Ashland, Nebraska - October 11th, 2054 - Cinder
I was frozen in place by Vedrfolnir’s announcement. The only part of my body that would move were my lips as I asked, “You’re absolutely sure it’s a Kuxpir Air-Core coming our way? There’s no chance it could be a sensor ghost or a case of mistaken identity?”
[ I am 99.8% certain the incoming bogie is real, ] answered Vedrfolnir. [ The 0.2% discrepancy is due to it being a UTH-68 Kuxpir Rotorcraft, which traditionally does not fare well in stormy conditions. ]
“What do we do, then? Can we even hide from something like that?” I asked, unsure if I really wanted to know the answer.
[ It may be possible to enter into low power mode and shield your heat signature with my body. However, the only true way to mask you would be to let you into my cockpit, which is not feasible in my current condition. There is also the danger that entering into low power mode would prevent me from taking appropriate action should the UTH-68 open fire. ]
“So it’s either we try and fool an Air-Core or we, what, try and shoot it down?”
[ That is correct. ]
Something about the firm certainly in which Vedrfolnir replied finally knocked the feeling back into my body. I ran a shaking hand through my hair as I asked, “And you only have the two shots with your TLS, yeah? Would that be enough to down something like a UTH?”
[ It is possible, yes. Just not probable. ]
“Don’t tell me the odds then. Just tell me one thing: Do we have a better chance hiding or a better chance going out lasers blasting?”
Vedrfolnir’s alien mind calculated her response before I had even finished forming the words. [ Without giving exact probabilities, I will state that the active attack has better odds than the passive concealment. ]
“Then we go on the attack,” I decided, grabbing my trembling wrist and forcing it to hold still. “Is there anything I can do to make it more likely you’ll get a killshot?”
[ That depends on whether you want your car to be intact, ] she replied.
I painfully stared at my hatchback. “I just finished the last payment on it a few months ago. But if there’s truly nothing else… Well, I’d rather lose it than lose my life. What do you need me to do?”
The five minutes prior to the UTH’s arrival felt simultaneously like hours and no time at all. Every boom of thunder, every sudden gust of wind, every pattering of rain against the farmhouse kept me tense and on edge. I only finished loading the autopilot program Vedrfolnir cooked up into my hatchback with thirty seconds to spare. As the engine turned over and she took control, I dove back into the farmhouse and hid beneath the sturdiest part of the decrepit building.
…Which is to say I hid in the darkest corner I could and offered prayers to whatever god(dess) would listen. I was not handling the stress of a true life or death situation well. Truth be told, I’d never experienced something so nerve-wracking in my entire life up until that point. But nothing I did at that point would matter. Everything lay within Vedrfolnir’s hands.
Right as my ears picked up the sound of the UTH’s rotors over the storm, Vedrfolnir sent my car hurtling out into the unkempt fields. Seconds later a barrage of bullets tore my vehicle to shreds and turned it into a flaming pile of metal. Then the UTH spoke in a metallic, crunchy voice that would cause even the most seasoned Navy SEAL to check their pants afterwards:
{ Human activity in the area has been suppressed. Searching for target… }
I was able to see the snake-like UTH through the half-open barn door as it listed in the storm’s winds while studying the crash site. Vedrfolnir knelt just behind the door, one of her four auxiliary arms moving from her back and angling over her right shoulder towards the UTH. The tip of the appendage opened up to reveal her TLS, a crystal-lens-tipped blaster straight out of Star Wars - long, sleek, and deceptively small for what power it contained.
{ Unable to locate the target. Initial assessment indicates the target moved away from the crash site on their own power. Direction and speed unknown. Storm impeding functionality. Awaiting further directives. }
[ Gotcha, ] Vedrfolnir whispered.
An almost imperceptible lance of crimson light connected the UTH to Vedrfolnir. Then a second. For a moment I worried that the damage to Vedrfolnir had turned her TLS into a useless laser pointer. Imagine my relief when the UTH began to explode in a cascading fashion and careen towards the ground.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“You got it!” I cheered, finding my feet and rushing over to Vedrfolnir’s side as her aux-arm returned to its alcove in her back. “How in the world did you manage to mask your heat signature and still fire?”
[ There is a flaw in the UTH sensor node. If exposed to a high enough temperature, say an exploding combustion engine, then the node requires a minute to recover, ] she explained as if it were common knowledge. [ I merely blended in with the environment during that period of time until I was able to line up a shot. ]
“I guess Kuxpir are leagues behind us when it comes to thermal cams working in the middle of a storm,” I called over the wind as it picked up and splattered rain all throughout the farmhouse. “Think there’s any chance those who sent that thing will send another?”
[ Unlikely. The advantage of sending the UTH was that it could avoid most human sensors at the cost of relying on an outdated sensor node. We are more likely to be visited by a delegation from Offutt before another Kuxpir craft could even attempt to cross into human territory. ]
“Guess there’s no hiding it going down, huh,” I sighed. After wiping the rain from my eyes I squinted off in the direction of the new crash site. “Can you at least go pull whatever information or scrap you can from it before we get new visitors?”
Vedrfolnir rose to her feet looking down at me. [ Certainly. Can you walk? ]
I glanced down at my feet, then at my hands. Neither were shaking any more. “Yeah, I think I can manage.”
The two of us found our way to the remains of the UTH some several hundred meters from the farmhouse. Its serpentine body was split open from multiple detonations, its limbs bent at strange angles and its tail ripped free and smashed into the ground nearby. Even the UTH’s Air-Core was shattered and leaking a fluid that looked like golden lava.
“Hard to believe you could do this with only two shots!” I yelled over the storm. At that point I had accepted the fact I would be soaked to the bone no matter what I did.
Vedrfolnir took a knee next to the wreckage, scanning it carefully. As she did I was reminded of how large she was compared to me. I wasn’t even half her size, while she was just slightly larger than the UTH was.
[ I am unable to recover any useful data, ] Vedrfolnir reported. Her voice was more than audible over the wind and rain lashing at the both of us. [ However, I believe I can consume and repurpose this wreck to make up for some of the materials we require. It would not be a process you would wish to observe. ]
A weaker individual might have taken that opportunity to scurry back to (relative) safety and pretend everything was fine. Yet for me, in that instant, I somehow went from being timid and shell-shocked to calm and cool under pressure. “If I’m going to be your pilot then there’s a chance you might have to do something like this again in the field. Better that I get used to it now.”
[ Another “in for a penny” scenario? ] mused Vedrfolnir.
“Maybe. Or maybe I’ve just finally lost it.”
[ For both our sakes, I will not comment on that. ]
“Good. Now get to eating. We don’t want you to be mid-meal when the Air Force shows up.”
I will spare you the details of what transpired next. Suffice to say that the rate and efficiency at which Vedrfolnir worked was unnerving enough that the process felt more like a movie or a dream than something happening in realtime in front of me. By the time she finished the storm had largely calmed to a decent downpour. On the way back to the farmhouse I gave her permission to eat what remained of my car as well. Then we sat and waited in both darkness and silence for a time while staring out into the swaying reeds.
[ My cockpit is now accessible, ] announced Vedrfolnir a few hours into the vigil. [ I am also able to execute a bio-lock if given a sample of your genetic material. ]
“What do you need exactly?” I asked, still stuck in that eerily calm mood. “Skin? Hair? Blood? Something more salacious?”
[ As we are both female, the latter proposal is not advised if only for efficiency’s sake. A sample of your blood would be more than sufficient in this instance. ]
“Cool. Should I do that movie thing where I cut the palm of my hand or something?”
[ Nothing so barbaric, ] she replied as she carefully slipped her hand under my right arm and guided me to extend the limb out towards her. [ Venipuncture along your arm will suffice. ]
“Great. I hate needles.”
[ No needles required. ]
Vedrfolnir flashed her incisors at me. Even in my odd state I could put two and two together to make four. I nodded, prompting her draconic head to weave down towards my exposed arm. Her mouth opened, pouring heat across my skin and causing goosebumps to form. If she really wanted to, Vedrfolnir could have chewed right through my arm and used it as a toothpick in a single bite.
Her fangs made contact. Strangely, I only felt a brief sting as she began to take a blood sample. As she maintained contact, blood began to throb in my ears, my heart raced, and my vision narrowed. Was she draining me dry? Weren’t vampires supposed to make their victims feel pleasure or something?
Ten seconds later Vedrfolnir withdrew while licking her lips. There was no trace of any wound whatsoever along my arm, not even a small puncture or bruise. [ Finalizing Pilot Registration. You are an O-, Cinder. Have you considered donating blood before? You are a universal donor and thus highly sought after. ]
“I think it’s on my driver’s license?” I said, slightly mesmerized by what had just happened. “Do all blood draws feel that way?”
[ I imagine your human doctors use different puncture and drainage methods. As I needed to confirm the bio-lock quickly, I had to take a large sample in rapid fashion. You may experience lightheadedness and tunnel vision. ]
“Yep… definitely got both of those going on right now…” I reported, holding a hand to my head. “So that’s it, then? We’re an official pair now?”
[ Correct. You have full access that cannot be overridden even with input of new genetic material. ]
“Cool. One last question: Are those red and blue lights on the horizon coming towards us, or am I imagining it?”
[ Unfortunately, I believe that they are the delegation from Offutt. ]
My eyelids felt as if someone had tied heavy cement bags to them. I had to struggle to keep my eyes open as I said, “You might have to take the lead on this one, Vedrfolnir. I think the stress and everything might finally be–”
I didn’t get to finish my sentence before the ground rushed up to meet me. Darkness swirled around me as I passed out on the spot.