Chapter 27: Sonya

Xtos grudgingly ceded respect to the six humans that had escaped its city of robots. After the single robot had returned and reported the discovery of the survivors it had sent several expeditions to destroy these puny humans. None of these expeditions had returned. In the course of their search they had discovered the village of the Silka's and destroyed it. A few of the humans had escaped but had been hunted down and killed. Some of them had fled through a pass in the mountain chain but six of its subordinates were hunting them down and destroying them giving priority to the destruction of the ones that were due to reproduce. That had been the report it received but the reports had ceased over a year ago. No reports had been received since. Some how his minions were being destroyed whenever they went on the other side of the mountain range.

Five of the Silkas had been captured but instead of exterminating them right away, as it had in the past it started examining them. The first two ceased to function right away when they were opened but Xtos had learned from them. When it opened the next one the cuts were not so deep and the prisoner, though it screamed in pain and bled a lot did not die immediately. By the time it opened the fourth prisoner it had been able to keep it alive by artificial means so that it was able to remove and examine the various organs inside. The prisoner was a female and Xtos examined the reproductive parts closely. Xtos had its minions remove the prisoners breasts and found that they were fatty tissue that when filled provided nourishment for the offspring. It found that the reproductive organs and the breasts could be removed without causing instant death to the individual and a plan took shape. It removed the reproductive organs and a small control box took their place. It replaced the breasts with video and audio hook ups. The control box was wired into the neural receptors and motor controls of the body and after much experimentation was able to control body movement and functions.

Little by little, the prisoner was converted into a biological entity under robotic control. The memories were erased from the brain and new ones were substituted. After much experimentation the movements of the limbs became less jerky, like a robot and more fluid like a human. A skin sample was taken and soon artificial skin tissue was produced. When Xtos was satisfied the prisoner was fully functional just like a human it was exterminated. The final prisoner was converted using all the knowledge Xtos had learned and when completed looked just like the Silka it had been but its reproduction system had been replaced with a controller and its breasts had been replaced with audio video receivers, these were covered with the synthetic skin so that they looked like natural breasts. The stomach had been closed and more artificial skin covered it. The memories had been wiped from her brain and new ones installed which assured her loyalty to Xtos and its cause.

Xtos had also had five additional human looking robots built. Lucinda, for that had been the converted prisoner's previous name, would infiltrate the humans and then bring her fellows in to complete to job of extermination. Twenty additional robots would follow a few hours behind to assist if needed. Lucinda had a locator beacon implanted within her so that the two ten man cars carrying the twenty backup robots could follow and remain out of site. The six man air car took to the air with Lucinda and her five companions, bound for the pass the Silka's had fled through. She was the leader and controlled the entire group. Several hours later just before her locator was out of range the two ten man cars followed.

Two weeks later Jake and Marie lifted from the compound and headed north. The patrol of the previous day had reported seeing a herd of an unknown type of animals and since Mark was gone and Seth was out on a fishing trip Marie was the only zoology specialist available. It had not been hard to convince Jake to go with her to keep her company since they were after all lovers.

After having flown for almost a week and a half Lucinda and her companions had landed their air car and after covering it to prevent discovery from the air had continued their approach on foot. They had come to within fifteen miles of the compound when Jake and Marie spotted them. Marie who was looking down for the animal herd saw a momentary glimpse of a person.

"Jake circle back. I think I just saw a person." She told him. Jake did as requested and dropped the air car lower till it was just above the tree tops. Marie began to hail in the language of the Silka's and before long a figure stepped into a nearby clearing and yelled back. Jake landed in the clearing and Lucinda and two of her companions approached. The other three remained hidden in the bushes.

When she had gotten close enough for conversation Lucinda began to relay her fabricated tale. She told of her escape from the village and after hiding in the jungle they had followed the metal men as they chased the surviving Silkas and discovered the pass. They had gone through the pass and then hid staying concealed for weeks and months till they were certain no metal men remained in the area. Just a week ago they had started south occasionally finding a decomposing body to point the way. She told them that she and her two companions were the last survivors from the village that she knew of.

After hearing her story Jake and Marie had them climb aboard the air car and together they returned to the compound. When they had risen and flown away the three remaining robots followed the locator beacon in Lucinda and followed at a ground eating robotic pace, signaling the two air cars that followed to resume their approach.

Jake and Marie landed with the newcomers on board and Lucinda relayed her story once more. She shook hands with Mika and Tani. She recognized Mika and her companions had been disguised to look like the dead prisoners. Mika noticed that Lucinda's companions spoke very little but though nothing of it attributing their silence to the traumatic experience they had been enduring. Mika had not been a close friend with Lucinda and neither had Tasha who had joined them but Sonya had and Lucinda looked right at her with no hint of recognition in her attitude or eyes. Sonya puzzled at this but said nothing.

Evening came and the newcomers were provided bunks in the singles quarters of the Silka village. The two males were given bunks in with the single men and Lucinda was given a bunk in the single women's bay. Late that night the males planed to slip unseen from the men's quarters, silently kill the guards at guard post three and provide egress for their three waiting companions outside. Lucinda silently rose from her bunk and padded silently over to the bunk next to her. She clamped her hand over the mouth of the woman who slept there and with the razor sharp knife in her other hand sliced open the woman's throat. Her hand remained clamped over the mouth and the other hand held the woman from moving until she died from loss of blood. Lucinda padded to the next bunk over and repeated the operation. She approached the third bunk and leaned over to repeat the process. This bunk belonged to Sonya. As the hand clamped over her mouth Sonya came to instant wakefulness and with lightning reaction her hand gripped the hand that held the fast descending blade. With a shove, Sonya pushed, and her aggressor stumbled back.

"Lights!" Sonya yelled. Instantly the bay was flooded in light as the room's robotics responded to the order and tripped the light switches. There stood Lucinda bloody knife in hand charging toward Sonya. Sonya had trained hard and learned Tani's hand-to-hand training well, so instead of Lucinda's knife burying itself in Sonya's heart she found herself tumbling over Sonya's shoulders and falling to the floor. Lucinda hissed at this but realizing that the robots under her command would have reduced chances of success if she were delayed sprang to her feet and rushed for the door. Sonya leaped onto her back and, with a vicious twist, snapped Lucinda's neck. She was dead before she tumbled to the floor with Sonya still on her back.

These events had happened so quickly that the other women in the bay were just now getting to their feet. "Get dressed and get armed and go to you duty stations," Sonya snapped as she scooped her ear radio from its night stand and rushed for the door leading outside. She burst from it and seconds later burst into the men's quarters to confront Lucinda's male companions. "Lights!" She yelled. Instantly the bay was flooded in light and two men scrambled to their feet the third did not, instead he remained motionless in a pool of his own blood. The two male robots standing over him turned as one to face the threat that had burst in on them. They charged Sonya and she crouched with a snarl on her lips barring their way. As they came in contact Sonya found out that these were robots and not a controlled human as Lucinda had been. With inhuman robotic strength the one she had attacked tossed her out of the way to strike a wall ten feet away, where she slumped to the floor with the wind knocked out of her. The robot had not escaped unscathed though. A huge flap of artificial skin hung from its face and one of its eyes had ceased to function. They rushed out the door and into the night. Sonya sprang to her feet but it was too late to attack them again. Sonya contacted the control room on her radio and when the operator quickly answered simply screamed, "Red alert, red alert!" She then changed frequencies and contacted Tani. The men in the bay wiped sleep from their eyes as they hurriedly scrambled to their feet. They saw Sonya standing before them wearing nothing but a pair of black thong panties. Sonya turned and grabbed a rifle, a pistol and holster and a knife from the ready stack on the wall. She then burst back through the door and raced into the night.