Breaking Point

Chapter 12: City of Machinery

The air smelled weird.  A mashup of some industrial chemicals Zaid had smelled before, machine oil and notes of some brand new smells.  Gravity seemed to work normally as soon as he crossed the threshold off the train, which surprised him as he tried and failed to zero-gravity launch himself over to the door.

Zaid's one boot clunked with each step, echoing from below.  The floor must have been hollow underneath a thin veneer.  It felt warm under his bare foot.  He kept his blade drawn and blaster formed.  The smell kept him on edge.  Worse than death.  They won't tell me what.  What could possibly be worse than Giant Franken-Ripper?

Blue plant-like tendrils poked up a few inches around some of the edges of the floor.  Most of them looked like they had been pared back.

He went through another door.  There was a massive room under a tall ceiling, with what looked like a small city of small cubical buildings of different sizes under the ceiling.  It was all lit with red light.  Zaid hadn't ever been in a place like this, but he had seen something similar in footage from Apollo raids.  Apparently something to do with certain chemicals and exposure to certain colors of light meant they couldn't use natural or white light; most facilities like this used yellow light. Jesim had mentioned something about the chemistry a long time ago but Zaid didn't feel a need to listen at the time.  Jesim was always going on about science.  I bet if he were here right now he would be blabbing my ear off about some bits of trivia related to how this stuff works.  I was probably the only one who never told him to shut up, even if I was never really listening.  Hell, I bet he knew I wasn't listening but he kept going just because . . .

Whoosh. What was that!?

It was quiet.  Zaid held his breath.  He knew he heard something quiet whoosh by.  He looked overhead and saw a criss-crossing network of overhead tracks, but didn't see any movement.

It's that smell.  It's what Dr. Hyun-woo told me.  I've got to calm down.

Whirrrrrrrrr...

No, that's definitely real.  His eyes darted, looking for any signs of movement.

VZZZZZZZ!

A sharp something bit into Zaid's bare ankle, yanking him off his feet and trying to pull him upside down.  Gears seemed to grind as it tried to lift him but he was far too heavy and tall to be fully lifted off the ground; his leg and back were elevated but his shoulders were still on the ground.  Zaid got a look at what grabbed his ankle -- a robotic claw attached to one of the tracks.  He growled a bit with the pain, blood dripping down his calf as he tried to wiggle his leg free.  Its grip wasn't particularly tight, but he could feel it cutting more into his ankle the more he struggled.  "GIVE THAT BACK!  IT'S MINE YOU DUMBASS ROBOT!"

Hollow footsteps sprinted, getting louder and closer, only seconds away.  Zaid looked from his nearly-upside-downstate to see a long-haired human figure running toward him with what looked like a sword in its hand.

With a well-placed kick from his armored foot, one of the robotic claws broke, freeing his foot.  The claw's sharp bits stayed caught on his ankle as he flopped down and rolled himself over in to a near ready position, just in time for Zaid to catch his steel against the new figure's.

Zaid's left wrist blade seemed to reverberate more than usual but the usual ting of clashing blades seemed muted somehow.  Not that it mattered.  His opponent's sword swept back and forth in perfect curving motions, a bladed ballet contrasting the ogre-like swings of Zaid's two hulking edges.  She didn't have the strength to counter his strikes, but he didn't have the skill or speed to land any of his strikes.  I don't want to hurt her but she clearly wants to hurt me.  Images started flashing through his mind.  The people he hurt when he went berserk.  Is she berserk?

"You done yet?" he asked, taking a swing that connected solidly to the center of her guard, knocking her staggering back a few meters but not knocking her over.  She slid under his next swipe, clanging her sword against his armor as she slipped past his grasp and over to his other side.  "I don't want to hurt you."

She grunted and growled as she formed up for her next move.

Zaid retracted his wrist blade and restored his arm to a hand form.  "Look, I'm done.  I just want to talk."

No luck.  She charged at him.  Ugh, this is gonna hurt.  She shouted as she found the bearing gap in his armor and drove her curved blade into his abdomen.  It stung as it penetrated through his intestines.  But it put her right where he wanted her.

He grimaced with a familiar feeling.  Hurts every time, but it works every time.  His hand reached easily around her neck, as she had let down her guard.  Every time.  They just let me do it.  He saw the terror in her eyes as he lifted her effortlessly from the ground, but not able to see the rest of her expression under a hard mask that covered her nose and mouth.  He held her off the ground at arm's length as she tried to kick, her arms gripping his wrist in a desperate reflex.  Zaid looked down at the sword in his belly and plucked it out.  It had a long handle and a blade that he estimated to be about a meter long, with some kind of ring at the hilt.

"I told you I didn't want to hurt you, but you didn't listen.  I put my toys away and you stab me?  Come on!"

The words were pointless.  She had fainted.

"And then you don't even listen to me monologuing," he said he gently set her down.  "Typical."