Chapter 10

Julian Bless

Julian limped along with Citizen. Both were supporting each other.

His ankle was on fire. He dared not take his boot off. If he did, he'd never get it back on.

Lucky for him, Citizen could support his weight and hers, but her legs twitched every fifth or sixth step. But even with the delay, they had made it to his goal - a rundown bunker - before the next wave of Federation scouts had come upon them.

The riverbed they had been following now widened out into a massive flatland. Bless was way north of where he and Citizen had started.

"Citizen," said Julian. "How far have we gone?"

"Four point two miles since we left the crash site." Citizen helped lower him down to sit on the concrete bunker wall. "And only twenty minutes since the last time you asked the same question, Snowball."

Sid trotted around the structure, scanning for anything of use.

"My sensors say the Federation Squad is about ten minutes behind us, but they're picking up speed."

Her feet twitched again, and she stumbled but caught herself. She sat down, too.

"Will the twitching improve like your speech?"

"No, Snowball." She emphasized the petname, then shook her head. "I rerouted pathways to ensure uninterrupted speech. But I will need to reboot to correct the other issues."

Citizen had saved his life more than once today, and there had been a change in her. What it was exactly, he couldn't put his finger on it. She was still mysterious and had no emotion chip, as far as he could tell.

He didn't know what she would have to do for him to trust her. Maybe a man couldn't trust a Sythy completely? But somehow, this one was different.

"Looks like neither one of us are speeding up anytime soon." Julian rubbed his leg.

"Our odds are greater if we defend here." Citizen looked around. "We must fight."

"They'll have pulse rifles, though, right?"

"That is standard squadron equipment."

"Do you know how many there are for sure?"

"Can't tell yet," said Citizen. "They have to be in range to confirm. I'll know in two minutes." She paused a moment, as if in thought. "The dura-glass shield wall around the city will prevent instant communication. This will slow them down."

"How so?"

"They'll have to relay all traffic through a satellite. And they won't be able to send reinforcements from inside. So, the only Federation troops that will put us in danger are the ones already stationed at the satellite posts before the activation of the wall."

"How long will the wall stay up?"

"It's more of a dome," said Citizen. "It will remain up for fourteen days."

"So, why are you running with me? Weren't you programmed with a mission to arrest and capture me? I thought you couldn't go against your programming?"

Not that he was complaining, but he still found her mysterious, a curiosity of sorts.

Citizen's golden-yellow eyes stared into his. She squinted like she was reading every line in his face. "Yes, we still have programming, but it's not the same as the old version fives. They allow us to make our own choices."

What? That made little sense. "You mean you can make choices within the CPU's parameters, right?" Her use of the word "we" stood out.

"I have to complete my mission, but I decide how I do it."

Bless didn't believe her. "So, you still have to bring me to New Therian headquarters? That's your mission, right?"

"Yes, but it's more complicated than that."

"If you can't override your mission, how is that a choice?"

Citizen looked at him as if stuck.

"I make all kinds of choices, Snowball," said Citizen. "I chose to save you by destroying that drone. I chose to jump. I chose everything."

"Yes, but you still have to complete your mission, correct?"

"That's right."

"Their new program gives you the illusion of choice." Bless inspected his swollen ankle and winced. "You get to make choices, but your programming still forces you within the parameters of the mission. You only have the illusion of choice."

Citizen looked off into the distance where the squad was coming from. "There are eight individuals and one canine. A real canine, not a bot. What if I reprogram my mission?"

"Can you do that?"

"Yes, but only with approval from a mission handler, or someone who can override mission protocol, like a battalion commander or higher."

Julian shook his head. "I see. You may be more like us than I thought. That is why in Elysium, we have free will. Elysium is not bound to the rules or fate of the Federation. We live free out here, just as everyone should be. Just as you should."

"You have the information about the virus and the Trolls." Citizen held his gaze. "The people need to hear it. And they need to hear it from you, since you were part of the original team. We have to get you inside the city to get your message out."

"How are you going to do that while still completing your mission?"

"I will have to find a way to override mission protocol."

Citizen stared at him again, taking in the information. Then her legs jerked, and her shoulders hunched over for a split second. She winced in pain. "I need rebooting soon. They will be here in three minutes." She stood up and pulled out both daggers.

Sid walked up to them. A growl noise echoed from his speaker.

Bless drew his sword. "My Kendo teacher always told me never to bring a blade to a fight of pulse rifles."

Citizen nodded. "That is wise. But not always correct." She stood on the broken concrete wall. "You stay here in this corner, with your back to the wall. They will not see you until they get past me." She pointed forward. "Sid, you remain on that side. If we attack from both directions, we have a high chance of success." The bot moved over to where Citizen pointed.

"Even with the pulse rifles?" Julian used the wall to stand up.

"Yes. Ah." Citizen shouted a brief cry of pain. Her legs and arm twitched, and she dropped the dagger from that arm. "Our chances just lowered by ten percent." She bent down to pick up the dagger.

"Wow, that makes all the difference in the world." Julian leaned against the concrete and wrapped both hands around the grip, warming it up. "Thanks for sharing."

"One minute," said Citizen.

A dog barked, and a man's voice filtered in on the dry breeze.

In front of Bless was the river and a small string of trees. From his position, he watched Citizen moved to the left, taking cover for the ambush.

Seconds later, a couple of armed Federation soldiers came over the ridge, and a German Shepherd ran towards Bless.

Sid went after the dog, and Citizen ran toward the two men.

Shots fired from pulse rifles, and more soldiers came into view.

Then, out of the tree line came another group of people flanking the soldiers. That seemed to surprise the Feds, and it divided their attention. The group had swords and staffs and engaged in close combat - they were clearly Elysium.

Sid took care of the dog and ran after the next closest soldier.

Citizen had already killed one. Then a pulse rifle shot hit her, and she went down.

One soldier ran towards Bless, but he didn't have a pulse rifle. Instead, the Fed had a pistol.

Bless ducked behind the concrete and crawled forward. Bullets hit above him.

He raised his Katana, then inched closer to the soldier.

The Fed pointed the gun at Bless' chest, making his heart pound against his ribs.

Being captured by a Sythy, hunted by the Federation, and two crashes were about all he was willing to take today.

"Go ahead. Pull the trigger." Bless held the Fed's stone-hard gaze. "Because if you don't, I'm going to."

A dagger flew through the air, lodging itself in the man's forearm. The Fed dropped the gun and grabbed his knife.

Bless ran and limped up as fast as he could. With the reach of his sword, arm extended, he closed the gap. Julian sliced the hand and then, with a backswing, cut the soldier across the neck.

Citizen stood over her last kill, twitching.

Sid and three Elysium stood before Bless, with eight dead Federation soldiers.

A glance confirmed the dead and wounded were mainly Federation, and then there was Citizen, who had a bullet hole in her arm. It wasn't fatal, but it would need attention. She twitched again, then stumbled.

Two of the dead Elysium, were shot by high-powered pulse rifles, which Bless now confiscated.

Footsteps sounded behind him, and he turned to see a familiar face.

"Brother Bless." Hector pushed his dirty shemagh off his head, revealing a mess of blonde hair and a beard. He raised two muscular arms that clasped around Bless, then hugged him.

"Hector, you have good timing, my friend." Julian patted him on the back.

"Are you all right?" Hector eyed him with concern.

"Yes, I'm fine. How are our people?"

Dak, the large man more prominent than two of Julian, stood, surveying the battlefield.

"The rest are dead." Tella picked up a pulse rifle and checked the load count. "I'll gather the weapons and inventory the ammo."

"Thank you, Tella," said Bless. "Dak, Hector, great to see you. How did you find us?"

"We've been following you since we lost you back fighting the Gollums," said Hector.

Julian shook hands with Dak and hugged Tella.

"Kim and Dev are dead," reported Hector.

"I'm sorry," Bless closed his eyes and shook his head. Losing men was always challenging, and it never got easier.

"Once the Feds know their team is dead, they'll send the next closest team. That's protocol," Citizen's leg twitched, and the hole in her arm smoked.

Hector's eyes widened. "Are you a-"

"A Syth-L, yes." Julian rose and approached her. "She's saved my life twice already. She's with us."

Hector, Dak, and Tella, all eyed her skeptically.

Once she could stand again, Citizen began searching the dead Federation soldiers next to her. Tella did the same. Citizen stripped a med-pack off the body, and she carried it to Bless.

"Sit down, Snowball," she said to Bless. "Let me look at your leg."

Bless sat and pulled up his pant leg. Citizen untied the laces, pulled off his boot, then opened the soldier's med-pack.

She rested the leg on her knee and pulled out a Bone Scanner that was the size of a large pen. Clicking it on, a flat blue beam of light shot out. She held it steady and moved it over his swollen ankle. It beeped, and she looked at the display.

"Well, what's it say?" Bless stared at the device.

"You broke nothing. It's just a sprain. Painful, but you'll be all right." She grabbed a Morphin-asol syringe and stabbed it into the wound.

"A bit of a warning before you stab me next time would be good." Bless didn't flinch, but he felt the pain go away immediately.

"It'll last at least twenty-four hours." Citizen rummaged through the med-pack.

Next came the Stem Cell syringe, and she injected that, too, without warning. Lastly, she ripped apart a plastic bag that contained a Nano Brace. She laid the black nano-sheet over the swollen ankle and hit the activation button on the remote, and the nano-tech sheet formed and molded over his wounded ankle.

"Put it on." She shoved his boot against his chest.

"Yes, Ma'am." Bless forced his boot on, then laced it as tight as he could.

"It isn't too tight, is it?" Citizen examined his work. "Okay, you're good to go." She patted his leg. "Let's move."

"Thanks." Julian groaned, then stood up. The pain was already going away, and the nano-brace flexed and provided support as he walked.

Hector, Dak, and Tella walked up. They had all stripped the soldiers of weapons, med-packs, nutrient tubes, and hydro packs.

"Me and a handful of others came to look for you after the Gollum attack," said Hector. "It took us a while, but here we are."

"Where's the rest of the group?" Bless looked around.

"Probably ten miles south by now," said Tella. "They're trying to evac people out of the path of the Gollum herd. We can meet up with them if we head out now."

"The next Federation Squad will come from that direction." Citizen dropped the syringe of stem cells she had just injected into her arm, then wrapped a bandage around the wound. Her legs twitched, nearly causing her to fall off of her perch.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tella asked her.

"Electrical shock to my synapses. I need a power reboot, but I must find a source of at least twenty megawatts for that."

Hector looked at Dak and Tella. "What about Chimney Base?"

Dak nodded, then grunted.

"We haven't been there for over a year," said Julian. "Is it still deserted?"

"Should be," said Hector.

"Chimney Base would have a power cell that big," said Tella. "But we need a late version connection to turn it on."

"I can provide that," said Citizen. "How far is it?"

"Two days by foot, northwest," said Hector.

Another Fed squad was coming. No time to bury the dead. Bless wasn't a hundred percent, and neither was Citizen. And they were a long way from help.

What is the best call?He rubbed his temples.

"I say we head for Chimney Base," said Bless. "We need her. Citizen can take out Gollums, soldiers, and even a drone single-handedly."

"We'll follow you, Brother Bless," said Hector. "Lead the way."