Robot's Redemption

Chapter 4: Diversion Diverted

“Is everyone in position?” Jason demanded through his headset.

“Yes sir,” Scarlett confirmed. She was located a few kilometres north where she would watch out for the train and warn the others when the vehicle was nearing them.

“Remember. We’ve got to time this perfectly. If we blow the charge too early, the train will have time to stop,” Jason reminded them. Marty finished fixing the charge in question to the sturdy rail.

“We’re ready sir. Three minutes to spare too,” he informed Jason, before reclining on the ground with his back resting against the raised ground of the railway platform. “Easy peasy,” he chuckled. Luke and Kat came back from checking the perimeter.

“Looks clear,” Luke reported. “Maybe they don’t expect an attack?”

“Or they’re up to something,” Sarah put in with a shrug. Rec turned to Happy, a frown suddenly appearing on her face. Happy was still as a statue, staring at the explosive. Rec tapped him on the shoulder.

“What’s wrong Happy?” she asked worriedly.

“I have run some calculations...” Happy started, turning his head to look at her. “While the explosive is sufficient to obliterate the material of the rail, it will only create a hole with a diameter of 1.07 metres. The locomotive’s wheels are two metres wide.”

“I can see the train! ETA, thirty seconds!” Scarlet told them over the radio.

“Blow the charge!” Jason commanded.

“Jason,” Rec protested. “Happy said –”

“I don’t care what the robot said!” Jason snapped. “Get back!” Marty pulled out the detonator, leaning his EMPG-Launcher rest against a bench seat. He twisted the two ends of the cylinder in opposite directions. The charge exploded, leaving a large hole in the rails. The train was now within seeing distance, just beginning to rise over a hill. Marty dropped the now-useless detonator and reached for his weapon, only to find it gone.

“Hey!” he cried, immediately glancing around for the thief. Happy hefted the missing gun and sprinted further up the track, his synthetic legs carrying him incredibly fast, especially considering his bulky body. He turned around and whipped the gun up, now a considerable distance away from the group of soldiers who were all running and yelling at the robot angrily. The train drew nearer.

“The train should be at the breach in ten seconds!” Scarlett yelled over the comms. The train was really close now.

“Down, down!” Jason commanded, throwing himself to the ground and covering his head with his arms. Luke pulled Rec down with him as he and the rest of the team followed suit.

“Happy!” Rec shrieked, seeing the robot still on his feet. The train reached the gap in the tracks and... With a clunk, sailed right over it as if it were nothing. Jason gaped in disbelief as the train whizzed past him. Happy raised the gun to his ‘eye’ and levelled it. He pulled the trigger three times in quick succession. The three capsules struck the train’s front; there was a hum, then a barely audible whoosh. Blue sparks skittered over the train’s surface, the electro-magnetic pulse’s slight explosive shockwave causing it to teeter unstably on its tracks. The train finally collapsed on its side, its momentum sending it grinding across the ground with an ear-splitting screeching sound. Its carriages began piling up behind it, and finally it ground to a halt, smoking slightly.

“Threat eliminated,” Happy said casually, tossing the gun back to Marty.

“Jesus, I gotta get myself one of those,” Sarah chirped as she caught up with them.

“I am the last known active T3X model in existence,” Happy told her proudly. Wait, proudly? Rec shook her head. Why was she applying emotions to him now? They began the trek back to operations, the soldiers chatting excitedly about the scene they had just observed. Rec’s eyes were on Happy the whole time; she was watching him out of the corner of her eye, wondering why she was doing it even as she couldn’t stop herself.

Happy stopped suddenly. Having been watching him the whole time, Rec was the first to notice. She stopped also and turned to him expectantly. The rest of the team quickly paused as well, also looking towards the robot for answers.

“I am detecting multiple T5Xs in this area,” he warned them. Jason swore.

“The flying things? What are they doing here?” Rec asked him.

“They are carrying explosive ordinances,” Happy explained. Rec frowned.

“That doesn’t –” An explosion sounded in the distance. The team went silent and listened. Another explosion. Distant, but still reason for concern.

“Why now? Why here?” Luke demanded. No one dared say the obvious. That was, except for Happy.

“The most logical explanation for such a manoeuvre would be if INFER knew there was a rebel base nearby.” Without another word, the humans sprinted to the concealed entrance to the base.

“Oh thank god you’re back!” Ed exclaimed. He ushered them through a few rooms full of injured. They all had bandages on their body stained with red. Some were crying out for medical attention, some were unconscious. All of them were slumped against the walls and under-treated. “We lost a few sections in the initial bombing run. The only good news is INFER doesn’t know exactly where we are. If they did, we’d be dead already.” After three rooms of injured soldiers and civilians, they arrived at the main briefing room where a few rag-tag computers and command centres were set up. A few commanding officers wandered around, advising other officers. The room was filled with the murmur of thirty voices as they planned out their next move. All chatter went silent when Jason and his team entered the room.

“Are they the last team?” the obvious leader asked Ed. Ed nodded and quickly left the room. “Soldiers,” the General began. “We have no choice. We must act now before we are all crushed. We do not know the specific location of the main INFER centre, but we do have a general search area. We attack here.” The General paused to point at a map. A red square marked out a large area of city.

“Sir, with all due respect, that’s ten thousand square kilometres! Who the hell gave you this information?” Jason growled, less than impressed.

“The last surviving soldier of a large squad sent on a scouting mission barely managed to escape with his life and this information!” The General yelled, pointing at a small, frail-looking human in the room. Happy stepped up to the human in question so his ‘face’ was inches away from his. Happy then reached out and extended his blade. A few soldiers cried out and tried to leap to the boy’s aid, but their efforts were in vain. Happy sliced the human’s head clean off, letting it fall to the floor with a shower of red blood. Guns were immediately raised in his direction, and Rec let out a sob of horror at what her friend had done. Her hand flew to her mouth and tears threatened to burst forth as she watched the headless body fall to the floor. Happy looked up at the humans, seemingly unfazed by the weapons pointed at his face.