Rose’s stomach turned as she took the sudden right turn, her laser beam primed. Dirt went flying as Luyten V’s heels dug deep furrows in the ground. She adjusted the targeting computer, her fingers blurring as she made lightning-quick adjustments.
“Fire.” The beam lanced from Luyten V’s forehead gem, the target bursting into flames as her attack struck it dead on. With a quick adjustment to the targeting computer, the drone sneaking up behind her exploded.
“Phew.” Her console reported all targets neutralized. Rose wiped away the sweat on her forehead. Her mind felt sluggish, exhausted by the demands of the training.
“Nice work, Rose,” Sandage said, pleased. “That’s enough for tonight.”
“How did I do?” Rose asked as Luyten V’s tentacles deposited her on the warehouse floor.
“All thirty targets destroyed with a 67 percent accuracy rate. Well done,” Sandage said, checking his tablet.
“I just hope it’ll be enough.” They’d run this obstacle course for over four hours today, with each subsequent obstacle becoming more difficult. She accepted the water bottle a tech person offered her.
“I know,” Sandage said, his tone solemn. “But I have some good news. We’re ready to attach the enhancement I told you about.”
“For Project: Bird Bath? Will it actually do anything?” Rose asked. Like any military in a monster movie, their efforts hadn’t been very effective.
“That’s why we’re testing it,” Sandage replied. “Gold is confident in its success. Though the Altair structure is odd and doesn’t comply with what science currently knows about biology.”
From what Rose understood, the structure of the Altair that came with Luyten V and the scout that attacked Washington, D.C., were different. This made developing a counteragent challenging, though Doctor von Fraunhofer had promised they’d made some major breakthrough in understanding the Altair. They’d just have to pray their efforts would be good enough. Only two days remained until the fated day of Okab’s attack.
“I want some ice cream or something,” Rose complained. With all this stress and uncertainty, she deserved a treat, darn it all!
This earned a smile from Sandage. “Sure, my treat. There’s a place on Main, right? I think they should still be open.”
---
“How are you holding up?” Sandage asked as they picked at their ice cream. Rose had taken two scoops of strawberry and mint, while Sandage had cotton candy and cookies and cream. Gauss got his own ice cream too, but he’d gotten a chocolate malt instead.
“Holding,” Rose replied, though it wasn’t hard to detect the stress in her voice.
“That’s good,” Sandage said, not pushing the issue. With Okab’s attack imminent, he knew his charge was under a great deal of pressure. Rose herself wasn’t sure. “Strained” was the best way to describe it, she supposed.
They licked their treats in silence before she finally spoke. “How’s Brown doing?”
“His hospital stay ended two days ago. He’s staying with his sister while he recovers. She lives close by. Though it’ll be weeks until he returns to duty.”
“Good. I miss him.” While Gauss was nice enough, he wasn’t the same as Brown’s calm, protective presence. Pity there wasn’t time to visit him. If she survived the next few days, she’d insist on seeing him.
A sudden flash in her memory reminded her of something: Stella was doing a karaoke stream tonight in about five minutes. Rose opened her mouth to ask to be brought home, but she closed it. While part of her wanted to rush off to watch her favorite VTuber, she couldn’t leave Sandage hanging. Besides, it was only one stream. She’d watch the VOD later.
“Besides, Stella doesn’t even know I exist, really.” Rose thought. And the occasional Superchat didn’t change that. But Sandage and Gauss—they were real, tangible. With danger lurking nearby, she’d rather hang out with real people.
“Is something the matter?” Sandage asked.
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“Don’t worry about it,” Rose replied. “Thinking about it, what did you do before this Altair nonsense? If it’s not super classified, of course.”
“The truth? My life wasn’t all that exciting. I mostly did intelligence work. Helped local police solve certain crimes, that sort of thing.”
Rose’s eyes lit up with interest. “Like hunt down serial killers?”
Sandage released an amused snort. “Someone’s been listening to too many true-crime podcasts.”
This earned a blush from Rose. “Well, no. But Vera loves talking about them. And weird cults. I have no clue why she finds them so fascinating.”
They joked and talked, and Rose relaxed. She found it nice to learn how ordinary Sandage was, and how they had both gotten thrust into this craziness. As they spoke, a call interrupted their conversation.
“Sorry, Rose, but I need to answer this.” Sandage turned away to address his phone. Rose shrugged and tossed away the bowl she’d used for her ice cream. Her curiosity peaked as Sandage became more excited.
“What’s going on?” Rose asked.
“Finally, some good news!” Sandage said, alight with happiness.
“Don’t keep me in suspense. What is it?”
Sandage lowered his voice to a whisper. “Luyten V’s new weapon is close to completion. They pushed ahead the schedule, and it should be ready for testing tomorrow.”
“Perfect!” Still, the device was only a prototype. How it performed in the field remained to be seen. Still, she’d take any good news. “We should get another ice cream to celebrate!”
---
“Careless.” Okab shook his head, amused at how his prey seemed oblivious to the danger lurking amongst them. Rose and a big man were sharing some treat in a shop, talking and laughing amongst themselves. Okab got closer, straining his ears to eavesdrop on their conversation. He was careful to remain casual. Another big man was keeping an eye out for trouble, trained to spot danger.
“Typical human chatter,” Okab said, annoyed. Why didn’t humans talk about anything interesting? They would rather babble about nothing. Were they completely ignoring the threat he posed? Rose appeared too relaxed for someone with the cloud of danger hanging over her head.
“Humans.” Okab rolled his eyes. Still, he didn’t move to attack. Police and military had increased their presence in the city, prepared for any trouble. There wasn’t any guarantee he’d destroy Rose before they intervened and she escaped. Besides, despite his fellow general’s impatience, Okab wasn’t in any hurry to attack. Part of him was curious about what defenses the humans might devise to counteract him.
“What a frivolous girl,” Though Okab, he’d observed most girls her age acted that way. It amazed him how human children seemed oblivious to the troubles of their world, living in a naïve fantasy. He turned to leave when a snippet of conversation caught his ear.
“Luyten V’s new weapon is close to completion. They pushed ahead the schedule, and it should be ready for testing tomorrow,” the big man said. He’d spoken low enough that none of the nearby humans should hear him. However, he hadn’t counted on Okab’s keen senses.
Okab walked away, a pep in his step. A new weapon? Fascinating! And they were testing it tomorrow? A grin stretched across his disguised face. How about he gave them a true field test tomorrow? While Okab was patient, he wasn’t that patient. No point playing around any longer if this weapon didn’t turn the tide.
---
Rose adjusted her controls, aligning everything properly for when they attached Luyten V’s new weapon. The action took little effort, her fingers working automatically. While Rose wanted to claim it was due to the heavy-duty training she’d undergone, it was more like the pair of them had gained a symbiotic link. She was at ease in Luyten V’s cockpit, perceiving it as an extension of her body rather than a mechanical device.
Since they’d started her training in earnest, Rose had developed a stronger connection to Luyten V. It had only taken a simple mental command to summon it to her side and pull her into the cockpit. She wondered if she could summon it from across town? It flared her curiosity about how their mental link worked. Was it because Luyten V recognized her DNA, or some other connection? Even after weeks of study, the scientists barely understood how their link worked.
“Sometimes I wonder if you’re really even a robot,” Rose mused.
“Sorry?” Sandage asked.
“Nothing. I’m ready on my end,” Rose replied. “You can show the surprise already—stop keeping me in suspense!” The fact her new weapon had come in a vision from Cecilia’s mysterious Altair Records only heightened her curiosity. The girl in question observed from the sidelines, eager to see the fruit of her efforts.
Thick metal straps fell from a sheet-covered object the length of Luyten V’s arm. Sandage watched on like a proud parent, guiding the techs’ efforts from his position on a nearby catwalk.
“Oh,” Rose exclaimed as techs pulled the sheet from the device, its red surface glimmering with fresh paint. This wasn’t what she’d expected.
“Attaching Luyten V’s Devil Drill,” Sandage said.
Cranes lifted the device from the cement floor with cables thicker than Rose’s entire body. They strained under the weight but held firm. They lifted it up to Luyten V’s left arm, fastening it onto the appendage with an audible thud. Through her control stick, Rose sensed the added weight. She stared at her new weapon, marveling. The arm extended past Luyten V’s hand into a drill head longer than a basketball court. The jagged edges of the blade were sharp, ending with a wicked-looking three-prong edge.
“Devil Drill?” Rose said, raising an amused eyebrow.
Through her comm, she heard Sandage’s shrug. “The Luyten V has earned the nickname Red Devil. It seemed appropriate.”
“A drill, though?” Still, she marveled at its power as she activated the device, whirling at speeds that would make a tornado blush. It would do some serious damage if it connected with an enemy.
“Okay, it wasn’t designed as a weapon exactly. But it works against the Altair’s healing factor—much more effective than any cut or blunt trauma,” Sandage replied.
“It’s cool.” She waved around the new add-on, getting used to its added weight. The left arm was an interesting choice, it wouldn’t interfere with Luyten V’s Dynaspike, her most powerful weapon.
“I’m glad you like it. We’ll attach the Project: Birdbath prototype next, but first it requires some fine-tuning. That can wait, though. Let’s do some combat drills with the Devil Drill first—pardon the pun,” Sandage said. “First, we’ll test its penetrative power.”
Before Rose could reply, Luyten V rocked as the entire building shook. She adjusted Luyten V’s controls, keeping its balance. “What’s going on?” The building rumbled again, the sound of screeching metal echoing painfully. Was something trying to tear the hangar apart?
“It can’t be! Why here? Why now?” Cecilia said fretfully, her visage going pale.
“We’re under attack!” an operator said as she studied her monitor.
“What?!” Sandage said in alarm. “He can’t be attacking now! Why?”
To answer the LUVOLT agent’s worst fears, a section of the hangar’s ceiling tore away to reveal the nightmarish visage of Okab’s monstrous face. With a rumbling thud, he leaped from the roof, almost crushing several techs as they scurried away. With his towering height, Okab’s head scraped against the hangar ceiling as he lumbered forward.
“Perfect. It seems you’re already ready to begin,” Okab said, his monstrous mouth extending into a terrifying grin. “Let’s test that new toy of yours!” Not even finishing his sentence, the Altair general slashed out with an extended claw.