Amy finished patching up Bull’s face. He wasn’t all that pretty to start with, so the scrapes and bruises didn’t detract from his appearance. Of course, they didn’t add anything either. The big man stewed silently; Amy knew Bull’s temper was up after their little encounter, and that was potentially problematic.
Dotun and Henry stepped forward to examine the robot, with the rest of the team covering both ends of the hallway. “Where’d it come from Walker?”
Dotun sighed loudly, “Please stop calling me that.” He crouched down and aimlessly prodded the fallen automaton a few times, almost experimentally. “It couldn’t have just waltzed past McCormick and Sanchez.” That would have been almost impossible. The two point-men were hand-picked by Dotun for their sharp eyes. Besides, the hall was only ten feet wide. He scratched the back of his head and stood up. Henry took the opportunity to kneel down next to the robot and push his face in as close as he could to the exposed torso.
As was his wont, Henry started talking to himself. “Hmmm, circuits look pretty complex. Must be some kind of alloy, as it doesn’t look like anything I’m familiar with. Heh, and I’m familiar with quite a lot!” He didn’t pause to observe Dotun’s opinion of this statement; he didn’t notice that the team leader had wandered off to examine the corridor wall. “Outer casing is almost rubbery; could be some kind of synthetic skin. That’d be pretty cool. We’ll have to take what’s left of this thing back to the ship with us. I sure wouldn’t mind tinkering around with its insides. Lotta neat stuff in there I suppose.” A few other members of the team shot bemused glances back at the engineer. He was good at his job, but he was apparently a little cracked.
Bull stood up with a slight grunt of effort and joined Dotun at the far wall. “What’cha see boss?”
Dotun looked sideways at the big man. It was clear that the…attack?….had shaken the big man, and that in turn made him edgy. His hand reflexively gripped and re-gripped his plasma weapon. Dotun opted to let it slide for the moment. “This thing didn’t just magically appear, so it had to have come from somewhere. I’m thinking maybe there’s a door or something here that we’re not seeing.” He ran his hand over the smooth metallic surface of the wall. Suddenly he stopped. “Henry, come here.”
The engineer broke from his happy babbling and prodding and approached the wall. Dotun silently pointed out a number of depressions in the wall at about chest height. There were ten of them, two sets of five. After mumbling to himself a little, Henry turned back to the fallen robot and grabbed one of its arms. He whistled, “Wow, this thing’s got fingerprints.” He held a limp hand at the wrist, palm facing Bull and Dotun for their review. He dragged the robot to the wall; metal components scraped against the floor and raised an unholy screeching noise. Other members of the team broke their vigil to glare at him in annoyance. Henry didn’t notice.
He carefully placed each of the five fingers of the right hand into the depressions, and with Dotun’s help raised the other lifeless hand to fill the other five depressions. Nothing happened. “Hunh, that would’ve been too easy,” the tech said quietly. He examined the right hand and noticed that the tips of two fingers had been damaged in the melee. Henry shrugged and grabbed the robot under the arms. As he pulled it back to the middle of the corridor and out of the way, Bull slung his weapon and approached the wall. He set his feet and braced his massive arms, pushing against the wall and groaning with exertion. Henry grinned, “Oh, you think you can just push the wall over there big guy? I think it’s going to be a little more complicated than that.” He chuckled to himself as he examined the robot further.
Bull grimaced in irritation, and then reset his hands on the wall to give it another shove. His fingers settled into the ten depressions naturally as he shifted, and he began to push. Without warning, a soft chime could be heard, and a ten-foot section of the wall recessed silently into the ceiling. Bull’s astonishment lasted only a minute, after which he swaggered around and shot Henry a knowing look. Henry cocked an eyebrow but otherwise stayed silent. Dotun immediately stepped into the new hallway and covered their exposed flank. This hall was also ten feet wide, but he could make out something hanging on the wall about fifty feet ahead. “Alright, we haven’t seen anything change in this last hallway; I say we move forward this way and see if we find anything.” The team quickly redeployed and began moving forward.
“Five minutes to contact sir,” the pilot said over his shoulder. To some, the velin were considered primitive, subhuman even. However, Ukcha’s proven battle prowess and soft-spoken manner had earned him the respect of many on the expedition. His close friendship with Captain Tsekai didn’t hurt either. He acknowledged the pilot’s comment and continued watching out the front viewport. Behind him, his team, Entry 2, waited quietly. Where Dotun’s mob was rowdy and undisciplined, his team was organized and efficient. Ukcha respected the former Republic Ranger and his team, but he wasn’t surprised they had gotten themselves into trouble.
He had a nagging feeling that things were going to get interesting very soon.
Dotun and Henry stepped forward to examine the robot, with the rest of the team covering both ends of the hallway. “Where’d it come from Walker?”
Dotun sighed loudly, “Please stop calling me that.” He crouched down and aimlessly prodded the fallen automaton a few times, almost experimentally. “It couldn’t have just waltzed past McCormick and Sanchez.” That would have been almost impossible. The two point-men were hand-picked by Dotun for their sharp eyes. Besides, the hall was only ten feet wide. He scratched the back of his head and stood up. Henry took the opportunity to kneel down next to the robot and push his face in as close as he could to the exposed torso.
As was his wont, Henry started talking to himself. “Hmmm, circuits look pretty complex. Must be some kind of alloy, as it doesn’t look like anything I’m familiar with. Heh, and I’m familiar with quite a lot!” He didn’t pause to observe Dotun’s opinion of this statement; he didn’t notice that the team leader had wandered off to examine the corridor wall. “Outer casing is almost rubbery; could be some kind of synthetic skin. That’d be pretty cool. We’ll have to take what’s left of this thing back to the ship with us. I sure wouldn’t mind tinkering around with its insides. Lotta neat stuff in there I suppose.” A few other members of the team shot bemused glances back at the engineer. He was good at his job, but he was apparently a little cracked.
Bull stood up with a slight grunt of effort and joined Dotun at the far wall. “What’cha see boss?”
Dotun looked sideways at the big man. It was clear that the…attack?….had shaken the big man, and that in turn made him edgy. His hand reflexively gripped and re-gripped his plasma weapon. Dotun opted to let it slide for the moment. “This thing didn’t just magically appear, so it had to have come from somewhere. I’m thinking maybe there’s a door or something here that we’re not seeing.” He ran his hand over the smooth metallic surface of the wall. Suddenly he stopped. “Henry, come here.”
The engineer broke from his happy babbling and prodding and approached the wall. Dotun silently pointed out a number of depressions in the wall at about chest height. There were ten of them, two sets of five. After mumbling to himself a little, Henry turned back to the fallen robot and grabbed one of its arms. He whistled, “Wow, this thing’s got fingerprints.” He held a limp hand at the wrist, palm facing Bull and Dotun for their review. He dragged the robot to the wall; metal components scraped against the floor and raised an unholy screeching noise. Other members of the team broke their vigil to glare at him in annoyance. Henry didn’t notice.
He carefully placed each of the five fingers of the right hand into the depressions, and with Dotun’s help raised the other lifeless hand to fill the other five depressions. Nothing happened. “Hunh, that would’ve been too easy,” the tech said quietly. He examined the right hand and noticed that the tips of two fingers had been damaged in the melee. Henry shrugged and grabbed the robot under the arms. As he pulled it back to the middle of the corridor and out of the way, Bull slung his weapon and approached the wall. He set his feet and braced his massive arms, pushing against the wall and groaning with exertion. Henry grinned, “Oh, you think you can just push the wall over there big guy? I think it’s going to be a little more complicated than that.” He chuckled to himself as he examined the robot further.
Bull grimaced in irritation, and then reset his hands on the wall to give it another shove. His fingers settled into the ten depressions naturally as he shifted, and he began to push. Without warning, a soft chime could be heard, and a ten-foot section of the wall recessed silently into the ceiling. Bull’s astonishment lasted only a minute, after which he swaggered around and shot Henry a knowing look. Henry cocked an eyebrow but otherwise stayed silent. Dotun immediately stepped into the new hallway and covered their exposed flank. This hall was also ten feet wide, but he could make out something hanging on the wall about fifty feet ahead. “Alright, we haven’t seen anything change in this last hallway; I say we move forward this way and see if we find anything.” The team quickly redeployed and began moving forward.
---
Ukcha stood resolutely behind the pilot and co-pilot of the Pixie as it neared Anomaly X19. The velin, as a race, did not generally venture off of Eos, but the hulking man was an anomaly among his people in many ways. He relished the adventure and unknown dangers this voyage provided. He would have many great stories to tell his clan once he returned to them.“Five minutes to contact sir,” the pilot said over his shoulder. To some, the velin were considered primitive, subhuman even. However, Ukcha’s proven battle prowess and soft-spoken manner had earned him the respect of many on the expedition. His close friendship with Captain Tsekai didn’t hurt either. He acknowledged the pilot’s comment and continued watching out the front viewport. Behind him, his team, Entry 2, waited quietly. Where Dotun’s mob was rowdy and undisciplined, his team was organized and efficient. Ukcha respected the former Republic Ranger and his team, but he wasn’t surprised they had gotten themselves into trouble.
He had a nagging feeling that things were going to get interesting very soon.
