Astronomicon: Behemoth

Chapter 50 - Company

Aron could not see anything outside the doorway apart from the buggy's headlights.

"I need to get this door shut!" Obi yelled.

The whirring sound continued to get louder. Aron moved in beside Obi and tried to study the many icons but had no idea which one would activate the door mechanism. Obi was still stabbing at random icons with no success when an unsuited hand pushed between them, swept accurately across three icons causing an immediate reaction from the door. The man did not wait to see the door finish closing, instead pushing past Aron to head into the main cabin area.

Aron was briefly relieved that the door in the vessel's hull was shut, then he began to wonder how much protection it would offer against the robot outside. The large-eyed man did not appear to share his concern. He was now standing at one of the counters, pressing icons which were now illuminating through the previously plain countertop.

He beckoned to the three Arcadian crewmembers to join him, then pointed at the sidewall. A two-metre-wide display, seemingly blended perfectly into the wall, showed a view of the hangar outside the ship from a high vantage point.

Aron moved closer to see better. Their buggy was positioned just right-of-centre, its headlamps illuminating the floor in front of it. One of the military-style robot aliens waited beside it for a moment before turning on the spot and rolling closer to the ship. The man gestured at the display screen and spoke several still-unintelligible words.

"Are you saying that the robot can or can't get in here?"

"We can't tell what he's saying," said Obi, standing beside him.

A loud clang resonating through the hull stopped everyone speaking. Three more clangs followed and then silence. Aron watched the screen, but the robot had already moved out of view.

Ekono pushed between them, now carrying the cannon again and studied the screen. "We have a weapon that can take out the robot and an obvious ambush point."

"Obvious?" Aron asked.

"The door. If we open it, the robot will try to enter. If it does, we can blow it away. The alternatives are to go out there and face it in the open or stay in here indefinitely."

"How long have the crew of this ship been hiding in here?"

"They both seem to be starving. I would guess they stayed in here until the food ran out then they froze themselves," Ekono replied.

"Well, I can't ask them that but maybe I can ask if they have any weapons."

Aron unclipped his sidearm from his belt and, holding it sideways, displayed it to the large-eyed man. The man looked puzzled but then made a gun firing gesture and pointed to the presented weapon. Aron smiled and gestured at the room around them, in the hope that the man would realise what he was asking.

The man looked around at the room and then moved quickly across to lockers on the wall nearest the door. He pressed the palm of his hand against one of them. It beeped and swung open to reveal a five-position, vertical rack holding three carbine-style guns. He reached in and took one, causing Ekono and Obi to quickly raise their weapons.

They watched him nervously as he flicked a couple of controls on the apparently heavy weapon, pointed it at the wall opposite the door and pulled the trigger. Instead of firing, a red glow silently pulsed on the top of the weapon and nothing happened.

He said several unintelligible words then placed the apparently useless weapon on the counter. L.E.O. Obi holstered his firearm and scooped up the dead weapon. The man watched him as he felt the weight of it and rapidly spun the weapon to study both sides and the underneath. He found what he thought was the ammunition magazine and tried and failed to remove it.