"I need you," she said with a shrug. "They're after me."
Her words, coupled with her strange behavior, sent a chill down his back. Still, the relief at seeing her relatively unharmed overwhelmed his disquiet. Ontarii settled his hands on her shoulders. "Who's after you?"
"The FIDOs," she said, biting her lip. "They turned on me. One minute they were calmly marching at my back. The next, they had me surrounded."
The FIDOs? Her robot companions had turned on her? "How did you escape?"
"I managed to short one out by smacking its display screen, then squeezed by them and ran. I don't know if I'll be so lucky next time."
Ontarii's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't they use their lasers on you?"
"Lasers?" The captain's eyes were wild. "I don't know. It all happened so fast, maybe they couldn't get a shot off in time."
"That doesn't make sense. What about the sound? Did you find the source?"
"Sound?" Suddenly the female's face screwed up and she let out a wail. "Why are you interrogating me? Can't you see that I've just been through a hellish experience?"
Tears streamed down her face, leaving him even more confused. Something wasn’t right, but he wasn’t yet ready to push her.
"I'm sorry. Forgive me." He pulled her close to him. "I just want to help you."
"Then stop asking questions and help me deactivate the FIDOs!" She was beyond panicked, which didn’t sit well with him. Maybe it was due to her own protection unit turning on her. That would cause anyone to dive into anxiety.
She shook subtly in his arms, sending his protective instincts into overdrive. "I'll help. Lead the way."
The captain straightened, her trembling seeming to disappear in an instant. "Follow me," she said, heading down the hall and into the crew's mess. Containers and rations were strewn all over the floor, but there was no sign of the dead crewman, Smith.
Ontarii thought she would head for the bridge, but instead she made her way towards the cargo bay. He knew he'd have to be ready for a confrontation with the robots and their wicked lasers, so he charged up his bio-weapon, holding the electrical power at the ready.
Hitting the robot with a sufficient charge would disable it, which was good, and yet he was only one man. Scientists on Zanthar had already pulled apart one of the human's FIDOs to find out what made it tick. His only worry would be hitting all the robots before one could blast him with a laser.
He might be able to squeeze out two discharges, but then he'd need a moment to recharge. That moment might mean the difference between life and death for him and the human captain.
Captain Brooklyn had managed to escape the robot posse once. He still wasn't sure about her story. If they'd gone into attack mode, why hadn't at least one of them fired on her?
"These lasers," he said in a low voice as they made their way forward. "What are their capabilities? I mean, they have split-second targeting and firing abilities, right?"
The captain didn't turn back to answer him, just shrugged her shoulders.
"You don't know?" Now that he didn't buy. His irritation was rising at her behavior. "Why didn't they fire at you during your infamous escape?"
The human female whirled around to confront him. "How should I know? I told you that they must have malfunctioned. How could I guess what they would do or not do? Maybe their lasers weren't functional. Maybe the malfunction was such that it didn't activate the lasers. Maybe—"
"Maybe they aren't robots at all." A light went on in Ontarii's mind. When Hareema imitated Zantharians, they could give the illusion of an electrical charge, but it was just that. An illusion. They were incapable of generating the energy themselves. It was likely the same with the FIDOs' lasers.
"What?" The captain was angry, her impatience as apparent as her beautiful golden eyes.
"Go with me on this. What if the FIDOs aren't FIDOs? What if they're really Hareema agents in disguise?" It would be a very clever ruse for the enemy to impersonate the robots while the unsuspecting crew goes around distrusting each other.”
"So what if they are?" It was obvious the human wasn't following his line of reasoning, which was disconcerting. Despite his harsh words in the airlock, the captain was anything but incapable. She was clever and quick-thinking.
Maybe she's in shock.This situation would test anyone. She's only just discovered that humans aren't the only intelligent life in the universe, and now she's been thrust in a war between the Hareema and the Zantharians, unsure of whom to trust.
"It would be a good way to sneak around the ship without raising suspicions, and if the Hareema are imitating the FIDOs, then their laser weapons wouldn't work. That could explain why they didn't use them on you."
"Sounds plausible." She moved forward into the cargo bay.
He stopped and studied her as trepidation rolled over him. Had the Hareema gotten to her? Surely not.
