“We got company topside.”
Katrina chewed on her fingernail as she listened to the audio transmissions. Gunfire, screeches, and the intermittent yelling of her friends on the surface filled the bridge.
Her crew all listened from their stations, some flinching at the sound of the shouts.
“We have to do something,” she said. The divers had been fighting for over an hour at Red Sphere and were now pinned down.
“Raptor One, do you copy?” Katrina said into her headset.
A wave of static replied, then a scream.
“They’re flanking us!”
Katrina couldn’t be sure who had yelled that.
“Raptor Two, do you copy?” she said.
A flurry of white noise filled the channel.
“Raptor Three, do you copy? Does anyone copy?”
The comm link went dead a beat later, and her gut sank as white noise filled the room.
Her Hell Divers were dying down there. She had to do something.
Bronson got up from his station, his hand on his lower back. He just looked at Katrina without speaking.
Ada and Dave didn’t say a word, either.
“Bronson, are you sure we can’t land on Red Sphere?” Katrina asked.
He shook his head. “I hate saying it, Captain, but we would likely go down in a ball of fire if we tried to get through that rogue pocket of electricity. It may be possible for a smaller object to make it through, but we’re way too big to avoid getting hit by lightning.”
“But our exterior is built to withstand some direct hits,” Dave said.
“Some, yes,” Bronson said.
Katrina closed her eyes. A smaller object…
There was only one thing left to do.
“You have the bridge, Ensign White.”
Bronson stiffened, his stooped back almost straight.
She started crossing the room, the eyes of her staff on her.
“Where are you going, ma’am?” Ada asked, standing at her station.
At the hatch, Katrina stopped and turned.
“I’m going to dive, and save our friends. Move the ship back into position over Red Sphere.”
“By yourself?” Dave said. “Ma’am, I…”
“Don’t think that’s a good idea, Captain,” Bronson said, finishing Dave’s sentence.
“We have no choice,” Katrina replied. “Tell the green divers to meet me in the launch bay. They have fifteen minutes. In the meantime, lower us to five thousand feet, just shy of that rogue pocket.”
Ada and Dave exchanged a glance, but Bronson simply nodded. The old man still knew how to follow an order.
She ran down the passage, where she passed several militia soldiers and then a half-dozen engineers and farmers. A warning sounded, and an automated female voice flooded the hallways.
“Be advised, we are moving from our current location and could experience turbulence. Please take appropriate precautions.”
Katrina walked faster, her mind racing as she worked her way toward the launch bay. What she had made out of the divers’ transmissions made her blood run cold.
The enemy on the surface wasn’t Sirens. The defectors were something even worse.
At least, Sirens could be killed.
These were killing machines powered by a powerful AI…
Would Timothy feel any loyalty to them? Could she trust him? Could X trust him?
She had considered ordering Samson to reactivate the AI on the Hive, but this info made her wonder.
Katrina shook away the questions and focused on the new mission. There was only one way to help the other divers: by diving.
When she got to the launch bay, the green divers had all mustered.
Trey was first to speak. “Captain, what’s going on? Is my dad okay?”
“We have a problem on the surface,” she replied, halting right in front of the group. “I don’t have much time to explain, so listen up. There are machines down there. The same machines that I believe killed Dr. Diaz and his team. I’m not sure where they came from, but I know they will kill the divers if we don’t do something to help them.”
“Robots?” Vish asked, rubbing the gold hoop in his ear as if it might bring him luck.
Jaideep tilted his head. “Like AIs?”
“Killer AIs,” Katrina said. “Programmed to destroy humanity.”
“We have to get down there,” Trey said, his eyes burning with worry.
Jed agreed. “Commander Everhart and the others need our help.”
Katrina gave a look that silenced everyone. “We can’t bring the ship all the way down to the surface; it’s too big a risk. But I can get us close. I just can’t do this on my own. I need volunteers to go with me.”
It didn’t surprise her when Trey’s hand shot up.
No other hands joined his.
“Is there no one else?” Katrina asked.
“I’ll go,” came a voice from the back of the group.
It was Edgar Cervantes. His cousin, Ramon, stepped up beside him.
“Me too,” Ramon said.
“I’m in,” said Jaideep.
Vish looked at his brother. “What? Man, no! We aren’t ready…”
“You’ll never be fully ready,” Katrina said. “We’re jumping from five thousand feet, which means you will only have to be in the air a few seconds before pulling your chute.
“That’s it?” Jaideep said. “Sounds easy enough to me.”
“Sounds like a death wish!” Vish exclaimed. “Come on, bro, you can’t seriously be thinking about this. Did you not hear what’s down there?”
“We all die sometime,” Edgar said.
“If you’re coming with me, suit up and be ready in twenty minutes,” Katrina said. “We’re diving as soon as the ship’s in position.”
She made her way over to the crates and lockers on the opposite bulkhead. Her gear was in the center crate, and she stopped to pull it out. It had been a while since she donned the armor and parachute.
Suiting up, she cinched the straps two notches tighter. Over the past few months, she had dropped over twenty pounds. The thought reminded her of the child she had lost, and her heart ached from the pain.
Sometimes, pain was the motivation she needed, especially for what came next. She looked at the launch doors as she secured her armor.
Vish was right.
Jumping into the rogue storm and battling robots designed specifically to kill humans sounded like a death wish.
But she had a duty to her friends.
She had gotten them into this mess, but was risking more lives the right move? The answer, she realized, was yes.
What she wouldn’t do was send these green divers without a leader. Today, she was that leader. If she died, Bronson and her crew had their orders to get Deliverance back to the Hive.
She put her helmet on, clicked it into place, and moved over to the weapons lockers.
Behind her, Jaideep, Trey, Edgar, and Ramon were getting suited up. Vish watched nervously, arms folded across his chest.
“Everyone grab an automatic rifle,” she said. “We’re going to need the firepower.”
An alarm blared through the launch bay.
“Beginning our descent,” Bronson announced over the comm line. “Everyone, go to your designated shelter.”
The airship trembled, and Katrina steadied herself against the locker in front of her.
“You heard the man,” she said, directing her gaze at the divers who had not suited up. “If you’re not jumping, get to your shelter.”
Vish sucked in a breath but didn’t move.
“It’s okay, bro,” Jaideep said. “I’m going to be fine. And if not, I’ll see you on the other side.”
He reached out and gave Vish a fierce hug.
Katrina watched as she pushed shotgun shells into the bandolier around her thigh. In a few minutes, Hell Divers were probably going to die. She just prayed they would save more lives than they lost, and recover the navy vessel she had risked so much for.