Samara nodded, and together we walked out into the antechamber. Andrea decloaked in the hall outside. “It looks like we’re clear. Come on.” Andrea took the lead, with Dr. Markov behind her and me in the rear.
Now that we had her mother, Andrea was moving with a bit more caution. When we reached the west stairwell, Andrea didn’t cloak. She stood to the side and motioned for me to open the door. I pulled it open quickly, and she rushed into the stairwell. Seconds later, she quietly called back, “Clear.”
Samara and I entered the stairwell. Andrea spoke while scanning the stairs leading up. “We’ll take Dr. Markov to holding. After that we head east to help Vincenzo and Raven.”
She started down the steps to the lower level, pausing at the landing for a few moments and holding up a hand to signal “stop.” She stood still and stared ahead, then waved us forward again. As we passed the bodies of the Jovians, Samara remarked, “those wounds don’t look like gunshots.”
“They aren’t,” I whispered.
As we moved through the hallway, we came upon the aftermath of a sizable engagement. Broken android proxies were scattered across the floor. As far as I could tell, the fight had been entirely between two squads of proxies, with no humans involved. I couldn’t tell who had won.
“There may be survivors. Watch your step,” said Andrea.
The idea of a battle between squads of androids seemed oddly melancholy. No one had seen them fight, and no one even knew what they were trying to accomplish. They’d just met and wiped each other out on sight. The scenario was so absurdly pointless.
We continued, winding through the corridors leading back to the east wing, and received a message from Andrew just as we reached the blind corner where we’d first encountered the Jovian forces.
The enemy has entered the laboratory. Requesting immediate assistance.
Andrea threw her hands up. “We can’t ignore that.”
“Change of orders?” I asked.
“Yes. Get Samara down to holding, then make your way over to the east side and support Veraldi and Sommer. I’ll head to the lab to help Jones and Young.”
“Understood. Come with me, Dr. Markov.”
“Yulia…” Samara started to say something, but Andrea was already cloaked and running down the corridor.
The doctor sighed. “I really wish she wouldn’t do that.”
“Run off without saying goodbye? She does that all the time.”
“You know what I mean.”
I nodded. “Let’s keep moving.”
“Yes, of course,” she answered. “Lead the way.”
As we came to the west wing door, I saw a group of five proxies standing guard. I couldn’t remember if Andrea and I had sealed the door behind us. If we hadn’t, that was a tactical error I was now going to have to pay for, assuming these proxies were hostile.
I put my hand on Samara’s shoulder and pulled her down as I took a knee. I spoke softly and explained. “There’s a group of androids ahead, and I don’t know if they’re friendly. There’s no cover in this hallway, so I want you to go back around the bend. If they start shooting, get as flat on the floor as you can and wait for me to come get you.”
“Do you have another gun,” she asked.
She’d said it with confidence. There was no fear in her voice. It was the casual, honest inquiry of someone familiar with weapons and violence. I drew my sidearm and offered it to her. “Have you used a handgun before?”
She took it by the grip, index finger resting on the trigger guard. She pointed it to the floor and pulled the slide back halfway, enough to see that I’d left a round chambered. “In my younger days, my work often came with an element of danger.”
I was somewhat impressed and felt a little foolish for assuming otherwise. Of course a black market prosthetics surgeon knew how to use a weapon.
“Stay low and move slow,” I said, and turned my attention back to the group of proxies. They were spread out for the most part, making it difficult to target them all from the same vantage point. If I moved further from the wall and shot from the center of the corridor, I’d have a better line of fire. The opposite would be true as well, though, and they’d have an easy time gunning me down. Assuming they didn’t notice me move into position in the first place.
No, I’d have to make it work from where I was. I’d shoot the two on the left of the door, wait for the third and fourth to move to return fire and take them down, then reposition and fire on the fifth.
I aligned my sights on the left-most android, exhaled, and fired. The burst of slugs ripped through the proxy’s chest and threw it against the vault door. It spun and collapsed on the floor as the android next to it raised its weapon and walked into the hall, searching for the source of the gunfire. I swiveled my aim and fired again. My rounds cut through the android’s head, and its body stumbled three paces before also collapsing to the floor.
I wasn’t sure how effective the proxies would be in offline combat. They couldn’t share experience data, but with two rounds of gunfire it wouldn’t be too difficult for the remaining proxies to guess where I was. Still, I kept to my plan and waited for the other androids to show themselves.
A third proxy came into view, weapon raised. I fired even as I started moving, running toward the other side of the hall. I dove prone near the wall and took aim again. I squeezed the trigger, but the railgun only buzzed. That’s when I noticed the android had been hit but wasn’t returning fire despite being able to do so.
A synthesized voice called out, “Aimicide warning.”
Aimicide warning, the alert issued under friendly fire. The proxy wasn’t hostile. I stood and identified myself. “Personnel Barrett, SFI-4143.”
The android lowered its weapon. The other two walked into view, likewise relaxed. I doubled back down the corridor until I could see Samara and waved her over. Checking over my railgun without duress, I could now plainly see the rails were spent. A slug was contact-welded midway down the length. As Samara approached, I held out my hand. “I’ll need that pistol back.”
She handed it over. “I’m almost disappointed I didn’t have to use it.”
I laughed at the joke. “Holding is one level down. We can take the stairwell just past that door and we’ll be right there.” I threw the railgun down and walked up to the proxies with Samara.
The proxy I’d hit but failed to kill didn’t seem too damaged. The slugs had gone through its waist, but it still seemed functional. If it had been hostile a few minutes ago, if it hadn’t recognized me as an authorized individual, it might have got me.
“Current action report,” I ordered.
“This unit is defending level 4 junction. This unit is 2 of a 3-unit fire team. This unit is status bravo.”
“Engagement history.”
“Contact three minutes prior. Resolution: aimicide warning. End of engagement history.”
So the only combat these proxies had seen was against me. That meant the junction was probably clear and the enemy had only succeeded in reaching the lab. It made sense; if the goal was to recapture the Warwick node, there was no reason to spread their forces thin. That must have been why we’d run into such small fire teams. The goal was to split us up through misdirection.