Tasìa backed away slowly so the ensuing tumult would not draw attention from the Hijos Lux ghoul on duty above. Unfortunately, with a highly sped-up final scurry, the bot was nearly on top of her before she could remove herself from the lot entrance.

It leaped at her.

Tasìa stumbled backward landing on her ass as she dodged the assault.

She was still overly concerned with exposure in her attempt to minimize her own movements. Tasìa realized her current mindset was just going to get her injured.

As she twisted away, the spiderbot smacked her on the chest, pushing her back to the ground. The concrete entranceway pounded against her back with only the feathered jacket taking the brunt of the force in her stead.

Anger flared up inside her. As the spiderbot's pinchers gripped her shoulder, that anger flowed white-hot through her very neurons.

Something very odd was occurring inside her body as if it was preparing for what came next.

Spiderbot grips were typically accompanied by a jolt of electricity. The pinchers were nothing more than a pair of modified tasers. This one bared down its grip on her shoulder with a secondary clamp device to prevent her from jerking away as it administered the shock.

When the shock came, it flowed smoothly in an even oscillation throughout her entire body. She rode it like the crest of a wave.

Then in a turn of an instant, the storm inside her gathered itself together and focused just before it burst the electrical shock back into the spiderbot.

With a violent jolt, the spiderbot released her; it jumped back. Sizzling blue sparks popped between every fabrication on its body.

It smelled of sulfur oils and burning chrome.

Tasìa leaned over to steal a glimpse up towards the guard. Improbably, he was singing to the moon.

The Wise One now whispered to her.

He sings to Hecate to either release him of his burdens or make him a man once more. Egilona must never know of his heresy. She is a jealous goddess, and Hecate is a most pernicious rival.

Tasìa shook what she believed to be a symptom of the madness that entangled her thoughts. The Wise One never spoke to inform, and never did it speak so clearly.

Still, she wondered why the Hijos Lux guard was still so caught up in his revelry.

Perhaps, given the spiderbots engaged in playful-like behavior on their security rounds, they simply did not interest him. Perhaps, from his vantage point, nothing it did seemed out of the ordinary nor was entirely unexpected.

Likely when coati raccoons inevitably got into the lot from time to time, the spiderbots raised a similar high-degree of ruckus as this one did so now.

Though her curiosity wasn't satiated, she had no time to speculate on this bit of good fortune. Good fortune was so rare for her, Tasìa never truly accepted it.

She crawled back to the doorway. A sound rattled behind her. The spiderbot shook in place as the sparks slowly dissipated.

The shaking motion that it now engaged in was part of a diagnostic routine to ascertain the mechanical damage it had suffered.

Tasìa was not out of trouble, yet. Indeed, its sensors once again swiveled to search for her.

Tasìa retreated back into the room. She did not anticipate the spiderbots. For this, she could kick herself. With a fenced-in lot where much in the way of valuable equipment lay stacked, how could she not anticipate it? Robotic defenses should have been expected.

Still, what measures could she have brought with her that would have remained inconspicuous?

Her VRBP-100 Bullpup shotgun strapped to her back with a bundle of sabot rounds in her fanny-pack? That would have been a pair of conversation pieces she could have used when she rode the bus into town, she thought, sarcastically.

Tasìa slipped off her shoes.

When the spiderbot reached the doorway, she retreated into the hallway behind her.

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With her eyes steady on the spiderbot, Tasìa reached out to grab a door handle. She did not enter the small office on the other side until the spiderbot had once more spotted her.

Its sensors sat on a round disk atop its carapace. The red glowing electric eyes swiveled around for a moment before they reacquired her as a target.

Determined not to be outpaced this time, Tasìa lept into the little office with a roll and a twirl. Raising back up, she jumped to grip the door frame. Pulling herself up, she rolled forward until her body hung upside down.

She pressed her knees against the ceiling, and her feet, gripping with her toe tips, planted against the doorframe.

She was now free to remove her grip from the door frame to free up the use of her hands.

Tasìa recalled how impressed Felicité was with her acrobatic display back at the Spore Isolation Unit.

She decided to show off for her once more. Tasìa removed the PA from her back pocket and took a selfie displaying her big, wide goblin smile, a thumbs up with her right hand, and an exaggerated eye wink.

She clicked send to Contact Plus1, her auto-list for Felicité's number.

The spiderbot crept into the carpeted office beneath her. Tasìa took a picture of it.

She added a caption: Gonna need your help!

The spiderbot spotted her once again. Its sensors lined up in unison, up-down then down-up, as if to question how Tasìa had gotten up there.

The eight forelegs squatted down just before it sprung up in a futile attempt to reach her. It easily jumped six feet, but it needed just shy of another foot to reach her toes.

Even with its two hundred pounds of bulk, the spiderbot deftly landed back on its leg extensions.

Felicité answered back.

Your titties are showing.

Tasìa peered down. Indeed the feathered jacket was splayed outward, and the t-shirt she bought from Romona was two sizes too large. Her boobs popped out from the minimalistic bra not designed for upside-down usage.

Why had she not worn a sports bra beneath a well-fitted t-shirt as was her standard attire when on a raid? Vanity, Tasìa realized.

She expected to end her night at the Daga Chicas. Even though it was a proletariat scene, the pretty little pink number was still more du jour than a sports bra.

Though the best she could hope for, given her condition, was for some random hunk to buy her drinks over a scintillating conversation, it would have been a nice cheap thrill, even still.

Her mind stopped wondering over pleasantries as a new concern now consumed Tasìa's attention. The spiderbot jumped up on a desk, knocking over a holo-flat.

It once more sprung at her. She scrunched up even tighter as it crested beneath her before smashing into the wall.

Spiderbots were tough little vermin though. It pulled itself back up and once again accessed its opponent.

But why did it attempt the maneuver on the desk in the first place? Was there a server-based AI, using adaptive learning, that was in control of it? Worse still, was there a human operator involved?

She had no reason to assume either of these factors. Tasìa knew that sophisticated bot behavior could be packed in a small amount of code. Video games managed to do this on extremely limited resources more than thirty years before she was born.

This one spiderbot, Tasìa felt she could handle, but she needed Felicité's help to ascertain to what extent that spiderbot below had outside support.

It was also odd, she thought, that it did not call on other bots to assist it.

Felicité sent another message following up on the second photo Tasìa had sent her of the spiderbot.

Now I see what has your headlights up so high.

Tasìa glanced down and giggled in response. The one thing that made her popular with the boys, the pokies did tend to be one of her more prominent features.

Still, she needed to get her compadre back on track.

Felicité . . . I'm most literally hanging on up here.

She typed this and then pressed send. Felicité answered back in turn.

Relax, relax, Tasìa, I'm pinging that bot for you as we chat.

Tasìa sent her another message.

Are you free to use your phone?

'Fraid not. Too many people around. Nice jacket, btw. Where do you go to get something that cool?

Tasìa smiled to herself wanly before she answered.

Three attentive sisters to a prince of a man. There's a story there.

The spiderbot scampered out of the office.

Is your little friend doing anything different?

Tasìa answered back.

Just left me, without even saying goodbye.

Felicité let her know what was happening.

It has been told it needs energy. Now it is going back to its charging station. The other two bots are now overridden and have gone back to their respective stations as well.

Tasìa pushed off the ceiling to land in a somersault on the carpet below.

Felicité, were the spiderbots in communication with anyone? Were they receiving any outside instructions?

The Argentinian answered in turn.

Negative. I checked for that. Completely autonomous. Even from each other.

Now, Tasìa needed to say her farewells and continue onward.

I owe you everything. Feel so guilty that you are still there.

Felicité's feigned mere practical concerns as Tasìa expected she would.

I've got to get you to Asunción. Can't accomplish that if you are spiderbot chow.