Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Far Beyond the World
Part XIX - Seize the Day
Within the Forbidden Zone...
The pack of mutant Nomads, ensconced tightly behind a protective layer of ragged blue wrappings to protect them from the harsh winds and blinding grit that blew through the endless post-apocalyptic wasteland that covered nine-tenths of the surface of 25th Century Earth, trekked across the blighted terrain, weaving around hazy blast craters and wide pools of jagged black glass that used to be sand before the endless barrage of nuclear missiles blasted it into it's current shape five centuries earlier.
Their tall leader lead the way, his jagged metal spear doubling as a walking-stick, while the rest of the group followed after his steady pace in single-file. And after them came Captain Buck Rogers, hand on the butt of his holstered pulsar pistol, ever-ready to rip it free to use against whatever threats might suddenly rear their ugly head from around one of the many rising pinnacles of stone that dotted the blighted plain.
And beside Buck trotted his constant companion, doing his best to keep up, but it was tough seeing as his legs were less then half the length of his human friend's who towered over him.
"Want me to carry you, Twiki?" asked Buck as he panned his gaze back-and-forth, scanning with the naked eye for any threats.
"Bidi-bidi-bidi, no need, Buck! I'm okay. But my batteries are getting low, so I hope we get where we're going soon."
"Need to recharge, huh? I thought your casing was solar absorbent."
"It is. But in this wind I'm using up more power then I can suck in."
"You know, Twiki, you've been a lot more talkative lately."
"Bidi-bidi-bidi! Is that a problem, Buck?"
"Nope, of course not. I'm just not used to it. No offense, but before this you always seemed to be a drone of few words. Just a comment or quip here and there, plus that bleeping thing you do."
"Perhaps I'm evolving, Buck."
"That would be great." he vaulted a large pool of what looked like bubbling acid, then reached back and helped Twiki over it. He put him back down and dusted ash off the top of his domed head.
"Has Dr. Goodfellow been expanding your memory?"
"Yep! Bidi-bidi-bidi! And he's patched my intelligence circuits with new enhancement subroutines that have pushed my AI capabilities from a Positronic level to a Gravitonic one."
Buck's brow furrowed, "Okay, you just lost me there, pal."
"It means I am completely self-aware now, Buck, and am capable of high-level learning and personality evolution."
"Like Crichton?" scowled the Captain as they ducked beneath the half fallen over stump of a telephone pole.
"Yeah, like Crichton." Twiki replied, his tone gone slightly colder, "Bidi-bidi-bidi..."
Buck shot the Ambuquad a supportive smile, "I don't think you are going to turn your back on us like he did, Twiki."
"I'd never do that, Buck! You're my best pal! Bidi-bidi-bidi, I like humans! You guys are awesome possum!"
"Good to know, pal, good to know. You know, I like the idea of you being on par with us humans, Twiki. I bet you can teach us some stuff, like--get down!"
Twiki looked up at him in confusion, "You want me to show you how to boogie? Right now?"
"No!" Buck's pulsar was out of it's holster and at the ready, he gripped Twiki's left armature and hauled him after him behind the nearest pinnacle of rock and crouched down with him, pressing tight to the stone.
"What is it, Buck?" whispered the drone as he glanced past the Captain to the next two pinnacles, where the mutant Nomads were also hunkered down hiding like them.
"Draconians!" the Captain hissed back, "There's a tank coming right for us! be quiet!"
Twiki leaned out from behind the pinnacle just enough to allow his right photoreceptor to look and Buck was right, there was the jagged, turtle-like shape of Draconian hover-tank. It's armor was the same red-rust color of their Marauders, and it was toting a pair of jagged triple-barrelled pulsar canons, one facing front and one facing aft. They panned slowly back-and-forth as the tank ghosted across the pock-marked terrain, their targeting Scanners searching for any sign of life. And to Buck and Twiki's annoyment they found some.
The tank hummed to a halt, floating a meter above the dirt on yellow-glowing repulsor pads, and it's forward canon slid to the left and stopped, aimed directly for the farthest pinnacle of rock from Buck which concealed three of their Nomad companions.
Buck looked in their direction and saw that one of them had leaned a bit too far out and had produced a two foot-long grey tube which was now perched on his shoulder like-
"-a US Army issue rocket launcher?!" gaped the Captain, he could see the American Flag stamped on it's side, just above the trigger guard. "Where the devil did they find that?"
Does it still even work--yeah, guess it does!
The launcher had fired, sending a plume of orange-red flame shooting horizontally out the back of it, while from the bore blasted forth a shell that soared across the twenty meter gap between the Nomad's pinnacle and the hover-tank. But before the rocket could strike, the Draconians had already fired, and the triple beam of purple energy lashed back, vaporizing the rocket two meters before it could hit them, kept on going and struck the pinnacle of stone, DETONATING it in a roar of grit and spinning rock!
The Nomads had jumped up to flee the moment their rocket had been launched, which saved the lives of two of them, but the third was struck in the back of the head by craggy shrapnel and went down hard, and Buck could tell from the spreading pool of blood that he was never going to stand on two feet again.
They're gonna slaughter them if I don't do something right now!
"Twiki! Stay here and stay down!"
"Gotcha, Buck!" replied the drone as the Captain lept to his feet, sprang free of the cover and took off at a run to the right.
The tank's stacked tri-canon instantly began to swing in his direction and Buck poured on the speed, vaulting boulders and weaving around the craters he couldn't jump across. The Draconian's let loose and the beam blasted apart a rock spur two meters behind him, he covered the back of his head as jagged pebbles rained against it, but didn't slow, and when the canon fired again it missed him a second time, blowing a foot-deep hole in the ground instead. Buck suddenly changed direction radically, banking toward the tank, head low and knees pumping high, he charged the tank as the aft canon began to swing in his direction, and then the two canons fired as one and he DIVED low, ghosting underneath the purple beams, and struck one of the wide pools of nuclear-fused glass and shot across it's length like an Olympic bobsledder, the tank loomed before him and the sheet of glass came to an end, Buck somersaulted across the dirt and terminated underneath the tank, landing between two of the projecting repulsor pads.
He rolled onto his back and quick-drew his pulsar pistol, aimed for the utility hatch he'd read about in Defense Directorate intelligence files and blew off it's lock. It swung down with a clank of hinges and in a flash Buck was clawing his way up into the tank and popped up between the pilot and gunner.
"Hiya, boys! Anybody wanna buy an Amway ticket to the Moon?" the two warriors whirled around to gape at him in astonishment, then they reached for their sidearms.
"Guess not." frowned Buck and he blasted one in the chest, swung his aim around and shot down the other soldier.
They keeled over dead and he reached for the rungs of the exit ladder, climbed it and popped the dorsal hatch, emerging in the open air, a triumphant grin painted across his face.
"Hey, guys!" he called to Twiki and the Nomads, "The worst is over!"
But the hair on the back of Buck's neck rose and suddenly he doubted the veracity of his victorious declaration. He rotated around 180 degrees and gaped at the SECOND hover-tank that was roaring across the blighted terrain toward his position.
"Aw, fudge..."
To be continued...