Chapter Twenty-Three
The Attack
Tuesday 20, 3.25AM. 125 S.A.
3rd Station of Pyrene-F. Grenoble, Isère. France.
[You know what to do right? Don't fight more than necessary or your boss will kill me,] Janus' voice said.
"I know, unlike these pathetic guys you hired, I know how to do my job. Wilco. Over, and out," said the feminine voice. The woman was hidden in the gloom of the trees and accompanied by more than forty humanoid forms waiting for her command.
The first explosion in the hangar lit up the night sky and silenced the screeching insects. It was followed by the ship next to it and then by the two ships inside the hangar.
The alarm had sounded.
Those explosions were more than enough to be heard throughout the territory, and it was most likely that in several of the houses, and buildings, located at the foot of the hill several people had been awakened by the sounds.
But that did not matter to the girl. Everything would be quick and was going as planned. Of course, none of it would be happening if those two hadn't been captured in the first place. That was extra work she had to do.
First she had to send the beetles through the perimeter. Then one of them took charge of lowering the base's defenses, while the others would strategically position themselves on different floors to cause commotion among the personnel in the station.
While that was happening, she had crossed the perimeter with her companions. Since the beetle that would be in charge of lowering the defenses, and fooling the security systems, had entered a series of commands, so that the system would ignore the perimeter breach first.
Amidst all the confusion, she would have to carry out her mission of distraction.
[Extraction operation, start!] said the girl through her Neurowire to the shadowy forms accompanying her.
At her command, the shadows emerged from the trees. They were all matte black tactical droids. The only coloration seemed to come from a thin blue horizontal line on their oval heads devoid of facial features. Despite their humanoid form, they had a very slender torso, which contrasted with their broader arms and legs. Each one on their back seemed to carry a device attached to their spines, similar to a jet pack, but with a more minimalist design and devoid of nozzles like the old models. Although the matte black color predominated, there were black metal parts that had a more metallic sheen, such as the chest plate area and parts of the forearm and forearm. None of them seemed to carry any weapons with them.
But it wasn't as if they needed them.
***
Pyrene was an organization that covered the jurisdiction of five countries within the European Union. Spain, France, Italy, Taured and Switzerland. Although it had a large infrastructure it could not be compared to Nevermore, with whom it shared jurisdiction, but its infrastructure was very efficient. It had two main bases on French territory and five stations.
The Grenoble station had a staff of forty-five people, of which twenty were from four FRT teams, and the rest were two people from administration and control, one from logistics, three from the main medical wing and two nurse technicians. Two people were responsible for the mechanical wing and the others were divided between maintenance, security, cafeteria and lunch area and counseling, flight control and communications. Many of the tasks were also automated and AI-supported, so not too many personnel were required on site.
The agents for special operations on station at the time, counting Ignis and Enfer, were five, two fey, two human and one agent from the intelligence wing, which was an aeon.
The FRT teams were at that moment in another place, because they had been gathered to collaborate in a sanitary task that had been discovered a few hours ago, but that seemed that it could give big problems if it was not stopped in time. There should be work for two or three days for sure.
So that night on site the group at the station was small.
Only a few people were up at that hour and most of them were in the room where the Deep-Dive was taking place. Despite this, the system's alarms were almost unnecessary, because at the first explosion everyone was out of bed.
Ignis and Enfer had rushed out of the room towards the control center, while Dr. Barbier had run to one of the emergency evacuation zones.
Who could be crazy enough to attack a station, even with a reduced staff?
Explosives had been used and that was at a level far beyond what was expected. Never, in its eighty year history, had a Pyrene Station been attacked in such a way. At most electronic espionage and attempts to steal information, but that was commonplace and the Intelligence and Counterintelligence division dealt with it. Like Nevermore, espionage was part of the diplomatic game between agencies and governments.
But a deliberate attack was a different thing. There had never been such a thing on a base in Pyrene.
They had attacked the transport part of the hangar first. That could be a deliberate attack against the fey since, in case of emergency, they could not use teleportation mechanisms due to a strange side effect of their condition as a species, unless it was a fey that had the ability to teleport. The humans could flee, the aeon could move their consciousness to the hive mind and leave their bodies behind, but the fey would have to stay behind.
Ignis and Enfer had reached the control center two floors up, dodging debris falling from the ceiling and amidst a cloud of dust and mud, as the fire sprinklers had been activated. The Administration Commander and Logistics Director were already standing there looking at the situation on the terminals with an expression of fury and confusion at the same time. The attack on the building had been a chain attack, starting from the outside in and moving up each floor as if a snake had coiled around the structure and was threatening to crush it.
The two building security personnel were currently in another locked room in one of the adjoining buildings and, from there, they were sending reports from the systems in the rest of the building to central control.
The building material and structure was of optimum quality and ordinary explosives would not have produced any damage. A special type of explosives would have had to be used to damage the structure of the complex.
"What the hell happened?!" Ignis asked.
"We have a Leech-tap." Said the logistics manager, looking at the screen with the different cameras in the building, while on his Neurowire he passed review to the structure of the main building. "I don't understand how the station's force shield failed. Something or someone must have intervened from outside to lower the shield and make it look like it was still up."
"'We've got a vampire in the security?"
"It looks like it, the explosion on the first floor cut off access to the barrier control room and power. We're running auxiliary now and I'm directing it to building three, to evacuate through the portal to the police at Fort La Bastille."
The base was in chaos. Alarms echoed through the corridors, announcing the imminent danger lurking around every corner. Explosions had devastated several parts of the facility, leaving debris and smoke in their wake. The small electronic security team was on high alert, trying to contain the still unseen threat, but something was amiss.
A technician rushed in, his face marked by stress.
"Commander, we have detected several anomalies in the security system! The force shield levels are still activated, but in reality they are down to near minimum. It's as if someone is cheating the system through the Leech-tap."
"How is it possible that they managed to infiltrate and disable our shields without being detected?"
"We don't know for sure, but it looks like they are using some kind of heuristic disguise to fool our security algorithms. It's as if they know exactly how to bypass our protocols."
The commander frowned, his mind working at full speed to come up with a solution.
The logistics director, meanwhile, imparted his orders. "We need to make sure the base is secured. Order all mechanized security teams to prepare to defend critical areas. I want them to thoroughly search every nook and cranny of this facility for any infiltrators. In the meantime have all non-essential personnel evacuated to La Bastille. Have communications evacuate as well, IA just took control with the activation of the emergency protocol." The technician nodded and left the control room, transmitting the orders through his Neurowire.
"You two," the commander said, turning to Enfer and Ignis, "you know what to do."
Enfer and Ignis would have to personally search for the source of all the chaos, if the enemy was really there. Without waiting for further orders, they both left the room.
In the control room the two men remained, their faces reflecting a mixture of tension and determination as they supervised the efforts to contain the threat that loomed over them.
Several screens had been displayed and through them the AI was looking for patterns, in an attempt to find the source of the attack. Those images only made the two men angrier as they saw how the facility was in shambles. In all their years the most dangerous thing the station had seen was an invasion of giant mosquitoes, more than three decades ago, during an incident with an DE. But they could never imagine that something like that could happen in front of their eyes.
The floors of the main building had been attacked and the station's shield had been lowered to the minimum. The two special agents and the aeon, along with Enfer and Ignis, at the base would not be enough to contain an attack of major proportions even with the help of mechanized security. If this turned into a larger scale attack. Both men did not believe it possible, an attack would have to be carried out with minimum personnel and this had to be a distraction technique to make believe that it was bigger than it seemed.
The first three agents were assisting in the evacuation of personnel to the teleport portal. Almost everyone was assembled, but there was a problem. The two medical wing technicians, with the two criminal bodies still in a drowsy state, would be delayed. On the other hand, there was one more problem.
Stan had a substance in his body that would not allow teleportation, because the source of the parasite in his body was a type of fey organism. Chances were that if they tried to put him in the portal his body would be destroyed.
All that was left was to move them close to the portal and close the massive security doors in the hope that the personnel at the base could discover the attacker.
In the control center the men were still sending orders as they watched the mechanized equipment on the ceilings of each floor activate. Due to the explosions, many of them must have been damaged, because on the screens showing the grid of the different systems, several appeared offline and out of service.
Even so, there must have been enough equipment to counter a small attack. The equipment outside the base, with the canines monitoring the perimeter, had been deactivated at some point, so they would only have to reckon that the enemy was already inside the terrain.
They continued to watch the screens, which showed the destruction of the site, but the image quickly changed when they saw that, through the holes caused by the explosions, something else was entering the base.
Black tactical droids were entering through all of them and were scattering all over the place.
Their hearts sank in their chests, when they saw how the army of droids were making their way through the rubble and many of them were gliding through the air, thanks to the jet-packs placed on their backs.
"What the hell are those things?!" the commander said in astonishment.
"Damn it! This can't be happening" the worst fears were reflected on those screens. The shield with minimal security would have let them pass as if it were a family picnic.
"They have outnumbered us and knew our weaknesses perfectly well. We must act quickly and coordinate our efforts with the security personnel we have."
The commander nodded, his mind quickly analyzing the options available in that critical situation. [Call in all remaining intelligent security teams in, the weapons room and any special agents we have available to protect the personnel in the teleport chamber. We need to form a strong and efficient defense to contain the enemy.]
The director activated his Neurowire and relayed the order through internal communication channels. In no time, the automatized security teams and the special agents were prepared at the various points they were located.
There would be no time for a group attack. Those droids were entering through all the gaps opened by the explosions. At the same time he sent a distress signal to the other bases, but he had just realized that the security channel was blocked. The security channel linked for emergency calls between the bases, if it was blocked he would not be able to call for reinforcements. Calling in police and military personnel in the vicinity involved teleporting unauthorized personnel as backup via quantum link.
Although there was an emergency protocol, they were battling against tactical droids whose numbers were unknown. That could well end up involving more victims if reinforcements were called in without knowing the enemy's capabilities. Not to mention that the communications blockade could be exerting some influence on the teleportation system. Nothing ensured that in the middle of a teleport the enemy would close the channels, killing everyone at the moment of teleportation, turning everyone into a salad of molecular minced meat. They would still have to take their chances and evacuate the least necessary personnel. The teleport door to the Bastille was nearby and there should be no problem moving personnel a short distance.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
The Commander spoke to everyone on the base. [We have an enemy on the premises, but we cannot allow them to take control of our facilities. To the agents, remember your training and trust your abilities. We are outnumbered, but try to hold them off while the evacuation process is over.]
The lights in the base flickered and the sound of explosions intensified as the invading droids advanced relentlessly. Security personnel and the few special agents positioned themselves strategically, ready to engage their enemy. Smoke filled the corridors as explosions and gunfire began to echo through the air.
The mechanized defense systems had begun the counterattack against the droids, firing heavy ammunition. Never had so many weapons been fired inside the facility. Each of them faced multiple droids, but the droids maneuvered through the ruins of the building and using their surroundings to their advantage were able to take cover with ease. Despite this, however, much of the ammunition bounced off their metal bodies.
However, beyond that, their speed of movement was terrifying, using their legs to jump, as well as their jet-packs to propel themselves and attack the mechanized systems with their bare hands, putting them out of combat with ease.
While that was happening, on another floor, Enfer and Ignis' fight against the new enemy had begun as well. It had surprised them both when they were running through a corridor among the rubble and suddenly they heard a buzzing sound cutting through the air. The next moment they saw blue flashes approaching and the black-bodied droids bursting out of the smoke as if they were ghosts.
But there was something else that came out of the smoke behind the droids and that contrasted with the others. In the control room the two men also saw this and were stunned to see the figure.
At first they all thought it was some kind of droid in a white tactical suit, but that changed when the figure came out of the smoke, showing itself for what it was.
"What the hell is that?" Enfer asked.
It was a female humanoid figure just over 160 centimeters tall. Almost pure snow white, with the exception of a few tiny dark patterns.
Of slender appearance, the figure was covered from the feet to the face with a kind of white suit that looked almost like an armor, completely adjusted to her body, and that did nothing more than suggest her anatomical form of ample bust and wide hips with slender and well-turned legs. Her face was covered by a mask of the same white color that completely covered even her ears. With the exception of short pink hair, she almost looked completely white.
The design of that armor suit looked like it was somewhere between organic and metallic at the same time. It appeared that the armor suit had a series of bas-relief grooves in its design that followed interlocking, stylized knot patterns from her feet to her mask. From her hands and feet peeked out some sort of short red claws.
There was not much time to admire the figure, because the next moment she and the droids launched an attack against Ignis and Enfer.
https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/42dd80f9-5ac6-42d5-8ccc-bcea020b6152/dg9t26d-68930c3a-dff5-4d2f-bcc7-56261e726936.jpg/v1/fit/w_828,h_1172,q_70,strp/nevermore_enygma_vol_3_chapter23_by_hasegawakein_dg9t26d-414w-2x.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MTIyOCIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzQyZGQ4MGY5LTVhYzYtNDJkNS04Y2NjLWJjZWEwMjBiNjE1MlwvZGc5dDI2ZC02ODkzMGMzYS1kZmY1LTRkMmYtYmNjNy01NjI2MWU3MjY5MzYuanBnIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTg2OCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.h3txavwXdMWG0oy0noW8kdiGm1TOe9tHFZ7eVyrMib4 [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/42dd80f9-5ac6-42d5-8ccc-bcea020b6152/dg9t26d-68930c3a-dff5-4d2f-bcc7-56261e726936.jpg/v1/fit/w_828,h_1172,q_70,strp/nevermore_enygma_vol_3_chapter23_by_hasegawakein_dg9t26d-414w-2x.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MTIyOCIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzQyZGQ4MGY5LTVhYzYtNDJkNS04Y2NjLWJjZWEwMjBiNjE1MlwvZGc5dDI2ZC02ODkzMGMzYS1kZmY1LTRkMmYtYmNjNy01NjI2MWU3MjY5MzYuanBnIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTg2OCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.h3txavwXdMWG0oy0noW8kdiGm1TOe9tHFZ7eVyrMib4]
***
The evacuation protocol had at least worked at that moment.
In a matter of a couple of minutes, all the civilian, human and fey, personnel had run from their respective rooms to the central chamber of the complex, located on the lower floor that had not been damaged.
That place was the one that had the teleportation device and that worked with an external core to the one that had already been damaged and isolated in the first attack.
That part of the building stood out because of its white marble walls and floor and, due to the auxiliary power sources, the lights were on and did not flicker as in the rest of the complex.
The teleportation chamber was located in the central part of the plant and had been built to be isolated so that, in case of emergency, no one from outside could enter since the control program could be cut from inside or outside and to restore control from either side required the other to relinquish control.
Dr. Barbier, accompanied by the others at the time, was watching the situation through the cameras and, given the orders from the control, had closed the security door of the chamber. He still had to evacuate the two human agents on the other side, the technicians and the two thieves who must still be under the effects of induced sleep. Although he wasn't sure what could happen to the man named Michael Levin/Stan. Of all the people in the room, there was one man with smoke billowing from his scalp, the shop technician who had been near the explosion. He had miraculously escaped from the fire that had engulfed the ships in the inner hangar.
Meanwhile the three agents on the other side of the closed chamber were ready for the fight. The aeon agent, rather octomorphic in appearance and bald, was dressed simply in shorts and did not have a weapon with him. The other two agents were still in their sleeping clothes, but at least they had time to grab their protective vests, assault rifles and swords. They had more weapons configured in a compressed state in the vests but preferred to use those given the enemy's firepower.
The three agents moved into a defensive position, their weapons loaded and their martial skills ready for the confrontation, and it was not long in coming.
They came in a group of six, soaring through the air and landed on the ground.
The droids pounced on them with superhuman speed and precise movements. The agents wasted no time and responded with a combination of accurate gunfire and skillful melee attacks.
One of the droids charged towards the first agent, but the agent nimbly dodged it, spinning in mid-air and launching a spinning kick that knocked the droid to the ground. Meanwhile the second agent engaged two other droids, using an energy katana that sliced through their metal defenses. Despite having sliced off the arm of one, and the leg of the other, they seemed undeterred and their attacks continued.
The aeon agent moved with dexterity, using hand-to-hand combat techniques to fight off three droids and try to neutralize them one by one. His precision and speed were astonishing, leaving the droids dazed and confused at first.
But the next moment their movements changed and transformed into a coordinated three-sided attack without giving him a break. The aeon didn't even blink at that and continued to block the blows. Although, in one maneuver, launching a kick to his right, against the one closest to him, he ignored a circular motion of another on his back.
A blood-red liquid bathed the white marble floor. The droid had pulled a blade from the back of his hand and plunged it into the back of the aeon's neck. It twisted the blade in a mechanical motion and then withdrew it. The agent's body collapsed to the ground as red and then silver liquid began to gush from the synthetic organs.
Unarmed, but endowed with formidable strength, the droids pounced on the agents, who defended themselves with agile and well-coordinated martial techniques. Despite their bravery, the two agents were now outnumbered and the droids quickly disarmed them. Another confrontation ensued, this time the two agents back to back tried to defend themselves as best they could.
The fight was uneven though and was over in less than twenty seconds due to numbers. The agents had been separated and smashed with their chests against the ground by the droids.
Another group of three droids arrived at that moment and headed towards the door but did nothing. They moved their heads, as if they could see through the walls, but did not attempt to open it. After a few seconds, which seemed like forever, they turned their backs to the door.
The droids kept the agents pinned to the ground, but did nothing else. They remained still. It was as if they were waiting for an order from another unknown place. The agents, their eyes defiant, looked for any opportunity to resist and break free. Though they tried in vain, the droids' strength and abilities were relentless.
The tension in the place was palpable, as the droids waited patiently for their next instruction. The silence was broken only by the mechanical whirring of the droids and the gasps of the agents being held hostage.
In the midst of the confrontation, one of the droids emitted a high-pitched tone and the others reacted instantly. They seemed to receive a coded message and, without saying a word, loosened a bit their grip on the two agents but still held them hostage. Although they were still vigilant, their attitude had changed, leaving the agents confused.
The scene seemed suspended in time, and the fates of the two human agents hung in the balance as the droids waited, their heads with that electric blue line making them look like judges and executioners.
Given the fate of the aeon on the ground, they feared that at any moment a sharp blade would pierce the back of their necks.
***
While the chaos and destruction was taking over the place, something else was happening in another of the attacked buildings. Although that one had suffered less damage.
Bullets rang out for a few moments as three droids, flying at full speed, raced through the floors of the building, until they reached the southeast wing where they finally attacked the mechanized defense systems and ripped them off the ceiling, knocking them out of line.
As they landed on the ground they looked at the door on the right.
It was an evidence room.
The room had several industrial shelves that extended to the end of the room. It was a huge room, but it did not correspond to the size it appeared from the outside. It was a space with a spatial widening system.
It was a room with a sterile environment and low temperature where many crucial evidences for the investigations of Dark Events carried out by Pyrene's agents were kept.
Many evidences were then moved, if they were active material that could be used in trials in cases of preternatural crimes, while others could then go to a special ark, if it was a case where there was no perpetrator, but simply a supernatural phenomenon. Many of those objects remained in special industrial containers, or cases with their own locks and shields, while other more mundane and non-dangerous objects could be kept without them.
Inside the evidence room there was a clatter of metal falling to the floor, and the door was cut into four pieces like butter, forming an X. One of the droids retracted the thirty centimeter blade it had generated on the back of its hand and entered the room, while the other two droids remained outside.
The droid inside walked several paces and looked around him, scanning the various shelves and looking through his KK and CRD particle scanning vision at the security systems that guarded the evidence. Although the droid could see thanks to his sensors, what he was looking for was something different that could not be seen with the naked eye. Therefore, he had to use a mixed technique combining KK, cosmic radiation detection and Industrial Optical Coherence Radiography.
After a few seconds his featureless face stopped as if he was looking to the left and he moved to the left, passing between two shelves. Almost halfway across the room he stopped and turned to his left again while squinting his head at a square, industrial container.
He raised one of his arms and made some sort of metal blades appear from his fingertips. He passed the blades through the container forming a square on the face in front of him and, after a few seconds, that part of the container collapsed on the ground, revealing its contents to him.
It was an old metal suitcase box. The product of Stan and Rum's break-in.
The droid took the box in his hands and without further ado headed for the exit of the room where the other two were waiting for him.
In the blink of an eye, the three droids left the place flying again, returning to their path to rejoin the others, leaving behind a muted evidence room.
The first, and most important part of it all, was over.
***
News of the attack had spread quickly throughout the building in the first few minutes, and people sought shelter in the central part of the base complex quickly. The emergency doors were automatically activated, allowing for a more orderly and rapid evacuation. Meanwhile, in the midst of the melee, Stan and Rum were being dragged into the capsules by the base's medical wing technicians.
"I didn't sign for this!" said the male nurse technician, almost on the verge of tears.
"You didn't sign anything, you got in here because the pay was good," said his female partner's voice.
This evacuation was not going well for them. They had to manipulate through their Neurowires the capsules, where the two thieves were still half asleep. They were only confident that, in case they woke up completely, they would not escape, since there was no way to do so from inside. And, because they were sensory deprivation capsules, the Neurowire was still unusable, so Rum would not be able to crack the technician's in an attempt to escape.
In fact, for those two, they could not be in a safer place at that moment, since the technicians had to run dodging debris that, from time to time, fell from the ceiling on their heads. Not to mention that, should they encounter the enemy, there was the possibility of being caught in crossfire between the enemy and the mechanized systems on the ceiling. Although, at the time, they did not know that the droids did not have firearms.
The building was still shaking, as they crossed several corridors on their way. It seemed incredible to them that this was the place where they had worked for the last three years. To see it now being destroyed by unknown causes could not help but hurt. But at least they knew that the others they saw on a daily basis were already at the evacuation site. In case something happened to them at least they had a backup in case they lost their bodies. Though those thoughts did not help them much in their situation.
Due to the power problems they would have to use the emergency stairs to get down to the site. They already knew all the protocols and routes, but they wished Dr. Barbier had been there.
After they had retired to the medical wing, the doctor had stayed in the room where the Deep-Dive had been conducted, chatting with the two agents. They were preparing the two prisoners for analysis when the alarms and explosions went off. The doctor had gone to the middle part because, due to his rank within the base, he was the most suitable to continue in the chain of command in case something serious happened to his superiors. And on the other hand, the people in the teleport chamber would also feel more at ease if they had a doctor with them, even if it was an eccentric one.
But the two nurse technicians in the medical wing were too far away and had the capsules with them
Still, they were already halfway there. About three or four minutes and they would reach the corridor that led them to the place, provided they didn't have a mishap on the way.
That was what they were thinking when, as they rounded a bend, they came upon three black figures, with a vertical blue line where their faces should have been.
"Ah!" they both said in surprise. And the thought: we fucked up, crossed both their minds in unison.
The expression of surprise was the only sound that came out of their mouths. The next second they both felt a quick whip in their necks and, rolling their eyes, collapsed to the ground in a faint, as if the droids had applied a Dim-Mak to them in one swift motion.
The droids looked at each other and the next second there was a loud noise. The sensory deprivation capsules, with no one to control them, had fallen to the floor with a dead weight. Inside Stan and Rum had finally started to wake up from the shock. Quickly the droids swooped down in front of the capsules and, operating the external controls, opened them.
As the droids proceeded to remove Stan and Rum from the capsules, the thieves, between dreams and half-sleepy laughter, managed to articulate words toward their unusual rescuers.
"Heyshh, rabooots f-fraends, come tu roscue sus? Howwy cunvemientt!" joked Stan with a sleepy grin.
Rum, still amused by the effects of sensory deprivation and induced sleep, added with a chuckle, "Yeassh, we'ree l-ooovely, thery suure weereee m-iiissing us."
"Arse youshhh guys wearing latex, oru what? Where daid you guys co-coome fromm? Somu vishrtual S&M stagesh?" Stan asked, feeling groggy.
"You looook better than my last date, handshome," Rum said , stroking the head of the nearest droid, in a voice that made her sound drunk, but that was because of the lingering effects of the anesthesia.
The droids did not respond, but seemed to follow their target undeterred by the thieves' banter. Soon, Stan and Rum were removed from the pods and carried in the arms of two of the droids. Although their state of consciousness was diminished, they must have been well enough to joke.
Without further ado, the droids had accomplished the second objective for which they were present and for which they had attacked the base.
***
The first to withdraw were the three that had arrived last.
The people in the teleport chamber watched in confusion through the cameras as they suddenly left and flew back the way they had come.
But they were not the only ones.
One by one, the other droids that had fought also retreated, releasing and leaving the agents confused and stunned. The tension in the room eased, and the agents watched cautiously as the droids retreated without a word. They fired up their jet-packs and walked away from the scene.
Without any apparent explanation.
The agents looked at each other, feeling a mixture of relief and bewilderment. What had happened to make the droids leave so suddenly? Who or what had given the order for their withdrawal?
Grateful that the droids had left them unharmed, the agents remained alert, as the droids' mechanical noises faded into the distance. The mysterious departure of the enemies left a sense of uncertainty in the air, but also a small window of hope.