Credit Rush OutPost Krone (7 page)

“Target locked; we got it,” sounded a voice communicating from one of the ships.

The pilot looked down onto his radar screen; the blip being displayed was Charlie's Rover. All of the ships started to slow down in line with each other, each wing expanding upwards as they neared the surface. Reversed thrust was activated making it easier to hover over the target below.

“Charlie, can you read me?” asked Richard.

Charlie was still pumping the Kromtic through his drill. Taking a breather, he paused for a brief moment and adjusted his helmet.

“I hear you, Richard; everything okay back there?” replied Charlie.

“No… I’m not sure what it is. It could be other rovers but I have detected three incomings on the comm system; we have to move from this area,” he replied.

Charlie switched off the drill, the dust kicking up around him as he threw the equipment onto the floor. It could be other rovers homing in on the area. He had encountered it before but only with the odd distant craft, nothing that would be of any concern. Charlie had a hunch this was nothing to do with any digging, but rather being caught out earlier with his hacking.

“I’m on my way back, let's get out of here. I’m detaching the feed, we can leave that here,” said Charlie holding his ear piece on the side of his helmet to cover the noise as the engines from his rover started to fire up.

“We do have spares, Charlie,” replied Richard as he left the rover's control room.

The side door of the vehicle opened to one side and he stepped onto the ramp. His fragile figure struggled once again to reach Charlie, but he did fair better than last time as the elements outside were not as extreme.

“Charlie!” shouted Richard straining his robotic voice over the blustery wind around him.

“Stay there, just get the rover ready!” replied Charlie.

Richard turned around but as he started to walk back up the ramp he heard the sound of thrusters growing closer from above in the sky. Looking up, he saw the three ships lined up together, and descending fast from just over two hundred meters away.

“We have to get out of here!” shouted Richard in Charlie's direction.

Charlie took his goggles off and starting to shake the dust from them before he heard the sound above. Spotlights shone from beneath the three ships as they hit the surface in a straight line. He dropped the goggles and started to make a run for the rover. Inside, Richard flicked the controls and the rest of the engines started to power up. As he hit the button on the door to let Charlie in, a gust of wind crept in, knocked him sideways and he landed in a heap on the floor near the ramp.

“Richard!” shouted Charlie as hard as he could, but the howling wind outside was deafening.

Slowly trying to crawl down the ramp on his hands and knees, Richard turned around and looked up; the three ships had already landed in the distance. Charlie kept shouting as his android friend lay on the floor. Richard slowly edged forward to him at a snail’s pace.

“Come on, grab hold of me and let's get back on board,” said Charlie as he finally reached his friend.

He lifted Richard up and cradled him in his arms like a child, the fall had seized the androids legs up and he would need maintenance but they both knew there was no time for that now.

“I’ll get us out of here; just get comfortable and rest,” said Charlie.

Strapped tight in the co-pilots chair, Richard did not move as Charlie sat next to him and took over the console. The exit door was now sealed shut and he set the throttle to maximum on the rover’s thrusters. The game was up and they could no longer outrun what had caught up with them on the surface—they needed to leave quickly…

“Sir, they’re trying to escape. Can you advise the next plan of action?” asked a pilot from inside one of the landing scouts.

“Stop them you fucking idiot. I want one of them alive; the one who tried to steal from me,” replied Stout, his anger emitting through the intercom into the pilot’s ear.

Stout had no time for idle conversation; he quickly cut the connection once again. The pilot ordered the other two ships to lock onto Charlie's craft as it was getting away and gaining altitude fast.

Suddenly a blinding flash emitted from one of the wings; a missile had locked on to Charlie's rover and was approaching fast.

“Shit, hold onto something Richard” said Charlie after he had spotted the incoming threat on his radar screen.

Richard closed his eyes to be ready to bear some of the brunt of what would soon hit them; his hands grasped the chair firmly by his sides.

“Come on…, come on…, deflect, work dammit!” shouted Charlie frantically trying to activate the anti-missile system.

But it was too late; another blinding flash hit the side of the rover, followed by a loud bang.

Flames covered the outside of the rover as twisted metal started to defragment and fall to the surface below while they went into free fall and out of control.

Looking up at Charlie, Richard asked, “Sir, how bad is the damage?”

Charlie was losing control. Sensors flashed widely across the controls and alert noises started to sound all around from the inside of the rover.

The pilot from one of Stout's scout ships watched as a long black streak of smoke and flames came from the belly of the helpless rover.

“Nice shot! Now get your gear so we can go outside and grab our catch,” said the lead pilot.

"TEN SECONDS TO IMPACT" replied a voice from the intercom.

"You holding on okay?" shouted Charlie looking at Richard.

The android said nothing; his hands continued to grasp tightly to the chair. He closed his eyes knowing the rover was badly damaged from the missile.

Flames started to penetrate the cockpit; the main controls were damaged and blue sparks started to emit as the console became unstable. The damage..was far more severe: pieces of metal started to flying off the right wing as the entire structure weakened. They would likely explode before they hit the ground below.

"Got it, we can ditch over there,” said Charlie wiping the sweat from his brow as he tried to hold the ship steady. Looking ahead he noticed a rocky mountain and just behind it the surface was smooth with no craters at all; it was their only chance at ditching.

"WARNING—PULL UP, LOW ALTITUDE" repeated the ship’s computer over and over,

"WARNING—PULL UP… PULL UP,"

"Brace for impact; hold on!" screamed Charlie.

A loud bang echoed throughout their rover as the left wing clipped the top of the mountain; tipping the ship over on its side.

"I am so sorry,” thought Charlie as he closed his eyes.

The screen in front of him shattered, debris blew inwards, and then darkness…

The three men stood together silent; they heard the dense thud as the stricken rover disappeared over the other side of the mountain. A large dark plume of smoke started to rise in the distance. It was time to contact Stout, but they knew there would be hell to pay if the occupants on-board the crashed rover were dead.

The temperature was dropping well below freezing again as the sun started to set; one of the men inflated his suit slightly before switching the visor and his helmet turned a dark black.

The other two men repeated the same action; it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Let's take a closer look; he wanted one alive so it’s worth a try at least,” said the leader of the group.

They started to walk towards the foot of the mountain, the rocky surface becoming steeper with each step as they started their approach upwards.

"What if they’re dead? Stout will make sure we are too,” said one of the pilots.

Zed—the leader of the group—stopped in his tracks, turned around, and walked over to Carter.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" shouted Zed squaring up to him.

As tension began building in the air, the third pilot—Blake—just stood and watched from not far behind.

"The last thing we’re going to do is let that fat fucking freak get the best of us,” shouted Zed.

Carter just shrugged his shoulders and bowed his head in response.

"Right, so now that we got that out of our system, I suggest we keep walking and check to see if there are any survivors,” replied Zed. He may have been a rogue, but was a born leader.

"And if there are no survivors?" asked Carter.

"Then that’s something we will think about if it happens,” Zed replied.

Climbing the mountain was tricky but the spikes underneath the men's boots dug firmly into the surface, making the ascent less difficult then what it may have been. The wind picked up again and slowed all three down, but they kept moving as fast as they could. The outpost police would have been alerted once the crash had occurred and a search party would already be on the way.

Eventually the three of them reached the top of the mountain and beneath them lay the scattered wreckage of Charlie's rover strewn over a wide area. Flames flickered from various spots on the ground along with rising smoke. As the three of them descended into the crash site, Zed activated the life sensor within his helmet. He picked up two life forms, but only one which read of any active bodily functions.

"You two go check over there; it must be the main piece,” said Zed pointing to a large piece of cockpit structure half buried underneath a rock.

"I’ll check around the craters; whoever they are, they must be around here somewhere,” replied Carter.

"There will just be one human; no signs of life from the other so it’s most likely an android, this planet is filled with them,” said Zed, gathering his pace as he pointed his weapon towards the cockpit.

The other two men slowly walked between the wreckage kicking whatever they came across with the soles of their feet.

"Nothing here, Zed; just going to check out this big piece here,” said Carter.

The other two men walked on some more until they had also reached the cockpit. The front part was buried deep underneath the rock and soil but there was an opening at the rear and they decided to take a look inside.

"Bingo,” laughed Carter.

Inside lay the body of a human and alongside him were the scattered parts of an android…

Chapter Five

As Charlie started to wake and his vision cleared, he became aware of a dull light around him and machines covering most of the room he was in.

Various figures walked by. They looked like engine room operators, walking back and forth across the room.

Charlie's head ached with pain; it felt like a needle was slowly digging into the side of his skull.

He tried to stand up but couldn’t move his legs or arms and found he was tied to a chair. His hands were secured firmly behind his back—someone wanted him here for a reason.

"Charlie… sir, it's me," echoed a familiar voice from the corner of the room.

It was Richard, except this time he sounded slightly different; almost as if he was damaged.

"Richard? Is that you?" replied Charlie, his voice gravelly from being unconscious.

"For your own protection, don't say too much,” replied Richard.

"How bad are you hurt?" asked Charlie, struggling to keep his head straight as his vision slowly returned to normal.

"I am very bad, sir; a rebuild will be needed."

Charlie looked at the ground and did not reply—the unthinkable could happen; he may lose his best friend. They had crossed paths in the past. It only sometimes seemed it was often, but Richard was his only true companion.

"Finished have we?" echoed a man's voice from the corner of the room as he shone a spotlight onto Richards broken frame. Charlie realized it must be the men who shot his ship down.

"Wake that other piece of shit up. I can't stand his mumbling,” said Zed, still holding the spotlight firm.

Carter filled a bucket with cold water from a hose attached to the wall then threw the contents onto Charlie's face before he grabbed his hair and pulled his head back.

"You are in some serious shit,” Carter said forcefully.

The double doors of the engine room opened up and Stout appeared from the darkness. The noise of his wheelchair in full motion became louder as he approached Charlie.

"So I take it you were the one who stole from me?" asked Stout.

A pause hung in the air while Charlie's vision became clear.

"No response then?" Stout questioned mockingly.

When Charlie looked around and focused his eyes on Richard, his stomach sank. The android’s body consisted of only his upper torso damaged beyond repair and the head which lay untouched.

"What the hell happened? What have you done to him?" Charlie burst out.

But his anger was cut short as Stout approached him and forced a metal rod into Charlie's neck; the electric current surging through his body.

"The one thing that I insist that all humans or any other being learn is manners when I grace them with my company,” said Stout, laughing sadistically.

He pulled away the rod to leave Charlie foaming at the mouth and unable to speak.

"I have not introduced myself, have I? How rude…,” said Stout, "I am Stout—you do not need to know my surname—and you are aboard the engine room of my ship."

Charlie tried to reply but his body was still shaking from the trauma.

"And these gentlemen are my dear scouts, a small band of merry men if you like; they work for me. Meet Zed, Carter, and Blake; they located the both of you today back on that waste hole.”

Stout reached out with his metal hand as a gesture to the three henchmen behind him and then he moved towards the crippled Richard.

"And what is this heap of junk?" asked Stout, his wheel poised just over Richard's head.

"You leave him alo…” Charlie struggled to say as Zed grabbed him by his throat.

"What was that? Let me cut you a deal, give me the codes for the credits you stole and I will let you go,” said Stout looking at Charlie; his eyes filled with intent.

"No, Charlie, please; you don't understand his motives," begged Richard, his voice gradually becoming weaker with each passing moment.

"I give you ten seconds. Zed, give him a wakeup call," instructed Stout.