“You’re practically a Hell Diver,” Les said.
The robot chirped.
Alfred pulled the hood down over his eyes and bent down to begin welding the armor plating. While he worked, Les spoke into his headset.
“Timothy, how are things looking up there?” he asked.
“The storm is still interfering with our instruments, Captain,” Timothy replied. “I haven’t been able to get an update from any of the divers.”
The AI appeared in the launch bay, his glow spreading around Cricket as sparks showered the deck.
“How is our little friend?” Timothy asked.
“Almost ready for action,” Les said. “I’m sending him back out as soon as Alfred’s team finishes up here.”
Timothy clasped his hands behind his back and bent down to examine the robot. He said, “I wish I could transfer my consciousness into Cricket. It would be nice to move around again without my current constraints.”
Les wasn’t sure what to say. He had wondered what the AI thought of the drone, but figured Timothy was indifferent, just as a person might be to a pig or other livestock. After all, Cricket was a tool and had never been a person.
“I’ll be back on the bridge soon,” Les said. “Why don’t you go see how Layla and Eevi are doing?”
Timothy nodded and vanished.
The technicians finished installing the frontal armor plates and moved to the back.
“After these plates are done, we just need to load the launcher with ammo,” Alfred said.
Les opened a comm channel to the militia soldiers and ordered them to bring the grenades. He had gone a step beyond Michael’s instructions and installed a grenade launcher on one of the robot’s arms.
The militia soldiers arrived a few minutes later, carrying a secure crate.
“Almost done,” said Alfred. His team finished the last of the armor and then connected patch cords to run diagnostics. Cricket chirped, moving its limbs up and down.
“Good to go,” Alfred said.
“Nice work,” said Les. “Load up the grenades and prepare it for launch. I’ll be on the bridge.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
Les made a pit stop at his locker and grabbed his suit, armor, and helmet. He wanted to be prepared for anything, especially since he had no idea what was happening on the surface.
He made his way back through the airship, stopping to relieve himself and then to grab a coffee. The aroma of the fresh brew was intoxicating. Coffee beans, wine, tobacco, and other rare old-world staples had changed his people’s life and opened an entire new world to them.
He drank down the cup, feeling the caffeine sharpen his senses as he walked. The mug was empty by the time he got to the bridge.
A militia guard stood sentry at the hatches. He saluted Les and moved out of the way.
Eevi was the only officer at her station. She swiveled her chair and smiled. “Good morning, Captain. Did you get Cricket up and running?”
“I did,” he said. “Where’s Layla?”
“Resting, sir.”
“Good. She needs it.”
“Why do you have your jumpsuit and armor?” Eevi asked, eyeing the gear in his arms. “Is something wrong?”
“No, just being prepared,” Les said. He put the gear down and moved over to his chair. “What’s our status, Timothy?”
The AI appeared at the helm, looking out the portholes at the storm that blotted out the horizon.
“We’re currently hovering at twenty-one thousand feet, three miles from the coastline,” Timothy said. “Skies are clear in our current location, but the storm over the target is intensifying, and expanding in all directions.”
“Keep an eye on it,” said Les. “And program a course for Cricket that takes it under the storm.”
“Already done, sir. Uploading to the drone… now.”
Les buzzed the launch bay. “Is Cricket ready to deploy?”
“Yes, sir,” Alfred replied.
“Good. Launch on my mark.”
Les turned on the robot’s weapons system by typing in his pass code. He brought up the drone’s cameras on the main monitor. Next, he accessed the data feed in a subscreen that would show them a minimap and location of the divers once Cricket got in range.
“Mark,” Les said.
The bridge doors whisked open, and Layla entered.
“Just in time,” Les said. “I just launched Cricket.”
“Have you heard anything from Tin or Mags yet?” she asked.
“Not yet, but we’re hoping Cricket can give us an idea of where they are within the next few minutes.”
Layla brushed her braid over her shoulder and sat at her station. She smiled at Eevi, but Les could feel the tension in both of them as they waited for news of their men.
Les had tried not to think of Trey, but old memories surfaced unbidden as he waited. For some reason, he had a bad feeling about things on the ground, as if something terrible had happened during the night. He buried the thought and tapped his monitor to pull up the data on-screen.
Cricket lowered through the sky and then switched to thrusters, moving fast in the turbulent air beneath the storm clouds.
“Almost in position for a first scan,” Timothy announced.
Les was starting to doubt that any defectors were out there. Avenging his son might have to wait. Right now, the most important thing was finding the survivors of the bunker and bringing his divers home safely.
The first stream of data from Cricket’s scan rolled across the screen. Magnolia’s and Rodger’s beacons were moving at a good clip. They both were still alive and nearing the target.
Next came the data for Team Raptor.
But that couldn’t be right. Les saw only two beacons.
A moan of dread resounded through the bridge.
“No… no… This can’t be right,” Layla said. She looked over at Les, then to Timothy.
Eevi’s eyes were glazed with tears. “This can’t be real,” she said. “Can’t be real.”
“Tell me that’s wrong,” Les said to Timothy, hoping the ensign was right.
The AI hesitated a moment before replying, perhaps to double-check or perhaps because he, too, was staggered by the data.
“I’m sorry, Captain, but the scan appears to be correct,” he said. “Edgar’s, Arlo’s, and Alexander’s beacons are offline.”
Eevi stared ahead in shock.
“I’m afraid those divers have been killed,” Timothy said.
TWENTY-FIVE
In the early dawn, Rhino trained his binoculars on Mercury. The warship’s guns weren’t pointed at the airship or the oil rig, and the soldiers on deck went casually about their tasks. If they knew the truth about what had happened to the crew of the Lion, they weren’t showing it.
That was good, but Rhino had a feeling Carmela was plotting something. She was supposed to be preparing for the mission to the backup fuel outpost in Belize, but the trip was on hold until the team of raiders returned with engine parts for the warship Renegade.
Now she seemed very interested in the two survivors from the Lion. She stood outside Mercury’s command island, watching the capitol tower.
Rhino scanned the horizon for Elysium, but the largest warship in the remaining fleet was still out of view—another good sign. It meant that Colonel Vargas and Colonel Forge were waiting before taking any drastic measures.
But Rhino knew that the two societies were spiraling toward another clash and possibly even another war, and he was running out of time to stop it. Eventually, the sky people would need to hand over the Cazador survivors from the Lion, and unless X killed them and said they had died of dehydration and exposure, there would be hell to pay if the two sailors told the truth about what had happened out there.