Scattered Suns - Kevin J. Anderson [137]
“Go, go!” she cried, but it was already too late.
Over the comm system, Cesca could hear shouts and the deadly scraping sounds. “They’ve torn out the engines. I can’t move. Hull breach imminent—”
Now that it was covered by Klikiss robots, Cesca could hardly discern the grazer. Suddenly, a gout of steam spilled into the freezing obsidian sky, venting air from inside the vehicle like a dying man’s last breath.
In the seat beside her, Purcell was shaking. A tear ran down one of his cheeks. Cesca wanted to scream, to explode, to help somehow. With her gloved hand, she pounded the metal wall of the grazer as if pummeling one of the robots. She stopped herself when her knuckles were smashed and bruised. “Damn it!” Hot tears burned her eyes.
No further communication came from the two would-be rescuers. Her stomach roiled with anger and grief. Cesca felt as if she would melt down with sadness for the slain Roamers and her total, impossible frustration at being unable to do anything to help. Beside her, Purcell shivered uncontrollably.
Like piranhas chewing every scrap of flesh from a carcass, the robot army continued to cut and dismantle the vehicle, ripping it to pieces and scattering the debris across the virgin snow. When nothing remained but a pile of processed metals and steaming residue, the Klikiss robots formed ranks again and continued marching.
Moaning, Purcell looked at Cesca as if she could solve the problem. “What could they want? They didn’t ask for anything! Didn’t issue any threats or warnings—they just went on a rampage.”
Even on such a frigid planet, the tears felt like boiling water poised in her eyes. “Their main objective is to destroy, but I don’t know why. You saw the size of that army—what plans can they have here on Jonah 12?” She paused as a possibility struck her. “What if they intend to leave and go on the rampage elsewhere?”
“To do that, they’d need ships, Speaker.”
“They got here somehow. Maybe they’ll leave the same way. Or maybe they’ll build new ships, using any equipment and components they can find.”
Purcell’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and his face turned grayer. He looked as if he might pass out from the weight of his realization. “That’s probably why they’re heading to the base! Think of all the equipment, components, and raw materials we’ve got.”
With angry, staccato movements, Cesca changed the frequency on the comm system, alarmed to see how low the battery’s power levels had fallen. “We’ve got to warn the main base. I don’t know how much longer this transmitter will work, but they don’t dare send somebody else after us. They’ve got to protect themselves.”
Purcell gulped. “But what about us? Even locked down and conserving energy, we can’t survive out here for more than another day or two. It’s already—”
She shot him a sharp look. “I don’t know how fast those Klikiss robots can move across the open terrain, but they’ll reach the base long before that. They’ve been marching for a full day already.”
Conserving power, she transmitted a rushed description of what they had just witnessed. The base comm operator’s staticky image looked harried. “Shizz, if those robots are coming our way, Speaker—any advice on what we’re supposed to do about it? We’re a mining facility. We don’t have any weapons.”
“Better take the available ships and evacuate as many people as possible.”
“Ships? Speaker, we sent them all out to take messages to any of the clans they could find. It’s only been a few days and none of them has returned yet.”
Cesca’s own decision to spread the news had eliminated their best chance! Back then, she had thought the EDF attack was their greatest concern. But there had to be some other way. “You’re Roamers—try something! Seal the dome hatches and barricade yourselves for the time being.” She looked to the engineering administrator beside her, but he was shaking his head.
“They just tore through the grazer like it was tissue paper. If they really want to get into the