 technology weapons. All of them in prime working condition. 4 started grabbing as many weapons as he could carry.
"Now this is what ah'm talkin' 'bout." 4 said, regarding the weapons appreciatively.
"Talking about what?" 3 asked uncomprehendingly.
"You can run, KND." They suddenly heard a German accented voice say from afar. "But you cannot hide."
"C'mon guys, it's Nerd whoopin' time." 4 said.
2 grabbed several weapons too, but he looked less eager. He didn't know how well their weapons would work against a self-repairing robot. But another thing also worried him. That voice he heard spoke with a German accent. There was only one person he knew was with the Nerds who spoke with a German accent. His old friend, the former Numbah 117, Klaus Heinkel.
Could he fight an old friend? Or was it rather, WOULD he fight an old friend? He shook such thoughts away. He'd have to, because that old friend would most likely have no qualms about fighting him.
Then, they heard it. A mechanical whirring sound which progressively became louder as the source of it came closer. The German voice taunted them again. "You cannot hide from meinself, Kids Next Door."
"Awright," 4 whispered as they hid behind a line of storage pods. "This is what we'll do. Numbah 2, you hide behind that pod over there and prepare a rocket launcher. Numbah 3, you stay 'ere and prepare a rocket launcher too. When ah shout 'Now' ya two blast the bugger, got it?"
"Okey dokey!" 3 said.
"What about you, Numbah 4?" 2 asked.
"Ah'll saty over there." 4 said pointing to a crane. "When ya let the nerd have it, ah'll let that thing loose and drop in on 'im."
He pointed to an unfinished KND aircraft, which was hanging from the crane. "Okay, let's move."
2 and 3 nodded, they then split up and went to get into position. The German nerd boasted another taunt, not knowing that he and his machine were heading for an ambush.
Nerd Star Space Station
"We have operatives 1 and 5 in our custody, Alden." Jane reported.
"Excellent." Alden said. He smiled as he watched the monitor. On it was the image of Numbahs 1 and 5 being dragged into one of the Nerd Star's holding cells by ASPs. The snake-like ASP (Automated Security Probe) units held onto them as the other ASPs opened the cell door. They were roughly tossed into their cell. The ASPs shut the door then slithered away.
Alden reached for the intercom. "Welcome Numbahs 1 and 5, or maybe I should call you Nigel Uno and Abigail Lincoln? Anyway, welcome to the Nerd Star. I do hope you'll enjoy your stay."
"Laugh while you can, Poindexter." He heard 5 reply. "274 and 30c are still out there, you haven't won yet."
"You're right," Alden mocked. "I haven't won yet, but I will."
"No you won't!" 1 said. "You'll never win, you betrayers!"
"Me, the betrayer?" Alden asked with a hint of anger. "Me, my brother, and my team worked earnestly for the KND. We wanted nothing in return except the respect and recognition of our peers. But what did we get for all that work?! Nothing but mockery and disrespect! No, my friends, it is you and the entire KND who betrayed US!"
With that, he cut off the intercom, not even bothering to wait for 1 and 5's replies. He turned to Jane and Maria. "Where's that other craft?"
"It's heading straight for us." Maria answered. "But I don't think they'll make it. Eleven SQUID units have managed to drill into their craft, it'll only be a matter of time before it falls apart."
Alden nodded and stayed silent. Victory was so close he could almost taste it. Soon, their revenge for the KND's transgressions against them would be complete. They would have the justice that was rightfully theirs, and it would come through their own efforts.
He looked at the main monitor, it was now displaying the feed from an external camera. He saw the image of the KND craft. Pieces of it were starting to come off as it sped towards them. Alden smiled, he couldn't help but admire their determination, no matter how futile.
But then, Alden's smile froze as he saw several flashes from the KND craft. It had fired missiles at them!
"Alden, we have multiple missiles heading straight for us!" Jane yelled, confirming Alden's realization.
He watched as the missiles came closer and closer...
The SHARC
[WARNING, STRUCTURAL FAILURE IMMINENT] droned the mechanized voice of the SHARC's internal computer. 274 paid no heed to it. He just kept on firing missiles at the Nerd Star as his craft sped towards it. Chunks of the SHARC's fuselage flew off, but he paid it no mind.
[WARNING, STRUCTURAL FAIL---] the computer never finished the sentence. Just as 274 fired the tenth missile, the SHARC broke apart. 274 managed to reach for the weapon stowed under his chair just before the cockpit area disintegrated. He and 30C were now floating freely, their forward momentum carrying them toward the space station. As they floated toward the station, 274 opened up on the remaining SQUIDs.
They watched as the missiles streaked toward the Nerd Star. The space station deployed close-in defensive weapons which started to fire a hail of billiard balls at the missiles. The defensive guns managed to stop six of the ten missiles, but the other four flew on and rammed themselves into the Nerd Star. The space station shook as the four missiles detonated.
"Oh yeah!" 30C cheered. "In your face, Nerds!"
As their forward momentum carried them toward the Nerd Star, 274 turned to 30C. "Get ready, we gotta get Numbahs 1 and 5 outta that place."
30C nodded as the momentum finally brought them to the Nerd Star. He and 274 each took out a cutting tool and proceeded to cut into the station.
Author's Note: Well, that was Chapter 9. There are only a few more chapters left so please look out for them. Please review and thank you for reading.
Disclaimer: Refer to first chapter
Chapter Title: The KND Strike Back
Nerd Star Space Station, low-earth orbit
Alden's knuckles went white as he gripped his command chair's armrests in fury. Out of the sixty SQUID units the KND had destroyed forty-seven, FORTY-SEVEN! Time and again the KND had mocked their efforts, vanquishing their robots seemingly with ease.
Alden suddenly felt a familiar tightening in his chest. He reached for his asthma inhaler and took a deep puff. 'Calm down' he told himself mentally. 'Calm down, it's not over yet. You now have only one KND craft to worry about'
"Order the surviving SQUIDs to attack that remaining KND vessel." He ordered. "And send out the ASPs to capture Numbahs 1 and 5."
Jane and Maria nodded curtly and started tapping commands on their terminals. Jane redirected the SQUIDs while Maria prepared the ASPs. Alden stared at the main monitor and pressed a button on his command terminal. A communicator activated, he keyed the KND frequency into it.
"Very good strategy, 274." Alden said. "But you will find that it just wasn't enough."
"Yeah?" 274 replied. Alden could almost see the smirk on 274's face. "Well, our strategies have gotten us this far. And kicked the butts of your vaunted robots I might add."
"We shall see, 274." Alden said. "We shall see."
The SPIDR, KND Antarctic Base
Klaus smirked as the SPIDR's laser finished cutting through the wall. He mentally commanded the robot to in the slab he'd cut into the wall. The robot reared up its leg and kicked hard the slab fell backward.
The SPIDR stepped in through the hole. From its cockpit, Klaus looked around. He activated the robot's loudspeaker. "Oh Kids Next Door, von't you come out und play?"
He walked the SPIDR over to the base's command center, there was no one there. The base seemed to be abandoned. But Klaus knew that it wasn't, his comrades on the Nerd Star had confirmed that at least three operatives were in this base. He would just have to find them.
Mentally controlling the robot's sensor grid, he adjusted the visual sensor to pick up bodily residue, down to a single skin cell or hair strand. His helmet's visual displays fizzled for a split-second as the sensors readjusted. Klaus smiled, he activated his robot's loudspeaker again. "You can run, KND." He taunted. "But you cannot hide."
The SPIDR lumbered on, following the bodily traces of the operatives it was hunting.
The remaining SHARC
274 gritted his teeth in frustration. He had tried to pick up 1 and 5 after he saw their SHARC fall apart, but the SQUIDs that had wrecked 1 and 5's craft started to come toward him. He tried to fire missiles at the robots, but they were too small to lock on to.
"Get in here, 30C" he said.
"You don't have to tell me twice." 30C answered. He crawled over to the cockpit and pulled himself inside.
"Grab another weapon," 274 ordered. "You gotta get those remaining robots off our backs."
"What other weapon?" 30C asked. "That was the only one I had."
274 grimaced, he would've handed over his weapon to 30C but the cockpit's configuration made that impossible. His chair was in the way, and crawling out to give it to 30C was impractical if not, stupid.
"Okay then, just hang on. I'll try to blow these guys to space dust myself."
274 pulled his craft into wild maneuvers. If he could just line the SQUIDs up in his sights he could use the SHARC's beam weapons on them. That, of course, was easier said than done since the drones were small and very fast.
274 jinked the craft to his left and fired. His beam caught two SQUIDs, destroying one and severely damaging another. The other SQUIDs scattered and started doing evasive maneuvers. 274 tried to keep them in his sights, but they were just too small and moving too fast.
The eleven undamaged SQUID units literally flew circles around 274 and 30C. One by one they dove toward the SHARC and latched on. They started to drill themselves in.
"Argh!" 274 screamed in frustration. "It's no good, I can't shake 'em! We'll just have to try and make it to the Nerd Star before we fall apart."
274 wheeled the SHARC around. "Let's find 1 and 5. We'll pck them up and head for the space station."
"We won't have to." 30C said. "They're already heading there."
"What?" 274 said, confused. 30C told him to look to his upper left. 274 looked. He saw 1 and 5 being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the Nerd Star by snake-like robots. 274 cursed as he pointed his craft toward the Nerd space station and sped after them.
KND Antarctic Base
Numbahs 2, 3, and 4 opened the weapons locker in Sector A-6. 2 and 4's mouths hung open, the weapons storage locker was stocked with 2x4 technology weapons. All of them in prime working condition. 4 started grabbing as many weapons as he could carry.
"Now this is what ah'm talkin' 'bout." 4 said, regarding the weapons appreciatively.
"Talking about what?" 3 asked uncomprehendingly.
"You can run, KND." They suddenly heard a German accented voice say from afar. "But you cannot hide."
"C'mon guys, it's Nerd whoopin' time." 4 said.
2 grabbed several weapons too, but he looked less eager. He didn't know how well their weapons would work against a self-repairing robot. But another thing also worried him. That voice he heard spoke with a German accent. There was only one person he knew was with the Nerds who spoke with a German accent. His old friend, the former Numbah 117, Klaus Heinkel.
Could he fight an old friend? Or was it rather, WOULD he fight an old friend? He shook such thoughts away. He'd have to, because that old friend would most likely have no qualms about fighting him.
Then, they heard it. A mechanical whirring sound which progressively became louder as the source of it came closer. The German voice taunted them again. "You cannot hide from meinself, Kids Next Door."
"Awright," 4 whispered as they hid behind a line of storage pods. "This is what we'll do. Numbah 2, you hide behind that pod over there and prepare a rocket launcher. Numbah 3, you stay 'ere and prepare a rocket launcher too. When ah shout 'Now' ya two blast the bugger, got it?"
"Okey dokey!" 3 said.
"What about you, Numbah 4?" 2 asked.
"Ah'll saty over there." 4 said pointing to a crane. "When ya let the nerd have it, ah'll let that thing loose and drop in on 'im."
He pointed to an unfinished KND aircraft, which was hanging from the crane. "Okay, let's move."
2 and 3 nodded, they then split up and went to get into position. The German nerd boasted another taunt, not knowing that he and his machine were heading for an ambush.
Nerd Star Space Station
"We have operatives 1 and 5 in our custody, Alden." Jane reported.
"Excellent." Alden said. He smiled as he watched the monitor. On it was the image of Numbahs 1 and 5 being dragged into one of the Nerd Star's holding cells by ASPs. The snake-like ASP (Automated Security Probe) units held onto them as the other ASPs opened the cell door. They were roughly tossed into their cell. The ASPs shut the door then slithered away.
Alden reached for the intercom. "Welcome Numbahs 1 and 5, or maybe I should call you Nigel Uno and Abigail Lincoln? Anyway, welcome to the Nerd Star. I do hope you'll enjoy your stay."
"Laugh while you can, Poindexter." He heard 5 reply. "274 and 30c are still out there, you haven't won yet."
"You're right," Alden mocked. "I haven't won yet, but I will."
"No you won't!" 1 said. "You'll never win, you betrayers!"
"Me, the betrayer?" Alden asked with a hint of anger. "Me, my brother, and my team worked earnestly for the KND. We wanted nothing in return except the respect and recognition of our peers. But what did we get for all that work?! Nothing but mockery and disrespect! No, my friends, it is you and the entire KND who betrayed US!"
With that, he cut off the intercom, not even bothering to wait for 1 and 5's replies. He turned to Jane and Maria. "Where's that other craft?"
"It's heading straight for us." Maria answered. "But I don't think they'll make it. Eleven SQUID units have managed to drill into their craft, it'll only be a matter of time before it falls apart."
Alden nodded and stayed silent. Victory was so close he could almost taste it. Soon, their revenge for the KND's transgressions against them would be complete. They would have the justice that was rightfully theirs, and it would come through their own efforts.
He looked at the main monitor, it was now displaying the feed from an external camera. He saw the image of the KND craft. Pieces of it were starting to come off as it sped towards them. Alden smiled, he couldn't help but admire their determination, no matter how futile.
But then, Alden's smile froze as he saw several flashes from the KND craft. It had fired missiles at them!
"Alden, we have multiple missiles heading straight for us!" Jane yelled, confirming Alden's realization.
He watched as the missiles came closer and closer...
The SHARC
[WARNING, STRUCTURAL FAILURE IMMINENT] droned the mechanized voice of the SHARC's internal computer. 274 paid no heed to it. He just kept on firing missiles at the Nerd Star as his craft sped towards it. Chunks of the SHARC's fuselage flew off, but he paid it no mind.
[WARNING, STRUCTURAL FAIL---] the computer never finished the sentence. Just as 274 fired the tenth missile, the SHARC broke apart. 274 managed to reach for the weapon stowed under his chair just before the cockpit area disintegrated. He and 30C were now floating freely, their forward momentum carrying them toward the space station. As they floated toward the station, 274 opened up on the remaining SQUIDs.
They watched as the missiles streaked toward the Nerd Star. The space station deployed close-in defensive weapons which started to fire a hail of billiard balls at the missiles. The defensive guns managed to stop six of the ten missiles, but the other four flew on and rammed themselves into the Nerd Star. The space station shook as the four missiles detonated.
"Oh yeah!" 30C cheered. "In your face, Nerds!"
As their forward momentum carried them toward the Nerd Star, 274 turned to 30C. "Get ready, we gotta get Numbahs 1 and 5 outta that place."
30C nodded as the momentum finally brought them to the Nerd Star. He and 274 each took out a cutting tool and proceeded to cut into the station.
Author's Note: Well, that was Chapter 9. There are only a few more chapters left so please look out for them. Please review and thank you for reading.
