"I want two pairs of eyes awake at all times," Drake continued. "One outside, one inside monitoring the command console. The jet's sensors should pick up any threats, but they can be fooled. The rest of you stay put and get some rest."
"Oh," Nikki said.
"Keep a low profile outside," Drake said. "No melding unless necessary."
How's your night vision?
Excellent.
I raised my hand. "I can go outside first."
Drake nodded.
Several of the others started speaking, but Stella beat them to it. "I'll watch the sensors."
"Good." Drake motioned towards the cockpit. "I'll be in there keeping an eye on things as well. Change shift every three hours. You can work out the rotations among yourselves. Any questions?"
No one said anything.
"Alright. Good night, hopefully. We'll reassess in the morning." Drake left the cargo bay.
"I can go out next," Julie said.
"I'll watch inside," Mia offered.
"Nikki and I can go afterwards," Claire said.
"That's nine hours," I said. "If we need more, I can start the next shift with Kayla." Kayla nodded.
Stella walked over to the command console and tapped away. "It's almost 21:00," she said. "We'll start the next shift at midnight."
The cargo bay opened. Zoe and I headed outside.
We were in the middle of a forest, the stars shining clearly overhead. It was too dark to make out the details of where we were.
You sure you can see in this?
Zoe responded with a mental image of our surroundings. Everything had a grayish, colorless hue, but I could make out the individual trees around us clearly.
I'll keep an eye out. You can get some rest. The mental image vanished.
Isn't that cheating?
I have superior sight and hearing.
I reached down until I touched Zoe's fur, letting her guide me. She led me to a small hill about twenty feet from the vectorjet. I sat down on the damp leafy ground with Zoe at my side.
Fine. But wake me up if anything moves. Even if it's a mouse.
I shifted and leaned backwards, using Zoe's warm body as a pillow. Sleep welcomed me.
***
Dustin! Dustin!
My eyes snapped open. I didn't dare move a muscle.
Something's approaching.
Where?
From the ship. But it's not one of the girls or Drake.
Show me.
Zoe shared her sight with me. Something was moving towards us from the ship. It was…floating. The object was about the size of a soccer ball.
That's Mekanic technology! Zoe screamed at me.
I melded instantly, the ground around us lighting up softly with the golden glow we generated.
My sight improved, even beyond Zoe's ordinary night vision. The approaching object was metallic, with a fine structured surface. A small light started blinking. Then, letters appeared on its surface.
HI DUSTIN.
Shit. Not again. Not here. Had the others detected anything yet?
Doesn't look like it.
Should I attack it?
It could be calling others.
I hesitated, unsure what to do. I could pump it for any information, then get rid of it.
"Is that you, Vikki? How did you find us?" I asked.
YES. I RODE YOUR VESSEL.
A stowaway?
"What do you want?" I asked.
TO END THE WAR.
"That's what you said last time, before you attacked the Academy," I growled. "And killed who knows how many people." I paused. "Are you coming here again?"
NO.
I breathed a sigh of relief. More words scrolled across the front of the sphere.
OTHERS ARE COMING.
Fuck!
THEY'LL BRING YOU TO ME.
"I don't think so." I slashed at the floating orb, splitting in in half with my claws. The broken pieces fell to the ground.
I raced to the vectorjet and banged on the cargo bay's door. "It's me! Dustin!" I shouted. "Open up! Hurry!"
The door creaked open. I waited impatiently, pacing back and forth. I unmelded to make myself smaller and slipped into the opening as soon as there was enough room.
The others rushed forward. "What's going on?" Stella asked. "I didn't detect anything, other than you."
"Get Drake!" I shouted. "We were tracked by the Mekanics."
Mia dashed towards the front of the ship. Moments later, she came back with Drake.
"What is it?" Drake demanded.
"There was a Mekanic thing," I replied. "A floating metal ball. It said it was on the vectorjet, like a stowaway."
Drake frowned. "You spoke with it?"
"Briefly. It's outside. The only other thing it said was that others are coming. That's when I cut it in half."
"Show me."
Drake jumped outside the open cargo bay doors, melding before he landed. I did the same.
I trotted over to where the fragments of the metal ball had fallen. Drake came over and poked at them with a talon.
"Shit. It didn't even trigger any of the sensors." Drake looked around. "My night vision's not that great. You see anything else?"
Zoe?
Nothing yet.
"Nope," I said. "Just the first one."
Something's moving above us!
I pointed with a paw. "Incoming!" Another metal sphere floated down, this one from the skies above us. "I'll take care of it."
"Hunter, wait—" Drake began.
I swiped at the orb with my claws. It dodged my attack and instead responded with a laser beam.
"Shit!" I screamed at the burst of pain, Phase Shifting and rolling away.
ENERGY: 504/700
"I just lost two hundred energy!" I shouted.
Drake wasted no time attacking the orb, swinging his razor-edged wings at it, then lunging for it with his jaws. But the orb was too small and agile.
"Get the others!" Drake growled.
I raced back to the open cargo bay, but some of the others must have heard the noise or seen the laser blast. Julie's Beastform was crouched on top of the vectorjet. A glowing red streak shot into the sky.
"We're under attack! There's this ball of metal—"
Dustin! Incoming!
I glanced backward and saw the metal orb approaching us. A blue streak collided with the orb with pinpoint accuracy. Despite the huge difference in size, Stella's Beastform bounced away, while the orb proceeded towards me unperturbed. I raced away from the vectorjet, back towards the open forest.
What the fuck is that little thing? The other one wasn't this tough.
Don't judge a Mekanic by its appearances. This is at least a Grade C, judging from its combat performance.
Damn it.
I ran towards Drake. "It's at least a Grade C!" I yelled.
Drake growled. "Never seen anything like this." He stepped in between me and the orb, covering his body with his wings as the orb opened up with a salvo of laser blasts.
"Now!" Someone shouted. A red streak slammed into the orb from above, while another blue streak smashed into it from the side. The orb still didn't budge, but it stopped attacking Drake for a moment. It fired a laser beam into the sky, and another one into the forest. There were cries of pain.
Nikki's white laser beams struck the orb, but they didn't have any effect, either. Mia lumbered forward, presenting herself as a distraction to absorb the attacks. When the orb didn't respond to her, she charged and snapped at it with its beak. The orb easily dodged her, then began circling her, peppering her with laser beams.
"Hurry!" Mia screamed. "I can't take this for too long!"
Shit, Zoe. How do we beat this thing?
Drake can probably destroy it, if he can connect with a solid hit or bite.