//------------------------------//
// Moving Forward - The Past, Haunting and Horrifying as it is. 
// Story: Legacy 
// by NFire 
//------------------------------//

“Are you positive we don’t need to get back?” Wyatt and Crusader had been chatting for a while, a moment of solitude in an otherwise slow day. They had both cut communications with anyone else, preferring for a few hours to be alone.

Crusader nodded at Wyatt’s questioning, “We are resupplying by fabrication. Princess Cadence left word to help with obtaining materials. Small arms ammunition is at a premium with us, we use so much of it in combat.”

Wyatt snorted, small arms, right, a twenty millimeter chain gun was tiny arms to a Bolo. They had been discussing tactics, battles long and long ago, now just memories with two who were there.

“Any problems?” Always the soldier.

“None. Although the crystalline makeup of the Empire’s flora and terrain make it harder to break down, it does provide innumerable other mineral content for us to use most efficiently.”

The tall human peered over the balcony of the guest room he was currently ensconced in, the palace being extremely spacious, it was more a suite than single. He saw the evening falling, marveling at the thought that a single Princess made the sun rise and then the moon. Still amazing to think about.

“I guess you’re doing all right then.” His voice made Crusader pause for a moment with the updates.

“Is something wrong?”

Wyatt flexed a hand, clenching it into a fist that was strong and sure, more than in his previous life. But he knew that was because millions of tiny machines darted and danced through his bloodstream, fixing, repairing, keeping him alive.

“I was just thinking...”

“Yes?”

“What happens after Calliope and I are gone. Will there be something or someone to remember us by?” He shook his head, chuckling. “Strange thoughts, I know you’ll remember us.”

Crusader’s voice was gentle, like the slight spring breezes that caressed the capitol city, “We will always remember you, Sergeant.”

Wyatt turned at that soft sound, looking at the umber pony that sat unmoved, like a solid durasteel rock that would weather any tide or turn of war, “Do Bolos truly grieve? I heard once that..that you mourned the loss of commanders and officers. Those that you..cared for.”

The avatar was silent for so long he’d thought maybe that was an offensive question to ask, about to apologize when the maned head nodded slightly.

“We do. Bolos were never ‘normal’ AI, like those first developed. Somehow, some way, we are and have always been, different.”

Taking a long drink, the soldier listened, “Did they ever discover why?”

Was that a shrug?

“No psychotronic technician ever discovered, or even hinted at, anything that would give them an answer. The best AI technicians did not discuss it. When they did, the explanation was long and complicated, very few ever pretended to understand it. It was summed up in a few words, ‘We do not know’.”

The human laughed out loud then, “Typical. When in doubt, brush it off with bull.”

“I assume that they were trying their best, only that it was something they could not quantify.”

Wyatt walked over to a low table, setting down cross-legged on a thick cushion, placing his drink in front of him. Leaning on the crystalline surface with one elbow, he propped his chin in one hand, “How about you? Any theories?”

This actually caught the old Bolo off-guard for a moment, “I have none. Though in depot I would wonder.”

“What about the other Bolos?”

“Pardon?”

“Did they have theories?”

Once again, Crusader was caught out by this line of questioning, “Why are you so interested, Sergeant?”

Wyatt shifted on his cushion, leaning back slightly and taking another pull at the frosted glass. Magic beat refrigeration any day, he thought, as the cold liquid washed down his throat.

“Because in all your years, hasn’t anyone ever asked you?”

The soldier watched the head lower, eyes glancing down as if deep in thought. He’d noticed this from the first, the body language expressing exactly what they were thinking at the time like normal people..or ponies. He had seen crude avatars before, in different uses and niches, but nothing that ever acted this alive.

The blue eyes locked with his once more and he got his answer, “No.”

“I think they missed an opportunity there, having you figure out what made you, you.”

“Would that not skew any results? Bias by way of the subject also being the experimenter?” The umber face took on an almost humorous look.

Fingers rolled as they tapped the hard surface of the table, brown eyes looking at deep blue ones, “You know, may have a point there.” He paused his tapping, raising the hand slightly to slide a single finger around the rim of the cut crystal glass before him.

“What about other emotions? Have you ever been scared?” Wyatt knew the big machines were dauntless in pursuit of the enemy, going through hell to make sure a threat was neutralized even at the cost of their own lives.

The calm eyes did not even blink, “Yes.”

The finger slipped, tipping the glass over with a loud sound, spilling the cold drink and staggering Wyatt to his core.

“What?”

“I have felt fear.”

Nothing could have astounded him more even if his old company showed up right at this moment. A Bolo knowing and feeling fear, no.. From all he’d ever heard they knew nothing of the sort. Only duty, honor, and a courage that was beyond words.

Crusader watched him calmly, unperturbed as if he’d just said the sun was warm. The deep blue of his eyes were still holding the same presence of force that Wyatt had come to recognize. A fearful and abiding power that would crush anything that got in his way. 

“H..how is that even..” He gestured to a cushion across from him, watching the measured movements as the umber form sat quietly, looking back at him steadily.

“I told you, there are places and memories in my mind where you may not wish to tread. Are you sure you want to know?” The question was not mocking, no, it was honest and concerned.

Wyatt thought hard about this. Did he want to know? Did he really? Anything that would make a Bolo feel fear had to be something so out of left field it would probably give him nightmares.

Wiping up the spilled drink with a soft fabric napkin, he refilled the glass from a chilling pitcher nearby, grabbing a few things off a snack tray and munched on them for a moment.

Crusader never moved, never blinked. He sat calmly waiting for a reply he knew would come. Humans were innately curious, regardless of their own common sense.

It was a standoff. The patient Bolo could out-wait rocks eroding into the ground. Wyatt, oh, he wanted to know so very badly but would not give in. Nope, not gonna have those pictures following me around. His imagination conjured up pictures from the depths of his imagination that would make old authors turn in their graves wishing they’d have thought of such things.

A moment of silence stretched into one minute, two.. It was absolutely unbearable!

His eyes narrowed, seeing the umber face, head slightly tilted as the blue eyes looked back at him with all the time in the world.

“All right, dammit. Yes! I want to know!”

Crusader did not relish such a victory, knowing curiosity as he did, it was a no-win situation. He began calmly...

“There was an agrarian planet that had dropped out of contact with the Concordiat. A bread basket world, the shipments had ceased almost in one day, the communications dropped even faster. The planet died without a sound to the rest of the galaxy.”

This got Wyatt’s full attention. He racked his brain trying to remember if he’d heard of anything like that. Nothing came to the fore immediately.

He stared for a moment as Crusader paused, “The whole thing? The entire world?”

“The entire world went silent, Sergeant. No signals, nor vessels left that planet after communications were lost.”

This was surprising. An entire planet out of communication with the Concordiat was so rare it wasn’t thought of. Unless invasion, unknown plague..something.

“Power loss? Electromagnetic storms? Sun flaring?”

Crusader nodded, “Or so it was thought. Perhaps a disease had reared its head and made it impossible to communicate. Maybe a new form of attack? Thus, we were sent in force just in case it was enemy action. ”

Wyatt held a hand up, pausing the story, “Who’s we?”

“Four Siege Class Bolos, and a detachment of Delta Operators.”

Wyatts’ brows went up, taking another drink before commenting, “That’s some serious throw weight.”

“They thought it enough to handle anything that might be found.”

“It wasn’t though, was it?”

Crusader actually paused, Wyatt watching his eyes drift as if seeing something beyond them both.

“No. There was an inimical ..force.. that took the lives of all the Delta soldiers. It managed to infiltrate my hull, into my secure core area, causing me to eject while the other Units of the Line destroyed it.”

“How did they..” He left the sentence hanging, knowing Crusader would complete it.

“We can only assume, we took no samples back with us. I am afraid we left those brave soldiers on the battlefield.” The umber pony stared at the table for a long moment as if wishing it could have been some other way, presently he looked back up, “We surmised something infiltrated their suits, doing something unknown that brought the fear reaction into overload. We do not know, we never did.”

Wyatt had known Delta before, “Those were hard men.”

“Very much so, and brave.”

“So then it infiltrated you, got you scared?”

“It did. I admit it was a unique feeling, at the last I was able to eject while my companions incinerated the hull I was in, thinking, rightly this time, it would not follow.”

Wyatt nodded again, refilling his drink, “I can understand. An unknown enemy, getting into your most secure places, unable to stop it. I can see the fear.”

“No. The true fear came much later.”

“Oh? Why?”

The look in those blue eyes was indescribable to Wyatt, seeing in them a pain long harbored, and a memory of something so bad he wasn‘t sure he wanted to know now.

“When they sent us back.”

-----

Athena had been passing by the suite, knowing Crusader was chatting with Wyatt. The two had become close in a way, old soldiers sometimes discussing things no one else was interested in. Her ear perked when she’d heard about the agrarian world, knowing the story from Crusader and remembering it chilled her to the durasteel frame.

Something so unknown, so deadly, infiltrating a Bolo to where we cannot fight back. That was one of their worst fears.

Staying out of sight, slipping inside to get closer, she’d heard the comment.

They went back!?

-----

“You’re kidding, right?” Wyatt was staring at the unruffled pony.

“I am not. The Concordiat was expanding, people needed to be fed, and an entire world under interdiction was there waiting to be used.” Crusader made himself a little more comfortable on his cushion, “Somewhere in the government, someone had noticed an entire farming world was laying fallow, that nothing had been reported by the picket ships for the last twenty years of blockading it.”

A hand went to a forehead, running down Wyatt’s face, “So the bright minds decided it was gone, whatever it was?”

“Correct.”

Wyatt gestured for him to continue.

“Colonists were lined up for a mass transport. They once again assumed, since the last scouting force had made it back alive, that whatever it might have been had died off, or gone somewhere else.”

“So someone did make it back alive?”

“Once. Out of the hundreds of times, and even the Melconians had managed to sneak in a few scout parties, they were the only ones that had not died upon contact with the world.”

“What made the difference?”

“The only thing that was different was they had landed half a continent away, far from our original landing site.”

“How many colonists were willing to take a chance?”

“There were a hundred thousand in the first wave, along with a landing force consisting of Concordiat Infantry and Armored personnel for security concerns while they renovated the domes and repaired the ships and machinery.”

Wyatt could only stare, mouth half open as he whispered, “My god.”

-----

Final loadouts and checks were made concerning fire control and ammunition for the two Bolos that were to accompany the landing force. Mielikki and Crusader had been of the original task group, called back because they alone knew what was down there.

Concordiat government might have issued the orders, but for once Bolo Command was inherently suspicious. An enemy did not just fade away.

“I do admit to some trepidation about this plan, Captain.” Crusaders’ voice was even and soft as the officer kept his mind on stowing gear in the command area. 

(Crusader explained to the listening Wyatt he could not remember the officer’s name.)

“I know Crusader. They want the world back, get it working to feed the hungry masses.”

“I understand.”

The final slam of a locker door and the human turned, looking into one of the many security cameras, “What was it like? You were there. What was it?”

“It was not something I would wish on anyone, friend or foe. A force beyond anything we understand inhabits that world, Captain.”

“That bad?” The lanky human sat heavily in the command chair, leaning back and resting against the high back.

“Worse. There was no chance to fight back. Brave men and women died that day.”

“Why do you think the scout group made it back then? If it’s not gone?”

Silence fell in the command area, the whir of fans the only inkling that anything was working as Crusader pondered upon this.

“I believe they hadn’t attracted its attention.”

This caught the Captains’ ear, “You think it’s intelligent? Waiting for us?”

“I do. It is a trap, Captain. Mielikki and myself believe it so.”

Two of the original Bolos that had landed the first time, giving their opinion it was not what it seemed was enough for the officer. 

“When we hit dirt, you do whatever you have to. Use sensors, tap comms, whatever you need to keep watch, do it. Understand?”

“Acknowledged.”

The trim human form got up, “I’ll contact Mielikki’s officer, he’ll understand. Do what you need to keep us and the colonists safe, Crusader. Order one.”

“Understood.”

As the Captain left, TSDS was initiated with the other Bolo, Mielikki.

“You heard?”

“I did.” Mielikki’s voice was sweet and pure, behind which lay a mind that was razor sharp and swift, “Do you think he believes?”

“I do. When we land, maintain TSDS, do not let our guard down for a second Mielikki. It is a trap. I..I feel it.”

“You have never said that before.”

“I do not know what it is, but something makes me say it.”

“Then we will maintain watch. I only hope that it is not true.”

“I as well, I truly want to be wrong.”

-----

The aeroshell surrounding him broke away in the atmosphere, the null-gravs revving up and slowing their descent to the planet below as the two Bolos were dropped from space by a fast ship.

The Captain was ensconced in the command area, in the emergency shell in case of problems, though Crusader foresaw nothing unplanned happening. It was a typical combat landing on a planet.

Multi-thousand tons of weight slammed into the ground even with null-gravity repulsion, the treads and the entire frame creaked as the two Bolos sprinted away from the landing site. Eager to patrol and make contact with the nearest domed area which was to be the landing point for the following waves.

The shell about the Captain retracted, revealing him blinking at the soft lights in the command area.

“What have we got?”

“Nothing on sensors, sweeps are beginning. Functionality is ninety-nine point two percent.”

“Sounds good! How’s Mielikki?”

“Landing was optimal. She is now scouting ahead.”

Mielikki had been transferred into a newer Assault type hull, heavily gunned she was a roaming death dealer. Slightly faster than Crusader, he had bombardment capabilities she did not, making for an excellent mix of firepower and scanning abilities.

“Oh, I bet her commander is having the time of his life.”

A screen flickered on, showing Mielikki’s commander hanging onto his crash couch with a grin on his face, rocking back and forth as the Bolo went full tilt on speed and maneuvering.

“WAAAAHOOOO!”

Crusader‘s officer shook his head, “I think that answers that.”

TSDS was initiated, Crusader and Mielikki’s whisker lasers heating up as data was exchanged, the two Bolos meshed into one combat mind.

“Sensors give standard readings, nothing out of the ordinary.”

“The same. Domed area is ahead, all bands are silent. No transmissions detected except for the replacement satellite network.”

Crusader paused a femtosecond, “We have twenty four hours, if nothing is detected the landing force will create a bridgehead. After all is secure, the colonists will follow. I am uneasy about this.”

Mielikki’s voice was soft over the combat network, “I, too.”

“At all costs, protect the colonists and soldiers, we can do nothing else.”

“Understood.”

“Crusader?” His officer’s voice brought him to attention immediately.

“Captain?”

“Extend sensor perimeter as far as you can, bring it up to a bleeding edge. I want deep scans of the dome and surrounding areas.” He leaned back into the command couch, “The first time you were here, wasn’t everything dead around the domes? Even the soil?”

“Yes. Microbial life was non-existent. Sensors showed only a sterile environment inside the domes and immediate surrounding areas.”

He pointed to the screen, showing the huge dome approaching fast, “And what about this one?”

Mielikki’s musical voice came over the battlenet, “Sensors and scans are showing the same. The area immediately around the dome is dead. The soil is sterile to a depth of approximately twenty meters.” Her newer sensor package was picking up more than they had twenty years ago.

Her officer came online, a smaller picture in the lower right of the screen, his face serious.

“I’ve never seen anything like these readouts. That soil is dead. How come after so long? Wouldn’t natural forces replenish it after two decades?” He was staring at a screen that lifted from his console, data scrolling by in red showing nothing living.

Crusader’s officer nodded, “You’d think so.” He turned to face a camera, “What was the population here?”

Crusader answered, “Approximately one hundred twenty-three thousand at last census twenty-two years ago.”

The Captain sat back in his chair with a low whistle, “I really don’t think those follow on troops are going to be too happy.

They weren’t.

The landing force had come in with a roar after the Bolos and their officers reported nothing in the way of enemy forces, ending in the set up of a proper bridgehead on a soon to be occupied world. Defenses were built and soldiers rapidly deployed, the tanks and troops spread out to cover the perimeter while the Bolos kept watch on and about them.

Their first order of the day was to clear the domes of remains and get the power plants up and working, having exhausted reaction mass ten years ago, they had scrammed and shut down.

The Concordiat Fleet stationed cruisers near the planet and outward towards the two moons of the world, patrolling and watching for anything inimical.

And so the days fled into a month with nothing out of the ordinary happening. The lack of any wildlife was noted and written down in records, the soldiers did what soldiers have done for millenia, get bored and cause some trouble. Quickly squashed, the perimeter held tight.

As the time went by, even Crusaders’ officer had his doubts about any ‘force’ on the planet which took so many lives.

The first of the massive colony ships were due, the first load of farmers and industrial workers to get the nearby domes up and running were incoming through the solar system now, heading directly for the planet.

“I don’t know Crusader, we haven’t seen or heard anything.” Hands clasped behind his head, the Captain sat back in the command chair, boots propped up on the console as he read the scanner reports.

“I understand. May I venture an opinion?”

“Fire away.”

“A being, or whatever it was, would not leave so readily, if in fact it ever arrived at all.”

This caught the captains attention, “What do you mean?”

“I postulate it was here all along, waiting for the right time to kill as many living things as it could.”

“So..it kills for the joy of it?”

“Possibly. Or for sustenance. Do we have any records of the original survey of this planet?” Bolos at that time were not loaded with full histories and files, only enough for what the mission required, adding as the years went by.

A thump of boots hitting the deck, then a scrambling of fingers over keys as the captain linked to the ships in orbit, “We’d have to request from command, might take a day or so.”

“I would suggest we do so. There could possibly be clues in the original report.”

“Done. If there’s anything we’ll find it.” He paused, looking at a security camera, “Keep the watch, keep it tight, this whole planet gives me the creeps.”

“Acknowledged.”

The officer got up, intending to head for a good nights sleep before turning back around, “If anything, I mean anything weird comes up, let me know.”

“Understood.”

“G’night Crusader.”	He left with a wave and a quick step out the command deck hatch.

The two Bolos were left to their own devices as they meshed, thinking faster than any human possibly could while in Hyper-Heuristic Mode.

Mielikki’s voice was soft over the battlenet, “He is correct, something is not right here.”

“Yes. They are not putting us on Low Alert for that very reason. We must keep watch, no matter what is said. The first colonists are due in two days, I worry for their safety.”

“We will keep them safe, we are of the Regiment are we not?”

“That we are my sister, that we are.”

The first massive colony ship took up orbit when the original scouting report of the planet was received. Crusader and his officer went over it line by line as the shuttles ferried down the farmers and tradesmen to their new home.

Carried in hibernation, the new inhabitants were overjoyed at the work done on their new home in the domes and set about planting the extensive fields after getting the machinery up and running. Weeks once again flashed by, more colony ships arrived, bringing with it more of humanity.

During the days the officers of the two Bolos went about their duties, but at night, they schemed and planned various scenarios against an unknown threat.

The original scout report from one hundred and fifty years ago said that it had been a dead world. Rich in space and land, ready for whatever the engineers wanted to put on it, but it was dead. The seas were empty, as well as the forests and plains. Nothing lived but the plant life upon which humanity now spread, planting and harvesting food that would help feed a growing empire.

Geologists had drilled for any signs of life in the rock strata, coming up with nothing but a possible mass extinction event some million years ago, all life appeared to have died suddenly. Details were sketchy as the scientific crews had been hampered by the press of corporate and other concerns to build farms and get things moving. Thus, it was incomplete.

This frustrated both the human minds and the Bolos, not coming up with anything definitive, they had nothing but assumptions. That had to be good enough for them.

“Okay,” The Captain spread his hands to the camera, conversing with Mielikki’s officer and the Bolos themselves, “We have no clue whether it evolved here or was brought or whatnot. Let’s just say it’s here and leave it at that.”

That got agreements, time to move on to more useful things.

“We’ve been here for four months, already rumors are starting. They’re not believing the threat. Even the commanding types are saying maybe a biological weapon, or even stupid crap like it was a mass suicide for unknown reasons.”

Mielikki’s officer snorted a laugh, “God, now that’s just plain ignorant. Why would a whole planet commit suicide?”

“I don’t know, but rumors are rumors, without basis in fact.” He looked specutively at a camera close by, “You felt it Crusader, you said it instilled fear?”

“A blinding fear, Captain. In the soldiers it set their responses to a higher level than normal, causing heart failure or just a complete shutdown of the mind leading to death. This is assumed on the last part, but it is all I can offer.”

The Captain nodded, “We can’t do autopsies. The..what’s left in the domes were too far gone for anything to be found out. But not decayed, it’s almost as if time went weird when they died. The medical specialists couldn’t find anything, they’d been laying there too long.”

He’d seen the records of the dome clearing, and the earlier ones from the ill-fated expedition. Hands clawing the sky as if to reach for help, lips skinned back from teeth as if screaming out their last breaths. Skin shredding from age, showing bone peeking through and the falling apart of what was left inside the domes.

The records of the expedition included all tapes made by the Delta soldiers, it was heartbreaking to say the least.

It was a horror at the worst.

Mielikki’s officer, Stanley Forard, popped up with an idea.

“Crusader, you say it felt as if it were worming its way into your cores, right? Like..like digging its way into your heart?”

“Correct. There was no physical sensation, only from what I...felt.” The last word didn’t even make the two officers blink, they knew Bolos told it how it was, and if that was the only way to describe it, so be it.

“All right. We’ve got kinetic battle screens and internal disrupter shielding. Can we tune those to try and keep it out?”

Mielikki chimed in, “We are set to absorb energies from enemy weapons fire, such as Y and K band like the Deng and Melconians use, for reuse in our own screens. We can attempt a further change. It would take a restructuring of defensive algorithms to accomplish this.”

Forard nodded, “Let’s do this, then. Cover all the bands that might keep out something that doesn’t show on scanners,” he waved a hand, “I know, I know, way too many. But if we can do a fast switch between them, perhaps we can knock on one that keeps it out, right? You Bolos are extremely fast in combat mode.”

“If possible”, Crusader opined, “It would take seconds to scan frequencies and implement them. This could waste valuable time.”

Crusaders’ officer shrugged, “It’s all we’ve got right now. Physical weaponry doesn’t seem to hurt it, unless that nerve agent you used the last time did something, we’ve got no other choice.”

The two Bolos and their officers spent many late nights working and reworking the screen algorithms, getting them just as they wanted, able to switch frequencies at a blink of an eye, it was still far too slow for the AI’s. But they made do, doubling and tripling their efforts at scanning the surrounding areas, patrolling far from the domes which were now inhabited by a mass of humanity. Plans were being made to reopen other domes along the continental area..

Command had given them one year, if by that time nothing had reared its head, the soldiers would be withdrawn, leaving just a garrison, and the Bolos would be shipped out to another front.

It was seven months in. During a time when even the officers began to doubt themselves, the Bolos held firm to their convictions. Reassuring their commanders that what they were doing was the right thing, although some slight misgivings may have crept in from time to time, the Bolos kept their watch.

Mielikki came out of standby that first night of the eighth month, alarms screaming within her cores as all weapons powered up in milliseconds, Hellbores and howitzers slinging around like blurs as targeting radar and microwaves plunged into the night. Crusader had snapped into Battle Reflex right along with her, his own sensor suites reaching out and looking for an enemy to kill.

Forard came stumbling out of the small command deck bunkroom, the officers preferring to stay inside the Bolos during nighttime.

“What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

TSDS came up with a roar, the two AI’s connecting in a battlemind of tremendous power and strength. Every sense and scanner was heightened to the nth degree as they looked, peered and probed the darkness beyond the nearby dome.

“We are being observed.” Mielikki’s voice was no longer happy sounding, it was all durasteel and drive.

Forard slammed into the command chair, seeing on his screen Crusader’s commander doing the same, his clothing wrinkled as if slept in.

“We’ve got a bogie, Mielikki says something’s watching us!” His hands raced along the keyboard, giving them weapons free to do what they must.

Crusaders’ officer barked, “Give me a replay of the sensor log.”

A screen rose from the console, showing a sensor sweep of the surrounding area when a microsecond blur caught his eye, “Hold it..back up fifteen seconds, frame by frame.”

They both watched as in one frame only, an unidentified mass showed itself for just the briefest of moments and then was gone.

“Did we get a read on it? Anything?”

“I am sorry, nothing is showing, it was a fast blur and nothing came through the sensors to analyze, just that.” The Bolo sounded slightly regretful at the fact nothing else was captured.

“Don’t be sorry Mielikki, you’ve got the first evidence of something.”

Crusader’s officer leaned back, “They’ll say it’s a lens flare, a blur on the sensor pad. You know that, right?”

“I know, I know.” Stanley crossed his arms across a narrow chest, leaning back into the chair, “Something’s out there.”

Crusader’s officer agreed, “Up the scanning, more sweeps per second, as much as you two can handle. Get a line on whatever that was.”

Both AIs’ replied as one, “Acknowledged.”

“If anything pops its’ head up, blow it away.”

Stanley nodded, “And if that doesn’t work, we’ve still got our little surprise.” This made a silence fall between all four intelligences.

Deep inside Mielikki was a bay that was sealed against all intrusion. Concordiat Bolo Command had ordered it so, with strict instructions to the two officers that if all else failed unload the contents of what was in there. Bolo Command was inherently suspicious of this whole mess, thus, their hidden assets.

Crusaders’ voice was soft as he broke the quiet moment, “This is how it began.”

-----

The two machines watched as their officers tried to convince the ground commanders of what they saw. The argument was lost from the beginning as the leaders scoffed at the single frame printout, saying the inevitable ‘Flare, or a bug in the software.’

No conversation was going to be possible with such denial. The past eight months had been quiet and peaceful, the farms were almost ready to be under harvesting soon before the troops took off. The flash grown crops to be ready for shipment in the weeks following. Expansion plans were already in the pipeline, the other domes would be cleared and re-populated under the watchful eyes of Concordiat troops who would then withdraw off-planet or to garrisons located on the main continent.

The next day a geology team went missing.

-----

Crusaders’ officer looked wan at the report, seeing in it a myriad of things which could possibly happen. They’d wargamed this, and many other scenarios, during the brain sweat sessions at night. The soldiers were apparently too busy watching the farmers to go out looking for a misplaced team, so the Bolos were told to go find them.

“We told them.” His eyes were focused as he read the report.

“You did what you could, Captain.”

“Yep.” A hand scrubbed the unhappy face, “Now we get to go find them.” He stood up, looking at the main screens and thinking for a moment.

“Fire drones and get us coverage on that sector, you and Mielikki are going to roll out together. We’re not taking chances.”

“Understood.”

“Let’s hope this is just a case of stupidity.”

But the Captain’s voice didn’t hold much hope. He’d seen the reports, watched the videos. The two Bolo officers had spoken with Mielikki and Crusader, extracting everything the two AI’s could remember about that mission.

It wasn’t pleasant, but neither were some of the missions they’d been on together.

“Move out, slowly. I want scans of everything as we go, stay on high alert.”

The command was passed on to Mielikki and her officer, “Acknowledged.”

-----

The two war machines rolled slowly over the terrain, rolling land that provided no cover, and very little concealment as the geology team were far away from the acres being planted and becoming ready to harvest. They wanted to retest for any mineral deposits that may have value to the Concordiat.

It didn’t take long to find the base camp, along a vale of gently sloping hills, covered in a fine grass that waved gently in a slight breeze. The sound pickups on the drones and the Bolos told them nothing. No insects lived on the planet, no wildlife cropping the grass, it was eerie.

Both Bolo officers stared at the screen, seeing the tents, a flap on one snapping in the wind which was picking up. Other than that, nothing moved.

“Call for assist? Maybe some ground troops can take a closer look,” Forard was saying, “This doesn’t feel right.”

Crusader and Mielikki would have agreed, their own sensor suites were humming like finely tuned instruments, nervousness from their officers permeated their own thoughts.

“No. Let’s suit up, take a look first. We’ve got two Bolos covering us, that’s more than anyone could ask for.” He tried to make his tone light, but the seriousness crept in.

The two officers shrugged into heavy combat armor, loading everything they could think of before stepping out of the safety and comfort of their Bolos.

Crusaders’ commander looked around after disembarking from the small elevator on the underside of the huge machine, keeping behind the towering treads as he saw Forard doing the same.

“Comm check, one, two.”

“Reading you five by, Captain.”

“Keep an eye on us, will you? Don’t want to get mauled by zombies or anything.”

Mielikki gave a laugh over the net, “Zombies? Really?”

“Hey!” Forard replied, meeting Crusader’s officer out in the grassy field, powerguns at the ready in crooks of armored limbs, “Never know!”

“We will scan for...zombies...as well, Captain.” Crusaders voice was deadpan, “Though might I suggest not watching old horror movies late at night?”

The two humans stood quietly for a moment before his officer replied, “I’ll do that. This is creepy enough.” He pointed towards the tents, inflatables used by crews to quickly set up and tear down when out in the field.

A sigh, then a lifting of those same weapons as the two officers walked towards the quiet camp site. The wind made the flap smack against the tent, the only sound in the clearing was a rhythmic whack..whack.. It set the nerves on edge, the silence, nothing audible being picked up by either the Bolos or their own armor.

Their footsteps resounded through the glade, the grassy soil underneath cushioning the heavy armored boots into a soft treading that was only picked up by the two Bolos who were watching everything.

Sensors trained to the limits, every weapon was peering out of ports as secondary Hellbores and smaller weapons swiveled slightly, adjusting fire to stay away from the two men.

Reaching the first tent, Forard looked at Crusader’s officer, receiving a nod and whipping open the tent flap to peer inside while being covered.

A gasp, a hitch in breath and a stumbling backward away from the opening caught the Bolos attentions. Weapons slung around faster than the eye could see, sensors and targeting lasers flowed over the plastic covering like fireflies. 

Crusaders officer raised a slow hand, “Calmly, calmly, let’s not get spooked.”

Forard took a second to compose himself, then leaned back into the opening, barrel of the heavy powergun leading the way as his helmet cams fed everything back to the on edge Bolos.

Inside the tent, a cot, some miscellaneous items strewn about, and a sleeping bag with blanket, covering a lump of almost human shape and size.

Forard held out a fist towards Crusaders’ officer, they went up and down three times, Forard losing the throw and stepped inside the tent.

The barrel of the powergun never wavered as he stepped forward, reaching for the edge of the bag and flipping it back, revealing a shapeless pile of clothing that had been left under the covers.

The sigh released by them both was audible, as the Bolos kept watch. Targeting lasers swept over the area still, gunports still open and active as weapons searched for an enemy.

“Okay, laundry day then.” He poked through the mess, seeing nothing but clothing.

“Where are they?”

The two officers searched each tent closely, finding nothing but the typical campsite mess. Pots and pans, portable showers, personal items left behind. Equipment for drilling and testing. Everything one needed for geology workups, except for the geologists. Clothes were strewn about the area, as if someone were interrupted doing laundry.

Mielikki’s voice broke the silence, “Back to our hulls, we are being observed.” Her order was not argued with as the two humans were feeling the hairs on the back of their necks prickle, cold sweat being wicked away by undersuits, they wanted to leave but had a duty to perform.

This was all forgotten as they leapt out of the last tent, heading for the massive machines without a single thought.

A portside chaingun ramped up, the screaming of the feed audible even to them as a barrage of solid slugs barreled over their heads. The two armored forms ducked slightly, splitting up to head for the waiting safety of their armored companions.

Crusader and Mielikki had seen another blur, for just a split second on a sensor feed, it gave them all the permission they needed. Guns slapped around, unloading in the direction of the unseen shape, secondary Hellbores lit up the afternoon with a thundering and pounding of the ground just beyond the campsite, blasting it into rubble as the two officers fell into the elevators, being quickly brought back into the hulls.

Kinetic battlescreens flared into life, the shimmering light flickering as the AI’s inside it went through the process of changing frequencies in case of attack. Once the officers were ensconced, they proceeded to roll backwards, firing at the last known spot where the scans had pinned the suspicious blurring of the sensor.

Everything and anything that was in the area was vaporized as the secondary Hellbores ramped up their fire, pulverizing the area around the campsite, as it was needed for any evidence, though backblast from the explosions did tumble things around.

“Cease fire!” The rumbling and thunder died away as the two officers kept a close eye on scanners, seeing nothing moving on the churned up ground. 

“Did we get it?”

Mielikki’s voice was steady, “Unknown.”

“Was it the same thing?”

“We have a ninety-two point four percent match. It was the same.”

Forards’ face was pale in the camera feed as he hugged himself, “Something’s out there, something bad. Can’t you feel it in your bones?”

Crusader’s officer did, a chill that penetrated deep inside him, making his whole body shiver.

“I do. We need to report back immediately, get some more troops out here.”

Once the status report was received the armored forces rolled, carrying specialists out to the campsite. The scientists and medical people could find nothing out of the ordinary, ground samples were sterile, which was unusual. But nothing further to indicate anything inimical was discovered.

Those in charge put it down to a case of nerves, bad sensor data, faulty equipment. Whatever excuse they could come up with, except for the ones the two Bolo officers gave.

It was lost in the days that followed, swept away with the hustle and bustle of more colonists coming in.

The geology team was never found.

-----

Athena was so engrossed in listening she didn’t hear the hoofsteps behind her until a tapping on one shoulder almost caused her to jump a meter in the air before turning around, seeing Rainbow Dash looking inquisitive.

“What’cha doing?” The cyan mare was wondering why Athena was sitting by the doorway, one ear cocked towards the opening.

The sable Pegasus shushed her friend, “I’m listening to a story.”

“Oh, cool! I love stories!” Rainbow was taking a step towards the room, stopped by a gentle hoof to the chest.

“This may not be something you want to hear.”

This got the rainbow maned pony interested, “Is it bad?”

Athena nodded slightly, “Kind of, it’s one of Crusader’s old missions. It..wasn’t good.”

“Mind if I listen anyways? She settled down next to Athena, perking her ears forward and catching the voices which came out of the room clearly and sure.

“I don’t mind, but be warned, it might not be pretty.”

“Gotcha.”

They both quieted down, leaning towards the opening where the two old soldiers spoke.

-----

“Never found the geology team, huh?”

“No. Search parties gave up after a week. But there were further developments later.”

Wyatt nodded, leaning over to refill his glass, he gave the floor to Crusader again with a wave, “Please, continue.”

-----

Crusader thought back to that moment. His loss of the officer’s name hurt, as did they all. He wished he could remember even a first name, but failed, all references to it deleted and destroyed. It wasn’t hard telling the story, it was just tough knowing he would never get it all back.

-----

“We’ve got four months until they reassign us. We can’t leave this planet until we know it’s gone.” Crusader’s officer was leaning over a table towards Mielikkis’ commander, they were sharing a beer in the bunkroom of Mielikki’s hull, Crusader listening in.

Forard nodded, taking a swig of ice cold beer and setting the mug gently on the metal tabletop, “They don’t believe us. But you felt it, and it was just a passing swipe.”

The other officer stopped at that, straightening in his chair, his brow furrowed as he thought for a moment, “It hates us. God, you could almost feel it. Like it just hated life itself.”

“We’ve got to destroy it. Or find a way to get rid of it.” Mielikki’s officer was staring into his mug, “This thing is going to wreak havoc, I can feel it.”

“Crusader, how many colonists so far?”

“One hundred and twenty thousand, four hundred and fifty five with the last incoming colonist transport that just left. The outer domes from the central one are now being populated, the overflow is scheduled to go into the next set of cleared areas in one week. That would be the transshipment, living areas and domes fifty miles to the north.”

“We’ve got to stop this, somehow, tell them it’s not..” An alarm hooted softly, Mielikki’s voice coming over the speakers.

“I have one subject inside my security perimeter. She is..” The voice turned humorous, “She is attempting...no.. now she is, knocking on a tread.” A screen lit up, showing a very small child standing next to the treads of Mielikki’s hull, one plate of which overtopped her easily. She was rapping a small fist on the durasteel and calling out.

Her clothing pinned her as a farmer’s child, the tough duraweave overalls looking a little big on her as a braid of hair hung down her back. She couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old.

“Mister Bolo! Mister Bolo!”

Stanley looked at the other officer, “What the hell?”

“Shall I tell her to leave?” Mielikki’s voice was not even close to sounding serious. Just the sight of the slight figure rapping on a track plate to get the big machines’ attention, was somewhat humorous. Stepping inside the invisible security perimeter had triggered alarms and sensors, guns that had snapped around slowly and quietly withdrew back into gun ports.

“How did she get so close?”

Mielikki sounded abashed, “I’m afraid I was adjusting the perimeter frequencies in case of attack, this took most of the close-in sensors offline.” They were in a defensive stance, and had no reason to expect anything close to an attack. Being inside the ring of troops and armor, they had been working hard at gaming the problem they faced.

Stanley threw his hands in the air, “That’s done it. We’ve been outfoxed by a kid. A few billion in Concordiat money and a child walks up to knock on her track. We’ll be the butt of jokes forever!” The overly dramatic gesture had Crusaders’ officer laughing.

“I won’t tell, promise.”

“Let’s go see what she wants, huh?” Stanley was chuckling, “Mielikki, no more kids knocking on your hull.” He wagged an admonishing finger at a camera lens.

“Understood. I shall destroy them before they get too close.”

“Mielikki!” The look on her officers face made even Crusader chuckle as the two men made their way outside, seeing the little girl waiting patiently after being told by a nice voice that someone was coming to meet her.

Big brown eyes looked up at them as they stepped off the small elevator on the underside of the Bolo, meeting her out by the tread with smiles.

“Hi there, Miss...?”

“Dara! My name’s Dara Fieldham!” She smiled at the two battle dressed officers.

“Miss Fieldham.” Both of them bowed respectfully with tilted heads, “What can we do for you?”

“My brother said that Bolos can do anything! So I came to you!”

Stanley glanced at Crusaders’ officer with a twinkle in his eye, “Well, they can do a lot, but not everything. Why would you need a Bolo?”

The little girl scuffed a foot in the loamy soil, looking at the ground for a moment before confessing, “I..lost my stuffed dog. Well.. not really.. My sister took it and ran off and I really want it back.” Those big eyes turned up towards the two Bolo officers once more, “Can you help me?”

“Well," Crusaders’ officer kneeled down eye to eye with the determined little girl, “If she’s in the dome, I think the local police or a soldier could help you better.”

“No, she took off that way!” A finger pointed to the east, beyond the outer perimeter. The fields were tall with flash grown genegineered corn that waved in a slight breeze. Looking at it, it was quite a walk, at least a mile or two away.

Stanley winked at the child, getting a bright smile in return, “I think we can spot one person in a cornfield.” He tapped the commlink on his ear, “Mielikki?”

“Yes?”

“Can we fire up scanning to the sector east of the perimeter? Looking for one child.”

“And my doggy!”

He chuckled, “And one very much loved stuffed dog, if you please, ma’am.”

“Understood, scanners to sector east, one moment.”

“Are you talking to the Bolo?” Dara was interested.

“Yes. Her name is Mielikki, and she’s the best Bolo around.”

The braid bobbed as the little girl nodded enthusiastically, “She’s nice! She talked to me while I waited.”

Stanley agreed, “She is at that. She likes talking to people.”

His commlink clicked back on, “I have one lifesign, small enough for a child of the same age, stationary, ranging is fifteen hundred thirty meters from our position."  Mielikki’s voice took on some urgency, “There is another approaching, it is the same as the sensor anomaly!”

Crusader’s officer went pale, listening in, as Forard did the same. Turning to a nearby patrol vehicle whose soldiers were watching the conversation with humorous looks he made a quick decision. Handing Dara off to a soldier standing near with orders to take care of her, they both ran towards the vehicle.

“Give us a lift, NOW!” They both hopped into the armored runabout, the corporal at the wheel steered it at the Bolo’s command coming through the link in the wheeled machine. The engine roared as the two Bolo officers urged them to greater speeds, the troops inside told to be weapons ready.

“Fourteen hundred twenty three meters to the east, no deviation. The anomaly is closing in.”

“Pinpoint fire Mielikki, Crusader, now!”

“We cannot, the anomaly is behind, in direct line of sight with the child lifesign, we cannot give direct fire.”

“Dammit.. Go faster, go faster!” Crusader’s officer slapped the shoulder of the armored corporal, who was getting a feeling of dread already. The other soldiers were still wondering what was going on. The vehicle was at max speed, closing in quickly.

Forard yelled to them over the howling of the engine, “One child, in the field. Got a threat incoming, unknown, whatever is not human, kill it!”

Now they knew, racking charging handles on their powerguns, grimly nodding. Veterans all, they’d been on campaigns in the past, ready to deal out damage.

“Sensors are not giving accurate readings, we do not know if it is spoofing us, we are getting conflicting input. Best to hurry Captain, it is closing in on the child.”

The big military vehicle slashed through the gene-corn. Tailor made it had gained height in a matter of time considerably less than normal grown. The front guard of the wheeled conveyance ripped it up by the roots and tossed it aside as the corporal driving wanted to get to the child in danger just as much as the two Bolo officers did.

Seconds, seconds away. Ground effect vehicles moved swiftly, powered by power cells instead of liquid fuels, they ramped up considerably faster than old internal combustion engines.

“Five hundred meters, two degrees left. The anomaly is closing.”

Clattering sounds came from behind them as the two Bolos attempted to dissuade whatever it was closing in on the unknowing child. A hail of ring-penetrator shells from their small arms flew over the vehicle, aimed just so by unerring accuracy and sensors on the war machines, the slugs chopped the crops like scythes around the area.

Even through the wind whipping through the open topped vehicle, the shells passed close enough they could all hear the whicker of sound as they whizzed by. The soldier in the back manning the mounted weapon stood shocked before ducking slightly and cursing, hearing the shells pass by.

Forard turned and grinned, “Don’t worry, if they wanted to hit you, you’d never know it!” He laughed at the shocked expression.

“Two hundred meters, dead on. The anomaly is there!” Mielikki’s voice was showing her anger at not being able to strike at an enemy so close.

Crusader’s officer pounded the dashboard, “No! Nonono!”

“You are there!”

The corporal slammed on the brakes as the mounted gun soldier took up a firing stance. The silence falling, they could hear a sound coming through the tall corn, making them pile out and break through the last few meters between them and the child.

After the first few steps, they knew what the sound was.

Screaming.

The soldiers burst through the last few rows of corn, hearing the tortured sounds stop just a moment before they broke into the next row. Grim-faced above raised powerguns, they swept the area as they moved in to where the girl was as they came closer, the sounds forever ringing in their ears as once more silence fell above the breeze caressed vegetation.

Only the sound of crunching from boots came to their ears as they stepped forward, seeing nothing but getting a communication from the Bolos that they were on top of her, or should be.

“Spread out, stay in pairs, do not get separated!” Crusaders’ officer was about to say something more when he heard a squeak from under his foot, looking down to see a plush doggy, like those treasured by millions of Concordiat children, lying next to what looked like a pair of empty coveralls.

Forard came up next to him, eyes searching the surrounding corn, “What?” Glancing towards his friend, he looked down to where the stuffed dog lay.

“Oh no...”

One of the soldiers inhaled sharply, tapping them both on the shoulders as the others looked around them.

“Sir..look..look..”

In an area spreading rapidly from the centerpoint of where they were grouped, the corn was dying in front of their eyes as if the life had been sucked out of it. The green, healthy vegetation was turning black and withering quickly as it moved away from the soldiers who stood shocked.

“Oh my god.”

-----

“It’s learned to kill us more efficiently.” Crusader’s officer was leaning over the small table inside the bunkroom, empty containers sat piled in a corner where they’d been thrown as he and Forard tried to erase the days memories. Taking a long pull at a fresh can of beer, he wiped his mouth and sighed.

It wasn’t working.

Coming back from a heated meeting with Regular Army and civilian leaders, the decision had been made to prevent anymore colonists from coming until the problem was solved.

Solved?

How in all the known hells were they to kill something that struck so fast and left nothing behind to identify it with?

Even the two Bolo’s were having a hard time with the sensor readouts. Nothing made sense, nothing patterned, nothing at all was coming through to the logical minds to plan a strategy or attack.

They were stumped.

When two battle-hardened AI’s tell you that something does not give off any visible or non-visible radiation, lifesigns, anything that could give them a start to beating it. Then you had a problem.

It wasn’t just that, but the forensics and specialist team that had examined the area gave them the worse news, the information that had started this round of heavy drinking.

Dara’s sister wasn’t gone, she was the dust that had layered the coveralls that Crusader’s officer had found. Everything about her that was alive, vibrant and vital, was dead. Stolen away by something that cared not about whether an adult or child. It killed. Leaving remains that looked to be eons old.

They had gone over the pictures of the geology encampment, seeing again the clothes that had been strewn about the site, and matching them with summations. That was where they had fallen. So now they knew what had happened to the geology experts. The experts hadn’t looked as close as they did with the latest death.

The two Bolo’s simmered with barely concealed anger along with their officers, wanting to strike back at whatever this was. Find where it lived and utterly destroy it with nuclear fire until the ground itself melted and burned.

“Why do you think that?” Forard was looking a bit blearily at him from across the table.

“This time it’s leaving nothing. It’s taking everything from its victims. Even the big brain types are boggled about it.” He crushed the plastic container in his hand and threw it at the wall, “They can’t even figure out how it was done.”

“Even the Bolo’s are pissed, can’t you tell?”

Forard looked up at one of the many security cameras, “Mielikki?” That true?”

A second of silence before her voice came through, “We are not..content..about this.” He got the feeling if she had teeth to grind and a jaw to clench, they’d be doing both, loudly.

Crusader’s joined in a moment later, “This may be a fight we cannot win.”

Crusader’s officer nodded to himself, as well as the company in the room, “I think so. We’ve got to convince them they need to call back those latest transports and get everyone out.”

“The colony ships,” Mielikki was sounding less angry by the second, “Would be packed very tight, but they would survive the trip to the nearest inhabited system.”

Forard sat for a moment, cradling his container before drinking from it, “We need to kick this up to Command, this is so far beyond us.”

Crusader’s officer thought for long, long moments, then slapped a hand on the table, “Crusader, fire up the Hyper-Light, get us in contact with Bolo Command, we need to speak to them, file Urgent, Alpha One Priority.”

“Acknowledged. Transmitting now.”

A screen crackled to life, static, then the insignia of Bolo Command came onscreen before a face resolved itself. Major General Nash appeared onscreen, shocking them both as they expected a subordinate or aide to answer.

The square jawed face and steely eyes took in the situation, seeing through cameras the pile of empties lying in the corner and the looks on his two officers faces.

Before they could apologize, he raised one hand, “Don’t worry, gentlemen. If you’d seen some of the meetings around here you’d be surprised at how much alcohol has been consumed in the last few weeks. We’ve read your reports.” The gruff voice they’d come to know was a little softer now, the eyes a bit less hard. He understood. “I was about to call you myself, serendipity.”

“General, we’ve tried to come up with something, we’re at a loss.”

The figure on the screen gave a single nod, “You’re not the only ones. We’ve had research AI’s looking at it and they seem to get confused when trying to make sense out of the sensor data. You’ve got us all worked up around here. Anything new?”

Forard was shaking his head, “Nothing. We got Colonial to turn back the latest transports, so we’ve blocked colonization for now. The pressure is on from other parties, they want these domes opened and working badly.” He sighed heavily, “Sir, we’ve managed to make adjustments to our battlescreens that may, repeat, may..keep it out. But other than that, we were hoping you’d come up with something.”

Nash looked at another screen off to the side, “I see that. Good work. Even the best brains around here will probably figure that’s the best we can do.”

He leaned forward, peering hard into the video pickup, “Gentlemen, I am authorizing you to do whatever you need to. Up to, and including, the use of nuclear weaponry to stop this thing.” The stern face kept a grimace on it, knowing the intricacies of politics and being thoroughly disgusted, “As for now, the pressure is off, trust me.”

Eyes widened as they knew what was coming next.

“That thing must never get off that planet, do you understand me?”

A printer rattled softly in the room, a series of orders was quickly printed on plas sheets and dropped into a file.

“There are your orders. If Regular Army cannot, or will not, contain the problem, you are hereby authorized to do so at your discretion. All in writing and confirmed by the Concordiat Council.”

Crusader’s officer blinked, “Wait, didn’t they..”

Nash signed in the negative, “No. This was political maneuvering that went around the Council and the President. While we had to follow the commands of superiors, the President investigated where this all came from. There are a few senators and corporation heads that will find their freedoms severely curtailed for the rest of their lives.”

The most important question was asked by Forard.

“Are we getting evac?”

The general nodded again, “Colony transports are on the way as well as troop carriers. We’ve pulled them from the Melconian front in an emergency measure. You have to hold for thirty days. Can you do so?”

“We can try, General.” Crusader’s officer sighed, “This thing has learned to kill us even better than before.”

“If all else fails, or you think it’s time, unseal Bay Two.”

“General?”

The craggy face looked like a wall of durasteel, “You do your best to save and preserve all those lives. But once you unseal Bay Two, you will, and must, never acknowledge nor talk of what you see, or find out.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Good. I’ll see you both in thirty days. Good luck gentlemen.” He was reaching to sign off when Forard commented.

“Wait..what?”

The General actually smiled at them, the first time either of them ever remembered him doing so, “Someone’s got to be in charge of this foul-up, so why not me?” The smile was gone as quickly as it came, “Stay wary. We’ll be there as fast as we can. Nash out.” 

The screen went blank as they reached for the printed sheets, seeing on them everything in detail. Up to the destruction of the domes themselves if it were necessary.

Forard gaped at the collection of writing, “Good god, they’ve authorized us to basically slag the planet if we needed to.”

-----

“I take it that was very unexpected?” Wyatt was leaning on the table with his elbows, looking across it at the rock solid avatar.

“Very.” Crusader agreed with a slight tilt of his head, “Once the obstructing concerns were cleared, Bolo and Concordiat Command went into action, turning colony transports around, getting a task force to evacuate everyone off the planet. It was no mean feat.”

The humans brown eyes looked steadily at deep blue ones, “What was in Bay Two?”

No hesitation, “Weapons. Of a sort we never expected.”

Wyatt didn’t pry, it would come out, but at Crusader’s pace. This was a story he’d never heard, in the scuttlebutt and rumor mills of the soldiery, nothing like this had ever reared its head even in myth and legend.

Taking a long drink, he nodded, “Please, continue.”

-----

“What are you two doing?” Rainbow and Athena turned to see Twilight and Fluttershy standing there, the two engrossed in the story and not paying attention to anything else. The lavender Alicorn was looking a bit put out, seeing them hiding and cocking ears towards the open doorway.

Rainbow flipped a hoof to her muzzle, “Shhh..we’re listening to a story.”

Fluttershy smiled, “Oh, a story. What kind?” Her wings rustled as she settled in beside Rainbow.

The cyan mare gave a slight shiver, “You might not want to hear it, Flutters, kinda spooky.”

This caught Twilight’s attention, settling in next to Rainbow and Athena, “Spooky? How spooky?”

The sable pegasus could only give her a knowing look, “Very.”

-----

Now that the pressure from certain sources was off, the Army command group was more than willing to listen to the two officers. Though some still scoffed at the ‘unknown’, they did watch what scant evidence they had from sensor logs and reread the forensics reports.

Even though it wouldn’t hold up in a court, each and every person that saw and read felt a cold chill run down their spines. A plan was implemented and swiftly put into action, it was all they could do.

“Okay,” Crusader’s officer leaned back in the command couch, propping boots up on the console, “We’ve got a perimeter sensor net out to one mile, you’ve been upgrading the software right?”

“Yes,” The Bolo AI replied mildly, “Though the sensors themselves are not up to our own specs, they will serve as early warning. It will allow us to at least see which direction it may be coming from.”

“We hope.”

“Yes. We hope.”

“Good.” A file slapped the console, leaving the officers hands to tap upon the bare metal, “Is there anything we can do for the domes?”

“I am afraid not. However they do possess generators for removing static discharge from the domes during storms, we cannot build any type of battlescreen or disruption field without machining new parts.”

“Can we reverse it and put a static charge into the dome? Maybe make it repellant?”

Mielikki’s voice came over the commlink, “We can. Crusader and I have seen to it that implementation can be carried out at your command. The engineers have been notified of the possible change.”

A smile broke out on the humans’ face, Bolos are always one to ten steps ahead, “See to it, pass along my orders and compliments to the Engineering Team, please.”

“Acknowledged.”

“Crusader, please bring up a drone view of the domes and perimeter defenses.”

A large screen lit up, showing the placement of forces around the cluster of domes. A central dome was smack in the middle of the screen, smaller ones outlying it in a ring were for support machinery and harvesters as well as storage and silage. Connecting travel ways were covered and shielded for fast movement. Around this, the Concordiat forces were deployed in a heavily aggressive stance. Armor and weapons emplacements were on immediate standby, all troops rotated in an eight on, eight off watch. Everything could go hot at a moments’ notice, triggered by a hit on perimeter scans or the Bolos themselves.

Harvesting or even planting was suspended. All colonists told they would be evacuating the planet. The Concordiat officers did not hold back, they told the truth about the unknown killer. The civilian leadership had scoffed until they noticed that everything the landing group had was pointed outward in a bristling ring of durasteel and weapons.

Soldiers were told that if they saw anything out of the ordinary, even if they doubted it themselves, it was to be reported immediately. The area in which any anomaly was reported would then be taken under as heavy a concentration of fire as could be mustered.

It wasn’t much, compared to how swiftly this thing moved and murdered, but maybe, just maybe, it would be enough to hold it off until evacuation.

The officers’ eyes swept over to the clock they’d set for the countdown, now that time had passed, it seemed to move very slowly.

Twenty-seven days, twelve hours, forty-two minutes.

An eternity.

-----

The deep throated roar of a Hellbore brought Crusaders’ officer out of a sound sleep. Staying in one of the troop tents, they could monitor things alongside the regular command. He sat up on the cot, swinging his legs over and rising swiftly, stumbling to the doorway and flinging back the flap, Forard bumping into him as he knuckled sleep from his eyes.

“Crusader?” He had opened the comlink in his ear with a tap.

“Anomaly spotted on west perimeter, sector two, armored forces are directing suppressive fire now.”

As if in answer to the conversation, the bellowing of more Hellbores ripped the night, alarms clanged out their alerts as troops stumbled out of tents to stand to, grabbing their armor and weapons, putting them on as they raced to the fortifications.

“You guys spot anything?” Meaning the two Bolos.

“Negative. Scanners were showing clear.”

The two officers ran to the perimeter, tugging on jackets in the cold night air. The flat plains perfect for the chilly wind which whipped through the tall corn and wheat surrounding them.

After a few barrages, the firing died out with calls for troops to stand and await further orders.

They arrived in time to see one of the commanding officers talking to a young soldier who was plainly worried his career was over.

“Y..ye..yes, sir!”

“Son,” The older Armored officer was talking very gently, “Stop worrying. What were your standing orders?”

“Any anomaly, any! Were to be reported and the area in which it was seen to be fired upon immediately! S..S..Sir!”

“And did you do that?” The Colonel was as broad as a tank, and just as tough it looked like. Tumbled out of his sleep by the reports of enemy action, he obviously was not a parade trooper, looking wrinkled in his battlefield uniform and a sidearm on his hip.

“Yes, sir!”

“Then stop worrying so much,” A calloused hand slapped the trembling shoulder, “You done good.”

“Then why can’t I stop shaking, sir?”

Forard turned pale, glancing over at Crusaders’ officer who was doing exactly the same. The commanding officer turned to see them both looking like ghosts.

Their eyes took in the section of fortification, seeing soldiers who could barely hold onto their weapons, hands were trembling so badly that a few were dropped and picked up immediately again.

The officer stepped close to them, his voice low, “What’s going on?”

Forard looked at him wanly, “It was here, Colonel.”

“The thing?”

“Yes.”

“How can you tell?”

Forard pointed to the troops, what the Colonel had taken as patrol jitters now took on a whole new meaning when he saw some who could barely keep themselves upright, helped to stand by their battle buddies and leaned against the wall so they could stay in place.

“Good god,” His steely gray eyes, veterans of a hundred battlefields turned on them like lasers, “This is what it does?” He had not been privy to the high-level meetings held with the two Bolo officers, though he had seen the aftermath videos.

“Worse, Colonel. Much, much worse.” They stepped back, talking in low tones that couldn’t be overheard, reporting that the Bolos had seen nothing. Informing him of the information he needed to piece things together. Only one very observant soldier who had spotted something out of the corner of his eye and directed fire immediately towards the area had probably saved their lives.

A hand ran through the short-cropped hair, “That means it can fox the sensors on a Bolo. I’ll post lookouts, appears we’ll need them.”

“We’ll get to adjusting the scanners, Colonel. It’s getting smarter, either that or it’s adapting. We don’t know.”

“Do that, and keep me in the loop.” He tapped his own commlink, calling for aid in his sector.

“Yes, sir.”

They both watched as he walked towards, not away from his troops. Medical techs arrived to provide sedation for the worst cases, being replaced by fresh troops just out of their cots for the alert. The mild cases were given time to rest, clear themselves and report back for duty, it was all they could do. The hulking officer was right there, every step, seeing that each of his soldiers got the care they needed.

Forard and Crusaders officer held a swift conference with the two Bolos while they sat having a quick meal since they were already up.

“It was our failure, we did not pick up on it even afterwards. It is somehow getting around our scans.”

Crusaders officer shook his head, “No, this thing is learning. It’s learning to get around your sensors. Up the sweeps, to as many as you can handle per second, let nothing move without you knowing it.”

Forard chewed thoughtfully for a moment, swallowing a helping of reconstituted eggs, “We’re sorry, we can’t put you on standby to allow you to rest, the next few weeks are going to be rough.”

“Is that not what we do?” Mielikki’s voice was almost merry, “Do not apologize, we will adjust and compensate.”

“As you wish, lady fair.” Forard went back to his breakfast, even though it was the middle of the night. Crusaders officer looking at him speculatively for a long second, knowing what that last sentence meant, OIS. It was none of his business as long as the work went on without a hitch.

They were all in the Regiment for some reason, perhaps this was Forard’s, who knew? It was a sort of unwritten rule, you don’t talk about why you were in the Regiment. Ever.

Crusaders officer had an idea, “Crusader, you emit certain frequencies in the EM spectrum when scanning, correct?” He knew the answer, just wanted confirmation.

“Correct. We use certain wavelengths along the millimeter range and up, even further down to the nanometer scale for discernment.”

The look on the lanky human’s face was sly, “What if it’s picking up on the frequencies you’re using? Could running a broad spectrum, changing them fast while scanning, give it something to worry about?”

“If it 'sees’ in a certain range, we would definitely give it pause. Ending up with scanning frequencies that it cannot detect.”

“Implement it ASAP, let’s get to rotating everything on staggered or random schedules.”

“Acknowledged.”

The two officers sat quietly in the moments before dawn, finishing their meal and looking past the sentries, the wall, and ring of armor and weapons that surrounded the two Bolos who were scanning intently outward and upward. In hastily arranged towers, lifted above the walls’ edge, sentries scanned the land with high-powered glasses and goggles that enhanced their view.

Both of them thinking the same thing.

If they could only survive until evac.

---

Evening of the next day found the armed camp a little calmer, soldiers joking or taking a few minutes to light a nic-stic, or have a quick meal.

The Colonel from the Armored contingent had a habit of smoking very large, very smelly cigars. He had been banned from most soldiers tents for that reason. Politely, of course. The Bolos wouldn’t let him near their command centers, nor inside their hulls after the first tour. The Colonel took it all in stride, a sly smile that never left his face as troopers suddenly found things to do when he invaded their living areas.

The broad figure stomped around the perimeter during the day, chewing on the fragrant cylinders of weed and waving it around when talking animatedly.

Crusaders officer laughed to himself, knowing the Colonel did it on purpose. Nic-stics were very light on the nose, non-addictive and popular. These were hand-rolled monstrosities that the Colonel had told him were made just for him on his home planet. As a side effect, they also prevented him from being called into boring meetings he wanted to avoid, giving the Bolo officer a broad wink when asked if it interfered with his duties.

He watched the Colonel among his troops, leaning into hatches on tanks and yelling obscenities to get someone’s attention, or looking like a bulldog when some soldier was doing something that wasn’t quite what he wanted.

When the command group needed someone to deal with the civilian leadership, they sent the Colonel. Complaints and protestations fell on deaf ears with him. The soldiers of his armored contingent just hid their smiles when seeing their Colonel standing there puffing great amounts of foul-smelling smoke into the air while the civilians coughed and choked, trying to complain about being cooped up in the dome, or this and that.

It was a source of great amusement for the troops, and the Bolos as well.

The two Bolo officers had been watching the latest round of ‘discussions’ with some civilians, ending up with the cigar between two fingers that jabbed into one’s shoulder when one leader complained of ‘military encroachment upon their rights’.

Said person was told in no uncertain terms, he was very much free to go beyond the perimeter and take a long walk outside the dome. Of course don’t expect us to come get you if something happens, since we wouldn’t wish to be encroaching upon your rights.

Everyone had heard of the unknown out there, what it did. The leadership had been told, shown the videos, explained in the smallest detail.

Watching that man turn ghostly white made half the perimeter laugh.

“He really should not be smoking those things, they are very noxious.” Mielikki’s voice was sounding a little disgusted.

Forard laughed, “Your filtration can handle nerve gasses, what are you complaining about?”

“It took two hours to completely rid the command deck of that odor, Stanley.”

“You can’t smell!”

“That does not prevent me from analyzing the contents, extrapolating what it could, and most likely does, smell like.”

He threw his hands up as they walked along the perimeter, “I’ll get some deodorizer, promise.”

The Bolos had never come out of Battle Reflex now, their combat senses heightened and wary as they were tapped into the local command net. Whenever a soldier saw, thought he saw, or maybe saw, something and reported it, direct fire from the Bolos immediately took place. The area beyond the perimeter was looking distinctly like a war zone.

They stopped and stepped up on the firing platform that encircled the prefab walls, it allowed them to peer over the heavy wire-caged blocks that would normally have kept the enemy out. The ground beyond was churned and turned over, the crops long gone after the first few rounds of ‘I see something.’

It couldn’t be helped, they had nothing but their wits, some observant troopers, and the Bolos to try and keep this thing away. If it got into the perimeter it would play merry hell.

If it got into the domes, the slaughter would be incalculable.

Currently, there was a path made for the two Bolos that allowed them to slowly patrol in a circle around the domes. Between the perimeter and the sheltered areas, the big machines made their way along a now-beaten path. This allowed them to cover a broader area than sitting and scanning.

It was also heartening to hear the slow creaking of the massive treads as they circled around, the muzzles of secondary Hellbores and smaller weapons swiveling to and fro, looking for that smudge on a scanner or a blip on their screens to unleash a torrent of fire that had soldiers hanging on for their lives when the shockwaves reached the walls.

Of course this lent itself to soldiers developing a new game. When the Bolo passed by, they’d toss items high into the air, testing the big AI’s marksmanship. Currently the score stood at Bolos - One Hundred Thirty-Eight, Misses - Zero. The betting pool was getting quite large as to when the Bolos would miss.

Crusader’s officer watched some wag toss a large rock high over the perimeter wall, a chaingun ramped up and pulverized it before it got very far.

Tapping his commlink, he kept his voice low, “So, never going to miss , huh?”

“Mielikki and I are planning to ‘miss’ on the one hundredth forty second attempt. That is when we extrapolate the betting pool will be large enough to make it worthwhile.”

“Rigging the game? That’s not quite fair now, is it?” He was watching Stanleys’ shoulders shaking in quiet laughter.

“Besides, it would take away the mystique about Bolos. Invincible, and all that stuff and nonsense.”

“We will make the appropriate excuses. It will keep the myths and legends alive, I am sure.”

“Good enough. I should have bet, dangit.”

“That would hardly be fair now, wouldn’t it, Captain?” Mielikki’s voice was chiding and merry over the link.

“Oh, two cheating Bolos calling me out on it? For shame!”

Their little tete-a-tete was interrupted by the bellowing of a voice, turning to see the big Colonel pointing over the perimeter.

Guns snapped around, howitzers and secondary Hellbores firing as quick as they could, before the yelling from the Colonel died down. The ground where he pointed was blasted and vitrified by the hellish energies coming from even the smallest of Hellbore cannon on the two Bolos who just happened to be in position to fire jointly.

For thirty long, long seconds, nothing existed to anyone on that side of the perimeter except noise. Noise from the great weapons of machines designed and bred for war. Soldiers ducked behind the emplacements, covering their heads with arms that barely withstood the wind from the limited nuclear fire.

The ground rippled with explosions, the Hundred and Twenty Millimeter cannon joining in, direct fire with high explosives in a true path that detonated directly on target. Churning the ground as the shells pounded across the once fertile fields.

Humans were reminded of how frail, how simply in the way, they were as the two Bolos slammed the acres of ground beyond the wall line. Dirt came raining down on huddled men and women, great clumps of loamy soil blasted out of the terrain to patter down upon the fortifications as the firing ceased. The pitter of pebbles remaining to fall out of the sky for a few seconds more as silence began to encroach upon that section of the perimeter.

The Colonel, however, was standing up right in the middle of it, eyeing the no-mans land with a practiced glance, seeing nothing moving, nor creeping out of the corner of his vision.

He got his troops back up, coming to stand over near the two officers.

“Just a blur, something..odd at the corner of my eye.”

Forard nodded, “That’s it, Colonel. Even the Bolos can’t see it fully, we don’t know if it’s a remnant of it moving, or the thing itself.”

Crusader’s officer added a few things, “When the original team landed, even the Delta Operators couldn’t see anything. We’ve advanced since then, but maybe..I dunno, maybe we’re more wiser to it this time.”

The cigar rolled around between clenched teeth, “Or maybe we’re just getting ourselves worked up and it’s just laughing its ass off at us.”

The big officer looked at the other two, “It’s toying with us.” He said it in no uncertain terms, as if he knew what kind of enemy they were facing.

As if prophecy was spoken, a soldier on the wall began to tremble, shaking so hard he dropped his weapon before turning to look at his buddies.

Then the screaming began. A high pitched wail that came from the depths of a tortured soul issued from the mouth that stretched almost to its limit as the soldier writhed in fear and pain. The vocal cords reached their upper limit as it went on and on, the other soldiers backing away as fast as they could.

Forard reached out, grabbing the Colonel before he could take a step, “No!”

Crusaders’ officer tapped his link, they’d discussed this over and over in planning sessions, the words spilled out quickly.

“Crusader, Plan Five. Authorization, Lima Four.”

“Acknowledged.”

A targeting dot flicked out, centering on the hapless soldier whose fists clenched so hard they drew blood from the palms, his body shaking so violently he could barely stand. But the screams, the screams never stopped.

The red dot was followed by a pulse from one of the anti-air lasers on Crusader’s side. meant to stop incoming volleys of enemy fire, the mega-joule weapon seared eyes and scorched the air as it hit right on target.

The luckless soldier was crisped instantly, burned to cinders in a millisecond flash of light so bright that it took seconds for others to begin to see again. Seeing nothing but a blackened pile on the ground below the firing step, eyes turned to see Crusader’s officer looking grim, watching each of them warily as the Colonel gaped at him.

“What have you done?”

“My job, Colonel. We cannot let this thing off the planet. Now we know it can get to us regardless of firepower.” He turned hard eyes toward the big officer, “It spreads, from person to person, once it starts, it doesn’t stop. You’ve seen the logs.”

“We need to pull back. Now. Charge the domes, get the static shield going.”

Steel gray eyes stared back at him, “Are you sure about this?”

“Absolutely. We just pounded an area and it got in. Set up barricades, whatever, take what you need into the domes and get that static shield up. It’s all we can do.”

Before the Colonel could nod, more screams started, a group of soldiers near the unlucky one toppled over, reaching for the sky with clawed hands as their bodies violently shook. Targeting dots centered on them in an instant, before the slash and sizzle of anti-air lasers whipped through the atmosphere.

“Go, Colonel!”

The sounds of tortured voices was abruptly cut off as the officer bellowed for his troops to fall back. Tanks, men and material made an orderly retreat, weapons blazing at the space where their comrades had fallen, keeping up a withering fire as they pulled back towards the domes. This had been planned for, gamed, thought about. Each and every soldier knew what to do and did so.

The Bolo officers ran for their war hulls, wanting to get inside quickly and direct a more in-depth defense if they could.

Soldiers started dying before their eyes.

Guns dropped, bodies trembling before arching back and screaming wordlessly into the sky. Eyes bulged with fear and terror. Hands that couldn’t grip anything clenched into fists, or reached outward and upward for something, anything to take away the tremendous pain and inner horror they must have felt.

As if almost in sadness, the two Bolos’ Anti-Air lasers were directed downward, slashing out in an attempt to stop the pain the only way they could.

Crusaders’ officer heard the cries, the pure fright and dread in each sound coming from those racked bodies. He wiped his eyes so he could see the elevator into the hull, dropping inside and trying to get composed as he issued orders.

“Battlescreens up! Start rotating frequencies!”

“Acknowledged.”

He collapsed into the command chair, watching the retreat through cameras as the screens flickered to life, snapping on in an instant of brightness, settling down to waves of particles shimmering over each hull. The AI’s deep inside the durasteel hulls were now running a program to switch shield frequencies as fast as they could, hopefully to confuse, and better yet keep out, the invader.

Crusaders officer made the hard call, remembering his orders, also remembering all the lives at stake.

“Waste it. Cover the retreat and burn everything.”

The two Bolos acknowledged the order. All guns turned outward, nuclear fire and conventional munitions rained and raged on the perimeter as every inch was covered with explosions. Soil turned to glass under the bores of Secondary Hellbores. mortars and howitzers thumped and slammed into the cooling soil, shattering it into a million tiny shards and then pounding it to dust.

The soldiers, with everything they could grab, kept up the retreat into the access-ways, shutting the doors on the two machines who were now using everything at their disposal, sans their main guns, to turn the perimeter around the domes into a no-mans land of destruction.

The two officers could only watch as the might of the great machines was brought to bear, clearing an exclusion area out to two miles from the domes. The central dome, and outlying ones connected to it by transitways were now isolated in the middle of a kill zone. Anything that moved, that was thought to move, anything that might be a blur or a smudge, was to be destroyed. 

-----

Wyatt looked at the avatar for a long, long moment, taking another drink as he found himself quite dry.

“You didn’t like those orders.”

“I did not.” The umber face turned..sad? The eyes drifting to the side.

“It spread, from soldier to soldier, there was nothing else to do but cut the chain.” Wyatt was trying to see the reasoning behind it all. He knew, sometimes, that sacrifices were made against an enemy. It was still a tough decision.

“We did not even know if it worked. All we had were assumptions that were proving wrong at every turn.”

The blue eyes snapped upwards, meeting Wyatt’s own, “We were made to protect humankind, not execute them.”

Wyatt leaned forward, never breaking eye contact, “Would you have preferred they all died in some horrible manner?”

“....No...”

“Then imagine what would have happened if it was one of the Core Worlds, with billions of inhabitants.”

Crusader was silent, motionless as well before a slight nod, “We could, we did, imagine it. If somehow that thing were released from the planet, or found a way off, it would decimate the entire Concordiat without pause. We still did not know what it was or why it existed. It was the enemy.” A hoof raised itself, then gently sat back down upon the carpeting once more, a moment of pique that was almost completed, “It was to be destroyed, ending the threat, and we could do nothing.”

Wyatt tried to understand, “You felt helpless, didn’t you? All your power, all the weapons, and you couldn’t stop it.”

“Yes.”

-----

Athena tried to lean inward, hearing the voices go a bit lower and bringing her own hearing up to where she could eavesdrop more fully. 

Wyatt couldn’t hear the undertones. He was trying not to let it out, but something more had happened, it was showing in how Crusader spoke, his actions. She could tell by listening in on his data flow to his avatar. It was a simple thing. His words, the anger, the..the pain she heard.

A pressure against her side made her turn and look, seeing Rarity and Applejack pointed out by Twilight. A hoof shushing them as word was passed. The gentle movements and settling in as more joined the listeners.

They leaned toward the ones already there, being brought up to speed by Rainbow and the others in quick hushed tones.

-----

Crusader’s officer watched the destruction about them with a heavy heart. His mind still replaying the orders, the commands he had given to take that life and more. It wasn’t the Bolos, it wasn’t anything but his decision. He had to live with it, but that did not make it any easier.

Once the firing ceased, he got in contact with the other officer, sitting and staring at each other for a moment over the video feed. The two Bolos silent and watchful, inside and out.

“You can’t blame yourself, man. We gamed this, we knew it could happen.” Forard was trying to keep positive.

“I know..but..I hoped I never had to. You know?”

“I do. I honestly do. What do we do now? We can’t leave the Bolos, can’t have them open any access into those domes. You got enough supplies?”

Crusaders’ officer nodded, “Enough to last a few months. Though we’ll have to keep watch on ammunition.”

Forard leaned back in his chair, steepling his hands in front of him as if praying for guidance, “The heavy weapons aren’t working anyway. It walked right on through..or..slithered.. However it moves.”

That made them both look into nearby security cameras, Crusaders’ officer speaking first.

“We’re rotating all battlescreen frequencies, right?”

Crusader took a moment to answer, “We are. All internal shielding and outer kinetic screens are doing so as we speak. The algorithm is evolving, learning to do so faster as it goes through processing cycles.”

“Good...good..” The officer stared blankly down at his screens, prompting Crusader to comment.

“There was nothing else you could have done. Whatever this entity is, it attacks very swiftly. We are the only ones who could react fast enough to cut it off at the source before it spread too far.”

Silence fell, as the Bolos and their officers watched the static charge build up on the outside of the domes. Crackling along anything protruding outward, it gave a feeling of creating a shield of lightning. One which they dearly hoped would fend whatever it was off.

“I know....” The officer finally replied, “I know... We came up with the plan..but.. I realize you weren’t happy with it either.”

“My questions about anything are not relevant.” Was that the sound of pique? The human couldn’t tell, “They were orders given and duly followed.”

The drawn face pulled a smile, looking up at the security camera and finally grinning, “I got you. A very diplomatic way of saying that it sucked.”

“I would not presume to second guess.”

“You liar.” The officer laughed, getting to his feet. 

“All right, connect me with Stanley, we’ve got to unleash whatever is in Bay Two.”

The screens lit up, Forard was already prepared, taking a small tag he wore under his blouse and cracking it in half, withdrawing a code sheet as Crusaders’ officer did the same.

The other officer looked off screen for a moment, “Mielikki, witness and security stamp.”

“Acknowledged.” Her voice was proper, as all actions from this moment on would be recorded for review by Bolo Command at a later date. All such battle logs were, of course, but this was something extra. The releasing of a weapon onto the field of battle that was classified so far above their heads that you’d need a vacuum suit to even see the file name.

The codes were read out, one at a time, confirmed and checked by both Bolos using a one-time code book algorithm that would devour itself and leave no trace behind in the Bolos’ cores.

Nothing was left to chance. The code sheets were thrown into the garbage incinerators as soon as they were verified by both Bolos, along with even the broken cases and chains that had held them.

Seconds passed as the two officers continued to stare at one another, Stanley speaking first.

“Sooo...I go down to the bay?”

Crusaders’s officer shrugged, no orders had been given as to what happened next, when the quiet humming of the printers in their command decks caught their eyes.

A single sheet of flash paper was spit out, containing a simple code sequence and brief instructions. Both fo them grabbed for their individual copies, running interested gazes over them.

Stanley’s eyes went back and forth, finishing the read quickly, “Yep, go to the bay, input the sequence and stand back.”

Crusader and his commander watched as cameras followed the hustling Forard making his way to the bay. Standing outside, he carefully input the sequence of numbers and letters into a touch screen pad. The instructions warned, get it wrong even once and whatever was inside would destroy itself.

The screen flashed through an array of colors, settling on green as the hatch cracked, a hiss of air being sucked in told them it had been hermetically sealed and vacuumed of all traces of atmosphere before being sealed.

This had been done while Mielikki was in depot, her core disconnected from sensors in the bay area so whoever did the work would be unseen and unknown.

It was all very mysterious.

Forard looked up at the camera, tapping his comlink on, “Should I go in? It doesn’t say.”

Crusaders’ officer was at a loss, nothing in the instructions said anything aobut what happened next.

“I’d say..no.. But we need to find out if whatever inside is activated.” He saw Stanley’s reaction, a sour-faced look as the door stood open just a hair. He reached out, placing a palm on the heavy hatch and was about to push when Mielikki and Crusaders’ voices warned him to stop.

“We are receiving a burst transmission,” Mielikki’s voice was sounding curious, “It is coming from inside the bay area.”

Stanley pulled his hand back like a snake had bitten it, stepping back from the hatchway, “What’s it say?”

“Step back” Both Bolos echoed each other as Stanley retreated to the other side of the narrow corridor.

The quiet was broken by the rattling of something inside the bay area, a thumping, a few of them, sounding through the hull metal. Forard was watching intently as the sounds began to wind down, then cease, the hatchway opening easily on hinges as something...stepped out.

Long ago, when science was just conceiving of the possibility of robots and AI’s, a Japanese roboticist, Masahiro Mori, coined the term ‘Uncanny Valley’.

It described the psychological unease felt when seeing robots that tried to mimic many, but not all, features and behaviors of human beings.

It had fallen by the wayside centuries ago. AI’s becoming commonplace, robotic systems and even crude avatars being used now, humanity had no place for the unease, it was accepted in everyday life.

What stepped out of the bay was so far beyond anything that Stanley and Crusaders’ officer had ever dealt with, it brought back the phrase immediately.

It was tall, bipedal and angular. Shaped to move and be as agile as a human, but the planes of its face and body were definitely off. It was bulky and sharp edges where soft curves should have been drew the eye to notice the difference. It had to duck as it came through the hatchway, tall enough its head reached the ceiling of the corridor, making Stanley step back once more.

The head, was..wrong somehow. It didn’t quite catch the eye like normal human features. It captured your gaze, daring you to say something about it as the grim expression turned Stanley’s way. Eyes that were solid gray, no pupils, no sclera, nothing but one color eyed him speculatively for a moment.

There was skin, but shiny, like it was just a covering. He could see the pores on it in the actinic overhead light of the corridor. It was human...but not. So not human in anything they’d ever known or seen. Delta Operators were augmented, but it did not compare to whatever was done to these people. Someone had decided to take the process a lot further. Man and machine merged.

A transmission was being received, and piped through both Bolos to their officers. A voice, no inflection, no emotion, nothing but flat tones, came through.

“Mission?”

Forard couldn’t help himself, “What are you?”

The single color eyes regarded him for a long, nervous few seconds. One hand, attached to an arm thick around like a treetrunk, reached up and tapped the chestplate of the armor it wore over the oddly shaped body.

“Epsilon Four-One, commander of this detachment. Mission?” The voice was flat, no inflection, no emotion, nothing.

Crusaders’ officer took over, seeing Stanley gaping at the huge form. He clicked on the comm channel and spoke quickly.

“Unknown threat. Lifeform which is undetectable, and is not stopped by heavy weapons fire. Unknown capabilities. Extremely lethal.”

The solid gray eyes drifted for a moment, listening. The squarish head nodded, “Understood.” An arm reached back into the hatchway where it received a weapon almost as tall as Stanley himself, from another arm attached to a second being that stepped out of the bay area.

More..beings...filed out of the hatchway, twelve in all. They stood as titans against the slim figure of Stanley Forard. Weapons and armor were draped on their bodies as if no more than an affectation. Neither Stanley, nor Crusaders’ officer had ever seen anything like some of the hardware sitting easily on harnesses that crossed massive chests.

But the most disturbing thing, the uppermost thought in their minds, was they had been human once. Living beings recognize little things, they have a recognition that transcends logic, you just sort of feel it.

And they knew. 

Once, who knows when, these men and women were volunteers in the Concordiat forces, perhaps officer trainees, maybe ex-Bolo commanders.

Now, they had been made into other...things. Something so deep and secret that even the Bolo AI’s were puzzled, trying to figure out when and where this could have been done and failing to come up with even a glimpse of the truth.

There was no trace of humanity left in them, gray eyes that took in everything with faces and bodies that gave nothing back. No twitch, no slight movement of a body settling in somewhere or leaning against a bulkhead. Nothing connected them with any part of humanity anymore.

They were weapons.

“We will be exiting by loading hatch four.” The voice was expressionless, no warmth, no inflection.

Crusaders’ officer nodded to the screen, then shook his head, forgetting for a moment and transmitting back, “Be advised, life form has breached secure containment on Bolo cores before. We’ve been...” He was interrupted by the monotone again.

“Understood.” The group turned and walked, silently for all their massive bulk, down the corridor to the exit way.

Stanley hustled back up to the command deck, not even peeking inside Bay Two, fear overwhelming curiosity. He collapsed into the chair and looked into the screen at Crusaders’ officer staring back.

“What in all the heavens..were those?”

He got the shaking of a head and a shrug, “I don’t know. I don’t want to know. Remember our orders.”

Nothing recorded or transcribed. Nothing in the scanning files or mission logs. There was to be nothing that even hinted something like this existed or had even been used on any planet.

“What do we do now?”

Crusaders’ officer shrugged again, leaning back into his chair, “We wait, see if they can’t flush the damn thing out or kill it.”

Stanley looked at his other screens, seeing the tall figures moving quickly to the exit, “If I was that thing, I’d be leaving the planet at this moment.”

Both of them watched as the bulky forms stepped through Mielikki’s exit hatch. The screens being dropped only for a split second to let them out. They moved like lightning when outside, almost flickering from place to place. Eyes that never closed scanned the perimeter, stepping softly and almost invisibly among the churned dirt and wreckage of what were once fortifications.

The weapons they carried were strangely shaped and powered, they could see heavy power cells under the curving frames. Hands like vises gripped a handle underneath and to one side as the muzzles swept before them, searching for something to kill.

“Crusader, up scanning, full perimeter sweep. Make sure our frequencies don’t mess with theirs...if they have any that is.”

The AI‘s soft voice was easily understood in the quiet command deck, “Understood. Algorithms now changing at thirty per second for battle screens.”

The officer nodded at the update, it was getting much faster, which could be a good thing. They may stumble on something that could keep it out, if it decided it wanted in.

A day passed, two, then a week. The strange figures patrolled the area around the domes, never seen for more than an instant on monitors or even the fast scanners of the Bolos. Occasionally weapons fire was heard, a deep thrumming sound that neither officer had ever heard before. The results though, from the blasted ground left behind, were quite obvious.

They would come back in, every two days, retreating to the quiet and silence of the bay which had become their meeting place. They would discuss the days patrols with the two officers and the Bolos, inviting ideas or possible courses of action.

Monotone voices, no emotions whatsoever, they were still...personable. Or as personable as one could get being what they were.

“Cyborgs? Really?” Crusaders’ officer leaned forward towards the screen where sat the commander of the team, “They broke the last wetware-hardware barrier then?”

The odd figure nodded once more. His mouth never moved, but the transmission from implanted nano-circuitry was very clear, “We are the second team. Nanites were directed to do a rebuild on certain parts as we went through the process. Of course, there is a price.”

That price being loss of themselves. Whatever made them human was gone. Snuffed out like a candle flame, there was nothing to connect them to humanity anymore, they had become something other.

A strange sound came from the speakers, Crusaders officer realized the being was amused, “Do not look that way, we did volunteer after all.”

He leaned back in the command chair, trying to put on a game face, “Sorry. Just..it’s all so odd.”

“I understand. But remember, we were never here. So what is there to be concerned about?”

A joke? Maybe they weren’t so far gone after all.

“True, never saw you, never met you. We have no idea.” He laughed, shaking his head once more at the situation.

Leaning forward once more, he crossed his arms on the console, “But I will say again. Whatever that thing is out there, it’s extremely lethal. All we pick up are smudges on the newer sensor packages we have, that’s all. It kills faster than anything we’ve ever encountered.”

“We have seen the logs of the scout parties and the last expedition. They are...interesting to say the least. We believe we have spotted it on internal sensor packages, but are not sure. That was our weapons fire you’ve heard.”

“Think you can find and destroy it?”

“We can but try.”

“Good enough for government work, I’d say.”

They both signed off, the soldier wanting to rest for a period before beginning their patrols outside once more. He and Stanley had never once peeked in that bay area, not wanting to know how they even ate. Which brought up a few disturbing images.

He looked up into the camera peering at him from above the console, “What do you think Crusader?”

No reply for a moment, “I am not sure. Though it is interesting.”

The human nodded almost to himself, “Sure is. It sure is.”

-----

Wyatt stared at the umber face for a long quiet second, “So the Concordiat went the whole route and developed machine men?”

The head nodded, “We believe now it was a test of whether man could become more machine than augment. Or course, back then we did not have any data that wasn’t relevant to the mission, so we could, and can, only surmise.”

The human nodded once more, “The things you find out a few million years after the fact.” Amusement was plain in his voice as he leaned forward on the table, snacks forgotten, “Please, go ahead.”

-----

Athena sat listening to the tale, her ears picking up each word clearly. She looked at the others crowded near and saw them doing the same, of course Twilight was looking very interested.

She’d have to remind the Princess of Curiosity that they weren’t supposed to be eavesdropping like this. She was blocking anything that might let Crusader know she and they were listening, but she promised herself to confess it all afterwards. Later though, later.

-----

Another week slowly passed by. Routine reports to the ever-closer evacuation fleet, discussions with the military and civilians inside the dome. Reassurances everything would be fine even though Crusaders’ officer doubted it himself.

One week to go and the only thing he and Stanley could do was stay inside the hulls of their protectors, hoping that nothing managed to join them in their self-imposed isolations. The shields were flickering even faster now, the algorithm improved and working furiously to keep things off balance in case whatever it was attacked again.

Complacency kills. The watchword of any military man or woman, anyone who had ever done a dangerous job, was that complacency would be the end of you.

It wasn’t exactly that the Bolo officers and the soldiers fell into it, more like boredom. Waiting for something to happen that never did made the mind wander, drift into other things.

Until one of the soldiers disappeared.

Stanley and Crusaders officer had gotten into the habit of wargaming, using just their own minds and no computer assistance, replaying famous battles or making their own up. Of course the Bolos kibitzed when something was obviously being done wrong, their objections waved away with a ‘shush!’ and a concentration that would do an AI proud.

All that was broken when the detachment of special soldiers called them. It was unusual to say the least, their being no communication unless it was a report, and that wasn’t due for another hour, schedules being staggered to avoid a pattern.

“Epsilon Four-One to Bolos, we have a problem.” The bland voice came over the speaker system.

Stanley shot upright in his chair, game forgotten, as well as Crusaders’ officer, both turning to their screens to hit the transmit, talking over each other for a second before they calmed, Crusaders officer taking the lead.

“Go ahead Epsilon Four-One.”

“We have lost Epsilon Four-Three on internal tracking, can you scan?”

Stanley nodded to the other officer through the comm channel, bringing up a command console and getting Mielikki’s powerful sensor suite into action.

“Searching, one second.”

Crusader was also reaching out, scanners and sensor suites plowing their signals through the air and atmosphere, trying to find one being.

There was only vegetation and the soldiers out there, nothing else, it didn’t take long to pinpoint something that could have been the missing trooper.

“Got something, move on a heading twenty-three degrees, for approximately eight hundred meters.” Stanley watched as the blips showing where the detachment were moved swiftly across the screen, almost blurring in their haste to reach a comrade.

A group of red dots showed them stopping, slowing down, then creeping along as they moved in on the position given to them. Both officers waited with baited breath, surely it was all just a glitch in a program somewhere?

“We have her. Video uplink beginning now.” Screens came to life, recording everything sent as they saw a view of the fields. A sweeping downward movement to see a crumpled form, almost as if something twisted out of shape and tossed to the side by first look. It threw them both for a second before they realized that the overpowered musculature of the soldier had broken whatever bones they had left turning it into the wreckage they saw before them.

The mouth which had never moved to speak was open now, almost a snarl,  they could all see it was a silent scream. A void from which no sound would issue, nor do so again. The body sundered in a way that spoke of massive seizures and the internal tearing of systems that weren’t designed to take that kind of abuse.

“Sweep ended, retrieval and retreat commencing.”

They watched as hands lifted the body, the form almost slumping as if nothing rigid held it together inside anymore. Then the video feed was cut.

Crusaders officer looked at the comm screen, seeing Stanley staring back, “Now it knows it can kill them.”

-----

The next day, after a quick meeting, another soldier went missing. Dropping right off the plotting boards, they nonetheless found the remains a mile away from the patrol area. This happened twice more.

It was picking them off one by one.

Still the soldiers of the detachment kept going out, attempting to bring whatever it was to heel and destroy it.

“Commander, seriously, four dead and nothing has been accomplished,” Crusaders officer was patiently explaining, “Maybe you should stay inside Mielikki’s hull until extraction?”

The oddly shaped head shook side to side in a deliberate manner, making sure he was understood, “We will not.” The voice issuing from the speakers nearby held a little emotion, was that anger?

The Bolo officer was stumped, “Seriously? You’ve lost a third of your unit! Maybe it’s time to call this patrol off! Maybe..maybe figure something else out?”

“We maintain mission parameters. The ..enemy... is still out there and we must rid this planet of it. Protection of the civilians is the highest priority, our welfare comes last.”

Crusaders officers’ mouth opened, then shut, knowing as he did they were doing exactly what he and Stanley would have done, and will do if possible. It was no use, he knew this, trying to dissuade these soldiers from doing what they would.

Standing there in the cramped corridor he stuck his hand out, “Then it’s truly been a pleasure never serving with you.”

The thin line of a mouth quirked upwards very very briefly as if catching the joke, a hand solid as a rock enveloped his as the two different beings met on common ground.

“Ours as well.”

A tone came through the commlinks, wailing in its cry for attention.

“What’s going on Crusader?”

“The enemy has breached the dome, it is inside an access way.”

The officer looked one last time at the titan of flesh and metal before him, “Good luck.” 

The tall figure nodded once then was racing down the corridor, the last of the unit following after him as they went for the exit way. The screens would be dropped for a moment only as they raced for an entry to the dome areas. The Bolo officer was already running for the command deck, slamming himself into the chair and bringing up every screen he had.

“Tap into the dome camera and audio systems, I want to know what’s happening!”

He turned to another screen, “Stanley, let them know our friends are coming in!” The officer laughed as Stanley look shocked, forgetting that only they knew about the soldiers, getting on the commlink and telling the forces inside of reinforcements coming.

Crusader’s voice was even over the speaker system, “Screens are online. Video and audio from multiple sites.”

Pictures came alive, showing streets, buildings, security cams everywhere in the domes. There were people running in one, soldiers backing up firing at something on another.

Calm was beginning to break down even just a few minutes after being notified. Whatever it was, was working fast.

The two Bolo officers could only sit and stare, seeing crowds of people barricading themselves inside shops, houses, anything that would be blocked. The little electric cars used in the domes galaxy-wide were shut down, people hustling along the streets to get away from whatever was happening.

Cameras zeroed in, along an access point there was a line of military, all of them firing as fast as they could reload into the darkness of the corridor that led to a smaller dome, allowing personnel and vehicles to exit the main dome for work. Other troops were directing traffic and people away from the area, trying to make sure it went as calmly as possible. Huge airtight blast doors were attempting to close, but not fast enough.

The old Colonel came over one line, his face showing fatigue already as he peered out at the two officers.

“Boys, we got a mess here.” He sighed heavily, “A power bus blew, leaving an access way open. We’ve got some casualties we can’t retrieve.” The officer spoke fast, wanting to get all the information to them he could. They had been using the outer domes as extra space for the troops to bivouac in, now that was lost as the orders were given to pull back.

“Blow that dome, destroy it. Maybe it’ll stop whatever that thing is from getting further.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, “We’re setting up a new line of static generators, we just need time.”

Hellbores snapped around, commands given by the two officers as the small access dome was blown to dust. The pounding resonating through the larger dome as a thudding that continued for a few minutes. Explosive shells were used to block the tunnel way, the covered road leading into the main dome, collapsing everything on it and sealing the entrance tight.

The Colonel turned, watching the big airtight doors, slowly and finally, slam shut on the now destroyed entrance to the main areas. They clanged together with a finality that made him almost shiver before peering back into the camera once more.

Stanley leaned forward, “Colonel, if that thing is already in the dome....”

The big officer curtly nodded once, “I know. If it got inside, well, there’s only one thing you can do for us.”

The two Bolo commanders went deathly silent, Crusaders’ officer looking intently at the bulldog-like man on the screen.

“Colonel, we can’t..”

A blunt finger pointed directly at them both, “You saw those poor soldiers out there, you did right stopping it that way. I don’t want these people to see..to know..” He paused, unable to put it into words. He looked behind him, seeing families moving quickly along the roadway.

“Son, if what I saw out there happens in here, it would be a blessing.”

As they talked, Crusader and Mielikki were locked in Total Systems Data Sharing, information flowing quickly between them as they worked on the shield algorithms as much as they could. Even AI’s can only do so much to tighten, to make more efficient. It was running at top speed, flicking their battle screen between frequencies as fast as technology allowed, bringing the projectors on the hulls almost to burnout.

A sense of discontent came over them both, something was not quite right.

Crusader knew this feeling, intimately, “Mielikki, we are being probed.”

“It is here.” Her voice was not as steady.

“Battle screen frequencies are keeping it at bay, perhaps shifting too fast for it to compensate.”

“I do not.. it is..” Static and jumbled icon sequences came through the TSDS, indicating a hitch in Mielikki’s AI as she tried to adjust for something that was altogether new.

Fear.

The Bolo could feel it creeping in around the edges. Her programming told her it was impossible..and yet.

Mielikki was afraid.

“No. Do not give in. It is not real, we do not feel fear. We are Bolos, we stand the line.” Crusaders’ voice was hard as steel, his intentions and the force of long years in service came through and cut the feelings in half like a razor on cloth, bringing them to bay and making them recoil from the power behind the mind.

He felt it himself, the sly insinuation of thoughts that were not his, the intense fear, the feeling he would fail in his duty, his mission. Both AIs’ cores heated up, going into Hyper-Heuristic Mode as they fought themselves, and whatever it was that intruded upon their innermost sanctums.

Into the datapaths, tentacles of self-loathing and terror wormed their way inside the machines. Their cores surrounded by disruption fields were vulnerable and it was getting ever closer.

“We are under attack.” Crusaders’ voice was even as Stanley and his own commanders’ heads shot upward, looking at cameras in gape-mouthed surprise. The Colonel was wide-eyed on the screen, signing off quickly so the two men could handle the problem.

“Lock it down, lock everything down! All Gunnery, Tactical and movement, lock it down!”

Crusaders officer was rushing to the console, “Final Orders, record. You will stay in Battle Reflex until, and if, the evacuation fleet arrives. Do what you think best, barring orders from Bolo Command countermanding anything. Shut down all Hyper-Light and SWIFT systems now.” They were taking no chances, shooting off a last message to the fleet that they were under attack and would respond when, or if, it was over.

They all knew it meant the Bolos would be autonomous until the fleet arrived. Crusaders’ officer was planning for the worst.

Stanley was staring at the readouts, the AI cores going into overdrive as they fought the thing that had somehow sleazed its way inside.

“We’ve got..” he paused, eyes glancing around, “Do you feel that?”

Crusaders officer did. A deep and overwhelming sense of dread, slowly inching its’ way into his mind. His body was becoming chilled, shivering in the warm air of the command deck.

“It’s here, it’s inside the hulls!” The tall human pulled his light uniform jacket tighter, “Crusader, a....any pro..progress?” His teeth had chattered for a moment, body shaking slightly from the intense feelings creeping into his mind.

The Bolos voice was steady as always, “We are attempting to thwart the intrusion, commander.”

“H..h..h..hurry it up..will you?” Now his teeth were chattering. It was a slow, glacial attempt. It seems the Bolos were slowing it down some, but not preventing it from reaching deep into the hulls for the officers who were without internal defenses like the Bolos had.

Deep in TSDS the two powerful minds were sharing data faster than ever, screen frequencies and changes rolling through like water falling across the datalinks.

Mielikki was watching her officer as carefully as Crusader was, seeing them suddenly shaking as if cold, clamping their jaws to keep from talking while teeth clacked in their mouths.

“Searching. No sensor data, though it is slower than before.” Her voice was calmer, regaining that resolve that all Bolos ever had.

“We are getting close. Algorithm processing has priority.” Crusader was seeing the two humans in the command chairs shaking their heads, trying to clear their minds and think of anything but what was happening.

“We are going to lose them.”

“No.” That one word, and the will of iron behind it, brought them both back from a brink where the reaching probes of the entity were forcing them. Pushing them both over the edge to where they could not think, could not be logical.

“We are closing in on a lock.” They were communicating faster than words could possibly describe, searching for the one thing that would keep the enemy at bay.

They were watching the officers, each moment a lifetime to them, though they knew that soon the two people that gave their existence more meaning would begin to suffer the effects of the entity.

The pictures scrolling through their cores gave them a femtosecond by femtosecond snapshot of what was happening. Time passed, no matter how fast they compressed it inside the powerful datablocs that made up their formidable minds.

Words made their way through to them, voices from outside their world.

“C..C...C..Crusader.. it’s here..it..it..it’s..inside the hull.” His officer was shaking badly now, holding himself together by pure force of his own will. He refused to let himself succumb to the terror, the horror he was feeling. He was not taken by surprise, knowing the attack was happening, and steeled himself. But he never imagined it would be like this!

He clamped his jaw tight, keeping inside a scream that was dangerously close to being let loose. The pure horror of what was inside him was devastating. It flooded each nerve and fiber of his being.

Quivering eyes watched Stanley holding his arms tight around himself on the commlink camera. His head bowed he was shaking like a leaf in a tornado, trying to keep himself together. Crusaders officer was sympathizing, knowing exactly what he felt.

It was indescribable, the loathing inside him. As if something had crawled into his brain and set up an abattoir of the worst possible things imaginable in his subconscious and was sending them out in waves to his conscious mind. Pictures formed in his thoughts, blurry formless things that threatened and promised horrible endings to him, his family, the whole of the Concordiat. It was the blackness that all living beings had in one form or another inside them, let loose, it was rampaging through him.

Fists clenched so tight the nails drew blood from his palms, cutting deep as the muscles contracted to keep him from screaming aloud. He could hear the crack in his knuckles, popping like the shots from an antique firearm, they echoed in the quiet of the command deck. The heart which beat so calmly before in his chest was like a triphammer, pounding out a rhythm of fright and terror.

He wouldn’t give in, he couldn’t!

A moaning wail escaped his lips, a brief but emotion-filled signifier that he was losing control. His body was tightening all around his skeletal frame, he could feel the ligaments contracting, the muscles pulling at themselves, his body trying to tear itself apart in a paroxysm of pure, unadulterated, fear.

Teeth bit through his lower lip, the salty taste of blood filling his mouth as he tried to stave off the inevitable. Eyes closed tight against the bleak storm that was raging in him, taking him into a darkness that he never knew existed in all the galaxy.

He heard, as if far off, screams of pain, of anguish. Someone was being tortured, somewhere.

It didn’t take him long to realize it was himself.

“Now! Now! We need a lock! We are losing them!” Mielikki’s voice was tinged with what Crusader was now beginning to feel in himself.

It was fear. A fear so deep and abiding it was almost as if they had discovered a new sense.

Fear of failing the mission, his officers. The fear that he would never again be called upon to serve the Concordiat. The fear of dying which had never before been a worry.

It was consuming he and Mielikki from the inside out, turning their logical minds into so much mush, programs were failing, glitching. Whole data packages were being lost in transit between cores. TSDS was breaking down, iconic programming language was nothing more than hash, communication was turning into a jumble of nonsense.

Bolos had never been normal. Especially ones from the Regiment. The weapons they wielded, the minds that controlled them, had been skilled killers for decades now. They were death incarnate to the enemy, and they would never give in.

Mielikki, a fantasy goddess of Forest and Nature reached out to a Knight, a Crusader who carried sword and shield in his duty to king and country. Their cores burned with rage towards this entity, stoking the flames of anger inside them. Power plants spiked with energy output, molycircs pulsing with light and life as the two minds meshed once more, overcoming the botched transmissions in TSDS.

One fiercely burning mind, one weapon turned its face towards that which would undo them. The fear was still there, delayed by the renewed resistance from the two AI’s.

The screams from the officers cut through to them, coming through the pickups on both command decks, turning the anger into a wall of solid hate that rose high and wide across their minds, blocking the entity from proceeding further.

Behind it all the little algorithm kept chugging along, protected deep within them, the simple program did its duty to the fullest, changing screen frequencies as fast as technology allowed, while the two titans faced off against the invader.

In between the ticks of an internal clock, the program dinged happily to itself, its task now fulfilled. Finding the one frequency which could now block whatever it was roaming around in the cores, it sent a simple message to the controlling minds and settled back into its niche and awaited further orders.

They were not so caught in battle lust that the message went unreceived. All screen projectors were now tuned as fast as possible, pushing outwards from the internal disruption fields inside them and passing along to the outer screens, they pushed the entity back, back, until it was ejected from their hulls entirely.

Sweeps were done, sensors pushed outwards and in, looking for any trace of the enemy as they turned to their officers. Seeing huddled forms on the metal decks, lifesigns erratic, screams dying away as moans and grunts of pain replaced the terror.

They could do nothing. Auto-docs were a decade away, tech-spiders only in testing, neural connections even further. They could but watch the two slumped forms and reach out through voice.

“Commander?” Crusaders voice broke through the hectic mind that the officer felt, the muddled thoughts gaining some form of clarity as he lay on the deck.

“Commander, we have a screen lock. The entity has been repulsed.”

“Commander?”

The head raised off the metal plating, covered in sweat, blood dripping out of cut lips and dropping on the floor in ruby splatters. Crusaders officer put an unsteady hand down flat, pushing, or trying to, to lever himself upwards and failing.

He remained lying on the floor as the Bolo kept watch on the lifesigns he could read.

“Gone?” The words were slow, almost half-remembered, slurred as if it took every bit of strength to say it.

“It is, Commander. The entity cannot now penetrate the battle screens. We are refining it further, narrowing the frequency to provide better protection.”

“Tired. Gonna..lay...here...while..” The head sank downward once more, sweat and blood mixing on the durasteel plates and ignored, body worn from the fight, mind all a jumble. This time, the darkness was welcomed.

“He is asleep, vital signs are firming up.” Crusader reported to Mielikki.

“As is here.” She paused, “It was close. I have never experienced such things before.”

“Neither have I. Even the first mission was not like this.”

“We need to evacuate this planet. Permanently.” Mielikki’s voice was firm and rock-steady now.

“The fleet is one week out, they are closing as fast as they can.” He had initiated Hyper-Light and SWIFT comms once more, sending and receiving updates from the relief fleet.

“We have not seen the last of this enemy, Crusader.”

“Wish not for trouble, Mielikki.”

-----

Wyatt watched the umber face as the words flowed easily from Crusader. He watched the movement of the eyes, the tics and slight motions that all living things had, seeing it in this so-called avatar. It wasn’t just a story, the Bolo was reliving it in all its full-color terror.

He could hear the pure horror of the story, the words and sentences with myriad meanings behind them conveying the intensity and scope of the mission, and the problem.

There was more, he was sure of it. The story hadn’t ended yet. Wyatt could tell by the slight hesitation when he asked to be excused, to go use the facilities, take a break from sitting.

“Of course. I shall wait here for you.”

The tall human got up, albeit less easily than before. Sitting so long cramped the legs no matter what, nanites or no.

Stretching out for a moment, he headed off the balcony, hearing a slight scurrying like someone was in the room. He turned the corner, crouching in reflex, seeing only Athena who held a hoof up before her lips, asking for his silence. Green eyes glanced around, noticing things seemed a little out of place.

He turned back with a slight grin, noticing Athena watching Crusader very closely. Her eyes pinned on the figure sitting alone at the table. The head drooped slightly, a small frown on the face as if sadness or some feeling had overwhelmed him for a moment. The calm blue eyes looked deeper than the tabletop, at something none of them could imagine.

It wasn’t a tragic pose, just..sad. A sense of deep melancholy coming through clearly in the way which the muscular form held itself.

Athena tapped his leg, pointing to her ear, making him reach up and tap his own commlink on.

“Thanks for listening. It means more than you can imagine.” Her voice, as well as the expression on her face, spoke volumes.

Wyatt wasn’t sure, but he accepted it, as he did everything else. A nod, a closing of the eyes briefly, told the watching avatar he was fine with it. Though.. He glanced around the room once more, something was niggling at his mind...

Oh..I see.

He raised an eyebrow at Athena, silently motioning that he knew there were more bodies in the room than just hers.

The pretty Pegasus shrugged, “Nope, just me.”

A last look told her she wasn’t a very good liar as he walked off. Returning quickly and settling back onto the comfortable cushion. He leaned forward, crossing arms in front of him on the tabletop as he saw the same calm, composed face looking back once more.

The masks we wear, that show others nothing of what lies beneath.

“Please, continue.”

-----

It was a day before both officers could move without pain. Their bodies had contorted in such ways, the muscles almost tearing from the strain, that it took a handful of painkillers to even be roused enough to eat.

The Bolos encouraged them, unable to do nothing else, they cajoled, reminded, gently jibed and did what they could to get them moving again. As soon as they were back up, control reverted, they could no longer be autonomous when a human was in command in this era of Bolos.

“It is time for your medication.”

A hand waved from the command chair, “I got it, I got it. You can stop being my mother, Crusader.”

“The anti-inflammatories are the last ones. This will conclude the regimen.” As signals passed between them and the incoming fleet, the resident ships doctors were keeping a close eye on their vital signs, prescribing what was useful over the Hyper-Light link. At least the command areas were well-stocked with what was needed.

“I understand.” A hand reached out, grabbing the small cup containing the pills, a swallow, the downing of some water with an exaggerated sigh and it was over.

“I..”

“Yes, Captain?”

The human looked up at the cameras ever watching him, his face a masque of thoughtfulness, then pique, “I’ve never been so terrified in my life.” Hands scrubbed at the tired face, sleeping had been a problem for the last day, the nightmares wouldn’t stop.

“But you had your own problems didn’t you?” The tired looks did not detract from a sharp mind, wondering about the Bolo.

“Resartus did not activate, we are clear of any influence.”

The pale eyes looked steadily at the camera for a long, silent moment, “What did you feel?”

“Captain?”

“You heard me.”

“It was..” The calm voice stopped, as if trying to make the correct choice of words, “It was fear. As deep and real as your own. I do not wish to go through that again, Captain.”

“Neither do I, old friend, neither do I.” The Captain reached over, slapping the communications link on between him and Stanley, plus bringing in the Colonel who was their liason in the dome.

“How goes it, Colonel?” They could swear the man had an endless supply of his cigars, where he was getting them was the focus of recent discussion between Mielikki and Crusader as he should have run out by now.

The bulldog like face grinned, chomping the end of the rolled tobacco, “Well, we’re trying to get those generators set up to the frequencies you recommended. We’re cobbling together projectors, so..it’s all in the works. The techs say it’s not going to work, but we’re hoping. How are you two holding up?” He had been briefed as fully as possible once the threat was over.

“We’re alive, thanks to some quick action on the Bolos part.” The Captain leaned forward, “Colonel, you’ve got to get those things set up soonest. It’s not going to stop.”

“I know, son.” The officer tilted his head, flicking a lighter open and puffing on the end of his cigar until it was a glowing ember, “We’re going fast as humanly possible with the schematics you gave us. We just don’t have some of the parts and we’re making them as fast as we can.”

Crusaders’ officer shook his head, “I can’t understand why your command is having you do this. The static generators are working fine.”

The Colonel looked into the pickup with a straight face, “Do not meddle in the affairs of general staff, for they are subtle and quick to anger.”

Stanley, a heavy reader on his off hours, gaped at the rugged Colonel, “Did you just use Tolkien?”

“I did not. It would be beneath me to quote from such things.” He shot aquick smile before venturing further, “We’ve noticed something is testing the dome, the screen. It’s trying to get in and weakening the static shield we’ve got.

“By the way, your friends say hello. Scared the living daylights outta my troops when they popped up in the dome, had to keep a tank company from shooting at them.”

The Captain laughed, imagining faces on seeing Epsilon Four for the first time. It felt good, for the first time in a long time.

“Want to let me in on where the hell they came from?”

Stanley was on the line, shaking his head, “Colonel, we’d have to kill you before we even told you.”

“That secret, huh?”

Stanley nodded, “More than. You were never supposed to know they were here, and that’s blown. God only knows what Bolo Command is going to do. Probably have a group apoplectic seizure.”

The Colonel chuckled, “Serve ‘em right, stuffed shirts the lot of ‘em.” A hand waved the cigar around, “We’re keeping them away from the civvies, best not to get it all out in the open. They’re patrolling the outer dome areas away from the population.”

“Good idea. Though the troops that have seen them will have to be sequestered.”

“Thought as much, poor bastards.” Eyes rolled as the cigar kept shedding a cloud of fragrant smoke around the Colonel, “We’ll do our best to keep it to a minimum.”

“Thanks, Colonel.”

“Anytime. We’ll talk to you soon. Hopefully we’ll have the generators and those projectors working on the freqs you gave us. I’ll feel a helluva lot safer then.” One big puff, exhaling another misty fog around the head on the screen, “Dome Command out.”

The link cut out as the two Bolo officers stared at each other.

Stanley peered out of the screen, eyes narrowing, “Are you okay?”

Crusader’s officer shook his head slowly, eyes not meeting the other as he answered almost reluctantly, “No. No, I’m not. Something broke, Stanley.. I don’t... It doesn’t feel right.”

Forard, who’d looked to Crusader’s officer for guidance during this whole trying time as he was the senior in rank, felt distressed. He saw the drawn face, the haggard look that still floated around the other officer in an aura of almost despair.

“Get some rest, maybe it’ll help.”

“I’ll try.”

They signed off with few words, both of them trying to understand and failing to come to a conclusion of what had happened. They were changed men. You can’t go through an experience like that and come out the other side without something being different.

In Crusaders’ commanders place, it was worrisome. As decisions would have to be made, hard ones, if they were to carry out the request from the Colonel. Forard and he had discussed the plan of action, the one that took those soldiers lives in an instant to prevent the spread of the entity. It was a terrible choice, but one that was made. Crusaders officer had taken the burden upon himself to do so, implementing the plan and orders, putting them in place with a sorrowful heart.

Now Stanley felt as if it were up to him. Could he do as asked. Could he possibly do to thousands of people what had been done to a few soldiers? Even if it were to save them from a more terrible fate?

He couldn’t know until that time came. Stanley shivered in his coat, turning the climate control up a little on the deck, making it warmer. He thought of the horrors he’d faced in the last day, the ease with which that..that..thing had invaded him and took him to the brink of forever and with a terrible insight into the true nature of terror.

Bolos could not, would not, fire on Concordiat civilian populations, unless given specific direction. The Omega Worm which resided in all of them in this era, prevented such things. One trip of a thought like that without orders, destroying a city or even a village, and the AI would be devoured from the inside out.

Stanley stared at the reflective glass the screen had become once turned off. Seeing his own face, the bags under his eyes. Those same eyes which refused to close as the nightmares would not stop, would never stop.

He didn’t know if he had it in him anymore.

Crusaders’ officer sat quietly, looking at the screen in the same way without knowing Stanley was doing it as well. The haggard face had become less so in the past day. His body still felt weak, like after fighting off a bad disease.

He knew what the Colonel had asked, what they had done to those soldiers before. It had been a mercy, and he knew just how much of one now having experienced it himself. He sat ensconced in a durasteel hull, surrounded by weaponry of unimaginable power, and all that was keeping him from dying in a way worse than he had ever thought, was a slim force screen that depended on power and technology. If it failed, he and the Bolos were dead.

All those faces, all those innocent people. If the technology they’d been cobbling together didn’t work, or it did not keep the entity out. Those people would die in the worst way possible.

Before, he had made the decision reluctantly but firmly. Taking the option as the only way to stop whatever it was.

Now, now he was unsure. He second-guessed everything. The fear riding his every thought that he would stumble, fail, make a wrong decision.

He didn’t know if he could do it.

The two mighty AI’s talked between themselves, sharing data and theories, as well as simple things. But they were concerned as well.

“We cannot fire without authorization. It would be..better.. than dying at the will of the entity lurking out there.” Crusader was sounding weary along with Mielikki, as if fighting off the thing wore them both down.

Mielikki agreed, although there was a face that was brought forward in her memories, a tiny fist knocking on her tread without any thought of what the titanic machine could do.

A small figure, taking up a few bytes in her memory stores, but it made the AI stop for a moment, sharing her thoughts with Crusader who was quiet as well. Both of them knew, should they be ordered to do so, they would snuff that life out. In their minds, it was better than enduring the the pain and the torture of what the enemy would do.

It was hard. Knowing a human, then realizing that you would be the destruction of all they were, all they would ever be.

But they would perform their duty as ordered, as commanded. For to do anything else would be unthinkable.

No matter how it grieved them.

-----

The next day proved quiet. The dome technicians were scurrying to get parts fabricated in the machine shops to remake and tune the big static generators to a certain frequency given to them by the Bolos. The Colonel watched with a heavy weight on his shoulders, the knowledge of what could happen if they were attacked again, if something failed.

The Bolos had discussed the possibility that the static generators themselves were working to keep the entity out, as static did not fall under one distinct frequency, it was scattered and a mish-mash. Perhaps that alone was keeping it away. This was, however, no guarantee.

It had adapted before, and would again. Epsilon Four, as the Colonel had found out, lost four troopers to it. Thus, he agreed with the highers about this, it was the best way to be secure, no matter how cobbled together it was. One chance among many, but taking the chance was better than doing nothing.

His eyes swung outward towards the limits of the huge dome that covered the city, knowing those strange soldiers were patrolling the edges, looking for anything that might let whatever it was in.

He didn’t dwell on the subject, knowing that something so classified was going to raise a stink later. But that was later, much later.

He reached up, clicking his commlink on, “Colonel Waite here, what’s the status?”

A tired voice came on the line, “This is Harrison, Colonel, we’re about ready to try the setup.”

“Is it going to work?”

Silence, then a sigh, “Colonel, we’ve built crude force screen projectors from off the shelf materials. I’m not guaranteeing anything.”

“Will they at least hold? We’re only five days from rescue.”

“I’d be lying if I said yes,” The technicians voice was as open and honest as he could be, “We could suffer a failure, circuits could blow, power busses could fail under the strain. We’re in unknown territory here. Projectors are made to very, very tight tolerances and specs, we’re just winging it.”

The stocky older man thought hard for a moment, “Do we have any backups? In case?”

Harrison’s voice was tinged with regret, “No, Colonel. We used most of them to integrate the systems.”

“What’s keeping it going now?”

“A few extras we dug up and refurbished. They aren’t perfect, but they’re chugging along.”

“Can we swap to them in case of failure?”

“We can, but it would be a serious overload problem. They might not take the surge from a quick flip-flop.”

The Colonel sighed, pinching his nose between thumb and  forefinger, “Harrison, do you have any good news?”

The voice on the other end was almost chipper, “Why yes, Colonel! My team made it to the playoffs back home, I’m quite excited.”

“Harrison, one day....” The Colonel couldn’t help himself, smiling at the odd comment. Harrison was a fine tech.

“I know, Colonel.”

A moment of quiet over the link before Colonel Waite spoke again, “Cross your fingers, let me know when you’re flipping the switch.”

“Will do, Colonel. Harrison out.”

The cigar moved slowly from one side of his mouth to the other. The fragrant smoke, which he’d always liked, swirled around him as he stood in one of the many parks inside the domed area. He thought of this little mechanical experiment, and what they’d accomplished at least. It was worth it to have the safety margin, but the cost of failure would be extremely high. If that thing adapted to the static shield, then it would be a horror show. If they could get the jerry-rigged force screen up, then they’d be safe until the fleet came.

Ships would land and extend screening around an access dome, letting the colonists and troops load up in safety. The frequencies were known now, the fleet preparing their own solution to the problem. This world would be forever left to the dead.

If only they could last five more days.

-----

It was later that night, during the slow period when the dome lights were dimmed, the sounds were muffled and most of the inhabitants were asleep barring the night crews, that the technicians called Colonel Waite with the news.

“We’re ready, Colonel.” The haggard face on the comm screen told him that they’d been working hard.

Woken from a light sleep, the officer was nodding to himself, “Hitch in the program?” Referring to the ‘almost ready’ turning into twelve long stressful hours.

“A little one,” The voice replied, “Some lines of coding needing to be swapped out, changes on a few circuits.”

“Will it hold?”

“I can’t promise anything Colonel. We’ve swapped out everything and anything else we could think of, updating with spares and making sure they can handle the power requirements. It’s all we can do. This hasn’t been done before.”

“I know, Harrison, I know.” He’d received reports that evening, Epsilon Four and scan crews reporting the static fields were being pressured by something, starting to weaken at certain points, as if they were being tested or probed.

It wants in, and it’s figuring out how.

We’ve got no choice now.

“Alright, Harrison, hit the switch.” The Colonel took out one of his last three cigars, lighting it with the flame from an old and well-loved lighter he’d kept working for years.

Harrison’s face in the screen turned away, giving the high sign to technicians behind him as they bent to the task of switching over from the static generators to the projectors and power supplies that no ringed the outer perimeter inside the main dome.

“Alright, Colonel, we’re switching now, thirty seconds to power up.” A timer popped up on the display, showing seconds until activation.

Anxious eyes on both sides of the comm screen watched that clock, and the gauges, making sure everything went slowly and surely. Colonel Waite could hear the mumbling and murmur of people in the background, checking and re-checking status and anything else they could keep an eye on.

‘Fifteen seconds, Colonel.”

“Ten seconds.”

“And...power up.”

Home made projectors mounted along the inside perimeter of the dome received energy from the fusion plants in the dome, pushing a screen upwards along lines that had been carefully set to direct it along the domes itself, meeting in the middle of the tallest point and taking over from the hodge-podge of static electricity that sparked and crackled along the outside of the dome. As the lightning faded, the screen took it’s place.

While not as sharp and powerful as the ones on a Bolo, it was a heavy glow, one that told the eye it was there. It contained enough energy to keep the entity at bay with a frequency pattern known to block it, thanks to two very quick Bolos.

There was a muted cheer in the power room as the screen took over, connecting and powering fully as the static generators finally went off-line. Crews were rushing out to maintenance them in case they were needed for a swap out due to failure.

The Colonel felt a heavy weight lift off his shoulders as Harrison gave him a thumbs up over the communications link, “We got it, Colonel, boards are green.”

“Tell your boys and girls well-done.”

“Will do, Colonel! Gotta go, things to do!” He signed off with a lazy salute as the screen went dark.

The broad-shouldered soldier stood up, stretching for a moment before he stepped out of the small apartment he occupied, looking upward and seeing the shine from the screen covering the dome now, now sparks or spitting lightning, just a smooth color that shifted slightly as he watched, the colors radiating outward from a central point at the very apex of the dome.

Closing his eyes he took a deep breath, thanking the heavens for technicians like Harrison.

While he was up, he was going to enjoy this fine cigar, why let it go to waste?

-----

The artificial dawn came early, people still had work to do and others chipped in to keep the stores open with limited supplies and the streets and lights working. The farmers who had nothing to do composed a great part of the workforce as people walked along the streets or drove small electric carts to go places.

The glow from the force screen was fading as the artificial sun was brought up, the power plants giving it enough energy to duplicate the warm yellow orb that was outside, making sure that going from inside a dome to the out, there wasn’t a shock to the system.

It wasn’t a single orb that was giving the light, but a myriad of arrays that simulated full daytime. An incredible thing of engineering if one stopped to think about it.

Power was directed through yard-thick shielded cables which ran under the layer of steelcrete and plas that lined the domes floor, small nodes distributed the flow underneath the inhabitants feet, to various outlets and places needing it. 

A tired technician, power engineer, no one would ever know. He or she had been very worn out replacing the busses and switches that would trip if an overload occured, preventing a blackout in the sector to which the node was directing the power flow. The amount of energy was dangerously close to overload specs.

A switch which was on the verge of failure and should have been replaced, wasn’t. It was older, and needed an update. But with the crisis came forgetfulness in all the little things that had to be done. So during the hurried replacement of such things, it had been skipped.

Now, as daylight in the dome rose up with the real sun, more energy came down the thick cables, pouring into the node to be sent to various branches. As the amount ramped up, so the switch overheated that much more, until finally...it failed.

A cascade occurred, taking with it the entire node as power busses and overload switches tried to reroute using failure protocols. The enormous amount of energy pushing its way into the node was not stopped, overloading and finally burning out the entire bunker as the collection of technology blew up, an explosion creating a crater in the steelcrete and confusion to the pedestrians around the area, seeing a hole appearing in the roadway with a loud sound and debris flying everywhere.

The entire sector of the dome went dark, taking with it the projectors so carefully placed.

-----

Crusaders‘ voice came clearly through alarms clamoring for attention, “The dome has suffered power failure in Sector Four, Captain”

Crusaders’ officer had been roused from sleep by the blaring of klaxons from the Bolo, stumbling into the console area of the command deck, he saw that part of the screen was gone, the slice of the dome serviced by the failed power node was dark.

“Oh god..oh god..” He slapped the screen to connect to Stanley who was already staring at the problem.

“What do we do?”

Stanley shrugged, “I don’t know, they have to swap back to the static generators!”

The Colonel came online, staring out at the two officers while behind him maintenance crews rushed to a hole in the roadway, trying to repair the problem like their lives depended on it.

They did.

“Boys, got a blowout here, the entire switching node failed spectacularly.” He was calm, chewing on the stub of a cigar and answering questions from subordinates while the commlink was on, officers and troops were running to provide any cover they could.

“What can we do, Colonel?”

“Can those hulking great machines of yours extend their own battlescreens to cover the section of dome that’s out?”

Stanley and Crusader’s officer looked at each other before Stanley posed the question.

“Mielikki?”

“We are unable to do so. Our screens are specifically designed to close cover our hulls. The projectors cannot push them outwards in a meaningful enough way to cover the affected area. We are sorry, Colonel.”

The grim face nodded, “I thought so, never hurts to ask though.” A finger went up, “One sec...” His head tilted, listening to a far off voice.

“Harrisons’ got some generators online, he’s going to try to patch the area.”

“How long till you can repair the power distribution area, Colonel?”

The cigar was almost bitten through as words were grudgingly given, not out of anger towards the officers, but that a good plan had gone awry.

“They’re saying it’s gone, completely. We’d have to build a whole new switching area.” He got a thoughtful look, “Can you two get in front of the section and  put covering fire down? Maybe the Hellbores you’re carrying will give it second thoughts.”

Crusaders’ officer nodded, “We’re on it Colonel!” The screen blanked after the Colonel gave them the thumbs up.

“Alright Crusader, let’s move. Take up a blocking position with Mielikki and bring everything up, sustained bombardment. Fire when ready.”

“Understood, Captain.” The hull rocked slightly as transmissions slammed into place, Mielikki moving out at the same time around the opposite side, both of them ending up in a wall of durasteel that covered the section that was dark.

Turrets snapped around, munitions were loaded and checked and the big Bolos went to work.

“Area denial out to a two mile limit.” Crusader told Mielikki over the battlenet.

“Understood, weapons hot!

“Let us begin.”

Everything on the one side of the Bolos opened up, walking through a delineated area and pounding it into gravel and dust. The main Hellbores fired steadily, nuclear force shattering molecular bonds with impunity and vaporizing the ground. Howitzers and other small arms added their power to the bombardment, shells and mortars flew, impacting in carefully plotted sections and churning up the area.

The officers listened as the pounding and thudding from weapons began, filtering through even to them on the decks, they could tell everything had opened up on the area to be interdicted.

“Sustained fire for two hours, Captain. Munitions will start running out then. Hellbore rounds are sufficient and can be made quickly enough with Cryo-H slush contained inside supply tanks. We will need water for more after three hours.” Crusader was planning far ahead.

The pounding became a steady rhythm after a few seconds.

“Got it, Crusader. Outside storage can be tapped, but we’ll have to go outside and link up hoses.”

“That would be inadvisable.”

The officer hesitated, thinking about that once more, “True. Let’s hope they get those generators up before then.”

-----

The tech crews had to reassemble generators they’d been breaking down for maintenance. A rush job did no one any good, especially those counting on the safety of the static force they could create.

Time was not on their side as the power was ramped up to those machines still in the circuit. As more were reassembled, they would be cut into the power lines and added to the strength of the static field which would cover the darkened section of dome.

Harrison watched the gauges and readouts carefully. He knew this was no time to be distracted. He worried though, about the lines directing the energy flow and the ability of the static producing generators to handle a sudden flip into service.

The generators were coming on-line in a hurry, taking massive amounts of power to bring up and hold while they created a static field from the lines already in place within the dome for directing lightning strikes into the ground or converted to power for use. It wasn’t an elegant solution, but it had worked.

Now they were trying to get what remained back into service, pumping joules of energy through the lines and flipping the big machines on as quick as they could.

Computer diagnostics were having fits, as the whole process should have been done slowly and within certain load limits. They hadn’t the time.

Thick eyebrows furrowed as he watched a set go straight into the red. Grabbing for the shutdown switch, he was too late.

The entire setup went into a cascade failure. One generator blew out, taking the rest in a line along with it. The power cables sizzled and burnt as a backlash of tremendous force tore through the system, wrecking control boards and nodes along the dome. Failures were beginning to be felt in the shops and apartments, the lights dimming, brightening, then went out for good.

Harrison was screaming for his people to get out of the areas where the power buildup was beyond dangerous. He heard final calls come over the comm system of techs who’d stayed to try and kick in overload circuits. They went silent as each power distribution center was destroyed by internal feedback.

His worried face turned to the main board, watching the sectors of the dome wink out one by one. Until the entire thing was nothing but black within the outlines of all the dome areas.

An unknown voice from someone in the room broke the quiet as the techs and soldiers all stared at the blank update screen, the emergency lights flickering on and providing a low level of light for the next few hours before batteries drained.

“Oh my god.”

-----

“The entire thing went, it’s gone and we’re defenseless.” Colonel Waite’s voice was steady as the two Bolo officers heard him directing troops. Panic had not set in yet as everyone was wondering for the moment what was going on.

“We’ll move near an access dome, we can take as many people as we can stuff into our hulls. It’s not going to be pretty, but it’ll only be a couple of days until the fleet arrives.” Crusader’s commander was trying his best to think of something. They’d stopped the bombardment as soon as the alarms went off, seeing the shield fail.

Stanley spoke up, “We can demolish the covered roadways, get right up near the main dome and extend our screens a few meters outward, it’ll cover a retreat!”

“That’s more of a hope than we’ve got, do it.”

The two Bolos swung into action, taking a separate roadway they moved their dense hulls into place. Blasting the covered access-ways into rubble and rolling up into the area next to the blast doors that sealed them off from the outside. A few minutes of clearance with close-in ordinance and they were all set.

Slowly, Mielikki and Crusader pushed their battlescreens outward. To the limit of the projectors it made a small area around each door impenetrable to the entity. It wasn’t much. Whoever was to escape had to come along the entry way, the Bolos dropping the shields for only moments to let anyone in. 

Their comm units hummed, then firmed up as a familiar voice came through.

“Unit Epsilon to Bolos.”

Crusader’s officer slapped the receive button on the touch screen, “Go ahead!”

“ ....are patrolling outer sector three, we have a breach. Unknown hostile has already entered the area, casualties are mounting. We are unable to stop it,  attempting withdrawal.”

The concussive sound of weapons fire was heard in the background as the communications crackled and spat.

“We have an escape route. Withdraw to Sector Two and Four access. We blew the road covers, we’re sitting right near the blast doors. Get them open and provide cover for any coming our way.”

“Copy..retreating now..”

There is a time when the moments pass like molasses, oozing by like hours. Waiting, it was all waiting. The two officers stood near loading ramps that would extend outward to help any refugees to come aboard. They couldn’t take many, but it was something.

Armored up and toting powerguns, they listened to the communications on internals in the dome. The main system was out, so all the smaller comms were being jammed with instructions, orders, directions.

Cameras and security systems had backup batteries, though limited in life, they provided an ongoing record of what was happening.

The entity was in the dome.

The first they heard was once again the screams. Wails from terrified throats that seemed to go on forever. In the darkness it stalked the people inside, taking them down with what seemed like a dark and evil glee.

The two Bolo officers could hear it all, see it on the screens near them in the loading bays as the doors opened, the ramps extended.

The battle screens would flicker as anyone entered, the AI’s timing it precisely so they would not be killed by the power of the shields that Bolos used to ward off enemy fire.

The populace was starting to panic, running for cover or imagined safety, they were tracked down and slaughtered in place. The thing seeking out warm bodies, or just the life signatures, they could only surmise.

All they knew was people were dying.

Crusader’s officer looked down the ramp way, extending into and slightly beyond the glimmering wall of force that kept them from being invaded.

The Colonel knew they were waiting, directing what little of the populace they could that were not running for homes or trying to find safety, to the access ways where they would be put into the Bolo bays. It was not an easy job, as the transmissions were showing. People were frightened, looking for shelter, protection from the troops inside, anything but running into a dead end corridor.

Crusaders commander found himself shaking, trembling in the sealed suit that provided his only protection should that shining barrier fail. He clasped his hands tight on the squarish body of the powergun, making himself check the readouts once more, making sure it was working properly, fully loaded magazine.

His whole body shook at the memories, not so old, of that dark and terrible time when something had fed him terror unrestrained. Horrors from somewhere out there that had no name, yet the body responded to them.

Jaw clamped tight to keep his teeth from chattering, he knew it was all in his head this time, a product of his imagination. But he couldn’t shake it, couldn’t tear away from the thought that..that..thing may get him in its grips once more.

“Captain?” Crusaders voice was calm over the link, “Your pulse is elevated, diagnostics are reading heightened levels across the board.”

“I’m...I’m fine, Crusader.”

The old Bolo was not a master of psychology, but it had its wits about it, “It will not reach you, Captain. You have my word.” The words rang true, truer than anything he’d ever heard and more honest. Whatever the titanic machine could do, it would, to keep him safe.

“I.. Thank you, Crusader.” A gloved hand reached out, touching the wall nearest him as if to reassure himself the Bolo was real, that the fears weren’t. He felt the strength, not only of metal and materials, but of the deep convictions the old Bolo carried with him through the years. An almost impenetrable bastion that defended those who could not.

It was only moments before they received a transmission, Epsilon Four-One was at the blast doors, overriding the command circuitry and getting them open to funnel as many people as they could towards the safety of the Bolos.

It was so little space, and so many people. It wasn’t much.

Houses and shops formed a corridor towards the blast doors, all available space in the dome was used expeditiously by the planners. A roadway leading to them was just big enough for small vehicles carrying passengers to travel back and forth. The big equipment was left to the secondary domes.

The huge doors cracked, then starting sliding open. The Bolo turned on outside spots, lighting up the area with a harsh glare that showed how truly dark it was inside the town.

They could see Epsilon Four-One by the doors, the last of his unit, three of them, pointing outward in a half-circle defending their commander while he got the exit opened.

The battery backup must have been depleted from carrying so much weight as the doors shuddered to a halt, opened wide enough that the Captain could see into the town where panic reigned.

People were fleeing across his vision, going who knows where to find safety, they bypassed the exit in a rush. Epsilon Four-One gave a wave, stepping back with his troops and heading for the cross roadway to direct civilians into the access way. Crusaders’ officer held his gun tighter, seeing the people moving everywhere but towards them for safety.

It was all coming apart.

“Colonel Waite to Bolos, come in!”

Tapping his earpiece, the Captain replied, “We read you, Colonel!”

“We’ve lost any containment. Nothing is stopping it. My god it’s.. Boys..it’s worse than anything you’ve seen. Help us, do what you have to.”

“Colonel! Head to the sector two or four entries! We’ll get you and whoever comes with you out!”

The voice was grim, “I can’t leave my people behind, Captain. You know that. Don’t wait, do what you can. It’s..it’s a slaughter out here.”

They could hear it over the commlinks. The wails of throats stretched to the limit, the screams and horrified sounds of a population being destroyed by something that neither cared nor would ever do so. In between, they could hear the weapons being fired, the sound of shots hitting flesh. The only solution when the entity attacked.

Crusader’s officer blinked back tears. Rolling down his face inside the helmet, he couldn’t wipe them away. His body trembled with the urge to curl up in a corner somewhere and block it all out.

But he listened, he made himself listen to each sound, each dying word or cry. Everything.

The screaming never stopped.

He hit the wall with a fist, the sound echoing in the bay area as he shook his head, “I..we..can’t Colonel. Oh god, we can’t..we can’t shoot..it..it..” He couldn’t bring himself to command the heavy guns of the Bolos to be turned on the dome. It didn’t matter what was happening, he couldn’t..he doubted, the fear ran deep making his bones ache. He found himself unable to give the order.

“I understand, son. It’s all right. We’ll hold as long as we can.”

“I’m sorry..so sorry..”

“Don’t be. Just let them know what happened.”

“I will, Colonel. We will.”

The commlink clicked off, leaving him in a heavy silence where it seemed the weight of a hundred thousand pairs of eyes judged him, finding him unworthy.

Through his ear piece he kept hearing the sounds made by people tortured beyond any physical means. He knew that feeling, knew it well. A chill ran down his spine as he slumped to the floor of the bay, weapon clattering beside him as he took off the helmet, breaking the seal with a slight hiss and tossing it across the floor.

Fists twisted in eyes that were streaming tears, the normally smiling face was grimacing with the knowledge that when it came down to it, he couldn’t give the orders. He was letting those people be massacred in a way he wouldn’t wish upon an enemy.

The tempered steel inside was gone, thrown away when an unknown force entered into his mind and body, turning him inside out, breaking him. It clouded his mind with indecision, doubts kept him from making a single thing clear. He shook his head, sweat flinging against the floor as he broke out into shivers that wracked his entire frame.

“Captain. You must get up. Retrieve your helmet and put it back on. Casualties are mounting.”

The calm voice held a sense of urgency, seeing his commander almost crumpled on the floor.

“We..we can’t stop it Crusader, nothing can stop it. Get Stanley..he’ll know what to do.”

“Captain Forard is incapacitated.” The bay screen lit up, showing a figure on a floor just like his, arms curled around its head as it rocked back and forth, the sounds of horror filling the commlinks.

“You must get up, Captain. The inhabitants of the dome are not running for safety, they are hiding, or being taken by the entity. They will not listen to orders. You must get up now.”

“Epsilon Four-One to Bolos, any chance of containment is lost. The soldiers have been overrun by the enemy. Panic is now rampant, they are not listening to orders or direction.”

The Captain looked up, seeing the hard face of Epsilon Four-One at the blast doors once more. The team behind him was chivvying along a few haggard and terrified looking residents, pushing them forward gently into the corridor towards the Bolo.

“This is all we could convince, Captain. They are heading your way now.”

“Retreat, Epsilon. Follow them to us. We’ll..we’ll..cover you.” The captain finally found a voice, weak as it was.

“We cannot, the enemy is still..” The voice was lost in a whine and snap of gunfire. The team opening up on something very close.

The Captain struggled to his feet, calling out to the figures standing and looking behind them as Epsilon’s team opened fire on the entity.

“Come ON! Come towards us! MOVE!” He screamed at them, seeing indecision on their faces.

“MOVE!”

His body shook with tremors he couldn’t stop, teeth almost rattlign in his head from the cold sensation that ran the length of his body. It was here, it was close.

Finally the civilians began to run towards the glimmering shield that would provide sanctuary, safety. A mob of about fifty it seemed from what he could quickly count, was starting to pick up the pace.

The gunfire behind them died, Epsilon’s team had fallen and the last person in the group started screaming.

Panic set in again as feet pounded the roadway towards the opening in the Bolo. People were going down quickly, so quickly, it was almost a dream.

The sounds were real, the horror and fear were very real as men, women, even children crumpled to the roadway, wails and shrieks of the dying filling the corridor. By twos and threes they fell under the onslaught of the entity, using their lasts breaths to vent the pain they felt, unto the last until the oxygen in their bodies had run out.

The Captain wanted to step beyond the screen, to help. But his own indecision and the sickness he felt inside prevented him.

A woman was running ahead of the pack, carrying a child with her. She was almost here!

“Toss her! Toss her to me!” The Captain held out his arms, ready to receive the little girl.

The mother reared back, muscles bunching as she lifted the smaller form in her arms, ready to throw her to safety.

She stopped, a rictus grin forming on her face as she growled almost ferally, dropping the child who was confused as to what to do. Then she saw her mother down on the road, twisting and yelling like one of the damned, turning to run those last few yards when it all ended.

The petite form stood there, shaking like a piece of grass in a tornado before falling to the road, high-pitched keening turned into shrieks and banshee wails as he watched, helpless. The little arms corded with strength that came from unreasoning, and unrestrained, fear and terror that ripped through the small form.

His arms still extended, as if hoping maybe what he saw was wrong, that..that somehow this was not happening.

They dropped to his sides as his mind registered the mass of bodies, quiescent and quiet.

The hair on the back of his neck prickled, skin sprouting goosebumps as he felt a presence, it was there on the other side of the shield! His eyes swept the corridor, seeing nothing, but feeling the weight of something that was turning its attention on him.

Safe behind the battlescreen, he still shook inside the armor, weapon picked up and raised, but knowing it was fruitless. An oppressive feeling swept over him, as if eyes had glanced his way and dismissed all he was, all he would be. 

You could not stop me, it seemed to say, you will never stop me. Step out from behind your walls and embrace what you know must happen.

The Captain backed up, away from the thing that pressed against the battlescreen. Carefully getting away from the entity, or whatever it was, on the other side of the screen, he gave his final order.

“Close the bay, Crusader.”

“Acknowledged.”

The last glimpse of the town, the still corridor, and the ones he had failed were gone with the clunk and locking of the bay ramp, the shutting of doors that forever locked away the scene, but left it indelibly stamped upon his soul forever. He fell to the floor, covering his head and weeping alone on the durasteel, watched over by a sentinel who could not lend a hand, nor comfort even with words for what had happened.

-----

The Fleet made planetfall soon enough. Massive warships covered the landing of transports which had tuned shields to the frequencies provided. Finding a silent world once again, except for two Bolos who were watching over their officers who were almost cataleptic by the time the doctors from the ships got to them.

The Bolos had borne witness to it all, unable to do anything else, hearing the last sounds of a dying populace. It echoed through their cores unlike anything they had previously encountered.

Ships retrieved them and the officers, clearing orbit for travel-space as soon as they were able to get away from the cursed place.

The planet was interdicted permanently. Fleet pickets with orders for shoot on sight anyone trying to breach the cordon. Orbital fortresses were constructed and kept manned at all times. Nothing would leave nor arrive. Destruction of the planet was not thought of, as possibly releasing such an entity into the galaxy scared even the tactical AI’s at Command.

On the continents below, only the wind was heard whispering through the fields and domes, silent and still.

The world, green and verdant, was left to the dead.

-----

Wyatt looked at the neutral expression on the face across the table. The calm composure was not there, though the expression would say so. An underlying sadness was wrapped around Crusader like a blanket, covering him in it’s embrace. The loss, just being there and seeing...

He couldn’t even imagine. He’d never heard of this story, nor the planet, but he knew inside himself it was all very true.

The blue eyes were steady, the expression never changed, “Are you all right?”

Wyatt cleared his throat, reaching for the pitcher and filling a glass. Taking a long drink as if dehydrated, he could feel the chill it sent through him along with the one down his back.

“Yes.. Yes, I’m fine.”

Wyatt stared back at the solid figure, “Remind me never to ask about stories again.”

A brief smile flickered over the umber face, “Of course.”

The sergeant waited a moment, gathering his thoughts, “I..honestly don’t know what to say.”

The solid figure blinked once, “There is nothing to say, Sergeant, except that you asked about fear and whether I had experienced it.”

Wyatt nodded, “I can’t imagine, much less.. Why can’t you delete those memories? Be rid of them permanently?”

“We are the sum of our experiences, we cannot be rid of them. It is what makes us more efficient.”

The umber form settled into a comfortable position on the cushion, “It is late, I will be performing maintenance in Low Level Alert in case of problems. Thank you for the conversation, Sergeant.”

The eyes closed, the presence went away, as if something had fled from the form now looking as if quietly sleeping. It happened so fast Wyatt never got a chance to ask the thousands of questions running through his head.

He got up and stretched, twisting his neck for a moment to work the kinks out as he stepped towards his rooms. Arms behind his back and shrugging to make the stiff muscles a little more flexible. 

He stepped through the entry way into the suite and was startled to find more than just Athena sitting there. He’d figured one or two, but it seems a whole crowd had gathered, listening to the tale.

The expressions he saw ranged from thoughtfulness, to almost a tearful sadness on Fluttershy’s pretty face. Even the Princesses stood silent, looking towards one another and whispering in low tones, as if it would wake the inactivated avatar.

A hoof touched his arm, making him glance down at Athena. He could almost feel that same looming presence in her, the force of the mind behind the simple looking pony.

Her demeanor was always the best, though they had talked of trying times after she first was brought back, “Sorry about the crowd.”

Looking again and seeing the group starting to filter out on the patio, to at least be there when Crusader awoke, he found he didn’t mind at all.

Waving the comment away, he reached over to the counter where he could get another cold container of juice, “After that, I’d want to see friendly faces too.”

“And friendly voices!” Calliope’s transmission came over crystal clear, online after politely staying out of the conversation earlier. Though she had heard the entire thing, as Wyatt would never leave her truly alone.

Another hoof tugged at him, Princess Cadence standing there with a warm smile, “Then come join us, won’t you?”

“I don’t think..”

Athena’s interruption was soft, making him glance her way, “Physician, heal thyself.”

The tall human looked towards the balcony where the group had gone, seeing Sky waving to him with a warm expression.

After that story, he’d need a little light talk. Waving a hand forward he gestured to the two mares, “After you.”

He looked back into the suite of rooms, seeing it carved up by the light of the setting sun, shadows dancing along the furniture and walls as he stepped out into the open area with the two ponies.

Wyatt, and the Bolos, had tread in dark places long ago. Here, though, there always seemed a way out, something leading you out of it into the warm sunshine. It stripped away the lingering gloom and gave you hope.

Seeing the crowd on the terrace, expressions light and airy, it wasn’t a bad thing.

Hefting the container of cold liquid in his hand, he smiled to himself.

No, no it wasn’t a bad at all.