“Hurry Addison, The second we get indoors, initiate the launch sequence.” Aurelia said. Her heart felt like it wanted to escape her chest. She hadn’t been this scared in decades since the last war she was thrust into. One of the drones carrying her stretcher looked down at with its featureless face.
“Yes miss. The Blackhole Blitz will be ready to launch in six hours.”
The drones carried the pair through a path cleared by the drones on their way here. The Facility was just over hundred meters away, and they couldn’t get there fast enough. The bolt she shot at the contractor should have killed anyone, but it merely stunned the creature instead.
What was that thing? It’s not in the registry of species. Did the Nekt create something new? Or is it something else...
Her mind was a buzz, a barely coherent stream of thoughts running through her head. She snapped back to reality when they finally left the jungle and entered the plaza in front of the facility. Suddenly, a monstrous roar rumbled through the jungle behind them, followed by the breaking branches and the collapse of trees as it came closer and closer.
“Addison, sorry to rush you but please hurry the fuck up.” Aurelia said almost screaming. The drones picked up pace, their servos going into a full overdrive. They were mere meters away from the facility entrance when a blue, ooze-like creature burst from the jungle line. It barreled towards them, reaching out an arm towards Aurelia.
“Sorry for this, young miss.” said one of Addison’s drones.
“For wh-” and before she could finish her sentence, the airlock opened and the drones threw Aurelia off her stretcher along with the android into the facility. The door closed behind them, and a blue layer of energy contained the entire facility.
The Drones left outside turned to face the living ooze, and tried to grab onto it as it crashed through them. It slid to a stop in front of the barrier, and roared, punching the barrier with its rounded fist. It recoiled in pain as it’s hand evaporated on contact with the field. The drones, all half destroyed, crawled towards it with arms out to grab it, but the monster just crushed them underfoot with no effort. It picked up one of the remaining ones that could still stand and slammed it into the barrier. Aurelia watched as it paced backwards and forwards. It occasionally made glances at Aurelia, as if deep in thought.
More drones arrived at the airlock and carefully moved Aurelia onto a new stretcher, then carried her to the med-bay. They placed her on the medical bed there, a robotic arm descending from the ceiling. It cut away the fabric around the wound, then jabbed the scientist with a needle, leaving her whole leg feeling numb soon after. Lost in thought as a robotic arm tended to her thigh wound. She had ordered Addison to take Isobel to the workshop, and to hook her up to a supply cable for repairs..
She should never have had this happen to her. I’m too complacent.
Aurelia looked down at her leg, and was thankful for the anesthetic as the robot arm stitched her wound shut. She lay there for a while, with only her thoughts for company. Once the arm was done, the scientists sat herself up, and admired Addison’s handy work.
“Thank you Addison, you did a great job.” Aurelia said, her voice was haggard and rough. Her head spun the chemical concoction, from negating the chloroform, was starting to hit her like a truck.
“Of course, miss. I thought I would just take a stab at it, and I think I did a very knife job”
Aurelia groaned in exasperation at the horrible pun, tut she had to give the TOMAI credit. Addison saw the opportunity and took it.
“Could you please bring me a wheelchair and then push me to the workshop?”
“Yes, miss. Do you wheely, wheely want it?” Addison replied curtly.
“Oh my- Addison that’s terrible. Yes. Please. Now. I would like to check up on Isobel.”
In the workshop, Isobel lay unconscious, half of her body covered in a thick, white foam. Her completely ruined clothes had since been removed, completely destroyed by the plasma bolts. Aurelia shooed the drone pushing her, away, and wheeled herself over to the injured android. A hole had been cut into her side, and a tube with a brown sludge was connected to the port underneath.
Aurelia pushed her desk chair out of the way, and then lowered her work desk down to her level. She then began to work away on her computer. There were three hours before launch, and she wanted to make sure Isobel was okay before the ship was ready for launch.
“She looks stable. The nano factory is working in overdrive to replace what she lost. Her left forearm is slightly bent out of position, that will take a long time to correct itself, but it should set. Her spine has been reconnected so she will be able to walk when she wakes up.” Aurelia spoke out loud, trying to convince herself that Isobel would be okay.
Aurelia tapped away for the next hour, trying to keep herself busy. The assailant had been relentless so far, and far more cunning than anyone or anything she had encountered in her long life. It had since disappeared from the cameras surrounding the facility, which made her more worried as time went by. She didn’t think it had given up, but the shields to her home were some of the most powerful in the galaxy, so she was sure that a frigate wouldn’t be able to penetrate the barrier.
She was worried, but she had her own tricks up her sleeve. She had many visitors over the years, but no one but her and Addison knew what the whole facility contained, and she would use that to her advantage. There were only two more hours until launch, so she decided to busy herself looking for replacement clothes for Isobel.
She wheeled herself through the facility to her bedroom. In her closet, she searched for similar things Isobel was wearing before, struggling to reach higher items. After much effort wheeled herself back to the workshop, going past the elevator that Isobel had since destroyed. A pang of guilt struck her heart as she realised the pain and panic she must have put the android through. That was the reason her forearm was bent out of shape. As she glided through the winding corridors, a massive crack could be heard from outside, the facility itself shook furiously enough to make items fall off shelves.
“Addison, what in the flying fuck was that?” Aurelia practically screamed as she gripped the arms of her wheelchair tightly, her knuckles bone white.
“I am being fired at by a Nekt frigate, which somehow is armed with an anti-capital laser.” Addison sounded slightly less enthusiastic than usual, which Aurelia normally would question, but her mind was currently on the overly-equipped frigate.
“It seems the Nekt have been busy during while I’ve been away from galactic affairs.. How long till it can fire on us again?” Said Aurelia. She had since calmed herself down from the initial shock.
“Judging the energy levels, it’s capacitor is completely drained, and will take another hour to charge before it can fire again. If it does fire, I am afraid my shields won’t be able to hold up and it will do catastrophic things to my upper layers.” Said Addison. Aurelia swore she could hear a hint of worry in the TOMAI’s voice.
“How much longer until we are ready to launch?”
“I should be ready to launch in ninety minutes, assuming I haven’t been obliterated by the anti-capital laser pointed right at me.” Said Addison, her voice now sounding distinctly worried.
Aurelia paused for a moment, turning around to look at one of Addison’s many cameras. “Addison, I know we are in a particularly harrowing situation, but are you okay?”
The speakers sparked to life, but no response came. Even the maintenance drones who were doing work around the workshop had frozen in place. For a full minute, silence hung in the air, before the speakers came back.
“Of course, young miss. I am always fine.” Her voice returned to normal, and her chipper self came back.
Aurelia nodded suspiciously, before turning back to her computer. She needed to think of a way to stop the next attack, or everything she cared about could be lost.
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