Part 25: Open the Pod Bay Green Dam Doors
Chapter 20: Open the
What should I do once all the dams are opened?
I've committed many crimes and been falsely accused of many more. Mother Brain knows best, or so I've always been taught. I should turn myself in and accept her judgement.
But even my mentor, Commander O'Connor, doesn't really believe that any more. He wouldn't have let me escape punishment if he believed that Mother Brain would treat me with justice.
If I were the only one involved in this, I'd still willingly turn myself in, even though that would probably mean my death. But since I set out on this journey, I've met so many good people who wanted to help me in my fight. I never had to ask for their aid; they sought me out and placed their trust in me to lead them. I don't want to live as a fugitive, but sacrificing my friends' lives won't clear my conscience.
Maybe I should go into hiding. If space travel were still legal, I'd go to Dezo and hole up in a forest somewhere. As it is... well, Mota's a big place. Even with all the resources at Mother Brain's disposal, it should take her a long time to catch me.
Well, there'll be time to worry about that later. For now, the Green Dam awaits.
"Aww," said Shir in mock-affectionate tones, "you stole a scarf for me. How thoughtful."
"I didn't steal it!" I quickly replied, exasperated. "I just... salvaged it."
"Oh, that's right, I forgot. You broke into a restricted area and stole military secrets. That's theft, burglary and treason." Shir grinned, obviously enjoying tormenting me.
"Alright, Shir, you've made your point. Now are you going to stand there and admire yourself in that scarf, or are we going to go and open the last dam?"
"Well, I don't know. I do look pretty good in this, if I do say so myself." Shir tossed her head back and ran her fingers through her hair. "But I guess I can help you out for a little while."
This would probably be the last time I needed the jet scooter. I handed the controls to Anna and sat back as we rode to the dam, letting my senses take in the wind, the sea spray, and the sun reflecting off the water. I haven't often had a chance to relax lately, and I was going to take full advantage of it while I could.
All too soon we reached the dam. With my last unused card, I opened the door to let us in.
We were attacked by many of the same robots we'd encountered in previous dams, but in larger numbers. Nothing to worry about; I drew my sword and let it take over. A red haze filled my vision, and my muscles moved of their own accord, driven by a burning desire to destroy all threats to me. I swung my blade effortlessly, as if it were a part of my own body, tearing through armour and wiring to reduce my enemies to smoking, sparking heaps of debris decorating the dam's drab green floor.
Another enemy approached from behind. I wheeled around, bringing my sword to bear against the new threat--
"Rolf!"
My sword fell from my hands and hit the floor with a hollow ringing noise.
"Amy! Don't startle me like that."
Amy's eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and concern.
"Rolf... 'evil' isn't a word I use lightly, but that sword... it does things to you. Things that scare me."
I bowed my head. "I won't deny that it troubles me too. I'll be relieved once I can put this sword away for good. But for now, I have to keep us all alive, and that means using the best weapons available to defend myself."
Amy stared up into my eyes. "I hope you know what you're doing. I'm worried about you, Rolf."
I put a hand on her shoulder, firmly but gently. "I'll control myself better in future. I promise. And once we've opened this dam, I'll never touch that sword again."
This wasn't who I wanted to be when I became an agent. I was running from the law, breaking into dams and stealing secret weapons with insidious powers, and now even Amy was afraid of me. What had I become?
I picked up the sword.
None of this was my fault. Everyone was trying to interfere in my life lately. Why the hell wouldn't they just stand aside and let me do my job?
I shook my head violently, trying to drive out those thoughts. Amy was right. The sword was having an effect on me, and I didn't like it. I sheathed it for the time being: once I released my grip on the sword, the sword released its grip on me.
I tried to rely less on my sword and more on my techniques. Nazan twisted and buckled the robots' chassis, leaving them looking like crushed tin cans.
The library was right about this dam being the most complex. The western and eastern halves were separated by a dividing wall, and right now we only had access to the western half -- and that half alone was already as big as any of the other dams we'd been to.
The dam was also patrolled by a new class of robot, designation Kill Gamma. They were aptly named, being faster, deadlier and more durable than the rest of the Gamma series. We couldn't afford to pull any punches when we fought them.
In a small steel box in a corner of one room of the dam, we found a long, thick white glove.
It fit Shir like, well, a glove. Not only was it an effective piece of defensive gear, but she could heal her own wounds with it just by touching her gloved hand to them.
"Hey, Anna," Shir said, "I can't really use a knife properly while I'm wearing this thing. Pass me the Storm Gear, would you?"
Anna smirked and began taking off her own gloves. "Fine by me. I missed using my slashers anyway."
As always, our new equipment soon came in handy, as a Heavy Solid lumbered toward us on massive steel legs, firing deadly electric sparks at us as it approached. Bladed weapons had little effect on it, and we needed to use our techniques to take it down.
A series of chutes and passages led us to the northern end of the dam's second floor, where a narrow ledge spanned across the outside of the dam from west to east.
I was getting sick and tired of being attacked every time we had to negotiate a narrow ledge. A Monster fired on us while we tried to fight back without losing our footing. Eventually, under a barrage of attacks and techniques, the gargantuan robot swayed from side to side, fell from the ledge and crashed down into the channel below. I looked down to confirm that it didn't land on our jet scooter before pressing on.
We re-entered the dam on its eastern side, where we soon found a small round shield with a girl's face painted on it. It was too small to be very effective as a shield, but like many of the other items we had found in the dams, it possessed healing powers.
We began our exploration of the eastern half of the dam. Like the western half, it was huge and full of chutes, often placed close together but leading down completely different paths. These dams were clearly not designed to be easily accessible to humans, at least not without a map.
And of course, like the western half, the eastern half was filled with new and implacably hostile models of robot. Twigtalls were moderately powerful, but lightly armoured; my sword and Anna's slashers made short work of them.
Useful items abounded as well; Amy took another dose of Star Mist off my hands.
Eventually, we reached the floodgate control computer.
I inserted the card to manually override the automated control system and open the dam.
This was it.
I'd finally saved Mota.
What was that noise behind me?
I turned around to see three robots, built like small flying tanks. I recognised these: they were Army Eyes, used for riot control and designed to be virtually indestructible. I'd never seen one disabled before, but there was a first time for everything. I focused my mind and prepared for battle. / Backup
The Army Eyes attacked with stun beams, inflicting some pain but minimal damage.
I retaliated with my most powerful technique, Nathu, but the target of my attack didn't even slow down, despite having a two-inch-wide hole burned straight through its body.
Amy's Fire Staff glanced ineffectually off an Army Eye's armour, leaving only a tiny scorch mark.
Anna was doing no better; even with her strength boosted by her Shift technique, she could barely scratch them.
Shir's offensive techniques proved equally inadequate, and she resorted to using the Storm Gear. A few loose sensor antennae snapped off, with no apparent effect on the robots' fighting ability.
The Army Eyes were barely harming us, but they had us cornered and we were exhausting ourselves trying and failing to destroy them. I heard the Army Eyes' secondary weapons charging up and knew what was coming next, but was powerless to stop it.
Rings of stabilised plasma encircled us, sending paralysing electric shocks through our bodies. My muscles went rigid, my ears rang and my vision blurred as consciousness began to slip away. I saw Anna, Amy and Shir lying on the ground, suffering the same fate.
You all deserved better than this. Forgive me.
