[Quest] Tour of Duty

[Orion]

Orion looked at the sign on the outer hanger wall. 12. This was the place.

It had been a few weeks since he had crash landed on this planet, which he learned was named Cevanti. He had spent what credits he could exchange on food and booze. When he wasn’t eating or drinking, he was resting; the battle aboard the starship and his subsequent arrival on Cevanti had drained him significantly.

However it was only a matter of time before his money dried up. Having recuperated but finding himself destitute, Orion searched for work. Many jobs advertised involved long treks into the planet’s uncharted wilderness, mostly as security detail, acting as a protector for a brave expedition hoping to stumble upon ancient artifacts and forgotten technology.

Other listings were as simple as a club bouncer. All were easily within a seasoned warrior’s capabilities, but the one that stood out from the rest involved piloting a mech. Why would he turn down an opportunity like that?

Still, though, it was work. Orion wanted to be free of the planet and search for Cabbis, if he had even survived the final battle. But it would take time, and purchasing a new starship would be costly. And this was the first rung on the ladder.

With a steeling sigh, the saiyan trudged inside.

Towering robots were lined against the walls, nestled within suspended catwalks that allowed the engineers to alter them and make any repairs. Bright white sparks flew from the flame of a welder as it impacted the metal shoulder of one of the mech units. A heavy truck with a giant leg tied to its trailer drove in and towards one of the robots still under construction, its chassis pressed low to the ground beneath the weight of the limb.

Orion headed towards the office and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Pushing his way in, the saiyan stood before a man typing before a console, the monitor’s bright light washing over his face. He tapped a few more strokes on the keyboard, rose from his chair and offered his hand. “I take it you’re our new pilot.”

Orion shook the outstretched hand. “Orion. You must be Sergeant Masters.”

“You have completed basic training?”

Orion nodded.

“Well, let’s not waste any time,” Masters said, rounding his desk. “We’re both busy men. Please, follow me.”

The sergeant led the saiyan back out into the hangar, their footsteps clopping loudly on the floor. Through the huge space left by the open doors, rain fell in a drizzly curtain. Orion breathed deep – the smell calmed him, reminded him of better days. Masters stopped and turned to the mech unit nearest the exit.

Like most of the giant pilotable robots in the hangar, this example wore its age and past experience on its sleeves. Instead of forearms, the robot had a shield welded to the left arm and a massive rifle attached to the right. Scuffs and scratches ran along the plating of its legs and shield predominantly, though most of the unit had some sort of lasting cosmetic damage. It cast a long, flickering shadow as sparks flew from a welder near the shoulder.

“This is your patrol unit,” Sergeant Masters said, motioning to the robot before them. “It’ll feel a little more sluggish than the training simulation implied. However, it’ll still do the job. There will be a path outlined for you in the HUD. Follow this path to its endpoint and return back, reporting any unusual sights or disturbances you encounter. You are permitted to engage with hostile droids but you cannot leave the designated perimeter. You do not have clearance to pursue an enemy outside of this. Do you understand?”

The saiyan warrior gazed up at the towering mech as the engineer extinguished the flame on his welder and moved on. “Yes.”

“All right then. You may ascend the stairs and begin your first patrol. Good luck, Orion.”

"Stairs aren't necessary," the saiyan said, lifting off the ground. Sergeant Masters stopped mid-stride, his head craning as the saiyan rose towards the mech’s head for a moment, then walked away.

The face of the robot split in the centre and each side retracted away, allowing Orion access to the cockpit. He glided into the empty space and touched down, picking up the two gloves on the floor. Pulling them on, he grabbed a similar pair of boots and stuffed his feet into them. These items would detect Orion’s movements and replicate them in the mech; making a fist with the right hand would also fire the plasma pulse cannon. He stood on a small, square treadmill tract that would give tactile feedback to Orion when walking on the ground – a small set of cameras constantly scanned the floor around the mech in all directions and imitated the texture to assist in movement.

“Activate.”

A faint shudder travelled through the cockpit. A projected screen dome pulsed to life around Orion, covering the entirety of the space around him as if he was outside the mech altogether.

“Show patrol route.”

A pale blue map etched over the forward facing segment of the screen dome, showing an overhead view with a red X on the building Orion was in. A red line snaked from the hangar and along the path he had been instructed to take. Orion swiped his hand in the air and it shifted the map to the right side of the dome, giving the saiyan clear sight forward again.

He took his first step since plugging in and the treadmill moved with him. In real time, the robot lifted its gargantuan leg and dropped its foot onto the hangar floor. The saiyan had to slow his movements, since such a giant couldn’t move as fast as he could.

He strode out of the hangar and into the light drizzle. Droplets of rain pattered into the vision hemisphere around Orion but they slid and faded into transparency swiftly – no doubt a feature required of the technology. The huge presence and heavy footfalls reminded Orion of his Great Ape transformation. It had been a while since he had experienced the heady rush of primal battle, towering over tiny foes and annihilating them with satisfying ease. He hoped the patrol would pit him against some wild zoids worthy of his skills.

Orion smirked as he strode away from the hangar and along the path provided for him. This was definitely better than being a club bouncer.

 

[Orion]

The mech took halting steps through the plains, stamping rectangular depressions into the tall, swaying grass. The miserly clouds had cleared, leaving a bright blue sky with white smears breaking up the colour. The grass was slick and the mech’s weaponry glistened as it waited for the sun to dry the remnants of the rain.

Everything was peaceful. How boring.

The saiyan didn’t mind the peace at all – he had seen enough war in his life already – but when he controlled a gigantic metal robot searching for trouble, he hoped he would encounter some action that he presumed had been promised. What was the point of lugging around a plasma pulse cannon and not using it to fry some wild zoid into melted slag?

Orion looked behind him – the glowing barrier that covered Markov was still in sight. He had some time to think during his uneventful patrol. If the barrier over Markov was as dependable as he believed it was, what was the need for patrols? He could understand if caravans leaving or arriving at the Cevanti capital employed these giant robots for protection – though one of this size would likely accidentally step on those it should protect, it was so large – but the fortified shielding hadn’t been penetrated since the saiyan had crash landed on the planet. What concern was there that some wild zoids might stumble against its impregnable surface? The only mechs Orion had seen were wolf-like in form and size; even a co-ordinated pack could do little but scratch and gnash at the safeguard in place.

It wasn’t his call, though. He agreed to the job and he would get the money he needed. Beyond that, it didn’t matter. Besides, if the fifty foot mechs regularly traversed outside the barrier, there must have been something far more threatening out in the Cevanti wilds that Orion had no knowledge of. The Pilots Union wouldn’t be servicing these massive machines and patching them up regularly if they didn’t meet a need.

The communications system buzzed with static. A few syllables punched through the white noise every now and then, but nothing that Orion could understand. What words go through were loud and sharp, even desperate.

Orion drew the mech to a halt and surveyed the hemispherical projection around him. A patchy line of trees waved its branches in the wind to the east, as did the stalks of spindly grass to the west. Then, from behind a trunk, Orion spotted a moving object. Another moment later, five other slim objects pursued as they rounded the trees.

“Help!” the voice cried clearly, as if the communicator he used had come into range. “Oh God please someone help me! They’re going to kill me!”

Orion awoke the mech and strode towards the man. As he drew closer he could discern details of the pursued – a man in a tattered uniform, perhaps military in nature, sprinted with abandon, his eyes wide and mouth wider as he shouted pleas into his communication device. The pursuers were familiar to the saiyan pilot. A pack of mechanised wolves chased with singular purpose after the terrified man. How the man managed to evade them this long was beyond Orion. Surely robotic predators designed after wolves would not take long to obtain their quarry.

“Keep running!” Orion said, raising his right arm. The metal arm of the mech connected to the plasma pulse cannon mimicked his gesture. “And try to duck.”

“What?” the man replied.

Orion stiffened his fingers and the plasma pulse cannon spun up, whirring and flashing with purple light.

“Oh shit!”

Orion made a fist and a bolt of violet plasma blasted from the mech’s weapon. It hit the ground just wide of the wolf pack, launching dirt and grass into the air.

“Oh God!” the man yelled. “I don’t know if the wolves or your terrible aim will get me first!”

“I’m trying to rescue you,” Orion said, flattening his hand once more to charge the next shot. “I’d appreciate more faith in my ability.”

“Gonna need to see some proof of that!”

Orion furrowed his brow and closed his hand. The bright purple projectile met its target, dissolving the robot wolves in a flash of plasma. The man screamed as he lurched forward through the air, the shockwave of the blast tearing him from his feet. He crashed into the dirt on his shoulder and rolled to a stop against the mech’s foot.

“Open.”

A seam where the rounded walls and the floor joined hissed and opened. The top of the mech’s head lifted backwards and invited a bracing breeze into the opened cockpit. Orion stepped off the edge and let himself plummet to the ground, his robe whipping about in the winds. His body jerked to a stop inches from the ground, a result of a powerful exertion of ki, and he touched down beside the winded man. The saiyan cast a glance over his shoulder. There were no signs of any other pursuers.

Orion looked down at the man. Prone on the dirt, his torso inflating and deflating rapidly, he said nothing while he ostensibly caught his breath.

“Are you injured?” Orion asked, crouching beside the man.

“N... no,” the man said breathlessly. He took a few concerted breaths and hauled himself into a sitting position, bracing his back against the toe of the mech. “Those things... they didn’t catch me. Just... a little out of... breath. Could probably use... a beer.”

Orion stuck out an arm and the man took it. The saiyan hoisted him back to his feet. Something didn’t seem right about this person. Why was he outside Markov’s barrier? How had he attracted the ire of the robotic zoids? In fact, how had he outrun them for so long? There was something more to this than met the eye.

“What is your name?” Orion asked.

“Elsin,” the man said, rubbing at his temple. “Elsin Turriq. And what can I call my saviour?”

The saiyan grunted. “Orion.”

“Well Orion, I have enjoyed my foray into the Cevanti wilds but I believe... yes, I can actually hear a bar calling out to me. Not any one in particular, just any one that sells beer.” Elsin looked around Orion. “Uh... how did you get down so quickly? Where’s the ladder?”

Orion ignored the question. “What are you doing out here alone?”

Elsin pressed his lips into a wan smile. “Isn’t that a great question? I’ll be happy to tell you all about it... over an ice cold beer. Maybe a steak too. Ooo, and one of those deep fried ice-cream balls. You ever had one of those? They’re so good. Oh by the way, you’re paying. I left my wallet in my other pair of pants that weren’t almost chewed by a wolf robot.”

“I saved your life but I don’t have to drag you back to Markov,” Orion said, squaring his shoulders and stepping towards Elsin. “Start talking now or I leave you here and you find your own way back home. That’s if the zoids don’t tear you apart first.”

Elsin looked at Orion with shock. “You saved me and now you’re going to leave me here because –“

“You’re hiding something from me,” the saiyan mercenary fired back.

Silence filled the space between them. Elsin frowned and screwed his eyes shut. “Argh! I can’t tell you because you report to Masters, don’t you?”

“Sergeant Masters tasked me with this job, yes,” Orion said, cocking an eyebrow. “But I don’t hold any loyalty to the man outside of our agreement.”

Elsin opened his eyes and stared at Orion from beneath his brow. “And... what was your agreement?”

“A simple patrol of the perimeter of Markov.”

“So... you weren’t sent out here to hunt me down?”

“I have no idea who you are or why you fear Masters. But I will not be dissuaded. Tell me what’s going on or fend for yourself. Your life is inconsequential to me.”

Elsin stroked at his chin, his wild eyes darting about the ground. “Well... I have to tell someone. And since I can’t go to the sergeant, perhaps another pilot will do.”

“Speak!” Orion barked, making Elsin jump.

“All right! Keep your robe on! Which by the way might I say is a daring choice for a mech pilot... oh right, no more tangents. I worked for Sergeant Masters to-“

A warbled, digitised howl boomed through the air. Orion grabbed at his ears, pressing his palms flat against them to block the piercing sound. It was much too loud to be even a pack of wolf zoids, unless they had been outfitted with some extraordinary speakers.

“Oh no. No no no!” Elsin shouted.

“What? What is it now?!” Orion said.

“I know I’ve been evasive, but you really don’t want to know. Trust me.”

A silver shimmer caught the saiyan mercenary’s eye high in the air. The sliver grew, its edges crawling over the sky like liquid mercury pouring over a table. The edges revealed a gargantuan wolf zoid nearly the same size as Orion’s mech, its form drawing out of thin air as if it parted space and time away like a veil to reveal itself.

Elsin shrugged. “I guess you were going to find out sooner or later.”

“What in the great black is that?!” Orion said.

“One of the zoids your mech was built to take on,” Elsin said. “Except this one’s a little more advanced than your unit.”

A white aura burst around Orion’s body, buffeting his robe in the winds generated by it. The saiyan scooped up Elsin and flew like a rocket back into the mech’s exposed cockpit. He closed the head and reclaimed control of his giant robot. Elsin sat behind Orion, apparently still weary from his chase across the plains.

The massive wolf mech stared down Orion’s unit. It padded towards him, each step purposeful and steady. Orion raised his left arm, bringing the mech’s rectangular shield into a guarding position. Splaying the fingers of his right hand, he charged the plasma pulse cannon, the violet energy crackling within the barrel.

“What did you do to piss off something this big?” Orion said, taking gradual steps away from the wolf zoid.

“Honestly, this turn of events has me a mite perplexed,” Elsin said. “Maybe it was an insurance policy in case the small wolf zoids didn’t eat me?”

Orion furrowed his brow. “Insurance policy? Are you saying these robots are working together? And why are you so valuable to them?”

“It’ll all make sense when I explain it,” Elsin said. “But I’d rather not take any more of your focus away from our immediate situation.”

Orion grunted. “Fine. As long as you stop talking.”

Out of thin air, two more wolf zoids identical to the first materialised. Orion briefly wondered how units with such size and mass could be effectively cloaked from sight without being detected, but his battle instincts quickly killed his curiosity as they too stalked towards him. It was only a matter of time before one of the zoids took the initiative and pounced, but firing too early could set off a frenzy of violence that Orion couldn’t escape. He needed more intelligence.

“Elsin. What do you know about these things?”

“I thought I was supposed to stop-“

“You’ll stop breathing if you don’t answer my damn question!”

Orion heard Elsin grunt behind him. “I wouldn’t attack them. From what I’ve seen, the plasma pulse cannon on a – what is this, a PDS mark four? – yeah, I don’t think that is strong enough to puncture their plating. You’ll probably just aggravate them more than they already are.”

“So the smartest move is to retreat,” Orion said.

Elsin scoffed. “Yeah, but good luck with that! These things are faster than us and they’ll leap on us the instant we show our back to them. You can fly, right? The best way out of this is to just pop the head and you can fly us back to Markov. Go high enough and even those zoids won’t be able to bother us.”

“That ignores a pertinent problem,” Orion said. “If I surrender this unit that doesn’t belong to me to the wolves, not only will I not receive payment for my patrol but I will likely be forced to pay restitution. I didn’t take on this job to take on debt.”

“Are you crazy?!” Elsin said. “What’s a little debt compared to your life? Besides, we don’t have to go back to Sergeant Masters. There’s plenty of other ways to make credits on Cevanti!”

“A mercenary is only as good as his last job,” Orion said, his eye jumping between each wolf zoid growing uncomfortably closer.

“Great! Your mercenary heart of gold is going to get us killed.”

Maybe Elsin was right. But Orion wasn’t backing down from this fight.

 

[Orion]

The wolf zoids approached like three spear tips edging towards their foe. Orion stepped backwards with both shield and plasma pulse cannon raised, the mech he piloted obeying his commands. Elsin kneeled behind Orion, staring incredulously at the bullheaded mercenary risking their lives for his reputation.

“Maybe you’re suicidal but I wasn’t running from those zoids for my health,” Elsin said.

“Shut up, I’ve got this in hand!” Orion said, trying to keep his focus on the immediate threat.

Elsin scoffed. “I can see that quite clearly.”

Orion had to make the first move. If he didn’t, the wolves would do it for him, and he was already in a precarious situation. Yet none of the options he could think of seemed wise in the slightest. Attack and he could provoke all three to lunge at his mech at once – a battle he doubt he could win. Run and he showed the mechanical predators his back, giving them the opportunity to tackle him if he couldn’t outpace them – which he doubted he could.

He had to turn the situation around somehow. Backed into a corner, the zoids must have known Orion had two choices and was either paralysed by fear or indecision. Perhaps he could do something unexpected to throw them off the mech, maybe provide a large enough window of time to escape back to the safety of the Markov city barrier.

“You!” Orion said to his passenger. “You know Sergeant Masters. You know other things I would expect a mech pilot to know. Do you know how to control this thing?”

Elsin frowned but spoke anyway. “Yes?”

“Good. I’m going to draw their attention away from the mech. Once their focus is on me, we can attempt a pincer attack. If that fails, you can pilot the mech back to Markov.”

“...OK,” Elsin said, standing. “I know you can fly without wings or technology, but how do you think a little man like you has a hope of fighting one of those things, let alone surviving against them?”

“Open,” Orion said. The head peeled backwards to reveal the three wolf zoids in all their bestial glory. “I’m a saiyan. Those things won’t know what hit them.” He stopped inches before the drop and looked over his shoulder. “Just keep the damn mech in one condition.”

Elsin said something, no doubt smart or depressing, but it was smothered by the wind that rushed over Orion’s ears as he zipped through the air, passing over the zoids. He floated behind all three, turning his eye back to his mech. Elsin kept the robot still with weapons raised. Perhaps he had decided to execute the plan as Orion had said it.

The mech turned and started sprinting away.

“Damn it Elsin!” Orion roared.

The zoids began pursuit immediately. The saiyan flooded his body with ki, engulfing himself in a blazing white aura, and chased after. Elsin had barely made it ten massive steps and the wolf zoids were almost upon him. Orion needed to divert their attention away, if only for a short time.

Pin pricks of light materialised above both of Orion’s open palms. They bloomed into shining orbs of yellow energy, buzzing with power. Thankfully during his convalescence, Orion had tapped back in to his store of ki; his issue of accessing it when he first arrived on Cevanti had largely been due to exhaustion brought on by the battle preceding his landing. He never thought he could run dry of ki until that day. That discovery warranted more training.

Now that his inner energy followed his orders once more, it had grown more potent. While he still had difficulty collecting ki in concentrated clumps, simple ki blasts were easily within his abilities, and their new strength ought to piss off the zoids.

Orion hurled the ki blasts at the backs of two of the zoids. They crashed against the steel with a cloud of black smoke and a mighty bang. Orion furrowed his brow at the aftermath; there was nothing to indicate an attack had been launched other than some faint scorch marks at the point of impact. Orion’s attacks didn’t even steal a split second of attention away from the fleeing mech. How strong were these things? Or were his abilities still mending?

Elsin’s luck had run out. The wolf zoids caught up with the mech. One of the zoids reached out with its mouth and clamped down on the mech’s leg in mid-stride. With no hands to help steady itself, the mech crashed to the ground like a skyscraper toppling over, blasting dirt and earth in a wave around it. The other wolf mechs latched onto the flailing robot, chewing and tearing at their fallen prey.

Orion rocketed forward, arcing in the sky and plummeting downwards towards the centre zoid, its metal teeth gnawing away at the mech. The saiyan drew back a fist, grimacing. He drove a punch into the zoid’s skull, and this time he got a reaction. His fist bent a crumpled indentation into the steel plating, the inertia of the hit slamming the zoid into the ground.

That’s more like it.

“Hey! Orion! Hey!”

The saiyan turned towards the source of the sound. Elsin jumped up and down on the mech’s neck, the head compartment open, arms waving. The other two wolf zoids ignored him.

“What are you doing?” Orion shouted.

“They’ve got the mech! Just grab me and let’s go back to Markov!” Elsin said.

Orion watched one of the wolf zoids tear a hunk of metal and machinery from the mech’s leg, chewing on it and grinding sparks.

“Fine!”

The saiyan bounded off the zoid he stood on, its muzzle swinging up and taking an empty bite at him, and swept up Elsin in one arm. They hovered over the mech and witnessed the wolf zoids violently disassembling it, biting and ripping hunks of steel free, mulling it about in their mouths, and then spitting them out.

Orion frowned. What purpose did this have for the zoids? The mech was well and truly disabled – why bother picking it apart? They weren’t consuming it. Was it some sort of programming where they mimicked the animal they were modelled on, at least as far as it was practical? Was dropping their mouthfuls of metal simply a functional concession to their feral instincts?

“What are you doing?” Elsin asked. “Fly us back while they’re busy!”

Orion shook his head. “Why are they tearing the mech apart?”

“Why? They’re zoids! That’s what they do!”

One of the wolf zoids padded towards the head, its head craning over and its eyes glowing as if it was searching for something.

“No,” Orion said. “There’s something more at play here.”

A moment’s patience proved the saiyan mercenary correct. The wolf zoid buried its snout into the torso of the mech, its teeth boring a rent in the chassis. It penetrated the armour and tore its muzzle out, gripping a green piece of equipment about half the size of Orion. Upon seeing the unit, the other wolf zoids stood attentively, leaving the ravaged mech in peace.

“That’s it,” Orion said. “They were searching for something. A part. Elsin, what did they find?”

Elsin shrugged. “How should I know?”

The wolf zoids had completely disregarded the two floating men above them the entire time they had dug about in the mech. Gripping the prize in its teeth, the wolf zoid ran away in the opposite direction of Markov, back from where Orion had first spotted Elsin fleeing from. The other members of the pack trailed behind.

“Well, now that we’re safe,” Elsin said, “I think I can hear that pub calling my name again.”

Orion let out a sharp breath through his nostrils, gazing at the retreating zoids. He dropped back down to the ground so fast that Elsin let out a surprised cry. The saiyan let go of the mech pilot.

“Then go, if it cries out for you so longingly,” Orion said. “I haven’t completed my job yet.”

Elsin looked at Orion incredulously. “Wait... you can’t be serious! You’re chasing after the zoids after they let us go?”

Orion cast a hard eye at Elsin. “Did you notice the dent I put in that zoid’s skull? It barely cared. Those zoids knew what they were looking for. Why would they care about that one part? I’m not leaving this question unanswered. I may have failed the core of my job, but I may be able to bring back vital intel to Sergeant Masters. Don’t feel like you’re obligated to assist.”

Before the cowardly pilot could rebut, Orion took off into the sky, his robe rippling in the winds. The zoids hadn’t made much ground on the saiyan; with their objective in their possession, their return strides were shorter than a full sprint, though they moved faster than a jog. Orion soared like a white arrow above them, gradually descending so as to lessen the chance of his discovery by the pack.

The centre wolf zoid bit the green unit tightly between its jagged steel teeth. Orion hovered just above its head and still they did not react to his presence. Wanting to keep the unit intact, the saiyan decided that trying to yank it out of the vice grip might damage it too badly. Instead, he flew at the bottom tooth holding the unit with foot extended. His kick slammed the tooth inward, loosening the green unit. It tumbled from the wolf zoid’s mouth where Orion quickly scooped it up and blasted away in the opposite direction.

He chanced a glance over his shoulder. Sure enough, the wolf zoids had spun about and given chase, no longer jogging at their slower pace and blasting at Orion at a full sprint.

The aura of light surrounding Orion burned brighter and he increased his speed. The wolf zoids thundered across the plains and eventually, the saiyan surmised, they would catch him. He gritted his teeth and urged himself faster but he had reached the limit of his speed.

Up ahead, Elsin strolled casually towards the glowing dome around Markov. He spun, apparently feeling the tremors that rattled the ground. Immediately he turned and sprinted.

Orion grimaced. The wolf zoids weren’t after Elsin, and he wouldn’t needlessly put them in his path. He veered to the left. Two of the wolf zoids tracked him but the third ignored the saiyan, having spotted the mech pilot, and made a beeline for him.

“Shit!”

Orion couldn’t leave him. Arcing around again, he flew straight at Elsin. Saddling the green unit in one arm, he reached out with the other and snatched the human from the ground just as the wolf zoid’s teeth snapped forward.

“Oh, well thanks for bringing them back!” Elsin said. “I see you’re still trying to train them to no avail?”

The saiyan ignored the wisecracks and darted straight for Markov. The wolf zoid that attempted to devour Elsin had fallen back behind the pack, but the other two were still hot on their heels. Orion cursed; with both arms full, he couldn't fire ki blasts.

“Elsin,” Orion said. “Can you hold this?”

“I’m not a big burly tough man like you, but I think I can handle it.”

Orion pushed the green unit into Elsin’s body. He wrapped his arms around it and pressed it tightly to his chest.

“Uh… I might have talked a big game,” Elsin said. “I can’t hold it for long. Hurry!”

Orion grimaced and threw out his free hand. Balls of energy burst from his palm. Most zipped off into the distance harmlessly or collided with the earth. Their high speed along with gripping a struggling human made it tough to aim accurately.

A volley of blasts peppered the face of one of the wolf zoids, but it simply charged through the resulting smoke, barely noticing or caring about them. Orion’s uncharged energy didn’t provide the punch to bust through the zoids’ sturdy metal plating.

A series of rocky arches appeared on the horizon. The saiyan flew through them, leading the pursuing robots along the path he wanted them to take. Orion aimed his free hand at the next arch in front of him and let loose. Explosions wreathed the arch, knocking chunks of rock out of the structure that cascaded around the saiyan and the human as they sped underneath. A final blast of ki dropped the entire archway down in a storm of rock and dirt, collapsing on top of the wolf zoids.

“Yeah! You got them!” Elsin said. “Now take back this thing before I drop it!”

Orion grasped the green unit underneath his armpit and looked behind. From the pile of boulders that was once the archway, a single wolf zoid burst through. It shook the rocks and stones from its sleek body and tore after them once more.

The massive hub of Markov loomed close. It wouldn’t be long before they reached the city’s barrier and into safety. But the remaining wolf zoid intended to catch its quarry. With every gallop of its robotic legs, it gained ground on the saiyan, the human and the green unit it so desperately desired. Orion couldn’t push his speed any higher, and there were no other hindrances on the horizon that he could utilise against the wolf zoid. Neither could he climb any higher into the sky while he carried both the green unit and Elsin. It was all about luck – was the remaining distance to Markov small enough that the robotic predator couldn’t catch them?

“Wait, I just remembered something,” Elsin said.

“Is it important?”

“Depends. Do you like to be squished between a barrier and a zoid?”

Orion frowned. “Speak!”

“The mechs can leave the barrier because they produce a signal that momentarily cancels it out so they can pass through,” Elsin said. “Without that signal, we can’t get back through the barrier unless someone on the other side lets us through. And who’s crazy enough to do that when those people have led a wolf zoid to the front door?”

“Maybe I can blast my way through,” Orion said, growing apprehensive as they grew closer to Markov.

“If you can’t even blast through a zoid, you’re not getting through the barrier,” Elsin said.

Orion growled. He stuffed the green unit back into Elsin’s hands and energy blasts launched forward, striking the barrier in a flurry of explosions. When the smoke cleared, the barrier was perfectly intact.

Why can’t I charge my ki? Orion thought. I know I can create stronger attacks than this! Do I have some sort of mental block?

“I hope you’re baring your teeth because you just came up with an awesome plan!” Elsin yelled as they swiftly approached the barrier.

The wolf zoid was close. Its massive paws broke the earth on every impact with the ground. A few more powerful strides and its enormous jaws would be in reach of them.

My ki blasts barely did anything to the robots. But my fists managed to hurt them. Could my punches be enough to break through the barrier here too? “Can you hold that thing for a while longer?”

“What, this thing?” Elsin asked. “The thing you’re risking our lives to protect? Yeah, sure, why not?”

Orion balled his fist as they rushed towards the barrier. He drew his arm back, pouring all of his hope and strength into his next punch. The light of the wolf zoid’s glowing eyes washed over them.

“This isn’t going to work!” Elsin shouted as he turned and saw the massive maw of the killer robot inches from them.

Moments from impact, the barrier parted like a velvet curtain, wide enough for a mech to pass through. Although no longer needed for its damage potential, Orion threw his fist forward, hoping the stored momentum would push them through quicker. Elsin, not expecting the sudden movement, let the green unit slide from his fingers and fling forward through the air.

The wolf zoid penetrated the hole in the barrier, its jaws wide and hovering inches from them. It took a bite, its teeth nabbing the edge of Orion’s robe, and drew itself down to the ground. Orion and Elsin were dragged downwards, slamming hard into a painful landing. They skidded for some time before coming to a stop.

“It’s got us!” Elsin yelled. “Take off your robe!”

Elsin, free of Orion’s grip, sprinted away. The saiyan climbed to his feet, noting the head stayed dormant on the ground. He quickly realised why that was – the wolf zoid’s body lay slumped against the closed barrier outside, sparks dribbling from its neck. The lights in the robot’s eyes dimmed and went out.

“Calm down!” Orion shouted back, yanking his robe out of the deactivated zoid’s teeth. “It’s dead!”

Elsin stopped in his tracks and turned about, cautiously toeing his way back. “What… what happened? It got decapitated? How did you do that?”

“I did nothing,” Orion said. “The barrier must have collapsed around its neck after we passed through.”

“But why did it do that?”

Orion floated over to the green unit and hefted it up. A few scratches marred its surface but it was otherwise in good condition. “I don’t know.” He looked to the fallen remains of the wolf zoid’s body leaning against the barrier outside. “Do you think that it will be of worth to Sergeant Masters?”

“After you lost his mech? Yeah,” Elsin said, kicking the wolf head. It rattled. “They’ll need some more material to build a new one. But I don’t care. I’m not going back to see him.”

Orion approached the wolf zoid’s body. The barrier reopened, letting the headless machine to collapse inside with a bang that shook the ground.

“Is the barrier faulty?” Orion asked. “Or did my ki blasts weaken it?”

Elsin walked over to the saiyan. He scrutinised the situation. “Here. Give me that thing.”

He took the green unit from Orion and moved away. The barrier closed, cutting the zoid body in the middle.

“That’s what this is!” Elsin said. “This is the device that sends the signal to the barrier to open!”

“That’s what they wanted so badly?” Orion asked.

Elsin’s face went flat. “Do you… do you think they knew what this was?”

“It would explain their dogged determination to possess it,” Orion said. “I don’t see why they would yearn for this particular piece without knowing its function. But that speaks to a larger mystery… why would robots programmed to behave like wild animals want or know about this thing?”

“I don’t like where this is going,” Elsin said.

“There’s something happening here,” Orion said. “Someone or something wanted to have the device that opens the barrier to Markov. This is a major problem.”

Elsin frowned and walked away. “I don’t care. Like I said, I’m not going back to the sergeant. Feel free to bump into me sometime at the bar. I got a lot of things to drink off. I might even keep a stool free for you.”

Orion watched the human stroll off as if this knowledge was to be cast aside, that it didn’t bother him in the slightest.

Whether he liked it or not, though, Orion was stuck in Markov. If something posed a threat to the city, it posed a threat to him.

He hoisted the green unit onto his shoulder and gently lifted into the air, heading back to Hanger 12.