Categories > Original > Fantasy > Tradewinds 07 - "Away From Home"
XIII
Silence. Or at least as close to silence as it got here. Interrupted by—
A low, distorted voice:
“ALL SYSTEMS ACTIVATING… ACTIVATING… ACT—”
“—SYSTEM FAILURE!”
Then slowed down some more.
“REACTIVATION… CIRCUITS… OFF… LINE…”
Then rapid, high-pitched:
“ACTIVATING-BACKUP-SYSTEMS…”
NK-525 lay sprawled on its side across the hall from what was left of the utility closet in a heap. Limbs crisscrossed, sparks occasionally erupting from various sections of its body. Smoke drifted both ways down the hall.
(POWER LEVEL: 45.4%… SYSTEM RUNNING 23.7%…)
The flames from the closet were already guttering out, guards were spreading out into standard search formations all over the level.
(POWER LEVEL: 47.3% AND RISING…)
Cleaning drones were already arriving on the scene.
“ACCESSING BACK-UP DATA TRACKS…”
“ACTIVATING DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS…”
Time for a damage assessment.
(DAMAGE: CRITICAL…)
(ESTIMATE: 30% FUNCTIONAL…)
(WEAPONS: OFF-LINE…)
Not good.
“INITIATING REPAIR SEQUENCE…”
Then back to basics. Intruders…
(OPTICS: OFF-LINE… OVERRIDE…)
Nothing, but snow, and only static on audio sensors, then the hall came partway into focus, followed by heads-up display readouts.
“ACTIVATING BACK-UP MEMORY TRACKS…”
And it all started coming back. The so far unprecedented ambush, the chase, the closet the Intruder had booby-trapped. Then all systems went off-line.
(3 OF 4 BLASTERS BACK ONLINE… SUPER-LASER: OFF-LINE… SENSORS: 42.6% FUNCTIONAL…)
Still not enough.
(POWER LEVEL: 64.8% AND RISING…)
Repair robots finally arrived on the scene and started to work on the hall. Yet, given that rebuilding the closet was going to be a really long-term project on emergency power rations, some of them could be diverted to accelerate the Enforcer’s self-repair rate. Security took priority over all else.
Directive 86: Destroy All Intruders.
(SYSTEM RUNNING: 42.6%…)
Silence. Or at least as close to silence as it got here. Interrupted by—
A low, distorted voice:
“ALL SYSTEMS ACTIVATING… ACTIVATING… ACT—”
“—SYSTEM FAILURE!”
Then slowed down some more.
“REACTIVATION… CIRCUITS… OFF… LINE…”
Then rapid, high-pitched:
“ACTIVATING-BACKUP-SYSTEMS…”
NK-525 lay sprawled on its side across the hall from what was left of the utility closet in a heap. Limbs crisscrossed, sparks occasionally erupting from various sections of its body. Smoke drifted both ways down the hall.
(POWER LEVEL: 45.4%… SYSTEM RUNNING 23.7%…)
The flames from the closet were already guttering out, guards were spreading out into standard search formations all over the level.
(POWER LEVEL: 47.3% AND RISING…)
Cleaning drones were already arriving on the scene.
“ACCESSING BACK-UP DATA TRACKS…”
“ACTIVATING DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS…”
Time for a damage assessment.
(DAMAGE: CRITICAL…)
(ESTIMATE: 30% FUNCTIONAL…)
(WEAPONS: OFF-LINE…)
Not good.
“INITIATING REPAIR SEQUENCE…”
Then back to basics. Intruders…
(OPTICS: OFF-LINE… OVERRIDE…)
Nothing, but snow, and only static on audio sensors, then the hall came partway into focus, followed by heads-up display readouts.
“ACTIVATING BACK-UP MEMORY TRACKS…”
And it all started coming back. The so far unprecedented ambush, the chase, the closet the Intruder had booby-trapped. Then all systems went off-line.
(3 OF 4 BLASTERS BACK ONLINE… SUPER-LASER: OFF-LINE… SENSORS: 42.6% FUNCTIONAL…)
Still not enough.
(POWER LEVEL: 64.8% AND RISING…)
Repair robots finally arrived on the scene and started to work on the hall. Yet, given that rebuilding the closet was going to be a really long-term project on emergency power rations, some of them could be diverted to accelerate the Enforcer’s self-repair rate. Security took priority over all else.
Directive 86: Destroy All Intruders.
(SYSTEM RUNNING: 42.6%…)
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