Chapter 22 as it appeared
Part 3: Evolution Bites
Authors: Gabby, PCat
Acknowledgment: Based on an idea by Ian, Extra input from BD, Kulko and Tarrok
Chapter 23: Final Moves
Malton +100
"You've gotta go, Cat," BD insisted.
"No, I'm going to get you out of here." Cat was struggling with the electronics panels.
"No time. They're on their way. You have to get back in the compound."
"Come with us," said Gabby urgently.
"Can't. Minimal control over this thing and they can over-ride me easily. Bryn is better at it. That's why they've got me here and not her."
"Fuck BD," Gabby swore.
"Go! They'll be here in five."
"Come on, Cat." Gabby grabbed hold of her and pulled her out of the hatch.
"I can fix this! I've studied the schematics! BD!"
"You've gotta go, Sis. Get Hali to patch into the army network. Use the old passwords. I'll find him and talk. But now you have to go."
"No! I can stop the over-ride!"
"Give my love to the children. Tell them I wish... I wish things had worked out better. Tell them I love them."
"No!"
"Cat, love," whispered Gabby. "We have to go now. BD's right, I can see the army coming. You can't help him if you get caught too."
Cat began to cry. She leaned in and kissed BD's forehead and then let Gabby drag her out of the hatchway and back down the ladder.
"Ian! There's a Press Release. Says what the army is up to!" Hali called, spinning round in his chair and clapping to get Ian's attention - a precious resource these days.
Ian leaned over his shoulder, "Oh... oh dear."
Gabby came over when he heard Ian's voice, followed by Cat, Sam and Thom.
"Following new studies on immortal behaviour, the world government has decided to suspend the launch of the intergalactic spacecraft. All of the project members will be taken in for questioning and... fucking hell!" Gabby got bored as the print grew smaller and stopped reading.
"So do we go?"
"Do we have a choice?" Sam said.
"Fuck the government. We've fought those fuckers before. Hell, I fought them fifty years ago, and I'll do it again. How long do we have?"
"Gabby, c'mon. We're surrounded, and mostly unarmed, and the ship isn't finished."
"Everything we need to fly is done," said Thom. "I made sure all that got priority. The interior will be uncomfortable for a bit but we can fix it up as we go."
"What about supplies?" asked Ian.
"Most of what we need is here and can be loaded now but loading will take a couple of days. We'll need more food, to tide us over until the hydroponics is up and running."
"We're almost ready then. We can't give in, not now," said Gabby.
"We might have to, Gabe," Sam said morosely. "We can't live without food."
"Fuck off. We're not."
"Gabby-"
"No! It's not happening. It's not. It's not. We'll fight them off!"
"With what?"
"I dunno! Call the Chinese! The Russians. Who was it that wanted to secede? Stall the fuckers!" Gabby continued at break neck speed. "We can ration the food. Fuck, half of us aren't here yet, we won't need so much. Ian! You go and fucking talk their ears off. We'll hurry up the loading. Leave behind non-essentials."
"We can't skip the pre-flight checks, we'll blow up!"
"Gabby, you go with Ian. Hold a press conference," Cat spoke for the first time.
"What?"
"Mobilise your fans, your support. There was a pro-immortal lobby, there was a liberal left, not to mention your radical mates. They're still about and some have influence. They won't stand for this."
"It's not quick enough."
"It's worth trying."
"They might not let the signals out," Thom murmured.
"I'll force them through and flood the networks," Hali growled.
Ian straightened up. "OK! We'll do this. I'll stall the government. Gabby will mobilise whoever he can. Hali send out the call. Make the situation clear but give the other immortals a chance to try to reach us if they want to risk it. Protect the signals and see if you can mess with the attackers. The rest of you, just rush the loading. Good luck. This is the last push, people. We can do it."
"Just keep breathing," Sam remarked.
[BD] I'm sorry it worked out like this guys.
[Robert] Where are you Dad?
[BD] That's a bit difficult to explain.
[Robert] I'm twenty-three. You don't have to protect me now.
[Dawn] We're all old enough to be told.
[BD] Kids, don't make this harder than it is.
[Robert] Please Dad.
[BD] I'm in the Mech outside. Now you're not to come out and try to see me. Do you hear? Stay where you are.
[Robert] Do you know where Mum is?
[BD] Yes. I've told Hali. I'm guessing your aunt and uncle are probably hatching a plan to go get her.
[Robert] I can help.
[BD] Talk to them. Rosie? Are you there too?
[Rosie] Yes.
[BD] I'm sorry I wasn't there to watch you all grow up. I'm sorry I'm not going to be with you in that ship.
[Dawn] Why not?
[BD] I'll do my best, I promise. But unless someone comes up with some miracle, I'm stuck here.
[Dawn] Dad.
[BD] I'm going to have to go. They're making a move. I love you all. I'm sorry we didn't have longer. I hope Cat and Gabby can find Bryn. Be good. Grow up well.
[Robert] Don't go.
[BD] Sorry son, I've run out of time.
The screen suddenly went blank.
"What happened?" demanded Robert. "Get him back."
Hali shook his head. "I can't. We knew the connection was risky, I'm guessing someone found it and pulled the plug."
Cat was standing on one of the observation platforms when Gabby found her. She'd come up to think, but she wanted to see the enemy as she did so. A small tent had been pitched in front of the compound gates. Ian was in there somewhere, negotiating and stalling.
The call had gone out. Any immortals who intended to travel and were not already inside the compound were arriving and most were bringing food. More and more were coming, once it became clear that the army was letting them in. In theory they could leave now, but that would mean leaving people behind and there was still equipment in the compound, scattered around the various workshops that needed to go into the ship. They wouldn't be properly ready for another week.
"What are they doing?" asked Gabby as he climbed up.
"Nothing much that I can see."
"That's good right?"
"Not sure. Let's assume they are allowing us to gather. That makes sense. It's why they're letting people through. But they must realise we're almost ready to go."
"Possibly not, Ian and Hali have been running disinformation about our readiness for months. I think Ian thought they might try something like this." Gabby sat down next to her, slipping one arm around her waist.
Cat shrugged. "Easier to have us all in one place, I suppose, while the politics plays out."
"What do they want to arrest us all for anyway? I mean we were going."
"Well either they think we are too dangerous or too valuable to allow to leave."
"I'm not being made to feel very valuable right now."
"I don't suppose BD is either and that's one very expensive piece of hardware they've got him plugged into."
Gabby chewed his lip. "The fuckers want to enslave us."
Cat didn't bother to reply. Conversation in the compound had revolved around nothing else since the news first got back about BD.
Gabby pulled her closer. "Why are you up here? What's bugging you?"
"There are lots of immortals out there. Why BD?"
Suddenly the ground started shaking. As they watched Ian suddenly exited the tent on the ground. He didn't run, but he and his bodyguard walked stiffly, rapidly back to the compound. Over the horizon more mechs appeared, walking in their direction.
"Fuck!" said Gabby.
Cat realised she was shaking. "I guess it wasn't just BD."
"We need to leave and soon," said Gabby.
"Let's talk to Ian, the strike to get Bryn out was planned for tonight. If they hold off just a little longer we'll have some defence."
"This is where BD said Bryn was being kept," murmured Cat.
Ant nodded tersely and wired a small box up to the door. "Let's hope Hali's box of tricks will work its magic."
"It's a storage facility, not a secret base," muttered Gabby. "How hard can it be?"
The door swung open.
"Good old Hali," grinned Gabby.
Cat pulled a small computer out of her pocket. "OK, let's see what we can find in here."
"How many of these things have they built?" asked Ant. In the half-dark their torches flashed over row upon row of mechs, all neatly lined up and ready to go.
"One for each of us, I imagine," said Gabby bitterly.
Cat was already moving down the rows, her torch flashing from mech to mech.
"What are you looking for?" asked Gabby.
"Prototype. I'm betting Bryn's mech looks different."
"I'm going to check out inside one of these," said Ant. "I've got those schematics Gabby stole. Let's see if they've changed the design at all."
"Go ahead," said Gabby vaguely. "I'll keep an eye on Cat."
They moved down to the back of the warehouse. "Are we even sure she's here?" Gabby asked.
"As sure as BD, I guess."
"What if they've just starved her to death? If she was being difficult."
"BD said something about keeping her powered up. They've bypassed the need to feed us and just hook us into an electricity supply. At that level, I guess, it's not to hard to keep her minimally operational without giving her enough juice to go anywhere."
Gabby scowled. "I like these wankers less by the minute."
"There!" whispered Cat.
In the torchlight it was obvious that the Mech in front of them was an early model. It looked bulkier and less stream-lined.
"Now what?"
"Power her up and hope she can get out of here."
Cat looked around and then followed a power cable from the mech to the back wall. She pulled a switch and suddenly the whole room was flooded with light.
"Did you mean to do that?" asked Gabby, blinking in the glare.
"Errr... not exactly, but it seems to have worked."
The Mech, tentatively identified as Bryn's was moving slightly.
"Are we sure this is a good idea?" asked Gabby.
"Like that ever stopped you." Cat scrambled forwards, towards the Mech.
"I'm the reckless one, remember?" Gabby called after her.
"Cat?" It was clearly Bryn's voice.
"Bryn? Can you hear me? How much control do you have?"
"Plenty, when I have power." Bryn sounded distinctly smug.
Gabby whistled soundlessly. "You've been having them on haven't you?"
"Let's say I've been working on things on the quiet."
"Excellent," said Cat. "How long do you need to charge? Then we can collect Ant and break out of here?"
"Talking of Ant?" Gabby looked around the room.
"I think we may have a problem." Ant's voice suddenly boomed across the room.
"Shit. He wasn't in one of these things when you powered up was he?" asked Bryn.
"Assume he was," said Cat faintly.
"They've got automatic integration pulses now."
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" muttered Gabby. "Ant mate! Are you OK!"
"What do you think? Fuck, something's trying to trigger some sort of override."
"Imagine it's a fly and you're going to swat it," said Bryn. "Always works for me."
"A fly? Fuck! OK, got it."
"Can you detach yourself?" asked Bryn.
"I'm trying. Any hints?"
"I can give you a long list of things that don't work."
"Fuck!" said Gabby.
"Cheer up Gabs!" said Ant. "At least this way there'll be two Mechs on our side in the fight. I'm sure Sy will work out how to get us out of these things eventually."
"What fight?" asked Bryn.
Bryn had cupped her hands together. This meant Cat and Gabby could both sit in them. It was a bit squashed but they didn't really mind. Bryn and Ant were talking, but they'd taken it to electronic communication some time ago claiming that it was quicker and anyway what they were discussing wasn't really any of Gabby and Cat's business. Cat had disagreed saying it might be useful. Gabby had pointed out that Bryn and Ant were a lot larger than they were, and made of metal, and perhaps Gabby and Cat should let the two of them get on with whatever they were doing in peace.
"What do you think they are doing?" asked Gabby.
"Well if you hadn't agreed to let them take it online."
"Make a guess and stop arguing woman."
Cat gazed up at the expressionless face of Bryn's Mech. "Bryn's giving him a crash course in how to resist any commands beamed his way."
"Will it work? Doesn't seem to have done BD much good."
"Well Bryn knows a lot more about what she's up to now. Also at the moment no one is trying to condition Ant. That means he can disable the control commands before anyone gets a chance to use them."
"I thought the control commands were just radio signals?"
"Some probably are. But they are using direct access too. Otherwise we'd all have just obediently marched out of the compound by now and into the government's waiting arms."
"There's an unpleasant thought."
"OK people," Bryn's voice rang out suddenly. "We're fully charged and ready to go."
"Where are we going?" asked Gabby.
"Back to the compound of course," said Ant. "It's clobberin' time."
"Cat! Where the fuck are you?"
"Good to hear from you too Hali."
"Now is not the moment for sarcasm."
"We're on our way back. Bryn is carrying us."
"Thank God! How long before you get here? I've just intercepted the order to send in the Mechs. We need another five hours before we can lift off."
"Shit! We'll be with you soon!"
"Good! I don't think we have enough time. Maybe Bryn can buy us that."
"Errr... Hali? It won't be just Bryn."
"Cat?" whispered Gabby.
"Yes? Why are you whispering?"
"Can you hear something?"
Cat frowned. "Like what?"
"Dunno, a kind of buzzing in my ears."
"I don't hear anything."
Gabby chewed his lower lip. "What if you really concentrate?"
Cat sighed and closed her eyes. Gabby watched her while the insistent buzzing whisper in his head increased in volume.
"Nope, nothing," she said.
Gabby tapped at his head. "It's like there's something in here."
"That would be me," Bryn's voice spoke into his mind.
Gabby jumped, "Fuck!"
"What is it?" asked Cat.
"It's Bryn! Shit!"
"Radio signals," said Bryn. "Looks like you can pick them up."
"Can I transmit?"
"Transmit what?" asked Cat. Gabby waved her to silence.
"Don't see why not," said Bryn. "It's just the nanites doing their thing."
Gabby closed his eyes and concentrated on, "Testing, testing, one, two, three."
"I got that," said Anton.
"Well I'll be," began Gabby. "I guess it's preferable to tentacles."
"What is?" demanded Cat.
"Gabby can receive and transmit radio signals, like Ant and I can," said Bryn.
"Could be useful, I suppose." Cat looked worried.
"Yeah, except that the government knows the frequency and we don't have time to work up a code."
Gabby gave Cat a hug. "It's not too bad. Kinda cool really."
"What's going on? Why are they here?" Cat demanded.
Joe was loading equipment into a small armoured car, but Cat was glaring at Robert and Rosie Clark, in full body armour, who were standing by the door.
"It's our choice Aunt Kate," said Robert defensively.
"They are not going out on that battlefield!" said Cat.
Joe shrugged. "You can try to stop them if you want. I gave up trying to talk Clarks out of shit in Malton. Don't worry I'll tag along and tentacle anything that gets too close."
Cat rounded on her niece and nephew. "You are not going out on that battlefield."
"You can't stop us," said Robert. "We're both adults now. You're not loco parentis any more."
"Besides," added Rosie, "it's our Mum and Dad out there."
"You'll get killed."
"We got ourselves fixed this afternoon."
"You what? You're too young and it won't protect you much in this fight."
"We're both older than Gabby was when he got fixed."
"I hardly think your uncle is a good argument for getting fixed young."
"He's not really a good argument for anything," observed Joe.
"You keep out of this."
"Hey, I'm on your side here."
"It's too late anyway," said Robert. "It's done now."
Cat looked at his expression, recognised her brother's son and gave up. "Tell me Jim and Dawn aren't around here somewhere."
"Both under 21," said Dawn. "They tried to get fixed, but those age limits Ian set up kicked in and the medics refused."
"They could get fixed if you would sign a consent form," said Robert.
"No way!!"
"That's what we figured," said Dawn. "So they didn't bother asking."
"Guys!" came the shout from whoever was manning the security monitors, "They're moving!"
"OK! You know what to do! If you're getting on the ship, start boarding. If you're the rearguard, get to your positions," Ian shouted. Joe led his men to the armoury. It had been stocked by Ant when they all first moved to the compound. "I'll be damned if I let you break the Second Amendment now, Ian," he had said in the face of Ian's objections that it made them look violent.
"Joe!" Cat grabbed his arm as he passed. "Look after the kids."
"They're tough, Kate. They'll all be on the ship ready to irritate you before you know it."
Gabby came over and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Don't you dare get killed, Joe. You hear?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Gabe! Transmission for you."
Gabby hurried over to Hali and picked up the receiver. Cat watched him nervously as his expression darkened progressively. He put the receiver down and returned to her.
"Cat. Ant and Bryn need our help. We need to go out there."
"What's the problem?" Gabby asked. He climbed cautiously into the cockpit-cum-cradle of Ant's mech.
He winced at the sight that met his eyes. He'd been avoiding coming in here. BD had been bad enough, but he'd counted Ant as a friend and mentor in a way BD had never been. Ant wasn't as assimilated as BD, but even so there seemed to be wires and cables stretching out from the back of his head and it was hard to tell where flesh began and cables ended.
"Not a pretty sight is it?" said Ant ruefully.
"I'm sorry mate."
"No use crying over spilt milk. Sy will get me out eventually."
Gabby wasn't so sure. It wasn't that he doubted Sy's talents but he'd been there when Sy and Cat and Sam had gone into a little huddle and he'd heard enough to know that they weren't sure what the three of them could achieve where a bunch of well-resourced government scientists had failed. The only real hope was that maybe the government scientists hadn't tried all that hard. Maybe they hadn't wanted to get Bryn out.
"Don't look like that," said Ant. "You make me feel all tragic. It's an interesting experience and it's nice to know I'm a key asset in the battle." His voice faltered slightly.
"So what's the problem?"
"Signals, they keep flooding the two of us with signals. All that hack work Cat's wired in to protect us isn't really holding. Bryn reckons we'll keep it more together if we have someone to talk to. Looks like you drew the short straw."
"Ian is needed to fly the ship," said Gabby. "Guess I was the next most obvious choice. So what's the plan?"
"Ian reckons they'll target the gate. We built some surprises into the walls, but they probably know that. So Bryn and I are going to stand there and fight off anything that tries to get in."
"And I'm supposed to stay here and talk to you."
"Something like that. Argue with me about communism, that'll hold my attention."
"When we get to Alpha Centauri..."
"Shit man! The chances of Ian letting you set up a commune on Alpha Centauri are zero and you know it!"
"Think about it though, we're a small tightly knit group, if we can't make it work..."
The mech lumbered towards the gatehouse.
"We've got infantry coming in through the gate! Lay down some fire on them!" Joe yelled, forgetting he was wearing a throat mic.
"Thanks for that, asshole. There goes my hearing." Rosie complained. A shell exploded in one of the living quarters, demolishing it instantly.
"Shit! Artillery? Control, are you sure that they want us alive?" Robert asked.
Thom's voice rung out over the comms. "They need us to run their mechs. They'll avoid killing you if they can."
A tank rolled down the street in front of Joe's car. "If they can. Do we have anti-tank weaponry?"
"Not exactly."
"We got any other mutants in the defenders?" asked Joe.
"There's only one bit of this defender that mutates," someone said lightly.
"Cut the banter, people," Thom's voice cut in, "Joe! Remember me telling you about those anti-asteroid guns we had added onto the ship?" The tank exploded in a plume of smoke. "Preliminary tests show they work very well."
"ALL AMERICANS ARE EVIL!!!" Gabby was standing over Ant, shaking him by his shirt. "Come on Ant! Lenin was awesome! Contradict me!"
"Your jus' sayin' that." Ant's eyes were glazed over and his speech was slurring.
"What would Ian say if he saw you like this? What about BD? Shit Ant! stay with me."
"'m tryin'"
"Ant..." Gabby ran his hands through his hair and stared at Anton in distress. "Come on, Ant. I know I'm not exactly the companion you'd have chosen for this, and I'm doing a shit job."
Ant's mouth twitched into a smile. "You're doin' all right. I was always happy to have you along, even in Malton when you were young."
"How's Bryn doing?" asked Gabby.
"Better, she's had more practice though. Don't blame yourself."
Gabby gazed out over the space in front of the gatehouse. "What's that bunch of Mechs doing over there?"
"Dunno, but don't like the look of them all grouped up like that."
"What do you say Ant? Bryn can hold the gatehouse. We can go over there and clobber them. It'll give you something to concentrate on."
Ant's laugh was a dry cackle, but it sounded genuine. "Your grasp of tactics never ceases to amaze me."
"Hey! Leader of the resistance, me."
"Yeah! yeah! and you're probably right. Standing here waiting is a game I'm going to lose."
Gabby was relieved to see Anton was already looking more animated and with it.
"Shit!" Gabby ducked instinctively as a huge punch, hit the side of Anton's cockpit.
"Don't be a wimp."
"It's all right for you, you're all armoured up."
"As much as you are... ahh fuck!"
"Come on Ant! Concentrate! I'm relying on you to protect me here!" Gabby watched anxiously as Ant's eyes focused again.
"'s getting harder to override that. You should bail. I could carry you right to them."
"No way Ant! I bail, you're a gonner. Watch out!"
The arm of Anton's mech sprung forwards and blocked a blow.
"Ant! Ant! Stay with me! Shit Ant, there's only about half a dozen of them left. You've pulverised them. Don't lose it now."
"Free will gives you faster reaction time. Who'd have thought it?" muttered Anton dreamily.
"Ant!"
"Sorry Gabs, Can't hold it any more. You need to jump."
"Wait! What! No Ant we can do this. Fuck! Why has the lighting gone red?"
"Self-destruct. Time to bail Gabby."
"Ant! Fuck! No!"
The large mech staggered forwards into the remaining cluster of the opposition. Hands reached out to tangle and grapple. Then there was a large explosion. Debris rained down over the battle field.