10 - More Robot Than Robot
After the long delay, it was somewhat shocking when the contact alarm blared again only a few short days after the Tonga battle.
It was the middle of the night, and Lieutenant Bling Cat had pulled the short straw of the graveyard watch. Not that anyone else slept through the shuddering clang of the sea doors cycling to allow the Barracuda to launch. Over the next few hours, the screens showed the sonar blips of the alien vessel and the Barracuda closing, eventually merging in the southern Atlantic.
As I entered the command station, the intercept was well underway.
"Command, I have firing solution, ready to fire"
"Aye pilot, fire when ready"
"Fish in the water command... Enemy's holed sir, heading for the bottom"
"Very well pilot, we're coming to collect the bits"
"Time for you to suit up Lieutenant, I'll take over here. We've got another new project for you to test out there. A new development from the AI soldiers of the first war, a humanoid artificial intelligence, it'll be networked with your USW, hopefully providing a more complete tactical unit"
"Aliens, zombies and now robots? And I thought I was already tired.. Oh well, I shall see to it sir"
Bling Cat headed swiftly for the launch bays, preparing to lead the recovery of the downed vessel. From the command centre, I heard the Triton launch and watched the sonar blip of the craft speeding away. On arrival, the Triton circled the crash site looking for a suitable landing spot. The alien vessel had come down in the tectonically active zone between the African and South American continental plates, and undersea lava flows made landing tricky.
The Coelacanth moved out first, it's processors now operating in tandem with those in the android ANTX81. It almost immediately began to highlight targets, and ANTX81 relayed detailed information to the rest of the squad. "There are two enemies to the south and east. They are both armed with heavy weapons".
"Whoa, it speaks" exclaimed a shocked Zed.
"Indeed. I am capable of speech synthesis beyond most simple artificial intelligences".
"Not much personality though".
"Can it people, we've got a job to do here." Cut in an irritated Bling Cat, "Dekkarax, get your cannon on that hostile to
the south, Numlock Fury, the one to the east is yours."
Numlock Fury was the first to fire, hitting his target squarely in the gut and scything it's legs from under it.
Taking momentarily longer to steady the heavy sonic cannon, Dekkarax fired, another solid blow from the heavy weapon struck the creature in the chest, the water behind it acting like an anvil and causing it's chest to collapse under the blow.
"Squad, sound off, are our zones clear?"
"South clear" reported Dekkarax.
"East is still hot sir, enemy in cover behind a ridge, sniper fire would be appreciated".
"Diamond, do you have a shot?"
"Aye sir"
"All clear now sir".
"Good, Zed and Fury, head for the breach in the enemy vessel, ANTX81, flank to the bow and cover the hatch, shoot what they flush out. The rest of you spread out north with me"
The squad complied, a tense silence accompanied the action, every man waiting for the enemy to lash out. Zed reached the breach in the alien vessel and looked inside "No-one's home, this thing's a complete wreck"
The flat synthesised tones of the android interrupted him "There is one target leaving the vessel"
I am using the Coelacanth to intercept it.
"Good shooting, I could almost imagine that thing's accuracy's impr- whoa, shit!" The granite ridge next to Bling Cat exploded as a sonic bolt slammed into it.
He turned and raised his own weapon, missing would be the alien's last mistake.
Meanwhile, a resounding boom marked the impact on the alien vessel's hull of another shot, fired at ANTX81. The android turned to face it's attacker.
It fired it's weapon and pulverised the alien.
"Pity you don't have eyes in the back of your head"
"I shall note that feature for the next upgrade cycle"
The victories in Tonga and on the Atlantic seabed were timely. With recent results to show the council, I was able to convince them that the project was worthwhile, and argued for further funding to expand our operations, I signed off construction of new laboratory facilities and a submarine launch pen in the US facility to provide fast cover for the Pacific area. We would need to expand X-Com activity further, and I was spending some time considering the site for our next listening post.
was great.