Rose’s lungs burned as she puffed, hating her life. But her bodyguard pushed her onwards, egging her forward with insults and encouragement. Nothing for it, and Rose increased her pace. Brown had promised they’d only run another mile, so she took heart in that knowledge.
“And done,” Brown said as they passed a sign marking the final goalpost. She collapsed to the paved sidewalk, heaving for breath. A gentle wind flew through her sweaty hair, pure bliss after the torment she’d suffered.
Her bodyguard examined a watch. “Not bad. You did better than last time. Good work.”
“Thanks,” though she gave Brown the stink eye that the bodyguard patently ignored. She dragged herself over to a bench, concentrating on not throwing up. Her legs were relieved to be given a brief respite. Rose still hadn’t completed her training for the day. Her bodyguard joined her, basking in the lovely, cool morning. He passed her a water bottle, and a drop slipped past her cheek as Rose gulped it down gratefully.
Despite her exhaustion, Rose was enjoying the scenery. Since she was little, she’d always loved coming to this park, captivated by the towering, majestic trees. While they’d shrunk since then, Rose still loved being around nature. Green had always been her favorite color.
“Oh, what are you doing up this early?” A familiar voice. A chorus of barking followed his voice, and Rose glanced up.
“Hans?” Rose glanced up in surprise to see her schoolmate holding a dozen leashes. Each dog yipped and barked, tugging at their master in their excitement to meet this new person. They were a myriad of breeds of various sizes. A chihuahua barked the loudest, eager to be heard over its fellows.
“Hey,” Each dog leaped and barked, tugging hard at their leashes, but Hans remained firm, his face impassive.
“That’s a lot of dogs.” Rose headed counted fifteen dogs. “Do you do a dog walking service?”
“No, these are my own dogs,” Hans replied, nonplussed.
“Eh?” She laughed as the dogs licked at her, eager for attention. Rose made sure each pup got the equal amounts of pets. Brown smiled but kept a respectful distance. “I didn’t know you liked dogs.”
But her classmate only shrugged. “We have a large yard.” He called a command, and the dogs went to attention, pulling away from Rose. “If you would excuse me.”
Rose watched as Hans ran off with his hoard of dogs, mystified. “Huh.”
“Nice kid,” Brown said.
“Not really.” Still, it surprised Rose she didn’t know about Hans’ love for dogs, despite knowing him almost her entire life.
“Hmm,” Brown gave her a smile she didn’t like. Was he insinuating something?
“Don’t even think about something so gross,” Rose departed from the bench and stomped away. She didn’t even like boys her age. They were so immature.
---
“Well, what do you think?” Sandage shot the girl in the cockpit an expectant look. If this worked as expected, they’d have a trump card in the upcoming war.
“Ugh,” Cecilia fiddled with the controls, her arms shifting around levers. Everyone in the hangar waited with bated breath, only to sigh in disappointment as Luyten V refused to budge. After another three attempts, they surrendered to the truth. The giant robot only responded to Rosemary Brahe’s commands. Sandage fought back a curse, but this didn’t surprise him.
“Well, dang,” Gamow kicked a nearby console in disappointment. “I thought I had it fooled this time!”
“Sorry,” Cecilia said, jumping from the cockpit to the waiting floor below. “I thought your theory about my unique brain chemistry was sound.”
Sandage released an audible sigh. “It was worth a shot.” Since the clone girl’s augmented brain was unlike anyone else’s, they’d hoped its qualities would confuse the Luyten V recognition system.
“Now we have to throw Rose into battle,” Sandage clenched a fist, his palm going white.
“My future predictions aren’t always right,” Cecilia hurried to say. “It’s just a snapshot of a possible future. Heck, we might not even be interpreting it right!”
“Maybe,” but Sandage wasn’t happy with that answer.
“What is this future you see, anyway?” Gamow spun around in his chair, stopping himself to face Cecilia. “You haven’t exactly been clear about that. And do you see anything else?” The hacker’s grin suddenly broadened. “Like any hot babes in my future?”
This inane comment earned a smile from the clone girl. “Just bits and pieces. I can’t really control what I get. Recent events are easier to receive. As for what might happen to Rose?” The girl’s expression turned troubled. She paused, trying to gather the right words.
“I saw Rose in Luyten V’s cockpit. It was a ruined mess, nothing but a pit of twisted metal. Rose was slumped in her seat. A tentacle had pierced through Luyten V’s armor plating and Rose’s chest.” The girl quivered, tears gathering at the corner of her eyes. “She wasn’t breathing, pale as a corpse. Purple blemishes had spread across her body, the Altair infection already taking root.”
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“Well… shoot,” The hacker wanted to use stronger, but more coarse language, but Cecilia’s presence stopped him. He opened his mouth to say something optimistic but closed it again. For once, Gamow was lost for words.
Sandage only scowled, hating how Rose faced the same doom as her future self. It wasn’t fair. “There must be something!”
“I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful,” Cecilia hung her head. “That’s the only clear future image I’ve gotten. The others are difficult and beyond cryptic.” She mentioned another future memory, but it only involved an empty airplane hangar. The only distinguishing feature was a unique model of plane she’d never seen before. Cecilia explained most of her future visions were like that, vague images.
“Rose. I’m sorry,” Sandage hung his head, frustrated by his helplessness to stop this future. Worse, they weren’t ever certain when the event would happen. A silence hung over the room. But then an idea struck him.
“Okay, scrap that. What can you tell us about the Luyten V itself?” Sandage said, pivoting the conversation.
“You have an idea, boss?” Gamow asked.
“You have access to knowledge across history, right?” Sandage said. “There must be something you can find. Much about Luyten V’s functions still remains a mystery.”
Cecilia floundered for a second before gathering her thoughts. “Well, let’s see.” She closed her eyes, and the room watched silently as the girl concentrated. Even the scientists had stopped their work to watch the scene.
But the cloned girl’s face only twisted in frustration before sighing and shaking her head. “Sorry, I can’t get anything. I can’t just pick whatever I want from the Akashic Record. It’s more like its knowledge leaks into me.”
“How useful,” Gamow snorted, turning away in disinterest to play on his phone.
No wonder the scientists who created her considered her ultimately a failure. They’d tried squeezing useful knowledge out of her, usually lotto numbers or sports predictions, to no avail. But Sandage didn’t lose heart. His gut told him she'd been given this knowledge for a reason.
He gave the girl a reassuring smile. “Anything. It doesn’t matter if it seems unimportant.”
“Okay, but I’m not sure knowing how Luyten V’s fueling system works will help much,” Cecilia said, giving a weak smile.
“No, I think it just might. Write down whatever you remember.” Sandage handed over a notepad, eyes sparkling. These diagrams might have a greater impact than the girl realized. It was a good step forward to developing their own Luyten V.
“Okay?” Cecilia shrugged and scribbled down impressively detailed semantics, her line work clean and neat. She included not only its systems, but notes about how each piece worked.
Sandage flinched, his head hurting as he failed to understand the tech. It amazed him Cecilia kept such knowledge in her head. “Do you understand any of that?” He asked as she passed the notepad over.
“Not really. It’s all an alien language to me.” She giggled before taking another piece of paper. The script was curly, with exaggerated hooks on most characters, yet its elegance flowed past the page. She beamed as she showed it to them. “Alien language.”
“Are you for real?” Sandage asked, scratching his head as he tried to decipher what he was reading.
“Or it might be some future language. I’m not sure. But it being alien sounds cooler,” the girl replied.
“What does it say?”
“Not sure about that either,” Cecilia admitted. “It’s probably gibberish.”
“Again, like I said, useless,” Gamow snorted. “It’s like trying to read a cipher without the key. Why do we even bother with her?”
This comment raised the engineered girl’s hackles. While her ability was unwieldy, she wouldn’t stand to hear it insulted. Cecilia stuck her tongue out at the man who’d dismissed her. Furious, she scribbled other things on a notepad. Sandage marveled at the increased complexity of each diagram, the corners filled with random notes and comments.
It didn’t take the girl long to fill an entire notebook full of technical doodads. She beamed, pleased with herself. “The Luyten V’s coolant system, the pistons in its limbs, and how its vision works.”
“Impressive.” They had Luyten V’s blueprints, but these diagrams and notes would help. “Good work.”
“Thanks,” Cecilia said, giving a soft smile. “Even if I can’t pilot the Luyten V, I can still help in other ways.”
Gamow gave him a thumbs up and leaned over to whisper to him. “Worked like a charm. Women hate being dismissed.”
Sandage rolled his eyes but smiled. It was progress. While small, any bit helped. He’d take any step forward.
---
“Well darn it,” Walter cursed, almost throwing his phone away in frustration. He’d already paid too much for these accursed tickets. “There isn’t anyone else who can stand in for you?”
“Sorry, Hun. But Jeff’s on vacation, remember?” Nancy replied, her voice consolatory. It did little to placate Walter’s ill temper. They’d planned for weeks to go to this show. He’d forked out hundreds of dollars for the best seats, only for this to happen! Of all the rotten luck!
Ugly words almost bubbled out of his mouth, but he forced back his temper. It’d already cost him four girlfriends. Instead, he followed his therapist’s advice and inhaled a calming breath. Walter forced a smile Nancy couldn’t see.
“It’s fine. There’s always next time. We’ll catch them when Terror Peak tours again next year.”
“Sorry again,” Nancy said, her voice hurried but still apologetic. “Need to go. Call you tonight?”
Before he could reply, his girlfriend had already hung up. “Great.” Walter kicked a nearby trashcan, almost toppling it over. “Now what?”
He was tempted to see the show alone, but Walker didn’t have the energy, like a sailboat who’d lost the wind. Instead, he took a stroll through a nearby park. It’d be the one his last girlfriend, Trish, had always loved. They were welcoming but bittersweet memories. Trish was married now with a kid coming soon. No chance they’d even get together again. Pity, she’d had a dazzling smile. Still, he was happy for her.
“You know what’d be nice now? Ice cream.” There was a seller nearby by the lake. He’d sworn he’d tone down his sugar intake this year, but this was an emergency. Walter promised he’d do better tomorrow.
The night sky was cloudless, giving him a lovely view of the stars as Walter trekked through the park. It made him sad that he couldn’t enjoy the scenery with Nancy. A sudden rustling froze Walter in his tracks.
Walter peered around for the source of the disturbance in sudden alarm. For whatever reason, his hackles had risen. His heart sped like a race car when he failed to find the source of the sound.
“Whatever. It was probably just a squirrel.” He told himself trying to calm down, still he hastened his steps towards the park’s exit.
“There it is again!” Another rustle, but in the opposite direction. Walter caught a bush rustling to his right. While slight, he heard clicking sounds coming from an indeterminate source. Unsettled, Walter increased his pace, a palpable dread forming in his chest.
The clicking sound got closer, its source coming right behind his ear. But when he glanced behind him, he found nothing but an empty park. Walter was running now, only wanting to escape whatever was chasing him. But his foot caught on an uneven sidewalk slab. Pain erupted on his forehead as he collided with hard pavement.
“Gah.” But Walter ignored the pain, rising into a run. But a shape stopped him, petrifying him in terror. He opened his mouth to scream, but that’s been his last mistake.
A rancid taste filled his mouth, his chest burning as the creature poured into him. Walter’s eyes widened in horror as his chest expanded like something was filling him with air. The pain was unimaginable as the purple goop filled him to the brim and his body expanded into a ball. His mind shattered as the pain and terror drove him over the edge. It was a mercy when he finally popped.
---
Fingers flexed as Okab the Terminator adjusted to his new form. He’d need it to blend in with this world’s inhabitants. Yes, this form would do him nicely for his upcoming mission. The Grand Intelligence wanted this universe, and Okab wouldn’t fail.
He glanced down at the remains of the face he’d stolen. With the human's DNA, Okab had become a perfect copy, indistinguishable from the original. Every freckle or blemish across his skin was a perfect match.
In truth, he'd only needed a hair sample to enable his disguise, but this way had been more entertaining. These humans were such pitifully fragile creatures, yet dangerous, Okab knew. The Red Devil was a problem. The Grand Intelligence wanted it eliminated before the invasion happened in earnest.
But that shouldn’t be a concern. The Red Devil was only a creature of metal, piloted by one of these puny humans. Finding and destroying them should be easy. It’d save him a needless fight with the Red Devil. No, killing the pilot was the easiest solution.
After another glance at the mangled remains of his handiwork earned a smile before Okab went serious again. There wasn’t time to dawdle. The hunt had begun.